Chapter 8: Afraid

Dark brown, almost black; that's what I saw when I looked into the eyes of the girl who was currently holding me down. She was perhaps, a few years older than me. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders.

She was stunning!

Her beauty had me baffled for a few seconds before I snapped out of it and realized the compromising position I was in.

I bought my knee up hard, hitting her in the stomach. She toppled off me but quickly regained her composure and took up a defensive stance. I got ready to strike back with everything I had.

She narrowed her eyes and advanced towards me, her fist jutted forward and I dodged, barely missing the blow. I bought my leg up to kick her but she swiftly sidestepped. She tried to punch me again and I was ready this time I quickly ducked and struck her hard with my elbow on her chest.

She staggered backward a few steps but then steadied herself swiftly.

She was good

She bought up her leg attempting to hit me in the stomach. However I was more than ready, my father hadn't given me all that training for nothing. Instead of dodging this time like before I blocked her blow with my good arm and then lunged for her.

Before she had time to contemplate what was happening. I quickly grabbed her leg which had been aimed at me and yanked it upward. Her arms flailed in the air for a second before she hit the ground. I quickly straddled her to the ground and bought my hands to her neck. She raised her hands in surrender.

I smirked in victory. "You know you're not a bad fighter, princess. Too bad I'm better." I mocked.

I saw her narrow her eyes but then she smiled sweetly. I suddenly saw her right hand reach down and before I even had time to think it was too late.

She had a gun and she was pointing it straight to my forehead, her hand was on the trigger. My eyes widened in shock.

"Who's the better one now? Princess." She asked smirking.

***************

I staggered as my captor pushed me forward with her gun. I mumbled a curse under my breath.

"Did you say something?" She snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing." I said quickly. "Who are you anyway?" I asked "Why are you even doing this?"

For a second she looked guilty but then she covered it with a scowl. "My name's Rachel and why I'm doing this is none of your concern." she snapped.

"Fine, whatever! No need to get touchy. Geez! I exclaimed raising my hands in mock surrender.

She just rolled her eyes and I thought I saw a ghost of a smile on her lips.

We finally reached the room which I'd been in before and for a while we just stood there awkwardly. "Just go in already and don't try to come out again. Okay?" She sounded tired.

"Fine." I mumbled and pushed open the door and got in.

Will sat on a chair at the side of the bed reading some book.

Wow, he's been kidnapped, almost killed, and currently being held captive against his will and he's reading.

He's actually reading like nothing’s wrong!

When I stepped in Will looked up. He didn't even look surprised, just amused.

"Well, that took longer than I expected." He said giving me a lopsided grin.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, at least I tried to escape! Instead of sitting here like nothing's wrong you moron!" I screamed at him.

He cocked his eyebrow "Why waste energy? You think you have a chance at escaping a building being guarded by 30 or so armed men? How cute." He snorted.

I was about to bite back when someone interrupted us. "There are in fact 57 men guarding this building. 57 huge men, with guns that is." I turned back and saw Rachel leaning against the door frame. I was surprised she hadn't left, she looked annoyed.

"You better keep her on a leash. If someone else besides me had found her it wouldn't have been pretty. They probably would have killed her on the spot." Rachel said breezily.

"I can take care of myself." I snapped crossing my arms over my chest.

"If that's true then you'd choose to stay in this room as Dominic instructed." She said monotonously. "It would save a lot of people a lot of trouble and you might even get out alive in the end." She finished sarcastically.

"I'll do wh-" I started to say angrily but Will beat me to it.

"You're right. I understand. I'll make sure she behaves." He said calmly to Rachel. She just gave him a small smile and a nod before she left.

"You're taking her side?" I asked him in disbelief. He looked at me warily and just shrugged his shoulders.

I narrowed my eyes in anger at him. "Oh, so you're one of those guys." I spat out.

"Which guys?" He asked raising his eyebrows, still looking amused.

"The ones who agree with everything a pretty girl says." I couldn't keep the venom out of my voice.

Where is this coming from? It doesn't even make any sense.

"What?" He asked looking confused.

"Please. I know guys like you. You pretend to be smart and thoughtful. But as soon as you see a pretty girl yo-" Will snorted, halting me in mid-sentence.

"I'm not that pathetic. Don't make presumptions about me. You don't even know me." He said in a low tone.

"Yeah well I can read you like an open book." I spat.

Will stood up abruptly and clenched his hands into fists but I kept on ranting; "You act like you're so pristine, like you'll always make the right choice, the good ones."

He took a step towards me.

"I never said that. I never said I was a good man. I've never made the right choices! I've never felt the urge to do the right thing. Up until now! Ever si-" I cut him off.

"She's clearly involved in all of this, yet you chose to take her side? She held me at gun point, forced me back here, and you made no move to help me! It was two against one Will! We could have taken her, but instead of helping me you agreed with her? I don't know what to think. Was that some weird way of flirting?" I accused furiously.

I knew what I was saying made no sense. It sounded stupid to my own ears. I had no idea where all this anger was coming from.

Marriah, you need to shut the hell up.

Will exhaled loudly. "I don't even think she's pretty." He said in an annoyed voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah better come up with a better lie buddy, any person with eyes can see how drop dead gorgeous she is." Will ran a hand through his hair in frustration

"I never looked at her in that way." He muttered in exasperation.

