AMELIA Just when I felt my lungs were closing up because of the lack of air, I found I could breathe again. Someone had yanked the bag off my head and shoved me into a hardbacked chair. I took in deep, rattling breaths. I blinked rapidly as my eyes tried to adjust to the very dim light in the room. Struggling against my restraints was useless because I was still bound tightly. My hands were already numb from the lack of circulation. Finally, I could make out the figures of six men most of which were standing in a loose circle around me. I whimpered and flinched when one of them stepped towards me, but he did that only to savagely peel the duct-tape off my mouth. I cried out in pain. The area around my mouth seemed to be on fire. The man who had peeled the duct tape off made a threatning gesture and I fell silent. These people had to be kidnappers. They could be a gang who kidnapped wealthy people in the city. Being the wife of Damian had made me a target. The thought made me
DAMIAN I brought the car to a stop inches away from the entrance steps to the building. The doorman jumped out of the way even though he had not been in danger of getting hit. "I'm afraid you can't park here, sir," he called out as I marched up the stairs. Ignoring him, I threw the glass doors open, stormed up to the reception area, pounded my fists on the startled receptionist's desk. "Where the hell is he?" I asked. She blinked. "Sir?" "Your boss. Where is he? Take me to see him right now." "Do you have an appointment?" "To hell with that!" I yelled. The massive lobby suddenly became very quiet. "Tell me where his office is. What floor?" Someone tapped my arm. I turned to see a man dressed in a dark suit right beside me. Two other men in security uniforms detached themselves from those watching and hurried forward. "I'm afraid I'll have to tell you to leave, sir," said the man in the suit. “You’re disrupting the peaceful environment of this company.” I slap
DAMIAN My head buzzed. My eyes ached and I could hear my stomach rumbling. I had been staring at the same set of files over and over again, trying to discover any leads the police might have missed. So far, I had not found anything helpful. I turned to Anton to ask if he had better luck than I did but he clearly didn't look like he did. With his head cradled in his palm, he was nodding off to sleep. I sighed. I didn't blame him though. We had been up all night, searching for leads to Amelia's kidnap. I hadn't slept a wink. I was conscious of the fact that with every passing second, Amelia sunk deeper into danger. I hadn't gotten a ransom call yet and I wondered why. If her abductors wanted money, why wouldn't they call me? All I needed was a number, any amount to get Amelia back and safe. I nudged Anton in the ribs. He stirred sleepily, and opened one bleary eye. "Anton, why do you think Amelia's kidnappers haven't asked for a ransom yet? Isn't that what they must be afte
DAMIAN I took in a deep, shaky breath. This was it. This was when I either got to rescue Amelia or died trying. Colin had chosen his hideout well. It was an abandoned, dilapidated building in an out-of-the-way spot. It was a place hardly anyone would think to look. I stuffed my phone under the passenger seat. I looked around as I slowly stepped out of the car. I could only hope that Anton would act swiftly. Minutes before driving into the compound, I had texted Anton my location though I knew he had been tracking my phone. If everything went according to plan, he would alert the police, who hopefully would find some way to infiltrate this place without calling attention to themselves. I shifted, and exhaled as I registered movement out of the corner of my eyes. Before I could blink, I was surrounded by four masked men. My survival instincts kicked in. I tensed up, clenched my fists, ready to take them out, ready to defend myself. "Don't be a hero, Romeo," the man closest to me
DAMIAN Where was the flash of pain, the darkness, the oblivion people said came with dying? Colin had pointed the gun right at my head so that meant I ought to be dead. Through the ringing in my ears, I could hear the sounds of people running, yelling, panting. I took in a deep breath, felt it expand my lungs and my heartbeat quickened. The feeling could only mean one thing- I was still in the land of the living. I opened first one eye, then the other. The first thing I saw was Colin, staring in horror at his midsection which was stained a deep crimson. Blood pattered from his wound onto the floor. Slowly, he sank to his knees, and then with a thud he fell to the floor, unconscious. Behind him stood Anton, panting, with his smoking gun still pointed at Colin. Anton kicked Colin's gun away. For a moment, I felt dizzy. That was a really close call. Anton had saved my life in the nick of time. "Damian," he gasped, his hands shaking uncontrollably. "Are you- Were you-" "I wasn't
AMELIA I changed the channel to another, and it was almost exactly the same thing. This time, the headlines were, ‘Kidnap And Attempted Murder Of Business Tycoon’s Wife: A Glimpse Into The Criminal’s Mind. It had just clocked 9 pm. It was the news hour and this was the very first news item the TV station was showing. I sighed. It was the same, day after day. It had been a week now since Colin had kidnapped me. A week of being hounded by the media. Since they couldn't get to me, they fell to featuring the case on the news all the time. I kept wishing for another big event to happen that would take their attention off me, but so far I was still the most interesting topic of discussion. The newscaster finished reading out the major facts of the case. To my annoyance, he informed viewers that they would be connected to their studios where there were seasoned reporters ready to analyse the case. One of these reporters went on and on about how Colin looked so innocent and cha
AMELIA I felt a tap, gentle as the touch of a feather, on my arm. I stirred sleepily. I felt another, still gentle but a lot more insistent this time. "Amelia." I opened my eyes. Damian was leaning over me. "Rise and shine," he said. "It's a new day." He was already fully dressed, already prepared to go to work. I, on the other hand, was as naked as the day I was born. I stretched languidly. I could still feel the pleasant ache between my legs caused by last night's pleasurable exertions. I watched his eyes greedily follow the movement of my unclad body before they snapped back up to my face. "Amelia," he breathed. "You can make a man forget everything." I batted my lashes at him. "Maybe that isn't such a bad thing. If you come a little closer, perhaps I can make you forget a thing or two." With some effort, he kept his gaze fixed on mine. "Tempting, but no. If I get into bed with you, I may not be able to drag myself away again today." "Yes. I know." He relaxe
AMELIA I was again enthralled the moment I opened my eyes. The ornate clock on the wall told me that it was 8 in the evening. Feeling refreshed from my little nap, I slid out of bed. Damian was nowhere in sight. I went outside and all thoughts of Damian were wiped clean right out of my mind by the breathtaking view outside. "Beautiful," I muttered to myself. It was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking. The night sky was spangled with a million twinkling stars. The sand dunes in the distance looked like small mountains that reached the top of the sky. I had the feeling that I was at the edge of the world and could touch the stars if I only reached high enough. I don't know how long I stood there, taking in the view, feeling the nippy evening air play across my face and hair. Eventually I roused myself enough to move away. Damian had shown me around most of the house, but there had not yet taken me around the property. I decided to explore myself. I passed through the gardens