ON HER TRAIL

**Dominic’s story**

Since the day Rebecca stormed out of my house, I haven’t seen her again. It was as if the earth had swallowed her. As Declan liked to play detective, he called me to the pub next to his clinic to give me some information he said he couldn’t tell me over the phone.
“What’s the rush, Declan? What can’t wait?” I asked with bated breath because I had arrived as quickly as he recommended.
“I won’t keep you long with the news. Rebecca’s in Bali with Logan.” I could barely breathe in when I heard it. I looked at Declan and somehow hoped he would tell me it was all a joke. But he was still silent, waiting for my reaction. Which wasn’t long in coming and it wasn’t pretty.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snarled loudly and just as loudly my fist hit the table. A few eyes turned in our direction.
“It’s just like you hear, Dominic. You know I have a good friend who does me favors now and then, and because you’re hurting so badly that Rebecca doesn’t show any signs...”
“Oh, yes, your detective friend” Probably I could have found her with the agency’s resources. But it was a personal problem and I couldn’t use it for private purposes. “Ok, got it, then we pack our bags and first thing tomorrow morning, Bali here we come!”
“Do you really want to go after her?”
“We’re going, because you’re coming with me,” I reminded him, sipping the last of my coffee and holding his gaze. “I assume you have more information, not just the location”
“You guess right, she’s staying at the Majestic Hotel, probably the most luxurious in the area and tomorrow night she and Logan are attending a party for a fashion show,” This news was coming like poisoned arrows and as much as I tried not to care or appear to be uncaring, I really wasn’t. It was affecting me.
“That’s it, no more talk. Pack a bag with the bare necessities and in an hour, I’ll meet back here. I’ll advance our departure for tonight”
“And the clinic?” He asked me bewildered by my unusual request for him, vital to me.
“You will find someone to replace you! You’re a smart guy.”
And because he had nothing more to convince me of, he walked away, leaving me with my thoughts. How could Rebecca do this to me? My wolf was restless again, and somehow, I had no way to calm him down. Everything was so confusing. I packed my bag and now waited for Logan. I also bought tickets to Bali at an exorbitant price, but it didn’t matter now. “You’re finally here. Everything’s ready. Let’s just go.” I giggled as soon as I saw him at my door. I didn’t even let him come inside.
“Why am I not surprised you got it done so quickly?”
Within an hour, we were at the airport, and in the shortest time, we were on the plane. The anxiety grew more and more intense as the hours passed and I got closer to her. Would I be able to contain myself when I had that so-called man in front of me? He didn’t know who he was dealing with.
As soon as I stepped onto Indonesian soil, I immediately felt myself boiling, and my nerves stretched to the breaking point. It was like I boiled in my own hatred. “Well, what do we do now?”
“We go find the Majestic Hotel and check in!” I replied, briefly looking at my watch. A few hours to go before the big party.
“You are crazy, my friend,” he whispered, like it was just for him. I did not have the slightest patience. Time seemed to stand absolutely still.
After checking in, we went to our rooms. The hotel was huge, so I couldn’t feel Rebecca. Especially since I hadn’t marked her. I was looking forward to it, but also with anger knowing that Rebecca would be in the company of that man. I didn’t think she was aware of the harm she was doing to me, nor did that ridiculous cartoon realize how much danger he was in around me.
It looked like the party was being held in the hotel reception room, but first it was going to be the fashion presentation. So, as soon as I had arranged the last details, I called Declan.
“Are you ready?” I asked him straight out.
“Yes, I’m ready. I’ll be right down”
As soon as I arrived, it surprised me at how many people were in the place. Some faces were familiar, others didn’t ring a bell. But probably most of them were from the fashion world. “How do you expect to see her in this sea of people?” Declan asked as he approached me.
“Even if I didn’t mark her, I feel something when she’s around, so stop worrying about me. I’ll find her.”
“Okay, if you say so...”
After shutting my friend up, I took him to the nearby bar and ordered a drink. It didn’t take long, and I saw her, the most beautiful of them all, my Rebecca. Before making eye contact with her, I wanted to contemplate the most perfect creature the Mood Goddess created. The body of a deity which I knew like the back of my hand, and I explored every inch of it. I awakened every part of that perfect body to life.
She wore a nude dress that fit her every curve perfectly. Her breathtaking beauty mesmerized me. Her chocolate hair caressed her bare back. Every time she moved, her curls seemed to dance. I felt like I wanted to bury my face in her hair and inhale her full being.
Then again, she wasn’t alone. I expected Logan would be here, too, in her company. Watching him with my hawk eyes, I could see him a little too familiar with her. Or was it my imagination?
Her body heat was like a drug that intoxicated me. I tried in vain to resist the temptation to embrace her, to kiss her, to unleash all the passion that consumed me every day. I knew she felt the same way from the look in her eyes. They were hungry, full of lust. It was like he was trying to undress me with his intense gaze. I admired her for as long as I could until I lowered my eyes and stopped at her hands. Those soft hands that had awakened long dormant feelings in me, even if she was just defending herself. Sometimes I wondered how her hands would feel caressing me? That thought was getting me mad.
And when I felt her trembling in my arms, giving herself to me, I would experience chills I didn’t know I was capable of.
The parade had started, and Rebecca still hadn’t spotted me. I was watching her from afar, protecting her. She always had something to say to Logan, but it didn’t seem like they were intimate anymore. They acted more like co-workers.
“Something’s about to happen here, Declan. I’m sure of it.”
“What do you mean? Something to do with the agency? If they needed you, they would have called you Dominic.”
“You may be right and I might be paranoid, but instinct has never failed me. Anyway, after this parade, the party will follow.”
“And besides, you, see? There’s nothing going on between Rebecca and that man...” Declan continued in a low voice, hoping to change my mind and get us back into the rooms.
“Logan. And yes, I can see he’s respectful to her, but that means nothing.”
“You really are paranoid, then. But whatever. Let’s at least have a drink while we’re at the bar, eh?” For a few moments, I relaxed and ordered two whiskeys on the rocks. It was enough to take my eyes off Rebecca.
“You had to have whiskey? Rebecca’s gone!”
“What do you mean Rebecca’s gone?” Declan suddenly looked worried. I wish I had an explanation, but I didn’t. She was just by the catwalk and now she wasn’t.
“I mean, she’s out of my sight. Let’s go!” I nervously urged him because along with her was also missing that rascal, Logan.
Somehow my footsteps and her scent carried me to the back of the hotel, after I had concentrated hard on finding her. But no one was there. It was dark.
“Dominic, I don’t like this atmosphere at all...” Declan whispered, following me closely.
“I don’t like it either. Something’s going on here, I am telling you”
And because my sense of smell was very developed and Rebecca’s I couldn’t detect anymore, I felt many other scents mixed together and a lot of... fear.
In complete silence, I followed the smell and fear to a well-hidden antechamber. There, I felt my senses go haywire.
I looked around and noticed a few security guards and some more police, ensuring the smooth running of the event. I waved to a patrol. Three men approached discreetly. Just as subtly, I showed them my badge.
“Guys, something’s wrong here,” I whispered to them, almost giving nothing away. Declan had already moved back from us. The entire operation lasted a few tens of minutes, during which multiple security teams came in turns and took over several girls locked in that antechamber. One by one, and quietly they came out. Scared, beaten, dirty. They were all taken out, and the police assured me they would take them all to a safe place. The room got locked again, as it had been.
That smelled like human trafficking to me. But why had Rebecca lured me to this place?