Page 6 of Eros
I scanned the cramped, rundown office for any exits besides the door that his frame blocked. His stare pinned me in place.
Dust covered everything, including the old desk that leaned because it only had three legs and the old, cracked tile floors stained brown by water dripping from the exposed ceiling pipe.
Rusted metal, stale paper, and mold saturated the air. Old green filing cabinets stood partially open, and papers scattered around the room on the floor fluttered from the draft coming through a large broken window.
Large flakes of green paint peeled from the cinderblock walls, revealing large cracks and enormous holes from missing chunks. And the single light bulb hanging from the exposed beams swung with each gust of wind streaming through the broken window, casting shadows across the room.
“There’s nowhere to go, darling.” His dark voice vibrated through my entire body. “Unless you want to take your chances from two-stories up.”
I rolled my eyes before I realized what I had done. I quickly averted my gaze back to the room.
“Where are we?” I asked even though I didn’t expect him to answer. And of course he didn’t. “If you don’t let me go, you’re going to have a real problem on your hands.”
“And why is that?”
I didn’t think it would be a good idea to let him know my real identity. More than likely, that would be a bad thing. My father didn’t have the best reputation in the state and had made plenty of enemies with the policies he wanted to get enacted. I wasn’t sure if throwing my name out there would save me or speed up my death.
“I promise I didn’t see anything.” I tried not to glare at him as he propped himself against the door with his arms folded across his chest, just staring at me. His gaze didn’t look angry, juststoic, emotionless. I hate not knowing what he thought. “Let me go.”
“Give me your camera.”
“No.”
I grabbed the camera hanging around my neck and pulled it against my chest. It was a gift from my mother, and I refused to part with it.
Even though scared out of my mind, I couldn’t let him take the most precious thing I have. My mother was the only person who supported me when I went into photography as a career. She encouraged the creative side of me instead of pushing me on the path my father believed I was destined for. To be someone’s trophy wife. To his displeasure but to the enjoyment of my mother, I had a lucrative career I loved, and this camera helped me get there.
“Did you just say no?”
His nostrils flared, and his skin darkened a deeper shade of crimson. I could tell he was used to getting his way.
I mustered all the confidence within me before I answered. He wasn’t getting this camera. Only over my dead body.
“You heard me.” I lifted my chin. “I said no.”
He stalked toward me, and my fight-or-flight instincts surged through my body, but I immediately remembered his warning.
Don’t move or try anything stupid, I’d hate to tie you up or worse.
His height and broad shoulders made him a very imposing man. He had a solid fifty pounds on me and his height advantage of a few inches amplified his presence in the room.
“This was a gift from my dead mother, and I refuse to give it to you.”
I explained quickly while trying to appeal to his humane side. If he had one.
“I didn’t see anything.”
He stopped when he reached me, and I gripped it closer to my chest. “Please, this is all I have left of her,” I continued. “I promise I didn’t take any pictures of you doing whatever you were doing.”
I was being truthful. When I saw him digging, I froze. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Questions swirled inside my head of why the hell anyone would dig there, but then common sense kicked in. Unless he was trying to get rid of something or hide something, there was no reason for him to be doing that. A body, drugs, money, something. I put two and two together, and he confirmed it when he chased me down, blindfolded me, then brought me here to this place.
Where the hell am I?
When he looked at me, his eyes softened for a moment before the emotionless mask slid back in place. “You can keep the camera, but I want the card.”
I nodded quickly. He could have the damn card even though all the pictures were automatically backed up to the Cloud. I told him the truth. I had no pictures of him.
I removed the card then handed it to him. He walked over to the table pushed against the wall and smashed it with what looked like a huge wrench.
