I decided to give you an early update as a treat. I hope you don't mind. Here it is! Enjoy reading and don't forget to review, I always appreciate that.
Danny stared into Esther's eyes defiantly, fighting to remain calm on the outside. He wasn't about to show any weakness to her. His shoulders began to hurt from being in an uncomfortable position, but he pushed it into the back of his mind.
The next thing he'd noticed was another prisoner in the damp room. The one whose breathing he could hear before, he assumed. Danny glanced in the direction of a woman with her hands bound behind her and secured to the radiator. He couldn't hide the surprise as his eyes grew wide. Despite a black sack over her head, Danny recognized her immediately.
Esther smirked, signaling one of her henchmen to take the sack off her head.
"Catherine?" Danny whispered, unable to take it in.
Catherine squinted her eyes, trying to recalibrate her sight as the man removed the sack off her head. There was a cloth stuffed in her mouth, secured by the duct tape. A bruise on her cheek and bloody knuckles on her right hand suggested that she didn't go down without a fight.
Danny turned his head back to Esther, rage boiling inside him. "You…"
"What?" Esther stopped him before he could continue. "Watch your mouth, Detective."
"What do you want?" Danny barked, tugging at the zip ties holding his wrists together.
"It's simple," Esther answered, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "I want my revenge."
Danny laughed sarcastically. "Your revenge?" he scoffed. "So you are the victim here? Haven't you done enough?"
Just another mocking smile was the answer to his question. Danny's eyes landed on her shoulder, wrapped up in white dressings.
"Looks like you had a tough day, huh?" he taunted.
"Not really," Esther answered. "I just had a little chat with your partner. But we came into an understanding eventually."
Danny's heart skipped a beat with the thought of Steve facing Esther. His friend's mind was a mess with only a slight mention or a memory of her. He wasn't ready to fight his foe, not mentally at least. And Danny could just hope his friend had managed to push his demons aside and stay safe. The worry was written all over his face, which didn't go unnoticed by his captor.
"Oh, don't worry," Esther said. "Not that I didn't have a chance to kill him, but where is the fun in that?"
Exchanging glances with Catherine, Danny could see a hint of fear in her eyes with mention of Steve's earlier encounter.
Esther stood up, taking the phone out of the pocket of her jeans, and dialed the number. It had rung several times before Danny briefly heard what he'd assumed was Steve's voice on the other side of the line and gasped.
"Hello, darling," Esther began the conversation, confirming Danny's thought about the recipient of the phone call.
The tall man on her right held up an iPad in front of her as soon as she began the call.
Danny couldn't make out what Steve was saying, he just heard his voice and a tiny bit of weight was lifted from his chest, knowing Steve was all right. Physically at least.
"Why don't you take that earpiece out of your ear?" Esther demanded.
Danny assumed that she had someone watching Steve, sending the live stream right into the iPad in front of her.
"Don't tempt me or I'll kill your blonde partner straight away," she threatened. "Do it. Now."
Despite the threat, Danny couldn't help but smile with the thought Steve had tried to stand up to her and bring the Five-0 into this situation instead of blindly following Esther's orders.
"Well done, now take your clothes off. Shirt, pants, and boots too," she ordered.
Steve's response made Esther grin. "Very funny," she said. "I just want to be sure our conversation is private."
There was a moment of silence as Esther kept staring on the screen of the iPad, watching him.
"Take the bag out of the trash can on your left," Esther ordered after a while. "Wear that."
Another moment of silence before she spoke up again. "Look to the parking lot. You see the red Chevrolet?" she asked.
"There is a map inside, with the spot marked on it," Esther kept talking. "That's where you will drive and where I'll exchange your friend for the flash drive. Considering there will be what I asked for on it, of course. The key is inside."
A big lump formed in Danny's throat. He exchanged glances with Catherine again, who seemed to be equally horrified by the thought of Steve walking right into Esther's hands, alone and unarmed.
"You're right, it wasn't. As well as bringing your friends wasn't a deal," Esther said with a hint of anger in her voice. "Really? Are you sure?"
The smile was now gone from Esther's face. The clenched jaw was lining her angry face.
"That's enough of lies," her voice changed along with her facial expression. "Someone should teach you a lesson for not following the orders, darling. You wanted to know your friend was alive, right? Fine, here is your proof."
