A flare of anger roars to life inside me at the sight of their hands on her. I’m by their side in seconds.
“Get your hands off her,” I hiss, glaring at the guards.
The two men exchange startled looks, but immediately release her. Gela tries to make another break for it, but I catch her around the waist before she can get away.
“That's enough,” I growl into her ear as she struggles against me. “You're only going to hurt yourself.”
“Let me go!” she demands, trying to pry my arm from around her waist.
“Not a chance,” I say, lifting her off her feet and carrying her back toward the house. She kicks and squirms the entire way, but I hold her firmly against me.
“You can't keep me prisoner here!” she protests as I carry her through the back door, through the kitchen, and up the staircase.
“You’re my wife, remember?”
“Not from where I'm standing!”
“You signed those papers! What changed? You decided your life isn’t worth it anymore, or what?” I bellow back, now mildly annoyed at this little flip in her switch.
I kick open a door to the guest room at the end of the hallway and unceremoniously dump her on the bed. She tries to stand, her eyes reaching for the door behind me, but before she can, I step in front of her and walk backward, keeping my eyes on her until I’m at the door, closing it shut.
Then, I key in the lock.
Within seconds, her fists are pounding up against the wood. “You can't do this! Let me out!”
“Get some rest,” I call through the door. “We'll talk in the morning when you've calmed down.”
Chapter 6 - Gela
This is crazy. This whole damn situation is crazy.
I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the way those men dropped to the ground, and I’d jolt up like it was happening again. I couldn’t stay in bed, so I did the next best thing—trying to pry open windows and air vents. I needed to get away from this house and Valentin, who seems to be way too comfortable around guns.
But the windows were all shut tight. When I wasn’t trying to escape, I tossed and turned, replaying every horrific image from that shoot-out. At one point, I ended up crying into my pillow, after which I finally got some shut-eye.
Needless to say, I wake up utterly exhausted.
But the first thing I do when I step out of bed is try the door, which, of course, is locked.
In twenty-four hours, I’ve gone from hoping to get a call for that date to seeing a man get shot in the head to now being married to the shooter, who I so wanted to go on a date with…once.
Now I just want to get the hell out of here before I end up on some true crime TV.
I shower and put on the same clothes I came in, the anger at that indignity riling me up even further. Then, I head to the door and start to bang mercilessly. Let it crack, for all I care. Hell, that would be a solid outcome.
“Hello? Anyone there? I’m being kept PRISONER HERE!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “Hello???”
How the hell did I end up here? When no one responds, I slide with my back to the door and drop to the floor, shoving my face in my hands in frustration.
Okay, Gela,I comfort myself.This could be worse. Much, much worse.
At least I have a nice bedroom. It’s nicer than most hotel rooms I’ve seen, to be honest.
But still…this is crazy. I can’t just resign myself to this fate.
With renewed energy, I’m about to pound that door again when I hear the door click. My heart races as I scramble back on my hands and feet, afraid of getting smacked in my face.
Valentin enters, and for a second, looks around before his eyes land on me, on the floor. Mortified, I jump to my feet.
