What’s happening?
When he breaks the kiss, he scoops me into his arms and my head lolls against his shoulder.
“M’lady is overcome with the news, I must bid you adieu,” I hear him say. Is he ad-libbing now? The scene isn’t over. Why are we going backstage?
The sound of applause is distant as I lose the battle to keep my eyes open as everything fades to black.
——————
John
The minute she comes back onstage for Act Five, I know something’s wrong. She hits all her cues, but her speech is slightly slower. And then when she looks at me with those glassy eyes, alarm bells start going off. She almost seems… drunk? Emma doesn’t really drink, but maybe she did a shot to ease her nerves?
And then that fucker throws everything we’d worked on in rehearsal out the window and actually kisses her. I can see the way she struggles against him—it’s subtle, but I know every movement Emma makes. I have watched her submit to me at the club, know every twitch, every shudder, every microexpression, and her body is screaming to me for help.
Turning my head, I scan the crowd for Alyx, but I don’t see him. I’m not sure if she has anyone at today’s matinee. Maybe they all came to an earlier show.
I watch as Jeremy carries her off stage and I’m out of my seat, not waiting for the curtain call.
When I get to the door that leads backstage, it’s locked.
Fuck.
I pat my pockets, feeling for my keys, but come up empty,realizing they’re across campus in my office. There’s a distant roar of applause, and I run back to the theatre, making my way down the aisle during the standing ovation and discreetly slip backstage.
It’s chaotic and crowded in the wings as the cast and crew run around excitedly. I see Mackenzie near a dressing room, and I call out getting her attention.
“Where’s Emma? Is she okay?” I force myself to ask calmly, even though I’m screaming on the inside.
“Yeah, Jeremy said she was acting weird backstage earlier. Told him she didn’t feel good. It’s probably the nerves mixed with the heat from the stage lights that made her pass out. He said he was going to take her to the hospital to get her checked out just in case.” Her tone is distracted as she speaks, waving at people and hugging others that approach while we talk.
Am I making things up? Why isn’t she more concerned? Maybe I’m overreacting.
“Did he say which one? The nearest one is a forty-five-minute drive,” I say, panic rising in my throat. Something isn’t sitting right with me about all this.
“He didn’t actually, but I can text him and send you an update.”
“Okay, I’m going to head in the direction of the nearest hospital he might have taken her to. Text me as soon as you find out where she is.” I don’t give her the chance to respond; I take off for my office to grab my keys and start the drive to Columbus to find her.
CHAPTER 37
EMMA
My head hurts, and my mouth feels like sandpaper.
“There she is,” a muffled voice says nearby.
Is that Jeremy? Am I at the hospital?
I squeeze my eyes tight to shield from the harsh lighting, then try to blink them open. Jeez, this pillow is hard. When I attempt to rub my eyes, I realize I can’t move my hand.
Slowly, my senses start coming back to me, and I feel something hard beneath me. Definitely not a hospital bed.
I’m lying on my stomach on a wooden bench and my hands are bound behind my back. And Jeremy is standing over me. I look around, trying to focus my eyes, when I realize we’re in one of the practice rooms in the basement of the music building.
“You can scream if you want to, but these rooms are soundproofed.”
My heart rate picks up as fear courses through me. I discreetly wiggle my wrists to test how much give my bindings have. That’s when I realize that there’s something tied to my ankles, preventing me from closing my legs. Oh God, what is he going to do to me?
