After multiple head twirls with not a solid object to rest it on, Rachael woke up. Her eyes were squeezed shut instantly and that was a result of the sting she felt in her head. Wait where was she? She sat up from the chair, trying to get up, but she couldn't. Her hands were bound tightly to it. She fought with the handcuffs as the memories of what happened flooded.
Rachael had just gotten down from her car to grab her things from her house. The moment she held the doorknob to get in, someone attacked from behind. Her nose was about to be covered with a napkin, but she didn't let that happen. The struggle was intense especially when there were two guys. They found it hard to get a hold of her and that was as a result of the adrenaline her body released at that time, resulting in her surprising strength. One of them successfully hit her with an iron rod and she passed out, not feeling an atom of pain.
Now she felt it and it was excruciating. She twisted her knuckles in every possible direction, but that didn't take it off. It was a handcuff, there was no way it was getting off without its key. After much-wasted effort, she rested her head on the chair, puffing out air from her mouth. She felt a huge lump in her throat as she resisted the urge not to cry. Why did this happen when she was just about to get away from Chicago? Racheal didn't know how much time she spent in here, but she was sure, the body of Hardy Collin had been discovered and investigations were going on right now. Probably they had checked the CCTV footage and saw her leave the hotel room, hastily.
Out of frustration and anger, Rachael opened her mouth to scream. That was her only way of taking out her agony in this shitty situation she was in. Why did she go to that club that day? Why didn't she go on the trip with the rest of her colleagues as her boss instructed? No, she felt too lazy to partake in some stupid trip and decided to make an excuse instead. Now, look where that landed her. Why did she even agree to spend a night with Hardy Collin? Thanks to her selfish interest, she was tied up in all of this.
The door opened, letting a little light creep into the room apart from the small light the closed window brought. Rachael sat up as her heartbeat increased rapidly, waiting for the person to make an entrance. Slow steady footsteps could be heard. It took almost forever, but he finally came into view. She swallowed hard as a gasp escaped from her trembling lips.
It was Xavier Collin. His hooded green eyes held anger and disgust fixated on her while his tall virile body walked toward her. Her heart skipped each time his boots made contact with the floor, striking fear into her timid heart. Her breathing became more rapid and loud and it felt like her heart was going to explode from her chest from beating too fast
Rachael couldn't look at those cold eyes, it worsened her fear. Her eyes dropped, but fell on the gun by his side instead, they widened in terror. Was he going to kill her? Wasn't he going to hear her side of the story? She thought inwardly but was abruptly faced with reality. She wasn't even sure of her side of the story and that was because she recollected nothing.
She heard the gun being cocked and gasped when he raised it to her.
"Please don't do this" she cried out. Xavier was now standing in front of her with the gun pointed directly at her. Her legs became wobbly. She was faced with the possibility of dying and it awakened all kinds of fear in her. The look in his eyes made it hard for her to even say a word. It felt as if he stared into her soul.
"I didn't kill him" she begged, but that only angered Xavier as he fired the gun.
For a moment, Rachael thought she was dead, but she wasn't. Her eyes were still open and he was still standing in front of her. Her body shook as sweat dripped from her forehead. Her body too was soaked in body fluids. The amount of fear she felt made her wonder why she hadn't passed out from it. Xavier fired the gun at her chair just to instill fear in her. He did more than that. She was almost sent into convulsion as a result of it.
"I swear" she sobbed, coughing out as she choked by her own tears.
"If you didn't kill him, who did?!"He angrily pushed the chair with his leg, shifting her from her initial position. The chair lost balance and fell to the floor, but she was lucky enough not to have her head injured by the hard floor. Xavier jacked the chair back up. Of course, he had the strength to end her even without the gun. Her neck was soaked in tears, her body shuddered even without a cold and her lips quivered in terror
"I don't know" she cried out loud. How could she do this when she wasn't even sure of what happened?
"You were the last person with him and the knife just happened to be laying around in your purse?"
