Lorraine crouched in the shadows of the tree line, her phone clutched in trembling hands. The screen glared back at her with silence. No reply.
“God, I’m such an i***t,” she hissed under her breath. “Relying on a stranger… I don’t even know if it’s him. Could just be some random number.”
Her gut churned. She’d ignored her intuition—ignored the warning signs, the unease that had been clawing at her since Dwade ushered her into his estate like some prized pet. Now she was stranded in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch dark, praying a man she barely knew was her lifeline.
Her eyes flicked back toward the looming house. A sliver of light glowed in the upstairs window. A figure passed across the sheer curtains—the unmistakable silhouette of Dwade. He’d finished his shower. Any second now, h
