Pitch Black (Romantic Thriller, Completed)

Chapter 29

Luke turned his head slowly from side to side, his neck stiff. The pillow was soft, the mattress firm. It smelled different to normal—something floral. He cracked an eyelid open. Since when did he have a pale pink duvet? Nope, definitely not his bed. Where was he?

Sunlight spilled between the half-closed curtains, and he squinted at the brightness. Was it morning or afternoon? Luke didn't know the day of the week, let alone how he got there or even what country he'd landed up in. His mind blurred around the edges.

Through the window, buildings clad in cream stonework with grey slate roofs stood out against the blue sky. The occasional purr of a car rolling past told him he was within reach of civilisation, at least.

He tried to get up, but his head had other ideas. A wrecking ball pounded inside, doing its worst. Giddiness overcame him, the room spinning as he sank back onto the mattress, but when he closed his eyes, the events of yesterday slowly, slowly trickled into his brain. That awful walk through the woods with the bagful of money. The brief conversation with the sick bastard who took Tia. Then his memory went fuzzy again.

And no wonder. He thumped his head against the pillow in frustration then bit his tongue to save from crying out. What the...? Probing gently, he winced as he found a golf ball-sized knot on the back of his head, and when he ran a hand over his forehead, he discovered a line of stitches on his temple. What happened? Who stitched him up? This place sure didn't look like a hospital.

A vague picture of Ash floated into his head, her face in shadow, lit only by the moon flickering through leafless trees. Had she been there? In the woods? Why would she when he'd sent her away?

Thinking of Ash made his chest tighten. Partly with sadness, but mostly with anger.

He'd told her he loved her, for pity's sake—but she clearly hadn't felt the same way. What had gone so wrong? She was the first woman he'd lived with, the first woman he'd wanted in his bed night after night, and although she'd seemed reluctant to commit, he'd hoped she'd stay indefinitely. Hadn't he offered her everything? His home, his heart, even his damn credit card. What was with her attitude towards money, anyway? Even though she had none, she'd never wanted his. She'd even suggested getting a job, for crying out loud. As if he'd let her work for minimum wage when he earned a hundred times that.

Ash had genuinely cared about Tia, of that he was sure. Past girlfriends had treated his sister as an irritation to be avoided at all costs, but Ash connected with her. Tia had become a different person, a much nicer one, since they met.

But Ash had betrayed him.

Who was she, really? She admitted she'd lied, but what was the truth? Maybe, with hindsight, he'd been a little hasty in kicking her out, because now questions were eating away at him.

What did she want?

Why had she come to Lower Foxford?

Could she be working with the kidnapper? Was that why she'd been in the woods?

So many unknowns. Half-formed thoughts swam around Luke's head, but each time he tried to grab one, it disappeared into the mire.

Think. Think. Think.

Okay, got one. A question. Why was he in this room? Had he been kidnapped too?

Muscles screaming in protest, he forced himself out of bed. Hmm. Who had undressed him? He'd certainly been wearing more than boxer shorts when he left home. A pile of clothes on a chair by the window caught his attention, and he shuffled over. Mud and reddish-brown stains covered his jeans and shirt. Blood? He sniffed, and a metallic tang wafted into his nostrils. His blood? The kidnapper's? Tia's? Hell, please don't let it be Tia's.