Serena POV

Turns out Clayton was just a big liar.

His room appeared dark and mysterious but held no malintent.

No chains, no cages, no dead bodies.

Just a large king-sized bed with black sheets made perfectly across the bed.

The bed itself was pushed against the wall to the left.

Across the room is a large frame window. My feet seem to draw me closer before I knew I was moving.

It was dark outside. Nothing but trees for miles. It sends a shiver up my spine...

Hands touch my hips, causing me to jump at the sudden sensation.

I rest my head back on the hard chest as his face snuggled into the crook of my neck.

My eyes look over to the black tiled walls that seemed glossy. My eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"What's in there?" I ask, interrupting his soft kisses on my neck. His eyes follow mine over to the wall of sleek black from the floor to the ceiling. There were no signs of a door, but why else would it be different from the other walls?

A smile parts his lips as he slowly grabs my hand and starts to lead me over to the bed. His lips land on mine slowly at first before they became thirstier as if he needed me to breathe. Needed me to survive. Needed me to live.

He lightly pushes me back against the soft, plump bed until he is hovering over me. Our eyes connect as I look up at him in curiosity.

"What is it, la mia piccolo moglie?" He asks and my eyebrow shoots up. His accent made whatever he said dark and heavy with lust but the words were unfamiliar to me.

I stare up at him before my eyes drift back to the weird textured wall. I hear him release a sigh before he gets off me in one quick move.

I sit up at the edge of the bed with curiosity as he moved to the wall. I watch as his hand lightly presses in the middle of the wall and the door begins to open. He takes a step back as the wall comes out before moving over the conjoining wall like an automatic door.

My jaw drops and I am on my feet. Inside a row of lights illuminate the large space.

The room was like another bedroom with an open concept. The walls were lined with dark wood shelving units for clothing. On the right side are well-ironed suits on hangers.

At the end was a tall black shelving unit with pull-out drawers. One of them was pulled open slightly with a paper sticking out.

When I am standing beside him, I give him a curiously raised eyebrow.

"You have this secret bedroom in the back of your house that is fingerprint locked. Now you have a secret room and you keep clothes in it?" I ask before looking back to the half-empty closet.

This time I cross my arms and fully turn to him.

"I like to keep my things protected," He says looking at the closet before down at me.

I say nothing as I scan his handsome face.

"When people want to keep things protected they get a safe, not a fingerprint lock on their bedroom door," I inform him with a scoff before taking a few steps back from him, my eyes not leaving his.

"Now, tell me truthfully this time. Why do you keep everything locked up? It's just a bedroom. It's not like you have millions of dollars hidden in here."

His face was stern and his eyes harsh.

"Plus I doubt anyone would break into your house knowing you live with many other scary-looking men just to steal a few of your suits," I gesture to the closet with a shake of my head. "Something isn't making sense here."

I wait for him to speak honestly but he just watches me silently.

My head starts pounding suddenly and my vision blurs.

I look at where Clayton had been standing but he blurs into a dark blob.

I grab my head and stumble back until I sit on his bed.

After a few seconds, I hear him speaking and blink a few times before catching his eyes.

"Cosa c'è che non va, Amore," He says and I arch an eyebrow at him.

"You do realize I don't speak Italian right?" I say with a chuckle. Seeing the smile on my face, his tense expression eases.

"Are you alright?" He asks from where he's kneeled in front of me. I nod slowly.

"I had a concussion before I left and I guess I have just been overexerting myself lately," I say and he nods while rubbing his thumb on my leg.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Can I have a glass of water?" I ask softly, embarrassed.

"Of course, amore mia."

He slowly stands before heading towards the bedroom door as I hold my head in my hands.

"I will be right back," He says and I slowly look at him. I give him a small smile.

"I won't disappear in two minutes," I retort and he smirks before disappearing out the door.

I hardly knew nothing about this man and now I was in his room, a locked room might I add.

I slowly bring my head up from my hands and look over the room. My eyes divert over to the closet where the storage shelving was. The paper sticking out seemed to call my name as my mind wondered why he would keep documents in his closet.

I wonder if there was something in there that he was trying to hide and that was why he kept the room locked.

My feet move before I can even process moving. I was dizzy with the first few steps but caught myself quickly.

When I stood in front of it my body seemed to freeze.

"Curiosity killed the cat," I say then pull the drawer open. "Good thing the cat is said to have nine lives."

I pull the paper out and turn it to see what was printed on it.

It seemed to be an official form. 'Certificazione di Matrimonio' was printed at the top. I arch an eyebrow trying to remember what that meant. I knew I had seen it back when I read an Italian learners book a long time ago.

Certification of... what?

I groan when I can't remember and start to put it back in the drawer when something at the bottom caught my eye.

My signature.

It was sideways and not written well, but it was mine.

My eyes narrow as I recall when this was signed.

The night we went for a walk on the beach and ended up back in my hotel room. He said it was a form from the hotel to keep my room. I signed it with no question since I was drunk out of my mind.

What the hell was matrimonio?

I look over my shoulder to make sure he didn't see me looking through his stuff before sliding it back into the drawer.

My hand touches something cold and metal while I set it down and my body freezes. Something about the feeling of it is too familiar.

My eyes move down as I pull the drawer further out.

Guns.

Not just one or two.

There had to be ten guns in here with amo laid out perfectly.

My heart froze in my chest.

The sound of a high-pitched chime made me snap back to reality.

The bedroom door. He was back.

I quickly close the drawer and turn to the entrance waiting for him.

"Amore mia?" Clayton asks suddenly before appearing at the closet entrance

I arch an eyebrow at him as if to question him. He moves his hand out to hand me the glass of water.

"You look ill, are you alright?" He asks with concern over his expression.

"Yeah," I say and take the water with a reassuring smile. I take a few large gulps to cool my burning throat.

Bringing the empty glass down, he keeps his eyes on me.

"I think I better go back to the hotel," I say and wait for a response but he just looks down at me with a blank expression. "I'm not feeling the best."

If he gives me a way out, I will take it.

I will run like hell and never let anyone find me again.

Because I knew I was in deep shit.

"Maybe you should sit down for a few minutes before we head out," He says in a monotone voice. I slowly nod my head and walk out of the closet towards the bedroom. I sit at the foot of the bed while he closes the closet door.

The dizziness comes back and I rub my eyes.

"Are you alright, love?" He asks but there is no concern in his voice.

"I..." I say as my vision starts to black in the corners. My hands shake as I look down at the cup before my hand drops it. The cup shatters on the floor at my feet.

"You drugged me," I say with a dry laugh.

"You looked somewhere you shouldn't have looked."

His voice was bare of emotion just like mine.

"Bastard," I say under my breath as I shake my head. A smile appears on my lips as I realize the irony of this situation.

"I am not going to hurt you. I will explain everything when you wake," He tells me while moving to stand in front of me.

I calm my breathing down knowing there was no point in fighting the inevitable.

The plan was starting, and it was starting the moment I wake.

The dark spots move further over my eyes until my body slumps slightly forward. He catches me and gently pulls me higher up on the bed as my mind went blank.