“Get up before I change my mind,” he snaps, walking away from me. For a moment, I’m not sure if I can make myself get up. My whole body is shaking, and my legs feel like jelly. I’m terrified, and the last thing I want to do is get up and walk over to him like a puppy, but I know he means what he says.
Only when I realize Xander is almost at the end of the hallway do my limbs spring into action, giving me enough strength to get to a standing position. He stops to wait for me but doesn’t say anything. I half jog over to him and only when I’m right next to him does he continue walking forward, each step full of purpose.
“Don’t talk to me unless I speak to you. Don’t talk to anyone else at all. Don’t even look at anyone. Just keep your mouth shut and your eyes on the floor. Do exactly what I tell you to or I promise you, you will pay dearly.”
A shudder runs through my spine at the coldness of his words. I keep my eyes trained to the floor as we walk through the house and out the front door. I take in a deep breath as soon as we are outside, realizing that I haven’t had a breath of fresh air in days, but it feels more like weeks. And suddenly, I realize I don’t even know what day it is.
We walk down a set of stairs, and up to a limousine where one of the guards is already holding open the door for us. Xander gets in without looking at me and I follow closely behind him. The door closes, leaving Xander and me in the small confined space alone.
The tension between us is thick, stifling even, making it hard enough to breathe. I’m scared to even look at him right now, but I still don’t dare to sneak a peek at him. Of course, he is looking at me, I can feel his heated gaze on my skin. Clearly, he is still mad, and I’m confused. I haven’t really done anything.
Instead of saying something to me, he gets his phone out of his pocket and moves his fingers over the screen swiftly. Then he puts it to his ear.
“Is the plane ready?”
Plane? Where exactly are we going that we need to take a plane?
“Great… we will be there momentarily. I want to be in the air within the next hour.” I gulp and shift uncomfortably. I hate flying. More than hate. I’m freaking terrified of it. I watch as he hangs up the phone and then types out something. I lift my gaze slightly and wonder if he feels bad for treating me the way he did.
“I…” I start to apologize, but when I meet Xander’s eyes, I clam up. His eyes are murderous, and the grip he has on his phone is hard.
“If you were half as smart as you act, you’d shut your fucking mouth right now. I’m barely holding on to my temper, and I can promise you, it’s not something you want to test.”
A profound pain radiates through my chest. I swallow my apology down, deciding that he doesn’t deserve it. I don’t move or say a single thing for the rest of the drive. When the car stops and the door opens, Xander gets out, and I follow behind him, even though I don’t want to. As soon as my feet hit the hard ground, he’s on me.
“If you run from me at any point in time, I will put a bullet in you. Got it?”
I nod my head profusely, and he backs up. I don’t believe he’ll shoot me if I run, but I do know he’ll hurt me. I watch him walk up the small metal staircase to the plane, and I have to force my legs to walk up behind him. My hand grips onto the rail so tightly my knuckles turn white.
When I finally make it to the top, I’m dizzy and I feel like throwing up already. I take a few steps into the plane before I look up. I expect Xander to glare at me and yell for me to hurry up. Instead, I see Keira jumping up from one of the huge leather seats. She heads straight for me with a wide smile on her face, and I just stand there motionlessly.
She slams into me and wraps her arms around me, pulling me in for a big hug like we are old friends who haven’t seen each other in years. Even though I’ve only met this girl once and exchanged a few words with her, I already like her. I like her kindness and right now, I like her hug. The sweet gesture warms my heart and makes me feel a little less scared.