Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 38| Bad Vibes

"A little." She shrugged. "Oh, look. He's pulling up now." She pointed a finger at the black SUV, rolling out of the poorly lit garage. "You can ask him what's going on."

"It's not like he'll tell us straight-up: 'Hey, I'm actually lying to you.'" I snickered, but went after her anyway to his car. His windows were extremely tented, almost pitch black. Nicolas got of his car too, taking his keys.

The window went down, making the three of us stop dead in our tracks. There was someone in the passenger seat, someone I'd never seen before in my entire life. The stranger had shades on, strangely enough. There was an overcast today, so I didn't see why he'd need sunglasses to protect him from the thick layer of clouds.

"Get in the car." Grayson told us, skipping any gentle words like 'please,' and not even a 'can you please.' It wasn't in the form of a question, it was an upfront demand. He wasn't skirting around the request.

"No," Kelsey puffed. "What is going on, Grayson? And who the hell is he?"

"That's...my friend, Vaughn." He gestured to him. "He knows how to get to where Conner and Bryce are."

"Cut the bull-crap." Kelsey set her hands on her hips.

"Why do we need to bring the others?" Vaugn inquired. "I don't like the sassy one."

"Well thank you." Kelsey flipped her hair over her shoulder. "The sassy one doesn't like you either."

Grayson leered forward. "Hey, Kelsey, what's your dad's name again?"

"You already know that; you've met him before. It's Richard Jacobson Jr..." she trailed off.

I couldn't figure out why Grayson wanted Kelsey to say her father's name. He was a well-known movie director, practically bathing in wealth from how Remy had described her family to me.

"Oooh." Vaughn hit Grayson's arm. "You're a genius, Grayson."

"Why did you need to know my dad's name?" Kelsey asked them.

"Why don't you get in the damn car first?" Vaughn hissed through gritted teeth, "Then you can ask however many stupid questions you want."

Kelsey's head fell back in laughter. The chuckle died down rapidly and a scorn settled in. "I'm not going in that car unless you drag me in there."

"That can be arranged," Vaughn mused, smugly. Lifting his hand, he knocked on the roof of the car. Suddenly, the doors opened and two other men, dressed in blue, flew out of the car. One moment I saw them, and then the next, darkness cloaked my eyes.

The course fabric they had thrown over our heads felt cold, reeking of something pungent with a hint of sweetness. A hand closed around my mouth, pushing the moist fabric into my face more than before. Muffled noises of Kelsey struggling rang into my ear drums.

"Get your hands off of me! Let. Me. Go!"

"It's going to be a long drive till we get to Catalina Island. Shut her up," Grayson said. "I can't drive with that much yelling."

The screaming dulled, drastically.

"Let...me..." Kelsey's voice slurred, fading out before she could say her final word.

That was the last thing I heard before the world melted out of focus, making me a prisoner in my own body. I couldn't move, I couldn't feel, I couldn't see. My limbs were unresponsive and my voice was inaudible - even to myself. It was like my mouth was sealed tight, fused together with a adhesive glue smeared on my lips.