Will fell asleep, slumped over on his desk. “Ugh,” he yawned as he straightened up. “That was a bad idea.” He stretched his arms out feeling all of the knots in his back. Nothing a hot shower won’t fix. He figured after his shower he’d let Emma know he was her new neighbor. She’d probably be upset about it. But it was done, and he wasn’t going back now. He recalled the way Emma stared at him while he was wearing more casual clothes. There was no hiding that hunger in her eyes. He knew it too well.“Well,” he smirked to himself. “I won’t be going to work. No need to wear a suit every day.” It was a diabolical plan. But if he was ever going to be with Emma again, he had to start somewhere. He stepped into the shower and enjoyed the feeling of the water cascading around him. It ran all over his body, and he couldn’t help but think it should be Emma’s hands all over him instead. He imagined her in the shower with him, her nails dragging down his back as he pressed his body into hers. “I
“Come on, pick up,” he urged after calling a couple more times. But each time he was met with the same answer. None. Panic began to set in. There was no other way he could think of to contact Emma. She hadn’t indicated where Jess said to meet, or if a place had been provided at all. He needed to call Jess. That seemed like the only logical solution, but he didn’t have her number. The other person he knew that could have it was Sabrina. If he called her in his current state, it would be a dead giveaway that something was wrong. That girl didn’t miss a thing, and he didn’t want to alert anyone yet. Not yet at least. For all he knew, Emma’s phone turned off from low battery, and lack of sleep was making him paranoid. But he figured he didn’t have a choice. He had to get that number. “There better be a good reason you’re calling me this late at night,” Sabrina answered in lieu of a greeting. “Hello to you too,” Will remarked. “What the hell do you want, Will?”“I need your friend, Je
Will pulled over, too overwhelmed to drive. “Goddamnit!” He yelled and punched the steering wheel. Moments later he received a message on his phone. It was a photo, and it made his blood run cold. The background was dark, not giving much of the location away. In the forefront, was Emma. She was unconscious and bound to a chair. A strip of gray duct tape was placed over her mouth. A trickle of blood had dried on her forehead. Will struggled to breathe as rage took him over. He thought about calling his uncle, demanding an explanation.If you deviate at all… Emma Wells will die. The voice rang in his head. The caller had used a voice changer so Will couldn’t pick up any specifics on it. He played the call over a few times, frustrated that he couldn’t place the voice. He didn’t have a choice. He had to go back and wait.“But not without a plan,” he said out loud. The kidnapper said not to call the police. However, Will wouldn’t play into their trap. Getting Emma back was the number one
Trigger warning: mentions of rape“We’ve been up ever since you first called me,” Sabrina explained. “I started thinking of anyone who would want to hurt Emma.”“Who would want to hurt Emma?” Spencer asked in disbelief.“The list is longer than you’d think. She had a lot of haters,” Sabrina said. “But none so great as Grace.”“It makes sense,” Alex added. “I hadn’t even thought of her as a possibility. I haven’t thought of her at all,” Will answered. Since chasing Grace away from Emma’s apartment, she hadn’t crossed his mind. All of his attention had been for Emma and Lizzie, and most recently, Robert. “I don’t think she’s capable of something like this.”“She was capable of drugging you, trying to rape you, faking a pregnancy to trap you and planting drugs in your car!” Sabrina screamed. “Holy shit,” Spencer commented, looking at Will with confusion and pity.“Yeah, long story,” Will said to him.“And she hates Emma! Absolutely hates her! She is vicious, conniving, and evil!” Sabri
“I owe you, Captain,” Will said. “Damn right. I’ll keep you in the loop if I find anything else.” “Thanks.” Will hung up and looked at Spencer. “Captain Damon Whitlock,” he clarified. “He’s got us some solid information.” “Good,” Spencer yawned. “What time is it?” “Five,” Will answered with a yawn of his own. “I’ve got to call Alex and Sabrina.” “Will they be awake?” “Sabrina will be. And if she’s awake, Alex will be as well.” Will dialed Alex’s number. Alex answered on the first ring. “What you got?” “Captain Whitlock called. He’s got us some info.” “Already?” Sabrina asked. “This Whitlock guy is pretty impressive.” “You don’t even know,” Alex said with reverence and fear in his voice. “That’s a story for another time,” Will snickered. “All right. So, he had one his guys, a hacker, track the signal from Jess’s phone. The message that Emma got was sent from right outside the building here. And then the phone was turned off about ten minutes after that.” “Fuck!” Sabr
