When he stepped into the moonlight, I saw that it was Kael. My heartbeat quickened. He'd promised he wouldn't come up for the rest of the night. I couldn't believe my stupidity in willingly waiting in his bed for him. For some reason, I continued my charade, fearful of what might happen if I was found awake. My grip on the gun slid a little, my palms sweaty. I knew I was shaking, and it grew even harder to keep my breathing even. My thoughts played havoc with my latent fears.

He started slowly toward the bed. I slid my lids shut. Arriving at my side, I could feel his eyes on me. I focused on keeping my breathing even, keeping a grip on the gun. Preparing for the impending assault, I willed myself to fight, use not lose the gun, and most of all stay calm. The seconds ticked by slowly. How long was he going to stand there? I couldn't be sure, but I still felt his presence.

Finally, I heard him shift his weight. The drawer of the nightstand slid open. Now he knows I'm armed, I thought. I wondered if this would make him hesitate in his plans. Regretfully, I hadn't even checked to see if the gun was loaded.

I considered ending my act and demanding an explanation for his unexpected return. However, my sleep had seemed to deter him from whatever sinister plan had brought him back. I heard his steps going away from me. I allowed myself to slide my eyes open just a little. He was leaning, with his back to the door. He slid down; his knees almost buckled beneath him. Once he hit the ground, he didn't move. After a few minutes of silence I opened my eyes wider, trying to see if he was still awake. When he remained still, I wondered if he had succumbed to his injuries. This was doubtful. He seemed to be taking his broken ribs and knife wound rather well. When I thought about it, he didn't mention them at all unless he had down time with nothing else to occupy his attention.

After a quarter of an hour, I decided he was going to leave me alone. If he hadn't made his move yet, he wasn't going to. While I was determined to stay awake, I would at least relax my hold on the gun a little I decided. Moments later, I let my eyelids shut again. I convinced myself that I would just rest quietly until he left.

The sound of my door closing woke me the next morning. It took me a moment to remember where I was as well as what had happened last night. Recalling how I had intended not to fall asleep, I punched my pillow, disappointed in myself. Most likely, that had been Kael leaving just now as his spot on the floor was vacant. At least I had made it safely through the night.

I laid on my back for a moment, studying the canopy of paintings above the bed that I hadn't noticed last night. I heard another door close down the hall. I considered staying in bed. Four to five hours was the most sleep I'd gotten as it looked to be between eight and nine in the morning. I felt groggier than I had last night. Unfortunately, sunlight flooded the room. Shoving the blankets aside, I sat up, knocking the gun to the floor. I jumped, having forgotten about keeping it last night.

I slid out of the bed, nearly falling from my high perch. Although last night I had needed to keep the gun, I decided it was best for me not to be carrying a weapon I had no idea how to use. I put the gun away and pulled up the blankets back the way I had found them.

Back in my room, I changed quickly, eager to share the events of last night. Garrett was sure to have his own take on the encounter with Madeline. At times, his insight was more helpful than my own in these matters.

Seconds after I finished, a familiar rapid sequence of taps on my door signaled Garrett's arrival. I opened the door before he could finish the final set.

Unlike me, he looked better than last night, refreshed even. "Where have you been?" He sounded out of breath. I bit my lip, feeling guilty that he had been out looking for me. "You weren't in here this morning, and I thought the worst!"

I sighed, taking a quick look outside the door to ensure we weren't being watched. Pulling the front of his shirt, I forced him into the room. A mixture of horror and excitement came to his shadowed face. Given another day, he would be wearing a black beard. "What is it?"

I closed the door. "Gar, Madeline came after me last night." Garrett's eyes widened. "We caught her, but I had to stay somewhere more secure just in case. Kael was positive they wouldn't come after you or I would have insisted."

Garrett nodded, "Of course. Where is she now?"

Tying my hair into a knot at the base of my neck, I walked to the door, "Just wait until I show you what's under this house." Garrett took the bait and followed.

