Secret Meeting
Over the sleeping city of Riyadh, the cold dark night settled in, stretching dark grey clouds across the bare sky. Save for the moon which illuminated the empty streets like a bright white bulb hanging freely, there was nothing else in the sky as it was bare of stars. The moon shone like an awakening call to the whisperers and men of the night, bringing within its dark clutches the greed of power and recognition and the ultimate secrecy of royalty; the lost Prince and son of King Faad, the outcast brother to His Highness King Jaan of Saudi Arabia and the man for whom these gatherings have been of top priority for the past years. The hidden man Aazim.
Prince Aazim.
His place was at the head of the table and seated around were his faithful followers, his powerful men of loyalty who wouldn't hesitate to kill for his cause, and that was what they were to do - kill and eliminate every obstacle in the way of Prince Aazim ascending to the throne as the King of Saudi Arabia.
Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been King for way too long and Aazim was in no mood to play faithfully any longer. He had never been faithful, the reason why he had been sent out of the royal home and out of Jeddah to this place, his identity was to remain a secret for the rest of his life or he would face death. Death was something he no longer feared, it was no longer something that could keep him quiet and in place, he had wasted his youthful life within the confines of this fine hidden palace, addressed as Prince only by the people who knew of his connection to the throne. To the outside world, he was just another wealthy man who lived extravagantly and he had had just about enough of this rather humble living.
The meeting room under the palace was off-limits to every other person except these men here now, over the years they had met seldom to avoid any suspicions, sometimes once or a few times a month, they had met and conveyed, they had discussed and plotted King Jaan's dethronement and Prince Aazim's rise to the throne. For over seven years they had done this without a clean breakthrough and without ever having the right moment to strike successfully but now the perfect opportunity showcased itself, presenting itself on a golden platter in the disguise of the princess's marriage.
Princess Mariam was set to marry the first and only son of the Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban, Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban. The wedding would be a perfect bait to draw the King out to a social gathering and the distraction would be the perfect cover. Aazim looked around at the men as each one offered a different opinion, a new strategy, or an update, some which he felt was useful he took into consideration, others he ignored.
"...we have enough men now to overwhelm the palace guards, we can attack without waiting for the marriage as a distraction."
"There has been peace for way too long within the palace walls and without any threat from the outside, nobody will be expecting an attack."
"That is true but still they are not so defenseless. This is the palace of King Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, you think the guards will be allowed to slack?"
"They are already slacked. Most of the guards have been bought over, almost half of them."
"And you are sure of their loyalty?"
"What man would refuse what we offered? It is something even King Jaan hasn't been able to do as he is too comfortable in the peaceful palace."
"The stage is set even for us to attack now, true. But I say we wait just a little bit more."
"I agree with you, the marriage is set to happen in four days, we already have some people placed strategically within the palace itself, Jaan isn't all that carried away. We will wait."
"He may not be all that carried away but he would not be anticipating an attack."
"It has taken us so many years to get this close an opportunity, let us not waste this as it wouldn't present itself again. The King has just one daughter and just a few more days won't matter now that it is within our reach, we do not want anything that would jeopardize this now that we are so close."
"The young man, Omar, and the princess are they in consent with the marriage?"
"Do they have to be? It is an arranged marriage, their permission isn't needed. They are not some random Arabian, these are people with power. The King and Sheikh already gave their consent."
"I agree with you, and power is selective, given to those who earn it."
"Or deserve it."
"Or fight for it!"
"And we will fight for it, Glory to King Aazim bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia."
Prince Aazim leaned his forearm on the table and scanned the people seated round, they looked at him with admiration and he looked at them with respect and appreciation. His eyes went round before settling on one man, the one person on whom the majority of the success of this attack rested heavily, he waited for the discussion to die down then he asked.
"Are the preparations according to plan?"
"Yes Prince Aazim, anything that could cause a hindrance has been taken care of, be rest assured."
"And the marriage is set to happen when?"
"Two days after her twentieth birthday."
"And when is that? When is her birthday?"
"It is in two days."
Aazim smirked and looked around. "Should we send the princess a nice birthday present? What do you think it should be?"
The men around the table laughed lightly, looking from Prince Aazim to one another and then back to Aazim. He thought about it, should send his dear niece a birthday present and if he decided that he should what should he send to her?
"I think I should."
"Would that not throw in a spotlight of suspicion our way?"
"Would it?" He reasoned.
"If the sender is anonymous, it wouldn't. The princess would receive tons of gifts from across the country, one gift wouldn't matter."
"It would." Aazim spoke, a smile building up in the corner of his lips. "I want it to matter and still remain anonymous. What kind of uncle ignores his niece's birthday?"
"What do you have in mind Prince Aazim? What would you gift to her?"
"Something significant. Do you think perhaps, that she knows she has an uncle like me?"
"She wouldn't, King Jaan has gone great lengths to keep you a secret and to keep your identity hidden, you don't think he would tell Mariam about you."
"Yes, you may be right."
"Do you plan on revealing yourself to her?"
"I would not advice that Prince Aazim, it would sabotage us entirely!"
"She will know about me eventually."
"Prince Aazim..."
"But not now." He smiled. "There will be a tight time for that, I will not jeopardize this plot for the hard work you men have put in it all these years."
"So what do you have in mind?"
"I have a whole day to think of that, back to the main matter of the night, the reason we are all gathered here."
"All things are set, all things are in place Prince Aazim."
Aazim smiled and reclined on the chair. "Then your son shall go ahead with the marriage to my dear niece."
Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban laughed heartily, things were falling in place piece by piece and it couldn't have been any more perfect, he was in a win-win situation; if the attack was a success, he would be placed in a higher seat of authority by Aazim who would end up becoming the king, but if the attack wasn't successful and it failed, he would still be related to the King by the marriage between his son and the princess, it would earn him even more power.
He laughed with the men around the table, there was absolutely no way he could lose. Prince Aazim lifted his glass and offered a toast.
"To Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban, he is the man here sacrificing the most and willing to use his son just so that I could attain my rightful position as the King of Saudi Arabia. To Sheikh Khalid who will be my right-hand man and second most powerful when this is all over!"
They all rose their glasses up to toast with a shout of approval and Sheikh Khalid couldn't have felt more honored, he got up from his seat and bowed in appreciation to Prince Aazim who nodded his head to him with a constant smile on his lips. When the toast was done, they continued discussing the plot. Everything would be perfectly laid out, the time was fast approaching.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
Another Victim
Friday, the 6th of May.
05:10 pm
“Hey, Aiden, what’s up?”
Tia, Chester, and Zara had spent an hour, walking around the park and doing everything Zara found to be fun and exciting and they too had been having fun doing everything that she wanted and of course, staying in each other’s company, most especially for Chester. He had the most fun just watching the mother and daughter spending time together and he had the chance to see Tia being loose and being her free self too.
As they all walked towards the entrance gate, heading out and going home, after much convincing and successfully bribing Zara with another full day date, Tia’s phone had rung. It was Aiden and it was a call she could not afford to miss. She flipped it open and slid on the screen.
“Tia, where are you?” He asked immediately he heard her voice.
“I am at the park. South Cove Park. Why?”
“Something has come up. You need to come to the office like right now.”
“Right now?” She looked at Zara and Chester playing by themselves a little distance away. “Is it that important?”
“We finally have a crack in the case of Clarissa Jan. You will have to come to the office right away, I can not say much.”
“I will be there in a minute.” She disconnected the call and turned to Chester and Zara. Chester looked at her and noticed her fallen expression first, then he stood and walked towards her, leaving Zara to play with her new stuffed toy on a bench.
“What’s wrong Tia?” He asked her.
“I just got a call from work and I would have to go right now. It is pretty important,” she replied, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jean and flexing her shoulders, looking at her daughter playing excitedly. She had promised her the day and now work called. “I do not want her to be disappointed Chester, I had promised her the day at the park.”
“And you have done that. It is already evening, you have practically spent the whole day.”
Tia smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders, then she walked up to her daughter and bent down beside her. “Baby…?”
* * * * *
05:21 pm
“Aiden, this better be good.” Tia said as soon as she stepped into the office, pulling off her coat and throwing it on the rack. “I had to cut off a mother daughter’s day.”
She had left the park with Zara and Chester and they had driven in his car to her house to drop off Zara first and then Chester had insisted that he dropped her off at the office. She had taken up the offer because she had to get here early. It was a good thing they had run into each other at the park after all.
“Oh, you would love this Tia.” He replied, picking up the piece of paper he had been studying on his desk for minutes now.
“Okay,” She plopped down on a desk. “What is it?”
“Clarissa Jan’s file had included an unidentified DNA sample…” He started, smiling as he told her and building up the curiosity in Tia.
She raised an eyebrow at him and rolled her fingers in the air. “Go on… you know how much I hate suspense.”
“We found a match.” He broke the news and as he watched Tia’s eyes widen with excitement, he held up a hand and added. “You would not believe whom it belonged to.”
Tia moved away from the desk and walked closer to Aiden, resting her arm on the cubicle and wanting to snatch the paper from Aiden. “Whose?” She asked eagerly.
“Pamela Neil.” He dropped it. Tia frowned slightly in confusion, reaching out to take the piece of paper from him which he gave up easily. “The unidentified DNA sample had belonged to her. Imagine that! Her DNA sample, found in the crime scene of a victim who was killed months before her. How crazy is that?!”
“Crazy?” Tia said, going through the papers over and over again. “More like impossible.” It did sound absurd but it was there, the results had come from the national forensics and they didn’t make this kind of mistake. It was confusing. She sat down.
“It says here that she had died of drowning, but traces of strychnine had been found in her system.” Tia pointed out as she kept reading. “Aiden, this is…”
“...the same murder style?” He completed her sentence and stood up. “Yes. They might have well been killed by the same person.”
“But she did not die from the poisoning. In fact, none of the victims died from the poisoning.” Tia did a small spin, raking her hands through her hair. “Aiden, we have got to bring in Stacey Rohn. She is the only clue we have got.”
He stood up. “That is exactly what I had in mind. But… have you gone through her file?”
“Yea, briefly. Why?” She folded her hands and watched him.
Aiden paced the small space between them. “Where is it? We have interrogated her before right?”
“We have, what are you trying to get at?”
“What I am saying is…”
Somebody suddenly barged in, interrupting Aiden and startling Tia who jumped a little and turned. “By God Tim! Take it easy, will you?”
“Sorry, but we have got a situation.” He rapped out, almost out of breath.
“What is it?” Aiden asked.
“There has been a reported crime.” He paused and looked from Tia to Aiden and then back to Tia then continued. “Possibly homicide at Duane park.”
* * * * *
08:42 pm
The park had been sealed off long before they had arrived, emptied of people and sealed off and now it was evening, the crime scene had been mapped out and lined around with the police “do not cross” tape with the forensics team taking pictures and marking different places within the place mapped out by the tape.
Tia and Aiden stood over the body with Aiden’s hands shoved into his pockets and Tia’s crossed over her chest, studying it and feeling terrible. Sad for the victim and feeling beat down, most especially Tia.
“It is getting complicated Aiden.” She said, unable to take her eyes off the body. She was in an unnatural position, with her back terribly arched, her face frozen in unimaginable pain, her toes curled and her hands fisted. Her eyes remained open and Tia felt like she could still see her. She looked away.
“Yep.” Aiden agreed. “Complicated and confusing.” he sighed and looked around the place, repeating himself. “Complicated and confusing. And to think that she was on our list.”
The body which they stood over and the killer’s most recent victim was Miss Stacey Rohn, the same person whom Tia had wanted to bring in for more questioning just hours ago. Now she had moved from being their prime suspect to being the killer’s most recent victim, this frustrated Tia but then something about this kill was probably different from the killer’s other victims, for one this kill was still fresh.
She was dressed in a plain black skirt that had now come up to her thigh, exposing her bare legs, the pink floral top she had on was partly tucked out of the skirt and was anything but neat; the dirt from the ground, the blood, and a kind of wetness around the neck like sweat and close to her feet on the ground were her stiletto heels. The mortal cut to her wrist still flowed out blood, her hair was a tangle of dirt and sticks and sweat and a bit of blood, Tia had to admit that this kill was actually clean. In fact, all of his kills had been clean, even cleaner than this.
She got down beside the body and pulled a nylon over Stacey’s face, the murder did not disturb her, she had been on several murder scenes but she could not stand the cold stare from her eyes. It made her feel guilty like she could have done more to prevent what had happened. She should have done more. She looked away from the body and that was when she noticed the shoe print on the ground, she snapped her head to it and shifted closer.
“There is a shoe print on the ground.” She said to Aiden who also got down and tried measuring it with his fingers.
“Excuse me,” Aiden called for one of the forensic workers. “Have you documented this? Measurement and everything?” He asked to which the worker nodded.
“It was one of the first things we noticed and did.” He replied.
“I would like to have the analysis in my office as soon as you can finish up with it.” He requested.
“Yes, detective.”
“Aiden,” Tia called, already standing up and walking in another direction away from the body and crime scene. Aiden stood up and followed her, shoving his hands back into his pockets as he walked. The evening was getting cold and darker, he was glad he had listened to his wife and chosen to wear the thick turtle neck he had on now. He breathed out and walked to where Tia stood outside the “do not cross” tape.
“What is it?” He asked her, a little worried. “Can not stand it.”
“Her DNA sample was found in the last murder crime scene.” Tia went straight to her point, her gaze still towards the body now fully covered in a blue tarp. “And a few days after, she turns up dead.”
“Beats me too Tia,” Aiden said.
“Don’t you get it Aiden?” She asked, now facing him, her expression was serious. “These murders… these killings are just a game for him.”
Aiden cocked his head at her, confusion evident in his expression. “A game? What are you talking about?”
“Look, this might sound a bit off, or maybe a lot off but I could bet on this. This…” She circled her hand in the direction of where Stacey’s body laid. “Is all a game to him, to the killer? There is a puzzle in this somewhere. And I think he wants us to solve it if we do not, or if we do not solve it on time, I fear that there will be more bodies.” She finished, worry etched on her face as she looked at Aiden, hoping that he at least understood what she was saying.
Aiden frowned and looked back at the body and then at Tia like he was processing all that she had said. Then his eyes widened in realization. “Her DNA sample was found at the crime scene of Pamela Neil and Pamela’s DNA sample was found at the crime scene of Clarissa Jan… Tia, I think you are right, there is a puzzle here. More like a pattern.”
“You get it now?” Tia asked in relief. She sighed and paced a little, pulling her hair away from her face and all the way back.
“There is more to these killings than just what we are getting. There is something we are not seeing or focusing on.” Aiden said, tapping his foot.
“I was here Aiden.” She said backing him. “I was here, in this park just a few hours ago with my daughter Aiden. We were here, having fun.”
“Tia…” He called, pulling at her shoulder until she faced him. He could see that her eyes had begun to tear up.
She chuckled. “It is crazy, is it not? And to think that this happened only a few hours after we had left.”
“Tia, stop this…”
“I had my daughter with me Aiden.” She choked and the tears flowed freely now. “My daughter! In this same park! I just…” She sniffed and looked away. “I am scared for her Aiden and I can not help it. This place…”
“Tia,” Aiden called and shook her, stopping her from talking more. “You are the best detective and a great mum, if anyone can stop this son of a bitch and bring him down, it is going to be us.” He wiped a tear from her cheek and beamed a smile at her. “It is going to be you.”
She smiled and sniffed, wiping her face. “I’m sorry.”
“We are humans. We all have our moments.” he smiled. “Now let’s get this bastard and show him who the boss is around here.”
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Going In Search
"Funny how you two are always showing up together." Renard spoke after welcoming both Scott and Dan into his place. He had sent a message the day before to the Nadri elders, requesting for the best huntsman they had for what she needed. The charges had been exorbitant but he had reasoned that it was well worth it. He knew his request was close to impossible but why give up?
"Why? Were you expecting someone else perhaps?" Scott asked, settling into one of the leather chairs.
"No, not that. The elders made it clear to me whom I would be expecting." He waved one hand in the air as he also sat. "I mean, considering the fact that neither of you likes each other."
Scott and Dan exchanged looks at each other briefly with raised eyebrows.
"And you know that how exactly?" Dan questioned looking back at Renard. He noticed that the Arch Angel was frail-looking and his wings did not shine that much anymore.
"You were told?" Scott asked.
"No, I know."
"And how?"
"I know because it is my duty to know." Renard managed a smile. "I made it my duty to know."
"It is that obvious, is it not?" Scott chuckled. "That we do not see from the same eye?"
"It is obvious, but not from you." Renard pointed at Scott with an almost empty glass of brandy in his shaking hands, then moved his finger to Dan. "It is obvious from him, yes. He makes it very obvious."
"I guess..." Scott turned his head to look at Dan, looking him straight in the eye with a wicked half-smile on his face. "...he does not know how to box up his emotions well."
Dan narrowed his eyes at Scott, a low growl sounding from his throat. His fingers dug into the soft leather chair in which he sat. If there was one thing he so badly wanted to box up, then it was Scott and he wanted to box him up in pieces too.
"There." Renard mused. "There it is!"
Scott laughed a little. "Don't you..."
"We came here for a reason, did we not?" Dan cut in rather impatiently. "So why don't we just get to it."
"And you are the impatient one." Renard smiled. "We have the time to while away."
"Actually, we do not Renard." Scott pointed. "We are really time conscious when it comes to matters like this."
"Exactly. For the first time, I have to agree with Scott on this one, we do not have the time to while away, and frankly I do not think that you do either." Dan smirked, noticing Renard's shaking hands.
Renard smirked too, but obviously, he was pained by Dan's statement. He knew the Nadri was right, he didn't have time on his side for long. Stirring the liquid in his glass, he started.
"I do not have time on my side as you have clearly pointed out. You have noticed my instability."
"It is rather too obvious to be unnoticeable, can we move on?"
"Do you have somewhere else you have to be, Nadri?" Renard asked, already getting pissed off by the rude Nadri.
"Oh no, carry on." Dan smiled and relaxed on the chair. "I have got more time on my hands."
Scott, who had been quiet all the while, finally spoke up when he noticed the temper of Renard building. His instability and Dan's rude attitude would spark a huge flame. He smirked, thinking of how bad Dan would be disgraced by the more powerful Arch Angel, it would bring a smile to his face but he did not want that. At least not now. They were here for something else.
"Your message said you needed us to find you a mixed blood." He eased up the tension.
"It is what I need the most." Renard shifted his attention to the more likable Nadri. "A mixed blood, a human Angel mixed."
"I should tell you that the human Angel mix is almost, if not totally impossible, to find." Scott pointed out. "The last I had encountered was a decade ago."
"The Angel human romance was one of such abominations that sparked off quickly but did not die as quickly as it had started. There are still mixed-bloods out there wherever the humans are in hiding. To find one will be difficult, yes..." Renard took a sip from his glass to wet his quickly drying tongue before continuing. "...but not impossible. Not for you guys at least."
Dan chuckled. "That might turn out to be impossible if you leave it in his hands. A decade is really a long time ago."
*"Oh, here we go again."* Scott thought and sighed loudly, bowing his head slightly and reclining back on the seat.
"Oh, and you are the better bet?" Renard asked, his displeasure for the Nadri returning and Renard was finding it difficult to hide that fact. Dan noticed but he did not care. He did not mind but rather continued.
"I am the best you can get." Dan puffed. "But my expertise comes at a higher bargain."
"The best?" Renard asked with a chuckle and disbelief.
Dan smirked, his overconfidence glowed all around him.
"Thank you, Dan, but I think I will stick with the one Nadri who has a reputation of getting things done." Renard fired back at him. "Besides, my message had asked for a Nadri with experience and not an apprentice."
Dan growled at Renard as he shot up from his seat, transforming into his real Nadri creature in seconds, and posed to attack the Arch Angel.
"Dan!" Scott yelled a warning to his overbearing half-brother. Honestly, he was already tired of the guy.
"Well, Arch Angel." Dan spoke in the hoarse voice of his Nadri self. "I will leave you to the care of this..." He eyed Scott. "...half-human then. But you should know that this corruption would swallow you quicker than you think!"
Spinning away from them, he leaped once, clearing the space between them and the window in a single bound, as he jumped through, breaking the stained glass window.
"How do you stand him?" Renard asked.
"I don't." Scott sighed and turned back to Renard. "I apologize for that."
"Yeah." Renard leaned back on the chair. "That was my favorite window."
* * * * *
The sun had set quickly over the mountains and the cold came in rapidly, bringing the mist down to the forest which surrounded the gigantic mountains where Sheila and Leo had made their temporary home. To Sheila and for Leo it was a fortress, protected by the river whose waters flow out from the Euphrates, repelling the demons from crossing over and it was much too cold for most demons to fly all the way up. Sheila had waited until the night so they could make their journey by the cover of darkness, ironic because the nighttime was when the demons thrived most but for the sake of Leo, the nighttime was best.
"Why are we using the horses?" Leo asked as he mounted on one. "You can fly."
"And you cannot. That is the reason for the horses." Sheila responded. She eased the horse forward and Leo followed suit.
"I am not that heavy to carry." He continued.
Sheila laughed and looked at him. "No, you are not, but how am I supposed to carry you and the others?"
"The others? What others?"
"We are going into the forest to rescue the other humans which had been taken away from us."
"You are letting me come with you?!" Leo was surprised but still elated. Yes!
Sheila smiled softly. "I should not because it is rather dangerous but then if I delay, it might mean a loss for them."
"And you know they will still be alive till now?" Leo threw at her.
Sheila paused and sighed lightly, truth be told, she was almost sure that they would not still be alive but still, she wanted to go. Humans were being brought in from the forest most of the time but not on a daily basis anymore, it was almost safe to say that Earth was running out of humans. How ironic.
"No, I do not." She answered honestly. "But what I do know, is that there will be humans there and we are going to get them out."
"So..." Leo started but was cut off.
"Leo, let us be positive now. I am positive, and I always will be. We will find what we are looking for, I believe."
He kicked his horse in the side which made the animal move forward at a slow pace and Sheila followed close behind.
"I believe." He said to her and she smiled.
"Great. We will go through the forest and approach from behind." Sheila said and whipped her horse into a slow run ahead of Leo's. "You will stay close behind me at all times."
* * * * *
By the time Scott left Renard's mansion after settling all that was needed and necessary, it was already nighttime, he would now begin the hunt for a mixed-blood and despite his confidence, he did not know where he was to start from because the last mixed blood he had encountered had been almost a decade ago and that was when the war was just beginning.
He laughed to himself, thinking of how an Angel would have considered having a sexual affair with a human but then remembering exactly what he was and how he had come to be, he suddenly did not find it funny anymore. He was also of mixed blood. Maybe he should not blame the celestial creatures, humans are quite attractive - some of them, that is - most especially the females, they all had excellent approaches when it came to seducing. He had experienced that too himself.
As he walked through the forest, he contemplated why the Arch Angel would choose to have his settlement right by the edge of this place. Perhaps he wanted the solitude that came with it being away from the others. Scott understood that and sometimes he felt the same, sometimes like now and all he wanted to do right now was to run. And he did.
He sped through the forest, running faster than was normal and possible for a human, navigating around the trees and over the stumps and roots shooting out above the forest floors until he almost ran into a horse, coming to an abrupt halt.
Sheila's horse neighed and lifted up on both hind legs as it stopped in its tracks, spooked out by the person who had just run in front of it before balancing back on all fours. Sheila held on tight, also surprised by the man in front of her who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, only that he did not just appear, she had seen him run. Sheila looked at him cautiously, no human could run like that. This was no human.
"I guess we did not have to get too far to find a human." Leo chuckled satisfactorily as he pulled up beside Sheila, ready to jump down from the horse. He had not seen the person running because he had been a few paces behind Sheila.
*"Stay right where you are Leo and do not dismount from that horse."* Sheila spoke to him in her thoughts, the sound of her in his head made his spine tingle. Something was not right with this. He gripped the reins tightly.
"An angel and a human? I guess you must be a renegade." Scott spoke lightly, both hands held behind him. He flashed a smile to Sheila.
"You are not human, aren't you?" She asked although she could sense it.
"I am." Scott replied. "And I am not."
"Nadri.."
"Partly."
"Nadri?" Leo said to himself, his eyes darting from the man before them to Sheila and then back to the man. What was a Nadri?
"And what might you be?" Scott threw the question to Leo, his eyes fixed on the teenager.
"Is it not obvious?" Sheila defended.
"No?" Scott spoke. "It is not."
In the blink of an eye, Scott's hand shot forward from behind him and a small blade left his hand, spinning freely in the air until it struck Leo in his forearm, just below the shoulder, slicing through his flesh deep enough for blood to pool out. Leo screamed out in pain, Sheila gasped in anger and surprise, Scott smirked as the smell of blood hit his nose, he had found his mixed blood, what luck he had.
*"Run Leo!"* Sheila's voice was powerful in his thoughts. *"Run! Back to the mountains!"*
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Old Flame
Omar wasn't home, Sheikh Khalid knew. So this would be the best time to move the American away, he would take her to another house and deal with Omar's questions later when he returned. Nothing could go wrong with the wedding plans. He would allow absolutely nothing to disrupt his long term plan.
"You have been summoned by the Sheikh." Megan trembled when Taheem came into the room to call her and she wondered if she had done something which she shouldn't.
"Can I know why?" She asked, shaking with fear.
"Only The Sheikh knows why, you would know soon."
"Is Omar home?"
The rigid man paused then shook his head negatively. Megan swallowed, she feared the Sheikh, which was a wise decision on her part. The man had threatened her life, something she still loved to hold on to. Gathering herself together she left the room and allowed Taheem to lead the way.
He sat calmly downstairs, his eyes to the front door until he noticed her presence, he smiled at her but she was too shaken to smile back or even to move. He stretched out his hand, gesturing for her to sit on the adjacent chair. She nodded, the side of her lips twitched in a brief smile and she sat, head down and her eyes focused on her fingers which nervously played with each other. She heard her heart beating loudly and her eyes wandered in fear of someone suddenly placing a knife against her throat. She couldn't properly breathe.
Sheikh Khalid studied her, he could tell she was uncomfortable, that she was afraid and nervous by the way her fingers played. He smiled, happy at the effect he had on her, glad that he wasn't seen as being soft, talking to her would be much easier. Raising a hand, he waved Taheem away, he felt her tense up and adjust herself on the seat.
"Megan..." She flinched, he had called her name calmly but she couldn't help the way her heartbeat skyrocketed. Omar wasn't home so she was at the mercy of the Sheikh. She bowed her head in response and avoided his gaze.
The front door suddenly opened and a guard stepped forward, ushering someone in. Megan released the breath she was holding, grateful for the break, but still, she didn't lift her head, it remained bowed, both eyes fixed to her fingers. She breathed calmly now but still wishing and praying that Omar just shows up and make this "meeting" less threatening.
"Samir," The Sheikh called, diverting his attention.
"As-salaam 'Alaikum Sheikh." he greeted, bowing his head a little.
"Wa'alaikum as-salaam Samir, what brings you here so early?"
"I'm here on business-related matters Sheikh."
Megan felt her heartbeat rising again, that voice was very familiar to her but she didn't want to believe it came from him. Too afraid to confirm, she kept her head down. It can't be Sam, it couldn't be Sam. She couldn't breathe from her nose so she opened her mouth, she felt faint. Can't be Sam. She rubbed her temples.
She still couldn't look up to confirm. The Sheikh noticed her actions and for a man as cold as he was he wouldn't want someone dying in his house, at least not when he didn't approve of it. The thought made him chuckle.
"Megan..." his voice was cold. "You should return, we will talk much later." She nodded and stood up, then bowed. Resisting the urge to look at the person who had walked in she turned away so her back was to him and proceeded to walk back to her room until she heard her name.
"Megan..."
Her head shot up and she turned, gasped and froze. It was Samir, her ex-boyfriend who had dumped her without no apparent reason and behind him was Omar who was just entering the house.
The Sheikh watched Megan's reaction after Samir had called her, and he had called her by her name, she had frozen on seeing him and was visibly shaken. They knew each other, that much was obvious, the smirk on Samir's face spoke of a long history between the two.
Old flames?
Or enemies?
Sheikh Khalid was curious but he kept quiet, choosing to rather observe, such lively atmosphere was rare happen and he wanted to enjoy every bit of it.
Samir stood calmly with both hands shoved into his pocket, looking straight at Megan. In his eyes she hadn't aged a bit, she still had those innocent and curious eyes, those full cherry lips that he had kissed a thousand times and now all he wanted to do was to walk up to her and reach his hands around her waist to pull her close, to feel the curve of her body and the scent of her hair.
He had missed her. Although he hadn't really allowed much memories about her to dwell in his thinking since he left, burying most of the memories in work until he had seen her here. He studied her, she looked shaken and somehow scared, he didn't know why she should be feeling such but he knew that she felt scared. She stood, unmoving, her gaze moving from Samir to Omar who was close now.
"Father," Omar greeted as soon as he crossed the threshold into the house, coming to a stop right beside Samir. He glanced at Megan and winked, the two men turned to face each other before shaking hands.
"You come here more often now Samir," Omar smiled. "You're taking the business seriously as I can see."
"Ahh yes," He side-eyed Megan. "Some more than just business."
They laughed.
"And I heard, congratulations, you're getting together with the princess. She would be a powerful tool for you, you know?"
"Powerful tool? You speak like my father." He laughed and looked at his father then to Megan who had her head down, her eyes were fixed to her fingers which she squeezed nervously. He knew she was uncomfortable just standing there and that the mention of his marriage to the princess disturbed her, he smiled weakly wanting to ease her mind he added,
"We'll see about that." He slapped Sam softly on the shoulder.
Sheikh Khalid shot his son a warning look, narrowing his eyes on the young man who only held his gaze for a mili second and was already approaching Megan to take her away. He wondered if Omar knew of the tension hanging between Megan and Samir, he chose to pry.
"Megan, Samir here seems to know you as he had called you by your name despite having never actually met you, you must know each other, or don't you?"
Omar who had already walked up to Megan turned to face his father who had a curious look on his face before they both shifted their attention to Samir who seemed to have been caught off guard. Omar unconsciously placed a palm on the small of Megan's back, pulling her slightly closer to him. Megan, surprised by the unexpected action tensed under his touch then faced the Sheikh and forced a smile.
"We had met in America a long time ago." She looked at Omar whose attention was still on Samir. "Then we got err..."
"...separated." Samir finished. She looked at him without any hint of emotion in her eyes, Samir smiled.
"We got separated years ago. I was actually very excited when I saw her just the other day from the window." He brought out a hand to gesture, "and I was shocked, you say she's a guest here?"
Guest. Omar knew it was his father who would have made mention of her as a guest, he sighed then smiled, turning his face to Megan now, she still hadn't looked at him.
