A Game of Deception

Chapter Four

Hi I'm Hannah, the fourth writer of this story! I'm really lucky because all the hard work was done by the three wonderful writers before me, so I got to have some fun with this chapter. I hope you enjoy it! My TikTok is thatbookishgirl01  My personal Wattpad is Picnics_At_Twilight

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My wrists were bound. Tightly. Rope maybe? No, something harder - zip ties. Two? Three. A bit excessive, but I had to give him credit for effort. My legs were tied too, each ankle secured to a leg of the chair I sat on. Smart. My escape would have been much easier if he'd not tied my legs.

One of the first things I'd been taught after agreeing to work with Doug was, if this kind of thing ever happened, to first register my position. It was easier to do if they thought you were still unconscious. I'd thought it was a tedious practice but was glad for it now.

A quiet noise, like a slight shuffle was audible. I wasn't alone. Play it right.

I made sure my breath hitched a second before my eyes fluttered open. "Good evening, Eliza," My kidnapper's baritone voice spoke. He was mocking me, I realised. He was seated in a chair in front of me, his demeanour completely at ease. He'd removed his cuffs and tie, the first two buttons of his dress shirt undone. Even his hair looked mussed as if he'd run his fingers through it, the dark strands pushed back almost lazily.

"Please just let me go. I promise I'll tell my boss to stay away from you. I didn't even mean to get tied up with him. You see, my boyfriend- well, my ex – owed some-" He cut off my attempt at babbling, seeing through the crocodile tears that threatened to spill.

"Let me stop you there Eliza. I'm not in the business of watching people embarrass themselves." His words were cold but edged with something close to amusement. "How about this? I'll tell you what I know, and then you can fill in the gaps. Sound good?"

My gaze hit the floor before forcing myself to look at him, his blue eyes focused on mine. "Okay." My voice was hesitant, projecting the fear that I'd supressed.

"Your name is Elizabeth Julianna Stratton. You met your boss when you were sixteen, during an impromptu break-in to his home. He manipulated you into taking a job to cover whatever expense had led you to burglary in the first place and he has been manipulating you into doing his dirty work ever since. Does that sound about right sweetheart?"

I wanted to gape at him, he had to have had someone look into me. Doug had promised me he'd buried every bit of evidence connecting me to the jobs he'd put me on. "Okay, so you have what? The quickest PI known to man? How long was I out, anyway?" I fought to keep my voice steady, even as the terror started to eat at her chest.

"No PI, I just interrogated one of your friends. Well, interrogated is probably the wrong word, softly questioned might be more appropriate. Didn't even last a minute before he spilled his guts – and yours. Not very loyal, Doug's dogs, are they Elizabeth?" Oh god, now he was using her full name. Well, anything was better than firecracker.

"About as loyal as a hungry cat." I scoffed, the disloyal bas-

"I'd be inclined to say more fool you if you thought joining Doug would keep you safe." He was staring at me intently, as if he were under the impression that it was intimidating. Well, I supposed it was, in a way. His eyes were kind, incongruous against the rest of him, which screamed money and danger.

I stayed quiet but didn't break his stare. If this was a battle of wills, I wouldn't be the one backing down.

His brow creased, eyes scrutinising my face before looking away. I'd won, so why did it feel as if I'd lost some vital battle.

The man stood, rounding his chair to collect something from the table behind him. When I realised what it was I flinched. In his hand he held a pocketknife, the blade no longer than one of my fingers. His eyes remained on the ground as he disappeared behind my back.

"You know, Miss Stratton, I'm struggling to see what advantage you think you have here." I felt his breath tickle my ear at the same time the blade touched my throat. My spine straightened, my breaths coming in short pants.

"Please." I breathed, begging him.

He kept the blade in place for what felt like an eternity before his low laugh surrounded her. "I'm not going to kill you, Elizabeth." He moved the blade to my wrists. "No, on the contrary, I am going to offer you a deal." The zip-ties at my wrists fell away as I immediately pulled them to my chest, rubbing away the sting that lingered as he sliced through the ones at my ankles before rising to his feet behind me.

"I can cut your ties to Doug if you'll help me with a job." He said matter of factly, coming face to face with me looking at me as if to gage my reaction.

"Ha. And trade a manipulator for a kidnapper? Yeah- no thanks." I fought the urge to spit at him.

"At least hear me out. Come on Elizabeth, what do you have to lose?" He sighed patting my knee before returning to his seat.

"Thats another thing. Why do you get to know my name when I don't know yours?" I don't know why I said it, but it put a slight smile on his face. 

"If you agree to my terms, you can know anything you want about me, Elizabeth." His smirk irked me, but he'd been right when he'd insinuated I had nothing to lose. 

"What are your terms?"

"I knew you'd come around." He said, "A friend of mine stole something from me, something I need back. He's holding a ball tomorrow, a charity event for rich investors. It'll be the only time I have access to that house for another month. Come with me. Help me get it back, and I'll help you unbind yourself from Doug." He was serious, I realised. He wanted me to go to a ball with him. 

"Right, so I go to this ball with you, help you steal whatever it is, and then you'll help me?" I repeated, my tone incredulous. "Why?"

"Because. I need your skills. You owe me and I'll owe you. Thats how this works." 

I took a breath, considering. "Okay." My eyes met his.

"Good." He looked slightly relieved before his face went back to the impassive mask. 

"If you call me firecracker again, I'll disembowel you before you can even flinch."

He laughed, scrutinising me. "We'll see. I'll find you something to wear. Silver, I think. It's evening-attire I'm afraid." 

"I'll probably look a damn-sight better than I do right now." I said, considering him. "You're going to have to let me do something with this though," I motioned to my hair, which hung, almost matted, around my face like a crimson mane.

He just smiled, before picking up the knife and heading for the door. "I'll get you some dinner."

I just watched him, analysing his every move. His smile widened. "Oh, and Elizabeth? It's Axton." He sighed pulling the door almost closed. "My name is Alexander Axton."

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Hi, it's me again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (I know it's kind of long, I got a bit carried away)

I can't wait to see what the next chapter has in stall. :)