Under her spell ~ (Book 1 ~ wicked desires series)

When a stranger calls

Kala

The last few weeks with Ryker had been perfect, not at all how I’d imagined it, I imagined he would have me chained up as his personal s*x slave not that I’d have complained at that, but it was nothing like that, he looked after me, he actually listened to me, we ate, we f****d and at the end of the day I would find myself safely in his arms till morning, finally I was happy, finally I had everything I ever wanted, finally I felt safe, until one Monday morning in late September, over breakfast my safe and happy disposition came crashing down around me and once again I could feel the walls closing in around my little piece of paradise, well paradise isn’t supposed to be forever.

“Kala I’m going to drop you off at your apartment today”

“Why?”

“You made me a promise”

“I did?”

“Yes, little one, you promised to stay with me”

“Have I not been doing that?”

“You have but it’s not official until you pack”

“Do I have to do that today?”

“Afraid so little one, I have some paperwork to do at the office”

“Why don’t you work from home like I’ve been doing”

“My paperwork is at the office” he smiled.

“I won’t be long, then I will join you and Skye”

“Skye will be there?”

“She will be right upstairs, I think she has a client, but she insisted she helped you after he leaves, is that okay”

“Yes”

But it wasn’t okay, it wasn’t okay at all, he had sprung this on me from out of nowhere and the fear I’d been hiding from was now back, I would be there alone, I didn’t want to be alone, not now, not ever, I’d like to say my fear of loneliness stemmed from my childhood, but it didn’t, it was the stranger in the dark who I could not see, it was the hidden threat I’d yet to meet.

The morning flew fast like a whirlwind, I felt like I was a ghost levitating outside of my body, I was there but I was also not there, I didn’t know what to expect when I got there but as Ryker pulled the car up outside my apartment, I felt nothing, I felt numb, it was eerily quiet, too quiet for this time of day, that or I was allowing my thoughts to run away with me, I felt the anxiety course through me as soon as we arrived, something felt off I just didn’t know what, even as Ryker leaned in and kissed me it was bittersweet, I couldn’t relax into his touch like I had so many times before, I watched as he sped off.

There goes paradise I thought.

Climbing the stairs, I looked around as the chills ran up my back, I looked behind me, to the side and in front until I was stood in front of my door but there was nothing out of place, no monsters lurking in the shadows, nothing.

I don’t know why I couldn’t step foot in my own apartment, this was ridiculous, there was no threat here, at least I didn’t think there was, it was deathly silent, so why couldn’t I enter? 

I contemplated running up the stairs and waiting for Skye, but I didn’t want to bump into her client or explain why I couldn’t go into my own apartment alone, she would have questions, questions I couldn’t answer, I should have just been honest with Ryker when I had the chance, but I had chickened out at the last moment and now I was stood here like a crazy person staring at my own door.

“Just go in” I willed myself, sometimes I had to give myself a pep talk and this was definitely one of those times, I slowly unlocked the door and turned the door knob, peering inside from the hallway, I looked around the room but it was just as I had left it, no monsters lurking, nothing moved, not even a new note, everything was just as I had left it, I sighed at the realisation that I was safe, I shook my head at my neurotic thoughts.

Walking in and closing the door behind me, I collapsed against the door, regulating my breathing from the anxiety I had caused myself, looking around I huffed, this was going to take forever, when did I accumulate so much s**t, at least Skye would be here soon to help then I could go back to paradise.

The last hour I had spent arranging my things in boxes and bags, it felt more real to pack it up, I could barely believe I was doing this, but I was taking a leap of faith with Ryker, maybe it wouldn’t last forever but until forever I would enjoy every moment with him, I missed him already which was a strange feeling considering I’d only just seen him an hour ago, he completed me and made me feel whole.

I worked fast packing the boxes mainly because I still couldn’t shake the unease from my body, there was a knot in the pit of my stomach and I felt wary of been here alone, cold shivers ran up my spine as I hugged my jacket around myself, out of my peripheral vision I saw movement, I froze never once taking my eyes from that spot.

Slowly getting up I’d had about enough of been here alone, it was creepy and eerie, I didn’t want to spend another second in this place, once I called this place home, now it just made me feel like the worst place on earth.

“Kala” an unknown voice called out to me.

Shit wasn’t crazy after all, I half wished I was crazy, half wished it was in my head, but I’d had a bad feeling since Ryker had told me his plan, I knew he wanted me to do this for reassurance for himself, maybe he still expected me to run, little did he know his reassurance plan would put me in danger, I froze not daring to turn around and face my tormentor.

“Kala” the unknown voice called out once more.

Slowly I turned, this was it, this was what I had been afraid of, this was the moment I would see, the evil that lurked in the shadows, the threat I had been running from, slowly I raised my eyes to see the dark hooded figure standing before me.

No, it couldn’t be.

But how?

Why?

“You” I shakily managed to speak.

With a slimy grin that turned my blood cold, that was the last thing I saw, something hard came crashing down across my head, holding my throbbing head, that spun, trickles of blood dripped to the floor. Floor? When had I fallen? My vision was distorted, with a loud buzzing in my head, my eyes slowly gave up on me and the blanket of blackness covered me in the dark abyss.