"It was nice seeing you again Megan. I hope we can see each other more often." Samir smiled. Megan only glanced at him briefly, looking up to Omar. He understood that she wanted to leave the conversation because it was making her uncomfortable.
"I'm glad," Omar replied for Megan then excused himself and Megan from their midst, leaving his father and Samir to talk business or whatever subject they fancied. Megan, grateful for the excuse squeezed Omar's hands gently as they walked away.
He took her into her room and made her sit. She still wasn't calm and she didn't meet with his eyes, rather she played nervously with her fingers resting on her laps.
"So Samir, your ex-boyfriend is actually Samir downstairs?" Omar was in awe, what a really small world it was indeed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're attracted to Arabian men." He laughed and pulled her up.
Megan wasn't in the mood for jokes, she wasn't in the mood for anything, she just wanted to lay her head down and sleep, to wake up and realize all this was just a dream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to run, she wanted to just.... anything but this.
She circled her hands around his torso and buried her face into his chest. Omar felt the wetness that soaked his shirt and it broke his heart, she was crying because he had gotten her entangled into his family's mess. He hugged her tighter, stroking her hair and rubbing his hands down to her back, she began to sob.
"Megan, please don't." He tried to calm her.
"Omar," she called without looking up, he placed his jaw on her head and hummed in his response.
"You'll be fine baby girl." He sighed. "You will be fine."
"Omar, I want to go back."
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
Time With Mummy
Friday, the 6th of May.
03:40 pm.
Of all the cases she had had to work on, Tia had never really felt this much tension, and this was not the kind of tension that came from your boss or from your superior to hurry up and close a case, no, this was tension from herself. Something about this case made her feel uneasy, maybe it was the fact that it was even more puzzling or maybe it was the fact that DNA samples were popping up ad appearing in the oddest of places. No, it was the oddest of DNA samples popping up in the crime scenes, or… she breathed.
“Relax Tia. Aiden said, relax. So relax.”
But relaxing was not something she could really do right now as it was a kind of luxury she could not afford. She had promised a mother that she would find the killer of her daughter soonest. Whatever she must have been thinking when she had made that promise, she did not know, but what she knew now was that she had made that promise and now was not the time to be relaxing or slacking.
She leaned against the stone bench as she waited to spot her daughter coming out of the school while keeping her mind occupied with work and the boggling case she had at hand. The killer was strategic, she had to give that to him, but just how good was he? He had managed to remain anonymous from the Clarissa Jan’s killing, so much so that not even a profile could be made of him, not a trace, not a witness. Nothing. Not even a motive. And although now, they still could not figure out his motive, at least now they had a suspect - Stacey Rohn.
Tia was convinced that she was least likely to be the killer but then, nothing could be thrown away. She was connected to this case somehow and it was up to Tia and Aiden to figure out what that was. She sighed and moved away from the bench, pacing along the walkway. Clarissa Jan, Pamela Neil, and Stacey Rohn all had one thing in common - they were associated with the Skyline company. Tia snapped her head sharply to the side and paused in her steps, why had that not clicked? Why had she not seen it? Somehow Skyline was entangled in this as both the victims had a connection with the company or were there more? Were there some things she was not piecing together?
One thing Tia did not like was not knowing something that she really had to know and right now, this was eating her up. She brought her fingers to her temple and massaged slowly, closing her eyes and taking deliberate breaths to calm her nerves and repeatedly telling herself to calm down and relax.
“Mummy!”
She bolted out of her thoughts and turned to see her daughter running towards her and she smiled, getting down on both knees to embrace her baby.
Tia almost tumbled down to the ground when her daughter jumped into her open and waiting arms in the tightest hug Tia had received in a while. She had come to her daughter’s school to surprise her and pick her up and she could tell that it had made her daughter ecstatic. She was down on both knees in front of her daughter’s school with her daughter squeezing the life out of her neck with neither of them caring much about the stares they were getting from the other students as they walked past them.
“Oh, mummy! I was not expecting to see you here!” Zara said excitedly, slowly releasing her mother.
“I know baby, I just thought I should come to surprise you.” Tia winked.
“And I love the surprise.” She giggled.
“I have got another surprise.” She said in a whisper with got her daughter all excited and giddy-up. “How about we skip going home early and take a detour around a few places.”
“Really mummy?!”
Tia winked. “Really. Come on, let us start. Where do you want to go to first darling?”
“To the park!” Zara replied excitedly, handing her bag over to her mother. “But first, we get ice cream.”
* * * * *
04:00pm
Duane park was the closest to Zara’s school and it was usually the busiest around this time of the day, it was also Zara’s favorite. She had been here on countless occasions with both her mum and her grand mum and it had always been a struggle trying to get her to leave by the end of the day. Only after they had crossed the entrance gate into the park did Tia realize that she might need some extra help in getting her to agree to go home but as she watched her daughter run around and the excitement on her face, she decided that when they got to that bridge, they would find a way to cross it.
This was a great way to unwind and Tia had the distraction of her daughter to keep her mind from wandering too far into work, but then Pamela’s body had been found in a park like this, South Cove park not too far from this very one, along the hiking trail on the island, she being here was enough motivation to want to go and try to dig up around the site but the park was not a walking distance away. She watched her daughter skip ahead of her and suddenly felt a kind of fear rapidly wash over her. The feeling lasted for much lesser than a second but it was something she could not ignore and she knew she would not be forgetting that feeling in a while.
She looked around as the people went about their normal life and she could not help but think, one of them might be the killer they were hunting for and some of them if the killer was not apprehended on time, would have to be his next victim. The thought made her alert and suspicious as anything could literally happen right at this very moment.
“Mummy, come on!” Zara called, waving to her mother to hurry up. She stood beside a free booth, holding the curtain open and gesturing to her mother to quickly enter, they would be taking a picture together.
Tia smiled and jogged to the booth, snatching her daughter up in her arms, earning a scream and a giggle from her before they both disappeared into the booth.
“Mummy, I want to go to the waterfront.” Zara told her mother, pulling on her hand and at the same time, eating her ice cream.
“We can not go too far in baby, we might have to leave soon.” Tia replied her.
“But mummy…” Zara protested, stopping and looking up at her mum.
“I know baby, but we can not stay here till it gets dark.” Her whole mind would not be at peace if they were still in here by the time it would get dark, and call her paranoid but it was just the way she was feeling. She hated it.
Zara’s face fell and she looked down at her fingers. “But you promised…”
Tia got down on her knees in front of her daughter. “I promised you that I would take you to the park and I did bring you to the park, right baby?”
“But you want us to leave.” Zara whined, twisting her toes into the ground.
“No. No. Not right away, look…” Tia held on to her daughter’s forearm firmly and shook her slightly so that she faced her fully. “We are here now, why don’t we just forget about leaving for now and have some fun? Huh?”
Zara shrugged her shoulders, still looking to the ground. “I guess…”
“Come on Zara.” Tia shook her, trying to get her smiling but it was of no use.
“Come on Zara, now do not stress your mother.” Someone said.
Tia turned to her right where the person stood and she was greeted by a smiling face, one she recently just knew and she smiled, getting to her feet. “Chester?”
Chester winked at her before he got down on his knees in front of Zara who stood very close to her mother but faced him curiously, wanting to know what this handsome stranger was up to. Even Tia watched him keenly to see what he wanted to do, she noticed the pink stuffed toy he held behind hid back and she smiled, folding her lips in and trying not to laugh out.
“Hi Zara,” Chester said, holding a hand out to her. “I am mummy’s friend, Chester.” He introduced himself to the little girl.
Zara looked up at her mother innocently for a sort of confirmation, of what he was saying was true as she had been taught not to listen to strangers, let alone touch them or allow them to touch her. Tia looked at Chester with a “what are you trying to do” expression, but he only smirked at her with raised eyebrows, waiting for her to say something. She nodded slowly as she looked back at Zara who in turn turned back to Chester and placed her small hand in Chester’s, smiling at him.
“Hi.” She replied. “If you are mummy’s friend then you can be my friend as well.” She beamed.
“Really?” Chester faked a surprised look and let go of her small hand, bringing his hand to place on his chest. “Then you would not mind me giving this to you?” He said, bringing his other hand out from behind his back, revealing the stuffed pink teddy he was holding behind him.
Zara squealed and immediately snatched it from him, hugging it tightly and close to her while rocking her body left and right. “For meeeeee?!”
Chester smiled at the girl’s innocent behavior, her excitement was contagious and she was cute, he stole a glance at Tia, she was as cute as her mother. He looked back down and chuckled.
“If I did not know any better, I would say that you are stalking me.” Tia said with her arms folded across her chest below her breasts, watching him with a coy smile.
“Stalking?” He chuckled nervously as he got up. “No, no, I was not. I just… happened to be around the same place are you are and coincidentally, we met. That is in no way stalking, or is it?”
Tia raised an eyebrow at him. “Coincidentally?”
“Well… yea…” Chester replied, rubbing his palms together and smiling nervously.
Tia sighed. “I am a cop Chester, I can easily detect a lie.”
He laughed. “Okay that was not the total truth but…” He held up a finger when he saw that Tia wanted to say something. “I honestly did not follow you in here but I may have seen you and decided to stick around for a long while.”
Tia bent her head slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Stalking.”
“Tia, don’t be difficult right now, please.”
“Difficult?” she opened her mouth in mock surprise. “Difficult?”
“This is for her, right?” He asked, stretching his arms towards Zara who paid no attention to the adults as they bickered, but focused on the conversation she was having with her new stuffed toy. “This is not about me, it is about her.”
Tia waved one hand in surrender. “Fine, fine. Yes.”
He smiled and took a step towards her. “By the way, I never knew you had a daughter.”
“Well, you do now.”
“She is cute.” He praised and looked her straight in the eye, his wide smile beginning to soften. “Just like her mother.”
Tia blushed. “There are a lot of things you do not know about me Mr. Coffee shop owner.” She said.
He took another step closer to her and reached for her hand. “And I intend to try to know more if she would let me.”
Tia blushed harder and looked away, folding her lips in and looking everywhere but at his face. She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away from his hold. “We have the whole afternoon..” She took hold of Zara’s hand and began to walk away, giving Chester a soft look. “…let us not waste it.”
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Guardian
"... Liam," Phidian called loudly, raising her voice above the noise and loud music of the bar but only just enough that he could hear her, she shoved him lightly by the shoulder. Liam blinked twice then rose his head to look at her.
"Where did you go?" She inquired, leaning in a bit closer.
"What do you mean?" He half smiled and downed the last gulp of the barley. "I am right here, seated here, or am I not?"
Phidian dropped the empty tray she had been holding and pulled a seat closer to Liam and sat. She placed her left palm on his right forearm and felt his biceps flex beneath her touch, he was nervous, that much she could tell and it worried her because Liam was not one to be nervous.
"Liam..."
"I feel suffocated." He cut her off. "I need some air."
"Then let us step out." She held him by the hand, pulling him out of his seat, and maneuvered them both around the drunk and loud demons chattering away in the bar until they were out.
They walked around the bar till they were behind it and headed towards the edge of the forest which ran all the way behind the bar. Liam peeled the cloak off his body and held it in his hand as he breathed in deeply, closing his eyes and stretching his arms until he heard them pop by the joints. His wings spread out wide and he flapped repeatedly to stretch them, feeling the heat rising from them and running into his body. He felt clustered and just wanted to scream, he wanted to set this energy trapped in him free somehow, to send the emotions wrecking in him free and far away.
Yes, he really wanted to scream.
"Feeling better?" He heard Phidian's voice break through his thoughts and he opened his eyes, exhaling and releasing his emotions as he calmed down.
Turning to her, he smiled weakly and nodded. "Let us walk for a bit."
"You enjoy coming up into the forest a lot." Phidian pointed out, Liam only nodded as they kept on walking.
"Why?" She pressed on.
"It is nature. Nature is free." He breathed out.
"But it is dark and haunting and crawling with other nightly creatures. You like that?"
"Still part of nature, I can not exactly complain, can I?"
"I think that is what you have been doing." She laughed and he joined in briefly. "But I do not think the nightly creatures are nature. At least not the ones now."
"You sound afraid Phidian."
"I am not." She defended
Liam chuckled. "I like it though."
"You like me being afraid?" She was confused. "Why?"
"It helps me forget. Asides from the tail and claws, I sometimes forget that you are supposed to be a demon."
Phidian smiled. "And... that is supposed to be a good thing?"
He looked at her briefly and sighed then turned his focus back on the road. "I guess you could say that. I like to remember you as you were."
"As I was? How do you mean?"
"As a human."
They stopped by a small clearing just by the edge of the forest and settled. Phidian chose to sit on a low tree stump while Liam sat on a flat rock and leaned against a tree. The night was chilly and the wind whistled, lifting the calls of the birds of the night and crickets and roads and all that come alive at night up out of the forest and into the pretty much awake town.
From where they sat, Liam could still see the lights coming from the bar, and he could hear their noises too, like groups of men huddled in the bar on a Friday night, drinking their troubles away, singing, and laughing merrily. He smiled absent-mindedly, now thinking of it, the human world was not all that messed up, well it was but still, they always took out the time to have fun and catch up on old friends and to share old memories and tell silly jokes and get together. Then nature was still in a sort of comfortable balance and he had been able to observe them undetected, unseen, untouched ad unheard. The human world had some sort of stability then.
"Tell me." Phidian broke into his thoughts again.
"Hmm...?" Liam looked at her. "Tell you what?"
"About me."
"I should tell you about you?" Liam laughed out. "Who would know about you more than you do?"
Phidian laughed too but softly. "I mean, tell me what you like to remember about me. What you like to remember about the human me, or her."
Liam's expression hardened gradually and he turned away from her looking into the forest. He remembered Sharon, the sweet and charming sixteen-year-old of whom he had been a guardian. She was the last human he had been bonded with before the war had fully broken out when the demons were still daring and before the corruption had spread among-st some of the Angels. The practice of harvesting souls had just begun, it was something that had already started and the demons had been very eager to perform that ritual, humans were just there for the picking and they had chosen to come for his human.
He remembered everything as it had happened. He remembered every single detail. She had been sleeping when the attack started and he knew more than anything, he had to ensure her safety and so, without waking her up, he had picked her and placed her into her closet, gently closing the door, and then he took a defensive posture, guarding the closet door. He saw them rise, saw them rise from the floor like thick black smoke, swirling round and growing until they took form. He had been enraged, he sliced through them as easily as a knife through butter and he had watched them go up in flames with a shriek, crumbling to ashes almost immediately and disappearing.
They had come prepared in their numbers but as easily as he took down the first, he took down the rest. It had been easy. But then something had distracted him, it was the body of Sharon's mother, stabbed with several knives and thrown out the window, shattering the glasses and landing in the garden. It was in that few seconds' space of distraction that the closet door opened and Sharon stepped out.
Liam had fought his way through the demons and had now moved to the other side of the room, he had seen the girl step out, he had seen the demons rush to her and he had run too, slashing his sword in the air as he yelled. It had cut the demons in two and they had disintegrated. But as soon as he rushed to the girl, she dropped in his arms lifeless, they had taken her soul.
Liam blinked and leaned his head against the tree as his body vibrated with guilt and hurt. Phidian who noticed, came up to him, kneeling beside him, and held on to his arm.
"Liam?" She gently shook him.
But his mind was back to those memories, back to the time when he had failed and he remembered. He remembered Renard, standing over the body of Sharon's mother, and when he had looked up to Liam, an evil smile was across his face. Renard had given into the corruption and it had been eating at him slowly from the inside since then but what he don't know was that it would eventually overwhelm him. Liam knew it was already happening now.
"Liam!" Phidian shook him forcefully and he looked at her with pain in his eyes.
"She woke up..." He said.
"Who woke up Liam? What are you talking about?"
He had heard her gasp for breath. She had breathed in through her mouth, taking in the dark smoke which sipped in easily through her parted lips and her eyes had shot open.
"Liam!" The voice shot him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at Phidian who was looking at him with worry etched across her still human face, but it was not her voice he had heard. It was...
"Liam...!" It came again, this time more desperately than it had the first time.
No, it was not Phidian's voice because the sounds were inside his head. Leticia.
His guardian instincts immediately kicked in and he was up on his feet in a flash. His sudden and unexpected move knocked Phidian to the ground, she landed flat on her back and looked up to Liam in surprise.
"Sorry." He threw at her and took to the skies, flapping his massive wings to propel him faster through the air. He had a human to protect and whether he welcomed the idea of being responsible for a human again or not, he could not let this one be taken like they had taken Sharon. It was his duty to protect.
Leticia was forced awake from sleep by the terrible nightmare she just had. Her heartbeat still accelerated and perspiration had soaked through her cloth around the collar. The room was dark and the fear was still in her and for a brief second, she wondered where she was and how she had gotten to be here. In the darkness, she felt beside her for her sword and found it, the feeling of the cool steel sheath steadied her and slowly she began to calm down. She breathed in and out as her pupils dilated and her vision adjusted to the darkness.
Leticia screamed and unsheathed her sword when she noticed the dark silhouette figure standing rigidly at the foot of the bed. She fumbled a little still on the bed in her attempt to get up into a comfortable, battle-ready position, until she was on her knees, positioning her sword's tip towards the shadowy person. In an instance, the whole room was suddenly illuminated when the person flexed his muscles, but it wasn't muscles that were flexed as Leticia came to notice, it was a flap of the wings with Liam standing domineering over her, a deep frown on his face.
His wings opened up slightly behind him, emitting bright and white-hot energy of light that attacked Leticia's eyes with the intensity that she had to blink and shade her eyes from the light using her free arm.
"You had a dream," Liam spoke first. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Liam? You?!" Leticia screamed, her initial fear slowly vanishing. "Why would you stand guard over me that way?! You scared the hell out of me."
"It is in the name description, "guardian angel". That's how I always stand guard, plus back then you would not be able to see me."
"Well, I can!" She fired back. "And now that I can please be more considerate next time with the way you reveal yourself to me. You almost gave me a heart attack."
Liam ignored her rantings. "You had a dream?"
Leticia calmed down and lowered her sword, sliding it back into its sheath, and placed it beside her. She sighed.
"A nightmare, yes."
"About your brother?"
She looked up at him with her eyebrow raised. "Yes but, how did you...?"
"I saw." He replied before bringing his wings to close together, sending them into the darkness of the room. He turned away from her and made to walk outside. Leticia sprung up from the bed and went after him.
"You saw?" She asked, stepping out of the house with him. The sun had not risen yet but the day was a little brighter. "How did you see and what did you see?"
"We are... bonded."
"Bonded? You say that like it is a bad thing."
"Because it is!" He snapped, turning around to face her. He saw the frightened look on her face and exhaled to calm down. "It means now, I am responsible for you, something I was and am still not ready to face."
"I can pretty much take care of myself if this bonding bothers you so much."
"I wish it could be as easy as that Leticia but that is not how a guardian angel and human relationship works. I am responsible for you means you are now under my protection and my number one priority."
Leticia frowned. "I am not a child that I need to be babysat. I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, sure you can, with what? Your Angel disguise perfume and a sword you probably should not own?" Leticia fumed at his choice of words. "Trust me, I do not want to babysit you either."
"We had one deal; help me find my brother and I will be out of your shiny angelic hair." She brushed him off.
Liam smirked and absent-mindedly combed his fingers through his hair. Speaking to her in his thoughts, he said. *"I do have shiny hair, don't I?"*
Leticia scoffed, folded her hands across her chest, and looked away, a soft smile on her lips. He just had to be cocky.
Looking beyond her towards the cold mountains, he told her. "If anyone can know anything about your brother's whereabouts, it would be Sheila."
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Rekindled Flame
Samir Watr-il-Dharah stood on the balcony of the second floor, leaning over the railing and gazing out over the perfectly mowed garden with both hands shoved deep into his pockets. He listened through a pair of blue tooth earpieces to the person on the other end of the line and he smiled a little.
"I wouldn't want to stress you so much, Mr Hung." He began to pace. "You only entered the country yesterday."
As much as Samir wanted to get this project finalized and kicked off soonest, he really didn't want to put others in a position where they felt pressured. The pressure was not exactly good for business, the pressure made it easy to make mistakes and he didn't want any mistakes with this project.
"If you are fully rested then it is no problem, where is your hotel? I will come to meet you at the restaurant there so it will be easier for you and we can talk."
If he could wrap this up within the week, it would get the burden off him for a while. The funding Mr Hung would be providing would cover the cost and more, the partnership was a must and he wanted to, as much as he could, make Mr Hung feel comfortable. Samir sighed, he would only stress himself for a little while. Just a little while more.
"Mr Jang would not be joining us. You see, he is not in the country and might not come to Saudi until maybe next month or the month after."
Both Mr Jang and Mr Hung were important contributors to this project. Sometimes the responsibility scared him but looking back to how far he had come and his confidence would return. He could do this. He would do this flawlessly.
"I could arrange a meeting to introduce the two of you as you would also be partners for the duration of this project but that would either be in France where he is currently or whenever he would return to Saudi."
Samir found it quite odd that the two business tycoons had never met before although they knew who the other was, they had never met, never done business together. But then the business world was extremely large and diverse, it shouldn't be a surprise.
"I will be coming there now. Give me an hour." He listened. "Thank you Mr. Hung."
He breathed in deeply, taking in as much air as his lungs could allow and smiled to himself. He felt victorious, felt satisfied and his smile developed into a chuckle as he thought of Megan, his long time American lover, Megan Walker. He didn't know why he was thinking of her right now but he liked the thought. Seeing her in the Sheikh's home had come as a shock to him and moreover, he had been told that she was a guest.
How long had it been since the last time he saw her?
Two years?
Three?
Still, she looked as beautiful as he had always remembered her to be. She had haunted his dreams ever since he left her and he could not get her off his mind that easily so he had buried himself in work. He knew he had left her heartbroken and without much of an explanation, his father had been critically ill then and it was of utmost importance for him to be present and to fulfil his father's last wishes, to perform the last rites and also to take over the business.
She wouldn't have understood then if he had told her, she would have wanted to return with him but things didn't just work out that way in this part of the world, you don't just show up back home with a girl whom you weren't sure of settling down with.
Yes, he hadn't been sure then, they were both still young and he just felt to catch some cruise and have some fun before returning back to Saudi Arabia, to the bride his father would have chosen for him, but his father hadn't chosen a bride for him before his demise, meaning he was free to make his own choice. He really didn't think much about marriage because his mind was on the business.
And maybe it was a good thing he had kept his full attention on the business because since he took over his father's position, he had gained in the short time he had been in power, much more than his father had in his time. The board of directors and his international clients had all been impressed, his hard work earned him a good reputation which in turn brought to his doorsteps more profitable and international contracts.
In his years in the field of work, Samir had come across many different women, women of power and of class but none seemed to be able to catch his attention and those who did were not able to hold it long enough. He would eventually get bored of them and just dropped them. They were all complicated in a way and none of the women was simple. Simple like Megan.
Now again, after what had seemed like ages, he had seen her in the Sheikh's home and the feeling had ignited in his heart once more. This time he was sure he wanted to settle with her, she was here now and he could, but why was she here? For how long had she been in Saudi? And how did she end up as a guest of the Sheikh? He would have to find out.
He walked back to relax on the couch, pouring himself a drink and enjoying the scenery through the glass walls that lined the left part of the room, giving him a pretty view of the pool, its architectural structure gave it a jungle twist with the planted trees surrounding and the colourful stones placed decoratively around it.
He smiled at Megan imaginatively sitting there, with both legs in the water swinging and she singing, the thought liberated him. She would make an excellent wife, he knew that and her adjusting to life in Saudi would not be a challenge to her, it wouldn't be difficult because she had had to adjust severally when she travelled to different countries. He remembered she had spent almost two months when she had gone to South Africa so spending the rest of her life with him in Saudi Arabia should be easier. He would make it easier.
He knew he had to see her again and this time he would take the initiative to talk to her, maybe if he was lucky she wouldn't be cooked up in the room today. He wondered if she still felt anything for him, he wouldn't blame her if she didn't anymore but who says old flames can't be rekindled. He stood up without having touched his glass, he would be seeing the Sheikh today. He picked his phone to call Mr Hung, he would have to delay their meeting a little bit, maybe by an hour or two.
He picked up the car keys and raced downstairs, colliding with his brother in his hurry.
"Samir, you are in quite a hurry. Where are you off to?"
"Ah, yes. There is a place I have to be at urgently. I will see you later then." He made to continue but his brother stopped him.
"Wait Samir, about the project, have you spoken to Mr Hung. We have only this week."
"About that. Yes in fact I have not quite long ago, we have settled for a meeting."
"And..." He gestured with his hand for his brother to continue.
"It's in two hours."
"Two hours? So that's not where you are off to right now?"
"No, I said I have somewhere else I have to be at. It is pretty urgent." Somehow he felt like he would tell his brother where exactly he was going to. "I'm going to see Sheikh Khalid."
"Then I should come with you."
"No." Samir knew he wasn't going there for business. In fact, right now he had not come up with any excuse for going to the Sheikh's place. He would think up an excuse on the way there. "I am not going there on business-related issues. It's quite personal."
"Hmmm...ok?"
"I'll text you the address of Mr Hung's hotel. In two hours you should be there to keep him company and start off the meeting in case I am running late." He paused and thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen when he would face Megan at the Sheikh's place. "I might actually not be able to make it in time so I'll need you there with him."
"I can do that. I'll go get ready then."
Samir nodded and left him, racing to where the cars were parked and got into one. Today he would be seeing Megan again after a long time. He couldn't stop the excitement that bubbled in him.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
Twisted cases 2
Friday, the 6th of May.
07:03 am
There was something about the Manhattan spring morning asides from the fact that it was always chilly, or maybe it was just the way Tia felt. She was unable to get any comfortable sleep last night and she had been awake long before the alarm had gone off. She knew why she felt like this, and it was because of the fact that she had a puzzling case at hand and it was giving her sleepless nights. None of the cases she had worked on in the past had troubled her this much.
Unable to sleep and unable to stay put, she had left the house earlier and had gone to the office, maybe she could have a head start in this. Pamela Neil and Clarissa Jan had more than just one thing in common, and asides from the fact that they might have possibly been killed by the same killer - no, hold that thought, it was a fact as clear as day that they had definitely been killed by the same person - they also had each other’s DNA sample in the other’s murder scene. This killer was playing a twisted game and as much as Tia appreciated the suspense and the chase, she still would love to get to the bottom of this.
She spun in her chair with Clarissa’s file in her hands, who was she kidding? She hated the suspense. She bit the end of the pen in her other hand as she read out her file report out loud. The other detectives had already arrived, at least some of them, but the office was empty for now because they must have gone to get coffee or something.
She continued to read to herself out loud.
VICTIM’S NAME: Miss Clarissa Jan.
DESCRIPTION: White female, aged thirty.
PRECINCT/AREA: Tribeca, Manhattan.
Recorded missing on the 12th of February. Body found on Monday, the 21st of March, at 05:31 pm. Fished out from the Hudson river by a Mr. Robert Lance who was fishing in the river as at around the time.
IDENTIFYING MARKS: Two stab wounds into the lungs and one in the stomach. No sign of a struggle.
The killer definitely knew his victims. Or no, more specifically, the victims knew who their killer was and probably did not think of that person as a killer and that was why there was no sign of a struggle.
She leaned forward and placed the open file back on the desk beside the file of Pamela, something was connecting these two women and it was more than what they had just discovered, she knew that. It was something that would take them closer to the killer or at least give them a hint of the person’s motive.
She repeatedly tapped the files with her pen. “Just who are you, mystery killer?”
“Started without me I see.” She turned to see Aiden strolling into the office and taking off his coat while smiling at her.”You are here earlier than I predicted.” He teased.
Tia shrugged her shoulders. “Could not really sleep so I chose to turn in just a little earlier.”
“I could bet it was a lot earlier. How long have you been here?” He asked as he plopped himself down on the chair beside her.
“Long enough.” She replied and went back to Clarissa’s file.
Aiden took the file from her. “You got all the reports on Clarissa Jan from Bernard?”
She sighed. “Yep, I was hoping to maybe come across the name of the killer or a solid and better description but I know that was too far a catch so I settled for maybe a hint of some kind but this is clean. Like too clean. Is he just too damn good or am I just being a little paranoid. I mean we just started this, right?” She looked to Aiden for some sort of comforting advice or something but he stared at her with a blank expression.
“Aiden!” She called out loud.
“What?” He asked. “Look Tia, I do not exactly know what to tell you that would relax your nerves but you are right though, we just started with this so please, stop beating yourself up and give it some time at least.”
Tia nodded repeatedly. “I guess you are right, but I would still have to go talk to Pamela’s family, maybe her daughter or any of her daughters knew Clarissa. That could give us a start, right?”
Aiden smiled softly at her. “It is a detective’s job, after all, you should do that.”
Tia chuckled. “I am thinking that WE should do that.”
Aiden chuckled too. “Yes ma’am. Coffee?” He offered.
“I think I really need one.” She chuckled. “Thank you.”
“I will just rush over to The Rain coffee shop and grab two.” He said and stood up to leave but Tia stopped him briefly with her question.
“The Rain coffee shop? That was the place we went to yesterday, is it not?”
“Yes, it is.” Aiden replied with an eyebrow raised. “Why? Anything wrong?”
Tia blushed lightly and shook her head, looking away. “No, nothing. Just asking, that’s all.”
Aiden looked confused for a bit. “Okaaaayyyy…?” He allowed the word to slowly roll off his tongue.
“Can I come with you then?”
“You are asking? Like you need to ask? Tia are you alright?”
Tia groaned and stood up in a flash, grabbing Aiden by the arm and pulling him behind her. “Come on, let us go then.”
* * * * *
01:45pm
Tia rang the doorbell once, she had come to 52, Stone street, where Pamela Neil had lived with her younger sister and their aged mother hoping to have some time to talk to Pamela’s younger sister, Trisha. The last time she had come here with Aiden was to break the terrible news to them and she had not been in the best frame of mind to answer their questions as she had just been trying to accept the fact that her sister had been murdered and would never be returning home ever again.
She rang the doorbell again and stood, waiting. The neighborhood was really quiet and looked empty and lonely but Tia knew that people were around, they were just in their houses and did not want to bother with anyone outside of their personal concern. Tia wondered what kind of neighbourhood this was. It was indeed secretive and suspicious, like the kind of neighborhood one would come to when one wanted to buy crack or hard drugs in little quantities.
She stood uneasy on the porch, wondering why it was taking so long to come to answer the door, she could not help but feel like many people were secretly watching her. There was no way anyone would be able to tell that she was a cop in her tight-fitting jeans, plain orange top, and thick leather jacket with her hair held back.
From within the house, she could hear the soft pat-pat patting of feet and she ignored the feeling she had of being watched and stood properly in front of the door, waiting for it to swing open. And it did, soon enough.
