Keeping his bride

Selina

I WAKE UP slowly, my vision blurry as I rapidly blink away the moisture in my eyes. Once my vision begins to clear, I study the room I’m in. It’s lavish, luxuriously decorated in muted grays and purples. And the first thing that comes to mind is that I’m back in Constantine’s clutches.

I try to remember the last thing that happened, and my heart begins to pound rapidly in my chest like an angry war drum when the memories come flooding back in a rush.

Gino was assaulting me.

The man with the gray eyes was suddenly in the room.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The knife.

Gino’s neck being sliced open.

Me being covered in blood…and other gross stuff that I can’t even think about right now.

Me struggling to breathe.

And then…nothing.

Now I am here, and I have no idea exactly where here is. Did the man at the party work for Constantine? No, he couldn’t have. Constantine wouldn’t have sent a hitman after his only son. And if I’m not with Constantine but with the murderer who ultimately kidnapped me, then I might be in even bigger trouble than I was with my original captor.

Sitting up, I stare down at my right arm, which has an IV needle sticking out of it. Wincing, I pull the needle out and quickly climb out of bed. My heart beats in a weird staccato as I grab onto things to help with my balance and make my way over to one of the large windows on the other side of the room.

It’s getting dark outside, so I can’t see much. My eyes dart around, fixating on the high fence surrounding the property. Have I been here before? I search for anything that looks familiar. Constantine has many homes scattered all over the US and in other countries, and I think I have been to all of them. Perhaps I’ve been here before with him.

I try to think harder, but my brain is fuzzy and I’m having trouble focusing.

My pills. I need my pills.

I stare down at my wrists. The fact that I’m not chained or handcuffed in some way and the fact that I am dressed, albeit in a hospital gown, is all new to me. I was Constantine’s property, and he liked to remind me of that often.

The door to the room swings open suddenly, and I jump back from the window, alarmed. A young woman dressed in dark blue scrubs enters the room, and her eyes widen when she sees me.

“You’re awake,” she says, clearly surprised. Her bright blue eyes immediately shift to my arm, and I follow her gaze there. “And you pulled your IV out.” She frowns when she sees the blood dripping down my arm. “Please get back in bed. I’m going to go get some bandages and disinfectant.

I’ll be right back.”

She leaves the room, and the door is left open. When she disappears into another room down the hallway, I decide now is my chance to try to escape.

My bare feet slap against the tiled hall as I run. I don’t even think. I just run. I don’t even know if I can get out of here, but I don’t want to feel Constantine’s wrath for his son’s death. Who knows, maybe he even blames me. Knowing that sick fuck, he was just trying to get me hydrated and well again so he could torture me…and kill me. I wouldn’t put it past him. His sickness knows no bounds when it comes to me. I’ve become his outlet for his anger over the years, and I don’t want to see how much worse it can get.

My legs are weak, turning to jelly, but I force them to keep going. A grand staircase is off to my left, and I jog down the steps, gripping onto the handrail for dear life as my feet slip and my knees continuously give out. I’m dripping sweat, the moisture running down my forehead and into my eyes, and I’m completely out of breath by the time I reach the ground level. I look left and I look right, having no clue where to go…or where to hide. There’s a huge door in front of me that looks like it leads outside, but I doubt if Constantine would just let me walk right out, so I don’t even attempt it.

I decide to go to the right, my lungs screaming for oxygen and my entire chest feeling like it’s going to cave in at any given moment as my pace slows against my will. I’m struggling to breathe by the time I force my way into the next room. There’s a tightness in my chest on the right side that is almost excruciating. I need to get out of here before it gets any worse.

I hear numerous voices suddenly stop as I burst through the double doors. Inside the large room are six people, and they all turn to stare at me at the same time. I look around at their blurry, unfamiliar faces until I recognize one.

The black hair and silver eyes. Even though he was wearing a mask, I’ll never forget those eyes.

It’s him.

The killer.

The man who killed Gino and then obviously kidnapped me, doing Constantine’s bidding like the good dog that he is. I need to know why I’m here, why he took me and what Constantine has in store for me now that his only son is dead and gone.

“You,” I wheeze out accusingly. A sharp pain hits me in the chest like I was just run over by a Mack truck, and I collapse onto the floor. I try to draw air into my lungs, but I feel like I can’t catch my breath.

Black spots fill my vision until the pain becomes too great, and I finally let the darkness take over as I pass out, not knowing if I’ll ever wake again.