Chapter 2: A Strange Debt

The hotel room door swung open.

Three armed men stormed inside with their guns raised, their eyes sweeping across the room with deadly urgency. 

For a brief moment, Amber's entire body locked up. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she stared at the weapons pointed in her direction.

Oliver remained on top of her beneath the blanket, his body tense as steel. She could feel the heat radiating from him despite the blood soaking through his clothes. One wrong move from either of them and the room would become a battlefield.

The men stared at the two in bed.

Amber stared back.

Then anger exploded inside her.

She had spent the last several minutes being threatened, nearly killed, and forced into the most ridiculous situation of her life. Fear was still clawing at her chest, but somehow outrage won.

"Hey!" Amber thundered instantly, jerking up slightly as she turned to the door, furious. "Who the hell are you? Get out!"

The effect was immediate.

The armed men froze.

The leader's expression shifted from suspicion to embarrassment in the span of a second. His eyes darted from Amber to Oliver and then back again. The blanket covering them left little to the imagination.

One of the men awkwardly lowered his gun.

The second sighed.

The third looked like he regretted opening the door.

Without saying a word, they slowly lowered their weapons completely. The leader rubbed a hand over his face before making an apologetic gesture.

Then all three of them backed out of the room.

The door closed.

Amber remained frozen.

Then voices drifted through the door from the hallway.

"Seriously?" The leader of the gang said to the others outside the door. "Fucking in broad fucking daylight?"

The two others just shrugged.

"Alright, keep searching." The leader ordered.

"Copy that."

Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Only after the sounds disappeared completely did Amber finally release the breath she had been holding.

The room fell silent.

The danger was gone.

At least for now.

Slowly, Oliver pushed himself off her and stood from the bed. 

Amber immediately sat upright, pulling the blanket around herself despite being fully clothed underneath it.

Oliver picked up his torn shirt from the floor. The movement caused him to wince slightly, though he tried to hide it. Blood stained the fabric in several places, evidence of the bullets those men had mentioned earlier.

Amber watched him carefully.

This man had been shot three times.

Three times.

Yet he was still standing.

Still walking.

Still acting as though being hunted by armed men was merely an inconvenience.

Oliver slipped the shirt back on and began fastening the buttons one by one. The dangerous intensity that had filled the room moments ago was gone, replaced by a strange calmness.

When he finished dressing, he looked at her.

For the first time since entering the room, there was no threat in his eyes.

Only gratitude.

"Thank you." He said with a smile. "My apologies for barging in like that."

Amber stared at him.

She wasn't sure how to respond.The last few minutes had felt completely unreal.

One moment she had been preparing to return to New York.

The next, she was helping a wounded stranger escape assassination.

And now that stranger was thanking her as if they had simply met at a coffee shop.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Oliver moved closer to the bed again.

Amber instinctively stiffened.

He reached out and gently grabbed her chin.

The unexpected contact sent a jolt through her body.

Their eyes met.

Up close, his face was even more striking than she had first realized. There was a confidence about him that bordered on arrogance, yet somehow it suited him.

His gaze remained fixed on hers. "What’s your name by the way?"

Amber hesitated.

Every instinct told her not to reveal anything. But those eyes remained locked onto hers, waiting patiently.

"Amber." She muttered after a moment of hesitation.

A smile tugged at his lips.

"Amber?" He repeated with a chuckle, brushing her cheek gently. "That's boring for someone so hot."

Heat rushed unexpectedly into Amber's face.

She hated herself for reacting.

This man was a stranger.

A dangerous stranger. Yet his smile carried an effortless charm that was difficult to ignore.

For several seconds she found herself staring back at him.

Then a phone began ringing and the sound broke the strange tension immediately.

Oliver pulled the device from his pocket and answered.

"Boss, it's clear." Came the voice from the other side. "You can come out."

Amber's attention sharpened.

Whoever this man was, he clearly wasn't operating alone.

Oliver ended the call and slipped the phone away before turning back toward her.

His expression softened slightly.

"You saved my life." He said. "Let me repay you. Wait for me at Grand Central tomorrow."

Amber said nothing.

Her mind was still trying to process everything that had happened.

Grand Central?

Repay her?

She had far bigger problems waiting for her in New York.

Oliver seemed unconcerned by her silence. He simply turned and walked toward the door.

When he reached it, he paused and glanced back over his shoulder.

His smile returned.

"See you around, princess." He said with a smile.

The door closed behind him.

Silence settled over the room once more.

Amber stared at the door for several seconds. Then suddenly she sprang into action.

The moment she was sure Oliver was gone, she shoved her hand beneath the pillow.

A grin spread across her face.

Her fingers wrapped around cold metal.

She pulled the weapon free and held it up beneath the room's light.

The handgun gleamed beautifully.

Amber examined it with growing admiration.

"A 9mm Browning." She muttered, holding up the gun. "Limited edition."

Her eyes widened slightly.

Even she knew how valuable something like this was.

This wasn't an ordinary weapon. It was the kind of firearm collectors dreamed of owning.

She released a breath.

"You can't even buy one of these on the black market."

She looked forward to the door, nodding and smiling. "I saved you and stole your gun. Consider your debt paid."