Read Online Her Dangerous Promise - Part 1: (Romantic Suspense Serial) by Ashley Stryker - Free Book Online Page A

She ached to jerk away but remained still. He mustn’t know how deeply she feared him, how she would do anything to escape him or he might turn her own fears against her and use it to leverage whatever dreadful scheme he’d concocted to spirit her away and claim her like a thing. Like a possession to store in his secret basement and take some disturbed pleasure in the possession of her.
    “You’d tell on me if I let you go.”
    “No, I wouldn’t. I promise, I’d never tell on you if you let me go.”
    “People break promises sometimes.” He said this softly to himself. He was doing something. She could feel the slight twist and tug of her sweater. Was he pawing at the material or toying with a button? Her dread roiled in her stomach.
    Mary gritted her teeth, unable to hold back the tears that slid down her face and escaped under the blindfold. She’d seen the light of hope but now it was dimming again. If she lost this chance, he might never let her go. If he kept her here, he would certainly harm her and probably eventually kill. She sobbed, “I would never break this promise to you. If you let me go, you’ll have saved my cat’s life.” She swallowed back her next sob and managed to whisper, “I’d owe you one.”
    “Promise on your cat’s life you’d never tell on me.”
    The image of her cat swam before her mind’s eye. Sweet, little Fizgig, named after a character in a Frank Oz movie. She cherished him and so despised her weakness when she said, “I promise.”
    “Promise on the lives of the kids in your class you won’t tell on me.”
    Terror knifed her heart with a cold blade. “Please don’t hurt the children.”
    “Just keep your promise.”
    If she made this promise, she could never break it. Not with the lives of her children at stake. Her freedom was so close. She could feel it. He was going to release her but only if she swore.
    She hated herself even as she whimpered, “I promise.”
    And she truly meant it. She would not break this promise. No one else must suffer in her terrified and selfish bid for her life. She would rather die here and now, or endure what tortures she must, than to have any of her children in danger for even a second. The first seeds of guilt settled in her soul. She felt it but put it out of her mind, choosing to grasp instead to the shreds of hope that this ordeal would end and no one would suffer the consequences.
    Mary felt him reach up and touch her wrists. Then he hesitated. His hands slid down her arms, still covered by the sleeves of her cashmere sweater. She trembled at his touch, revolted by what he might do to her. In another moment, she was going to become physically sick.
    “I really like this sweater. It’s soft.”
    The sweater, much too expensive for her to have purchased, had been her graduation present from her parents. She adored the sweater but it was an acceptable sacrifice. “You can keep it, if you want,” she gasped, feeling his hands moving again, this time on her stomach. She couldn’t endure his touch any longer. With a shudder of disgust, she twisted away from him. He withdrew and Mary felt certain she’d offended him, perhaps even enough to take back his offer to release her. Desperate to keep him focused on the agreement, she said, “Keep it as a ‘thank you’ for saving my cat.”
    When he got off the bed, Mary tried not to let her relief show. He untied her wrists and helped her to sit up on the bed. Afraid of antagonizing him, she folded her hands innocently in her lap. With the blindfold still in place, he removed her sweater. Mary’s skin crawled, having allowed him to undress her even just a little. She swallowed down her urge to throw up and her throat ached with the effort. She prayed that he would never touch her again but immediately it was clear her prayer wouldn’t be answered.
    Taking her hand, he guided her. She grasped his hand as firmly as he clutched hers, hoping to convey a trust she didn’t feel. He