Cecilia's PoV

. . .

Tires screeched rather loudly, as the car drifted to the right to avoid the truck coming in at full speed. He stopped the car by the road and looked at me.

"Are you okay, sis", he asked, worry glazing his eyes.

I was too shaken to reply, so I nodded slightly.

We both sat there for few minutes, trying to breathe normally.

Few minutes passed before he spoke up again.

"I'm sorry sis. I shouldn't have exclaimed that loud. I - I was just shocked."

I looked at him, and I could see him staring at his hands, his eyebrows knit together as if in deep thought.

"What was so shocking? I just said I'm going to Amsterdam. . ."

"Yeah, well, I don't think you know this but he is allegedly hiding there."

I froze for a second. Was that true?

"But bro, how can you be sure about it?"

He looked at me with stern eyes. "I have some reliable sources, who are keeping me in loop."

"Oh", was all I could mutter.

"Mhmm. So, why are you going to that city?"

"Well, umm, my boss is sending me there for a project. I met the client in the office today. Some Mr. Ludwig. He's a businessman and wants help to rebrand his business."

"That's all? Can't they handle it by keeping you here? Like what's the need to go there?"

"They said they didn't want any delay in communication. . ."

"Oh absolute bollocks! They can easily call or e-mail whatever the order is. What is the need to send you alone to a foreign land?!"

"You can come with me", I replied, remembering the conversation regarding an extra ticket.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah! They have an extra ticket for me, and they asked me to bring anyone along. Visas are taken care of. We just need to be there with our passports and luggage."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. . ."

"What the fu-"

"Language bro", I reprimanded him teasingly.

"We don't have enough time for this", he said while starting the engine.

"So. . . we are going to Amsterdam?", I asked him, smiling slightly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"We'll be fine, bro. Don't worry. We got each other, remember?"

"Yeah", he smiled gently, and patted my knee.

Soon we were heading home. On the way, we picked up two large pizzas because we needed time to pack and were too lazy to cook anything.

Once we were home, we started to pack the suitcases. I quickly slipped a text to my boss, informing him about my brother accompanying me. As soon as I got his reply in the affirmative, I went to the guest room.

"Bro, I need help in packing", I said non-chalantly.

"You're 24 for God's sake! You still need help with packing?"

"Well umm, usually Mel helps me with that but since she isn't here so. . ."

"Go to your room and pack whatever you can. I'll be there soon", he rolled his eyes.

"Okie dokie!", I yelled in fake excitement and left the room.

On the way, I glanced at the photo frame hanging above the mantel. It was a collage of pictures of mum, dad, bro and I. One particular picture caught my eye. It was a group photo, and everyone looked cheery, as if some joke had been shared before. I stood there silently and remembered the night that picture was clicked. I was around thirteen, and bro must have been twenty. We were ready to go to cousin Mike's wedding when dad decided to test the camera's timer mode.

'Dad, get the camera quick! We're late!', bro shouted.

'Yes yes, come help me set it up.'

Bro and dad set the camera up, while mum and I waited impatiently, giggling all the time.

Soon the camera was up and the timer set. Dad and bro hurried to come stand with us and both of them tripped. That's what made us all laugh before the timer went off and the camera snapped a picture. . .

"Sis, you okay?", he asked me gently while hugging me. I didn't realise that I had been silently sobbing.

I nodded slightly. "Sorry, just got distracted. . ."

"It's okay", he patted my back lightly.

"Bro, this time, nothing can stop me from killing that bastard!", I looked at him sternly.

"I know. I won't either."

"I hope we find him and punish him", I said, teary-eyed.

"I hope we don't. . . it's dangerous sis."

"I don't care. . ."

He hugged me tightly, and led me to my room. "Let's get your bags packed."

*

The next morning, we were at the airport, waiting for Mr. Ludwig. I hadn't slept at all, and neither had bro. My boss had e-mailed me the tickets and the boarding passes he got via web check-in, and had asked us to be at the airport in time. We both were sitting in the lounge, scrolling through our phones mindlessly. That's when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up, only to find Mr. Ludwig himself.

"Oh good morning Sir", I got up to shake his hands.

"Morning Ms. Bakers", he smiled gently. "So I gather this gentleman is your brother?"

"Yes sir, this is my brother James Bakers", I replied while signalling bro to stand up. He stood up lazily and shook hands. I rolled my eyes mentally. I knew he was still pissed about us having to go to that city.

"Nice to meet you both. Now, let's get started shall we?", Mr. Ludwig asked with a big smile.

We both nodded and smiled back. We followed him to the gate assigned at our leisurely pace. Soon enough we noticed that we were going in via the business class line.

"Damn. Business class travel? Oldie got money", bro snickered in my ear. I controlled myself from laughing at that and lightly nudged my elbow at him to shush. He smirked in return.

Within minutes, we were seated in the flight. I was stuck with the aisle seat, because my brother decided to grab the window seat first. Mr Ludwig sat on the other side of the aisle in the same row as mine. Curious about his company, I decided to ask him about it.

"So, umm, what is the name of your business?", I asked him while turning in my seat and leaning over a little.

"Oh we don't have a proper name as of now. You can recommend some", he replied with a wink.

What? This was so weird! Which business doesn't have a name?! I had a lot of work to do, it seemed.

"Oh, okay", I gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry, you'll have fun. We have a lot of young people like you working for us", he replied.

"That's good to know. Can't wait to start this new project."

"Me neither, child. Me neither. . .", he trailed off.

Awkward, I thought to myself. I turned to look out the window, but unfortunately I couldn't see anything except the runway. He knew how much I loved window seats yet still he decided to hog the seat up. I folded my arms and huffed loudly. My brother finally looked at me and smirked.

"What's bothering lil princess?"

"Gosh bro, you haven't used that name since I was ten!"

He chuckled. "I know, that's why I'm using it again, princess", he said after winking.

"Stop it bro, not like I have a prince charming waiting for me", I rolled my eyes.

"Why? What about that coffee guy?", he asked playfully.

"Oliver?", I asked, while blushing slightly. I had forgotten about him for a while since he left. God, I missed him. I knew it was crazy but I couldn't help it.

Bro snapped his fingers. "Report to earth, princess. Who is Oliver? You mentioned some other name that day."

"Oh, yeah. Umm, the coffee guy is actually Elliot. Oliver is that guy you met the other day, remember? Whom you nearly scared away", I replied sheepishly.

He nodded. 'Ouh, that guy. Why the blush? Are you hiding anything?", he frowned.

"No bro. It's nothing."

"Where did he disappear?"

"I don't know. He went out of town for some work", I sighed.

"So, you miss him?"

"Why would I miss him? I have only known him for couple of weeks", I replied, hiding my blushing face with a face towel.

"Sure", he replied. "Anyway, what did oldie say about our stay? Where are we staying?"

"Bro!", I whisper-shouted. "First of all, stop calling him oldie. Bad manners! Second of all, no I didn't. He said he'll tell us everything when we reach Amsterdam."

"Geez. Feels like we're being kidnapped", he rolled his eyes. I chuckled. Atleast he was in a good mood. For now, we decided to keep away the fact that we were going to the same city as him.

The flight then soon took off and we were up in the air. Few more hours, and a new journey would start.

Oh well. Amsterdam, here we come.

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