Page 65 of Hunter's Revenge

Food is normally the last thing I’d consider when I’m distraught, but my hunger is screwing with my ability to think straight.

I get up and walk to the food trolley. There is a row of chicken and lettuce sandwiches on a little platter and some croissants on another plate. In the middle is a bigger plate that has a cover on it. I lift it and reveal the most delicious-looking chicken casserole I’ve ever seen. It’s surrounded by boiled rice and has an aromatic aroma that makes my stomach rumble.

I unwrap the napkin next to the jug of water, not surprised to find plastic utensils.

Most of everything on the tray is plastic, nothing that can be used as a weapon. Except maybe the trolley itself. I’m sure, though, that if I could successfully throw it at Malik, he’d be able to dodge it or take it. It would probably bounce off those military muscles.

Military.

I don’t even know if that was true. That he was in the Navy. If he’s in the mafia, why would he have been in the Navy? I find that odd.

Swallowing my pride, I tuck into the food and eat the whole thing. I’m so full by the time I finish, I can just about manage a few sips of water.

But I feel better physically just for providing my body with some nourishment.

As my hands are a little sticky, I head to the bathroom to wash them and splash cold water over my face. I had to do that earlier when I thought I was going to have a panic attack.

The cold water on my face soothes me once more and gets my mind back on track to plan my escape.

I walk back out and glance over the room, wondering what will happen later tonight when Malik is back. Will he force himself on me?

Will he even see it as force when I gave him my body several times over this past week?

Fuck,it was me who propositioned him at the bar that night we first met.

Me.

But he only spoke to me because he was following me. Then he used me in one of the worst ways a man can use a woman.

In some ways, he was worse than Gage. But I only have myself to blame for falling prey to a beautiful devil and sleeping with a guy I hardly knew.

My stupidity aside, Malik is certainly worse than Gage for what he’s doing to me now.

I rest against the wall near the bathroom door and yelp when it moves.

Whirling around, I realize it’s a secret sliding door. Well, not so much secret now that I’ve discovered it.

The wall/doorway leads into another room. It’s dark inside, so I can’t see what’s in there.

Curiosity, my good old friend, compels me to move forward and check it out, but the voice of reasoning warns me away. What if I go in and can’t come back out?

But… what if this is another way out?

What kind of man has a secret door in the wall of their bedroom?

Maybe I’m about to find out.

I don’t spare another thought. I step inside the room, my bare feet connecting with the cool surface of a concrete floor.

Automatic lights snap on one at a time, revealing the enormous size of the room.

It seems to be way bigger than the bedroom, which is already huge. That makes me wonder just how big this house is.

Rows of wooden shelves greet me at the door with an assortment of different things, from books to tools neatly placed on each panel. It reminds me of a store.

I walk in deeper and stop when I come across pictures hanging in frames on the wall. The ones I notice first are all of Malik in his Navy uniform, so I guess he told me the truth about that.

There are a lot of him as a teenager with another blond-haired guy. The same guy is in a few others where they’re older, and in the same Navy uniform, so I’m guessing this must be a best friend of sorts, or family.

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