by Jaymin Eve
Brad noticed my wide-eyed stare. “Remember, Owens’ family owns a catering company. That’s where their money comes from.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “I’m sure this will come as a shock, but I don’t remember every little detail about Mitchell and his family.”
Brad shot me a smirk, turning to order from the waitress. He got a beer, and I ended up with a pre-mixed bottle of something pink with vodka. I’d sip on this one drink for half the night, because if I came home too drunk, Gracie would never let me out again. Brad and I both watched closely to make sure the bartender opened it in front of us and that nothing shady went down. It was the reason we went for something in the bottle or can every time.
The woman serving us looked to be about our age. She smiled as she handed the drinks across the bar, not even blinking an eye at serving alcohol to minors. I wondered if they were paid extra to break the law.
As long as I got a drink, I didn’t care.
“Maya!”
The scream had me spinning around to find Courtney and Lace swaying before me. They were both cheerleaders on the team with me, the two I considered to be my closer friends. “You didn’t tell us you were coming!” Courtney yelled as she hugged me. She was almost a foot taller than me with heels on, her long blond hair smacking me in the face.
As I hugged her back, I was hit with a strong smell of alcohol and I realized they’d been here for a while. Or they drank fast. Because they were halfway to wasted already.
Lace stepped in for a hug next. “Love your makeup,” I said when she was close. She’d gone for a sparkly red eyeliner to match her short, pixie hair. This week’s hair color was a rich blood red. Her large brown eyes almost looked vampiric against it. Not to mention her skin was even darker than her eyes, so the red really popped.
I could never pull off the fashion choices she made, but she rocked them hard. Half the guys at the school pursued her, while she continually brushed them off. College or older for her; she didn’t date high school “boys,” as she called them.
After my last disaster of a relationship, I was starting to come around to her philosophy.
Brad, who had been chatting to a friend nearby while we caught up, gave me a wave. “You go dance,” he said. “I’ll find you in a few hours, and then we can head home.”
Waving back, I turned to my girls. “You both ready?” I shouted, my hips already moving. The warmth from the vodka was spreading through my body. I was so ready to let loose. No more thinking about papers and college and being thousands of miles from my friends when we graduated. No more trying to figure out why my life felt empty even when it was full. Nope. Not tonight.
Tonight was about the music.
Despite my plan to go slow on my drink, by the time we reached the area set up as a dance floor, it was already gone. I dropped the bottle on a nearby table, smiling stupidly. I was always a lightweight with alcohol.
Lace dragged me out onto the floor. She out-danced us without even trying, her moves a natural rhythm that could not be learned. But all of us were gymnasts, flexible and used to moving with the beat. Hugging in close, I moved my body with theirs, all of us smiling and throwing our heads back and arms up. The music was really working for me tonight, a great mix of dance and pop, without too much techno. I wasn’t a fan of too heavy a beat.
Guys crowded in close, but they were useless to us on the dance floor. All they wanted was to slide up on me, and that threw my moves right off.
“No!” I said firmly, pointing my finger at a dirty blond-headed guy I didn’t recognize. “No touching.”
He held both hands up and backed away. As I was just turning back to Lace, who was shaking her ass like the next Beyoncé, I caught a glimpse of someone who gave me a moment’s pause. He was half in the shadows, leaning back against a nearby wall, and I could have sworn he was looking straight at me. There was a light rolling sensation in my tummy, but instead of the usual reticence I felt with strangers, the feelings inside of me this time were … different.
My feet moved, heading toward him. He looked very tall … taller than most guys I knew, and considering my best friend was on the football team, that said a lot. He had one leg propped up, casual and relaxed. I sensed a coiled lethalness about him, which should have made me nervous.
But it didn’t.
I took another step closer. At the same time his leg slid slowly down the wall so he was standing on two feet again.
“Maya, everything okay?” Lace asked. It took me a beat to register her question. With effort I turned to answer her, but before I even spoke one word, I was already turning back to him. He stepped out of the shadows and my heart clenched so tightly that I actually gasped in my next breath.
“Maya!” Lace was more forceful this time. “What’s wrong? What did you see?”
Still no words emerged, because I was trying to figure out if he was real. Was it possible any man could be that unbelievably gorgeous? His face … it had been the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. Dark and exotic, full lips, a strong jaw … it was the sort of face movie stars would kill to have.
A body bumped me hard; the dance floor was getting so crowded. I stumbled forward. By the time I regained my footing and turned to the wall, he was gone. Without thought, moving in a frantic, almost trance-like state, I ran to where he’d been standing. But there was no one even close to this spot now.
What the hell just happened?
Had I literally just imagined that? Could my drink have been spiked after all?
“Maya! For shit’s sake, girl.” Lace reached out and grabbed my arm, startling me. “You’re gonna give me a heart attack. Don’t just run off like that, lookin’ like you just saw an axe-wielding psycho.”
I blinked at her slowly, and she examined me closer. “Was there actually a psycho?” she asked, her eyes roving around just like mine had done. Courtney joined us then, face creased in concern.
