***

The vast city looked beautiful in the sunlight shining brightly on the posh buildings. The roads full of vehicles heading to their respective destinations, the street full of people drowned in their lives.

Alex drawled the puff of his cigarette on stainless glass of the wall sized window. "So how was the yacht? You betrayer!" Alex wasn't the least bit surprised by the presence of his best friend Cane. After all this green-eyed man was incredible in moving in silence just like him.

Alex didn't bother to answer him. He crushed the head of cigarette in the ashtray, took his seat and start replying to some important emails, completely ignoring Cane who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"You always used to send me to checkout your gifts but this time you went not only just by yourself but also took her with you!" Cane whined "You betrayed me!"

Alex rolled his eyes at him. "You're behaving as if you're one of my Ex." Cane made a disgusting face. "Dude I'm straight!"

Alex scoffed at him. "But you complained like a girl." This time Cane rolled his eyes.

"So-" Cane drawled on. Alex raised his brow as if asking... So what? "You two were alone on the yacht. Did you get what you wanted?" On this Alex eyes met with his. There was a strange emotion in his green eyes that Alex couldn't pinpoint because Cane is excellent in masking his emotions.

"I don't know." Alex sighed letting his emotions loose. "She's something else, she never let me touch her and her eyes, those eyes do things to me. Her eyes stopped the beast inside me whenever I tried to force her and instead I feel an immense surge to protect her. GOD! She is bewitching me for heaven's sake." He ran his fingers through his hairs in frustration.

Cane looked angry but there was a satisfied glint in his eyes. His face expressions were totally opposite to the emotions swarming his eyes. Alex was astonished for a second cause Cane never gave his emotions away but now he looked extremely pleased from his eyes as if he got his favorite lollipop or a prized possession. But his face showed how angry he is. "Dude you're looking creepy." Alex remarked eyeing him.

Cane spoke with clenched jaw. "I thought you want her body." He spoke seriously this time. "I do, but-" Alex trailed off not knowing what to say anymore.

There was a time he wanted to have her body only, but now he feels like having her everything, body, soul, mind, heart everything.

"But what?" Cane asked a bit angry. Now Alex was confused at his friend. What's wrong with him. "None of your business." Alex replied annoyed.

"Stay away from her Alex, she is too fragile for you." Cane said seriously angry.

Alex fumed at his words. Friends or not he has no right to tell him what to do or what not. And most important thing why the fuck is he getting angry on him. "You've no power to order me around Cane."

Cane sighed as if trying to control his anger. "As a friend! I'm telling you as a friend Alex. Just don't hurt her, that's all I ask." With that said Cane left his office.

Alex was fuming would be an understatement he was raging. Why the hell, Cane was so worried about her. And to top it all, he just told Alex to stay away from her, like how is that even possible for him when she plays hockey with his brain cells all the time.

For a split-second he thought that Cane has a thing for her, but it was gone as soon as it came. Because there is an unsaid rule in their friendship that is never to go for your friends girl and Alex made it pretty obvious that he's interested in her.

Dismissing the thought, he focused on replying to the emails at hand.

***

"I'm leaving." Alizey declared tiredly. Allah! She was so tired and annoyed with all this workout and shooting sessions that she just wanted to sprawl on her comfy bed.

"With whose permission?" Came the stern question of Jack. Alizey used to thought that he was a good man and a jolly person but when he declared one day that he's going to train Alizey and Mia some self-defence techniques along with some weapon using techniques, they were overly excited but now after one week training, it felt like a pure torture. Cause Wallah! Jack is not that jolly and funny person during their training sessions instead he's the total opposite a cold, ruthless, merciless jerk.

"My bones!" Mia chortled at her reply but Jack in the other hand gave her, his deadly glare, with a look she knew all too well.

"Fifty squats now!" He barked the order at her face. Alizey groaned in complete annoyance. "Akhi pleas-" She was cut short. "Don't Akhi me here! I'm your Akhi outside the gym. In here I'm your... what you call me.." he made a thinking face. "Yeah! Your merciless trainer."

Mia almost giggled at Alizey's face but a glare from Jack was enough for both of them to keep their mouth shut and do as he says.

Alizey regretted the day she agreed on this. She looked at her sweaty loose shirt and tights, her hijab was also sweaty. Allah she needs a long warm shower, before going to do all the chores.

On her first day at training she got serious insults from Jack about her low stamina because in just five minutes of warm up she was hyperventilating like crazy. And in just one week she improved a lot. The girl who didn't even know the name of exercises now knows how to do them. When first time Jack handed her the gun, she was scared out of her wits but now she knows how to load it and how to hold it but still she's scared to shoot at the target or more precisely she's scared to use it.

