....

Peyton 

I walk my way down to the bus stop that I got off at earlier and take it home. I am so exhausted that it's hard to keep my eyes open, but I need to so that I don't miss my stop. I am walking on just fumes by the time I hit my block and see my building.

I tread slowly up the steps and enter my hallway and exhale. I can feel the toll of my day settling into my joints. I reach my door and pull out my keys. When I push them into the lock, my door opens.

Funny. I know I locked my door before leaving.

Didn't I?

I don't realize it until it's too late, that I am not alone in my apartment. Before I switch on the lights a hand darts out in the dark and yanks me around, slamming me into the wall. My heart seizes in my chest as the assailants' fingers close around my throat and tightens. I can barely scream. I am terrified. He caught up to me. He found me. I struggle to get free. And fight him as hard as I can.

"The money is not in the account that I gave you." The familiar deep voice with an accent brushed over my ear.

Both relief and fear hurled through me. It wasn't Damian but one of Boris's men.

I shook my head. "I transferred it. I swear I did. Like you asked." I argued as he tightened his grip on my neck.

"Don't play games with me. The account is empty," He hissed.

How can that be? There is no possible way. Unless someone....

I gasped as he slammed me again into the wall. The pain was too much.

"You have 48 hours to get our money and it is no longer $165,000. We want $250,000. ...Or we find your brother...and he dies."

I shook my head. No..no.. I can't give him what he wants.

Before I know it, he lets go and I drop to the floor. He is gone before I can gain my strength to stand. I remain there holding my throat until the pain subsides then I slowly stand.

I look around and noticed that he tossed the place. I felt horrified. I can't sleep here. Ice floods my veins with that realization. I am not safe here. And....neither is Jeremy.

I grab my backpack and make a hard decision of leaving. I could walk upstairs and ask Ms. Eloise to stay with her. But then that will go into an interrogation I have no desire to get into with her. I exhale, my hand shakes as I pull up my phone and search for the closest shelter in the area.

I locate one 5 minutes away that closes its doors in an hour. On my way there, my mind is flooded with what I need to do. Jeremy is safe for now because I doubt, they know where he is. But it's only a matter of time before they find him.

And kill him.

                                                                               *******************

Damien....

My morning was not good.

I sit silent in the middle of the morning brief and conference call. More annoyed that I couldn't be out there tracking her down. Just so that I can strangle her when I find her. Her little escape last night put a dent in my evening. I had to get a hold of the maintenance guy so that he could get me into my apartment and reset the code to my lock. It was frustrating listening to him explain the intricacies of the alarm as if I cared. I just wanted him to fix the god damn thing so that I could go to bed.

No one saw her when she left. Just the surveillance cameras in the lobby. The footage was useless.

The moment I stepped in to my home I immediately noticed that she left my laptop on the kitchen counter. Which was an odd move coming from a hacker and a thief. She could have gotten a pretty penny for it. By the time the meeting is over, with relief I stand and make my way back to my office. I look at Vanessa and tell her to hold all my calls and cancel my afternoon conference meeting. I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone.

I slump in my chair and begin the little bit of work that I can muster despite the fact that my mind was nowhere near here to begin with. I rub my temple as I lean back and gaze at my computer. A part of me was anxiously waiting for the little box to flash in the corner with her taunting words.

A chuckle escapes me as I wrap my head around the fact that she is just a girl. One that managed to hack into my company and steal. Unbelievable. To do what she did. She needed smarts. I didn't even catch her first name. Last I checked with Drew, he was pulling up info on her and said by the end of the week he will get it to me. I didn't mention that I found her. I sure as hell am not going to disclose that I locked her in my apartment and how she managed to escape.

Regardless I needed to find her and get back that money. I inhale a fortifying breath and slowly pull away from my desk and stand. I walk to the window and stare out at the vast expanse of the city. The busy streets below were alive with pedestrians and cars passing in every direction getting from point A to Point B in a rush. The city that never rests.

I am so deep in my thoughts that I miss the commotion in the hall. I could hear Vanessa's voice get louder and suddenly my door busts open. I turn and look at Vanessa trailing behind the girl as she burst into my office and stopped. I'm thrown off by the way she storms in unannounced. The room suddenly grows quiet and at a stand still as she holds my gaze for a brief second then looked away as Vanessa spoke.

"I am so sorry Mr. Frost, she didn't listen. I told her you weren't to be disturbed." Vanessa stopped behind her.

I stepped close observing her. She was flushed and winded as she looked at me.

I don't respond immediately.

"That's okay, Vanessa, I got it from here. Thank you."

She hesitates some as she gives the girl a nasty look before turning away. I walk slowly to the door and make sure its properly closed. And I lock it.

"I have to talk to you," she says. Her voice is soft and shaky. I don't give time for her to finish before I turn and lunge for her and drag her close and press her against the door. There I block her in. She can't escape this time.

I remain where I stand. I try to calm the rage that is slowly forming in me. I finally get a good look at the little thief that stole from me. My heart dips as she gazes up at me. She is petite in stature. And .... Very pretty. Too pretty.

I can see how this little encounter has left her off-kilter.

"You have either lost your mind or you better have a good reason for barging into my office the way you did."

She remains silent. The sassy little spitfire from yesterday is nowhere in this room. I am impatient for her response. I chuck up her chin and gaze into her eyes which slowly began to pool with tears.

"I need your help." She says. Her voice is shaky and winded. As if it took every last ounce of her to come here and ask me this.

I shake my head and pull away.

"You got to be kidding me," I'm appalled and thrown back by the request.

"Please!," her voice wobbles. More tears begin to well up in her eyes. I held her gaze as it saddened then she looked away.

I had to turn away. I don't do good with tears. And that looked like she was on the brink of shedding more. This is just unbelievable.

I had to laugh at the absurdity of all of this. I turn to face her. My wrath at full force. "You know you have some nerve to ask me for anything after the shit you pulled and the danger you put my company in."

A single tear tracks down her cheek. She bites her lip and lowers her head.

I don't know why, but looking at her this way makes me feel some type of way. I know I shouldn't trust her for what she did. But for some inexplicable reason, she came to me. I can see that something genuinely has her distraught and I need to hear what she says.

"You have thirty seconds to explain," Relief and fear simultaneously forms on her face.

"I didn't want to hack into your company. But I had to." She says.

"Why?"

"I needed the money to help my brother. He owes money to the Russian mafia."

Shit!!!

"But..." she pauses. More tears well up in her eyes.

"But what?"

"When I got home last night, one of them was waiting for me. He says that he never got the money. I transferred it. I know I did." She shakes her head with confusion.

I am livid at this point. "So what you mean to tell me is that you lost the money you stole from my company?." She nods softly as she slowly began to cry. "And now he wants more or he's going to kill my brother."

I remain rigid to the spot. This is fucking great. This could be a ruse for all I know but something deep down feels off. She could easily just hack my company again and take it. But she doesn't. Instead, she comes to me for help.

"Please, I don't know what else to do." Her voice trembles as she stands there looking at me.

I begin to pace. How the hell could this happen? I needed to retrieve that money. On top of that she needs help giving the mafia more money. I shake my head. I will definitely not do that. If that's one thing Drew taught me; it's never give in to blackmail. This is something he will have to handle.

"Where is your brother now?"

She looks up at me and shakes her head in fear. She begins twisting her jacket.

"Look, if you want my help I need to know where your brother is."

Defeat wins and her shoulders sink. "He is in the hospital. Hope Methodist Hospital in the ICU."

I immediately reach into my pocket and pull out my phone and call Drew.

"Wait, who are you calling," she chokes with fair.

I face her as I explain to Drew what's going on. I mention this may be of interest to him as I ask him for some suits to guard her brother. I am relieved when he agrees. I won't go into too much detail about where I got the info. The call is brief and then we hang up.

I hold her attention as I step closer to her.

"You belong to me until we can figure this all out. You got that?" She nods and lowers her head. I can tell this has taken a toll on her. I reach for her chin and tilt it up to look at her. My chest tightens with the site of more tears rolling down her cheek. But I brush the feeling away.

"You will remain at my penthouse. You won't leave. You won't do anything but eat, sleep and track down my money. Got it?"

"Yes." She whispers.

"Let's go," I say gruffly as I reach for the door and lead her out.

Forlorn and lost she walks past me into the lobby, and I follow her to the elevator. I'm a little in disbelief that as upset as I am, I didn't shake the daylights out of her or just call the cops to have her tossed in jail. I swallow hard with the thought. With the mafia after her and her brother, she was in more danger and would be in even greater danger behind bars. I can't let that happen.

She is safer with me. 

********""""

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