Little White Lies

Chapter 8

"Thank you for a great lunch," Candice said sincerely and Eric blushed. He waved his hand as though it was no big deal. The lunch had been lovely, full of light-hearted conversation, good food, and good company. Candice had almost forgotten what had led her here. It could have been a lovely first date.

"What next?" Eric asked. They had asked all the questions they could. Neither of which were useful. With no further leads, there wasn't much Candice could do.

"Try to get to White Falls?" she said uncertainly. It wasn't like she actually had anywhere to go, other than home or college. The clause was weird, but it all won't be a problem when she reaches White Falls. Her family had security, and Nelson— she could call Nelson. If he'd sent the security guards down to get her, then there won't be a problem.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Eric asked. They stood up and made their way towards the door.

"I'm going to find a pay phone and call my butler," Candice started, pulling the door open. "I'll get him to send some security guys down to meet me. I should have done that ages ago—"

Candice crashed into someone outside the door hard, but whoever it was steadied her before she fell backward. Annoyed but grateful, she looked up, ready to give this person a piece of her mind when she felt something cold against the exposed skin on her jeans.

"Are you okay?" the man asked. Candace gulped and felt Eric came to a halt behind her. Her mind went blank as the reality sank in. The man she crashed into, the one who was holding her arm, was also pointing a gun at her.

"Don't scream or try to get away, otherwise I'll shoot you," the man whispered before straightening up. Candice's heart was beating wildly. They found her.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked, not suspecting a thing. Her capturer moved backward a step so they were out of the restaurant, and the gun was pressed tighter against her bare flesh.

"Candice?" Eric asked. Candice wanted desperately to look back, to warn him, but all she could think of was her parent's death. By gunshot.

"The sound of body clashing and light struggle sounded behind her, and Candice was taken by the arm down the street towards a back alley. She wanted to scream for help, but everything seemed distant like she was having an out of body experience.

"Get on," the man shoved her up the back of a van. A pair of hands reached for her in the dark and someone put a cover over her head. She yelped as someone yanked her wrists, binding them roughly, causing her to tumble over. Eric's voice sounded behind her and she felt both guilty and relieved. At least he was still with her.

"Stay low," a male voice commanded. She heard the people get off the back of the van and the door slammed. A whimper escaped her mouth and she tried to move into a seated position. With her wrists bounded, it wasn't possible.

"Candice?" Eric's voice sounded muffled. "Are you okay?"

She was decidedly not okay, but what else could she say? "Yeah," she answered, finally finding her voice. "I—I think so."

The floor beneath them reverberated as the engine started, and Candice crouched down as the car backed out of the street. It didn't stop her from sliding forward and something crashed into her. Probably Eric.

"What do you think they'd do?" Candice asked. She wanted to sound brave, but it was pretty obvious that she was scared out of her mind. She had gotten Eric into this mess, too. Gosh, what had she done?

"It's going to be okay," Eric tried to reassure her, but the van made a sharp turn which thrust them against the side of the car. Candice felt a sharp pain in her lower back as it connected with something, which worsened as Eric was thrown at her.