Bodyguard: Ace Cain

|27| A Price To Pay

|A Price To Pay|

Noel Blackman, the most crafty and cynical man, was sitting right in front of us. Knowing that my mom was still missing was not only heartbreaking but the feeling was worse when I saw his face.

I didn't want to see Noel at all. With every second that went by, his cunning smile increased my uneasiness. There was some doubt that this wouldn't be her. But I had every expectation that a stranger would show up with information about her last known location. What role did Noel Blackman play in the disappearance of my mother? More importantly, how was her phone in his possession?

Noel didn't appear to be a threat, ordering a tea for himself as a consolation prize, he sat down amiably beside Tyler. We were all dying to know the answer, but none of us dared to ask the question. That proved he had too much authority.

Noel reached into his jacket pocket as soon as his tea was placed in front of him. When he took out my mom's phone, my heart fell instantly. A picture of the two of us was displayed on her lock screen as it lit up. There were no indications that she had struggled whenever she went, nor did it appear to be in poor condition. I was even more interested in finding out where she was after that.

As my anger increased, I eventually glanced up at Noel, who appeared to find the whole situation humorous. "Tell me how you got her phone." With my teeth clenched, I questioned him. Though my voice remained raspy, my rage was clear.

As he stirred sugar into his cup, he shrugged his shoulder. "You think you can just ask me a question and I'll answer." He chuckled. "Little girl, that's not how this works."

There he goes again with that nonsense. I could not stand it, but I had to remain composed to gather the information I needed. Unlike Ace, who would readily comply with my requests, Noel wouldn't do that. Before he would divulge even the slightest bit of information, there was still work to be done.

I was willing to play ball to keep my family intact. With my guards around, I don't think he would try anything. Even so, I'm sure he had his men too. If they were waiting for his approval before moving forward, it wouldn't surprise me. We were hoping we wouldn't have to go that far. Noel wasn't that foolish as to start a commotion in public, was he?

His dark eyes lock back on mine as he drank his tea. His brow rose with a sly smirk, "Now, talk to me nice or you can leave without anything."

I let out a deep breath and asked myself if this was what I wanted to do. The fact that Tyler and Ace's time was squandered was bad enough. This would have all been for nothing if we left right now.

"What do you want from me?" I pondered. "The one engaging in dubious business with you is my dad. All I want is my mom."

He laughed. "And could you tell me more about that business?" He lowered his gaze. "Mr. Helix's daughter is undoubtedly up to date on every last detail."

Admittedly, I had no idea what business my father was in, so my cheeks flushed. I was never involved in any of his moneymaking ventures. My mom didn't inform me either as they did their best to protect me from this hazardous way of life.

Still, you would think my father would tell me all about his life and what he does after everything that has happened. He hadn't been around much since Ace's car got destroyed. If it weren't for that, Noel wouldn't have asked that question.

To my surprise, he started laughing when he saw how I reacted. He wasn't the same person as he had been at the exhibition. His energy was much more subdued there. His desire to get me alone was only strengthened by the fact that I had no idea who I was dealing with.

Grinning fervently, he took another swig from his drink. He said, "Normally I wouldn't give information away for free, but I have a feeling you are much smarter than I'm giving you credit for."