“Mr. De Luca?”
“The arrangements are made.”
“Five bodies in the Spain farm house, all of them armed. Three of them were Francis’s men and two unknown. We brought one of them alive. Do you want to inquire him?” Five men weren’t what Kaelith was expecting. And that to at the farm house he no longer visit. That just made this more fun. Francis didn’t know where he was, either that, or he was looking for something… or someone.
Kaelith tilted his head to look at Amara sitting at the small bench under the tree. His jaw ticked, annoyance sharp on his tongue. Francis must have realized by now Kaelithwasn’tin Spain, that just give more reasons to end this soon.
His gaze swept over Amara when he noticed her looking around with apprehension, a subtle gleam of mysteriousness in her eyes. Something flickered inside him. Wild and violent.“Wait for my call.”
The man standing behind nodded, patiently waiting for him to continue. Kaelith sighed.“Call Martha.”
The man nodded, giving a brief, respectful bow before departing. Kaelith continued to observe Amara for a few more moments until a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Without tearing his gaze away from her, completely captivated by her presence, he muttered in a commanding tone, "Come in."
Martha hesitantly walked into the room, her eyes darting around nervously until they landed on Kaelith's back. Shewaited for him to acknowledge her, but before she could say anything, he spoke up.
"Did she eat?" he inquired, his tone domineering.
Martha fidgeted with her hands, her nervousness palpable as she shook her head, as if he could see her actions. "No, Mr. Luca," she replied softly.
His jaw ticked as his gaze swept over Amara. "Her medicines?"
"She refuses. I tried, but she is-"
"Stubborn, I see. You can leave."
Marthabowedrespectfully, beforeslippingoutoftheroom.Left alone,Kaelithletoutatiredsigh, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against the window. His hands found the cool frame, fingers curling around it as he stared out at Amara.
A mix of frustration and concern flickered in his eyes. This woman, stubborn streak and defiance, had a way of getting under his skin like no one else. It was like she was determined to push himto his limits, testing his boundaries.
His jaw clenched. She needed a lesson.
******
Amara nervously looked around, hoping no one was looking at her. The door creaked, and herheart jumped. She looked around to see one of the guards moving out of the back door. She hadn’t usedthat door much, only to retrieve few coriander leavesfrom the kitchen garden.Only someof the guards use that door during night shifts, to get some water or something to eat.
Amarawasgoingtousethatdoorforherescape.Thislittleplanshemadeinherheadonthe spot was now terrifying her. She had avoided Kaelith like a plague since morning, and she hoped he’ d avoid her too for two more hours.
It was already past nine in the night, and Kaelith usually arrive by eleven. She had seen him leaving in his Bentleyearlier. And Martha was also done for the day. Earlier at the garden, she counted the number of guards. Eleven in total. Four at the front, six at the back. And one on the gate. It wouldn’t be that hard to avoid him, right?
Grabbing the little bag, she prepared for herself-with some snacks, a bottle of water and a pair of dress- she quietly tip-toed towards the door. Luckily, she managed to cross the kitchen garden without anyone noticing. To her relief, it was a cloudy night, no moon and no stars, providing her enough darkness she could use as shadow.
Amara looked around with trepidation, crouching towards the wall, and silently hiding behind the bushes.
“You check the backyard; I’ll patrol the front.” She heard a voice, sneaking her head through the bushes, she saw two guards standing near the tree. Both of them appeared to be facing away from her. She saw silhouette of one with bald head moving in a nod.
“Alright,” the bald man said walking to the back side. She watched, her heart pounding loudly as she swallowed hard. If someone catch her, she’d be in deep trouble. She waited for few seconds before both the guards moved to their positions. She backed against the wall, feeling a surge of relief when her fingers brushed against the small hole. It was just the right size—not too small, not too big, but perfect enough for her to crawl through.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she realized it was almost as if fate had intervened, providing her with this means of escape. Offering a silent thanks to whatever higher power might be listening, she quickly slid her bag through the hole before getting down on all fours to start crawling through it herself.
But as she moved forward, her hips caught on the edge of the opening, causing panic to shoot through her veins. Shewriggled and twisted, trying desperately to free herself, but it seemed like an impossible task. Fear gnawed at her—what if someone found her like this?
Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself harder, ignoring the stinging pain in her knees and palms as she scraped against the rough surface. With a final, determined effort, she gave one harsh tug and finally managed to squeeze through the opening.
Panting and exhausted, she grabbed her bag and staggered to her feet, feeling the muscles in her legsshakewiththeeffort.Butshecouldn'taffordtostopnow — shehadtokeepmoving,no matter what.
The area was filled with bushes and trees. But Amara hardly care. She sprinted through for a small time when she saw road ahead. A narrow one-way road.
She slowly walked towards it, silently wishing there would be no one. And to her relief, there was no one. She started walking on the side of the road, not on the road entirely, but in the dust so that she could hide easily. Looking over her shoulder at the mansion, she sighed deeply.
