New chapter!! London was awesome!! I love the National Gallery!!! Yeah, I was in London, vacation-you understand? Beautiful city!! I wanna go there again!

Have fun reading this chapter!

Special thanks to all the reviewers-you're great, I really do like you guys……………and girls, of course!

Would you please review?

*****************************************************************

Uncertainty

"Fuck you!" Brian yelled at the driver of the Mercedes who had dared to hoot when the blond man had crossed a red traffic light and almost caused an accident..............none of this bothered him, though, everything that bothered him was his sister, that she was at home, that she was safe, that she wasn't hurt or – Brian swallowed – dead. All of the sudden, pictures of the murdered people he had seen while being a cop appeared in his mind, but instead of their dead bodies, he saw his sister lying there, her eyes widened in shock without the beautiful spark of life. He didn't want to imagine what Verone might have done to her, nevertheless, Brian knew exactly that the guy would have to pay for every missing hair, every scratch and every single time he would have looked at Lilly.

Why weren't things working out the way they were supposed to?! He had promised his baby that nobody would hurt her ever again and now this! Was she scared, was she crying, was she.............. Brian was already driving at full speed, overtaking every car in front of him, not caring for accidents he nearly caused, he merely wished that the Evo was faster, that the streets were emptier.................that he hadn't been so stupid to think that Lilly wouldn't get involved! He should have told her not to go out until the job was done, he shouldn't have been so naive to assume that those jerks – Roberto and Enrique – wouldn't tell Verone what they had seen at Tej's garage! It was his fault that Lilly was in danger, everything was his fault!

Oh God, let her be alive, I could never forgive myself, if she was dead because of me! Perhaps, I shouldn't have taken the job, then, none of this would have ever happened! She's still so young, at 16, your life just begins, it doesn't end. I should have been more careful, I shoud have never left her side, I should...............I love her so much, please don't take her away from me! I could live with us being separated as long as I knew that she was fine and safe. Losing her for a couple of years is nothing compared to losing her for the rest of my life. I couldn't go on with the knowledge that I caused her death. She's my baby, I'm to give my life for her not the other way around. Why isn't this fucking car faster?! Let her be at home, let her brush her teeth..............anything, just be okay, baby! Please be okay, you can't leave me, I won't let you leave me! He is to die! C'mon, Lil, you have to be at home, you have to tell me that I am  an idiot for worrying about you like that!

"Get lost!" Brian yelled. The driver of the car he left behind had been arrogant enough to think that he had had the right to race the blond man, so Brian had pressed his NOS-buttons to get this jerk back into the real world. His sister would love this car once she had driven it!

If she's still alive, that is.................of course, she is, she has to be! Verone will let her live as long as I behave, I'll do this job and get her back...........alive and healthy. I hope that she doesn't annoy the hell out of him, he's dangerous, he would kill her in a second. Maybe she's able to run away...............I have to inform Bilkins and Markham about this. Monica! She lives at the compound, it should be easy for her to keep an eye on Lilly.............to protect her from Verone. I pray that he won't touch her. Lil's pretty, her body is not the one of a little girl anymore..................unfortunatley. Touch her and you're dead, Verone! Make her feel uncomfortable and................. I can't think straight! Take deep breaths, concentrate on the road. He merely threatened you, not her, she's alright.............I should have taken her with me to the race! She would have had fun and I could have had an eye on her. Why did she actually go to a jazz club on Monday? Nobody does that! You go on Friday or Saturday when you're under 18, it's like an unwritten law! Jazz club. What's so special about it that she wouldn't wait until the weekend?! Maybe, I should have taken her with me to Barstow, that way, she would have never been mad at me and things might have developed differently. This has to be a nightmare. Please, I wanna wake up, now! At least four more minutes till I'm home…………..four minutes too much! Why are teenagers always so complicated?! Couldn't she have stayed at home to do some homework?! I'm getting insane! None of this is her fault, it's mine, only mine……………let my baby be alright, please!

Taking the next corner, Brian almost hit another car. The driver cursed and gave him the finger, but the blond man didn't even notice. It wasn't important, all that mattered was Lilly.

"Finally!"He shouted relieved as he saw their apartment-house. Parking the Evo to one half on the sidewalk, Brian jumped out, slamming the door shut without even bothering to lock the car. After having opened the door to the staircase, the young man took three steps at once, his heart hammering against his ribs, his breath hot while icy sweat ran down his temples.

"Just be there",he murmured as he tried to open the door of their apartment, almost dropping the keys due to his shaking fingers. "Just be there."

Brian stepped inside and immediately opened the door to Lilly's room. She wasn't there.

"Baby?" He called out just to hear his own echo ringing through the emptiness of the apartment. She wasn't there.

"No",Brian whispered, his voice trembling, while taking another step into the room. Why wasn't she in her bed, sleeping and having a nice dream? He sat down on the edge of her bed, his forearms rested on his knees. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening!

"Yo, man",all of the sudden, Roman was standing in the doorway, slightly out of breath. He had followed his former friend as soon as he had understood why Verone had mentioned his interest in flowers. Due to Roman not having known yet where Brian and Lilly lived, he had had to race after the blond man.

