Bring that man to me

Nicklaus took out his hankie and wiped the sweat on his forehead and then he turned to one of his guards and ordered;

''gather your men; I want you to bring that man to me before sundown. ''

Immediately Tiana heard his statement, she quickly raised her head; her eyes filled with terror;

''No, no, please, Mr. Nicklaus, please don't hurt him, you can do anything to me but please don't hurt Adrian, please I beg you! ''

Tiana cried, her voice rang through the room as her tears poured down her face;

It was all her fault, Adrian was innocent, and she was the one who dragged him into this, now Nicklaus would hurt him, she could not let that happen.

Nicklaus was still contemplating on what he would do to her, only for him to hear her beg on behalf of that man; he instantly turned to her, his eyes now visibly angry;

She had committed a crime and yet she still had the guts to beg for that man's life; he stared straight at her and he saw it in her eyes;

The deep affection she had for that man, she was willing to do anything to save his life;

And at that moment he Nicklaus snapped;

''Take this woman and lock her away in the basement, make sure she doesn't see the light of day until I say so! '' He ordered in a grave tone;

Tiana shook her head vigorously;

''No, no, no, please, I beg you, don't hurt him, I beg you! Please! ''

She screamed as the guards lifted her from the ground and dragged her away; she tried pulling herself away from their grip but the men held her fiercely; her strength could not match theirs;

As they dragged her away, she continued to scream at Nicklaus; begging him not to touch Adrian.

Nicklaus watched them drag her away until her screams disappeared into the distance; she must have a death wish to actually plead for that man's life even when she was being punished;

He didn't care about her or what she did with her life, but now that she was with him, she must behave. 

Tiana was thrown into the darkroom and the door slammed after her; she stood up right away and aimed for the door, banging on it with all her strength;

''Let me out! Let me out of here! Please! Somebody!''

She screamed, but she heard the footsteps distancing and she knew the men had left; she banged on the door a little more before she gave up and slumped to the floor; wailing her balls out.

She was done for! What would she do now?

She was locked up in a basement and in utter darkness, and with no-one to run to for help. What would he do to Adrian; kill him?

The thought of him killing Adrian pressed her chest so much that she felt spasms of pain coursing through her;

No, she couldn't let that happen.

As though a wave of strength coursed through her bones, she flung up from the ground and resumed banging on the door; this time with every muscle in her.

''I beg you, Mr, Nicklaus! I beg you, please! Kill me instead, kill me!! Leave him alone! I beg of you!!''

She screamed against the door, banging on it with her fists, she pounded till she felt the skin on her hands peel;

It was as though the darkness in the room swallowed her voice and knocks because no-one came to her aid; soon she could barely hear herself; losing all strength, she coiled like a ball against the door; and shut her eyes against the darkness, trying not to think of the evil that was about to befall the people she loved.

…

By the time Adrian stood up from the ground; the guards had already left with Tiana. Although he dodged some of their blows, he still had some minor bruises on his face and a broken nose; blood was seeping from his nostrils as he stood up and straightened his shirt. The people in the cafeteria; who had watched what happened, looked on him with great pity.

The restaurant manager offered him a first aid treatment, and after which he left the restaurant. After what happened, he knew he had gotten on the bad side of Nicklaus and he was coming for him soon;

It was near impossible to have Tiana again, and the only way to save his life was to leave California that day. So, without a second thought, he drove home; he had already told his parents he had been transferred and he was leaving in the next two days, but when they saw him packing hurriedly, and coupled with the band-aid on his nose and minor bruises in his face, they became alarmed and began questioning him, but Adrian was in no mood for answering questions; he just continued packing until he had everything he needed;

When he had finished packing; he turned to his parents; who were standing beside the door, a shocked expression on their faces; and he quickly apologized;

''I'm sorry dad, mom; something came up urgently and I need to leave right away. I'm very sorry that I have to leave on very short notice. I'll call you as soon as I get to Amsterdam. ''

And without waiting for their reply; he dashed out of his house and to his car, but he was a minute late, because as soon as he got to his car; two black Hilux drove into the compound and three guards dashed towards him; he tried to escape but before he could move a step, they were already on him.

They bundled him into the car and slammed the door, their tires making screeching sounds as they drove out of the compound, ignoring the screams from his parents, who immediately chased after their cars like mad people.