Read BREAK HER SILENCE chapter one

Justine let out a sigh as she closed her laptop, eyes stinging from the strain of another long day. Ever since she took this promotion as the brand manager for a company that seemed to have a crisis every other week, her life had been a whirlwind of meetings, presentations and emails, interspersed with fires to be put out.

She loved it – every second of the challenge – but today had been especially trying. She wished they'd just go ahead and fire the social media manager already, but they seemed to expect her to fix his mistakes instead of just teaching him that there was such a thing as bad publicity.

Glancing at the sleek silver watch on her wrist, a gift she'd bought herself to celebrate the new job, she realized it was past seven o'clock. That would explain the empty office and darkened overhead lights. Everyone else had gone home hours ago and she'd been so zeroed in on Chad's latest attempt to get the company canceled, she hadn't even noticed.

She stood and stretched her arms over her head, her slim-fitting navy blazer rising up her waist before she smoothed it back down. She shouldered her work bag and took a few steps toward her door, then couldn't help herself. She went back and snagged her laptop off the desk, stuffing it into the bag.

If she was good, she'd grab dinner on the way home, something healthy and tasty from the Greek restaurant down the street, and then she'd do a half-hour on her Peloton before unwinding in front of the TV like a normal person.

If she was who she knew deep down she would always be, the laptop would come out on the dining room table and she'd stuff moussaka mindlessly into her mouth while she continued working through her endless stream of emails.

Outside, she pulled her blazer tighter around herself as the late March air nipped at her exposed skin. It wouldn't have been a problem if she left the office while the sun was still out, while the spring air was still crisp but tolerable. Her heels clicked rapidly across the pavement as she wrapped her arms protectively around her chest and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

A chill ran down her spine.

She paused and looked around. That feeling wasn't from the cold. It was an uneasy prickle at her neck, like someone was watching her.

There was no one.

Her company shared the building with two others and there were always cars in the lot no matter what time she left, but there was no one out here. Her car was backed into its usual spot near the back of the lot, within the arc of a security light, which she'd never thought much about until now. She was suddenly thankful for it.

She skirted around a pair of cars parked next to each other, the cold beginning to numb her legs. The temperature had to have dropped at least twenty degrees since she went out to lunch with her team.

Seven hours ago.

Her stomach rumbled angrily, but it should be used to this treatment by now. How many meals had she skipped since she took this position?

She pushed the unlock button on her key fob, her little white Lexus chirping like it was happy to see her, lights flashing. She opened the driver door and tossed her bag across the center console into the passenger seat, and then her neck prickled again.

She started to turn and saw a dark flash out of the corner of her eye, and then pain exploded across the back of her head, making fireworks explode across her vision before everything went dark.

***

Consciousness came swimming back to her through an intense pain that radiated from the crown of her head around the front and pulsing between her eyes.

They fluttered open and for a brief moment, she was relieved that the light wasn't bright. Then she realized her wrists and ankles were bound, and she was sitting on an icy-cold concrete floor. The room she was in couldn't be more than six feet square, and the source of the dim light came from an open door directly in front of her.

Squinting up at it, she saw the silhouette of a man in the doorway and that creepy sensation rushed back to her, of being watched, of becoming aware of him running at her from behind. Knocking her out.

"Where am I?" she asked, panic swelling in her chest.

"Ah, you're awake."

His voice was soft, friendly, as if she could be fooled by that. He stepped further into the room and crouched on his heels in front of her. She flinched away and he waited patiently until she dared to look his way again.

He wore dark clothes – a hoodie and jeans? She couldn't quite tell in the low light, but he had broad shoulders and a medium build. Not a gymbro, but definitely someone who could subdue her if she tried to knock him off balance and make a run for the door.

Not that she'd stand a chance with her hands and feet bound, the mother of all headaches throbbing behind her eyes.

"Justine," he hissed, drawing out the S.

A roll of nausea worked its way up her throat and she swallowed it down. "How do you know my name?"

"I know all about you," he said, leaning closer. His breath was sour and hot and she cringed away from him. He hooked one rough finger under her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. Even in the dark she could tell there was nothing behind them and she started shaking beneath his touch. "I know exactly who you are, Justine. And I'm going to give you a chance to fix it."

He let go of her chin and stood up abruptly.

"F-fix what?"

He spun on one heel and walked out of the door.

"Wait!" Suddenly the idea of being in this little box in the dark, all alone, was even more terrible than being here with him. "Don't leave me in here! Hey!"

The door began to swing shut. He did it slowly, her heart pounding and the creak of the hinges the only sounds in the world. That, and her pathetic begging.

"Please, I just want to go home," she cried. "I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

The door clicked shut, throwing her into darkness, and she listened to a series of locks being thrown into place as sobs racked her body and the chill of the concrete seeped into her bones.

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