Hi there! Thanks so much for the reviews! This chapter is longer than the past couple of chapters, but it explains everything. I don't own anything. Enjoy.

Italics = Gillian's thoughts


When Michael came out, he was carrying her cell phone. He simply said, "If you want answers, you have to speed it up. Your friends are probably tracking you from your cell phone. I think they will be here within the hour." He threw the phone on the table separating them. He sat down, folded his hands and calmly waited for her to start.

Umm, where to start first? This is so awkward; Cal is usually doing the interviews, but Cal is the one in question of murder. This all seems very strange to me. He is so calm and collected. I think I should start from the beginning of how this all started. Gillian straightened herself up and asked, "How are you connected to the Alpha Omega Club?"

Michael looked genuinely surprised by her question. He had the think before he could say anything. "My grandmother is in the club. Her name is Mae Kingsley. I asked for her help. Being her only grandson, she obliged. In return, I helped her club kidnap those other men and kill them. I think they thrive off of revenge. It has been my only motivator for the past 20 years."

He smiled to himself, "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that question from you. But I suppose that is the real reason you came to London in the first place. I was surprised to see you and Cal there. I have been arranging your kidnapping for months here in the States. I thought I would have my chance with you in England but they messed up over there. They kept you in that building for way too long and they hired the wrong people." He sighed and shook his head, "They should have left the kidnapping up to me." He looked a little lost in his thoughts.

Wow, I really wasn't expecting that kind of answer from him, but everything seems to fit together like a puzzle. "So were you responsible for my kidnapping over there, in London?"

He looked at her and said, "No, I wasn't. My grandmother thought it would be a nice surprise for me. I saw that they hurt you pretty badly. My intention from the beginning was to never harm you or torture you. I'm sorry."

Another surprise, he actually looks remorseful. So if he is not going to hurt me, is he going to let me go? "If your intension was to not hurt me then why did you kidnap me in the first place? And why did you slap me when I got here?"

Again he looked remorseful, "I didn't mean to slap you. I was angry with that stupid imbecile copping a feel on you and then you mentioned Cal and being his friend. Something snapped and I hit the thing closest to me, which happened to be you. I kidnapped you because I want you to know the real Cal before he takes you on some whirl-wind adventure and then dumps you. You deserve to know the truth. If I would have told you on the street, would you have believed me?"

No, I wouldn't have. It makes sense but I still hate being here. Time to ask the 'Big gun' questions. "So how did Cal murder someone?"

Michael was a little relieved that she finally asked that question. "Her name was Chloe. She was magnificent. She could light up a room when she walked through the door. We were together for about two years. Then Cal came into the picture. He is a typical English snob who thinks he can get away with anything and have whoever he wants. I meet him through a friend of ours, Terry."

"From the moment Cal saw Chloe he had to have her, but she was with me. He had different plans; he swept her off her feet by arranging romantic dinners and taking her to the countryside on his motorbike. All I could do was watch from the sidelines and hope she didn't get hurt. I thought it was just a phase she was going through, that she would come back to me. One day she came to me saying that they were talking about marriage and being with him for the rest of her life. I was devastated," he slammed his fist on the table. "He didn't deserve her love." He got up and started pacing.

His fists were clinched by his side. "Then one night I went out drinking with the guys and who should I see there? Of course Cal Lightman, but was he with Chloe? No, he bloody was not; he was with some other girl feeling her up and whispering in her ear. When he walked by me he had the balls to say 'don't tell Chloe, she wouldn't understand,' and he bloody winked at me like I was a co-conspirator. It turns out that I didn't need to tell Chloe, she was walked in on them having sex. She came to me distraught, like he broke her heart. For weeks she would just lay there, crying her eyes out, all the sparkle that was there before was gone. He took that away from her. I went up to him and asked why he did it and you know what his answer was? 'She was hot, what was I supposed to do?'" Michael slammed both of his fists on the wall.

His head rested against the wall for a couple of minutes. Gillian didn't dare disturb him. It is obvious that this is the first time he has talked about this in a long time. He has been waiting for this day for too long. Michael whispered, "The damage was done. All of her friends were Cal's friends. Any time we all hung out, Cal would bring a different girl, like he was rubbing it in her face. Finally, she couldn't take it. She called me one night, it was very late. She was crying, saying she couldn't go on with it anymore and then she hung up. By the time I got to her flat she was dead. She had killed herself. He had the gull to come to her funeral and you know what he said to me?" He walked to Gillian, pounded his fists on both sides of her chair and yelled, "Do you know what he said?"

Gillian just shook her head, not daring to say anything.