Before Danny could realize the meaning of those words, Esther took a gun from behind her waistband, aimed it on him and pulled the trigger. A white-hot pain had flared through his left leg, right above the kneecap. Despite trying his best, he wasn't able to resist a scream that had escaped his throat. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he watched crimson red blood slowly oozing from the wound.
This time he could clearly hear Steve screaming his name on the other side of the line, but he was too focused on not passing out.
"There," Esther said, her lips curling into a smile once again. "Next time I tell you to do something, you do it. Understand?"
Danny clenched his fists and closed his eyes in an attempt to ride off the dizziness and nausea that had flooded him. It worked only for a few seconds. The sharp, burning sensation pulsing through his leg was all he could focus on.
"Come on now, Steve. No need to threaten me, we both know that won't happen," Esther taunted, still holding the phone on her ear. "Don't worry, it's a flesh wound only. He's got some time to get medical attention. But I would hurry if I were you. And this time don't try to trick me. Come alone and make sure no one follows you or the next bullet will be into his head."
Esther hung up and shoved the phone back into her pocket before kneeling down to Danny's eye level again. "I'm sorry about that, Detective," she chuckled. "But your friend needs to learn how to follow the orders."
"Go to hell," Danny spat out through clenched teeth.
She stood up and turned to the men standing in the corner of the room. "Help him up," she said. "We're going out."
"What about her?" the man asked.
Esther gave Catherine a grin with a glimmer of evil in her eyes. "She stays here," she said. "I've got plans for her later on."
Danny expected a longer ride, but after he'd been blindfolded and forced into a back seat of the car, it only took about seven minutes to arrive at the stopping point. One of the men removed the dark sack off his head and he took in the scene. It was an old industrial park, it seemed to be long abandoned. The man on his right opened the door and tugged on his arm, forcing him out.
He swayed, his wounded leg giving out, but the man held him upright. Fighting the urge to throw up, he lifted the head and found himself staring into Steve's eyes. His friend's face was stoic, but the look in his eyes showed the turmoil inside of him.
"Danny!" Steve called out.
Fighting the dizziness and weakness caused by the blood loss, Danny managed a half-smile. "I'm okay," he murmured. It was a lie and judging by the glare on Steve's face, his friend didn't buy it for a second.
"Did you follow the orders this time?" Esther asked, making Steve's eyes shift from Danny to her. "Does anyone know you're here?"
"No one knows," Steve answered and Danny released a sigh. It was either a lie or Steve had pulled another stupid move by coming alone.
"You got what I asked for?" Esther asked again, walking toward Steve with two men just two steps behind her.
"I do. Let him go," Steve demanded, glancing over Danny.
Esther's lips curled into a smile. "I will. As soon as I get what I want."
"Steve, don't," Danny insisted, staring into Steve's eyes. "Whatever is on the flash drive, don't give it to her."
Steve ignored Danny's demand and took the flash drive out of the pocket on his trousers, holding it in front of him for Esther to see. "You can have it, but let him go first."
"You're not in a position to make demands, Steve," Esther taunted. "Give me the flash drive." She walked closer to Steve, stretching her arm, holding it palm up just a few inches in front of him.
Danny shook his head in disbelief as Steve handed it over without as much as blinking.
"Watch him," Esther said, turning to two men behind her as she walked toward the car. She pulled out a small silver laptop and put it on the hood. Crossing her arms, she waited for the flash drive to load in silence, her back turned to them.
Danny exchanged looks with Steve, having a silent conversation just through their eyes. He stared at him for a moment, then looked left to the man holding his arm and back to Steve. Steve gave him a slight nod and Danny didn't need a second invitation.
With his hands still tied up behind him, he mustered all the power he could as he raised his leg, aiming for the man's groin. He let out a loud groan. There was a commotion over where Steve and the other two goons were standing, but Danny was too engrossed to pay attention to what was happening. He had to assume Steve was making his move too.
Before his opponent had a chance to recover, Danny raised his healthy leg, aiming for the point just around his waistband where his bladder was. The feet dug deep and the man's legs kicked out. It caused him to stumble backward and lose his balance, sending him to the floor with a thud.
