10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Anastasia
W ithout even thinking about it, I cling to Adrien. He wraps his arm around me without any hesitation. The van starts and we’re being taken somewhere to be… what? Tortured? Mutilated? Killed?
I shiver at the thought. This is not what I wanted out of an adventure. I wanted to have fun and be free and be safe.
“Adrien?” I whimper. He tightens his arm around me.
“Remy, where are you taking us?” he growls. Remy flashes him a smile from the front passenger seat.
“I’m going to get you to return the money you stole from me.”
“By kidnapping me? I can’t exactly access my money when you’ve kidnapped me.”
“That’s why you’re going to call your new found alliance and let them know what has befallen you. They will send me the money owed to me if they don’t want you or your wife to die.”
“And then what? You’re just going to kill us once you get your money. I doubt you’re going to let us go out of the kindness of your heart.”
“Why would I kill you, Adrien? Where would be the fun in that? No, I’ll just torture the two of you for a while and then we can see where things take us.”
“You fucking bastard,” Adrien growls.
“Don’t blame me, Adrien. You’re the one who made it easy to grab you. I just had to make the most out of the opportunity.”
“Adrien,” I whisper. “I’m scared.” This is the first time I’ve ever been truly vulnerable with Adrien and of course it would be when we’re being kidnapped. It couldn’t have happened when we were out having fun?
“It’s ok,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you.”
I thought he didn’t care about me at all but the way Adrien is talking about me speaks to the fact that he might have deeper feelings than he’s letting on.
“What do we do?” I whisper.
“Just let me take the lead. Follow me. When we get the chance, we’ll escape. I’m not going to let you be tortured.”
The car finally stops after a while before a large house on the outskirts of the city. We’re far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Paris. Not as many people around to help us.
Remy and his guard gets out of the car and wrenches the door open. He points a gun right at my head. “No funny business.”
“It’s ok, Ana,” Adrien says. “Just get out of the car.”
I let out a cry as I stumble out. Remy points his gun in Adrien’s direction and I know I have to act. My mom made a point of teaching me self-defense and how to use a gun.
I elbow Remy right in the nose, surprising him so much that his hold on the gun loosens. I manage to grab it from him and I shoot him right in the leg. His cry of pain is a satisfying sound.
Remy’s guard comes running around the car for us but I point my gun at him, stopping him in his place.
“Don’t,” I warn. “Give us the keys.”
Adrien is staring at me in awe. I guess he never expected me to be able to do this. Well, I had to put up with my abusive uncle for so many years that I’m done running away. I’m a fighter now and I’m going to get the happy life I’ve always dreamed of.
“I will shoot you too,” I tell the guard. “Just throw us the keys to the van. Now.”
“Just do it,” Remy hisses, clutching at his leg.
The driver tosses the keys to Adrien and the two of us run to the car. But Remy manages to grab my leg and pull me to the ground. He scrambles for the gun when Adrien kicks Remy in the face.
“Don’t,” the guard warns. “Don’t hurt my boss.”
Adrien picks up the gun I dropped and points it at the guard. “We’ll just be going.” We hurry into the car but the second Adrien turns it on, the guard starts firing at us. Blowing the tires out.
That doesn’t stop Adrien from starting the van and taking off. With the tires shot, we’re slowly losing air in them and won’t be able to use the van for much longer. But this can give us a head start.
“You saved me,” I say.
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I just thought you didn’t care enough about me to save my life.”
He shakes his head but gives me a subtle look I don’t understand. “You think you know everything, Anastasia, but there’s so much for you to learn still.”
“Then tell me.”
“When we’re to safety.”
The van slowly rolls to a stop when the tires are unusable.
“Come on,” Adrien says, hopping out of the car. “We have to hurry back to my home before Remy finds us.”
“Your home?” I ask. “I thought it was my home now too.”
“Now is not the time to argue. Let’s go.” He takes my hand, lighting my skin on fire, as we run down the road. It’s going to be a long way back into the heart of the city but I feel safe with Adrien at my side. That’s something I never thought possible.
But we don’t make it too far down the road before another car comes after us. Remy’s guard is in the driver’s seat.
Adrien pulls out his gun and points it right at the driver, shooting him straight in the head. The car veers off the side of the road, slamming into a tree.
“We could have used that car,” I say.
“I just saved your life. Be grateful. And we can still use the car,” he grumbles.
He pulls the guard out of the driver’s seat and starts the car, managing to back it away from the tree. “It still works. Let’s go.”
I don’t hesitate to get inside. Even though this entire situation is terrifying, for the first time since I’ve gotten to France, I feel like I’m actually having an adventure.