Page 84 of Relentless Sinner
Apart from my phone and purse, the only thing I have is my diary with Natasha’s note. That’s all I brought. I left everything else behind.
It’s funny how we give sentimental value to certain things but they become mere objects when we’re in survival mode.
I reach the entrance to the loading bay and scan my staff pass. The door opens and I walk into the storage room. It’s filled with large boxes and crates.
This room always has a creepy vibe that spikes my nerves because there’s less staff at this time of the day. It’s mostly dark until someone walks by and the automatic lights pop on.
Although the storage room is on a level surface it feels like going underground because the pathway goes down a slope like on a multistory parking complex. It’s just not as big.
I note that there’s actually no one around. That’s a first for me. Burt and one of the assistant operatives are usually here at this hour for the night shift.
It doesn’t matter. Being alone makes it so much better for me. It means I can hopefully slip away unnoticed.
When the guards come looking for me there’ll be no one to ask questions. By the time they pull the security footage I’ll be long gone and as only certain areas of the loading bay dock are under surveillance—that I’m not going to—they’ll never see me.
God, this just might work.
The thought pulls a bittersweet stirring in my heart. Yes, I want my freedom—of course, I do. But Jaxon…
No, don’t think about him.
I mustn’t.
Pushing him from my mind, I follow the path down until I reach the area where I’m supposed to head out to the trucks.
I’m nearly there when I spot a man lying on the floor in the corner.
My heart leaps in my throat then stops beating altogether when I realize the man is Burt.
The shock of seeing him stops me, but then my mind snaps back into focus and I rush toward him. I check his pulse, find one, but notice his breathing is very shallow. There’s also a small prick on his neck like a bite or as if made by a needle.
I look around and my soul freezes when I spot two assistant operatives slumped together against the wall.
At that moment I realize with utter horror that something is going on and I don’t have to wonder if that something has anything to do with me.
“They’re not dead, just sleeping,” comes a cold, menacing voice from behind me. A voice I’ve grown used to asleep, awake and in between. I just never thought I’d hear that voice again. Especially when the owner is supposed to be enroute to Italy.
Slowly and fearfully I turn my head and find Jaxon standing across from me leaning against one of the crates.
The terror of seeing him and realizing the reason he’s here turns the breath in my lungs to rocks, and my insides twist as if steel rods are wrapped around them.
Oh God in Heaven. He knew what was going on.
He knew all along.
I’m a fool for thinking I could have pulled this off unnoticed and that everything was going smoothly. It wasn’t. The guards weren’t easygoing with me; they weretoldto let me believe I had the upper hand. I want to be mad but I can’t be. There’s so much more to worry about than being mad becauseheplayed me.
On shaking legs I stand and stare at him. Our eyes lock and I try to search for the man he was over the last few days but can’t find him anywhere. The look in his eyes is as stony as a marble statue that can never be brought to life.
“Not sure if you’d believe that the Beast didn’t hurt them because he didn’t want you to have their blood on your hands.” He gestures to Burt and the guys.
“What did you do to them?” I stutter, my voice as faint and light as the air between us.
“Tranquilizers. They’ll be out for a few hours, then they won’t know what the hell happened because I will have wiped the footage. The echoes of this conversation you and I have willmake us seem like ghosts passing through the walls.” He smiles. It’s not one of his human smiles. It’s the other kind. The one you know you should run from because it means danger. And death.
He steps forward and I step backward, trying to breathe past the rocks in my lungs.
“So, tell me, when you got to Isla del Ciervo did you really think I wouldn’t find you?”