Amelia, hidden in oversized clothes, stood barefoot on someone else's carpet, nibbling on a muffin. Opposite her, someone seemed to be speaking. She smiled—so different from how she faced him.
The caption beneath the image read:
"Liam, I brought your little canary back."
The successful team immediately set off for home, with Liam now driving.
He pressed the pedal to the floor, leaving Tsavo behind.
A thirty-minute journey was compressed into fifteen.
The Nairobi men glanced nervously at the bouncing elephant carcass in the back, silently exchanging looks—what was this guy's deal?
The off-road vehicle roared into the factory, and Liam, black-faced, got out without a word, leaving the door open as he stormed into the innermost building—
Like a marauding bandit, he hesitated at the last door.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
The person Liam least wanted to see lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, mechanical ankle exuding a coldness.
Amelia paused mid-bite, her mouth slightly open, face turning ashen with despair.
"I brought back what you wanted," Liam's eyes lifted slightly. "I'm taking her."
The other man didn't stop him, palm gentlemanly upturned in a "please" gesture.
Amelia's heart sank.
She stared at Liam's outstretched hand, instinctively recoiling, moving closer to the man on the sofa.
The atmosphere grew tense.
The two men's gazes locked—one curious, the other grim.
"Come here." Liam's voice, thick with threat, left no room for refusal. "You said you were hungry? I brought crocodile meat."
The latter part, nearly growled, was filled with dark intensity.
As his patience waned, Amelia finally moved. She took hesitant steps, and her wrist was immediately grabbed by his burning palm. The half-eaten muffin fell to the floor.
"I'm not hungry."
"Fine, no crocodile meat." Liam pulled her into his arms, striding toward the door.
His broad shoulders completely shielded Amelia, and out of sight, he bit her ear, his hot breath entwining her: "You'll eat something else."
The girl was still wearing his clothes, moving around like she was swaying inside a large empty barrel. Liam, impatient with her slow pace, lifted her by the waist and carried her in his arms. As they were leaving, he glanced quickly into the room through the door that was about to close.
Inside the room, the man had already risen from the sofa, his pant leg covering the lower half of his mechanical prosthetic limb. He bent down and picked up the half-eaten muffin that Amelia had left behind.
YOU ARE READING
Predator
RomanceShe used to think that hyenas were the fiercest predators on the savannah. That was until she met him, a man who navigated the African black market with ease, instantly seeing through her true identity. "Choose to follow me? Or be chewed up until n...
