River's POV
The first 30 minutes of driving consisted of me internally panicking, the driver speeding so fast that he almost hit something multiple times, and Camilla explaining how she met Cove at the mall and they've been texting on and off ever since.
"Has your boyfriend mentioned anything about her?" I asked.
"Well now that I think about it, earlier today he and Lucas were talking about a girl leaving her house. Lucas seemed annoyed that she was leaving, but neither of them mentioned her name."
I nodded and was about to say something else, but my phone ringing cut me off. It's my dad.
"River, where the fuck are you?" He questioned as soon as I answered.
"On the way to the safe house, the alarm got disabled and I'm going to check it out."
"We have an address, Cove's not at the safe house anymore I checked the cameras. She was brought to 477 holly drive while we were gone. Hurry up and get there, we have no clue what they're doing to her."
My heart shattered.
"Fuck! Okay, I'm going. Meet me there, Dad."
Cove must be so scared right now. I really hope she's okay, if they did anything to her I'll never be able to forgive myself.
My eyes burned with tears. I never cry, and I definitely can't do it now of all times. Crying won't do anything to help this situation.
I can't help it, though. The mire thought of how terrified Cove must be right now and the possibility of her being hurt is too much for me.
I forced myself to stay calm. If I look at this logically, from the sound of the letters Lucas sent Cove, he has no intention of hurting her. He just wants her to be his.
"Change of plans," I announced while typing in the new address into the car's navigation system. Thankfully, we've been driving in the direction of the place this entire time and we don't have to turn back around, which would waste a lot of time.
"We're going here now. Keep driving the same way for 40 minutes, then head south."
The driver simply nodded, too focused on the road to answer verbally.
"Is Cove alright?" Millie asked worriedly.
"Hopefully-" I was once again cut off by my phone ringing. The universe really doesn't want me talking today does it?
This time it was Azalea calling. She sounded a bit out of breath when I picked up, like she was rushing.
"I heard what happened, I'm coming."
"No Az, I've got it. It's too dangerous, stay home."
"No River I can't! I can't just sit here and do nothing, I need to help. Loosing Cove isn't an option for me or you, I'm coming." She didn't give me the chance to respond before hanging up.
Great, now both of the people I love are in danger.
ð ð ð
After a very long hour, we finally arrived to the neighborhood. My heart was beating out of control with nerves and a bit of fear.
The driver parked a few houses down from the small worn down house. The windows are boarded up, its the definition of suspicious.
"Millie, you stay in the car with Daisy and duck below the windows so no one can see you."
I then turned to the driver. "I expect you to keep them safe. As soon as Cove is in this car, with or without me, take off."
"Yes sir, I don't know what Cove looks like though."
"Camilla will tell you if it's her."
Without wasting anymore time, I got out. The house seemed to be deserted as I walked up to the front door, there's absolutely no noise coming from the inside.
The door wasn't locked, which made me feel really suspicious. This is strange. Ignoring the weird feeling in my gut, I opened the door and walked in.
The inside of the house is pitch black, so I turned my phone flashlight and looked around. There's only one room and it's completely empty. No one is here, and judging by the dust coating the furniture, no one's been here for several weeks.
Suddenly, the front door slammed shut. I quickly turned around and saw a familiar figure walking towards me.
"Dad, no one's in here. It's abandoned." I said, not bothering to question how he got here so quickly.
"I know," was all he said. The weirdly calm tone in his voice is making me even more worried.
"You know? So why'd you send me here? We're waisting time Dad."
Ignoring my question, he simply leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, we could've done this the easy way, River."
"Dad, what are you talking about?"
"This whole thing could've been solved if you'd just broken up with Cove when I asked."
That's when it hit me. He's in on this.
"What the fuck? Are you serious right now?"
"Does it look like I'm joking, son?"
I put my phone back in my pocket and began walking to the door. I need to get out of here now.
"Not so fast." My dad put his hand on my arm and stopped me from moving.
"This is your fault. If you had just listened to me, none of this would've happened. I always get my way and you know that."
"Let me go-"
"No, you're going to stay here. I made a deal with Lucas. He was getting tired of his wife, so I offered him Cove instead."
"What the fuck. Lucas is an adult!"
"Relax, he's only 20. I told you that if you didn't break up with Cove, I was going to get rid of her. You didn't listen, and look at where we are now."
"Dad-"
"Nope. You're going to stay here while I help Lucas get Cove out of this country. I'll be back in time for our flight back to Italy first thing in the morning."
"I'm not going to Italy, and you're insane if you think you're going to take Cove away from me."
"Tough luck, River. But don't worry, Lucas will take good care of her. He has plenty of plans of giving her the life you'd never be able to."
My dad let go of my arm and walked out the door, closing and locking it from the outside.
I hit the door in frustration, trying to open it back up but it wouldn't budge. This is the only exit, and it's locked.
I can't get out of here. I can't save Cove. I've failed my one and only job, protecting her.
My breathing started to get uneven and sat on the ground with my back against the wall.
