Chapter 8 Kidnapped

• Honey.
• I sat in the green room, my phone latched in my hands. It was the night of my first ever concert. I was meant to be thinking about how I was going to make an impression when I performed my songs tonight, but my mind kept wandering to the handsome stranger I had met at the shoe store a few days ago.
• I had invited him to my concert and I had even given him a free ticket. At the very least, if he wasn’t going to show up, he could have called me and let me know about it.
• I sighed. He hadn’t even collected my phone number to begin with, let alone save it in his phone.
• The door leading to the green room opened and Amelia walked inside. She wore a dark green jumpsuit that had lines of sparkling sequins. The shade of her clothes aligned with the color of her eyes which made her look more stunning.
• Amelia stood before me and observed my outfit. The short dress I was putting on was high above my knee making me shiver as the night was cold. My curly hair had been straightened and was now touching the back of my shoulder. I wasn’t going to deny it, the stylist had done a wonderful job in making me look my best tonight.
• “Are you ready?” She asked. “You will be called to the stage soon.”
• I dropped my phone on the desk before the sofa I was sitting on and turned to look at Amelia. That simple action caused my stomach to clench as the stylist had tightened the corset of the dress I was wearing to the point that it felt like I was holding my breath. Well, I was the one who told them to make me look as sexy as possible.
• “Yeah,” I said.
• “That’s good,” Amelia said, looking pleased. “Oyin, remember that you just need to be yourself tonight. You really don’t have to stress yourself before you give a good performance.”
• I smiled. “Thanks, I will keep that in mind.”
• We walked out together. There were a lot of people working on one thing or another in the background of the stage. Soon, I was told to step on a lever that would carry me up to the stage. Amelia attached a micro speaker to my chest.
• Then, she held my shoulders, her eyes observing one last time. She hummed in satisfaction. “Yeah, you are good to go.”
• Suddenly, the lever started to move upward to the stage. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had waited for this moment for a long time and it was finally happening. I rubbed my sweaty hands on my dress and braced myself to face all my fans who had come from different places in the world just to watch me perform tonight. The moment I got to the stage, all my anxiety washed away at the loud cheers of the crowd.
• A tall man stood at the far end of the stage, holding a Mic. He hollered with a deep voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you HONEY!!!”
• Just when I thought the cheer couldn’t get any more crazy, a new wave of screaming and shouting swept through the hall. I smiled, looking around at the crowd. My chest swelled as a warm feeling of fulfillment filled me from within.
• Over a thousand people had gathered at ASH tonight and they were here for me!
• I raised my hand towards my hair and brushed it backwards before walking to the front of the stage. I poised gracefully, resting my hand on my hip and angling my body in a way that accentuated my hourglass figure. Then, I started singing. Many dancers filed out from the back stage. They danced as I sang, following the beat of the song. I felt so energized by how much the crowd were cheering me on.
• One of the dancers grabbed my waist as I started singing a seductive song. Following the dance routine, I grabbed the nape of his neck and rolled my head along his shoulder. The cheer went wild at my seductive movements. The crowd was going even crazier as my song boomed around all corners of the concert hall. The male dancer holding onto my waist, let go of me and I walked to the other group of male dancers who were rhyming to the song I was singing.
• I caught a dark masculine figure moving at a corner behind the stage and I froze for a second. I didn’t see his face, but there was this dreadful feeling building up at the awareness that someone was watching me in the dark.
• I tried to concentrate on my performance, but my eyes kept wandering to the dark side of the stage. This wasn’t part of the performance. Nobody was meant to be standing at the back of the stage. I glanced at the back as I made a swirling dance move. The backstage was now empty. Nobody was standing there, but I was certain I had seen something watching me from there.
• I shook my head and continued singing. I smiled as the crowd started singing along with me. I might just be feeling edgy because of that man who I thought was stalking me the other day at the shoe store. And even if for some reason that man was truly stalking me, it wasn’t like he could harm me or something. I was well protected. I have about three bodyguards guarding the stage which I was performing on and let not even forget that I was in the midst of over two thousand people.
• While still thinking about it, the stage light above me shifted, causing the spotlight to move away from my direction. I didn’t think much about it and continued my performance.
• I was so immersed in my music that I didn’t notice when it happened. The stage light shook violently before crashing down directly at the spot where I was standing. The incident was so sudden and so unexpected that I didn’t have the time to move away from the impending fall.
• I froze and slowly looked up, my eyes wide opened. Every second the stage light seemed to be coming close. The dancers and the back up singers were already moving backward, trying to protect themselves. I was about to do the same when a firm hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me away. Like a bolt of lightning, the stage light hit the ground, sending its shards flying into every direction. Some of the shards pierced my skin, but I didn’t even have the time to register the pain. The man who came to rescue me was dragging me far away from the mayhem.
• “Wait! Where are you taking me?!” I called out to the man when I realized that we were walking towards the back door of the concert hall.
• This place was restricted and had a no entry sign on the door so why was this man dragging me towards this direction instead of taking me to the backstage.
• The man tightened his hand around mine. He vigorously kicked the back door open before pushing me out of the concert hall. The cold air outside slapped against my skin, but what got me bothered was the force at which the man had dragged me outside. No bodyguards or security would have the guts to manhandle me like this so I realize instantly that this man wasn’t one of them.
• I turned around and faced the man. My brows slightly furrowed. “What’s happening?” I demanded. “Who are you?”
• The man looked up. I caught a glimpse of the nose mask he was wearing. It was twilight outside and there was only the flicker of the street light illuminating this side of the passageway. It was hard to see his face clearly, but I saw the drawing on his nose mask. It was the same skull-like symbol I had seen on the mask of the man who had been stalking me that day at the shoe store.
• Immediately, I stepped back. This couldn’t be happening. I mean how was it possible that the man was able to reach me on that stage despite the heavy loads of security that surrounded it. I didn’t know his intention, but I could sense it wasn’t a good one. The place he had taken me to was deserted. Nobody was even meant to be here, but surprisingly he was able to bring me here.
• Suddenly, it started making sense. I wasn’t hallucinating earlier. He had been standing in the dark all through my performance, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I frowned, confused. The crash of the stage light looked like a mistake, but was it truly a mistake?
• This…
• He had planned all this. But why?
• “Stay away from me!” I warned him.
• “Just give in,” he smirked. “There is nowhere to hide.”
• I tightened my hands and glanced at the back door. All I needed to do was run back into the hall and I would be safe, but that was impossible because he was standing right behind the door.
• The man moved close to me, a deadly glint in his eyes. I stepped back. Something tells me things were about to turn ugly very soon.
• “Please… don’t come close,” I protested.
• He didn’t listen.
• “Help!” I yelled, my steps quickening on the cold marbled floor.
• I was alone and defenseless. I needed someone to rescue me.
• “Someone please help me!”
• “Shut up you brat!” The man cursed.
• He took a quick stride and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards his chest.
• I yanked my hand away and ran in the opposite direction. There seemed to be no exit. I looked around the passway and halted when two men emerged from a corner. Their stance was rigid and deadly.
• Damm, I have been cornered.