Free Her Dark Knight by Sharon Cullen

The room tilted, swayed. Her vision dimmed. If she didn’t get help soon she would pass out.
    “This is Christien Chevalier—”
    “Christien, help. I can’t—”
    “—I am unable to take your call at the moment, but please leave a message—”
     
    Etienne was crouched between Giselle’s parted legs, preparing to tear the scarlet thong off her when he heard Madelaine’s door slam shut and footsteps pound down the hall. His head jerked up. Giselle made a small sound of frustration.
    He pushed away from her, pulled his pants up and headed for the door.
    “Where are you going?” On hands and knees Giselle scrambled off the bed, naked from the waist down except for the red thong. She slid off the bed and grabbed his arm, her fingernails biting into his skin.
    He tried to shake free of her bruising hold, but she held tight.
    “You are not leaving me to go to her. Do you hear me?” Her face was twisted in fury, her lips turned back into a snarl and her golden eyes snapping flames of fire.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    She stepped in front of him, hands on his chest. “I forbid it. You will not leave my bed to run after that woman. I’ve taken all I can. You follow her everywhere and I’ve had enough.”
    His startled gaze met her determined one. So she knew he followed Madelaine. He couldn’t think of the implications of that right now. Not when he needed to discover where Madelaine was going. He stepped around Giselle and headed for the door. As soon as he closed it, she let out a banshee wail that rattled his eardrums. A large object shattered against the door, shaking it on its hinges. He jogged down the steps, ignoring the burst of fury following him.
    He found Madelaine weaving in and out of the crowd on the River Walk. Her movements were jerky, almost frantic.

Chapter Five
    Lainie raced down the River Walk, past the busy restaurants hugging the walkway, skirting the crowds of people taking advantage of the warm Saturday night. She tried to act normal, tried to act as if the breath wasn’t being squeezed from her. Mentally she knew the air was making it into her lungs, but physically she still felt as if she were being strangled.
    Strangled. She stopped abruptly, her hand going to her throat. The wave of people washed around her. Above, on the balconies overlooking the river, a party was going on, but the noise and the people began to fade.
    I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! Help me! Mon Dieu, please, someone help me. She grabbed at the fingers digging into her neck, her feet kicking out. She tried to buck the person off her but the world began to fade. Please. Pleasepleasepleaseplease.
    “Hey, lady, you okay?”
    Lainie blinked, bringing the real world back in focus. A man stood in front of her, dreadlocks poking out of a knit hat, scraggly beard and kind eyes. His girlfriend was tucked beneath his arm, looking up at her in concern.
    “You okay?” The girl repeated her boyfriend’s question, reaching out a tentative hand to touch Lainie’s sleeve.
    Lainie took a deep breath, forcing more air into her lungs, willing her heart to stop pounding. “Fine,” she mumbled. “I’m fine.”
    “You sure?”
    She nodded. But she wasn’t okay. She’d just had a vision of herself…dying. She shuddered and swallowed the bile rising in her throat but it hurt to swallow, as if she really had been strangled. Her gaze darted around the River Walk. The crowd of people moved on, laughing and talking. She’d escaped her apartment but now she felt exposed, sensing danger, but not knowing where it came from.
    “Is there someone we can call for you?” the girlfriend asked.
    Christien. He was the first person she thought of in her apartment and the name that popped to her lips now. Her mind urged her to run to him but what would she say? How would she explain this panic attack?
    She took a deep breath and smiled at the couple. Or tried to smile. The action felt stiff and unnatural. “N-no. Thank you. I’ll be