“How can she be the one?” Rio asked, frowning. “I don’t know anything about her as a person.”
“Well, then I suggest you find out,” Jake said. “Especially before it’s too late.”
He gestured towards Pearl, and Rio looked up to see Logan, the leader of the Akatsuki clan, talking to Pearl. He was clearly flirting, and she was blushing and laughing in response. He reached down to kiss her hand, and Rio felt the jealousy burning in his chest.
Rio didn’t reply, staring daggers at the duo as Logan slowly led her towards the dance floor. He suddenly felt furious, and he found himself marching towards the dance floor, anger fueling his moves.
“Pearl!” he snapped, walking over to her on the dance floor. “What exactly are you doing?”
“Easy now, Rio,” Logan said. “I just asked this young lady to dance with me.”
“This young lady is the nanny of my ward,” Rio said through clenched teeth. “And instead of performing her duties, she is going around seducing men.”
For some reason Rio was extremely angry and the bear in him just wanted to punch the man in front of him for dancing with Pearl.
“Now, Rio,” Logan said, pacifying. “I was the one who approached her.”
Rio barely heard a word of what Logan was saying, his eyes fixed on the frozen expression on her face. Her eyes were wet with tears, and at the same time, she had a defiant look on her face.
“You have no right to accuse me of such things,” she said, her voice cold. “I apologize for straying from my duties, but I will not apologize for dancing with a man! I will go back to looking after Laura, but let it be clear, I have lost all respect for you tonight.”
Rio opened his mouth to speak, but Pearl turned around and kissed Logan on the cheek. “I hope we meet again sometime, and I can finally dance with you.”
She threw one last angry glance towards Rio, before walking away.
“Not a good move, my friend,” Jake, who had been watching all this, said.
“I know,” Rio said, cursing his temper. He had always lost control of his anger easily and ended up saying things he regretted. Now, his temper might just be the reason that things between him and Pearl were ruined even before they started.
Chapter 13
Pearl felt angry tears prickling the back of her eyes as she walked back towards Laura. She knew she shouldn’t have agreed to dance with Logan, considering that she was here on duty, but Rio had no right to go around accusing her and shouting at her. She wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them, but whatever respect she had for him was long gone.
She walked through the crowd, making her way toward the kid’s side of the party when her eyes caught something. He stood in front of her, an evil smile on his face, the scar on his face prominent even from far away. He raised his hand to wave at her, and the next second disappeared into the crowd. Pearl stood there, frozen, and unable to move. She couldn’t believe that he had actually found her.
A loud scream startled her, and she instantly looked around. One of the mothers of Laura’s friends came running over and said, “Laura, she is gone! We can’t find her anywhere!”
Pearl ran towards where she had left Laura, panicking as she did. The kids were all playing around, but Laura was nowhere to be seen.
“Laura is missing!” Pearl said, running over to the bodyguards that she had left in charge. “I left you here to watch over her! Where is she?”
“She was right there, playing,” the guard stammered.
“Find her!” Pearl hissed, before realizing that she would have to inform Rio about this. Feeling the dread setting in as she started to worry about Laura, she ran all the way across to the room where she could see Rio.
“Laura,” she interrupted the conversation, panting. “She’s missing! Can’t find her!”
Rio froze for a second before instantly shouting for all his guards. She stood there, fear and panic coursing through her as she watched him shout orders to his men. She watched as everyone started running around, and even the guests weren’t allowed to leave. The entire room was shut down to make sure that no one got out before his bodyguards spread outside to find Laura.
Pearl looked around the room, her mind in over-drive as she tried to figure out where Laura could be. There was no way anyone could just take her out of here. The entrance was guarded and there were too many people around. She was sure that someone would have noticed something. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the stairs that led to the upper floor. Standing at the very top was the scarred man, a smirk on his face as he held an unconscious Laura close over his shoulder.
He looked at Pearl for a minute, before turning around and disappearing into the upper floor. Pearl debated informing the guards, but she knew how dangerous this man was, and she was afraid that he would hurt Laura if she informed anyone. She quickly made her way up the stairs, going unnoticed in the panic and chaos that was taking place. She slowly walked onto the upper floor, worried about Laura, and at the same time, trying to fight the urge to run away. She had been running from this monster for years, and now she was walking toward him herself.
She should run away. She should get out of here and find her father before disappearing once more. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave Laura in the hands of such a cruel and vile man. She knew that she was about to meet her end, but it would be worth it as long as Laura remained unharmed.
“This game of cat and mouse has gone on long enough.” She heard his silky voice, and she turned around to find him standing behind her. “It’s time you came back home, my little pet.”
“Slade,” Pearl whispered, looking into his dark eyes. “Let her go. Your fight is with me, not her. She is innocent.”
“She is just an excuse to get to you, my pet,” Slade said. “It’s time to pay the debt your father owes me. After all, a promise is a promise.”
“Just leave her alone, Slade,” Pearl said, clenching her hand. “I will come with you as long as you give her back.”
“Of course, my pet,” Slade said, grinning. He threw a pair of handcuffs on the floor and gestured at them. “Put these on and then stand next to me. I will leave the girl afterward.”
Pearl glared at him before slowly bending over to pick up the handcuffs. They were familiar, and she knew that they were rather special. The first time Slade had put them on her, he had boasted about how they were made of the strongest metal on earth. She closed them around her wrists, her heart sinking as she realized that all her running and hiding had failed her.
“Where is your father?” Slade said, licking his lips as he grinned at her. “He owes me a huge debt and it’s time it was repaid, fully.”
“You got me, Slade,” Pearl said. “You don’t need to go after him.”
“I found you,” Slade said. “I will find him as well.”
“I put the handcuffs on, Slade,” Pearl said. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. “Now, do your part of the deal and let her go!”
“Of course, Slade always keeps his promise,” he said, laughing. Pearl watched in horror as he held her over the railing of the stairs, his eyes gleaming with evil. “As I said, I will let her go.”