Chapter 5-Code Red

*Aryanna*

I hurled both doors open dramatically and burst inside. In the heart of the chamber, a majestic king-size bed took its place, adorned with the finest linens in hues of ivory and gold. This stunning master suite, despite its grandeur, remained vacant.

I had been so sure Darren was in there. Wasn’t he?

Suddenly, a figure stumbled into view, a tall, broad-shouldered silhouette cast in shadow, blurring his features. His shirt was open, revealing a sculpted chest and the sharp, defined V-line that disappeared into the waistband of his tailored pants. His muscles beneath the broken layers were taut and ready for action as his shoulders flexed, but something was off in the way he moved. He staggered.

Out of nowhere, the air was knocked out of me when something rammed into me from behind. Searing pain ran through me as I fell to the floor. Before I could even gather my bearings, he lunged. His powerful hands gripped my shoulders like iron claws. His movements were swift and instinctive. With a sharp grunt, he slammed me into the wall hard enough to rattle the nearby sconce. He had mistaken me for a threat in his disoriented state. I didn't know what he was seeing, but clearly, it was an assailant for him to be attacking me instead of asking me to assist him.

His hand grabbed my neck. I writhed in vain as the man's chest heaved. His breathing was shallow, and his eyes darted around in frenzied confusion. I could tell his muscular frame was rigid with tension. A warped resolve made his grip tighten around me, a vise-like hold that thinned my air supply and sent panic surging through my veins. I gasped, the world closing in as I scratched and flailed, desperation clawing at my throat in mounting horror. Each second felt like an eternity, the weight of his presence suffocating me.

In a moment of clarity, I summoned every ounce of strength and drove my knee into his groin. The impact merely loosened his hold just enough for me to break free. I stumbled away, my heart racing. I instinctively brought my hand to my throat, which felt raw and crushed as I struggled to draw in a breath.

I hacked into my elbow. The sound was jagged. The room spun around me, blurred by the adrenaline coursing through my system. As the man stumbled around to face me, my heart raced. Instinct took over. My fingers fumbled in a frantic search for my phone. The air was thick with tension. The noise of the fire siren around me seemed to fade into an unsettling hum, heightening the pulse of my own breath.

But then, through the shadows, a familiar face emerged.

The moment my eyes locked onto Darren’s, an electric shock shot through me, dispelling the dread that had gripped my heart just seconds before. His presence washed over me like a tide, grounding and undeniable.

All traces of fear evaporated, replaced by a rush of recognition that dug into something deeper. He stood there, the reason I had returned to this city, the embodiment of a memory buried. The world around us ebbed into insignificance as I realized that it was him—Darren—standing just inches away from me.

But it might as well have been an ocean away.

This Darren, dazed and disoriented, swayed unsteadily on his feet, his disheveled appearance a clear testament that Lisa had succeeded. He had been drugged. His hair was a tousled mess. Dark strands fell haphazardly across his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes, which were bloodshot and glazed over as if they struggled to focus on anything in front of him, confusion etched on his features.

He blinked rapidly, his eyes unfocused, as though he was trying to shake free from some invisible haze. I could see the effort in the tightening of his jaw, the slight tremor in his hands. But each attempt seemed to make it worse, his movements turning sluggish, almost unsteady.

He staggered slightly, one hand shooting out to brace against the wall. His fingers splayed against the cool surface, gripping it with a desperation that made my stomach tighten. He clung to it like a lifeline, his chest rising and falling unevenly as if he were struggling to pull himself back to solid ground in a storm only he could feel.

My phone buzzed again, but my eyes didn’t break away from him until I got it out.

[Shel: Code red! Lisa figured out the trick you pulled on her. She is pissed! I tried to stall her and made up some BS about it not being safe after the emergency sirens went off. She didn’t buy it. She got past me and got in the elevator. Get out of there!]

A fresh surge of panic washed over me as I pocketed my phone, trying to think of a way out of the situation. With my hands lifted in a gesture of surrender, I stepped cautiously toward Darren, every muscle tensed with anticipation. His eyes blazed with madness. His body was taut like a coiled spring, ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

“Hey, I need you to come with me,” I said, my voice calm.

His eyes wandered aimlessly, unfocused and hollow, as though he was lost in some invisible fog, untethered from the reality around him. I watched as they flitted from one corner of the room to another, searching desperately for something familiar, something grounding—but finding nothing.

