Chapter 47

Ella

“OMG!” cries Kris. “That movie was so good.”

“I know right?” I say back, Kris and I both just now leaving the movie theater as the movie ended. Having decided on a 6:15 showing, it was now shortly after 8 in the evening, considering when we had originally left the house it was about 1:30 in the afternoon, and when we reached the spa, it was around 2pm.

Not to mention that it took another 2 hours just to do our pedi and medi.

“So what’s next on our agenda, dinner? Or are you too tired?” asks Kris, her stomach clearly set on more food even though we just ate a huge tub of popcorn, twizzlers, nacho’s and of course, two large sodas while at the movie theater.

“How are you hungry?” I asked playfully, knowing that Kris could easily eat and not put on one ounce of fat. Her body built with a high metabolism that she easily burned more calories than she consumed, which made me just a tiny bit jealous.

“Girl, you know I love food.”

Giggling, I knew she was right. Pausing to figure out our next set of options, the feeling of being watched began to kick in once more, my eyes now back to scanning the area only to pause. My eyes now landing on something that I suddenly wish that I hadn’t.

No… pleads my mind. Anything but them.

Feeling my body begin to tremble, I continue to stare. My eyes still on the bodies of two men. Two men that I knew I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon within my near future, at least not until they were caught and behind bars.

I-Impossible, I panic. My hands slowly reaching for Kris, who was still talking about food and had yet to notice my panicked state of mind.

“Kris” I whispered, trying not to alert the two overly huge men who carefully stood on the other side of the street from us, their eyes on us as well.

“Ella?” asks Kris as she slowly looks at me, concern etched in her voice as she slowly glances over in my direction. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I whispered back.

“What’s the matter then?”

“Without drawing attention to us, do you see two huge men standing across the street from us?” I asked, my eyes still glancing towards them to make sure they weren’t trying to advance on us.

“You mean Goon 1 and Goon 2 or the way Goon 1 is bald and buff and has a really nasty looking scar on him?” asks Kris, her eyes subtly looking at the two before us as well.

“Yeah them”

“What about them El? Everything okay?”

“No” I say again, knowing she needed to know the truth about them. “They were the ones who broke into my house the day my parents died. They claimed to be looking for something that was left behind by my father. They even went as far as to try and kidnap me that day as well, and if it wasn’t for that Officer that day, who knows where I would be.”

Tensing at my words, Kris moves to take my hand in hers. “Don’t worry El, I won’t let them take you, I promise” whispers Kris, only for the both of us to tense.

Goon 1 and Goon 2 both whispering to one another until suddenly, one of them gets a phone call, the bald one answering his phone, their voices hushed as if trying to hide themselves from the eyes of others who passed by them.

Shit not good.

Feeling my panic begin to rise, I can’t help but feel tense, our eyes still on the Goons even as they spoke just out of ear shot, their eyes now on us as the man on the phone nods his head as if he understood his next order.

Crap.

“RUN!”

Not one to take risks, I began to tug on Kris’s arm and before we knew it, we were now running through mass crowds of people, hoping to stay far enough ahead of them as Goon 1 and Goon 2 watched as we bolted from sight.

Both men now shouting in Russian as they move to chase us. My mind wishing I could call Reece, Dylan, Caleb or even Grant or Hayden. A part of me wishing that I hadn’t taken my sixth sense for granted as we continued to run, all while trying not to run into other people as we did.

“Ella, where are we going?” cries Kris as she runs alongside me.

“I don’t know! Anywhere but where we are though” I cried back, my body still running. The sound of feet rushing behind us as the unknown men continued to chase us throughout the crowds.

“Hurry! This way” I shouted, now leading Kris down another set of streets. Hoping that by bobbing and weaving we would be able to lose them as we had taken off before they were able to catch us.

“ELLA” cries Kris, having spotted a small place for us to hide as she instantly pulls us over in that direction, our bodies now huddled in a way that no one would be able to see us even if they were standing directly in front of us.

Holding our breaths, we move to wait, watching as pounding feet rush past us. Our hearts racing as the Goons ran completely by us, thankful that they hadn’t seen us until finally, we sighed, the danger now gone, or at least, that was what I kept thinking as we slowly moved to exit our hiding spot once the coast was clear.

“That was a close one” pants Kris, each of us now trying to catch our breath.

“Ya, I’ll sa-” I started, only to hear clapping which causes us to stop and look over towards the person who had decided to join us, my eyes wide in fear as I slowly turn to see who it was only to gulp.

For fuck sake, can things get any more complicated? I groaned silently to myself, my eyes looking for our next escape.

“Bravo Ella, Bravo” chuckles a male's voice as he slowly moves to approach us.

“Stay back or else I’m telling Caleb” I shouted, remembering Caleb’s earlier threat to him about having his hands personally cut off if he ever touched me again.

“Who’s he?” asks Kris softly, her voice low as I suddenly remember that she wasn’t with me when I ran into James the first two times.

“James” I whispered, my eyes still on the man in front of us, his presence another one that made my skin crawl. Almost as bad as Nicholas did when he would stare at me.

Hearing his name being said, he smirks.

“Ah Ella, do you really think you could outsmart my cousin? He’s not totally stupid yet. Shame I can’t have you to myself, but maybe if I bring you back home peacefully, maybe just maybe he’ll let me have some fun with you before he takes you away for good.”

“C-Cousin?” I squeaked, now nervous at the answer I would receive.

Smirking, he moves to reply, “Nicholas.”

Gasping, I instantly feel a chill run through me. No, impossible, there’s just no way that these two were closely related, there’s just no way, cries my mind, my mind trying to piece together the similarities even as we continued to stare at one another, my fight or flight mode still active as I continue to hold onto Kris’s hand.

Feeling her gently squeeze my hand back, I knew we needed to flee, my eyes still searching our surroundings even as James slowly began his approach on me.

“Now then, come along and no one gets hurt, refuse and let’s just say your friend won’t make it home alive.”

“Ha! As if asshole” scoffs Kris, James completely ignoring her as he continues to come closer to me, giving me the perfect opening that I needed to clock him straight in the face, my fist connecting with his nose as he suddenly yells out in pain, blood now everywhere as Kris and I run once more.

James now holding onto his nose in pain as blood continued to gush from it. Curses and rants coming from his mouth as we continued to run, not bothering to stop until we were safe from the dangers that continued to hunt us.

“Ella… I think… I think you broke his nose” pants Kris, both of us still running back the way we had come from.

“Who cares, just RUN”

And that’s exactly what we did, not wanting to take any chances of James or the Goons trying to capture us. The need to flee and hide comes to mind. The need to call Reece or Grant now at the forefront, as I try to remain calm for both our sakes.