TAKEN BY CHOICE
BY Jessica Frances
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Jessica Frances
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
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Cover Design by MGBookcovers
Editing by C&D Editing
Taken By Surprise – Book 1
Taken By Force – Book 2
Taken By Choice – Book 3
CHARLIE NICHOLS
Chapter 1 – The Drugs
The Jail, Minnesota
February 1st
Opening my eyes, I’m blinded by light so I shield them quickly and try to remember where I am. The fact that I’m not at the cabin and Zoe isn’t next to me is immediately apparent. I try to move, only to find that I’m restrained. I struggle to free myself, but I can’t manage it. As my breathing quickens, I try to think of what happened to me. I think back to D.C. and recall Zoe, Will and me getting into the car accident on our way there. Two people who also have abilities stopped us. Ocean and Maggie. Maggie shot Will several times and I attacked Ocean.
My head aches, but I keep pushing to remember. I need to know if we got out of there okay.
We got away, Zoe insisting on us taking Ocean with us and leaving him at a hospital because he had been shot by Maggie, who’d been aiming for me. I was ready to leave him and not give it a second thought, but Zoe fought to have us take him. She thought it was important. It had been a close call. Too close. I was so angry at Zoe for making us drive him; he wasn’t our responsibility. Besides, he almost killed us!
I shake away the anger and keep thinking.
We made it to D.C. where I caused a blackout after I saw that creepy man hurting Zoe. We had to run and eventually we made it back to the cabin. Zoe was acting strange, she was freaking out. She knew something was wrong. We’d walked into a trap.
My heart rate accelerates and my arms automatically twitch, though I’m still trapped and unable to move more than an inch. I know that what I’m about to recall won’t be good. Something went horribly wrong at the cabin.
We were attacked; P.A.G.E. found us, and as we run into the forest to get away, I saw Zoe being grabbed by a man. I tried to get to her; I was running towards her. I can remember the cold air burning my lungs, the scratches from the branches I brushed passed to get to her, and recall the moment my heart squeezed painfully enough to try to bring me to my knees when that man grabbed hold of her and dared to strike her. Then, out of nowhere, someone knocked me down, then my vision on Zoe faltered as I attempted to get my bearings.
That is as far as I can remember. The rest is blank.
What happened out there? Have we all been caught? Is Zoe here somewhere right now?
I fight my restraints harder and my wrists ache from the struggle, but they don’t loosen.
I open my eyes again, but this time I’m surrounded in darkness and I know why. I’ve turned everything off. My panic is reaching meltdown levels, and I know I need to calm down. My entire life I’ve been able to calm myself down reasonably easy. I’ve always been aware not to let my emotions control me. It doesn’t always mean I can control when I cause a blackout, but it does help me keep a clear head in a bad situation. Yet, right now, not knowing what has happened to Zoe, where I am or where the others are, I have zero hope of keeping calm.
My legs are also tied up, but I can make out enough to see that I’m lying face up on a bed in what appears to be some sort of hospital room. I turn my head, which seems to be the only part of me I can move, and see another figure in the same position as me in the next bed. I squint into the darkness, trying to recognize who it is—hoping for someone I know—and make out the features of a male face. The short hair and young features both let me know it’s Will.
I struggle harder. If they’ve caught Will, then hope for the rest of them just got harder to find.
“Will!” I call out to him, my voice rough. He doesn’t stir. “WILL!” I yell at the top of my lungs. His head only jerks to the side. I yell his name four more times before I see his eyes open.
“Charlie?” he mumbles slowly, still looking dazed.
“Will, wake the fuck up,” I demand, not allowing myself to consider why Will is struggling more than me. He’s stronger; he should recover a lot easier than this. “Come on, we’ve been taken,” I urge.
“Taken where?” Will turns his head away from me, facing the other side. I fear he’s falling back asleep.
“I don’t know. What do you remember? Do you know if Zoe is okay? Rose?”
“I…” Will’s voice trails off and I bite my lips to stop myself from snapping at him to hurry up. “I don’t know.”
I growl in anger. “Can you get out of those restraints?”
“What restraints?” Will carefully sits up, proving his arms and legs are free.
“They probably knew nothing could restrain you. Come over here and free me, quickly.”
Despite my words, Will slowly moves out of bed, looking weak on his feet as he stumbles over to me. He pulls on the leather straps around my wrists and ankles, and after a couple of tugs, is able to free me.
I swing my legs over the side of my bed, and when my feet hit the ground, they’re unable to hold me up. My knees crack on the floor and I’m only barely able to keep myself kneeling. My chest feels heavy, as if it’s trying hard to topple me to the ground.
“Charlie?” Will rushes around the side as quick as he can manage and holds out his hand to help me up. When I’m standing, we both fall back to sit on my bed. I’m exhausted from the effort.
I see a bandage over my arm that feels tender at my touch, however I have no idea how I hurt myself.
“Stupid drugs,” I complain. If Zoe and Rose are somewhere else here, we won’t be able to find them yet.
“I didn’t feel this bad the last time they drugged me,” Will complains, his legs still dangling over the edge of my bed.
