40 Bizarre Reques

"Simple. To show you what you're missing by not being with me, have a date."

"A date?"

"A date."

Shocked by the bizarrely normal request, Jade's plan to rile up Frank went out the window, and she forgot about the footsteps outside.

'A date? What does he want a date for? If not for the wound on my leg, I would have run away, but I can't like this. He's basically kidnapped me, admittedly in my own cafe, but still… I'm being held here against my will.

'In such circumstances, he wants me to date him. Is he serious?'

As Jade struggled with such thoughts, on the surface, she nodded. "Sounds great."

Since she was wounded and at his mercy, she could not run away or shout for help. Thus, she could only play along with him.

Rejecting his offer would have been too blunt, which would have angered him and put her at danger. Although she planned to rile him up to make him shout, she couldn't go too far lest she put herself in danger.

Frank smiled at her acceptance, his left eyelid dropping considerably. "I'll go prepare the coffee. Don't worry, I worked as a barista once before, so I know how it works."

As Frank wobbled away, Jade tried putting some weight on her wounded leg.

"Hiss!"

She involuntarily let out a sharp hiss due to the pain. Fortunately, she managed to suppress it enough to keep Frank from hearing.

'Dang… I really can't run away. Guess I'll have to go along with his wants for now. If I hear anyone outside, I'll rile him up or maybe speak louder myself. Hopefully they'll help me or call the police.

'But to think my first date since then would be as a hostage… and with Frank…'

The memories of her past surfaced in her mind, and Jade shuddered, or maybe she shuddered from the cold. One could not be sure.

Jade heard crashes and bangs coming from the kitchen.

'What is he doing? The coffee stuff is all behind the counter… there's no need to go into the kitchen…'

…

Outside, Parker reached the cafe. He gingerly tried to open the front door, afraid that he might alert Frank, but it was locked.

How did he know that they were in the cafe? From the trail of blood that led in there.

'I can't get in through the door. If I try to break it down, it won't break quickly, which will give that b*stard time to prepare, escape, or enjoy his final moments with that girl…

'What should I do?'

Parker took a step back. 'Liam should have got his pants back on. What is he doing? Ah, he's probably calling the police, that should be it.'

As he glanced over the cafe, it finally dawned on him. 'Of course, this is just cardboard—I can break right through it. I'll make a small opening with my penknife, and then I'll charge in to rescuer Jade!'