38. The Hot Guy Will Save You…Somehow
38
The Hot Guy Will Save You…Somehow
You
There’s a windowless white delivery van waiting in the alley upstairs from the basement bar, but before your burly attacker can shove you inside its open door, you twist, kicking backward as hard as you can.
Right in the nuts.
Score!
The man groans, jerking backward—letting go of your arm and uncovering your mouth as he stumbles away, cussing loudly.
You scream, trying to run.
Unfortunately, another man steps in front of you. This guy’s got on a ski mask so you can’t see his face, and he mutters something about the other guy being an idiot for forgetting his.
What are they, the world’s worst kidnappers?
Except maybe they’re not completely the worst, because before you can make it three feet, Ski Mask Guy hauls you back, his grip painfully hard on your arm.
Oof .
That’s going to bruise.
“Thought you could get away, huh?” He laughs, ripping your purse from where you had it slung across your body, throwing it onto the pavement before shoving you into the waiting van with a resounding slam of the door.
No!
Your purse had your phone in it!
Without that, you won’t be able to call for help.
You fumble at the door, yanking the handle with all your might, but it must be rigged not to open from the inside, because you can’t get it to budge. Same with the trunk.
And there’s a wire grate blocking you from escaping through the front seats.
You’re stuck.
“ Drive! ” Ski Mask yells at the guy you kicked in the balls as they both climb into the front. Balls Guy is still groaning.
At least you can celebrate that little victory?
But not for long.
At your left wrist, you already feel the tingling pull of the magical link as it’s stretched.
What will happen if they drive away now? Will the link stretch until it snaps…and then you and Ziros will both die?
You cringe, trying not to think about it.
Surely it’s just tingling because Ziros is wondering what’s taking you so long in the bathroom.
Maybe he’s already sensed something is wrong and he’ll come running out to save you any second now.
That’s gotta be it.
Surely he’s about to bust open this van and teach your kidnappers not to mess with his…uh. His human?
Now you’re sitting there in the kidnappers’ van, remembering everything that’s happened between you.
And wondering if you really mean nothing to him.
But maybe this isn’t the best time for such thoughts, because just then, the driver peels out in a rush of squealing tires. You fly back against the wall, groaning as you rub your head, glad at least your hands aren’t bound.
“Where are you jerks taking me?” You ask, gripping part of the metal side wall so you don’t fall over as they swerve around another corner.
They ignore you.
Of course they do.
Of course, they weren’t really going to tell their kidnapee where they were taking her. But it was worth a shot.
And maybe if you’re annoying enough about it, they’ll at least give you a clue.
“Tell me where you’re taking me!” you demand again, louder. Crawling forward to grip the metal grate between you and the front seat.
“Shut up,” the guy you kicked growls, glaring at you over his shoulder as he drives. Before you can ask them again, a phone rings from somewhere up front.
A Kpop anthem blares out through its tinny speakers.
“Dammit, Jerry,” growls Ski Mask Guy as the driver reaches for it. “I thought I told you to change that.”
So the guy you kicked in the balls’ name is Jerry. Not that this is very useful information, but at least there’s that.
He fumbles with his phone in one hand, the other swerving on the wheel as he weaves through traffic.
“ Give me that ,” Ski Mask growls, wrenching the phone from his partner’s hands. “ Yeah ,” he answers into the receiver. “We got her. The Chosen One is incoming.”
Chosen One?
Oh, no.
What the heckin’ heck have you gotten yourself into this time?
Ziros
Some time later…
I groan as the lights flash on overhead.
Every damn inch of me aches.
I feel like I got run over by a team of horses.
Where the hell am—
“ Hey ,” says an annoyed male voice. And something whacks into my side. “Dude, you’re gonna have to get out. It’s closing time.”
I blink against the light, narrowing my eyes at the skinny bartender or janitor or whoever-the-hell he is standing there in his coveralls, holding a broom.
Yeah, definitely the janitor.
A broom that he just whacked me across the side with.
He shakes his head when I don’t move, lifting the broom like he’s about to whack me again.
I grab the handle, hauling myself up to his eye level. And more.
Leaning down over him, I growl, “Hit me with that again, kid. I dare you.”
He flinches, pulling back.
Poor skinny kid. He looks like he’s barely twenty-one—or whatever the drinking age is these days—and probably working whatever crappy jobs his boss assigns him.
Maybe I should cut him some slack.
“Kid?” he asks after a moment, head tilted like he’s confused.
Right.
I may be ancient, but I still look like I’m in my twenties. Not much older than he does.
The gift of immortality is its eternal youth.
Except, right now I feel like I’m as old as I really am.
Every damn inch of me aches.
Is this what it feels like to age?
I groan again, leaning against the wall, head spinning.
What the hell was in that drink? It must have been strong to knock someone like me out.
I didn’t feel it until it was way too damn late.
And now…where the hell is my human?
I shove past the kid, stumbling across the empty bar, but there’s no sign of her anywhere. Not even in the women’s restroom where she disappeared who-the-hell-knows how long ago.
Damn.
Damn it all.
I slam the bottom of one fist into the wall, letting out a low growl.
“Um, sir?” asks the janitor kid from behind me. “I’m sorry, but I’m really gonna have to ask you to go.”
I let out another growl, slamming my fist against the wall again, so hard the bottles of cheap alcohol rattle behind the bar.
This is all my damn fault.
I let my guard down again, and now she’s in danger.
I don’t know which of my damn enemies got her this time, but whoever they are, they’ll have hell to pay when I find them.
When .
Because no way in hell am I letting anything bad happen to her.
“Sir, please ,” the kid says, sounding younger with every bit of extra urgency. And I feel a little bad for him. “Please, stop hitting the walls. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
I crack my neck, letting out a low growl as I shove away from the stupid wall.
“ Fine ,” I mutter, storming toward the door. I don’t know who the hell owns this place or if they’re related to my human’s disappearance, but if they are, I’ll take care of them later.
Right now, what matters is that I find her.
You
You roll over on the hard floor of the cargo van.
Every inch of your body hurts.
And you’re starting to feel feverish.
Could this be because of all the distance between you and Ziros?
You feel drained, like you’ve got the flu.
It takes all your willpower just to move.
You don’t know how long you’ve been here in the back of this van, and you’re too tired to even sit up and see where you are through the front window.
At least your kidnappers are quiet.
It’s just you and the rhythm of the highway driving off somewhere into the night.
After what feels like hours—and maybe is hours, the van finally slows as your kidnappers take a sharp turn.
Then another.
You’re still too exhausted to get up, but you swear you hear gravel crunch under the wheels.
Then it rolls to an abrupt halt.