347 Getting her back (1)
It was nearly unbelievable that anyone could be this friendly.
By the time Ximena and Liam made it back to their new home, they had countless fresh ingredients ranging from vegetables, fruit, and spices to meat products and fish, enough for a feast. They were all freebies they had gotten after the cashier had made a big deal about them being the newest residents in Humville.
"If we were in Imperium, I would be terrified of all the gifts." He remarked as they organized everything in the fridge. They were almost fully stocked just from the freebies.
She smiled, holding the coconut a little boy had given to her for being 'a beautiful aunty'. "Everyone is friendly here. It's easy to forget we have not been living here forever."
He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her neck. "As long as we don't forget we are not we are still on the run. Their friendliness could be a double-edged sword. What if they help our families find us?"
She shuddered at the thought. It was a possibility she couldn't deny but he was kissing her and there wasn't anything else she could think about with his lips and tongue on her neck.
She placed the coconut on the kitchen island and turned around to wrap her arms around his neck. "That's our cue to enjoy whatever time we still have left. That, and prepare for whatever may come our way."
"I prefer the former." He kissed her, pulling her against him.
"Did I mention how beautiful you look in ankle-length skirts and crop tops?" He punctuated his words by sliding his hand under her top and palming her breast. She moaned when he thumbed her nipple and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger.
"Only ten or eleven times," she gasped, the rest of her words morphing into her moan when he squeezed her boob. His hardness was pressed against her and she couldn't help grinding against him.
She tugged at his hair, gasping when he grabbed her by her butt and sat her on the kitchen counter.
Her phone rang and she groaned. "Are you kidding me? Does Lucy have such horrible timing?"
"Lucy?" He frowned.
"No one else has my new contact number." She searched for her phone and finally found it in her purse, shooting an apologetic look at Liam.
He didn't buy it. He pulled her against him, pressing his cock against her backside as she answered the call, ignoring the look she shot him from over her shoulder.
"Lucy?" She answered the call, partially nervous because the latter wouldn't be calling her at random unless it was something important."
"You may want to sit down for this," Lucy said, making Liam and Ximena exchange glances. He had heard what Lucy said clearly, being right behind her.
"Just take a seat. I'm not kidding."
"Okay." Ximena swallowed and decided to obey Lucy. They both did. When they were finally seated in the living room, she cast a glance at Liam and said, "we are seated. What do you want to tell us?"
"Rosaly was kidnapped." Lucy dropped the bombshell.
Ximena was glad she had obeyed her and sat down because her head felt light. "How the hell did that happen? Who took her? Is it Angela? I knew nothing good was ever going to come out of that woman showing up at the wedding. We should have kicked her out. And to think I believed she would take the chance to turn over a new leaf."
"That's what we have all been figuring out. It's not Angela." Lucy continued. "I wouldn't have called you but I think you may know something. I sent a picture to your email, find out if you know this person."
"Who?" She wondered.
"The woman who the surveillance camera picked up, having randomly appeared at the restaurant. Just check your email."
"Okay." Ximena's heart picked up its pace as she put the call on speaker so she could navigate her email without ending the call. Sure enough, Lucy had sent a picture but seeing it brought feelings she didn't think she would ever feel.
She shook her head in disbelief. "That's my aunt."
"I knew it." Lucy seethed. "We were convinced this has something to do with the Wests. I'll call you back later."
As soon as the call ended, Ximena grabbed a suitcase and started shoving clothes in frantically.
"Baby, what are you doing?" Liam asked, coming up beside her.
"I know what this is happening." She bit back her tears. "My parents are behind this."
"We don't know that. Just because your aunt is involved doesn't mean your parents have a hand in it." He grabbed her by the shoulders to turn her around.
"Lucy would not call me if she didn't think my parents are involved. I know them, Liam. They would make Zaria's life a living hell just to force me to go back home." She took several deep breaths and swallowed. "What was I thinking?"
"Do you regret leaving with me?" He nudged her chin so she would look into his eyes.
She shook her head. "No. I don't regret being with you, it's just…I should have thought about this but I didn't and now…oh my God. Will Zaria be okay?"
He pulled her into his arms. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay. Desmond will never let anything happen to Zaria or Rosaly. Besides, if you give up now and go back just so they let Rosaly go, what else would they force you to do if they knew they had leverage over you?"
She buried her head into his chest. He was right. She couldn't give in now, especially when they were not even completely certain that the Morels were responsible.
But if they were…
Her eyes darkened. She didn't think she would ever resort to violence when it came to dealing with her family but they were not giving her much choice.
_____
Meanwhile, Desmond finally got to the safe house he guessed the Wests would keep Rosaly.
It was on the outskirts of Imperium but not too far from the center. They couldn't risk going too far and hence end up attracting too much attention to themselves. Besides, they couldn't be on the move for long in case the city surveillance system got a hold of them. If they pulled this off, they knew about Zeus and his ability to recover whatever they deleted.
His guess was confirmed when he got a text message.
[You guessed right. Now, come in. No firearms, make sure you are on your own. If you try anything funny, say goodbye to your little princess.]
He gritted his teeth. Once he got Rosaly back, he would skin them all alive one inch at a time and make their death slow and painful.
Even though they had said not to carry any firearms, he knew he would be stupid if he was fully unarmed. Heaven knew what they would do once they had him where they wanted him.
Like the others, the text message disappeared as soon as he read it. Even then, he was certain Zeus and Skeleton would be able to retrieve them on time if they worked together.
He slid a nano blade into his sock and another into his pocket, then a pistol at the back of his waist. The pistol and second nano blade were distractions. He wished he could have accepted Lucy's wedding gift—a grenade.
A small rock hit him in the shin and he would have dismissed it if he didn't hear the low whistle. Glancing over at the source of the sound, he tried not to frown when he saw a hand stick out from the hedge for a fraction of a second. He would have missed it if he wasn't searching.
Lucy.
He walked over cautiously.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"You may need this." She shoved the grenade into his palm.
A fairy godmother. Maybe that should be her new title.
He glanced at the grenade and gave it back to her. "That's where you come in. They may pat me down."
[Don't try to pull a smart one on us. The door is to your left.]
They hadn't seen him. He was relieved. No matter what tracker they had on him, it couldn't provide a video feed, which was a relief. That was one more advantage for him.
He turned left and entered the house. He didn't know what he expected of a house that was holding a little girl hostage but this one looked too normal. He almost doubted he was in the right place, but he felt the distinct scent of bleach in the air.
If his guess was right, they didn't use that hefty amount of bleach to clean normal stains. They had to be masking crimes.
"There you are." A man finally showed himself, grinning when he was before Desmond.
"It's nice to see you."
"The feeling is not mutual." He frowned. "Where is my daughter?"
"Not so fast." He took a seat on the couch. "You know what we want."
"I don't. And I'm not going to give you anything unless you guarantee that my daughter is safe, without a single strand of hair missing from her head." He demanded.
The man, a henchman, frowned but shouted an order anyway. It made Desmond pensive. Who was behind this, and why were they so scared of showing themselves?
It didn't matter, as long as his daughter was brought to him, safe and sound.
Three more men emerged from where he guessed must be the basement, trying to keep their expressions straight.
"You will not see your daughter until your end of the deal is done." He demanded.
He shot to his feet. "What did you do to her?"
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