I inhaled the strong smell of kerosene, it worked on my body like nicotine.

I strode up to the end of the dungeon and switched on the lights. The empty space walled by stone walls greeted me with their tranquility. My shoes thumped against the granite floorboards, as I sat on the chair were all my captives did.

This was my interrogation room. I took out a packet of cigarette, lit them with the lighter I held in my right hand and sucked in my daily medicine. My chest tightened, as I let out a puff of smoke that loitered the empty space.

When I needed some true answers from my subjects, I brought them here. The atmosphere was cold here, with no lighting except for the two tube lights on either side of the cubical room. There were no windows. A table presided behind the chair where I kept my toys, the tools which I used when they refused to comply.

I needed information from her too. The fact that I still hadn't brought her here bothered me.

Ashley. The name stuck in my head as I pondered the reasons how she was involved in all this. Austin must know about her disappearance then why this silence stretched? I needed to know more than just about his damn face. He knew she had seen him. Did he want me to know his identity?

Who was she? An agent? I couldn't let her go just like that. What if she was just a lucky girl who saw Austin? What if she was an asset to Austin? I needed answers.

After I reached here, I did a background check on her. Ashley Logan. Her parents were dead and she entered our circle eight years ago. Something felt off about it but I didn't know what. I was given the assignment a few minutes before the party so I all knew was that I had to kidnap a certain lass.

I was going to try a new way with her. If it didn't work, then she would be here soon.

-----------------

The birds romped merrily hinting the arrival of a new day. I fluttered my eyes open and the first thing I saw was my antic wall clock. It was five in the morning. I stretched my arms and ran a hand through my disheveled hair.

I would get the answers out of her, today. I reminded myself of my today's work.

I kicked off the covers and dragged myself from the bed. Walking toward the floor-to-ceiling window, I pushed the curtains open.

The gleaming rays of the morning sun tickled my skin but my head felt heavy. I drank too much yesterday on my way from the dungeon. The sound of the waves calmed my senses; the soft blowing breeze untangled my sulky knots. I breathed in the fresh air.

I sighed.

The aftermath of the alcohol was worst: my head throbbed, eyes stunk and I felt lousy. But, it was the only thing that got me to bed at night. Sleep, that shit knocked my door rarely.

And even if it did, I would be awake after a few hours because of a certain nightmare. One that haunted me from the past several years. About her.

I took a cold shower and dressed up in my casuals. A cup of coffee sat on my bedside table as always. I wrapped my fingers around the warm container and took in the aroma of the coffee. I strolled toward the cupola which was attached to my room. From there, I saw the whole beach in full HD view.

I was leaning against the metallic railing and I felt something tickle against my earlobe. I swiftly turned around, my chest collided against a warm body and the contents of the cup spilled over. Ashley.

Her facial expression twisted into pain, I looked down and found her white shirt dripping wet with brimming hot coffee.
She groaned and threw me a death glare while I gripped her wrist and pulled her inside.

Perfect time to ask the questions.

I shook that thought away and focused my gaze on her.

"Damn it," I cursed as I made her sit on the couch that laid against the wall at the front, and headed toward the bedside table. I pulled the second drawer open, took the first-aid box out, picked up the glass of water kept on top of the drawer.

"Open your shirt," I said, sitting beside her on the couch. I took a few cotton balls out, dipped them into the water and waited for her.

As I looked up, I saw her breasts covered with a bra. I gulped. I averted my gaze from her breasts and examined the burnt area. The skin was red just above the valley of her breast, covering her sternum. I placed the cotton ball on her skin and slowly wiped the hints of coffee away.

"So, Ashley how did you meet Austin?"I asked her nonchalantly, picking up a dry cotton ball.

Silence.

I looked up at her and found her giving me a bored look. I quirked an eyebrow at her and she cleared her throat.

"You mean personally, right? Well, guess what? I almost killed one of his lap dogs."

"Why?"

"He beat one of the girls there mercilessly," She said, her tone slightly changed.

"What did Austin do to you after that?" I asked, discarding the dry cotton away. Her chest was clean, I picked the ointment out from the box.

"No food for eight days straight."

I glanced up at her and found her staring at me.

"You wanna explain why are you so comfortable here after being abducted? Are you hiding something, Ashley?" I asked, boring my eyes into hers, to gauge her reaction.

"They abducted me eight years ago. My parents are dead. They treated me like shit. So, yes, I am happy about getting kidnapped. I hate Austin," she said, venom dripping from her voice. Her eyes flared with rage, chest heaved as she enunciated every word.

Maybe, she was just a victim. I was just over-thinking. I needed details about Austin.

I took a small amount of ointment out and applied it on the burnt areas.

"Will you help me find Austin?"

"How? I just know how he looks. Besides, how do I know you're any better than him."

"I will provide you protection here. After his arrest, you will be free to go. Just tell me anything else you know."

"Um.., there is a guest house on the outskirts of London where Austin occasionally visited. It's a fancy mansion."

"How do you know about that?"

"They took us there to do a show for some private clients. We were blindfolded throughout the way but I caught a glimpse of outside through the bathroom window."

"What did you see?" I asked, putting the first-aid box away. I signaled her to put on her shirt.

"There was a garden outside filled with some exotic flowers and loads of sunflower. There was a lake too. Throughout the space, there were no other buildings. That's all I know," she said, putting on her shirt.

"You can go now," I said, as I mulled over the guest house she was talking about.

I needed to find that guest house. Was she telling the truth?