Page 74 of Deadline for Love

“And what if you want to attempt something?”

“I’m aware of the consequences.” My voice was quiet, but he heard me and laughed softly again.

“I’ll stay right behind you.”

Amara anxiously grabbed my hand. She didn’t want to let go of me and didn’t move, but I didn’t know how much longer Julian would wait. The fear Amara would get hurt was more significant than my own dread. I briefly looked down at her stomach and apologized for endangering them both. My heart was bleeding as I thought about the possibility that this might be the last time I would ever see Amara.

The adrenaline pumping through my body reenergized me, and I tugged Amara to me, hugging her to the side of my chest. With my heart beating fast and my head pounding, I dragged her to Janette’s door.

“Janette, please open the door and take Amara. She’s pregnant; please don’t leave her alone. Keep her safe,” I pleaded loud enough so she could hear me. I was sure she was standing right behind it, staring out of the peephole.

I heard movement behind the door and her voice, “If this guy takes a few steps away, I’ll open the door.”

Julian exhaled behind me, loud and clearly annoyed. “Are you kidding me now?”

“Shut the fuck up! Take a few steps back, now.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Julian hiss and take a few steps away—But what good would that do? The guy had a gun. He’d still hit anyone at this range.

Amara sobbed loudly and cried beside me once she heard Janette unlock her door.

I looked into her already red eyes and gently caressed her arm. Then I gave her one last smile. “Take care.”

She wanted to say something, but Janette quickly opened the door so that Amara’s body could just barely fit through before she grabbed Amara’s arm. I helped Janette by pushing her away from me to make it easier to pull Amara in.

“I’m sorry, Bella. He has my niece! He threatened me. Please. I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t know how to respond, but I had no more time to react because Julian grabbed my arm and yanked me towards the stairwell.

“None of this was planned, but it doesn’t matter. Everything is ready,” he mumbled, and I toyed with the idea of freeing myself from his grip to run away, but at the first movement against him, he forcibly pinned me to his body and whispered in my ear.

“Your friends aren’t safe yet. I am not working alone, so don’t do anything foolish.”

I swallowed hard, and my whole body tensed.

“Be a good girl and just do what I say. Then there will be fewer victims.”

Chapter 28

Julian showed me out and kept the gun hidden behind my back. Next, I was forced to get into his car, which was parked some distance from the building. A few people passed us before we reached the car. But given his threat, I tried not to draw attention to us. I didn’t doubt he had a partner who was ready to kill my friends at any time. And who knows, maybe he would just do it because they knew him. They had seen his face. They knew who he was. So, what was his plan?

Julian opened the passenger side door and pushed me into the car, then leaned down and opened his glove compartment where he had a rope. He placed my arms behind my back and roughly tied the rope around my hands. Then, sighing, he put the gun into the glove compartment.

Once he sat in the driver’s seat, he rubbed his hair hard and hit the steering wheel, causing my body to jerk with fright. My heart was beating so fast, and my thoughts spun in circles, making me dizzy. I honestly never expected to find myself in such a situation. I also didn’t suspect that Julian could be such a fucking psycho and actually be capable of all this. I hadoccasionally had a peculiar feeling about him, yes. But I never expected that. Never.

Slowly, memories came flooding back to me, his gaze, comments, and how Janette reacted when she saw Nia with the pastry. There had been quite a few clues if I had been paying more attention. On top of that, he had another partner, oh God! It was no coincidence that Mr. Morgan stated that he didn’t know how the letters were connected to the murders; he had already thought that there might be someone involved. But who was it?

I didn’t know Julian; I’d never had anything to do with him until recently. We’d never met before, so why?

“Bella, I planned to lure you to my place next week and display my newest masterpiece in the city. However, now I have to do it all early.”

“Masterpiece?” I hissed.

He pouted at my comment and sped up a little.

“Yes, masterpiece… I know you don’t appreciate my art, but I don’t care much about that. On the contrary, I’m really turned on by how you’ve talked about me in your reports. I look forward to the next headline. You won’t write it, but that’s okay because you’ll be the focus of my next project.”

A diabolical laugh followed his sentence, which made me shudder. My voice stopped, my throat tightened, and my heart pounded so fast I thought it would jump out of my body. He mumbled something to himself and mentioned another woman who would also be where I was being taken, but I couldn’t listen to him. I could only feel an intense rush of blood in my ears; my body had poured out all the stress on me, and I just couldn’t manage to have a clear thought. I couldn’t even hear what was happening around me.

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