Danny rushed toward him, swallowing the bile that was rising in his throat from the pain flaring through his left leg. As the man began to lift his gun toward him, Danny kicked the man straight to the face. He was out cold immediately.
With the last remaining strength in his wounded leg, he kicked the pistol away from the unconscious man before his leg gave out on him, making him drop to his knees.
Only when Danny was content that the man was no longer a threat did he look over to where Steve had been. One of Esther's men was lying unconscious on the floor nearby and Steve was now sitting on top of the other man, whose arms were pinned down by Steve's knees.
There was no sign of Esther or the flash drive though. Danny assumed she had to be close, the fight only took a couple of seconds.
"Danny!" Steve called out. "Are you okay?"
Steve ran toward him, leaving the other man lying motionless behind him. He dropped to his knees right next to Danny, reaching for his friend's pale and sweaty face, lifting his head to look into his eyes.
"You all right, buddy?" Steve repeated, desperately looking for the reassurance.
"I'm okay," Danny confirmed. "Just a little banged up."
Steve stood up, helping Danny on his feet. Ignoring his partner's painful groans Steve helped him to sit behind the car, grabbing the unconscious man's handgun in the process.
At first, Danny had thought it was just for a cover but then Steve pulled on his bound wrists and began to rub the zip ties on the bottom side of the car door. In a few seconds, his hands were free again, which he was grateful for.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," Steve said, turning his attention to the gun in his hand to check its magazine, counting the rounds.
His back leaning on the front door of the car, Danny rubbed his wrists and hands to get some feeling back into them.
"How is your leg?" Steve asked as he'd put the gun on the floor between them and tore the fabric around the wound on Danny's leg to have a better look.
Danny hissed, unsuccessfully trying to ignore the pain Steve caused him by inspecting the wound.
"Sorry, buddy," Steve apologized, taking off his shirt and tearing off the sleeve. "I know it hurts. The bullet is still inside. I won't be able to take it out now, but I have to stop the bleeding, okay?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Come on Danny, hang in there."
"Okay."
Steve began to wrap the sleeve around the wound, quickly but precisely.
Danny looked up at Steve. "What's on the flash drive?" he asked, trying to take his focus away from the pain.
"All the evidence we have on her."
"Please tell me you didn't just give it to her."
Steve finished wrapping up Danny's leg and began looking around, trying to spot Esther. Then he looked back to Danny with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Why are you smiling, huh? Danny asked.
"Come on, Danno. Do you really think I would let her have it?"
"Well I just watched you hand it over like it was nothing," Danny protested.
"It's encrypted, okay? I'm the only one who knows the password. And I have a backup one."
Danny wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Steve had a target on his back even without Esther wanting another information out of him. And then he realized Esther still had Catherine. She could still use her against Steve. Judging by Steve's behavior Danny assumed Steve had no idea about that.
He opened his mouth to tell him and that's when he heard a vehicle closeby. He leaned to the side, glancing in the direction of the sound. He gasped when he had spotted another car coming their way.
"Steve," he said. "We have a company."
Steve peeked above the hood to see what Danny was talking about and sighed. Danny could see his friend's head whirring. "Five hostiles incoming," Steve announced.
"Steve there is something you should know," Danny said with urgency in his voice.
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now."
Danny could hear the vehicle stop and the men getting out of it. "Steve?" he grabbed his friend's arm to make him look at him for a moment. "Steve!"
"What?"
"She's got Catherine."
Steve's head whipped to the side, his attention now fully on Danny, his jaw dropped. "What did you say?"
"Esther's got Catherine," Danny repeated.
Steve shook his head wildly, it seemed he had a hard time to process the words coming out of Danny's mouth. "That's not possible," he said. "She left in the morning. Right after you."
"I'm sorry, buddy. I don't know when or how she got her but she did."
Steve brushed his hand over his face, trying to absorb the new information. But before he had a chance to say something, there was a voice of one of Esther's men talking to them, approaching their cover behind the car.
"You have ten seconds to get out of there with your hands up. Both of you," he said. "Starting now."
Steve's finger twitched on the gun in his hand, laying his cheek on the ground to see the feet of their enemies. He figured out the men's positions, slowly surrounding them.
"Seven seconds!" the man in charge called out.
Steve leaned his back against the car and closed his eyes for a second, drawing in a deep breath.
