And when the shadow casted across their features moves, it’s enough to brighten the sinister tilt of their lips. Everything I felt before this is nothing compared to the fear their gaze injects into my veins.
TWELVE | TARYN
My fingers ache, but I zone in on the intense feeling of determination bubbling under my skin.
Determination to get out of this house undetected.
Determination to get Rossco and sprint through those trees as fast as my legs can carry me.
Determination to reach the property line.
I pause, picking at the lock.A deal is a deal.
They told me to give them consent to use whatever means they find necessary if they find me. Fear crawls over my skin, feeling like the legs of a thousand spiders tapping against me. But the twinge of excitement that accelerates my breathing is what worries me.
If it weren’t for two hot twins threatening me and keeping me hostage, I’d probably vomit thinking of all the things they could do to me. But the disciplinary methods that flash through my head when I picture them…Yeah, I shouldn’t want to explore that. Not even a little.
But the way their mouths moved mesmerized me. The way the cords in their arms popped, and muscles tightened, encouraged a faint throb in my core that still lingers. Even just asimple glance from those pairs of sage green eyes made me feel like they were the snakes slithering through the moss to capture their prey. And I happen to be the target.
I was so entranced by Cameron and Brennan earlier that my head inadvertently nodded before I could thoroughly think straight. Because I wondered what it would be like to be captured by them.
Handled by them.
If the words that emerge from their mouths are so hypnotizing, imagine what their bodies could do to mine.
I shake my head at myself.Focus, Taryn.
My hands move frantically, working the thin piece of long metal through the tiny hole in the doorknob at the base of the stairs.
My pulse jumps unexpectedly. Leaving the wire in place, I flatten my palms on the door and press my ear against the cool surface. Hearing them coming could save me from a very unpleasant interaction if they’re up.
Nobody came to check on me after Jessica left. After she disappeared down those steps, I felt a strong wave of guilt settle over me when I contemplated how rude I had been to her. She tried to be nice, but that doesn’t change the facts.
Since then, I’ve been tearing apart the lampshade, which is lying in pieces on the floor next to the bed. I paced the room and listened intently, trying to hear and sense any vibrations or noises that drifted through the house. For the last hour, it’s been dead. Fortunately, the rain has ceased, allowing other sounds to come through clearly, making me fully alert.
A light layer of sticky moisture rests on my skin as my hands return to the doorknob, getting back to work. The scrapes on my fingers from snapping wire into something good enough to pick the lock sting with every move I make.
Come on! This has to work.
Changing the angle, I purse my lips and jiggle it a little more when, finally, a click has my adrenaline bursting.
Closing my eyes, I huff out a breath in relief. Yes.
Bending over, I make sure my shoes are tied, thankful they left them near my bed. Then, slowly, I twist the doorknob and step out silently into the dark hallway.
I have no idea where my phone is, and I have no flashlight, but luckily, little outlet lights are spread out along the base of the hallway, guiding me. Three more closed doors are on this floor, but my eyes are zeroing in on the staircase at the other end of the hallway.
Step by step, one foot is deliberately placed in front of the other. My breath is held in my lungs as if it will make all my other movements lighter.
Please don’t creak. Please don’t creak.
Just as I make it to the top of the stairs, the wood floorboards whine under my weight, and I freeze, waiting to hear footsteps or something, but I don’t.
Taking the stairs, I make my way down one flight. Turning around the corner to the second, my feet pad quietly but quickly down the next set of stairs and another. Shit, this house is massive. I don’t pay any attention to the interior, small elements that I pass, or Victorian décor because once I escape, I’m gone.
My next priority is leaving Cedar Creek. After storming out of that job interview, there’s nothing to keep me here.
Nobody will force me to stay here.
