Page 86 of While She Sleeps

I promised I wouldn’t run, so why is he bothering with this bullshit? Surely, he could just lock the elevator so I couldn’t get away.

But maybe he knows me well enough to know I’d escape even that. It would have to have a failsafe in the event of an emergency, and it wouldn’t be hard to set off some smoke detectors throughout the penthouse until the fire escape unlocks.

I sigh. Damn it. That would have been a fun escape plan to enact.

But alas, it’s not an option while I’m chained up like a dog.

Asshole.

Once I’ve done my business and my bladder isn’t so mad at me, I head back into the bedroom, testing the chain to see how far I can reach. If I can find something to pick the lock with, I could be out of this in just a few seconds.

There were no hairpins in the bathroom, but there’s a closet on either side of the bed, and a fancy place like this probably has a dressing area in at least one.

The first one I tug open is filled with suits, but the chain stops me from getting anywhere near the end of the space where I can see Orion’s cuff links sitting on top of a dresser.

Fuck.

Panic begins to etch itself into my chest, but I need to keep moving. I’ve never claimed to be very good at spotting red flags,but chaining someone to your bed so they can’t get away is so obvious even I can’t miss it.

The doors to the other closet swing open, and I stop dead in my tracks as my eyes move over racks of women’s clothing.

Panic bleeds into anger until something catches my eye.

A note pinned to the set of drawers by the door.

I snatch it up, my heart pounding in my chest as I read over the words.

Little Flame,

Just in case you find this closet before I can show it to you, these are all the things I’ve bought for you. If you need proof of that, I’m sure the fact that everything, including the shoes, is your size.

There are also some monogrammed pajamas in the bottom drawer below.

Don’t doubt my devotion to you, Ember.

Yours, Orion.

Okay, I actually can’t tell if this is more or less of a red flag than the chains.

Because there are hundreds of items in here, and that’s not including the drawers and whatever is around the corner at the end of the shelves.

To buy this much stuff, he must have been shopping for me for weeks, if not months.

“He probably has an assistant who does that kind of thing for him,” I murmur the explanation to myself. That would make sense. Because I’ve only known him a few weeks, so it’s not reasonable to think he could have been buying me clothes for all that time.

Right?

Jesus. This is a lot to take in first thing in the morning. Especially without any caffeine.

I swallow heavily and back out of the closet, allowing the door to swing shut behind me. Maybe once I’ve been unchained I can investigate more, but right now I can only take one batshit crazy thing at a time.

I bite down on my lip, checking the room for any other notes before my eyes settle on my phone on the bedside table.

That’s something, I guess.

Snatching it up, I bring up his number and hit dial.

“Little Flame,” Orion answers on the second ring.

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