Chapter 28

Amber gasped as Liam slumped forward and fell on top of her. The sudden impact of his body caused Amber to drop the stun gun and it rolled under the crushed diamond coffee table. Liam was heavy and for a moment, Amber was suffocated by the weight of his body.

Did I kill him?

She lay there on the cold marble floor and stared at the pristine white ceiling above in shock as Liam lay motionless on top of her, unmoving. She could hear her own heartbeat thumping furiously but for some reason, she could not move. She was paralyzed with fear.

Did I kill him? the question repeated itself over and over again in her mind. She willed herself and with all her might, she finally moved a hand up to Liam’s neck to feel for a pulse. But her hands were trembling so much she could not tell whether there was a pulse or not.

Oh God, she stiffened back a sob as she tried to roll him over, but he was just too heavy. Why was he so heavy? She grunted and tried again. And as she did, she suddenly realized she could feel two sets of heartbeats. One was hers and the other—

“Hello, darling…”

It was the voice of nightmares.

Two hands went straight for her neck, wrapping around them like monstrous claws and cutting off her ventilation. Amber choked, but this time, she was no fool. Instead of prying his hands from her neck, she jabbed his eyes with her fingers, momentarily blinding her assailant.

Got you!

Liam yelped, letting go of her neck.

“You harlot!” he screamed as Amber scampered towards the door and quickly picked up her bag as she tried to catch her breath The pen drive was still inside.

I’m free! she thought as she grabbed hold of the doorknob and yanked at it.

But it wouldn’t budge. It was stuck!

Oh no!

“You’re not going anywhere bitch,” Liam stood up, sneering even as he rubbed at his eyes. She ignored him and yanked at the knob, pushing at the door, and pounding at it again. But still, it did not open.

Oh no…please, please, please…

She began to pant on air that seemed to turn into a vacuum in her lungs.

I could have sworn the door was not locked!

It was at that exact moment she realized that she had been pushing at the door when she should have been pulling at it. Her panic had turned her into a bumbling fool. Quickly she pulled open the door and a blast of fresh midnight air hit her face, welcoming her to freedom.

But her escape was short-lived for at that exact moment, Liam lunged at her, catching her by the waist and slamming her onto the marble floor. Her head hit the ground first and her vision exploded into a flash of blinding light. For a moment, there was only pain, and she could not see. But she could hear his labored breathing as he dragged her back into his house.

SLAM! The door banged shut and with that, her spark of hope for died a thousand deaths.

No….

Liam climbed on top of her, pinning her face down as he spat at the back of her head, “You fucking bitch! Who else knows about this?”

“Everyone,” she hissed, her vision still a blur. She could feel him fidget as he tied the back of her hands with a rope. He was using the string from his robe.

“I recorded the whole thing. The police are on the way. Your CCTV caught me entering your premises too. There’s no escape for you now,” she coughed.

Liam laughed. It was not exactly the reaction she had expected him to give.

“Amber darling,” he started stroking her back, sending shivers down her spine. She struggled to free herself but to no avail. Then, roughly he grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head up. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “I disabled the CCTV before you came. And who’s going to believe a flimsy voice recording?”

No, she whispered in a cold deep place in her soul.

She did not want to believe it, but he had a point, and the seeds of doubt and fear began to consume her mind. Did John Grant even listen to the whole conversation? What if he hung up thinking that she had called him by mistake?!

Liam reached down and yanked at the light green tee she was wearing, exposing her shoulder, and choking her slightly. Then he bit into her shoulder, sinking his teeth deep into her skin eliciting a pained scream from Amber.

“Shut up!” he hissed. “Where’s the blueprint?”

“I don’t have it,” she managed to whisper.

Guess I’ll have the last laugh after all.

He rammed her head against the floor again and her vision worsened. All she could feel now was pain, and for all she knew, he had broken her nose. She did not lose consciousness however, but her hold onto it slipped by a few notches.

He yanked at her shirt again, choking her once more, “Where is it?!” She heard him curse and felt him unmount her. Her eyes remained open, rolling in a mist as a numbing sheet wrapped around her brain. But from the corner of her poor vision, she saw him rummage through her bag, desperately looking for photos of the blueprint.

“FUCK!” he cursed again and threw her bag aside before walking back to where she was tied up. He paused above her with the cockiness of the already damned, he had nothing left to lose.

“If I’m going down, then I’ll take you with me.”