Garrett and I found Kael in the kitchen. He shoved a few mugs of coffee at us and resumed browsing through the morning newspaper. I took a sip, glancing at Garrett. He looked expectantly at me, nodding his head toward a silent Kael. I shrugged and took another sip. Garrett cleared his throat. Kael turned the page, failing to look at either of us.

I finally started, "I told Garrett about last night."

Keeping his head down, Kael lifted his eyes to meet mine. I offered a faint smile, feeling uncomfortable.

"He'd like to see the family business."

Kael straightened, "a tour?"

He made it sound rather ridiculous, but I ignored his intonation and smiled.

"Please."

I was surprised when he led us outside. The wind whipped through my dress, causing a cold chill so persistent in England.

"Is this the only way to access it?" I asked, knowing full well he was detouring.

Kael called over his shoulder, "this way."

We walked around the back of the estate, taking a path that led up a rocky slope and overlooked the bay. The ocean breeze offered a fresh and crisp wind. I almost expected to see small security outposts or guards protecting the place now that I'd verified their existence. Kael must have expected our curiosity this morning. He'd probably spent some of his time with Higgins last night preparing a staged tour. Last night with the security breach, I had likely seen a little too much.

Once at the top of the rocky slope, I looked down on the bay, thinking this would be a terrifying, yet romantic place to die. The waves lapped against the rocks and made soothing crashing sounds.

"Over here." Kael called, pulling me from my morbid thoughts. He led us to the side of a large stack of boulders where a path started, obstructed from view between the rock and accompanying foliage. For the first time, I saw a small black camera fixed to the rock where the path started. Ah, I had known I'd spot one soon enough.

I followed the two men down the sloping path until we were directly at sea level. We made a sharp left and entered the wide mouth of a cave. Obscured from view, no one would spot us if they were on the beach or rocks above. In turn, cargo could be moved without the chance of anyone seeing anything, especially at night.

Water inside the mouth of the cave came nearly to my knees. The floor of the cave was almost level. A small current of water moved rhythmically to and fro. I knew I would lose one or both of my shoes, so I slipped them off and navigated across the rocks in my bare feet. We finally reached our destination: a large door camouflaged at the back right of the cave. The light from the bay was nearly imperceptible at this point. I was surprised Kael could even find it. We stepped up into a large room, probably some sort of docking area, where concrete floors and wide sectioned off pads were vacant other than a parked forklift and some other shipping equipment. As I took in my surroundings, I pictured the room with shipments of illegal contraband and bustling employees doing their jobs.

Higgins was in the room waiting for us. Arms crossed, he didn't look pleased, but I was still certain he and Kael had planned this.

Kael extended a brief introduction. "This is Higgins, head of security at the manor. Higgins, these are my friends Caraleena and Garrett." Not only was I Caraleena again, but the three of us were hardly friends. I wondered at Kael's charade when we knew each other's identity from last night. He went on, "they are going to be staying here. Just a few days. But we need to maintain heightened security to ensure their safety."

"Of course."

Higgins gave a stiff, brief smile and a firm handshake to Garrett.

I wondered if Madeline was still down here or if she was dead. For some reason, I harbored a deep suspicion that Kael was going to kill her.

Kael did a brief tour of the security room with rows of computers. I was surprised how many more people were here this morning. At least half a dozen people sat at their desks, presumably doing surveillance. Next, we entered a side room. Walled off with tinted glass walls, we could watch the other employees through one way glass.

A glass table sat in the middle with a slender open laptop. Several chairs and a small bar completed the room. Kael took a seat behind the desk.

Garrett sat down opposite him. "What are your thoughts on how to proceed?" Garrett asked, referring to Kael's promise to formalize a plan.

I interjected, knowing that the plan I had been formulating in the back of my mind would meet resistance. "I would like to leave, actually."

When both men looked over at me, I continued.

"I'm serious. I know the risks, and I know how dangerous these people are, but," I took a breath, hardening my resolve, "I would like to head home. If you want to stay, Gar, you two can figure this out." I waved my hand indicating the large underground cavern in which we sat.

