Chapter 2: Raelyn

The Caged Bloom

I don't remember falling asleep.

One moment I was curled on the edge of a massive bed that didn’t belong to me,my heart pounding, mind spinning with images I didn’t want to recall...

blood.

The man crumpled in the alley.

The gunshot.

The way Rafael’s hand closed over my mouth before I could scream.

The next moment, I was awake in a room too luxurious to feel safe.

My shoes were gone and my phone was missing. The windows were sealed shut. The bedroom door was open, but the hallway beyond it looked too quiet.

I slipped out of the bed, my bare feet pressing into expensive rug fibers. My breath came shallow trying to keep my calm. Every step toward the front door felt longer.

Rafael hadn’t explained anything. He’d only muttered, “You shouldn’t have seen that,” and dragged me into his tinted SUV car.

But I had seen it.

I saw him pull the trigger,I saw him kill that man.

I saw the man drop

Why?

Why did he let me live?

And why bring me here?

The door loomed closer. I turned the handle slowly and unlocked it.

My pulse stuttered. The door was open and all I could think was run... Now!

I bolted.

I managed to reach the elevator and I pressed the elevator button up three times. Come on, come on...

The doors began to open but a shadow loomed behind me. I didn’t turn fast enough when a strong arm caught me around the waist and yanked me back with so much force.

I gasped. My scream died in my throat as he spun me around and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

"Let me go!" I kicked, my fists pounding into his back.

He said nothing only turned, walking calmly back toward his penthouse.

"You can’t keep me here!" I shouted.

His growled . "You think I wanted to?"

I flinched back from the intensity of his voice,he then continued to walk to his apartment. He opened the door and slammed shut behind us.

He dropped me onto the couch like a ragdoll, and I scrambled back instantly, my hair was wild and messy,my chest was heaving due to lack of air.

His eyes those same blue eyes were now glowing with fury.

"You were supposed to stay put," he said, taking a slow step forward. " I'm not here to babysit you goddamit!"

"I’m not your prisoner." I yelled back

"The fuck you're!. You’re my problem."

The words hit harder than I expected.

"Why didn’t you just let your friend shoot me, then?"

His jaw clenched.

I pushed. "You kill a man in cold blood and then act like I’m the inconvenience? Why don't you just kill me?"

"You don’t understand the world you stepped into, girl."

"You dragged me into it! I did not choose this Rafaelle"

.

I wished I hadn’t said his name but I did. He hadn’t told me it but I heard Dante calling him yesterday.

His eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?"

I backed up slowly. "I... I heard the other guy calling you that".

He came closer to me and whispered " Don't try to run away from me, you'll regret it Raelyn. I mean it!".