I gasped.

Everything started making sense all of a sudden.

Oh

My

God

"You're gay!" I exclaimed "I can't believe I didn't notice it before! No wonder you think she isn't pretty and no wonder you have such good taste in clothes!" I blurted out. Will looked baffled.

"Wait, I'm no-" he started but I kept on ranting

"I should've known. I mean no one can be that perfect. And your hair? Ohmygod I'm so stupid straight guys never have hair this silky! Why are gay men always so hot?" I exclaimed making wild gestures with my hands and winced when I felt a sharp pain in my bandaged arm.

"Are you done yet?" Will asked finally. I could hear annoyance clear in his voice. "I'm not gay!" he snapped.

Oh my God, why do I always have to keep embarrassing myself?

He looked pissed.

Then suddenly his expression changed as if he had just realized something and he smirked.

"Wait, did you just call me hot?" He said raising his eyebrow cockily. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, I couldn't form any words.

I felt my cheeks redden. "No. Of course not." I said weakly.

He took a step towards me. This time I took a step back.

"Oh really? That's not what I heard you say before." He said taking another step forward. I took another involuntary step back.

"Yeah well, you heard wrong!" I said desperately. At this point I was hoping the ground would open up and swallow me.

My back was against the wall now and Will stood a few feet away still smirking. I looked around the room nervously. He continued to walk towards me until he was standing right in front of me. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me intently. I started fidgeting uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Okay, stop. You're making me uncomfortable." I snapped finally.

Will continued to look at me.

"What? Staring at a pretty girl isn't my definition of weird." He said with a lopsided grin.

"Oh my God. Cut it out!" I blurted out shoving his shoulder.

Will chuckled. "You get flustered really easily. It's cute." He gave me a wink. I felt my face redden even further.

"Okay." I said desperate to change the subject "Since we're stuck here for now. What do you say we try to get to know each other better? Since there's nothing else left for us to do?" I asked walking towards the bed. Trying to put as much distance as I could between us.

I plopped down on the soft mattress and Will followed me, sitting down beside me. "So, tell me about yourself."

He just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said "There's nothing much to tell really."

"There must be something?" I asked surprised "C'mon you're like one of the most successful people in the whole country. How can there be nothing much to tell?"

Will shrugged again nonchalantly. "What do you want to know?" I looked at him, taking him in, trying to figure him out.

"Everything." I said finally "Tell me all there is to know about you. Your family, the kind of work you do, what your favorite color is, what your favorite food is. Everything." I said intensely.

He studied me before sighing in defeat.

"Okay, here it goes." He said looking at me seriously "Like I told you before, I own Grayson Inc. I'm the CEO of the company so I manage and decide all the essential strategies and I overlook all the major decisions and operations. Basically I'm like a nanny. I have to take care of the company and the employees. Make sure they do as they're told." He said giving me his lopsided grin.

I smiled back "Do you like your job?" I asked. His grin widened "I love it. It's everything I'd hoped for."

I was happy to hear that but a small part of me felt jealous. He was so lucky he got to become what he'd always wanted.

"What about your family?" I pressed on. I saw his grin falter. My heart skipped a beat. Maybe I'd stepped over the line.

However, he continued after a short and tense pause. "My family moved to Japan when I was twelve. I stayed there with them for ten years before I came back here to set my own company, which was three years ago."

He paused briefly before continuing "My mother, Carl and Jane mean everything to me." I nodded taking in the information.

"Are Carl and Jane your siblings?" I asked.

Will gave me a small smile "Not really. Carl is my step-father and Jane is my step-sister."

"What about your real father? Are you in touch with him?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I instantly regretted it when a saw his pained expression. He closed his eyes as if the memory itself was too painful.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid Marriah!

His father clearly isn't alive.

I felt my heart clench. "Will, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'm sorry." I said squeezing his shoulder consolingly.

He turned to me suddenly and his expression made me pull my hand back and flinch.

"He's not dead. If that's what you've assumed." He spit out venomously.

Gone was all the pain I had seen earlier, it had been replaced with anger. The hatred in his eyes almost made me shudder.

"I wish he was dead. I'd kill him myself if I got the chance." He let out a humorless chuckle. His tone made me shrink back.

"W-what did he do?" I asked in a small voice. He looked at me with cold eyes. These weren't the alluring grey orbs which I'd been so enticed by. They were never ending emotionless pits. Filled with hatred and suffering.

The person sitting beside me was no longer the reassuring and compassionate man I'd been talking to a few moments ago.

He had somehow transformed into a ruthless person filled with hate. He seemed almost evil.

Like he was capable of anything.

The way he looked at me told me that there was more to him than what met the eye.

He was hiding something. Something dangerous, something dark.

Something had happened in his past that changed him.

I could've bet my life that it was something his father had done.

What had happened that made Will hate him with such intensity?

His words echoed in my head "I'd kill him myself if I got the chance." I shuddered, there was no doubt in my mind that he had meant every word.

At that moment I knew without a question that this man was capable of murder, he was dangerous.

But he was also my only salvation.

Could I trust him?

I looked into his cold grey eyes.

Did I have a choice?

Suddenly I was very afraid.