I shook my head. “I thought … I thought I saw something … or someone. Never mind … I might just be losing my mind.” I shook my head again, more vigorously, and hoped some sanity would return with it.
I didn’t feel drugged, just a little buzzed. But maybe this was something new, undetectable except for weird hallucinations of fantasy men. My burst of laughter did nothing to ease the concerned looks on my friends’ faces.
I waved it away, shaking my head. “It’s all good. Come on, let’s dance again.”
Neither looked convinced, but they did turn to head back toward the crowd. As I took the first step, I noticed something on the ground, almost hidden in the darkness. Leaning down, I picked it up, praying it wasn’t a used tampon or something equally as gross.
Lifting my hand toward the light, I blinked a few times. It was a leaf, but not like any leaf I’d seen before. The stem was a bright golden color. At first I thought it was one of those artificial plants, but as I closed my hand on it crushing the leaf, a strong scent of pine and mint drifted to me.
With a shake of my head, I dropped it back into the darkness. There was too much weird happening for my liking. I needed to go back to my normal life.
There were no more glimpses of gorgeous strangers for the rest of the night, just the standard Dae students and a few newbies from neighboring schools. I found Brad later, playing poker with Mitchell and a few other football and soccer jocks.
He caught my eye as I stepped into their corner of the room. I lifted my wrist and pointed to my watch. He picked up his phone, and realizing it was almost 1 A.M., threw down his cards and gathered up his money.
“Ready to go, Maiz?” he said when he reached me.
I nodded. “Yep. My feet are killing me. I’ve hit my dance quota for the night.”
As we walked toward the stairs – the place was still mega-packed – I asked him, “Are you fine to drive? How much did you have to drink?”
“Totally fine,” he told me. “I only had that one beer when we first got here, and I didn’t even finish it. I’ve been on water since.”
I wasn’t surprised. If there was one thing Brad would never do, it was drink and drive. He’d lost his cousin a few years ago; the college junior wrapped his Beemer around a pole. Now, if Brad caught any of his friends even thinking about getting behind the wheel after drinking, he was right in their faces until they gave him their keys.
The further up the stairs we got, the colder the air was, and by the time we stepped out onto the lawn I was shivering. “This weather is the worst,” I whined. “I’m probably going to get a chill and die.”
“You’re so dramatic,” Brad said with a shake of his head. “You’re not going to die in the two minutes to the car.”
“How can you know that for sure?” I countered.
If he didn’t think it was completely unmanly, he’d totally be rolling his eyes at me right now. “Come on, you annoying brat.”
He ruffled my hair, and I bit back the curse words just waiting to be flung at his annoying ass. It took longer than it should have to reach the car, because Brad had to high-five and fist bump every idiot along the way. At least my glare and chattering teeth kept him from lingering any longer than the bare minimum.
Once I was inside, I started bouncing in my seat. “Hurry up and get the heater on!”
The car started with a roar, and I got a deadpan look. “Anything else, your majesty?”
Considering it for a beat, I finally shook my head. “No, I’m good. Just get me home in one piece.”
He winked at me. “Consider it done.”
As we pulled out of Mitchell’s little subdivision, a bunch of police cars and dark SUVs screamed past us. “Think they’re going to break up the party?” Brad asked, turning a confused face in my direction.
“Um … four police cars and four undercover cars is a little excessive, don’t you think?” Guess it was possible. There were a lot of kids there.
Brad shrugged, before inclining his head toward his phone in the center console. “Can you text Owens, just in case. Let him know he needs to shut down the underage drinking.”
Opening up the app, I quickly sent out a text to Mitchell, explaining what we’d seen. Brad’s phone buzzed almost immediately with a “thx dude.”
I gave Brad the message and he relaxed. “You’re a good friend,” I told him, sinking back into the heated seat. “Despite my continued annoyance at your inability to treat women decently.”
He ruffled my hair. I swiped his hand away and he laughed.
“And because you won’t leave my damn hair alone.”
“You know I respect women. I just don’t want to settle down. Something I make very clear far in advance of our hookups.”
I would grudgingly give him that point. He made no false promises, but that didn’t mean he didn’t leave broken hearts behind. The ones who cared always hoped he’d change for them. And he never had.
I was just opening my mouth to ask him if it was possible that he hadn’t settled yet because he hadn’t found the right person, but before I could say anything he hit the brakes hard and I threw both hands out toward the dash to brace myself. My seatbelt saved me from faceplanting at least.
“Dude…” I said, pushing my hair back and glaring at him. “A little warning before you slam on the brakes like…”
I trailed off as I finally registered the look on his face as he stared out the front windshield. Swinging around, I followed his line of sight, and blinking a few times, let out a low gasp. “What in the ever-loving world is going on?” I murmured.
Four black SUVs, looking very similar to the ones we’d passed on the way to the party, were blocking the road.
“I almost hit them,” Brad growled, looking slightly less shocked. “They overtook me and then swerved right in front of me, blocking the road.”
“What do you think they want?” I asked, trying not to let the fear I felt creep into my voice. “Late at night, unmarked vans. Is this a carjacking?”
