Her Dark Side

Chapter Twenty

"What do you mean? He's here?" I cry.

"Yes, there was a dark windowed car sat outside the house just after you came back from shopping. When I went outside to check it out, I saw another man approach it and began to talk to whoever was in the back. Only a few seconds later, the guy outside whipped a gun from his belt and shot the guy." He explains, out of breath. He sees the shocked look on my face and continues. "That's not all. The shot person gets out of the car, only injured which is when the armed guy shoots again and this time they fall to the floor."

"Who did he shoot?"

"Who do you think was sat outside waiting for you? Thanks to this idiot, none the less." He gestures with his foot to the butler who's still sprawled out on the floor looking very sorry for himself.

My whole body feels numb when I quietly muse, "Robert."

August solemnly nods. "So now he's out there on the gravel, his chauffeur looking completely beside himself with fear and the armed man is nowhere to be seen."

"Who is the armed man? And where does Jack come into all this?" I wonder out loud but August doesn't reply he just stares at me knowingly as I put the pieces together in my mind. "Jack shot Robert."

August nods again.

"Why?" I whisper, falling to my knees and staring blankly at the floor.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." A cold and deep voice sounds out over the foyer and I'm unable to place where it's coming from when I snap up my head and frantically search for him. For Jack. It's his voice, I just know it. August searches too but we both become lost when all the lights go out and the blackout curtains fall simultaneously to block out the last of the light.

"Willow!" August calls out and I hear him try to run to me but before he can reach me another pair of strong arms tighten around my waist and I'm lifted from the floor. I gasp, not wanting to scream, I never like to scream and seem weak. I am lifted way up into the air and placed back on my feet at the top of the stairs.

A slither of light shines through a nearby window and hits his face that's mere centimetres from my own as he darkly whispers, "I finally found you." There's no sense of safety like there usually is in Jack's arms as I stiffen and he pulls out a strong smelling cloth.

And then, everything goes dark.

*****

I can't breathe.

I literally cannot breath and the musty, dark smell around here contaminates the last of the breathable air floating around me. I take deep breaths when suddenly a movement beside me is detected and I straighten up, holding my breath again.

"She's awake." Someone grumbles just as a strong grip is placed on the material covering my eyes from being able to see and it's ripped away.

Dots fly around in front of my face until shapes wiggle and swim around, finally merging into people. I'm in a dark concrete room full of all sorts of men, the one closest to me being the only one I fully recognise.

"Jack!" I hiss. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Well, you didn't meet me like you said you would so I had to find another way of getting to you." He shrugs casually. He's referring to back in the car park when we supposed to meet. Does that mean he would have taken me here back then? What if the first time I saw him, he wanted to take me then too but the other gang members got in the way?

"What, not even stalking is beneath you now?"

"You, my fiancé, are staying in the house of another man. Do I not have the right to be concerned?"