Alicia's POV:
My breaths came out shallowly and echoed in the empty metal cell. I had already begun to smell a staleness in the air and it made me feel so dirty.
No one had come, and I didn’t even know whether it had been a day or a couple of hours. Time was hard to tell when one couldn’t see the sun after all.“Why is this happening to me?” I murmured to myself, curled up in a fetal position. I laid my head against the wall next to the door, praying for someone, anyone to come.
At some point I thought I might have heard footsteps, but I wasn’t sure.Suddenly I heard a loud sound of metal creaking and it made me jolt to a standing position, wide eyed at the door where I could have sworn the sound came from.
What was going on?
My hope surged once more as I realized it must be someone.“Help,” my voice was hoarse as my throat was dry. “Please…”
As soon as I had said that the door swung open and I winced at the sound of the creaking door. I noticed it was a burly man that walked in, looking intimidating. He had several scars in his face and a crooked nose, all of which filled me with terror.
This wasn't the help I envisioned.
"Um..." I opened my mouth and closed it, simultaneously speechless and terrified. What was going on?
What was going to happen to me?
My heart sped up and I took a step back warily.
Then the man, after surveying me for a couple of moments, grunted wordlessly and reached for me.
“No!” I yelled at him, my voice breaking and I tried to retreat to a corner. My breaths came out in pants and I screamed, "Leave me alone! Don't touch me!!" But it was too late. He had taken hold of my arm and gave it a pull.My mouth fell open in pain as I felt the strain on my arm and was unable to resist his strong grip.
"Struggling will not help you little girl," the man's voice was thick and accented, almost drawling. "It won't take me long to break this twiggy arm of yours."
His threat sank into me with a heaviness and I froze into place.
It happened all in an instant; my eyes watered as I was being pulled out of the cell and down a hallway I had never been in before.Where was I being taken to? Would i be released? Or would I be in a worse position than I have already been?
I knew I didn’t have a choice to resist and so I resigned myself to my fate.As we walked, I felt the warmth of an air vent on my legs every couple of seconds. The dungeon was quiet, save for the echoing of our footsteps. I shuffled in front of the man who gave a raspy grunt now and then and squeezed his hand over my arm as if to warn me to keep on moving. I got the point and didn't dare to stop.
Then, to my utmost surprise, the dreary dungeon scenery changed as we turned a corner and I found myself gaping at the pristine walls in front of me.
This place was… different. More like a mansion.
I stared at the cream walls littered with intricate golden filigree decor, and the chandeliers fixed on an incredibly high ceiling.Whose house was I in?
I had only seen such places in movies and pictures before.“Move along,” the roughened voice of the burly man behind me startled me, as did his tug on my arm.
Another dreadful warning reminding me of my situation.
I gulped and nodded and made my feet walk faster. Sounds of birds chirping reached my ears as we walked past an open courtyard, sunlight streaming in and painting everywhere in an ethereal golden glow.
The man then ordered me to go right at a corner and so I did, praying that my captors were going to be reasonable. By the looks of it, it might be possible. I wasn’t worth the trouble.
What would anyone want with a nobody like me?
“Leave her,” I heard a velvety voice and suddenly the burly man released me, leaving me shocked for a couple of seconds.
Before me was a balcony, and I watched the scene before me with mild curiosity and disbelief.
The sun light highlighted the figure of a man I had never seen before, wearing a dark red shirt that highlighted his tan. His sleeves were rolled up and he was preoccupied with breakfast. His black hair was coiffed, making him appear more posh, as though his accented voice and outfit didn’t do it for me.
Without looking up, he said in the same tone, “Alicia Stevens. Come.”
There was an undercurrent of an order in those softly spoken words, and I felt my heart beat faster as i took steps, one after the other, towards him. My gut instincts screamed at me to run as fast as I could from here but I knew it would be a foolish endeavor.
My eyes were fixed on him, as he reminded me of a viper, only waiting for the time to strike.He was a predator, and I knew my senses couldn't lie.
By the time I reached the table where a small, half-eaten feast was displayed, my body was trembling as fear took over.
The man raised his head and dropped the fork and knife gently on the plate.His green eyes were cold, and full of knowing, as though he could read my mind. His eyes looked familiar and NOT at the same time.
Did I know him? It couldn't be, I shook my head mentally. His face wasn't one that I had seen before.