Michael was seething with every word, "'I am sorry that she died. I take full responsibility for it.' He admitted it that he was responsible for her death and did he ever pay for it? No he didn't, he got to travel the world and bed any woman he wanted to. It wouldn't surprise me if he left a trail of suicide victims behind him." He let go of her chair and resumed his pacing.

Gillian just sat there, half of her afraid to move and the other half in thought. Whoa, I can't believe what is going on here. The story he just told was… was… I don't even know what to think. Ever since the day Michael met Cal, he has scorned him. And after what happened to Chloe, he has pure hatred in his heart for Cal. Do I blame him, well… in a way I don't. He obviously loved Chloe very much and love can make you do and see things differently. Michael has it in his mind that Cal murdered Chloe but at the end of his rant he said, '…trail of suicide victims.' So maybe he feels that Cal somehow had control over what happened to Chloe and that he is responsible for not doing anything about it. Geez, I assumed that Cal was a playboy in his day, but it isn't like him to smear his women in your face. If Cal really did this, then something must have changed. I need more answers but I must calm him down. His emotions are raging from getting that big weight off of his shoulders.

Gillian walked up to Michael and gently placed her hand on his arm. It was usually a move she would use on Cal to calm him down. She felt his arm relax under her touch. She whispered, "I am so sorry for your loss. I could tell that you loved her very much." He turned around and hugged her. Of course she comforted him by patting his back. For a moment she thought that she heard him cry, but he quickly dismissed his tears. I have to say, this is kinds weird. I am comforting my abductor. Now I know the answer to my next question, but I have got to ask it.

Gillian lifted his head and quietly asked, "Do you want to sit down?" He didn't say anything but he did what she asked. "Now Michael, why didn't you take Chloe to the hospital or get her some help?"

He looked down and shook his head, "I knew what they would do to her. Even if she was alive today, that sparkle would not be in her eyes. My brother had to go to the mental hospital; he was never the same after it. I didn't want to put her through it."

Gillian sat down. "When did all of this happen? How old were you?"

Michael said, "Well Chloe and I were 19 when this happened. Cal was 18, he was boasting about going to Oxford in the fall. What does that have to do with anything?" He looked at her with blazing eyes.

Gillian faltered a little. "Well, while Cal was at college, his mother committed suicide."

Michael took this in and thought for a moment. "Well that sucks for him, but at least he got a dose of his own medicine. For once he got to feel that pain of losing someone that he loves. I don't feel bad for him, what-so-ever."

Gillian sat in silence for a moment. For a second, she thought she heard a helicopter fly by, but quickly dismissed it. She looked up and quietly said, "So now what are you going to do with me after you told me the truth about Cal?"

He looked at her with smiling eyes, "Well, after studying you for a while, I have come to know your routines. If you want we can take the truck and run away from here. I have some money saved up. We can go anywhere you want." He got down on his knees in front of Gillian, "Please, run away with me. I will treat you kindly. I won't hurt your feelings. I won't make you feel that way, like how Cal made you feel. Please say yes!"

Gillian was momentarily stunned by his request. He can't possibly think that I would give up my life to go away with him. Yeah, I feel bad for him, but he should be in a hospital; not traveling the world. He looks so vulnerable, I am afraid if I turn him down harshly he will react with violence. I better thread lightly. "Well, Michael, I appreciate that offer but I just can't leave my life in D.C.. It means so much to me, not to mention my family and friends. You deserve to find a girl who would love you like you would love her. I am not that type of girl, I'm sorry."

He stood up violently and said, "But I love you. Who are you going to go back to, Cal? He doesn't deserve you; you deserve someone who will love you for the rest of your life. He will treat you like trash the instant you give into him. He will treat you like a tissue, use you then lose you. No, I can't let this happen. It happened once and I promised myself that it wouldn't happen again." He went to his black duffle bag and brought out a gun and pointed it at Gillian.

Her eyes got wide with fear as she put her hands up defensively. "Michael, I thought you said that you didn't want to hurt me."

He was shaking the gun from pure rage, "After all you know, you still want to go back to him? Chloe, be reasonable, I beg of you. You can't go back to him; I won't let you go back to him."

Gillian did everything she could to muster up a calm voice, "Michael, I am not Chloe, I am Gillian. Now please put the gun down before someone gets hurt."

Michael had rage in his eyes, "No, you will not go back to him, Chloe. I will make sure of that." He straightened his arm out, pointing the gun at her head.

By this point Gillian didn't hold back the tears, "Please Michael, please don't shoot me. Please don't hurt me. I will do anything."

Michael clicked the bullet into the barrel. "I am so sorry Chloe, but you deserve a lot better than him. I love you." Gillian squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the gun go off.


Hope things didn't get too confusing, LOL! Let me know what you think! Please review! Thanks!