Page 13 of Death

Feeling numb inside, I stare at the chipped wood of the coffee table while Nolan watches something on TV.

After he bathed me this morning, he dried my hair and made us breakfast.

I almost vomited when he fed me, but somehow managed to keep the food down.

Needing to escape this harrowing situation, my thoughts turn to the past when I was safe with Grace. She’s six years older than me and has always been patient and loving. I can’t remember a single instance where she lost her temper with me.

The age gap didn’t stop us from being best friends. Grace always loved taking care of me, and I appreciated every second of it. Up until the past week, I led a very sheltered life.

Then Grace got kidnapped, Dominik saved her, and I was told to marry him.

That’s probably what triggered Nolan to kidnap me.

My thoughts turn to my father, and thinking he must be looking for me already makes the tiny seed of hope sprout in mychest again. Grace might have fallen for the lie, but there’s no way my father will just let me walk away. Having grown up in the Irish mafia, if there’s one thing I know, it’s not something you can just walk away from. Especially if my father can use me to secure a deal that will benefit him financially.

It’s starting to get dark when I hear my phone’s ringtone, and it rips me out of my thoughts.

Nolan digs the phone out of his pocket, then just watches it ring.

Grace’s name shows on the screen, and it has me begging, “Please let me talk to her.”

His eyes snap to my face, and when the call goes to voicemail, he mutters, “You will do everything I tell you to do.”

I quickly nod, hoping he will let me call her back.

My phone beeps with an incoming message, and he quickly reads it.

Grace: Answer the call. I have something important to tell you, and I can’t do it over text.

When he types out a reply, I can’t keep the tears back. “Please, Nolan!”

Ciara: Give me a second.

He takes hold of my chin and looks me dead in the eye. “Kiss me.”

A sob sputters from me as I lean into him, and in desperate need to talk to Grace, I push through the disgust and press my mouth to his.

Before I can pull back, his hand grips the back of my head, and his tongue pushes past my lips.

My stomach lurches, the bile burning in my gut as I keep still so he can kiss me to his heart’s content.

Trembles shudder over my body, and queasy waves roll through my insides. Luckily, I don’t vomit, and he finally breaks the kiss.

“You taste just like I thought you would. So perfectly innocent.”

“Can I talk to Grace?” I ask, reminding him why I let him kiss me.

“You’re going to make her believe everything is okay and you’re traveling somewhere in Europe,” he orders. Then he pulls the gun out from behind his back, and my eyes go wide with fear. Training the barrel on me, he threatens, “If you say anything wrong, you’re dead.”

A wave of terror ripples through my body as I nod, but even though I’m shit scared, I can’t wait to hear Grace’s voice, and I quickly press dail.

“Thank God,” she answers, her tone filled with relief, and instantly, tears sneak from my eyes.

“Hi,” I say, unable to hide the trembling in my voice when the barrel of the gun presses to my temple. Knowing I don’t have a lot of time, the words rush from me. “I’m sorry. I miss you. It’s so good to hear your voice.”

Nolan puts the call on speaker so he can hear what she says.

“It’s good to hear your voice, too.”