Tia was met with an aged woman who had answered the door, she looked tired and frail, supporting herself up with a walking stick. She adjusted the glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, tilted her head upward, and focused her attention on Tia.
“And who might you be?” The elderly woman asked. Her voice was calm and she smiled too.
“I err… I am detective Tia.” Tia said and brought out her badge to show to the lady who rather took her time in studying it before nodding back at Tia. “I am here to have a word with Trisha.” She explained.
“You want to talk to her or you are here to get her? Tell me, what has she done this time?”
“Oh no no,” Tia tried to calm the lady down. “She did not do anything wrong, I just want to have a word with her for a few minutes.”
The lady eyed her suspiciously before stepping away from the door and ushering her in. She closed the door behind her, partially glad that she was no longer in the open and vulnerable to all the curious eyes that might have been watching her from their open windows.
“Well, Trisha is not home. She has not been home for three days.” The lady said as soon as she had sat down, she stretched out a hand towards a chair, offering it for her to sit. “But because you said you were a cop, I figured that maybe you had some things to say or ask concerning Pamela and that is why you came?”
“Mrs. Neil, I am truly sorry about your daughter…” She began.
“What would satisfy me now would be getting justice for her.” Mrs. Neil spoke, her voice was shaky and her eyes teary. She looked away from Tia briefly and blinked severally, trying to hold the tears back. She took in a deep breath and exhaled through her trembling lips, there was no way she could hold back the tears.
“Mrs. Neil…” Tia tried to comfort her but did not know exactly how to go about it.
“She was such a sweet girl, you know?” She continued and faced Tia now, her eyes sore and the tears streaming down her face. “Why would anyone hurt her? How would they possibly want to? What did she do so wrong to deserve that?”
Tia moved closer to her and took a hold of her trembling hands, squeezing gently. “I promise you that we would get justice for your daughter Mrs. Neil. I will do everything that I possibly can to find this killer and he will be punished.”
Mrs Neil sniffed and forced a smile. “I just hope it would be sooner.”
“We are trying to gather up every information that we can and that is why I have come here, to speak with Trisha.”
“Trisha is not home. She has not been home for three days now.”
Tia furrowed her eyebrows and slowly let go of her hands, returning to sit comfortably on the couch. “For three days? Is she missing?”
“Oh no, I doubt that.” Mrs Neil waved that thought aside. “It is not the first time she is staying out of the house for this long, she would come home. Soon.”
“Mrs Neil,” Tia called, momentarily pushing aside the talk of Trisha. “Do you perhaps know any of your daughter’s friends? Pamela’s friends? Maybe people she was close to.”
Mrs. Neil took a breath in and turned to fully face Tia but she did not look at her, instead, she looked past her, to the portrait of Pamela on the wall as she tried to recall the friends of her daughter which she might have known. “I do not think I have ever met any of them before but she might have mentioned a few. Some times. Maybe.”
“Okay, did she perhaps mention someone named Clarissa? Clarissa Jan?”
“I do not think I have ever heard her mention that name nor talk of that person.” She looked at Tia now. “Why do you ask? Is there something about her friends relating to her death?” She pressed on.
Tia shifted closer, silently wishing that Aiden had come with her. “We can not say anything for now but be sure that if we find out anything, we will keep you updated as well.”
By the time Tia left the house, she had probably promised Mrs. Neil more than what she thought she could achieve but that did not mean that she would not still give it a shot. Standing outside, she cranked her neck and checked the time, it was past three in the afternoon. Zara would be done with school for the day.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
The Nadris
The life of prey and a predator runs in an everlasting cycle of survival and just as smaller prey animals were being hunted by other larger predator animals and by humans, the same happens in the world of the supernatural and sometimes, this is where the natural and the supernatural collide, this is where reality meets mythical. Whether it was for food or it was for sport or maybe it was for other motives, it went on and on and would not stop as it is blended into nature, balanced or imbalanced.
Humans hunted animals, demons hunted humans, Angels hunted demons and the Angel hunters were a group of mixed-breed shapeshifters who called themselves, the Nadris. But the Nadris were not limited to just Angels, these never before seen and hardly heard of hidden creatures could hunt and capture any creature if they wanted to, they were like the police force of the mythical creatures, only that they were not myths, they were just extremely well hidden and it was easy too.
Nadris were never spoken of and they were never seen either, except of course, if they wanted to be seen. They were the most secluded of all hidden creatures, the most fierce, and the most disciplined. The most organized and strangely, they could be trusted as they never went against their code nor their words. Even in the dark and hidden side of nature, there was still some sort of law.
Now Nadris, being shapeshifters, were mostly in their human forms because it was easier to remain hidden that way, where they could blend in and not look suspicious as they had been living for centuries and millennium, well that was until the war happened and they had to retreat back into the darkest and most dense part of the forest where no one just happened to wander into. And their eye sights and ability to hear were unmatched in both worlds, in any world maybe. They had the ability to pick up the smallest of sounds, be it underneath the ground or above the ground, as long as they could feel the vibration, they could pinpoint, with utmost accuracy, the exact position of what they wanted to find, the reason why no Nadri has ever been caught, ever.
Nadri's were as organized as they were territorial and they were very disciplined, the whole group was overseen by the elders, they were their own gods, they were their own rules and they were their own laws. Ranking in the Nadri did not come by age but rather by experience and ability and it was this method of ranking, this experience, and ability that made Scott rise quickly, so quickly that he surpassed his elder brother and went even higher than the man he had known as a father all his life.
Jealousy was a common trait of the Nadris, so it was actually no surprise that Dan harbored both jealousy and hatred for Scott, he vehemently denied him as a brother and loathed him with everything in him, his refusal to acknowledge Scott as his brother caused a rivalry, a rivalry that was well accepted by the elders as they were of the opinion that such jealousy and open rivalry encouraged competition the brothers and other Nadris. A healthy competition which they, the elders, kept their attention upon to monitor.
*"It would push them to strive for more power and ability to overshadow the other,, thereby increasing their efficiency and the game of the Nadris."*
That was their thought and indeed it seemed to be like the best motivation for the brothers who were always attacking each other but Dan, no matter how hard he tried, was never able to overtake Scott and this added to Dan's grudges, fanning the flames of hatred and jealousy even hotter but no matter how hot the flames grew, Dan could never harm Scott. He was not allowed to. It was the one thing he wanted to so badly do but he could not because he knew of the punishment that would bring for him.
The Nadris had numerous rules which carried equal punishment for whoever would break or go against it but above all that was a strict rule, and probably the most important rule of all which bound all Nadris, bug or small, powerful or not, that prohibited them from killing each other. If a Nadri was to be killed for a crime, then only the elders could approve of such a punishment, and killing was preserved for only the most unforgivable and grievous of crimes. Unforgivable crimes like having an affair with a non Nadri creature. It was for this same crime that Noella was killed.
Noella had been found to have had an affair with a human male and her only punishment has been death, and although the sentencing had come from the elders, death had come to her through her own son, her firstborn, Dan.
When Dan had taken her life, he had taken it with all joy and pleasure, maybe it was because of the fact that she had betrayed him and his father and the entire Nadri clan, or maybe it was because of the fact that her sinful affair had resulted in the birth of Scott, a brother whom he did not want, a brother who made winning seem too easy, a brother whose shine overtook his or maybe it was because of the fact that she had dotted on Scott more than she had dotted on him.
Whatever the reason was, Dan had felt betrayed and hurt by his own mother, and whatever soft feelings he had for the female who had given birth to him had vanished completely. To him, he had not killed his mother but he had killed a traitor, he had removed a sinner from amongst them but that, according to him, had not erased the sin. The death of Noella had not taken the blemish off the Nadri's honor. He had wanted Scott to face the same punishment, he still wanted that to happen and he wanted it to happen by his hands.
To Dan, he was not fit and should neither be allowed to remain among-st the Nadris. He should not be allowed to remain alive. Scott was weak, Scott was fragile and Scott was only half Nadri and half-human. The fact that Scott was still able to rise above him despite all of his shortcomings was like salt on the open wounds of Dan's hurt pride and to make matters much worse, when the task had come to find and hunt down a mix blood human and Scott had been chosen to lead, he stood against the elders' decision.
"What makes you think that Scott is not fit to be placed as the leader over this operation, Dan?" An elder questioned him in a rather calm voice. The place they were in now was the meeting room and it was just Dan, Scott, and the three elders.
"Because he is not one of us!" Dan hollered. "And he can never be! Just look at him, I mean.... him? Really? What do you actually see in him?" Dan was finding it difficult to put himself under control, much less under the control of Scott.
"Well, I see someone who has risen higher in ranking by his sheer willpower and capabilities." An elder replied with an open palm while exchanging glances with the other two elders who nodded in approval.
"Maybe he did excel on the field but I see a human before us! A complete mistake that should never have happened!" Dan strongly voiced his opinion.
Scott clenched his fists below the very polished, round wooden table. He kept his eyes fixed on the elevated middle part and he felt his chest tighten with every word that rolled out carelessly of Dan's jealous tongue and he just wanted to reach out and yank the blabbing organ out of his evil mouth. He breathed steadily and kept quiet, at least the elders were on his side.
"Lest you forget, Dan." An elder warned. "He is human no doubt but only partly. He is still considered to be a Nadri."
"A half Nadri. And a half Nadri could never be a complete one, no matter how high he ranks or his abilities and capabilities. You are giving the leadership of a group of true Nadris to a human?"
"Half human." An elder corrected.
"Half Nadri." Another elder completed. "You keep omitting that part out Dan."
"He is still human!" Dan looked at Scott with hatred in his eyes and continued, not taking his eyes off him. "He should have been made to suffer the same punishment as his whore of a mother!"
Scott got up and dashed for Dan with so much force and an excellent speed that Dan did not get the time to react. Scott balled right-hand fist connected with the left side of Dan's jaw and the bitter Nadri stumbled backward in astonishment falling off the chair. He looked up at Scott who was standing, looming over him and breathing unevenly.
"Did you just...?"
"Do not disrespect our mother, ever!" Scott seethed.
"Our mother?!" Dan was vexed, he got up off the floor and slowly walked up to Scott. "Did you just call her our mother?" He scoffed. "No! She was never mine! She was only your mother, only always yours! You were always her little overly pampered brat!"
Scott chuckled, planting his hands on his hips. "Is that why you have been bitter towards me? Because I was her favorite?" He laughed loudly now.
"What?!"
"Do you ever grow up Dan?" Scott smirked. "You are still behaving like a child."
Dan shot him an angry look. "You were a mistake that should have been eliminated a long time ago."
"And I would love to see you try that."
"With all pleasure."
Dan grinned as he transformed into the Nadri creature which had a near resemblance to a Minotaur except that Nadris did not have a bull's head. He grew almost eight feet in height, his skin darkened and his claws extended. Scott, although pumped up and not afraid still took careful steps backward as he got ready for an attack. Dan charged at him.
"Enough!" The elders' voices boomed in the large room. Dan and Scott froze in their tracks but never took their eyes off each other.
"In as much as the rivalry is allowed within our society, this type of outburst will never be ignored, more so in the presence of the elders!"
Scott reluctantly turned to the elders and bowed in remorse but Dan remained indifferent and still in his full Nadri form looked on angrily at Scott. The anger and hatred in his eyes radiated throughout his body. He could just take a humongous bite out of his neck and Scott would be done for, but then so would he.
"Scott remains as leader of this operation and that will remain unquestioned and unchanged. Dan, for your insubordination, you will be placed under Scott! Maybe then you can learn a few things from him. Grow your capabilities and abilities and then maybe we could give you responsibility. This meeting has ended. Leave us."
Dan whipped his head around to face the elders as he heard their decision, settling down to his human form then he faced Scott who had a smile plastered on his face.
Scott turned to Dan and smirked. "See you on the field junior." Walking up to him, Scott leaned closer and whispered. "Do not be late for beginners practice boy."
Scott walked past Dan, deliberately bumping his shoulder into him, and headed out of the room. Dan stood a while, watching Scott stroll out of the room with both hands in his pockets and his shoulder puffed up with authority. He fumed because he had been denied by the elders and favored below a half-human and for the fact that he could not just end him when he really wanted to.
Dan sighed and took one last look at the elders who were already exiting the room using another door. If he could not get rid of that half-human, half-brother of his by the elders' approval then he would have to "accidentally" do so on the field. After all, not all soldiers return from war. He smirked and walked out. Let it begin.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Wavering Emotions
Since her last meeting with Omar, Mariam had been unable to keep him out of her thoughts. And she hated it. She hated thinking about him, she hated the sound of his voice reverberating in her thoughts, she hated his image constantly flashing in her memories whenever she closed her eyes. And right now, she hated the fact that she wished to see him. Yes, she hated him, at least that was what she told herself and she wanted to believe that. She chose to.
The man was witfull, handsome and his sense of pride was not actually all that annoying now that she thought of it. It was kind of impressive to have someone praise himself so daringly and without fear. Some of the other suitors before him had either been quite timid before her or they boasted of what they had, what they could acquire, and the number of women they had or could get, but Omar hadn't.
With his looks and intelligence, Mariam knew for a definite fact that he was well sorted after, she knew that he was aware of that fact but he had not boasted of how many women he could get but instead he had told her of the one woman he loved and had only wanted with all of his heart. She wanted that kind of love, that kind of attention, and that kind of loyalty. Perhaps she also wanted that kind of man, would she be called greedy or selfish for craving another woman's lover? They were, after all, set to get married in just a few days.
A part of her wanted this union, Omar was the hottest suitor almost every girl in Saudi was talking about, she had gotten the gossip from Parvina, and having him for a husband would make her every girl envy. She thought of that a lot, as a princess she knew many envied her, and getting Omar bin Khalid, the well-traveled, drop-dead gorgeous looking man as a husband would be the icing on the cake with a cherry on top. She smiled, she just couldn't help being vain sometimes.
But a part of her also didn't want this because of the man's attitude and she wondered if she would be able to cope with such if they eventually ended up getting married. She would either have to get used to it or expect him to tone it down a notch, his pride was off the charts but honestly, she wanted to meet with him again having only met him just once before. The little chat they had when he had taken her into the room replayed in her memories numerous times and with each time it replayed, the situation became funnier to her. She laughed now, oh how she wished she could leave the palace to go see him.
Walking down the hallway leading to the back garden, she wondered if she had fallen for him already. She could not have, or had she already? No, no, it was too soon for someone she had only met and talked to once. But she couldn't help the smile that crept up to her lips whenever she thought of him. She placed both palms on her cheeks to cover the redness and felt the heat that radiated through them.
Thinking about what Saadiya had told her about falling for him in a glance, she couldn't help but feel stupid. Maybe she liked him, maybe she found him attractive and maybe she had fallen for him, she just didn't want to admit that just yet. The color spread from her cheeks to her nose and she suddenly felt hot, so she fanned herself with her hand breathing out from her mouth as she recalled the little chat she had with Saadiya.
*"You know you should be lucky, you get to marry a man who is still quite young." Saadiya had said to her.*
*"Lucky? Just because he is young?" Mariam asked.*
*"Yes lucky, and not just because he is young, but think of it, Madeeha was given to a man almost as old as her father, do you remember?"*
*"Yes, I remember. I do cringe at the thought though." Mariam had shivered, managing a smile.*
*"And any time I remember that I do feel for her."*
*"Why would you feel for her? She herself said she was happy. She wanted it."*
*"And you believed that?"*
*"Well, it was evident. She knew what she wanted, did she not? It is her feeling after all."*
*"You say it like she had a choice, like the man was someone she was in love with."*
*"She could have been, for her to be that happy. You never can tell how one feels towards another."*
*"And what about you?"*
*"What about me..."*
*"What about your feelings?"*
*"My feelings...? They are... wait, what about my feelings?"*
*"What do you feel for Omar?"*
*"For Omar? I feel nothing. I have nothing to feel for him but spite!" She spat at which Saadiya laughed.*
*"Mariam dear, you are still a young woman with an unstable heart, you'll fall for Omar in a glance." she had smiled. "And it will be soon, that I promise you."*
But was 'soon' too soon? She didn't want it to be so, but then who could control her emotions if not her. But she didn't feel in control anymore, the feelings she was experiencing swept her off her feet without giving her a breathing space. She liked it, didn't she? She couldn't tell, but she knew she was beginning to like the person affecting the emotions running wild in her heart.
As she continued down the hallway, the voices coming from the last room in the hallway told her that father had a guest he was attending to. What they were discussing was not supposed to be a concern of hers and she really didn't want to listen in on their conversation. She continued walking down the hallway absentmindedly and very deep in thoughts, walking past the door and minding her business until the door was swung open.
"Princess Mariam."
She stopped and turned to respond to the greeting but froze on seeing him.
"Omar?"
He smiled at her and bowed slightly, she responded the same way in greeting, lowering her eyes. She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips and she was grateful that he couldn't see it because of the cloth that covered the lower part of her face. *He was really here!*
"You came?" She asked but felt dumb immediately the words were out of her mouth. *Of course, he came, he's standing in front of you dummy.* She mentally whacked herself and managed a smile.
"You look surprised, were you not expecting to see me?"
That caught her off guard and she stammered. "Well... I... not exactly..."
He laughed. "I was teasing you, it's quite easy."
Mariam smiled. "Still, I'm happy you came by."
"Hmmm, yes I had to." He nodded. "There were some pressing issues I was having trouble dealing with and had to come see his highness to talk to him about them."
"Pressing issues?" She couldn't help but be curious.
"Yes, it was important that I had to come here personally." He stood straight and pocketed his hands.
"About the marriage perhaps? Did you tell him?"
Omar smiled. "I came here for something else princess. Business matters."
She mouthed an "oh." And smiled, batting her eyelids and looking to the ground. She didn't want him to tell her father anything concerning the marriage, let the plan just go accordingly. Yes, she wanted to be selfish and greedy. Her own happiness was paramount.
"I will take my leave now, it was lovely seeing you again princess." He spoke with a smile but the edge in his voice portrayed a different emotion. She stood and watched him walk away.
It seemed like he was slightly upset which made her wonder what he must have been discussing with her father. Was it that he had come here to speak of his lack of interest towards the marriage and he chose not to tell her? No, she doubted that, if that was what he came here for, he wouldn't have come alone. Or maybe...? Her curiosity would push her to ask her father but she knew that she couldn't, it was not supposed to be her business knowing what they talked about.
"Mariam?" She faced her father who is just called her name and she bowed in greeting.
"As-salamu Alaikum your highness."
"Wa'alaikum salaam, did you see Omar on his way out? He just left not long ago."
"Yes, father I did."
"Mariam, I should have asked before, are you happy with this union? Tell me honestly."
Mariam looked down, if he had asked her this question the day before or two days ago she would have told him she was not interested at all, that she hated the man, his pride, his attitude, everything irked her. That neither of them liked each other and neither of them wanted the marriage. But now, she had begun to really like him and yes she wanted this. She would be greedy, she would be selfish, she would put herself first.
"Yes father, I am happy."
"That's good, then so am I. You can go now."
Mariam bowed and turned, heading back to her room, the thrill of going to the garden having vanished. She was happy that she had seen Omar, and she wished to see more of him. Six days now till the marriage.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
Knowing You
Thursday, the 5th of May
02:13 pm
Tia sat across the most seductive-looking man she had ever come across, even with his apron on and his disheveled hair, he still easily took her breath away, but of course, she was not going to act to make it so obvious that she found him attractive. No, that would be like her throwing herself at him, and although she did find him to be very attractive, she was not about to think up a scenario of both of them intertwined in a sea of bed sheets and torn clothing, making wild passionate love to each other and unable to just let go of each other.
She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head slightly, why would she think that? And now that she had, it was stuck in her head, but the scenario did make sense to her in some kind of way as she could not remember the last time she had had sex with any man or the last time she had even made out.
“Stop it Tia!” She yelled in her subconscious. “What the hell are you thinking?! he is just sitting right across from you!”
“Did it cheer you up even a bit?” Chester asked suddenly. He sat comfortably across from her, wearing a soft smile on his lips and watching her. She seemed like the kind of woman who was mostly in control of her life and had total control of everything that she allowed to happen around her but he could tell just by her facial expression that right now, she was beat and needed some sort of escape from this reality. What she needed was someone to talk to or someone that could annoy her out of her thoughts.
“What?” She was taken aback. His voice was deep and powerful and it shook her, made her body tingle and she could not help but wonder what his morning voice would sound like, with his arms wrapped around her body and his breath warm on her neck, their nude bodies rubbing up against each other in the dead of night and his entire body just enveloping hers. Just looking at him made her think up lustful thoughts and she could not help the silent sigh that escaped her lips as she watched his lips move. What else could they do asides from just talking? She sure would love to explore and find out. Maybe those lips of his could do the exploring.
He pointed to the cup in her hands. “The coffee. Did it cheer you up?”
She snapped out of her immoral thoughts and blinked severally very fast, grabbing the cup with shaky hands and bringing it to her lips, looking away from him. Damn! She needed some control over her mind. He watched her bring the cup up to her lips to take a sip and noticed her smile slightly behind the cup, noticed her darting eyes, as well as her nervously shaking fingers. She sighed and placed the cup back down, giving him all her attention now like she had not just thought of him lustfully, and she smiled, a kind of smile that sent the totally opposite message of what she had been thinking of earlier.
He shivered a bit when they locked eyes, he was sure that she had noticed him shivering because she eyed him. The kind of look that asked the “are you okay?” question, but to Chester, it felt seductive. He cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat. Was it already getting hot?
“I was not exactly feeling down, but thank you for your kind gesture. It at least made me smile.” She tilted her head to the side and blinked twice, making it look as if she was getting irritated by his presence, hoping that it would help mask whatever lustful emotions her expression was portraying.
“And that was the aim.” He winked and chuckled. Tia did so too but just slightly to hide her nervousness.
Tia picked up the cup again and looked outside, why was she feeling nervous all of a sudden and why was her body tingling in this way? She was trying her very best not to fully acknowledge his presence but then how possible was that? She could still see him out of the corner of her eyes and she could, above everything else, smell him. He smelled of raw coffee and lavender and if it were possible, then she could also smell his masculinity. His body was ripped and despite the loose-fitting clothes he had on and the apron, it was not at all difficult for her to make out the outline of his chest muscles, biceps, and triceps.
He was attractive yes, and maybe a bit too attractive for his own good because she felt rather uncomfortable just sitting across from him without either of them saying a word to each other. She sighed loudly but still kept her attention outside, watching the people and vehicles move by. If any of them was going to start up a conversation, then it had to be him.
Chester sat quietly with a smile plastered across his face and watching her. He did not know why but she seemed cute to him, especially with the attitude he knew she was deliberately given to him. She sighed loudly and he chuckled, drawing her attention briefly.
“What?” She asked.
He shook his head slightly. “Nothing. Just… watching you.”
“Well, it is weird and uncomfortable.” She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, stealing a glance at him. She noticed his side smile and frowned, he must think of her as an easy person. She cleared her throat and sat up straight. “You should stop.”
“You look tired.” He pointed out.
“I am tired.” She agreed quite bluntly.
“Work?”
“Work maybe.” She replied and glanced at him. He watched her with his head tilted to the side and one eyebrow arched up as if doubtful. “Okay, yes. Work. But nothing which I cannot handle, I will be fine. I am fine.”
“Of course you are.” Chester replied a bit too cocky than he wanted to sound.
Tia dropped the cup and faced him. “Are you not supposed to be, oh I don’t know, working?”
Chester stretched in the seat and turned his head back towards the counter, there were just two people sitting behind the counter and both were engrossed in their phones. He smiled and turned back to Tia. “Well you see, rush hour is over so from now till…” He checked the time, it read 02:24 pm. “…till evening maybe, I will be less busy so… you have the pleasure of my company.”
Tia chuckled in a “you must be kidding me” kind of way and looked him straight in the eye with a slight frown. “The pleasure? The pleasure of your company? I do not remember asking a worker to keep me company. I was fine just being on my own.”
“Do you want me to go change out of my uniform maybe?” He asked, leaning in on the table and pulling on his apron.
“What?”
“Well you said you did not ask for the company of a worker so… would you mind the company of a random stranger then?” He smirked.
“You are pretty full of yourself are you not?” She smirked. “How about I report you to your boss?”
Chester chuckled and looked away with a smile still on his face. “Right… my boss. Okay.” He said and stood up reluctantly. “I will be right back ma’am.” and he walked off back around the counter and disappearing into the back.
Tia faced the window and blushed, shaking her head slightly as she did. The man was really a daredevil, a cute daredevil and part of her wished that she had not chased him away. She looked back towards the counter, hoping that he would pop out from the back and make his way around the counter and back to the booth she sat in, but he did not pop out. She sighed and puckered her lips, she had really been harsh, maybe just a little bit but then why would he just leave because she had threatened to report him to his boss. Was he really that scared?
The front door opened, triggering the little bell to ‘ding’ but Tia did not pay any attention to who had just stepped in, she wanted the worker to return back to her booth. He did keep her company and she rather did enjoy not being alone. Still holding on to the now cold coffee, she faced the window again and sighed.
“Excuse me?” Someone tapped her table, she turned to look up at the person and she froze, swallowing hard. Standing in front of her was the worker that she had chased off earlier but only now that he had not returned to her as a worker but as a drop-dead gorgeous man, dressed in a three-piece suit without the tie and disheveled hair. He chuckled and pointed to the empty seat opposite her. “May I?”
Tia nodded and he sat.
“I heard you have a complaint to make concerning one of my staff?” He asked. “Was he by chance being a bit of a flirt?”
“You little devil…” Tia said and chuckled, blushing harder now and looking away from him while running her finger across her lips.
“Hi, I’m Chester.” He introduced himself, his hand out and open in front of her. She took his hand in a handshake and he squeezed gently.
“And I’m Tia.”
“Pleasure meeting you in my coffee shop Tia.”
Tia laughed out. “Of course Chester. Of course.”
“Are you by any chance busy maybe?” He inquired.
“I should be, but I am not. Why?”
“I do not mind getting you another cup, well… that is if you would not mind me keeping you company.”
Tia chuckled and placed the cup on the table before using two fingers to move it closer to Chester. Then she smiled while focusing her eyes on his. “It has gone cold anyway, I would not mind another cup.”
Chester smiled back. “And my company?”
She giggled. “And your company.”
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Alternative
Ben was not exactly thrilled about returning back to master Renard, mostly because he did not know how he would face him with the news of what Master Krane had said, but he knew that he had to. He had to deliver the message given to him by Master Krane for the mighty Arch Angel Renard, but... what would he say? How would he say it? How the hell would he even begin? To say that the potion was not ready would actually not be so bad, but then to say that the most important ingredient needed in mixing the potion was unavailable, to say that it had not yet been found and or might never be found because Ben himself knew of how rare that particular ingredient that was needed was.
Usually, before now and as it had already been, all the potions which had been made and used in keeping Renard stable and sane had come from Master Krane as he was the only demon to master all the arts of sorcery, witchcraft, black magic, and the rest of the dark ways. He had been the one to know how to get all the necessary ingredients.
Although the potions that had always been given to Renard could only last for so long as it was not a cure but just a stabilizer and whenever it was wearing out, Renard would get so unstable and very violent, first, he would have a very terrible headache which he hated, it would pound hard in his head like his brain was about to explode and it would cause him to flare up, entertaining all the dangerous mood swings and tantrums and emotions, he had killed more humans in that state of lack of control than he could count.
When Master Krane had dropped hints of a permanent cure for the Arch Angel, Renard had been too excited to try that and get this done and over with, he had told Master Krane to begin making the potion, getting ready the necessary things but the demon had asked for just one thing, the most important ingredient in making the potion and that was the blood of a mixed offspring, the spawn of a human and an Angel. A mixed blood.
They all knew that finding such mixed blood was next to impossible and that was because humans and Angels were not entirely known to have such a relationship with each other but then there will always be some bound to break the rules. But the last known mixed blood had been killed and that was a really long time ago. And that had been something that Renard and the demon had personally overlooked. Renard had been the one to wipe them out in his "cleansing" fit of rage.
It would actually be easy for Renard to get an Angel loyal to him and a human together, to copulate and get a mixed-blood offspring but nine months was too long to wait. Renard knew that he did not have that time, he did not have nine months to wait for a child to be born, he did not have nine months to wait for a mixed-blood cure, so he had asked Master Krane to help him in finding one and had been a couple of weeks back but the demon had been unable to.
Now as Ben walked back to his master's place, he began contemplating on how to break the disappointing news to him without losing his life in the process. As he walked on through the forest, he absent-mindedly took a hold of his throat and slowly massaged his neck, swallowing hard as he imagined Renard just ripping him to shreds in a fit of rage. He cursed at his luck, kicking dirt into the air, he just had to be the one to tell it to Renard.
The Arch Angel lived lavishly as befitting the self-proclaimed ruler of the earth, he was the only Angel known to have multiple human slaves which he never allowed out of the house except for Ben, and in a crooked but also good way, Renard was actually providing shelter and safety for the humans that he kept.
Ben reasoned that, if his master should eventually give in to this corruption after being unable to fight it or find a cure for it in time or something to extend his normality for a little longer - okay, for a lot longer - then they, his human slaves would suffer the brunt of it. He knew that. They would be hunted by the demons who had just been waiting for this kind of opportunity, that was if the corrupt Arch Angel did not devour them first. It would not be the first time that he would be killing a human out of the lack of self control.
No matter how he looked at it, their lives were impossibly tied to the sanity of his master and Arch Angel, Renard. If he, nor Master Krane was able to do anything to provide a cure for Renard then the demons would have one powerful Arch Angel transformed into a demonic being and on their side, a first for them, and they would also have the human slaves to their disposal. To use as they pleased and see fit. Ben knew that there was only one use for them and no matter the method of usage, it could and would only end in one way - the death of them.
Ben shivered, not because of the wind which blew at him, but because he knew that he would be the one to suffer the most if the worst happened to Renard and that the demon, or demons, that would get to him would enjoy torturing him, they would probably not eat him but expel his soul and invoke a demon soul into his empty body just for the satisfactory feeling that they would derive just from ordering him about.
Or they would probably keep him alive for as long as they possibly could while cutting his flesh and eating him alive, forcing him to watch the gruesome thing. He shivered again, and shook his head to clear the scary thoughts which he was entertaining in his head and he picked up his pace. Fear settled on him suddenly like a heavy wet blanket and as he walked, he kept looking back behind him to see if any demon was following him. Right now, the safest place he could possibly be in was in his master's house and he was close enough.
The power of invincibility he had showcased and rubbed in the faces of whoever it may have concerned - or not - as a result of Renard's protection over him was now being threatened. He, more than any other human under Renard, needed the Arch Angel kept sane and in power for his own safety.
