AROUSING DESIRES

Episode 49

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Kevin glanced at his wristwatch for the umpteenth time, letting out a deep sigh as he leaned back against the wall. He run his hands through his dark maze of curly hair, anxiety and fear clawing at him.

Why the hell were they taking so long?
Granted he had asked them to meet him at the airport barely twenty minutes ago but that's a long time to wait for someone in times likes these right?
Every damn second wasted could prove fatal to Virginia..
Virginia.
The name echoed in his mind, sending a painful jolt to his chest as he unconsciously brought his hand down to rub it.
He hoped she was okay.
He prayed that f*cker hadn't touched her.
This was all his fault.
His f*cking fault.
If only he hadn't hidden the truth from her..
If only she didn't hear his conversation with Martin and Alex that day, then maybe she wouldn't have run out and she might have still been by his side, safe, like it should be.

Guilt gnawed at him as he wondered how she was doing.
Was she thinking of him like he was?
Or she hates him for being the reason she was in a such a situation?

Rushed footsteps interrupted his thoughts as he looked up to find both friends jogging towards him.
He scowled.
"The f*ck took you so long?" He growled.
"Sorry man. We had to take care of something important..." Alex paused, turning to face Martin with a glare
"Right Martin?" He hissed lowly
Martin gulped, nodding.
"Yeah right..right" he mumbled.

Kevin sighed.
"Let's get going. We don't have time to waste." He climbed inside as they followed suit, fastening their seat belts the minute they sat.

"So how long will it take to reach our destination?" Alex questioned the pilot who getting ready to take off.
"18 hours and some minutes. That's if we do not encounter disturbances such as storms or cloudy weather. Should in case we do, then I'd say 20hours tops, we'd arrive"
"Hmm" he nodded, turning to face Kevin who looked lost in thoughts.

"What's wrong Kev? Aren't you happy that we at least have a lead?"
Kevin shook his head
"Not until she's safe in my arms. And definitely not until I know where Ryan is"
"Ryan is safe Kev. Let's just concentrate on the matter at hand first"

Kevin perked up at the new information as he spun in his seat to stare at his friend, hope glistening in his blue orbs.
"You do?"
"Yeah..he is at.." Martin began when Alex's head snapped in his direction sending him a "say another word I'll break your damn nose in" kind of glare.
Martin clamped his mouth shut.

"Just trust me when I say Ryan is safe. Else we wouldn't leave him and come would we?" Alex chipped.
"I trust you. Both of you. With my life" Kevin answered and Martin looked away unable to look his friend in the eye for the first time.

Kevin noticed his strange reaction but chose to ignore it.
For now.

****

At 12:00noon the next day when the plane finally touched down in the capital city of Angola, Brandon wasted no time in hailing one of the numerous cabs that had been parked outside of the arrival area..

"Where to sir?" The driver asked, his thick Portuguese accent evident as he stared at him through the mirror and then slid his gaze to the woman who sat next to him.
She was limp. Her head was bowed, a blue cap pushed down  to cover a part of her face.

"The f*ck you looking at man? Look ahead before you get us into an accident!" Brandon snapped at the driver, hating how his gaze rested on Virginia longer than necessary.
For some reason, he felt like he had to say something. Anything to stop the driver from becoming suspicious.

"Sorry man" the driver shrugged tearing his gaze away from them.

Brandon let the silence linger for a while before he spoke up again.
"Can you please hurry? My sister needs to see her doctor and we're already late for our appointment. Can you please take us to the nearest hotel? Poor thing needs to rest. She can't handle long journeys. She already threw up more than thrice on the plane and it wasn't a pleasant sight so if you could take us to the nearest hotel I'd be really glad else we might up end up soiling your car"
He feigned a sad expression caressing Virginia's arm softly.