CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Henna heard the news of Sophia being kidnapped from Mrs Reeves and ever since then, she has been anxious and overthinking.

She sat in the office of her newly opened store and was lost in thoughts when her phone started to ring.

She got startled and bit her fingernail as she had been biting her nails for over thirty minutes.

"Oww" she exclaimed, her eyes squinted as she held in the pain.

She put her finger into her mouth and suckled on it for a while as she picked up the call. It was from a number she was well aware of.

"What the hell happened? You were supposed to deliver Sophia to me!? My men got there and she was nowhere to be found" The voice over the phone said out of frustration and anger.

"I don't know how things turned out this way but you have to calm down….fussing over this might not solve anything for the both of us" her voice shaky.

"You were supposed to bring and detain her at the warehouse until I come and get her...remember, this is what you owe me and I always get what I am owed with whatever means necessary" his voice raged as he hung up.

Henna dropped the phone on the table and screamed out of frustration and disappointment, holding onto her hair in a tight grip as though she were to pull them out.

She quickly let go of her hair picked up her phone again and dialled Jenny's number, she picked.

"What kind of crook did you freaking recommend to me!?" Henna said in a high tone and then a low tone.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Jenny's voice confused.

"He could not f*cking do his job! Now he has been arrested"

"Arrested? But how? Why?... I mean you told me you wanted a man who could do an odd job so I recommended him, what kind of odd job did you have him do?"

"That doesn't matter! The point is, he failed woefully and he is in a holding cell, God help you he doesn't mention anything discriminating about me"

"You are getting me confused and scared Henna, what did you tell him and what did you have him do?" Jenny asked over the phone.

"Shut up! I need to think of a solution," Henna aggressively tapped a couple of times on the phone screen before she ended the call.

She stood immediately, carried her handbag and phone, stepped out of her store and got into her car. She then dialled the initial known number that called her earlier.

"Please we need to figure this out, can we see?" Henna asked and the person on the other end of the call agreed.

She hung up the call and drove off immediately.

Henna drove for a while and arrived at a bar and walked in. The bar was filled with a couple of men who were busy mingling, chatting and drinking with women.

Henna walked up to a spot, her eyes all over the place with curiosity mixed with fear and took her seat as she waited for the man she came to see.

A man in his late thirties, dressed in a pair of black trousers and a black silk shirt that was three buttons opened, displaying a tattoo of a raging wolf on his chest. His dark hair sleek and gelled all the way to the back came out of a VIP section and approached Henna where she sat, anxious.

She turned and her gaze fell on the man as he took his seat beside her.

"Mr Frank" she quickly muttered and crossed her legs, feigning confidence.

"Miss Henna, you're finally here. Care to explain how I don't have who I want with you?" He asked as he leaned forward.

"I am really sorry about how all of this turned out, there was a slight mishap. We just have to find a way to handle this" Henna found the words to use, her heart still beating faster than usual.

"Mishap? We?" Mr Frank asked and laughed. He then brought out a cigar and lit it up.

"I hear the man you hired to kidnap Sophia was arrested, I don't see how this is my problem miss" he sat back, relaxed and took a puff.

"That is why I am here, I need your help, Mr. Frank….. I must have not been thinking straight to have hired an amateur for this" Henna pleaded desperately but still maintained a little composure.

"I don't owe you any favour, as a matter of fact, you owe me! I supplied your new store with all the goods you wanted while boycotting the legal procedures....all you had to give me in return was Sophia, where the hell is she!?" He banged the table with his left hand and this startled Henna as she gasped.

"You will get Sophia but the only way you can have her is if you help me out of this mess first" her voice cracked.

"Fine, I'll give you one more chance then. I'll take care of the man" Mr Frank said this, stood and left the premises.

Miss Henna finally regained her composure as she took in deep breaths. She was not used to these kinds of dealings and environments so it made her quite uncomfortable.

She quickly stood and exited the bar in a haste without looking back.

Mr Frank went back into the VIP room now.

"She came to ask for help," Mr Frank said the moment he entered the room.

"That foolish girl, always messing up things for me" a female voice spoke from behind a screen covering one part of the room.

"What should I do?" Mr Frank asked as he smoked his cigar.

"Take care of it and wrap things up quietly" she spoke with so much ease and authority.

"Alright"

Mr. Frank signalled two of his men and then told them the new task that they had to carry out immediately.

*BRAN'S POV*

I eventually got to the third floor and went into Sophia's ward. There she sat up on the bed, peeling an apple from the basket of fruits I brought.

She turned towards the door the moment she noticed my presence.

"You are back," she said with a smile and continued peeling the apple.

"Yeah, had to go sort things out with Pierre," I said moving closer to her bedside.

"Sure you don't want me to help you with that?" I asked and pointed at the other two apples yet to be peeled.

"I can handle peeling three apples, Bran," she said with a straight look and then smiled.

"Of course, I am sure you can"

"Any new report about the man who kidnapped me?" she suddenly looked up at me and asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Uhh, nothing much really, he hasn't said anything substantial but I am sure the cops are working on it" I reassured her.

"There must have been a motive for him to have kidnapped me, I can't just figure out why anyone would want me kidnapped," she asked, worried and confused.

"I don't think you have done anything to warrant being kidnapped…..but you don't have to worry. I will have security details follow you anywhere you go from now on" I said confidently.

"A security detail? For me?" she stopped slicing the apple and looked up at me.

"Yes for you, who else?"

"As much as I know that you might be worried for me, a security detail might just be excess for me" she tried to reject the offer.

"Not just one actually but two of them"

"Two security details?? What are you thinking? That is excess" she argued.

"No, it's not…. Wanting to keep you safe and protected is in no way excess Sophia so just—just accept it okay?" I raised my voice a little and this startled her to realize it was all for her good and protection.

"I am sorry, I am just tensed and on edge about all of this" I apologized immediately.

"No no, I should be the one who is sorry... I should have just accepted your kind gestures without always arguing about everything, I am sorry" she apologized, her eyes glistened like that of a cute puppy and I could not help but fall in love all over again.

"I am still sorry, you must have still been in a state of shock from all of this," I said, bent and holding her hand softly.

Just then I felt a vibration beneath my suit first and then a ringtone rang out, it was from Sophia's phone. I immediately brought out the phone as it kept ringing, it was a call from Liam.

Sophia guessed that could be her ringtone but could not outright say it was from her phone. She then looked at me and remembered she had not seen her phone since the incident.

"Is that my phone?" she asked as she ate a slice of apple.

"Yeah, Pierre got it from the cops, and you've got a call from—-Liam," I said, devoid of enthusiasm and handed over the phone to her.

She noticed the way my mood changed when I said the call was from Liam as she gently collected the phone from me. Her face rested in a worried state.

"I will be outside," I said in a low voice and went ahead to step out as she picked up the call.