Recalling the incidence at Master Krane's place, he knew the old demon would love to experiment on him, maybe turning him into another Imp for a company to the one he had in his place or one of the many abominable, forbidden, hidden, and unspoken of creatures which were hidden in the darkness of his house, possibly never to be seen or to see the light, shackled by the feisty, neck and ankles and cramped up in a small cage, fed with the worst of food.
Ben shivered harder.
A sudden screech shot him out of his thoughts, he looked up to the skies and his heart missed a couple of beats, up in the air flying above was a creature and it was coming directly for him. Ben broke into a run. He ran, screaming for his master, he could see the gates now, the low fences, and the towering house, he knew he would not make it into the compound in time before the creature would swoop down and get him but it did not stop him from running and screaming. Until he tripped on a root and fell face first. He turned.
Coming straight at him in a free fall dive, he noticed that it was the Arch Angel himself. Ben did not have enough time to react, he could only scream and shield his face using his hands.
Renard crashed hard bedside Ben, landing powerfully on his two feet, the impact caused the Earth around them to vibrate and the Arch Angel picked Ben up by the leg and shook him violently before throwing him. Ben was thrown a distance away, landing not so gracefully on the ground, his back receiving most of the slam.
"Ben!" Renard yelled out.
Ben struggled to his feet, trying to ignore the pain in his back and maintaining the distance between the two of them. His head bowed low because he dared not to look into the face of his Master. He was loosing control again. This was bad.
"Master Renard." He greeted in reply.
"Where is it?!" Renard was impatient. He needed the potion desperately, his wings had now sprouted sharp claws at the joint and he was beginning to loose his feathers too.
"M... master... master Krane did not..." He bowed lower and closed his eyes shut tightly. "Master Krane does not have it."
Renard sprinted to Ben in less than a second and picked him up by the neck so that their faces were only inches apart, leaving his feet to dangle in the air. Ben grabbed onto the hand of the Arch Angel and choked, the stench emanating from Renard had gotten worse, he gagged and almost puked but he dared not because that would be the end of him.
"Do you see what is happening to me?" Renard questioned. "You do, do you not?!"
"Master..." Ben tried to speak but Renard shook him, still holding him by the neck.
"Are you aware of what would happen to you?! What would happen to all of you if this thing takes over me?!" Renard fumed and flung him away like a rag doll. "You would be gone! Dead! A clean pick for the demons!"
Ben's body ached terribly and he remained on the ground, groaning in pain. Yes, he knew what would become of them if things got worse. Heck, he had been thinking of that before Renard dropped in on him so violently but there was only one known way to make that potion and it was something closer to impossible to come by. They needed a mixed blood, across offspring of an Angel and a human.
Ben managed to sit up, holding on to his badly bruised shoulder. He looked at his Master who was struggling with the corruption slowly eating away at him, nine months was too long a time to wait for an offspring to be born, his Master did not have nine months. A human - Angel offspring was rare to find but it was not exactly impossible, right? They just needed someone who could find one for them. Ben knew someone. Or rather, some people.
"Master..." He called for the Arch Angel's attention and he got it. Renard scrowled at the human still struggling to get back on his feet. Ben stood up tentatively, trying to ignore the pain screaming in his body. It was hard.
"Master, if we could get someone to hunt a cross offspring for you." Ben suggested.
"It is almost impossible to find any cross offspring, we wiped them out a long time ago." Renard replied, clearly frustrated. He was beginning to twitch. "Besides, who would be able to tell a mixed blood from a normal human?"
"We might have someone who could."
Renard faced him fully, walking up to him. Ben took safety steps backward, his body could not handle another rough toss.
"Who? Who do we have?" Renard questioned, his body leaned in closer to Ben in curiosity. "Tell me now!"
"The best creature hunters we have now, Master." He spoke.
"The hell hounds? No." He waved the thought away. Hell hounds were deadly and rough. "They would tear the mixed-blood apart before they can bring the person to me."
"No master, not them."
"Then who else?!"
"The Nadirs master." Ben answered. "The Nadirs."
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
A Guest
Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban was a man of relatively calm nature, and being a Sheikh wasn't a position for the weak. He wasn't weak, he knew that. He was like the calm just before the storm. He was patient and he was understanding, but only when he needed to be and at the same time he was strict and he was brutal but still he believed in tampering justice with mercy until mercy was exhausted. And his mercies didn't usually last long, he never let them to. He relished the fear in people's eyes for him when he was around or when his name was mentioned, it made him feel powerful, and powerful was all he wanted to feel.
This time, his mercy towards the simple American was wearing thin but still, he was calm, having not done anything drastic towards her. At some point, he began to wonder if he was softening up. He felt he was giving her and most especially his son too much freedom that they did as they pleased and he knew he had to do something about it. He would do something about it.
Standing outside his room, he let his eyes follow Omar as he walked out of the room where the American was held, carrying with him a food tray. This would turn out to be a problem in the future if he allowed this behavior to continue, he had to separate them, move her away to a place where Omar wouldn't know of, at least not until the marriage between him and Mariam had taken place, he would have to use her as Omar's weakness to get him into agreeing fully to the marriage. The boy was just too adamant, he remembered the conversation they had on their way back which had sparked an argument.
*"It is good that you are getting along well with the princess." He had said, full of smiles.*
*"Hmm.. yes, we are getting along pretty well." Omar smirked, it had caused Khalid to worry and he looked long and hard at his son.*
*"You took her away privately, I am sure it was to get to know each other better?"*
*"We had quite a talk and I can say we understand each other much better now."*
*"Ohh then that is good."*
*Omar sighed. "I told her how I felt towards this marriage."*
*Khalid stiffened. "What do you mean? Told her what?"*
*Omar looked at his father as he spoke. "I told her I want nothing of this marriage. That I don't like her."*
*"Omar!" Khalid was furious.*
*"And funny enough, she felt the same way. We do not like each other and this marriage will not happen." Omar looked away, tapping his fingers impatiently on his lap.*
*Khalid breathed. "As I said before, love is not important right now. Whether the both of you like each other or not, whatever feelings you have towards each other, be it resent, hate, or whatnot, the marriage will take place!"*
*The car came to a halt in the compound and they both got down.*
*"I will not partake in this your greed for power!" Omar yelled.*
*"Call it greed, but if wanting the best for my son's future is greed then so be it!"*
*"The best for me? You are doing this for yourself! Why don't you marry her yourself then!"*
*"Omar! Watch your words carefully."*
*"I will not get tangled up in this!"*
*"You have no choice! Omar, you are my son, and you are to do as I say!"*
*"You...!" Omar stopped and turned away from him, walking into the house in annoyance.*
Khalid signaled to the nearest guard to come into his room but before he could shut the doors, a messenger ran to him. He was having an August visitor.
Samir Watr-il-Dharah stepped out of the car alongside his brother, they had come to the Sheikh's place for important business, a business he had given all his heart to. He didn't smile when they exchanged pleasantries with the messenger who received them as they stepped down from the car. The new project was tight and he could not afford to make any slip-up, he needed the Sheikh's assistant and as soon as he was done with that, he would head back to the office.
Before he could go in, his phone rang and he told his brother to go in without him. The call was important and he had to take it. Sliding on the receive icon, he brought the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Mr. Jang."
As he talked, he leaned on the car and let his eyes wander around the premises, the place was vastly spaced with a fountain positioned in the middle and the workers still managed to always keep it neat and spotless.
"Oh we got it all thanks to you and I would like to treat you to lunch any time you are back to Saudi Arabia to show my appreciation and discuss a few tight details with you as well."
He put a hand into his pocket and paced along the side of the car, looking down to his very polished shoes and admired how much they shone under the sun's harsh rays. He had gotten them on his last visit to Italy and the quality was unmatched.
"The suggestion was adopted by the board in a downslide vote and we have begun the process of implementing it. Although it will take some time which we do not have available to us."
He had been to the Sheikh's home countless times mostly on business-related issues and the last time he was here was barely a week ago and then there were no guests which the Sheikh had to accommodate but now he saw one, leaning out the window of the third floor. He paused in his steps.
"He couldn't make it in time because his flight was delayed so we had to move the meeting online via teleconference but it was not so convenient and he had to mark absent so we chose to reschedule." He spoke into the phone.
His gaze was up to the window of the third floor, where a young woman leaned out of, enjoying the breeze and obviously lost in thoughts. She looked calm and distant and rather oblivious to her surrounding or to the fact that someone was watching her from downstairs.
"He is after all an important part of the project and his imputation is most vital, we will need the funding his company will offer in the collaboration. Never the less we will be strict in our method of handling the business."
He knew the woman. He knew her too well as the vibrant and young American woman, whom he had been together with once and had fallen in love with. She was no doubt his ex-girlfriend, he could recognize her anywhere as Megan Walker.
"Yes thank you, we will be sure to do just that. Let us discuss this at a later time. I have a pressing matter to deal with here." He listened a while before he hung up.
He kept his attention on her, how long had it been? And now he was seeing her again, but here? How is she here?
"She is a guest here." Samir broke from his gaze and turned his attention to the messenger whom he had not realized had come back for him.
The messenger, noticing the way Samir had been staring at the woman decided to tell him who she was. Every other worker in the house knew of her as a guest and they had not been told her name, the only people who knew of the real reason why she was in the house were Omar, the Sheikh, and Taheem.
"Please come, let's go inside." The messenger ushered Samir in.
As Samir walked in, he began to wonder what would have brought her here and for how long she had been here. How long had it been since he last saw her? She still looked as young and as beautiful as he remembered her to be.
How was she a guest of the Sheikh? Did she perhaps come here to make research on a documentary? He remembered that being a photographer, she was mostly traveling for work purposes. It was something she enjoyed doing with all her heart and he had fallen in love with her free-spirited nature. If she was here to document something, then how did she come across the Sheikh? Most importantly, how is she a guest in his house? Is her documentary about him?
Many questions ran through his mind, questions he couldn't just ask the Sheikh but they were still questions he needed answers to nonetheless.
He had broken up with her in America to come here on his father's orders, he was a dying eighty-seven-year-old man and Samir had to fulfill his rights as the first son, he had to take over the business after his father died. Now seeing her, a fire rekindled in his heartwarming him up, it felt good and it made him bubble. Now that he could, he would try to get her back.
He smiled as he greeted the Sheikh, now he would focus on his purpose for coming here, get done with work then he would find out more about Megan's purpose in coming to Saudi Arabia and how she had ended up being a guest in the Sheikh's mansion.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps**
Twisted Cases
Thursday, the 5th of May.
08:31 am
“And here are the autopsy reports on Miss Pamela Neil.” Aiden announced, setting the file on the desk and pulling a chair closer as he did so.
Tia looked a bit worn out, she and Aiden had come to the office a little earlier than normal because they wanted to dive fully into this investigation. Neither of them ever liked to have their cases turn cold, but the two cups of coffee on the desk in front of Tia had already turned cold. She wrapped a hand around the cup and when she did not feel the heat anymore, she shifted the cup to the far corner of the desk.
She yawned.
“Tired already?” Aiden asked out of concern. Tia looked at him and smiled, shaking her head slowly while picking up the file. “When last did you have a decent sleep?” He asked again.
“The same year I became a detective.” She replied and they both chuckled. “Now, let us see what we have got here.”
“So we know she had a very deep cut in her neck which severed the jugular vein,” Aiden explained, pointing to a picture of the victim where the cut in her vein was very visible. “Plus there was no sign of struggle, no red lines on her wrists or ankle to show that she had been tied up before her death and she was not taped on her mouth either.”
“Victim’s probable cause of death; bleeding out and brain damage.” Tia read out from the file. “She died from the cut on her neck.”
“According to the autopsy, yes. But there is something else, look.” He trailed a finger on the page down to where it was stated: HEAVY DOSES OF STRYCHNINE POISONING FOUND IN VICTIM’S STOMACH CONTENT.
“She was poisoned.”
“And that was before the cut on her neck, looks like it is a paralyzing drug and very lethal too.” Aiden added.
“Looks like we have to find out more about this strychnine drug.” Tia said and pushed the file to the side, tapping away on the computer system on her desk.
Aiden picked up the file and stroked his chin as he thought out loud. “But why cut the vein if there was already a lethal poison in her system?”
“Ah-ha! Got it, strychnine.” She leaned in closer to the computer’s screen. “This is very lethal, very toxic to humans, and can even be absorbed into the body through every means.”
“Every means?” He put down the file and shifted closer to the computer.
“Yes, it is a white, odorless, and bitter powder so it can be absorbed through inhaling, swallowing, or through the eyes or mouth. Actually paralyzes the muscles and nerves while the victim will be painfully aware of everything.”
“Okay, I do not like this killer, he is just too…”
“Mr. Shaw?” Aiden was cut off by a young lab technician who had just poked his head into the office and had called his name. He turned in the seat and looked at the young man.
“Yes?”
He stepped into the office, stretching a piece of printed paper over to Aiden. “Mr. Williams said to hand this over to you. It is more DNA report on the victim and the crime scene.”
“Ah yes.” Aiden collected the paper. “Thank you.”
While Tia tried to learn more about the strychnine drug, Aiden went through the information in the paper in his hands. His expression changed immediately and his brows came together tightly in a frown, he narrowed his eyes at what he was reading. This should not be, but it is. Or is it really?
“Tia?” He called for her attention and she turned away from the computer screen to face Aiden. He handed her the piece of paper. “This just came in from the lab.”
Tia collected the paper and went through it, a frown also came upon her face. “Another DNA sample?”
“Check whom it belonged to.” Aiden told her.
Tia checked. “Clarissa Jan.” She looked up to Aiden with a questioning look. “But is that not…?”
“The victim murder case that Detective Bernard and Peter had been working on. Miss Clarissa Jan.” He finished her sentence.
“But then how could her DNA sample have ended up in a recent murder?”
Miss Clarissa Jan had been a thirty-year-old white female who had gone missing for weeks prior to when they had found her body on the twenty-first of March, on a Monday evening, at around 05:31 pm. The incident had been reported through a 911 call placed by Mr. Robert Lance who had been fishing in the Hudson River when he had fished out the body. That had been two months back and the case had grown cold because there had been no lead or anything which they could use to follow up on the investigation, and now, it had resurfaced again in a murder two months after. This just did not add up as it did not make any sense.
“Same killer?” Aiden suggested.
“Possible.” Tia agreed. “Very possible. But the question now is why?”
If it was the same person who had killed Clarissa and had also killed Pamela, why plant a DNA sample of the last victim in the crime scene of the recent one? A signature mark maybe?
“I think this case just got a little more complicated,” Aiden said and sighed, reclining back on the chair.
Tia chuckled. “Only a little?”
“Yeah okay, a whole lot.”
“We will need to find a connection between the two victims somehow, maybe then that could help us in solving at least some confusing parts of this case. And if it is the same killer, makes it all the more interesting.” Tia suggested.
“I like the way you think.” Aiden agreed. “I will get the Clarissa Jan’s reports from Detective Bernard.”
“Looks like we will now have to solve an old case.”
Aiden chuckled and stood. “The interesting life of a detective.”
* * * * *
12:30 am
The Rain coffee shop not only provided their customers with the best coffee and the tastiest of snacks but also a lovely view of the street and the serenity of the environment. It was an ideal place for a date, a casual business meeting, a small birthday celebration, or a quiet place to relax and let out your thoughts, which was one of the many reasons why Tia loved to come here occasionally.
She sat in a booth by the corner opposite Aiden with a lovely view of the busy street through the glass walls that lined the entire left side of the shop to the double doors. There were comfortable spaces between each booth and the other tables, giving each one a little bit of privacy, leaving the open tables around the center. This was her favorite spot in the coffee shop because from here she could see clearly the busy intersection, it helped to keep her senses at alert but right now, she really did not need her senses to be at an alert, she needed her brain to be clear but still busy, she needed her thoughts arranged and she needed her frustration gone.
“Still thinking about it?” Aiden asked, taking a sip of his still hot coffee.
“How can I not keep thinking about it? Are you not? This is even more complicated than any case I have worked on before.” She complained.
“I also can not stop thinking about it, this sudden twist in the case could change the course of our investigation.”
She sighed tiredly. “Hopefully this twist stirs us in the right direction and not into another endless circle. What if Pamela’s case ends up just as Clarissa’s had done?”
“In Clarissa’s case, they did not have a lead suspect. In Pamela’s case, we do.” Aiden pointed out.
Tia’s eyebrow came up questioningly. “Stacey Rohn?”
“Exactly.”
She sighed again and brought her cup up to her lips, drinking a little and set it down. “I am not convinced that she is the one. It seems all too easy. And I am not used to "all too easy".”
Aiden chuckled. “I also have the same feeling about her but what can we do? Following the law involves us keeping her as a potential suspect, her DNA sample was after all found at the crime scene and we can not just ignore that.”
“Yes, I know that,” Tia replied, holding the warm cup between her palms and rolling it in between.
“Well, I have to go now, have to go home to wifey.” He winked at Tia who chuckled lightly. Looking at the time on his wristwatch, he asked. “How long have we been here?”
Tia shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, an hour I guess?”
“Only an hour? Sure? Because the time says it is seven minutes past two.”
“Give or take, one hour.” She replied.
“I will settle the check.” Aiden told her while standing up, ready to leave.
She looked up at him with tired eyes and nodded. “Alright, thank you.”
“You take care of yourself now Tia, and do not overwork yourself.” He placed a hand over hers and smiled reassuringly at her. “We got this.”
“We got this.” She repeated but without much conviction. “Take care Aiden.”
She watched him through the window, after he had gone out of the shop, he stood by the sidewalk and hailed for a taxi, it did not take long before he got one, disappearing into the back seat before the taxi took off. She sighed and kept on staring outside, Aiden said not to think too much but sometimes she could not control the way her brain works, and now was one of those sometimes. She needed something to distract her, something to take her mind off things for a while. She decided to call her mother, she picked on the third ring.
“Hey, mum.”
“Tia darling surprised that you would call me by this time of the day. Are you okay dear?”
The shop was almost empty of customers by this time of the day, usually, because most of them were at work and maybe because nobody liked to drink hot coffee in the afternoon so the work was minimal and the staffs had resorted to casual chatter, but Chester was occupied. He stood behind the counter, arms crossed over his chest and his attention keenly on the lady in the booth by the far corner, totally immersed by the uninteresting scenery outside. She looked disturbed and tired and worn out and he could not help but be curious as to what might be making her feel so. Although he could not hear what she was saying, he heard her sigh loudly and place her head on the table while she talked to someone on her phone on the other end of the call.
Tia sighed and placed her head on the table. “I am okay mum, just needed a little distraction from work.”
“You sound stressed.”
“I am stressed mum, this case I am working on has got me worked up seriously. It is confusing.” Tia said, drawing invisible circles on the table.
“You are still the best at what you do love, just give it time, did you not start working on this same case just this past Monday?”
“Yes… but…”
“Shush now. Good things take time.”
Tia chuckled and nodded. “Okay mum, is Zara home yet?”
“Hmm… no, not yet. But soon. Will you be coming home today?”
“Yes mum, I will.”
“When?”
“Now that is what I am not sure about, but soon maybe.”
“Alright love, I have to go now. I will see you later then?”
“Yes mum, bye.” She disconnected the call and lifted her head to see that a fresh cup of coffee had been placed on her table. She looked around her to call a worker that she had not ordered another cup when she noticed the sticky note attached to the cup. She picked up the cup and read what it said;
“Cheer up. You are awesome. This cup is on the house.”
She smiled and looked around the shop, trying to spot who had dropped the cup with the sweet message when she spotted a rather dashing young man, standing behind the counter and smiling at her, giving her a thumbs up. She blushed harder and mouthed a “thank you” then looked away, out the window, still blushing hard. She slowly looked back at him discreetly only to see that he was still looking at her and smiling, she immediately looked away and brought the cup to her lips.
Chester made his way around the counter and came to stand by the booth where Tia sat, waving to get her attention. He smiled.
“Hello.” He greeted, gesturing to the empty seat opposite her for permission to sit and she nodded slightly, placing her cup back on the table. She flipped her hair to the side and smiled at him. Okay, maybe this day would not be so terrible after all.
02:13 pm
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
In The Mountains
Leo opened his eyes to a dark sky sprinkled with so many tiny stars that shone and glimmered, he welcomed the cool breath of fresh air that sipped through his nostrils and into his lungs, his chest heaved in a lengthy intake of air and dropped back down as he breathed out.
The air out here was cold, he could feel it despite the thick cloak that wrapped him from his shoulders to his feet, he wiggled his feet beneath the cloak, no shoes. Yes, that was right, he had lost his shoes after his capture, how was it t that he only noticed that now? and the cloak did very little or nothing to stop the chills from engulfing his feet but to the left of him, he could feel some warmth. He turned.
He was greeted by the warm, orange glow of a burning fire and although the fire was small, it managed to warm most part of the left side of his body a bit despite the small distance placed in between them. Taking a palm to his left cheek he felt the warmth there which contrasted to the chills he felt on his right cheek and he wanted more warmth, he threw the cloak off of his body to free his feet and flung it around him to wrap himself to, then he stood up to move closer to the fire and that was when he noticed the person poking a stick into the fire.
"Oh, you are finally awake." She said sparing him just a quick glance then returned back to poking at the fire. The winds in the mountains encouraged the glowing flame but it burned out the wood quickly. The small cave would be warm enough to keep them alive till the morning when the sun's heat would meet them.
"Hmm... Yes." He replied with a hoarse voice, his mouth was dry and his lips charred, his throat ached and he wished for nothing more right now than some water.
"Here." Sheila stretched out her hand, offering him a water bottle. "Freshwater from the stream."
"Thank you." He reached out and collected the bottle, coming to sit closer to the fire with Sheila on his left side.
Sheila watched him gulp down the liquid in a rush, emptying the bottle in minutes and she smiled. "Someone seems to be really thirsty."
He swallowed the last gulp and licked his lips. "I am sorry, I could not stop myself from finishing it."
"Nah," She waved a hand at him, collecting the water bottle that he was offering back to her. "That is alright, we could always get more, the stream is not exactly far away, plus," She reached beside her and produced two more water bottles from her side. "We still have these."
Leo smiled and focused his attention on the fire, bringing his exposed feet right to the base and wiggled his toes. His feet were very dirty and he tried to remember when last he had taken a bath, as a proper bath and he suddenly began to feel very self-conscious. He secretly took a sniff of himself and concluded that he was long overdue for a serious bath, maybe soak up for like an hour to get rid of the stink. He imagined being immersed in a hot bathtub with rose water and scented soaps.
"Hungry?" Sheila broke into his train of thoughts.
Leo blinked and saw that she was holding out a sizeable piece of roasted dried meat in front of him. When last did he properly eat too? He took the meat and bowed his head in appreciation then brought it to his mouth. The meat tasted fine, not exactly mom's home cooking but good, at least it was edible.
He saw her cut another slab of meat off the animal which he had not noticed at first that lay beside her, it was an antelope, a young foal and beside the carcass was her bow and some hand-carved arrows, one of which was still buried into the head of the dead animal.
She dipped the slab of meat she had cut out in a bowl of water to rinse off the blood and then smeared a dark purple liquid on both sides of the meat before impaling it into a thin metal rod then she roasted it over the fire.
"You went hunting?" He questioned. "When did you have time for that?"
"When you were out and unconscious." She gave a straight reply to his question.
"Wait, you mean that while you were out hunting, I was here? Alone? All by myself?" It chilled him to know that at some point he had been left alone in this cave, what if something had happened to him, like what if a wild animal had come up in here and devoured him or worse, what if those demons had found him?
Sheila chuckled, she could hear his thoughts and she wondered if he knew that she could. She looked at him, he probably did not know that she could.
"Leo," she called. "We are in the mountains, demons do not come up here for anything so I knew that you would be safe if I left you for just a short while. And you were."
"But demons are everywhere." He was not convinced. "They could come up here if they really wanted to."
"Leo," she poked at the fire some more. "Even if they wanted to, they would not be able to, remember I told you about the stream?"
Leo looked at her in confusion. "No, what about the stream?" He did not remember her telling him anything about the stream.
"Well you see, the waters from the stream runs directly out from the river Euphrates and it sort of repels the demons," Sheila explained.
"How is that, it is just water so how does it repel them?"
"It might be just water to you but to them, it is one in which they cannot cross or come in contact with. Much like holy water, your can think of it as a stream of holy water."
Leo's eyes widened at the new revelation. "Really?!"
Sheila nodded and hummed her response. Leo looked into the fire, still digesting the information he had just heard from Sheila. It sounded too good, it was too good, he was thinking if he could get a pump and a hose, he could water down those ugly night creatures, saving himself the strength of having to fight them off using a sword.
"How long was I out?" He asked curiously.
"Just a couple of hours."
"Ohh.." That was all he could say and then he went back to eating the rather tasty meat.
"What happened?" He suddenly asked. The last he could remember was watching her fight off some demons while he could only watch from the other side of the shallow river.
"We were attacked."
"Yes, I remember that, I mean what happened afterwards."
"They also attacked you." She looked at him now.
"They did?" How did he not remember that happening?
"You do not remember?" She brought a hand up to brush away the strands of hair by his temple, running a finger along the cut he had sustained when they had bashed his head.
His eyes followed her movement and he winced when her fingers touched the injury which he did not know that he had sustained. He moved his head back.
"Still hurts?" She asked to which he nodded.
"I thought you said that they could not cross over the stream?"
"They could not, well the ones I was fighting off could not. But the ones that attacked you did not need to enter the water."
Leo reasoned what she had said a little. "They could fly." It was not a question but a statement of fact but Sheila answered anyway.
"Yes. They could."
"But I know I must have still been standing in the water when they had come. How were they able to still attack me?"
"They do not need to touch the water Leo, they could fly and it was not your whole body that was immersed in the water."
"Oh, right." He reasoned but still asked. "If they can not cross over then why bother trying to fight them off? Why not just cross knowing that they could not follow?" He threw the last piece of meat into his mouth feeling a bit satisfied.
"They could keep track of us, I do not need a demon knowing my every move, where I am and where I am heading to, and besides it is a good exercise to get rid of them wherever you can. One less demon to deal with."
Leo nodded, she was right. "And what of the others? The other two in the wagon, now that I think of that, I have not seen them around."
She sighed and continued poking at the fire after handing him another piece of meat. "I will have to get them back."
"They took them?" Sheila nodded. "So, like, you are going back there to get them?"
She looked him in the eyes, flashed a smile, and nodded. "I will have to."
"Can I come with you?!" Leo beamed and scooted closer to Sheila, grabbing a hold of one of her legs.
Sheila looked at him and placed a hand on his head. "I can not put you in harm's way and you following me would be dangerous for you."
Leo was disappointed. "So, are you going to leave me here while you go look for them?"
"My goodness no." Sheila chuckled.
"Then will I be coming with you?"
"That is also a no, Leo."
"Now, you are confusing me."
Sheila ruffled his hair. "First off, I would have to take you back to the fortress, then..."
"But that is all the way on the other side. It is still along the way, so I will be coming with you and I can help. You may not know but I am an impressive fighter." He boasted, cutting her off.
"I do not doubt your capabilities although I am yet to see them..."
"...so then..."
"But," she held up a finger to shush him which he did, then she stood up and paced the small space within the cave. She continued. "There is another way to get to the fortress that does not involve us going all the way back and through the forest."
"There is? I do not think so, the fortress was built with only one way in and for safety reasons too."
"No Leo, there are two entries and exits, maybe even three but I know that there is a secret passageway leading to the fortress from behind this very mountain." She watched the expression on Leo's face and she grinned, she would never get tired of getting such expressions from the humans she had rescued and taken back to the fortress using this same passageway.
"H... How did you come to know about this secret passageway?" Leo raised his eyebrows at her, not that he did not believe her but then it was a surprise, a shock, that she, an Angel and an outsider knew of a passageway that he did not, and he was sure that many others too did not know.
"I know the way, I have known the way for a long time now, that is how I have been able to return the humans I rescued from the demons. Besides, who do you think built the fortress?" She laughed and flapped her wings, unintentionally extinguishing the fire. The day was already getting brighter although it would still be up to half an hour till the sun would rise.
"You built the fortress?!" He gasped. Okay, this was too much information.
Sheila laughed some more. "I am just joking with you, I did not build it but, I was there when it was being built."
"How?" He crossed his legs and wrapped the cloak tighter around his body, already missing the warmth from the fire.
"While the war was going on, they had it built, the humans that is, while the Angels stood guard and protected them, fighting off the demons and the other creatures who came to harm them." She sat back down close to Leo and spread her wings so that one part of it went behind him but not too close to him so that she would not burn him, the heat from her wing warming him up.
"And they finished the fortress in ten years?"
"It took them less, the building was already up long before the war, it was the largest underground bunker with networks of tunnels running around it, they just had to fortify it, barricaded most of the exits, and make it somewhat invisible. The whole thing had been under a mountain."
Leo nodded. "Yes, I know that. So you might not be the only one who knows of this secret passageway?"
Sheila shrugged. "Honestly I do not know but I do not think that any other... er... non-human knows about it, so far there has not been a breach or an attack."
"Wow, this is... unexpected." He chuckled.
"I know right?" She smiled and stood up, lifting the remains of the antelope and walking to the edge of the cave.
"Where are you going?" Leo called out. He still did not want to be left alone, not without his sword at least.
Sheila jingled the carcass in her hand. "To get rid of this, we do not want to attract some attention."
Leo stood up and walked closer to her, still holding the cloak around his body. "What kind of attention?"
Sheila smiled and reached out her hand to stroke his chin. "I trust that you will not leave?"
"No."
"Good." She turned immediately and jumped off, spreading her wings and flapping as she was lifted by the winds. Leo watched her fly off into the distance towards the forest and he slowly walked back into the cave.
"More adventure for me."
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Jealous Much
Megan paced the room, she had been in here for two days without stepping out and was bored already, she really just wanted to leave not just this room but the house as well and possibly leave Saudi Arabia. Was she really going to be locked in here until after Omar's marriage to the princess was completed? The wedding was now only seven days away. She wondered if Omar was really going to marry her? What if he refused and didn't go through with it, what would the Sheikh do to him? Stiller, what would he do to her?
What could he do anyway, being an American citizen had its perks, but she still could not help the fear that claimed her heart whenever the Sheikh was near. She held her chest to feel her heartbeat and knew that just by thinking of the Sheikh, it had accelerated a bit. She managed to smile weakly and crashed on the bed tiredly.
She just wished Omar would come and assure her that all was well and that he would never leave her. Call her clingy or whatever, but she wanted Omar beside her at all times must especially now that the situation was threatening. She had fallen so deeply for the Arabian man and in such a short time too, just thinking of him made her cheeks heat up in a blush.
