Page 63 of Up in a Blaze
Besides at work, Blaze and I had seen Sawyer and Arlo one other time when I organized another sleepover.
When they weren’t around, I missed their company and had told Blaze we should have them over more often. They were such sweet boys, who seemed to like our company too.
Of course, Blaze agreed since he’d never go against my wishes, but I also had a feeling my big, beautiful beast had a soft spot for them as well. It was why he had pushed Sawyer the first night they drove home together. I was grateful it had worked. Sawyer hadn’t shared his secrets, but he was becoming comfortable around us.
“Sawyer,” I called.
His gaze swung my way. I saw his mouth move over my name and the clear panic in his wide eyes.
I put my hand up, pressing down on the air, and mouthed, “Wait there.” Looking both ways, I raced across the busy road when it was clear. Thankfully, Sawyer had stayed where he was.
When I grew close, he grabbed my wrist. “Henri, I-I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Talk to me, chéri.” I looked back to the cafe and saw Gun and Adrick coming out the door, eyes on us.
“I went to Polished since I forgot my wallet and… I don’t know. I’m getting a feeling of being watched again. I only stopped here to test it out and so they didn’t follow me home. That’s if I’m even being followed.” Agitated, he growled under his breath.
“It’s okay, chéri.” I curled an arm around his waist and moved us to the edge of the footpath to cross the road again. “I have friends across the street. They can help. We will figure this out.”
He nodded and drew in a deep breath.
There was a screech just as a van stopped in front of us and the side door opened. “Take the blond one,” someone shouted.
“Non!” I screamed, my voice cracking with fear, as three masked figures exploded from the van and closed in on us.
Shouts rang out—Gun. Adrick.
One of the masked men yanked Sawyer from my arms. “No! Let him go.” I clawed, punched, kicked, doing anything—everything—to stop him. My fists hit fabric and bone; I didn’t care what. The man dragged Sawyer toward the van, and I threw myself at him, wild and desperate.
“Grab him too. We gotta go!”
Then strong arms grabbed me and lifted me. I thrashed and screamed, but I was slammed into the back like a sack of nothing. The door clanged shut behind us, and the van lurched into motion.
Heart pounding like a drumbeat in my throat, I scrambled across the freezing metal floor to where Sawyer lay trembling. I pulled him up and into my arms, curling around his small, shaking body, shielding him the only way I could.
He whimpered, the sound soft and broken. I bit down on a sob and clenched my jaw, fury and terror tangling in my chest.
“What do you want?” I demanded, tipping my chin up in defiance.
“Shut up,” one snarled. He looked toward the front to the driver. “At least the extra guy has an accent. Even though he isn’t in the age bracket, I reckon someone will buy him.” The other two in the back snickered.
“Good. At least we didn’t fuck up grabbing him too, then,” the driver replied.
Obviously, they were the ones watching Sawyer. They were there to kidnap him.
My body froze.
Were these men involved with the people in charge of those ships? What was going to become of Sawyer and me?
“Do you know who our friends are? You need to let us go” I warned. He lunged at me, slapping me across the face, and I cried out. The sharp sting had me gasping, but only made my fury burn brighter.
“Shut up,” he snarled.
Fucking fool. They didn’t know who our people were, but they would, and I looked forward to Blaze getting his hands on them.
Blaze.
God, was it crazy of me to wish these men were actually involved with those ships and they were taking us to the port where Blaze and the others would be?