The drive was filled with tense, palpable silence. The fact that the man seated next was his rival for Emma was not lost on him. It was the way his eyes lit up, the fierce way he moved to protect her. Will had always considered himself an alpha male. The most powerful, the sexiest, the richest man wherever he went. Getting what he wanted had never been an issue. He never lost. Especially not to someone like Spencer. He wasn’t intimidating at first glance. But he’d been on the receiving end of Spencer’s wrath. That was alpha behavior. Protecting what he wanted, what was his. But Emma isn’t his. “She loves me, you know,” Will blurted out. His voice thundered through the dense quiet in the car. “I know,” Spencer said, not looking at him. “Your mistake was to wait until after you ruined her and caused her to uproot her life and run away from everything she knew to say or do anything about it.” “I take it back,” Will scowled. “We probably wouldn’t be friends.” “No,” Spencer said with
No one even dared to breathe. Captain Whitlock’s words sent a shock to the room, and no one wanted to acknowledge what he said. Things were just cranked up to 100, and no one knew what to do about it. “Holy shit,” Will finally said. “This is proof. This is proof that Grace is involved.” “The drugs she planted in your car,” Alex realized. “She got them from your uncle.” “It’s more than that,” Captain Whitlock said. “He’s a suspect in several large cases in Singapore and here. A few people tried to bring him in. Those people disappeared. It’s clear that you’re his actual target, Will.” “How do you know this?” Alex asked. “I’ve had people tailing him, and he’s not made any movements.” “You’re right,” Captain Whitlock agreed. “I sent in an agent to try and gather some inside intel.” “That must have been hard. Robert is paranoid as fuck,” Will scoffed. “Yeah, I wish you would have told me that. Well, anyway, I sent the agent in with the catering vendor. We switched them out with som
The captain’s team moved like a well-oiled machine. One of them moved through the house with the stealth of a ninja. She swept through the house looking for bugs and areas that could be compromised. Another went around securing the perimeter, ensuring the home was as safe as possible. The last set up tracking equipment. “Our best bet to capture these depraved assholes,” the captain explained. “Is to track any incoming calls. You said the kidnapper hasn’t called back yet right?” “That’s right,” Will answered. “Perfect. Another thing, you need to keep completely out of sight.” “Why?” Will was annoyed. “Now that you’re here, we should be out there trying to find them!” “Listen. Right now, your uncle does know where you are,” he put his hands on Will’s shoulders and gave him a shake. “No one knows. Which means that they are looking for you. What do you think is going to happen when they find you?” Will looked away, battling to keep his rage in check. Damnit! “They’ll kill you,” C
Six months later “Stewart Industries Landmark building construction was completed today. The twenty-story building boasts retail, commercial, and event space. The impressive building has already become a hallmark of the city with a silver tower as its crown. Glass windows glisten in the sun. And anyone in the city can enjoy the gorgeous public park that surrounds it. It is a gorgeous and shining collaboration of the best and freshest minds in the city. William Stewart has named the structure, ‘The Conrad Tower,’ in honor of his beloved late grandfather. The city awaits now for the building to open and for all the new opportunities it will create. This has been Susanne Winters for Channel 16 news.” They all cheered and toasted the completion of the building, gathered around Will and Emma’s living room. “Here’s to The Conrad Tower!” Will raised his glass. “And to all the people that helped make it possible! I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you all. Thank you.” They raised
The high from the success of the show had worn off, and Will felt himself spiraling. His pulse quickened; a sheen of cold sweat sprouted on his forehead. He held it together the best he could while around others. But alone, with nothing but his memories to accompany him… it was always the worst.As he arrived home and prepared himself for another lonely night, he was greeted by something unexpected. A large truck was parked in front of his home. Men moved in and out of it, bringing things inside.“…The fuck?” he muttered as he parked his car. “Excuse me,” he called out to them. “This is my home. What are you doing here?”“I hired them,” a voice said from the doorway of the house. He looked over towards the familiar voice, not daring to believe it. But there she was, bathed in the light from inside the house. “Hi, Will. I’m sorry if I startled you, but I w
Their days were filled with appointments. Every time they turned around, there was somewhere to be. Will had been discharged and had the company to take care of. With the building finally underway, Stewart Industries was thriving again. It was a rare moment that he got time to himself. And even when he did, everyone else was busy with their own hectic lives. Will floated around his giant, empty home. He went to work, came home, did his physical therapy exercises, and went to sleep. Alone. He found, in recent days, that alone was not a good place for him to be. Nightmares plagued his sleep, and he jumped at the slightest noises. Monsters had moved from under the bed and in the shadows to inside his mind.He hated it.Emma hadn’t been able to make good on her promise to move back. Things were hectic, and no one had time for anyone anymore. It had been almost two weeks before he saw anyone. They all called and messaged each other, but it wasn&rs