Power was vital, it differentiated the things one could acquire from the things one could not. Power differentiated Megan from the princess, and she knew the power was the main reason Sheikh Khalid didn't want Omar and her to be together. The princess of Saudi was a much bigger and clearer picture of the future Sheikh Khalid wanted to see and she was just a simple American with no royal or powerful lineage to fall back on. She got up from the bed and walked to the window.
If it so happens that Omar eventually gets married to the princess, she would have to return back to America, empty and with a broken heart. And although he could marry as many wives as he wished to as was the custom, she would never agree to a polygamous marriage. She wasn't one to share her man with any other woman. She would be hurt and so would Omar, which made her feel pity for the young princess because she would most definitely be lonely in her marriage.
Leaning against the window, she let the cool evening breeze come straight to her face and flow through her hair. She exhaled and smiled, relishing the moments she and Omar had spent in New Orleans. She looked beyond the courtyard and allowed her mind drift back, back to when they were in America, to the first time they had met in New Orleans.
She had come to the mall alone and wishing to actually be alone, just browsing through the items on display and window shopping to her heart's content, but who comes to the busy mall to be left alone? Being amongst the many people moving to and fro in the mall, she still felt alone. Yes, this was the reason she had come here, to know and feel how truly alone she really was.
She had cried in the restroom numerous times that day, having been dumped earlier that morning by her boyfriend after just seven months of dating, she had thought their relationship was bliss and would end up in marriage, but even that didn't go as she had hoped it would. He had ended it quite abruptly and without a clear reason, he just packed up and left. Left her and left America.
Standing in that wide space in the large mall and holding on to her camera, she felt a sting in her eyes and her heart ached once more. She stood, lost in hurtful memories until a white material came into view, someone was offering her a hanky. She blinked and looked up at the person, he smiled a kind of pity smile in a way that showed concern and it consoled her somehow, his soft eyes held such calm emotions and she managed to smile back a little. She reached for the hanky, trying to suppress a sniff, her fingers lightly brushing his and she bowed a little in appreciation because she couldn't steady her voice to say a "thank you" before turning around and walking swiftly to the nearest restroom.
They had "bumped" into each other on many separate occasions, and she smiled at the way Omar had easily eased her heart and eventually won her over. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, the cool breeze washed over her, penetrating even into her soul and she felt at peace for the time being.
The noise outside forced her eyes open and looking down, she saw Omar and his father walking into the courtyard, they were both arguing but managed to keep their voices relatively low except for when the Sheikh would suddenly shout. Omar was visibly angry when he walked out on his father who turned to look up in her direction, her heartbeat accelerated and she quickly shrunk back into the room not wanting to be seen by him.
What were they arguing about? Was it about her? If so, why would it be about her? Although it relieved her that Omar had not forgotten her here but it also made her uneasy that she could be the cause of their argument. She just wanted to love somebody's son and get loved back without any qualms, she had not expected this kind of violent turbulence to suddenly show up in her life. Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban was truly an impossible man to deal with.
When Omar barged into the room it made Megan jump a little in fright, but she calmed down when he smiled and she ran away from her hiding position beside the window and into his embrace.
"I've missed you so much." She breathed into his chest, absorbing his scent.
He hugged her tighter. "I missed you even more."
"I don't want you to go anywhere, any time you step out you are always gone for so long." She whined.
Omar chuckled and allowed his hand to rub up and down the length of her back. "Clingy much?"
"Whatever." She snuggled more into him.
"She's very pretty you know?" He suddenly said. Megan broke away from the hug but still kept her hands wrapped around his torso and looked up at him.
"What...? Who?"
"The princess I went to see today. Princess Mariam, she is rather very pretty."
Megan loosed her hold on him and folded her hands across her chest, a frown appearing on her face. She took a step back.
"And so..? Why am I to care?"
She was annoyed. Here she was, trapped and thinking only of him and he was out admiring another woman's beauty. She eyed him once more and looked away still maintaining her posture. Omar burst out laughing, his deep baritone voice echoing throughout the room, he reached out for her but she shook his hands off.
"Ohh, you should look at your face right now, hahaha. You've turned green with envy." He kept laughing.
"Oh, I hate you Omar! Why did you even return? Why not stay back so you can look at her pretty face all day long!"
"Awwww, look at her getting all angry a d jealous. My angry bird." He teased but she only frowned deeper.
"Megan..." He reached out for her but she took a step back.
"Don't." She warned.
"Come here." He grabbed her and pulled her to him, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"She's very pretty, but there was someone prettier on my mind. A girl called Megan, do you perhaps know her?"
Megan scoffed, still upset. "Let me go this instant, Omar."
"There are too many pretty women in this world Meg, but only one beautiful to me."
She looked up and into his eyes, he smiled and winked at her. He cupped her cheek in one hand and placed his other hand in the small of her back, rubbing his thumb over the thin cloth she had on.
"I love you Megan and only you." She slapped his chest playfully and smiled, she loved this man so much. Leaning his head on his chest, she listened to his heartbeat and sighed, wishing to be with him like this forever.
"So, how did it go?" She asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, I'm sure she hates me now. She really hates me." He chuckled. Megan broke the hug and looked up at him, a smile on her lips.
"Really? Does she hate you? How?"
"I... might have done or said a few things." He smirked.
"Omar..." Megan narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you do?" He laughed and led her to the bed. When they both sat down comfortably, he told her everything that had happened.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Grudge
Thursday, the 5th of May.
07:22 am.
The Manhattan spring morning was chilly and cool and oddly quiet, maybe it was because he had woken up too early or maybe it was because he was not used to waking up from this part of the city, he was not used to waking up in this house. It had been eight years and a couple of months since the last time he had slept in here. He laid still in the bed, unmoving, with the covers pulled all the way up to his chest, he breathed softly, listening to his surroundings, the house was quiet. Throwing the covers off of his body, he slid his feet into the flip flops and casually strolled out of the room, he quietly descended the stairs and headed for the back door leading out of the house.
He stepped out onto the terrace and stood, shoving his hands into the pockets in his trousers. He had slept in his suit trousers and his singlet because he had not brought any other clothes. He had not even planned on spending the night here but he did and now he missed the feeling of being in a complete family, a completely normal one.
He heard the footsteps approaching him from behind but did not bother to turn back around to see who had just stepped onto the terrace, it was just him, Michael, Grandfather and the butler, Grand father’s right-hand man in the whole house, none of those people posed a threat to him so he remained unalarmed.
“Weird having to see you waking up in this house,” Michael said as he approached Chester who was standing in his favorite spot in the whole house, the view of nature from the terrace was calming and peaceful and most of the time, Michael needed such calm feelings. Most of the time like right now.
Chester took in a calming breath and nodded in approval. “Hmmm… weird, true.”
He heard Michael chuckle and take a couple of steps forward until he was in line with him. “What made you return after all these years? After being away for this long?”
“I missed my family?” Chester replied sarcastically, which caused Michael to roar out in laughter.
“We both know that is not the reason why you decided to return, and speaking of family, is this it? The family you missed is just one old man.”
“The old man happens to also be your grandfather.”
“And what do you think I am to him? Family too?” Michael chuckled and stretched, standing on his toes for a second and breathing in the cool morning air. “I am turning thirty in a few days and I am still not recognized by him as a member of this god-forsaken family. Thirty years of trying to be the perfect one and yet still…”
Chester turned to him now, speaking to him in a sharp but still calm voice. “Michael, you should know that I am not here to contend any position with you…”
“You do not even have to,” Michael said, cutting him off and already pissed off. “You are the legitimate one, just try not to get in my way.” He said and walked back into the house, leaving Chester alone.
Chester sighed loudly, if this family had been right, then Michael would have been a better younger stepbrother but grandfather always had to remind him of how much of a mistake it was for him to be born but could you really blame the child when the father did the sinful thing?
Their family, as much as Chester could recall of it, had been small and that small was perfect, it had just been him, his mother, his father, and grandfather and they had tried to live as a normal family but that was until that night when everything had changed for the worst…
* * * * *
The house was silent and calm and peaceful that night as everyone had all gone to sleep, everyone except for his mother, he could tell because the piano still played, it was something she always loved to do. Every night before bed, she would play the piano, the sweet melodies could easily put Chester to sleep, whiffing through the house in its soft dancing tune, peaceful and calming and hypnotizing. Chester laid in his bed with both eyes closed but his ears still open to his mother’s night lullaby. He was slowly drifting into sleep when there was a sudden loud high-pitched note and it jacked him out from his half-sleep state, it had woken everyone up. Mother had missed a key.
He bolted upright, it was not just a key she had missed, but rather the whole tune. He waited for her to recompose and get back into the soft tune but she did not, rather the unpleasant tune went on for a while, the loud and none melodic sound ripped through the house as she had just slammed her fingers on the keys in anger or frustration.
Throwing the covers off of his body, Chester stepped out of his room in a flash to check on what had happened when he saw that his father too had come out of their room as well and was already walking down the stairs. Chester stayed upstairs. Walked up to the railing and looked through the spaces between them, what he saw that night would forever haunt him.
Down below, slumped against the piano was his mother, a red thick liquid pooling out fast from a tiny hole by the side of her head, her eyes closed peacefully. He gasped and slapped his palms to his mouth, his eyes beginning to tear up. Three men, all dressed head to toe in black stood around her, one still had his gun held to the back of her head. Then there was a shot and this one was not silent, it ran out in the now quiet house and Chester saw his father go down but not dead. He scrambled back up the stairs, holding on to his left arm which was now bloody.
Chester watched as he took cover behind a pillar and pull out a gun from a secret compartment behind the pillar which Chester never knew was there and he loaded it. Chester watched on, he saw his father yelling at him but he could not make out what he was saying, his hearing was low and his vision was slow, somehow he was struggling to breathe. He looked back through the railing, back at his mother’s body and her blood still pooling out, all around the piano keys and on the floor around her. His eyes shifted, the three men were making their way up the stairs, each one of them pointing a gun towards the pillar where his father hid behind.
Another shot rang out and it knocked Chester back into reality. The bullet had chipped the side of the pillar and he saw his father clearly now. He kept yelling at Chester.
“Get out! Find the escape chute and go to grandfather! Chester run! Now!”
Chester breathed and scrambled away on all fours, now wanting to stand up for fear of being seen. The escape chute was in the study, hidden exactly where the desk was, where the rug covered the small trap door. It was a narrow passageway, built like a tunnel slide that led all the way to the back of the house, under the ground, and outside of the wall. Once outside there, he could easily find his way to grandfather.
Just before he shut the door to the study, he saw one of the assassins fall and tumble down the stairs, hit by a bullet from his father’s gun. He took a last look at his father before shutting the door to the study and securely locking it, making his escape.
* * * * *
Chester released a breath which he had been holding and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He wanted to push all those memories away but he could not help but remember then now, it had been in this very house that both his parents had been murdered, and ever since then, it had been difficult for him to stay here and maybe that was one reason why he had left in the first place, even after Grandfather had tracked down the assassins only days after the attack and wiped them all out as his revenge for his son’s murder. It had turned out to be an impulsive move but there was nothing that grandfather ever regretted, turned out that the attack on his son had been based on vengeance.
Elena’s pregnancy was a responsibility that his son had denied and ignored, abandoning her to suffer alone, the pain of difficult childbirth. She had given birth to a healthy baby boy but with so much difficulty that she had initially died at first, she had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating for a few minutes after she had given birth, the doctors had to do everything that they could to get her heart beating again and they were successful but the pain and grief of almost losing his sister had driven Philip mad with anger, he wanted to make the man behind his sister’s pain pay for his crimes and what better way to do that than to take his life and every life that he held dear to him.
But grandfather had already wiped them all out before he learned of this truth, he had killed them all including Elena, and he had adopted her son because he found out later on that the child was also his grandson and he had grown him into the Michael Hunt that he now was, but he was the part that was kept hidden from Michael, the fact that his mother had died by the orders of grandfather. It was an unnecessary truth that Michael need not know about.
The circumstances surrounding his birth and the events that happened afterward still lingered strongly in grand father’s memories and he just could not bring himself to accept Michael fully as his true grandson because his birth had led to the death of his own son. The family’s tragedy it seems was never-ending.
Chester hated to remember the sad parts of his life, he hated to remember that he had not grown up with his parents and at some point, he had also hated Michael after he had found out the truth concerning the death of his parents, and it had taken him a while to accept that all these was not Michael’s fault but his father’s - their father’s fault - and often, even though Michael never actually got to know his mother, he would find himself imagining how the situation would change if Michael found out what grandfather had done to his birth mother and her family in his vengeful anger.
This family truly was a write-off.
Chester turned around and walked back into the house, he still felt somehow uncomfortable staying in the house even though he had missed the place where he had grown up, it triggered memories, memories Chester would rather prefer that they remained beneath the surface of his thinking, totally buried and submerged since they could not be forgotten and neither could they be erased.
“Positive thinking.” He told himself, making his way back upstairs to his room, he needed to bathe and change and get out of this house as soon as he possibly could. “Think only positive thoughts.”
Positive thoughts inspired by the sweet aroma of freshly grounded coffee and the delightful sight of mouth-watering doughnuts. Thoughts he could get in his coffee shop where he wanted to be right now. The busy morning would distract him and the change in environment would help clear his head, plus Gabby would be waiting on him for her coffee with extra cream.
08:03 am, Chester was dressed and ready, he left the house without telling anyone that he was leaving because he did not need to and he really was not wanting to hear his grandfather rolling out orders to him, orders he would not be tied down by any way but still, the talk would be extended and they would end up arguing back and forth without any one of them yielding to the other. He got into his car and drove out of the premises.
From the window in the study on the first floor, grandfather stood and watched his grandson get into his car and drive off. He smiled lightly, Chester might have agreed to come back home but he was still a rebellious spirit and he would only do whatever he wanted to do. Grandfather was patient enough, Chester would have to, sooner or later, fulfill his first son's duties to the Hunt family.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Staying Together
"Now there are rules you will have to abide by if you are to stay here with me." Liam spoke to Leticia while he sat with his legs crossed and placed on the table.
He watched as the girl took in all of her surroundings with her eyes and she loved every where but where he was, she was feeling uncomfortable having just him with her, that much he could pick from the feelings swimming around her which was so evident to him.
What had he been thinking when he had offered his place for her to stay?!
He had not been thinking, it was the cursed feeling he always felt when she was involved, caused by the bond which they now shared. He hated that feeling because it always spoke out in favor of his human and usually, his brain would go dumb and he would be unable to fight the urge to help her and to keep her safe. Him having a human right now with the way the world was like this, was like having a child running around a play ground full of broken bottles, and he was the unreliable parent.
"I did not ask you to stay Leticia." His voice had been stern, it had even sounded strange to his own ears when he had heard them but still he had said it. "That was an order."
And just like that, they had become one because his spirit accepted her but his mind did not. Not just yet at least, although he knew it was inevitable. He would have to eventually.
"I have been used to living alone and without a company, most especially without a female company as you can see..." He continued, taking his eyes off the girl.
Leticia nodded. Yes, she could clearly see that he was used to living alone and without any company or else this place would not be like this. The house was a mess and reeked of alcohol and sweat and something else which she could not quite place. How could he stay in this... dump, there was no other word qualified to describe the place and if she was going to have to stay here with him for the mean time, then some things would have to change, like the litters in the room which looked to have been blown in by the wind. But then how? Does he leave the door open at all times?
The house was decent enough if you overlooked the fact that it had been unkempt for like a decade. It was one of the few houses that had not been knocked to the ground by the war and it still stood without any of the walls or part of the roof missing, but the houses surrounding it were all leveled to the ground like a bomb had been dropped o them, it kinda made it odd, because it looked like they were all purposely pulled down so this one would be secluded. The house was the last one on this lonely street.
Leticia stood in the middle of the room, her eyes wandering here and there trying to take in the as much of the new place as she could and making a mental note of the things she would have to lay her hands upon to effect some change. If she would be staying here then many things would definitely change, she was sure that Liam wild not mind, if at all, he would be grateful that she had cleaned up the place at least.
Leaving the safety of the mountains against the judgement of the elders, where the rest of mankind had hidden, she probably had not thought about what her next steps would be thoroughly, about a place she would have to stay in until she found her brother. She had thought it would be a day's job. Get into the forest, find him however she could, fight off some demons, keep them both alive and sneak back into the forest in he cover of darkness that same day. She sighed,well the day was not yet over.
Thankfully Liam had grudgingly allowed her into his space, it was not much but it was better than none and much better than staying at Smokes, she did not want to have to see that demon girl's face every single day. She giggled when she remembered the demon girl's facial expression when Liam had literally commanded her to come stay with him for the mean time.
Liam suddenly slammed his fist on the table causing Leticia to jump a bit and she brought her focus back on him, shifting back slightly when she saw that he now leaned closer to the table and his legs were on the floor, his eyes were fixed on her.
"Did I say anything funny Leticia?"
"Hmm...?" She looked at him wide eyed.
"You laughed."
She could not say anything more than, "Oh" and "sorry".
"Were you even listening to everything I was saying?" He asked. Leticia nodded even though she knew that she had not, at a point his voice had just faded away from her hearing and she had heard nothing that he had said.
"Were you at all?" He asked again with one eye brow raised and Leticia nodded but could not look him in the eye because she knew that she was lying.
Liam got up and walked towards her, Leticia swallowed and fear settled in her heart she bent her head slightly so that her gaze was to his feet, watching his every step as he gradually approached her. When he was closer to her, she took a step back but Liam did not stop, with each step he took towards her she took one back. He looked down on the girl who had practically invaded his life and he just wanted to scream at God that he did not need this burden. Not now at least.
He wanted to grab into her shoulders and shake the bond away of that could work but then that was just a wish, he knew the bonding was not entirely her fault but he would still put part of the blame on her, if she had just been obedient and not the stubborn human, he would have just had to take her to Sheila and she would be off his hands. But now they had bonded, meaning she was now his responsibility and responsibility was something Liam hated.
Leticia took one more step and felt her back hit the wall, she hiccuped and swallowed hard, her heart beat accelerated, why was she afraid all of a sudden? She asked herself. But who would not be afraid if a towering angry Angel was baiting you like he was doing to her right now.
"You..." Liam started.
"I was not laughing at you I swear it, I really was not laughing at you or at what you said. I just remembered something funny, that was why I laughed. I am sorry." She rushed out her words and shut her eyes tightly, hoping that he would not just pick her up and fly to the skies, she feared she might just die of heart attack.
Liam looked down at the girl, listening to her thoughts, she amused him. Was she really that scared of heights or she was scared of flying or was it just the thought that he would drop her? Sometimes she was the brave and fearless human girl who had fought a demon in the woods and sometimes like now, she was meek and humble as she had been at the bar, like she was fragile and had not a single strong bone in her body.
"You..." Liam continued when he felt her heart beat accelerate and he knew he was scaring her. He smirked, maybe he liked that. "...you are never to leave this house on your own, got it?"
Leticia nodded her head so hard that Liam thought it would soon pop out of the sockets and drop. He smiled and turned to walk back to his seat, careful not to flex his wings as he usually did for fear of accidentally burning her. Leticia, as if suddenly remembering something, opened her eyes and quickly took a hold of his arm with both her hands, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back to face her.
He looked to her hands holding his, they were small and soft. He raised his eyes to hers. "What is it?"
"I..." She cleared her throat, releasing her hold on him. "I can not stay here forever."
Liam chuckled. "Who says it will be for ever?"
It was suddenly weird to him, having her around all the time and knowing that he was clearly visible to her was not the natural order of things. When the world was still in a sense of balance, where the hidden stayed hidden, it was usually him who would hang around undetected. The bond was normal then but now? He could not imagine it as it was the first time he was bonded with a human that could see him.
"You will leave when it is time." He completed.
"I mean, my brother." She explained. "The only reason I had come out here was just to find him and I have to find him or my coming out of the fortress would be in vain. As it is now, I probably have a deadly punishment to get back to and I really do not mind that, but I can go back only when I have my brother with me."
Liam faced her fully now, his folded wings behind him added to his domineering appearance and Leticia let her eyes move to look at them then back to Liam. He looked into her hazel brown eyes and his heart softened at her humanity, her eyes shook with emotions and longing. He could feel every single emotion her eyes spoke to him and even the ones she could not express. He groaned internally at the bond which pulled at his own emotions.
"He is the only family I have left, I really have to find him then I promise you I will go away and I will not trouble you any longer. Just help me find him. Please." Leticia continued.
Liam nodded slightly, he had already promised to help her on the day they bonded but he would not tell her that, he was still dealing with having the responsibility over her. He already missed his ten years of being totally free and irresponsible and he sighed.
"It is just like I said, you will leave but only when it is time."
"Liam..." Her voice shook.
"You are human and your asphax would not hide you for long so just trust in what I say and do not go out on your own."
"But..." She began to tear up and Liam turned his face away, he could not see her cry, it was one thing that came with being bonded, her tears would eventually melt him.
"He... he might not be doing well where he is, what if..."
"I will find him." Liam said and that shut her up. He turned his head towards her and watched as a tear dropped from her left eye and he took hold of her hand, looking away from her eyes. "That is my promise to you."
"Oh Liam!" Leticia squealed and out of excitement she hugged him.
Liam was taken aback by her sudden action and he just stood still, looking at her small figure attached to him and not sure what he should do. His hands were limp by his side, should he hug her back or get her off him? He felt her arms around him, squeezing him in honest appreciation, he could feel her heart beat, pounding against his body, he felt the tear that rolled from her eyes and came to rest on his body. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on her hair lightly, patting her head.
*"Just this once."* He told himself. *"Just this one human and then that would be all."* He sighed.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Face Off
It had not been long since Mariam had been excused from the discussion between her father the King, Omar, and the Sheikh, she had returned back to her room in anger and just plopped herself down on the bed. The men would still be downstairs talking of the marriage and whatnot, she didn't want to be stuck in a marriage with the proud and pompous Omar bin Khalid bin Aaban, only son of the Sheikh.
She laid down on her bed staring up at the ceiling and not paying any attention to the chattering of Saadiya and Parvina. They had been talking nonstop about Omar, most especially Parvina who had made her intentions crystal clear about him; if the marriage didn't work out between him and Mariam, she would convince her mother to talk to her father about the matter. She was after all the daughter of the Queen's stepbrother, so she stood with just enough chance of getting him as Mariam.
"So Mariam, what happened? How did it go?" Parvina asked excitedly.
"Went well." Mariam kept her replies short, as much as she didn't want to think of Omar she couldn't help it. The man's attitude annoyed the living daylight out of her.
"Just well?"
"Hmm..we talked..."
"We know you talked."
"...in private."
"Really?! How?"
"Father allowed him to take me away for a while to a room."
"Reeeaally?!" Parvina half yelled.
"What did you two talk about when he took you away?" Saadiya spoke, also very excited.
"Did you really tell him you were not interested in the marriage?" Parvina chipped in impatiently.
"What did he say? How did he take it?" They asked questions, but Mariam wasn't listening anymore. She was thinking of Omar, the man was just too proud and arrogant and she would love nothing more than to hurt his pride dangerously. She thought of what he had said earlier and her anger rose.
** * * * **
*"Take it off, I want to see what you look like."*
*"MaAzera? (excuse me?)"*
*She had given him a death stare to warn him of the implications of what he had just requested of her, she was not supposed to expose her face in the presence of any man except her father and husband, but the man was adamant and he tapped his foot impatiently, looking straight into her bewildered eyes.*
*"I am the daughter of His Royal Highness, King Jaan bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and as such, I can not and will not show my face to just anyone." She tipped her head higher in pride. He would not be having his way with her just yet.*
*He chuckled. "To just anyone? Am I just anyone to you?"*
*"My subject. Being the Sheikh Khalid's son earns you no right nor the power to demand what you have been too brave to utter. My father should not hear of this."*
*"I am your subject? I am also of a royal lineage your highness." He spoke in a mocking tone.*
*"One of such lineage not in line for the throne."*
*"And you say I am proud." He countered.*
*"Well Omar bin Khalid of royal lineage, there are some royalties and then there are other royalties."*
*"You are saying I have no right to see the face of the one I am to marry?"*
*"Well yes." She replied. "Or do you perhaps think of yourself as someone so highly placed to look upon my face?"*
*He sighed. "Now where shall I begin? I am the man set to marry you, the first, the last, and dare I add, the only son of the Sheikh Khalid bin Aaban and probably, no hold that thought, most definitely the man you would dream of tonight, should I go on... princess?"*
*He had pronounced "princess" in a mocking tone, it made her boil, how dare he! She would never give him the honor of gazing upon her extraordinarily beautiful face, not until he apologized and flung his prideful attitude out the window.*
*"The man I would dream of?" She laughed this time. "The amount of pride that oozes from you..."*
*"I know, I know. It is something I can't help." Omar smirked. "Let us call that as a gift."*
*The girl was engaging him and he was enjoying every bit of the brawl, it seemed to energized him. Mariam eyed him once and turned away.*
*"The rumors say you have been very blessed with an extraordinary youthful beauty but I think those were just fabricated."*
*"The rumors carry the same about you."*
*"And look how true they actually are!" He laughed heartily. He would tease this princess. "If you are not so beautiful, I don't think it is anything to be shy of, I promise not to judge you. Except if you're as ugly..."*
*Mariam spun towards him. "Ugly?! What do you think of yourself? I have more suitors coming for me than the sands of the desert!" She snapped.*
*"Not ugly? Then shy. Deformed, or maybe..."*
*"Deformed?! You...!"*
*"Or not?"*
*Mariam ripped off the cloth that covered the lower part of her face and she charged at him. "There! Look! And be satisfied because I promise you that you will never be this privileged ever again!"*
*The girl had an attitude to match her beauty, Omar was impressed. Her large eyes were perfectly curved under her long lashes, fitting into her small oval face, her lips which were pouted in annoyance was just full enough and colored in a dangerous red. He smiled, the girl amused him, she was beautiful but he was not just about to admit it. Megan was still more appealing.*
*"Hmm...not bad."*
*"What do you mean by 'not bad'?" Mariam questioned.*
*"I mean with the melodrama you just displayed about no one being worthy to gaze upon your face, you really aren't that bad looking."*
*"Wha… what? Not that bad looking?!"*
*"At least you did not disappoint me, princess." He bent a little so he was at her eye level and patting her head gently, he added. "I am proud of you." And with that he walked out, leaving her furious and alone in the room.*
*Her face was flushed red in anger and embarrassment. Not bad? Not bad?! She fixed her abaaya and remained in the room, too angry to step out, they wouldn't be requesting for her presence anymore, whatever needed to be discussed would be amongst the men. But she didn't want to be alone so she stepped out and made her way to her room.*
** * * * **
"Mariam!" Parvina yelled, bringing her attention back to room.
"Huh? What?" Mariam looked around, settling her eyes on Parvina who had perched herself on the dressing table.
"Where is your mind?"
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking about something. Do you need anything?"
"Yes! I need you to bring your mind back into this room and answer my questions."
"What questions?"
"You didn't even hear a word of what I had said?" Parvina raised her brows. "What exactly were you thinking of that would get you so carried away?"
"See, I told you she'd fall for him, just look at how she was daydreaming of him." Saadiya cooed. Mariam turned red in the face.
"I was not!"
"Forget that. Did you tell him of your opinion concerning the marriage?" Parvina jumped on the bed to sit beside her.
"I did, but..."
"But...?" Both Saadiya and Parvina asked.
"That man is as proud as a peacock! Prouder! Ugh! I hate him so much!" Mariam groaned and Saadiya roared in laughter.
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Ugh! He was so annoying, I wonder who could ever like him!"
"Me! I could." Parvina jumped excitedly on the bed, grinning from ear to ear. "I would like him and more!"
"He has someone he likes Parvina. A lover" Mariam explained, breaking the news on Parvina.
"What?? No...!" Parvina was pained. "Who does he like? Is she also of royal birth? Where is she from? Does she like him too?"
"I didn't ask, I didn't bother to care about that. I don't want to know!" Mariam said, burying her face into a pillow. Right now she was still pretty upset. "But he said he'll have to marry me for her sake. I wish he wouldn't, I do not wish to be stuck with such a dreadfully proud man like him."
"He likes someone else?" Parvina continued sulking. "Is she prettier? Or is she perhaps richer? Is she beautiful?"
"Enough Parvina. If the man was in search of beauty, one look at Mariam would have his heart racing." Saadiya spoke, plopping down on the floor by the edge of the bed.
"He saw." Mariam said but her voice was muffled by the pillow.
"What did you say?"
She sat up. "He saw. He saw my face."
Parvina and Saadiya gasped, eyes wide opened in surprise. "How?" They chorused.
"He requested for me to take off the abaaya but I didn't want to and he was being such a jerk about it and his pride annoyed me so I ripped it off my face to shut him up."
"Ha! And... What was his reaction? He must have been quite an awestruck, right?"
"Awestruck? I wish! If he was then he didn't show it. Did a great and terrific job in hiding it."
"He wasn't? Then what did he say?"
"Not bad. Imagine that! He had said I wasn't bad-looking. Ugh!" She laid back on the bed with her head buried into the pillow.
She wished she had slapped him, maybe clawed at his face to rip that stupid smirk off. He was too handsome for his own good and she hated herself for admitting that. She wondered who the person he loved was and how she managed his attitude.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000008175/Romance/Scorched?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
The House Of Krane
Ben got up from the ground, dusting himself and grumbling as he did. His jaw ached him terribly and his elbow was slightly bruised from hitting the ground too hard when Liam had flung him out carelessly. He wiped whatever little blood sipped out from the injury onto his trousers and cursed some more at Liam.
It was still quite early for anyone or rather, any thing as he loved to call the demons, to come into Smokes and the place around the bar was deserted of beings so no one witnessed him being flung out or it would have been more humiliating. He stood at the door for a while, knowing that the could not go inside any more, at least for now or Liam would do worse and he cursed.
The renegade Angel he had come to hate was always seen around Phidian and it irked him that Liam had latched himself into her, what exactly was going on between those two, he did not know but he hated that fact that they had become close. They had become way too close for comfort. He knew there was no way that he could get close enough to her this way. He would not be able to have her as long as Liam was around to meddle and ruin his chances.
Placing both hands on his hips, he sighed and tilted his head backwards so that his face was towards the sky, his body tensed up as he remembered the opportunities he had had when she was still within his grasp and he regretted not taking her when he had every chance available to him but it was because he had wanted to savour every moment, taking his time in exploring her body one part at a time, one day at a time.
But now all he wanted to savour was her, he needed her body pressed tightly under his. He did not understand why he felt this way towards her, all he understood was that he had to have her to himself. And he would, come what may, with or without Liam, he would have to find a way to go around the renegade Angel.
Dusting himself once more, he stepped out onto the street and walked down the paved road. Yes, he knew where he should have gone to first, but he had chosen to come here before going to his destination because he knew that she would still be here in Smokes and he wanted to meet her alone, maybe talk with her, just the two of them but then Liam had to be here.
