He shakes his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Noelle. I went to a lot of effort to bring you here. There’s no way I’m letting you go now.”
As he advances towards me, he pulls a gun out from beneath his shirt.
Panic claws at me. I cast a desperate glance at the hook on the wall, wondering if I can pull it off, somehow use it as a weapon. Or if he’d shoot me before I made it two steps across the room.
He tuts at me. “No, no, Noelle. That won’t work. It’s anchored into the wall. You’d have to be very strong to pull it out.” His gaze drags across my body, his eyes flaring withapproval. “And while you’re very beautiful, you don’t look particularly strong. Even if you have been carrying those heavy trays around for the last couple of months.”
Did I think I couldn’t be more scared than I was already?
Wrong.
I stammer, “How… Why…”
The stranger moves even closer, bringing with him the aroma of leather and citrus. The scent reminds me a little of the cologne my grandfather used to wear. But my grandfather was funny and patient and could make the best s’mores I’ve ever tasted. This man, on the other hand, has an air of menace about him. There’s a glint of malevolence in his eyes. And his smile reminds me of a snake poised and ready to strike.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says. “Not unless you make me. So you can stop cringing like that.” Once he’s close enough, he brushes his fingers across my cheek. “And stop crying. It’ll make your eyes all bloodshot and your face all swollen. That won’t work for the beginning of the show. You need to save the real emotion until the end.”
I’m so creeped out by his touch, it takes a second for what he said to register. “The show?”
He pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes my face, either not noticing or caring how I cringe away from him. “Stop crying, Noelle,” he repeats. “It’s going to make your voice all hoarse.” Tucking the white fabric away, he lifts my wrist to inspect it. “I fear I may have restrained you too tightly. Fortunately, the costume should cover the marks.”
My skin crawls. Instinct shouts at me to pull away from him. Run to the other corner of the room. Hide under the cot. Fling myself at the window. Anything to make him stop touching me.
His gaze follows mine to the window. Then he chuckles. “It’s double-thick plexiglass. You won’t be able to get through.”
As his thumb grazes across my skin, I shudder again.
Webb,I beg silently,please come. I need you. Please.
“I… I don’t understand,” I reply. “Why am I here… What… A show? What do you mean,the end?”
He smiles. “Noelle. I’d have thought you’d know, given your profession.” Then his smile drops. “Or I should say, yourpreviousprofession, thanks to what Ken did.”
The mention of Ken steals my breath. “Ken?” I gasp. “Do you?—”
“Know him? Or rather, knew him? Yes.”
The tremors running through my body intensify. “What… You…”
Straightening, he lifts his chin and says, “Oh. My apologies. With all the confusion, I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself. I’m Dario Accetta. It’s truly a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”
My heart sinks. Now, not only have I seen him, but I know his name. And I’ve seen enough crime procedurals to know that’s never a good sign for the victim.
On the heels of that, I hear Webb’s voice in my head, whispering,“You can use this, Noelle. Engage with him. If he wants to have a conversation, do it. The longer you drag this out, the more time we have to get to you.”
So I swallow back my panic and reply shakily, “It’s a… pleasure… to meet you, too. But… I don’t understand. Why did you kidnap me? Was it the videos? Or?—”
“No, not the videos,” Dario interrupts. “Although I must say, the few Ken showed me were quite something.” He strokes my cheek again. “You’re even more stunning in person. I can understand why he was so taken with you.”
I bite my tongue to keep from screaming at him to take his hand off me. Once I trust myself to speak, I ask, “You saw them?”
“Some.” He rocks back on his heels. “Ken and I… We didn’t see each other often. Maybe a few times a year when we’d endup at the same conference. But we started out in the industry together. It must have been… thirty years ago?” He gives me acan you believe itlook. “Anyway. It must have been ten years ago when he showed me the first video.”
Dario’s gaze moves up and down my body in a way Jaz would refer to aseye-fucking. “She wasn’t as pretty as you. None of them were. That’s why I wasn’t interested in them for my own production.”
“Your production?”
He ignores my question as he continues, “Ken knew about my little hobby. And I knew about his. So we would share the… results of our labor, sometimes. He was so pleased with his footage of you.She’s gorgeous,he told me.The best yet.And I must say, I agree.”
