by Ivy Clyde
The door closed behind me with an ominous thud.
I stared out at the three girls in front of me. They were smirking with open hostility.
“What, going to jump me?” I asked, staring at each of them. “You probably never saw me do a karate chop before.”
Brianna scoffed. “You think we’re going to soil our hands by touching you?”
“That’s how charity whores from the street think,” said Holly. “We should’ve done this from the start. Get rid of her in an efficient way.”
“Who knew gutter folk could be as sticky as dog shit on your shoes,” said Gianna. Holly and Brianna sniggered at that.
“Take her away,” said Brianna in a cold, commanding voice.
Another door opened on the far side of the room. Four men in black suits marched forward, their sunglass-covered eyes fixed on me.
I was prepared to take on the three resident mean girls of Knightswood but how the hell was I supposed to fight against four bulky men? Their stiff, measured movements told me enough not to mess with them.
They reached me in a few long strides. Hard hands gripped my arms and shoulders while another forced a black bag over my head, drowning me in darkness. They didn’t even have to bother dragging me. These men could easily carry me between them.
Panic burst inside me, clawing against my chest as I struggled to swallow back the screams threatening to burst out of me. A cold, calculating part of me commanded me to stay calm and not give Brianna the pleasure of seeing me fight and struggle.
Almost lifting me off my feet, the men carried me through the door through which they’d come. Other than the sound of shoes on marble floors, I heard nothing for a few minutes. They could be taking me anywhere. I desperately wished Liam, Gabrielle and Nik would notice I was missing before they took me away to sea and threw me into the waters.
Wild imagination? There was nothing these rotten rich kids wouldn’t do.
I was forced out into the open. The cool morning breeze skimmed over my hands and filtered through the blindfold. Next, I heard the sound of car doors sliding before someone shoved me inside.
“Stay still,” one of them commanded.
“She is amazingly quiet,” said a disturbingly familiar voice. “Did you slip her a pill or something?”
“No, sir. She’s been quiet all the way.”
“Is being bound and kidnapped your kind of kink, Paris?” Lucien’s soft voice spoke in my ear. A cold shudder ran through me when I realized how close he was to me. A cold finger traced a line down my chin, neck and all the way to the middle of my breasts. “I’ll finally get to finish what we started the other day.”
I bit my bottom lip, struggling to keep my panicked sobs inside me. Ice flowed through my veins as fear snaked its grip around my pounding heart.
There was only one way out of this.
I silently screamed for Nik, Liam, and Gabrielle.
39
Nikolai
My gaze roamed around the front section of the auditorium where maroon-clad students chatted loudly. Everyone was seated according to the alphabetical order of their names so that it was easier to hand out their certificates. I located the empty seat beside Zoya’s that was reserved for me. People with ‘J’ in their surnames would be seated close by but I couldn’t see Paris anywhere.
Almost all the seats were taken by now. I even located Liam and Gabrielle, separated far away because of their surnames. They both seemed to be scanning the sea of maroon gowns as well.
Zoya and Lucas were also craning their necks around, trying to find Paris.
My gut squeezed.
Paris was missing.
Next, I looked out for Brianna and Holly. They were the two most dangerous minds in the crowd. They were both seated in their places with satisfied smirks on their dolled-up faces. I hated that expression on them. It meant they were both up to something.
I searched for the seats around Lucas. His cousin, Lucien, was missing.
“Mister Ivanov,” said a perky voice at my side. “The ceremony is about to start. Please take your seat.”
It was a teacher in a tweed suit. She was straining to smile despite the obvious annoyance she felt at me.
Before I could tell her to fuck off, several people made a beeline for me. Liam and Gabrielle were at my side while Zoya and Lucas were making their way towards me from their places.
“You cannot get up now!” said the teacher in a harsher tone now. “Get back to your places right now!”
“Sshh, lady,” said Gabrielle, winking at her and flashing one of his manwhore smiles.
The woman turned red in the face and huffed, marching away, probably to get another staff member to bring us under control.
“Paris is missing,” said Liam, his gaze narrowing as he looked around at us. “This is just as she was expecting it to be.”
“She expected to go missing?” I asked, remembering the username and password she texted me for the ‘Find a friend’ app. Paris said it was ‘just in case’. “Why would she expect an attack?”
