A Twist of Betrayal by Allie Harrison

the porch of the cabin.
    A moment later, he had the front door open and he yanked her inside. Yet, she didn’t go blindly. She paid attention to the set up of the porch, the direction of the drive. She knew if she got the chance to escape later, she needed to know where things were, especially in the dark.
    He turned on a battery powered camping lantern. Justine took in the large, open room that was the cabin. There was a cold fireplace that looked like it hadn’t seen heat in years. The few pieces of furniture—two futon looking couches and a table with two chairs—were covered with dust.
    There were three other doors. Still holding her by the arm, he pulled open one of them. Justine stared into the darkness. It was perfectly black, there were no windows. The deduction hit her instantly. It was a small, dark, windowless room, little more than an empty closet, and he planned to put her in it.
    Please, no, not into that endless darkness.
    For the first time, Justine pulled against him. She couldn’t go in there. Fear of the dark went all the way back to her childhood, when her older brother locked her in the toy chest and refused to let her out.
    “Don’t put me in there,” she said, not caring that she was begging. “Please, I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t put me in there.”
    Despite her effort to pull away, he ignored her pleas. He used a key to unlock the handcuff that bound her wrists before he shoved her into the emptiness and slammed the door. She heard his muffled voice through the door. “Take a rest.”
    For a long moment, Justine stood still. She couldn’t ‘take a rest’. Hell, she could barely breathe. She barely felt the tingling in her fingers. There was no air in the dark. Her heart beat painfully. Then, as if her mind shut down, and her body functions became automatic, she drew in a deep, ragged breath. Her knees finally gave out and she sank to the floor. She closed her eyes against the horrifying darkness. No sound came from her, but in her mind, she cried in agony and remembered the first time she had really needed Dan.

Chapter 9
    Six Years Ago
    “No further questions, Officer Franklin,” Justine said. She moved back to her seat after again twisting Dan’s words around in favor of the defendant.
    Dan’s eyes shot sparks like raining gray mist at her, even from across the courtroom. She could tell he was angry. But in his eyes, she thought she saw a touch of something else—admiration. She was pretty proud of herself, too. Justine had a hard time keeping her mind on the case at hand and not the kiss from the night before. Just thinking about it caused her pulse to quicken and sent a delicious shiver up her back. Again. Still. But she’d been able to set the courtroom the way she wanted the case to be seen.
    She should know better, she told herself. He was a cop, and cops didn’t always have good records when it came to long-term relationships. No matter what she’d told herself, she hadn’t been able to sleep, not at all. Instead she lay awake thinking about his kiss. Her lips still tingled in the aftermath.
    What are you doing with a cop? Along with the memory of his kiss, a little voice in the back of her mind had nagged her all night, too. She didn’t want to listen to that voice. While she would rather concentrate on the kiss, that voice remained, plaguing her with questions and things she didn’t care to think about. He’s a cop. His job will worry you crazy. His hours are probably worse than yours. Look at the risks he has to take. Why can’t you find a businessman with straight nine to five dependable hours? Not to mention, he’ll want you to quit your job sooner or later—probably sooner. Especially since he’ll think he catches the bad guys and then because of you, they all go free.
    But Justine didn’t want a businessman. Only Dan Franklin had ever made her feel fireworks when he kissed her. And she wanted fireworks.
    The judge thanked Dan and dismissed him.