Elisa woke up in the morning but couldn't move as if something was holding her down. She opened her eyes and realized it was Ansel who had her trapped. He had his arms snaked around her body into a tight hug. She could tell he was in a deep state of sleep as his chest was slowly rising and falling, and his eyelids were twitching. She carefully untangled his arms from her waist and sat down on the bed. She looked at her phone, and it was still early, so Audre must still be sleeping. She didn't wake up until 8 am, and it was only 5 am. She stared at Ansel's face. He looked like an angel when he slept. His face looked almost boyish. His usual clean shaved face was full of stubbles, making him look more like a biker than a businessman. She never noticed his nice long eyelashes before. The man was beautiful, that's for sure. She blushed as she remembered last night. He was gentle and treated her body like it was something precious to him. If she didn't know any be

A week later, Elisa took Audre to her new school so she could help her settle in. "You are a big girl now, so behave yourself. Make lots of friends," Elisa said and kissed her on the forehead. "I will," she said. Elisa knew she had nothing to worry about. Audre was a social butterfly. She was surprised when she saw Ansel at home waiting for her. She didn't say anything for a while and just stared at him. He took his suit jacket off and had his shirt sleeves rolled up while he worked on his laptop. He was laser-focused, so he didn't hear her come in at first. She looked at his arms moving as he typed and started to get flustered. Something about those veins in those muscular arms on men turned her on. She snapped out of her trance when he looked up and saw her. "What's going on? Why aren't you at the office?" she asked after gathering her thoughts. "I brought home the stuff I need to work on because I wanted to spend mor

Elisa felt sick to her stomach. She felt like she'd fall over and pass out as soon as she looked at his face. Mikey... The memories came flashing back all at once. She remembered all the sick little fantasies he played out using her, and it made her want to kill herself all over again. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She snapped back to reality as she heard Ansel's kind voice whisper in her ear. She forgot he was there. Could he really protect her as he promised? "I...I got to go to the ladies' room. Please excuse me," she mumbled, then ran off. She looked around in panic. She needed to get the hell away from there. She found the restroom and barged in. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She went into the first stall, and dry heaved over the toilet. "Elisa, what's going on?" She heard Ansel outside, and her stomach twisted into a knot. He had followed her. How can she tell him? He said Mikey was his friend and a busin

"You are a true friend, Mikey," Gerald gushed as Michael Gray handed him a bundle of hundred-dollar bills. "Yeah, yeah. I'm starting to feel like you're not worth my time and money. You promised me the girl weeks ago, and I still don't see a result," Michael scoffed. "Patience, my friend. Since when have I ever let you down?" Gerald winked. "I don't know, Gerry. This may not be a good idea. Ansel Adams is not some kind of small fry. I've been doing business with him for a while so messing with him is just...I don't know." Michael shook his head. "Don't tell me you are thinking about backing down. How long we've been friends? You're gonna blow a good trade because of some asshole?" Gerald said irritably. "As I said, he is not some asshole..." "Look, Mikey. You said it yourself. You felt like a fool when Elisa slipped out from under our nose. Don't you want revenge?" Gerald urged him. He could feel Michael's hesitation. He couldn't let h

Elisa felt like she couldn't breathe. Her whole world came crashing down her head. She knew Audre wasn't just missing. He has her. Gerald has her little girl. "Elisa, please calm down. Everything is going to be okay. We will figure something out," Anya said and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. "Everything is not okay. He took my little girl. He will hurt her!" Elisa sobbed incessantly. "I'm calling the police to go to the school and question the teacher. I'll call Ansel to meet us there," Connor said. "I wish I could go too, but I have to be here with my baby," Anya sighed. "I understand. I just want her home again," Elisa wiped her tears and hugged Anya. She knew Gerald could do the most heinous things, but she didn't imagine he would kidnap his own daughter. He must be doing this to punish her, Elisa thought. That means he would call her soon. Elisa knew Gerald wouldn't be satisfied with only taking Audre. He w