The Rose Boys

Chapter Sixteen

I was crammed into the backseat between two of the suits, one was driving and Nick sat in the passenger seat with the strange tracking device in his hand as he directed the driver where to go. "Left here." He said sharply as the suit ran a red light to turn.

My heart skipped a beat as cars whizzed by us and driver's slammed on their breaks and punched their horns angrily. Nick and the Suits brushed off the cacophony of horns and squealing breaks like they had done nothing wrong; meanwhile, I was hyperventalating in the back seat.

I wanted to ask where we were going but the atmosphere was so serious I knew that it would be better to not say anything. Nick's cellphone rang, breaking that silence that had been held in the small cab of the car besides Nick's constant instructions. Nick pulled the silver phone out of his pocket, checked the screen and flipped the phone open, pressing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

There was a long pause as I waited to hear what he said. The pause continued and he said nothing, the sounds of the wheels under us was the only thing that I could hear in this dead silence. Our surroundings were dark due to the tinted windows and the night atmosphere, the full moon shone down on us as we turned down a dark side road.

"This is it." Nick said as they pulled into a deserted Farm, the barn doors were flung open, the inside dark.

"Where are we?" I asked, scrambling to get out of the car like everyone else.

Nick turned to me, his face grim. "We're at the same barn the kidnappers held him at when he was little. I would know," He said quickly, opening the trunk of the car. "I was with him."

I gasped. "You were there too?"

Nick pulled out some kind of hand gun. "You're going to need to stay here."

"What?!" I shouted. "No, I don't think so."

"I hate to do this to you January, I'm really sorry." Nick said, shaking his head. "Brad."

A big hand clamped down on my shoulder, I looked up to see it belonged to the biggest suit. "What are you doing?" I asked at Nick as I stared up at the big guy, his dark blue eyes stared down at me, emotionless.

"You're going to stay here. I can't let you get hurt out there."

"Nick, don't do this." I pleaded. "You look like you could use all of the help you can get if you need guns too." I looked up at the big guy named Brad. "I'll wait in the car, I promise."

Nick looked at me hesitantly and then nodded. "Everyone, suit up. January, get in the car."

I nodded and forced a smile even though my heart was beating so quickly it hurt. If they needed guns to save Darren, didn't that mean that it was a not going to be just a quick rescue job?

As soon as the guys snuck into the barn, I grabbed the handle of the door and pushed. Nothing happened. I pushed again. Nothing. Nick put the child lock on. I growled in frustration and leaned over the passenger seat to try the door in the front. It didn't open either.

I should have known that Nick would pull some dirty trick to actually keep me here. I reached up and turned the light on in the cab, looking for something that I could use to get out of here. Unfortunately, I found nothing.

I was startled by the driver's door opening up, when I looked up I saw a familiar smile and heard a comforting voice. His hair flecked with grey and his smile was warm and gentle.

"Max!" I smiled, happy to see him. "Am I glad to see you."

"What are you doing in here, Princess?" He asked, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Haven't you heard?" I asked as he pulled the door shut behind him. "Darren's in there and they locked me up."

Max looked up at the barn and frowned. "I've heard the news but I came here because there isn't a moment to lose. Darren isn't here but I've been told where he is."

Max started the car and pulled back through the way we'd come.

"What about the others?" I asked, looking back at the dark farm that was quickly disappearing behind us.

"Don't worry about them, they'll come as soon as they get them message."

We pulled down a corner and sped off into the distance. All I could do was sit and hope that nothing had happened to Darren. I don't know what I would do if something did. Tears poked at my eyes as we drove and I got the feeling that Max was looking at me through the mirror when I wasn't paying attention.

Either way, I didn't care what happened. As long as Darren got out safe.

"We're here." Max said, hurrying to get out of the car. I stared out the window at a very large building, most of the windows were dark. Max opened the door for me and the two of us ran to the door.

I wasn't exactly sure what was supposed to happen so I opened it.

The light in the grand hall was soft and I had a feeling I knew where we were when I saw the bunches of red roses decorating the room. A woman's voice echoed through the large space.

"Ah, January Grove, we finally meet."