CH- 2
Amelia's POV
My surroundings suddenly felt ominous. Tall buildings cast long shadows across the streets, and no one around paid any attention to me.
I tightened my grip on my clutch bag, swallowed hard, and kept walking.
Then the car stopped ahead of me. Before I could decide whether to bolt or scream, a massive figure stepped out.
He towered over me, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit and sporting an overgrown beard. One of his eyes looked glassy, unseeing.
“What do you want?” I stammered, fear choking my words.
“I swear, I don’t have anything. Here, take my purse!” I shoved the bag toward him, praying he wouldn’t hurt me.
He ignored my trembling offer. “I’m not here to rob you,” he said curtly, his accent distinctly American.
“My boss wants to talk to you. Get in the car.”
“How do I know you won’t hurt me?” I managed to ask, though my knees threatened to buckle beneath me.
“You don’t,” he replied flatly. His tone made it clear arguing was pointless.
Oddly, despite his size, he didn’t seem threatening—just bored. Against my better judgment, curiosity got the better of me.
Something told me these people weren’t ordinary criminals. Reluctantly, I climbed into the car.
The first thing that hit me was the sharp citrus scent lingering in the air. Expensive, just like everything else about this setup.
Across from me sat a man dressed impeccably in a navy blue suit, his shirt crisp and sky-blue.
His nails were manicured, and peeking out from under his collar was the edge of a tattoo. European, I guessed instantly.
“So…” His voice cut through the silence like a blade, sharp and calculating, each word deliberately placed to unnerve me.
“You’re good at reading people.”
I clenched my jaw, refusing to let him see how much his presence rattled me.
“And what makes you say that?” I shot back, my tone steady despite the storm brewing in my chest. Determined not to appear timid. Not now. Not to him.
“Your ability to observe details,” he said coolly, still flipping pages of his newspaper as if this were nothing more than a casual conversation over coffee.
The arrogance in his demeanor grated on my nerves. “Like noticing the tattoo on my neck.”
My breath hitched for half a second before I caught myself, forcing my expression into something neutral.
How had he known? I’d only glimpsed it when he turned his head earlier—a faint outline peeking above his collar, intricate and dark against his skin. Was it some kind of test? A trick to throw me off balance?
“If you want to impress me,” I countered, leaning forward slightly, my voice low but laced with defiance, “try looking me in the eye and telling me why you’re following me.”
He paused then, just long enough for the silence between us to stretch taut like a wire about to snap.
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered the newspaper, folding it neatly and setting it aside.
When he finally looked at me fully, his face was all sharp angles and shadows, his piercing eyes locking onto mine like they could peel away every layer of pretense I’d built up over the years.
“Fair enough,” he murmured, his lips curving into a smirk that felt more dangerous than charming.
“Let’s cut to the chase. We want you to do something for us.”
The weight of those words settled heavily in the air, pressing down on my shoulders until I almost missed the next part. Almost.
“We?” I echoed, my voice steadier than I expected. “Who’s we?”
His smirk widened fractionally, but he didn’t answer directly. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other with an ease that screamed confidence—or maybe arrogance.
“Do I have a choice?” I retorted sharply, surprising even myself with my boldness. Where was this defiance coming from?
Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through my veins, or maybe it was the stubborn refusal to let him think he had the upper hand.
“Everyone has a choice,” he replied smoothly, his tone dripping with mockery as though he found my resistance amusing.
He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve yet.
“Your boss is Nathan Delanza. We want to bring him down—and we need your help.”
Shock rippled through me like a seismic wave, crashing against the walls I’d so carefully constructed to keep my emotions in check.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest, but I forced myself to stay outwardly calm, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me unravel. Nathan Delanza wasn’t exactly a saint—he had enemies lining up around the block—but this?
This was personal. And unexpected.
“Why come to me?” I asked cautiously, my voice measured despite the chaos swirling inside me. “What do I have to do with taking him down?”
He leaned forward suddenly, closing the distance between us until his elbows rested on the table, his gaze pinning me in place like a predator stalking its prey.
“Because,” he said softly, each word deliberate and heavy, “you’ve worked for him longer than anyone else. You know the ins and outs of his company better than anyone. Every secret deal, every hidden ledger, every skeleton buried deep in the foundation.”
His lips curled into a sly grin, revealing teeth that gleamed too white in the dim light. “And let’s face it—you’re the most overlooked employee there.”
His words hit their mark with surgical precision, striking a nerve I hadn’t realized was so raw.
Anger flared hot and fast in my chest, bubbling up before I could tamp it down.
espite myself, I gasped—just once, barely audible, but it was enough. He noticed, of course he did, his smirk widening triumphantly as though he’d won some silent victory.
“Everyone has a price,” he continued smoothly, leaning back again, his posture relaxed but his gaze never wavering.
“Think about it. I’ll find you.”
The threat—or promise—hung in the air long after he stood and walked away, leaving me alone at the table with nothing but the echo of his footsteps and the pounding of my own heartbeat.
Before I could respond, the car came to a stop.
Without waiting for permission, I opened the door and stepped out, my legs shaky.
Whatever just happened, I needed space to process it.
Who were these people?
And what did they truly want from me?
