~*~
Nadia came to with a throbbing headache. She put her hands to her head and groaned. She didn’t remember the last time that her head felt like this. When she went to sit up, she realized she wasn’t on the couch anymore. She wasn’t even in her home.
“Nosey reporter, wake up.” A loud booming voice came across the PA system. “That’s right; you are now under my control. Welcome to the news story of your life, or is it the news story that IS your life?”
“Who are you?!?” she called out. She stood up in the room she was in. She guessed it to be a ten foot by ten foot concrete cell.
“Who I am is not important. You, Ms. Nadia Maverick, are the one we are interested in getting to know.” The voice was deep. The vibrations rang throughout the cell.
“What do you want to know?” Nadia’s voice was shaky. Her eyes were filling up with tears. She should have listened to Anabella; nothing good ever came from her mischief.
“How about you leave the questions to me? For instance, tell me about your nephews.”
“Don’t you talk about my nephews!” Nadia grabbed the bars on the cell door and pulled on them over and over. “Let me out you sick son of a bitch! LET ME OUT!”
“Tisk tisk tisk Nadia. Attitudes like that won’t get you anywhere. Maybe we should teach you a lesson.”
She backed up against the wall and put her arms around her body. She held onto herself with her strongest grip as fear started to flood her mind.
“What’s that Nadia? I can’t hear you…are you saying something? Speak up.”
“Who are you?” Nadia’s cheeks were now covered in tears, and there was a red flush to them. Her heart rate had picked up and her fight or flight was kicking into gear.
“My name is Slade, and all you need to know is I love pain. Do you think your friend Matt was in pain when I hung him from your living room?”
“You’re the one who killed him?” Her voice was stammering. Her hands went to her neck in a protective fashion.
“Yes I killed him, and if you’re lucky, I’ll spare you the torture and make your death clean and painless.”
The shadow outside of the cell was now standing right in front of her, the man's face hidden in the shadow but his body very clear. He was white, his arms muscular, his body lean and cut. Nadia's heart was in her throat; she could feel each beat that it took. She tried counting her heartbeats but was unable to; it was racing too quickly.
"Step forward, Nadia. Show yourself to me in the light."
She heard the voice, smooth, deep, psychotic. She started to press her back against the wall and shake her head vigorously left and right. She didn't know if he could see her and she didn't care. All she wanted was to go home, and she had a feeling that wasn't going to happen.
"I said step forward!" The voice boomed into the cell. He came up to the metal rails on the door and smiled at her. His teeth were white in the pitch black shadow of his face.
"I...I...Leave me alone please…"
"I'm afraid that I can't, nosey reporter. You should have kept your nose out of our business. Foolish of you to think that you are above the rest and should get special treatment. Now I shall make an example out of you to ward off other reporters, so no one thinks it's okay to come snooping around my shop.
Nadia's heart froze. His shop? "I thought Carlisle Ali owned the shop?" She didn't know why she asked, maybe she had to know. Had she fallen for a game? Had Mr. A been out to kill her this whole time?
"That is a matter of technicality. Owning the land and building doesn't mean you own the shop. This is why women shouldn’t be allowed to work. They don't know anything."
Nadia let out a sigh of momentary relief. She hadn't been fooled by Mr. A, but that didn't really help her in this instance.
"You know that you won't get away with this. I have friends in the police department." Maybe she could reason with him. Maybe she could make him let her go. Somewhere inside everyone had to have some hope, right?
"It doesn't matter who you’re friends with. We have connections that go much higher. Now stop stalling and come here!" He took the keys from his pocket, stuck one inside the metal lock, and turned it. The release mechanism was so loud the sound echoed in the room.
Nadia watched him walk towards her, watched her life flash before her eyes, and all she thought about was her family, Anabella and Kain. Hopefully they were safe.