Close Your Eyes, Remember Me (TBF Book 1)

Lucia

Lucia fought back, crying out for her mother.

"Mama! Mama!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stretched her arm out to her parents. Her father put his arm round her mother's shoulders as they watched solemnly. "Help me!" Lucia cried, struggling against the inhumanly strong arms as they dragged her to a black BMW with dark tinted windows. She couldn't understand why her parents weren't doing anything, watching silently as these strangers bundled her into the back of their car. As the door slammed she saw, in a fleeting second, a thick wad of cash exchanging hands.

A broken sob escaped her throat as she fell back against the leather seats, clamping a hand to her mouth in shock.

They had sold her. They knew these people were coming.

She was still frozen in a sprawled position when two men swung the front doors open and slid into the car in the blink of an eye. They moved so quickly Lucia had to blink a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The door beside her burst open and a woman shoved herself in beside Lucia, dislodging the smaller girl and forcing her across fully onto the other side of the car. Lucia snapped out of her daze and twisted her body to reach for the door, jerking at the locked handle multiple times, clawing at it until her fingers burned and she accepted her fate.

She sniffed miserably, sitting back in her seat and putting her hand to her mouth again to hide her sobs. The three kidnappers were silent as the car drove smoothly down the road. She sniffed behind her hand, wishing for a tissue. A pale hand reached across her chest and her body went rigid, the hand passed over her to grab the seat belt to her right and pull it across her chest, securing it in the clasp.

"Where are you taking me?" Lucia managed to squeak out. The three exchanged glances but she couldn't read their expressions.

"Your parents didn't tell you anything?" The man in the passenger seat asked, his voice was calm and temperate.

"Does it look like they told me anything?" She snapped bitterly, her fear instantly transforming into anger as her defence mechanism finally kicked in.

"You were picked to be the bride of the next head of our clan: Mr Elijah Bonnet."

"Bride?" Lucia murmured, her heart had stopped in her chest.

"You were put forward as a candidate by your parents and picked by Mr Bonnet's father." The woman clarified, "We were sent to collect you, pay your parents and bring you back to his home safely, please don't feel afraid, we have no reason to hurt you." Lucia didn't care about their stupid attempts to calm her, she wasn't a child, but she did want to know more about the Bonnets.

"What the hell is a clan?" She grumbled. "What is it? A secret club?" The three exchanged looks via the rear-view mirror.

"A vampire clan." The man in the passenger seat said carefully. Lucia rolled her eyes and groaned but he continued, "I know you may not believe this now but it's the truth, vampires exist and we form clans - like a family but a bit more business-like." Lucia nodded with her face screwed up sarcastically and decided to change the subject, there was no point trying to argue with morons. If they wanted to believe they were part of a secret organisation run by mythical creatures, that was their problem.

"How much did they get?" She managed, even though the little smart Lucia that lived inside of her head was screaming that she didn't want to know, it wouldn't help to know, it would only rub salt into an already gaping wound.

"Your parents?"

"How much did they make off me?"

"Five thousand deposit, twenty thousand on collection and they will receive a further twenty-five thousand upon your impregnation."