Valerie
What was going on? I burst into action to pick up any object I could use as self-defense...
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man spoke, releasing a powerful voice from his vocal cords. He signaled with one of his hands, alerting me to the presence of five other men in the room. Fear gripped my heart when I saw they were heavily built men. I could imagine how they could overpower me if this went sideways.
"Who are you? And what do you want from me?" He released a light chuckle making my brows scrunch in confusion. You didn't invade somebody's house and laugh like a maniac.
"Sammy, would you do me a favor and switch on the light. This place is still damn dim." One of the thugs left his position to do his boss's bidding. I could guess that the man sitting on my couch was the boss since he had this aura of command and power all over him.
As Sammy moved towards me. I shrank back against the wall in fear and preservation. He simply switched on the light like his boss had commanded and stood at my side.
"Keys?" I looked at him in confusion before realizing he was asking about my house keys. Foolish me had already made their job easier by locking the door.
"Here." I grudgingly dropped the keys into his open palm. His hands were big, he could crush my head with just one squash of those hands.
"Good now if you come forward, Miss Norwells." The leader beckoned at me with his hand, but I wasn't going any further.
"Don't be stubborn." Sammy grunted out and pushed me a little, making me move forward standing in front of the man that had invaded my home.
"Now to answer your first question, I'm Nathan Croft." He paused, looking at my face as if searching for something.
"What?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable and strangely safe. I didn't feel like I was in danger because they hadn't hurt me.. yet.
"Intriguing, she doesn't know me." He chuckled along with his men. Was I supposed to know him? Was he a celebrity of some kind? Those were the questions running inside my mind as I stood there confused, watching the strangers.
"As I was saying, I am Nathan Croft, and I am here on behalf of Dave." I gasped in fear, what had Dave done now?
"I see you recognize that name?"
"If you are looking for him, I don't know where he is."
"I know." Nathan deadpanned, making me widen my eyes.
"Then why are you here?" I was confused about what was happening.
"To collect on the debt your brother owes me." Now what was he sprouting out of his mouth?
"And how does that concern me?" I was getting annoyed if he was expecting to pay a debt I knew nothing about. He was clearly sick. I couldn't and wouldn't pay a dime for a debt I was just learning about.
"It very much concerns you." He stretched out his long legs. He must be tall, much taller than me. Good-looking, good voice and great height all rolled up in one package, if only I had met him in a different circumstance.
"I'm afraid I will have to disagree with you." I stubbed out my chin in a stubborn gesture.
"Stubborn and brave, I like that." He shuffled his long legs in an unsettled manner before crossing them.
"But stupid." Sammy mumbled to himself, making me decide if stepping on his feet was a bad idea.
"What do you want from me?"
"What I want is very simple. You pay your brother's debts."
"Hold up Mr Croft, pay what debt?"
"The one your brother owes or there will be consequences." He replies indifferently, tapping his chin with a finger. I gulped when I heard that.
"How much are we talking about here?" It wasn't like I was considering paying, but if it was within my power, I would do it just to get these people off my back.
"Half a million dollars." I gasped in shock and would have choked to death with the way I held my breath.
"Half a million dollars?" That was a lot of money. What had Dave gotten himself into?
"Yes, can't speak much now, can we?" He taunted me, wagging a finger at me.
"How did this happen?" I mumbled to myself, but Nathan answered my question.
"Dave stole from me." Curse you Dave! I raved in my head. What to do now?
"I don't see how any of this is my business."
"It's your business since he is your family." He countered back at me.
"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to help you." I told him.
"You can either pay or sign a contract confirming you would work for me."
"And if I don't?" I challenged.
"It's either you sign the contract or your brother dies." Nathan Croft spoke with his deep voice. Right now I hated the asshole.
"Can I think about it? I can't make this kind of big decision on short notice." I spoke agitated wondering how Dave could put me in this kind of situation. I was sure that this was the reason he tried to talk to me in the alley today and the little advice to be careful.
"What will your answer be?" He stood up from my couch which he was sitting comfortably on. I looked at him from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head and made the journey vice versa again. Nathan was damn tall, I felt like climbing the man like a tree. I shook my head. What was I thinking? The man was like my enemy right now. He smiled at my reaction, the asshole knew that I was attracted to him.
He walked up to me, standing in front of me, he seemed to take a deep breath before he spoke.
"What will your response be?" He asked again as he caressed my face with the tip of one of his fingers.
"No." I swallowed, there was nothing compared to the feeling of his finger caressing my face.
"So be it, maybe this will change your mind." He signaled to one of his thugs with his left hand without even looking back. Who the heck was this man? I could guess that he was someone very important for him to command this kind of attention.
The thug returned with a MacBook. There was a video playing on it. A man was screaming horridly in pain and speaking gibberish. At first, my mind could not comprehend what I was seeing. It was Dave tied to a chair with blood and some bruises on his face. Nathan chuckled at the stunned expression on my face.
"So tell me, Miss Norwells, what do you think? Like the surprise?" No I didn't like it one bit, that was my brother tied up to a chair. But I didn't allow any word to slip from my mouth, this Nathan was deranged if he thought he could use my brother against me.
"Still speechless? Won't say a word? Connor punch him." My eyes widened as I found out that it was a video call, and not recorded footage. Shit! What was I to do? I couldn't possibly consider taking his offer. I jerked in shock at the sound of Connor's fist colliding with my brother's face. Dave released a whiny sound as he screamed like his pants were on fire.
"What a wimp." I heard one of Nathan's men mutter.
Nathan brought his face closer to mine, inspecting my reaction to my brother's assault.
"Should Connor continue?" I turned my face to the side to escape his cold blue- eyed scrutiny but he held my chin captive with his right hand.
I closed my eyes tightly hearing the thuds of flesh striking against flesh and my brother's screams accompanying them.
"Please stop… I'll sign the contract." I whispered over the sound happening on the other side of the screen. There was a silence as I opened my eyes to see Nathan with a smug smirk tugging at the side of his lips. I have just signed a deal with the devil.