Taunted Souls: A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Janice Ross

No response, though I noticed a slight glistening of moisture escape down her cheek. I prepared to stand. She dropped her purse and extended a palm up.

  “Like what?” I asked once more. I never once questioned her motives; figured that she’d someday explain. Actually, it had gotten to the point where I didn’t care to know, but this present drama with Lucas had me thinking. What if our past had tracked us down? What if whatever it was she’d escaped that day in Miami had come looking for her? What if, God forbid, Van and Axel decided to finish me off after all this time? If I turned up missing or dead, there wouldn’t be any closure. “Like what? Emma, that day—”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring up that day or that life. We’ve got something safe here in Delaware.”

  The room grew cold; her expression, with her forehead tipped forward on the window, made me want to know. To hell with warnings.

  “After all this time, if our skeletons haven’t found us yet, then I don’t think they’re coming.”

  “I can’t imagine yours are nearly as bad as mine.” When she faced me, her face was smeared up with tears. Her pupils were terrifyingly huge. “My past is a whole lot worse than some tired-ass club owner with issues.”

  “What exactly do you know about Van?” My fingers swooped up to hold onto my lips. That name rode my mind over the years, not too frequently, but enough. “And you never told me how you happened to turn up just as I needed you.”

  “Sweetie, someday, when and if the time is right, I’ll—”

  “No!” I jumped up. Within two steps, my hands prepared to reach out for her.

  She waved me off. “I don’t think you understand, Shayna. Our friendship is too important to me. I don’t want to drag you into my mess. Why do you think I never agreed to move into your house? Why do you think I try to stay off the radar? You think I enjoy living in Delaware?”

  “Emma, if anything were to happen to you, what then? There wouldn’t be any closure.” At the mere thought of the possibilities, I wept. I cried for the what-ifs, the maybes, and all things that could ever be. “You’re my best friend, my sister.”

  “And I plan on keeping it that way. I promise you, I’ll explain things one day soon. Let’s just get over this Lucas thing first.”

  I moved to reply, but she held up her hand. Before I could protest further, my phone rang. Emma reached it a second before me.

  Unavailable.

  Emma snatched it open, yanking from my direction to direct it to her ear. “Who’s this?” After pulling away briefly and switching to speaker, we concentrated on the screen. “Who?” she asked.

  “Shayna?” a deep voice asked.

  “Who’s—”

  “I ask the questions.”

  “What? I’m here. This is Shayna. Who’s this?” I pleaded, aware of the desperation in my tone. The veins in my temple flexed; there was a tightening in my chest. A wash of anxiety raced over me. I squeezed Emma’s hand, while gripping onto the cell.

  “Where’s Rory?”

  Emma elbowed me.

  “He . . . he’s—”

  “Look .” Emma undid my grip as she spoke. “We’re not answering any questions until you fill us in. Where’s Lucas? Why do you have him? What the hell—”

  “This is my show!” the guy yelled into the line and terminated the call.

  “What was that, Emma? He’s gonna hurt him, or worse.”

  “Why do you think he called? He’s looking for Rory. If he was only looking to do away with Lucas,” she paused to shrug off her insensitive words, “we would’ve found a body. Call Rory.”

  Emma didn’t bother to have me follow through. I didn’t fight it. My bestie was passionate enough for the both of us. She knew how deep my emotions ran for Lucas. I think she might’ve wanted a Lucas and Shayna even more than I did; believe me, I wanted it badly too.

  This whole thing with Lucas being taken.

  Honestly, who takes someone anymore?

  Who kidnaps a grown man?

  Furthermore, what kinda crap is Lucas involved in?

  Is his darkness worse than mine?

  “Rory just got to Erika’s family’s place, but there’s no Erika there. And guess what, no one knows an Erika either.” The eye that had just been sad and detached now brightened. I’m sure it was the challenge of solving this puzzle that got her going.

  “What do you mean?”

  As Emma explained the missing case of my Lucas’s illusive fiancée, I couldn’t help but get angry over his choice. For whatever reason, he’d allowed himself to get suckered in like that. “How the hell could he get fooled like that?”

