He looked tired, yet he grinned at her.
For a second, she felt an ounce of pity for him. Her heart pounded with both nervousness and anticipation. She pretended not to care for his presence, but her heart beat uncontrollably against her chest. He leaned forward, and she consciously moved away from him.
He frowned.
"Bad mood, aren't ya?", he asked lazily while peering down at her.
"N-no, I'm fine... Just don't do that," she stuttered as she swiftly looked away. Color gradually rose to her cheeks, and before she knew it, she almost looked like a ripe tomato.
Amused, he pulled a chair close to her bed, his playful eyes still on her. He chuckled when she caught her discreetly stealing a glance at him.
'Cute', he thought as he rested his head on his palm.
"What that?"
"This... You shouldn't act chummy with your captives. Your father wouldn't li—"
He clicked his tongue and put a finger on her lips.
"Shhhh...Shhhh... Now, now don't talk like that, pal... Jeez, you sound like my old man."
"I don't intend to be your pal, mister. I'm your captive, and you shouldn't lower your guard with me just because I looked vulnerable."
He looked at her scowling face and scratched his chin.
"My, my! You never fail to amuse me, pal..."
She snorted and just tried to ignore him. She diverted her attention to the hidden camera beneath the table. She glared at it, but his piercing gaze was too much to ignore. She whirled around and almost shouted when his face greeted her closely. Her face immediately heated up again.
"I'll get you out of here...", he whispered.
"Huh?", she almost exclaimed.
"Shhhhh... Don't talk too loudly, pal. They might hear you...", he said as he pulled her closer.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Getting you out of here... Listen, I don't want to meddle in my father's business, but your my exception, pal. I'll get you out of here, so just do what I'll say..."
She looked at him confused. "Why would you do that?"
He pulled her closer once again and whispered, "Tilt your head."
"Why would I—"
"Just do it...", he ordered brusquely.
She tilted her head. He smirked at the hidden camera, and after a few seconds, the light from it turned off.
"Good. Now give me your hands," he said flatly.
"W-what are you go—"
He didn't let her finish when he leaned towards her and reached out for her hands. Words seemed to suddenly disappeared from mouth. Her breath hitched when their hands met, and that touch immediately send her heart wild.
'God... what's happening to me?'
She gulped and tried hard to calm herself. Worried that he might hear her erratic heartbeat, she tried to create a little distance from him.
"Are you afraid of me? Don't worry, this just takes a jiffy. It's been long since I last picked locks, so my prowess got pretty rusted," he explained.
'I'm not afraid of you...', she thought, but she decided not to say it aloud.
"And... Voila! Let's get outta here now!", he said in a rushed manner. He grabbed her hand, and together they got out of the room. He continued holding her hands as they ran across the huge hallways, but as soon as they ran into a blind corner, he let go of her hand and pushed her back.
A little part of her felt disappointed.
"Wait... I'll go first," he muttered silently.
She nodded and just followed him.
They continued walking until they saw a tiny light from the distant. He started to stride his way to it, and since her legs were much shorter, she half-ran just to catch up with him.
She was panting heavily when they reached the exit. She looked up to him and saw him gazing down at her. She looked away when she felt her cheeks stung.
"By the way, what did you exactly do to make them turn off the hidden camera?" she asked as soon as she regained her breath.
"You really don't know, pal?", he asked back with amusement evident in his voice.
"Why would I ask you if I knew?", she retorted impatiently.
"Fine...chill pal, I never thought you're hot-blooded. Well, a little trick with angles, I guess? You see the one who monitors today is Louis, and he's really a virtuous man. He doesn't want to taint his eyes with worldly—
"What?!", she burst out with her face flushed.
"So you see, I let him believe that we do the deed. Louis is virginal, so I really waited for his turn to get you out of there. Did I satisfy your question, pal?"
Before she could answer, the alarm from the building rang. She heard him curse under his breath as he checked something from his phone.
"Good lord, how did they discover it that fast?"
"Maybe I'm not a good actress?", she absentmindedly blurted out.
'Shoot... Did I say that aloud?', she pondered rather too late.
He turned to her with an amused grin.
"Maybe your right pal, you ought to have acted in a more convincing way. You should have held my nape, then pulled me closer and—"
"Stop you creep! I don't want to hear anything weird from you again!", she exclaimed as she covered her ears.
He stared at her for quite some time. She noticed it, so she looked up to him. Her heart almost climbed into the back of her throat when she saw him smiling—not the naughty one—but genuine.
"Look, I gotta go now. You run straight ahead and turn right. If you see a white sedan, get in and you'll see Tomas—he's my subordinate. Tell him your name and he'll return you to where we abducted you..."
With that, he turned and walked back towards the building. She remained frozen, unable to process what he said.
'Can I trust him? What if this just a ruse?'
She looked at his disappearing figure intently. Gunshots rang, and without looking back, she ran straight towards the path he had instructed.
She continued running blindly, and she sharply turned right when she encountered the two paths. She was getting near the end of the trail when, at the corner of her vision, she noticed something glowing under the clump of bushes.
'It's a hidden camera.'
She smiled inwardly when memories of earlier events replayed in her mind. She scoffed when she recalled his haughty face. She stopped for a moment, then looked up at the clear skies and pondered.
'Will it be a trap to abduct me again?'
She shrugged and continued walking until not far away, she saw a white sedan.
Well, somehow, she didn't think so.