Crazy

Zelda’s pov

When I stepped out to receive Luke’s call, I was praying that at least they got something. “ Tell me you found something, Luke.” I sighed anxiously over the phone. Luke held a disappointed breath and replied, “ Am sorry Zel, we didn’t get anything from the evidence. Everything was clean, I mean zilch. Whoever did this was an expert.”

“An expert than you, Luke?”

“ I was coming to that before I was rudely interrupted. Where was I? There is something we can do. We are trying to ping the IP address of the person who called you. He used a burner and it was becoming hard to pinpoint exactly where he called from, as the grid search area is large. It will take some time but we will definitely catch him.”

“How long will it take, Luke?

“ a couple of hours, maybe two” Luke replied, unsure.

“Let's make it one hour then. Thanks, Luke.” I replied with finality, ending the call.

I went back to my father’s room and my mother looked up at me worried. I went closer to her, linked my hand with hers and said, “ Ma, you wanted to tell me something?” “It's okay my baby, it's nothing”, she replied with a shaky voice. Deep down I knew it was not anything, it was definitely something, but I did not want to pry any further. As it is, she had a lot on her plate and I did not want to add to her pain. When she is ready, she will tell me whatever she and my father are hiding from me.

Meanwhile, in Bali…

Zia’s pov

Jason was in the bathroom while I was seated at the vanity table, trying to put on as minimal natural make-up as I could with the limited knowledge I had of beauty and cosmetics. I finished with my makeup, checked my dress and I must admit Jason’s fashion essence was excellent. The red dress was hugging me in all the right places, accentuating my curves and beautifying my insecurities and with a teasing cleavage that wasn’t way over the top but just the right size. The red dress highlighted my caramel skin and I felt beautiful and sexy. I was fixing my hair into a messy bun with my back turned to the bathroom door, when he opened the door.

He stood frozen at the door and I could see his mixed reactions by his reflection in the mirror, ranging from shock, admiration, approval, and even love. I decided to tease him, “ like what you are seeing?” two steps and he was standing so close behind me and I could feel his minty breath and aftershave on my neck when he replied, “ I love everything I see. I am tempted to change my mind about our date and have you locked in this room until we have had our way with each other and spent time, but that can wait until our wedding night. You look so lovely, my Zia, and I don’t know if I will manage to keep my hands to myself tonight.”

A blush crept to my cheeks and I replied while staring into his eyes in the mirror, “ Thanks Jason for the compliment. I am ready. Where are you taking me?”

I was grabbing my clutch bag when he took my hand and led us to the elevator. He replied, “ Be patient love, you will like it.” Did he just call me love? Was he in love with me? Only time will tell. As always, he had gone over the top by hiring a limousine, even when we were driving to this secret destination, he made sure to hold my hand throughout the journey. When the driver said we had arrived, he helped me out of the limo, and the view ahead of us was breathtaking. A hotel overlooking the ocean. As we walked in, I realized there were no other customers, just the two of us and the waitresses and probably the chefs. We climbed a short fleet of stairs and went upstairs to the balcony where a table for two was set with candles lit, giving the table a romantic mood. From the balcony, you could feel the ocean breeze, and the moon illuminated the white sandy beach, making the view magnificent. On the floor were red rose petals marking a path to the table with candles on the side. Like the gentleman he was, he pulled a chair for me, and once I was comfortably sitting, I was curious, so I asked, “ why aren’t there any customers?” He looked at me like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar and replied, “ when I saw how good you looked in the dress, I called the manager and told him to cancel all bookings for the night.”

“What! Are you crazy? Why would you do that? Wait, did you call him on our way here, because I didn’t see you on your phone? Who is the owner of this hotel?” I exclaimed.

“Yes, I am crazy, crazy about you. I did this because I don’t want other men to look at your beautiful body, I would kill them with my bare hands if they dared look at you. I called the manager when we were at Indy’s and this hotel belongs to my family.” He said and I could see his eyes change into different expressions when he talked from being hopeless to dangerous and finally calm. He was definitely crazy, he canceled all bookings, cleared a whole hotel just because he was afraid of being made jealous and just because he could. He was crazy.

The waitress came bearing a glass of wine and two glasses. Once she poured the wine, I gulped down the wine in one shot because, from the things Jason had done today, it wasn’t going to be an easy night. Liquid courage was going to be needed tonight.