Change of Heart 3

Chapter 1

Present Day

"Here you go sir...bourbon on the rocks." The bartender slid him his fifth drink of the night and he finished it in one gulp.

When he was done his eyes focused on her again. He had been staring at her all night and she hadn't a clue. She was sitting alone at one of the booths in the five star restaurant eating her creamy chicken alfredo while scrolling through her phone. Her dark hair bounced down her back each time she moved her head lower to take in more of the pasta and he smiled. Her cocoa brown eyes never left the light of the screen and he was amused by the amount of attention she gave to the device. Tonight, she wore a light blue jeans accompanied by a tan flannel shirt and boots to match. She looked simple yet exquisite.

"I'll have one more drink." He spoke to the bartender without taking his eyes off of her and he drank his whiskey the same way.

When she summoned her waitress to bring her the bill he cleared his and got off of the stool he had been sitting on for almost an hour.

She walked out of the door and he smiled and walked behind.

She stepped down into the underground car park and thankfully no one else was there. Before she could reach to her car he dropped the scarf he stole from her table earlier when she went to the bathroom.

"Excuse me miss...is that yours?" He looked at her closely as she walked towards him.

"Oh my God yes! I must have dropped it when I was on my way to the restaurant. I thought I lost it thank you." She smiled and picked up the gold scarf that had patterns of miniature elephants on it. "This is my favorite scarf."

"It's pretty...and so are you. What's your name? If you don't mind of course."

"My name is Kayla. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand and smiled.

When he took it, it was warm. "The pleasure is all mine Kayla."

"You look familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"Maybe you saw me at the restaurant before. I go there a lot." He smiled and raked his hand through his hair.

"Well it was nice meeting you. Thank you for finding my scarf." She touched his hand and turned towards her car but before she could open her door she swung around again. "Wait you didn't tell me your...name." Her forehead creased when she didn't see him. "Hello?"

Her voice echoed and there was no response. After her heart rate increased she shook her head and turned towards her car again and jumped.

"Oh my−you scared me! W−where did you go?" She held her chest and looked at the man who just found her scarf. When he didn't answer she tried to open her door but he stood firmly in front of it. "Y−you didn't tell me your name."

"I'm not going to."

"Why not? I told you mine." She laughed hesitantly and began to walk backwards.

"I'm not gonna tell you my name, Kayla, because I do not care to be your friend."

"Then what do you want from me?" She slid her hand slowly into her pocket.

"I want your life sweetheart. And please, don't bother with that pepper spray you're only gonna make things worst...for yourself."

With those words she began to breathe faster and her eyes were moist. "Please, please don't hurt me. I'll give you anything you want. You can have my money, my phone, jewelry...even my car. Just don't hurt me...I d−