"He's the guy," said Marco.
Gian nodded. "The very same guy."
The two of them had been looking at the composite sketch of the man Khaye knew as Richard.
He was Richard, alright. In fact, his real name was Richard Karlsson and they had been hunting him down for years.
"We never had the chance to tie him to any of the murders, but this might just be the first one he is directly connected to," uttered Marco.
"When Khaye mentioned the tattoos, I could hardly believe it."
"But what was he doing with this Petroff guy?" He turned to Gian with a frown. "Your sister said Petroff is one of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry. What the hell is he doing talking about money with the guy on our most wanted list?"
Gian shrugged. "You know they hide in plain sight. He's definitely one of them."
Marco returned his gaze to the sketch. "We need a word with Petroff."
The door burst open and a young officer came stumbling in. "She's gone. We can't find her," he said breathlessly. He was talking to Gian. "Your sister's gone."
*****
Desiree saw the amazement in their faces as the host announced that she was sold.
Sold.
Just like those fine paintings, those stolen ancient artifacts.
She was sold in less than two minutes for eighty million dollars.
As the two gloved men wheeled her out of the stage like they had done with the previous items, Desiree carved in her memory the clapping faces. They looked like people, some even faintly familiar. With their glittery dresses and fine suits, they looked like people. Her eyes met Theo's for a brief moment before she finally disappeared from view.
He was just like them. To call them animals was an understatement.
"Congratulations, dear," Ms. Kane's voice spoke behind her.
Desiree tried to stop the tears but one eventually escaped. A shiver ran through her spine when she felt Ms. Kane's soft touch on her cheek, wiping it off her face. "You must have left a pretty good impression on that boy. Eighty mil is not cheap, even for us, considering the kind of artifact." She sighed and smiled down at her. "But men will always be men. They like their women as much as we like our shoes. Crazy bastards, aren't they?" She turned to the two men standing there, waiting for orders. "Pack her nicely. She'll be delivered as soon as possible. And don't forget the damn 'fragile' stickers again! The last one got a lot of bruises and the buyer was seriously pissed!" she added before walking off without another look at Desiree.
*****
Theo arranged for a ride before his brother got back. He was wise to know that Richard could do anything at this rate.
He threw the old man he wanted to speak to with a look of regret. He'd do it next time, he thought.
"Theo! Where are you going?"
Without pausing, he looked over his shoulder and saw Tatiana. She was smiling at him with curiosity and she was looking gorgeous. "I have to go. Urgent business."
"Call me!" she added at his retreating back. He just lifted one hand in response and strode off the room, careful not to bump into his brother.
"Your ride's waiting at the side exit," informed one of the guards.
"Thank you. Tell Richard to get his own ride when you see him."
"How would you like your package to be delivered?" asked Ms. Kane who appeared beside him as he walked down the tunnel to the side exit.
"How do you usually do it?" he asked.
She clucked her tongue with a shake of her head. "You're obviously new to this sort of thing. You've never bought a thing in the past. But there's always a first time, right? Don't worry, we'll do it just as we did with the others."
Theo stopped walking and turned to Ms. Kane. "Don't let Richard near her."
Ms. Kane raised her brows in amusement. "Well, well, well...rivalry, Theo?" She nodded her head with a smile. "Don't worry about that as well. We take high pride with what we do, don't we? Your package will be safe. To be delivered to your residence?"
He nodded and walked away. He checked his watch. He had a lot of time to spare. It was his stupid brother's fault. Or should he say, it was all because of his unwanted impulsiveness.
*****
Khaye was conscious even before she opened her eyes. She knew she was on a moving vehicle but she didn't want to let whoever took her know that she was awake.
What were they planning to do to her?
Who took her?
Was it him?
What did he want to do to her?
Her phone was still in her pocket. She could feel it against her bottom. A big part of her wanted to grab it and call Gian for help, but her mind knew better. She had to find a better opportunity but she had to do it fast before they found out about it.
"They're already waiting for us," a woman's voice said beside her. It was her—the female officer who gave her the cup of coffee.
Khaye should have known better.
Because of her carelessness, her life was in danger. And Gian might be too late to save her this time.
*****
They gagged her mouth and placed her inside a long wooden box. For the first time in her life, she wished she was inside a real coffin and that she was dead.
She knew better than to put up a fight. Struggling would only drain her of her strength and she might just need it if she did not end up dead.
That man, Theo, just bought her for eighty million dollars. Was he that rich to throw away that big amount of cash just to kill her?
But it was Richard who wanted her dead. For some reason unknown to her, Richard was deeply affected by Jamaica's death.
She felt she was carefully lifted off the ground, carried along a path and carefully placed into a vehicle. She heard the soft hum of an engine and then she was floating to somewhere.
She tried to fight the choking feeling of being trapped inside a small space, trying to picture out the scene outside rather than the darkness that enveloped her. To distract herself, Desiree thought of Jamaica.
For the last two days, she tried to think of some reasons why her friend would wind up dead. She had been acting weird that night, disappearing for hours and meeting people she barely knew except Petroff.
Did Petroff kill her? But why?
And why did Richard and Theo knew Jamaica? How did they know Jamaica?
She wished her friend was there to answer her questions because she couldn't bring herself to think that Jamaica had been hiding a big, dark secret from her. She had witnessed what Ms. Kane, Theo and Richard was capable of. She had had a taste of the violence of their world and she was afraid that Jamaica was a part of it. If she were, how far deep was she into this grotesque world? Desiree could only wonder in horror.
*****
Richard was calling him and he had been ignoring the calls for the last hour. His brother was furious, that was for certain. But Richard being furious was almost often.
He checked his watch and reclined in his seat, one leg over the other.
