Time dragged as I stared at the ceiling. I didn't know how long it had been silent for but the pressure to talk was almost becoming too much for me - I couldn't give in first, even though this was my fault. He had no right to tell me whom I was allowed to trust, these were my judgements to make without having him judging them.
"If you want to trust him, then I won't go on about it," Evan finally said, shattering the silence. "I won't say anything else about who you trust, but please don't make us sit in silence. This is already bad enough without us not talking."
My lips pursed as I peeked at him. I knew I wouldn't survive the silence for much longer, I hated that we weren't talking, or even making a plan to get out of here. "How can we talk and know they aren't listening?" I asked, the thought popping into my mind as I casted a wary glance around the room. "I want out of here; I don't know how much longer I can last."
Evan lifted his shoulder and used it to rub his cheek. "You have no idea how much my face is itching right now," he grumbled.
It was amusing to watch him struggle but I started to feel bad for him when he hung his head and sighed. When my dad had his arm in a cast I had to watch him try to scratch his skin with a fork - no one wanted to use that one for dinner again.
"I need to pee," I admitted, staring up at the ceiling again. "I have needed to for a while now but I'm not that fond of them taking me or even watching me go. I'm a nervous person when it comes to peeing, if I think someone's listening I can't go then I end up sitting there for ages-"
"You really need to get that talking thing under control." Evan met my gaze and I could almost picture his smile. I didn't see much of it at the party but I could tell he had a handsome smile. "Although it's pretty cute," he admitted, sounding offhanded as he looked away.
"Apparently I'm dating someone who works for Stephen," I told him, deciding to side step the compliment and focus on getting out. "I doubt it, since the only person I'm... dating is, uh," I hesitated and bit my lip. It wasn't exactly as if we were dating but we weren't exclusive about us... doing it.
"You have friends with benefit thing going on?" he asked, sounding curious. "You don't seem the type for that sort of thing."
"Well," I paused and thought over the relationship I had with Henry. "I think we have benefits, just not the friends’ thing."
"You just have sex with him on a regular basis?" Evan snorted and shook his head. "You should at least be friends with the guy."
Avoiding his eyes, I turned my head towards the other side of the room and felt my lip wobble. It wasn't my fault that we weren't friends or in a relationship, it was the most I could get out of Henry. I didn't exactly have strong feelings for the boy but only spending time with him without our clothes on started to get... dull, very quickly.
"Touchy subject?" he asked. The sound of his voice made me look over at him, and I internally cursed when his face softened. I tried to harden my features but it didn't make him look any less sympathetic. "I doubt this is the place to talk, but you can if you want to."
"What do you want me to say? That I sleep with him because he doesn't want to date me? That he only talks to me when it comes to us having sex?" I snapped, I could feel my cheeks heating up as my anger rose. "He's pathetic. And I have no clue why I keep going back to him."
"Because he gives you attention," Evan guessed, cocking his head to the side. "This guy gives you the attention you want, he makes you feel special. It's what guys like him do, they make you feel wanted and they have you thinking it's something wrong with you."
"Why do I feel like this is the guy version of something that's happened to you?"
Evan stayed silent and slumped down in the chair. Why was he choosing now to stop talking? I needed to vent and if he weren’t listening then I would have to talk to myself, even if that did make me seem stupid and whiney.
"I mean, there must be something wrong with him if he can't let himself be in a relationship, right?" I continued, not checking to see if he was listening. "He’s just lacking in emotion, he's just a stupid boy made of stone and I have no reason to feel bad about myself because of it, right?"
"I'd like to think I'm not stupid."
Dear god, I thought miserably, my head thumping down on the table. I'm the one who's stupid.
"Henry," I muttered, not bothering to turn to look at him. "How did I not connect it when Stephen said?"
"I'm sure you did but your silly emotions let you get caught up in our little love affair." Henry leaned against the wall and ran his eyes over me. "Not far off how we used to be, huh?" He smirked and traced his finger across the rope around my ankle. "You were so... adamant that I wasn't the bad guy that you were just going to keep going blind."
It was obvious; I should have seen it coming without Stephen's little hint. Henry joined us barely a year ago and he instantly connected with me - flirting, hand touching, the whole lot. I just assumed he didn't want to be with me officially because he worked for me and didn't want to lose his job if my dad didn't approve - which was ridiculous, my dad would be happy for me if Henry made me happy.
"Why exactly are you doing this? I've heard a few reasons but none of them matched up to why you would do this. Your family are all happy and healthy, there doesn't seem to be an obvious reason."