He knew Phidian did not exactly like him but that was where the fun was. He chuckled, he loved that about her, her feisty attitude, the burning gaze she shot at him that went straight into his body and down to his manhood, the way she made him feel with just one look. Heck! Even he could not understand why he, as a human would be feeling such for a half demon. Phidian was extremely pretty, but then so was the other one.
As he walked down the street, his thoughts went back to the female Angel he had seen in there with them. He had seen many Angels but he had never before seen her around these parts. She was very young and she very was beautiful, although his eyes was not able to make out her womanly curves due to the cloak she had on but he was sure she would be even more beautiful in that aspect.
He smiled to himself and ran a thumb over his lower lip, licking the tip of the finger as he did so. She did not seem to be a feisty one, she was calm and she was curious, may be she could be an easy pick, he had never had any Angel before.
He thought of it now, if he could, he would love to have Phidian and the new Angel. He knew he was dreaming too far but what was the harm in doing so? He chuckled, imagining himself and the demon, she would be wild, she would drain him. Then he imagined himself with the female Angel, she would soothe him. He groaned in frustration and want when he felt his insides beginning to stir.
Focus.
The house of Krane was where one would come to if one was looking for a human slave or a messenger demon or for some secret information, to cast a spell or to break a spell, conjuring up a demon or anything else of the dark art. Elvis Krane was the demon to come to. Why a demon would be called or named "Elvis" was a question that he had asked himself several times before, but then he grew tired of it. He could not understand these creatures and he maybe did not want to bother himself much about it any more.
Master Krane was what he was known popularly as, a widely popular demon, known for his ruthlessness and unforgiving ways but then, no demon was ever forgiving. His dealings spread across all creatures, all creatures not limited to humans and Angels and demons. I mean, the demon had an Imp for a pet! Master Krane was a demon not to underrate nor to take for granted, irrespective of who you were, even Renard knew that. If you crossed him, he would take more than just a pound of flesh in return.
Ben tapped his knuckles on the door of the demon's house and waited a while, glancing round the environment in fear. The demon chose to live in solitary mostly because of the things he did, dangerous things that could cause extreme harm and because of the creatures he kept. No, he did not care about others getting hurt, be it its fellow demons or Angels, humans were always hurt. More than just hurt. It was in his nature to cause harm. And he loved doing it.
His greed caused him to live this way, away from prying eyes, he was the only demon in this part of the world to master such daring arts and he was not one to share his knowledge. Rumor had it that the Imp he kept was infact once a demon who tried to imitate Master Krane's dark art but could not get it right, the result of that mistake was the annoying creature which now served as his personal butler.
The door was opened slowly and Ben could see the Imp's hideous face, it smiled a mischievous smile at Ben as it recognized the human standing outside and it pulled him inside, shutting the doors and bolting it.
"What now?" Ben could hear the croaking voice of Master Krane but he could not see the demon, actually he never had and by his voice, he had always imagined the demon as a short, over blown, fat dirty thing whose looks could scare someone out of existence. The room was pitch black dark and Ben's human eyes could not adjust fully to it in time. He could not see a thing so he stood still where he was and interlocked his fingers across his stomach.
The house reeked badly of something rotten, the strong stench swam around the dark house, making it difficult for Ben to breathe properly, he knew that staying in here and inhaling this horrible smell for too long would eventually kill him. He heard the clattering of objects falling to the ground and the sound of the demon grumbling followed.
"Master Renard..." He began but felt a sharp stab on his calf. He twitched and yelp, the sinister giggle of the imp fading away into the dark told him of the culprit, it annoyed him but he knew he could not retaliate even if a sword was in his hands. Inside of this house, the protection he enjoyed from being Renard's slave ended.
"I have no humans for him now leave, I am in the middle of a spell. And I can not be distracted. It seems like I am missing one ingredient." The demon said.
Ben swallowed, the last time he was here, Master Krane had also been working on a spell and he had been missing one ingredient, it had turned out to be human blood and the only human available to Master Krane at that time was himself. He had been forced to "willingly" offer his blood for the spell to be finished and the demon had nearly drained him completely. Now again, the demon was missing an ingredient, he did not want to be forced to offer again.
"Are you just going to stand there like one of the numerous human statues I have or are you going to tell me why you are here?!" The demon thundered. Ben could tell that he was very much impatient and wanted to focus on his spell.
"Well... Master Krane...." Ben's voice shook, he had to get the words out of his mouth fast but he just could not, fear had gripped him tightly this time. This place always gave him the chills, standing in the dark with an Imp running loose and talking to a demon you could not see, it made him wonder what else was in here that he was not able to see. It made him wonder what other living things were in here, just looking at him hungrily and straining to reach out and grab him. He could not even see the door.
"Talk fast human, the Imp feeds on human flesh and I can not remember when last it was fed." Master Krane warned, lack of concern in his voice.
No sooner had he spoken than Ben heard a shrill cry coming from inside the house. The cry came from somewhere close to him, directly in front of him. It sounded like a banshee but Ben, for the sake of his sanity did not want to believe it. He swallowed and rushed his words, he wanted to get out of this house as soon as he possibly could.
"Master Renard wants a potion. The same one you had given to him the last time. He is slowly becoming unstable."
The demon laughed. "The potion he needs is what I am trying to make right now and he knows what payment he should bring, he knows what I need to make it if he wants to be cured permanently, so why did he send you here to me without it?"
"He... ummm..." Ben did no have an excuse for his Master and he could not think of any thing fast enough.
"Go back and tell him what I have said. Without that I can do nothing for him." The demon cut him off and after he spoken, Ben heard the door being unlocked and it was opened slightly, just enough for him to see his way out.
"Master Krane....?" He took a side ways step towards the door and paused.
"I am not so generous to any creature, be it demons like myself or to those proud angelic beings and most especially not to humans but you are for Renard. Stay any longer and that door closes, if that door shuts, you become my Imp's breakfast." He said no more.
Ben did not need any more motivation than that. He hurried towards the door and stepped outside but not before the Imp stabbed him again, this time in his lap and it laughed sinisterly before shutting the door. Ben yelped and ran out onto the streets, when he was a good distance away from the house, he breathed out. He had been here on several occasions before, running errands for his Master Renard, but the fear he always felt whenever he went behind that door never went away. The evil energy here was contaminating.
He began to walk away, Renard would be out of his mind again if he returned without the potion. He feared Renard might give in to the corruption that are at him from the inside if he went on without taking the potion, many Angels had but Renard would be the first Archangel to do so. Things could only get worse if that was allowed to happen.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Stay With Me
Both Phidian and Leticia kept quiet when Liam walked back inside. Leticia held her cup on her laps and wound both hands round the smooth body, letting the heat warm her hands. She could not drink this, it was too bitter and she suspected that this demon girl had purposely made it as so, she eyed her from the corner of her eyes and frowned. If she could not drink it at least it is would serve another purpose of making her palm and fingers warm.
She watched Liam sit with a sigh, placing both of his hands on the counter and resting on them for a while then he lifted his head and fixed a soft gaze on Phidian. Phidian who was caught unawares because her eyes were also on him began to feel somewhat uncomfortable, she blinked repeatedly and blushed heavily, momentarily looking away from him.
"Th...thank you." She muttered.
"Hmm." He blinked. "Thank me for what?"
Phidian pointed towards the door and added. "For getting rid of Ben."
"Ohh that..." He waved a hand. "Ben is always a nuisance to every one. I threw him out because I could not stand him being in here and so close."
"Still..." She continued. "Thank you."
"Hmm..." He nodded.
Liam studied the demon girl standing in front of him by the other side of the counter, she had grown so much and so fast these couple of years but still managed to look the same, exactly how he had thought she would look like. He remembered the first time he had seen her after the war and it had not been in Smokes, serving as a waitress, it had been at Renard's place.
The demon girl had looked so weak and malnourished and frail and she had shackles around her neck, wrist and ankles. What exactly had taken him to Renard's place, he could not remember but then he was grateful that he had gone over there or he would not have found her and rescued her out of that place. He had been furious then on seeing her in such inhumane conditions and he had flared up, he had not understood why but he did later on. It was because he loved her.
Not the "I have fallen head over heels in love with you" kinda love, no, it was the "I have to protect you" kind of love, because this demon girl was or had once been his human Sharon, the little girl he was a guardian Angel over, she still looked very much like her even after all those years had passed and that was why he had felt the overwhelming urge to want to protect her.
It had been difficult to tell she was a demon the first time he had seen her because she grew no horns, so save for her tail which was mostly hidden behind her and her extremely pale skin and the claws she had for finger nails, she looked just like any human would. He had helped her out of Renard's clutches and had, with time, they had grown closer to each other and ever since then he had kept her close by him. To him, she was still his human Sharon whom he wanted to protect at all cost. To him, she was still home because she never exhibited the demonic revenging traits that most demons exhibited, she was calmer and quiet too.
Liam turned to Leticia and stretched his open hand towards her with his palm facing upward. Leticia, confused by the action, raised her eye brows at him and looked from his face to his open palm and then back to his face, confusion clear in her expression. Liam sighed and reached for the cup of coffee on her laps, gently taking it from her.
"You do not want to take it, so why waste a good cup. I will have it." He explained.
Leticia opened her mouth to protest but then he was not wrong. She could not take it, it was just too bitter but she still wanted the warmth. She shut her mouth and intertwined her fingers on her laps looking away from him.
*"But it was so warm, I still wanted to hold onto it a bit."* She grumbled in her thoughts.
Liam took a sip and frowned slightly, this coffee was indeed bitter. He looked from the cup to Phidian who was glaring at Leticia, Leticia on the other hand, did not take notice of the hate filled eyes glaring at her, she was playing with her fingers on her lap and still sulking about the warm cup Liam had taken from her. Liam smirked and brought his focus back on the cup, taking another sip. No, this was definitely bitter. He placed the cup back on the counter.
"Where do you plan on going from here?" He asked Leticia.
Both Phidian and Leticia looked at him.
"Huh?" Leticia asked.
"You have a destination? Somewhere to go?" He asked again, this time more clearly.
"Uh..." She briefly threw a glance at the demon girl, unsure of what to say and then back to Liam. "Uh...yes. Yes I do."
*"I most definitely have not thought about that."* She confessed in her thoughts.
Liam sighed. "Okay, where?"
"Hmm?" She widened her eyes at him like she did not understand what he had just asked.
"This place you have to stay or go to, where is it?" He repeated.
*"Uhhh ... where... where."* she thought.
"Just... not far. Around somewhere. Like say, the mountains or..." She swallowed and replied, nodding her head and waving her hand in the air while still avoiding his eyes.
*"You do not have a place to stay, do you?"* Liam asked her in his thoughts. Leticia's head shot up and she looked at him wide eyed. Did she just hear him in her head? Wait, this was not the first time she was hearing him in her head, right?
"Did you... say something?" She asked him.
*"You should get used to hearing me like this."* He replied in her thoughts. *"You should learn to get used to it."*
Leticia frowned and looked away, then she wondered if he could also hear her thoughts, as much as she did not like it, she would still want to know if he could. There were things she might want to say in her head about this Angel and his demon girl mistress which she would not want them knowing. She eyed Liam but he broke into her thoughts again, speaking to her in her head.
*"Phidian..."* He looked at her with a frown on his face. *"...is not my mistress. Do not try to be dumb around me."*
Leticia was shocked. How could he have known what she was... Wait, she had not even been thinking that, right? It had been something she was just mumbling to herself in her head, how could he have heard it.
*"If you have me in your thoughts, then I will be able to hear whatever is in your head. There is really no magic to it, we are bonded."*He replied to her in her thoughts.
Leticia shifted in her seat to face Liam. *"How do you mean, we are bonded?"* She asked in her head.
Liam sighed and placed his head on the counted, Leticia focused on him still waiting for an answer to what she had asked him but Liam was not ready to delve into that topic right now, his mind was still a mess and he was having a difficulty time accepting the fact that he was now a guardian Angel again after his years of irresponsibility. He wished he could dump this human girl with Sheila.
His eyes snapped open. He could?
Yes! He could!
True, he would remain bonded to Leticia as long as they both were alive but if he gave her to Sheila, Sheila would take her back to the human fortress and there she would be safe and he would not have to worry about her so much. He would still be able to feel her emotions and maybe hear her thoughts but yeah, he could live with that, he just did not want a human attached and dependent on him. No, he most certainly did not want that.
Leticia still studied Liam, she could feel his heart beat, even though she was not close enough to actually hear it but still, she could feel it. It was calm and steadily beating but his mind was a mess, they she could see. His thoughts were everywhere and although she could see and notice that, she was not able to read them, they were just to messy for her. If he could read her thoughts any time even though they had been scattered, then why should she not be able to read his?
She breathed in and exhaled lightly, she would try to... But Phidian interrupted her thoughts.
"What are you doing?"
Leticia turned to the demon girl. "What?"
Phidian shifted her gaze from Leticia to Liam, she had noticed the way Leticia had been staring at him so intently and she did not like that, no, not one bit. She turned back to Leticia.
"If I were you, I would leave this place right now so that I will be able to make it to my place before it gets dark." Phidian started.
"I know when I should leave, you do not have to tell me." Leticia fumed.
Then she leaned down on the counter towards Leticia, getting really close to her, and she whispered. "Because the dark is when the real hunting begins." The she laughed and turned her back to them,facing the other side of the bar and arranging the tings in the shelf while still laughing.
Leticia jumped down from the stool and picked up her sword which she had kept on the floor beside her, adjusting the pouches that were tied around her waist, she spoke. "I best get going now any way..."
"Good." Phidian cut in without even turning back to look at her. "Now, try not to get killed or whatever."
Leticia gripped her sword so tight that it started to pain her, she would so much love to separate this demon girl's head from the rest of her pale body. She gave Phidian one last long stare and turned to leave but Liam caught her hand. She turned to face him.
"Stay..." He started. Phidian turned around now, she looked at Liam and then to his hand which was holding Leticia's arm, stopping her.
"I can not..."
"... with me." He finished, cutting her off.
"Liam...?" Phidian stuttered, what was he saying? Was his humanity returning to him now? Why would he want to care about this human girl any way? She had suspected that something had happened in the forest earlier in the morning that had caused him to fly off with her and now that he was asking her to stay, she was sure that something had definitely happened. She glared at Leticia.
"But I just..." Leticia wanted to protest but Liam yanked on her arm, pulling her back and on her seat.
"I have a place not too far away, it is quiet and secluded, you will stay there with me until I figure something out." He let go of her arm and spoke the next sentence in his thoughts so only she would be able to hear. *"I can not have a human I am bonded to, wandering around this demon infested place."*
Leticia rolled her eyes, here he goes again with this bonding thing, and he would not still tell her what the bonding was all about or what he signifies. *"I never asked to be bonded with you."* She spoke in her head, knowing that only he could hear her. *"And if this bonding bothers you so much, why but just break it off? I do not need to be baby sat by a grumpy Angel, I can pretty much handle what comes my way."* She stood up to leave.
"I did not ask you to stay Leticia." His voice was stern, even Phidian knew he was serious, Leticia faced him. "That was an order."
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Suspect Number One
Wednesday, the 4th of May.
01:02pm
“Tia!” Aiden called out excitedly as he was stepping into the office, frantically waving something in the air. Tia lifted her head up from all the paper works on her desk and turned in her seat to see him coming towards her and waving a brown envelope in his hand. She smiled a little, glad for the distraction and little break, reclining in her seat and watching him.
“You have good news? Because that is your look of ‘I have good news Tia’, so please tell me you have something.”
Aiden beamed and grabbed a chair, wheeling it closer to Tia, he looked at her straight in the eye and said. “I have good news.”
“Good!” Tia exhaled. “Now, lay it on me, what is the good news?”
Aiden slapped the brown envelope on her desk. “This!”
Tia quickly grabbed the envelope and tore it open, studying the paper in it. It was a DNA test result and what she read in it also excited her. She smiled widely at Aiden. “Really?!”
“Stacey Rohn, twenty nine year old, white female. Her DNA sample was found around the crime scene of Pamela Neil. Looks like we may have a lead after all.”
“Oh this is a break through Aiden!” Tia squealed excitedly.
“Well… we may not want to rule her out yet. She is not a criminal until she…”
“...until she is proven guilty by the court of law.” Tia finished his sentence for him. “Yeah, yeah, I know all that Aiden, but still, she is our first suspect because her DNA was found at the crime scene.”
“But it is strange though.” Aiden spoke, stroking his chin like he was in deep thoughts.
Tia leaned in closer. “What is strange?”
“Her DNA samples were found in the crime scene alright, a few strands of hair, but they were mostly everywhere.”
“Every where? How do you mean?” Tia asked, getting lost in Aiden’s confusion.
“You know… every where, like it was sprinkled and there was no other DNA samples found on the victim’s body.”
“We got ourselves a suspect Aiden.” Tia said, patting his arm. “Let us go do what is required.”
01:30pm
Skyline travelling agency’s building was the fanciest on this street and it was the most prominent as it stood out from the others with its glass walls and windows that lined the whole front of the building from top to bottom, and the complexity of the magnificent structure was hard to ignore when walking by. But it was not the complex structure that gave Skyline its popularity, it was the hand holding the reins, the one known as Grand father, Mr. Colin Hunt.
Every one knew of Skyline and of the businesses they carried out, so locating Stacey Rohn’s work place was easy and quite a shocker as well, that their very first murder suspect would be associated with Skyline. Tia and Aiden had driven in Aiden’s car in order not to raise any unnecessary attentions because this was still an investigation and they needed to remain off the radar of the killer if they were to get him, or in any case, if they were to get her. They stepped down from the car and walked into the building.
Inside the building, the ground floor was very spacious and almost half of the space was left open. On one side, where the walls had been replaced with glass only transparent from the inside and a mirror from the outside, were seats with tables. Tia figured that that must be the waiting area. The space between that and the receptionist desk was wide enough to keep a distance between who ever was waiting and the receptionist and just behind the receptionist area was another storey with a stair case connecting the ground floor to that. The interior design of the building was just as spectacular as the outside.
Tia and Aiden walked up to the receptionist who was busy on the phone and politely signaled for them to give her one minute. Tia smiled and they waited for her to be done with the call.
“Hello.” She greeted. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. How may I help you?”
“Yes, I am looking for a Stacey Rohn?” Tia said calmly.
The girl raised a questioning eye brow at them. “Miss Stacey Rohn?”
Tia nodded.
“May I know why you are looking for her. We do not just give away information concerning any of our staff without necessity.”
“Yes, of course.” Tia replied and pulled out her detective shield badge, holding it up against the receptionist’s face. “Tia Sparrow, NYPD detective.”
The receptionist mouthed an “ohh” and briefly glanced over at Aiden, who stood watchfully behind Tia, both hands on his hips, looking around the place like he was looking for someone.
Tia watched the girl pick up the phone and punch in a few numbers, bringing it to her ear and listen to it ring for a short while before the call was connected.
“Miss Stacey? There are two detectives at the front desk wanting to see you.” She said and listened before nodding. “Yes ma’am.” Then she dropped the phone and faced Tia. “Miss Stacey would be down in a minute, please have your seats.”
“Thank you.” Tia said and both she and Aiden walked away from the desk to sit in one of the many seats which lined the glass walls on one side.
Aiden, by nature, took careful notice of every one that passed by him and every one that walked in and out of this space without making it obvious that he was doing so. Tia noticed that and thought that he was maybe uncomfortable, she reached out a hand and grabbed his. Aiden turned to face her.
“Relax.” she told him and smiled.
“I can not help it.” He chuckled. “It is in my nature to take note of every thing surrounding me, it is just the life of a detective.”
“You say it like I am not a detective myself.” She smirked at him and he laughed lightly and looked away.
“I am calm Tia. I will remain calm.”
* * * * *
01:40pm
Stacey was not down in a minute, seven full minutes had passed before Tia and Aiden spotted her stepping out of the elevator, dressed in a straight black skirt which grabbed her tightly by the hips and waist, and a light blue shirt was loosely tucked into that. She looked a little bit worn out and her hair was, Tia could guess, not as smooth as it had been in the morning when she had come to work. She did look tired.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long officers.” She apologized as she got to them. Tia and Aiden both stood up, putting on their best serious detective faces.
“Miss Stacey Rohn?” Aiden called and Stacey faced him with a half smile.
“Yes, that is me. Any thing the problem officers?”
“Do you mind coming with us to the station? We just have a few questions to ask you.” Aiden said.
“A few questions? I have to come to the station for just a few questions. Is it any thing serious?”
“It is not something we can discuss openly.”
“Then come to my office, I…”
“Miss Stacey Rohn.” Tia called in a domineering voice but without raising her voice to attract unwanted attention. “Please, we could also use force but we much rather prefer not to.”
Stacey paused and looked at Tia, then she breathed in. “Alright officers. Let me just call in that I would be stepping out for a while. Can I?”
“That is allowed.” Aiden replied her and she excused her self from their midst, walking up to the receptionist’s table.
There was a sudden change in the atmosphere and most of the people who had casually been walking freely down stairs began hurrying in their steps and they began talking and whispering in hush tones and Tia could notice that the ladies were busy adjusting their outfits and hair. She turned to Aiden who looked just as surprised as she did.
“Is he really coming down here?” She heard one of the ladies say and was prompted to ask her who was coming down stairs that would make every one be on alert and make the ladies blush too, but before she could, the elevator door went ‘ding’ and the atmosphere chilled once more.
Tia watched as a man, dressed in a dark blue suit stepped out of the elevator alone, wearing a nose mask and looking as serious as any one ever could. She took notice of his sharp features and calculated steps, one hand shoved into his pocket and the other, dangling by his side. He kept his gaze low and his attention straight ahead towards the exit door. As he walked by them, going for the exit, Tia caught a powerful whiff of his cologne. She could not help but admire the man and his responsible bad boy looks.
“Who is that?” She did not realize that she had said that out loud until a lady beside her replied her question.
“That is Chester Hunt. The one who just returned today after a long time of staying away. Is he not the dreamiest?” The lady blushed.
Tia looked at the girl acting like a cartoon and nodded slowly, then without answering her, she looked to Aiden and Stacey who had just walked up to them. “Shall we?”
* * * * *
02:18pm
“How well can you say that you know Miss Pamela Neil?” The officer asked Stacey again and she sighed exasperatedly. They had been here for almost half an hour now and the questions they had been asking her were just repeated questions they had been asking her since she had sat in this chair. They had been going back and forth with the questions and the answers and Stacey was already growing tired of it.
“For the one hundredth time, Pam is my work colleague, we do not exactly work in the same place but I have met her a couple of times.” She answered, trying to remain calm.
“You do not work in the same place but she is your work colleague?”
“Yes. She works at the hotel and I work where ever grand father goes, mostly at the travel agency.”
“Grand father who?”
Stacey sighed. “Mr. Colin Hunt, chairman of Skyline groups. Have you not heard of him?”
“Whether we have heard of him or not or who the hell he is means nothing in here. You will answer what ever questions we ask you.”
“And I have been doing so for almost half an hour now! What is it?! tell me exactly what it is?”
Tia walked up to the officer interrogating Stacey and placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding at him and telling him to go, which he did reluctantly then she sat in the chair across from Stacey, placing both her hands on the table between them.
“When was the last time you went to South Cove Park?” Tia asked her calmly.
“I hardly ever have the time to go to parks. I rarely do, why?”
“Miss Pamela’s body was recently found, half buried in a secluded area of South Cove Park.” She said.
Stacey eyes widened and she brought a hand up, placing it over her open mouth. “What?!”
“And a sample of your DNA was found around the crime scene.”
“What?!” Stacey was alarmed. “But… but how is that even possible? I have not been to that park… or any other parks in like… years?”
“Your location as at the time she must have been killed tallies with what you told us and so does your proof, but we still can not rule you out as a suspect.” She told her.
“A suspect?! but I did not…” Stacey started to protest but Tia cut her off.
“We will let you go now, but until we conclude with the investigations, you can not leave the city. We will be watching you closely Miss Stacey.”
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Ben
Smokes was not the kind of place to be opened during the day and Liam was grateful for that. He sat on the bar stool beside Leticia who did not feel quite comfortable in the bar, it reeked of alcohol and vomit and was really stuffy. She noticed that the windows were kept shut and the only light here came from the red bulbs hanging on different places in the ceiling, that sort of amazed her because it made her wonder how they could have managed to get electricity running in here, but it was still relatively dark and you could not tell if it was day or night outside from in here.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and reached for the bottle of asphax that was still tied to her waist, wondering if she should apply more. She looked up over the counter, the demon girl whom she had come to know as Phidian was busy fixing them coffee, she had her back to her. Leticia squeezed the bottle of asphax in her hand.
*"You're fine."* She heard Liam's voice say to her in her head. She glanced over at him, his head was down and his eyes were closed, he kept drumming his fingers on the counter. *"You can not go anywhere, so just sit still."*
Phidian turned with two cups of coffee in her hands which she placed in front of them. Liam looked up and smiled at her before picking up his cup, bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. Leticia stared at her cup for the longest, the dark liquid was unsettled and the steam rising from it danced in the air before disappearing. What was this coffee made of anyway, the aroma that hit her nostrils was not the same aroma of coffee she was used to but if Liam was taking it then it should be fine, right?
She side eyed Liam and tried to stylishly look up at Phidian, to avoid their eyes from colliding but the demon girl had already kept her eyes on her with a smirk on her face like she was saying, 'drink it if you dare'. Leticia quickly looked away from her and down at the cup.
*"It is a good thing that you have your guard up but you should stop being so paranoid and drink the coffee, it is not poisoned."* She looked over at Liam and frowned. He was in her head again.
"I know." She voiced out.
"You know what?" Phidian asked, spreading her hands across the counter. Leticia eyed her once.
"Nothing." She replied hastily.
She brought the cup up and took a sip and almost spat it out but she tilted her head backwards. *Ugh!* She swallowed it in a rush and dropped the cup, she squeezed her face in disgust. The coffee was too bitter.
"What? Too strong for you?" Phidian teased. Leticia glared at her knowing that she had done this on purpose, if she would not poison the cup then she would not let her enjoy it either.
"Liam liked his coffee that way," she continued, "I thought you would too, you know, since you are an Angel." She teased Leticia even more but Leticia would not allow her have the last laugh.
"You seem to know very much about Liam, what he likes and what he dislikes, what he prefers and what he does not prefer." Leticia smiled, trying to remain calm.
"Of course!" Phidian smiled at Liam. "I have known him longer than you have so I know practically everything about him." She turned to face Leticia with a smug look on her face.
"Ahh, everything. I see." Leticia searched for something that would make the demon girl upset, she did not like the fact that she was having fun. She smiled and looked into her cup as she spoke, stirring it slowly. "You know everything, but you did not know where he had spent the night last night."
Phidian snapped her head at Leticia. "I had taken him there, of course I know...."
"Or with whom." Leticia cut her off with a coy smile and brought the cup to her lips again but the strong aroma reminded her of the taste so she put it back down.
Phidian was vexed, she lowered her gaze and glared at the pretend female Angel in front of her and wondered what exactly was so special in her or about her that Liam had seen that made him bring her here, he should have left her back in the forest since she had claimed that she can take care of herself. That they spent the night together did not mean that they did anything together, she knew Liam was not that kind of an Angel, he would not indulge in a one night stand, most especially, not with a female he did not know. But even thinking of the fact that they had been together that night still bothered her a lot.
"Do you have milk? Or sugar?" Leticia asked calmly with a smile still on her lips, diverting away from the topic just briefly.
Phidian laughed. "Where do you think you are? In a land flowing with milk and honey?" She scoffed and walked away.
Liam sat comfortably still, ignoring the chatter and banter of the females, his back was arched and one elbow propped up on the counter, his other hand held the cup close to his lips, continuously tilting it so he could drink the liquid. His mind was in a scattered mess, it constantly went back to Leticia's memory, the memory he had seen after they had bonded. The girl was determined in finding her younger brother who had suddenly gone missing and he had to admit it that he was impressed by her sheer will power but his thoughts were distracted by the noise of the door banging shut. He turned slightly to see a human casually walk in, a silly look on his scrunched face. He knew this human, he knew him all too well.
Ben walked in casually, one had shoved into his pocket and the other wiping off the invisible dust on his left pocket, he glanced over at the counter and his brows came up when he spotted Liam, the famous renegade Angel, the only one capable of giving his master problems and causing him sleepless nights, although recently, Liam had been on a low he was still surprised to see him in here and this early too.
He looked at Phidian only glanced at him once when she had walked back to the counter but she did not acknowledge him before going back to what she was doing. He smirked and then his attention went to the other person perched on a stool not so far away from Liam, she was the third person, one he had never seen before. He watched her watch him curiously, her face holding no readable expression. He walked towards them and purposely came to stand in between the new girl and Liam, the girl turned away from him and back to the counter.
"Liam, you have been a regular around here, but for some days I have not heard so much about your escapades. Keeping it on a low, are we now?" He spoke when he got close enough, he had chosen to stand in between Liam and the new girl because he wanted to be close enough to her. Ignoring Liam briefly since he got no response from him, he habitually sniffed the new girl secretly and his head snapped sharply in her direction, Leticia flinched at the sudden action and eyed him intently, tilting her body backwards and away from him.
"You are new around here, are you not?" He asked studying the girl's face, the dim red lights did not help him in his assessment. Leticia only nodded.
"Where are you from? I know almost every Angel around these parts but I have never seen you before now."
Leticia's heart began to beat steady, for a minute she thought he had figured out exactly what she was. She glanced at Phidian who had a mock expression on her face like she wanted to reveal to this person that she was not an Angel but a pretend.
*"I dare you!"* Leticia thought in her head, eyeing the demon girl. Then she faced the man in front of her who was throwing questions at her. Somehow, she already did not like him. But then he was a human and he also just strolled in here with no fear, that was off, something was off.
"You are a human? And yet you walk freely?" She asked him curiously.
He grinned, lifting his shoulders up and shrugged. "Ahh yes, some of us have the errr... privilege of doing so quite freely."
Leticia shifted in her seat so she could face him. "And how is that possible that you are not being hunted. Are you not supposed to be hidden."
"Well dear," Ben started and tried to take her hand but Leticia crossed them on her chest and frowned, it was all to obvious for Ben not to notice her displeasure in his action but still she was curious and her curiosity made him feel proud in a way. Yes he was special.
"Let us just say that the power over me is one that can not be ignored by anyone and that power protects me and that is why I can walk freely with no fear." He smirked, adjusting the collar of his shirt which really did not need any adjustment.
"So.... what exactly..." Leticia started but was cut off by Liam.
"What did your master send you to get, slave?" Liam said swirling the coffee in his cup and without looking at Ben, it was evident in his voice that he did not want the rather proud human around and he also did not like the way he was talking with Leticia who was innocently entertaining his questions and asking hers.. "Do that and leave quickly."
*"Slave?"* Leticia thought. "You are a slave?" She asked.
Ben did not answer her she neither did he reply Liam but instead, he snickered and turned his attention towards Phidian, the demon girl, who watched him with both hands crossed on her chest. She also did not want him around. Ben studied her, carried momentarily away by the full lumps of round flesh on her chest which was largely exposed as her clothing did little too cover them. Just the way he liked it.
He had felt her skin once, when she had been new to the business, his master Renard had ordered for her to be punished for a mistake she had made back then when she still worked for him and he had been more than willing to carry out his master's wishes.
There, in that small cramped up cell which she had been thrown in, he had felt the curve of her waist, he had also felt the fullness of her lips trapped in his and had felt her fingers clawing at his chest to push him away and off her, he still carried those scars but he had not been able to have her yet but the memories of him crushing his body on hers never left him and right now those memories stirred up something in him again and now he badly wanted her. And he would, soon enough.
He licked his lips at her and she rolled her eyes, looking away.
"Phidian..." He began but she cut him off.
"Do not even start with me. You know who you should talk when you come for deals like what I know you are here for but yet you come to me? Knowing fully well that I can not and will not in any way help you."
Leticia noticed his behavior and concluded that this human was rather to brave for his own good or rather too stupid. It was definitely the latter.
He smiled and slid his hands on the counter towards her. "I know that you would not want to help me, but I was also hoping to find you alone..."
Liam's fist caught the left side of his jaw with a resounding impact, sending the man crashing down on the bar floors with a bashed lip. Leticia and Phidian flinched at the unexpected action from Liam and gasped, staring at him with surprise. Liam heaved, his anger getting the best of him and he smashed the coffee cup onto the man's head. Ben rolled on the floor, clutching on to his head which was already starting to bleed.
"What the bloody hell Liam!" He cursed at the vexed renegade Angel but Liam only stepped down from the stool, bent down and reached for his collar, dragging the man across the floor and towards the door.
"Tell your master there are no humans here for sale any more and if you dare cuddle up any lusting for Phidian again..!" He paused in his words, allowing them sink into Ben's bleeding head so that he would get the message clearly, then he yanked the door open and flung the man out onto the street, slamming the door shut.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
I am Leo
Sheila whistled an old nursery tune she had been used to hearing from her human long before the war had happened as she bounced up and down on the seat perched in front of the wagon, it rolled quite noisily along the uneven road, she held on to the reins and did not bother to urge the horse to move faster because the road was a perilous mix of rocks, bumps, holes and sharp objects, she could not risk loosing a wheel or waking up the humans, but then she was sure that the bumpy ride must have woken them up already.
She knew that if they were already awake, then they would not scream or shout because they would most definitely believe they were in a demon's wagon so what they might do, or would do would be to find a means of escape without her knowing about it. Now that she thought about that, she remembered that she did not tie them up and now thinking about it maybe she should, else they might escape from her and walk right into another danger, but then again, it was not like she would not be able to hear them escaping.
She glanced over her shoulder, the wagon was still covered fully with the tarp. She sighed and continued whistling, maybe she should tie them up, if they wake, they might scream and throw tantrums wanting to get out and that would most definitely bring to them, the attention she was avoiding. If they were not wise they would scream but was any human wise now a days?
She approached a very shallow river which she had to cross to get to the mountains, it was okay for the horse to pull the wagon through the water but she chose to rest a while here, mostly to rest the horse, she pulled on the reins and the horse came to a stop. Getting down, she walked to the side of the wagon and lifted the tarp just slightly on one side, she had reasoned to tie them up and gag their mouths until they reached the mountains, but when the tarp came up she was greeted by a pair of hazel brown eyes staring directly at her. He blinked twice on seeing her but did not show fear. He frowned slightly and she smiled.
"For how long have you been awake?" She asked casually.
"Not long." He watched her. "But also long enough to know the tune you were whistling."
Sheila chuckled. "It was something I once liked to hear."
He looked at the two other boys who were still sleeping in the wagon. "How did we end up in this wagon?"
"Oh, I put you guys in here." She replied.
"Why?"
"Can you remember where you were before now?" She asked, leaning on the wagon.
"Errr... Somewhere in the forest I guess." He scratched his itchy elbow and furrowed his eye brows, trying to remember.
"In the forest?" She was surprised by this because she had not found him in the forest. "Can you not remember anything else?"
"No." He rubbed his temple. "Each time I try, my head hurts."
"Hmm..."
"What are you going to do with us?" He asked her again.
"I am taking you guys somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere safer." She sighed and looked ahead, she just needed to cross them to the other side of this shallow river.
"Hopefully?" That did not sound good enough to him.
"Ever heard of Master Krane?" She suddenly asked.
Leo shook his head negatively. Sheila sighed.
"Figures, since you do not remember any thing. Any way, I kinda stole you guys from there. No, not steal," she chuckled to herself thinking of what Liam had said when she had told him what she had done. "I rescued you guys."
"From this Master Krane?"
"Exactly."
"What is that any way? Or who is this Master Krane?" He asked curiously. He sounded like an important person.
"He is like the baddest and most cruel demon you could ever imagine." Sheila gestured with her hands and a contorted face.
"A demon?" Leo's voice shook a little which Sheila noticed. "We were in the house of a demon?"
"Yes, but I do not think you guys had been in there for long, maybe just a couple of days tops."
Leo nodded. "You still have not told me what you plan on doing with us."
"But I did, I told you I am taking you guys to some place safe."
"Oh, right. Sorry, my bad."
"Do you know what I am?" She took a step back.
"I know you are not a demon because we are pretty much still alive, and you happened to rescue us from another demon, well that is unless you want to sell us. Or you could be a corrupt Angel but you are most definitely not a human," he rose an eyebrow. "Or are you? You could be using an asphax."
"You know what an asphax is?"
"Of course, every human does, it is our best defense against being found out easily when we are out of the fortress."
"But I do not smell asphax on you."
"That is because I do not remember leaving the fortress on my own." He sighed.
Sheila laughed. "So, you are one of the smart ones. I very much like that."
"Thank you for that but please answer me, what exactly are you?" He adjusted in the wagon to a better sitting position, keeping his distance between himself and the female standing outside.
"I am neither. What is your name?" She put a hand into the wagon to touch him but he flinched back. She chuckled. "I do not bite."
"Leo." He replied curtly.
"Well Leo," she retreated her hand, "do you want to sit up front with me? What do you say?"
Leo watched her in surprise. "You want to let me out? And to sit up front with you?"
"Hm hmm." She nodded, already lifting the tarp all the way and unlocking the wagon.
"You know I could run away or try to kill you." He still watched her keenly, confused by her action.
She smiled and opened the small door, she held out her hand for him and he took it. "I know you will not. Humans are not in any way stronger than Angels. And besides, you do not have a weapon that could kill me."
"You are an Angel?" He stood on the ground, his hand still holding hers. He could not help but notice how soft and smooth the skin of her palm was.
"Yes I am, I am a Renegade Angel. Do you want to see?" She placed the other hand on the rope holding the coat to her body by the neck.
"I believe you but yes, I still want to see." Leo's eyes shone with excitement.
She pulled off the coat revealing two mighty wings which shone a pure white hot, their hands still connected and eyes fixed on each other, they both felt a spark, like electricity sizzling deep in their pupils and Leo gasped, taking a step back. Sheila smiled and let go of his hand, she put the coat back around her and her wings folded back.
"What was that?" Leo asked, a little out of breath. Sheila smiled at him and ignored his question and made her way to the front seat urging him to join her.
"Well do not just stand there, come on, have to cross this water to the other side and head to the mountains. We should be safe there."
"Should be?" He still stood beside the wagon not wanting to hold on to her out stretched hand for fear of what had happened before, happening again. But Sheila still held her hand out to him so he could come up to sit with her. "What is your name?"
"My name is Sheila. Do you know what demons are, Leo?" She asked.
"Yes I do." He turned to face the back of the wagon. His gaze going way back, down the road they had been on.
"You will be able to recognize one when you see one?" She continued.
"I can, they are pretty much easy to spot." He turned back to her.
Sheila smiled. "Yes they are, they pretty much do stand out. Some having scaly skins, some do not, but they are so big or small and scary to you guys."
"They are not all that scary," he defended. "At least not to some of us."
"Ohh." She was impressed. "Really now?"
"Yes, you should see my sister fight, she is really good, one of the best fighters I have ever seen."
"That is really impressive, have any of you every fought a demon before."
He shook his head negatively. "No, none of us, we are still considered as minors and we are not allowed out of the fortress when it is time to go hunting."
"I see, but if you had the chance, would you like to fight a demon, do you think you have that much fighting spirit and courage in you?"
He nodded. "Yes." He nodded and looked away from her to the rear of the wagon, far down the road. "Like those ones over there coming towards us."
Sheila turned to face the direction of his gaze and she spotted five demons coming towards them. She got down and took the sword she had hidden between the wagon and the seat, she turned to Leo who was still standing there, his eyes fixed on the demons approaching and his brows were knitted in a tight frown, the fact that he could remain calm even after seeing the demons assured Sheila of his courage and confidence but now was not the right time to test that, she needed him and the other two who were still asleep in the wagon, safe and away.
"Leo, I need you to cross the wagon to the other side of the stream." He looked at her now.
"All by myself?" He looked at her wide eyed, and then moved his gaze towards the demons.
"They can not cross the water, they will not be able to, you would be safe in the water or on the other side. I need you to go, now!"
He nodded and ran for the seat, reaching out and pulling himself up on it, he grabbed the reins and whipped it on the horse, edging it to move forward, it started slowly so he whipped the reins a little harder this time and the horse increased its pace in a slow run. The water was only high enough to cover almost half of the wheels on the wagon but did not get into the wagon.
Leo could already hear the clashing of swords as the Angel fought the demons and it pained him that he could not have the opportunity to sink his sword into the body of a demon. His sword, where was it? It had been with him when he had partially woken up in the forest. But how had he even gotten to the forest without having remembered leaving the fortress, he tried to think about it, he remembered being gagged and tied up, he remembered seeing a fire, but there had been someone else there and....
Ugh! His head hurt as he tried to remember.
He made it to the other side of the shallow river and jumped down to the ground. He watched the Angel fight, easily overcoming the demons and from beyond them, he could see more coming. He thought to run to her and help, he searched the space between the wagon and the seat and saw two other swords, grabbing one he ran towards the river to cross to the other side but a clear voice in his head stopped him.
The voice was hers and it sounded like she had spoken from inside his head, he saw her spin to face him for a brief second from the other side before she continued fighting. The voice was dominating and the command was singular.
*"Stay."*
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Weaknesses
Leticia was screaming her voice away, causing her throat to hurt and her eyes were tightly shut, she had grabbed on to Liam body with a death grip, since the Angel was not putting on any upper body cloth, with her fingers digging into his skin. She was very scared of heights, her head was spinning, she felt the wind blowing against her, she heard the flapping of his wings, she felt his hands which firmly gripped her around her waist and the under of her knees. She screamed louder, begging him to set her down on the ground because it felt like he was not able to hear her until he screamed for her to quiet down. She had done so almost immediately, her heart was beating so rapidly, she felt that it would soon burst out of her rib cage and out of her chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please do not drop me, I'm so scared. Do not drop me." She continued to plead but without shouting.
"I won't drop you."
She heard him say and she partially calmed down but dared not to open her eyes, soon enough she felt the wind cease a little bit and she realized they were not flying anymore. She opened her eyes, her hands were trembling, she felt her legs shaking and her heart beat was still racing. She swallowed to calm herself down and then she looked up at him, the sun was vibrant up behind his head and it made his golden hair shine, his muscles flexed beneath her hold around his neck and shoulders and without thinking, she lowered one hand to rest on his hard chest, he was very rigid and his skin was rather too smooth, she looked into his smiling golden brown eyes and she could tell that he was amused as he watched her watch him. She frowned and lowered her gaze, pulling her hand away from his chest.
"Put me down." She ordered, he did not argue but bent to drop her and as soon as he was low enough, she practically jumped out of his arms, adjusting her clothes and hair before crossing her arms and walking away because she was feeling quite embarrassed. She did not want to look at him right now, although she knew that was inevitable because they were alone in this deathly lonely place he had brought them to.
She looked around, he had brought her to this vast wasteland of nothingness, it was here, on this very field that the great war had been fought. She remembered the place for how it used to be, beautiful and teaming with plant life, with greens growing as far as the eye could see and beyond, she had been small then and still a child but she still remembered this place but now it was desolate and dry having drank up the bloods of humans, Angels and demons, nothing could grow here anymore.
She had thought that the next time she would be coming here would be only when she had found her brother and then, they would be crossing this death valley together in the cover of darkness, heading back to the human fortress and away from the dangers of being out here in the open. She sighed and looked up to the sky, the demons were circling in search of humans to pick on.
Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of the demons and her brother, where was he? Was he safe? Was he hurting? But more importantly, was he still alive? If he was, was he still human? She shook her head and looked down, shutting her eyes and trying to clear the negative thoughts that disturbed her peace, her brother was alive, he had to be alive and she would be the one to find him and bring them both safely back to the fortress. She sighed and opened her eyes but kept her gaze lowered to the ground.
"Leticia."
She spun when the Angel called her name, she did not know that he knew her name, she did not remember telling him. She watched him closely and she could tell that he was disturbed, she focused intently into his eyes and slowly some conflicting thoughts and images made its way into her imagination, she could not understand what she was seeing or where the images and visions were coming from, but she could not break away from the gaze and without knowing, began to move closer to him. She saw a child, sleeping peacefully on a cute little princess bed, she saw the dark smokes rising, she saw violence and chaos. She saw his brokenness and vulnerability and her heart went out to him.
Words were not needed to be spoken between them, they could feel and see each other's weaknesses and strife and pain. He saw her desperation and she saw his vulnerability, he could see her younger brother and she could see the sleeping child, he could see her only family and she could notice his loneliness, he could feel her strong will and determination and she could feel his guilt still eating at him, he saw thought her innocent heart and humanity and she could see through his arrogance and pride. She smiled at him and he softened.
For years he had been totally irresponsible, without a human to protect and now he had been given her to look after without him even wanting to. He felt a tear roll down his cheek, he saw her hand come up and he felt her hand touch his face to wipe the tear away and the memories which had been hunting him came back to him in a rush.
* * * * *
She was Sharon, the sweet and charming sixteen year old of whom he had been a guardian Angel to. He would watch her day and night, he would watch her play, he would watch her eat, he would watch her sleep and he would watch her wake. Liam loved to watch her, seeing her calm face brought him so much joy, and peace radiated in him. Sharon was a very cheerful child, and the only child of her mother, they lived alone in the house and they doted on each other with so much love, it always made Liam's heart swell with joy and he guarded her jealously. The city was becoming dangerous and just especially at night time, and while they slept, he had always kept watch.
The demons were becoming more and more daring by this time and so were the Angels, and although the corruption was slowly spreading among-st the heavenly creatures sent to earth but they still managed to live on Earth without really exposing themselves so much, they also had human bodies so it was much easier for the Angels to blend in if they had to be seen but it was not so easy for the demons to do so.
Most demons needed a human to posses, but possessing a human did not always give the demon full control and it was that control that they wanted, and since they could not get that by possessing a human body, they began to harvest souls and to do this they had to reveal their true self. It was something they had already started. And it was rapidly spreading, the number of humans were fast diminishing.
It was on one of such times that they had attacked Sharon's home. Liam had stood watch gallantly over her sleeping body when the attack started. He remembered that uneasy feeling he had felt just before the demon spirits had come. He had seen them through the window, slithering in the shadows and heading straight for the house. Without waking her, he lifted her from the bed and placed her calmly and slowly into her closet, she stirred a little in her sleep but still did not wake up, he smiled and shut the doors gently, and had taken a defensive posture.
He buckled and gritted his teeth in annoyance, he walked forward away from the door. He saw them rise from the floor like smoke, swirling round till they took form, he unsheathed his sword and he went for the shadows and he had sliced through them easily like knife through butter and watched them go up in flames, crumbling to ashes almost immediately. They pooled in quickly and he took them down just as fast but they had just been pouring in faster and the danger had begun to build up, he remembered that it had frustrated him.
Slithering shadows were difficult to get because they could easily blend in and hide away in the shadow of another object around them but for Liam, it was not a difficult task. More had come in, and as easily as he had taken the first, he had taken the rest and then another. And then another. He had kept at it with a fast pace, equaling their numbers with each slice of his sword until the window downstairs shattered and he had seen a body being thrown into the garden, he had looked out the window only to see the body of Sharon's mother, stabbed with several knives which were still lodged in her body.
And then in that few seconds space of distraction, he had heard the closet door creak open and Sharon, now awake took a step out. Liam, who had fought his way to the other side of the room, saw the girl, saw the demons rush to her and he ran too, slashing his sword in the air, it caught the demons, cutting them in two and they disintegrated. He rushed to the girl but she dropped in his arms lifeless, they had taken her soul.
His body vibrated with guilt and hurt when he lifted her, gently he placed her back on her bed and a sight from outside caught his attention. Standing over the body of Sharon's mother was an Angel, supposed to be her guardian and when he looked up to Liam, an evil smile played across his face. Renard had given into the corruption. Liam watched him stride away before taking to the skies, flying away into the dark night.
Liam heard a gasp of breath and turned to look at Sharon. She breathed in though her mouth, taking in the dark smoke which sipped in through her parted lips and her eyes shot open.
* * * * *
Leticia snapped out of his thoughts when Liam took hold of her hand which was still on his cheek, she still did not break her eyes away from his. They stood a while just staring into each other's eyes and processing the other's feelings and thoughts and strengths and weaknesses. Liam's only weakness was the guilt that was eating him up on the inside because of Sharon's death and Leticia's weakness was the thought of not finding her brother or finding him as something else and no longer as a human.
"We will have to go back." Liam said and this time Leticia did not argue or try to fight back or go against him. She nodded her head in approval and Liam sighed. He bent and picked up Leticia in his arms but she yelled out.
"No Liam!"
"What?" He looked at her small figure with fit smugly in his arms. She looked towards the forest which was far away and looked back at Liam, pleading with her eyes.
"You want us to walk back?" He asked with one eye brow raised in question and she nodded. "You want us to walk all the way back there?"
"Can we not?" She asked. "I think it would be less... dangerous." She swallowed, she really did not want to be up in the air again.
"We can .." he started and Leticia calmed down a little. "But we will not." He flapped his wings once.
"Liam no..!" She protested but he was already off the ground and in the air, flying them both towards Smokes bar.
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter**'s-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
Bonded
Leticia gripped the sword in her hands tightly, her eyes fixed on the Angel Liam and the demon girl who seemed to know each other pretty well, she took a step back and watched them.
"Liam?" Phidian called in surprise.
"What is going on here?" He asked, directing his question to Phidian. Throwing a glance off his shoulder, he sighted Leticia backing off slowly from them. He had not been thinking straight when he landed with his back to her and his wings dangerously close to her, he could have lit her up like a dry wood in a camp bonfire.
"I came here for you but found her instead." Phidian took a step to the side so she could see Leticia.
"And then what happened? You girls were in each other's throats." He turned now to look at Leticia who threw her face away from him, clearly she was upset about something. He faced Phidian again when she started speaking.
"She said you both spent the night together, is that what had happened Liam?"
"We..." He started but paused, "how did you know to find me here? I take it that you are the one who brought me here?" He ignored her earlier question.
"Yes, I did. And it was a struggle doing so all by myself."
"How..." He trailed off.
"You were passed out on the floor in the bar Liam..." She had begun but was cut off by Liam.
"...and this was the only place you could think of to bring me?" He folded his hands and looked around the forest. "Hmm... Not bad, thank you."
Phidian rolled her eyes. "Liam... Where else could I have taken you to? I could not have carried you all the way to your place. You weigh more than a ton."
"No really," he held her chin in his hand and tipped it up to look at him. "Thank you. I would rather prefer out here than within any four walls."
Phidian smiled and Liam let go of her chin because her cheeks had started to color, she looked down. Leticia frowned at the intimacy between the two creatures, demons and Angels falling in love was something that should never be allowed to happen, it was forbidden and an abomination. She eyed the demon girl and felt rage build up in her then she looked at Liam and she did not know what to feel for him, anger or pity. The demon girl was beautiful no doubt, but come on... He had to fall for her? Really? Her?
"But..." Phidian looked up at him when he continued. "There is something missing. Something of great importance to me. Phidian, where is my sword?"
"Sword? I did not find that on you."
"What exactly did I take? Because I could not have passed out taking just alcohol."
"I do not know what you had taken or if you had taken more because I did not serve you, remember?"
Liam stroked his chin. "That is true, I remember that. But I still need to find out and find my sword too."
He turned to look at Leticia but directed his words to Phidian. "Looks like we will have to pay a small visit to Smokes. Have to chat with that bartender. And find my sword."
Leticia scoffed and proceeded to walk away, she pulled the hood over her head and sheathed her sword
Liam turned to Leticia and added. "And "we" in this instance includes you young lady."
"Thank you but no, thank you. I can pretty much take very good care of myself, thank you very much." Leticia spoke with an air of confidence around her.
"You can?" Liam asked, his eye brows came up in disbelief. Leticia took notice of this. He was mocking her.
"Yes I can." She smirked. "I took care of your demon girl friend over there."
"Why you...." Phidian went for her but Liam extended a hand, stopping her from attacking Leticia.
"And how do you plan on doing that."
"Doing what?" She faced him.
"Taking care of yourself?"
"How else? The same was I have been doing so. I know how to, I am an angel after all." She boasted falsely.
"You are? An angel?" Liam could not control it any more. He laughed out loudly, his voice echoing deep into the forest. Both Phidian and Leticia looked at him with confused looks.
"Why are you laughing?" Phidian asked him.
"Because she is an Angel."
"I do not see how that is anything to laugh about." Leticia frowned.
"You do not?" He laughed some more. "It is because you are an Angel with no wings." He laughed some more. Leticia's eyes widened.
"With no wings?" Phidian pondered on that for a while. "But all Angels possessed wings, unless..." and suddenly it dawned on her. She was no Angel! She had been fooled! This human had been fooling her all along! It made her blood boil hotter.
"You!" Phidian went for her again but Liam caught her up in his arms, lifting her off the ground.
"Easy Phidian." He calmed her.
"No! This little human fooled me! I will not let it go!" Phidian continued to struggle, trying to pry her way from his extremely firm grip.
"If she managed to fool you then I guess she can take care of herself." He smirked to Leticia.
"Thank you." Leticia said and proceeded to walk away.
"But I say, let us get out of here first. We will return to Smokes."
She heard Liam say and she faced him zeroing her eyes on him, he did not smile neither did he smirk, his expression was plain and she knew that he was serious with what he had said but she did not care. She continued walking away. She would not be returning to a place where the demon girl would follow them to.
Liam groaned and walked to her, he should not be protecting her but he could not help the feeling, she was human after all and sooner or later, demons were bound to find her or other Angels who would want to have her as a slave. And besides that, he had promised Sheila that he would bring this stubborn human girl to her.
She was too stubborn and free spirited, he wondered how someone could be this frustrating and annoying but then he concluded that all humans were, he could tell and she could fight pretty well but he still could not leave her to be on her own, at least not just yet. Ugh! How much he hated having to be responsible for someone.
He yanked the hood off her head and stretched his hand to turn her by her shoulder but she turned on her own and his hand came to rest on the nape of her neck and immediately contact was made his wings shot out, burning brightly hot with a white light. White hot. She felt electricity zap through her and their eyes fixed on each other, she saw the electricity sizzling through his pupil and just as soon as it had started, it ended. She gasped, out of breath and her heart beating wildly, she took several steps back and reached behind for a tree to try and stable herself, her eyes never leaving Liam.
Liam had snapped his hand back immediately he had made contact but it was too late, every thing had happened in much lesser time than a second and it had left him with no way to stop it and it was definitely something he could not go back to erase. It had happened and it was done.
He groaned in frustration and raked his hands through his hair, no no no no! He did not want this, he did not want this to happen now, heck! He did not even want it to happen at all, not even ever, he most definitely did not want this at all, was God playing a cruel joke on him? Was this his punishment of some sort? Or was this a lesson meant for him to teach him something? Whatever it was, he did not want to welcome it but then there was nothing he could do about it, it was not like he could throw her away or ignore the fact that it had happened. Now his free life would change and it would last for as long as they were bonded.
For ten years he had enjoyed being completely and totally irresponsible, living life as it came to him without having to constantly think about the welfare of some one other than himself and now, in the twinkle of an eye, with just a mere skin contact, he had been bonded to this rather annoying human girl to be her guardian Angel, something he had been free of for ten years.
He turned round and punched a tree in frustration, it dented and cracked and the branches shook violently, causing the birds who nested in the leaves to abandon the tree and take to the skies, their cries loud and disturbing to the ears. His wings shot out fast behind him after he had punched the tree, it shone powerfully white and burned bright hot.
"What happened?" He heard her whisper, he felt her accelerating heart beat and he looked to her, he could see her confusing thoughts. She was scared, he could feel that but not just from what had happened, she was not even that scared for herself but for someone else. He became curious and searched her memories but was cut off when Phidian called his name.
"Liam..?" She came from behind the tree and away from his burning wings, she touched his bare arm and he broke his gaze from Leticia to look at Phidian, good wings cooled down but he did not retract it, they still stood out and open behind him. Phidian stepped closer to Liam but looked at Leticia and noticed she was bent over, her hands on her knees, her hips against a tree with her eyes fixed squarely on Liam and she wondered what must have happened. She had seen Liam walk up to her and yanked on the hood off her head and after that the girl had just stumbled back and Liam right now was looking worse than being frustrated.
"Liam.." She called again. "Are you ok?"
"Yes Phidian. I will meet you at Smokes, I have to deal with something first." He turned to Leticia and walked towards her.
"Liam..." She called to him but Liam was not listening to her any more, he had one thing he wanted to do and that was only concerning this human girl.
Leticia stood up right and glared at Liam, what had he done to her? She saw him walking up to her and she stood her ground, he would explain what and why he did what he did.
"Liam, you..!" She did not expect what he did next when he got close enough to her, one minute she was standing on the ground and the next minute she was scooped up in his arms and they were off the ground. She screamed in fright and held on to him tightly. He did not wear any upper body clothes so her nails dug into his flesh and she gripped him tight, screaming for him to put her down.
A frown was etched across Liam's face as he held the human close to his chest who would not stop screaming.
*"Quiet down!"* He yelled in her thoughts. But Leticia who was to scared to notice that he had spoken from her head kept quiet and shut her eyes tightly instead.
"Lord I'm scared of heights! I am scared, help me I'm scared!" She thought. "I am sorry! I will not argue with you any more just put me down please! No, no! Do not drop me."
Liam heard her and his frown gradually melted when he looked at the human he carried, he smiled and got lower to the ground.
"I will not drop you."
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000039026/Paranormal/Hunter's-Chorus?shareuser=22216334&ch=apps
The Prodigal Returns
Wednesday, the 4th of May.
10:05am
Skyline travelling agency was usually a busy place, attracting a whole lot of people and occasionally, the media, but today was not like the normal busy days, today the media and the people who flocked outside the building were more and the news that brought them here was the rumor of the returning son of the Hunt family, the one that was always referred to as “The Heir”. The first grand son of Mr. Colin Hunt, grand father of the Skyline group, was returning today after years of being away.
The head lines were juicy and some were just exaggerated, it would be the talk of the business world for a couple more days; The Return Of The Prodigal Grand Son.
From a distance, they could see the escort cars racing to the front of the building and every media personnel got their cameras and micro phones ready, struggling to be at the front of the crowd to get a better view and better chances of briefly interrogating the returnee.
The cars pulled up to the font of the building and even before he could get down, the cameras had begun to flash, the reporters were already screaming out their numerous questions and extending their micro phones. The door was opened and a man in a dark blue suit stepped out ever so carefully, the way he appeared raised even more questions.
Chester Hunt stepped out of the car, fastening the button on his dark blue suit. He looked around and frowned at the number of people present there, he had never liked the media life for anything and now, his grand father was pulling him into it. He took a sharp breath in through the nose mask he had on, which covered almost half of his face, his deep black hair was combed and gelled sleek all the way back. He looked totally different and his expression was that of a ruthless business tycoon, his facial expression even colder than that of his grand father.
He took the stairs two at a time into the building, with body guards on either side of him to hold the media at a distance. Chester picked up the pace, wanting to get away from the cameras, the flashes and the media as fast as he possibly could and into the building.
“Mr. Chester Hunt, what made you return now?”
“Mr. Chester Hunt, is it true that you had left the Skyline group because of your grand father?”
“Mr. Chester Hunt, are you here to stay for good?”
“Mr. Chester Hunt, will you be taking over Skyline businesses?”
“Mr. Chester Hunt, are you here as the heir to the business or as a business partner?”
The noise of the media faded away slowly as soon as he got behind the closed glass doors of the building and he heaved a sigh of relief but he still had all the attention on him. The workers in the building were all looking in his direction, standing at a distance. He could feel their gazes bore into his body and he hated that feeling. They came to a stop in front of the private elevator and one of the body guards pressed the button for the elevator, it “dinged” and slid open after a few seconds and they ushered Chester in.
“Who called the media over here?” Chester asked them as soon as the door to the elevator closed shut.
“Grand father did.” A man answered him curtly.
Chester sighed and nodded. “Of course he did. It had to b him. Where is he right now?”
“In the office, that is where we are taking you to right now.”
“As per his orders?”
The man in front of him nodded without turning to look back at him. “As per his orders.”
Chester leaned back, allowing his back rest against the elevator wall, this was one of the reasons he had left home in the first place, his grand father’s controlling and domineering nature would always be a part of him and it was something Chester could not take, he could not live under his grand father’s strict guide lines and watchful eyes. Although he knew that being a son of the Hunt family and the first son at that, his grand father would never let him out of his sights, but still it was better being on your own and not knowing that you were being watched, than to live in a cold house under the control of someone.
“Why am I here?” Chester whispered to himself, the guy in front of him twisted his head just slightly to the side, towards Chester. Chester shook his head. “Not you.”
The elevator doors dinged open to a long hallway when they got to the last floor of the building and the guards ushered Chester out. Chester took his time in walking the hall way, he could hardly remember the last he was here but he was still able to locate his grand father’s office because no renovations had been made here, it was all still the same.
As they approached the door to the office, Chester could feel his heart beat rapidly increasing, he took steady breaths to calm himself down, not quite sure why he would be feeling this way. Maybe it was because of the fact that he had not seen his grand father in eight years, and Michael. A guard grabbed the door handle and twisted it, pushing the polished and well decorated wood in, Chester took a deep breath and stepped in.
