And here we are. Chapter 16 (Option One) has officially begun. I know that after you read this you're gonna hate me (and this isn't even half of it) but you guys decided! Hahaha

I'll be patiently waiting to hear your comments and I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow's news showed an article along the lines of: "young writer dies alone at home. Cause of death: angry reviews"…. Just saying…..

Anyway…. On with the show!

It would have been the first night without nightmares after what had happened at the bar almost a week ago. But, of course, having the luck of the devil, it couldn't be a simple and quiet night.

That day they had received a tip that the two men they had been looking for had been spotted on a cruise ship and managed to slip out of the islands. And, even though they were still free and a danger to a lot of people, somehow Annabeth felt relieved knowing that at least they weren't in the same estate as her. She knew it was selfish but she couldn't help it. That didn't mean though that she wasn't angry as hell because they had managed to avoid detection.

That's why this was supposed to be a normal night. And it was, until a noise woke her up from her sleep and she found herself with a gun pointing at her head.

- Make a move and your brother won't make it through the next hour – a man told her and she had to suppress the instinct to lash out.

- What have you done with him? – she asked, slowly sitting up in bed.

- Nothing…yet. Now, get up slowly and turn around.

She did as she was told. She wasn't going to risk Steve's safety by acting prematurely. She needed to know first where he was and if he was in any condition to fight. The man secured a pair of handcuffs around her wrists and grabbed her by the arm, leading her out of the room and down the stairs.

She was surprised by the amount of people she saw on the living room. But what startled her the most was seeing Steve handcuffed to a chair and clearly unconscious. There were two other men, all wearing masks and wielding guns. She was thrown rather unceremoniously in the middle of the living room at Steve's feet and she quickly shook him up a bit to try and wake him up.

- Steve! Steve! – what she heard next make her skin crawl.

- I told you we'd see each other again – that voice sent a shiver down her spine and she focused on the taller of the two men – don't worry, he'll wake up soon enough. We only gave him enough to subdue him – as if on cue, Steve started waking up, breathing a little heavier than usual but otherwise unharmed.

- What do you want? – asked Annabeth, trying to control the shaking of her voice.

- I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since our encounter on the bar – hearing this, Steve's head jerked up and all the fog was cleared from his mind.

- You were the son of a bitch who… - but he couldn't finish. One of the men, either Paul, the younger brother, or the third unknown man, had come closer and sent a punch to his face.

- Careful now how you talk to me. We wouldn't want you unconscious for the show now would we? Although I guess it would still be doable.

- What are you talking about? What show? – Steve asked. Annabeth had gone very quiet since the appearance of this man and he couldn't help but worry at what this guy had planned for her.

- Well, I have to admit that I've become a bit obsessed with you – the man answered, looking at Annabeth – to had been able to finally subdue you after all this time. I had been trying for months but somehow the opportunity never seemed to arrive. I knew the first time I saw you in action that you were a strong woman who I would enjoy making mine beyond belief – when he heard this, Steve knew they were dealing with someone mentally unstable. He had been trying for a while to get free from the handcuffs that secured his hands to the back legs of the chair, but he was having no luck. Also, there was the problem of the two armed guys pointing their guns at the two of them at all times – I knew I couldn't have you just one time so I decided to seek you out again, and you raiding our house last week was the final push I needed to come up with this – he stopped for a second and then started talking to Steve – during all these months, while I was watching you, I couldn't avoid but admire the relationship you two have. You seem very close to be siblings. Never fighting with each other, always watching eachother's backs. And so, it got me thinking… maybe I could have a little fun subduing the both of you, playing with you. I think it would be interesting to know how far you would go to keep your brother from getting hurt – he finished, turning back to Annabeth and coming closer to her.

- If you touch her you're as good as dead – warned Steve with as much venom in his voice as he could muster.

- Oh but I won't be the one touching her – he answered while grabbing Annabeth by the arm and yanking her to her feet – you will.

- What?! – Annabeth tried to get away from her attacker but at her resistance, one of the other men in the room came closer and pressed the barrel of his gun into Steve's face.

- You're gonna do what I tell you or your brother here gets a bullet to the brain. Are we clear? – she couldn't find her voice to answer. She was too terrified to speak – are we clear?! – the man asked again, this time sending a kick to Steve's stomach making him fall to the floor. The grunt of pain that followed the action made Annabeth answer quickly.

- Okay! Alright! – someone got Steve from the floor and settled him in the middle of the room again with a gun pointed at his head. One of the other men came closer with a syringe in hand and grabbed his arm.

- Whoa! Whoa! What is that? – he asked, trying unsuccessfully to get away.

- Just a little something to help you get in the mood – and the needle went in – in a few minutes you should feel the effects and we can begin.

So? Do you hate me? I know this chapter is short but consider it a kind of teaser for what's next to come.

If you have managed to digest this and decide that you don't hate me enough to abandon this story for good, then I PROMISE the rest of it is really really interesting. But, like I said in the summary, it's a little out of the ordinary. Some really "Complicated Situations" start to develop from now on….

I'm really nervous! I need to know what you guys think!

Until next chapter (hopefully)