Chapter 4
Tonight was a rare night off from both the hospital and Drake.
I loved my boyfriend and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but he had been acting differently in recent weeks.
I wasn’t sure if it was the pending graduation from medical school bothering him or something else altogether.
All I knew was that I enjoyed some quality time alone.
I’d spent the night binge-watching a romance series on Netflix while drinking wine and eating ice cream.
It had been the perfect evening, and one I sorely needed.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should’ve been more focused on my relationship, but I had let it slide tonight. Drake still hadn’t told me what it was that he wanted to talk to me about, and I wouldn’t have found out tonight anyway, as he was playing cards with some friends.
He had a lot of those nights lately. On any given evening, I could call him, and he’d be off playing cards, and more specifically, poker.
It wasn’t like he was out at strip clubs like a number of his single friends, so I hadn’t thought too much of it.
I was never one to stress over speculation, and I didn’t intend to start now.
We loved each other, and that was all I needed to know and hang onto.
My cell phone rang in that moment, jarring me from my thoughts. I smiled as soon as I saw his name on the Caller ID. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey, Rory. What are you doing right now?”
“Right now?” I asked. “Nothing. I’m at home.”
“Oh, okay,” he said.
There was something in the tone of his voice that sounded off. And I couldn’t even say that it was due to him being intoxicated, as he often sounded prim and proper when drinking. Hell, he was one of those who sounded more sober when drunk, so his current tone had me arching my brow.
“Is there something wrong, Drake?”
“Ahhh, no, but I was hoping to see you tonight.”
“Sure,” I said to him. “I was about to go to sleep, but I’ll wait up on you if you’d like. You still have my house key, yes?”
“I do, but I wanted us to go away for a day or two. When are you due back at Mass Gen?”
Drake was never spontaneous, so this made me more concerned. “The day after tomorrow. Are you sure you’re okay? You sound—”
“Pack some things up and meet me in the parking garage. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Does this have anything to do with your text from a week ago? The one where you said you wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Can you just do this for me? I’ll explain later,” was all that he said.
“Sure. I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit.”
The line went dead right after, and I pursed my lips together as I stared at my cell phone. Drake sounded different. It was almost like he was scared of something, which was crazy, because I had never seen him so much as worry about anything, much less be terrified.
Perhaps this was all a ruse. If he wanted to keep me off guard about a potential engagement, this would be an easy way to do it.
I smiled in that moment. He wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all me.
I got off the couch and washed my wine glass and spoon, then tossed the empty pint container into the garbage before heading to my bedroom.
I still had my suitcase out from my latest trip with my parents. It’d been their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and we’d celebrated the occasion at a beachside mansion on the Jersey shore. While I hadn’t put the suitcase back in the corner of my large closet, I had at least emptied it out.
I tossed it onto the bed, unzipped the largest section, and started pulling things from my closet.
I had no idea whether he’d intended to go somewhere cold or warm, so I made sure to grab some outfits for either, then tossed a few sets of lingerie into the smaller section of the suitcase, along with a few bikinis and a nightgown.
I found myself humming along as I zipped up the bag, then went into the bathroom to get all of my essentials.
A total of fifteen minutes had elapsed by the time I finished packing everything.
It was then that I forgot shoes. Grabbing a smaller suitcase, and one I could just stack onto my larger one, I threw in a few pairs of heels and a pair of sneakers before zipping it shut.
I needed to tell my bestie and my parents that I was going out of town because I didn’t want either to worry if they were to stop by and I wouldn't be here. Especially, Braelynn. She lived two floors down from me, and we’d made plans to grab lunch tomorrow.
Those plans would obviously now be canceled.
Mom... Dad... I’m headed on a surprise trip with Drake. Will let you both know once I’m back in town. Love you guys
And remembering Braelynn, I pulled up her last message.
Drake’s surprising me with a last minute trip out of town. Will need to take a raincheck on lunch tomorrow.
She responded right away, unlike my parents, who were already in bed.
brAE:
He’s probably taking you somewhere you’ll never be found.
Ha ha! I don’t know why you hate Drake so much, but this is romantic. No?
brAE:
That man wouldn’t know a thing about romance even if Hallmark slapped him upside the head. Promise me you’ll be careful.
You exasperate me, but I love you so much. All’s good. Will fill you in on all the deets when I get back. I might even be getting ready to change last names.
brAE:
The horror! I know you love him, so I’ll try to get along better with him.
Thank you! Gotta go, but I love you!!! XOXOXO
brAE:
Love you too, Rory. XOXOXOXO
I smiled as I stuffed my cell phone into my purse, then grabbed my bags.
Drake would be waiting downstairs for me.
I had no idea why he didn’t want to come up here first, but maybe we had a tight deadline, like a flight or something.
That prospect filled me with even more excitement, and I was practically levitating by the time I made it to the lower level, which housed the parking garage.
I had to admit to it being spooky as hell, especially considering it was pitch black outside. I usually spent my nights at the hospital, so I rarely saw this place at this particular time of day. A shiver raced down my spine, but I steeled my resolve and straightened my shoulders.
Not even two minutes later, I saw approaching headlights I assumed were from Drake’s Porsche. I plastered on my cheeriest smile until I realized the vehicle was different. It wasn’t him, so I stepped back toward the curb. The dark colored car came to a stop anyway, and two men got out of it.
I assumed they were simply residents or guests, so I moved out from in front of the door. It wasn’t until one grabbed my bags that I realized they were here for me. “Hey,” I said as the large suitcase handle was ripped from my hand. “What are you doing?”
“Aurora Winslow,” one of the men said, and I nodded. “We were asked to pick you up.”
“By Drake?” I asked. “I thought he was going to pick me up himself. Let me check with—”
“There’s no time. He asked us to get you for him.”
“Okay, but it’ll only take a minute to confirm that.”
I heard a growl which made me stop and immediately stiffen. “Just get in the car if you expect to see Drake again.”
“Expect to see him again? What are you—”
The one guy with my bags had already put them in the trunk and opened the backseat door.
He motioned with his hand for me to get inside, and remembering what the other had just said about Drake, I was now worried.
He’d sounded different, and it had to have been that he’d gotten himself into some sort of trouble.
As concern filled me, it overshadowed the wariness I felt in going anywhere with these men.
If they could take me to my boyfriend, I had to go.
Reluctantly, I moved over to the car, then slipped inside.
There was no one else inside, and these men, while domineering, looked harmless enough.
I forced my breaths to stay steady as additional worry over Drake crept in.
The men took their seats in the front, then quickly turned around and shot out of the parking garage.
Once out on the street, I cleared my throat. “Where’s Drake? And where are you taking me?”
“That will be revealed later,” the driver said.
His accent was foreign, and he wasn’t someone I’d ever heard before.
Something was wrong, and remembering I had my cell phone with me, I slipped it from my purse, then pulled up my latest message from Drake.
Before I could even hit the reply button, the man on the passenger side turned in his seat, then quickly grabbed my cell phone and flung it to the front with him.
He then drew me closer by wrapping his hand around my throat.
Trying to fight him off, I pushed and scratched at his hands to no avail.
Moments later, he stabbed something into the fleshy part of my upper arm, and everything quickly began to spin around me.
Everything went blurry, and I was seeing two of him, then nothing but darkness before I succumbed to it.