Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (book recommendations .TXT) 📗

he felt much better. But he still had a constant fear that his stalker was following him.

The phone kept ringing and ringing. There was no answer. Maybe she's out, he thought. He did think about calling her mobile, but he didn't want to bother her. He could always wait until he got home. Jack carried on with his work.

Minutes passed before another headache attacked. This time the pain was worse than the last. He opened his desk drawer and removed a packet of paracetamol and scouted his office for anything that could help him swallow them. The only thing he found was a cup of coffee which had been sat on his desk all morning. It was stone cold and made him gag while trying to swallow it.

He glanced out of his window to see a man staring at him. It was the man from the other night. The man with the disfigured face was just staring right through him like he was looking into his soul.

Jack kept rubbing his head. The pain was unbearable, but that didn't remove his focus from the man staring at him. Jack opened the window to feel the crisp breeze upon his face.

'What do you want?' he bellowed out the window.

The man just stood there, staring directly at him. His focus never wandered. Jack began to get goosebumps as the man smiled at him. It wasn't just any smile, it was the type of smile a sociopath would give. He enjoyed scaring Jack, and it showed.

Jack closed the window and shut his blinds. The man freaked him out. Why is he following me? What does he want? It chilled him to the bone. Do I call the police? He peered out of the blinds before making a decision, but the man was gone and so was his headache.

Barnes was starving. He'd been hanging for over twenty-four hours without any food or drink. Blood dribbled downward from his chest and wrists. Lily sat watching him, playing with the knife in her hands.

'Any chance of some food? Maybe something to drink?' he asked.

'Yes, when you give me some answers,' she replied.

Barnes chuckled. 'I'm going to give you a poor review. The service here is shocking,' he joked.

Lily smirked before rising to her feet. 'Do you think this is funny?'

'Well, I've got to lighten up a bad situation.'

'Just tell me where the damn diamonds are? I'm losing my patience with you Barnes!' she shouted.

'As I've said, I don't know anything about any diamonds.'

Lily sighed and walked off into a small, rundown office inside the warehouse. Barnes could hear whispers as if there was more than just himself and Lily in the building. He tried to listen carefully, but it was no good. They were too far away for his prying ears to hear.

Barnes looked around for anything that could help him cut himself down. The only items he could see that were of any use were those on Lily's metal tray. If only I could reach.

He swung his entire body in a rocking motion so the rope that was holding him up, would swing his feet closer to the tray. He had to be very careful, as one wrong move would alert Lily. The last thing he wanted was to knock the tray and its entire contents on the floor. Here goes nothing, he said to himself.

Just as he began to swing his body, Lily and another man exited the office and made their way towards Barnes. Lily's eyes immediately caught sight of Barnes' body swinging towards the tray.

'What do you think you're doing?' she shouted.

The estranged man stood beside her. It was the same man who helped her kidnap him from the cemetery. He stood tall frowning at Barnes with a vicious and terrifying expression.

Before Barnes could even open his mouth to lie about what he was doing, the mysterious man smashed his brick of a fist, straight into Barnes' ribs. A cracking sound echoed across the warehouse as the man’s fist made contact with him.

Barnes let out a roar, swinging his head back. The pain was excruciating. The man's expression didn't change. There was no look of joy, or any other kind of emotion, other than anger. Barnes had no idea who this man was, or why he was assisting Lily. All he wanted was to just get the hell out of there as quickly as he could.

'Are you going to talk now?' Lily asked him.

Barnes swallowed his pain. 'I don't know what else you want me to say,' he replied.

'Very well. Just remember, I take no pleasure in this,' she smiled, knowing full well he knew she enjoyed every minute of her revenge.

Barnes let out a slight chuckle before the man ploughed his fist into the other-side of Barnes' ribs. Lily wanted the man dead, but she needed to know where he put the diamonds beforehand. Barnes knew the only way he'd get out of that warehouse alive, was by keeping that information from her.

Barnes coughed up blood and spat it on the floor before the man smashed his other fist into his chest, making Barnes throw up more blood. The remainder dribbled from his bottom lip, landing one drip at a time on the pool of blood below his feet.

'You don't have to do this, you know,' Barnes told the quiet but aggressive man.

'You'd better start talking then,' he replied with a forceful demand.

'Oh shit, he does speak,' Barnes joked at the man. 'So what do you want to talk about?' he continued joking around.

'Don't get funny, old man.' He had a strong London accent and was very well dressed and clean-shaven. Not the usual rough brute. 'Now are you going to give me that information, or are we going to have to get even more physical?'

'Ooh, that