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Shivering, Dominique sat at the side of the office as her mind kept replaying Justin's words over and over in her head. Joe's eyes were fixated on her and his face held just about the same worry Paul had when he saw her outside, alone. While, Genesis kept pacing to and fro in the room, as she kept on dialing her brother's line, but every time the call would just go straight into voicemail.

"Still unreachable?" Joe asked.

Still trying, she replied, "Yes."

But, Minnie was far away from their conversation, as she wandered off to her times in the brothel, and the mistreatment she got from Dinah. Yet, no how she tried, she just wasn't able to pin all he said together. Despite everything he said, she found that she was even more confused than she was before, but this time around, she was scared.

Was someone really after her? Is John actually working with them as Justin said?

As this thought came to her, a strange breeze blew on her skin, and she shivered the more. Suddenly, she felt something warm on her, and she looked up and saw that Joe had placed his jacket over her shoulder.

He smiled, and she pulled her lips into a thin smile.

"How are you now, Dominique?"

"I-I'm fine," She stuttered, trying to keep her emotions in check. Although she knew that she wasn't.

Joe didn't bother dragging it, as he wrapped his arms lightly around her.

As his arms came round her, Minnie felt the shiver run through her skin, and although she was surprised at this, she could not help but to fall into his hug.

At that moment, she felt safe, and every single fear she had was instantly gone.

"Minnie, you need to call Alex. Should I place a call to him now?" Genesis's voice cut through her peace, and almost instantly her mind flew back to Justin's words.

"Alexander, your parents, your friends, and even my sister, are all in danger," He warned, "You are all at the mercy of Carper now."

She couldn't endanger everyone, most especially Alex. So, she had to find a way to stop whatsoever or whosoever was seeking her life.

She faced Genesis and nodded.

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The black jeep drove roughly down the street, and made an abrupt stop at the front of the Lovers Club - this caused the tires to screech as it forcefully braked against the tarred road. Instantly, Alex jumped out of the car, and ran into the club without locking the doors of the jeep.

He couldn't care less about the car, all his thoughts were focused on just one thing - her.

The club was still bubbly even if it was almost three in the morning. Some drunken men sat sparsely in the club, and many of them were engrossed with partly-nude ladies. He, ignoring them, rushed in, and made his way to Joe's office.

Without hesitating, he pushed the door open. His eyes danced through the room, and fell on her where she sat with her face buried in her palms. Instantly, he ran to her, and encircled her in his arms.

Minnie felt the warmness and the familiar feeling of safety and comfort, when his arms came around her. In a stance, all her fears melted down, and she buried herself into his chest.

His overly racing heart kept beating hard against the caves of his ribs, as she wept into his chest. He couldn't think of anything else, as he rubbed her back, and snuggled even closer to her. He could sense the fear in her, as well as the tension hanging around in the room.

"Alex?"

Slowly, he looked up and met with Joe who had a haunted look etched onto his face.

"We need to talk," Joe said.

With a slight nod, he returned his eyes to Dominique.

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A light buzz caused Minnie to stir in her sleep. She tried to open her eyes, but an impounding pain in her temple made her shut them back. Slowly, she tried again, and fluttered her eyelids open. She instantly met with the milk colored room, and she sighed in relief - she wasn't in a strange house. Pulling herself up on the bed, Minnie looked around, and noticed that she had been tucked into bed and her shoes had been taken off. Her eyes moved to what she wore, and she smiled as she saw that she was in a blue and white pajama which hung loosely around her body.

Just to be sure, she brought the cloth to her nose, and was instantly met with the smell of his cologne, and she hummed in pleasure. Her skin tingled as she thought of him, and the hair on her arms stood as they missed his touch.

She pushed the covers off herself, and made to stand from the bed, but the pounding pain in her forehead returned, and all at once, she recalled Justin's words. Her eyes moistened up as her fears came back to her, and she pulled her knee to her chest.