“Sit down,” he gestured to the chair across from him. You are my guest, and we have much to discuss,” he said.“Please,” I murmured, my throat hurting and tears prickling my eyes, though I tried to not let them fall. “Please just let me go. I haven’t done anything. I don’t know what’s going on. I don't know anything. Believe me. Please…”
“Enough,” his voice turned hard and his gaze became even more intense. “I have little patience for girls who don’t follow orders, especially crying ones. Alicia, if I am to waste my time speaking with you, then you will LISTEN. Now... Sit. Down.”
Dread pooled in my gut as I nodded, whimpering inwardly.
This man wasn’t one to be trifled with, i could see it in his eyes. Did that other scary guy work for him? He must be into shady business if so...Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?
I took the seat as ordered, and clasped my hands tightly together, praying I could be anywhere else but here. Alas, if wishes were horses.
“Good,” he leaned back leisurely and reached into a folder I hadn’t noticed was there before, pulling out a picture. “Do you recognize this man?”
My brows furrowed as I stared at the picture, confused. The older looking man's portrait he showed me was no one I had ever met before and I shook my head.
“No,” I responded, hoping that if I cooperated he would release me.
“This is Senator John Duncan. He comes from a family of wealth and power. Money, connections, whatever you can dream of. This man has it. Even the President has to work to gain his approval. There is nothing he doesn’t have his hand in, and he has enough influence to shape this country,” the man chuckled darkly, leaving a shiver running down my spine. "The Duncan family is one of the most important political families in the world." Then he tossed the photo across the table at me, as a young girl came in to pick up the plates. He went silent and I preoccupied myself by looking at the picture, so that I didn’t have to meet the man’s eyes. Doing that would only drive me more scared.
My eyes traced the lines of the photograph, a confused look on my face. What did a senator of all people have to do with me?
What was I involved in?
I really didn't understand. My entire life, I had stayed away from anything too exciting, too outrageous. I wasn't interested in politics, in making a statement, in ANYTHING other than living a peaceful life. This was something new I wasn't used to, and I was still taking it all in.
Seconds passed in silence as the young maid stacked the plates and wiped the table clean before bowing to the man.
Once the girl left, shuffling away with a tray laden with tinkling dishes, my captor said something else that made me stiffen.
“Did you know? This man, Senator Duncan, is your dearest father.” …Alicia's POV:My… what?It was as though blood rushed through my ears and I could barely consider the words for a second. With the situation I was in, it took a while before it fully sank in.My father?This man… this Senator Duncan, was my father?“That’s impossible,” the words immediately left my lips, and the man chuckled like I had said something incredibly funny.What was so funny? What was the joke? Was I the joke?My mind worked furiously to understand.“It doesn't matter what you think, fiorellino. You're the daughter of a powerful senator. Congratulations,” his smirk widened and I felt like I was more afraid. What was there to celebrate? “And you… are going to help me, fiorellino. By being my hostage. You see, my business is being attacked by laws beyond my control. Wonderful country you have here, by the way. And troublesome and finicky your fucking laws are. Your father… he can help me,” he waved his hand around, keeping his green eyes trained on me.I heard something vibrat
Acker's POV:The air was filled with a scent of lemon, a strange choice for a car scent but I wasn't going to complain as long as it didn't disturb me.Acker's POV:The air was filled with a scent of lemon, a strange choice for a car scent but I wasn't going to complain as long as it didn't disturb me.But my focus wasn’t on the car or how comfortable the leather seats were. My focus was on her - Alicia Stevens. The girl I had taken to bed that night after I had returned to the US to check on my investments.If I had known she was that special I would never have removed my eyes from her even for a second.I listened to the sounds of her presence beside me.She was quiet. Too quiet, for my liking.I removed my eyes from the phone where I was exchanging messages with Mikael, who was in the car behind mine, and Javier, my right hand man. Both separate conversations but with similar topics at hand. Alicia was staring out the window, through the tinted black glass to the landscape outside.
