Shadows and Stars: A Darker Love ✔

Chapter Twenty One

The faint smell of mint fills the sleek BMW that I find myself sat in, the city gliding past outside quicker than my brain can keep up with.

I'm sure everything is moving at light speed; from being stood in the tube station to now clasping my hand around the handle of the car as the blonde haired man zooms around the many twists and turns of London.

I'm sure this must be a nightmare—the whole thing.
In reality I must be in Anderson's bed, sleeping peacefully after nothing ridiculous happened between us; just friendly chats and drinks. In reality I haven't ruined my relationship with my close friend, and I'm dreaming about how my life will now be focused on my career and my friends.

But as the cold of the car window against my forehead grows harsher, it's clear to see that this in fact is real, and I'm being driven to an unknown destination, by an unknown driver. At two in the morning.

Shit—what have I got myself into?

"What the hell is a girl like you doing hanging about a tube station at this time anyway?" The man asks. He keeps his eyes firmly on the road in front of him.

I turn my face, swallowing as I take in his serious expression. The dull beat of music sounds from the radio, and, almost out of nowhere, thick raindrops start to coat the windows.

"I—I was getting the train home," I whimper, brushing away a stray lock of my hair that's fallen onto my face. "Where are we going? Who even are you?" I press weakly.

"Sure didn't look like you were getting on that train. What were you doing sniffing around us?"

My eyes scan the empty road in front of us, my heart fighting it's way from my chest. "I wanted to know where Grayson is," I admit.

"Grayson ended things with you girl, you'd be smart to keep it that way."

"Why?" I challenge involuntarily, moving my gaze to meet his. Despite the fact this man is a complete stranger to me, I don't feel threatened by him. But I want to know what he knows about Grayson, and why he's so keen for me to stay away.

The man doesn't answer, and when he flicks his indicator and glides onto another road, a surge of anger rages inside of me.

"Tell me who you are!" I yell. "Tell me why I'm in your car and tell me where we're going!"

"So many questions," the man laughs, his lips bending at the edges and the light of the streetlights bouncing off of his blue eyes.

"I have a right to know," I breathe. I fold my arms, wondering why the hell I didn't accept Anderson's offer to stay. Or why I didn't just go home in the first place.

"I'm Brody," the man says eventually, turning down yet another long, dark road. "And the reason I took you is because the minute those guys find out that you're Grayson's true love, they'll waste no time in messing with you."

My eyebrows knit together, a whirl of confusion clouding my mind. "Mess with me? Grayson's true love?"

Brody chuckles. "That's how it works around here. Grayson is their superior. He demands money from them and he doesn't care how he gets it. He makes enemies, but for the right reasons. And if they find an opportunity to mess with him, then they will. He loved you more than anything, so they know it'll hurt him."

Loved. Oh.

"But surely they wouldn't mess with me, because they fear him, right?" I ask. I don't know exactly what Brody is trying to say in all honesty, but I've worked out before that all of this 'business' is more confusing than I once thought. That and the fact that men have their own funny ways of exerting their power over one another.