Chapter 50: HOSTAGE

NOAH

I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck.

Then reversed over.

Then hit again for good measure.

Every muscle ached. My neck throbbed. My thighs were sore in ways I didn’t want to think about. And when I shifted slightly under the covers, I felt the unmistakable sting of bite marks and bruises blooming across my skin.

Great.

Just great.

I stared at the ceiling, watching the morning light filter through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and tried to piece together what had happened last night.

The gala.

Alexander.

Cassian’s rage.

The window.

The tie.

The blindfold.

The…

Nope. Not thinking about it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and willed the memories away.

But my body wouldn’t let me forget.

Every breath reminded me of the marks on my neck. Every movement sent a dull ache through muscles I didn’t know I had.

And the worst part?

Some traitorous part of me had liked it.

What is wrong with me?

I groaned and rolled onto my side, burying my face in the pillow.

The sheets were tangled around my legs, and as I sat up, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror across the room.

‎

‎Holy hell. Bites and bruises dotted my skin like some abstract artist’s fever dream… red and purple marks trailing from my collarbone down to my hips. Cassian’s handiwork. Last night had been… different.

Not the usual power-play roughness where he reminded me I was his “toy.” No, this had been raw, almost desperate, with moments where his touches lingered too long, his eyes softened just a fraction. Like he actually cared.

Or maybe I was imagining it. Wishful thinking from a guy who’d just had his world rocked and was now questioning everything, including if I was gay or just Cassian-sexual.

‎

‎”Get it together, Noah,” I muttered to my reflection, rubbing at a particularly dark hickey on my neck. It stung, and I winced.

Great, now I looked like I’d wrestled a vampire. How was I supposed to hide this at the morning meeting? A turtleneck in tropical heat? Yeah, that wouldn’t scream “suspicious” at all.

‎

When I finally dragged myself out of bed, Cassian was already awake.

Already dressed.

Already on a call.

He was standing by the window in the living area, phone pressed to his ear, voice low and controlled.

“I don’t care what the timeline is. Make it happen.”

Pause.

“Then find someone who can.”

Another pause.

“Good.”

He ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket, gaze still fixed on the city below.

I hesitated in the doorway, suddenly very aware of how I looked… rumpled shirt, messy hair, neck covered in marks I couldn’t hide even if I tried.

“Morning,” I said quietly.

He didn’t turn around. “You’re late.”

I blinked. “Late for what?”

“The revised schedules. They need to be sent out within the hour.” His tone was flat. Dismissive. “Luca will help you.”

I frowned. “Who’s Luca?”

“Someone competent.”

Ouch.

“Right.” I swallowed the irritation rising in my chest. “Coffee?”

“Already had some.”

I stood there for another second, waiting for him to say something.

Anything.

Acknowledge last night. Acknowledge the marks on my neck. Acknowledge me.

But he didn’t.

Just kept staring out the window like I wasn’t even there.

Fine.

I turned and walked back to my room, jaw clenched, fists tight at my sides.

You’re late. The schedules need to be sent. Luca will help you.

That’s it.

That’s all I get.

I grabbed my phone, pulled up the scheduling app, and tried to ignore the sting of being dismissed.

Again.

I met Luca in the executive elevator twenty minutes later.

The doors opened, and a man practically fell inside, juggling a briefcase, a tablet, and what looked like three different phones.

He was overdressed… full suit, tie perfectly knotted, shoes polished within an inch of their lives.

He was also sweating.

A lot.

“Sorry! Sorry!” he gasped, fumbling to press the button for the lobby. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to… oh god, are you Noah Bennett?”

I blinked. “Uh. Yes?”

“Oh thank god.” He let out a shaky breath, clutching his briefcase like a lifeline. “I’m Luca. Luca Martinez. Operations team. Hendrix Corp. I was told to meet you here and help with the… the thing. The schedules. And the permits. And the… ” He paused, eyes widening. “Oh god, there’s so many things. This is fine. This is totally fine.”

I stared at him.

He looked like he was one missed deadline away from a complete breakdown. Somehow worse than I was at keeping it together.

“Are… are you okay?” I asked carefully.

