"He's in Amalfi," I murmured under my breath, my eyes strained on my laptop screen. Google map was on, the cursor pointing at the southern edge of Italy's Sorrentine Peninsula.
Amalfi coast was a popular tourist destination according to the Internet what with its Mediterranean climate featuring warm summers and mild winters. It was a true paradise, developed vertically within a tangled overlay of streets, alleys and shops that exposed the colourful fashions well-known all around the world.
Now that I was scrolling down all these images, I realized I had heard of it before somewhere. I thought for a while before I hummed to myself, "Like the Amalfi coast, you are always wildly curling beautiful."
It was a Hooverphonic song, called 'Amalfi', my obsession from years ago. It was a beautiful place & a lot riskier as a refuge. Sighing, I leaned back in the chair and hugged my knees.
I knew that was Silas on the phone talking to Dan. That voice had to be his. I couldn't be wrong at least at recognizing the voice of the man I loved.
Silas Dale, I knew now and as promised, I'd be there in time. This thought made me smile.
I woke up the next day, at the same exact spot I was lounging in, on the Aeon chair, hugging my knees. It was such a contented feeling, finally getting a decent amount of sleep. Stretching out, I scanned my surroundings. Of course, I was in the study.
I almost wished waking up next to Silas, with his lips nuzzling my neck, his warm minty breath tickling my skin.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked at the radio alarm. It was 10 o'clock in the morning and I was late for the office. The only way was to call in sick today. I could work fine from home. Besides, I had to come up with something to get me out of this country.
I sauntered into my room, my feet making their way to the bathroom. A soothing morning ritual later, I found myself behind the breakfast counter.
The birds outside were lunatic with passion, the vintage kitchen bathed in the golden sunlight and all of a sudden it felt as though Silas was here. He was about to come down any moment and ask me what was for breakfast. Maybe he would wrap his arms around to squeeze me a little, tickle me a little or kiss me until an embarrassed Eamon would show up in the kitchen. And I realized how perfect my life used to be.
I had a job, a perfect family, a loving husband. Three of the most important things: a career, parents & true love.
All of these had to return some day whether it meant fleeing the country and hiding for the rest of our lives. Anyone could pursue a career anywhere if only they were willing to do so.
"Good morning, Mrs Dale," Eamon regarded me with a tender smile.
"Good morning, Eamon."
"Coffee?"
"Yes, please and I'll have an omelette too."
Eamon looked sort of startled at my unbridled enthusiasm. Normally, I would shut her down saying I wasn't hungry. A while later, her lips stretched into a smile and she said, "Getting right on it."
As I waited, I called my assistant Amelia.
"Good morning, Dawn. Your meeting with Rosamund Ellis is delayed, but she is ready to stop by later today."
"I am not going to be in the office today. Could you put Jill into the line? Oh, and we'll reschedule afterwards." I smiled at Eamon as she passed me my coffee.
Jill, my chief operating officer, was pissed when I picked the phone up.
"What the hell, Dawn? Ellis is peeved."
"I am not feeling well today, Jill," I lied before taking a sip of my coffee.
"Oh. Okay. Are you going to be in later today or should we delay?"
"I told Amelia I'll reschedule but I want you to talk to Ellis instead." I bit my moist lip as I set the empty mug down on the counter. "Jill, I have something else to talk about. Am I keeping you from something?"
"No. Not really." She sounded curious but tried to mask it with more impassive words. "Although, I'd like to call Ellis in to catch up and apologize for the delay."
"The thing is I'm feeling off about my tails and it seems to me that for the past few days after that trial incident, I had been followed almost everywhere."
It was not exactly the whole truth. Then again, there wasn't any smoke without the fire. A lot of the time, Wayne & Jason had taken risks to get rid of them because of my investigation.
"We can tighten the security. I can talk to Luke if you want." Her concern pleased me.
"It's fine. Wayne and Jason are doing an excellent job. I just want to say that I trust you with my job. In my absence, you have to make sensible decisions, Jill." An impish smirk crossed my lips when I finished.
"Do you, anyhow, feel threatened, Dawn?" Jill's question was sensible.
"A little. But nothing to worry about," I partially lied.
When she hung up, I used the disposable phone to call Luke, my security officer.
"Luke, this is Dawn. I want you to track an international phone number. But you'll do it from my place."
"Sure. When do I have to be there?" He was excited as always for a new task.
"12:30." My eyes strained on the wall clock that said 11 o'clock already. I needed to take a shower and talk to Wayne in the meantime. No big deal. I just had to be certain about Silas's location.
Once done with my shower, I took my time to dress in simple jeans and a shirt. Collecting the three sketches, I shredded them into pieces, put them in a waste basket and set fire on the papers, watching as they turned into ashes. The procedure was over and I disposed of the rest of it. The last sketch was for later because I wanted to know if there was some kind of code concealed there that could come handy later.
Back at the study, I observed the sketch and wondered.
"Mrs Dale?" A knock on the door brought me to reality. It was Wayne, his head visible behind the ajar door.
"Come on in, Wayne." I slid the sketch next to a file and set a smile on my face.
"Eamon said that there are some security problems you had been facing," he said out of the blue.
I nearly laughed.
"No. I'm absolutely happy with what you and Jason are doing. I lied to Jill about that. Eamon must have thought I meant it."
Wayne's eyebrows knitted together at my response. I wanted to walk him through it but now wasn't the best time.
"Wayne, I want you to hire some trustworthy men for a job. But, you'll have to make sure that those men will not leave any kind of trace at all and will know nothing except for the job they will be hired for." I leaned forward at my desk and rubbed my wrist.
"I can think of some fellas," he nodded, his professionalism trying to conceal his curiosity. "What do they have to do?"
I felt inane because of the words I was thinking of. However, there wasn't any better way to put it.
Therefore, I responded, "They have to kidnap me."
---
Let me know how you're feeling about this chapter. Now that you've got some answers are you happy with them? Any guesses what will happen in the next chapter? How will Dawn find Silas or what will she find when she reaches him? Let me know all of your thoughts about them.
I'm willing to hear all of the theories you have, my friend.
Oh, and I have posted the first edited chapter of 'Husband with Benefits'. Don't forget to check out the differences. <3
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Here's to Us (Blood Money #2)
Romance"What we had is over, Dawn. You don't have to do this anymore. You're free to go." I traced the glass separating us with my fingers, looking into his green eyes and whispered to the phone, "So you want to know why I'm still here?" He just stare...
