chapter 4

LIA

"Pack what you can. We are leaving now."

"Excuse me?" I furrow my eyebrows, confused at who this mysterios man is and the nonsense he is spitting. "I really appreciate your intervention but you can't just barge in and tell me my father." Whom I haven't spoken to in many years. "—was involved in an accident and order me to follow you to god knows where." Yes, with the tone of his voice, he is borderline authoritative.

"We don't have time for this." He growls, his voice licking my face. My nose catches a whiff of mint in his breath.

My hands cross over my chest. "And I'm supposed to just take your word for it?" I say, slightly intimidated by how he is towering over me like a mountain. To be frank, he is a mountain. His black t-shirt stretches taut across his sculpted chest, while his cargo pants cling to his trim waist like nobody's business.

He shoves a phone into my face.

I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth in shock. It is a scene of an accident with a headline of my father's face.

"Now, do as I say." He says.

"I can go to New York myself—"

The words die on my lips as the deafening sound of gunfire erupts with bullets spraying above me like rain.

Before I can comprehend what is happening, I'm pulled down behind an overturned couch. The stranger's hardened expression inches away from mine.

"You should have listened to me." He whispers shouts and I hear the frustration loud and clear in his voice.

My heart races as I try to process what is going on. Terror tightens around me me with an iron-clad grip.

The deafening sound continues before it stops, leaving behind an abrupt silence punctuated by the the frantic beat of my heart.

Still reeling in shock, the stranger suddenly grabs my wrist, dragging me across the room toward the window.

Questions beg to be released from my mouth but I'm in too much shock to form any words.

I must have unconsciously lifted my head because his growl scrapes my ears. "Head down, Heiress."

When we get to the window, I'm practically trembling like a fish.

"Did you trust me?" He asks, pushing open the window with one hand, his other hand holds me tightly.

"What?" I answer, dazed and disoriented.

"Good." That is all he says before the world turns upside down and I'm falling.

The handsome stranger just pushed me out of the window and now, I'm falling. The two-story building drops happen in a terrifying blur. I plummet through the air like a weightless feather, a scream tearing through my throat. My arms flail uselessly as the wind slaps harshly against my face.

With a groan, I crash into a pile of something that felt...soft?

An awful stench assaults my nose before I slip down onto the hard floor. I wince in pain.

I'm heaving on the floor, my eyes fixed on a gray sky cloud above me with a void, stunned mind. The near-death experience has rendered my brain mute.

Moments pass, and nothing—.

Suddenly, I'm effortlessly being pulled to my feet.

I frown as he starts dragging me across the road. My offline brain finally jolts back to life. "What the hell is going on? Couldn't you at least tell me you were about to push me from a two-story building? I could have died." I have never had a close death experience before this and this incident makes me feel a twisting dread in my gut.

"You didn't." The stranger grumbles.

"But I—."

A yelp escapes my mouth as he shoves me into waiting a car, slamming the door against my unfinished words.

What the hell?

With my mouth agape, I watch as he rounds the car, fitting his muscular frame snugly into the driver's seat before he slams the door shut with a force that startles me.

"We don't have time for this." He says, climbing onto the road.

Twenty minutes later, he still hasn't answered any of my questions.

The car speeds past the "bye to Leavenworth" before I brace myself to ask another question.

All the questions I have asked so far in this never-ending drive have fallen on deaf ears of grumpy.

Yes, I intend on calling him that from now on because that is what he is.

"Where are we going?" "What's happening?" "Why were we shot at in the apartment?" "How's my father?" "Who are you?"

I have only gotten radio silence from him.

I would have been annoyed that he was blatantly ignoring me on a normal day. But I trying to wrap my head around the whirlwind of events that just unfolded. It's like I have entered an alternative reality or a blockbuster, action movie.

I can't stop thinking about my father too. I can only hope that he is okay. We may not have had the best relationship but I still love him in my own way.

A pint of regret grips me and I'm starting to rethink my decision to cut off my father years ago.

I slide a glance toward Grumpy, noticing the tight grip of his hands around the wheel as he tears down the road, breaking every traffic law. A line of dried blood stains the side of his jaw.

I force down the show of concern begging to release. "Can you tell me what's going on, now?" I ask with a shaky voice.

Unsurprisingly, he ignores me again.

With a frustrated huff, I turn away. What was I expecting from a man who pushed me off a two-story building? Just thinking about the fall sends shivers of fear down my spine.

My panic has now shot up to the roof and my fingers are fidgeting uncontrollably. My legs fold and unfold repeatedly over each other and I feel like I am about to explode due to the anxiety I'm feeling.

"Stop fidgeting," Grumpy's voice cut through the fog of my fear.

"I'm sorry. I—." I pull my lips in between my teeth to stop me. Why am I apologizing again?

"Worrying will not do anything. Be calm." He says it so flatly, as if we are discussing the weather, not racing toward a tragedy in the making.

I take my chances again and ask, "Can you tell me what's going on now? What about my father? Is he okay? What is the cause of the accident? What state is he in?" I lean towards him as I ask each question. "Is he alive?" My breath holds at the last question.

He let out a groan. No answers.

I blurt out, "What is wrong with you? Why won't you answer any of my questions?" My eyes widen, surprised by my words. I avert my gaze and watch through the window as the world moves past me in a blur. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just...worried sick."

Stop apologizing, LIA.

"Don't apologize," He says coldly, as if he couldn't care less. "I can't—." He cut himself short, his eyes moving to the rearview mirror. He clicks his tongue as he focuses his gaze back on the road and mutters a string of words beneath his breath. "That was quick."

"What is?" The word ends with a gasp as he sharply changes lanes. My curiosity piques and I tilt my head backward. I furrow my eyebrows, catching a glimpse of the two nondescript black cars. Unease prickles the back of my ears.

The car lurches violently as he slams on the brakes and takes a sharp turn. I rear forward with a gasp.

"What is going on?"

The words barely left my mouth before something huge hit the car from behind. The world goes white as I am thrown forward, my chest slamming into the dashboard.