Page 4 of Steal a King (Five Kings 2)

Ella

I’m not sure how I feel about coming back. Excited to be home, looking forward to getting back into business but missing my family already. It was good seeing them again.

Just seeing how happy mom is in her new home makes everything worthwhile. Hannah’s operation is an apparent success, and she is recuperating at a facility giving her the nursing care she needs. She should be discharged in one weeks’ time and can live a full and normal life. It felt good knowing I made that happen. She has a good prognosis, and the doctor thinks she will live a long and happy life and it’s all down to my talent for copying things.

Now it’s time to sort my own life out now the worry has gone, so I’m back to build a life that may even include finding someone to share it with.

As I join the line for the cabs, I drag my suitcase behind me. It does feel good to be back. The heat warms my soul and I have a spring in my step.

Even the jet-lag doesn’t seem to bother me today, and I’m looking forward to the future for the first time in years.

Luckily, the line moves quickly and the cab driver takes my case and tosses it in the trunk while I slide onto the back seat.

Ten minutes and I’ll be home, back in my apartment, back to the familiar and I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with my comfortable bed.

The driver starts the engine and I say loudly, “Can you take me to the strip and I’ll direct you from there?”

“Sure.”

I settle back in my seat and close my eyes, grateful for the fact this is the last part of a long journey. To be honest, I’m looking forward to a long soak in the tub rather than sleeping in my bed because my sister only has a shower at her apartment and I’ve always loved the relaxation a hot and steamy bath gives me.

As I stare at the familiar landscape, it’s almost as if I never went away and I wonder how much longer I’ll be here. It’s been on my mind to move nearer to Hannah; if anything, her illness had made me realize the importance of family and living here in Vegas is quite lonely really. I have friends, a select few who I unwind with at night, but I want more than that. A home, a family of my own and where better than near to my own.

Hannah has a boyfriend, Evan, who she’s been dating for a couple of years already. They want a family and have been putting it off due to her condition. I know it’s the most important thing to her, and I’m just hoping that it’s now an option.

Sighing, I think on my own love life that’s pretty pitiful, really. The guys that come here are after a good time mainly and don’t stick around. Vegas is like that. A stopover destination. A fun weekend, or a vacation full of extremes. Any local guys get their pick of the tourists that flock here and life is one long party. No, I’m unlikely to find my soulmate in Vegas, so I must face the possibility of relocation sooner rather than later if I want my life plan to play out.

It doesn’t take long before we hit the strip and I stare at the huge buildings that dominate the skyline. Plastic paradise. Gaudy, extreme, and a façade. A bright exterior to disguise the devastation within. Vegas is the queen of sleaze, and I live here.

Leaning forward, I say loudly, “If you aim for the university district, I’m not far from there.”

He says nothing, which is a little odd and I’m surprised when he passes the exit.

“Hey, did you hear me, you missed the turning?”

He says nothing and I tap on the glass that separates us. “Excuse me.”

Suddenly, I am thrown back in my seat as he takes a sharp turn and I stare in horror as he drives down a ramp into what appears to be an underground car park and immediately my heart beats faster and my senses move to high alert.

“What’s going on, where are we?”

He screeches to a halt and I note the shutters come down behind us and I stare around me in fear. I’m in trouble, it’s obvious this man is about to attack me and I’m the dumbass who made it easy for him.

Before I can say another word, he turns and says roughly, “Stop talking. If you value your life, you will do everything I say. Say nothing, do nothing, and come with me. If you try to escape, I will shoot you dead, got it?”

I’m in so much shock I just stare at him and he nods. “Get out of the car.”

My fingers shake as I grasp the handle and as I step outside, I see two men approach. My knees almost give out on me when I see what’s waiting because these men mean business, it’s obvious. Dressed in leather and bad attitudes, their eyes tell me one false move and I’m dead. I have absolutely no choice but to follow them and despite the fact I try to act strong, I’m shaking inside.

The elevator is small when you are surrounded by three men who look as if they wrestle bears for fun. They look out of place in here, as if they’ve lost their way and ended up in the Twilight Zone. They are tough, crude and uncommunicative and I hardly even breathe for fear of recriminations. Through it all I hate myself because when did I get so weak? I should be screaming, trying to run, but where would I go? It’s obvious the only way out of here would be in a body bag, so I have to trust my instincts and try to calm the fuck down because the first opportunity I get, I’m out of here.

Every floor we pass gives me thinking time as I wonder what’s happening. Is it a trafficking ring; have I been kidnapped to be sold? I’ve heard of these things, or am I to be passed around like a toy at a rich man’s party? It can only be that because I’ve done nothing wrong. I haven’t upset anyone - at least I don’t think I have. My mind is preparing me for the worst as a thousand images flash through it of what could be about to happen. I know this isn’t going to end well - for me, anyway, and through the fear clouding my mind, I struggle to hold on to any hope left inside me.

The men beside me say nothing, and I daren’t even ask. One false move could cost me my life and I kind of want to protect that, so I decide to say nothing and wait and see what’s happening because this must surely be a case of mistaken identity; it can’t be anything else.

The elevator comes to a sudden stop and my heart pounds inside me so hard it almost hurts. As the doors open, we step into a room that takes my breath away. I don’t have time to appreciate the beauty of a place I have only seen in the movies, before I feel a hand against my lower back pushing me inside. The men step back into the elevator and as the doors close, they leave me alone and in the most trouble I have ever been in my life when I see the two men staring at me from across the room. My heart almost gives out on the spot because if Satan had twins, I’m looking at them.

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