Chapter 38 Checkmate

• A dull, throbbing pain pulsed through Mariana’s skull as she stirred, her limbs sluggish and unresponsive. Her wrists burned where the rope cut into her skin, her arms wrenched behind her back. Cold metal scraped against her bare legs, concrete. The air was thick with dust and oil, the sharp tang of gasoline stinging her nostrils.
• She tried to move, but the chair beneath her wobbled, the weight of her restraints pressing against her ribs. A single bulb swung overhead, casting sickly yellow light across the vast, empty warehouse. Shadows danced along the walls, shifting as footsteps approached.
• Rodrigo emerged from the darkness, his silhouette sharp against the dim glow. He was impeccably dressed, tailored suit, polished shoes, but there was something feral in the way he moved. A predator circling its wounded prey.