Silent Daughter 1: Taken Read Online Free PDF

advantage.
    Of course, my sisters roll their eyes in embarrassment, but no one stops me when I flee the little circle. If anything, I am sure they are glad to be rid of me.
    Except for one person.
    I don’t have to turn around to know that he is following me.
    My hopes that he might be heading a different direction are shattered when he appears next to me at the bar, brushing along my arm as he reaches for a new glass.
    I am just about to turn away and scurry off when he asks me: “Does it hurt?”
    The question is so multifarious that I am having trouble to answer it.
    I am not even sure what he is talking about. The way my sisters treat me? He must have noticed how they both rolled their eyes and the way they addressed me in general. Or is he talking about the marks on my legs?
    I don't dare to turn around, but I look back over my shoulder. "Excuse me?"
    "Your ankles," he says and my heart skips a beat in shock. "Looks like you're hurt there."
    Alright, then. I could have anticipated this. After all, the marks are clearly visible.
    I am just not used to anybody looking at me with that much attention. I bet my family wouldn't even say anything if I had the marks right at my neck, where I would want them to be.
    I turn around and accuse him of being impertinent.
    He wants to know what happened to me, to my legs in particular. I hesitate for a moment, unsure whether it would be wise to insinuate anything.
    He might just be genuinely worried. A good man.
    A man who clenched his fists while staring at me as if I was an archenemy or something to eat.
    All I can come up with is: "Nothing."
    His gaze darkens, and he narrows his eyes as he looks down to me.
    "Well, I'm pretty damn sure you're lying to me right now," he says, his voice so low that I can hardly hear him.
    The way he looks at me doesn't suggest real worry. It is more like he is trying to get something out of me. Something I am not willing to share.
    "I don't lie," I say. "Ever."
    He probes, not only with his words but with his eyes, too. When I insist that nothing happened to me, emphasizing the word, he seems to understand. His eyes flicker for a moment and there is an undeniable reaction to the smile I add to the statement.
    He looks around, checking the surrounding behind me. I am not sure whether he is looking for a way to escape, or trying to see if there are people watching us or listening to us.
    Whatever he finds or doesn't find seems to have little impact on what he says next.
    "I'll believe you."
    And with that, he turns around and walks away.

Chapter 5

    LEONARD
     
    Now she is the one following me. I don't have to turn around to know that she is just a few steps behind me as I walk back out to the terrace.
    Good girl.
    I step outside and scan the area. There are still a lot of people outside on the terrace, including the group surrounding the bride and groom to be. Luckily, they are deeply immersed in their conversation and don't notice me stepping outside.
    I pause for a moment, unsure of what to do, when she steps next to me.
    I turn to her. She is looking up at me with those big, fiery eyes. Right now they seem to be more blue than green. Inside the house, I could have sworn that they were of a dark green.
    A faint smile appears on her face, an expression that I haven't seen on her before.
    Her beauty drives me insane.
    I must have her.
    Break her.
    As if she heard my threatening thoughts, she turns ahead and walks away. She walks straight ahead, taking a few stone steps that lead down from the terrace to the giant garden that spreads ahead of us.
    She doesn't turn around once, but her demeanor suggests that she is very aware of my eyes on her. She follows a little pebbly path, walking slowly but with determination.
    The garden is pretty open in the area close to the terrace, displaying nothing but perfectly arranged flower beds that are starting to die now that fall is approaching.
    She walks by those flower beds, distancing herself further and