Page 36 of Death

“A hundred and fifty-nine people live here.” He comes to stand slightly to my side, his eyes locking on my face. “They’ve all suffered some kind of trauma. We have group sessions on the premises, and I think you should consider attending one.”

With my eyes still locked on all the houses, I whisper, “Group sessions?”

“It’s a session where you can talk to women who’ve been through something similar to you. Maybe it will help if you open up a little.”

I wrap my arms around my middle and turn my head away from Santiago, only for my gaze to land on a beautiful villa. From where I’m standing, I can see a pool, a veranda, and lots of plants.

“That’s my home,” Santiago murmurs. “Come.”

He begins to walk toward the villa, and I follow him down the hill.

When we walk past the pool, I see lounge chairs. There are also comfortable-looking armchairs and wrought iron tables.

Movement catches my eyes, and the instant I see another man, panic and terror rip through my chest. I swing around and run away as fast as I can, but the next second, the ground disappears beneath my feet, and I’m engulfed by cold water as I fall into the pool.

I begin to kick my legs, but then an arm wraps around me, and my body is hauled to the surface. I gasp for air as my vision focuses on Santiago’s face, which is mere inches from mine.

I jerk back, and I’m surprised when he lets me swim to the shallow end. I hear Santiago behind me as I step onto the dry outdoor tiles.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I shiver as I turn around. Santiago comes toward me, his clothes plastered to his muscled body.

Once again, it sinks in that he’s the complete opposite of Nolan. Santiago looks very strong, which tells me he can hurt me so much more than Nolan did.

I cower, ducking my head low, as I wait for him to lash out at me. But he doesn’t. Instead, he just walks past me, saying, “Let’s get out of our wet clothes.”

I hesitate, and my eyes dart to where I saw the other man, but there’s no one there now.

Santiago stops between two pillars where there’s an entrance to the villa and watches me.

I turn my head and look at all the small houses in the village, and it’s only then that I realize I’m not chained because there are so many people to keep an eye on me.

I’ll never escape this place.

Knowing I have no other choice, I hold myself tighter as I walk to where Santiago is waiting and follow him into the villa. I keep glancing around, taking in the extravagant décor. There are statues of women and plants in the wide hallway, and when I look over my shoulder, I see a living room with leather couches.

As we head farther down the hallway, we pass a number of shut doors before heading up a beautiful, cream marble staircase.

Even though Santiago’s home is beautiful and vastly different from the house Nolan kept me in, I don’t let down my guard for a single second.

When we reach the landing at the top, my eyes lock on a beautiful wooden trunk. It looks nothing like the one at Nolan’s house, and I stop to stare at it. Where Nolan’s was made of dark wood, this one is caramel with patterns carved into it.

“Do you like it?” Santiago asks.

I tear my gaze away from the trunk and look down the the gleaming tiles, noticing the puddle of water that’s formed around my feet.

When I don’t answer his question, he just continues to walk, and I follow him, my shoes squeaking loudly.

I’m taken into a bedroom, and I lose my ability to breathe when I see the big bed with white silk covers, a white dressing table with a high-back chair, plants on either side of a window seat, and French doors that open out onto a balcony.

The luxury reminds me of home, and a lump forms in my throat. I haven’t thought about Dad in a really long time, and I try not to think of Grace, because it hurts too much.

Even if Santiago allowed me to contact her, I never memorized her new phone number and wouldn’t know how to get in touch with her.

“Don’t you like the room?” Santiago asks.

I swallow hard before whispering, “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours.”

---