Still Hooked on You

Chapter 9 - Impossible News

Step by step, the taller henchman crept closer and closer towards the large glass shower, his silencer glock slowly lowering down towards his side as he grinned with intrigue.

He’d never seen their boss’ woman naked before…

The chance here seemed all too good to be true!

Due to the obscure glass and equally crazy amounts of thickened steam wafting out into the cool air around him now, it was difficult to get a good look at the clearly naked woman humming before him as she showered on unknowingly.

Licking his lips with anticipation at what lie behind the glass, the henchman reached his free hand out to grasp at the shower door’s handle.

He was within an inch away from it when he suddenly felt powerful hands grab at his shoulders, then pulling him out of the ensuite and throwing him down onto the tiled floor. He slowly skidded to a halt before finally looking back up at a furious Adam.

Angered by this surprise assault, the taller henchman snarled as he lifted his gun, aiming it directly at his assailant. His finger on the trigger and ready to fire.

But Adam was far too quick for him, and using a slicing downward action knocked the gun right out of the henchman’s hand.

The deadly weapon slid across the tiles and out of reach as the two massive men began to wrestle and fire punches at one another.

The only sounds heard were the muffled grunts shared between them as they fought it out in almost silence on the floor of the master bedroom.

Thinking quickly, Adam surprised his second intruder with a rapid and powerful headbutt, immediately knocking his assailant out cold and allowing him to fall down limp into Adam’s arms.

Heavily panting, Adam quickly stood over him once more before grabbing both of his ankles and dragging him around the corner, out of sight.

The last thing he wanted was for Scarlett to come out of her shower and find an unconscious body on the floor of their room!

Noticing the gun on the floor, Adam quickly grabbed it and tucked it into the waistband of his long pants as he glanced around.

Then the realisation quickly kicked in and he turned to search for his mobile. He needed to press the emergency button and call for help.

His chocolate brown eyes scanned across the various surfaces of the large room until he finally sighted it, sitting on one of the various plush chairs.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to make his way around the massive bed to collect it, another suited figure suddenly emerged from around the corner and lifted his gun up to fire directly at Adam!

Freezing in place and desperately deciding what he would do next, Adam glanced from his newest assailant towards his phone resting on the chair less than three metres away from where he was standing.

He could make it if he jumped!

“Don’t move, pretty boy.” the henchman spoke, grinning with satisfaction.

Suddenly, a voice broke through their intense stand-off, catching both of their attention.

“Adam, my towel’s wet. Can I borrow your spare?” Scarlett called out from the shower.

This gave Adam just the kind of distraction he needed, and he quickly leapt across the bed.

Spotting sudden movement, the henchman lifted his gun up and fired two silent shots off, each hitting the surface of the mattress right behind Adam as he rolled across the springy mattress in an effortless tuck-and-roll motion.

Adam grunted as he landed hard on the ground before grabbing his phone and ducking in behind the chair and desk positioned beside it. Two more silenced shots went off, one hitting the chair and one ricocheting off the tiled floor, just beside where Adam was hiding.

Wasting no time, he pushed the emergency button and then lowered his phone.

The message had been sent.

His security team would be up within the matter of minutes…

Now he just had to wait this out, but also keep Scarlett from falling into any sort of danger in the meantime.

-

After not hearing anything in response from him, Scarlett narrowed her eyes before shrugging and grabbing the clean, plush white towel hanging on the rail beside the shower’s entrance.

He must be busy working on his laptop and too busy to reply, she thought.

Turning off the shower, Scarlett then began drying herself off, slowly making sure to enjoy the soft sensation of the towel as it ran over her smooth skin. It was utterly heavenly.

Suddenly she heard a strange sound, a ‘thump’ followed by two simultaneous ‘zips’ and her face scrunched up in confusion.

“Adam? What are you doing out there?” she called out.