  “I don’t know, Shay, but don’t take it lightly. There has to be more to this.”

  “Emma, you thought life would be different in Delaware.”

  “It was. It is. Don’t worry, my BFF. Rory doesn’t seem like the type of guy to let things go.”

  We stood at the corner, waiting for Rory’s black Mustang to pull up. Emma wore sky-gray tights with a light pink, cotton tee. I’d thrown on khaki shorts and a green tank. I personally felt out of place, dropped dead smack in the middle a fashionista’s haven. Our surroundings were overtaken by women in high-end designs with a world of class. While I got drawn in, Emma drew others in with her nonchalant persona. This had to be one of the reasons I valued being around her.

  She reached for my arm, wrapping her fingers around my wrist and drawing me to stand beside her. “You stick out like a sore thumb.”

  “Really?”

  “You didn’t know?” She formed a wide O with her mouth as her eyes expanded.

  “Of course I do. It’s that darn pun.” I jabbed her with my forearm.

  “Glad you can joke around.”

  “I gotta do something to keep my mind off of Lucas. It’s not that I don’t care or anything. I’m hella tense. The fresh air—”

  “Fresh air.” Emma quickly looked around, dropping my hand as hers extended around us. Before she could get back to her overly dramatic self, a horn sounded. We glanced up in time to see Rory’s ride rush in front of two cabbies and halt directly in front of us.

  “My kinda guy,” Emma said out loud.

  I shook my head and took the back seat without a second thought. Rory’s hand quickly reached over to yank at Emma’s seatbelt, once she secured it. I leaned my head to the left, from behind the driver’s seat. Emma shifted just enough for me to see a sly grin cross her face.

  “Their ratings just went up,” Rory stated from out of nowhere.

  “Whose ratings? What are you talking about?” Emma shifted to her left, then ran her hand along the side of his face.

  I would’ve asked the same question, but the vibe between the two kinda caught me off guard. I’m not entirely sure why I hadn’t noticed it before now, or maybe it was something new.

  “You didn’t see the cameras?”

  “What cameras?”

  “TV cameras.”

  “Why would there be cameras on a random street?” Emma questioned, immediately sitting up in her seat. “National or local?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “National or local?” she reiterated in a shaky tone.

  “Calm down. Don’t know why—”

  “Damn, Rory, are you a fricken idiot?”

  “Must be to still have you in my car when your ass is behaving like a total—”

  “Don’t you dare say it!”

  “Then don’t act it.”

  “Are you guys kidding me?” I was finally able to interject. I shifted to the edge of the seat. Rory had just pulled onto the Whitestone Bridge. To keep from getting knocked over by his shifty driving, I placed my palms on the headrest of each chair.

  “Shay, we need to talk.” Emma scooted around, then undid her seatbelt. “Pull over.”

  She literally grabbed at the wheel. I fell to the seat, hitting the top of my head on the door. I completely lost balance and nearly ended up on the floor.

  “What the hell?” Rory grunt
ed out. I watched him maneuver around and beside other cars that came within inches of slamming into us.

  “Shayna,” Emma said by way of drawn-out syllables.

  “What's up? You're acting totally irrational.” I caught a glimpse of Rory through the car window. He was hammering away at his phone, not paying attention to our chat.

  “Did you not hear what Rory said?” Emma's pupils shifted around. “Shay, your guard didn't shoot up?”

  Maybe it was the traffic all around as we leaned against the sporty ride, while wasting time on the streets. Maybe even the fact that this hiatus was only taking away from us being able to track down Lucas. I couldn't be too sure.

  I shrugged.

  “The damn cameras he mentioned,” she threw out, and then walked off. After causing several strangers to swerve around her straight march to the front of a Golden Krust storefront, Emma turned to face me. Her dramatic side was sometimes too much for me to handle.

  I felt the urge to shout out accusations, but something told me she was dead serious about something I'd missed entirely. With me teetering against the car, peering her way suspiciously, she returned a desperate gaze. The rattling of an approaching train from nearby just seemed to give me a headache.

