Chapter Four

Panicking, I look at both ends of the narrow passage and rush down the left end. I turn down a corner and stop abruptly, staring at the red brick wall in disbelief. 

Whirling on my feet, I let out a strangled sound when I see the same dead-end on the opposite side. 

I take a peek past the wall I’m leaning on to see the coast is clear, but judging by the sound of their approaching steps it won’t be long before I get caught. 

The pounding of my heart drummed in my ears as I contemplated what course of action to make next.

I turn in a full circle, trying to think of something when a slightly ajar door on the opposite wall caught my eye. Without thinking I rush inside and left the door an inch open so I can tell when they were close.

Hearing them draw closer I swallow heavily, silently trying to keep my breathing steady and low. 

“Damn it all, I could have sworn I saw her come this way.” 

“Well, she’s not here. She must have gone the other way.” 

“F**k man,” A male groans in disappointment. “That means she’s probably escaped by now. I wanted to meet her.” 

“Me too, I can’t believe we almost had her twice but lost our chances.” 

“We better get going then.” Mohawk grunts in frustration and I release a silent breath of relief as I stare at their retreating legs.

I waited for twenty more minutes before opening the door slowly to peek outside. 

Seeing how the coast is clear, I was just about to make my exit out of the room when a deep, masculine voice asks in surprise. “What the hell, who are you!” 

      I jump to my feet and turn to see a semi-naked mixed Asian standing behind me. He’s quite tall, probably 6ft 2inches. 

He has a confused frown on his face while he studied me, clearing waiting for a response as his hands rests upon his waist. 

Swallowing thickly, I blink a couple of times in shock as my eyes trail over his body. 

His wet, light brown hair is stuck to his forehead and his pale blue eyes somehow complement his dark ivory skin tone. 

He has a pointed nose that looks slightly crooked and when my gaze drops to his full pink lips, they lift in an arrogant smile as he reaches up to rub his pointed jaw. 

I try dragging my eyes off his muscled chest but only found myself trailing the drops of water sliding down his skin until they touched the edge of the white towel wrapped around his waist. 

He clears his throat loudly and that brought me back to my senses, shaking off my wandering thoughts I look back up to see him staring at me with a smug grin. 

He crossed his arms over his chest which makes his biceps bulge out and asks, his tone as arrogant as the smirk on his lips. 

“Are you done staring?” I nod, still in a daze, but immediately stop when I realized what I’m doing. 

His grin widens, seeming to find me amusing. Getting my bearings, I push the door slowly behind me, letting out a small squeak when he takes a step closer. 

I bolted out of the room as if my life deepened on it… which it kind of did… and faintly heard the sound of something dropping behind me. 

Ignoring the sound, I quickly slip into an open elevator, bumping into an older man getting off. 

Without looking at him I yell out an apology and press on the button for the first floor in urgency, breathing out in relief when the doors shut closed. 

When the doors reopened to reveal the busy lobby, I walk in quick strides and rush towards the rotating doors leading out of the hotel. 

Using my dark auburn curls to provide a cover for my face, I ensure to keep my head down. 

Hurrying out through the rotating doors, I look up to see my manager, pacing back and forth despite the busy pace of pedestrians on Manhattan’s side-walk. 

He runs his hand through his jet-black hair, clenching it once before releasing it and looking up. 

Seeing me approach his brown eyes to flash with relief and his shoulders slump slightly before he turns to open the back door of a rented SUV. 

Quickly, he ushers me inside before anyone else could recognize me, and I relax as soon as the car starts moving. 

“What the hell happened; we’ve been waiting for over an hour?” 

Despite Sam being Afro-Asian, a mix of a black, Nigerian father and a Korean mother, he inherited most of his features from his mother. 

    He has very light, almond skin and looks more Asian than despite his darker skin. Unlike me. 

Reaching behind my head I pull on the black velvet string tied at the back and let my mask fall to my lap. “I’m sorry, I was heading out when a few of my fans spotted me. They freaking chased me all over the place, even as I was interviewing with Radio Splash FM.” 

“Shit, are you okay, did they see your face?” 

“I’m fine, I was able to hide both times before they could catch me.” I say to reassure him and shut my eyes. 

A tired sigh leaves my lips when I start to feel a small throb of pain build in my temple. 

Leaning back against my seat I slump down a little to stretch my legs forward. After a few minutes of, silence Sam nudges me with an elbow and I reopen my eyes to see him handing me a bottle of water right in front of me. 

“Thanks.” 

“You have to be more careful Lana, there’s a lot at stake here.” 

“I know, I know Sam.” I sigh. “Next time I’ll pull off my mask and wear a hooded sweatshirt.” 

“Good, well at least you were able to throw them off. Anyways you should rest, we’ll arrive at the airport in 1hour.”