Rose's POV

I was running out of time.

As I dragged my battered and bloody body down the long hall I tried to form some sort of plan. I was weak, malnourished, and I can't even tell you how long I've been trapped in this place. Every step I took brought me closer to the edge of consciousness, and I didn't know how much more my weary mind could take.

After stumbling into yet another dead end, I let my legs give out and my broken body slid down the wall towards the floor. I could feel the sobs building in my chest and with the last of my mental effort I sent up a silent prayer. I could only hope that the girl I helped escape had found her way to freedom. I could still see the hesitation in gentle sapphire eyes when I told her to go ahead without me. I knew our captors were gaining on us and she was far too weak to fight. To be honest I wasn't in great shape either but I figure at least one of us deserved a chance and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to give it to her.

It didn't take long before my eyelids grew heavy and I could feel the weight of the darkness that threatened to drown me. A small part of me was aware of the irritating voice in the back of my mind, the voice that kept urging me to fight. But its effort were futile, I couldn't even muster the energy to blink.

I was just about to succumb to the darkness when I caught sound of a commotion on the ground floor below. Mustering all the strength in my being, I strained my ears to hear the voices called out. I heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots before I noticed the footsteps that began rapidly approaching. This was it. He's found me. I cringed when they stopped and prayed that death would come quickly.

But it never came.

The next sound I heard would forever be grained into my mind. It was the sound of an angel calling out to me.

"Rose, my name is Dimitri Belikov. I'm a federal agent and I'm here to take you home."

When I opened my eyes, it was to an unfamiliar room, and I had to strain to see under the harsh fluorescent lights.

Geez, who ordered the sun?

"I think she's waking up!" Lissa whispered from somewhere close by. Even with my eyes closed, I knew it was her. It was a voice I would recognize anywhere.

I forced my eyes to ignore the brightness, allowing myself to get a glimpse of my surroundings. Based on the lights, the wires, and the incessant beeping sound, I was pretty sure I was in a hospital.

"Rose, can you hear me?" Lissa asked softly.

I turned my head in the direction of her voice, but let out a whimper at the pain it caused.

"Liss" I croaked, and she smoothed a piece of rogue hair away from my face.

"Shhh, it's okay. Here drink this." She carefully handed me a cup of water and I greedily took a big sip.

With my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I noticed for the first time that we weren't alone in the room.

Standing by the window was an incredibly tall and painfully beautiful man eyeing me with cautious concern. If I had to guess I'd say he was at least 6'6 or 6'7. He had shoulder length brown hair tied back at the nape of his neck and his eyes were an amazing shade of milk chocolate. Even through the layers of his clothes, I could tell he had the body of a God, and yet despite his rigid posture, he seemed incredibly kind. I immediately felt comforted by his presence.

"Rose, my name is Dimitri Belikov. Do you remember me?" He asked softly.

Oh sweet Jesus, that accent! Could this guy get any sexier?

But even caught up in my preoccupation, I instantly recognized his voice. I didn't trust my own voice not to crack, so instead I just gave him a nod.

"Good, that's very good Rose." He smiled, somehow making his face even more beautiful. "Now can you tell me what happened?"

A lot of things had happened. He was going to have to be more specific.

As if somehow reading my mind, he decided to clarify.

"Can you tell me how you escaped?"

Oh Crap!

"The other girl" I half shouted, wincing at the pain it caused in my throat "Is she okay? Where is she?"

"Mia is fine Rose, just breathe." Lissa reassured me, giving my shaking hand a gentle squeeze.

I took a few deep breaths trying to will my mind to focus, but the more I remembered, the more overwhelmed I became. Each time I tried to answer I'd end up breaking down in tears. The night I was kidnapped, the smell of that room, the way his hands felt on my body. It was all too much and the more I remembered the more I wanted to forget.

Dimitri's eyes softened and he gave me a kind smile.

"Hey…it's okay. We don't have to do this right now. Just get some rest Rose. We can talk about this some more when you're ready."

He was just about to exit the door when I stopped him.

"Dimitri" I called out.

I had a difficult question to ask, but I wasn't sure I was ready for the answer.

"Did you catch him?"

I watched him studying my face closely before he answered.

"We will Rose… I promise.

Hey everybody. This is an all human story I started writing before Royal Hearts and decided I'd share a little bit with you. Don't worry I'm not abandoning Royal Hearts, a lot of this story was already written and I'm just now getting around to publishing it. Let me know if you think it's worth continuing : )