It's Not Over, Right?

Chapter 8.

"And when I asked Madeline about it; she-" Aiden stopped as he pulled up in front of the Del Morgan entrance.

Aiden had spent the entire drive explaining most of the situation to Lahja and when Tanja turned off the road to go to her office; the pair headed directly to the Del Morgan Hotel.

However, Lahja didn't exit the car as she stared at him with expectancy.

"That Pílar woman works for a dangerous man, who, has had a lot of grievances towards your father and husband; not counting what Graham did to him!" Aiden explained as he looked at Lahja and she sighed softly as she scratched the front of her nose; so, he added "That's why I want you and the other kids to be somewhere safe while I find Pílar and, hopefully, the older kids too."

Despite her personal objections to the scenario; Lahja said as she unbuckled herself "I know that Madeline doesn't have anything to do with this; so, I want you to find her and my children, okay? Bring them, all, back to me; alive, Aiden." He nodded in agreement and Lahja climbed out of the car; allowing him to speed off, before, she made her way up the flight of stairs and into the hotel lobby.

The internally panicking woman hid her overwhelming emotions well as she walked over to elevator, then, she took a lift up to the suite, however, with no doorman in the elevator; Lahja found her senses on edge as she watched the indicator pass over every floor.

Then it stopped.

The lift doors slid open and the suite was empty.

"Kids??" Lahja called out in confusion as she walked into her home; but, there was no reply and her eyes instantly shot full of tears as she rushed over to the children's bedrooms and called out "Rosa??!! Lyra?? Deac??"

Still no reply.

She discovered the empty bedrooms and rushed back to the front of the apartment; before, she hurried over to the balcony and pulled open the sliding door in a blind panic.

The balcony didn't break from the entire, luxurious feel of the apartment, since it held a wide swimming pool at the center of the rail protected balcony. The rest of the space held a fairly sized chill area, bar area, seating area and sun tanning area; while it all had a direct and very beautiful view of the city.

Lahja laid eyes on Lyra and Deacon as they, just, climbed out of the pool and she immediately dropped to her knees as she waved them over.

Without hesitation, the siblings ran over to their mother and got pulled into a tight embrace as Lahja squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to forget about her brimming emotions. Then, she opened her eyes and pulled away from them as Lyra whined in complaint "Rosa isn't at home, Aunt Charlie is sick, Aiko and Malachi are hanging out somewhere coool and Maddy didn't fetch us from school!!"

"Wait- Maddy didn't fetch you guys from school?" Lahja inquired as she looked at Lyra and the child nodded, so, Lahja questioned softly "Then who brought you guys here?"

"Oh, I did." A fairly deep voice said from behind Lahja and she immediately rose to her feet as she spun around to face the person, who, stood in the doorway with a smug look on their face.

The person, a man donning a tight fitting suit, had a unfamiliar face and voice; but, his eyes. He stood at 6"5 with God-like chiseled facial features, a very athletic body, a sunkissed bronze skin, a winning smile and an extended goatee styled black beard that connected with his sleeked back midnight black hair that had neat undercut to expose a few of his tattoos; like the spider web behind his right ear, a crescent moon behind his left, four teardrops under his left eye and a Bentley logo on the front of his throat.

But, those bright chartreuse green eyes that popped against his physical appearance; there was a definite familiarity within them.

The man cleared his throat and broke Lahja from her intent staring as he slid his hands into his pants pockets.

Lahja immediately pushed the children behind her defensively, but, when the stranger held out his hand; Deacon ran over to him without question and the man scooped the child into his arms. He smiled as he turned his attention back to Lahja, then, he said as she waved over the child "Oh, Deacon seems to have taken a liking to me and I won't lie; we do bare some similarities, don't you agree?"

With her chest burning from anger as she watched the man and her son smile brightly; Lahja held Lyra behind her back and inquired "Who are you and what do want?? Where's Aiko and Malachi?? And how'd you get past my security?" The man held up his slim index finger and shook it side to side.

He put Deacon on the ground and said as he ruffled the young boys hair "We should talk in private, Mrs Pruitt." Lahja nodded in response, then, she turned to Lyra and got onto one knee as she gently held the girls shoulders. Keeping her side eye on the strange man; Lahja said to her daughter "Take Deacon inside and go to your room; I'll be there soon, okay?" Lyra nodded as her mother rose to her feet.

The older child skipped over to her brother and lead him into the apartment, so, Lahja cleared her throat and turned to face the stranger. She scratched the bridge of her nose and crossed her arms in front of her chest; an action that seemed to amuse the stranger as he did the same and step forward, then, he said "You know? The only reason why I'm doing this is because your in-laws hurt me and therefore; I am not here to fight or do anything violent, but, I want to assure you that your daughter, nephew and nanny are safe..."

"However, I cannot assure their safety until I am certain that I have my diamonds and that your husband is on his knees; begging for my mercy and my forgiveness." The man concluded with a vicious smirk on his evil face; yet, his eyes kept distracting Lahja as she attempted to read his emotions. He ran his fingers through his, already, neat hair and turned around.

The stranger walked into the apartment and Lahja instinctively followed after him as he said aloud "CHILDREN, I AM ON MY WAY; BUT, I HOPE TO SEE YOU ONCE AGAIN!!!" There was no reply and Lahja clenched her fists as she walked after the man.

He stepped in front of the elevator doors, pressed the button and turned to her, before, he said "I've come to collect a great debt from your boy husband and I intend to receive my payment; yet, I will exchange your children for my diamonds and that's the only interaction that I'll have with you." He pulled out a sleek black card from his pants pocket and handed it over to Lahja.

The elevator doors chimed as they slid open, then, the man stepped back into the lift and concluded with an evil smirk "Don't confuse my courteous behaviour for weakness and have your bodyguard forget about Pílar; say the kids are.. visiting with a relative somewhere, you know? Make it good."

And on cue; the electronic doors slid shut.