Will’s recovery was slow. The doctors had informed him that taking that bullet as such close range did a lot of damage, but it was the reason he wasn’t dead as nothing major was hit. He wasn’t out of the woods yet and would need a good round of physical therapy. The medical staff agreed that he needed to stay in the hospital for at least a week so they could monitor him. Emma and Alex fussed over him, making sure he listened and did everything according to the doctor’s orders.On the fourth day, he was restless and just wanted to leave. Alex was in the room with him, telling him off for not listening.“You’re being a brat,” Alex scolded him.“I just want to get out of this bed,” Will whined.“Try getting out again, and I’ll break both your legs.”“How very Mafia of you,” Will smirked.“Shut up,” Alex swatted at
Chaos exploded around them. Shouts and screams filled the air as Captain Whitlock ordered that Ghost be apprehended and an ambulance be called. Ghost dropped his gun and raised his hand in surrender as his fantasy came to life right before his eyes.“Beautiful!” he said over the din. “It’s more beautiful than I could ever imagine.”“Shut up,” Captain Whitlock spat as he wrenched Ghost’s hands behind his back. “You’re going to go away for a very long time. They may even make a case for the death penalty against you.”“I hope they do,” he said with a contented sigh. “I’ve done all I have ever wanted to do.”“Take this vile piece of shit. And read him his rights. This arrest needs to be perfect. I swear if this fucker gets out on a technicality, I’ll fire the lot of you!”An officer took Ghost a
Will turned around and the world moved in slow motion around him. About ten feet away from them, there he stood. Ghost. Denis. The man responsible for all the pitfalls in his life stood ten feet away from them, the sunlight glinting off the barrel of an ornate silver gun. How could he have been so careless?“Surprise,” Ghost sang.“How…” Will began to ask.“How did I get so close?” Ghost finished. “Without anyone noticing. Hmm…” he used the gun to scratch his temple for a moment and then pointed it back at them. “I’m the monster in the dark. The one under your bed. The one your parents warn you about. Oh wait… your parents wouldn’t warn you about anything. They’ve been trying to sacrifice you to the darkness for years,” he said with feigned contrition.“What do you want?” Will asked. His eyes darted around, looking for
They really thought they were smart, huh? They thought he would fall for their little traps. However, he couldn’t deny that they had presented him with the perfect opportunity. Will was serving himself on a silver platter. It would be so easy to just take care of him then. His ultimate fantasy could play out the way he’d always dreamt of. The very public murder of William Stewart was just something he couldn’t pass up.What reason was there even to hide anymore? They had revealed his identity. Everyone knew who he was. So, what purpose did the shadows serve him anymore? Perhaps it was time to come out into the light and end this charade. His last card against Will had been used up. He’d run out of games.“Let’s play,” he chuckled, loading his gun. “No plans. No backups. This is it.” His heart raced with elation as he envisioned a bullet ripping through Will. Hearing his loved ones cry as his body crump
The interview was a smash. The city was on high alert, and Ghost’s name was on everyone lips. The few times Sabrina went out, it’s all she could hear anyone talk about. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud. Captain Whitlock received dozens of calls and tips. Many people said how they knew Denis, and how there was no way he could be Ghost.Others said that they’re surprised they never saw the signs. Some offered clues and places that Denis used to frequent. He traipsed the city, following these clues. Most led to nothing. Just traces of an old that Ghost himself probably wouldn’t recognize. But there was one call…“Um… hi. Is this Captain Whitlock?” It was hesitant man’s voice.“Yes, how can I help you?”“I’m calling about Denis Ratcliffe.”Captain Whitlock received so many of these calls he was numb to them.
Will let the water wash over him as he tried to steady his frenzied heartbeat. The truth was that they were terrified. For Ghost to be so brazen as to just waltz into the police station and open fire did not bode well for any one of them. It was clear that Ghost was just as ready to end this as they were. He leaned his forehead against the cold tile, letting the rhythmic beating of the water of against his back soothe him.Soon enough, a shower wouldn’t be such an event. At least not the ones he took alone, anyway. Steam rolled off of skin as he emerged from the shower. Emma had laid out some clothes for him. Just a white t-shirt a pair of gray sweatpants. He laughed. Now that he was free and clean, he wanted to hold his baby.He went downstairs, back to the dining room where everyone was gathered.“Where is Lizzie?” he asked.“Right here,” Emma said. She stood behind him, holding a