RUIN: Psychological Enemies-to-Lovers Thriller

“He isn’t here either.” Cain lifted my chin. My view returned to him.

I trembled. “There has to be another way, Cain. Please. . .”

He curved his lips into a wicked smile. “Did you get a good look at the room?”

“Y-yes.”

“Does it seem like I’m a man that’s out of options?”

“No.”

“Now, in your case. . .” Cain spun me to the side.

My body whipped to the left. I faced the mirror. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Does it seem like you’re a woman with options this evening?”

My heart broke. “No.”

“Good.” He twirled me around fast.

I spun and spun, twisting over and over. My view blurred to black. I caught that he moved away and was by the shelf of knives, but I couldn’t gather anything else.

I kicked my feet trying to stop the turning, but the movement made me spin more.

A beep sounded.

What was that?

Metal whined. My head went dizzy as I tried to squint through the spinning.

No. The wall is closing!

“Don’t close!” I screamed and shut my eyes. “Please, don’t close!”

Jazz music rose in the air.

Cain must’ve turned it on.

When I stopped spinning, I opened my eyes.

I’d stopped in front of the mirror.

I don’t want to see this. I can’t.

I tried to shake my shoulders to the right. I had to put my back to this mirror. I wouldn’t watch myself die. There had to be limits to the horror.

I twisted my hips and hopped on my toes.

The movement just made me turn from side to side, but I still remained in front of the mirror. “No!”

A chemical stench filled the air.

Catching my breath, I glanced over my shoulder.

Bobbing his head to the saxophone’s rhythm, Cain wiped a scalpel with a white satin or maybe it was silk. Whatever the fabric was, it cost a nice price.

Disgust twisted my stomach in knots.

You sick piece of shit! You don’t have to do this.

Cain whistled as he cleaned the scalpel. He took great care and slowly slipped the cloth along the metal.

What’s that on the fabric?

I leaned forward, catching the hint of beige crosses sewn into the material.

Is this some fucked up ritual to him?

Excepting defeat, I let out a long breath. “Okay.”

Cain looked back at me. “Okay?”

“So. . .” My chest rose and fell fast. “I have a solution.”

“You’ll give me the address?”

“No, but I can call her from a phone that you’re not tracking and—”

His cruel laughter rose in the rusted metal room. “Again, you’re talking like I don’t have options.”

“I can’t give you her address. I can’t do that to her.”

“Not even to save your life?” He put the scalpel down and picked up a brown bottle and another white satin cloth with sewn crosses. “Do you know what I think, Phoenix?”

I shivered. “What?”

He poured the contents of the bottle onto the white cloth. The liquid was clear, but I didn’t know what it was.

“I think we’re done considering your ideas.” He walked over to me. “Don’t you?”

“I disagree. I would rather we sit down in the kitchen and talk about this more.”

“But I don’t want blood to be all over my kitchen.”

A sob caught in my throat.

Cain wiped the damn cloth over my neck and bare breasts.

I sniffed the chemical scent. “What is this?”

“Alcohol.” He poured more onto the cloth and wiped down the rest of my body, smearing the liquid on every inch. “Do you know what I call this room?”

“T-torture chamber. Pain palace. Serial killer sauna.”

He paused with the cloth in the air. “Those are damn good names. They all perfectly fit the space’s theme.”

I shivered.

“No.” He wiped the wet cloth on the back of my thighs and then up over my bare ass. “I call this room, the Soul Coffin.”

“Why?”

He wiped alcohol onto my back and over my shoulders. “This is where people come to confess their most wicked crimes. This is where dark souls are released and shut away.”

“But I don’t need to confess a crime. I’m just—”

“Stubborn.” He walked around and faced me. His gaze slipped all over my naked body. “Can you feel that?”

I looked around. “Feel what?”

“The energy moving between us.”

“I can’t feel the energy. Maybe, if you uncuff me, I can feel it better.”

Closing the distance, he curved his lips into a delirious grin. “This is going to be so fucking good.”

“Y-you don’t want to do this, Cain?”

With his free hand, he gripped my waist hard. “Are you sure about that?”

I trembled in his hold. “I hope so.”

“There’s no hope here either, Phoenix.” He pulled me close to him, pressing his erection against my thigh.

Oh, God. He’s freaking turned on!

His breath brushed my skin. “When I saw you in the club, I wanted you. But it was a job, I had to remain disciplined.”

He let go and walked off.

I looked at his reflection in the mirror.

The jazz music continued to dance through the space.