All Chapters of Secrets of the Outlaw: A Stockholm Syndrome Romance: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I tried to fight, tried to dig my heels into the ground, but the street was slick beneath my feet.I slipped, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst.I felt the van’s cold metal walls against my back before I was shoved inside.My head hit something hard, and the world spun. I tasted blood.The doors slammed shut, the sound echoing in the confined space.Darkness swallowed me, thick and complete.My body trembled, my breath coming in sharp, shallow gasps.I was lying on my side, the rough floor beneath me biting into my skin.My mind raced, every thought tangled in terror.I couldn’t make sense of it.Why was this happening?Who was doing this?My hands were still free, shaking uncontrollably as I fumbled for something—anything—around me.There was nothing.The engine roared to life, and the van jerked forward.I was thrown against the side, my shoulder slamming into the wall.Pain shot through me, but it felt distant, like I wasn’t really there.My mind floated in a fog o

I walked to the bed and sat down, my body sinking into the mattress.It was too soft, like it was swallowing me whole.I buried my face in my hands, trying to keep the panic at bay.I couldn’t stay here.I had to find a way out.But how?There was nothing.No way to escape.The fear gnawed at me, eating away at my thoughts.I thought about my life before all this—how normal everything had been.How easy.I had a good job, friends, a future.I had worked so hard to get where I was.I wasn’t from the city originally.I came here for the opportunities, for the chance to make something of myself.I had left behind a small town, an overbearing family, and a past I didn’t want to think about.I was independent, driven, ambitious.Now, none of that mattered.Now, I was just a captive in a room I didn’t understand, at the mercy of someone I couldn’t see.5THE WATCHERI watched her on the monitor, her small form hunched over on the edge of the bed, hands pressed to her face.She was trying no

The pressure built in my chest, tightening until I thought I might scream again.But I couldn’t.Screaming was useless here.I started to wonder if this was what he wanted.Whoever had taken me, they were playing with me, waiting for me to break.The silence wasn’t an accident.It was deliberate.He was watching, waiting for me to snap.I could feel it, like an invisible hand tightening around my throat.9THE WATCHERShe was unraveling beautifully.It was always the same—the silence, the isolation, it did the work for me.They could fight it for a while, hold onto some illusion of control.But it never lasted.Humans weren’t built for this kind of solitude.Anya was no different.Stronger, perhaps, more determined than some.But eventually, they all fell.I had watched her for hours, pacing the room like a caged animal.I could see the way her movements became more erratic, more desperate.The way her fingers trembled when she touched her face, wiping away the sweat and tears.Her mi

The silence was a tool, one I wielded with precision.It was more effective than pain, more suffocating than any physical torture.The lack of stimulation, the void in which she floated—it chipped away at her, bit by bit.She was still fighting, in small ways.Not eating, not sleeping when I told her to.But that would end soon enough.I knew her type—strong, independent, used to control.But they broke the hardest, and when they did, they shattered into something I could mold.I watched her, always.Not physically, of course.That wasn’t necessary yet.The camera gave me everything I needed to see—the way her body trembled when I spoke, the subtle twitch of her hands as she resisted my commands.She was cracking, and I relished every moment of it.Her background intrigued me.Anya had always been a perfectionist, driven by the need to succeed, to be the best at everything she did.It was why I chose her.That drive was what would destroy her in the end, because no matter how hard she

I watched her through the screen, her body curled up in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around her knees like she could shield herself from me.She was still resisting, in her own way, but I knew the fight was almost over.The cracks were there, spreading through her mind like a disease.Soon enough, she wouldn’t know where she ended and I began.The silence had done its job.She longed for my voice now, craved the reassurance that I was still watching her, still present.It was a subtle, psychological shift, but one that I’d seen before.It was only a matter of time before she fully accepted her new reality.I had studied her for months before the abduction.Her habits, her routines, the people she surrounded herself with.Anya had been a picture of independence—driven, focused, determined to succeed.But that drive was her weakness.She had built her life on control, on maintaining a firm grip on her own fate.I knew that taking that control away would destroy her.It always di