Claimed by The Rogue Alpha
Claimed By The Rogue Alpha Chapter 59

==Matteo==

I poured myself a glass of orange juice, before munching a piece of Oreos cookie. I set a bowl on the table, threw in an entire bag of the chocolate snack and slapped in some milk. I'd never thought I'd do this: deal in junk. But life had a way of shaking you up. Of shaping you to be something you never were. Since untold hardship lurked around, I had to indulge myswlf. It was likely I'd never get the chance to do taking a bite from a cookie of ores. I then so again. There was a knock on the door.

"Yes." The door squealed open I didn't lift my gaze because the footsteps-the sound was easily recognisable.

"Sir, I've got something you might want to see."

With my eyes still fixed on my bowl of Oreos, I said, "What?"

He moved closer and extended his hand. This prompted me to look his way. He was holding a tablet. He was holding a tablet. The f**k he was. What now, I thought. Couldn't I just have one day to myself? One last day to indulge myself before the inevitable doom? I dropped my spoon and pushed the bowl aside, taking the tablet from him. I stared at the screen. PLOT THICKENS AS NEW INFROMATION CONCERNING PETE HAYNES' DEATH ARRIVES.

I perused through the article, stumbling upon the words: loan shark.

I sat upright, frowning at the screen as though that'd erase the words. A lady by name Leah Lindsey had come out, saying that some people had lent Pete money. She also made mention of Olivia's disappearance, forming a link between Pete's death and Olivia's plight.

"Twitter has gone wild about it," Yosef said.

I shut down the tablet and placed it on the table. My hands crossed. Silence sat comfortably, stretching for a long long while.

"I'd take my leave now, sir." I waved him away.

I turned back to my Oreos. Know what, screw them. Screw her. There wasn't an iota, not one bit, of fear in me. There was no need to be. I'd made sure nobody saw my boys as they captured Olivia. I'd been as discreet as possible, and no one had come out to say they'd seen a suspicious-looking vehicle park in front of an alley.

I laid back to resume snacking, but was frozen in...discomfort. There was this little feeling of dread that had begun creeping in on me. That little fear that my discreetness had in fact been false.

I gulped. A gesture that was so f*****g audible.

A knock came through, making me jerk. I almost spilled the content of the bowl on myself F**k. Get a grip, man.

"Yes. Come in."

The door pulled open. It was Yosef. Was he here to drop another bombshell?

"Sir, Miss Haynes is in a bit of a problem."

As soon as I heard that name, I flinched. I wasn't sure my movement was visible, but then, I couldn't tell why I'd done that. Or maybe, because the name seemed distant? It'd been a while since I saw her. "She's at the door, and is in need of a doctor."

My eyes snapped back to Yosef immediately. A doctor? I rose from my seat and followed Yosef to the door. He opened it and left. As I advanced, I caught sight of Olivia and my jaw dropped. She was standing in front of me with a towel. A tiny piece of towel. Is this girl gonna be the end of me? She didn't know I was here. Her attention was on Yosef. I couldn't help it. I couldn't help but glaze over her form.

Her hair was damp. Knotted and plastered across her now reddened face. I frowned. Her red face. Was she...

Before I could ponder further, she turned to me. A gasp escaping her lips. She swallowed. Although subtly, but I'd noticed. Her gaze lingered on my face for sometime before she trembled, scratching her arm. I was brought back to the present, and so was the frown on my face.

"Come in," I said, making way for her to step in. Still scratching herself, she hurried in. I closed the door behind us.

"I...uhm." She swallowed, I guessed, trying to marshal out her words. "I...I didn't mean to disturb but..." Now, I knew why she was stuttering. The itch wasn't letting her make a complete sentence. And I didn't know why I still stood like a moron watching her scratch herself to death.

I advanced towards her and unlike other times, she didn't retreat. She stood, watching me with a look in her eyes. A strange look. An intense gaze. I walked up to her, getting instantly hit by her scent. It took a lot of courage not to go on with my selfish desires. Instead, I looked over her body, noting the rashes. It was evident this was some form of allergy.

I took her hands, squeezing them.

"Do I need to shut my eyes?"

I looked at her, shocked she'd said that. I tore my gaze away, almost immediately and closed my eyes. I kept my mind on the task at hand. My arms trembled. Energy sapping out.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with

Olivia's intense gaze. I tried not to dwell on it.

"How do you feel?"

She snapped out from whatever trance she had been in, blinking. "Better, but still tingly."

I studied her for some time. "Follow me."

I turned, not waiting to see the expression was on her face. I left the chamber for an inner room. I never thought I'd do this-bring in another person here. This was my sanctuary. A place I got my shit together.

Olivia remained at the threshold, gaping, probably thinking: What a dumb place this is. Her gaze eventually landed on me, and she stepped in, stopping some feet away from me.

"Have a seat," I said, before turning to head for the safe-like compartment in the wall. I pulled it open and brought out a first aid kit.

I walked to where she sat. I didn't need anyone to tell me she was piercing my back with stares.

I pulled an ottoman and set the box on it. I chose to bend rather than crouch because the latter position would leave me disarmed, unable to rise up quickly and retreat should her scent hit me hard. Should the urge set in. In pored over the content of the box and picked up a lotion.

"You're interested in science. Am I right?" I asked her, still not looking at her face.

"What?"

I stood erect, handing her the lotion. "Vet it. You likely suffered from an allergy."

With a confused expression, she collected the lotion. Her gaze left me and landed on the object.

"I don't get what you're saying."

"Never m-"

"Ow." She slapped her back. "F**k."

I frowned. She had begun scratching herself vigorously.

"Olivia."

I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Could you call a doctor or...f**k!" She leapt from the chair, and began scurrying to the door. I held her back. She glared at me, lips set to spill out expletives. But I beat her to it. "Take your towel off."

"What?"

"Come on, this way " I nodded towards the bathroom at the other end of the room.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Why do you sexualise everything?" Here came a signature gasp. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "There's a bathroom in there, in case you're wondering. You clearly need a shower." She made to speak, but I cut her short. "Come on, you don't have all day."

She eyed me before finally yielding. We stopped at the door leading to the bathroom.

"A cold bath would help-"

"And you think I haven't done that?"

"But you decided to come looking for me."

She made to speak.

"Go shower, Olivia. Have the bath," I said. There's a towel on the rack. Make use of it."

She started at me.

"It hasn't been used before." I said, then hesitated a while before turning the other way to leave. A frown on my face as I made it back to the room. What could be the problem?

I considered calling the doctor, but brushed it aside. I had to be sure Olivia was fine before I did any other thing.

So, I sat and waited. Waited till I began to get this phantom pain for sitting too llong. Wondering why she hadn't come out, I went for the bathroom.

I knocked. "Olivia? Olivia."

Then I waited. There wasn't a sound coming from the bathroom. The shower wasn't on. I made to knock again, but the door opened before I could do so. And before I could react, she said, "Call the doctor, Matteo. It won't stop!" The urgency in her voice drove away the image of her naked body from my mind.