There was someone out there who was looking to capture her. She had been living a lie all along. She had believed everything Dinah told her, but now, everything had turned out to be a mere show.

Here, she had thought she finally had her freedom, but how can anyone be free when they have been paid for and bought? Yes, she was only living a life which was on the line of been taken at any moment.

She couldn't let that happen - not now when she was finally happy. Not now when she had him with her. Not now when she had found out that her parents were alive. No, she could not be taken.

With this new found determination, she climbed off the king-sized bed, and walked to the door. As she got to the door, she could hear some voices, and she listened and made out the voices of Alex arguing with another man.

She strolled out of the room - following the voices - and unto the living area. Just as she had heard, Alex and a slender man were seated across each other. As she wandered in, they stopped discussing as their eyes shot to her.

"Minnie," Alex called out to her, a smile on his lips. She walked to him, and sat beside him. He reached for her hand, and clasped them gently in his, as he looked at her, "You good?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yes."

The other man in the room cleared his throat, and they both looked at him.

"Wouldn't you care to introduce me, Alex?"

Alex laughed, "Yeah, right," he gave a squeeze to her palm causing her to look at him, "Minnie, this is Jeff Omnia, a friend of mine," He introduced the man to her, and she smiled, and faced Jeff. "J, meet my one and only love, Dominique," he said to Jeff.

A dimpled grin crawled on her face as soon as the words left his lips, and she could feel her cheeks warm up.

"Nice to meet you, Dominique," Jeff said.

She nodded, "My pleasure, Jeff."

"So, Jeff's with the Criminal Investigation Department and he's here to help," Alex explained.

She was at first surprised that he was already informed of what happen, but a wave of relief washed over her as she realized that she was not alone in this.

"He's right, Dominique. I work in Anti-human trafficking unit, and I need you  to be completely honest with me, so I'll be able to link the syndicate, and get them behind bars."

Her eyes went wide with fear, and she shook her head, "No, don't do that. I just want to be far away from them. I don't want anything to do with them."

Alex squeezed her palm gently, and she looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please, Alex," She begged.

His eyebrows curved and wrinkles spread through his forehead as he looked at her, but despite his shock at her request, he held her close to himself, and faced his friend. "Jeff, Minnie needs every protection she can get."

"Of course, Alex, I'll have two of our patrol teams watch her discreetly."

Alex's rumpled forehead straightened out, and his lips pulled into a thin smile, "Good. I'm counting on you man."

Jeff smiled, "What are friends for? Besides, the security of the citizens is very important to the NPF, after all this is our job." He said. Diverting his eyes to Minnie, he said, "Dominique, even if you don't want an investigation open on these people, I'll still need you to tell me everything you know now. It's all for your safety, and for those around you."

"You need to know that the CID is willing to take up your case if you only cooperate with us." Jeff added in.

Alex's gave her palm a gentle squeeze, "Minnie, please."

Realizing the severity of the matter, she nodded, reluctantly. "Okay, I'll tell you everything."

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In the LAF HQ, Amelia is in her office going over some files with some people from the National Censor Board, Mara, and Dave when a towering man walked into the room, and at once, they all stopped working and faced him. His appearance commanded power, and this was not only due to the influence of the uniform he had on.

Amelia's lips pulled into a small smile, "So glad you're here, Lateef," She said, acknowledging his presence. Introducing him to the others was pointless, as almost everyone in the country knew who he is. They all took turns in greeting the Commissioner of Police and he gave a nod to their greetings before facing Amelia.

"Amelia, I need to see you privately," He said.

Dave chimed in, "Sir, if this is about the case, then we are all here to hear of it."

A frown came up the CP's lips, as he shot his glare to Dave who instantly withdrew to himself.

Seeing this, Amelia decided to back her friend up, "He's right, Lateef. These are the men and women from the NCB, and we also have a representative from the State Council," She explained, "They are all here to help find Dominique."