"I didn't want the police to find my DNA on the knife"
"Why would your DNA be on the knife?"
"I don't...." She let out a cry once more.
"fuck!" Xavier snarled as he rummaged his hands through his head and turned his back on her. This was frustrating
Racheal knew he was in grief at that point and could do anything to get revenge for his brother. That included killing her.
He turned to look at her once more and their eyes locked. Rachael felt a cold shiver run down her spine as she stared at those intimidating green eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the gun being raised again. This time it was pointed directly to her head.
Her lips let out a shaky cry, "don't do this, I beg of you. I promise I had nothing to do with his death" she begged, but at this point, it felt like her pleas only angered him.
"I'll make this easy for you if you comply and tell me everything"
"Like what?"
"Like who sent you"
"No......nobody"
He said nothing for a while and cupped her chin as he wiped the tears from her eyes. Rachael shuddered to his touch. It did something to her and surprisingly it wasn't fear
"You have 3 seconds Rachael," he said coldly. No one had ever struck that amount of fear into her just by mentioning her name.
"Please"
"3 ......2 ..........1........
Chicago Police DepartmentUSA 8:00 AMThe quiet environment of the police station was being distorted by detective Silvia and DCI (detector chief inspector) Mark. Silvia already had her pale face red in anger, trying her best to get her message across, but the mark wasn't giving her the attention she needed. "Her DNA was found on the bedsheets Silvia. What more do you want?" Mark said without turning to look at her already frustrated self. "They both had sex and she ran off the next morning with the murder weapon. That's the story" "I know that, but you know her DNA wasn't the only one found on Hardy""Then who's is it?"" We don't know yet, but the CLA (Crime Laboratory Analyst) said it wasn't only her DNA. The other person was just smart. In fact too smart. Only an experienced killer can be as swift as that""And what if they were accomplices?" Mark stood hands akimbo. He finally stopped walking and Silvia was grateful for that because she had been practically chasing him around
Silvia stormed into her office, tossing her bag on the table as she settled down on the chair. One aspect she sure loathed was being impeded from executing something she had the aptitude for.Gary stepped in shortly as if he followed her. His bad left legs prompted him to leap gradually to her table after shutting the door. "I didn't expect you to exhibit such drastic animosity after meeting up with the all-mighty Xavier""He is an asshole" Silvia spat angrily. "He didn't even want to hear what I had to say. Get out" she mimicked "Oh God it was so humiliating" she rested her head on her palm."Well, you can't blame him. He is languishing over his brother""Well he should see that I was only trying to help""you see the Collin family hates that word""Help?""Yes," he snapped his finger, motioning she was on point. He took a seat on the chair opposite hers and continued. "Last two years, Xavier's father, Louie Collin was shot dead. The impact landed his mother, Angela Collin in a coma.
Anger, grief, guilt, and emptiness all welled up inside him as he took an enormous gulp from the tequila bottle in front of him. There he was, perched in his room, curtains down, closing off every bit of light that could come through. He wanted to wallow in the gloom, sink himself in the immersing subtle anguish. Tears gathered in his eyes, but he blinked them back. That was something he never did_ cry_ but this time it was different. The tough walls he built around his heart weren't as strong anymore."Hardy I'm sorry" he whispered, but that wasn't enough. It also didn't abduct the guilt.All the emotions recapitulated into outrage as he snatched the bottle of wine and hurled it angrily at the wall."argggghhhhh" he cried out with the impulse of grabbing a piece of glass and plunging it into the flesh of his wrist."Boss" the door banged from outside. It was Peter. Xavier wanted to tell him to leave, but his mouth seemed too heavy to be parted by words. He just stared at the door numb
