The Auction House Deal: Bought by A Billionaire

Chapter 164: A Scrape with Death: Hannah

I tried to scream, but a hand clasped over my mouth. My mind was running wild with panic, anger, and frustration.

I knew it. I had known it for a while, but I had told myself I had just been paranoid. It was frustrating to know that my woes and worries had been so easily dismissed as just a woman who had been rattled before and was then scared of her own shadow.

There wasn’t time for that. I needed to get away from whoever this was.

In a moment of pure, rage-filled panic, I bit down on the gloved hand that was about my mouth. The person hollered, but didn’t take their hand away.

I was then being dragged backwards and I wasn’t having it. I wiggled my body side to side, flailing my arms around, trying to hit them anywhere. I scratched their arms, kicked their chins, and just about anything else my panicked and fragile mind could think of.

I had been through too much to be made the best of then. I had been frozen and crying too many times in the past. There was no one around to save me but me. I had to be my own savior.

The person whispered in my ear, "Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you."

Yeah right! While I knew that I was looked at as nothing more than a billionaire’s wife, did I really seem that stupid? In what realm of existence would I trust someone that was trying to kidnap me?!

I needed to do something, anything. I needed to get away from them!

Wiggling around, flailing, scratching, trying to hit anything I could.

It felt like time was moving at a ridiculously slow pace, that God himself was taunting me. That there should have been ample time for someone to find me, anyone at all. To just happen by and see the scene taking place, to register the panic on my face, and do something about it.

It was too late for that. It was on me.

Finally, with all of my flailing about, I managed to kick the person in the groin as I swung my leg back. They hollered and let go of me to cradle their surely bruises bits. I didn’t hang around to find out.

I didn’t so much as look back at them as I hurried back to the building. They yelled after me, but I wasn’t trying to hear them out. Getting around the building, I started screaming for Nick. Thankfully, in just moments, Nick was emerging from the door.

"Someone is around the building! They tried to grab me!" I screamed to him.

He nodded and booked it in that direction. I got into the door and ran through the building and into my office. I locked myself in the office.

I couldn’t hear my own thoughts over my racing heart and jagged breathing. I guessed it was a good thing I had been training in the mornings with Roman. Had I not been running every morning, I didn’t think I would have been able to get away. They would have caught up to me, grabbed me back, and I would have been gone before anyone even knew.

Once I managed to catch my breath, I found my cellphone on my desk and hit call on Roman’s contact.

It rang for a few, painfully long moments, and then the other side picked up.

"Please come back over," I blurted out before he could even say hello. "Someone just tried to grab me outside the building."

"I’ll be there in less than ten minutes," Roman immediately replied. I could hear ruffling around in his office. "Where is Nick?"

"I sent him out after them," I explained.

"He wasn’t with you?!" Roman asked, a harsh edge to his voice.

"No, he wasn’t."

I kept it at that, not knowing what else to say.

I worried that my tender heart and willingness to give Nick a chance, just so that I didn’t cause someone their job because of my own paranoia, had been a major contributing factor in it all. I was sure that no criminal, no matter how idiotic, would have been willing to try and grab me in the presence of my bodyguard. At least, not alone.

I hadn’t considered that my captor might not have been alone. Surely they had to have been, right? No one else had spoken, and no one else had tried to grab me.

Right? Some part of my brain wanted to look out of the window, but I resisted.

Looking out would do nothing but make me panic and worry. It was doubtful anything would be in sight anyway.

"Just stay on the line with me until I get there," Roman muttered.

"Okay," I nodded.

I was thankful that he wanted to stay on the phone. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to be vulnerable for someone to grab me, to ambush me and no one would ever find out.

The minutes that would pass between the phone call and the arrival of Roman, felt like an eternity. My mind was taking in every detail that I could hear and see, truly feeling as though my life depended on it.

"Where is Nick now?" Roman asked, as I heard his car unlocking through the phone.

"I got away from the assailant, and I ran toward the building screaming. He came out and I told him the person was on the other side of the building. He ran off. I’ve locked myself in the office," I explained.

"Good, good. You did the right thing," Roman assured me.

My eyes began scanning about the room, trying to find something, anything that could serve me as a weapon. The best I had was a pair of scissors.

I clutched them in my hand and took a deep breath. I prayed that I wouldn’t need them, especially in just the short amount of time it would take Roman to get there, but I wanted to be prepared.

There had been too much panic and doubt in my tender mind, and too much real-life danger in the past year, for me to not want to be prepared. No, not want—but need.

There was a sound from outside and I jumped.

"What was that?" Roman asked, his voice draped in panic.

"I don’t know," I breathed.

"Just stay inside. I’m just a light away," Roman assured me.

I nodded, even if he couldn’t hear me. My eyes darted all around, ready to start fighting for my life at any moment.

I felt like I could throw up, the nerves getting to my stomach. I could have had a heart attack from the stress and worry. And I could have passed out from the pressure and panic. My whole body was ready to shut down, just from the sheer amount of stress that it was under.

I wasn’t sure that I would be able to stand on my own two feet once I was in the safety of Roman’s embrace. I was almost sure my legs would give out, and wouldn’t have been shocked if I passed out.

"Are you still there?" he asked, panic gripping his voice.

"I am," I muttered. There was more commotion outside. "There’s noise outside. I’m not sure if they are fighting or what is happening."

"Just tune it out. Though I know it’s hard. What’s important right now is you staying safe. Just stay away from the windows."

"I know, I know," I breathed.

"Sorry, I don’t mean to badger. I’m just worried."

"I know," I muttered. "I’m just really scared and trying to do all I can."

I heard the screeching of tires and a door slam. "I’m here. Come let me in."

Without another word, I dropped the scissors to the floor. They clattered and echoed through the room as I rushed to the door. I struggled, through my shaking hands, to unlock the door.

Finally, I flung it open and rushed across the building to the front doors. I opened the door with the same struggle as before.

Finally, when it opened, I planted my face into Roman’s chest. His arms locked around me in a death grip.

"I’m so glad you’re safe," he breathed.

Emotion gripped me. Finally, I was able to feel what my body had been attempting to the entire time. I wept like I had never wept before.

I hadn’t been paranoid, I hadn’t been a baby, and I had, in fact, been in danger. It was too much, all at once.

My body shook as I cried and Roman stood there with his arms locked about me. "It’s okay, it’s okay. I have you," he breathed.

He was right. He had me. I was safe. As horrifying as the danger had been, I was alright.

There was still the matter of talking to Nick to figure out what happened, but for right then, all I needed was Roman’s comfort.