Take Me Away novel Chapter 46

Fiona, Ryan, and the rest of the group entered Le Bar and occupied a vacant booth. While waiting for their drinks to arrive, Sophia and Ella went to the dance floor, followed by Sam.

Only Ryan, Fiona, and Leona were left in their seats.

There was curiosity in her eyes as Fiona scanned the bar's interior. She observed the men and women dancing, the lively music, and the flickering lights.

"Enjoy your drinks," the waiter said as he placed their orders on the table.

"Thank you," Ryan said. He reached for a glass of juice and traded it with the wine in front of Fiona.

She took a few sips of juice before declaring, "I think... I should go dance, too." She was nowhere close to being a good dancer, but she thought that she could at least copy Sophia's moves.

"Don't go." Ryan grabbed her hand as soon as she stood up. He was not unaware of the men in the room who had taken notice of Fiona's good looks. He tightened his grip as he thought about their ill intent. "If you really want to dance, I'll go with you," he said protectively.

Fiona's face immediately turned scarlet. "Please let go of my hand, Ryan."

"Someone will try to hook up with you if you go alone." He slowly released his hold on her arm. "I'm just worried about you."

Right across him, pain stirred in Leona's heart when she heard Ryan expressed his concern for Fiona. Standing up, she excused herself, "I'll go to the restroom." With that, she left quickly without giving them so much as a second look.

"Hey! Leona!" Fiona called out after her. But before she could follow her, Ryan grabbed her hand again. "I'm worried about Leona," she exclaimed.

Ryan cast a glance at Leona before looking away. There was seriousness in his voice when he said, "I used to be nice to everyone, you know. But all of that's changed since I met you. Now, I no longer care about others. I just want to look after you."

"Ryan..." Fiona called out with a frown. "Are you drunk?"

Ryan laughed at himself. "I guess I must be."

Leona had rushed to the restroom with her head kept low that she bumped into a woman standing by the door. "Ouch! What are you running from? Is someone trying to kill you?"

Looking up, Leona saw the face of a woman wearing heavy makeup. "Cathy! I'm so sorry..."

"Huh? You know who I am?" It seemed as if the woman had one drink too many. She stared at Leona for a while before breaking into an audible gasp. "Oh, Leona! It's you! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you without makeup. I thought you said earlier that you weren't coming to work."

"I... I came here to enjoy myself. Definitely not for work." Leona anxiously bit her lip. She tried to look around, cautious about being seen. 'I should've just apologized and left. Why did I have to greet her?' she thought.

"Enjoy yourself?" Cathy gave her a wicked grin as she reached into her bag for what looked like a pack of white stuff. "Are you here with a man? This will help you."

"No, no, no!" Leona quickly waved Cathy's hand away. "Please, I don't want it."

"Oh, you don't have to be so polite with me!" Cathy deposited the package into Leona's hand before turning to leave. "See you later, Leona! Someone's waiting for me. I have to go!"

"Cathy!" Seeing that Cathy was about to fall, Leona hurried to help her. But Cathy leaned against the wall and left staggering. When Cathy had gone, Leona examined the thing she was holding, after which she tightly clenched her hands.

Down at the hall, Terence was about to leave the bar with Gary.

"I'm sorry, Gary," Terence calmly said. "I'll be very busy working on a new project with the company. I won't be able to come here for a while."

"It's fine. There's nothing to worry about," the man replied.

"Thank you, Gary." But as he said this, Terence's eyes were focused on something else. He squinted as he looked at the two people sitting at one of the booths. Recognizing that it was Fiona with another guy, he asked out loud, "Did they come here alone?"

Gary followed Terence's gaze and immediately recognized who he was referring to. "They came here in a group of four men and four women. One of the girls works part-time here. Her name's Leona Lin."

Terence smiled at Gary. "What a good memory you have! I won't be surprised if you know every customer who comes here."

"You give me too much credit. I just work long hours that it's impossible to not recognize people you've seen more than twice."

"Gary, can you watch over these people for me?" Terence asked as his smile faded into a thin straight line. "Especially that girl in the booth. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Sure."

Terence was staring at Fiona all the way to the door, until the ringing of his phone diverted his attention. He waved at Gary before he stepped out and answered the call. Gary only nodded as he watched him go.

Upon seeing the caller ID, Terence was smiling when he answered, "Hello?"

"Why do you sound like you're laughing?" It was Spencer's annoyed voice on the other end of the line.

"I see you have a pair of good ears," Terence answered. "Are you done with your task? That was quick!"

"We managed to save everyone. It was a successful mission, but the investigation is still ongoing." Spencer placed a hand over his forehead. "My father told me that I cannot delay the wedding any longer. I had to come back."

Terence raised his eyebrows. "Are you here already at M City?"

"Not yet. But I'm already on my way. I'll be there in a couple of hours or so. I called you as soon as I got my phone," Spencer replied.

"I must be important then. I feel honored," Terence joked. "You have something to tell me, right?"

"You know it!" Spencer chuckled before his face turned stern. "I need your help in looking up this new organization. They go by the code name X. Let me know if you find anything. I'll be very busy with the wedding as soon as I get home. Damn it! Even the higher ups agreed with Grandpa. They were satisfied with the rescue and don't want me to get involved in other matters to focus on my wedding. Everything depends on you now."

"Well, what do I get in return?" Terence asked with a snort

"Won't you help me if there's nothing in it for you?" Spencer retorted.

"As a businessman, I always check the offer first before I take on any job."

"Fine, fine! I'll steal one of Grandpa's antique vases for you when I get back."

Terence laughed out loud. "Then what would you give me if I have information on..." He quickly caught himself before he finished his sentence. 'Would he get mad if I told him that Fiona's here with another guy?' he wondered.

"What's wrong? What information are you talking about?" Spencer asked excitedly. "You're always in on the latest news. What happened this time?"

"It's nothing. Forget it," Terence blurted.

"What? It's not like you to withhold details. Did something happen?" Spencer pressed.

Inside the bar, Sophia was so thrilled about dancing that she rushed to drag Fiona to the dance floor. Ryan scowled when he saw this and instantly stood up to follow.

Terence watched all of this and sighed. "Fiona's at Le Bar." Without waiting for Spencer's reply, he added, "Don't worry. I'm keeping my eye on her."

"Why is she there?" Spencer shouted. His voice was so loud that Spencer pulled the phone away from his ear. "Why are you so agitated?"

"Doesn't she know what time it is? The nerve on that woman!" Spencer sounded livid. "Send her back now, Terence! How dare she go out without my permission! Who is she with? What is she doing now?"

"Are you worried about her?" Terence asked sharply. It seemed as if the question surprised Spencer who suddenly went quiet.