Henry tapped his foot and looked at Evan for a moment before shrugging. "You rich folk don't deserve the wealth you have."
"And you believe you deserve it?"
By the look on his face, he clearly thought that he deserved it. In his mind he was the Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor - except the poor was only a select few people. He wanted to keep the money for himself but I had no clue what he would do with it besides waste it. When we had conversations, he only mentioned expensive items he wanted to buy, as if hinting he wanted me to give them to him.
"Ah, I was correct in assuming she was dating one of my men," Stephen said as he walked into the room, a tablet placing on his arm. "We need to record a little message for ransom."
Henry looked at Evan again and narrowed his eyes. "What's with this one? Has he woken up yet?"
Stephen barely batted an eyelash at Evan and shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't been in here. Ask Carl. Or get the information out of her," he added, nodding towards me. "We need to set up a little space that will make her daddy pay big money to get her back. She doesn't look roughed up enough."
Panic thrummed through my veins as they both approached me. I didn't look roughed up enough? Did that mean they were going to hurt me? I wiggled in my ropes and tried my best to escape but to no avail.
Both of the men walked over to the corner and used their feet to push dirt and dust into one corner. It looked grimy enough that they wouldn't even consider it to be a rich person's warehouse. Stephen chucked Henry a newspaper, todays date clear on the front with the latest headline, and picked up his tablet again.
"Move her," Stephen barked, glaring at Henry. "Don't just stand there, make yourself useful!"
As he undone the ropes around my ankles, I found myself whispering to him, "Why are you taking orders from him? He's out his mind!"
Henry barely looked at me as he tugged me off the table. "He knows how to complete this mission," was all he said before putting me directly into the pile of dirt. "I hope this dress didn't cost too much."
"What?" I barely finished the sentence before he took out a pocketknife and sliced through the middle of my dress, exposing my stomach, and cut off a strap. "Stop!"
It wasn't that I was concerned with the price of the dress, it was extremely cold and I didn't want the message sent to make my dad try to offer them a deal to let me go. I tried to pull away but Henry's hard grip held me in place. It was no use looking over at Evan, he was back to playing dead now and I wasn't sure when he was going to reanimate.
"Good evening, citizens!" Stephen began, his voice eerie behind the camera. I stared towards him but let out a yelp when Henry grabbed my hair and tangled his fingers through strands, messing it up but making it look like he was being harsh. "We have a lovely girl with us tonight and we do hope you're prepared to buy her back!"
Henry kicked my ankle and made me wobble forward. He wasn't being his roughest but I was taken by surprise; if I didn't tone down my reaction, my dad would think I was genuinely hurt. I tugged away from him and tried to aim a kick at his shin but he wrapped his hand around my upper arm, almost pushing me down to the ground.
"She's so feisty!" Stephen barked then laughed, sounding manic. "We do hope we see a response video soon, we hope you are prepared to pay a pretty penny for the little hairs on her head." Henry ripped a piece of hair from the top of my head and smirked when I glared at him.
"Dad, don't listen to them. I promise, I'll be okay and I'll be home soon," I rushed out and aimed my body towards Henry but it didn't matter, I didn't need to angle my body towards him; I needed to angle it away. Evan was no reanimated and barrelling into the pair of us, sending us sprawling onto the floor.
"Hey!" Stephen dropped his arm, but just a second too late. If he was live streaming, they would have a clear look at Henry's face and it wouldn't be long before they worked out where we were. "How did you get out?"
Rather than try to help his fellow friend, Stephen looked at the chair and pondered Evan's great escape. He watched us roll around on the floor for a second before roughly tugging me to my feet. I wanted to thump him, but there was no point in trying. Each wrist was wrapped in rope then there was an extra piece tying them both together.
"Get off her," Evan ordered. He had managed to get to his feet and was holding Henry's pocketknife against his throat. "If not you lose your best man."
A contemplating look crossed Stephen's face as he looked at me then Henry. "Have him; he's not much use to me, anyway."
Thick silence echoed around the room as we all looked at each other. Evan didn't know what to do and I wasn't sure if I should try to get away while Stephen was distracted. I met Henry's eyes and I could see the fear radiating in them - he really thought Evan would kill him? I hadn't known him that long but it was obvious he couldn't find it in him to kill someone; but if he just... injured him for a while, we would be able to get away.
Evan glanced between Henry and me before lifting the knife higher, daring Stephen to demand he back off but when all he got was a blink and a tilt of a head, he knew that there was no point in this bluffing. Huffing, Evan quickly twisted Henry's arm and slammed him down on the floor, winding him. He winced before stepping down, hard, on his arm. I turned away and almost buried my head in Stephen's chest.
