"Hey. Here." I heard Nano's voice behind me once I reached the main ball room.
He passed a glass of champagne to me.
"I saw you with Luke. You both seem acquainted with each other. So what's up with you too?" he asked.
"Nothing is going on." I stated with a hint of anger in my voice.
"Okay chill out."He shook me a bit.
"Fine." I eased up.
We both enjoyed the moment for a couple of seconds before I heard a familiar voice reach out to me.
"Anny. I missed you."
She came rushing to me. I hugged her tightly for a while.
"The heck. Why are you even talking to this guy?" she asked in confusion when her eyes landed on Nano.
Their last encounter was not a likeable one hence forth there was no need for the two to cross path. The two seemed to have bad blood with each other. The moment Nano laid his eyes on her, I knew then I had a job to keep the two in check and away from each other.
"Gabby... Not now." I dragged.
"Well let the queen bee release her anger. The only thing she can do is to sting just once." He teased her.
"You bastard." Gabby cursed.
I had to break the two before their actions could attract more attention. On the other hand dad had fixed a hard gaze at our direction. That alone signified he was aware of the situation.
"Gabby for my sake, please." I literally begged her.
She nodded slightly. A thought flashed in my mind. If Gabby was here then Lukah was here too,and if Lukah and Max were here then Jerald is somewhere near.
"Gab, is Lukah here?"I asked even though I knew the answer.
" There. "she directed me with he eyes.
Lukah signaled me with a slight bow. Focusing my eyes closely in the crowd, I was met with familiar faces. Both Mr. Bernard and Mr. Kim came to greet us at where we stood.
Nano was surprised to see both of us speaking casually with each other. The entire time he seemed confused.
"Well, tonight is sure going to be a blast." Mr. Bernard exaggerated while they excused themselves.
"Gabby, you better tell me what in the world is going on here."I whispered. My voice in a serious tone.
" Technically Anny I have no idea. I was only told my part. The rest Max was afraid I'd spoil it by telling you. "she stated.
Something big was going to happen and I had no idea what it was.
" That dress is fine." we both looked back at Nano.
He directed the compliment to Gabby who looked at him in pure disgust.
" What! I am complimenting the dress and not the owner."
Gabby rolled her eyes leading us away from Nano. The party finally commenced. Dad was all over the heels making a speech, while my mum stood besides him smiling. That is the kind of pretentious smile she had daily.
" And now I'd like to invite... "my dad was cut short by his PA when he came to the stage walking to my dad's direction.
" Enjoy. There is something important I have to attend to. "He informed everyone.
Soon he was walking down the platform in haste. His face clearly indicating how angry he was. We both looked at each other.
" This is bad. "Gabby said.
She led me deep into the crowd.
" Gabby who are you looking for?"I asked confused.
" Lukah, he is nowhere to be seen. "she informed me.
We both searched him amongst the crowd. Coming to think about it my brother's were not either in the vicinity. I got alarmed by the fact that Gabby was worried, Lukah and the others were nowhere to be seen and my dad rushed in haste after being called by his PA.
"We are so dead." Gabby started panicking.
"Hey! It's going to be okay. We just need to find the rest and get out of here." I made it so simple that I had already imagined the scenario in my mind.
Couple of minutes passed by with us searching for Lukah and the others. Suddenly dad got back up on the stage.
" Sorry for the delay everyone. Well don't mind the security personnel. They are just inspecting the venue let it not alarm anyone." He spoke calmly.
Yah! He could have fooled everyone but not me. His voice was a little shaky and face hard to read. His composure became that of a wounded warrior standing by to eliminate the enemy.
" Anny. "someone grabbed me. " Come with me. "
Nano escorted us to the back of the ball room and in the inner rooms. We followed close behind him. Once we were away from the crowd he stopped.
" Nano, what is all this? "I asked.
" Someone found Nano half beaten to death in the hallway. Am not surprised if it's your friends doing,but this has angered dad so much. When he got hold of the information he called for a Meeting ASAP. Now he has ordered for a search party against the culprit. He's intention is purely to kill. "
The moment Nano informed us, I knew things were about to get ugly. Gabby was already panicking big time. She has never been in such a situation.
" Gabby, get hold of your self. " I warned.
She was making me nervous too.
" Here is what we are going to do. Since dad will be suspecting new visitors, better keep her there." I pointed to my room. "You will stay with her just incase, if someone asks say you took a liking on her and decided to shoot your shot. This will give me some time to find Lukah and Max." I planned it carefully.
"But you will get caught." He laid out his worry.
