Page 11 of Serpentine
My arm burns, so I use the other one to perch under a pillow. My hand is cuffed up on the very top bar of the metal headboard, and keeping it upright is taking its toll on me.
The man stands, fumbling in his pocket for something before pulling out a key. He works the key into the cuffs, and for some ungodly reason, I don’t bolt for the door.
I’m caught in his gravity, watching as he helps me lie on the bed. He cuffs me to the lowest bar on the headboard, which allows my arm reprieve.
He leans over me, pocketing the key.
I have to admit, he could be Death himself. I’d follow him to hell in an instant.
The notion causes my chest to swell with worry over my mental state.
“There, Bambi. Now you can get some sleep.”
My mouth opens to thank him, and then I think better of it. They kidnapped me, and I won’t thank him for loosening my restraints.
“Braxton! What the fuck are you doing?” a voice shouts, and I jump. I notice Braxton doesn’t. His eyes are locked on mine, and I can’t escape them.
“Just helping Bambi get more comfortable,” he admits, finally breaking our stare and standing straighter to eye the man who’d entered the room earlier.
“I told you to stay away from her. You said you understood!”
“Awe, come on, Miles. Since when have you not let your Cobras off leash for a little fun?”
Cobras?
I look between them, thankful it’s not me with whom Miles is angry. The rage on his face is the most I’ve ever seen someone show before. I live in a world of tightly veiled appearances: fake men and even faker women. You say nothing that you don’t want to be printed in the media and pretend to fit in with everyone at every function. It’s why I’ve been pulling away from the limelight. Why the Star Times recently reported there’s been no sightings of me, even with Carter on red-carpet events for charities and the company.
“You are not them, and you fucking know it!” Miles shouts and even my body quakes nervously.
But Braxton only scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to fucking hurt her.”
“And how do I know that, Brax? What happened to Cherry? Was that you behaving?”
Braxton looks at his boots. “That was different, and you know it.”
“You’d best scurry back off to your lair and stay there, Brax.”
“And what are you going to do with her?” Brax looks over at me, and my pulse speeds.
Who was Cherry, and what did he do to her?
“She’s none of your concern any longer. You know how you get. Stay away from here for the time being.”
Brax opens his mouth to argue, but Miles’s face hardens further, and he nods.
Brax looks at me. “If they decide to dispose of you, I’ll see you then. Goodnight, Bambi.”
Part of me wants to beg Braxton to stay. Tell Miles to leave him the fuck alone. While I can feel the looming danger of him, as well as I can feel a coming storm in my arm after I broke in middle school, something is lurking beneath his skin that rouses a darker side in me.
Something I didn’t know existed.
“So, you and I are going to have a little chat,” Miles says, undoing my handcuffs and sitting on the end of the bed.
When I sit up in the middle of the bed, I notice the shift in his body. He’s not afraid of me, but he’s uncomfortable.
Who are these men?
“About? If you think I have any information on my father’s enterprises, you’re wrong. I’ve tried to stay away from him as much as possible.”