"Understood," Lateef said, and although his face remained stern, it sure seemed that he was okay with their presence. "In that case, I have great news for you."

Her eyes lightened up as these words trailed off his lips, "What news is that?"

The side of his lips curved up, as a smile broke through his black lips. "My men and I, we raided the brothel, and we managed to apprehend the owner, and rescue the girls. Several customers of the brothel were also arrested, but the brothel's owner's son, John, escaped."

Her eyes sparkled as she heard this information, and even though she was disappointed that someone still got away, she was glad that she was able to save some girls, and have Dinah behind bars.

"This is great news, indeed, sir," Dave said to him, after seeing that Amelia had gone quiet. "However, will the escape of John be of a setback to us?"

"We hope not," Lateef quickly replied, "I can't say much now, as we need to investigate deeper into this case, but for now, we have them in our custody, and John will soon join his mother."

Amelia's lips quivered and parted open, "Will I find my child?"

The air in the room went still as her words hung in the mist. Lateef could read the desperation in her, and he knew that he would not stop until he finds those behind the kidnap of the little girl. He would find Amy's daughter.

He walked to Amy, and placed his palm on her shoulders. She looked up, and met with his eyes, and he could see the lingering tears glister in her orbs. This stabbed him hard in his chest as he saw the pain written over her face. He had never been able to stand her in pains. He had watched Amy grow, and had pledge that as long as he was alive, he'll not let any harm come to her. She was all he had, after all, and he was all she had.

After losing his sister to the hands of her abusive husband, he had made it his mission to keep his niece out of danger, and each time he heard about an abuse against a woman, he felt as though his sister was being killed over and over again. So, therefore, this had to stop; the trafficking of young innocent children, the abuse on the weaker gender, and the discrimination against the girl child.

He was barely able to keep himself from going on a rampage to find the child, nineteen years ago, but now that he has the power, he'll stop at nothing to end this. He would find the members of the syndicate responsible for taking his niece's daughter.

"We will find her, Amelia. This I promise you." He answered, and she pulled on a grin.

There was hope, she will find her daughter. She wasn't alone; she had a whole army behind her. She will find her daughter, this she hoped.

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Minnie giggled as her nerves tingled with pleasure as she writhed on the bed, her toes curling up. Alex's face rose from between her legs, his lips drawn to the side in a knowing smile. Her eyes danced from his sparkling brown orbs, to his strong jaw, and she inched her finger to the beard, and she traced it, feeling the hair poke her soft fingers, gently.

She tugged her lower lip in her teeth, and chewed on it. This made Alex groan in pleasure, as his hands tightened around her waist. He leaned closer to her, and captured her lips in his. Surrendering her lips, she matched the steady strokes of his tongue with hers. Gripping her waist, he angled for a deeper contact - his mouth encompassing hers, as his palms spread out over the curves of her waist.

Reluctantly, Minnie placed her hand on his chest, and pulled out of the kiss. Though surprised at this, Alex looked into her eyes - his brows knitted causing his forehead to pucker up.

"Fire, are you okay?"

Even as much as she wanted to seem alright and to forget the danger she was in, it was so obvious that she was scared and at the same time, worried. Her silence answered Alex, as he entwined his hands with hers, holding her gently.

"It's going to be fine, Minnie. I promise you that no one will hurt you," He breathed.

She shook her head, "No, Alex. I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for you all. I don't want any of you to get in harm's way. I don't think I can ever live with the thought of losing any one of you to Carper."

He sighed, and brought her hands to his face. Trailing his lower lip over her knuckles, he whispered, "Nothing's going to happen to anyone, Minnie."

"I just can't help it, Alex. Knowing that everyone's in danger because of me, just scares me the most," She spilled.

Alex nodded. He understood that she was scared, and he also knew of the dangers that they were all in, but what he was sure of was that he would stop at nothing to protect her, and he will not hesitate to end the life of anyone who poses as a danger to her, even at the expense of his own life.

