Page 41 of Caught in the Middle

Chapter Fourteen

Lucy couldn't figure out how she felt. She knew she should be the most scared she has ever felt - she was facing certain death after all - but she just felt numb.

And she couldn't stop thinking about Oliver.

It sounded so crazy to her that she wouldn't even allow her brain to fully entertain the idea, but if she felt that if Oliver could see the situation she had gotten herself into, she'd be embarrassed by his reaction. Regardless of whether he was shipping her off to a foreign country or not, he had gone to such extreme lengths to protect her, and now she was throwing it back in his face by having been kidnapped by the enemies’ scary ass hit men.

Both of the men, who had begrudgingly introduced themselves as Frank - the massive one in the back seat - and Thomas, sporadically took phone calls on the journey to see Joey. Lucy listened to each one intently, in the hope that she may be able to hear a glimpse of something related to her, but nothing was said as far as she was aware. They were all about business deals - a million to be moved here, five million to be transferred there - whatever. Nothing that Lucy understood.

It was growing dark by the time the driver indicated to leave the motorway. Lucy had lost track of time - she felt like all she did these days was be escorted around in nice cars for hours. Before all of this happened, the thought of sitting in a car for longer than an hour pissed her off, but she'd probably just travelled at least eight hours without batting an eyelid.

Well, she's never been driven to meet Britain’s most notorious Mafia boss before.

As the car circled the outskirts of London, Lucy pondered what Joey Leonardo was going to be like. No doubt he was going to be goddamn scary. But she wondered if he'd drag out her fate, or just have her shot dead the second she step foot on solid ground.

A fleeting thought passed through her mind, one which she tried not to dwell on.

Hopefully he doesn't have me tortured.

It was crazy to think that Lucy had never heard of this man in her entire life, yet here she was, waiting to for him to decide her fate.

In a twisted way, this infuriated her. It was almost as if the thought of this dented her pride, that in some weird way, she should be the one who decided when she died, not this crazy criminal.

She leaned her head against the window as they drove through what looked like an affluent, suburban area of North London. She only lived about an hour and a half away from here on the train, maybe she could run away and head back home?

The thought didn't stay in her head for very long. If these men knew she was at the airport, there's no doubt they'd find her in her house in minutes, probably.

The streets became even nicer, the houses growing in size the further into London they headed. Then the houses became more spread-out, no longer in a terrace, just big, sprawling properties with white picket fences surrounding them.

Lucy wondered who could afford to live in such extravagance, especially in London. Most people who are on pretty good money can't even afford a tiny, one bedroom flat in that city.

Still, as the journey went on, the houses merged into even more extravagance. The picket fences turned into huge, brick walls with twisted wire sitting on top, which Lucy was sure wasn't a decorative feature. The doors began to have columns surrounding them, and she swear one house they passed had a helicopter landing pad in the front yard.

Despite the horrific situation she was in, she couldn't help but feel intrigued by it all. She had a feeling that they must be getting close to Joey Leonardo's house.

And she wasn't wrong.

After a few moments, the car turned down a long, winding road, one that could have easily been in the middle of the countryside, not in London's suburbia. The lane was beautifully paved with a pale stone, the bushes either side had clearly been meticulously planted and trimmed at least once a day.

The road curved subtly, and in the distance, Lucy could see a house she couldn't even have ever imagine existed.

Well, house was very much an understatement. As was mansion.

A beautiful, white beast of a building loomed over them as they drove closer, at least five storeys high, and goodness knows how wide.

The fear she had felt previously had melted away, and was replaced by unashamed awe. She craned her neck to peer through the windshield, and didn't care that her jaw was swinging wide open.

Thomas saw her moving in his peripheral, and snapped around to glare at her.

'Yeah, it's a big ass place,' he snapped, 'trust me, you're in for a real surprise.'

They drove up the drive, past an enormous marble fountain, sprouting out water which dazzled in the moonlight.

The whole mansion had been under lit with beautiful, soft lighting, and it felt almost romantic, had the situation been right.

Joey Leonardo must be a hell of a lot richer than I ever imagined.

'Get out, then.' Frank grumbled, snapping her back to reality.

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