TWELVEThe meal went quite well for Jackson and he was glad he had not done what Celine would have expected of him and exactly what he would have done if it was anybody else and not Amelia.He stared at her as she pushed the plate away; she was a good eater because she had cleared her plate and he liked that about her… he also did not think it was proper to waste food that one could eat seeing as there were many others who could hardly afford the luxuries of that.His mother had spared no effort in educating him and his brother on the dangers of waste and maybe because she also had grown up not having anything before meeting his father.“Tell me about yourself, Amelia” he said, startling her.She raised blue eyes up to his, peering into his eyes as she cleared her throat.“There is nothing much to tell” she said, pursuing her lips.“Go on” he prompted.He suddenly had the urge to want to know everything there was to know about her including how she had met the ex.“I grew up in Chicag
THIRTEENGeorge walked in as soon as Jackson was sat and he observed as his brother sauntered towards him without a care in the world. He looked happy and was smiling as he sat down.“You wanted to see me?” he asked“You know fully well why I want to see you, George so let us get right down to it” Jackson snapped.The conversation in the elevator… it hadn’t exactly been a conversation; it had been him more or less baring his fangs at Amelia and she sliding right in her shell.They hadn’t said anything more but he could tell that there wasn’t going to be anything like the breakfast that they had had just minutes ago. She wasn’t going to be that open towards him again.He was angry… at her and at himself for being angry at her and it was his brother that was going to get the short end of the stick.“If this is about Emily, then allow me to…”“You know damn well that this is about Emily and you are going to allow me have a say in the next person you parade in public because you are a dir
FOURTEENAmelia was trying so hard not to seethe in rage at the way Jackson had spoken to her after she had saved the day. He had all but threatened her and that was not okay to her; she understood that it wasn’t everyday he had someone say the truth about the matter which was that he was being fucking unreasonable to fire Celine even though she had almost let her lose her job but…Amelia jolted out of her thoughts as soon as the door opened and George sauntered out; the George whom she had thought she was going to be working for and the one who was on all the posters regarding their company.She now realized that he was merely their poster boy and only because Jackson did not want to have anything to do with the limelight which she considered quite strange. Anyone would want to be in the limelight of such a popular and well to do company and he only sat in the background and ran the company?The man smiled and waved in her direction before stepping out, leaving her thoughts to return
FIFTEENHe was inviting her to his wedding? The fucking bastard, Jackson thought as his eyes remained on Amelia’s face.She looked like she was about to cry and was desperately trying to rein in her emotions because she was in front of him. If only she knew that he wanted her to be expressive with him just as she had been when they had first met…when he had first realized that she was exactly what he wanted.“You do not intend to go, I presume” he said, matter of fact.The smile trembled on her face as she raised both eyebrows“I have to not because I want to go but because I would not hear the end of it from both our parents if I do not show up and by now they must be preparing to bombard me with phone calls and…”As if on cue, her phone rang interrupting her next statement.She waved it in front of her with an ‘I told you’ smirk on her face before she answered“Hello mother” she muttered, rolling her eyes at Jackson while he chuckled“Yes… I have heard about his impending nuptials a
SIXTEEN“Mother, I will be there… could you stop calling me?” Amelia breathed into the receiver, rolling her eyes as her mother listed the reasons why she had to be there for the wedding.“I don’t know why you think my presence is compulsory but I will be there. I am on the way as we speak and will call you when I touch down so please stop calling me” Amelia muttered, hanging up before her mother said anything more.She sighed, turning to Jackson with an embarrassed smile on her face“I don’t know what she wants” she murmured, reclining in her seat.“Why does she want you to get married to…”“Ethan?... well, maybe because he and I have always been together and she knows his family. I don’t know why she cannot accept that it is over between us though” Amelia muttered, frowning“Tell me now, what will she think about me?” Jackson asked suddenlyNot that he was concerned about what anyone thought about him since the deal with Sophia but he did not want to make Amelia uncomfortable and it
Chapter 17“I have to tell you thank you for allowing let me borrow your airplane” Amelia said as soon as they dropped“You don’t have to say thank you for anything and don’t you think you should call your mother to let her know that you have arrived in the country? I am sure she is worried sick” he said dryly, eliciting a laugh from her “I don’t think I want her to know anything until I am there she is going to ask me the same question over and over again” Amelia told him Jackson nodded flipping out his phone to make a quick phone call before they dropped. Hehad already asked that one of his cars be provided and they were only waiting for that“Speaking of the devil” Amelia murmuredJackson glanced up as one corner of his eyebrow arched in her direction“My mother” she said, pointing at the phone in her hand as if in explanationJackson smiled and nodded in understanding waiting until she was done with the phone call before informing her of the arrival of the car“I did not think
CHAPTER EIGHTEENYou? Amelia thought, staring pointedly at Ethan who had eyes on Jackson“What do you mean?” she asked, waiting for one of them to answer her.“I know him… he and I… we spoke during the club…” Ethan sputtered, looking towards Jackson for helpJackson on the other hand was pointedly silent but Amelia could feel the tension in his shoulders and she could tell that there was something that he wasn’t telling her… something important that he did not deem fit to inform her about.It infuriated her that he and Ethan had shared a moment that she was unaware of and her mind was running different scenarios on what exactly that could be.“You should introduce me, darling” the woman who had managed to remain invisible finally broke the tension spellAmelia turned icy eyes to her, taking in her appearance and then realizing with stark clarity that it was the woman she had caught him with at the club. The same person if her eyes wasn’t deceiving her and she knew it wasn’t because sh
