Chapter 4: Pulse Against Skin
1531 Words
Riley's POV
The lights in the room come on and the figure of the man is drawn to me amidst a flicker of light.
For a moment, his image strikes me. Tall and feline looking, the man's eyes get me in the middle of a beautiful face. He has winged blond hair, full lips and a slightly pointed chin.
He takes a step toward me and I notice that he not only looks like a feline, but moves like one. His expression, not at all friendly, reminds me that I'm probably in a lot of trouble.
I immediately try to think, but my brain freezes in fear.
“Excuse me... Uh... I got lost." My face may look like one of a man, but my voice can barely disguise that it belongs to a girl.
The man in front of me lets out a sarcastic chuckle and takes another step. I immediately step back to get away from him.
“Yeah, right. You're a thief. I know," he replies in a hard voice.
“No! I just... I got lost. I was on my way to the kitchen and..."
“Don't lie," he immediately cuts me off. His feet move as he takes another step towards me and in the middle of it all he jumps in my direction, trying to catch me.
I'm only a little faster than him and I move out of the way, and before I'm aware of what I'm doing, I start running.
But I don't get very far. The windows are closed and it only takes me a single glance to notice that they are too thick to break just by jumping against them. And the cat-faced man is coming after me.
“Stop!" he yells at me.
I immediately turn around, without obeying, and start running. If I get to the door before him, maybe I can...
“Stop!"
But the man is fast. Too fast for me. In an instant, he tackles me and we both fall to the ground. His weight, coupled with the impact of the floor and the blow, knocks the air out of my lungs.
I start gasping for breath. He cuts off the movement of my legs and holds my wrists to prevent me from moving.
“Enough!" he shouts.
Immediately, the scene changes and two men who look like bouncers enter the room.
“Mr. Maddox!" they both shout and run towards us.
Did they just say "Maddox"? Don't tell me that...
“Wait!" I ask him.
My lips move on their own in a normal timbre of voice and he opens his eyes, looking at me in amazement.
But everything happens so fast. The bodyguards pull the man away from me and help him to his feet while holding me down. One of them mumbles something into an earpiece in his ear and I hear him say something that sounds like "intruder," "thief," and "police."
Anxiety crawls up my skin. I know that unless I do something, I'm lost.
“Theo, please!" I beg.
Immediately, the man stops. He looks at me curiously. His vivid green eyes fixed on me.
“What did you call me?"
He takes a step closer to me and undoes my ponytail, which falls against my face. He lifts my face by my chin and looks me in the eyes for a long moment.
“You're a girl," he says in a whisper.
“I can explain what I did. I swear," I beg. “Please don't call the police. I have a good reason for sneaking in. I promise..."
Theodore turns away and the guards pull me towards the exit.
“Please, my sister is in danger!" I implore him.
My face falls and tears begin to run hot down my cheeks. I hate to cry, especially in front of anyone, but at this moment I can't stop myself.
“Wait," he says.
Immediately, the guards stop. He raises a hand and they turn away from me.
“Bring the girl a glass of water," he orders them.
“But sir..." begins to say one of the bodyguards.
“Do as I say," he demands.
His voice is not strong, but it has a timbre full of authority that makes my skin crawl. They leave without a word of protest and the door closes behind me.
“Sit down," he orders.
I obey, because I know that at this point, I have no choice. I wipe my tears quickly and he holds out a hand. When I look up to see him, I notice he is holding out a handkerchief.
Are there still guys who carry handkerchiefs to give to damsels in distress? I think. It sounds a bit cliché, but I accept it.
“What's your name?" he says in the same calm, authoritative tone of voice.
I want to lie, but I know it would be pointless.
“Riley," I admit.
He sits next to me. One of his hands reaches for mine. I try to pull away, but with a quick movement, he takes my hand by my wrist. His thumb presses against the inside of my wrist.
“Tell me your name again."
His voice is low, strong. It has a slight accent that I can't identify.
“Riley," I repeat.
He nods. I immediately understand what he is doing. He's measuring my pulse to know if I'm telling the truth or not. An old trick that cops sometimes use.
Who taught him to do that?
“Why were you here, Riley?"
He looks at me and leaves his eyes fixed on mine. His eyes are green, clear and bright, with a halo of gold in the center.
Again, I think about lying, but I know it wouldn't do any good. The only thing I can do to save my skin is to gain his trust.
“I was thinking of stealing from you," I tell him honestly, without blinking and with my gaze fixed on his eyes.
He nods. My pulse doesn't quicken. He knows I'm not lying.
“And why did you want to do it?" he asks.
“I need the money."
Theo clicks his tongue.
“We all need money, but need doesn't drive everyone to steal. Better try another answer." One of his eyebrows curves in the middle of the interrogation. Nearby, I notice that his golden blond hair has reddish highlights in the light. “Why did you want to steal from me?"
There is no other way but to tell the whole truth.
“I need to save my sister."
He nods.
“Better," he affirms. His gaze lingers for a moment on my wrist, on my hands, but immediately recovers. “What's wrong with your sister?"
I feel a lump in my throat.
“I can't say it," I whisper.
He gives me an acid smile, full of pragmatism that goes up to the corner of his lips.
“You decide, Jail, or the truth."
He waits silently for my words.
I know that confessing the truth is the worse thing I can do, but if I go to jail, I won't be able to protect Hannah.
With my heart beating as hard as it can, I admit then, “We got in trouble and some dangerous people want her. If I don't get the money they're asking, they'll take her away to traffic her."
Telling the truth is worse than I imagined. It tears me up inside. It makes the air impossible to breathe.
He looks at me, but the brutality of my confession is not reflected in his gaze, although there is something in his eyes that makes me doubt.
“Couldn't the police help you?" he asks.
I laugh bitterly.
“The police are the problem, so to speak," I admit with resentment.
The guards then return to the room and Theo separates from me. He stands up and lets them approach me.
They hold out a glass of cold water to me. I take a sip and let it run down my throat. I hadn't noticed it until now, but I'm shaking.
“What do you want to do, sir?" asks one of the bodyguards.
Theo looks at me.
“Is your sister safe right now?" he asks.
I nod.
“You're coming with me," he says.
“What? Wait, no!"
I immediately stand up. But Theo does not hesitate. He starts walking towards the door.
“I'm not going with you," I affirm.
He turns and looks at me. His face is serious, his gaze dangerous.
“You have no other choice," he says lightly.
One of the guards places a hand on my shoulder and I hold my breath. Without a word, the men escort me towards the door, following Theo on his way.
I try to stay calm, to think about what I can do to get out of this.
But as we move through the dark corridors and our footsteps fade into the distance, I realize that there is nothing I can do to save myself.
At this point, everything depends on him. My very life is in his hands.
- Writer
