Playing Lily

Chapter2

Bella

What day was it?

I couldn’t tell from the pounding in my head. My surroundings kept swimming in and out of focus but the strong scent of tobacco always kept me grounded.

My limbs felt foreign to me, my fingertips numb, my throat raw… my pulse pounding way too fast. That’s how they kept us docile. Better for the clients too, they said.

Bile rose up my throat but I was too weak to even swallow.

Shit.

Was this how my life would go? Maybe they’ll get tired of me. Maybe I’ll grow too old for their liking… eventually. A tired sigh escaped me as I let my body sink into the couch.

I’d heard the handler before he slipped out. A commissioner this time was my client. How long has it been?

The sounds from behind the curtains were slow, muffled. Laughter. Shouting. Another dreadful day. And just as my eyes drifted close again, the curtains shoved open.

I stiffened.

Not because I was certain I was hallucinating. Even with my blurred vision, I could make out the silhouette of a man. The top of his head almost touched the ceiling, his dark clothing making him look like the grim reaper.

No.

It wasn’t even because of the way he smelled. Like nothing.

Doing this as long as I have, the only thing that sticks to you is smell and this man… he had none. Just clean laundry.

I froze because of the gun he was gripping onto like he was contemplating whether he should kill me. Was it finally my time? This clearly wasn’t a senator. Did the handler send him in here to finish me off?

A sorry whimper escaped me before I could stop it. I hated it. I’d played this moment over and over again. I made a promise to myself to face death head on. But now it was really here, I couldn’t.

The man’s eyes narrowed on me, his fingers on the curtain tightening until his knuckles turned white.

A killer with a conscience. Good.

That meant he could be swayed if I begged hard enough.

It was a battle opening my mouth, my throat burned as I tried to form the words.

“P-“

His brows furrowed but that sharp look in his eyes didn’t falter. I swallowed hard and tried again.

“Don’t-“

I barely got the words out before the stranger’s head snapped back with a force. His jaw ticked. His hooded eyes darkened.

He stayed frozen.

I didn’t hesitate.

Come on, Bells. You can do this.

My muscles screamed in protest but I pushed myself upright. His head snapped back to me, his brows furrowing deeper. He didn’t move from the entrance. Didn’t panic. Almost like he was saying I couldn’t do anything.

That, for some reason made an emotion I’d been dead to for a long, long time spark in my chest. Rage.

I used every ounce of it to jam my knee right in the place where the sun didn’t shine. The giant toppled over with a strained grunt but I didn’t wait for the cuss to leave his lips, I forced my legs into the hallway.

I can’t believe that worked but I didn’t let my small victory simmer. My legs shook, my pulse hammered in my ears but I didn’t dare look back. I ran, using the mental map I’d made whenever they brought us blindfolded in here.

Two lefts. The exit is on the right.

I ran, and ran, ignoring the noise that was now slowly flooding in.

“Put them in the bag!”

“You too!”

“Please don’t hurt me!! I’ll pay you any-“

“Shut up-“

I didn’t care what was going on. A robbery. A heist. Hell, even if it was the damn apocalypse I still ran. I didn’t stop until the exit sign glowed at the end of the hall.

Freedom was just at the tip of my fingers. I reached for it and pushed. Relief slammed into me as the door that was usually always locked swung open.

My relief was quickly turned into ice when I stumbled outside, and right into a solid wall of muscles.

Pain exploded in my nose as I stumbled back.

“Seriously,” the man mumbled, his Glasses slipping to the bridge of his nose as he crouched without paying me any attention to pick up a cigarette that was still lit.

His sharp eyes shifted to me and the annoyance in them dissolved into something too close to shock.

I was the first to recover. I bolted or at least I tried before his giant hand wrapped around my twig for arms and yanked me back in place like a toddler.

I thrashed against his ironclad hold. “Let me- go! Let me go, you bastard!”

He did the opposite. His second hand closed around my other arm, keeping me in place.

Another gunshot rang out from inside the house. His gaze flicked back for half a second before coming back to me.

His green eyes searched mine and I could see a thousand things running through them.

Then he whispered, “Lily?”

I frowned, tugging at my arm. No use. “Wrong girl. Now, let me go.” Desperation was already slipping into my voice as my eyes flicked back. “Please…”

He clearly didn’t give two shits because he crouched down so he could meet my eyes, then scanned my face like it was some lost artifact.

This one’s a bit crazy. Got it.

No need to talk to him. So I slammed my feet on his.

He didn’t move. But his brows furrowed deeper.

“Not Lily.”

I scoffed. “No. I’m not. Now can you let me go? Preferably before I get dragged back in there?”

His dark laughter caught me by surprise. “You’re worried about the wrong thing, sunshine.”

Before my pulse could drop, the exit swung open. Three giants. All dressed in black with duffel bags slung over their shoulders. My gaze instinctively went to the one in the middle, the one from the red room.

God, they were here to finish me off.

Panic crawled up my throat, making it impossible to breathe. The ground beneath me swayed, the cool air only making my skin pebble and my stomach turn.

“Thirty seconds,”

The one holding me said, his tone suddenly serious. But he wasn’t talking to me, he was talking to the walking skyscrapers.

“You wasted thirty more minutes than planned.”

My breath hitched.

He was one of them.

The one in the middle met my gaze. “What are you doing?”

He certainly wasn’t talking to me.

Before glasses could answer, the one on the right jumped in. “Holy s**t. Is that-“

His words were caught by a punch to the gut. The middle one, Grouchy, punched him and kept walking like nothing had happened.

The others probably got the message because now they were all staring at me like I was an alien. Grouchy walked right past me like he didn’t just try to end my life a few minutes ago and hopped into a black SUV.

His hand paused on the handle of the door as his gaze flicked to glasses. “Leave her.”

Relief slammed into me so fast, my knees wobbled.

His hold on me loosened, enough for me to slip my arm away but I didn’t get two steps in before the fourth person blocked my path.

He hadn’t said a word.

“Alex…” the man in the car warned roughly.

“Please let me go.”

His eyes narrowed. “I can’t do that ma’am.”

My stomach dropped.

“You, my dear, are a witness to grand theft and all counts of robbery and murder.”

He said it like it was the most normal thing in the world as the others loaded the duffel bags into the trunk of the car. His gaze flicked to the one with glasses.

“And you’ve already seen his face.” Then he shoved the scarf covering his own face. “And now you’ve seen mine.” The tip of his lip lifted into a smile that could only be defined as crazy before slipping to the man in the car. “So I can’t let you leave.”