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Chapter One

Kara stared up into the barrel of the black shotgun as it hovered before her face, her heart completely freezing before hammering wildly in her chest.

God. This was it. She was finally going to meet her end.

Oh my God. Oh my God.

Her big green eyes looked over the barrel to find a pair of dark grey ones narrowed dangerously on her.

“Vous êtes qui?” he asked in French and the sound of his voice vibrated through the silence around them, making her skin prickle strangely.

He narrowed his eyes further when she remained silent. “Who are you?” he questioned again.

Kara swallowed, staring up at the frowning man in fear. She sized him up discreetly.

God, he was huge. She’d never be able to take him alone.

“Who are you?!” He yelled this time, making Kara yelp and jerk backwards.

This man did not look like the type to have mercy and her fugitive mind began to think fast.

“I- I w-was just… I got lost in the w…”

“That’s not what I asked you,” he said coldly, giving Kara half a second to process her predicament before he lurched over her. “Oh, my Go- aaaaaaahhhhhh!” she screamed, as he yanked her off the floor and tossed her over his large shoulder.

“Put me down! You large headed imbecile! You Neanderthal!” she ranted breathlessly as her eyes began to water. Trying her best to hide her fear behind rage, Kara lifted a tightly closed fist and pounded it against the man’s back, knowing he probably couldn’t feel a thing through all the muscle, but she hit him anyway.

He began to walk out of the house with her and Kara’s heart beat so hard she became lightheaded and being carried upside down didn’t really help the anxiety she could feel creeping in.

She really didn’t know the place or the man and aided by the isolation, he wouldn’t really have had a hard time getting rid of her corpse.

“Please,” she began, trying a different tactic. “Please just let me go. You’ll never see me again, I promise.”

He ignored her and stalked determinedly out of the little house.

His boots crunched over the remains of the door as he walked out. Kara stretched her hand out, trying to grab a sharp piece of wood to stab him in the ass with, only to come up empty.

“Crap. L-look, I only wanted a sandwich, okay? I-I meant no harm. Really.”

Lord, the love of food will get me killed.

Her watering eyes ran aimlessly over the green earth as he carried her.

“God, he’s gonna kill me…he’s gonna kill me…God…” she whispered breathlessly to herself.

Soon the earth disappeared and she was looking down at a polished wooden floor. She had little time, however, to contemplate the excellent condition of the man’s floor before she went flying over his shoulder to land gracelessly on a sofa with thump.

She quickly scrambled to the corner of the sofa, pulling her knees up against her chest, not giving a damn if her boots soiled his sofa either.

Thick dark locks of hair fell over her tear streaked face as she looked up at him.

He stood there frowning down at her, his hands fists at his sides, before turning to grab a chair to sit on. Kara wasted no time, dashing off the sofa only to have all the air knocked out of her as his arm collided with her abdomen, sending her flying back onto the sofa.

“Don’t move,” he warned dangerously. Taking one look at the dark glint in his eye, she nodded.

He turned away for a second, pulling a nearby chair forward with his booted foot before sitting on it to face her paling form.

They looked at each other in silence. One pair of eyes widened in apprehension and the other narrowed in annoyance.

“What’s your name?” he questioned, his gravelly voice resonating through the dim room.

Kara’s eyes darted towards the room entrance, then at the curtained windows. Anywhere, but him.

The man’s eyes fell closed and she found herself studying the shape of his eyebrows, and the way his long dirty blond hair fell over his collar.

He breathed heavily through his nose and rubbed a hand over his full beard. She could tell he was frustrated.

“Are you deaf?” he questioned darkly. “Who are you?!”

Kara started in shock at his booming voice.

“I-I I’m I’m Celina … Celina Delores.” she lied quickly.

The man’s head tilted and his eyes narrowed even further. He knew she was lying, but he’d deal with that later.

“And just what the fuck were you doing snooping around on my property?”

She stared up at his intimidating size. His English was so perfect. Back in the slums where she was being kept, she'd hardly met anyone who spoke such perfect English. Except the girls who had come from English speaking countries like her, of course.

He raised his brows at her when she remained silent. She had to say something and she knew it. Anything to keep him from calling the cops. “Was hungry…” Kara whispered.

Might as well tell the truth, it is the perfect sob story anyway.

“Speak up!” he roared and her heart played a fast Brazilian drum beat.

“I was hungry, okay! I was looking for some food,” she stated and watched as the man’s grey eyes seem to have softened. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light.

“How old are you? Seventeen? Where are you from?” he questioned, glaring at her incredulously.

Kara didn’t respond, but the offended expression on her face told him that he’d guessed wrong.

He took in the wide emerald eyes in the somewhat thin face and her slim body and shook his head.

“You’re nothing but skin and bones.” he muttered in his quiet, dark manner.

Kara refused to answer that, feeling her ego bruise at such a description.

The man scratched his beard and gave her a suspicious look.

“Where are you from?” he asked again.

“Nowhere.” Kara responded coldly.

She’d had enough of his interrogation and just wanted to leave already.

“You gonna let me go or what?” she demanded boldly, nearly regretting it when his eyes narrow sharply beneath a dark frown.

Suddenly he was off his chair and right in her face, his hand reaching for her.

She darted to the side, trying to escape, but he proved much stronger than she actually imagined, wrapping his hand around her arm and jerking her forward.

“You seem to forget that I’m the one who found you sneaking around my damn property. I should have your ass booked, young lady.” he warned darkly.

Kara felt herself tremble for no actual reason and she scoffed to hide it.

“Ha!” she snapped, struggling out of his grasp. “If you really wanted to call cops on me, y-you would have done so long ago, so don’t try to scare me with your empty threats! I’m too hungry to deal with this, just l-let me go.”

He roughly let go off of her arm and crossed his own across the wide expanse of his chest.

“When I feel like letting you go, I will.” he said, making Kara stare at him disbelievingly.

Feeling the strength leave her, she collapsed against the sofa with a groan, wishing the property owner really had been a wrinkled old prune.

Anything but this annoyingly intimidating man.

Lord, get me out of this.

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