“I think I know,” said Zoya. She looked anxious. “A few days ago we were shopping in the city and came across Holly and Brianna. They told her not to appear on graduation day. They threatened to remove her from the academy permanently. I thought it was their usual trash talk and didn’t take it seriously.”
“But Paris did,” said Gabrielle. “She set up a “Find a Friend” app with me.”
“Same with me,” said Liam.
“Let’s get out of here first,” said Lucas, looking past us. Three teachers were striding towards us. “Let’s take a side exit.” He led the way through rows of seated parents to reach the exit doors on the far side of the auditorium.
There were irritated groans as we stepped on shoes and stilettos but the whole group rushed through the row to reach the door. Lucas pushed open the door and sprinted through the hallway until he came across another door.
“Freedom,” he muttered, throwing it wide open.
We came out onto the southern side of the academy. Ripping away my gown, I took my phone out and opened the app. Liam and Gabrielle did so too.
“Why didn’t she set one up with us?” asked Lucas.
“We won’t be much help, would we?” said Zoya. “She didn’t want to involve us in case it turned out to be dangerous. It’s different with Nik though. He can handle situations.” The confidence in her voice made me appreciate my stepsister momentarily.
“It looks like she’s traveling down Felton Street,” said Liam, staring at the screen of his phone.
“What are we waiting for?” said Gabrielle. “Let’s go.” Motioning at Lucas and Zoya, he said, “Stay at the academy and let us know if Paris turns up. Keep a watch over the Evil Trinity as well.” Looking between me and Liam, he added, “Wait for me near the gates. I’ll bring the car around.”
Liam and I nodded.
Our group broke apart. While Zoya and Lucas went back to the auditorium, Liam and I tore down the school grounds to reach the main gates. We’d both gotten rid of our gowns and were running at full speed.
Part of me felt grateful to have both Davenport and Romano on my side. It was clear how much Paris trusted them and I understood why. They were as protective of her as me. Their desperation to reach her was as great as mine.
They loved her as much as I did.
For the first time, jealousy didn’t burn my heart. I was glad Paris had two others like Liam and Gabrielle protecting her.
We were both out of breath by the time we reached the school gates.
A car skidded to a stop before us. The door to the back was thrown open. “Get in,” said Gabrielle in a tight voice.
“We’ll check the location of Paris’s phone,” said Liam. “You keep your eyes on the road.”
“Do we call my grandpa’s men?” asked Gabrielle, speeding down the road.
“No. Let’s not involve him just yet. I will call my own men,” I said.
“Fancy
mafia guy,” scoffed Gabrielle from the front.
“Not everyone sucks their grandpa’s tits at eighteen,” I replied coldly, speed dialing my security team.
Gabrielle barked out a laugh, not at all offended by my comment. Liam frowned at us but didn’t comment.
Through the panic congesting my chest, I felt a sliver of hope. Paris had been clever enough to foresee such an event from Holly’s threat. She’d even installed our phones with a navigating app that would take us to her as long as she had her phone on her. With the way the icon kept shifting towards the northern limits of the city, I was sure her phone was with her and we were heading in the right direction.
We were going to get her back safe and sound, I vowed to myself.
Ready for the next part in Daria’s journey?
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
This is my first foray into writing a story set in contemporary times. While I got some confidence writing my paranormal reverse harem series from your wonderful reviews and private messages, I am yet to gain some of that mojo in this new style.
I would be absolutely grateful if you could leave a review or message me with your comments and feedback. While the book went through an editor, it is only the readers’ opinion that truly matters to me. If you enjoyed the story, please let me know. You’d be helping me so, so much!
Lastly, I hope you enjoyed the story and would consider leaving a short review on Amazon. Even a simple “I liked it” will make my day.
On other news, the last book in my dragon shifter series will be coming out in September. If you like paranormal reverse harem romance series, please check it out here!
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About Ivy
Ivy is an Electrical engineer by profession. She started writing fanfiction in her spare time and after a whole year of writing; she decided to start writing an original series with her own characters.
Although, work and tight deadlines often have her drinking coffee, she is a tea-lover at heart. She loves to read, but keeps taking trips to Hogwarts now and then. (Who could miss JKR’s lovely invitation?) Her favorite current TV shows are Game of Thrones and Pretty Little Liars.