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We all walked to the front of the house and looked out the door. None of us were prepared for the absolute chaos that was about to unfold. Not only were the barn doors chained shut, but there were two men walking the perimeter with ski masks on. It was like a scene from a movie, and I blinked repeatedly, a feeling of dizziness taking over. Things were moving too quickly for me to process, and my eyes darted from the men to Juliet to the barn.
Juliet grabbed my hand, her eyes wide. Fidora seemed unfazed, and she scoffed. She turned to me and smiled. “Don’t worry, Miss La Roux. I’ll go see what the issue is.” She walked out the door before we could stop her.
“Nova, what is happening right now?” The color had drained from Juliet’s face, and she was gripping my hand like her life depended on it.
Fidora marched up to the men, about a hundred yards away. She waved her hands around her head, and you could make out her muffled yelling from where we stood. One man grabbed her by the upper arm, while the other undid the chain from the barn doors and pushed her in. When they closed the doors and put the chain back on, I took a step backwards, Juliet frozen in place. Three black vans came speeding up the road, gravel flying everywhere as they stopped in front of the barn.
“Juliet, get away from the door,” I whispered and tugged on her arm. She didn’t move; she was frozen in place. “Jules, we need to hide before they see us.” I yanked her back and shut the door. She had a dazed look in her eyes, and I grabbed her hand, racing down the hall into the kitchen. We squatted behind the kitchen island, our hands clammy as we gripped each other.
A server I had seen earlier carrying bottles of wine came running down the hall. When she saw us, her eyes widened. “Men are out there in ski masks. They grabbed Fidora!” She was so loud. I shook my head at her and held my finger to my lips.
“Shh, we don’t know how many are out there.” I dragged Juliet up from the ground. “We can go out through the back. I don’t think anyone is back there.”
“To hell with that. I’m hiding.” The server ran up the stairs, and I hesitated, wondering if that was the right thing to do.
“Nova, who are those people? What’s happening?” There was panic in Juliet’s voice, and I faced her, gripping her shoulders. I didn’t want her to know I was just as scared as she was.
“Calm down. I think we should run. There’s a car out back. Grams gave me the key.” My back tensed. Oh, no, Grams. Was she in the barn with them? What if something happened to her?No. Don’t panic. Focus. Get away, call the police, and everything will be fine. Everyone will be fine.I peeked through the blinds of the back door and saw her Mercedes. I didn’t see anyone else around. “OK, we’re going to run to the car. It’s fifty feet away, maximum. OK?”
Juliet nodded, her lips trembling.
“We’re OK, Jules.” My voice cracked, and I held my fingers up in our secret code. “We’re gonna be fine.” I pulled the key out of my garter and squeezed her hand. “When I open the door, we run. Get in the back seat and lie down.”
Adrenaline was rushing through my veins; there was no time to waste. I didn’t know who those people were. Were they here to hurt Ryzen? I gulped. Or hurt me? Had Cian sent them? There was no time to sit and wonder about what was happening. We had to move, and quickly.
I checked through the blinds again, and when I didn’t see any movement, I yanked the door open and we ran as fast as we could. The key was cutting into my hand as I gripped it, Juliet holding on to my other hand for dear life. I yanked on the door handle, the key falling out of my hand and going underneath the car. No, no, no. I got to my knees and peeked under, reaching for it, but it was too far away. I lay on my stomach and scooted under, the gravel ripping into my dress. I wrapped my fingers around it just as Juliet screamed like I had never heard before. The absolute terror in her voice made my stomach turn, but I had no time to react, because in an instant muscular hands wrapped around my ankles and tugged, the gravel digging into my stomach. Someone pulled me up and held me tight against their body.
I screamed and flailed around, trying to escape the vice grip they had me in. A hand came over my mouth and dragged me backwards as a white van pulled up. Juliet was yelling a few feet away from me and I turned, trying to reach for her, but I couldn’t. Something was put over my head, and I clawed at it, trying to rip it off.
Oh, God, don’t let me die like this.
The man holding me grunted and dropped me just as he was about to throw me in the van. My head banged against something hard, and warm liquid trailed down my cheek. I groaned and rolled on my side, Juliet still screaming my name.
There was a commotion all around me, but I couldn’t move or open my eyes, no matter how hard I tried. I had to get to Juliet. Make sure she was OK. And Grams. Police. We need the police. A man shouted, then groaned in agony, the sound of breaking bones echoing in my ears. Hands lifted me up, my head falling against a firm body as they cradled me in their arms. I murmured Juliet’s name, trying to reach out for her, but I couldn’t find her. And then I was lost in a sea of darkness.
********
I woke sometime later in an unfamiliar bed, wrapped in a cloud-like blanket. My head throbbed, and I reached up, my fingers grazing across a jagged cut on my forehead.
Juliet.
I sat up with a gasp, my chest heaving. There was a chill in the room, and I pulled the blanket tight against me as I tried to gather myself. It was pitch black, with only a flicker of light coming through a window. My pulse quickened, and I tried to control my breathing. Where was I? Where was Juliet? Confusion drowned my thoughts, the image of masked men making me tremble. My body tensed as I searched in the darkness, not able to make out anything.
The window. Maybe I could get out through the window. I slid the blanket off and pulled it right back on when I realized I was naked. Oh, God, was I in some pervert’s dungeon? Who would take my clothes off and leave me naked in a bed? My hands were clammy as I gripped it tight around me. I slid off the bed and tiptoed to the window, pushing the blinds apart. There was fog everywhere. I couldn’t see more than a few feet, but I could tell we were high off the ground somewhere.
“Close the blinds, Nova.”
I shrieked at the voice and turned, my back cold against the window. My breath escaped me as the cherry of a cigarette brightened up, a cloud of smoke blown in my direction. This was not happening right now. It couldn’t be. I tried to scream again, but only a whimper came out, my mouth completely dry. He put the cigarette out and came toward me.
Cian.
“What have you done? Where’s Juliet?” I pressed my back against the wall and moved to the side, every muscle in my body objecting.
“She’s fine. With Thora.” He snapped the blinds closed, and we were in utter darkness. My heart was beating so fast, I thought I might pass out. A moment later, he turned on a lamp, a soft glow filling the room. “You should rest more.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his eyes roaming over my body. His jaw clenched when he looked at the cut on my forehead, and my fingers instinctively reached up to touch it.
“You are safe now, Nova. I promise.” His lips were in a flat line as he gazed at me, and I wondered what he saw there. Fear, no doubt. Anger. Desperation.
“Did you kidnap us?” I was breathless, the throbbing in my head growing with every second.
