It was around four in the morning in city of Rome. The sky was lit up by a full moon with barely any visible stars. The street lights illuminated the scene of three black SUVs suddenly stopped in the middle of the road with about ten cars blocking them from reaching a Corolla. But the situation was not so simple. The men had been thrown into a shell game type of situation.
The shell game is famous among gamblers. The host would have three identical cups or containers and hide an object under one of them. Then he/she would proceed to shuffle them around and let the players guess where the object is. It's a game for those with a quick eye and it seemed Dylan had done just that.
Aldo's second in command didn't wait for a response and explained the current situation. "We would follow him but the cars blocking us are all identical. Same model, same color, and same plate number. And they are all moving around."
"Then keep your eyes on the one that has a passenger", Aldo suggested.
"Boss, they all have passengers", his second in command almost wanted to cry.
He had never been in such an irritating situation. The cars were not just identical, but they also had passengers at the back seats. All the men could see were dark silhouettes of two men in each car, one at driver's seat and another at the back. To make matters worse, all the identical cars randomly switched lanes and got mixed up. They easily lost sight of Dylan's car.
Aldo did not prepare for such an outcome. It seemed Dylan had seen through their plan and shortcomings. This only confirmed his suspicions that the man had a lot to do with Esmeralda's disappearance.
"Boss, what do we do?" The second in command asked after Aldo had been silent for too long. Aldo sighed, he didn't know what to tell his men.
The men kept following behind but something worse happened. They reached an intersection and the Corollas randomly took different directions. The men were not sure of which cars to follow and so they gave up.
Thirty minutes later, Dylan's drunk step had long been replaced by sturdy steps. He scanned his key card and got into the apartment. Without turning on the lights, he took off his jacket and loosened his tie.
"You were really serious about not letting me leave?" Esmeralda's voice echoed in the darkness.
As Dylan undid his shirt buttons, he thought back to the night's events, he could not help but chuckle in amusement. All that's left was for Aldo to find him, and he would be waiting....
Back in West village
Amy woke up with a start and she held her chest as she took her time to calm down from breathing too hard. She had just had a bad dream. She could not remember the details but it was about Dylan, and he was in trouble. Phone! She didn't remember putting it away after talking to Zach the previous night so she looked for it on her bed. However, she heard something that made her freeze.
"Amy?" Zach's voice echoed in the room.
She could tell it was coming from her phone but how? She found it somewhere under the sheets close to her pillow and picked it up to realize she had not terminated the connection. She must have slept whilst talking to him.
"Zachery?" She subconsciously tucked some stray strands of hair to look less disheveled as though he could see her.
When Zach heard her morning voice that was still a bit husky, his junior could not help but misbehave. It was the sexiest sound he had ever heard. It made him picture how his name would sound on her lips with her morning voice while he played with her other lips like a guitar. He really missed the feel of her soft body in his arms while she writhed from his ministrations.
"Hey?" Amy called out when she heard no response.
Zach's eyes flew open immediately crashing his fantasies. He adjusted the tent in his sweatpants and awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Hey, sorry. Slept well?"
'Why does his voice sound so sexy? Or is it just my pregnancy hormones getting the best of me?'
"Yes, thank you. And yourself?" She settled back in bed and pulled up the sheets while blushing red. She had completely forgotten about checking on Dylan.
As the two conversed, someone was unlocking the front door to Amy's place. The person took in the interior decoration of the house as they walked in. Since most houses in the area had the same design as hers, the person could guess where Amy was. The person easily navigated their way to her bedroom and was about to knock when they heard a deep voice echoing from inside.
"I'm sorry I kept you up last night. I just couldn't help myself", Zach confessed.
Amy chuckled when she heard this. Even she could not help but want to talk more with him to the point of falling asleep on him and forgetting to terminate the connection.
"Well, I kept you up too. Should I apolo-" she was interrupted by the sound of a jingle coming from outside her room. "One sec", she whispered.
Zach immediately picked up on the change of her tone. Something was wrong. He immediately sat up from his bed and made way to go out of his room.
"What's wrong?" His voice was low but Amy could detect the anxiousness in it.
"I think someone is here. I need to check."
An image of how easily Parton's men had abducted her flushed in his mind. He could not help but fear for her safety. She was alone and vulnerable. He felt his anger build up from his inability to find her soon enough. What if those people had found her before he has? And he has no clue where she is. Was he about to lose her again?
"Don't go out. It might be dangerous. Call the police and send me your location too. Stay in your room and wait for me. I'll be there with my men before you know it."
Amy picked up on shuffling sounds from his end. Her heart tightened on the thought of him finding her and reuniting with him. It was such a temptation but she didn't want to lead him out on a ruse.
"Zachery, calm down. I won't go out. Let me check using my laptop", she said. As much as she was anxious, there was something comforting about hearing the worry in his voice. She took her laptop from her nightstand and switched it on.
"Then I'll stay on the phone with you. I'm right here. Just say the word if you need anything", he was much calmer than before. He was already by the stairs when she stopped him.
"Alright."
He heard the sound of her typing. For security purposes, she had installed secret cameras around her place in case of any intruders. She had done so when she had received a scare from Stella when the older woman had stayed to look after her that one time. In a matter of seconds, she found the footage and saw the culprit. Her anxieties dissipated immediately.
"Ian?" Her brows rose in shock.
Zach fell silent. His jealousy reared it's ugly head as his grip on the stair railing tightened. His knuckles had turned white as he growled into the phone. "Who. Is. Ian?"
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