She calls out something in Spanish, and I can hear the surprise in her voice.
As a result of her shouting, a tall, dark-haired man, who is sitting at the side of the room eating at a table, looks up. Our eyes lock in an unwavering gaze. He looks American with piercing, gray eyes. He's not as tall as Lucien, but similar in looks --- dark hair and devastatingly handsome.
The man's brows furrow when he sees the knife in my hand, and he stands. "What are you doing in here?" he asks me.
His steel-gray eyes catch me off-guard with a sense of familiarity. A memory of my capture comes rushing back to me.
Gentle hands, gray eyes…a deep voice whispering, "Just a little pinch. This will only hurt for a second."
This is the man who drugged me and brought me here. I'm sure of it.
He takes a few steps towards me with an apprehensive expression on his face. Quickly, I hold my knife out, warding him off.
"Easy," he says, putting his hands up defensively and taking a step back.
"I want to leave," I plead with him. "Just let me go."
He seems amused by my request. "Sure. The door's right over there," he says, hooking his thumb behind him to the far wall where I see a door that could possibly lead to the outside world.
I stare at him for a beat, wondering if this is some kind of trick, but the smirk on his face doesn't waver.
Not wanting to waste another moment and risk being captured again, I hightail it to the door, turning the handle and throwing my weight against the heavy steel. The door opens with no problem, and I can hear the man call after me, "Hope you're not too disappointed."
I don't even have time to register what he means; because the moment fresh air hits my face, I just want to cry at the sensation. It feels like forever rather than just a few days since I've been outside.
I take off running, trying to put as much distance between me and them as possible. Not even glancing back, I tear off in the grassy lawn, running through field after field of vegetables and fruit trees, my legs pumping as hard as they will go. It's dark, but there are motion-detector lights throughout the property that come on periodically, lighting my way.
I come to several large greenhouses and keep moving. It looks like the thick grass ends several yards ahead, but I can't see what's beyond that. With the moon hidden behind stormy clouds, it just looks like a black pool of darkness.
My bare feet skid to a halt right at the end of the grass, but I end up falling forward and down over the edge. I roll on what feels like sand and rocks, scraping my arms and legs in the process until I finally come to a stop and losing the knife.
When I gain my composure, I manage to stand. And that's when my heart sinks.
Water. I'm surrounded by…water.
I run towards the waves lapping at the sandy beach, and stare out over the dark liquid. All I see is a sea of obscurity. No lights, no houses, no land.Nothing. I turn, staring down one side of the beach and then the other.
There's nothing. No escape.
"No," I whisper, my voice wavering. Balling my hands into fists, I scream against the wind whipping against my face, "No!"
And then that's when I hearhisvoice behind me. "The only way on and off of this island is by a small plane. I take it you don't know how to fly, do you, Adeline?" he asks with a snarl.
I spin around to glare at Lucien. "Where am I? " I demand.
"On a private island far off the Mediterranean coast." A smug smirk appears on his face.
In that very moment, I wish I still had the knife within my grasp. I don't know if I honestly could ever hurt someone…or even kill someone, but I want to hurt Lucien. I want him to know how much he's hurting me.
Just then, two dark figures appear behind my captor. He snaps his fingers, and they move towards me. "No! Don't touch me!" I scream as they grab me, holding me tightly in their grasps. As they carry me past Lucien, I scream at him, "I hate you! I hate you!", the words tearing from my throat.
He stares out at the water, seemingly unfazed by my screams, and it only infuriates me more.
I don't stop fighting and screaming until the two guards unceremoniously throw me into the bedroom I've been locked in for days. They slam the door shut, and the keypad beeps, signaling that I'm locked in here once again.
I pound my fists against the door, yanking on the door knob and screaming until my voice is hoarse.
But no one comes for me.