“I’m going to reverse and get the hell out of here,” Brad said grimly. “I don’t like this. Your parents are important. Mine are also in the government. We’re definitely prime targets for kidnapping.”
He was right. Even though I knew nothing about what sort of work my parents did, it had to be important. Why else would there be so much secrecy?
Brad shifted the gear to reverse, but when he turned his head to look he realized a few cars were close behind us, blocking us in. There was literally no way for him to go backwards, and the street was too narrow to turn around quickly.
“Shit,” he growled.
Pulling out my phone to dial 911, I thought about the argument I’d had last year with my father about assigning a permanent bodyguard to me. I told him it was a definite no. I would never be okay with someone following me around every day. I was kind of regretting that decision right about now. Damn my stubborn teen tendencies.
As I went to dial, I noticed that I had fifteen messages and dozens of missed calls. My phone had been on silent because I never heard it at parties. Still, that many notifications was unusual enough that I opened the app, finding that they were all from my parents and Gracie.
“They’re getting out of the car,” Brad warned me, his voice low and rough. “They’re in suits, but criminals dress nice too, so don’t let your guard down.”
I was too busy reading through my messages to check out the “suits.”
Maya, you need to call us ASAP!!! This was from my father.
The next was my mom: There has been an emergency at work. You are in danger. Do not go home. Do NOT let anyone take you anywhere. Tell us where you are and we will come for you.
Gracie: Maya, parents looking for you. Very worried. Please call.
I jerked my head up and stared at the suited men who were twenty feet from our car. “I need to run,” I said to Brad. “My parents just texted. I think I’m in danger.”
Brad opened his mouth, no doubt to ask a million questions I didn’t have time to answer, but I was already moving. My belt was undone and I was out of the car in almost the same instant. “Follow me,” I said to him through the open door before I took off.
I picked a direction the opposite way to the men and started to run without looking back. I knew my city well, but I also hadn’t spent much time in this particular area, especially late at night.
Maybe the darkness would give me an advantage. I could put some distance between them and then hide until my parents got me.
“Maya!” I heard Brad’s shout. He didn’t sound like he was too far away, so I slowed slightly to let him catch up. He was a hundred times fitter and stronger than me, which might come in handy if I needed to scale a fence or something.
“What the fuck is going on?” he said, as he reached my side.
Our feet hit a rhythm together. He had to slow his run to keep up with my shorter legs. Not to mention I was in damn heels. “I have no idea,” I said, breathing hard. “Parents said danger and not to get taken by anyone, so I’m running and hiding.”
I hit my mom’s number on the phone, which I’d thankfully not dropped in my haste to run. It rang in my ear, over and over, but there was no answer.
“Shit.”
My father’s number was next, and I had no expectations that he was going to answer either. But he did: “Maya, little one, where are you?”
I could have cried at the deep, rich drawl. “Dad, I need your help. Some men tried to stop us … they’re after us now.” I assumed they were anyway. I had not looked back yet.
Brad did glance over his shoulder as I spoke, and when I met his gaze it looked grim. They were definitely after us.
“Maya, get out of Alexandria immediately. I can’t speak to you on the phone about it, but you’re not safe right now.”
“Where should I go?” I asked, my heart sinking as I realized no help was coming for me. “Why aren’t we calling the police?”
“No!” came the forceful reply. “The police cannot be trusted. Do not trust anyone until you find us and we explain it all
.”
The police had been with those black SUVs before…
“So where do I go?” I asked, wondering if the “anyone” included Brad. Because it was far too late not to trust him, he was my family.
“Maya…” That low call from Brad had the blood pumping faster through my body. “They’re gaining on us. You need to get off the phone.”
My talking was too loud, which was not helping me “hide” in the darkness. Not to mention it was slowing us down. “I have to go, Dad. They’re catching up to us.”
I heard his low rumble of anger and knew it was frustration at being so far away from me. “Ditch your phone as soon as you hang up,” he told me. “Brad, too. They can track your cells. Then get to the place where I took you last summer. Close to my work. Meet in our favorite spot.”
The line went dead, and I let out a sobbing gasp before lifting the phone and pitching it as hard as I could against the wall. “Get rid of your phone,” I told Brad, my voice wavering as I tried to keep it together.
Brad didn’t even question me. He pulled his cell from his pocket and did the same thing I had, smashing it against a nearby wall.
“How far back are they?” I asked, picking up the pace. My legs were starting to ache, mostly because I was sprinting in heels. Sure, I was excellent at walking and even running in heels, but not for long distances. Plus, I was freezing.
“About twenty yards.”
Trying not to panic, I said, “We need to get to Washington. If you see a cab, grab it.”
My bag was slung across my body, so I still had plenty of cash on me. And I knew exactly where my father wanted me to go – to the park near the White House. He always joked that his next-door neighbor was a very stately, shiny sort of fellow. Looked like I was going to find out exactly where he worked.
Chapter 3
“We need to get to a more populated area.” Brad didn’t sound remotely breathless. “There are not going to be any cabs down these side streets.”
He was worried, and I knew why. If we didn’t get out of the back alleys, we were going to find more trouble than just the guys behind us.