She's in danger.
I've failed her.
My girl is getting taken away from me, and I can't do anything to stop it.
As tears burned my eyes again, I almost let myself cry. But then it hit me.
Even if I can't save Cove, there might be someone else who can.
Cove's POV
It took me a while to fall back asleep once River left. I wonder why he couldn't stay with me, I just wanted to lay with him.
A few hours into my sleep, I was woken up yet again. This time, it was by the sound of beeping. Something in the house loudly beeped 3 times before stopping.
I closed my eyes again and tried to fall back asleep, but something didn't feel right. After tossing and turning for a few minutes, I sighed and sat up.
There was some noise from outside, but I forced myself not to worry. It's probably just a guard walking around or something.
A few minutes passed and the house fell silent again. Still, I couldn't get myself to try and sleep again despite my exhaustion.
Even with goosebumps covering my arms, I didn't get back under the covers. Wearing a short sleeve shirt to sleep wasnt my best idea.
The sound of the front door opening caught my attention. River's finally back!
I draped my legs over the side of the bed, about to get up, but I froze in place when I heard unfamiliar voices coming from the living room. That's not River.
Fear coursed through my body and my stomach filled with worry. Who's here?
Maybe it's the guards or something. But something tells me that's not true...
The voices started to get closer and I was able to now make out what they were saying.
"I think she's in here boss, she's probably sleeping."
They're coming in here, I need to hide. Acting quickly, I slid out of bed and crawled underneath it. The gap was barely big enough for me to fit, so chances are whoever is here won't be able to get under.
The door opened a moment later and my heart race picked up in fear. It's beating so loud that I wouldn't be surprised if they're able to hear it.
I was only able to see their black shoes as they stepped inside the room.
"She's not in here." One of the voices said.
"Alexander said she's sleeping here, I'm just confused as you are boss."
"Well her stuff's in here.." The shoes for closer to the bed as he looked around the room.
"Don't just stand there, help me look for her."
I could only watch in silence as they started to walk around the room, moving things and trying to find me. I knew that inevitably, one would look under the bed and my hiding place would be revealed.
It only took a minute before someone crouched down and pulled up the blanket that was blocking me from view. Grey eyes met my blue ones and a small smirk rested on his face.
"Ah, there you are darling." I couldn't move or do anything besides stare at the guy with fear undoubtedly filling my eyes.
"Don't be afraid. Adam, go start the car."
"Yea sir." The other guy quickly left the room.
"Hey, how about you come out now so we can leave. There's no need to be scared of me."
He spoke to me like I was a small child scared of crossing the street or something.
"What.." was all I managed to mumble through heavy breathing.
"Here, I'll help you." They guy reached out and grabbed my arm before I was able to move away. He slowly dragged me out from under the bed, I tried to squirm away, but he's much stronger than me.
"Good girl." He stood up and pulled me to stand as well. My head only reached his chest, which made him laugh.
"Oh you're smaller than I imagined, sweet girl."
I frowned and looked up at him, seeing how his eyes glinted with happiness when we made eye contact.
"Well, let's not waste anymore time. We have a flight to catch." He grabbed my hand and I instantly tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.
"I know you're scared baby, but this is for your own good. You're safe with me."
The pet name made me want to throw up. River is the only person who can call me that.
"Let me go.. please." I hate how weak I sounded saying that, but I couldn't manage anything above a whisper.
"No can do." He began pulling me out of the room, and I started struggling harder in his grip.
"Cove, please calm down baby or I'll have to give you something."
I instantly stilled. I need to be conscious so I can escape when the time is right.
"Good girl. Let's your jacket sweetie, it's cold outside." He's calling my every pet name in the book.
"Who are you?" I asked as he picked up my pink jacket from the table where he must've left it when he first came in.
"My name is Lucas, come here." Lucas put the jacket on me. I reached up to do the buttons so he wouldn't touch me anymore, but he pushed my hand away.
"Let me do it baby. Pretty girls like you shouldn't have to do anything for themselves."
Lucas did all of the buttons before once again grabbing my hand. He walked to the door and was about to open it before changing his mind.
"I can't let you see where we're going." He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and I took a step back in fear.
"It's okay sweet girl, this is only for your safety. I'm not going to hurt you."
Lucas gently pulled me back to him and held me still as he tied the black blindfold on me.
"There we go, is it too tight?"
I didnt answer and instead tried to pull it off.
"Cove, you need to keep it on darling." He quickly grabbed my hand and held it tightly.
"Now we can go. I can't wait until you see our new house." Our house? He has a house for us?
Lucas opened the door and tried to pull me out, but I refused to move. I don't trust him to lead me anywhere while I can't see.
"Come on baby, let's go."
"I can't see."
"I know you can't, I'll lead you. We're just going to the car."
I frowned and stayed still.
"Alright then, I've got you." Without giving me the chance to react, Lucas scooped me up into his arms. I instantly regretted being difficult and tried to get out of his arms.
