My eyes, bloodshot and wide, darted around the surroundings. The icy air burned my lungs, and I clasped my trembling hands together. Where was this place? Dark trees surrounded me, and the howling of wolves echoed in the distance... It felt like I was trapped in a nightmare. Or... had they found me?
"Stay calm, Lale, don't panic," I whispered to myself. I took a deep breath and examined my surroundings more closely. I was standing in front of a wooden cabin. Or perhaps I should call it a mountain lodge, I couldn't tell. Snow covered everything, and the desolation was so intense that my heartbeats seemed to echo in my ears.
The Witness Protection Program... they must have brought me here. But why such a remote place? The safe houses I had stayed in before were in city centers, places where I could camouflage myself in the crowd. This, on the other hand, was the opposite, a trap like a wolf's snare.
I slowly approached the door. The boards creaked. With each step, the fear inside me grew. I knocked on the door. I waited for a few seconds. No answer. I knocked again. Still silence.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I shouted. My voice disappeared among the snow-covered trees.
With a trembling hand, I turned the doorknob. The door opened. It was dark inside. This wasn't a safe house; it felt more like hell.
I stepped inside. The smell of dampness was overwhelming. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I began to make out the objects around me. An old table, a few chairs, a fireplace in the corner... Everything was covered in dust and appeared abandoned.
"Hello?" I said again. My voice echoed once more.
I flinched at a voice behind me. "Lost, are we?"
It was a harsh and cold voice. I turned around. A man emerged from the shadows in the doorway. Tall, broad-shouldered... I couldn't see his face clearly in the darkness, but his piercing gaze seemed to burn right through me.
"Who... who are you?" I asked with a trembling voice.
The man approached me with slow steps. The effect he had on me was like a magnet attracting iron; both frightening and irresistible. My heart was pounding as if it would break out of my chest.
"Me? I'm your new protector," he said. His voice was like the calm before a storm. "Rüzgar Altun."
Rüzgar... even his surname reeked of danger. I couldn't take my eyes off him. The pressure he exerted on me was unbearable.
"Protector? I wasn't told anything like that," I said. The officials in the Witness Protection Program had told me completely different things. A quiet, safe place... This man, on the other hand, seemed like a harbinger of disaster.
Rüzgar approached me with a mocking smile on his face. Only a few steps separated us. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his.
"You don't have to believe me, doctor," he said. "But you're here. And now my rules apply."
"Doctor?" How did he know I was a doctor? Or... did he know everything?
"How do you know I'm a doctor?" I asked. I tried to hide the tremor in my voice.
Rüzgar shrugged. "You don't need to know. Just know this: you'll be safe here. Thanks to me."
Safe? Was it even possible to be safe with him? My body was screaming alarms. My instincts were telling me to stay away from this man.
"How long will I be staying here?" I asked. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
"That depends on your behavior," Rüzgar said. "If you're a good girl, maybe it won't be long."
A good girl? I didn't even care what he thought. I am a doctor, a lifesaver. Even being in the same place as a murderer like him made me sick to my stomach.
"I don't have to take orders from you," I said. "I'm just a witness."
Rüzgar laughed. It was a devilish laugh that echoed in the icy air. My skin crawled.
"You're not just a witness, Lale Yavuz," he said. "You're my guest. Or... my toy."
His toy? What did this man mean? The fear inside me began to give way to anger. I was no one's toy.
"You don't know who I am," I said. "I..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Rüzgar pressed his finger to my lips. "Shhh," he said. His eyes drifted to my lips. "Now it's my turn to speak."
His fingers lightly traced my lips. His touch wrapped around my body like an electric current. My heart was pounding like crazy. I was both scared and... feeling something. This man was awakening emotions in me that I had never known before.
"I'm offering you a deal, Lale," Rüzgar said. "You will obey me. You will abide by my rules. And I will keep you alive."
Keep me alive? As if staying alive was a luxury for me. As if I could only live if he allowed it.
"And if I don't obey?" I asked.
Rüzgar shrugged. "Then you'll face the consequences." The darkness in his eyes was taking over my soul.
"What are you going to do? Kill me?" I asked defiantly.
Rüzgar brought his face closer to mine. His lips were close enough to touch my ear. "Kill you? No, Lale. I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to... give you the worst nightmare of your life."
At that moment, I understood. I had made the biggest mistake of my life by coming here. Rüzgar Altun was not my savior, but my executioner.
The door opened, and two burly men entered. Rüzgar turned to them and ordered in a cold voice: "Take Lale to her room. And don't take your eyes off her."