Dream Date (43 page)

“You think you’re angry? You don’t know the meaning of true anger,” said Hilbert, slapping Amanda hard. She recoiled from the blow, more tears escaping her eyes.

“Let me go!”

“No, Amanda. I am very f-ing pissed off with you. How could you do what you’ve done?”

“Do what?”

“Betray me! You gave yourself to that guy, when you are mine, only mine!”

“I’ve told you to the point of fatigue,” said Amanda, looking angrily at Hilbert.
“
Dans quelle langue voulez-vous comprendre que je ne veux pas vous?
Not now, not ever!” she yelled.

Hilbert narrowed his eyes, starting to fume.

“That’s it, Amanda. I’m tired of waiting for you. Either you agree to be mine, or I’ll make sure you never see your new boyfriend again.”

Amanda gasped.

Of course. He already knows about Nathan.

“You’re mine, do you understand? I fell in love with you as soon as I laid eyes on that lovely face of yours, that fine body.”

“If you truly loved me, you wouldn’t be treating me like this.”

Hilbert stared at Amanda, his expression unreadable.

“Did you expect me to shoot Roman candles at the sky after you gave yourself to that moron?”

“His name is Nathan! He’s the guy I’m giving my heart to. You’ve got nothing on him.”

Hilbert slapped Amanda again.

“What is he? Just a simple student attending college on scholarships because he can’t afford it otherwise.”

“So what if that was true? I don’t care. I’m his!”

“No!” roared Hilbert, reaching forward and grasping Amanda’s neck. “You’re only mine!”

“I wouldn’t be with you if my life depended on it.”

“What do I have that makes you so averse to dating me? Lots of women wish they were in your position.”

“Now that I see the real you, I struggle to think of a woman crazy enough to want to be with you.”

Hilbert looked away, trying to contain his anger.

“You betrayed me, Amanda. And you well know what happens when someone does that.”

Amanda’s eyes widened.

“What have you done?”

“Your reckless actions have forced me to take action. Now, your dear new boyfriend is going to pay.”

“Leave Nathan alone!” Amanda pleaded, struggling against her restraints. “Don’t harm him! Please!”

“It’s too late,” said Hilbert, clicking his tongue. “You should have thought about it earlier.”

Hilbert reached into his pocket, withdrawing a knife. Amanda’s expression turned fearful.

“I should kill you just for having let that fool touch you,” he said, grabbing Amanda by the collar of her blouse. Hilbert then pressed the blade of the knife against her neck.

“Let me go!”

“You’re damn lucky I love you too much.”

“Liar. You want to kill me? Why don’t you do it, then, and get this over with?”

“I can’t hurt the girl of my life.”

Amanda shook her head.

“Yes, you would. You slapped me. You’re threatening me with a knife. You sent men to kidnap me.”

“Wrong on that last count,” Hilbert said. “I’ve
never
sent anyone to do anything to you. I’ve told you that I took care of it. If you really must know, the person who sent those men to you is a woman named Rebecca.”

Amanda blinked, wondering if he was telling the truth.

A beep sounded just then. Hilbert checked his phone. His expression became alarmed. He looked behind him and nodded once. His lackey got off the car and walked away towards a black one parked close by.

“I’m not going to wait for you much longer, Amanda. Either you stop seeing Nathan Ferland, or he’ll pay. The NYPD seems to be getting involved in this. If you set them on my tail, I swear I’ll kill you and Nathan.”

With that, Hilbert left the car and walked away. He got into the black car nearby, and it drove out of sight.

Amanda tried to move her wrists to check how tight the bounds were.

The bastard should have at least untied me.

Amanda looked behind her. Kellan was still out.

Just then, the sound of another car reached Amanda’s ears. She tried to turn in her seat to look behind. Before she could look out the rear of the car, her door opened.

“Ms. Tilley?” a deep male voice asked.

“Yes,” Amanda said. Seconds later, she felt someone cut her bounds free. She brought her hands in front of her, rubbing her wrists. Then Amanda looked up at her savior.

“It’s me, Hayden,” the man said, reaching forward to take Amanda’s hand. “And this is Officer Dalton Velásquez of the NYPD.”

“How did you find me?” Amanda asked. Dalton took her hand and helped her out of the car.

“We stopped by your apartment to question you. No one was there, so we assumed you’d gone to school. Our car was driving past when Hayden noticed yours standing there suspiciously by itself.”