  “What the hell is this?” Rory shouted, finally stepping out of the car. “I thought we had something better to do than stand around the godforsaken streets.”

  Emma stormed over to me, gripped my arm and whispered into my ear, “These friggin’ cameras are national, right?”

  The light bulb flickered on as her sentence formed. I guess it didn't necessarily make much sense to me, since we were here, and our past lives were there.

  “But . . . but . . .” I couldn't formulate a reason to not worry, with the exception of the miles from Florida to New York. “What if it was local news, as opposed to national?”

  “You got five seconds to get in the car before I drive off,” Rory shouted out, bringing Emma and me back to the present moment.

  Tears lingered on my lashes, but I refused to let them fall. Instead, we hugged. Turning slightly, I spewed a lie into her ear, “We're okay.”

  “Now!” Rory barked, causing all attention to turn in our direction.

  We hustled along. She reclaimed the front seat and I hopped into the back just in time for Rory to drive off. My fingers shook and a helluva lump formed in my throat, but those fears had to be minor. Lucas’s life hung in the balance. As the saying went, I needed to pull on my big girl panties, or maybe man up would be the better analogy. Either way, I needed to dig deep down, in order to rescue the man I’d only just now allowed myself to give into.

  Rory barked out orders, over how we’d take on this mission. I listened wholeheartedly, even as the sun settled in the distance and my fears of the past held me captive.

  —————

  LUCAS

  AN INTENSE LIGHT burned through my eyelids, accompanied by the stale stench of mold as I woke. Not entirely sure how I’d ended up there, I surveyed my surroundings. My hands were tied and secured to a wooden chair. A single light bulb hung in the center of the cold, basement-like room. I could hear low crackles, as if liquid was dripping through the ceiling; which had to be about twelve feet from the ground. Just my luck I had a psychotic friend, one that I’d known for years.

  “Du-dude,” I managed. My throat had a raspy feel, sorta like sandpaper. “You gotta have a plan. Come talk to me.”

  I could hear footsteps nearing the door; one tread heavier than the other. I shifted around in the seat, which was damn uncomfortable. Keys crashed together at a solid wooden door, then the lock turned. I formed a scowl. A flashlight trailed Bash’s path, but then right behind him I saw a thin hand.

  Erika appeared at his side. My ex-fiancée! The chick I’d saved. The chick I’d made the sacrifice of a friendship to marry. Yeah, Erika.

  “Hi, Lucas,” she handed out, detached. Her gaze played peekaboo with mine.

  “Hi, Lucas? You’re caught up in this shit, and all you have to say is ‘hi Lucas’?” I slumped into the high-backed wooden seat, exhaling in her direction. Only then did I realize my feet had also been secured to the chair, though the slack ran past me to somewhere beyond the wall.

  “How long have you known each other?” Being unsure of their plans, I couldn’t imagine someone going through the trouble of taking a person and tying them up in a shitty room to just set them free. I needed closure if they had plans to kill me.

  “I’ve always known her,” Bash confessed.

  “Help me understand this shit, you’ve known her longer than we’ve been boys?” I coughed, the musky air flying down my throat.

  “Yeah, something like that.” Bash smirked.

  “Whatever the hell is going on here, I’m gonna need you to lay this shit out for me and do whatever the hell you need to do.” I rattled the chair, wanting to break it, tip it or something. I had ab-so-fricken-lutely no patience with this sort of thing.

  “We need to wait for Rory first,” Erika stated coyly.

  “He’s in on this too?”

  “Nah, but he’ll find you.”

  “How the hell is he supposed to find me?”

  “Because I set the trap.” Bash walked over to me with his hands holding steady behind my back. His lips formed a thin, overly wide grin.

  “Look, just knock my ass out again and wake me up when you’re ready to explain things because—”

  A blunt force connected with my head.

  —————

  LUCAS

  “YOU KNOW WHAT’LL happen, right?” Rory stepped into the room. Not only did he walk in with his eyes fixed on Bash, then Erika, he assessed the entire space. When his eyes pulled over me, I nodded.

