Prologue

“Brooks, someone is asking about you at table 50,” said Carmen, giving Brooklyn Davis a look of dread. Both of them were waitresses at The Chicago Lunchbox which was a glitzy and upscale restaurant in the poshest area of downtown Chicago. Brooklyn's eyes widened with apprehension. She hardly knew anyone in Chicago. Who could be asking for her? 

“Who? Brandon?” Asked Brooklyn hesitantly. Brandon Davis was her twin and he was the only one she knew here. Carmen knew her brother very well since he came by many times to collect Brooklyn after late hours of work. 

“No, no, a rude and arrogant as*h*le. Why don’t you find out for yourself?” said Carmen, getting back to work. Brooklyn sighed, not wanting to find out at all! Who could be the rude and arrogant a*sh*le who was looking for her? Her heart started dreading going over to table 50 but she knew that there was no escape. She hated this job but this was her only source of income. 

At nineteen she would rather go to college than wait tables at the Chicago Lunchbox but luck didn’t favor her at all especially after her mom’s death, a year ago. She had just graduated from school when had to take up a job to run the house as well as her mom’s medical costs. Her mom had been diagnosed with leukemia two years ago and despite trying their level best, they couldn’t save her. However, she wasn’t alone in this. Her twin, Brandon too was in the same boat as her although he continued his studies by earning enough money for evening college. Brooklyn had no idea where he worked, he was always the reserved one of the two. He was elusive and preferred to keep to himself, sometimes staying away from home for days. Brooklyn had become used to his ways and stopped asking. Brooklyn had never seen her dad. He had abandoned their mom while she was pregnant with them! A cowardly brute! They hated him and had never asked their mom anything about him. For them, he was non-existent and inconsequential. 

“Brooks, attend table 50. The man will drive us crazy,” said Mia, another waitress at the restaurant. It brought Brooklyn out of her reverie and she rushed towards table 50. What did the man want? However, she was held up at table 40, where a huge family had turned up for lunch. After attending to them, when she walked over to table 50, she found it vacant. Looking around in confusion, she was at her wit’s end. Where did the man, go? Mia stopped by seeing her lost look. 

“He asked for you, then watched you and then downed three cups of coffee and then again asked for you. Then he watched you till he finished his coffee and then just walked out, leaving me a 100 dollar tip,” said an excited Mia, waving the money in the air like a prized possession. Brooklyn gaped at her with horror. Was the man watching her all this while? This sure was getting creepy!

“Oh, are you joking, Mia? Why would someone do that? I don’t know anyone,” said Brooklyn, flailing her arms in the air.

“Nope, I’m serious as ever. He was so hot! His eyes would drive anyone crazy!” said Mia, clutching at her heart. Brooklyn rolled her eyes at her friend as a feeling of dread clutched at her heart. Why would a hot guy ask for her out of all the hottest girls on the planet? 

“I hope you haven’t given away anything about me?” asked Brooklyn with concern.

“No, he knew everything about you, your full name, your age, your brother, your address, everything,” said Mia with a shrug, walking away to attend to a table. Brooklyn stood dazed at the new found information. How did the hot man know everything about her? 

“Brooks, stop daydreaming and start working. Mr. Foster has his eyes on you, girl,” said Carmen, making her come out of her reverie and rush to attend to the tables under her responsibility. She didn’t want a blast from the scary Mr. Foster who was their Manager. The rest of the day, she was too busy to even give the incident another thought. 

“Brooks, can you please cover for me tonight? I have a date with my boyfriend and Foster isn’t giving me leave. He said to arrange for my own backup if I need to go,” said Claudia, another waitress she was close to. Brooklyn nodded, agreeing immediately. Of course, she would. She needed money and any sort of extra pay was most welcome. 

“Sure, I will, go and enjoy yourself, Claudi,” she assured her. Brooklyn was a sweet and easy-going girl whom everyone liked. She was the youngest staff around the place and despite all hardships in her life, she was kind-hearted and went out of her way to help everyone. Her colleagues loved her and they were like a family to her. 

