The truth
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Rayyan turned his face to the window, lost in thought, when a sudden realization hit him.
He hadn't even confirmed if he'd grabbed the right girl.
He turned to her again. "What's your name?"
Daphne snapped her head toward him, her eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"
"I have to," he said, placing a hand gently on hers.
She flinched, startled by the contact—but the look in his eyes wasn't playful. It was sharp. Focused.
"Daphne Catherine," she said cautiously.
Rayyan raised an eyebrow, studying her like a puzzle.
"You know anything about the Bureau?" he asked.
Daphne blinked. "The what now?"
"The Bureau," he repeated, his tone low, suspicious. "Do you have... powers?"
Daphne burst out laughing, confused and slightly nervous. "Excuse me? What powers?"
"Something's off," he muttered, staring hard at her. "I can't read you. The girl I was supposed to take—she was ordinary. But you... you're not ordinary, are you?"
Daphne instinctively leaned back as his hands gripped her shoulders. "What are you doing?!" Her voice trembled, half-fear, half-confusion.
Rayyan's eyes narrowed. "Why can't I read you...?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" she snapped. "Powers? Reading minds?! Who even are you?! What the hell is this?! You kidnapped me!"
Her voice echoed in the empty, abandoned stretch of land. But no one was around to hear her.
Rayyan sighed and turned away. "Stop talking."
"Help! Somebody help me!" she screamed again.
In a blink, Rayyan's hand was over her mouth. "Shout again," he whispered coldly, "and I'll show you just how dangerous I can be."
That shut her up. Her eyes filled with tears, but she said nothing more.
An hour passed.
The car finally pulled up to a wide, open field—cars lined up, a helicopter waiting nearby. Rayyan stepped out and walked around to Daphne's door.
"Out," he ordered.
Daphne shrank back. "W-What?"
"I said, get up and walk," he barked. "Straight."
"Please... don't. Just let me go," she begged, voice cracking.
Rayyan growled. "If you beg one more time, I swear I'll throw you over my shoulder."
"Please—" she didn't finish before he lifted her like she weighed nothing.
"Put me down! I'll walk! Just put me down!" she cried, pounding on his back with small, frantic fists. But Rayyan didn't flinch.
He carried her straight to the chopper, ignoring her struggles, and dropped her gently onto a seat.
Then he leaned in, their faces inches apart.
Daphne stopped breathing.
"W-What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Fastening your seatbelt."
He sat across from her, unfazed, while her heart pounded like a war drum in her chest.
"Where... where are we going?" she asked in a small voice.
"Heaven," Rayyan replied dryly.
"What?! Are you going to throw me out mid-air?!" she gasped.
He stared at her.
She shrank into her seat.
"Such a dummy," he mumbled under his breath, but something about the way he said it didn't feel cruel.
Daphne turned away, trying to calm her breath. Her heart was still racing, but it wasn't fear anymore.
Not entirely.
Thirty minutes into the flight, she turned to him.
"Hand me the tablet. And tell me the situation."
Rayyan blinked. "What?"
Daphne wiped her tears, her entire expression changing. Cold. Calm. Focused.
"No more drama. I'm done pretending. Give me the damn tab."
Rayyan handed it over slowly. "So... Dee, huh?"
"Yeah." She tapped quickly on the screen. "Now tell me what's going on, or I swear, I'll toss you off this helicopter and let wild dogs eat your fancy sunglasses."
Rayyan whistled. "Wow. I thought I kidnapped the wrong girl for a second."
"Start talking."
"As per your Thursday plan, the race setup went as scheduled, but… well, Kang found out."
"What?!"
"He somehow got wind of the bets. Now our cars, bikes—everything's been seized."
"You had one job, Rayyan. One."
"It's not my fault!" he shot back. "If it were up to me, I'd stab Kang 30 times and leave him bleeding on his precious law books."
"Stop being dramatic," Dee snapped.
"Stop disrespecting me—I'm not your butler!"
"Focus," she said sharply. "How many bikes?"
"Twenty."
"Personnel?"
"Twenty riders. No guards."
She narrowed her eyes. "Call Ayat. Tell her to split them into two groups and patch them through to me."
Within five minutes, Rayyan handed her a Bluetooth.
Dee's voice turned steel-cold. "Listen up, team."
"Yes, boss," came a chorus of voices.
"Call me Dee. And if anything happens to my bikes, I'll sell your kidneys to cover the repair costs."
Silence.
"Group one, take ten bikes and exit through the back route. Head to the Big Bang Mall. You'll see trucks. Load up and move to the drop-off Ayat gave you."
"Yes, Dee!"
"Group two, hold for instructions."
She ended the call and turned to Rayyan. "You know what to do."
"Trucks and hacking, on it."
While he got to work, Dee gave the next group their orders. Then she called Ayat.
"You okay?" Dee asked.
"Fine. But Dee... don't freak out."
"What now?"
"Your bike's here."
"Which one?"
"The Kawasaki Ninja H2."
A long pause.
Rayyan looked up—then flinched when Dee screamed.
"WHAT?!"
"Some VIP wanted a peek. You didn't answer last night."
"Fine," Dee muttered. "Can you watch it?"
"I'm the only one left here…"
"Are you serious right now?!"
"I'll guard it with my life," Ayat promised before hanging up.
Dee slammed the tablet down.
"You didn't tell me the H2 was left behind," she snapped.
"You didn't ask," Rayyan replied, biting back a smirk.
"You—! I swear—" Her rant was cut off by Rayyan's phone buzzing.
He glanced down. "Kang."
"Let me talk to him," Dee said.
"You've never done that before."
"Well, I've never let you kidnap me before either. Give me the phone."
Rayyan handed it over, eyebrows raised.
Dee took a breath and answered smoothly. "Hello, Mr. Kang."
"Whoa… is this the infamous mastermind I'm hearing?"
"Well, thank you for the flattery."
"Oh, I must be doing something right if you're calling to stop me."
"Wrong. I'm calling to warn you. Invading private property? Not a good look for a police officer."
"You think I'm scared?"
"No," Dee replied sweetly. "But maybe you should be."
Rayyan watched her, stunned. It was the first time he was truly seeing Dee—the real Dee. The one no one ever saw. And damn, was she captivating.
Her soft black hair shimmered under the chopper lights. Her eyes—light brown, fierce, glowing—could break a man or melt him.
Rayyan didn't know which was happening to him.
Dee caught him staring. "What?"
"Nothing." He quickly looked away.
She returned to the call.
"I'm coming to see you in person," she told Kang.
"You and Rayyan together? Now that's dangerous. Are you two—"
Dee cut him off. "That means nothing."
Rayyan's jaw clenched.
Kang laughed. "I'll be at the airport. I'll bring white tulips."
Dee blinked. "What? Are you… trying to flirt?"
Rayyan snatched the phone.
"She's not someone you flirt with," he growled. "And if you bring tulips, I'll bury them with your body."
He hung up.
Dee blinked. "I was still talking."
"You should watch it," Rayyan said darkly.
His tone wasn't advice. It was a warning.
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