8 Chapter-Seven

"Do you intend on saying something?"  Jenna asked, finally breaking the awkward, long silence that engulfed the aura around them, despite being seated in one of the most crowded cafe in the town.

"I do as a matter of fact!" James uttered nonchalantly, his eyes still glued to her face as if waiting for her features to give away what she held inside. "But-" he began, his hand reaching out to the purse placed on the table next to her.

Without sparing her a chance to get a hold  of it, he had already taken it under his custody, imploring the contents of it, " I would rather keep my mouth shut than to have you recording our conversation." He completed, pulling out a mini recorder to her embarrassment.

She could feel his hot gaze back on her but couldn't muster up the courage to look into his accusing orbs and question him of his motives. " Now that you have turned it off, can we start with why you asked me out?"

To her question, or perhaps something else, James grunted, rolling his eyes. " What do you think of me Miss Supposedly Jenna Berry? A fool? An idiot?" her eyes snapped up to him. James smirked mockingly before leaning on the table to occupy her little bubble of personal space, marking the air around her with dominance and authority. "I would rather not have you taking if it's not your mind you speak," James whispered, his proximity bringing the best out of her. Confusion laced Jenna's features, her mind unable to think beyond his presence around her. But soon enough, that confusion drained away and was replaced by a second shot of embarrassment as he pulled out the Bluetooth from her ear and sat back down in his seat. " Now tell me, darling, do you want us to have a conversation or shall I take my leave?"

After a moment of contemplation, she meekly nodded her head in approval. Knowing very well that she would later have to face trouble for cutting all connection off_though it wasn't really her fault at that but who is gonna explain him_ and will have a hard time making him believe in her words, curiosity overpowered her fear. Despite her inner conscience screaming at her to walk out, she sat as calmly as a dead lake, eager to hear what he had to say.

His body visibly relaxed as he slumped back in his seat, arms crossed. He looked somewhat occupied for a minute or so, probably contemplating what else she could bring to spy on him. When his mind couldn't come up with any such thing, his eyes softened and his lip parted to form words that churned the inside of Jenna's body. " You are not Jenna and that's for sure. Don't even try to persuade me otherwise." He begun,  sitting straight. " But what keeps me wondering is why would you claim to be someone you are not. I can agree to as much as you being her twin but beyond that, I simply refuse to give a thought. You know why ?" he asked. " cause I know it will all be lies! Ugly, white, flat lies!"

"Now, any sane person won't take more than a few days to come up with the conclusion that the only reasonable excuse for your acts is that either you are being forced into this or you have taken this opportunity to pledge charges on me and ruin my business and reputation; revenge I would call that."

Choosing to keep her silence, Jenna pursed her lips together.

" Look, I know you are not yet familiar with me but I can assure you of my sincerity when I say I can protect you. You don't have to fight for a cause that's not yours! Th-'

" And how will you do so Mr Maxwell? By locking me up in one of your uncountable rooms and torturing me day to night? Or by forcing me into things I don't want? " she slammed the table with her palms, attracting eyes from around the cafe. " And for your kind information, I am fighting for a cause that's totally mine and I'll keep on fighting till the last drop of blood in my body runs out and justice prevail."

James had expected such an outcome and so didn't even blink an eye on her words. He already knew of her answer even before he stepped out of the house but the curtsy demanded him to place his offer.

" I am leaving." She announced, Collecting her mobile and clutch. James still sat, with arms crossed and a mask of Indifference hiding away his sinister motives.

He didn't want to do it but the girl forced him to his limits.

" You are not." He declared, casually sitting straight. Her eyes travelled to his hands as they pulled the zipper of his jacket down to his waist, flashing a black pistol dangling by his belt.

" It's getting hot here, no?" he asked, sitting back, a victory smile dancing on his lips. He knew his plan had worked by the fear laced on her features as she licked her now dry lips.

"What is this suppose to mean?"

" Sit back down." He ordered.

" I wanna leave!" she hissed, annoyed.

" Darling either you sit yourself down or those men there are going to do it for you." He pointed to two men by the glass door.

"So now you are going to keep me, hostage, here?" Jenna plopped back down

" For the first part, yes. And about here, so no."

***

"I am in a very fragile state of mind right now." James pinned her with his gaze, his hand holding the handle of the glass door. "And trust me when I say, you do not want to mess with such a man."

"You won't get any answers out of me Mr Maxwell-"

" I don't even want them from you anymore!" He snapped, a thin crease forming on his forehead; an indication enough for her to contain her outburst. Gulping down a hard lump, Jenna passed him her most furious look, knowing very well it won't do a bit to intimidate him.

"If that look is meant to scare me then I must say you look rather cute with that frown." James said, letting a small smile break free on his lips before clutching her upper arm in his grip, pulling so that her petite form collided with the side of his chest like a feather would hit a rock. "your eyes aren't really sincere with you," he uttered before pushing the door open and stepping into the refreshing air of Vincent busy street.