Those arms had held me many times but it was difficult to feel anything for him. He had lied to me and, possibly, used me just to get access to the party. He knew that it would eventually happen; someone would host a rich person party and gather everyone that would have a combined richness beyond his wildest dream.
"Not what I was expecting," Stephen admitted before grabbing my arm and tugging me towards the doorway. "Carl!"
I felt like I was in a tug of war match as Evan held on arm and Stephen held the other, each pulling me towards them. It was hard to move with a dress on but deciding to take my own safety into my hands, I managed to lift my leg enough to kick Stephen. It wasn't enough force to take him down but his surprise was enough to make him loosen his grip.
"Move!" Evan shoved the unsteady Stephen to the side and dragged us towards the stairwell. "I swear to god if you slow down even once I will put you over my shoulder."
"Doesn't really sound like a threat," I pointed out but didn't disobey him. We reached the bottom and Evan slammed against the door, breaking the old lock and giving us access to the very large room - with four men standing in. "Oh god, oh god."
Hesitating wasn't our best move, I have to admit. I didn't expect to see two burly men and two small boys - they barely looked older than me - advancing towards us, their radios going wild as Stephen shouted at them to find us.
"Right, guys," I began slowly, grinning. "How about we just all go our own ways and not worry about anything?"
It was a distraction; they all looked at each other in confusion while Evan and I darted around the edge of the room towards the doors leading outside. If it was locked, I would lose it. "Evan," I shouted when one of the burly men tackled him down. "Get off him!"
"He's one of us, why are you so concerned about his safety?" burley man number one said, eyes narrowing. "We need to teach him a lesson for disobeying."
I didn't know what was worse: he isn't actually one of you guys! Or them thinking he had disobeyed orders. They didn't give me time to think through an answer, they all pounced at once but a gunshot made them pause and glare around them.
"Let them go."
The sight, and sound, of Carl made my knees wobble. Please let him be protecting us. I lifted my tied hands up to show I wasn't going to do anything and watched as Evan coughed. He tried to roll onto his stomach to get up; it was obvious that he was now injured by the rugby attack.
"I will shoot if you take one step closer to them." Carl gestured with the gun. "Move, to the side."
The four of them stared at Carl, waiting to see what he was going to do. If he wasn't genuine then they would probably kill all of us in a heartbeat. I staggered backwards when one of the small ones tried to sneak towards me.
"I said don't move!" Carl fired the gun. The bullet didn't miss its target; the boy teetered before falling to his knees then flat onto the ground. It wouldn't kill him but the blood pouring out wouldn't slow down anytime soon. "Oh god."
The regret was clear, he didn't want to shoot. He just wanted to get out of here without being arrested or killed, and now it was possible he could have killed someone. I took a step towards him and silently pleaded with him.
"Carl, walk out with us," I said, making sure he could hear the honesty in my tone. "I promise I'll try my best to make sure you aren't punished... as bad," I added as an afterthought. The promise of freedom wasn't something I could give him but I could try to lessen his sentence. "I just want to leave. This place has been enough on my mental state."
The burley men and the little pipsqueak backed away as Carl approached and helped Evan to his feet. The door wasn't too far away and we walked towards him, Carl keeping his eyes trained on the three men to make sure they wouldn't attack our unsuspecting backs.
"Let me," I said quietly, opening the door and stepping out first. "Uh, could either of you two undo these ropes?"
"Hold your hands in front of you!"
A gust of wind almost pressed me back against the door as a helicopter lowered, its spotlight glaring directly at the building. Six police cars lined the street and a van was parked further down along with an ambulance. I could easily imagine there was more police cars on the other side of the building in case someone escaped.
"Aspen!"
My dad's voice could be heard over the police officers as he ran towards me. Two police officers tried to hold him back but he pushed through them and continued to run towards me. I stumbled forward and felt tears dripping down my face - I wasn't in there for long, but it felt like forever to be tied up and away from everything I knew.
Carl coughed from next to me, making me glance up at him as he looked around warily. "I can't go," he whispered. "They won't let me go without a few bullet holes in me or handcuffs around my wrists. Sorry about yours, by the way. I know it must kill and I'm sorry I can't take them off for you."
A watery smile managed to break through. "I'm so sorry for what's going to happen to you," I told him, placing my hand on his arm. "I promise I'll try to attend the trial and lower the sentence they'll give you. I wish I could promise you more, Carl. I know you're a good guy."
"Hands in front of you!" a police over barked, his voice echoing through the mega phone pressed against his mouth. "If you take a single step - these men are armed."
