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I wanted to tell him to stop bossing me around, but he was already tugging me behind him, ignoring anything I might have said. I felt ridiculous, tiptoeing behind him as he guided me through the house. He paused outside the door leading to his suite, then shoved it open, pushing me inside.
He backed me into a corner and held his finger to his lips as he quickly went through the rest of the suite. When he came back, he was alone.
“We need to make it downstairs,” he whispered.
I could barely see him in the dark and was about to suggest we turn on the lights, but never got that far.
“You do what I say if you want to stay alive.”
I sucked in a breath as my heart thundered in my chest. “Are you trying to scare me? Is this like before—in the car?”
“Someone is on your property. That alarm only goes off when someone enters uninvited. I need to get you to safety, and we can’t let anyone know where we are. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I thought I did. We were in danger. But that didn’t really penetrate my brain as panic took over. I blinked rapidly, trying to remain as calm as possible. I couldn’t lose it like last time. And look how that turned out. No one was really after me. Maybe it was just a raccoon or something that crossed the property line.
I made up all sorts of scenarios in my head as to why the alarms went off as Brock pulled me through the house. We crept down the stairs, sticking to the walls. I followed all his footsteps, sure that I would be fine if I just did what he did. As he led me through the kitchen, I grabbed a knife off the counter. I wasn’t sure why. I saw it and figured it might be of some use. Any protection was better than nothing.
By the time we reached the basement stairs, I was nearly in a state of total panic. But when he led me down the steps and shoved me in a corner, I about lost my mind.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to find out what’s going on.”
I gripped his pants as he started to stand and pulled him back toward me. “You can’t leave me!”
“Wren, I have no way of communicating with anyone. I need to know what’s going on.”
“So, you’re leaving me defenseless?” I screeched, unable to contain the panic any longer.
“I won’t be far. I’m only going to the top of the stairs. Lock knows about this plan. He’ll be close by. No one will get past me.”
My eyes widened in horror as he pulled away from me and climbed the stairs. I wanted to go after him, but I was too afraid to move from this spot. The shadows moved around me through the single window that brought in light. I told myself it was the trees swaying outside, casting shadows on the walls, but the alarm made it impossible to think of anything but danger.
I closed my eyes, thinking I could drown out the fear if I only took a deep breath and forced myself to be calm. But the darkness behind my eyes was just as terrifying as the shadows on the walls. And then I felt something crawling on my shoulder and the panic really set in. Slowly opening my eyes, I bit back a scream as a spider crawled along my arm. I quickly brushed it off, screaming under my breath as I jumped out of my hiding spot and raced to another corner of the room.
But in my haste to get away from the spider, I ran right through a giant cobweb, only increasing my fear. I tore at the thin threads coating my skin, swiping my knife through the air. It was irrational and totally insane, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do.
Whimpering, I ran for the stairs. I didn’t care if there was a serial killer up there. I’d take my chances and hope I survived being dragged through the forest by my hair. Nothing was worth this insanity.
I got to the top and turned the handle, but nothing happened. “No,” I whispered. Turning, I stared down the looming staircase, sure I was going to be attacked by a giant spider or a killer mouse. Why would he lock me down here? I wasn’t the type of person who could survive scary situations on my own.
I turned and slammed my fist against the door. “Brock! Let me out!”
But he didn’t answer. I screamed and shouted. I kicked the door, nearly breaking my toe. And as I stumbled back, I almost fell down the stairs. Terror clutched my chest like a vise until I could hardly breathe. Spots danced in front of my eyes as I fought to stay conscious. I wouldn’t be able to fight them off if I passed out. Everything started to sway in front of me, and just as I was about to faint, light shone through as the door and Brock appeared.
I felt his arms around me as I fell forward, and the moment I was wrapped in his arms, I let the darkness claim me.
18
BROCK
“This is not what we discussed!” Ben shouted at us. “Look at my daughter! She’s terrorized!”
I glanced at the sofa in his office where Wren was still passed out. I wanted to be by her side, but Lock was blocking my path. Rightly so. After all, she was wearing only my shirt, and I was wearing only my pants. The moment he saw me carrying her up from the basement, the scowl on his face said it all. I was done. No more close protection for her. No more sneaking into her bed at night.
Not that I really snuck.
And if that weren’t bad enough, her father looked like he was ready to kill me. With the way Lock was looking at me, he might hand me over.
