Chapter 22
ALEXANDER
I noticed a figure falling from just above me as I proceeded towards the stairs. Out of fast reflexes I rushed closer enough to catch them before they landed fatally ok the ground.
It was a woman. She grabbed my arm tight and breathed heaving against me.
When I looked at her face, it was Zelda.
I was genuinely curious to find out what she was doing in a club because I really didn’t see her as one to enjoy indulgence in these kinds of please. I helped steady her on the ground next to me but she kept holding on tight to my arm.
“Let go,” I said.
It seemed as though she didn’t realize she was clinging to me with so much ferocity. Embarrassed, she loosened her grip on me, her hands brushing against my jacket as she stepped back.
She looked shaken as she forced herself to speak.
“Alexander, you have to help me. Lily is still up there with those men!”
My jaw tightened, “What men? What happened?”
“There’s no time to explain!” Zelda’s voice cracked with desperation. “They’re dangerous, and Lily—she’s not safe. I know I should’ve stayed with her to try to protect her but she told me to run and get help and
1.”
“Just breathe. Where is she?”
A few hours before I arrived at this club. I was sat at my office desk, staring into nothing. Mostly because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her again. As much as I tried to forget and not be so pathetic to keep thinking about the same things over and over, those flashes wouldn’t stop.
“Sir?”
When I looked up, or was Johnson standing in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed when he walked in. He hesitated, holding his tablet to his chest.
“Any progress in finding her?” I asked.
“Not yet, sir. We’re still going through the surveillance but seeing that the lights that day weren’t at their
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best, it’s proving harder to locate her.”
He huffed out a sigh, hooking my fingers thoughtfully under my nose bridge.
“So many technology advancements in this world and yet we’re still finding it hard to find a lady that was caught on camera. It’s not like she’s even trying to hide.”
He cleared his throat. “We’re working on finding her, sir. I know we’re close. We’ll find her soon.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I believe I am.” Johnson replied before quickly retreating from the room.
After I was left alone, I leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face. This was madness. I’d built an empire by staying focused, by never letting emotions cloud my judgment. But this this nameless, faceless woman turned me into a man I couldn’t recognize.
I noticed my phone screen light up with a call.
“Hello?”
“Alex! How are you doing?”
I already recognized the voice. It was Ruder, one of my business associates on the phone. Although we
weren’t that close, we were definitely on better terms than most of the people intend to work with.
“Could be better.” I replied flatly. I was obviously not in the mood for conversations.
“That sucks, but I’d like to help you get you or of your know spirits you know, brother?”
“I’m guessing you didn’t call for just pleasantries,” I replied dryly.
“Still always getting straight to the point, I see,”
“It saves me time and energy.”
“Why don’t you come over to my club this evening. I’m hosting a special dinner there and I’d love for you to be there. I also got some info I need to share with you, but. If over the phone. It’s really important.”
“I can’t, I’m busy.”
“Come on, man. You work all night all day, you should be able to spare one evening for some leisure don’t ya?”
I sighed. Maybe going for that dinner was just the distraction from my thoughts that I needed. If I kept thinking about her and about what happened that night, I might actually lose my head alright.
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I decided to surprise myself by actually showing up.
“Alright. I’ll be there.”
“That’s the spirit man! Will get things set especiall for you over here.”
“Whatever.” I said as I hung up the phone.
Later that evening, I was staring at the bedazzled sight post at the top. Razzle. Not as noisy as I’d expected, which eas a hit disappointing. I’d brought it would be noisy enough to stop me from thinking. I walked in anyway, but it was all empty.
Frowning slightly, I approached the bar. There was no one there either
Did they actually call me here when they’d not arrived themselves?
Just then, my phone rang. I had to excuse myself back outside to take the call, also heading to wards the parking lot because I doubted I was going to keep wasting mh time here.
And that was when I saw someone falling from above me, and when they landed in my arms, it was Zelda. She looked ruffled and shaken, her face swollen with a bit of blood here and there on her skin. The
sight had me aggravated.
“There’s no time to explain!” She cried, nearly out of breath.
“It’s okay,” I patted her hair gently, “Just lead me to where they are. Can you do that?”
She nodded frantically
I followed Zelda up the stairs, my steps steady and controlled despite the rage simmering under my skin. Although my head was also working through the possibilities of who or what could have been behind
this assault.
When we got to the dim hallway, she slowed down her pace. This was the moment I could hear her ragged breaths very clearly and it made my heart ache in a way that could force me into doing things I would want to the ones who had done this to her.
Zelda stopped in front of a door, although maintaining a few paces away from it.
“Is that the one?” I asked and she nodded again/
I stepped forward, brushing her aside gently. I pushed the door open without knocking. Instantly there were several eyes on me. Dazed eyes. It was such a sight. Swiping the bloody foreheads of both brother o could only imagine how hard Zelda and that girl had had to fight back.
I saw the lady that Zelda told me about cornered by two men, whom I recognized too. They were the
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Pennington brothers.
Ryder, who’d invited me here was also standing in their midst.
“Alexander. It’s such a pleasure seeing you-,” one of them began.”
“Save it,” I snapped, stepping fully into the room.
“Get away from her.”
As I said this. Ruder quickly moved forwards then to pull Lily away from their midst. “I was just styling the issue before you came in Alex.”
Another of the brothers with dried up blood steaks marring his face chuckled, Come on. We were just having some fun-”
“Fun?” My voice dropped lethally. “If you think this is what fun looks like then we definitely have
different definitions of fun.”
Neither of them responded, but their silence only fueled my fury. Zelda dashed into the room to check up on Lily. The latter ran into her Zelda’s arms, sobbing slightly.
“Are you okay?” Zelda worriedly asked.
Lily sniffled. “I am now.” The. She turned to me, asking Zelda under her breath -even though it was loud enough for me to hear- “Who’s that?”
“I’ll fill you in later.”
I turned my attention back to the disheveled animals in the room. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You and your brother are going to spend the night in a cell. And I’m going to make sure you don’t get out of this one like you normally do. Maybe a couple hours there would be able to teach you how to be a human being and control that thing in your pants.”
I walked towards Zelda and Lila as they stood up, proceeding towards the exit.
“Thank you, uncle Alexander,” Zelda/said softly,
Uncle? Now why, just why did that word grate on my nerves?
I nodded anyway, then shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“You cause way too much trouble,” I mumbled and it looked like she was going to say something but then she gave me a faint smile.
“Do you need help getting-”
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“No!” She answered sharply then pursed her lips to say more gently. “I mean…no. Thanks for everything. We’ll be able to find our way home form here.
I nodded and walked back to my car, although secretly making arrangement me to get therm out of there
as safely as possible. Later on, however, k called my assitant.
“I need you to throughly investigate Julian. I want to know what’s going on with him and why he’d allow
his girlfriend to fall into a situation such goons. And don’t forget, those brother have to spend the night in jail. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter
