Luke watched closely as the trackers, the size of a grain of rice, were planted into the bag.“How does it work?” He inquired.The deputy was happy to explain.“The trackers are wirelessly connected to our central computer right here. Not only does it tell us where the money goes, but it’s also fitted with a tiny camera that even though isn’t wide ranged, helps us with hints on what the environment where the kidnappers are operating from might look like.”Luke was awestruck.“Cool stuff.”“Thank you. Oh, and Mr. Luke?”“Yes?”“Have you perhaps received another video from the kidnappers? We need a drop off location for the money.”Shit. That was true.“No. No, I haven’t. Maybe they’ll send one later.”Luke paced the room nervously and tried to do some homework while they waited for some kind of message from the kidnappers. He tortured himself with countless images of Nina probably lying dead and broken somewhere. All that did was shoot up his blood pressure even more.Seconds ticked i
Luke watched helplessly as the kidnappers drove away. Right there and then, he vowed to have his revenge. He slumped to the hard concrete floor, totally weak from all his wounds.The officers gave it a full minute before they swooped in to help him.“Call 911 immediately. I need an ambulance here ASAP. He’s losing blood.”Luke tried to explain that he was fine and it was Nina he was worried about, but of course, they refused to listen. If anything happened to him, Lord George would have all their heads.The ambulance finally arrived but he refused to get in.“I’m telling you, I feel fine. It’s just a few injuries. Nothing a bandage and some pain meds can’t fix.”“I’m sorry, sir, but we need to take you back to the hospital and run a full scan. It appears you were hit pretty badly. There could be chances of a concussion or even internal bleeding.” The EMT argued.After much persuasion, Luke finally allowed himself to be driven to the hospital with the officers following closely behind
TRENT CARMICHAEL’S OFFICE“Miss Emilia. It is an honour to have you here.”Emilia Gregory looked around, fear and suspicion rife in her mind as Trent Carmichael ushered her warmly into his office.She didn’t know why, but she did not trust this man. She did not trust any rich man aside from her boss. Period.“So, what will you have? We have juice, champagne…“Nothing for me, thank you. Uh…why am I here again?”Mr. Carmichael’s eyes gleamed maliciously. After Luke all but made him kiss his feet at his own bank yesterday, he’d had sleepless nights, thinking of his revenge.Trent knew that the George family harboured a secret. His first degree in Psychology made it easy to read into their stiff postures and worried glances and come to the conclusion that something was wrong.Something was going down…something big. And he wanted to know it all, who knows, maybe his revenge would stem from whatever big secret mission the George’s wanted to accomplish with twenty million dollars.So what di
For a moment, the entire museum was silent. Time froze and Luke froze with it, expecting to experience mind numbing pain but instead, feeling nothing.Dregs of sticky blood mixed with bits and pieces of human flesh slid down his face and arms. Before him, the kidnapper’s mouth hung open in shock, then he fell forward, narrowly missing Luke and Nina.Luke’s gaze snapped up in shock, and relief flooded his system when saw two more officers in the room, one pointing his gun at the exact spot where the currently lifeless kidnapper had been standing a few seconds ago.“You saved my life.” Luke whispered, his fingers still trembling slightly from shock.The officer shrugged as he watched his partner order the second kidnapper to drop his weapon.“I was just doing my job, sir:”Luke was having non of it.“No. What’s your name? You will be rewarded for this.“Name’s Micah, your lordship. Once again, it is my duty to protect you. I was merely doing my job.”After the deputy checked to ensure t
“Are you trying to tell me, deputy, that a heavily guarded criminal simply broke from his cuffs and killed a bunch of detectives? Do you realise how stupid that sounds?” Luke asked through gritted teeth.The deputy locked his jaw.“Information reaching me has it that they stopped for a restroom break and the kidnapper faked a seizure. They had to free him so he didn’t end up hurting himself with the sharp edges of the handcuffs. Before they realised it was all staged, he’d already gone for Marshall, the officer closest to him.He shot Marshall point blank in the head with his gun. Connor tried to step in but he was shot as well. He died on his way to the hospital.”Luke could not believe his ears.“And the criminal? Where is he?”After a silent beat, the deputy said.“He shot himself. He’s dead.”“Fuck!” Luke exclaimed, pacing to the other end of the room. Behind him, Nina’s mother gasped in pure horror.A few seconds later, Luke felt someone grab his shirt from behind.“Are you a cri
“Excuse me?” Mrs Washington asked the doctor, her mouth hanging open in shock. The doctor speared her with a cold, stony stare.“I said that you should please vacate that seat. His lordship cannot be left standing while you’re seated.”“Who exactly is this ‘his lordship’ you’re talking about?” She asked slowly.The doctor motioned behind her.“You just walked past him.”Nina’s mother turned to survey the area. The only two people standing there were Luke and the deputy. None of them looked like they had any royal titles to their names.“All I see is the officer and that good for nothing Luke. I think you must be mistaken.” She sneered.The doctor’s eyes flashed with annoyance.“No, Ms. I believe you’re the mistaken one here. How dare you address his lordship as good for nothing?”Just then, Mr. Washington walked in and his wife rose.“Can you imagine what the doctor just said? “ she asked, her lips curled in a sneer.“What is it, honey?” “According to him, Luke Bradford over there ha
The deputy finally convinced Luke to go home and have a shower. All the way home, Luke thought of ways in which he would break the news of Nina’s assault to her parents, but he came up with nothing. Absolutely nothing.The Washingtons were big time snobs. If they found out that their daughter had been hurt in any way, Lord or not, Luke was going to bear the heat for it…and so would his grandfather.Luke did not want anything that would link his grandfather to any sort of scandal, meaning he’d have to keep his mouth shut. At Least until he came up with a good plan on how to approach the Washingtons.Just before he left the hospital, he’d gotten news that Nina was awake. He’d rushed down to see her but her parents had already beaten him to it.The Washingtons kept the doors to Nina’s room firmly closed, saying without words that no one else was welcome…especially him.The next morning, showered, dressed and feeling slightly better after two hours of uneasy sleep, Luke finally made his w
Luke stood in Kayla Andrew’s house fiddling the bracelet, his nerves all but ready to explode with rage.She finally stepped into her living room, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw him.“Luke? What are you doing here?”Luke stared at her for a moment, his face hard and unsmiling.“Do you have a minute? I’d like us to discuss a few things.”Her eyes narrowed in confusion but she hid it really well.“Oh, please sit.” Her gaze clouded with concern. “Is this about Nina? Is she okay?”Luke paused for a bit, unsure on how to broach the subject.“Nina’s awake now. The doctor proclaimed her stable yesterday.”She brightened immediately.“Oh, that’s great. So…what did you want to talk about?”Luke fixed her with a thoughtful stare.“Kayla, when the police questioned you concerning the night you and Nina were kidnapped, are you sure you told them everything you knew?”Kayla shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Yes. I’m sure I did. Is there any problem?”“Think carefully, Kayla. Are you