"Harper. That's suicide!" Garrett objected. He looked over to Kael for support, but he was pre-occupied with the computer. I doubted he was even listening. "I know you want to go, but sincerely, you have to stay and hear him out. There may be something we can do to fix this. Then we can leave together, safely."

I turned to Kael, "Fine. You may tell me your thoughts, but I still want to go." I had already decided; I was leaving. Admittedly, I had a twisted curiosity as to what he was planning.

"Madeline coming back changes everything." He said, still focused on the computer, not even glancing up at us.

"Okay?" I failed see how she had changed anything. The woman had offered to exchange me for the diamonds. It was a trade I prayed was still off the table.

"What she said last night," He was speaking quicker now, still working on the computer. I stepped closer as he continued, "...she said knows where the shipment is and she will give it to me if I turn over you."

"Not an option!" Garrett exclaimed.

Kael ignored the outburst and continued, "It would seem that Madeline's employers stole their own shipment from us, which makes me think they wanted this whole mess to happen." He finally looked up at our confused faces. "Their actions have started a chain of events that brought you out from obscurity. They needed leverage on Gideon and you are really the only thing that could provide that. They just didn't know how to find you. So they let me find you instead."

Garrett held up his hand.

"Are you saying they stole their own shipment and blamed it on Gideon?"

Kael nodded as Garrett went on, seeming excited, "They effectively destroyed his business and sent him into a state of panic at their accusations. Afraid they would look for retribution, he wanted to protect Harper but instead it brought you into the center of his twisted world!" Garrett was already writing the story in his mind, I knew. Unlike me, he had not become discouraged by the possibility of a tragic ending.

Kael pulled at the collar of his white shirt. "Once they know where the asset is, they can acquire it, use it for their own manipulative purposes. I just can't work out what they would want that would require such a level of blackmail. Gideon would do almost anything for the right price."

"Asset? You mean me," I said heatedly. My skin was crawling at this story. I hoped that somehow this wasn't true. There was nothing worse than finding that I was at the center of this whole mess.

"Yeah." He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "So the problem is, if you leave now, you will be working yourself perfectly into their plan."

"Well, according to your version," I pointed out. I glanced over at Garrett. He was distracted, still contemplating the implications of this new theory. "Can you explain why they wouldn't just kidnap you?" I asked Kael.

"Gideon wouldn't care about one of his employees. He'd be much more likely to be affected by his daughter being taken." His eyes locked with mine. His look was clear. He didn't want Garrett to know he'd been much like a son to the old patriarch.

I leaned across the table, my face close to his, "But you're not just any employee, are you?" I knew I had him. Somehow, if I could disprove this theory, I felt like I would almost be safe to leave.

Kael's jaw tightened. He stood up. "If you have a better explanation as to why a company would organize the theft of their own goods, please, speak now. It certainly wasn't for the insurance claims." With that he exited the room, slamming the glass door behind him.

Garrett finally spoke, "What was that? Now we have no idea what his plan is!" He rushed out after him.

I pressed my fingers to my forehead, frustrated. He'd had some gall calling me "an asset." And why wouldn't he acknowledge his own relationship with my father? I looked behind me to see if anyone was returning. The room was as it had been, filled with people, busy at their laptops or discussing their work among themselves. Garrett and Kael were gone.

I had to find them. Flinging aside the glass doors, I exited the room as well. A few personnel at computers looked up at me as I passed by but no one tried to stop me. I hesitated at the back of the room, not sure which way to go. I used the door I thought Kael and I had used last night to get into the boardroom.

As soon as I opened the door, I regretted my decision as well as my lack of direction. The lighting was dim, the room dank. The single light hung in the middle of a long hall with what appeared to be cells lining the walkway on either side. I grabbed the door and tried to turn the knob. But the door had locked behind me. I turned back to the room, not sure what to do. Now that I reflected on my choice, the door I had come through had been thick metal, not your typical compressed wood office door. No doubt the thick door provided excellent sound proofing.

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Cells... doesn't sound good, does it? This chapter is a little longer for those of you I've been torturing with my shorter installments. Please vote and comment if you liked this chapter! Hearing from you makes my day XD

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