smoke and mirror - anonymous

Chapter 6

Her heart sank as she was pushed against the door and flipped around to face him. "Let me go!" She yelled, attempting to thrash around in his grip. The man clenched his jaw under the mask, not being affected by her trashing. He slammed her wrists harder against the door, making her grit her teeth.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, just shut up and listen!" He yelled, his voice intimidating Dahlia. The woman stared up him, fear glossed over her hazel eyes. "It's too dangerous for you to just live with this information, not just for us, but for you as well." He sighed, loosening his grip a little.

Dahlia glanced to the side, a sense of vulnerability washing over her as she was held by the man. He noticed her discomfort and gently let her go, stepping away. "Can we at least talk somewhere, less... creepy?" She softly spoke, fiddling with a loose thread at the end of her sleeve.

Nodding, the man opened the door, his arm brushing against Dahlia slightly. He kept the cuffs on her, not wanting to risk her getting away again.

Dahlia squinted her eyes at the lighting change as the door just opened into a different room. The atmosphere was completely different, much warmer, friendlier.

There was a navy L-shaped couch in the corner of the room, on which sat two people. One was a man around the same age as everyone else, he had a slight stubble and a sharp jawline - his hair a light brunette. He was dressed in grey sweatpants and a black hoodie, his hand resting under the fabric of his pants as he watched whatever was playing on the TV. Boys are gross.

The other person was a woman of similar age, she was beautiful. Her hair was about the same length as Dahlias, however it was lighter in shade and full of curls and volume. Her complexion was a smooth brown and her nose was the kind you ask for when getting surgery.

"Yo!" The guy turned to face the pair, his eyes raking up and down Dahlia's body. "At least warn us! I would've cleaned up a bit if I had know the captive was so gorgeous." He sent a wink towards Dahlia, making her stifle a laugh - still too nervous to relax around these strangers.

"Didn't think you would be here, Dante." The masked man spoke up, glancing between the two. He gently placed his hand on the small of her back, pushing her towards an open door.

"I tried to get him to leave." The woman spoke, her voice matching the masked woman inside the room.

The man shook his head and pushed Dahlia inside the room, shutting the door behind them. "Take a seat." He gestured towards another couch. This room was similar to the other one, however had more of an offical feeling, there was a desk with a couple of computers, a cork board with all kinds of photographs and documents pinned to it.

Dahlia awkwardly sat down on the couch, watching as the man sat a few spots beside her. "Take it off." She spurted out, not thinking much about her choice of words.

The man coughed a little, clearly caught off guard by her statement. "What?" His words made Dahlia widen her eyes, "N-No, I meant the mask. Take the mask off." She spoke quickly, her nerves making the man chuckle.

"Mhm, I'm sure you meant that." He teased, leaning back into the couch, spreading his arms out over the top of the couch. Dahlia ignored the heat that spread to her face as she watched him, "Well?" She raised a brow, awaiting his response.

"Fine." He said simply, shocking her a little. She didn't think it was going to be that easy.

He gently pulled off the mask, his curls falling in front of his eyes a little as he did so.

Dahlia's eyes widened a little as she saw his face, "Holy, fucking-" She cursed under her breath, recognising him instantly.

Her eyes traveled across his face, from his hair, to the deep blue pool of his eyes. His jawline was sharp and defined, as was his nose. She felt a couple of butterflies fluttering inside her stomach. Now was not the time to get turned on.

"You're drooling." He smirked, his ego being stroked as she stared at him. Dahlia scoffed, internally panicking because she thought she was actually drooling.

"I'll take these off." He stated, reaching into his pocket, causing Dahlia to frown. What was he taking off? "Taking wha-" she shut up as he started unlocking the handcuffs. "Oh." She mumbled, ignoring his egotistical smirk.

Rubbing her bruised wrists, she winced as she felt the one that Falon stood on. "You should be thanking me." He said with a raised brow, glancing to her wrists then back to her.

Why should she thank him? He threw her in a car, had her in handcuffs for hours and did nothing to help her wrist! Dahlia raised a brow and scoffed, "Yeah, sure." She shook her head, still rubbing her wrists.

"If it weren't for me, your skull would've be crushed by a keyboard."  He retorted, running a hand through his hair. His other hand rested on his thigh.

"Oh. Well, yes." She rolled her eyes, not wanting to admit defeat. "But there was no need for the handcuffs and the violence."

He raised a brow, glancing to the cuffs on the floor, "Don't lie, you liked them." He looked back to her, his stare making her cough nervously. "N-no I didn't." She was a horrible liar.