Obsess

Chapter 7- Taken

The chapel had never felt safe.

Not really.It was quiet, hidden beneath towering pines and forgotten by time, but silence had started to feel like another warning.I stood at one of the stained-glass windows, watching the rain fade into a pale grey morning.

"You should eat."Adrian's voice came from behind me."I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I said I'm not-"

My words stopped as he appeared beside me, setting a mug of coffee on the windowsill.He didn't argue.

Didn't force me.He simply waited.

"You worry too much."

"I've earned the right."I looked over at him.Dark circles framed his eyes. His shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows, revealing fading scars that disappeared beneath the fabric.He looked exhausted."When was the last time you slept?"

He smiled faintly."I don't remember."

"You need sleep."

"I need you alive."The words settled between us.

Before I could answer, a sharp crack echoed outside.Adrian's head snapped toward the door.

Every trace of warmth disappeared from his face.

"Stay here."

"What was that?"Another sound.

Closer.

Glass breaking.

Then...

Footsteps.

More than one pair.

Adrian crossed the room in an instant, pulling a pistol from beneath his jacket."Someone found us."

My stomach tightened.

"How?"

"I don't know."A voice drifted through the chapel.

"Come out, Adrian."

Calm.Mocking.

"We know she's inside."

Adrian cursed under his breath.

"They're early."

"They?"He looked at me.

"The people who took your memories."My pulse stumbled.

The chapel doors burst open.

Men dressed in black flooded inside.

Masks concealed their faces.

Weapons gleamed in their hands.

Adrian moved before I could think.

A deafening gunshot shattered the silence.One attacker fell.

Another ducked behind a pillar.

"Run!" Adrian shouted.

"I won't leave you!"

His eyes flashed with frustration.

"Go!"

I turned and sprinted toward the back of the chapel.Another gunshot exploded somewhere behind me.

Stone cracked.Dust filled the air.

I pushed through a narrow wooden door leading outside.Cold air slapped my face.

The forest stretched ahead.

I ran.Branches clawed at my arms.

Mud pulled at my boots.

Behind me, voices shouted.

"They're heading east!"

"Don't let her disappear!"

My lungs burned.

I didn't know where I was going.

Only that I had to keep moving.

Then...A figure stepped onto the path.

A woman.Tall.Elegant.

Perfectly dressed despite the storm.

She smiled."I'm sorry it has to happen like this."

"What?"Something struck the back of my neck.Pain exploded through my body.The world tilted.

I collapsed to my knees.My vision blurred.Hands caught me before I hit the ground.

"No..." I whispered.The woman crouched beside me.Her perfume smelled strangely familiar.

"You really don't remember me, do you?"I tried to focus on her face.

Everything swam.

She brushed damp hair away from my eyes."You'll remember soon enough."

Darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

The last thing I heard-

"No!"

Adrian.His voice.Raw.Desperate.Closer than before.Gunfire erupted again.

Someone screamed.

Strong arms tried to pull me away.

Another pair dragged me back.

The world became nothing but blurred shapes and deafening noise.

Then...

Silence.

I woke to the steady hum of an engine.My wrists weren't tied.

Which somehow frightened me more.

I lay across the back seat of a black SUV.The windows were blacked out.

The doors locked.Across from me sat the same woman.She smiled as if we were old friends."Good."

"You're awake."

I pushed myself upright.

"Who are you?"She tilted her head.

"I've had many names."

"I asked who you are."She looked almost amused."You used to call me Evelyn."The name stirred something deep inside me.A flash.Laughter.

A birthday cake.A blonde woman hugging me.Gone before I could grasp it.My head throbbed.

"You knew me.""I still do."

"What do you want?"

She leaned forward.

"You."

The single word chilled me.

Outside, the SUV sped farther down an unfamiliar road.Miles behind us...

Adrian Vale stood in the ruined chapel, surrounded by shattered glass and abandoned shell casings.

His hands were streaked with blood.

Some of it wasn't his.He stared at the tire tracks disappearing into the forest.

One of the attackers groaned on the ground nearby.Adrian grabbed the man's collar."Where did they take her?"The man laughed through broken teeth."You've already lost."

Adrian's expression turned frighteningly calm."No."

His grip tightened.

"You've just given me someone to follow."He looked toward the road.

Toward wherever they'd taken her.

"They made one mistake."The attacker smirked."And what's that?"

Adrian's eyes became cold enough to silence the smile.

"They touched what was never theirs."

Then he let go.

And began the hunt.