"Here," Steve said as he handed the gun to Danny. "Take this. You've got four rounds, make them count."
Danny shook his head, his chest heaving with deep breaths - more from adrenaline than anything else. "What are you doing?" he asked, refusing to take the gun. He didn't know what was going on in Steve's mind but he didn't like it anyway. He had his 'I have a stupid idea' look on his face.
"Come on, Danny," Steve barked, forcing the gun into Danny's hand. "Do you trust me?"
Danny nodded reluctantly, his eyes wide with fear. Of course, he had trusted his partner, but it didn't mean he approved Steve's gambling with his own life.
"The last chance, gentlemen!" the voice announced.
At the same moment, Steve stood up, lifting his hands into the air despite Danny's silent protests. "All right," he said as he moved around the front of the car, glancing around, calculating the options and the risks.
Five men stared at him, their hands ready on the guns in their holsters, but only one of them had a pistol pointed at Steve. The one he assumed was the one in charge of this little reinforcement crew. His tall and big body along with his ugly facial features reminded him of Frankenstein's monster. He had an angry snarl on his face despite the grin coming out of his wrinkled eyes.
"I said, both of you," the man demanded, glaring at Steve. "Where is your friend?"
Steve didn't answer, just stared at him with his hands still up.
The man held his gaze for a moment, before speaking up again. "Fine, as you wish. Get on your knees, hands behind the head," he ordered.
Without interrupting the eye contact with Steve, he lifted his hand to indicate the guy on his left to move. "Mike, tie him up," he ordered. "Jason, get the other one."
As Mike moved in closer to him, Steve slowly moved his hands behind his head and began to lower himself down, waiting for Mike to come close enough. As soon as he had him in the position where he'd wanted him to be, Steve took a slight side-step, then lifted his heel and drove it down against the side of Mike's knee. The leg buckled, causing the man to stumble and Steve pulled back his arm and crashed his elbow into Mike's jaw.
The move had caused all other men to stop, pull their guns and aim it at Steve, but at the same moment, Danny dived out of the cover and fired two rounds at the man closest to him, both bullets hitting his chest.
Steve swiveled around, holding Mike's arm and sliding himself behind Mike's back. Holding his left arm around Mike's neck, Steve took a gun out of the holster on Mike's waistband. Holding Mike in front of him had paid off, as barely a second later a bullet came in his way, diving into Mike's chest.
Steve released his grip of the dead man's weight and fired two bullets at the man in charge coming at him from his right, but he'd missed. The leader reminding the Frankenstein's monster barged into Steve in full force. The man held Steve's weight and for a few seconds, they were both upright, grappling.
The gun was still in Steve's hand. He swung it around and crashed it where he knew the man's head was. The guy's strength faltered for a second, but then Steve felt a sharp pain spread across his knee as the strong kick came into it right from the side. He winced in pain as his knee buckled in and he stepped away. Then the big man's arm came around Steve's neck from the behind, squeezing hard and pulling him off his feet.
The jerking motion caused Steve to drop the gun and it clattered away. His heels dragged across the ground as the hold was pulled tighter. He couldn't breathe, his windpipe crushed under the pressure of his attacker's muscled arm.
Meanwhile, one of the men rushed in Danny's direction, raising his pistol. Before he had a chance to raise it into the firing line, Danny had readjusted his aim and fired. The bullet hit his attacker's abdomen. It slowed him down and he grunted in pain, but it wasn't enough to stop him completely. He fired at Danny, the bullet bouncing from the metal of the car as Danny ducked down. He peeked from behind the front bumper and fired the last round, sending the man down for good.
The last man, the one called Jason earlier, ducked for cover. He was a careful one. He waited for Danny to retreat before peeking out with the gun in front of him.
Danny leaned his back against the car again, throwing away the gun with the empty magazine. Peeking to the side, he saw a black Chevrolet coming their way, stopping nearby. Then he caught a glimpse of Esther's face emerging from her hideaway place in the nearest warehouse doorway about a hundred and fifty feet away from him and rushing toward the Chevrolet for cover. Three men jumped out of the car, rifles slung across their shoulders.
