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After a relaxing thirtya towel around her wet body She hears a slight creaking noise co from the kitchen

“Jacques,” Nicole calls out “Is that you?”

Silence Probably just ht She quickly puts on a pair of pants and a tee-shirt, and walks to the bedrooet her phone

Nicole scans her bed, looks under the pillows, unable to locate her phone Not on the bedside table, she looks in the drawer, thinking she must have put it there She bends down and looks under the bed No phone Frowning, Nicole stands back up, and suddenly freezes It feels like all of the air has been sucked out of the roo her skin

She can feel so around, Nicole’s eyes widen in panic She is unable toher body

“Looking for this?” Nick sneers, holding up her phone, a lunatic’s grin on his face

“Nick!” Nicole gasps, her hand covering herwhite as a sheet She felt like she had just seen a ghost

Nicole lunges towards the door, in a desperate atte her arins to screa cry for help Nick quickly puts his cold black leather gloved hand over herher screams

“Aren’t you happy to see me, baby?” Nick whispers in Nicole’s ear, his voice full of veno hihter and tighter The fear in her eyeshe had been fantasizing about and more

“Please……” Nicole choked, tears strea a sickly blue

Nicole’s body sluulation

Nick hurriedly left Nicole’s apart the door behind hi sure no one notices him He keeps his head down as he walks across the street, wanting to keep a low profile No one appears to notice Nick - people busily going about their evening He hails a taxi,his way back to Charles de Gaulle Airport

Four hours later, Nick Stone is on flight 452, returning to London, his thoughts now focused on Sergio Rossi

Chapter 29

Caprice sips a glass of Doers wrapped around the glass flute She glances at Sergio as busy talking on the phone, or rather, barking orders into the phone, presumably to one of his men