Not giving her the chance to object, I lean down, swipe the food back onto the plate, and head off to the kitchen to dump it. Before I head down the hall to my bathroom, I look back to see her putting a forkful of eggs in her mouth, and it damn near makes my chest puff out in pride that I’m taking care of my girl as much as she has been taking care of me.
I shoot her a devilish grin and wink before I disappear out of view, whistling one of the songs I had to sing as I was running in formation while in Special Forces training.
After a quick shower, I’m going to show Des why it’s so important she keep up her strength by engaging in one of the more intimate kinds of workouts for the day.
~Desirae~
Ethan is in the shower, and for the first time in I can’t remember, I am relaxed. I have a belly full of food, along with those butterfly feelings I haven’t experienced since high school. Part of me feels guilty for being happy when my sister is dead. She will never get to feel this again. I can’t even say for certain she ever did before she died.
I can’t help wondering about this Ricca man she got herself tangled up with. Is he handsome? Is he a charmer? What is he so deeply involved in that he got my sister killed? Was it the tie to him? Was she a message to him?
My mind goes over and over what really happened to my sister. Before I can get to the moment it all ended, I hear a noise at the door.
Strange, I think to myself. Everyone in Ethan’s life who comes and goes has their own key.
Maybe Evan has his hands full, I think as I hear more shuffling from the doorway. I don’t give it a second thought as I stand in front of the refrigerator, leaning in to decide what to make for dinner.
I stand up just as a hand comes around to cover my mouth. I try to scream, but the cold metal of a gun is pressed to my cheek.
“Keep quiet!” a man’s voice whispers harshly into my ear.
How the hell did this guy get into Ethan’s apartment and past his security system? Did we forget to arm it last night?
My assailant drags me, stumbling backward, out of the apartment. We make it to the elevator where its doorway is held open by a box before Ethan comes running out of his apartment, still glistening wet from his shower with just his boxers on and a gun in his hand. He aims, but there is no shot without hitting me as I am pulled into the elevator.
My captor kicks the box out of the opening, and the doors immediately begin to close.
Fear fills me. I struggle against the man’s hold as tears prick behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I keep my eyes on Ethan’s until the elevator doors close completely.
I have never had a gun held on me like this before. If I try to fight him, will he give up on trying to kidnap me and just pull the trigger? I’m not ready to die now. Facing death in the reflection of the stainless steel elevator doors, I feel my will to live after losing my sister suddenly return.
The descent feels like the longest elevator ride of my life. I can feel my entire body trembling in fear as I blindly stare at the stainless steel reflection of myself being held by a man in black with a mask. The gun pressed to my temple taunts me, reminding me that I’m on the verge of death the way my sister was when she was tied to that tree and tortured. The memory brings on a fresh wave of adrenaline and despair. I’m not ready to die, and I sure as shit don’t want to be tortured!
The elevator finally stops on the first floor with a soft ding that seems to taunt me with what is coming next. The doors slide open, and the man holding me doesn’t even wait until our reflection has disappeared to push me forward. Even though I know it’s probably stupid to fight since he could blow my brains out at any given moment, I still do my best to drag my feet and fight him every step of the way.
As we near the stairway door, I can hear the thuds of someone falling, and my heart breaks. Ethan isn’t ready for those, and I know he pushed himself in order to try to save me. I can only hope Evan or one of the Regulators has eyes on the building to get to me and to get to Ethan quickly.