Chapter 42: Taken!

Danica POV
I continued to walk towards the car and looked behind me. The security detail was still following me and kept glancing around often. He was checking for any signs of trouble, which made me feel relieved. I felt very safe having someone look after me.

Not that it looked too dangerous. We were the only two people around the area. I didn’t see anyone suspicious around as I made a brief scan of the area.

Nothing bad could happen as long as I had this person around. I completely trusted that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. Dax wouldn’t let any of his people fail me, especially after Jason had broken into the mansion.

I knew Dax still felt guilty about that happening. Neither one of us had brought it up since Jason had been taken away. I hoped nothing else like that would happen again.

It was unfortunate that the car was so far away this time. The chauffeur couldn’t find an easier parking spot.

As I came to an alley, there was a very scruffy looking young man. His hair was completely greasy and stringy looking, while his clothes looked like they were ripped in shreds. Even his shoes looked worn out and had visible holes.

Everything about this man seemed off. I didn’t like the way he was gazing at me.

A sudden instinct told me to run away. I attempted to get away but was cornered by the strange man. He gave me a creepy grin and made sure that I couldn’t leave. His arm blocked me against the wall of the building.

“You’re not going anywhere. I won’t let you.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and kept me trapped by the wall. I tried to get past him, but he was stronger than me.

My heat beat fast while I looked around. I needed help. Where had my security detail gone? He was right behind me before, so I wasn’t sure where he had gone.

Of course, when I needed him the most, he left. I couldn’t believe the bad luck that I had been dealt. Why did I keep getting into these situations? It was as if trouble found me no matter how hard I tried to avoid it.

The security detail man came around the corner and spotted me. He came closer and closer to the other guy. It made me feel so relieved that help had come.

I was safe now that he was here. We could go back to the mansion, and everything would be fine. My heart could finally stop pounding so fast.

Suddenly the security man said, “Good job. We’ve got to keep her here until the van gets here.”

I felt nauseous at hearing his words. This man wasn’t a part of Dax’s security team at all. He was a stranger that had ill intentions for me.

I screamed and the scruffy looking man took a cloth from out of his pocket and stuffed it in my mouth. He looked into my eyes and said, “Don’t even think about running away if you know what’s good for you.”

I saw a glinting object in his hand and realized it was a knife. He held it near my neck for extra measure and laughed in a way that sent chills down my spine.

I kept quiet and didn’t try to move. Complete fear had taken over every part of me. I didn’t know what was going to happen and couldn’t believe this was real.

Suddenly, there was a white van that quickly opened its back doors. The scruffy man forcefully shoved me towards the van and made me get into the back.

The door shut quickly and the creepy man took off the cloth on my mouth. Seconds later, he held up another cloth to my face and everything went to black.

Dax POV
I was sitting in the living room when the door was knocked on urgently. I knew immediately that something bad had happened.

I got up to answer the door and saw that it was a young woman standing outside. She looked unruly with her hair unbrushed, and she wore a wrinkled dress and sneakers. I had never seen her before and wasn’t sure of her intentions.

Cautiously, I opened the door and asked, “Who are you and why are you here?”

“I’m Lola, Danica’s sister. I’ve got something I need to show you.”

That’s when I noticed that she held a piece of paper in her hand. I hoped it wasn’t what I was afraid of. The chauffeur had been with her. I told him to stay with her no matter what whenever she went out. Had he left her side?

Why hadn’t I gone with her to see her sister? I had failed her again. This was all my fault for not having been more protective of her myself. It was too late to do anything different, so I had to deal with the consequences.

I motioned for Lola to come into the mansion. She looked absolutely terrified and held out the note to me when we were inside. I got nervous as I took the paper and started reading through it.

On the paper, it said, “If you want your sister back, you have to give me my full payment within the next twenty-four hours, or she will pay the price.”