Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

“Yes. I know it’s early. You don’t have to come with me. Or I can just lie down on the couch for now.”

“It’s fine. We’ll go.” Picking up the glass of water, he chugs the last bit and gets up. Shutting his laptop, he grabs it and heads for the stairs. I follow close behind, feeling both grateful and nervous about another day coming to an end.

“Wait here,” Markus orders when we reach the bedroom door.

I stop in my tracks and watch him curiously.

Markus continues walking down the hall and opens a door. He disappears inside what I’ve assumed was another bedroom until now. When he reappears, the laptop he was carrying is gone.

“What’s that room?” I ask before I can stop myself. To my surprise, he actually answers me.

“My office.”

I nod and follow him to the bed. We both strip down to our underwear. I stopped wearing pajamas a few days ago at Markus’s request, or should I say order. Either way, I don’t mind since I prefer sleeping naked, anyway.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I hold out my hands for him to tie them together, but he stuns me yet again when he shakes his head.

“Just lie down. Your wrists and ankles are red. I’ll give you a break tonight.”

I stare down at my wrists in shock. Yes, my skin has been angry and red looking lately, but I’m still not convinced that this is the only reason. Is he testing me?

“Okay.”

We both crawl into bed and under the blanket. As we assume our normal positions, my mind is reeling. I can’t figure out if this is a test or if he is starting to trust me. His arm snakes around my body, and I bury my face into his chest.

I let his words run through my mind again… I’ll give you a break tonight. Does that mean he’ll tie me up again tomorrow? If so, that means tonight will be my only chance to try to find a phone. Maybe there is one in the office.

Just one quick call. That’s all I need.

Closing my eyes, I try to even out my breathing without actually falling asleep, and then I wait. I wait for what feels like two hours until my eyes start to droop, and I can’t keep myself awake any longer. Only then, when I am certain Markus is asleep, his breathing evening and his body unmoving, do I move. Slowly… so very, very slowly, I scoot away from him.

With every inch I put between us, my heart slams against my ribcage faster and faster. I’m so scared, terrified of what may happen, what he will do to me if he discovers I’m no longer beside him in the bed.

Everything inside me says to stop, to lie back down, and cuddle back into his chest, but I can’t. I have to do this. I have to take this chance. I’ve already taken long enough, another day without letting them know I’m still here and alive.

When I’m finally out of bed, I feel cold, and it’s not just the loss of body heat. It’s not the fact that I’m standing here in nothing but my panties, my bare feet on the cool wood.

It’s knowing that if he catches me, whatever we had developing between us will be gone.

That kind of coldness is much worse than the physical one. It’s the kind of cold that you feel in your bones and deep in your gut. The kind that you know can freeze your soul to death.

Forcing my feet to move toward the door, every step feels like a step toward death. The door creaks a tiny bit as I open it, and of course, it sounds like a marching band in my head. I stop for a minute, making sure the sound doesn’t wake him.

When the room remains silent, and Markus’s large body unmoving, I continue.

I step out of the room, tiptoe down the hallway, and come to a halt in front of the office door. Reaching for the doorknob, I wrap my fingers around it and turn. The door pushes open with ease, but my stomach is in knots.

Panic builds, gripping me by the throat. In this instance, I cannot think about the consequences if Markus were to catch me.

I need to do this. I need to make that call.

I will never forgive myself if I don’t.18MarkusFallon has been acting off all day, and I can almost guarantee she is up to something. I caught her glancing at the office door like it holds the holy grail inside. She doesn’t think I saw her, but I did. I caught the slight flicker of interest in her eyes.

I knew she was going to try. I knew it the moment I let her crawl into bed without tying her up. And still, as I feel her inching away from me slowly and slipping out of the bed, disappointment settles deep into my bones.