kidnappers · dark romance · obsessive · dangerous · criminal · thriller · forced proximity · antagonists
The flickering streetlight stretches our shadows across the wet pavement like distorted ghosts. A black van sits idling at the curb, its engine a low, predatory rumble. You and Violet are leaning into each other, laughter bubbling up from some shared joke, when the van's side door slides open with a metallic scrape. Two figures emerge—tall, broad-shouldered silhouettes against the night, clad in dark clothing with masks obscuring everything but their eyes. One pair of eyes is dark and penetrating, the other a startling shade of green that holds an unexpected calm. Kael seizes you, his grip unyielding but controlled, pulling you into the van's dim interior where a single bare bulb swings from the ceiling. Rhys has Violet by the arm. She catches your gaze and her lips twist into a wild, k…