I'm His Maid, He's My Valentine

I'm His Maid, He's My Valentine 09

Recap…

A guy leaning against the van spoke up. “You don’t need to know where we are. But you can find out where we’ll all be heading now?”

Not a word was able to escape my lips. My body trembled as I held onto the plastic bag tightly, hoping not to get hurt as they pushed me roughly into the van.

Whatever was happening, wherever we were going, I knew it wasn’t good.

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CHAPTER 09

“Why the hell isn’t she allowed to talk? It’s not like her words can kill you guys,” Master Josh muttered from opposite me. Three of the four guys sitting alongside him sent him warning looks.

I inhaled a sharp breath, finding it difficult to breathe in this stuffy van. Not only was it stuffy, it was also hard to sit when there were nine people in the van excluding the driver. We were pretty much sitting in a shape of an oval, with no seatbelts on – this was certainly not a van for driving passengers.

Having duct tape around my mouth didn’t help with anything at all; it made me feel very close to suffocated. I tried to bring my hands closer to my body, but failed to move them even just an inch.

“Sit still,” the guy to my left ordered in annoyance, gripping my wrist tightly. “Or else I’ll tie your hands together as well.” He was one of the two guys faking to be security guards at the shopping centre.

I cringed, wishing that the van would finally stop after the awfully long, half hour drive. My whole body was stiff; making me feel the desperate need to stand up and stretch. Thankfully, they didn’t have any rope with them, or else they would have tied my hands together as well.

“Let go of her,” Master Josh told the guy in a hard tone. “She didn’t even need to be here in the first place.”

I shook my head, attempting to say, “I’m fine.” My voice came out as a muffled sound through the duct tape.

One of the guys to my right – the bald one – spoke. “Dude, shut up unless you want me to finish her off.” He removed the cigarette from his mouth, exhaling smoke that filled the whole van.

A shiver crept up my spine as I picked up the words. Finish me off? Did that actually mean what I thought it meant? I swallowed through dry, trembling lips.

“Whatever you do, just don’t touch her,” Master Josh warned.

I felt like crying. Were these guys the same people from the other night? What exactly did they want from Master Josh? Was it really money that they were after?

Once the vehicle stopped, the guy closest to the door pulled it open. “Come out,” he said to me in a harsh tone, seizing my left wrist.

I obeyed without hesitating, bending my head to duck the roof of the van as I stood up. Taking in the sight, I realised in fear that I couldn’t figure where we were. I just knew that it was very far away from home.

“Avery, are you alright?” Master Josh asked worriedly, looking down at me as he lifted a hand to touch the tape that covered my mouth.

He only brought his hand up halfway when the guy with the blonde hair pulled him back. “She’ll survive without speaking.”

Master Josh balled his hand into a tight fist, bringing it close to his body as though trying really hard not to throw a punch at the guy.

I shook my head frantically, desperate to let him know that he should stay calm – for now, at least.