Chapter 26- Escape

Chapter 26-Escape

-Aiden-

You know that feeling of despair you get when something bad, horrible, or traitorous is bound to happen? That drop gut feeling that makes you worry for not only your safety but for the safety of the people you care for? I could feel that feeling gnawed at me as I watch Emma and Derek walk down the corridor to Mark's office, I wanted to stop her and tell to let me go with Derek instead, but it didn't make sense to do that. It would have left her and Mia defenseless upstairs if Mark came and I know that I couldn't do that. Sometimes I wish I didn't get her involved in this, even though she took it in and looked past it seeing the better in me and put the best foot forward when it came with dealing with Mia. That's one of the many reasons why I love her.

Love. I never thought I would fall in love again when Mia made her decision that left me heartbroken. But I never felt this deeply in love with anyone especially Mia, this was the first time I felt so strongly for a girl, and it scared the living shit out of me. I love Emma and I know I couldn't lose her no matter what. I would do anything for her. And that scared me even more. I'm fucking whipped.

I felt something nudge my side, I looked over to see Mia giving me a small smile, but somehow it was filled with sadness. "We should get going." She said pointing to the stairs.

I nodded. "We should." I followed Mia up the stairs and to the right hallway. I knew this house from every door, ever corner and I couldn't help the memories that flooded back into my mind.

"Aiden." I looked up to see Mark walking towards me from the front door of his newly bought house just as I was getting out of my car. House wouldn't be a word I would use to describe this building in front of me. It was like two mansion formed into one. "I see that you made it here alright. Bit of a long drive, huh?"

Looking at Mark, you wouldn't think that he is dangerous. But looks can truly be deceiving. I forced a smile onto my face. "Yeah man, why so far out?"

"I can't have people in the city or town spying on my every move, you know?" I nodded. I guess being a powerful drug lord means that people were after you most of the time. "Come on, I'll show you around since you'll be here most of the time from now on." He said motioning towards the huge mansion. I followed him as we walked inside of his new place. It took us about a half an hour for him to show me around the place. I made sure that I focused on ever point of the house knowing that I had to memorize it for the sake of me. We finally ended up into his office, there was a huge book case behind an oak desk filled with different books, but I knew those books contain much more than pages. Mark took a seat in behind his desk and I sat in one of the plush chairs that were in front of his desk.

"So what do you think of the place?" Mark asked me looking through his desk draws.

"It's great. No one would ever suspect that a drug business was going on. Good choice." I said with a fake smirk on my lips.

Mark looked up at me with a devious smirk on his own lips. "You know I like you, Aiden." He said getting up from his chair and turned toward the book case sifting through the books. "I trust you, if I didn't I wouldn't tell you 'certain' things." He said emphasizing the word certain. I gulped heavily. I knew things that Mark couldn't even tell his main men that he trusts, things that a sixteen year old boy shouldn't know. Mark found the book that he was looking for on the middle shelves and pulled it out and opening it. In the middle of the book was section where a person can store something, it wasn't a book at all just a decoy. He pulled out a bag filled with his most popular drug, cocaine, in it showing it to me, then put it back into the book and set in on the table sliding it over to me.

"I trust that you will not deceive me, Aiden." Mark said in a menacing tone. I looked up at him with confidence in my expression, even though all I wanted to do was run.

"I would never do such a thing." If only he knew I was lying straight through my teeth.

"Aiden?" I heard a voice call out. I snapped out of the memory and back into reality where Mia was standing in front of a room door. "You okay?" She asked in a concern tone.

I nodded. "Just fine." I said in a calm voice.

She looked skeptical at first, but brushed it off and I was thankful she didn't pry. Mia opened the door and walked in with me following behind. The room was plain, white walls, a four post bed, a flat screen TV, a dresser and nightstand. You wouldn't think that some was living there for the past two years. "You and Mark don't share a room?" I blurted out. I mentally smacked myself for asking that.

Mia turned around and gave me a small smile. "No, we don't. I told him I wanted to have separate room and he complied." She said walking towards her closet and pulled out a suitcase.

