SEAN

"Faster." I said to Thomas although I knew it wasn't humanly possible for him to drive any faster than this.

"Yes sir." He replied.

While he drove, I called Lucas' number who picked up on the first bell. "Finally got time to call your brother?" He asked in an amusing tone.

"Lucas, I'm on Walton Road right now and I was following a black SUV but we have lost it. The last three numbers are 659. I need you to find its location." I stated everything without wasting a single breath.

"But what are you---"

"Now." I said loudly.

"Okay fine. I'm on it." He replied and then cut the call.

I slumped on the seat and took some deep breaths. It was really frustrating that someone took her from my car under my protection and I couldn't do anything. We were so busy in stupidly fighting those men that we left her alone in the car. And when we realized she had been kidnapped, it was too late. The car that took her was already too far away from us and despite driving so fast, we couldn't catch them.

"Which way should I go?" Thomas asked. I looked ahead and realized the road here split into two more roads.

"Let's just wait for Lucas' response." I said and he parked the car on one side.

With every passing second, my anxiety grew and I felt sick in my stomach. This was probably the first time I was scared, scared that I would lose her. Or worse, that whoever captured her might harm her. Even the thought was enough to cause shivers down my spine.

I don't know what magic that 5'4" redhead had that had me wrapped around her little finger. Ever since I saw her that day in my office, I wanted to keep her close. I could have assigned her safety to any of my loyal workers but I wanted to protect her myself. And I failed to do that today.

According to Lucas, the reason of my softness towards her was that I might be falling for her. According to me, it was next to impossible. After all, I never believed in love and always considered it an immaturity. That's why I got involved with Hailey. It was simply a business deal. I got her father's contacts, she got to flaunt me around. No feelings, no complications, none until that girl came to my life.

But I know it's better to nip the evil in the bud. Not only would it be extremely foolish to fall in love, but also it's a fact that she would never reciprocate my feelings. She always saw me as devil reincarnated and even my presence disgusted her. And even if she somehow a miracle happens and she starts feeling something for me, the minute she knows the truth of our families, everything will be ruined. In short, nothing good could come out of my feelings for her in any scenario so there was no point dwelling on them.

I was lost in those thoughts when my phone rang. "What did you find?" I asked Lucas after picking up the phone.

"The car was last seen half an hour ago on Ewanfields road. The road security cameras showed that there were two men inside the car. One was tall and dark and the other was probably Asian." Lucas informed me.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Yes. But Sean, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Those people kidnapped Penelope and now, I'm going to kill those bastards." I said and cut the call. I then turned to Thomas who was waiting for directions. "Ewanfields road."

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We had been driving at that road for quite some time now but we were unable to find any clue. No matter how fast we drove, there was still no sign of a black car or those men.

"Stop." I said as we passed by a hotdog stall.

I walked out of the car and made my way to the stall. The owner was a middle aged white guy who got alerted as soon as he saw Thomas and me.

"Have you seen a black SUV? There were two men inside, a black guy and an Asian." I asked in a straight voice.

"I don't remember." The man said nonchalantly.

I motioned at Thomas who stepped forward and gripped the collar of that guy, pulling him up so his feet hovered above the ground.

"I... I..." The man's face went pale.

"Forgive my guard. He is a little short tempered." I passed a sardonic smile to that man. "Now tell me, do you know anything about this?"

"An asian guy came to get two hot dogs. I don't remember the color of the car." He replied.

"Where did it go?" I asked.

"I don't know but he was talking about going to Old Town over phone." He answered.

Both Thomas and I rushed back to the car and he turned the car to the right. We needed to go to Old Town which was around 30 minutes away from this place. It was a residential area in the outskirts of Florida city that was famous for the shady activity that goes inside.

The car drive to Old Town was really bumpy but Thomas managed to keep the pace. I was getting really anxious and barking at him every now and then. But the big guy remained calm and kept the focus on the road. It wasn't my fault as it hurts me to my core to imagine how they were treating Penelope. I swear if they had touched even one hair of her body, I would kill them with my bare hands.

Once we reached the Old Town, the streets turned narrow and filthy. It was hard to drive through the streets so it slowed us down.

The search through the Old Town wasn't easy. It was like a neverending maze that burned my lungs with the smoke and rearranged my insides with the bumps. At last, Thomas and I parked the car at one side and treaded further on foot.

We interrogated a fruit vendor about who we were looking for but he knew nobody of that sort. I was getting more frustrated with each passing second and had to control myself from hitting that innocent man.

We searched through the whole slum on foot for a black SUV and those two men. I had started to think this search was futile and that man had misguided us when we finally came across what we were looking for.

A black SUV was parked in front of a small house and there was also a man guarding the front door, which made no sense unless there was something precious inside, or rather someone. I nodded at Thomas as we both walked forwards.

"Hello." I gathered the attention of the guard while Thomas walked behind him. Before the guard could speak, Thomas hushed him by placing his hand on his mouth. In one single motion, he twisted him so hard that he got unconscious.

As Thomas dragged aside his limp body, I walked into the house. There was only a single room on the ground floor but it was locked. We heard some footsteps from above and I sent Thomas upstairs to deal with the nuisance.

I on the other hand, thudded on the door few times. At last, the door snapped open, revealing a very distressed Penelope, who was tied with a chair and a tape covering her mouth. Seeing me, her eyes widened and she began to struggle.

"Ssshhh. I am here." I said and kneeled in front of her. First, I removed the tape from her mouth, enabling her to breathe properly.

"You're here, Sean Miller. It's really you." She said. Her face was stained with tears and she looked really anxious and scared. I noticed the smear of blood on her forehead and my jaw clenched in anger.

I untied her arms and feet, my eyes focusing on the marks the rope left on her body. It made me want to kill whoever had made her go through all that. As soon as she was free, she straddled me and hugged me tightly.

Her body went limp as she got comfortable in my arms. I held her close to me to make her feel safe and secure. With my free hand, I rubbed circles on her back to comfort her. I could hear her hiccups as she cried and it made me furious at those men who took her from me.

"Did anyone hurt you?" I asked, wiping her tears with my fingers. I was being extra gentle with her, something I didn't think I was capable of.

"Nnn... not yet. B... But one of them w... was planning to." She stuttered while her body trembled.

"I'm here now, Penelope. Nobody can touch you, I promise. I'll kill them." I said and she shuddered at the intensity in my voice.

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