Chapter 1

Harlow

I stretch as a bright ray of sunshine intrudes the lovely dream I was having about sampling wine at a vineyard in the French countryside. I nearly scoff at myself. 

Like I'll ever be able to do that. 

I yawn and my eyes flit open, temporarily blinded by the bright light. I blink a few times, trying to remember where I am. I think back to the night before.

The shift from hell. 

I got out of work almost two hours late and I remember crashing out from exhaustion on my couch. I stretch again and feel soft fabric under my hands, a soft billowy comforter on top of me. 

I'm not on my couch. 

I lift my head and look around, my stomach dropping and heart beating frantically in my chest. 

I'm not in my bed either. 

A quick look out the window tells me I'm not even in my house. 

"Oh my god." I murmur, sitting up quickly in bed. My head pounds slightly and I reach up to massage it, looking down at my body. I'm still in the sweatshirt and pajama shorts I was in last night. That makes me feel a tiny bit better. 

Fear ripples through me to the point that I think I'm going to throw up. I go to stand, but I'm slightly dizzy so I sit back down on the bed. I hear a small knock on the door and before I can say anything it swings open slowly. I watch with wide eyes as a large man enters the room, his blue eyes meeting mine and he gives me a bright smile. He moves towards me and I push back on the bed away from him. His smile falls into a grimace, but he stops moving towards me. 

"Hi, Harlow." he says quietly, his voice deep and warm, like he's genuinely excited to see me. 

"How do you know my name?" I ask nervously. I feel my whole body trembling with fear, my eyes moving around the room wondering if any of these other doors are an exit. 

"You don't remember me?" he asks, a flash of pain going across his face. "It was a long time ago, I guess." he adds, more to himself than to me. 

Now that he says that, there is something familiar about him. The strong jaw line, sharp nose, large build, the way he moves around the room. 

"Were you a patient?" I ask and his blinding smile returns. 

"Yes." he says. 

"A fractured femur, right? From a skiing accident?" I ask and he nods excitedly. "Pierce?" I ask, not able to remember his last name. 

"Yeah. That was me." he says, a grin still on his face. 

"That was what... six months ago?" I ask. 

"Eight." he corrects quickly, as if he's been counting down how long it's been. 

"Why am I here?" I ask, another spark of pain going through my head. "What did you do to me?" I accuse angrily. He winces slightly at my tone and motions towards the bedside table where a bottle and a cup of water sits. 

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't want to hurt you. There's some aspirin. The bottle is brand new, so you know what's in it is what's on the front." he says. I open the bottle, my hands still shaky. I eye the water suspiciously and he walks across the room towards me, I back away again and watch as he takes a few large drinks of the water, then hands it to me. 

"There's nothing in it. I promise." he says. I take a couple of the pills and drink the water, my throat parched from whatever he drugged me with. 

"The doctor said you should feel fine in a couple of hours." he adds. 

"The doctor?" I ask. 

"Yes. I consulted a medical professional. I didn't want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you." he says, his voice taking on a pleading tone that has me both confused and terrified. 

"Then let me go." I plead, but he just shakes his head. 

"You don't understand, Harlow. The world... It's dangerous. It's scary. It's cruel. I don't want you out there. I want you safe. Here. Where I can protect you. Where I can love you." he says, his eyes going wide as if he didn't mean to say that last part. I gasp at his words, going to the other side of the bed and standing, backing towards the window to put as much space between us as I can. 

"What do you mean? I don't understand." I say, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. I try to swallow them down, but my mind is swimming with fear, confusion and the after effects of whatever he gave me. He sighs a little, running his hands through his hair before he looks up at me again. 

"I know you must be scared. And I'm so sorry about that. I swear, I will never do anything to hurt you. All I will ever do is my absolute best to make you happy." he says passionately. 

"I don't understand." I say again, tears tracking down my face. He makes to walk towards me and a small, scared sound leaves me. He stops in his tracks, shoving his hands in his pockets like he has to force himself not to touch me. 

"I know you don't, sweetheart. I know you don't. All I can do is show you every single day that I want nothing more than to see you smile. To see you happy." he says and I shake my head. 

"Then let me go home. I was happy. I love my job. My house. I want to go home." I beg, my tears flowing freely down my face. I hear him curse quietly under his breath before he moves towards me. My body shakes and I put my hands up, trying to keep him away from me. He moves slower, walking up to me until he's only a foot away. He reaches out with his hands, using him thumbs to wipe away my tears in a tender movement that I've never experienced before. 

"You weren't happy, Harlow. You were existing. You worked hard, but for what? What goals did you have? What dreams? You weren't fulfilling any of them, sweetheart. I know you weren't. I watched you, every day, struggling, working yourself to death in that hospital. You deserve more than that. You deserve the world." he says gently, smiling down at me and holding my face as if I'm the most precious thing in the world. I shake my head again, not able to reconcile his words with what he's done. 

"What's going to happen to me? Are you going to... to s-sell me?" I stutter, not able to even imagine something so horrific. He growls a little, his face turning angry as he shakes his head firmly. 

"No!" he nearly shouts. "Are you listening to me? This house, it's yours now. Whatever you want, just ask and I'll give it to you. You are my heart and soul. I live for you. To make you happy. To see you fulfilled. Your dreams are my dreams. Anything you can imagine, I'll make it happen. I promise." he says. He watches me for a few more moments before sighing slightly and letting me go, taking a few steps back. 

"I know this is a lot, Harlow. I know. I'll leave you be for now, let you settle in. Your clothes are in the closet, as well as a few other things I had brought here for you. Your soaps and shampoo are in the bathroom, along with those salts you like to soak in in case you want a bath. The doctor said you should probably hold off on eating for a few hours so I'll come get you for lunch. I'm sure you'll have more questions. I'll answer anything you want to know then. I'm an open book, sweetheart. Anything you want to know, just ask. I'll be completely honest. I swear." he finishes his little speech and turns to leave the room, stopping just at the door, his hand on the doorknob as he turns back to look at me. 

"For what it's worth, I'm really glad you're here." he says with a small, fleeting smile before he leaves and clicks the door behind him. 

I try to breathe, but it feels more like I'm hyperventilating. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to calm my frantically beating heart as more tears spill down my cheeks. I don't understand why this is happening. Why he chose me of all people to kidnap. I lower myself to the floor, rocking slightly as I try to focus on my breathing. On calming myself so I can think properly. 

Once I feel slightly back to normal I look around the room. It's actually very pretty and very much so my sense of style. The bed is huge and covered in plush white sheets and pillows. There's touches of green and black in the decor throughout. There's a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the crystal causing tiny rainbows to glow throughout the space as the light hits it. 

I guess there are worse places to be held captive. 

I walk around the room, opening doors. The first one is a huge bathroom with a large shower stall and an even bigger soaking tub. There's a double vanity, the styling similar to the bedroom with white tiles accented with pops of black and light green. I take a deep breath as I open drawers, finding my hair brush and products from home, as well as brand new bottles of them. The sight confuses me. 

How did he know what face wash I use? 

I open another door to a large walk-in closet. I find all of my clothes from home, as well as some new ones. Some of them are things like jeans and sundresses, but the majority are comfortable clothes like sweatpants, pajamas, hoodies and t-shirts. 

He clearly knows my style is function over fashion. 

I go back out to the bedroom, spinning in a slow circle before looking out the window. All I can see is rolling hills of green trees and wildflowers. I stare out there for a long time before I come to an important conclusion. 

I need to get out of here.