At the exact moment Scarlett had called out, both Adam and the henchman turned towards the ensuite’s open doorway. Adam’s expression was one of fear, where as the henchman’s was one of anticipation.

“Just stay in there Scarlett. Don’t come out, ok?” Adam quickly called out in reply.

After calling out, he slowly began edging his head around the corner of the desk to sight the assailant and where he was standing. His chocolate brown eyes widened with concern as he saw the intruder closing in on the ensuite and he quickly reacted. Reaching down to grasp the handle of the gun he had confiscated earlier on, Adam held it out and took careful aim.

Firing off a single shot, the bullet tore through the intruder’s left leg, coming out the other side and lodging in one of the walls.

“Ah, f**k…”

The henchman cried out in a pained groan, falling down to grasp at his leg as crimson blood began to seep out through the open wound.

Adam wasted no time darting out from his hiding space but froze with fear as he noticed the wounded henchman had his gun aimed directly at him!

“You fucker!”

“s**t!”

Dodging out of the way, Adam barely missed being hit himself as bullet after bullet began to tear up the luxurious master bedroom, sending feathers soaring high into the air and destroying pieces of furniture, one after the other.

-

After hearing the sound of raining bullets, even silenced ones, both Gabrielle and Diego looked to one another as they stood in the open kitchen space.

Diego has just finished injecting a syringe with a clear sedative liquid, which he pockets.

“Get in there and sort that s**t out.” Gabrielle commanded, heading for the door.

Before exiting the suite, he called out once more to Diego over his shoulder.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the car. Bring them down when you’re ready.”

“Got it.” Diego replied, c*****g his glock and heading for the master bedroom.

-

The sounds of crashing and popping coming from the bedroom now had Scarlett concerned as she quickly wrapped a towel around her and tucked it in.

She rushed towards the doorway and stopped, sucking in a sudden terrified gasp at what she was now seeing.

A well-dressed stranger she didn’t recoignise was lying on the floor with a pool of his own blood emerging all over the white tiled floor.

He wasn’t moving and as soon as she noticed the bullet wounds he was riddled with, she knew why.

“Oh my god…” her words were spoken softly, with disbelief.

“Scarlett!”

She immediately snapped out of the sudden state of shock, after recognising his voice as he called out to her. Looking around the room she finally met with his loving eyes and his warm smile.

“You’re ok?” he asked, his brows raised.

But before she too could reply or even smile, another two figures suddenly emerged from around that same corner, one with his gun drawn… and one whom Scarlett immediately recognised.

“Diego…”

Her heart sank instantaneously as she began to feel her entire body going numb.

Adam was once again forced to duck behind the furniture as the gunman began firing shots off, further laying waste to the luxurious suite.

But Diego had his sights set firmly on her… on Scarlett.

As he began to close in on her she fought to regain control of her body, to pull herself out of this sudden shock and to do something to defend herself. Anything!

Adam’s voice snapped her out of her terrified daze.

“Scarlett, get in and lock the door, NOW!”

By the time she had come to her senses, Diego was less than a metre away from her and as she turned and tried to slam the door closed in his face she was surprised by his brute strength.

He slammed his entire weight up hard against the door, sending her hurtling backwards from the force and forcing the door open. She screamed as her body slid across the pristine floor, slowly coming to a halt right before the shower.

Diego took the time to enjoy this moment, as he stood over her cowering up at him on the tiled floor.

She wore nothing but a large white towel, leaving little to the imagination and he grinned sadistically at her as he reached into his pocket and took out the syringe.

“What the hell do you want?” she demanded, working hard to remain as defiant as possible.

Her eyes suddenly met the syringe and she felt sudden dread enter her veins.

“No… no please…” her defiance instantly melted away at the thought of being taken again.

“You don’t need to do this anymore Diego. He’s gone. Dimitri’s dead!”

But his next words would forever haunt her dreams…

“Is he now?” Diego taunted, closing the gap between the two of them and kneeling down beside her.

“You sure about that?”