CHAPTER NINETEEN“What do you think they are talking about?” Amelia finally asked her mother who had not shut up about Jackson since she called her away from the said man.“Where did you find him?” her mother shot back, eyeing her daughter like she could not believe she could ever land something as beautiful and hot as Jackson“I did not find him, mother… I work for the man and like I said, he was gracious enough to be my escort for the wedding seeing as you were forever hounding me about it, including at work” she concluded, her eyes following her mother’s.The woman was a fucking married one but had time to survey other men? And where was my damn father? Amelia thought“You think he is here out of the goodness of his heart? Everyone with eyes can see that he has the hots for you but I wonder how that is possible…”Amelia stared at her mother, the shock evident on her face“Do not get me wrong, you are a pretty child but nobody can say that you are stunning or a looker and definitely
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND TWELVE“He sent an address… we have to go” Jackson declared, reaching for the gun on the table.Liam and Simon got up with him wondering what the fuck he was on about “What are you talking about?” Liam asked“I was on the phone with Damien, he wants us to meet. Just me and I know it is a trap but there is no way I am going to allow him make good on his threat of sending me Amelia in pieces”“We cannot… I understand what you are saying but we cannot go there alone” Simon told himIt was the first time he and Liam were agreeing on anything “You are right, we aren’t going there alone… I am going on my own. I cannot let anything happen to her”“Nothing will but we have to figure this all out , come up with a plan. We are going to his own turf and he might as well kill the both of you.” Simon argued“He is right” Liam muttered. “We are going to go in with a plan, Jackson if we are going to have any chance of reaching the both of you alive.”Liam made a couple of phone
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND ELEVENDamien stared at the television in front of him, his teeth grating against themselves as he watched the news. It would seem that the man he had asked to do a good job of keeping Jackson off his scent was doing a rather poor one because why the hell was his picture in the fucking news.The fucker had put a bounty on my head, Damien thought as he stared incredulously as the voice of the news presenter droned on. He was hot topic at the moment and he did not need that for his business. It would seem that he had underestimated Jackson. He wasn’t going to let him go scot free; it only meant that he had to kill the guy and the one way to do that was to lure him here to his own tuff.It was going to be easy once he dangled Amelia in front of him like a fucking worm on a hook. He knew the man would come running because he loved her.Damien laughed at this; he was going to enjoy killing Jackson and it was one way to take Amelia if he did it in front of her. She had
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND TEN“How could I have let this happen?” Jackson asked for the hundredth time, beating his hand on his thigh.He had contacted the cops about the kidnap and although Liam had spoken to one of them, he had sounded super vague which Jackson found suspicious“You could not have known what kind of asshole he was, Jackson. It is not your fault and the only thing we can do now is figure out a way to make sure we rescue her unharmed.” Liam told himThey were sitting at the table in a bunch with Natalie supplying snacks as they plotted. She had come along with Simon whom Liam still had not taken a shining to but she had said they had been together when he called so she could not refuse when he asked to accompany her.He wasn’t saying anything but he looked contrite as they tried to figure out what was going on and Jackson could not deny that he needed all hands on deck if he was ever going to see Amelia again.“I don’t think the detective is telling us everything we should
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND NINEDamien opened the car door and helped Amelia out who was still unbelievably silent even after all he had told her about Jackson and how he was going to make sure he wiped the bastard from this earth for daring to touch her.She had grown he had to give her that but she had to be aware that he was no longer the man she used to know. The one that tolerated indiscipline and had allowed her enjoy her years while she was running from him.He guessed he had Jackson to thank for making that open proposal. It has made him see his baby again and realized how much he wanted her back for himself.Oh, the things he planned to teach her and make her do to him. By the time he was done, she would never think of fleeing again.He escorted her into the house and straight for the den where he pushed her inside. She collapsed unto the floor, her eyes widening as they happened upon a portrait of her on the wall.He had had it made on the night he had seen the proposal by Jackson
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND EIGHTAmelia remained silent as the car moved, her head buzzing with thoughts and my mind far away. She was unexpectedly calmer than she had thought she would be and she made no move even as Damien touched a hand to her thigh, grinning at her.She had no idea where they were headed and tried to regulate her breathing as much as possible so she did not behind panicking.She knew by now that Jackson would be aware of what had happened and would come for her. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.“You have been specially quiet; aren’t you going to rave and ask me questions?” Damien questioned herHe was surprised at her level of calmness; nay, he was disgusted by it.He wanted her to scream and he wanted to enjoy the terror in her eyes but she wasn’t giving him the satisfaction he craved.She was nothing like the fiery girl he used to know who would scream and curse even as he hit he countlessly.“I promised to do whatever you want; do you want me to ask you questions?”