Now the most dreaded moment came when she's again face to face with the gun and the shooting targets. She gave her best puppy eyes to Jack, batting her lashes way too much. So might be he'll show mercy, but he just ignored her.

Mia shoot smoothly four shots in a row with two bullets hitting the bottles. Now it was her turn and like always she was sweating profusely with cold hands she grips the gun it was heavy and was trembling in her hands. With slight determination she used her other hand to steady the one holding the gun. She was still fidgeting with it after the safety was off, she tried hard to get a will power to do it but it was like the gun itself was telling her to back off babe, it's not your game.

With a dejected sigh she was about to put the gun back but a large cold hand wrapped around her small one holding the gun, before she could look who it is the person aimed the gun at the target and BOOM! The fire was shot and hit the target in the middle making the bottle to break into sparkling pieces.

She was stunned for a second but slowly the adrenaline of what she just did come back with full force. She whipped her head towards the person who helped her and smiled widely when her eyes met with the forest green ones. Suddenly realizing the hold of his hand on her she moved away.

Not to make it more awkward she squealed excitedly. "Did y'all just see that." Mia giggled and squeezed Alizey's hand in appreciation. Jack gave her a Not bad! Look and Cane was grinning at her and spoke. "Now that wasn't so hard."

Alizey passed him her dimple smile. Completely unaware of someone's eyes on her. "Well I'm going out for some work. You want something? Except for the curtains." Cane asked teasingly to Alizey and gave her a wink. Before, Alizey could take in his wink. Mia butts in "Bring some chocolates for me."

"Sure! What about you?" He asked again to Alizey to which she replied with same chocolates.

Jack rolled his eyes at their fetish for chocolates and spoke in a stern tone. "You do know, you both are on strict diet of healthy food only." Both girls gave him their puppy eyes with the super cute pout and with that he melted on the spot. Damn these puppy eyes always get to him.

Lucas the wrestler barged into the gym glaring at Jack for taking too long in his training session, because as always Lucas the wrestler has to do his morning workout on time. No! Scratch the workout it is kinda hulk out things he does because it is far from a normal humans' workout, the first day she saw him doing something with giant truck wheels she was stunned and stared at his hulk workout longer then necessary after that day she was well aware to not disturb him and his gym timings at all.

Both the girls slipped from there like small cats leaving Jack alone to take the wrath of the wrestler because in the end he deserved it for tiring them so much.

***

It was almost dinner time when Alizey left to her room after completing all the chores, and she was starving and tired. She laid on the bed to get rest but unknowingly she dozed off.

When she woke up it was quite late, after praying her Esha prayers she went to kitchen, almost everyone was done eating and the floor was empty. She filled her plate with the food and warm it up in the microwave.

She was about to sit on the mini dining table in the kitchen but a slight rustling got her startled as she tried to hear more keenly. Nobody was supposed to be up by this time she thought. She heard the steps of heavy boots running in the lounge.

Ya Allah... Please tell me that it is not what I'm thinking...

A ghost...

With anticipation of countering the ghost for the first time, she completely forgets about her dinner and with hasty steps she picked up the frying pan from the kitchen counter for safety purposes. Even tho she fully knows that a frying pan couldn't even scratch a ghosts hair, but she still holds it for the satisfaction of her conscience.

With steady steps she peeked in the lounge but there was no one there. A shadowy figure moved in the dark, she was about to scream in fright but the unbolting of the door stopped her. She gulped, a sudden thought of this scenario of being a prank raked her mind, and she definitely is looking like a sight to behold with frying pan in the air beside her head ready to attack and scared expression written all over her face, wearing her night pajamas and extremely loose shirt with nude hijab wrapped around her head in disheveled manner.

The sound came from the main door, so she intelligently went their and to her astonishment the main door was open, with shaky hand she opened the door and was met with the cold breeze of the chilling night.

She came out of the mansion slowly and surprisingly there were no guards on duty which was kind of strange because that never happened before and not even once the thought of running away came to her mind because her head was completely engrossed in the quest to find the unseen ghost.

Before her eyes could even adjust to the darkness of night a hand clasped around her mouth muffling her screams with a cloth and another hand wrapped around her waist. Her back hit with the strong chest.

For a second she thought it was Alexander but by the rough, cold hold and the unfamiliar scent instead of the cinnamon musky one made her almost crawl out of her skin with fear.

Ya Allah!

She didn't know what was happening, she tried to use the self-defence techniques along with the frying pan but the person was too fast for her and dodged her every attack, in her hysteria to get free, she inhaled with in the cloth and slowly and gradually her body slumped, frying pan falling on the grass and dark spots danced in her vision before drowning in the complete darkness.