Coming May 28, 2014….
The moment I met Davide Valenti, I wanted him.
He was alluring in the kind of way that makes good girls like me want to break all the rules.
So I did. I broke my rules for him, and in turn, he gave me what I craved.
Hearts and Flowers.
Yet I wanted more. I wanted to know him, claim him the same way he had claimed me. But you can't claim that which doesn't exist. A mirage. A man who showed me one face while showing the world another. A complicated man. A dangerous man.
Now I'm caught up in his world. Trapped under all that is dark and dangerous. From hearts and flowers to guns and knives.
I want out. But I fear it's too late.
Nothing. I could see absolutely nothing. A curtain of darkness surrounded me and much as I tried to engage my other senses, I came up with nothing on that front too. Once in a while I could hear a scuttle from somewhere in the room, which made me believe I wasn’t alone. I had listened keenly and was convinced that I was the only person in the room, but the scuttles evidenced another life form.
“God, not rats, please.” I whispered in the darkness.
I was absolutely terrified of rodents. Musophobia, I think they called it. The thought made me frown. I was actually thinking of rodents while I sat on a wet floor bound on both my hands and feet. As if a million other fears shouldn’t take precedence.
Achluophobia, Arachnophobia, Claustrophobia… I sighed. It was entirely possible I was losing it. It had been about an hour since I had woken up and found myself in a dark room. A quick flex of my arms and legs had confirmed that I was not meant to be going anywhere anytime soon.
I looked around the room. Where was I? There was nothing to set this room apart. It was windowless and as far as I could see, furniture-less. Save for the mattress I was lying on.
“God, what have I gotten myself into?”
For the umpteenth time I tried to remember what had happened, but they must have hit me pretty hard on the head. I could feel a throb an inch from my left temple and I also couldn’t recall much. I didn’t even know how long I’d been in the room. One minute I was taking an evening stroll and the next I’d woken up in this room. Which now that my senses were waking up, I could tell smelled like mold. Rats and mold, perfect.
I decided to take stock of my body, legs and arms half dead from lack of circulation, head hurt a bit, but all things considered I felt quite fine.
I wondered why I wasn’t panicking. Must be shock. In all my wild imaginings, I’d never imagined being kidnapped. I was a normal, maybe even boring person. Nothing extraordinary. Certainly not extraordinary enough to be kidnapped. If they were in it for ransom, they’d be sorely disappointed.
Another scuttle from the corner and I yelped. Definitely rats, or if I was lucky, just mice. But seeing as I had definitely been kidnapped, I guessed that luck was not on my side.
Just as I was trying to move my legs to get the blood flowing again, the door opened. Nope, luck definitely not on my side.
“You’re awake,” said a booming voice from the door.
How he could see me I had no idea. It was dark as night in the room. I decided to keep my mouth shut. I still had no idea why anyone would kidnap me. I was as harmless as they came. I wanted to point that out but decided that it was probably best to keep my mouth shut. I tended to ramble when I spoke and there was no point annoying my captor.
“You speak when you’re spoken to, otherwise this is going to get real ugly real fast,” the voice boomed again, this time moving towards me.
“I’m… I’m awake,” I stammered.
“Good. You’ve been unconscious for such a long time I feared those idiots had killed you. And we wouldn’t want that would we? Who else would answer my questions?”
He paused as if waiting for an answer.
“I’m… I’m not sure I know what you… you want from me.” I stammered again. Damn it! What was up with this stammer?! If I wanted to calmly negotiate my way out of this clusterfuck I would have to be more eloquent.
“You know exactly why you’re here,” Booming Voice said.
I’d taken to calling him that, since he didn’t seem too keen on introducing himself.
“I’m sorry, but I still have no clue. I’m just a tourist, a nobody. I…”
I kept my mouth shut then. I was about to reveal that I had actually travelled to Barcelona on my own. No need informing him of the fact that there would be no one searching for me. At least not for a long time. And by that time…
“Finish your sentence, you what?” Booming Voice asked.
“I’m just a tourist,” I begged, “if I can help you I will, but I have no idea what you want from me.”
“Well, start by telling me why you were looking for Davide. What do you want from him? How do you know him?”
Oh, so that was why I was here. Thank God. At least this I had an answer for.
Jennifer K. Brand writes erotic romances with witty curves and dangerous edges. She loves travelling and therefore her stories are set in exotic locales or have exotic male leads. Her stories are those with an element of intrigue or suspense, but wrapped in hot steamy romance.
Jennifer has an LL.M in Public International Law and a B.A in International Relations. Writing has always been a hobby until she decided to take a break and write a full length novel. She loves Gin and Tonics, Spain, Monopoly and kittens :)
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