The Royal Contract

Damn, that was close.

She released the air filling her lungs and blinked her eyes several times to assure herself that she was alive. She had survived. However, her ordeal was far from over.

“Go!” She shouted to herself.

Instinctively, she pushed her foot on the pedal harder as her car sped off. She looked in the rearview mirror to see that no one was following her anymore.

The other car had to stop at the red light because a large truck crossed the street just in time for her to pass by. The truck had to make an emergency break, thinking it would hit her car, but by some miracle, she escaped by a hairline.

“Thank you.” She said to her guardian angel as she quickly turned toward her destination.

She knew she had to turn again, taking a longer route, but that would at least guarantee she would lose her tail. By now, her father’s security might have figured out that she had spotted them.

They would have alerted their boss and her father. In a few minutes, her father would order a manhunt for her return, and her chances of escaping would become slimmer. Therefore, she had to hurry.

.....

“Where is he?” She mumbled as she looked around the park after she had parked the car at a safe distance.

She believed she had followed his instructions, but where was he as she turned left and right? He could be anywhere, but it was slightly dark and hard to see.

Then, a man walked by on the other path, but he looked in her direction. “That could not be him.” She whispered to herself, suddenly feeling scared out of her mind.

Thankfully, the man just walked straight ahead and never looked back again. Now, she could feel her knees shaking. Did he already leave? Was she late? She wondered as she looked at her phone.

No, she was just on time. It meant she was not the one that was late. But where was Mike? She needed to get out of there before her father found her. She was not confident that she had left the securities with a significant lead.

She started tapping her feet on the grassy ground as she hid behind a large tree. But her eyes kept searching the premises for any signs of life. But so far, she came empty.

“Give me your bad and phone.” Someone suddenly spoke behind her, but before she could react, the man grabbed her phone from her fist and turned it off. Then, he removed the card inside before he threw the phone on the cement ground with force.

She watched her phone smash to pieces at what he did. But again, she did not have time to do or say anything as he grabbed her bag from her other hand while taking her wrist in a firm grip.

“Let us go. You will not need your phone where we are going. Your father could track you with that.” He said as he walked on a different path, going through the thick bushes and trees until they ended up in another part of the park where his car was already waiting.

“Get in.” He said as he opened the door and shoved her bag into the back seat of his sports car. “We don’t have much time.” He reiterated when she did not move.

She was still in a slight shock after his sudden arrival. She thought someone was robbing her when he unceremoniously snatched her phone. Her brain was too fried to recognize his voice immediately.

“Ok.” She finally answered as she quickly sat on the passenger’s side. “You know, you should not sneak up on a pregnant person like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

She reprimanded him as soon as he sat in the driver’s seat. But still, she was glad that he came through with his promise that he would come and help her. Still, he could have executed her rescue in a much better way.

Then, they were speeding away from where he had parked. And several seconds later, exiting the park in the back exit. She did not know that he could drive fast. They were already going more than a hundred as they hit the open street.

But what did she know about him? Not much. All she knew was that Gerald trusted him, so she concluded that she could do the same.

“I am sorry about that.” He finally spoke as he maneuvered the fast car effortlessly through the thin traffic. “But you did not give me much choice.” He said, sounding a bit ticked off.

She was about to say something when he interrupted her. “What you did was reckless?” He added with a hint of disapproval in his voice.

“Wait a minute! What did she do?” She mentally asked herself, suddenly confused by his accusation.

She just hid behind the three and waited for him. What was so reckless about that? Unless there were hidden wild animals in the park, she did not see any danger earlier, except for the man that looked at her. But nothing happened.

She still did not understand why he sounded pissed off.

“What are you talking about?” She finally asked as she stared at his face. “How did I become reckless?” She wanted some clarification. She had no clue why he would say that when she could hardly dare to do anything dangerous.

“How quickly have you forgotten? Are you sure you don’t remember? Or are you simply playing dumb?” He asked again.

But after a few seconds, his expression changed, looking more concerned about her well-being. His earlier annoyance had gradually faded.

“As I said, I had no clue what this is all about.” She exasperatedly told him as she momentarily turned away to check where he might be taking her.

“Ok. Let me refresh your memory. Beating the red light.” He said, pointing his index finger up as if he was counting. “Almost crashing your car with that truck.” He added another finger. “And lying to me.” He had counted three offenses she made.

She looked at him, stunned by his statement. She could not believe that he knew. Besides, she did not lie to him.

“You saw that.” Now, she was surprised. “How?” She questioned him, wondering how he knew what she had done earlier. Unless he was there or someone told him.

Who was this man?