𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | +𝟏𝟖

𝐕𝐈𝐈

—

I snapped my body up from the mattress, a rustled noise shuffling in the room. The air is dark and I begin to feel my heart race, thumping in my chest.

I grab the pistol from the small wooden table next to my bed, holding it up as I stay as silent as possible. Someone's here.

In a quick motion I'm pulled off the bed and a hand wrapped around my throat, pulling me against a broad and hard chest. I pulled my arm back and swung my elbow toward the figure, lodging it into, what I assumed, their eye. They groaned and their hold on my throat loosened, leaving me the ability to turn around and send my first toward their jaw. I could only see the silhouette in the darkness, leaving me to guess with my aim.

I failed to send another as a hand reached for the weapon held loosely in my own and retrieved it, making my hand feel empty. The figure wrapped their fingers around my throat once more and turned me, pinning the back of my head against their chest. My lips were agape as they struggled to pull in oxygen.

I felt the hand tighten around my throat as I brought my hands up to claw at the wrist. "Nice to see you again, sweetheart," the familiar voice leaned into my ear. Clay's partner. "You're gonna come with me this time, yeah?"

"I'm not going anywhere, asshole," I croaked out. Just as I spoke, the light flickered on. Four other men surrounded the exit as I laughed, "Needed backup? I'm not too impressed, library man."

"Griffin," I felt his breath against my ear. "And that upsets me, Valentina. I thought we were friends."

The events that had happened in the last minute slapped me across the face. He sent his men after me.

I'm gonna fucking kill him.

"What do you want, Griffin?"

"For you to come with me, Mr. Romero wants to have a little chat with you."

"Tell Mr. Romero he can shove the little chat up his ass." I heard a breathless laugh escape from one of the men guarding the door. I scanned my eyes on each one of them before they met with the tall blonde. He flickered his eyes to the floor and I grinned, "Who are you?"

His eyes snapped to mine before resting on the man stood behind me. They finally dropped to my gaze and he spoke, "Simon."

Griffin's hold on my throat grew tighter and I closed my eyes. "I have a choking kink, Griffin, be careful." I grinned, though that only made him cut off my air circulation more and pull my head against his chest roughly.

"Stop fucking around, Valentina. This won't go well for you," he said. I lifted my hand to his wrist and dug my nails into his skin with as much energy as I could. "Your head throbbing yet?" I heard the devilish grin in his voice.

"Yeah," I said, my voice strained and my head starting to hurt. I softly chuckled, "You know what else is throbbing?"

"That mouth of yours is gonna get you into trouble one day, sweetheart."