The Devil’s Territory
1564 Words
CHAPTER TWO
Darkness lifted slowly, like a curtain being dragged away from Roxanne's eyes. Her head throbbed.
A dull ache pulsed at the back of her skull, and her throat felt painfully dry. For a moment, she didn’t move, breathe, or think. Her mind floated in a fog between sleep and reality.
Then memory crashed into her.
The party. Her mother. The shattered window. The men in black.
Her eyes flew open immediately.
She sat upright so fast the room spun violently around her. Panic slammed into her chest as she scrambled backward on the bed, her breathing coming in short, uneven bursts.
She held her head and looked around, scanning her environment. She wasn’t home.
The room looked unfamiliar…too unfamiliar.
She had been kidnapped.
Her hands weren't tied to anything, nor were her legs. But she could clearly remember being forced into the car of some men in black.
The realization hit like a physical blow.
Her hands flew to her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks. “No… no, no, no…”
Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it in her ears.
But by who?
The question terrified her more than the answer already forming in her mind.
For heaven's sake… it shouldn’t be Khalil. It can’t be him.
Her mother’s voice echoed in her memory: You don’t know what he’s capable of.
Roxanne pressed her palms against her temples, trying to steady her breathing.
“This isn’t real,” she whispered. “This isn’t happening.”
She searched around frantically for her phone but couldn't find it.
And then she recalled she had instinctively dropped it back then when her window was smashed.
“s**t!” She cursed under her breath.
Just then, the door flung open.
She gasped and jumped back, clutching the sheets to her chest.
Two men stepped inside. Both wore black suits and carried the quiet, rigid posture of trained guards.
Fear crawled up her spine.
“O–oh my God… please…” Her voice shook violently. “Please let me go. This is a mistake, please.”
Neither man responded immediately.
One of them gestured toward the door. “Come with us.”
Roxanne shook her head rapidly, tears streaming down her face. “I won’t tell anyone! I swear! Please just let me go home. My mom—she’s probably worried sick, please," she begged profusely.
But both guards were mute for a minute. Then the taller guard, Chris, spoke.
“You’ll only spite our master even more if you resist.”
Master?
The word landed like thunder in her chest.
Her stomach dropped.
“No…” she whispered.
Her knees weakened as realization slowly sank in.
She had really been kidnapped by Khalil. The man her mother had spent years hiding her from.
The man who had haunted every whispered conversation, every sudden move, every strict rule.
The man she had convinced herself would never find her.
And all it took was one night.
One night she missed curfew.
One night she broke her mother’s rules.
Now she was here, in his custody.
A sob escaped her lips as she wiped her tears with trembling hands. She had underestimated him. Underestimated how long he had been searching. How intentional he had been.
“I’ll come,” she whispered weakly, biting her lower lip.
She dragged herself out of the bed and followed them out of the room, her legs trembling beneath her.
The hallway stretched endlessly ahead of them, lined with tall paintings and dim lights. Each step echoed loudly in the silence, making her feel smaller and smaller.
Her thoughts spiraled uncontrollably.
She had heard terrible things about Khalil.
Stories whispered in fear. Rumors that painted him as ruthless, dangerous, and merciless.
Oh God.
If only she had stayed home.
What was he going to do to her?
Was this the day she would breathe her last breath?
Her chest tightened painfully.
How could she be the one paying for her father’s sins? Something she had absolutely no hand in.
Her father had abandoned them when she was only two. Left her and her mother to survive alone. For the past seventeen years of her life, she had not set her eyes on her father.
And now she was about to suffer for his mistakes?
It was absurd, cruel, and ridiculous.
The guards stopped in front of a large door, which she barely realized since she was lost in the world of her own thoughts.
One of them knocked once, and after getting the go-ahead, he pushed it open.
The scent hit her immediately.
Alcohol. Cigarettes. Something sweet and expensive lingering beneath it all.
The lights were dim, casting shadows across the room.
And then she saw him.
Roxanne nearly tripped over her own feet.
His back was turned to her, but the aura surrounding him filled the room like a storm waiting to break.
He stood near a large window, shirtless, his broad shoulders tense beneath intricate tattoos that stretched across his back. His dark hair was damp, glistening faintly under the low light.
Power radiated from him. Danger followed it.
“She is here, master.” Chris complied with a slight bow.
A minute passed without any significant response from Khalil.
And then, he raised a single finger, signaling the guards. They bowed and left without a word.
The door clicked shut.
Roxanne’s knees nearly gave out.
She couldn’t afford to be alone in the room with him.
Another minute passed, and there was no word or movement from Khalil.
This unsettled Roxanne deeply.
And finally, slowly, he turned.
Her breath caught in her throat.
His gaze was dark, piercing, and calculating.
He was tall. Intimidating. And devastatingly handsome in a way that made her hate her own eyes for noticing.
He looked exactly like the handsome devil he was rumored to be.
Silence stretched between them.
He studied her like she was something rare. Something he had spent years searching for.
Memories flashed behind his eyes, memories Roxanne could never see.
“You’ve grown,” he finally said, his voice low and smooth.
Roxanne swallowed hard; her breath wavered.
“I… I don’t know what you want from me.”
His lips curved slightly, but there was no warmth in it. He took his gaze to his metal plate, striking his cigarettes against it.
“Please… I had nothing to do with what my father did.” She added, her hands clasped together.
His expression darkened instantly.
“I know.”
The answer stunned her.
“You… know?”
“Of course.” His gaze hardened. “You were a child.”
Hope flickered in her chest.
“Okay…Then why am I here?”
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence erupted in the room.
He stepped closer.
Roxanne instinctively stepped back until her legs hit the couch behind her.
“Because,” he said softly, “you’re the only thing he ever loved.”
Her breath stopped.
“He never loved me; I don’t even know where he is!” she cried. “He abandoned us!”
Khalil’s eyes darkened further.
“I know.”
Her voice broke. “Then why me?”
He stared at her for a long moment.
And then he said quietly, “Because he’ll come back for you.”
The words shattered the air between them. Roxanne felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.
Her father… coming back?
For her? There was no way.
Her heart pounded wildly as fear clawed its way into her chest.
Khalil stepped closer again. Too close.
Close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“And when he does…”
He reached out and tilted her chin upward with his index finger.
“…I’ll finally finish what he started.”
Roxanne’s breath hitched. Her hands trembled at her sides.
“Please, I want to go home,” she whispered weakly.
Khalil let out a low chuckle.
It held no amusement.
“You are home.”
The finality in his tone made her stomach drop.
“You are the one thing that connects me to your father. The one person in this world who has his blood running through her veins.” He went closer to her again, his nose almost touching hers.
She blinked hard, trying to avoid eye contact with him.
“And I promised to ruin anything that has to do with your father or his lineage…and darling,” he cooed, his hands pushing strands of her hair behind her ears. “You are one of them.”
Roxanne's heart dropped.
“Please, please, I really don't know where my father is or anything that has to do with him, I swear." Her voice broke as tears flowed down from her eyes.
“Strip!” His voice came out very icy.
Roxanne heard a loud bang in her head. What was he saying? What did he mean by strip?
Holy crap! She was so not ready for anything.
“You have ten seconds." His voice came out hoarse this time, increasing her fears.
She could feel her head spinning rapidly; more tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Nine," Khalil counted and turned around, walking to his table.
Roxanne, with fear, sluggishly touched the tip of her shirt. Holy moly, was this really going to happen?
- Writer
