CHAPTER 16

            From where he stood on the rail on his balcony, he could see the torrent of the waves, the harsh reclaim of the water, and the frail withdrawal of the beach sands, a frailty similar to the life he had before now, the defeat of the sands, and steady lash of the water somehow unearthed the traumatic replays of how his drunken step father had used his mother as a punching bag, everyday, since the very first day he moved in with them, it normally started with a punch, then another, and another, his fists making a mess of her face. Then he would rip her clothes off, revealing her scarred body, and turn to the eight year old, who couldn't possibly do anything to fight him off, he would grab him by the shirt, and despite her cries that he leave her son alone, drag him down the stairs, jet him across the room, and smash his body against the wall and empty bottles of cheap beer that scattered on the floor, more often than not leaving him to battle with his wounds alone, while he returned to torture his mother, the boy would struggle to pull himself up, despite the pain from the shards of glass imbeded in his skin and his open wounds, crawl up the stairs in hopes of rescuing her, but he would meet the door shut, and no matter how hard he banged, it never came open, only the piercing sounds of his mother's screams, as she was beaten, dragged, drugged and raped.

He forced himself on her till she finally stopped screaming, then the door would open, and she would just lay there, marked all over, scared for her life, her whole body swollen, with her palms against her bloody face, as tears trickled down to her shivering lips, he didn't care if she died from the pain, all that mattered was the money he got from her, and he made sure to leave with every single penny of her sweat and blood.

      " Why didn't she leave ? " the girl beside him questioned, her eyes fixed on his face awaiting a response, but he wouldn't give one, instead he reached for the stool beside him, grabbed a cigar and sucked on it, then let the smoke out through his nose and mouth.

         Judging from his demeanor, it was clear he wasn't ready to say anything, but she wasn't ready to give up either, almost completely immersed in the tub water, her head rests against his shoulders, as she glided her fingers up and down his chest, and pressed her lips against it, then she continued to his neck, slowly moving in front of him, pushed in between his legs, and exposed her bare front, just enough to arouse him, right before she cupped his face in her hands

    " Tell me, " she pleaded again.

       He fixed his eyes on her body. His expression remained stoic and unpredictable, leaving her startled all the more with what he did next, the pain and surprise caused a gasp to escape her lips, as he yanked her hair backwards and nibbled her neck , then bringing his attention down to her robust chest, he dropped soft kisses in between her breasts, making her gasp even louder, she is left almost breathless as he slammed her body against the side of the bathtub, his hands firm on her hips as he pushed himself against her, in full control as he curlef his hands round every inch of her naked body, giving him full access to her body.

she dug her fingers into his hair and shuddered underneath his burning passion, delighting in the rush of intimate exchange between them, and the arousal of their bodies exploding underneath the tub's shallow water, her soft ecstatic moans accompanied by his orgasmic grunts, as they pushed back and forth against the bathwater, relishing in the allure of each others feel and the fidget of climax, nothing could pull him away from her at this point, nothing except the annoying buzz of his ringing cell phone.

          His phone only rang for two reasons, it either meant the job was done or something had gone terribly wrong, loosening his grip around her hips, he dropped one more kiss on her back and  stepped out of the tub, flaunting his physique as he moved across the wet floor, his whole body leading a trail of soap, sweat and water down the tiles, he took a first glance at the caller, picked up the buzzing phone and finally taped on the receiver.

       " Hello " he answered sternly.

       " Hello boss ? " the voice on the other end of the line responded

       " What is it ? " he questioned.

       " We have her, " 

       " Good, then bring her to me, if she has anything to do with my thief, he'll come for her, she needs to stay alive, do you understand, I want her alive and untouched, is that clear ?" he continues, stressing his last sentence.

        " Yes sir " 

           He was a step closer to getting his hands on his enemy, and putting an end to their unfinished business, once and for all, he placed the phone down having ended the call. That was one out of his priorities, the other however, waited patiently, only few feets behind him.

          Turning around he smiled cunningly at her, and said

        " Now, where were we ? "

                      *         *          *

        Without being told, Alice could tell by the scent, what perfume the person standing in front of her had on, it was what most would call an almost perfect blend of lavender and peppermint, a mixture most of the actresses often used to show  themselves more appealing to the popular actors that occasionally breezed in while they were on set. Many of them would often recommend it as one of the best, but she had always found it to be more shoking than desirable.

