✔️ The Arrangement (A Kinky Romance) [1st Draft]

Trouble in the New Year

After Tom and Gail left, Nick and Selene had a few days to themselves before Rachel showed up, The next day, everyone was there and they had another round of gifts being exchanged. They had a nice dinner, then they gathered in the living room to visit with each other. They celebrated at midnight, then everyone began packing so they could leave the next day.

It was almost sundown when Ahmed appeared for the first time. He and Nick went off to another room to talk, drawing Selene's curiosity. She ended up heading to the office door, glancing in. When she looked, Ahmed was speaking.

"...package showed up. They saw a man bring it to your building, but he was just a courier, apparently. It's been left unopened, but the agent said the writing was the same as the photo of the other one."

Nick looked over and spotted Selene. He waved her over and motioned for Ahmed to continue. He draped his arms around Selene as the man continued.

"We also identified one of the people watching your building," he added, glancing briefly at Selene. "His name is Ernie Baker. Long list of offenses for mostly petty crimes, but he's linked to some other very shady people."

"Any luck finding her parents," Nick asked.

Ahmed glanced at her again before shaking his head. "Nothing yet. If they get within ten miles of either of you, though, and we'll know it. The FBI supplied us with a few more recent photos from surveillance cameras. They haven't said where they came from, just that they were about three years old."

Selene shuddered at the thought of the people who she'd called her parents. "They will wait until they can find out if someone would be willing to sell me out."

Ahmed eyed her for a moment. "What if that doesn't work?"

"A snatch and run," she told him flatly.

Ahmed nodded and turned his dark eyes back to Nick. "It's only a matter of time at this point. I've already laid out a few plans if it is necessary to make a run for it. We have a few safe houses around the state if it gets bad. Though, I am not expecting that to be necessary."

"Don't be so sure of that," Selene warned them both. "I've narrowly missed getting caught or killed more than once."

Ahmed sighed quietly, looking troubled, though he said nothing for a few moments. "My sister was trafficked," he told Selene. "I managed to save her, but she was never the same afterward. I have tried to protect others from this and have run several rescue missions. I volunteered for this job because of it," he informed her. "No one should go through that."

Selene found herself smiling softly at him. "Thank you. For me and the others."

Ahmed smiled and bowed his head, seeming to be embarrassed by the praise.

The rest of the discussion faded away as she thought about the people who'd tried to destroy her. They'd failed. She squeezed Nick's hand, feeling an intense appreciation for all that he'd done. Now, he'd even arranged things so that she was financially independent, even from him. While it was difficult to fully wrap her head around, she'd read the papers over carefully. Nearly 800 thousand dollars lay between two separate accounts, and there was an open line of credit that was automatically paid from her account every month. The bank had confirmed everything – she'd even been assigned a personal banker who would work exclusively with her. On top of it all, the accounts all drew interest every month.

When she did the calculations, with her income, she was making enough she could live without touching much of the balance each month. She also could easily buy a place, a car... anything she needed. Nick had set her up for life. It was more than she could have ever imagined. The money was making her think about things she had never considered before. If she didn't have to run anymore, she could go to school, maybe get a degree. There were new things open to her that were never possible before.