"Dad barely knows am involved in this. Plus I doubt Luke told him the whole detail since he is badly hurt." I made a point out of my observation.
If Luke had told the whole story then dad would have come straight to me instead of alarming everyone there.
" You have a point. It's Just there is one thing I don't understand. "He started." Why Luke?"he asked.
" Well, Luke confessed that he wasn't my brother. On the other hand he was my fiancee and dad hid it from me. Max heard of it and lost all his cool. "
Nano looked at me confused. He tried to digest everything I told him and found it not making sense.
" How can it be. Mum clearly gave birth to the child. She has all the legal documents. " He tried to piece all that together.
" On top of it all, dad was going to announce our engagement at the party." I spoke in disgust.
"No wonder he got beat up so badly. This Max must have fell for you so hard." he pin point the fact.
"They both are crazy about each other." Gabby spoke from the far end where she sat watching trees as the night shone due to the full moon.
" I wouldn't want you getting hurt again by dad's hands so I'll help you. What I hope for is you won't forget me after this. "He spoke sincerely that It broke my heart hearing him say that.
" When this is over you can come with us. "I spoke out of the blues.
He just smiled and nodded. I rushed out to go look for Max. Couple of times I had to hide from the security personnel. If they saw me sneaking around then I'd be a suspect.
I searched every room up stairs but I did not find Max. I started to get impatient. Sneaking around led me to Luke's room. There he was laid in bed helplessly. My guilt led me next to him. His wounds were tended to but he was swollen all over. I pitied him and blamed myself for watching Max beat him so badly.
"Luke, am so sorry." I pleaded with him.
He slightly shifted in bed. His eyes slowly opened as he struggled to keep them open.
"Anny, please don't leave me."he begged.
" Luke, this cannot work. I love someone else."
"Since you won't listen to me then I won't be held accountable for what happens to him." He warned.
Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was scared to the core that my adrenaline hit danger. I quickly turned round with my hand in a fist position.
"It's just me." Max blocked the punch.
"Sorry." I apologized.
"We should probably go. It's not safe here."
I agreed to that. Once we get caught then it will be the end of us.
"... and love please, when you are told to stay put do that. Gabby told me you were so eager to find me. What would you do if they caught you. Think before doing something." He warned.
Soon we were both heading out when we heard Luke shouting at us. He made it clear that we are not going to make it and this house will be our death ground. For a brief moment I was about to give in. Seeing Max all calm, smiling at me saying it was going to be okay, I decided to go with the flow. Dying with him wasn't so bad of an idea. At least we will be both together for eternity.
"Anny." Gabby came rushing to me. "I thought something bad happened." He aired out her worry.
"Relax, Max wouldn't let anything happen to me." I assured her.
Max took us to pace with his plan.
"That's it."
Something felt wrong about the entire plan. He was literally skipping the 'if anyone stands in our way and stop us, death awaits for them' part.
He nodded his head in agreement digging his phone from his pocket. He ordered the rest it was action time.
"Max, can I speak to you." I pulled him aside. "As far as am the one being rescued here, please don't lie to me. How bad is this going to be?" I asked in a low tone for only his ears to hear.
"Anny, everything is..."
"Don't do that right now. You are just going to anger me. Truce?"
He gently stroke his hair for a moment there and shook his head. What in the world was that supposed to mean. I only needed for him to tell me the truth yet he was making it even hard for me to trust him right now.
" Seriously. "I got fed up when he didn't answer.
" Do you have to do this right now? " It was more like a statement rather than a question.
" Max you have to trust me on this. "
" Even if it means things could get ugly and we end up killing each other. "He stated.
Well I really wasn't ready to hear any of that. Yah! I saw a possibility for that to happen but now being said out loud scared me more than just having to think about it.
" Just get me out of here. "I whispered.
He hugged me for a couple of seconds before letting me go.
" I love you Anny. If anything happens remember that. "
I nodded as we headed back to the rest. Since Nano was the only innocent one amongst all of us, he chose to go pave way. Couple of minutes he signaled us to take action. Both Gabby and I walked close behind Max, who was already fully armed, taking him as our shield .
The hall way was way silent. Only the three of us dominated the place. My heart pounded so fast making me hold onto Max a little bit tighter. Suddenly he stopped.
"What?" I asked immediately I noticed that he had stopped.
"You are holding onto me so tight. That hurts." He complained.
"Shush! the two of you stop. We are in the middle of almost dying and all you think about is bickering against each other. "Gabby reprimanded us in a whisper.
We hurried to our second destination where Lukah and the others were.