Alicia’s POV:Get it together, Alicia. I tried to listen to the chiding head in my voice that reminded me of Daya, the friend who had no idea where I was.It was impossible to listen to those words though, whether they were real or imagined.I was only faintly aware of the fact that I was hyperventilating. Everything had happened so fast, I had just seen and been through a lot of things that I never expected to have been through.Tears spilled down my cheeks and my hands clenched, trying to find somewhere, something, anything to ground myself. Why did this have to happen to me? I kept my head down. I was a quiet person. I never involved myself in anything shady. I had never wanted to be noticed, much less abducted!I felt something like a cloth being dabbed onto my cheeks, and I tried to move away from it instinctively only for my hands to be caught, pulling me Into a sitting position firmly.“Alicia,” I faintly recognized this was Acker talking, through the turbulent emotions that
Alicia’s POVBefore anything else could happen, there was the distinct sound of a vibrating phone. Acker immediately tensed and raised a hand to stop me from speaking and I found I couldn’t disobey.He brought out his phone from his pocket and answered the incoming call.“Javier,” his tone was terse and I wondered what was being said on the other end as his expression morphed from stoic to pleased. “Good. We were expecting him. Let him through.”My brows furrowed as he exchanged a wordless glance with Mikael. The two men seemed to be having a conversation without having to say anything, and Mikael’s expression also bore satisfaction, his lips quirked up in a tiny little smirk that made his face look just a little bit more handsome.I looked away, wondering what they were so pleased about. This couldn’t be anything good, could it?“Well look at the time,” Mikael’s spoke as Acker ended the call. “You have a visitor, tesoro.”“A visitor?” I couldn’t help the disbelief in my voice. Who wo
Mikael’s POV:I sighed out loud as the sound of another loud jeep driving past made my head hurt slightly. What is it with Americans and large cars, I wondered.The presence of Madden made me stiff. Calling the tension between Acker Madden and I awkward was an understatement to say the fucking least.I grunted out loud, my fingers flexing as I debated the chances of me getting a smoke right then. It was only going to be for a second…My fingers inched towards the cigars in my right inner pocket. Maybe a smoke would get rid of the damn stiffness I felt.“Don’t even think about it, Serrano,” Acker Madden, the famed fucking Madman of the United Kingdom, Europe and the most of Asia, warned in his British burr. He was also the only thing standing in my way.“It was just a thought,” I kept my tone light and innocent.“Just reminding you,” he replied. “You act like you’re above the rules, after all. You’re practically royalty in our circles.”My ire was ignited and I barely kept my hands in
Alicia’s POV:The conversation with my dad had been… something I never quite thought I would experience.I was reeling from it all, including his promise to make sure I was safe no matter what, when the door to the apartment suddenly flew open.Unsurprisingly, Acker and Mikael walked in, but so did another woman, one whom I had met before. She had been there in the club when I had met Mikael for the first time under terrible circumstances.What was her name again?“Magda, meet Alicia,” Mikael introduced us formally, and unwittingly answered my unasked question.“We’ve already met,” Magda replied to Mikael without even glancing at him. The shopping bags she was holding made rustling noises as she gestured towards me. “In the club right?”I nodded. So she did remember me as well.“Nice to meet you,” I said meekly, feeling her intense gaze more intimidating than any other woman I had met.Her face didn’t display any blatant emotion, and probably with good reason. If she worked for Mikael
Alicia’s POV:Hearing her only gave me more questions, and I groaned. It was like entering another world, like one of those dramatized movies from the 90s.Only now, it was real life and I was in the middle of what I couldn’t control.“I think I need some rest,” I finally said with a sigh. I hadn’t had a good night’s rest for some time now. Getting abducted CERTAINLY was not my cup of tea.“Where’s the bedroom?” I asked Magda.“Down the hallway and the first door on your right,” she said in that accented voice of hers.“Thanks. Goodnight,” I bade her with a small wave as I stood up.“I’ll be here when you wake up,” she said, and somehow that sounded more comforting than anything else I had ever heard today.Even though it was just afternoon, i yawned several more times as I walked down the hallway, easily finding the darkly washed wooden door on the right. I went into the bedroom.The sight of the luxurious looking bedroom and cream cotton sheets made me wish I was back in my old, stu
Mikael’s POV“Oh my God!” The blonde screamed loudly as I grabbed her canting hips and pulled them flush against my own. Her breasts bounced as she rode me, and the hazy feeling of pleasure filled my body. My breaths were controlled enough, and my body still as the girl from the casino squirmed and whined from her place on my hips. Her warm heat enveloped my cock nicely but not enough to drive me over the edge.I was aware of when Magda barged in through the door and stared at the scene before her. She looked a little disappointed and shook her head as I turned my attention to her, leaving the girl on my lap to do her work.“What are you doing here, Magda?” I asked her, as she barely gave the girl a glance. She was used to my antics by now and I was sure nothing would faze her.Then she dropped a bomb.“Alicia’s here and she demands to see you at once,” Magda said in a smirk.What?It didn’t take long for me to process those thoughts and all ideas of lust or finishing off left my min