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Shuffling and distinct noises filter through. And as the minutes pass, my breathing begins to slow.

But then I hear the door slowly creak open, and my breathing stutters. I clamp my hand over my mouth, refusing to make a sound, even if it literally kills me.

The closet door slides open, and his scent fills the tiny area. Leather. A hint of smoke. And something else. Something that would ordinarily make my eyes roll if it wasn’t so goddamn suffocating.

“You can come out now, baby,” he breathes, the sound of his voice gravelly and deep.

Oh, no. No, no, no.

I don’t move, hoping that he’s just guessing.

“I can smell you,” he says. And if that’s not the creepiest thing I’ve ever fucking heard, I don’t know what is.

Risking a peek around the corner, I see him standing at the entrance of the closet. He’s not looking in my direction. His head is down, staring off at a random spot on the ground.

“You have ten seconds before I come drag you out.” He takes a step back, and I decide to just go for it.

I dart out, slipping past him and heading towards the door. He lets loose a deep, cruel laugh. It’s a sound I’ll hear in my nightmares for the rest of my existence.

But I don’t stop. I run down the hallway and head for the front door, gasping when I find it locked.

“You unlock that door and there will be consequences,” he warns. I startle at his proximity. There’s not enough time to unlock the deadbolt, knob, and chain. He’s too close.

Sunroom. It has a back door that leads outside. I turn, and out of the corner of my eye, I see my shadow round the corner of the entranceway to the hallway I came from.

I bolt through the living room, then the kitchen, and towards the door that leads into the backside of the hallway. Praying that he didn’t stay in the hallway, I fling open the door to find it empty. At least within five feet of me, I can’t see past the darkness beyond that.

Heading straight for the sunroom, I barrel through the door and find him already there, leaning against the door that I need to escape out of.

I skid on my feet, halting my momentum before I crash right into his waiting arms. I back up, chest heaving and mind racing.

He tsks. “You’re very predictable, little mouse. We're going to have to work on that.”

I just stand there, frozen in place as I process the fact that I won’t be able to get out of this house. He’s incredibly fast, but the scariest part is that I didn’t hear a single fucking footstep from him. I sounded like an elephant and he was quieter than a mouse.

“You’re not touching me,” I hiss, my voice wobbly and rife with unshed tears.

“A deal is a deal, little mouse.” He looks up at the night sky. “It is beautiful in here. I think it’s only fitting that the punishment occurs here, don’t you think? It feels like we’ve come full circle.”

Growling, I finally force my body into action and run right back down the hallway towards the stairs.

Maybe I can find a spot to hide again. Somewhere he won’t find me this time. My mind turns over every possibility as I swing myself around the banister and charge up the steps.

A whisper of wind brushes against the back of my thighs, and when I glance behind me, I see him right on my heels.

I let loose another scream, quickening my steps. I make it up the stairs and barrel down the hallway, my desperation and pure panic clouding my head. I can’t think, I can only act.

I’m halfway down the hallway before a steel arm bands around my waist and lifts me up.

“NO!” I scream, kicking at air as I fight his hold.

“Oh yes, baby,” he growls, swinging our bodies towards the wall. I grunt from the impact, leaning my back against the wall and using it as leverage to kick against the bastard of a man.

“Let me go, you fucking creepy-ass fuck—”

“Keep talking and you’ll just make it worse.”

I screech, out of breath and growing weaker, as he pins my flailing body against the wall.