Rylee
I felt a pair of arms wrap around me.
"Honey, where you have been? I was searching everywhere for you."
It was Ridley.
Aqua looked shocked. A message buzzed on my phone.
Ridley : Turn around, pay for everything, and go. I'll catch up. Check your pocket.
I slipped my mobile back into my pocket and picked up the items I needed from the shelves. One of the goons saw me as I took the items from the cart.
"Excuse me, Lady."
I looked at him, but he didn't recognise me. 'Whew...'
I paid the bill and headed out towards the exit. Since it was 11pm, people were rushing for last-minute shopping. Most of the shops were closed.
I rushed to the elevator. Thank God for the thronging crowd; those goons weren't able to get on. The elevator went down.
I reached into the pocket. My fingers grazed against a piece of paper and a key. Before I could tug at it, I heard a ding from the elevator. The door opened, and I stepped onto the parking lot. I noticed 2 black vans parked near our car.
I pretended to search for the car key and read the note.
Rylee, use my car. Wait for me here:
NIGHTGLOW
I found my brother's car and started the car, glancing at the gangsters through the corner of my eye. As I pulled away from the parking lot, I could see the men searching for me. 'They are so clueless.' I inwardly smiled.
The tunnel opened onto the main highway, trees lining the driveway.
With my left hand on the steering wheel, I clicked on the rectangular screen with my right: 'NIGHTGLOW'
The map redirected me to the shortest route possible. There were a lot of turns. I guess I'll have to trust the GPS on this. That and Ridley. I have never heard about this place. Ridley better give me some answers.
I see blocks of buildings neatly placed in vertical stacks. The paper read: NIGHTGLOW, 3rd street, 5th building.
There it was, a building with a huge sign in white and black block letters:
NIGHTGLOW
I turned off the engine and got out of the car. Feet on solid ground, I took a deep breath before proceeding to the door.
I knocked at the door and waited. It was opened by a man with curly hair and glasses on. I followed him. 'Ridley, this better not get me killed...'
There was a room with a desk and a receptionist.
"She is with me." The man simply stated.
The receptionist nodded. He smiled at me.
We turned to the left, and a door slid open.
"You must be Rylee," the male finally unpursed his lips. "Ridley talked about you a lot. He said he has the most amazing sister. We'll come on in. He should be here soon."
"And you are?..." I gazed at the enigmatic figure.
"Dex Hoff," he stated.
"Nice to meet you, Dex."
"Pleasure is all mine. I heard you're a doctor."
"Yeah, a surgeon...so how did you and Ridley meet?"
He shrugged. "Well, I was the nerd in college because I used to work with computers; create software and programs, assemble hardware, fix bugs... the usual. One day, some guys came and insisted that I create programs for them. They said they'd pay big money, but it didn't look right. And then they threatened my mom..."
"And then what happened?..." I inched closer to the man.
"And I agreed like sort of, they left my mom and dragged me out. I was forced to join their clan. The beatings were bad, and I made plans to escape. One night, I exited the gang's house while everyone was sleeping. I ran with my backpack. I managed to get to the streets, but I could hear the cars coming from the other direction... They'd found me." He smiled. "I tried to fight. I braced myself when someone from the gang took my right arm and snapped. I fell to the ground, and they kept hitting me. I could hear some sound in the background, like a siren. All I saw was a man coming out of a white car and running towards me. Guess I passed out after that."
"And that's how you and Ridley became friends."
He nodded as we reached the end of the hall. He pulled out a card and placed it on the scanner. The door flung open to reveal a huge room. There were 4 computers running, their monitors on. I see 5 soft boards and one glass boards.
"Welcome to NIGHTGLOW." said Dex
YOU ARE READING
Strangers Into Lovers
Romance"As she stepped on the ground,thinking about something in her mind. The truck was speeding from her direction. A hand pulled, and her face fell into his three pieced suit. She looked at suit and then looked at him. He looked as the truck went by ...