"Shh, I'm just going to take you to the car darling. No need go worry."
He began walking and I couldn't do anything to stop him. Each step he took was a step closer to him taking me away from my River.
"Lucas please let me go," I begged.
"Sh It's okay Cove, I promise you'll be okay. You'll be happy with our new life together." That was my breaking point.
"Let me go! I don't want you, I don't want to live with you creep!" I swung my hand and managed to hit his arm.
He almost dropped me from the sudden force, but at the last moment, he managed to keep me in his arms. His hand quickly grabbed both of my wrists and held them together painfully.
"Cove, don't you dare do that again. Never fucking hit me again." The tone of his voice was very scary and I instantly wished he'd go back to how calm he was a minute ago.
All I could do was whimper at how tight his grip was. He sighed and loosened it a bit, not enough for me to pull away though.
"Look, I'm sorry for loosing my cool. I know that you're just scared and you're probably really tired since you didn't sleep last night. But I need you to be good, okay?"
I stayed silent, making him sigh before placing a kiss on my forehead. His lips felt slimy and disgusting, I was barely able to fight the urge to recoil. Since I can't escape right now, I'm going to play it safe and make him gain my trust. Once I have his trust, I'll be able to manipulate and get away.
"I'm sorry.." I whispered. Lucas rested his hand on my cheek and gently stroked it, reminding me of when Xander did the same thing.
"I know you are baby, it's okay. Im sorry for yelling at you, I know you didn't mean it."
I nodded as he twirled my hair around his finger. "Alright, well we better get going now so we're not late."
I heard a car door open before I was placed down on a smooth leather seat. Lucas got in next to me moments later before closing the door.
The car was really cold, colder than outside. I unintentionally shivered and wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm.
"Oh darling, are you cold?" Lucas pulled my closer to him and wrapped his arms around me.
It was hard not to pull away from his touch, but I knew that I had to keep up an act. If I can gain his trust in the next few hours, I can definitely escape at the airport. Airports are crowded and full of security, so all I need is for him to trust me enough to 'use the bathroom' alone.
I nodded at his question and leaned my head against his shoulder. Unlike with River, I don't feel comforted by doing so.
Lucas began to rub my stomach, a little too hard for my liking. He probably thinks the action feels good, but in reality he's pressing down too hard and his movements are too rough.
"Lucas?" I asked as someone else got in the front of the car.
"Hm what is it sweet girl?"
"Why are there other people?" I asked a bit quieter. I made it sound like an innocent question, but I really want him to accidentally reveal something important.
"It's just my driver baby, don't worry. He's just going to drive for us so I can stay with you in the back."
"Oh okay.." well that's helpful.
"Is there anything else you'd like to know?" He asked.
"Where are we flying to?"
"I can't tell you quite yet, but all I can say is that I hope you like the beach."
The beach. That doesn't really narrow it down, there's beaches in a lot of places.
The car started to move and I felt myself freaking out again. This is really happening, he's taking me away from the safety of the safe house and bringing me who knows where.
Time seemed to slow as the gate unlocked and we drove through it. I still can't see a thing, which makes it all even scarier.
Suddenly, a light shown so bright that I could see it though my blindfold. I lifted my hand to cover my eyes out of instinct, but my hand never made it up to my face.
I instead gripped the door handle just in time for the car to jolt forward. Hard.
My head slammed into the seat in front of me, the only thing keeping me from flying forward being my tight grip on the door handle.
I felt a dizzying pain and my ears started to ring. It was completely silent. I let go of the door and tried to move my arm, but an excruciating pain in my shoulder stopped me.
The door opened moments later and I felt cold hands on my face, desperately undoing my blindfold.
"Cove, Cove please tell me you're okay."
It's Azalea's voice.
"Azzy.." I mumbled as she dropped the blindfold to the ground. I blinked a few times to adjust to seeing again and slowly looked up at her.
Blood was soaking through the side of her shirt, but she didn't even seem like she felt it.
"Oh god.. are you okay?" She asked.
I nodded slowly and tried to get up, but dizziness instantly hit me again and I fell back to my seat. That's when I noticed an unconscious Lucas laying on the floor with his head bleeding.
"Is he dead? What happened?"
"He's still breathing, don't worry." Azzy carefully helped me out of the car. She held my hand that wasn't hurt and let me lean all my weight against her.
"What happened?" I repeated, even more confused when I noticed the front of the car completely wrecked.
"I cut him off, he drove straight into the side of my car. It was the only way I could think to stop him."
I nodded and squeezed her hand tightly, feeling the urge to cry as everything that happened in the last hour caught up to me.
"It's okay Bean, it's all over now. You don't have to be scared anymore."
"Thank you Azzy.. I just want to go home."
"Home? Do you want me to take you back to your house?"
"No, home with River. I want to see River."
That's how we ended up back into her car. Somehow, even after the other car crashed into it, it was still useable. It'll definitely need to be fixed since the entire left side is crushed in and one of the window's is shattered, but it's enough to get us to River.
3395 words