2

“H…H... Hi,” Susan stammered,

To say that the man looked intimidating was an understatement. He looked threatening… Dangerous, and his presence screamed bad news. Susan was getting more and more worried about her brother.

The man nodded in acknowledgment to her greeting, and simply waited for her to speak again.

“I'm here to see my brother, Samuel. Is he here?” Susan asked, finally finding her tongue.

There was silence for a few seconds, as the man simply stared her up and down. Just as Susan was beginning to think she wouldn't get an answer, another voice she didn't recognise came from within the house, “Let her in, Asher,”

The man, who Susan now knew as Asher, stepped backwards so she could come in, although Susan wasn't sure she wanted to anymore. What if her brother was in trouble? What if he wasn't even in there? What if they'd done something bad to him? Was it really a good idea to go in? She would be helpless if she walked in and found herself trapped in the house with these men, whoever they were. And who was the other man that had spoken? What did such a man have to do with a brother?

Subconsciously, Susan took a step backwards. “Could you ask my brother to come to the door if he's in, please?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

The man still said nothing, but one corner of his lips lifted in a mischievous grin, like he knew she was intimidated and he wanted her to be. Just as Susan made up her mind to leave, and call the police when she got to her car, her brother showed up at the door. Samuel stood beside Asher, and Susan stared at him with both relief and curiosity.

“Sam,” she said almost breathlessly, “Are you okay? I've been trying to reach you,”

“Go home, Suzy,” was all Samuel said, “I'll call you later,”

Her brother looked alright, at least physically, Susan observed as she watched him, but he also looked agitated. Worried even, but he looked like he was more worried for her than for himself.

“I want to talk to you about something,” she insisted, “Can you come with me, so we can go for a walk… Or a drive… Or something,”

She just wanted to get her brother away from these men so she could talk to him privately, but her plan went to hell when the other voice came from within once again.

“What's the hold up, Asher? Let your sister in, Samuel,”

Samuel frowned, and Asher stepped backward, “Get in,” he told her gruffly,

But Susan remained where she was. There was no way in hell she was going to listen to this man. Instead she stared at her brother, and only proceeded to take a step forward when he nodded, letting her know it was okay to proceed.

Susan reluctantly stepped into the living room, and was immediately greeted by the sight of a man sitting on the couch. He looked different from that Asher guy. While Asher was of average height and heavily built, Susan could tell just by looking at this man's sitting form that he was very tall.

He was wearing a pair of jean trousers and turtleneck t-shirt that clung to his powerful frame. He didn't have a man bun like Asher. Instead his dark hair was cut neatly and styled perfectly to fit his full beard. He was a handsome man, Susan observed, but even if he didn't look scary, somehow he managed to look more threatening than Asher, and even more intimidating.

Susan couldn't take it anymore. Something shady was going down here and she was tired of the ominous silence and of everyone staring at her like she was a fragile, helpless little mouse. So she turned to her brother, “What's going on, Sam?” she asked.

Before Samuel could give her a reply, the man on the couch spoke again, “This your sister, Samuel?” he inquired.

It wasn't a question she'd not heard before. They were one of those siblings who had very little resemblance. While Sam took after their father, Susan was a carbon copy of their mother. Even their hair color was different. Sam had brown hair, while Susan was blonde. She'd often thought about dying it, but for some reason she kept postponing it and never got to do it.

However today, as Susan stared at this man, she could tell this question had nothing to do with resemblance or the color of their hair. Samuel responded that they were indeed siblings, and once again, the man's gaze returned to Susan. Only this time it didn't stop at just her face. His eyes took in the light blue blazers and matching skirt she'd worn to the office that morning. Down to her black stilettos. It annoyed her that he stared so unabashedly at her, and Susan, being someone who never hid the way she felt, frowned in disapproval. If he noticed the frown, he didn't seem to mind or care.

“What's your name, Barbie?” he asked lazily, once his gaze returned to her face.

“I don't think that's any of your business,” Susan replied without thinking.

Samuel started to move forward, “Suzy…” he began, but Asher put a hand in his path, stopping his movement.

Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, the man stood from the couch. He was even taller than Susan had guessed, and oh boy, did he look even more intimidating as he approached her. Susan was completely frightened now, but she forced her legs to stay put even when every bone in her body was telling her to take several steps backwards.

“Suzy…” the man repeated, as he finally reached and towered over her. “That's short for Susan, yeah?”

This time, Susan didn't have the guts to come up with any rude or sarcastic comment, so she nodded and tried not to look away. His hands moved, and she flinched, but he only dipped them into his pockets.

“That's a pretty name for a pretty girl,” he added.

Susan had no idea what to say in response to that, so she kept mute. Without another word to her, he stepped away and approached Samuel.

“Two weeks,” he said simply, “You've got two weeks,”

And without a second glance in her direction, the two men walked out of the house, leaving Susan and Samuel staring at each other in awkward silence.

Susan didn't need anyone to let her know that those men were bad news. Anyone could tell just by looking at them that they weren't people you wanted to cross. What did her brother have to do with such men and what did he have to do in two weeks? What the hell had just happened?