CHAPTER 16

SAVING SAVANNAH

Mr. Andrew was pacing around the office as Zayn made frantic calls. He would occasionally sit to stand again, even more berserk.

“You need to stay calm, Javyn. The police are on it.”

Zayn’s words sounded distant to him. His driver was found dumped on the roadside, badly injured. Their attempts to track the car were futile so far.

“I’ll go pick up Savannah.” Zayn could tell his friend was in no place to drive.

“Just try to keep calm, can’t risk any health scares right now.”

Javyn could tell the Angel of Death was behind it. This was probably his threat. He pulled out his phone to contact his informant just as an unknown number popped up.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Andrew?”

“Yes.” He sounded annoyed.

“There has been a report that Savannah Grant was stuffed into a car about an hour ago. We believe she has been kidnapped.”

Everything was carefully orchestrated all along. Mr. Grant had only vanished to throw them off. He was keenly plotting his daughter’s return.

Mr. Andrew hurriedly grabbed his car keys and practically ran out of the office. Zayn was trying to catch up with him.

“What is it, Javyn?!!” He almost missed a step going down the stairs.

Celia and Jada came out of their rooms after hearing Zayn call out to Javyn.

“Call the team to look out for the car! Tell them to patrol every part they can get to immediately!”

Zayn had never seen Javyn so angry. He slammed the car door shut after leaving those instructions to him.

By the time Celia got to the garage, Mr. Andrew had already angrily driven off. “Get me my car keys, Jada, now!”

Celia was determined to find out what was bothering his son. She was not going to let him get into danger. Zayn looked crazed as he made and received multiple calls all at once.

Celia got into her white Bentley in a flash. The sound of tires screeching echoed everywhere as she drove off.

Jada watched quizzically as everyone around her got into panic mode. She wanted to know what was going on, but had no one to ask. She simply watched as they all lost their composure.

“Come inside, Rosy, I’ll serve you some tea.” It was Mia.

She was holding onto a blanket that she then handed to her. Jada had left her room in such a frenzy that she had not taken note of how unsuitable her outfit was for the weather.

She stole one last glance at Zayn before following Mia inside. The house was dull despite its perfect lighting. It suddenly felt so cold inside since she was aware of its emptiness. There was no solace in that luxurious home.

****

Savannah woke up with her legs and hands tied. Her whole body was aching, and her head was especially throbbing hysterically. She could tell she was in the trunk of an unfamiliar car.

Her body was uncomfortably squeezed in there, so she tried her best to wiggle into comfort. Her tear-stained face was beginning to swell, but she was already numb to the pain.

There was no way for her to scream with a taped mouth. She thought desperately and decided to lick the tape in an attempt to weaken the glue.

The taste was not pleasant at all. Yet she understood that desperate times call for desperate measures and chose to ignore the bitter taste.

She felt a wave of relief as the tape weakened over her mouth. Tears of joy flowed uncontrollably, and she was hopeful once more.

The ride was maintaining a rather moderate speed, which surprised her. How far had they travelled? It must have been a long time.

She could tell it was raining and heavily so judging from how the raindrops hit the car. It was dark outside as the driver drove down the lonely road. It was just the two of them in the car now.

His partner had left with the car to dispose of it, leaving him with the knocked-out girl in the trunk. He started humming as he remembered the award awaiting him.

This was the easiest yet riskiest task the Angel of Death assigned to him. Returning a runaway daughter to her father.

They were only a few more hours away from their destination, one of Abel’s many motels. No one could trace them there; it was an isolated, forgotten place. It was now only used by desperate people in need of a quick fix.

Savannah’s optimism dissipated as she was overwhelmed by fear. The car had stopped, and she remained still in the crammed space as she heard the car door open, then slam shut.

He was making his way to the trunk. She keenly followed his footsteps with her overly alert ears that took in everything.

The tape was no longer on her mouth. She was slowly dismantling the rope that held her hands tightly together using her teeth. Her lips and tongue were scarred from her attempt to free her hands.

Her kidnapper opened the trunk to a blow that left him feeling for his nose. Savannah rolled out of the car and finally freed her hands from the weakened ropes.

He was stumbling around the empty, poorly lit parking lot as she desperately tried to free her legs. She watched in disbelief as droplets of blood trickled from his nose.

He was not going to let his boss down. The task was almost complete. He held his nose together, allowing the blood to flow before making his way towards her.

Her legs were already out of the rope he had tightly secured them in. She had no difficulty moving around now. She had just managed to stand when he got hold of her.

He was grabbing her by the waist from the back, a terrible move considering the damage already done to his nose. She gathered the little strength she had and moved her head back to hit his nose once more.

She was not going to spare him this time and turned to hit the one spot she was certain would drain all his power.

She raised her knee to meet his groin, a move that left him dropping to his knees. She was not sure whether the noises he let out were screams or grunts; it sounded like a strained combination of both.

Savannah knew better than to wait around for him to regain his strength. She was going to go as far as her legs could take her.

How far away could she get? Where should she go? She had no idea. All she knew was that it was the only way to maintain her freedom. She was running for her life.