The driver takes off and the guy in the passenger seat turns around, pointing his gun at us. “I’m not looking to go to jail for murder. Don’t be stupid and I won’t have to use this. Understand?”
I nod my head and out of the corner of my eye, I see Franny do the same. They’re both still wearing their masks, so I can’t tell who they are.
About fifteen minutes later we pull into a nice neighborhood and park in front of a house. There’s nothing particularly special about it, nothing that sticks out. It just looks normal. It’s dark out, so when the men pull us out of the truck no one is outside to see, and even if there was someone, it’s too dark out for them to get a good look.
They walk us in the front door, pushing us from behind, guns still pointed at our backs.
“Sit down. Don’t do anything stupid,” one of them growls, pushing us onto the leather couch in the living room. We fall haphazardly onto the couch where I end up falling on my arm and slamming my hip into the edge of the worn couch. Shit that hurt.
Franny’s eyes fill with tears as she stares at me. I wish I could tell her that everything was going to be okay, but I physically can’t. Even if I could, would I be lying to her? The dangerous situation we’re in starts to sink in and the adrenaline that was pushing me forward just minutes ago is nowhere to be seen. I keep telling myself that any minute now Darius is going to burst in here and save us. The minutes pass slowly, as the men sit at the dining room table talking amongst themselves, ignoring us.
The longer we sit and wait for something to happen, the more scared I become. What if we don’t make it out of here?
A little while later there’s a knock at the door, then it opens and in walks a middle-aged man in a baby blue polo shirt and some khaki slacks. He’s old enough to be my father. His hair is thinning and is a mix of white and grey. He looks as if he’s spent the day at the golf course and could care less that two women are tied up on a couch.
“You’re late,” one of the guys says, putting down his beer.
Ignoring what he said, he stops and sneers at us. “What’s with the other one?”
“They were together when we took your precious,” the other guy says, sounding like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Can you say, creepy?
The other one? Which one of us is the other one? I look into Franny’s eyes, and she shakes her head with wide, fearful eyes. Fuck, we need to get out of here now. I study the man who walked in trying to figure out if I know him. There’s something about his voice that sounds familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. He’s definitely someone I’ve met before, maybe someone I know, but not someone I’m close to. It’s not like I go anywhere but work. Is that where I know him from? Could he be someone from work? Is this the guy who has been harassing me?
He walks over and lifts his hand before running the backs of his knuckles along my cheek. “I’ve waited so long for you,” he murmurs, causing a chill to run down my spine.
Looking back at the goons who brought us here he nods at Franny. “Get rid of her.”
“Nah man, you paid us to kidnap the girl. I’m not killing anyone.”
He turns back to me and helps me stand from the couch, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, digging his fat fingers into me painfully. That’s when I see him pull a gun from behind his back and point it at Franny.
“Sorry, honey. I can’t have any loose ends,” he says in a weirdly calm tone. I’d almost believe he felt bad if he wasn’t still pointing the gun at her forehead.
Her eyes fill with tears and she starts shaking her head, trying to talk, but she can’t.
The man cocks his gun and puts his finger on the trigger just as someone bursts through the front door, wood splintering into the house.
Like Jesus himself, Darius appears, pointing his gun at the man holding me. “Put your gun down,” he orders the man holding me.
He presses the gun against my temple.“Fuck you.” He spits. “Either I leave here with Stacey, or-”
In a split second, I watch Darius nod his head ever so slightly then a gunshot goes off, and the grip the man had on me loosens as he crumples to the floor.
It’s only then as I’m staring down at him that I realize I’m covered in his blood.