Danny's heart thudded in his chest, his eyes searching for his best friend, finding him in the hand to hand combat with the big guy in charge just a few feet to his left. He watched in horror as Steve's movements began to slow down, the man's big arm crushing his friend's neck. The bullets ricochetted above his head as he tried to move in that direction to give Steve a hand. The last guy was coming his way, but Danny had no gun to defend himself this time.
Steve scrabbled to get his feet back onto firm ground, at the same time pulling on the man's arm to try and release the pressure on his neck. Rather than trashing, Steve relaxed his body, and his attacker seemed to take that as a sign that Steve was complying. He let up just enough and Steve planted his feet on the ground. Not a second later Steve moved quickly and stepped backward, snaking his right foot behind his attacker. Then he pushed his body weight down and lurched back, making himself fall to the ground. His left foot was in the air, momentum sending him backward. His attacker was certainly stronger, taller and heavier than Steve, but there was nothing he could do about the simple physics. With Steve's weight moving down and back, it was enough to send the man's mass toppling over the outstretched leg.
The man finally freed his neck and Steve gasped for air as they both landed in a tangled heap on the ground. Steve was quicker to maneuver into the dominant position. He grabbed the gun as he moved, twisting on top of the man and pinning his arms. He drew the gun up and pushed the barrel against his attacker's forehead, pulling the trigger.
Still on top of the dead man's weight, Steve found himself panting. He looked toward Danny, who had been dodging the bullets of the last one of their attackers. He pushed himself up to his feet, ready to run toward his friend to help him. Then he felt a sharp sting on his back and froze. A sickly feeling washed right through him as he dropped to the ground, his palms and knees landing against the hard concrete.
Danny heard the steps of Jason coming closer, his head in a whirl. He glanced in Steve's direction again and his heart skipped a beat when he'd spotted Steve on the floor, struggling to hold himself up on all fours.
"Steve!" he called out, his eyes wide with fear.
Danny scanned his partner for the traces of blood, but he didn't see anything more than a few cuts and bruises. So what was wrong if he hadn't been hit? At the same time, he saw the three newcomers rushing their way along with Esther, right from behind Steve's back.
Another bullet rang near his head, making him instinctively duck his head even lower and remember he was still under attack himself.
"Steve, come on, get your ass here!" Danny yelled as Steve crawled his way slowly, his moves sluggish.
Then he's spotted it. The reason why Steve was down, fighting to stay awake. The red-feathered tail of the tranquilizer dart was sticking out of his back, the ballistic syringe loaded with an immobilizing drug taking the strength out of his friend.
"Damn it, Steven!" he swore. "Hurry up!"
He glanced in the direction of Esther and her three henchmen. One of the guys was holding a tranquilizer gun, which explained the situation. They were closer every second and Danny could feel the sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach as he saw them coming their way. But there was no way he was giving up.
He crawled toward the back of the car to help Steve to get to him, reaching his arm to grab hold of Steve's one, pulling him closer.
"Hey, buddy, now is not a good time for a nap," Danny said with a pleading look in his eyes as he helped Steve to lean his back against the car.
"S'rry, D'nno," was the only thing Steve was able to murmur.
"Steve, don't," Danny pleaded as Steve's eyelids fluttered closed. He shook his friend's shoulders and patted his cheeks lightly, but to no avail. "Steve!"
Jason used Danny's distraction to come forward and Danny caught a glimpse of him leaping from behind the hood of the car, aiming the gun right at him. Danny didn't wait another second and dived forward where Jason was standing, doing his best to ignore the pain flaring through his wounded leg. He tumbled into him and the gun went off as both of them fell to the floor. The bullet from the shot flew up in the air. With his foe still holding the gun, Danny was on top of the man. He elbowed him in the side of the skull. Once. Twice. Three times. The blows came in quick succession, knocking him out cold. The man loosened his grip on the gun enough for Danny to prise it away.
At the same time, he heard the click behind his back, as someone unlatched the safety on the gun.
"Well done, Detective," he heard the female voice he instantly recognized. "Now, turn around slowly and slide the gun toward me."
Danny released a long sigh and turned around, holding the gun by his side. He swallowed hard when he realized the gun he heard was not pointed at him, but at Steve's head. Three goons stood by Esther's side with their rifles loaded, pointed in Danny's direction.
"I won't repeat myself," Esther said, maintaining eye contact with Danny while pointing her gun at Steve.
