COMMAND

Fifteen

I blinked awake, the blanket of sleep slipping off me. I stared at the ceiling before closing my eyes again, trying to lure myself to sleep again.

Then my ears perked, hearing a tapping sound coming from somewhere. There were little sounds. Tap, click tap, click, tap...tap...tap. I leaned up on my arms, trying to bring my eyes into focus. Did that sound like a knock or footsteps? I glanced at the clock on the nightstand—it was after two in the morning.

Turning over, I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Could I be imagining things again? I looked around me, the moonlight streaming in from the window and falling across the white sheets as I listened for any sound. But then a loud thud hit, and I jumped, sucking in a breath. I sat there and waited, then the tapping began again.

Who could it be?

A thought occurred to me. What if it was Hanna? What if she had regained consciousness and was trying to get out? She could need my help. If she wakes up Rogue....

Throwing off the sheets, I jumped down from the bed and tiptoed carefully across the bedroom floor, listening for more sounds. I pushed down any fear before I opened the door, carefully not making a sound. I crept down the hallway. I still wasn't sure where the sound came from, but common sense told me to check where Hanna was being kept, making sure it wasn't her, and that she didn't need my help.

I made sure to peek before going in full force, because who knows if I could be wrong and end up finding something else? I was a little freaked out, but I wanted to be brave. The further I went, there was nothing. The hallway appeared empty. I jerked my head behind me as the booming thuds sounded again, in another direction that didn't lead to where Rogue was keeping Hanna. My feet followed the sound, stepping absently closer to it, and I finally pressed my ear against the wall, my heart racing as the vibrations touched my skin. I wanted to go back, but everything inside me was pulling me toward the sound.

I swallowed the tight lump in my throat as the sound against the wall grew faster and faster. Then it stopped. I began to hear noises. Voices. More than one. There were all muffled, so I couldn't pick out who it belonged to. I wondered if I should ignore it and go back to bed, but then I heard a high pitched cry of a woman, and I started breathing harder.

Hanna?

Was that Hanna?

I dashed down the hallway and charged straight at where the sound was coming from, a cry lodged in my throat as fear gripped my chest. I raced down until I came in front of the door I was sure the sounds were coming from. I yanked it open and burst through, hearing the last words.

"How long has this been going on?!"

Two sets of eyes fell on me. I halted in my steps.

"Veronica?" I breathed out, frozen in confusion. She wildly looked back at me, her hair unkempt, and she was wearing only a silk nightgown. It looked like she had been crying for a while. My eyes darted to the man a few feet away from her, towering over her. He was dressed in a black suit, and I had no idea why. It was after two in the morning. Did he go somewhere? Came back from somewhere? His eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. It wasn't his murderous voice that sent a chill through my veins. It was a body that was lying on the ground. Dead or unconscious, I had no idea.

"W..who is that?" I pointed a shaky finger at the man. "Did you—" I sucked in a breath. "Did you kill him?" I arched a brow at Rogue, who looked down at the man's body in front of him. He looked irritated.