Shadows In Durango

Chapter 101

*****Sofia's POV*****

My eyes flutter open, but I'm met with darkness.

For a moment, I'm suspended in a state of half-consciousness, drifting somewhere between dream land and reality. The room around me is unfamiliar - and far too quiet, too still. It's not the cafe, not Emma's house...

I shift slightly, trying to push myself up when a sharp tug holds me back.

My wrists... they're stuck.

Panic begins to bloom in my chest, like icy fingers creeping up my spine. I try to move again, this time jerking my arms harder, but it's useless.

My heart starts to hammer in my chest as I twist my head, trying to make sense of my surroundings as I blink profusely.

The bed beneath me is soft, too soft. The sheets are cool against my skin, but there's something wrong. My pulse races as I finally make out the feeling binding me - it's plastic, biting and digging harshly into my skin. A cable tie. I'm tied to the bed!

A wave of nausea hits me as the panic fully sets in, my chest tightening painfully as my breath comes out in short, frantic bursts. My hands are restrained, tethered to the wooden post of the bed, and the more I struggle, the more the cable digs into my flesh.

Where the hell am I?! What is happening?!

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to calm the rising hysteria, but flashes of memory come back to me in disjointed pieces.

The dinner... the gut-wrenching betrayal of Vincent... meeting his parents... the marriage trap that had twisted so deep I could barely breathe afterwards. Then, leaving his house, leaving the cafe, walking alone in the cold towards Emma's house...

And then Ashton.

I freeze.

Oh my god.

I remember now. The car pulling up, the window rolling down, Ashton leaning out, his face lit by only the streetlight. He'd looked concerned at first, his voice soft as he asked why I was out alone. He'd insisted that I get in his car, said he was just trying to help...

I didn't want to believe that he could be trusted. I had hesitated, hadn't I? Something about him being here in town had felt off... yet, instead of running from him, I had still stood there and engaged in the conversation with him... all before I remember becoming dizzy.

I must have passed out...

And now, here I am. Tied to a bed, with my wrists bound like some kind of captive.

as fear surges

be behind

No, I didn't recognise this room. But what if he called

again, growing all the more frantic, desperate to get free and to find a way out. The plastic rubs

need to get out of here. I need

think, to focus. How did this all happen so fast? How did Ashton go

small, plain — white walls, a nightstand, a door that's slightly ajar. There's nothing distinct about it, nothing that

hold back the

my voice trembling. The sound is pathetic, barely more than a hoarse

even know why I'm

sting the back of my eyes as I pull at the restraint again, the plastic biting harder with each movement. My throat feels tight, choked with panic as I scan the room for anything — anything that could help me get out of this. I have to get out. I have to figure

louder, irritated that

despite everything he had done, I had landed myself in a far

faint but unmistakable. My heart leaps into my throat

were approaching. Seeming

that you?!" My voice cracks as I call out again, louder this time, but it's laced

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yanking so hard that the plastic digs deeper into my skin. I grit my teeth against the pain, trying to free myself,

in my voice dies the moment his face comes into view, confirming that

his expression unreadable. There's no warmth, no sign of the concern he had

He looks, insane...

trembles, panic bubbling up again

show him that I was tied, as if he wasn't already aware.

me silently for a moment, his gaze unreadable. Then, with unsettling calmness, he steps forward and shuts the door over behind him, flicking on

harsh brightness nipping me like a laser, as I take a

Sofia," he says quietly, his voice eerily soothing, as

on the words. "You took me and tied me to a bed! How the hell am I

as I speak, the dread creeping in around the edges of what was yet

like they were bleeding by this point, and my mind races

Ashton says, ignoring my struggle. "I was just trying to help. You're better off here, with me. I'm keeping you safe." His voice is measured, almost too calm

let me go-" I reiterate, reminding him that he still had me bound to the bed. He cuts me off, stepping closer, and I instinctively shrink back against the headboard. "You don't understand what's going on, Sofia. I want another chance." He states, catching me off guard as I gawk at

As in he wants me to consider being his

Is he crazy?!

After acting like this?!