CHAPTER THREE

Eton Domino watched the taxi in front of his car. It was running steadily meaning that woman was atleast knew what's good for her.

At first when he saw her, he thought he's just dreaming. Everyday he's busy plotting his revenge at the man who shattered his world and lo and behold, fate had brought the only person who can make that man beg for his mercy. But Eton was not planning of forgiving him. Just remembering all the things he went through just because Arthur Kennedy was a sicko. Eton wanted him to suffer. Just the way he did.

.........

Time dragged by. Minutes, hours, Kaia couldn’t tell. Her tired mind was busy conjuring up one horrible scenario after another as she waited for them to get to their destination, wherever the fuck it was.

The driver had told her to shut up when she repeatedly tried to interrogate him, so she was left alone with her thoughts.

As a teenager, Kaia always thought she had her life all figured out. She was going to fall in love with a nice, insanely attractive guy by the age of twenty who would adore her back, she would be in a steady, committed relationship with him for a few years before marrying him, they’d get lots of kids, and she’d live her happily ever after.

Thinking about how silly she was before made her smile now. She was almost twenty-five, and still the man of her dreams had failed to materialize, and now she might not live to see the next day.

Yeah, life was funny that way.

It seemed that at some point she dozed off, because the next thing she knew, she was startled awake when two pairs of hands dragged her out of the car. And a muzzle of a gun pressed into her lower back.

“Walk,” someone barked out.

Dazed and disoriented from sleep, Kaia did as she was told, blinking at her surroundings. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was still dark, but she could make out the looming woods a few hundred feet away. The woods surrounded the house she was being half-dragged, half-pushed toward.

“Faster,” said the same thug, pushing her.

Kaia held back the sharp retort on the tip of her tongue and tried to walk faster. Resisting was useless at this point. Angering her captors was just plain silly. There were eight of them, and all of them seemed armed. She had to cooperate—for the time being.

At last, they reached the house and then she was roughly shoved inside. Kaia fell to her hands and knees, gasping. The thugs laughed, exchanging some jokes at her expense.

Ignoring them stoically, she got to his feet and looked around. The hall wasn’t at all what she had expected. It was tastefully and elegantly decorated, practically screaming of money.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention. And a tall, beefy Caucasian man with  cropped blond hair walked out of the room. The thugs immediately stood at attention, dropping their leers and sneers. The blond exchanged a few words with one of the thugs, too fast for Kaia to understand. The only thing she caught is the name the thug addressed the blond which is Lyle.

Finally, Lyle turned his gaze to her.

Kaia met his eyes, refusing to show fear. One of the few lessons her father had drilled into her was that one should never show fear in the face of adversity. Although being brave in this kind of scenario seems pretty much insane.

“What do you want?” Kaia asked calmly. “Why did you kidnap me?”

Lyle looked her over. “I don’t have to explain anything to you, lady,” he said, his accent very heavy. His eyes lingered on Kaia's chest area for a touch too long before he glanced at the thug he’d been talking to and gave him a short order in Italian.

And if Kaia understood correctly, she was to be locked upstairs in the gray room and was to be fed once a day until further orders.

Kaia's stomach dropped at hearing that. She had hoped that she would get at least an explanation.

“Please, could you tell me anything?” Kaia tried again. “Why am I here? Do you want money?

Lyle's eyes flicked to her chest again, making Kaia shiver in disgust. He hold herself back but she really wanted to cover her chest with her arms, but she knew that it will only make things more obvious. Hopefully though, he'll not do anything to her..

At last, the blond shook his head. “I have orders not to talk to you,” he said and looked back at his men. “What the hell are you waiting for? Bring her up.!!”

Two thugs grabbed Kaia and half-shoved, half-dragged her upstairs. Kaia didn’t fight them and she didn’t try to speak to Lyle again. The man wasn’t the one giving orders. He wasn’t the one behind Kaia's kidnapping. Lyle might appear powerful, but he was a mere pawn. He wasn’t the one Kaia should be negotiating with.

If Arthur Kennedy had taught his only daughter anything, it was that in any unfavorable situation, there was always room for negotiations. Any situation could be turned to her advantage—or at least could be swayed a little in her favor. But one didn’t negotiate with pawns. One negotiated with the king.

And Kaia was looking forward to meeting him.

Whoever the fuck he is...

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