Everything that followed was a blur of movement; the officers stepped forward and escorted us all towards the vans. Men in black vests approached the building, all armed and wearing helmets. They were on a hunt to gather the rest of the men. I knew I told them one would be locked on the roof but if anyone heard me, I didn't know.
"My baby," my dad sobbed, stroking my hair. "I can't believe they took you!"
Even as I was swayed in his arms, I couldn't help but stare over his shoulder as they put Carl in the back of the van, cuffs on his wrists. The rope had been taking off mine and all that was left was dried blood and burn marks.
"We should check those," a paramedic told me softly, smiling. "We would like a quick check over to see if you need to go to hospital."
My dad wrapped his arm around me tightly and led me over to the ambulance. They asked me questions and most of them I answered but my mind was on the two men; one in the back of the van and the other being questioned by the police. I watched as they reached for their handcuffs and I found myself tearing away from my dad to sprint towards them.
"You can't arrest him," I blurted, butting into the conversation they were having without a care. "He almost got me out the first time and I can't let you arrest him. He did nothing wrong, he wasn't a part of the robbery either!"
"Aspen-"
"I know he can be a jerk and he does seem like the type that would be a part of this - he has that look about him, don't you agree? - but I promise he didn't do anything." The two men looked at me amused. "He was pretty useless since he got us caught again but I can't let him take blame for that, he was just trying to help me but I was distracting him with questions. He saved me the second time and I know he hurt someone in there but it doesn't make him a bad-" I paused and looked at the two men as they laughed. "What is wrong with you?" I blurted.
"Aspen," Evan tried again, making me look at him. "They won't arrest me," he said, placing his hand on my arm. "Because it would be silly to arrest a fellow undercover officer."
"You've got to be shitting me," I grumbled, hitting my forehead. "You're actually shitting me!" I shoved on Evan's chest until he stumbled backwards. "Why didn't you tell me? The whole time I thought you were part of that silly robbery and instead you were undercover-"
"Aspen, you need to learn when to stop talking."
"And stop saying that!" I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "I talk a decent amount and so what if I ramble? People don't seem to mind because no one has ever brought it up before!"
"You are awfully cute when you do it."
My mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say. I looked to the side and expected to see the officers there but they were gone, on the other side of the car and talking to their colleagues, but all of them were shooting us amused looks every so often. I wanted to stick out my tongue at them but I already looked crazed enough without me doing that.
"Stop doing that as well," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks warming up. "Why are you still wearing that mask, anyway?"
Evan stepped closer to me and almost backed me against the police car. "Well, you did want to take it off in that small room. I thought you might still want to."
Was he flirting with me? I felt like he was but I wasn't certain. I could be reading this wrong and he just wanted me to remove his mask because he was lazy. If he was flirting with me... I obviously felt something for him, my thrumming heart was agreeing with me wholeheartedly.
Lifting my hands slowly, I held the edge of his mask and rolled it up until it was resting on his forehead. His eyes were definitely swoon worthy and I wanted nothing more than to stare into them for a little while. I bit my lip and tugged the mask off the rest of the way and settled my arms back down against my sides, the mask limp in my fingers.
Both of our eyes searched each other’s before he lifted his fingers and stroked them across my cheek. "Okay, I have to admit I was a little thrown by what you said on the balcony at the party," he said, almost killing the mood. "But I did think you were adorable when you rambled and I did sneak away from my 'job' so I could talk to you for a while - you were easily the most interesting person at that party and I wanted to get to know you more."
"You did gain my attention," I admitted, lowering my eyes. "You were handsome and started talking to me, it was strange. I do feel like-"
"Like we should give it a shot?" He finished, smirking. "Reckon your heart can take?"
Shrugging, I said, "Do you think you can handle someone who gets kidnapped?"
"Well, it's a good job I'm a police officer and know how to track down people I care about." He rubbed his thumb across my cheek, alerting me that his hand was still caressing my face. "What do you say?"
"Sure, might as well," I said, grinning.
Before we could meet half way, the officers that went into the building came out with the men in handcuffs. Stephen was at the back of the group, his arms cuffed behind him. I found myself smirking as he looked over at me, now he could see what it was like to have his hands tied together for a while.
"It's a little strange seeing you smirking at the arrested like that." Evan gained my attention again and chuckled. "It's not all that bad though."
I shrugged and thought about closing all space between us completely. "I think you were about to do something before they came out," I reminded him, tilting my head and pursing my lips slightly, trying to make them look more inviting.
Evan chuckled and stepped closer, but this time I didn't step away.