It was unsettling as if he had been plucked from this world and set adrift in a place only he could see, unreachable and distant. My pulse quickened, the weight of his confusion pressing heavily on my chest. I hesitated, then inched closer, the urge to reach him battling against the unease curling in my stomach.

“I’m going to take you to a safe place. Okay? I need you to trust me.”

He tried to steady himself, his brow furrowing deeply as though sheer willpower might force clarity into his fogged mind. His muscles tensed, coiled tight with effort, but when he took a hesitant step forward, it was as if the ground shifted beneath him.

I darted forward, my heart pounding, and reached out to stabilize him before he could collapse. His weight sagged against me, and he muttered something low and incoherent. The sound was strained and distant. Without thinking, I slipped an arm around his waist, ignoring the unbidden spark that jolted through me at the contact.

He instinctively slung an arm over my shoulders, his grip loose but trusting, as I bore half his weight and guided him forward. My legs strained under the effort, but I didn’t stop as I steered us toward the door with a single-minded focus.

He stumbled into the doorframe with a delirious grin plastered across his face. I tried to hoist him up, but his towering stature felt like an insurmountable challenge as I pulled him toward the adjoining room, one of three within the opulent king suite.

As I guided him inside, the plush carpet absorbed our footsteps, muffling the chaos outside. I managed to plant him on the foot of yet another grand bed. I took a quick glance at him—the way his disheveled hair fell into his eyes, the vestiges of his earlier composure slipping away.

Just as I turned away, he caught my wrist. His fingers wrapped around me with an urgency that sent a jolt through my chest. Something was pleading in his hold, an unspoken request that lingered in the air between us. The warmth of his touch seeped into my skin, but I shook it off, slipping free from his grasp.

I made my way back up the passageway. The plush walls were lined with rich fabrics and soft lighting that cast a warm glow around me. Just as I reached the corner, I heard Lisa’s voice echoing in the hallway, contrasting sharply with the tension that lingered in the air as she approached the king suite.

I stopped at the corner with my head near the edge to overhear.

“Where is that snake?” she screeched like an enraged banshee. “Someone is trying to sabotage me, and I want to know who.”

I peeked around the corner to catch a glimpse of her pacing feverishly.

She came to a sudden stop as a malevolent smile curled her lips. “And I know just how to flush her out,” she muttered as she made her way to the hotel phone embedded in the wall.

Lisa’s chest started heaving. She was hyperventilating exaggeratedly before she picked up the phone to call the front office, stating her full name and the king suite. She claimed that she had been robbed.

She paused to hear what they were saying.

“Of course, I’m sure! Do you know how much that necklace is worth? More than you make in a lifetime. I expect this issue to be resolved swiftly and with the utmost discretion. I have reason to believe that the culprit is hiding on the top floor, and I trust the manager will personally see to it that all the rooms are opened and thoroughly inspected. Now!”

Lisa’s ploy worked better than I ever imagined. I hadn’t expected her to wield that kind of influence, but it became clear her name carried currency because the hotel manager was ready to oblige and inspect the situation for himself. The weight of my misfortune threatened to buckle my knees. My chest tightened as if crushed by an invisible force. For a fleeting moment, I had everything I had strived for cradled in the palm of my hand—a fragile, glimmering dream. But now it was all crashing down. Within minutes, he appeared on the top floor, moving with the quiet efficiency of someone who held all the keys—literally and figuratively. Heart pounding, I slipped into the shadows. With each pause and drawn-out moment, I could hear the distant echo of different doors swinging wide. It was not all of them but only the ones near me, which told me he was getting too close.

The top floor wasn’t vast. It only had a handful of suites. As they neared the final door, the thud of footsteps grew heavier. My pulse quickened like I was about to pass out. I knew I had to act. The soft click of the last lock signaled that my time had run out.

Just as the door flew open, sudden movement cut through the air. A hand darted out, seizing my arm and yanking hard to pull me back behind him protectively. A towering figure blocked the doorway, casting a long shadow over the threshold. His broad shoulders eclipsed my view entirely. His voice was smooth but laced with indifference, cutting through the tension to deliver one single, damning question to Lisa and the hotel manager.

“W-what are you doing?”