“They probably dosed you with enough to kill any normal person,” I state bitterly.
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to search this place for Zoe and Rose and then we’re getting the hell out of here,” I say determinedly, even though my body has other ideas.
“What if they took them somewhere else? What if we’re separated?” Will yawns, looking at odds with his worried questions.
“Then we won’t stop looking until we find them.”
He stays silent, but I don’t have to look back at him to know he agrees with me, to know he is with me.
“How do you think they found us?”
I growl in anger, already knowing full well whose fault it is. “It’s my fault; I fucked up in D.C. and screwed this whole thing up. Me and my stupid blackouts.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is.”
We’re silent for a while, and when I look to my side, Will’s eyes are closed. I almost think he’s asleep before he asks me a question. “What if Zoe and Rose got away?”
I feel a small amount of relief thinking that maybe Zoe isn’t here, although it’s short lived. If Rose and she weren’t caught, then I can guess what their next move will be. “Then they’ll no doubt be coming to find us and we can’t let that happen.”
“Why not? They might be able to help us escape here.”
“Yes, or they might just end up getting caught. No matter what, Will, we do whatever it takes to make sure they’re safe.”
When Will nods, I only just see it in the darkn
ess. My eyesight is closing in, and I know I’m going to pass out soon.
“I feel dizzy,” Will complains.
“Me, too. When you wake up, if we’re separated, make sure you don’t give up until you find them.”
“I promise.” Will’s voice is strong with his conviction, but the moment is ruined when, in seconds, I hear his heavy breathing. I look back at him to find he’s asleep.
My fatigue tries to take over me, but the fear that Zoe is hurt and near keeps me awake. I need to at least try to find her.
I slowly move down the bed, steadying myself on the ground, but even though my legs hold me up briefly, I know I don’t have the strength to move forward.
It’s useless; I’m useless. I need to rest and regain my strength so I can do this properly.
I sit back down on the bed and lie back next to Will, looking over his young features. He’s already grown again since he and Rose picked me up in Wisconsin only six weeks ago. He’s getting stronger and bigger. I know he’s my ticket out of here as well as my best chance to finding Zoe and Rose. Will’s already proven he’s pretty much bulletproof, so now I just have to work out how to best use that to help us.
As I close my eyes, my arms twitch, wanting to reach out and touch Zoe. I’m craving the feel of her next to me, having her in my arms. I need her with me, I need to protect her and keep her safe. She needs me as I know I need her. I won’t stop fighting until she is with me; until we’re both safe and away from P.A.G.E. for good.
ROSE MONTGOMERY
Chapter 2 – The Proposal
The Core, Washington D.C.
February 14th
When Dean and I enter a room that has four computers with two men working away at them, Dean takes the one on the left and I take the one on the right. My guy is easy to disarm and knock out. The booze smell coming out of him probably explains why. Dean, however, is having more trouble with his guy as the guard has Dean locked by the throat against the wall.
I pick up a heavy looking manual sitting on the desk and knock him over the head, which is enough to distract the guard. He lets go of Dean who then kicks him to the ground and gives him another kick in his head just to be sure. The guard is knocked out instantly and I sigh in relief, moving over to the computer my guy had been working on.
I move my fingers over the keyboard at lightning speed, trying to bring up as many files as possible that have to do with Will and Charlie. It already has taken us several more minutes than we’ve planned to get here, including setting off an alarm that is trying to deafen me permanently. I almost wish I could turn it off, but I don’t have time to do that. I have to find Will and Charlie; if not for my sake, then for Zoe’s because that girl is struggling.
I’m a few minutes into my search when I notice Dean staring nervously at me. I don’t give it much thought as I glance back at the screen, but when I look again a minute later, he hasn’t stopped.
“What?” I snap before again going back to the screen. As soon as I find Will and Charlie’s location, a place called The Jail that’s situated at an old abandoned jail in Minnesota, I commit the location to memory.
“Marry me.”
“What?” I stop moving mid-key and turn to face Dean.
“I love you, Rose. I want you to marry me.” He crouches in front of me and takes my hands in his. His eyes are so full of love and hope.
“Dean, now is so not the time for this,” I gasp, unable to look away from him while my heart beats frantically in my chest.
“I don’t care. I need you to be mine. I have been through a lot with you this past year and I would do every step of it again if it means being with you.”
While I stare at him in shock, not even the piercing alarm breaks the spell I’m trapped in, staring into Dean’s eyes. “I’m only twenty. I’m not sure thatI’m—I can’t even go home, you can’t go home…” Tears fall down my face.
“I’ve never been surer of something in my life. You’re the one for me, and if you’re not ready, then okay. I’ll be waiting here until you are because I know we’re meant to be together.”
Just then, an explosion rocks the room and Dean wraps his arms around me, ready to try to protect me from any falling debris. I think we’re both a little stunned when the room stays standing and the computers remain on.
“What the hell was that?” I demand, momentarily broken from the intensity of the moment.
“I don’t know, but we better hurry up. If the bombs are detonating early, then we don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.” Dean takes a quick peek outside our room as I refocus on setting up viruses.