The knock came with another ring of his phone. He ignored the phone and came to his feet to walk to the door.
Two men were standing outside. Theo's eyes went past them and on the rectangular wooden box. He frowned. "Is that really necessary?" he asked.
"We only follow orders," said one of them.
Theo stepped aside to fee the doorway. They picked up the box that was the size of a coffin and carried it inside his home.
"Where to?" asked the taller one.
"Just put it there," he ordered.
They did as he said and started for the door.
"The key," said the smaller of the two. Theo took the key and they were gone.
His place was silent once again, just like one minute ago. He stood staring at the box for a good five minutes, fiddling with the key in his hand.
He was full of regret. His phone wouldn't stop ringing because of this woman. Richard would find him here in no time and he would demand for her.
He shouldn't have done it. He should have just let his brother do whatever he wanted.
When he heard a sound coming from inside, he started to move.
"I'll open the box now, but I expect you to behave just as you are or you'll regret it," he uttered, looking down as if he was talking straight at her face. There was just silence and he took it as answer enough.
He knelt down on one knee and unlocked the box with the key. When the latch was undone, he pushed the top cover over to the other side and it came crashing against the side.
Desiree flinched but did not make a sound. Her mouth was gagged, her feet bound and her hands tied in front of her.
Her light brown eyes stared back at her with so much anger that for a second he considered answering Richard's call to surrender her to him. Her fake red hair was strewn over her face. It was a pity they had to cut her long, black tresses before they left that hotel. He had liked her hair.
When she just stared at him like a witch doing a silent spell on him, he rested his hand on one knee and sighed. "I honestly don't know what to do with you." The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. "But since I spent quite big to get you here, I have to figure something out."
She blinked but continued to stay motionless.
"First, you should get out of that coffin of yours," he told her, standing up.
She tried to say something but the gag over her mouth was making it impossible for him to comprehend. He bent down to pull it down and instantly regretted it because she started screaming. Theo reached for the top cover of the box, pulled and closed it over her screaming face. He sat on it and rested his forearms over his knees. "I thought I made it clear that you have to behave. You can scream as much as you want and nobody will hear you. I can let you do that but I want my peace and quiet whenever I am home. So, if you are still not over the fact that your life is in the mercy of a man sitting over your screaming, wailing body, you can stay inside like that. Otherwise, shut the fuck up so we can have some sort of agreement on how things are going to be from this moment forward," he said over her screams.
He sat there for a minute but when it seemed that her screaming wouldn't stop, he stood up, locked the box again and went to make himself a cup of coffee.
Five minutes later, she was still screaming and he was making dinner.
Without a word from him, he listened to her muffled screams for the next thirty minutes. And during that time, he had eaten his dinner and quite figured out what to do with her.
When the box finally fell silent, Theo returned with the key.
Her eyes were blazing when he opened the lid but she kept her mouth shut this time. Her nose were flaring with fury.
"Done?" he asked flatly.
"Fuck you," she spat at him.
"We might just discuss that one later," he said as he reached out to grab her tied hands and pulled her up easily. "I am not insane to set you free so don't get your hopes up," he told her before bending down to carry her out of the box in his arms.
She squirmed at his touch and he ignored it, focused on his task. When he reached the leather couch, he dropped her on it none too gently and heaved a sigh.
"I forgot that you can get quite heavy," he said as he took the opposite seat from her. She swung her bound legs off the couch and sat up. Her hands were tightly clasped and bound on her lap. Her eyes were glaring at him like a tiger but he was getting used to that.
"What are you planning to do to me? Make me your slave? Fuck me until you're done and dump me somewhere? What?" she demanded.
"First, I don't have a plan yet. I bought you out of whim," he lied. "Make you my slave?" He shook his head as he searched for the right words. "No, I don't do slavery. I can do pretty much anything on my own. Fuck you until I'm done and dump you somewhere?" He gave her a look of feigned consideration. "Fuck you, I'm still considering. Dump you somewhere, I'm not so sure. I paid eighty million to save your pretty ass and I'm not willing to just dump you somewhere unless it's where I want you to be."
Her eyes widened at his answers.
"Save me?" she asked with disbelief, followed by a scoff of disgust.
Theo looked at her for a long time before carefully saying, "Because of what you did, Desiree, you managed to get yourself into the world of the mad, the bad and the evil. You don't know how many mad people were trying to bid for you earlier, do you? Their minds are so sick that you and I can't even imagine what they are fantasizing about. And the bad ones were just as eager to get their hands on you, including my brother and you had a taste of him in that hotel room. You stumbled into the world of many evils and let's just say that I am the least of all those things."
"There is no such thing as the lesser evil," she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes were brimming with furious tears as she spoke. "There's just evil."
His brows rose. "And you're not? What do you call killing your friend is then?"
Her jaws clenched, her hands balled into fists and the tears fell straight on her lap. "I did not kill Jamaica."
"Tell me who did it then?"
"Why don't you ask your brother? He was reacting way too much the last time I saw him. Maybe he's hiding something. Or maybe it was Petroff. She walked out of that bar to meet with him, didn't she?"
Theo had already considered everything she said on his own days ago.
"Why did you try to save me, as what you called it?" she asked, her eyes not leaving his.
She still had some spirit after what she'd been through. He shrugged in response and stood up. "I don't want my brother to add another name on his murder list. As I told you, I am not a fan of violence," he said.
"I don't believe you."
He gave her an empty smile. "You're right. I need you for something."
"What?"
Theo took the remaining steps toward her and reached for her face. The stimulating feeling he felt the first time he touched her on the night they met rushed through him but he ignored it as he slowly lifted her head to stare down at her light brown eyes. "I'm going to use you to get something I desperately need."