“That’s right,” Hayden added. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“I have no idea,” Amanda said, trying to sound convincing. “I woke up just right now, and noticed that I was restrained.”

“You didn’t see who took you?”

“No.”

Hayden looked skeptical.

“Amanda, please tell us the truth. We’re here to help you. It was him, right?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. They were wearing masks.”

“You don’t need to be so afraid of him anymore. The NYPD has taken interest in investigating this case.”

“Just listen to me,” Amanda said. “My bodyguard’s in the back seat, sedated.”

Dalton and Hayden both peered into the car and saw Kellan unconscious.

“We need to find Nathan. Now!”

“Nathan?” Dalton asked.

“Yes. I have a bad feeling. He’s in danger.”

Hayden exchanged glances with Dalton.

“Has someone threatened him?” asked Hayden.

“Just find him, please!”

“You go find Nathan. I’ll take Amanda to the hospital,” Dalton told Hayden.

“No, I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“Okay, then he’ll take you home,” Hayden told her.

Amanda got back inside her car, buckling herself. Hayden walked towards his own one, revving the engine.

Dalton started Amanda’s car and drove her back to her apartment.

The first thing he felt was disorientation. Nathan felt as though someone were banging on his head with a jackhammer. He stirred, and realized he was in a recliner. Nathan opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings.

He was in a hospital room.

How the hell did I get here?

Nathan looked down, and saw tubes attached to his wrists and to machines beside him.

There were sounds of footsteps outside. Nathan looked at the door. Seconds later, it opened. A nurse came in, followed by Ashton, Claire, and Oswald.

“Guys!” Nathan said, surprised. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

“You were in a car accident, Mr. Ferland,” the nurse said, stopping at the front of the recliner. “Fortunately, your injuries weren’t severe. The doctor will be here shortly to explain more.”

“They looked at your ID, and then the police ran a search. They found your dad’s number and called him,” Ashton said. “He’s in Illinois, so he called me.”

“My dad knows I’m in here?”

“Yes,” Claire said. “You should talk to him as soon as you’re able to. Ashton says he’s really worried.”

“I can imagine.”

“I’ll leave you here for a few minutes,” the nurse said, starting to go. “I’ll have the doctor come check on you.”

The nurse left. Nathan’s friends stood beside him.

“So, how did you end up here, bro?” Ashton asked.

“I’ve got no idea,” said Nathan, thinking. “The last thing I remember is leaving Amanda’s apartment. I’d only just realized that I had to get to work.”

“You were at Amanda’s?” Claire asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you two finally together?”

“I think so, yeah,” Nathan admitted, and Ashton wolf-whistled. “Wait, where is she? Does Amanda even know I’m in here?”

“We haven’t seen her,” Ashton said.

Nathan frowned, thinking about it.

“You don’t remember anything?” Oswald asked.

“No. I don’t recall ever getting on the road. It must have been a nasty crash.”

“Thank God you’re all right,” Claire said. “We were so shocked when Ashton called us with the news. Oswald and I didn’t think about it. We just excused ourselves from class and came here.”

“Thank you all for being here,” Nathan told them. At that moment, the doctor entered. He was holding a thin, small laptop in his hands.

“Good morning, Mr. Ferland. I’m Dr. Eckhart.”

“What’s my condition, Doctor?” Nathan asked.

“You were lucky. You took a blow to the head, thankfully without a concussion. There’s blunt trauma to your left ribs. They are bruised, but one’s cracked.”

No wonder my side’s killing me.

“How long will I have to remain here?”

“You need to rest until your ribs heal. For now, you can’t exert yourself.”

“What about school, Doctor? I can’t afford to miss any classes.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ferland, but you have to stay here at least through the weekend. On Sunday, I’ll check you up and see whether you can go back to school next week.”

Nathan’s expression fell.

“I’ll be back later,” said the Doctor, nodding. He then left the room.

“How did my car fare?” Nathan asked.

“We don’t know,” Ashton replied. “But the cops say it sustained worse damage than you did. With luck, it’s not anything I can’t fix.”

“I guess I have to prepare to buy another car, then.”

“Don’t hold your breath, bro. I’ll find out where they took your car and see its condition. If it’s too far gone, I’ll tell you, and you can replace it.”

“Thanks.”

Ashton didn’t reply. At that moment, the door opened again. Kayla entered, looking anguished.

“Nathan, you’re awake,” she said, walking up next to him and grabbing his hand. “You’re okay. Thank God!”