Chapter Three: My Life Now

RAE

I sat in the bus chatting gleefully and telling Lyra how successful the plan was and how foolish Lucas and Mom were. There was no way they could catch up with me now.

"I'm on the bus right now, when I get off the bus I'm going to contact you," I sent the text, grinning happily at my successful escape plan.

I dropped my phone on my thigh and relaxed my head back.

"Hey!" Someone shouted in protest. as some men in black flooded the bus.

"Fuck!" I gritted my teeth in anger, they found me.

"How the fuck did they find me so soon?"

I grabbed my bag and crouched down, trying to hide as they searched for me. I slowly made my way out of the bus, with people staring at me like I was crazy but luckily for me, they didn't alert the men.

I moved towards a boy and his mother, hiding and the boy stared at me in curiosity.

"Mom, why is there a girl on the ground acting like a rat?" He asked and I palmed my face in annoyance. He just released my location to them and now they were headed in my direction.

"Learn to mind your business kid, or else your teeth are never going to grow out." I stuck my tongue out at him, making a run for it.

The kid burst into tears but I didn't care. I tried running but I just wasn't fast enough. My bag also drew me back and made it a bit difficult to run faster. In a split second I saw myself in the hands of one of the huge men being thrown over his shoulder like I was some bag of rice.

"Hey!"

"Let me go!" I started screaming and hitting the guy that carried me over his shoulders but he didn't even bulge. They kept moving towards a black car. They tied my hands taped my mouth and bundled me in the car as we drove off to Mother's house.

"I can't believe I was caught," I groaned in annoyance. It was all thanks to that big-mouthed kid. If only he had kept his mouth shut, I might have escaped unscathed from the bus.

No matter how I struggled, their strengths were unmatched. They dragged me out of the car towards the house.

"Let me go you assholes!" I still tried to break free no matter how fruitless it seemed. They successfully dragged me towards the house and standing in front of the house is no one else but Lucas.

At the sight of Lucas, I froze. His eyes were dreadful and it seemed to me like he was expecting this to happen. Lucas was seated like a king staring right at me as they dragged me to him.

"How was the sightseeing?" Lucas mocked, his deep baritone voice, making shivers rake through my body in seconds.

"I had the time of my life away from you, thank you," I smiled back in mockery and he went silent, his cold eyes fixated on me.

I stretched my hands out to the men. "You delivered your prisoner to your boss already, can you cut the tape loose now?" They turned to Lucas and he nodded slightly, giving them the go-ahead as I snorted. I was still upset with the fact that I was caught even before I could make it out of town.

They cut the tape binding my hands and freed my legs also.

In order not to look like a wimp or a fool, I straightened up my clothes and walked majestically to the chair where my mother was seated, which was opposite Lucas's chair.

"Rae?" Mom called but I ignored her as my eyes were fixed on Lucas who stared into space as I tried to figure him out.

"Who the hell was this guy?" I kept wondering as I stared at him. I still found him attractive and annoying but at the same time, there was an air of confidence and superiority around him that drew me in. Plus the lines underneath his eyes and the scars that marred his body told the story of a man who had been through a lot.

"Rae I'm talking to you!" Mom shrieked loudly, grabbing my attention.

"What now?" I growled, annoyed.

"What were you thinking when you escaped?" She questioned, glaring at me.

"That I needed to be far from you who thought of me as a commodity to be traded," I smiled ruefully but the anger in my eyes was evident.

"And away from him who thought of me as a nice commodity to be bought to seal a deal." If he heard me, he didn't show it.

Mom's eyes flashed with emotions and pain. The facade of the woman I saw smiling finally fell off.

"You think I want this for you also?"

"You think I want to ship you out in marriage, not allowing you to find love yourself."

"You think I'm ok with everything that's going on here?" She lashed out at me, releasing it all and I suddenly felt bad.

What was I thinking? Mom wasn't someone like that. She was just trying to protect Dad's legacy and see to it that it doesn't die and I was simply being a brat.

"Mom, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? You just tried to run away and you're expecting me to calm down?" She yelled out furiously.

"What would I have done if I lost you and the company went down the drain?" She asked and my heart constricted in pain. I wanted her to tell me soothing words but all I kept hearing from her were painful words. Although I knew she was trying to keep the company, I hated the fact that she kept treating me as a commodity.

"Stop Mom! Just stop!" I yelled out in fury.

