Chapter 44

Khai's gaze travelled with Ana as she tried to make her way out of the crowd with Meghan. He was about to follow her when Ginny suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path and forcing her arms around him.

He tried to shake her off of him, but she wouldn't budge, adamantly grinding her hips against him. He pushed Ginny away from him in irritation. The little force that he used sent her tumbling into someone nearby, sparking a small fight on the crowded dance floor. Khai had to step in to break off the fight, pulling people apart as they tried to shove each other. When he looked up to search for Ana, she was gone from where he last saw her.

Her shot a murderous glare at Ginny before making his way back to George. "What happened to Meghan?" He had to yell so George could hear him over the music.

George ushered him out of the crowd to a quieter space away from the booming speakers. "She had too much to drink. Ana took her to the bathroom so she could throw up."

Khai nodded, internally mad at Meghan for troubling Ana. He took a seat at the table nearby, not in a mood to dance without Ana. George took a seat next to him and decided to wait with him for the girls to return.

Khai's uneasiness seemed to grow with every passing minute. Nearly ten minutes had passed since Ana left with Meghan and he could see no signs of them as he scanned the entire ballroom. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong and restlessly tapped his fingers, now covered in a gauntlet, on the table. George watched the exit to the restroom, suddenly worried about the girls.

Finally, Khai stood up, unable to sit still any longer. He darted towards the restroom in long strides and grabbed a girl who was just making her way out. Describing Ana and Meghan, he asked her to go back inside and check to see if the girls were in any of the stalls.

The girl, evidently scared of whatever she saw in his eyes, rushed to look for someone matching his description. A minute later, she walked out and shook her head at him, indicating that Ana and Meghan weren't in there.

George rushed into the restrooms to check for himself as Khai hastily pulled the gauntlet off of his hand to open his phone and check for Ana's location. She was still in the hotel, but she seemed far away from where he was.

George ran out a few moments later, fear etched over his face as he confirmed that both Anaya and Meghan weren't in that restroom. Khai narrowed his eyebrows at the guilt on George's face. "I can't explain now, but someone named Sean might have taken Ana. She's may be in danger Khai, we need to find her."

A cold sweat covered Khai's skin as he heard the words 'danger' and 'Ana' in the same sentence. Swiftly making his way through the throngs of people on the dance floor, he grabbed Elliot and Austin to follow him out. Maeve followed them, sensing that something was amiss.

"We can't find Ana or Meghan. Let's split up and look for them. Ana could be in danger."

The men nodded, not asking anymore questions. Khai showed them Ana's location on his phone. They discerned that she seemed to be moving in a hallway at the far end on the north east corner of the hotel.

Le Grande Hotel, took after it's name and was a fairly large hotel consisting of twelve floors, including the garage. The men split into four, each deciding to cover three floors and look for Ana on the north east of each floor. Elliot dialed them all into a conference so they could provide updates.

Khai ran through the hotel like a man possessed, driven by his urgency to find Ana. Elliot covered the garage, lobby, and first floor, while Austin took the next three and Khai the three after that. George was responsible for searching the last three floors at the top of the hotel.

Each time someone confirmed that a floor was clear, Khai's emotions swung from despair to hope and back again. Despite their progress, Ana was still not within their reach. He tugged at his hair in frustration as he watched her location change, moving from the north-east towards the north. He was now on the same floor as the ballroom, and Khai sprinted as he followed a tiny moving dot on his phone, praying that she would appear in his view at any moment.

"She's moving north now." He spoke into his phone as he frantically searched each hallway. He came to an abrupt halt when he heard faint footsteps, followed by a soft thud. He moved towards the direction of the sound. As he stepped into the hallway that the sounds came from, Ana crashed into him at a speed that made her stumble backwards.

She would've fallen on her back if he hadn't stopped her fall. As she looked up at him in shock, Khai's whole body ran cold, his eyes taking in every inch of her appearance.

A deep pink bruise covered the left side of her small face. Blood was seeping down her nose, spilling over her lip and settling on a cloth that covered her mouth. The thin scratch on the top of her hairline indicated that someone had tried to pull at her disheveled hair. The pale skin on her once spotless arm was now covered in finger prints and deep scratches. Her whole body was shaking as she heaved in his arms.

Khai could not comprehend what he was seeing. He blinked vacantly at her, until the fear in her eyes snapped him out of his daze. She pulled at his arm, making incoherent sounds from behind the cloth on her mouth, as she nervously looked at the empty hallway behind her.

Khai wouldn't budge, standing rooted to his spot. His whole body went rigid, in rage and shock from her battered form. Less than twenty minutes ago, she was laughing and dancing in his arms, her face lit with joy. Now she was begging for him to save her, her eyes filled with terror and pain. The whole situation was more excruciating than a thousand nails being driven into his skull.

"Found her. She's on the north corner of the ninth floor. Bring Maeve." His icy voice muttered into the phone.

The terror did not seem to leave her eyes as he peered down at her, quickly undoing the cloth that was gagging her. She took a deep breath in, as if someone had just pulled her out from drowning in the sea.

"Khai…we need to run. We need…run, leave…let's leave." Tears rolled down her face as she implored him to move between labored breaths.

Khai's hands shook as he gently wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Who?" He asked her.

Ana blinked in confusion, her expression turning troubled at Khai's refusal to move. Suddenly, the sound of thudding footsteps reached their ears. She cowered behind Khai, squeezing her eyes shut in fear of Sean.

"She stabbed the fucker's eye." She heard Austin's voice come from the end of the hallway. A soft thud, was followed by faint panting. "He's all yours Khai."

A short silence was broken by the sound of cracking knuckles. "It is so very nice to meet you, Sean." Khai's voice was flat, calm and somehow more terrifying than the devil's itself.

Sounds of more footsteps followed and Ana was finally able to push her eyes open. Maeve and Elliot came rushing towards her with stupefied expressions.

"Good lord. Oh Ana!" Maeve's gentle hands took hold of Ana, who seemed to be wrecked in despair.

Ana resisted purely out of reflex from being pulled away from Khai. She was still breathing heavily as he turned around and leaned his face close to hers.

His eyes looked like pools of molten lava as he spoke. "Ana, I don't want you closing your eyes anymore. Watch me. Okay? Watch me without blinking Ana." He emphasized each word so she would understand him clearly.

Ana nodded, the shock now wearing off as she leaned against Elliot, who was helping Maeve hold her up. Despite the lingering fear within her, she fixed her gaze on Khai who made his way to the other end of the hallway.

Sean staggered back as he saw Khai approach him, attempting to make a run for his life. He failed miserably as Khai reached him in a flash, grabbing Sean by the foot and dragging him towards Ana.

Sean's jaw hit the floor and grazed the carpet as he frantically tried to resist. Khai tightened his grip on the ankle, a look of satisfaction flashing his face as he heard a crunch. Bending on one knee, he gripped Sean's leg and twisted it a full one eighty, before flinging a shrieking Sean against the wall close to where Ana stood.

"Are you watching?" He asked as he turned to her.