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND SEVENAnna could the loud screams that was hers as she watched the car drive away with Amelia.Her heart pounded violently against her chest as she clutched the phone, her trembling fingers struggling to dial the numbers. Fear and panic gripped her as she attempted to call Liam. She was finding it hard to breathe and unable to form coherent thoughts as she waited for him to pick up “God please” she muttered to herself.She wasn’t much of a prayer person but at the moment, she hoped Amelia would be safe and they find her before Damien did something to her or worse killed her.The phone rang once, twice, and on the third ring, Liam's voice finally filled the line. "Hey, Anna, what's up?" he asked casually, unaware of the turmoil brewing on the other end.Anna's breath hitched, her voice barely a whisper, "L-Liam, it's Amelia. She's... she has been kidnapped. Damien came and he… oh my God, I am sorry for leaving her all alone in the house but I had to. I don’t know
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND SIX“You don’t have to keep watch over me like a hawk, Anna. I will be fine and you did say that the meeting is quite important for work; do not let me be the one to keep you here” Amelia declared“I know you will be fine on your own but I still think I should stay back and maybe reschedule the meeting for…”“For when? Whenever Damien is not chasing after me? Don’t think about doing that and just go for your meeting. I will be fine and he has absolutely no idea that I am here so what could go wrong” she interrupted“Fine, I will be back in a jiffy so don’t go anywhere” Anna warned, taking the stairs in twos so she could prepare for the meeting.It was impromptu but it was important and although she wanted to stay home to watch over Amelia, she also had to consider her job and it is as Amelia had said. Damien had no idea where she was and even if he was looking for her, he would have eyes on either her house or Jackson’s and definitely not hersShe soon was ready an
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND FIVE“I need all the information you can get on him” Jackson told Liam when they were alone.“I have already done some digging on him. I started looking into his operations, and it wasn't easy. He is elusive, leaving no traces behind, but I managed to uncover some crucial information."Jackson's eyes widened with surprise. "You investigated Damien already? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked“Of course I investigated him; how would you think I would after hearing all he had to say that evening. I needed to know what we were up against and how best to address the situation” Liam told him“So? What are we up against?” Jackson questioned. “What did you find out?” His curiosity now piquedLiam leaned forward, his voice hushed.“His full name is Damien Lodge and he is a well known drug dealer. It wasn’t hard getting information on him because he is wanted in about nineteen states for different crimes and no one has been able to pin him to any of the crimes. His empire is
CHAPTER HUNDRED AND FOUR“You look really sick, Amelia. Is there anything I can get you?” Anna asked as she opened the door to her friend’s room who had not come out in days “I don’t need anything; thank you for asking” Amelia muttered, her eyes drowsing from sleeping too much “I know you don’t but is there not a way or anything I can do to get you out of that bed? You have been like this for days and it is scaring me; when was the last time you had a fucking bath” She questioned, her eyebrows shooting up in concern.Amelia groaned. She did not want to talk about what was bothering her, only that she wanted to be left alone to her misery and fears but if there was one person who would understand seeing as she had accommodated her when she had run out on Damien then it was going to be Anna.Amelia could see that she was waiting for an explanation or a lifeline but she did not know how exactly to begin talking about it without falling apart and she wanted no one to tell her she was e