The Royal Contract

A few minutes earlier, he had thought that he was hallucinating everything that was happening to him. He woke up with a headache and an aching body.

Many things occurred while he was sleeping. He was unsure if those were real or just part of his dreams or illusions. He had been on and off from consciousness. Determining the real deal became difficult.

"Alex." Her voice floated in the air, bouncing on the walls of the room. It was not loud, but it was more than enough to reach his ears.

Hearing her voice was like a heavy load had been lifted off his shoulder. He felt so much relief, knowing that she was safe and alive. At that moment, it was all he needed. She was the air he needed to breathe.

He turned his body as much as he could, but he only saw a glimpse of her as the pain still restricted his movements. Well, he did not need to see her face to know that it was her walking toward him.

"Alex, are you ok?" Her sweet voice penetrated the silence, making melodies in his still slightly drug state mind.

She could see from her position when she entered the room that he had struggled to move. However, Samson had already briefed her on what he had gone through.

She quickly moved to his side, careful not to touch any of his injuries. She could tell that Nick and his men did a number on him. She noticed all the bruises on his face. She could only imagine what his body had to endure.

But she was glad that it was not as worse as she initially had assumed. She knew that Alex was a tough guy. If anyone could get through this, it was him.

"I am glad to see you, Dani. Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did Nick do anything to hurt you?" Alex fired his questions as the fuzziness in his mind started to clear up and made more sense, remembering more distinctly their situation.

He raised his hands to touch her cheeks, wondering if she was real or just an illusion playing tricks on him. Well, he had been dreaming of her, on and off, since he was placed in a semi-comatose state.

He blamed himself for putting them in this position. He should have never taken for granted their security. Instead, he should have doubled it and double-checked everything after what happened to Tim.

Now, he had put his wife in danger because of his lack of foresight. But he had been preoccupied with the excitement of the moment.

The thought of marrying the woman he loved had been the only thing he had on his mind during that time. But that was just his excuse. He still felt it was his fault for not prioritizing her safety.

"You should not be worrying about me." Dani grabbed his hands that were still on her cheeks and pulled them into her lips, kissing them. "I am ok." Dani was trying hard not to cry.

The last thing she wanted was for him to feel that their situation was hopeless. She smiled at him and showed him how happy she was to see him.

"As much as I want to witness the happy reunion, we have to move before they catch us." Samson interrupted the couple, who seemed to be in their little bubble, unaware of the danger that surrounded them.

He still could not believe that he was risking his neck for them. But he just could not see two innocent people killed. Well, not exactly, since he had killed many before.

Something about her or what she said convinced him to help them. He realized that he did not want to be a part of this organization anymore. He was done being a criminal.

"Who is he?" Alex had finally noticed the big man when he came into his view, pulling Dani to his side to protect her.

He believed he had not seen him before or had no recollection. But someone like him would be hard to miss, he thought as he searched his mind for his memories.

"This is my friend. He is the one guarding me." She introduced the big man to her husband, trying to calm him down.

She could sense that Alex considered Samson a threat based on his actions. She could not blame him after what he had gone through. Trusting anyone other than his men would be hard for him.

"He is one of them." It was more of a statement than a question. He was on alert upon confirming he was part of the criminals who took them.

He had always prepared himself for something like this. During childhood, he had heard stories of the abduction of royalties or wealthy kids in exchange for financial ransoms.

In their case, he knew that money was not what motivated Nick, which made it more dangerous. Nick had something he wanted. Once Nick had it, he knew that Nick would dispose of him.

He was not afraid to die. He had prepared for it since he was young. But he was terrified to leave Dani behind. He could not allow Dani to land in the hands of Nick.

"I am Samson." The big man said, hoping that introducing himself would ease the situation.

He could not blame the man for doubting his intentions. Even he was still confused about his actions. However, they had no time for chitchats. They had to move as soon as possible.

"Yes, Samson was one of them. But he is now helping us escape." Dani said, pulling Alex's face towards her, trying to convince her husband that Samson was not the enemy.

She could see that her husband was still unconvinced with her statement. She could not blame him when most of the men belonging to this group were hardened criminals who probably had lost all their morals long before.

If she had not seen people driven to crimes because of unavoidable circumstances in their life. She might not believe that Samson still had a chance to change.

But she honestly believed that Samson was different. He was one of those who still had a chance to rehabilitate and turn to the good side.

"How can you be sure that he is not just leading us into some trap?" He was still skeptical about this man and his plans. He wondered what Dani was doing, trusting this criminal.

"Hey, this is not the time for arguments. We are running out of time." Samson interrupted the couple from continuing to discuss his merits.

As much as he did not want to regret being a part of this, fear was still creeping into his heart that they might get caught. This bickering about his character was not helping, in any way, with their situation.

"It is you." He suddenly remembered his voice. It finally clicked in his mind that he had heard it before. "You were here earlier, talking while I was barely awake."

He thought that he was only dreaming about the unknown voice. He had hoped it was one of his men who had come to rescue them.

Now, he realized it was not a dream. It was this big man who had visited him earlier.. He was the one talking about an escape plan.