The Secret Billionaire

Chapter 15

ERIS

When we arrived, Nathan said he would work from home today to be with me. He spent the day in his office but left the door open just in case. I had the t.v on low, so once in a while, I would hear his typing and voice as he spoke.
The video of Stacy kept replaying in my head. Her screams echoed over and over again. She doesn't deserve to be going through this. I need to find a way to get her out of there.
"Are you hungry?" Nathan walked out from behind me with a plate full of food.
"I'm fine," I didn't move my eyes from the screen.
He placed the plate on the table before me and kissed my head. "Just in case,"
"I have to leave tomorrow. Our partners have a decision for us," Nathan said as he typed something on his phone.
"What if we offer money to Darius?" He immediately put his phone away and shook his head.
"Ransom money? Eris, we can't let him get away that easily."
"Stacy is my friend. She doesn't have anything to do with this. I have some money saved up. I can give it to him,"
He sat next to me and grabbed my hand. "No, we will find a different way to get her back,"
I looked back at the t.v. and my phone rang. It was a message from Darius.
I hope you liked the video. We had fun filming it. You have twelve hours to decide.
"Is that him?" Nathan asked. I showed him the message, and he sighed. "Let me call Detective Henderson,"
He took the phone call into the kitchen. If I put my savings together, It should be enough to make him leave. Enough for him to go away and start a new life. For him to finally leave me alone.
"He said we should head over to discuss it now. We are on a time limit,"
We went to the lobby, and I relived it all again. The elevator tension, the receptionist giving me a dirty look, getting into the car, and speeding off. This time there was a ticking time bomb. Not literal, hopefully.
Earlier I thought they called us because they had found him. I felt relieved. Now we are rushing around to find my friend. We were greeted with the same suspicious looks. Whispering between each other as we passed by. Nathan pulled me closer by my belt loop, and I kept my head low. Detective Henderson was already waiting in his office when we arrived.
"We have less than twelve hours. How are we going to do this?" Nathan wasted no time starting the conversation.
"We can offer him money. In return for her safety," I spoke up. He glanced over at me and shook his head.
"No, no ransom money. We looked into his file and discovered he is wanted for multiple things." Detective Henderson commented.
"Like what?" I asked. He pulled out a similar folder from earlier and began reading. "Robbery mainly. Multiple times from jewelry stores, high-end apparel, and more."
"Are any of these from the past four years?" I asked, my leg started bouncing up and down in anticipation.
"Yes, the last one was a jewelry store. He attempted to grab one of the rings but failed,"
Towards the end of the relationship, when the beating was getting worse, I told him I wanted to leave. He begged and promised me he was going to change. He talked about getting married and moving away. Was he planning to propose to me with a stolen ring and run away?
"Eris, are you okay?" Nathan asked.
"What else can we do?" I focused my attention on Detective Henderson.
"We can bait and trap him,"
"No," Nathan protested right away.
"Why not? We can use the money as bait and trap him somewhere. It's a good plan," I looked between them.
"That's not what he means,"
Detective Henderson sighed and looked at me. "I meant you,"
I turned to look at Nathan. "Why not? There would be cops protecting me at all times. I am the reason we are here in the first place," Without waiting for his response, I looked at Detective Henderson, "Yes, I want to do that. What's the first step?"
"No, absolutely not. I will not let you put yourself in danger like that," Nathan stood up, and I looked at him.
"Do you expect Stacy to fight him off by herself? You know, we just started dating, and I appreciate all your help, but I will not let you make decisions about my life and friends,"
Nathan turned away and crossed his arms. I know he was upset because he wanted me safe, but I will be.
"How do we do this?" I repeated my question.
We spent the next few hours coming up with a plan. Nathan didn't speak to me for the rest of the day, but he expressed his opinions about the plan here and there.
I sent Darius a message. Let's meet-your choice of location.
"I texted him already. All we have to do is wait," I said.
"Let me go get the rest of the cops that will be going with us," Detective Henderson stepped out of the office, leaving me alone with Nathan.
"I still think this is a bad idea," He finally spoke up.
"You've made that clear all day,"
"How do you make me fall for you and put yourself in these situations?" He said, and I looked up and him. "Eris, What will I do if something happens to you? Do you think I will be able to forgive myself for letting you go through this?"
"Why can't you positively look at this? I will be surrounded by cops. They will be there within minutes if something happens,"
"It takes seconds to die! Not minutes," I was taken aback by the sudden raise of his voice. "They tell you they will be there in minutes, but..." He whispered the last part and looked away.
"Nothing is going to happen," I walked toward him and grabbed his face. "Trust me," He leaned in to kiss me. After a couple of minutes, he pulled away.
"As soon as I see something wrong, I'm stepping in. I don't care what anyone else says,"
I smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way,"