Ben Nevis Mountain, Scotland.Dave attempted to free himself from the old wooden chair, bound by a tightly wound thread. He was in a small study room which overlooked what seemed to be a moderately considerable property. A vast yard neighborhood surrounding the old building ended unexpectedly in a deep, rolling wilderness. The room where he was restrained must have been at least three stories high. If it had been a house, it would have been enormous by any standard.Jerking his head around, he took a better roster of the room around him. The soft, dark chestnut floor led to an empty, arched doorway. It was impossible to see beyond the nook, but he speculated that it led into a corridor. On e
In another inexpensive inn, Catherine and Shawn spent their night planning and calling a lot of people in the small but decent room. She knew her husband was planning something big, but her only main concern was her brother, Dave. What if the kidnappers had killed him already and it was too late to rescue him? Not that she didn't trust Shawn and his resources, but she wanted to make the rescue as soon as possible, and sleeping wide awake the whole night made her think about looking for her brother herself. But how? Shawn was her best option, as he knew some people who knew people, and above all, he knew where the shelters of Javier's mob were. However, were they even sure it was Javier’s men? Those nagging questions kept taunting her. She knew Javier. He wouldn't make a sudden plan or a move that was unsure and irrelevant, and how did he even know that she was here in Scotland anyway? Her reverie was halted by an unexpected noise outside their room. The sound wasn’t loud, but it didn
Ten minutes later, “Oh hell, I'm so full,” he groaned and looked at the remaining goodies on the small table between an old lampshade and small vanity. Their breakfast was soft pancakes and berries, as warm as they would be in the sun, with maple syrup threaded on top. “I didn't tell you to eat all the pancakes.” Catherine smiled, licking the rest of the syrup on her finger. "Yeah, but it remains my favourite breakfast, yet it has nothing at all to do with the food, if you know what I mean," he smirked. “I loved it because you were with me, because you and I were in the same room." It was odd how they transfer emotions that way, as if they couldn't quite accept how quickly they fell in love. “Oh my God, boss, my playboy boss—” “I'm your husband,” She rolled her eyes, grinning. “My playboy boss, my husband is romantic. This is really new! I can't even believe this. I've been working my ass off for two years, and I've never heard you lovie dovie with your girlfriend before.” He brigh
An hour later, the couple had finished their early morning sex and breakfast. To say that Catherine was satiated was an understatement as she finished her bacon, pancakes and eggs. Shawn padded across the room on the balls of his feet. His footfalls didn’t make a sound. He’d even learned the creaks of every plank covering the floor for just such an occurrence. Again, old habits. He reached the doorway and looked around the corner. The inn's corridor was empty, devoid of life or movement of any kind. The musty, bleached smell of the hallway had evaporated recently, but still, Shawn’s nose went deaf to the scent of old stone, wood, upholstery, and books, cheap soap, antibacterial tissues, and c
Chelsea slipped on a blue button-up short-sleeve blouse and looked at the wall. She had a copy of every fashion show poster for every gig she’d ever been to. At the moment, there were thirty-seven, and each one had brought her hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Her net worth at the time was over seventy-five million dollars and was going up every day thanks to her ingenious investing procedures and continuous searching for more investment endeavors. Chelsea Lim earned a reputation for herself, amassed a fortune, and established a legacy. Almost, anyway. There was only one thing for her to do: run her own business under her own name. 'C.Clean Fashion' Her ideas flitted around the beautiful skies in her head like leaves in a thoughtful autumn breeze. She plucked one from a long time ago when she was just starting in the fashion business. Back then, she was nothing more than a wealthy half-Asian and half-British pampered brat. Then, with the assistance of her mother's friend, som
Scotland"Fuck... Anthony must have hidden it somewhere else," the old man, Alfonso Richmond III, muttered after he ended the call from his daughter, Chelsea. He scratched his chin slowly, staring out at the rest of the men in the room with fiery eyes. He told his daughter that he was in the Philippines, but the truth was he was in Scotland.Somehow, he knew their conversation was bugged and someone was monitoring his daughter's activities. He sighed, thinking about
Shawn roused from a deep sleep as the form next to him shifted under the arm that enfolded her. They found his old vacation cottage near the highway, fifteen miles away from the inn, and they stopped and waited for the blizzard to pass. It had been years since he had visited this isolated place. He bought this five years ago when he and his grandfather had their first-ever deer hunting trip, and since then, the cabin was empty and only visited by the caretaker once a month. Short but smooth hair that smelt like vanilla strawberry, which he knew was dark golden blonde, brushed his chin. Catherine was nuzzled tightly against his bare chest, with her arms wrapped against her bare breasts. Her face pressed into the crook of his shoulder and neck while the wooden chimney still gave them wa
An hour later, the couple were done with their heartfelt breakfast and were enjoying their second cup of coffee on the balcony. Shawn stepped away from the window and crossed his arms. His face scrunched into a frown. "Shawn... you don’t have any idea who could be behind us or why they’d want to kill us, right?" Catherine asked after he told her everything about the key and the treasure left by his grandfather. He even let her decipher the cryptic message of the old man, but with no avail to knowing what exactly the old man wanted to tell them. He shook his head. "I know some of my grandad's associates, former fellow hunters,