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11:02 A.M.
Falling.
The sensation of falling snapped her out of a drug-induced slumber a second before she hit the ground.
Pain zinged up through her knees, bound wrists, elbows, shoulders, and hips as her already bruised and battered body, limp as it fought its way out of unconsciousness, had no way of protecting itself.
Lila groaned as she rolled onto her side, immediately chilled to the boned. Only then did she realize she was actually on the ground, not the floor of the plane. When the pilot had announced that they were beginning their descent, the man from her past had produced a syringe. After running his hand over her bare skin, he had injected it, and it had been lights out for her.
Until now.
Still dressed in only her bra and panties, she was lying on what felt like hundreds of rocks. It was light, daytime, she could feel the sun on her, but it provided no warmth. Lila was chilled down to her bones, and she knew it wasn’t just because she was all but naked and outdoors in the late fall weather.
Where in the world she was she had no idea.
If Christian would find her, she didn’t know that either.
Neither could she count on it. For all intents and purposes, she was alone. If she wanted to save herself and her baby, she had to do it herself.
“Get up,” the voice from her nightmares ordered. Lila couldn’t even bear to think of him by his name. There wasn’t a single redeeming quality this man possessed, and if the rest of the world knew that Ross Duffy wasn’t who he portrayed himself to be, they would be shocked.
But no one knew. No one ever cared about the truth, only about perception.
“Would you hurry up,” the woman called out from somewhere nearby. Lila knew who she was as well. There likely wasn’t a single person alive who didn’t know either of the couple. Not that it would help her, no one would think to look for her here with them.
“Where are we?” Lila asked as she tried to push to her feet. Near naked as she was, she needed to get inside before the cold made her hypothermic. Right now, she needed to hold on to any advantage she could get, and not succumbing to the cold meant she could at least keep her wits about her.
“So, she speaks after all,” the woman sing-songed as though all of this was highly amusing. Was it possible she really was Dark Beauty?
“Switzerland,” Ross replied as his hand gently grasped her elbow and helped her to stand.
As badly as she wanted to yank herself free from his grip—his touch, even in a non-sexual manner made her feel ill—right now she wasn’t steady enough to stand unassisted let alone walk. The last thing she needed was more injuries. She knew where in Switzerland he meant, and her only hope was to make it out of the house and into the surrounding mountains. From there, she would have to pray she could make it to a town before the elements claimed her.
Her feet were cold and numb, barely feeling the rocks as he led her up the driveway. When they entered the house, the sudden warmth to her frozen skin felt like a million tiny knives stabbing into her.
The contrast of warmth on the outside and cold on the inside threw her body’s system into a meltdown. Add in the fact that she had been blown up and knocked unconscious, possibly had a concussion, and had been drugged and she began to tremble violently.
Ross shoved her through the large entry foyer and into the living room on the right. It had been a long time since she’d been here, but she knew there were six exits on the ground floor, Lila prayed she got a chance to use one of them.
As she was pushed into a chair by the fire, she did her best to still the shaking that made her feel like she was going to be shaken apart. The more she fought against it the more her body trembled. Lila clamped her jaws together and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to physically hold herself together.
“Would you like to get dressed, darling?” Ross asked, standing before her with a pair of jeans and a cashmere sweater.
The way he said darling made her shivering increase. It sent another wave of nausea rolling through her cramping stomach. When Christian called her darlin’ it made her all warm and soft inside, like her blood was heating and desire building. When Ross said it, it made her cold and scared, made her skin crawl.
It took effort to shove away the sensation and nod her head.
“Words, darling, you know I don’t like it when you’re sulky,” Ross said, his tone reprimanding and condescending, making her feel like a child and reminding her of the vast age difference between herself and the man her parents had all but sold her off to.
“Yes, please,” she replied. It grated to have to do what Ross ordered, but she wasn’t a teenage girl anymore, she was an adult, one who had been free for thirteen years now. This was a long game, not a short one. It wasn’t about being belligerent and fighting him every step of the way, it was about getting herself as strong and prepared as possible so that when it was time to act she could.
Lila reached for the clothes, but Ross moved them back, just out of her reach. The smile he gave her was both creepy and sickening, and she knew he was going to take advantage of having her here at his mercy.
Thirteen years ago, he’d had no choice but to let her go. Her threats to go to the cops with proof of her rape had bought her freedom, and she’d enjoyed thirteen years of being in control of her life.
Now she was back.
His victim once again.