“Do you think Zoe and Blake are okay?” I ask worriedly, fearful that maybe we shouldn’t have trusted him. Zoe seems to think he’s okay, and I took her word, but she isn’t really on her game right now. She’s torn up over losing Charlie. Maybe Blake is a mole. Even if he isn’t a plant from Stan, then maybe he’s the type of guy who’ll leave Zoe when things get tough.
“I’m sure they’re fine, the explosion got rid of some of the guards outside.” Dean quickly shuts the door again and ducks just as a mass of bullets shoot through it.
“Get down!” I demand of him, ushering him to come my way. Instead, he goes back over to the door and barricades us inside. He throws one of the computers onto the ground and drags the desk in front of the door. He just makes it passed as another pile of bullets chip the wood and fly through it.
“We might have a problem,” he huffs, just as I finish loading the virus through their network.
“I’m done. Let’s go.” I stand up, looking at the door which now has a desk wedged in under the door handle. It’s the only exit in the room.
“I guess we can do this like old times?” Dean smirks and then looks up at the vent above us.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whine, hating this idea already. I glance back at my watch; knowing we don’t have time for this. “Can’t we just shoot our way out of this?” I ask, but I already recognize that isn’t a good idea. The likelihood of us getting hit or killed is a lot higher.
Dean pushes the computer I’d just been using onto the ground and stands on the desk, causing him to be too close to the door for my liking. Thankfully, they appear to have stopped shooting at it, and instead, I hear them banging into it, trying to get it open.
“It’s blocked,” a man on the other side of the door complains.
I stand up on the desk, and while on my tiptoes, I can just reach the vent. I’m not much help, yet together we try to lift the vent up, and as another explosion rocks the building, Dean is able to wedge the vent out of place.
“How much longer do we have?” Dean is worried as he throws the vent onto the ground.
I look down at my watch. “Six minutes.”
“Move.” He doesn’t wait for me to be ready, he just wraps his arms around my middle and lifts me up.
This time I’m stronger and I know I don’t have time to mess around. I propel myself upwards. Then, as soon as my legs are in, I scoot forward, listening to Dean move behind me. This vent is smaller than the one at the bank, however, so I can’t imagine how Dean is managing to fit. We pass several vents before Dean grabs my ankle to let me know he wants us to stop. I move passed like I did back at the bank, and he is luckily able to lift this vent up easier. He drops it to the ground and jumps down. Just like before at the bank, I swing my legs over the edge and let go, already knowing he’ll catch me.
He wraps his arms around me to lessen my impact and for one moment we gaze at each other. The love in his eyes makes me breathless. In that moment, everything becomes clear, and I see my entire life with this man in front of me; every passionate moment, every argument and every bit of love. He is my future, just like I am his.
“Yes.”
Confusion crosses his face for only a split second before pure ecstasy replaces it.
“Yes?” he gasps, gripping hold of me tighter so that my body is completely flush against his.
�
��Yes!” I yell, smiling and wanting to enjoy this moment for eternity. This is perfect, this is right.
Dean laughs, quickly kissing me, but before I can wrap my hands around his neck and deepen it like I’m so desperate to do, he lets go of me and takes my hand.
Within seconds we’re rushing through the building and away from the group of guards outside the room we’ve been in. We stay tense, knowing we can’t afford to run into any guards on our way out. The familiar corridors we moved through to get to the computer room fly by us, and I know we’re only a few corners from making it to the exit we came through what feels like a lifetime ago.
Even though the situation is dire and we’re only moments from being trapped in a building set to explode, I feel happiness. As long as Dean and I are together, I can manage anything.
He pulls a fire alarm as we near the exit. I don’t even care when this new alarm pierces my eardrums, either. There are no guards at this door, and none outside, therefore we easily make a run for freedom.
We make it out to the wire fence just as The Core begins to explode behind us.
WILL PARKER
Chapter 3 – The News
The Jail, Minnesota
February 14th
“What’s going on?” I ask Charlie. We’re sitting in the small meals area eating lunch, but there is an unusual buzz of energy and excitement going around us.
“I don’t know. Do you think they caught…” Charlie swallows down his fear. I know how uneasy he’s feeling. Ever since we realized Rose and Zoe got away, our fear has been that they’ll be caught, too.
We know they’ll be trying to find us and our best strategy is to get out of here before they have the chance to try to get us out. This place is locked down tight. There is no way they’ll be able to manage a break in to get us both out safely. This is nothing like The Windmill.
Rumors of Blake aiding Zoe and Rose escape have circled us. I’m grateful that he helped, however Charlie is more cautious about it. He’s worried Blake will turn on them; help lead them to Stan and Martha. I also think he doesn’t like the idea of the girls hanging around a guy he doesn’t know. I don’t really like it, either, yet Dean seems like a good guy, and if he’s with Rose, then I know he’ll look out for them and be as suspicious of Blake as we would be. Hopefully, Joel will be the same, even given his and Zoe’s shady past.
Taken By Choice (Taken Trilogy Book 3) Page 1