“Thanks a lot, dear. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. Lunch is on me,” said Claudia, blowing her a kiss and walking away to change out of her uniform and get ready for her date. Brooklyn smiled at her offer and went about her work. She was already exhausted but now with Claudia’s duty, she would have to pull another five hours. She rushed around, pushing herself to the limit. Just a few minutes more and she could go home. It was about to be eleven o’clock in the night and she just couldn’t wait to drag herself home to her bed. 

Finally after fifteen minutes, she was done for the day and rushed over to the staff washroom to change out of her uniform. All her friends had left except Mia and Seth, who was the cashier. They were dating and would return home together like every night. “Do you want me to drop you home, Brooks?” yelled Seth as he wrapped his work for the day. 

“No, I’ll reach home by the time you’re done here,” said Brooklyn. She just couldn’t wait for another minute more. Seth gave her a salute and continued with his job. Brooklyn rushed out and looked around the place. It was dark and deserted mostly with dogs barking in the distance and the sound of cars rushing down the roads. Pulling her cardigan close around her, Brooklyn started walking briskly down the road as far as her legs could carry her. Her small one-bedroom rented apartment was a twenty minutes walk away and she always walked down. It saved her hard-earned money. It wasn’t much of a problem when she got over early but on the days when she got late, she literally had to run all the way. 

However, tonight from the moment she started walking, she had the eerie feeling of being watched. The hair at the nape of her neck stood up and she just turned around to check. The streets were deserted and except for a few people returning home, or a drunkard staggering around the corner, there was no one. A few cars were there too which was nothing unusual. So Brooklyn rushed ahead, eager to reach home as fast as she could. However, after a few steps again she had the uncanny feeling of being stalked. Turning to look behind her shoulders, she found no one. Sighing she was about to continue walking when she froze. Was that the same black Porsche that was there when she left the restaurant? Alert and panicking at the thought, her eyes widened seeing the black Porsche stopping at a distance. She didn’t waste any more time. She ran down the road, as fast as her legs could carry her. Why was the black Porsche following her? 

However, as bad luck never left her side, she collided with a wall in her haste. Looking properly, she froze with horror as the wall was none other than a sinister-looking, bald man with a golden tooth. He grinned at her maliciously and Brooklyn came to her senses. She struggled against his hold but he gripped her arms tightly.

“Where are you going, bi*ch? I’m here just for you,” he grinned at her, flashing his yellow teeth at her. Brooklyn could smell the alcohol on his breath and she felt like throwing up.

“Let me go,” she yelled, panicking instantly. This was the worst night of her life. The man laughed at her, a loud, sinister laugh that made her blood curdle with fear. Tears fell from her eyes as she tried to break free. “Please let me go,” she pleaded but the man laughed more, dragging her along with him. “Noo, leave me. Please,” Brooklyn wailed, her voice echoing in the night. 

“Trust me bi*ch, it’ll be fun,” laughed the man. Brooklyn tried to kick him but instead, he got furious and picked her up on his shoulders. Brooklyn started beating him but it didn’t affect him one bit and he strode forward as if she didn’t weigh a thing. 

“Help, please help me,” cried Brooklyn, her voice echoing in the darkness. The man laughed more at her helplessness knowing that no one was around to help her. 

“Leave the girl!” said a deep, cold voice that was enough to send a chill down anyone’s body. The bald man turned around and placed Brooklyn down. Brooklyn looked at her savior. Even from a distance, her eyes connected with the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes she’d ever seen. They gazed back at her, his eyes sparkling like hazel-hued amethysts. She had never seen the man before but his piercing eyes sent a shiver down her spine. She could make out the black Porsche parked beside him as he strode closer to them, his eyes fixed upon her, Brooklyn realized who he was. Her stalker in the black Porsche! Brooklyn panicked and yanked her hand away from the bald man's hold and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had no wish to witness a fight between her stalker and her abductor!