Emily's PoV:

The night was eerily quiet. Only the howl of icily cold wind was audible. The grave silence of the vicinity made us shiver in our boots. I looked down at my wrist watch and found the time to be exactly twelve. "Kill the power" I indicated. Richard pulled down a switch and the lights around the house were turned off.

Chris worked at the lock for about fifteen minutes and unlocked it successfully. Nick gestured all of us to move forward carefully. We removed our boots in order to move without making noise. Moonlight from the windows gave enough light for us to move, still we used torchlight at places where we may stumble.

The living room was shabby with leftover food, beer cans, underclothes and intravenous drug injections. Hairy Harrison living with his abuelita was obviously a lie.

Nick's house was quite big so we divided to search. The hall parted into two paths. Chris took one and Richard took the other. I was about to climb the stairs when Nick tugged at my arm. Among many things that could make one shiver in the middle of a heist, Nick's touch gave me the jitters. With a simple touch, he unlocked random emotions from the darkest corner of my mind.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a whisper.

"Saving your ass. I'm damn sure you'll get yourself killed by going alone. Stay by my side" he hushed back.

Stay by my side? Why does that sound so romantic all of a sudden?

I pulled my hand from his hold, "Okay, if someone should accompany me, it must be Chris. Why you?"

Nick leaned close to my side. He was so close that his lips were brushing my ear. I could smell the strong masculine deodorant from his body. My firm resolution of staying away from Nick faded for a moment without any trail.

"What...what are you doing?" I asked, trembling. Nick slipped his arms around my waist. His warm breath caressed my neck. The hairs at the back of my neck stood erect. I couldn't see him in the darkness but the feeling of him wrapped around me, twitched my gut with intense feeling of excitement.

"I know you are lying. Sorry I've been an idiot. Don't do this to me," he said. The genuine sincerity in his voice almost made me melt, before which I gained my sanity. "Let's go search for Mom. We'll talk about this later."

"Okay" Nick was filled with hope when he loosened the hold on my waist and moved back. But he didn't let go of my arm. I too didn't pull it back, for I felt safe and comfortable in his arms. Though we never talked out how we really felt, there was this invisible bond that held us together no matter what. I was glad Nick came forward to heal the scars of our relationship.

"Aaarrrgggg..."

As we were climbing the stairs we heard a scream of pain.

It was Richard. He must've been attacked. We froze midway. Nick looked at me bewildered. Without another thought, Nick dragged me upstairs. "Shouldn't we go and save Richard?" I shrieked.

"Yes we should. Before that I must make sure you are safe" Nick looked around and took me into a room. "What? Are you going alone?" I regretted planning the heist. I've lead all of us to a doom.

Nick looked into my eyes, "I have to. I can't put your life at stake." His eyes held the fear of losing me. The fake mask he held up for a while wore off and I saw the real Nick who loves me inside.

Unable to resist, I stood on the tip of my toes and reached for his lips. Nick was taken by surprise. Eventually he delved into the kiss and lifted me by the waist. I inhaled his scent and rummaged my fingers through his soft hair. His passion made me cringe and curl my toes. We parted our lips and I leaned my forehead on his. "Promise you would come back safe without breaking any bones"

"I promise" he didn't let me down. Instead he opened a closet and made me sit inside. "This place was my refuge when dad used to harass me. You would be safe here. Don't come out until I come back for you. Okay?" Nick raised his eyebrows, expecting me to promise back.

I let out a deep breath, "Okay. But if you break your promise, I break mine. So stay safe."

"I would" Nick pecked my cheek and closed the doors of the closet. His footsteps gradually faded away from the room. I closed my eyes and leaned to the side wall of the closet.

The temperature was very low that night and a gust of cold air skimmed my hand. I jerked up straight to find the cold air circulating through the blocked part of the closet, "What the hell?" Running my hand through the wall, I found a small opening at the corner adjoining two walls.

Aghast, I pulled out the torch from my back pocket and shone it through the opening. Normally light reflects back when it's been shone on a flat surface but the light penetrated the crease to discover a wide space behind the closet. I was about to slide my fingers through the crease, when the slab on which I was seated buckled down. Before I could perceive what happened, the closet doors gave away and I fell hard on my back.

"Ouch" I groaned in agony. With the support of my elbows I tried getting up.

"Need help?" A voice resounded. At once I knew it wasn't anyone whom I came with. "Who are you?" I turned on the torch and found a ghastly figure standing before me. The man looking down at me was at most fifty in age. He was pale and thin with broad white eyebrows and white stubble on his jaw. He beheld an unmerciful glare and a firm hold on a crowbar. If I stood up, he would directly blow at my head so I crawled back using my hands.

The man laughed hysterically, "Ha...This makes me happy till now. Seeing you all crawl under my feet. Begging for mercy."

"Mr Tyler?" I gasped.

Mr Tyler nodded his head, "Impressive. If my son has hidden you here, you must be someone important to him. Wow, have I won the jackpot or something? First his mom and then his sad little lover."

"Son?" My pupils dilapidated in panic, "How did you know? What did you do to him?" My heart pounded with the fear of losing Nick forever. His father was a maniac and wouldn't think before harming his own son.

Mr Tyler extended the crowbar for me to look. It had bloodstains on the edge. "I killed him" he smiled devilishly.

I lost it. I had no patience to think. The sudden storm of torment brought unfound strength in my body. "You're such a demon!" I kicked at his legs and Mr Tyler fell with a thud. "If I'm dying tonight, I take you with me" I kneeled on his chest punched at his jaw, "This is for Nick", I punched again, "This is for his mother", Once again I punched, "This is for ruining all our lives."

Though he was old, Mr Tyler had the masculine strength remaining in his muscles. With one push he slammed me against the wall and kicked at my stomach. Blinding pain emerged from the spot he kicked. I embraced my abdomen and curled up on the floor.

Soon Mr Tyler was on his feet and grabbed his crowbar, "Wench. How dare you! You are dead meat." He raised the crowbar against my head. That's it, I had no way to escape, nor did I want to. Without Nick my life would be that of a corpse, for which I'd rather die.

I closed my eyes waiting for a sudden death.

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A/N: Hola dear readers. I promise the next update would be soon. Stay tuned!

This chapter was supposed to be Jan 19. Sorry for creating confusing by changing the chapter names.

Thank you for reading ❤️

Happy reading:-)