"Mum" Rachael called out in tears. Mrs. Rebecca looked up at her staring in awe. "Oh mum I'm here" Rachael left Andrew's side and ran to her mother who sat on a couch, nuzzling her."Thank you so much" she grinned at Andrew who gave her a slight nod.Rachael turned back to her mother. "Did you miss me?" she cupped her chin. Mrs. Rebecca gawked at her with a grin not uttering a word. Rachael didn't anticipate any. She hadn't said anything since the death of her husband.She sauntered back to Andrew and tapped him on the chin lightly. "Thanks""Anything for you princess" he shrugged. Rachael furrowed her eyebrows."Hey don't call me that" she nudged his shoulder slightly, causing him to chuckle."Did the police ask you questions?""Yes, those psychos took your mother for questioning too""They did?" Rachael boiled in anger."Relax. They found out I wasn't lying about her autism and they let her go"She perched on one of the couches "what did they ask you?""Where you were, if you called
"Thank you" she muttered softly."For what?""For the ride and for dropping the charges," she said but didn't get any response from Xavier. Not that she expected any response. She just felt the need to show her gratitude.Racheal sighed, resting her back on the car seat. Her eyes fell on something lying on the central console of the car and they narrowed in confusion. She immediately sat up. It was coal briquettes_ something you don't usually see lying around, especially in a place like Xavier's car."What do you need coal briquettes for?""When burnt, they produce a reasonable amount of carbon monoxide""What do you need carbon monoxide for?" she drew closer to the driver's seat."What do most people in America use it for?""Xavier you are not killing yourself"He chuckled slightly. "I thought you would be happy to hear that""God Xavier" her voice changed as she fought the urge not to cry ugly."Life is worthless at this point Rachael. Everyone I ever cared for is gone. What more do
***The next morning****Racheal glanced at her weary, sleep-deprived eyes from the mirror and a sigh evaded her lips. She applied mascara on its lashes, followed by a lipstick that ran smoothly on her thin lips, smacking it together to get the product evenly distributed. She took one final look at the red pan suit, taking a twirl to have a view of every angle of the clothing.Rachael finally yanked her bag from her bed and walked elegantly to the sitting room. She kissed her mother's cheeks slightly. "I made your favorite" she announced which induced her mother to beam. "Ok I'm off now," Rachael said abruptly. **Fast forward**Rachael took apprehensive strides through the foyer of the office with people hurling glances at her from their glass doors. This was more arduous than she thought. The charges being taken down didn't do anything because their eyes held a lot of Judgement as they bore holes into her clothes.She got to her boss's office, took deep breaths before knocking on th
For the first time, Xavier opened the veil of his curtain, permitting the morning sun to penetrate through the tempered glass. It was something he never considered doing. This was the same room he intended on killing himself, but he didn't and that was all thanks to Rachael. She made him feel more different than he had been yesterday. He was just a walking corpse, waiting for the right time to give death the chance to have a grasp on him. Now he felt more alive with subtle solace, streaming in his veins. One question lingered in his mind and that was how she did it.A knock was heard on the door, diverting him from his thoughts. "Boss" Peter's voice was heard behind the door. He got in when Xavier muttered a quick response."Boss, Cecelia is here to see you" he announced and watched Xavier's eyebrows furrow in annoyance. "Don't let her in""But. ..." Peter tried speaking, but a lady's voice cut him off. Xavier shook his head, sighing in frustration."Why wouldn't he let me in?" her s
*******Rachael held the phone to her ear while she tried to chew the freshly baked buns, trying to curb them from scorching her tongue."Hello Rachael" she heard the voice and froze momentarily. She brought the phone down to look at the number on the screen."Xavier?" She blurted, alarmed. "How did you get this number?" "The same way I tracked you down effortlessly," he asserted, placing forth the obvious.If he could track her in less than 3 hours, getting her number was a lesser walkover."What is it?" She inquired, crouching on the handle of her sofa."I heard you have been having difficulties finding a job" he uttered, calmly. Rachael was astounded by his right inference. "How did you know?" she asked, looking around her house to detect if there was any CCTV camera installed to watch her every move. Probably he had them fixed when she was away. When she found none, her mind relaxed a bit."Can we meet?" he said and Rachael didn't let his dismissal of her questions go by."How t