          The mall like on everyother day was busy, with  customers going in and out the glass rotating doors, everyone seemed to be going about their own business, and the queue at the cashier's stand was still as long as it had been on rush hour days like this, it looked just fine, nothing appeared suspicious or even remotely threatening, there weren't any guns or kidnappers, her hands weren't tied like they were when she last saw them, nor did her clothes look worn out in any way, in disbelief she pulls at the the designer marron long sleeve top and brushes her palms against the white highwaist chiffon skirt, starting in disbelief at her reflection from the five foot long standing mirror, if nothing at all they stuck to her body so well it gave off her figure in perfect light, nothing made sense, one minute she had been restrained and gagged, fighting to get away from the men who had captured her, and now she was in a mall trying on new clothes she knew quite well were way above her budget, a soft tap at her shoulder drew her attention back to the present situation, her heart skipped a beat at the unexpected touch, and she quickly turned with the surprise still evident on her face. 

          " Woah, calm down, it's only me,  " the young man in front of her affirmed, stunned at her reaction.

             Bright ripped blue jeans, a white short sleeve t-shirt, and two dragon tattoos, the shock hard enough to bend her knees, she stared as he smiled back at her, and moved even closer to her, holding his hands halfway up in mid air, making it clear he hadn't tried to do anything wrong, he looked at her straight in the eye, but she was unable to say anything.

          " Are you okay ? " he asked, his hands falling slowly on her shoulders, eyes locked on her in a concerned stare.

            Speechless, she moved away from him, taking a step back, bewildered at the possibility of this being real, she had seen him get shot, he had grown cold right before her eyes, and had breathed his last, he had died in her arms, he couldn't possibly be the same man that stood in front of her, she saw Sunday carry his lifeless body out to the cemetery, he was dead, and she was sure of it.

         " Alice ? " he questioned again, moving even closer to her, " Alice, what's wrong ? " he questioned, but she withdrew away from him.

         " Who ... are you ?" she finally stuttered.

          " Who am I ? what do you mean, it's me, Mike, your boyfriend ? " he responded, moving even closer, but she slapped his hand away before he could touch her, and grabbed a hanger from the table beside them, pointing it at him, she threatened to hit him with it, if he came any closer.

           " Alice, what is going on, it's me Mike, you wanted us to go shopping together " he continued, trying to grab a hold of the hanger.

             She scanned the room of designer shoes and couture outfits, where a number of people now starred at her as though she was a crazy person, some were taking pictures with their cellphones, while others just making  jests.

             Then from behind her, the sales attendant tried to calm her down.

           " Ma'am, please I need you to put the hanger down, " 

           " Alice put it down, you're causing a scene " Mike said

           " Causing a scene ? you're supposed to be dead, I saw them shoot you, you died, right before my eyes, " she continued, the tears now visible in her eyes " that's it, this isn't real, I'm.. I'm dreaming, "

              From a distance she heared the stamping footsteps of the security officers, as they raced towards her.

            " Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to drop that hanger, "

            " Alice, put it down, please" Mike pleaded

            " I saw you, you died, " she continues with tears in her eyes.

            " Ma'am please put it down" one of the officer's ordered.

               She kept her eyes fixed on them, swinging the hanger in different directions as they tried to take it from her, then a sharp feeling suddenly engulfed her, she felt the cold drop on the side of her face, then on her hair, the slow drippings now a rush of cold water drenching her completely, from her shoulders down to her feet,  goosebumps appeared on her hands, the rush of water brushed down her face like a curtain, her vision a blur, she moved back at a steady pace, unconscious of how close she now stood to the rail.

        The rush continued, blinding her, the lights in the mall faded to a blur, and slowly a cold breeze blew away the entire room, as she plummeted down into the never ending darkness.

        Forcing her eyes open, she drew a deep breath, sucking the wet air down her lungs, but it is hardly fresh air, and smelled more like damp and dirt, she couldn't see where they were taking her, as a bag had been placed over her head, but could feel the sharp sting of thorns flogging against her legs, as well as the burning pain of the tight ropes that bruised the skin around her wrist, the murky mud underneath her feet meant they trudged down a foot path, and the silence showed they were no where close to the express road, she inhaled and exhaled, drawing in tensed breathes that her kidnappers obviously didn't notice, it poured on, the rain drenching all three of them, and the cold breeze against her clothes made it even worse, she couldn't fight them off, she could barely see two steps in front of her,  they had knocked her out using chloroform when she didn't stop screaming, and now she had no idea where they were taking her, but if she had learned anything ; it was that they didn't want her dead, yet, but her hopes of getting away from them almost completely relied on a miracle happening, Sunday had been her only hope, but they had taken him right before her eyes, no one was coming for her, she would have to fight or risk dying at their hands.