  “There’s no easy way out of here, man.” Bash, who wasn’t normally cocky, grew strength. Yeah, he felt confident since it appeared that he had the upper hand for now. But Rory, being the hothead that I’d known forever, wasn’t liable to approach something so far-fetched without planning.

  “I knew you were a snake all along,” Rory expressed, though his eyes still raked over the room. “Lucas is a true brother; you, not so much.”

  “What gave me away?” Bash smirked. Though he held a gun in his right hand, he backed up when Rory approached him.

  “I’ve been around enough snakes to know. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, though.”

  “You regret that shit now, don’t you?”

  Rory shrugged. He took two circular steps; this time he stood a short distance from Erika. “You two, huh?”

  She lowered her head.

  “The thing I don’t understand is what’s the big deal?” He extended his arms outward. Erika leapt backwards.

  The door shot open to reveal another one of their accomplices. “Everything okay?”

  “Of course,” Bash quickly stated, while he showed off a slight black piece.

  “Do you think that intimidates me?” Rory said.

  “Damn sure better be, bro. This represents dead intimidation.”

  Rory didn’t say another word. He approached Bash, who gripped tighter on the handle. I knew enough to know that Rory scared the crap out of Bash. Rory had never been the type to give a damn about his life. The way he always saw it and must’ve seen it now—Rory would always go out fighting.

  “Let’s just get this over with,” Erika said. Her heels clanked on the concrete floor as she rushed over to stand beside the snake, Bash.

  “You good, bro?” Rory asked, glancing around them.

  I tipped up my chin.

  “So what is this?”

  “I need to ask you two,” Bash began. He pointed the gun from Rory to me, then continued, “Where did the money come from?”

  “Money? You’re doing this bullshit over—”

  Click . . .

  Rory didn’t blink. I suddenly felt weak; not because I wouldn’t be able to defend myself, but because I was tied to the damn chair and unable to bust the shit out of Bash. I rocked
, to the point of nearly tipping over. That would’ve been fine with me, since it was no longer one on two, or one on three. The damn chair refused to fall.

  Bash motioned with the gun for Rory to move to my end of the room. He shuffled over, stopping about three feet to my side.

  “Get on with this,” I spat out. “I’m over the dramatic crap. Say what you gotta say and finish off this shit because if you don’t—”

  “What? If I don’t, then what?” he cut me off.

  “The two of you have had enough say in everyone’s lives.” Erika slapped at her forehead. “You ruined my life!”

  “That first night you saved Erika,” Bash began. He licked his lips, then smirked. “She’d bumped into you.”

  “Bash was right there, lurking in the darkness,” Erika leaned forward to add. I zoned into her. All I was capable of focusing on was the darkness sprouting from all around her. I’m not talking about the light in the room or anything like that. I mean the bitch was behaving like she had some type of right to me, or to be in my damn presence. And without even trying to do so, a scowl cut across my lips.

  “But then you screwed him easy,” Rory filled in. He didn’t have an ounce of respect for her. Can’t say he ever liked her.

  “Your boy took the bait, and got screwed.” Bash’s slight talk would amount to nothing. I knew Rory had to have come in here with a plan that was bound to explode any second now. I didn’t expect anything less from him.

  “Like you’re about to?” Rory took a step closer to Bash.

  “I’m in control.” Bash prepped the gun. He positioned it, gripping two hands on the handle. I could tell he wouldn’t feel confident without it.

  Rory shrugged. He didn’t pull back or pull up.

  “Let’s get this over with. This place is creepy.” Erika redirected Bash by tugging on his shirt.

  From outside the door, we heard an echoed thump. Erika ran off to a corner. Bash spun to look at the door. And Rory rushed for him. They fell onto the concrete, and the gun slid over to the opposite end of the room. I quickly looked in the direction that my ex-fiancée had run. As luck would have it, her eyes zoomed in on mine at that very moment. But it was useless on my part, since I was fricken hog-tied to the chair. I yanked with all of my body. The rope squeezed every inch of me, but I couldn’t give up; I wouldn’t give up.