Esmeralda gasped in fear when she heard the familiar unlocking sound of the door. Although Dylan had the key card, she had seen Aldo's men lurking around the building. They had kept her on the edge leaving her wondering when they would make a move and it seems they finally are.
She let out a shaky breath as she fastened her hold on a kitchen knife and peered outside the bedroom through the slot of a space between the wardrobe doors she hid behind. She picked up on foot steps coming in from the living room soon approaching the bedroom.
"Esmeralda?"
"That's Dylan!" She whispered in surprise.
Dylan had just set down his laptop on the glass coffee table before he made way for the bedroom. He was buffled by the fact that she had not come out to welcome him as usual but because of the situation downstairs, he understood her. Where could she be hiding?
"Oh! My gosh! Dylan!"
The woman sprung out of the wardrobe with a knife dangling carelessly in her hands as she run out to meet him. Dylan was startled when he saw her and frowned when he saw the knife and the fear in her eyes.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down!" He got rid of the knife and threw it far away from them before pulling her into his arms. "You're pretty little hands shouldn't handle things like that. Never again! Understood?"
"What happened? How did you get in? Are you hurt?" She pulled away from his embrace and her fearful eyes scanned him for any injuries from head to toe.
Dylan's heart melted when he saw this and cupped her cheeks to let her face him. "I'm fine. Stop worrying. You must have been scared."
She buried herself back into his embrace and soon Dylan heard her soft sobs. He sighed when he heard this as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. If she's like this already, what more when Aldo comes over? He started to worry over her.
"My Angel, later on, you'll have to be a little brave", he said.
"Why? What's happening later?" She asked with a sniffle.
He was about to speak when his phone started ringing. With the woman in his arms, he freed one hand to fish out his phone from his trouser pocket. His brows knitted when he saw the caller ID.
"Mm.... Fine", he sighed before hanging up.
Esmeralda lifted her head and gave him a curious gaze. "Who was that?"
"We have a guest. Quite an impatient fella", Dylan glared into space.
"A guest? Who?"
Dylan was quiet as he took in Esmeralda's face. Her eyes had widened with evident curiosity shining in them. He had just got her to relax but she would fall into panic again. But this meeting was especially inevitable. So he uttered the one word he knew would send her into panic. But this time, would be the last.
"Aldo."
No sooner as he uttered that name, they both heard the sound of the door unlocking. A black haired man walked into the apartment and his eyes darted about looking for the person who had sent him into a fit of rage.
Esmeralda gasped when she saw a very pissed of Aldo walking in with bodyguards carrying guns. Dylan was calm as he still held his woman in his arms. His gaze was gentle as he looked down at her.
"My angel, why don't you go and dress up. We have guests after all."
Esmeralda got a move on to change out of her shirt and booty shorts when she heard Aldo's scoff. Dylan turned to shield his view from her retreating figure. His smile was maniacal as he took in Aldo's pissed off expression.
"We finally meet", Dylan stuffed his hands into his pockets with little care of the situation.
"And it's going to be the last", Aldo responded with a sinister smile.
Back in West Village
Amy was juggling between going through the information Dylan had sent her and handling some jobs from clients. She stretched out her arms, cracked her fingers and twisted her neck left and right before rolling her shoulders back in relaxation. It's a good thing she took a day off in the name of getting rest although she wasn't getting any of that.
The King, the leader of the Dark Waters, there was really no trace of him. As long as people were connected to the digital world, there was nothing and no one Amy could not find except for this guy. Maybe because she wasn't in Italy. Going there would be suicidal and she can't put her baby at risk.
Amy sighed as she leaned back against her headboard. Her phone chimed notifying her of a new message.
***.com: Are we forgetting something wifey?
Her heart skipped a bit when she saw the term of address he used on her. He had been doing this since a few days ago but it still made her feel giddy. But what was she forgetting? She looked at the time and it was a little after five in the evening. She had been buried in work all day. Then she gasped, she forgot to check in.
***.com: Shoot! I've been so busy today I forgot. I'm sorry.
***.com: Don't stress about it. What were you so busy with?
***.com: I can't text. Let me connect to your phone.
She still had a lot to do. She set up a connection to Zach's phone before she resumed working on her tasks. Zach could hear the frantic typing coming from her end of the line. He was currently on his way home from work. His heart did summersaults in anticipation. She had no idea how much her actions soothed his yearning heart.
"Hey", she called out before yawning.
Zach frowned when he heard the fatigue in her voice. "What's keeping you so busy?"
"Work. There are so many jobs that need to be done before the Corporate gala", she responded.
"Corporate gala? I think our company was invited", he was unsure even as he spoke.
They received invites every year and each time, he sent Xavier to represent the company because he would rather spend time getting more work done. He was sure his brother had received the invite already. But hearing Amy mention it, does that mean she would be there? That means he has to go. He was about to ask when she spoke first.
"Looking to make an investment? Just be extra careful if you are", she warned. The warning bells had gone off when she heard him say they were invited.
Zach's lips turned up in amusement. "I didn't know my wife was interested in Corporate Finance."
"I'm not. It's just that...", She was not sure if she should say.
She knew about him and their company, under Zach's control, Frost Corporation had done everything by the book so she knew they were not involved in any shady business. But she didn't know if the Dark waters and those people simply wanted to form an alliance between the two or would bring in more investors into their scheme.
Zach and his company would benefit them should he invest and vice versa but she knew how this would end. She would hate for him to face his downfall when she could have stopped it.
Zach patiently waited for her to speak although his heart said otherwise. He felt like she was about to tell him something important.
"If you're going to make an investment, stay away from anyone or anything associated with Greco Pharmaceuticals and Co."
Her heart thudded when she finished speaking. It would be absurd to expect him to not ask questions because anyone else would be curious after what she said topped with her disappearance. But she was surprised when Zach gave her a resolute:
"Okay."
"You won't ask any questions? What if you were interested in investing in them?" Her brows rose in pure surprise.
"No. Even if I were, if you say I shouldn't then I won't."
"Zachery", Amy felt bad. How could he be like this?
"Amy, I trust you."