tap. The lid flew open and he caught it seconds before it slammed into the glass on the back window. The sedan’s alarm screeched to life, propelling Bane into action. He forced the trunk shut using the same brute strength with which he’d opened it and disappeared into a dark corner. David stepped from the elevator minutes later, frowning at the car from across the lot as he disabled the alarm without checking to see what had caused it.
“It’s always going off on its own,” he explained to someone behind him in the elevator that Bane couldn’t see and assumed was Amber.
The elevator departed again and the echo chamber of the stairway helped Bane track them to the top floor. Waiting until he heard a door close behind them, he made his way into the hall. Two residences shared the landing but their scent told him which one he needed to watch.
The service hatch above his head leading to the loft opened with a hard shove, then he reached up to grasp the edges and pull his body up into the space. Satisfied he could get to her in split seconds if necessary, Bane settled against the heating vent leading down into David’s apartment and waited.
* * * *
Amber awoke with a jolt. How long had she slept? She groaned when she looked at the clock and saw she’d only been out for a few hours. Sleeping in a strange bed had always been a problem for her—and that was without the added pressure of knowing the one she was in was David’s. She should have put her foot down earlier and insisted that he take her home but she’d been too exhausted to protest much. She could barely keep her eyes open now. Amber rolled over, turning an unfamiliar pillow that smelt all wrong over to the cool side. She let her head flop onto it, determined to force herself back to sleep, when a sudden noise from the living room scared her upright in the bed.
Gurgling—was that what she could hear? Was David choking? She threw back the covers and placed a foot on the floor, about to go check he was okay.
“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” a male voice said, from somewhere in the darkness hugging the edges of the room.
Amber spun towards the sound with a scream, turning so fast she lost her balance and landed in a heap next to the bed. Whoever had spoken cast a massive shadow against the wall beside the door. Before she could move, a gentle but unyielding hand on her breastbone forced her flat onto her back.
“Stay down and shut your eyes.”
The low, commanding voice vibrated through her ribcage and made her heart clench in fear again.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Amber begged, barely able to force the whisper from her constricted throat.
The stranger pinned her to the floor, a deep rumble emanating from him as his massive frame loomed over her. Amber couldn’t take a proper breath with the giant hand pressing down on her and she began to pant, suddenly light-headed as well as terrified.
The man’s face came into view in the semi-darkness and she forgot to be scared as she stared up at the intruder in confusion, wondering at the sense of déjà vu. Long strands of dark hair kept the man’s face in shadow but eyes she couldn’t quite see the true colour of still seemed to blaze as they reflected the tiny amount of streetlight coming through the windows. Amber felt a pull in his gaze, as if being hypnotised into moving closer. The thought that she could be dead and just not yet know it flitted in and out of her mind.
Suddenly, he dropped her stare and turned to look at the door, his lips curled back on a quiet snarl. The mystifying tranquillity drained out of her to be replaced by the fear of moments earlier. The man spun on his heels, lunging forwards into a crouch, and the air seemed to ripple around him while he waited with his head turned slightly to one side, as if focused on a sound she couldn’t hear.
By some silent signal, things began to happen around her very fast. The bedroom door disintegrated before
“It’s always going off on its own,” he explained to someone behind him in the elevator that Bane couldn’t see and assumed was Amber.
The elevator departed again and the echo chamber of the stairway helped Bane track them to the top floor. Waiting until he heard a door close behind them, he made his way into the hall. Two residences shared the landing but their scent told him which one he needed to watch.
The service hatch above his head leading to the loft opened with a hard shove, then he reached up to grasp the edges and pull his body up into the space. Satisfied he could get to her in split seconds if necessary, Bane settled against the heating vent leading down into David’s apartment and waited.
* * * *
Amber awoke with a jolt. How long had she slept? She groaned when she looked at the clock and saw she’d only been out for a few hours. Sleeping in a strange bed had always been a problem for her—and that was without the added pressure of knowing the one she was in was David’s. She should have put her foot down earlier and insisted that he take her home but she’d been too exhausted to protest much. She could barely keep her eyes open now. Amber rolled over, turning an unfamiliar pillow that smelt all wrong over to the cool side. She let her head flop onto it, determined to force herself back to sleep, when a sudden noise from the living room scared her upright in the bed.
Gurgling—was that what she could hear? Was David choking? She threw back the covers and placed a foot on the floor, about to go check he was okay.
“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” a male voice said, from somewhere in the darkness hugging the edges of the room.
Amber spun towards the sound with a scream, turning so fast she lost her balance and landed in a heap next to the bed. Whoever had spoken cast a massive shadow against the wall beside the door. Before she could move, a gentle but unyielding hand on her breastbone forced her flat onto her back.
“Stay down and shut your eyes.”
The low, commanding voice vibrated through her ribcage and made her heart clench in fear again.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Amber begged, barely able to force the whisper from her constricted throat.
The stranger pinned her to the floor, a deep rumble emanating from him as his massive frame loomed over her. Amber couldn’t take a proper breath with the giant hand pressing down on her and she began to pant, suddenly light-headed as well as terrified.
The man’s face came into view in the semi-darkness and she forgot to be scared as she stared up at the intruder in confusion, wondering at the sense of déjà vu. Long strands of dark hair kept the man’s face in shadow but eyes she couldn’t quite see the true colour of still seemed to blaze as they reflected the tiny amount of streetlight coming through the windows. Amber felt a pull in his gaze, as if being hypnotised into moving closer. The thought that she could be dead and just not yet know it flitted in and out of her mind.
Suddenly, he dropped her stare and turned to look at the door, his lips curled back on a quiet snarl. The mystifying tranquillity drained out of her to be replaced by the fear of moments earlier. The man spun on his heels, lunging forwards into a crouch, and the air seemed to ripple around him while he waited with his head turned slightly to one side, as if focused on a sound she couldn’t hear.
By some silent signal, things began to happen around her very fast. The bedroom door disintegrated before
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