I glanced down to see my hands bounded by grey tape. More confused than shocked, I cocked my head to the side. Is this really happening to me or am I just dreaming? It didn’t take me long to realize that the same tape that bound my hands together also bound my feet together. In my shock, my first reaction was to scream and struggle against my restraint. It hurts every time I try to separate my hands and feet. In the end, I couldn’t free myself and I felt stupid for thinking that it would be an easy feat to achieve. Where am I? Where is Hayden?I had no idea where I was and looking around only confirmed my initial thought. Where is this place?The place was extremely large and resembled a warehouse of some kind although there wasn’t a lot of boxes stored there. The warehouse had a high ceiling and was pretty much empty. Whoever brought me here had dumped me right at the center of the warehouse. It was cold. I didn’t have a lot of clothes on. More precisely I only have a white robe o
Luka quickly stepped in to restrain Hayden immediately while one of Ethan’s men stepped in between Hayden and his boss before anything physically abusing could happened between the two men. Ethan continued blinking a few more times as he stared at Hayden’s distressed and angry face. “Where is who?” Ethan asked with a confused expression on his face. “Don’t pretend that you know nothing about this, Ethan. Where…is…she?” Hayden asked in a low growl as he glared sharply at Ethan. “This place isn’t a lost and found. Consider your position carefully, Hayden Torex. Go back home to your daddy and I will not take offense this time,” Ethan spat. “Ethan…” Hayden growled as he glared at Ethan. “What?” Ethan asked as his eyes narrowed. There was a suffocating silence as the two men stared in each other eyes as if they thought that they could find whatever answers to their questions there. “Malissa…is missing…” Hayden confessed softly after breaking their eye contact. Ethan’s composed face
Who captured me and why? They’re not going to hurt me…are they?Suddenly, I started worrying less and less about the wedding and I started worrying more about the short-term future of my life and my safety. To my surprise, I found that I was less panicked than I thought that I would be. I couldn’t hear anything or anyone and that made me feel like I must really be all alone in the warehouse. If I wait here patiently enough, Hayden will come and save me. That was what I told myself over and over again as I rubbed my hands together to keep them warm. Rubbing my hands together seemed to be the only way to slowly loosen the tape around my wrist as well. It’s so cold in here and it was making me feel very sleepy and tired. I need to conserve my energy or I’m going to pass out. Closing my eyes, I continued to rub my hands and wrist together while I tried my best to stay calm. To keep myself from going crazy, I tried to think of Hayden. I was sure that he was looking for me right now and s
Slowly, the old man stood up from his seat and approached Ethan. He reached a hand and placed it firmly on Ethan’s shoulder before leaning in to speak closer to Ethan. “The price of her freedom might be expensive but I’m willing to pay it. Twice. From now on, let her choose what and who she wants to be…” the old man whispered before he nodded his head firmly. Ethan’s eyes stared deeply into the Boss’s eyes, and he was forced to understand why this old man here was Jack’s best friend. …The growling sound of my stomach told me that a lot of time had passed since I last ate. It must have been around a day now since I’ve been thrown in here. It was cold, I was sleepy, and I was feeling very hungry. Am I going to die from starvation? My throat felt dry, and I was starting to feel dizzy. Maybe, I’m going to die from dehydration first. Suddenly, there was a sound of metal rubbing or hitting against metal and I quickly realized that it came from right outside the door. Someone is here!
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be rescued anymore. If whoever came to rescue me had to go through them, then…“Grab the girl,” the man who appeared to be the leader of the group instructed curtly. “Come here, girl,” one of the men approached me.I yelped at the slight pain as his fingers dug into my arm before he basically yanked me up to my feet. It wasn’t easy for me to maintain my balance with my ankles bound together and I almost fell over. The man didn’t seem to care much for my welfare as he pulled on my arms and began dragging me to where the other men were gathered in the center of the warehouse. A few steps from where we started, the man realized that I couldn’t walk in the state that I was in and decided to half carry and half drag me instead. I whimpered as my feet were dragged roughly across the floor until we reached out destination. “Sit and stay still,” the man said as he shoved me down onto a wooden chair. “Tie her to the chair, quick. It’s almost time,
“Seems simple enough…” Hayden mumbled.Of course, he was worried about Malissa’s safety and nothing else. It would be enough for him if she would just make it out unharmed. “Just do as I say, Doc. You’re a doctor and I’m the real gangster here. You just make sure that Malissa is safe, ok?” Ethan said after summarizing his plans. “I will not thank you for this,” Hayden snapped. “I’m not doing this for you,” Ethan said without a care. …Now that the appointment time was almost upon them, the three men exchanged a few words of alignment before preparing their teams to perform their duties as planned. “Don’t die in there,” Luka reminded Hayden sternly. “I’ll get Malissa out,” Hayden replied with certainty.“I know that. I’m reminding you to get yourself out too,” Luka reminded Hayden again. Hayden just nodded his head a little, clearly his mind was focused on anything but his own safety. A frown formed on Luka’s brows before the older man reached out his hand and pulled on Hayden’s
“The money first,” the leader countered. “Fine. But you untie her from the chair, and I get to check that she’s unharmed first,” Hayden negotiated. “Fine. But just you, and you can untie her yourself. None of you move…” the leader agreed but with a lot of caution. As if he already knew what was expected, Hayden slowly lifted his hands up above his head. The leader nodded and two men approached Hayden and began patting him down probably to check for hidden weapons. What is he thinking? I’m fine, although I couldn’t tell him that. Sure, it was a struggle being tied up and left alone in the warehouse, but my life wasn’t in danger and none of my injuries were anything serious. I thought all of that, but I had no way to communicate any of that to Hayden. He must be so worried about me. I blinked my eyes rapidly to keep my tears at bay. This isn’t the time for you to start crying like a mad woman, Malissa!Hayden’s eyes met mine and to my utmost surprised he smiled at me as the men cont
“Yes, she seems fine. We will proceed with the exchange now,” Hayden stated flatly as he waved his hand slowly for his men to approach with the money. What happens now? “Can you stand?” Hayden asked softly. I didn’t think that I could, so I shook my head at him helplessly. The truth was, even if I could stand up, I couldn’t walk which made me a huge burden. My freedom was just on the other side where Hayden’s men were, but it seemed so far away and impossible to reach with my feet taped together like this. “Move away from her, Torex,” the leader commanded coldly. Suddenly, all guns were drawn and pointed in Hayden’s direction. My head felt light, and I truly thought that I was going to faint just from the sight. This can’t be happening. One sign of aggression only led automatically to another as all of Hayden’s men drew their guns and pointed it at the enemies. I started praying and I didn’t even know what exactly I was praying for. Please…don’t shoot?“I propose a hostage excha