STOLEN || 18+ (Monsters #3)

.46. Fall

Leyla

Maybe the horror movie I had watched with Rosa was playing tricks on me.

Or maybe someone was standing on the balcony.

I held my breath, my hands grasping the sheets of the bed. It was a man, a large man, his silhouette visible just barely through the curtains.

It wasn't either of them. I knew that much. I would have recognized them if they were.

It was someone else.

Someone familiar. I just could not put my finger on who.

He slid the balcony door open and I flinched. I was covered in darkness. I knew he couldn't see that I was awake.

He walked inside the room.

He walked closer to the bed. I squeezed my eyes shut. Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. Don't hurt me.

"Leyla."

Ryder.

I sat up. He reached for the lamp, flickering it on. His beautiful face came into view. He looked just as he had the last time I saw him. Beautiful auburn curls and piercing green eyes.

"Ryder."

"I've come to get you," he whispered. "Come with me. I'll save you."

Save me? It took a moment for me to realise what he was saving me from. Valentinos.

"Come on." He took my hand, making me come off the bed. "Come on."

We walked to the balcony.

"H-"

He grabbed the branch of the tree which neared the balcony. "I'll go down first. You have to be very quiet for me."

I nodded even though this did not feel real. He was here, saving me. The problem was that I had forgotten that I needed saving. That I was captured here. I had given in to the Valentinos.

I looked at him as he went down the tree. My hands grasped the cold railings, trembling.

Your only chance.

He got on the ground. "Try to climb down a little and then I'll catch you." His voice was a whisper but was clearly audible in the quiet night. It felt as if the night itself was holding its breath.

I did as I was instructed, the touch branches of the tree digging into my skin. I whimpered as one tore the skin of my ankle and another scratched my thigh.

"Fall."

He broadened his arms, ready to catch me. I looked up at the balcony, thinking, deciding.

Fall.

Last chance.

How much do you want freedom?

Too fucking much.

I let myself fall.

. . .

"Where are all the guards?" I asked him as we walked through the iron gates. There was no usual sound of footsteps of guards circling the property or chatting.

"Busy elsewhere." He smiled at me. "Come on."

He took my hand in his and tugged me to the woods outside the mansion. We walled in the darkness with his hand in mine. I let myself relax just a little, begging my heart to slow down enough to let me hear my surroundings but I was too terrified.

"Just here."

We stopped in complete darkness.

I felt him grab me just that moment. A cloth pressed on my nose and I screamed. He cursed under his breath and smashed my head against one of the trees, making me lightheaded instantly. Spots danced in my vision.

"Two weeks," he whispered and now his voice was changed. His voice was lined with a familiar accent. "Tell them." He let go of me and I fell to the ground, my head again hitting a stone. I heard him walk away.

. . .

I heard a rhythmic beeping. I was on a comfortable bed with my head aching as if on fire. My body felt light and weak as if my every bone had hollowed.

My eyes opened. The room was covered in dim light. I was back in the room I had first been in. My body was covered in a blanket.

I looked at Fabiano and then at Giovanni. My heart sped up, intensifying the beeping which caught their attention. They were sitting on cushioned chairs, drinks in their hands.

They looked at me for a while.

Fabiano stood up and walked out, slamming the door shut.

Giovanni stood up, drinking all of his drink at once. "Ten men died. Hope you are fucking happy." His glass smashed against the wall and I almost screamed, the beeping intensifying once again. He walked out and I heard the sound of the lock being placed.

Panic gripped me. My eyes clenched shut as every part of me filled with fear.

They are not going to hurt you. They are not going to hurt you. They are not going to hurt you.

But what if the blood vow was a scam?

It can't be. Olivia said it wasn't.

But Olivia was one of them.

I covered my face with my hands, the past suddenly rattling in my mind, reminding me of just how everyone always hurt me.

'Don't freeze up, doll.'

'Your father was right. You are a great fuck.'

'Don't cry. I promise I'll be gentle.'

'Come on. Be a good girl and get out of that pretty uniform.'

Never safe.

I sobbed.

Never safe.

. . .