Page 14 of The Veiling

“I said,maybe you want Valentino’s money!”

He chuckled. “If you only knew who I was, you’d know that’s not the case at all.”

“Then, who the hell are you?!”

“Go!” he shouted, then lowered his voice. “Go shower…please.”

Groaning, I stood. Remembering it was daytime, I lifted my brows.

“What now?”

Sauntering over to the window, I pulled the curtains back. “What the—”

“Fuck?”

Eyes wide, I pressed my palm to the thick window, then took a step back.

“This room was never meant for you.”

On the other side of the glass were bars and, beyond that, a metal privacy wall. Shocked, I spun to face him. I opened my mouth to speak, yet no words would evade my lips.

“As I said, this is not my house. This…was meant to be a prison in our world. I plan to keep them here as I torture them all one by one. The bed and chair were put in here just because my guys knew you were coming when I called them on the way. It isn’t perfect, I know. They didn’t have much time to make the room luxurious for your tastes.”

“My tastes are normal and—” I could not finish the sentence. Being engaged to a billionaire would only negate that. Valentino and I lived an extravagant lifestyle.

He lifted his arm, glancing down at his gold watch. His hands were now fully exposed. No gloves. I wanted to get a better look at the tattoo, but there was no way I could risk it without him knowing. “I’ll wait in here.” He strode over to the chair and sat, crossing his ankle over his knee.

I fought back tears and hunger pains while I showered hastily and dressed in the new ceil-blue scrubs provided. I slipped on the same shoes and trudged back into the bedroom where he was sitting in the chair on his phone. He stood, tucking it into his pants pocket.

Watchfully, I held my stomach, following behind the man as he led me down several hallways and unbolted a door. I expected it to lead to a secret passage, but it opened to the outdoors.

Squinting in the bright light, I shielded my eyes with my arm. A gentleman opened the back door of a blacked-out Mercedes Benz. Letting out a breath, I trudged toward the car, sliding in. The jester got in on the other side, sitting next to me in the back seat.

The man who held my door open, glided into the front passenger seat. As the car slowly rolled down the long driveway, I glanced back over my shoulder to see a grey stone mansion with white trim. I did not recognize it, but I did my best to memorize every detail of the façade and traditional windows until we pulled onto the street.

Noiselessly, I sulked on the way to the doctor, trying to identify any landmark I recognized. Nothing. I sat back, once again aware I was still hungry. The driver slowed behind a car that was parked sideways in the lane. Another vehicle was facing the opposite direction in the middle of the intersection.

The masked man craned his neck to peer out the front windshield. “Why are we stopping?”

“I don’t know, boss.” The driver shrugged. “Some jackass is blocking the intersection.”

My gaze trailed over to the curb. “Uhhh.” I panicked as someone who had appeared to be hit while on a motorcycle got up and marched toward us. As he neared, it was clear he was uninjured. “I think it was an ambush.”

Just as the words left my mouth, the guy drew a gun, aiming it at the man sitting in front of me.

“Fuck,” The jester muttered.

BANG!

BANG!

“AHHH!” I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow.

The passenger fell over and the driver slumped over soon after.

“Get down!” The jester spat, unbuckling my seatbelt, and pushed me forward in one swift motion. Laying over me, he shielded me with a pistol in his hand, ready to fire at anyone.

Our doors opened simultaneously. I glanced up to see the familiar, evil grin I never wanted to see again. “Jesse,” I rasped.

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