"She ain't here, man. She ain't here",Brian shook his head. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't do anything except for waiting on a call, a message…………he felt so useless.

"She done that one?"Roman looked at the wall above the small desk that was covered all over with papers, crayons, pieces of chalk and personal items like photos. On the wall, there was a picture painted directly on the white wallpaper; it showed a beautiful valley with a deep blue lake, two waterfalls sparkling in the sunlight while running down over black rocks. All of this was surrounded by bright green trees and grass, a few white clouds covered the blue sky……………this was a place where Roman would like to be.

"Yeah, she says it frees her mind",the blond man knew that not all of Lilly's pictures were that pleasant, but they were her way of expressing herself, her diary. Lilly didn't wrote diary, she had this  sketch book with a simple black cover and whenever she thought of a situation or a day as worth to be remembered, she would draw a picture into the sketch book and name it after the day. Brian had never seen any of those drawings, they were private and he respected that. If his sister felt like showing them to him, he would pull her into his lap and regard them together with her, but if she didn't, he would be fine, too.

"Don't worry",Rome sat down next to Brian,"she'll be alright. I know she will."

"Yeah",Brian didn't sound very convinced, though. He looked down at the bracelet around his right wrist which he hadn't wanted to give to Monica. Playing with it, he remembered the day Lilly had given it to him as a present. I know that it's not a Rolex and you really don't have to keep it, if you don't like it, he heard her saying, it's just that I got an A for that thing, so throwing it away………..you want to keep it or not? It's really no problem, if you don't like it, bro, I can cope with that. He had hugged her and told her that he loved it. He hadn't lied to her. The bracelet looked good because it wasn't a feminine but a masculine one. His sister liked working with her hands, she seemed to have talent in them like one of her art teachers had said once.

Let her be alright. Oh Lord, I beg you that she's alright. Have an eye on her while I can't, will you? She means so much to me, I'll get her back, whatever it might take me.

***************

So, what's next?! Lilly thought while tapping the fingers of her right hand on the armrest of the sickening white armchair these guys had placed her in. Maybe I'll have to sit on this damn thing until I die out of boredom! If my buddies are interested in another round of biting and beating? She eyed the men who had brought her here; they had waited for her in their Cadillac and caught her after she had walked across the street to get to the bus station. It angered her that she had been stupid enough not to have noticed them before everything had happened. They had grabbed her from behind and although she had used her fists, teeth and high-heels, the gun that had been put close to her temple had made her give in. Nevertheless, the bald one's left eye was already getting all purple and blue, the scratches on his right cheek which Lilly had caused with her fingernails would be deep violet the next day. The other one didn't look any better: she had bitten his biceps and stepped with full force on his left foot. It appeared as though he was in pain while standing.

Good, they deserve it, Lilly knew that there were several bruises underneath the guys' clothes as well, her brother had taught her a few things after all and she knew that she would have escaped, if it hadn't been for the damn gun! They had driven her to somewhere far away from the city, because she had checked her watch and assumed that there was a distance of at least 15 – Skyline – minutes between her and civilization. Lilly hadn't seen much of this place yet, but she guessed that it was Verone's compound. Big garden, richly furnished rooms, faked Monets, Gaugins and Picassos hanging in the halls, so much wood that Green Peace would get a heart failure……………..if Lilly didn't knew whose house this was, she would have been impressed………..maybe, because she hadn't seen anything tasteless in this place, yet. Especially the cars in the drive which she had caught a glimpse of interested her. Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus…………perhaps she could escape in one of them.

Dancing had been fun. Will had been fun. Everything had seemed to be okay after she had left room "17", but now………….Lilly sighed. Now, I'm in some strange guy's house and if Brian doesn't work the way he's supposed to, I'll be dead. Life's getting better every day! I need at least a couple of hours to think of a plan………..I don't even know how large this place is and how well it's surveilled, yet. Think, Lilly, you have to think. How could I escape? How could I escape on high-heels? These damn shoes are killing me! Oh great, I'll face the big boss while wearing nothing but some tight jeans and a top………… and, of course, underwear, I'm not into showing him my panties and bra, though! I want  Brian! Why did he have to take this job? Perfect, now, I start whining. Don't be such a sissy! You're old enough to get outta this on your own. It's not Brian's fault that I am here, I could have been more careful. Why doesn't anybody tell me what's going on?! It's not very polite to let someone wait for this long a time! Well, it's still better than getting killed immediately, though.

The sound of a door being opened and approaching footsteps made Lilly turn her head slightly to the side to see a man in his late twenties or early thirties coming through the same door the jerks had guided her through. He was around Brian's and Rome's height, rather slim and muscular, dark hair which was combed back, shaped eyebrows, icy blue eyes, tanned skin, shaven. He wore a dark blue shirt, the top-buttons opened to reveal a silver chain around his neck, black trousers and shoes, a silver ring on his right middle-finger. Clean fingernails. Suki had once told her that every woman would be able to notice all of these things not even within half a second and she had been right. Lilly called it a woman's personal detector – WPD – and right now, hers said dangerous and extremely arrogant. If his eyes were be more friendly, not so cold, and the way he walked not so self-convinced, than maybe she would have said that he was good-looking, nonetheless, her detector would have argumented that he was way to old for her……………it would have been right. It was possible that Verone was twice her age. She glared at him as he came closer, having the feeling that he was undressing her with his eyes, but Lilly straightened her back and held her head high, showing even the slightest kind of fear wouldn't be of any advantage for her.