Danny remained silent. He tried to stay calm, at least on the outside. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness to these guys. He didn't believe she would shoot Steve, she had a chance to do so. She went through all the trouble to get him alive, Danny thought, considering the options. He could try and take a shot, but he probably wouldn't be fast enough or he could get Steve shot in the process and he wasn't willing to risk Steve's life. And even if he was fast enough to shoot Esther without hurting Steve, there were still three men with their rifles loaded.
"Okay, okay. Easy," he said eventually, reluctantly sliding the gun away, lifting his arms up.
A taller man approached Danny and secured his wrists behind his back with a zip-tie. He didn't resist, he just glared at Esther and the gun in her hand way too close to his unconscious partner's head.
"Just take it easy, all right?" Danny repeated, his brain whirling as he thought about the way out of this situation. But nothing came to his mind and he dreaded of the moment when Steve wakes up to find out they've been both captured again by the same woman who made his life a living hell for the past two months.
Esther smirked and waited for her goon to finish and take a place behind Danny. He could feel the muzzle of the rifle pressed against his back. His heart was about to jump out of his chest. This was not how it was supposed to go.
"Danno. Oh dear," Esther taunted. "Did you think you would get away with that?"
Danny fumed, angered at himself for letting himself get caught out and angered at Esther for using the nickname that only three people were allowed to use.
The man behind him pushed the gun harder against his back, indicating to move. He did so and glanced over Steve as he edged forward.
His friend had been lifted up by the other two men and dragged forward by his arms. Danny wished Steve would wake up now and pulled some of his superSEAL moves before it'll be too late.
A black sack was forced over his head once again as soon as Danny was forced into the car. The rocking of the car made him want to throw up, but the vehicle came into the stop rather quickly.
Someone tugged at his arm, pulling him out of the car and hitting his head into the roof in the process. The impact sent pain shooting through his head. He was manhandled forward a few steps, then he could feel the hands on his neck removing the bag.
There was a long corridor in front of him with several doorways on each side. The muzzle of the rifle was pressed deeper into his back as he slowed down.
"Don't stop," the man behind him ordered. "Just keep walking."
They walked to the end of the corridor, where he'd been manhandled into the big doorway. A large warehouse room showed up in front of him, several rows of high shelves full of the old boxes on his left and a few hooks hanging from the ceiling. Three armed men stood by a ladder in the end of the room leading to the walkway above the shelves, seemingly waiting for them to come.
Danny was pushed toward the middle of the empty space on his right and pushed down to the floor. "Stay down," the man instructed, leaving one hand on his shoulder while the other one approached him from the other side.
Danny frowned, watching Steve being pulled inside the room, his feet dragging behind him on the floor. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration as two men holding his partner dropped him on the floor and Steve's head hit the ground with a thud.
"This was never about the evidence, was it?" Danny asked, glancing over Esther. It took a lot of focus to keep his breathing slow and steady.
"Took you long enough to figure it out, blondie," Esther smirked. "It is a good bonus though. At least I won't have to hide anymore as your precious Five-0 won't have anything on me."
Danny watched helplessly as one of the men crouched beside Steve and bound his wrists together with a nylon rope and took off his boots, leaving him barefoot. Two other men lifted him up as he forced Steve's arms above his head and looped the rope around one of the hooks hanging from the ceiling. Steve's topless body was stretched, arms up and his head hung in front of him. Danny fought the urge to try and run to his best friend. The beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, partially from the gunshot wound on his leg, partially from the stress.
He hated the idea of Steve being Esther's prisoner again, he knew she's gonna hurt him in some way and she'll probably try to use himself and Catherine to her advantage.
Esther approached Steve with a gun still in her hand, stopping just in front of him, her lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Good to have you back, darling," she whispered to her unconscious captive.
"Don't you dare to touch him!" Danny warned her, curling his bound hands into the fists, unable to keep his feelings at bay anymore. He could feel his blood boiling inside of him.
Esther laughed. There was a glimmer of evil in her eyes, something dark and twisted, full of barely concealed rage, that made the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stand up.
"Oh, come on, Detective," Esther murmured, cupping Steve's cheek with her hand. "We're going to do so much more than just a simple touch."
*to be continued*
We're coming close to the end of the story (I am trying to squeeze it under 100k words). I really hope you like it so far.