Though a little taken aback by his words, Jenna quickly took her surrounding in. As if unsure of his motives, her eyes traced back to his face; in a futile hope of catching a glimpse of something that could give her a hint.  "Did your legs give up?" she asked, successfully gaining his attention through her sassiness.

"Hmm?" his state made it clear that her comment was rather bitter for him. Jenna watched as he slowly licked his bottom lip, eyes fixated on her as if telling her to apologize. Already in his shackles, this was simply calling for trouble. But she knew worse! Letting out a snort, Jenna cracked her neck to face the other way as if his presence around her sent her off-limits. But James had other plans. In a blink of an eye, he had her pressed against his chest, his other hand holding her jaws in an iron-strong grip. The shock was too unexpected for her to resist his clutches but soon enough as the fear began to pool in her eyes, her delicate palm pushed his chest in a feeble attempt to free herself.

James stood firmly, totally unaffected by snuffed whining to let her go as well as the disapproved stares of the passer-by.

The matter wasn't about his ego or self conceitedness, Jenna often used to make more or less offensive jokes but never for once did he ever treat her any less than a queen! But she was the real Jenna, the Jenna he loved dearly. This woman here shared nothing more than a name and face with his love. Despite all that he had gone through at the expense of some revenge she was extracting from him, James was undoubtedly quite humane with her. But now was the time he made it clear who was in charge!

"One thing that you must get in that head of yours is the way you talk with me." He hissed, bringing her face closer to his, "Next time I won't tolerate a tone less than respectful." It felt like an eternity looking into the fear-ridden orbs of hers and James couldn't help but wonder if he was hurting her. Her body was void of any struggle like before as if someone froze it in its place. Hell, she didn't even realise when he let go of her arm and placed his palm on the back of her hand at his chest and pushed it away as if the mere touch disgusted him. "Are we clear?"

Jenna looked away, too embarrassed to display her emotions openly for him to humiliate them. Taking it as a yes, James let go of her face and took her by the arm.

"Let's see how many puppets you have got under you,"

Eyes like an eagle darted in every direction, looking out for his prey. Soon enough, they locked their target on a man by the stall a little far. With a cap on his head, black jacket and a wire extending from his left ear, he sure merged well with the crowd.

"Move." He ordered, the corner of his eyes making sure the man was in sight

With their first step, realisation drew upon him that it wasn't just one man surrounding the area, they were more than a dozen! Great!

The men followed as James walked her to his Mercedes. Until then, they had kept their distance, miserably falling to mix with the public. His lips itched to form a smirk as he casually took his jacket off, putting the pistol to show. Oh, how he wished to snap a picture of the men's sudden change of expression.

Oh yes, your baby's in danger!

Pushing her in the passenger seat, James walked to the other side, slipping in and roaring the engine to life.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked frantically.

"To murder you." He replied nonchalantly, fixing the rear-view mirror so he could spot the guys rushing to the black cars by the end of the street. He had taken them by surprise, ask about the best part of the day!

Five, he counted in his heart.

"Wh... what?" Jenna stuttered, colour draining away from her face.

Four

" Where is your sarcasm now?"

Three

His eyes drifted to the same guy slipping in a black hybrid. With the little glimpse he had of him, James concluded he was alone.

Two

Jenna's mumble faded away to a thin silence as he studied the road ahead of him.

One!

Adrenaline surged through his blood as he pushed on the accelerator and stormed through the streets like a fireball, the cars following close behind.

***  

He drove like a crazy man. Like he's never heard of something called Rules and Regulations. Like speed limit sounded a joke to him.

The sun was now on top, grinning brighter then ever as if it found a twisted pleasure in watching her scum to a puddle of slime, sticking to the seat with nothing but all eyes on her face watching in horror as the manic besides her toyed with her life. Even if she makes out alive_ the chances of which are a little above zero_ she'll have to face the consequences later. It was more of a ' take a bullet from either side' situation and so worrying about him was currently not what occupied her frantic mind.

With the breath stuck in her throat, her gaze carefully moved to the rearview mirror. There just one car chasing behind them. He had successfully managed to get the others off his tail. God knew what he had running in that mind of his.

The car finally came to an abrupt stop near one of the many shackles-of-a-home. Jenna watched as he got out of his side, banging the door shut with a defending thud, and made his way to her

"Out."  Without bothering to waste a second, he had her wrist in his hold as he pulled her to an abandoned house.

Two things that were quite obvious about this area was that number one, it was a ghost town and second that the freaking place was in the middle of nowhere! God knows how much blood these walls bore over the decades...

If the exterior of the house was a sight to shiver, the interior was no less than an open proclamation of paranormal occurrences. It looked as if it belonged to one of the elite families of the eighteenth century and was never touched ever since then.

As he pushed her into one of many dark wooden-floored rooms, the sound of car brakes was heard just outside.

One look at her and she could see red flags everywhere. Oh, how she wished whoever was on the other side of the house would just go away. But life isn't that merciful, is it?

With a smirk stretching on his lips, James dug out his pistol before locking the door behind him.

"See you in the night."