The train screeched to a stop, the sudden jolt making my stomach flip. James grabbed my hand, guiding me up the narrow stairs and out onto the street.
We crossed a few roads, the city lights casting long shadows across the asphalt, until we finally came to a halt in front of a building that looked… almost normal. It was clean, well-kept, nothing like the chaos we had left behind, but a quiet tension lingered in the air, making my chest tighten.
James paused in front of the entrance, his hand still holding mine. "This is it," he said quietly. "For now."
I always thought my life was boring. There was never a moment that brought excitement or fear, and it made me believe I was just an unlucky person living an unlucky life—up until today.
Now, I found myself in my kidnapper's apartment. The place looked like it belonged in a magazine, and it stunned me how clean he kept it. Most men might dress neatly, but I would have expected his apartment to be a mess.
I figured I should try to get some rest. As I made a turn toward the couch, I accidentally bumped into James with a hard thud. I tumbled backward, dragging him down with me, thinking he might break my fall.
Now I was lying on the floor, with him on top of me—for the second time today.
His weight pinned me down, his breath warm against my cheek. And for the first time, I really saw him up close. His hazel-green eyes weren't just a color—they were alive, glinting with something unreadable in the low light. His matte-black hair fell slightly forward, brushing my forehead as if taunting me. I noticed something I'd never seen before: one of his front teeth overlapped the other just a little, a tiny imperfection in an otherwise maddeningly perfect face.
I couldn't look away. Every line of his jaw was sharp, every angle of his face carved like it belonged in some kind of glossy magazine. But there was something raw there too—something that made me feel exposed.
"You're crushing my spleen," I whimpered, aching under the weight of his body.
He stared down at me with amusement, and then started laughing. I didn't know what was so funny, but if me falling could make him laugh, I guessed I should fall more often.
"You don't even know what your spleen is," he rumbled through his laughter, making me feel like a complete fool. In reality, I really didn't know what my spleen was—I'd just said it to break the awkwardness.
He didn't move off me. He didn't even say a word. He just stared into my eyes with an expression I couldn't figure out. The way he was looking at me made me uncomfortable. I tried turning my head, but he held my face in place with his right hand, forcing me to look up at him.
"Can you get off me now?" I whispered so softly I wasn't even sure he could hear me.
"You know… just last week I wished to have you close to me as I watched you work," he blurted out without hesitation. But the moment the words left his mouth, he realized what he'd said, regretted it, and quickly stood up. I didn't understand why he had wanted me that close—or why he would never speak of it again.
Later, I found myself staring out the wide window in James's apartment. Everything was so quiet here, so much more peaceful than where I had been just a few weeks ago. James apparently had some work to do and left me alone to wallow by myself.
Seriously… what was I supposed to do alone in this huge apartment? I could go for a swim downstairs—but I didn't have any spare clothes.
I sank onto the couch, still shaken from the train ride, the fight, and the close calls with Mitch's men. Even in this "safe" place, the fear lingered. And yet… for the first time in a long while, I felt a strange mix of relief and something else—something I wasn't ready to name—just being near James.