Playing Lily

Chapter3

Bella

The steady hum of the engine was enough to make me lose my sanity.

I’d fought. Hard. But what could I do against four giants? Yes, the effect of the drugs in my system was almost gone now but I had a feeling even a gun couldn’t stop them.

So here I was, squished between glasses and the youngest from what I had gathered from their non-stop bickering. Alex and Grouchy were in front but every so often, Grouchy’s eyes would flicker to the rearview, like he was checking if I was still here.

No s**t Sherlock.

Even without restraints, I couldn’t escape. Not right now. I just couldn’t believe my freedom was a total of five seconds.

Then the thought I’d been fighting since they dragged me into their van surfaced.

What if they were worse?

Would they sell me?

My pulse skipped.

Keep me?

My stomach began to turn at the thought and it didn’t help that Glasses shuffled beside me, rummaging through his pockets like he was searching for Aladdin’s lamp.

“Stop moving, C,” Mikey complained, shuffling until his sides dug into my rib. “It’s cramped enough.”

C ignored him and went on with his search until he pulled out a chocolate bar. My stomach rumbled. Loud.

All their eyes snapped to me. Even grouchy narrowed his brows at me but I couldn’t tell what was going on through his head.

“What are you guys planning on doing with me?” I asked, cutting through the silence. “You can let me go.”

“Nope.” Alex said without looking back.

“Really,” I pressed. “I won’t tell anyone what I saw. Better yet, I was never there.”

“They bought you.” Grouchy finally spoke, his grip on the steering tightened. “They’ll know if you were missing.”

My heart sank but I tried again. “I won’t tell them I saw your faces. I’ll tell them I passed out. They drug us so it’s-“

The car came to a violent stop, the sound of the tires screeching against asphalt cutting through the air. My body lurched forward but before I could collide with anything, a hand softened the impact.

My heart thudded. My head snapped up.

C gave me a crooked smile before retracting his hand.

“What the f**k was that, Elijah?” Alex snapped, as he held his nose. “You trying to get us killed?”

“Thought I saw something,” he mumbled before a muscle in his jaw ticked.

“Since when do you stop for stray dogs?” The youngest asked.

The engine roared to life again. Elijah threw the youngest a glare. “Since you still had a mouth to yap on, Mikey.”

Mikey shut his mouth, pretending to stare at something outside the window. C chuckled under his breath, the sound making unease crawl up my spine.

Was it some kind of inside joke?

Before I could try to plead for my freedom again, a sharp sound cracked through the air. Then the screams of people on the streets broke loose.

Alex cursed under his breath.

The sound of the gunshot was still vibrating through my entire body when Elijah floored on the accelerator. The car jerked forward and zoomed off.

My head snapped to the window behind me.

Two black cars were already hot on our trail.

They were after them. No. Us.

Christ.

This couldn’t be happening.

Another gunshot cracked through the night air.

Yep. Definitely happened.

My captors didn’t share my panic. If anything, they all fell silent. The only sound that filled the car was the clicking of guns and in an instant, the windows rolled down.

My pulse skipped.

“What are you-“

Both C and Mikey released fire. The sound rattled my brain and instinctively, I crouched low enough that I and the leather seats were pretty much one.

A scream left my lips as glass shattered, the pieces raining down on my back. I didn’t dare lift my head. Even as the shots went on and the car swayed from left to right.

Someone laughed. Mikey. Maybe Alex. I couldn’t tell anymore.

Oh God I was going to die.

It went on for minutes but felt like hours and eventually, the shots died down, low enough that the stutter of the engine cut through the air.

We were rolling to a stop. I could feel them sitting back down. But still I didn’t move. When a good minute passed, Alex sighed.

“You can get up now.”

I peeked up to find C staring at me from under his glasses with a wide smile. “She’s scared.”

“She should be.”

Elijah’s tone was enough to make me sit up even as my heart hammered against my chest. I sank into the space between C and Mikey, ignoring the way C leaned into me.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered so only I could hear.

I was about to snap at him but the look in his eyes made the words die down my throat. It almost looked like worry. I frowned, tearing my gaze away.

They kidnapped me and are taking me to god knows where. They’re bad guys.

When the engine finally idled, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was so busy expecting a bullet to find me that I hadn’t even noticed Elijah had pulled into a private estate. Trees as far as my eyes could see and at the center of it, a literal castle.

Now I’d seen my fair share of wealthy men but this?

I turned to Mikey before he could step out. “Is this…” I trailed off.

He gave me a knowing smile. “Home sweet home.”