The room was bright with all the curtains drawn to the side, a single large desk was at the far end of the wall, leaving a huge space in between that and the other sofas in the room for guests. Grand father sat at the edge of the desk, a lit cigar held in between his thumb and index finger, a huge man dressed in dark suit stood a distance from him and focused his attention on Chester. His gaze was disturbing and Chester immediately looked away. He had come here, he would have to deal with that.
“Chester!” Grand father called out to him rather excitedly, walking up to him with both arms out stretched like he wanted to hug Chester. Chester stood confused for a bit, was his grand father really coming in for a hug?
“Grand father.” Chester too greeted and walked towards grand father, meeting him half way. They hugged briefly then grand father seized him by the shoulder and held him still, admiring him head to toe and then back up.
“It is good to see you again Chester.”
“Good to see you too grand father.” Chester managed to smile.
“Don’t just stand there, come in, have a seat, we have a whole lot of talk and catching up to do and a business to get back to.” He patted Chester on the back and pulled him to sit.
Chester glanced over at where Michael was, he stood by the window with a glass of liquor in one hand and the other hand shoved into his pocket, he kept gazing out the window and seemed like he was in deep thoughts but Chester knew that he was just tying to avoid looking at him. The bad blood between them was still running and Chester knew that Michael would love for it to continue that way.
“How was your welcoming?” Grand father asked Chester, drawing his attention away from his half brother.
“You called the media over here grand father?” Chester asked.
“Well of course I did. My grand son is returning and I want every one far and near to know about that.”
Chester sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “But why grand father? You of all people should know how much I do not like all this paparazzi media nonsense.”
“Is that why you had come dressed like that?” Grand father said, pointing out the nose mask which he still had on and his hair style. Chester sighed and looked away, ripping the nose mask off his face.
“Do not worry Chester.” grand father waved it aside. “You are here now, you will get used to it in time. Plus we have to talk about you getting married to…”
“No.” Chester protested. “I do not want to get used to it. I do not want to get used to this lifestyle, I am already comfortable with the one I am living in now, and please, do not start now with the whole marriage thing grand father.”
“What? You are comfortable as what? As a coffee shop owner? A lowly life as such is comfortable for you?” Grand father fired at him. “And why not talk about your marriage now? Clarice is still…”
“Grand father!” Chester yelled, then calmed down with a sigh and plopped down on a seat, unbuttoning his suit. “such life might be lowly to you but it is comfort to me. And please do not bring up Clarice.”
“Alright then, I will not bring up Clarice for now but you are a Hunt. You are Chester Hunt and this…” Grand father twisted his hand in the air. “…all this is yours. Your inheritance and you will have to start getting used to this.”
“We both know that I am not here for this inheritance you talk about.” He rolled his eyes, glancing over at Michael who had suddenly picked up interest in what they were arguing about and he smirked.
“Oh…? so why are you here then?” Grand father asked.
“I am here because you had called and asked me to come.”
“And why did you think I called you to come Chester? So we could sit and chat over a cup of coffee?”
“As far as I know, the business is in good and capable hands, how much profit did you guys make last year?”
“Over two billion…” Michael suddenly made an input and Chester turned his head at his direction, briefly looking at him.
“Right…” He faced grand father. “I still do not know what else you need grand father when you have him.”
“I need you and you know why, so do not make me say it.” Grand father spoke and rounded the huge desk to go sit on his large chair.
“Don’t make you say what?” Michael questioned grand father, slowly walking up to the desk. “Don’t make you say what grand father? That I am the illegitimate one and he is legitimate? That he is capable and I am not?! is that what you do not want to say grand father?!”
“Michael!” Grand father yelled for him to keep quiet but Michael would not stop.
“What? I have worked my ass off all these years trying to prove myself to you, I have done virtually every thing I have had to do so that you would see me as a capable person but still you prefer a run away over me? Why? Because I am the illegitimate one?!”
“Michael, that is enough!” Grand father thundered, pounding his fist on the desk.
“Yes,” Michael nodded his head, slowly backing away from the desk. “That is enough. Have fun with your legitimate grand son.”
“Michael, come back here!” Grand father ordered but Michael was already out the room, slamming the door shut as hard as he possibly could.
“I will go and get him.” Daniel, grand father’s right had man said.
“No, leave him. He would need some time to calm down. He would not be going any where any way.”
“Is that how you use people?” Chester asked his grand father, shocked at his lack of care for his own grand son. Grand father looked at him but did not answer his question, rather he went back to his cigar.
“You know, you are the very reason why Michael hates me.” Chester said to him calmly.
“What?”
“The only reason why there is this bad blood between two brothers is because you are always comparing… no, praising me and placing me above him.”
“Well, you are above him.” Grand father shrugged his shoulders.
“Exactly! That is what I am talking about.” Chester stood up from the sofa and began pacing the room. “Everything I do is good for you and I am allowed to make mistakes but not him. He has to be perfect but is still not enough for you. You already have what you want in Michael, I do not want this life.”
“Enough of this back and forth talk. My word is law.”
“Grand father!”
“Enough!”
Chester raked his fingers through his hair and placed the other hand on his hip, focusing intently on his grand father who had now given all his focus and attention on the cigar he was smoking.
“You are an impossible man to please grand father, I hope you one day don’t end up alone.” Chester said and walked for the door, opening it and stepping out, gently closing it behind him.
12:15am
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
Michael Hunt
Tuesday, the 3rd of May.
05:33pm
Grand father was rarely ever at home, except on some rare occasions like maybe he was tired or sick or maybe he just wanted to be away from every one else, and that was about the only time you could find grand father at home and he was always mostly in his office too, and this time, grand father was at home because he needed to relax and be away from people for a while but right now, grand father was doing neither of that.
Grand father Hunt sat behind the huge, custom made, polished oak desk in his office, a ton of files lined one side of the table and in front of him was one open file which he was working on, reviewing and signing. The office curtains were mostly drawn, allowing only the littlest light from the outside to filter into the room.
The furnitures in the office were all dark coloured, from the dark brown wooden ceiling, to the deep red rugs, nothing in here could reflect the light and it was all how grand father had wanted his office to be like.
Michael sat on one of the dark brown, leather sofa, his head in one hand and the other hand gripping on tightly to a glass of liquor. His grip on the glass grew tighter as he listened to grand father continue talking. Chester was coming back home, he was coming back into the company.
“I have already called him to come back and he said that he would, so we would be expecting him by tomorrow.”
Michael looked up at grand father, his inability to hide his displeasure was evident in his tone of voice. “What is he coming back for? After all the years he was away, you are just going to let him waltz back in here? Back to the company?”
“It is his company too and it is my wish and decision that he returns. He would have to take over me some day.”
“But I am here! Or am I not?” Michael suddenly got up and walked towards grand father, his arms stretched outwards beside him. “I have been here, beside you all these years, have I not? Do you not think I am capable of handling things? Of running things around here?”
“He is the apparent heir and I…”
“And what exactly am I?” Michael chuckled, setting his glass down on the desk. “Just some illegitimate grand son of yours?”
Grand father dropped the file in his hands and took off his reading glasses, looking up to Michael, he replied. “Chester is coming back to take over his inheritance and I implore you to be of your best behaviour. He will be present for the stake holders meeting.”
Michael frowned. “The stake holders meeting?”
“That is all Michael, leave me to be alone now.” Grand father said strictly, sending him out of the office.
Michael stood a while, just watching the man he had grown up with all his life, the one person he had lived and tried and struggled hard to impress all his life. Anger swelled up in him as he thought more and more about Chester, the privileged son of the Hunt family and apparently the apple of grand father’s eyes. He turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut hard on his way out.
Grand father looked up from the files after Michael was gone and he sighed, maybe he had been harsh on the boy when all he ever wanted to do was to prove himself but he and Chester were not exactly the same even though they had been fathered by the same man, to grand father, Michael was a mistake by his son’s recklessness that should never have happened. He did not hate him, he was after all still his grand son but he still much rather prefer Chester to him. Chester was the legitimate grand son and the heir of the Skyline businesses.
Grand father reached across the table and pressed a button on the intercom.
“Yes grand father.” Daniel’s voice, his right hand man, sounded through it.
“Come to the office.”
* * * * *
06:54pm
Tribeca, Manhattan was most alive during the night times, the chilling spring night breeze flowed through the city and it provided the perfect weather for the exciting club life as the temperature within contrasted sharply against the cool evenings, but it was not just the warmth that drew people in, it was the fun, it was the excitement, it was the entertainment and it was the feeling that came with thrill seeking and Skyline club gave the most of that, it was the most popular of all the clubs in the area and beyond.
Inside the club, at the very far corner of the VIP section, Michael sat with a few of his friends who were drinking and throwing some money at the girls that danced for their entertainment, but Michael was not in the mood for any kind of entertainment right now, what he wanted to do was to get drunk, to get high and wasted because he was already feeling wasted. His grand father was really a cruel man.
“Get out.” Michael said in a low voice but they were not able to hear him above the blasting music and the loud cheers.
“I said get out!” He repeated, smashing the glass in his hands on the floor, that got the attention of the people in his private VIP section and they stopped what they were doing. “All of you! Out now! Get these girls out!” He shouted.
The girls quickly left in a hurry as his friends turned their attention back on him. “What is your deal man? You just ruined the fun.”
“Well that is a good thing then!” He spat out tom them, grabbing a half empty bottle of alcohol and gulping it down. He stopped and swallowed, then in a low voice, he added. “My old man wants to take the fun out of my own life.”
“Michael.” A guy to his left held on to the bottle and yanked it out of his hands. “Get a hold of yourself.”
“Do you know that run away is returning?” Michael announced in a mumble.
“Who?”
“That run away, grand father’s boy, Chester. He is coming back to take over the business. Some thing I have been running successfully in his absence and he would just come in and snatch every thing I have worked for!” Michael yelled, grabbing another bottle and throwing it against the wall, smashing it and spilling its contents all over the floor.
“And so what if he comes back, is that what has gotten you all worked up like this?”
“Why would it not!” He barked at his friend. “Why would it not?”
“You forget who you are Michael. You are the CEO of Skyline hotels and clubs, you have been there the longest, you have the influence over most of the decision making. You are a Hunt, Michael Hunt.”
Michael smiled to himself and sat up properly. He chuckled. “Yes, Michael Hunt of the Skyline hotels and clubs.”
Michael Hunt, a handsome but rude son of the Hunt family, born five years after Chester by his father’s mistress. He was made the CEO of the Skyline hotels and clubs by Grand father because of his extravagant lifestyle or his extravagant life style got him the post as the most qualified in his ability to spend and draw the women in, and where ever women flocked into, the men followed, and the men who followed were men who were also willing to spend, most of them wanting the attention would spend more that what Michael threw around to get the attention of the ladies. This technique was unknown to Michael because he was just being his extravagant self but Grand father had capitalized on that, it brought in the ladies who brought in the men who brought in the money. The business was booming.
Being the second son of the Hunt family, Michael’s involvement in the Hunt family was one that was not planned for. Born into the Hunt family by a mistress, whose pregnancy, agreeably, was the mistake of Richard Hunt, Chester’s father. And he had also taken after his father’s habits, his extravagant spending, careless living and his love for the girls of New York, Michael would have numerous women in his bed as long as they caught his fancy and were willing. And they were always willing to come to him because Michael was forever willing to throw his money around.
And yet, for some blood line reasons, Grand father still did not trust him with the reins of the company, or he just did not want to give it to him because he had a legitimate grand son. Of course. Michael had a lot of control over the hotels and clubs, but above all, he wanted control over the main company, the Skyline travelling agency, because it was under neath that that the real business was, where the most of the money was flowing in from. The under ground works of Skyline.
It was a secret business known to only a few of their business partners and Michael wondered if Chester already knew about this particular line of business which Skyline ran under ground. But he would relax, just like his friends advised, and watch how all this reunion would unfold, as long as no one would contend with him over the position he had right now, then he would be okay for now. Now he would wait for Chester’s return.
Something in the distance caught his attention and he wiped his eyes to make sure he had seen what he had seen correctly. He blinked and focused more, yes, he had definitely seen correctly. He signaled to a waitress close by and directed her to the girl in the very revealing and short dress, sitting by the bar.
“Looks like some one is out to have fun tonight!” a friend of his teased, slapping him playfully on the back.
Michael chuckled and gulped down the last liquid in the bottle he held before setting it down carelessly. “Now guys, this is where I send you out of this chamber, I want to be alone with an angel tonight.”
His friends laughed and one by one, they left him alone. Michael kept his eyes on the girl, watching as the waitress walked up to her and whispered in her ear, pointing in his direction. The girl turned to look at him and Michael lifted his hand in a wave. The girl blushed and looked away briefly, smiling at the waitress who nodded and walked away.
Michael kept his eyes on the girl the whole time as she stood up from the stool and made her way across the floor to his VIP chamber, her smile was inviting and her body was intoxicating. As soon as she was close enough and within arms reach, Michael grabbed her hand and pulled her on top of himself. She gasped at the sudden action.
“Now,” He breathed into her neck. “Where did this beautiful butterfly flutter in from, huh?”
The girl blushed and tried to pull herself up from his body but Michael seized her waist and held her in place. He liked the curve of her body and the smell of her hair, her exposed skin on her back was smooth to the touch and he gently caressed it.
“Mr. Michael, allow me sit, this position is rather uncomfortable.” She blushed, her eye lashes fluttering.
Michael smirked. “You know my name. That is not surprising. And what is yours, angel?”
“It is Trisha.” She replied.
“Well Trisha,” He planted a kiss on her neck and felt her body vibrate and respond to his kiss and touches. “How about you come and keep me company?” He kissed her again and she gasped softly, Michael groaned, gripping her waist tighter.
“Mr. Michael…” Trisha started but he hushed her with a finger to her lips.
“Hush now baby doll, call me Michael.”
09:41pm
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
No Lead
Tuesday, the 3rd of May.
11:06am.
The detective office was a lot busier than it had been in the last couple of days and the busiest people were detectives Aiden and Tia. They had been to the Coroner, William Martin, on several occasions, joining him in studying the body of Pamela Neil. Seeing and touching a dead body was not so much of a task for Tia but Aiden did not exactly like it, and to make it worse, her body was three weeks old. Aiden could not stand it so he stood afar off, holding in his hands a note pad and and a pen, jotting down the things that Tia and William discovered while studying the body.
“So she died from bleeding out from the cut in her neck?” Tia asked as she leaned in for a much closer look at the wound which had long been cleaned but the cut was still very much visible as it was very deep.
“Could be.” William said, adjusting the glasses to sit properly on the bridge of his nose. “We sent some samples of her stomach contents to the lab for analysis, we can not ascertain her exact cause of death until all analysis is completed.” He explained.
“Alright.” Tia said and continued round the body. “What else?”
“Well, we noticed that there are no signs of struggle or bruises.”
Tia looked at him, a bit surprised. “None at all?”
“None.”
“Looks like she knew who killed her.” Aiden said from across the room, the hanky he had over his nose muffled his speech, Tia and William turned to face him.
“What did you say Aiden?” She asked him.
Aiden removed the hanky from his face and repeated what he had said. “I said, it would seem that sh knew who her killer had been.”
“How is that?” She asked.
“Well for one, there are no signs of struggle, and I do not think she would have easily given up her self to be killed, right?”
“Right…” Tia was following.
“So, if she knew her killer, then she would not have thought it possible that she would be on his hit list of someone he wanted to eliminate. She would not have even thought of him as a killer in the first place…”
“...making it easier for him to kill her without that much of a stress.” Tia finished his statement.
“Hence, the no sign of struggle.”
“Killer could be one of her friends then?” Tia asked, more to herself than to Aiden.
“Possibly.” Aiden shrugged his shoulders.
“Then we should get going.” She said, already walking towards Aiden and heading for the door. “Thank you William.”
“Heading to where? Where are we supposed to go to now?” He said as he made way for her to pass, then he followed behind her.
“We will be going to pay a visit to her family.”
* * * * *
01:22pm
Tia and Aiden pulled the Ford Fusion hybrid police cruiser up on 52, Stone Street, Tribeca, where Pamela used to live with both her mother and younger sister. The house was quite a simple one in between other simpler houses of the same colour and Tia kinda found the house to be really cute. She adjusted in the car and turned to face Aiden then she gave him a half smile, Aiden side eyed her curiously and frowned slightly.
“What’s that look for? You are always up to something when you do that.”
“You will talk to them and break to them the news of Pamela’s death. It is really hard for me to do that.” Tia explained to him. Aiden smiled softly and nodded his response.
“I got you on this one Tia. Now let us go and do our duty.” Tia smiled back softly and released a breath slowly, then she and Aiden got out of the car, walking on to the porch and to the front door. Aiden stood in front of Tia and rung the door bell, he could hear it ring from inside and soon enough, he heard the shuffling of feet running for the front door. The door clicked open and swung in, revealing a very young lady, probably in her early twenties, standing at the door. Tia watched her eye both she and Aiden curiously with a slight frown etched across her brows. She smacked her gum once, then twice before speaking.
“And who might you be?” she asked.
“Well, I am detective Aiden,” Aiden introduced himself first before turning slightly to point his thumb at Tia, then he added and continued, “and this is my partner, detective Tia. Do you mid if we come in? We would really need to talk to you about your sister, Pamela.”
The girl cranked her head slightly to the side. “Cops? At my house? What is the problem officers? What did Pam do this time?”
Aiden briefly looked at Tia and sighed before looking back at the girl standing in the door way. “Could we come inside and talk to you Trisha?”
“Why am I not surprised that the cops knows my name.” she grumbled and smacked her gum repeatedly before turning to walk back inside. “Come in officers.”
Aiden went in first, followed closely by Tia. The house was more spacious on the inside than it looked on the outside, the open windows allowed all the sunlight of the afternoon hours to flood in, brightening the living space and the white furnitures in the sitting room added to its brightness. Trisha was already seated on the only single sitter and she extended her arm, gesturing to the other chairs for them to sit in. Immediately they were seated, Trisha threw a question at them.
“So you are hear to talk about Pam? What has she done this time? It was quite bold of her to stay away from home all this while and then invite trouble for us.”
“Actually Trisha, this is not trouble…” Aiden started to say.
“Really? it is not?” Trisha straightened up, her attention more on the male detective that entertained her talks.
“Well… not in the way you are thinking of.”
“Then? What?”
Aiden looked over to Tia and adjusted in the chair. He looked back at Trisha and softened his voice. “We found a body half buried in the south cove park, that happened to be the body of Miss Pamela Neil, your sister.”
Tia watched Trisha freeze, she watched her struggle to understand what Aiden had just told her, she watched her struggle to make an sense out of it, more; she watched her choose not to believe it.
“Look officers, I know that some times Pam takes off for days or some times for weeks but that does not mean that she is missing or even dead.” Trisha said.
Tia leaned in forward now and held the gaze which Trisha was burning into Aiden, her gaze full of questions and doubts and pain.
“Right?” Trisha directed the question at her now.
“I am sorry Trisha. The body which was found was that of Pamela Neil, the body belonged to your sister.”
Trisha’s lips quavered, her hands trembled and her eyes watered. “But… but she was not missing in the first place… I mean, she only went to work… you really can not come in here and tell me that she is not coming back…” her voice cracked and she choked on the tears, trying so badly and unsuccessfully to hold them back. She hiccuped.
“Her body was recently found, half buried in the South Cove park. She had been dead for three weeks.” Tia said to her.
Trisha looked a bit alarmed. “For three weeks?”
“Yes.” Tia adjusted forward on the seat. “And I know this is hard for you to accept but if you do not mind, we would like to ask you a few questions to help us in the on going investigation surrounding her death.”
“I… I can not…” Trisha mumbled. She cried now, sobbing quietly and looking away from the officers in her living room, she turned and looked out the window as the tears poured down from her eyes.
Tia and Aiden exchanged quiet glances, contemplating whether to carry on with the questions or if they should leave her a while to let her calm down and digest the news of her sister’s death, but they both knew that this investigation was crucial to solving the case faster, they needed some information which her sister might be able to provide for them.
“Trisha, if you could at least tell us about where she worked or maybe the friends she was very close to…?” Tia continued, trying to urge her on.
“Skyline.” She sniffed, still remaining in her position, looking away from them and staring out the window. “She worked at Skyline clubs as a waitress.”
Aiden immediately brought out his small note pad and jotted that down while Tia continued with Trisha. “Okay, and do you know her friends? Some of the people she might have been really close to? Like her boyfriend?”
“I’m sorry… I…” Just then, Trisha’s phone rang and she looked at the screen, she sniffed once more to control her tears and hold them back, steadying her voice, before sliding on the answer button, bringing the phone to her ear. “Hello..?”
* * * * *
02:43pm
“So far so good, right?” Tia said to Aiden, sighing and lifting her cup yo her lips. Aiden smiled and nodded back with a reply.
“So far so good.”
Sitting by the window of The Rain coffee shop, both Tia and Aiden slowly sipped on their hot cups of coffee. The visit to the Neil house had been, well… not entirely in vain, but it also had not gone according to how they had planned that it would flow. Tia had thought that it had been going quite well until after that phone call Trisha had received. Because it was after that phone call that she had just turned cold and did not want to continue with the interrogation any more.
“I am sorry, but I can not continue with this any more.” She had said, standing up and drying her tears. Tia and Aiden had stood up as well, both kind of surprised at her sudden change but they knew better than to pressure her, the girl had just been told about the death of her sister and yes, she would need some time to get over the terrible news,
Tia had, none the less, placed her card on a table. “Here is my card, feel free to reach out to me at any time Trisha.” She had said. “We would keep in touch and would come back later, at a much better time maybe.”
She had only nodded her response before walking them out the door.
“But what do you think?” Aiden asked her.
She took a sip and placed the cup on the table. “Nothing, we got nothing yet.”
“So what now? We wait for the medical and forensic reports?”
“Well I guess so, I mean they are crucial and very much needed.”
Aiden grunted loudly and stretched his arms out till they made a “pop” sound at the elbows. “I hate waiting, I hate suspense and I hate not knowing what to do. Who the hell is this unknown killer any way? Just started this and he is already really bugging me.”
“The killer is probably some one unknown that you do not know.” Tia said and glanced over at Aiden, then they both burst into laughter.
“Really Tia,” Aiden said, in between laughter. “You are making this kind of a joke at a time like this?”
“Relax Aiden.” She smiled. “We will nab him sooner than you know, just have a little bit of faith is all I ask. Hmm…?”
“I do have faith Tia, and you know that, but frustration is part of a detective’s emotions and feelings as well. I can not help it.”
“Let us finish this and head back to the office, maybe William already has something for us.”
**https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover**
The Phone Call
Monday, the 2nd of May.
03:13pm
The coffee shop on Hudson street was not a really fancy one but it was one that many people loved to come and get a cup of coffee and some snacks, because the customer service there was top notch, rated a plus ten out of ten. The coffee shop had been on Hudson street for only two years but its customers spread further than that. The coffee shop had its must busy times in the morning when people going off to work would stop by for a cup of coffee and some snacks. In the afternoons like this, it was not as busy as that as most people placed orders over the phone and in the evenings it was almost empty, people only came by for the snacks. No body wanted to drink a cup of coffee right before bed time.
"One with extra cream Gabby?" He beamed and winked at the elderly lady as he decorated her cup of coffee. Gabby winked back and laughed out loud, placing one hand on her chest as she did so.
"You are such a silly young man." She admonished playfully. "You might just make me laugh to death!"
He smiled back and placed the cup of warm creamy coffee in front of her on the counter. "Now, now Gabby, I would not be much of a son in law if I did that now would I?" He winked again which earned another round of laughter from Gabby.
"Oh not again." She picked up the cup and while admiring the grain shaped design on the top of her coffee, she said. "I have just one daughter and she is already married."
"Oh no..." He said and grabbed the part of his chest above his heart and faked a pained look. "You just broke my heart again."
"Oh stop it already!" She giggled. "Stop with a your fanatics and tell me how much does this work of art cost."
"For you Gabby, this one is on the house." He lifted both hands up to demonstrate.
"All the coffee I have ever bought from you have always been on the house." She smirked at him. "But I could at least drop a tip? Do not say no."
He shrugged his shoulders in defeat and nodded. "Well al-right Gab."
The elderly lady smiled and shook her head, then went over to the tip box and put in a five dollar note, then she looked back at the young man who was already attending to another customer and smiled before going off to a seat by the windows side.
As soon as he was done attending to that customer the phone rang, he went away from behind the counter to the back, where the phone hung on a wall and snatched it from its cradle, bringing it to his ears.
"Hi, you have reached Rain coffee shop, how can I be of service?" He spoke into the receiver. The next voice he heard was not one he was expecting to hear and the smile immediately fell from his face. He held the phone to his ear for a couple more seconds before the line went dead and he replaced the phone back in its cradle.
For right years he has not heard from him and now, all of a sudden he wanted him to return back home.
"Ameila." He called to an attendant and a cherry girl with deep brown hair turned to face him, she smiled.
"Yes Chester?"
"I need to head out some where and I may or may not be back. Take care of things here for me?"
"Yes sir!" She playfully replied and went back to attending to the customers.
Chester took off the apron he had on and threw it onto the hook just by the exit door before he stepped out, the cool breeze of the Tribeca spring season welcomed him into the outside world. Chester shut the door behind him and stood there for a while, looking ahead of him but not exactly taking in the scenery, his mind was elsewhere. Why would grand father call him? He sighed and began to walk, he needed some time to himself, he needed some time to think and clear his head, mind and thoughts and nothing sounded better right now than going for a long drive.
His mid night blue Honda FCX clarity had been the lone car parked on this side of the street when he had drove in earlier in the morning, but now it sat in between a mini van and a yellow taxi cab, giving him very little space to maneuver his way out from between them, but there was enough space for Chester, just enough space which he needed to move out, it had been just the exact space he had needed to get away from his over bearing and controlling grand father and his “supposed” duties towards the company. He got into the car and took a while to calm down, steadily breathing in and breathing out before he drove off.
Chester Hunt, a self made business man, owner of The Rain coffee shop and a number of other booming and widely growing businesses abroad, an under cover billionaire, legitimate grand son of the well known and renounced Mr. Colin Hunt and the sole inheritor of Skyline businesses. A thirty five year old handsome man that had the ability to make women turn their heads in his direction more than twice. Despite the wealthy family and extremely influential background he came from, Chester was too humble and it was this humility of his that had his grand father screaming down at him that he had to be strong and bold and man up to his duties. But Chester was all that, he was strong and not just physically, he was bold and he was wise too, Chester just did not believe in throwing his weight around and looking down on other people just because he had more money and more power and a higher status that the others. Grand father did not follow his logic, he had seen every thing as being weak and the last thing he wanted was to have a weak successor.
One thing had boggled Chester though, despite Grand father’s strict rules and tough exterior shell, he had not tried to stop Chester when he was leaving the house years back, he had merely even taken a look at him and it was not as if Chester had gone to meet him to ask for his permission before leaving the house any way, but still, Chester had thought that the man would have had him bound or would have kept some men on him to make sure that he never tried to “escape” from his duties. But Grand father had done none of that, even after he knew that Chester had left.
But that was eight years back, he had left Manhattan, New York for the busy California city and he had stayed there six years, being wasteful and extravagant and for the first time in his life, Chester had thrown not just his weight but also his money around. He had lived lavishly for almost two years then, in his attempt to over come whatever grief he had carried in his hear from New York and to explore his freedom, freedom from his “duties”, freedom from his Grand father and freedom from all the hate at home.
He only returned to New York two years ago and had kept a very low profile, no body knew who this Chester was, no body knew him as Chester Hunt of the Skyline group and he had also felt free so he had settled here, in lower Manhattan, Tribeca. The Rain coffee shop was his get away place, because in here, he could be himself and he could interact freely with the other people whom his Grand father would have termed “of lower status than himself”, but he was doing what gave him peace of mind and joy.
Chester was a business man and he still is, but he did not want to grow up all sad and grumpy and lonely as his Grand father did. When it was time for business, Chester knew what face he had to put on and when business was over, he could be himself. That was a weakness for Grand father.
But now, after eight years, Grand father had called him back home. He had not requested to see him and he had not exactly commanded him to come back either, all he had asked for was to see him, but Chester knew what exactly it was that Grand father wanted. He wanted his successor back into the business. A business Chester never actually could leave in the first place, he had a twenty eight percent share in the company and knowing that this company was his inheritance, he could not abandon it. He was thankful for the break though; it was something he had needed.
* * * * *
"Hi, you have reached Rain coffee shop, how can I be of service?" He had said after picking up the phone call.
“Grand father wants to talk to you.” The caller had said, Chester had not under stood what the man had meant until he heard the other voice.
“Chester.” He had immediately recognized the voice and he had been left speechless for a while. “Chester Hunt, this is Grand father.”
“Grand father…” What could he say? He had a feeling of longing suddenly and he realized that he had missed the man he had run away from. He was still family and this had been the man that had helped raise him.
“Come home Chester. Come back to the company.”
“I am not quite done with work over here…” he began to say but Grand father interrupted him.
“I know you have been in New York for two years now. I know you have been in Manhattan. I know you have been in that coffee shop. I know that you own it Chester. I have been watching you.”
“You kept a spy on me, Grand father?” It shocked him, but after saying it out loud, it did not surprise him any more, this was after all his Grand father.
“I am your Grand father,” Colin Hunt continued. “And you are my grand son, this company is yours and you have to inherit it one day and take over running it, how do you think I could just let you go off like that?”
Chester half smiled, typical Grand father.
“Come to the company Chester, there are some people I would want you to meet.”
“Grand father, I do not…”
“I do not have that much time Chester. I also want to retire and not have to die in this seat.”
Chester paused; the man was right. Sooner or later, he would have to return, so why not now? He had stayed away for the longest of time.
“Come back Chester.”
Chester sighed. “I will Grand father.” he replied and the line went dead.
* * * * *
Chester stopped at the red light. Maybe he did need to return back home, not to stay or move in, he did not think he would ever be able to move back into that house, more over, he was already an accomplished young man and he needed his own independency as well, but he needed to return back home because no matter what happened, family was still family and family would continue to remain family.
The car behind him honked aggressively and Chester snapped out of his thoughts, he looked up to the traffic sign that had changed from red to a green before hitting the accelerator. As he drove, he could not help but feel numb; he had a longing for home and then again, he did not. He turned down the next street and headed for home, headed for his own house, right now all he needed was a cold shower and a long sleep. A really long one. He twisted his wrist to look at the watch strapped to it; 03:58pm, if he slept now, he probably would remain awake all night. He shrugged his shoulders, then he would kill that much time by doing something online, maybe watch a movie?
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover
@Leo_kitti