Mr Barry and his men reached a motel in the middle of nowhere. They had been driving for two hours. His bodyguards feared for their lives, knowing what their boss was capable of.
"According to this tracker, she was last seen in this location", the guard said, showing the tablet to his boss. His hands were trembling and he gave the driver a signal to stop the car.
"This stupid girl thinks she can run away from me", Barry growled, slamming his hand on the car seat. He adjusted his big tummy and pushed the bodyguard aside to exit the car.
"Don't worry Boss, we will find her right away", One of the guards replied, he pulled out his shotgun and loaded it immediately.
Mr Barry stormed into the hotel screaming his daughter's name. He could not hide his disgust, his face and eyes showed it all.
"I never knew Anna was such a loose girl, I am so disappointed in her, she wants to ruin all my plans", Mr. Barry said to himself. He thought about how best he was going to punish her when she found her.
Mr Barry was well known in the City, he did not need to explain himself or tell the receptionist where he was headed, he passed the reception and headed for the rooms. He carefully followed the tracker and stopped at the door numbered 317. He looked at the tracker and nodded with satisfaction.
"Let me go in first, Boss", one of the bodyguards said, loading his gun. He pointed it at the door.
"I will handle this myself. No one should harm my daughter, but I permit you to get rid of any other person in this room", Mr Barry said. He signed his men to get ready as he pushed on the door.
The door was tightly shut, he peeped through the hole and noticed that the light was turned off and he became more agitated.
"Open this door or I will pull it down myself", Mr. Barry said, banging on the door aggressively. He could hear a lady cry out, it was hard to tell if she was screaming in pain or pleasure.
The next few minutes' wait was the longest wait Mr Barry had ever had in his life. Not even the most important contract made him this nervous. He was sweating profusely and pacing back and forth. He stopped when he heard the door turn. Mr looked at the man with a broad chest and sharp jawline, he stared into his blue eyes and then held his neck tightly.
"Where is she?", Mr Barry asked, tightening his grip on him.
The man did not respond, he could barely breathe, and all he made was muffled sounds. He grasped Mr Barry's hand, trying to free his neck from his grip. Mr Barry let him go, so he could.
"Where is who? I don't know what you're talking about", he replied, he was coughing hard, trying to recover from his near-death experience.
"Do you think I am here to play?" Mr Barry asked, grabbing his neck again, this time tighter.
The man tapped on Mr Barry's arms repeatedly, he struggled to break loose, but the old man was stronger than he was, even his broad shoulders did not stand a chance.
"This is your last chance. Where is she?", Mr Barry growled. He released his grip.
"I...I didn't know she was your daughter, I promise she followed me voluntarily.
Mr Barry shoved him aside and went into the room. He met a young girl who wrapped herself in a duvet. She was on the bed, her heart pounding against her chest.
"This is not my daughter, he thinks I am playing games. kill him", Mr. Barry said.
"Please don't kill me I..."
The bodyguards shot him in the forehead before he could complete his sentence. He fell on the floor immediately.
"Young lady, you better start talking or you'll be next", Mr Barry yelled.
"I don't know your daughter, please spare my life", she pleaded, tears rolled down her cheeks, and she was on her knees.
"Let me help your memory, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, thin waist, she is quite stubborn, she is hard to miss", Mr. Barry said, pointing at his daughter's picture.
"I...I saw her, yes, just outside a cafe, the girl who bumped into me and never apologized", the girl replied, holding her blanket even tighter.
"What Cafe?", Mr Barry asked. He eased himself onto a couch by the bed.
"Diamonds Cafe, I saw her there some hours ago, she was with some old lady", she added.
"Old lady you say", Mr Barry said, leaning towards her.
"Yes, she had red hair, not so tall and chubby, she wore a green gown with a matching green cap", the girl said as she stopped kneeling and sat up.
"Belle! I knew that woman was up to no good, she would feel my wrath, but what does that have to do with you? We tracked you here.
"I swear I don't know", she said. She was now sobbing, she stared at the other men who stood with their guns.
"Give me your bag", Mr Barry got her bag and emptied the contents on the bed. He searched carefully and found Anna's phone. He picked it up and looked at it.
"That sneaky little worm, she got rid of her phone, she misled me on purpose", Mr. Barry said, smashing the phone on the floor.
"Uhm... Maybe you could go through her phone ", she said as she got up, picked up the phone, and handed it back to Mr Barry.
"Thank you, sweetie, you have been very helpful but I cannot have you say something that might ruin my reputation. I hope you understand", Mr Barry said. He went over and whispered into the bodyguard's ear.
"I won't say a thing, I won't tell anyone, I didn't see a thing ", she screamed, her screams were silenced by a bullet that pierced her heart. Gripping her chest, she fell on the floor.
*******
Anna was sleeping when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She got up immediately and sat up. She realized she was still in the dimly lit room, her hands and legs were tied and she was gagged, she felt so uncomfortable she tried screaming again but only muffled sounds were heard.
"I am going to get this thing off your mouth, but you have to promise me you will not scream", Derrick looked into her eyes as he spoke.
Anna nodded. Derrick took off the piece of cloth in her mouth slowly. He watched for her reaction.
"I brought you food", Derrick said in a soft tone, dropping a plate of toasted bread and peanut butter.
"I want to go home, I do not want your stupid food", Anna said, turning away to face the wall.
"I am trying to be a nice person here, you had better respond", Derrick responded, his voice rising.
"I can see through your bullshit, If you are so nice, then let me go", Anna said, still facing the wall. She was looking down and her face was pale, she cleaned her sticky face, she had cried herself to sleep.
"I think we got off the wrong foot here. I believe we can help each other, I know for a fact that you need me", Derrick said, moving closer to Anna.
"There it is, you think everything is about you, I do not want to have anything to do with you", Anna turned and faced him looking him in the eye as he spoke.
"You don't understand, this marriage has to happen, my company needs this", Derrick said.
"I don't care", Anna yelled uncontrollably.
" You do not mean that. You know, we have chemistry, it's super intense, you cannot tell me you do not feel anything when I am around you", Derrick said, holding her shoulder.
Anna did not respond, she looked away, struggling to maintain focus and not be carried away with his charms, but there was only one problem. Derrick was her type of man, with his dark-colored hair, broad chest, and eyes. She could not resist the blue-eyed man, and the deep voice sent eruptions into her entire being.
"Stop resisting", Derrick whispered in Anna's ears. This sent chills down her spine. Derrick looked at her eyes and when he caught her gaze, he looked at her lips. Anna bit her lip subconsciously in sync. Derrick moved his face closer to kiss Anna and she stared at him until his lips were just an inch away from hers.