“Yes! Absolutely! Totally fine!” He laughed, high-pitched and slightly manic. “Just, you know, a lot going on. Mr. Hendrix ordered a full-site document audit this morning, so we need to pick up files, deliver updated permits, coordinate with city officials, and… ” He checked one of his phones. “Oh no. Oh no, we’re behind schedule already.”

“We haven’t even left the building yet.”

“I KNOW!” He looked like he might cry.

The elevator doors opened.

Luca bolted out.

I followed, already exhausted.

The next two hours were absolute chaos.

Hendrix Corp’s Spanish headquarters was a nightmare.

Endless glass corridors that all looked identical. Floors labeled in ways that made no sense. Signs only in rapid Spanish that Luca claimed he understood but clearly didn’t.

“It’s this way,” he said confidently, turning left.

We ended up in a janitor’s closet.

“Okay, maybe it’s this way.”

We ended up in a silent investor lunch.

Everyone turned to stare at us.

Luca smiled weakly. “Wrong room. So sorry. Carry on.”

We backed out slowly.

“I think it’s upstairs,” Luca tried again.

We ended up in a boardroom where someone assumed I was Cassian’s lawyer and started confessing things about tax evasion.

I didn’t correct them.

Just nodded and took notes.

By the time we finally found the right office, Luca looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

“This is fine,” he muttered, clutching a stack of files. “This is totally fine. We’re only an hour behind. That’s nothing. Totally manageable.”

“Luca.”

“Yes?”

“You’re sweating through your shirt.”

He looked down. “Oh god.”

I couldn’t help it.

I laughed.

It came out before I could stop it… a real, genuine laugh that felt illegal after the last few days.

Luca stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

“How are you laughing right now?” he asked, voice pitching higher. “We’re so behind schedule! Mr. Wolfe is going to kill me! And then Mr. Hendrix is going to kill whatever’s left!”

“They’re not going to kill you,” I said, still smiling despite myself.

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m pretty sure.”

“You haven’t seen Mr. Hendrix when permits are late.”

I paused. “Is he… scary?”

Luca looked at me like I’d just asked if water was wet. “He’s terrifying. He smiles the whole time, which makes it worse.”

Noted.

We kept moving, navigating through more corridors, until Luca suddenly stopped.

“Wait. I think we’re lost again.”

“Again?”

“I thought this was the service corridor but I think it’s… ” He squinted at a sign. “… maintenance? Or maybe loading? I can’t tell.”

I sighed. “Let’s just keep going.”

We turned a corner.

And immediately heard raised voices.

Not executives.

Not lawyers.

Something else.

Luca froze. “That’s… that doesn’t sound good.”

I stepped closer, peering around the corner.

A man… middle-aged, disheveled, furious… was arguing with two security guards near a side entrance.

“… stolen land! You people don’t care! You just build and destroy and… ”

“Sir, you need to leave… ”

“… families displaced! The environmental reports were falsified… ”

One of the guards reached for his radio.

The man saw it and his voice rose, desperate now.

“You think I won’t make noise?! You think I’ll just disappear?!”

Luca grabbed my arm. “We should go. Now.”

“But… ”

“Noah. Now.”

I let him pull me back, but not before the man’s gaze swept across the corridor.

And landed on me.

On my badge.

On my suit.

On the access card clipped to my belt.

His expression shifted.

From desperate.

To determined.

“Hey!” he shouted.

“Oh no,” Luca whispered. “Oh no, no, no… ”

The man shoved past one of the guards and lunged toward us.

Everything happened too fast.

A hand grabbed my arm… rough, bruising.

Luca shouted.

Someone dropped a folder, papers scattering across the floor.

The security alarm started blaring… shrill and deafening.

I tried to pull away, but the man was stronger than he looked, dragging me backward toward a maintenance stairwell.

“Let go!” I shouted, twisting, trying to break free.

“You people don’t listen unless someone bleeds!”

The door slammed open.

We stumbled inside.

The man yanked me through, and the door slammed shut behind us.

The lock clicked.

Oh god.

Oh god, this is bad.

I could hear Luca shouting on the other side of the door, pounding against it.

“NOAH! NOAH, OPEN THE DOOR!”

The man shoved me against the concrete wall, hand still gripping my arm, eyes wild.

“You’re going to listen,” he said, voice shaking. “You’re going to hear me.”

My heart was hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.

Eh?

Am I being held hostage right now?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep