AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I placed my sunglasses back on my face. I took advantage of the mirrored lenses to fully appreciate the woman Ms. Candy Hall had grown into. She was no longer the shy but beautiful girl I knew in high school. She’d matured into a goddess of light and beauty with curves a man should worship. This woman was everything I’d ever wanted but I knew she wasn’t for me. I was dark and ugly and would only corrupt everything light and innocence in her.
No, it was best if I only appreciated her from afar. She would star in every dream and fantasy. If she ever needed me, I would be her protector who resided in the shadows. The man who loved her so completely that he would rain chaos on the world to keep her safe and happy.
Chapter 3
Candy
It’d been a couple of weeks since I’d first seen Ezra aka Wrecker. Since then he’d been by to pick up Caleb multiple times. Each time though he barely looked me in the eye. In truth, he acted as if he couldn’t stand being anywhere near me. I knew he probably had a girlfriend who threw a hissy fit over our interaction. If she was so bothered by me as a teacher then she had issues. Ezra and I were nothing to each other. Never had been, never would be.
My thoughts turned sad and dark as loneliness filled me. It was a beautiful evening with a surprise hit of warmth in the air. I decided to enjoy the last of the year’s warmth and walk to the local diner for dinner. I held my purse close and I closed my eyes as I tilted my head back as a warm breeze caressed my skin. I took a deep cleansing breath before I smiled and continued walking the short distance to the diner.
Just as I was about to cross a street I was suddenly surrounded. There was an SUV in front of me, blocking the turn, and two more quickly blocked me from behind and the side. I looked around in a panic as I tried to figure out a way to escape whatever this was. My hesitation gave them just enough time for two guys to jump out of the SUV behind me. One of them grabbed me from behind, ripping my sweater as he pulled at me.
I screamed as he grabbed me. His grip was only on the sweater that was tearing. I didn’t look threatening so I knew he assumed he could easily manage me. I still held my purse close to my body and reached into it with one of my hands. With his grip still loose, I turned to face him, and promptly shot him in the face.
Before the guy hit the ground I was suddenly surrounded by even more guys. Two guys rushed me and slammed me into one of the SUVs. One of them put a gun to my head, which made me freeze. The other guy grabbed my gun.
"Hands where I can see them," the guy holding his gun on me growled. “Get in," he ordered, motioning to one of the SUVs. When I didn’t move fast enough, I was roughly thrown into the vehicle. My hands were zip-tied in front of me while the guy who held a gun on me said, "You try anything and you die." I nodded. I had no doubt he meant it. I was proud of myself for taking one of them out at the very least. They all got back in their vehicles and started driving.
Once we were moving, I appraised my situation. My father’s incessant training worked to a degree but I was overpowered. What I didn’t know was why I’d been grabbed. It surely had to do with my father. That was the only thing that made any sense. If they thought I’d be easy prey then they’d be right but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight until the bitter end.
I could tell that we were driving north but couldn’t tell where we were headed. I knew it wasn't going to be good. Despite my situation, I was still able to remain calm. I wasn't sure how but I wasn’t panicking. I never thought this would be how I met my end but I hoped it would be quick.
We eventually pulled into a parking garage of an older building. It was nondescript. It looked like every other building in the city. The garage was mostly empty, which likely meant the building was mostly abandoned.
They pulled me from the vehicle, ushering me to the elevator. We went up to the 5th floor. It looked like it was an office building in a previous life. They took us across the floor to a room on the opposite side of the floor as the elevator. I tried to take mental notes of our surroundings as we walked. If an opportunity to escape presented itself I wanted to be ready.
They opened the door to the room. It was empty besides the plain metal chair in the middle. They sat me down in that chair and cut the zip ties off my hands, only to zip-tie me to the chair instead. The men that had grabbed me walked out of the room, leaving me alone.
"Okay Candy, don’t panic. They’re likely trying to use you to get something out of Dad. If he cooperates we might get out of this with a few bruises. They will more than likely try to intimidate you. They may even torture you and try to break you. You are stronger than anyone knows. You’re not that shy scared little mouse from high school. You’re a strong woman who works with twenty-two kindergarteners every day. Take a deep breath, you can do this.”
I knew I sounded insane giving myself a pep talk but it helped. Instead of staring into a dark room and letting fears and doubts grow larger and larger in my mind, it was best to simply close my eyes and continue with my pep talk. I only really had one regret in my short life. That was that I hadn’t ever told Ezra how big my crush was on him, still to this day. If I could do things over again, I’d have made friends with him in high school. I found comfort in thoughts of Ezra as I let my mind think of what-ifs.
They left me alone for what seemed like forever. I found myself wondering how long it would take for my father to learn that I’d been taken. Did he already know? Did he feel guilty? Did he care at all? The sad truth was that I really didn’t know.
Hours continued to pass by until finally, the door to the room opened. I kept my mouth shut, now feeling nervous to see who was going to walk through the door. I fully expected some monster to walk in. Two of the guys that had grabbed me walked in and closed the door behind them. They didn't say a word, they simply leaned against a wall across the room and watched me.
One of them, a clear smirk on his face, stated, "So, the Sheriff’s daughter has nothing to say."
"What do you want with me?"
"We're just following orders. Our boss, though, is very interested in you," one of them answered with a laugh.
"Who's your boss?" I asked.
"Patience. You'll find out soon enough." With that, they both got up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.
I tried to keep the sense of panic away, closing my eyes and softly humming to myself. I hadn’t eaten in forever and my growling stomach kept me company as I just kept trying to pass the time. After what felt like hours, I heard voices outside the door.
The door opened once more. The two guys who were in the room with me earlier were followed by a Hispanic man in an expensive suit. The man walked toward me, his eyes appraising me. The look on his face was difficult to read. He looked happy, but he also looked angry. "You, my dear," he started as he ran a finger down the side of my face and my neck. I felt nauseous at his touch. “Are quite valuable. You will provide me with the revenge I desire as well as a bit of compensation for the money your father cost me.” His fingers were still running down my neck. He caught the zipper of my dress, unzipping it as far as it would go, which thankfully was only halfway down. He stood and stared at my bra for a moment like it was the first time he'd seen a woman's breasts.
"Is this your first time seeing a woman undressed? " I asked. I didn't expect him to slap me, but he did. Hard. My head jerked to the side with the impact of his hand. My lip throbbed as I tasted blood.
"You have a smart mouth. You'll learn to keep it shut." The tone in his cold voice gave me goosebumps.
I wouldn’t let this man see how afraid I really was. Instead, I looked at him with every ounce of hatred I could muster. His fist made contact with my face once more. He punched me so hard that my chair tipped over backward. The two guys that were standing guard came over and set me back upright. "You punch like a weak old man," I spit out as soon as I was upright once again. The next punch was much harder and this time when the chair fell I let the darkness take over as I slid into unconsciousness.
Chapter 4
