I weave my way through the crowd an

I weave my way through the crowd and suck in a shuddering breath as I reach the corridor outside.
There’s more art here, gorgeous paintings in all sorts of styles. I wander down the hall, searching for the bathroom but getting distracted by the framed pieces. Three of them are bold, in primary colors, and the plates next to them say Daniel Van Vliet. I find myself smiling as I admire them, letting their brazen cheerfulness siphon some of my overwhelm away. Daniel paints like he is, big and unapologetic, and I see why Caleb thinks so much of him as both an artist and a friend. I still owe him a thank you for that night he waited in the rain to tell me I needed to give Caleb a chance.
“You look beautiful,” says a low voice right behind me.
Fear streaks up my spine, and I whirl around, nearly wrenching my ankle. He’s right there, too close. Tuxedo, slick blond hair, square jaw, cold blue eyes.
“Alex,” I choke out, stepping backward as he advances on me. I should have thought of this. Why didn’t I think of this? His family is local. They’re probably friends with the Dexters.
“You haven’t returned any of my calls, Romy,” he says in a deceptively gentle voice. “Imagine how I feel, seeing you here with another guy?”
I hold my hands up, needing him to stay back. My fingers twitch in front of me. My eyes scan the hall. It’s so long, and though I can see people coming in and out of the gallery room, I know they won’t hear me unless I scream. “I’m going to go back to the auction,” I say, fighting to keep my voice level as I inch away from him.
“It won’t start for a few minutes. You can stay here and talk to me.” He takes a step closer, and my shoulder blades hit the wall. I’ve backtracked all the way to the end of the hall, rooms on either side of me. My terror nearly chokes me as his fingers close around my upper arm and he pushes me into a sparsely furnished room with a grand piano occupying most of one corner. “Tell me why you didn’t call me back.”
He’s between me and the doorway.
“Alex, I’ve been really busy lately,” I say, needing him to let me get back into the hallway, needing other people around.
“Busy fucking another guy?” he asks, deadly soft. “I haven’t been able to get you off my mind, and you’re screwing someone else? Do you know what that does to me?”
I have a sick sense of what it does to him, judging by the eager, cruel glint in his eyes. “Alex, please get out of my way. I’m going back to the auction,” I say in a loud voice.
“Not until you explain a few things to me.”
“If you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to scream,” I snap, grimly triumphant as I finally speak up for myself. “I’m going to scream my head off. And you could maybe hurt me before people make it down here, but you’ll still be in a lot of trouble.”
His jaw clenches, and his eyes flick over to the throw pillows on the couch. Just like that, I can see the plan forming in his mind, and the terror is back. “Romy,” he says, his cool confidence chilling me to the bone, "if I don't want you to scream, you won't scream.