His lips tugged into a small smile, as he cupped her face in his hands, "Minnie, I've got no idea what could happen tomorrow, but as Nana always says, 'One today is worth two tomorrows'. So, yes, we may not know what will happen tomorrow, but we've got today, and we have to make it count. After all, the future depends on what we do today."

Minnie couldn't help but smile at this, "Which inspirational site did you pull that from?"

He laughed, "Mahatma Gandhi sure did inspire a lot of people," He joked, but his face became serious, as he watched her brown eyes sparkle with the reflection of the day's brightness, and he smiled. "My point is, Minnie, let's not think hard about what will happen. We'll be okay, as long as we choose to be."

She smiled, as her heart warmed up, "Thank you, Alex."

He shook his head, "No, thank you for listening to me, Minnie."

Grinning, she cocked her head to his, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He in turn, peppered kisses over her skin, trailing from her forehead, against her cheeks, down her jawline, until he finally greeted her lips once more.

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In the suburbs of the state, at an old abandoned building, a black Honda accord drives to the side of the building, two masked men come out from the driver's side, and the passenger's side, respectively. They both walk to the back of the car, and open the boot. Stuffed into the boot, was Justin who was bounded by his arms and legs, and a red gag was placed over his mouth. He tried to resist them, but they pulled him out of the car, and dragged him to the building.

At the entrance to the old building where several other hooded and masked men, who on seeing them, opened the way and allowed the two to pass with their bounded victim. They dragged him on the dusty and rugged floor, until they got farthest into the house. Backing them was a hooded man who faced the window of the building, and the two men stopped and dropped Justin to his knee on the floor before the man.

"Sir, we managed to find him as he tried to escape," One of the masked men said.

A smirk appeared on the man's lips, "So, you thought you could betray me, and escape, Justin?"

Justin scowled, and tried to speak, but the gag on his mouth prevented him from doing so.

"Dragon, let him speak," The man said.

One of the masked men yanked the gag away from his mouth, and Justin squeezed his eyes as the pain surged through his jaws.

He looked up to the rear of the man, "You have so many girls with you, and you could have as much as you want. Why don't you just leave Dominique? She has a life now, and she's happy. Just let her be!"

The man's laugh echoed all through the building.

"Do you think I will ever let her be? You should know best that whatever Carper wants, Carper gets."

The realization struck Justin that he could not plead his way through this, and his face fell. She was in a lot of trouble, and he could not help but blame himself. If only, he had not told Carper of her true identity, then maybe, just maybe, he would have been able to save her.

However, he was determined to not give up. He could not let Carper win at this again, even if it was impossible for him to take Carper down single-handedly.

"Boss, what shall we do with him?" The other masked man asked.

Justin looked up as this question came out and he awaited his fate at the judgment of his former boss.

"You have done great things for me, Justin, and you were my special henchman," The man mused and Justin swallowed a huge lump, "However, a traitor must always be treated as a traitor. Dragon, Saw, lock him up while I think of what to do with him!" He ordered.

Immediately, the two men hoisted Justin up, and his eyes went wide as he realized that they would lock him up. He already knew what his fate was, and despite Carper's procrastinating act, Justin knew that his time on earth was limited. He could not be spared from being killed; after all, he had also killed many. So, therefore, he knew that anyone who kills with the sword must certainly die by the sword. Yet, for the sake of his sister, he will do all he can to make sure Carper does not harm Dominique.

Taking them by surprise, Justin veered away from them, and turned to Carper, but one of the masked men fired at his leg, and he fell to his face.

Carper laughed, "Pathetic. Take him away, now!"

The men pulled Justin back up, and as they dragged him away, he yelled on the top of his voice, "You can never have her, Carper! They will all stop you. They will!"

However, Carper was not moved as he laughed wickedly. "Call in John!" He ordered.

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Lovelies, do not forget to leave a like and probably some comments before you go. Thanks.
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