"Miss O'Connor",the dark-haired man smiled all too friendly, as though he thought of the girl rather like a real guest than the prisoner she actually was,"I'm sorry to meet such young and beautiful a lady under these unpleasant circumstances. I hope that your ride was acceptable?" He sat down on an armchair in front of her what made Lilly cross her left leg over her right one. She didn't like him sitting merely a few yards away from her, looking at her like that.

"Why don't you ask your employees?"The girl answered exasperated, her anger clearly ringing through. This man was dangerous, she had to be very careful. Verone turned his head to see what Lilly had done to the men he had sent to get her………..and laughed. It was a rich and also icy sound.

"Extraordinary",he snapped his fingers to gain his employees' attention,"vodka." Then, to Lilly: "What may I offer you?"

"Thank you, but I would prefer an explanation for me being here and not at home where I should actually be at this time of the night."

"Of course",the man took the drink from the bald guy. Taking a sip to taste the liquid, Verone continued, his eyes never leaving Lilly's face,"you see, Miss O'Connor, that I am a wanted man. I have lots of enemies, so it is understandable that I don't like risks. Nevertheless, at times, it is unavoidable to take a risk. This is, where your brother and his partner, Mister Pearce, come into play. It is their job to bring me my money without getting caught by one of my enemies."

"And I'm your guarantee for their success",the blonde finished his sentence for what she – unfortunately – gained another one of these smiles. She watched Verone swallowing down his vodka, asking herself how long she would have to stay in this house……….together with him. The thought somehow scared her, the way he was looking at her sent cold shivers down her spine. Lilly felt that she was acting like a baby, but she really wished to be with her brother or one of the others right now.

"Young, beautiful and intelligent, too",Verone almost purred, putting the glass he held in his hand onto a small stool-like table standing next to his armchair,"I'm looking forward to having breakfast together with you."

Lilly swallowed. Had this guy in front of her just said that they would have breakfast together?! What was that supposed to mean? Breakfast, as in breakfast after having slept in two separated rooms, or breakfast, as in breakfast in bed after having……………. NO!

"I hate to tell you, Mister Verone, but I can't follow your offer",Brian had taught her that she should never show it, when she was frightened of somebody, because it would merely make this person feel stronger, so she acted as if she was made out of pure self-confidence,"I am not a morning-person, so that I wouldn't be any acceptable company for you. I'm sorry."

"And a liar, as well",Verone stood up and crossed the few yards between him and the girl until he was standing right in front of her. Lilly was glad that she had crossed her legs, because suddenly, the man bent down, holding her wrists on both sides of the armrest with a strong grip that didn't quite hurt but wasn't all that comfortable, either.

"You will stay at my house for one and a half days, until 6 p.m. tomorrow evening, to be exact",she felt his breath on the skin of her face and neck. It smelled of alcohol, not only vodka but also something else, and of Cuban cigars. How she wished that she could have a smoke right now! Lilly was innerly close to hysterics. "That means that we will have lots of time to get to know each other a little better",his face was directly in front of hers, merely inches separated them. Lilly tried to pull back, but the backrest forbade her to do so,"I expect you to meet me in the area of the garden where the pool is. Ten o'clock shouldn't be a problem for you."

"And if I don't follow your invitation ?" Lilly cocked her head to the side, a raised eyebrow underlining her question.

"Who said it was an invitation?"And suddenly, Verone moved forwards and pressed his lips tightly onto the girl's ones. Lilly had, unfortunately and due to the shock, opened her mouth to protest, so that it was easy for the man to slide his tongue inside. The girl did the only thing she could think of: she stepped with full force on one of Verone's feet and used the moment in which he yelped in pain to free one of her hands from his grip only to slap his face with the back of it.

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners?!"She yelled at him, wiping her lips with the back of her right hand in pure disgust and was about to stand up and hit Verone once more, after he had stumbled a little backwards due to her slap, but Lilly was stopped by the jerks pointing their guns at her.

"It's okay",Verone told them, rubbing the slightly reddened part of his face. It was possible that he would get a bruise there. "She is merely tired. Guide her to the guest room on the first floor and come back to me afterwards."

Lilly just glared at him but didn't say a word when Verone's employees guided her out of the room, she kept an eye on their guns.

Carter Verone couldn't believe the girl had actually hit him! He took a sip from his forgotten vodka and let the liquid some time to unfold its flavour in his mouth before swallowing it down his throat.

"Juicy",he whispered and licked his lips before the predatory smile appeared once again on them.  

*******************************************************************

I know…………………it's……………maybe the development is somehow strange………………what do you think? Should I rewrite the chapter?

Thanks for reading, hope you had some fun!