Chapter 65

Eden froze. Her pulse hammered so loud she could hear it in her ears. She blinked at the darkness and forced herself to stand. Her legs trembled, but she crouched by the wall beside the door, heart pounding in her throat. Whoever opened that door, whoever had taken and drugged her, was about to walk in.

She dried her tears with the back of her wrist, inhaled sharply, and pressed her teeth together. If she had to bite, she would. She wasn’t going to die without a fight.

The door creaked open, flooding the dark with a weak light from the corridor; she couldn’t see it, but she guessed it must have been a single bulb. The room smelled of mildew and rust. Peeling paint. Dust, thick enough to choke on.

For a split second, Eden thought she might still be dreaming. But the sharp scent of disinfectant and something metallic told her otherwise.

She caught her first glimpse of him, a broad man standing in the doorway, sweat gleaming on his skin like oil.