WHISPERS IN THE DARK

Chapter Eleven

I groaned as I glanced at the alarm clock, realizing I had woken up an hour earlier than needed. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and my heart raced as I realized I wasn’t in my room.

As I stood, a sharp pain shot through the back of my head. “What the hell happened?” I muttered, looking around. The room was small, furnished with a single bed against the far wall. A chest of drawers sat opposite, with a mirror mounted above it. There were no windows. I walked to the large steel door and tried to open it, only to find it was locked.

Pounding on the door, I yelled for someone to let me out. I heard footsteps approaching and stopping outside my door. Keys jingled before the door unlocked, and Luca walked in.

“What the hell, Luca?” I shouted, moving towards him. “I’m sorry, Callie, but it was for your own good. Why wouldn’t you just listen to me?” he said, quickly closing the door behind him.

Fury surged through me. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but this isn’t it. Let me out now!”

“I’m sorry, Callie, but I can’t do that just yet,” he said with a sheepish smile, raising his eyes to meet mine.

“What do you mean you can’t do that just yet? You can’t keep me locked in here; you have no right!” I yelled. Luca’s eyes darkened as he advanced toward me. I slowly backed away, watching his every move.

“He’s dangerous, Callie. I wasn’t there to protect you the first time, but I am now,” he growled.

“What are you talking about?” I gasped as my back hit the wall. Luca stopped inches from me, his cold eyes locking onto mine. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Frozen, I watched as he opened the door. Before leaving, he turned to me and said, “Callie, I’m sorry, but I’ll let you go when you understand that Maliki is a danger to you. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

I glared at him. “You know you’re dead when they come for me, right?” He turned to leave, grabbing the door handle. “I know, but for now, I’m keeping you safe,” he said with a sigh, closing and locking the door behind him. His footsteps echoed down the hallway.

How could he lock me in here, knowing what Callan had done to me? I hated being confined, especially in an unfamiliar place.

Sliding down the wall, I pulled my knees to my chest, a tear sliding down my face. I sobbed silently, hoping Luca would come to his senses and let me go.

**MALIKI’S POV**

I paced David’s office, waiting for news from our trackers on Callie’s whereabouts. It had been two days since the gala shootout, and Callie has vanished without a trace. The team was growing frantic, struggling to concentrate and work together.

The look she gave me before running after one of the masked men haunted me. We needed to do more, but with no leads, frustration was mounting. “Maliki, sit down. You’re making me sick with all this pacing. Callie will be fine. She can take care of herself,” Leigh tried to reassure me.

We met Leigh the night of the gala. She and Cole hit it off immediately, and during the chaos, Leigh had our backs. She, along with Naomi, Cole, and Ryan, had been scouring camera feeds all over town for the past two days, but so far, there were no clues.

Fed up with sitting around, I headed for the door. “Where are you going?” Ryan asked as I opened it. “I’m done waiting. I’m going to question the guys we kept alive from the gala again,” I grunted, slamming the door behind me.

I yanked a man’s head back by his hair, forcing him to look at me. “I won’t ask again—who are you working for?” I demanded, driving my knife into his thigh before twisting it slightly, eliciting a pained scream. “That’s not an answer,” I grunted, pulling the knife out and jamming it into his other thigh.