He'll have to break all the rules to keep her, but first she has to break just one and let him in...
It's taken four years, but Anna Fray has finally put the past behind her. Mostly. She fills her days working in a bar and her nights watching bad ro...
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A hush settled over the world as I fell into a dark abyss. It was like those moments in a dream, when you can feel yourself falling before you jolt yourself awake.
Except, there was no moment of catapulting back to consciousness, drool sneaking from the corner of my mouth and sleep clouding my eyes. Now I was just falling.
Falling.
Falling.
That invisible chord, which usually kept me anchored to the life beyond this realm, now felt endless. Somehow, it was less of a tether and more of a tenuous lifeline held loosely around my wrist, finer than silk. Any moment I expected it to break and flutter in the endless dark like a spider's web severed by the wind.
I should be afraid, but there was something serene about the absence of everything.
This oblivion.
The tether tugged and with it I felt the sensation shift. Like the arc of a swing, or the bottom of a bungee jump, I knew I'd reached the edge of what was possible in this temporary place. To go any further would be to sever the ties I still had, to know that falling deeper would mean something permanent. Irrevocable.
I felt myself get wrenched back.
Consciousness rushed in; a ravenous beast engulfing the remaining darkness. Silence and serenity were replaced with shouts of a struggle and the roar of racing blood.
My lungs burned as I gasped and gulped for air. My throat screamed in agony as the bruised flesh worked around every frantic breath.
I didn't know how long I'd been out, but I could still feel the heat from R's hands searing a ring around my neck.
My eyes wheeled around the room, trying to orientate myself as the fog started to clear from my head. Something had stopped R.
Or someone.
That thought sharpened my senses, and with it my gaze snapped to the sight of R slumped in a chair, just like my own. A figure loomed behind him, tying his hands and feet with rapid efficiency.
I squinted in the light of the lantern, as its bright beam obscured the person from view.
I tried to call out, but the words caught in my throat. I coughed around them, wincing at the way the movement worked the tender muscles in my chest.
In a blink of an eye, Olivia crouched before me. Her golden skin was flawless, as were the gilded curls that framed her doll-like face. She was a stark contrast to the gloomy wreckage around us.
Surprise brought on another coughing fit and the remnants of rage in her green eyes softened.
Before I could speak, she flashed behind me.
Her voice was soft as she spoke into the silence. "Thank Fate, I found you in time."
The warm, soft, brushes of her touch, as her fingers worked the bindings, was heaven against the bitter cold and angry burns the ropes had left behind. Within seconds the ropes fell away under her nimble touch.
