Page 80 of Waiting Game

I spun around, and saw a large man behind me who I also noticed was sitting behind me on the plane. It was chilly out, but he was still only in a simple, thin t-shirt. The giant stepped towards me with a smirk and I stepped back a bit and looked him up and down.

He laughed, moving even closer towards me and whispering into my ear, “I suggest that you come with me, quietly. If you scream, both your brother and your boyfriend are fucking dead.”

24

Chapter 24

Valerie

Iwas trying so hard to be brave.

To be more like Rome, or Antoni, or anyone else in my family - but it was hard.

My bottom lip trembled, tears threatening to fall as I laid in the boot of the old Commodore during the rough ride back to wherever this guy was taking me. In a desperate attempt to escape, I started kicking at the back of the headlight, hoping that I would fall out. The cracking sound made me think I was making progress, but it didn’t budge.

“Stop it,” the muffled voice of the man snapped, with a laugh at my attempt.

I punched at the roof, just to let out the frustration, knowing that it would achieve nothing. I wanted to scream, not because of fear but because I was angry.

Mainly at myself.

I felt like a fool.

I should have listened to Ren the first time. He warned that they would come for me, that I was in danger, but I didn’t listen. It was yet another instance that proved that maybe I was not built for this life. But I tried my best to keep it together, and I laid in the dirty trunk of the car and tried to imagine what Rome would do.

Knowing her, she would have kicked the shit out of the guy instead of letting the man take her in the first place, so I had already fumbled that.

I couldn’t be too scared though, because I knew that he would come for me.

I knew that Ren wouldn’t let them hurt me.

Focusing on my breathing, I let my eyes close and I tried to steady my pounding heart. I wasn’t in the car for long before it came to a stop. It was dark outside when they opened up the boot. Two men grabbed me by the arms and heaved me out and threw me onto the wet grass. I looked around at my surroundings, they had parked behind a house that was guarded by a tall iron fence.

I had no idea where I was.

“Come on, baby girl,” one of the men laughed, pulling me up off of the ground.

I struggled against his hold until the other man grabbed my legs, and they dragged me towards the house.

“Get your fucking hands off me,” I spat as they pulled me inside.

They laughed again but followed my orders, and threw me back on the ground, at the feet of a man who I didn’t recognise. I looked up at him, and he wore a confident smirk as he watched me. I scrambled up from the ground and tried to make myself appear taller than I was, but it was useless. Even while I was standing, he still had to tilt his head down to look at me.

“Who are you?” I demanded, and I was glad that my voice didn’t shake, even though the threat of it was there.

He had all dark features - dark eyes, dark hair, and a full dark beard. His arms and neck were covered in black and grey tattoos, and he had large black stretchers in each ear. I noticed a tattoo of the word “Don’t”sprawled across his throat, and I wondered what it meant. The dude had muscles on his muscles, and his arms were probably thicker than my thighs. His hands matched the rest of him, and looked as if he could use only one of them to snap my neck without trying.

The man leaned down and brought his face to mine, his breath hot against my lips. His mouth twitched into a smile on one side as I flinched backwards away from him.

“My name is King, but you, precious, can call me whatever you like,” he drawled, as his eyes wandered over my body.

“Okay, in that case,” I crossed my arms, “I’ll call you fuckwit.”

Fuckwit’s smile faded into a darker gaze and his hands wrapped around my arms, pulling me close.

“Your boyfriend killed my brother,” he snapped, shaking me slightly before throwing me back onto the hard concrete. I put my hands out to stop myself, which was a mistake, and I looked at my bleeding palms as he knelt on one knee in front of me.

“Now, I’m going to repay the favour.”

---