"I get that you want to keep Dad's legacy and I'm being a brat by running away but can you please stop treating me as a commodity and act like a mother, not a marketer?" I said sadly, my eyes glistening with tears.

My mother heard that and stopped talking for a while, her face filled with emotions. Lucas just kept watching the whole drama silently like he was enjoying it.

"I'm sorry Mr Lucas for my daughter's behavior, indeed I am sorry," Mom apologized bowing down.

He waved off her apology like it was nothing.

"Kids would always be kids and never really understand things." He fixed his eyes on me as he said this.

He eventually looked away and began staring into space once again.

"One more thing."

"What is it, Mr Lucas?" My mother asked keenly.

"I think Rae should be in my house from now on, whilst I watch over her till the day of the wedding," he said, smiling and I gasped in horror

He was enjoying this.

"Oh, Mr Lucas, that's a great idea, I agree I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my daughter." Mom sounded happy and part of me wondered if I was imagining mom being sorry a while ago.

"Or you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your sacrificial lamb? C'mon Mom, how could you agree to this?" I said looking at my mother with disgust who simply looked away, refusing to answer me.

Everywhere was dead silent until Lucas signaled the men and they tied my hands again taped my mouth and dragged me to the car.

This time around I didn't struggle, I just kept my eyes on Mom as she watched me being bundled away like an animal without talking.

"Mrs Devin Sinclair I assure you that your daughter is in safe hands."

"Okay, please don't become too hard on her." Lucas stared at the car and then returned his gaze back to Mom.

"As long as she obeys my rules, I won't have to become hard on her."

Lucas entered the same car I was in, sitting opposite me.

The drive to his house was silent as I kept my eyes away from him. I thought about my father; if he had been here, all this wouldn't have happened.

We got to the house in no time and Lucas immediately alighted.

"Take off the tapes and lead her to her room," he ordered the huge guys.

"Yes sir!" They replied.

He peeked in from the window staring at me but I wouldn't glance in his direction.

"Be nice sweetheart," he warned, sounding sweet but he definitely wasn't. He walked away into the house, leaving me with the guys. They got rid of the tapes and led me into the house. I followed quietly, having no energy to resist. We finally got to my room and my mouth dropped open in awe as I saw the room.

"It was huge.'?"

"Take a bath, get dressed, and come down for dinner. Boss orders," one of the guys said, his voice stiff.

"OK?" I furrowed my eyebrows at them expecting them to leave but they stood still, refusing to leave.

"Are you planning to watch me undress?" They all began coughing, their faces turning red in embarrassment.

"No," they apologized as they trooped out.

I crashed on the bed, sighing in frustration.

This was my life now.

*********************

LUCAS

I sat in my study room going through some documents with West, my right-hand man.

"Boss, we keep receiving multiple threats over and over again. It never stops."

"Give me the details," I ordered, frowning. If there was one thing I hated the most, it was pests who thought they could come after me.

"We went to our storehouse where the drugs are kept. We were planning on doing some shifting and selling today but upon arrival we saw everything drowned in water"

"Everything?"

"Everything boss."

"And what about our men who were supposed to watch the storehouse?"

"They were all beaten up to a pulp except for a guy who we can't find now, we believe he's the mole who leaked our secret place to the enemy."

"Do you have his records?" I inquired, puffing out smoke from my nostrils.

"Yes, boss but we don't know who he works for exactly."

He handed over the records to me, and I flipped through it, finding nothing interesting until I got to a page, showing his picture. He had a red dragon tattoo on his chest.

I smiled, recognizing where he came from immediately.

"Boss? You're smiling?"

"Gather the men," I ordered, ignoring his remark.

"And go get his family. You don't have to go after him, he will come to us."

West nodded and made to leave.

"West!" I called out and he paused in his tracks, turning to face me.

"When you get him, delete him and his family."

"Noted boss," he replied and stormed out, getting to work immediately.

Now alone in the office, thoughts of Rae Sinclair flooded my thoughts and I couldn't help but smile in amusement as I remembered the events of today.

She was one fearless girl.

I heard some approaching footsteps and the door flew open in seconds as Gunner, my son stormed in.

"Father! What I'm hearing about arranged marriage between me and some girl?" He demanded.

"You'll be getting married to Rae Sinclair, the only daughter of the Sinclair's."

"I'm not getting married to some stranger dad," he objected, not buying the idea.

"Gunner," I called lowly but dangerously.

"Yes sir," he replied, looking shaken.

"You are getting married to Rae Sinclair."