Page 98 of Heathens

My hand reaches out for the button on the elevator before logic takes over, and I pull back just in time.

Elevators make noise. It dinged when we arrived the other night. The doors grind as they open. There’s no fucking way he sleeps through it, not with hearing like that.

Fuck, that can’t be it.

There has to be another way out of here.

I stifle a cough, my throat screaming for water. With the meat tenderizer in one hand, I press myself against the wall, creeping forward step by step, desperate for something, but with no idea what I’m looking for.

Until my fingers bump up against a small slit in the wall.

I turn my body to the side, keeping one eye on Dominic as I trace my fingers along the crack. It feels cool. Maybe that means airflow? My eyes strain in the dark as I feel around with my hands, searching for anything that could force it open. I sink to my knees and run my fingers along the seam down to the floor, before I finally bump against something tiny sticking out at the very bottom. A switch?

There’s a soft click, and there it is. Of course he has a secret fucking exit.

It’s then that I realize I left the keys to the Jaguar on the counter. I look back at Dominic, and then to the kitchen. It may as well be miles away from here. I’ve gotten this far on luck, I can’t risk another minute in this place.

Hopefully, I get out long before he realizes what’s happened, but I’m only focused on my freedom as I slip into the darkness of the passage.

I’ll kill him to get it, if I have to.

DOMINIC

Duncan Towers

Iwakeupwitha harsh gasp, blinking furiously as my eyes scan the darkness.

Fuck.

How long was I out?

I sit up and glance at my watch.

Two hours to sunrise.

Something falls onto the ground and I groan, seeing the contents of Sofie’s purse scatter all over the floor. I meant to close my eyes for a second, not a goddamn hour.

I glance over at her door, more as a reflex than anything, and stare at it for a moment in complete shock. It’s wide open. I leap to my feet and rush to the bedroom, greeted only by emptiness, her scent still lingering in the air. Panic leads to rage. She fucking tricked me. She played me, used my kindness and threw it back in my fucking face.

Never again.

I dash back into the living room, heading straight for the elevator before I see something move ever so slightly from the corner of my eye. The hidden door, swinging ever so slightly as cool air slips past it. She must have realized the elevator would wake me, but she’d have to walk right past me to find the switch. How did I not hear her?

I scan the rest of the penthouse and spot my car keys sitting on the kitchen counter.

Clever little bitch. She’s brave all right, but she must have panicked.

If she makes it to the lobby, there’s no way she makes it out the front door. It’s locked from the outside, all the glass is reinforced… but maybe she could find a way. If anyone could, it’d be her. Fuck, why can’t she realize that the safest place in Santa Cruz is right here with me?

Well, it was an hour ago.

I head for the door she escaped from, peering down into darkness. I can just make out the sound of her heightened heartbeat in the distance, her feet squeaking against the tile as a door slams. My face twists into a wicked grin. She’s still about 10 floors from the bottom. More than enough time.

I peel off my shirt and kick off my shoes. I always prefer to hunt barefoot, to feel the earth beneath my feet – or the marble floor, I suppose. The thrill of the chase courses through me as I let my instincts take over, leaping five or six stairs each at a time as I race to catch up to my prey. I can see everything like it’s daylight, every heightened sense pushing me forward as I leap down another flight of stairs. Darkness has always embraced me like a brother.

In another instant, I can smell terror mixed with something else… the faintest scent of arousal? Even in the midst of this betrayal, I can’t help but long for her. She’s so sweet, and her fear will make her even sweeter.

More footfalls, and another slamming door, all much closer now. I’ve bounded down so many flights she has to be only another floor away.

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