Chapter two

Drego

With hastened steps, I entered Nanny's room, pushing the door wide open with force. To my very surprise she was still sound asleep. Not even the hard steps as I entered her bedroom had woken her up. silently, I closed the door behind me and returned to the guy who I'd left unconscious in my room.

He was still out. I called the cops and ten minutes later, they arrived to take him away.

"He was alone." I said to the policeman who placed his cuffs on the thief. "He must have assumed no one was home and thought to break in."

"He is one stupid thief, that's for sure." Another policeman laughed.

I glared at him and his laughter transitioned into a cough before he finally stopped making sounds.

"Please, make sure he confesses. I was away on a trip and only just came back. If he came to steal, then he must have known I was away. Which means he had been watching my home for a while."

"Of course. We'll keep you updated."

"Thank you."

The first policeman handed the thief to the second, shook hands with me and jumped into their car.

At this point I was exhausted. The stress of my trip was finally catching up with me. My head began to ache and I stumbled into the house. My eyes stung, so I blinked multiple times to restore my vision. My heart rate had increased too.

Anxiety.

Minus the stress I had been through, my anxieties were getting the better of me.

I thought I was no longer a prisoner to this trauma. I obviously thought wrong…

"Drego. What's wrong? What happened? Why was the police here? Did you get hurt? Did something happen?…" nanny bombarded me with questions, rushing to my aid.

She fetched a glass of water and handed it to me. In one gulp, I emptied the cup. Then I took a seat at the kitchen table.

"What happened, Drego?"

"You sleep like a log of wood, nanny?" My lips spread into a small smile. Talking to her made me feel less anxious. Knowing she was by my side no matter how defenseless she was, made me feel like I had protection.

"Don't tease me. Couldn't you have said I sleep like a baby?"

I chuckled. "You haven't been a baby in a long time, nanny."

She hit my arm lightly. "it's not my fault I sleep so soundly. Would you rather I wake up at the smallest sound?"

"Of course it's not your fault. Honestly, I'm teasing you because I'm envious of you."

She smiled at me.

"Let's go to bed, Nanny."

"But what happened?" She said worriedly.

"It's not important. But if you want, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"But—"

"Sweet dreams." I said to her and began to walk away.

***

The office was basically the same as I left it when I went in the next day.

I should have been resting at home, but I'd been through too much to let something so small shake me out of my boots. And the two hours of sleep I managed to get after the incident was sufficient for my day's work.

"You're here? Why?" Reid rushed into my office, his face a decent frown. His brows were knitted with worry. He must have heard what happened.

"That's how you greet a pal you haven't seen in four months?"

"I went over to your place and Nancy told me you'd stubbornly come into the office after last nights incident. You should be resting." Reid sat down.

"It wasn't a big deal. It was a simple robbery." I explained, penning my signature to the budget for the advertisement for this month.

Maybe it was a simple robbery. But…" he stopped, his voice going lower than an octave, "are you okay?"

"Like I said, it was a simple robbery. Why wouldn't I be okay? The guy was dumb enough to come alone."

"You know what I mean?"

The pen in my grasp stopped moving. I knew what Reid meant. But I didn't want to discuss it.

"Reid, I'm fine. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." I said in my dismissive tone.

Reid raised his hands in surrender. "All right man. Whatever you say."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"So, how was your trip? Made any progress? What am I saying, of course you did. Your stubbornness is only good for one thing and that's accomplishing whatever task you set your mind to."

"My journey was fruitful, yes. But I doubt it was better than the events that happened in your life." I smirked.

"Nato told you, didn't he? That big mouthed brother of mine."

My laughter was loud.

"He says you're pussy whipped." I raised a brow in amusement.

"And I'm saying the both of you can go to hell."

I laughed again. Teasing Reid was making my morning.

"Mr. Ricardo, Miss Nichole would like to see you." My assistant said over the intercom.

"Sure."

"Heads up, Nichole looks different." Reid said as he stood up.

"What do you mean different? And why are you telling me this?"

Reid was doing that thing he always did when he knew something that I didn't. His lips were spread in a suspicious smile, and his eyes glistened a little, which meant whatever it was excited him.

"You'll see."

"Meeting with the boys at the bar. Seven o'clock. You better not be late." Was the last thing he said before walking out my door.

I heard faint voices, and an exchange of apologies. He must have bumped into Nichole.

Serves him right.

An almost silent knock came from my door and then Nichole walked in.

I almost froze.

"Mr. Ricardo, it is nice to have you back. The office hasn't been the same without you." She said and I found it difficult to avert my eyes from her or respond appropriately.

I hadn't felt this way in a long time. Behind this familiar feeling was another feeling. This one was something I knew and understood too well.

Fear.