"How is it been living with him the past two years?" I asked curiously.

"Decent." Mia answered. "I mean, he is one of the most powerful drug lords out there, but he always treats me with respect. Always gave me space when I needed it and never forced me into anything. Sometimes I just wonder if he's just a kid who took a wrong turn in life." She said as she grabbed her things from her closet and started to pack them into the suitcase. "But that doesn't mean I don't know things about the drug ring. I go with him to every meeting, to pick up shipments sometimes. I've seen him be ruthless to people who betrayed him, Aiden. He kills and doesn't even look back." She said looking at me straight in my eyes.

I felt my jaw clench tightly. I know Mark is ruthless and doesn't care who he hurts, that's why I tried to keep my friends out of it at first, but just as he drew me in he drew Mia in. I kept tell her to let it go, that I would figure out some way to get out, but she didn't believe me and went to him trading herself in for me. When Mark told me that he didn't need me anymore that he has gotten someone better, I was hype that he was letting me going. But when I found out it was Mia he had, I did some things that I know Mark wants to kill me for, but he always had Mia who stopped him. Now he doesn't care that Mia is there anymore he wants to finish something that he never got the chance to. He wants to kill me and hurt the people I care for. "I know that, Mia. That's why I want to get you out of here before he decides to hurt you."

She zipped up her suitcase. "I'm the last person he'll hurt, Aiden. We both know that. We both know he'll go after Emma first." My eyes flashed up to her. She was right, he would go after Emma first, and he knows she means everything to me. "I'm finished."

I grabbed the suitcase from the bed, but I couldn't stop the next questioned that I asked. "Was there ever a point in time that you started to like him?"

Mia froze. "There were times that I thought he wasn't all that bad, that he actually had feelings and cared, but he crushed it each time I saw his ruthless side and then I remember he's just an emotionless, shell that doesn't care anymore. But if you're asking if I ever started to like like him. The answer is that at some points yes, but I remember that he's just a monster who will do anything to get what he wants and those feelings always disappeared." I felt a pang in my heart, not of jealously, but that I wasn't there to protect her from feeling those things toward Mark and that's when I knew the love I had for Mia now was just a sisterly kind of love. Yes, I was in love with her before, but now things are different, there's a certain brunette that have such strong feelings for that it's unbearable.

I nodded and we walked out of her room. Mia said that we should take the back passage way since it would be safer to get out and that's what we did. Once we were out of the house we walked to the side street where Matt and Amy were waiting as the look out.

"Thank god you guys are out safely!" Amy exclaimed hugging Mia and I. "Gosh I was so worried."

"Where are Emma and Derek?" I asked not noticing them around when Amy released us.

"They haven't come out yet." Matt said.

I raised an eyebrow at that. They're not out yet? I pulled out my phone from pocket and send three text message to Emma signaling that we were out safely that was until I heard someone curse.

"Shit!" Matt said in a whisper. I looked up at him and he just gestured behind me. "Mark is back." When he said that I whipped around so fast, I'm surprised that I didn't get whipped lashed.

When I saw the black SUV in the roundabout driveway that same gnawing feeling I was feeling earlier returned. "Fuck." I swore. I was about to go back to the house until Matt grabbed my arm and shook his head. He knew it would be too dangerous. We would just have to wait. Come on you guys, you have to get out of there.

-Emma-

"What are we going to do!?" I whispered yelled at Derek. I could hear the voices coming closer by each second.

Derek looked around the room frantically, until his eyes lit up. "There." He said pointing behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see a door. It looked like it led to a closet. Derek didn't waste time, he grabbed my hand and tug me all the way over to the door and opened it shoving me in as he got in also and closed the door leaving only a crack to glance out. He grabbed my arms and tug me to kneel down next to look out the crack in the door. Just as we had got into the closet, the door to the office flew open and in waltz Mark and one of his men. Mark was on his phone talking loudly, which was a nice way of putting it.

"What the fuck do you mean the shipment went somewhere else!?" Mark yelled into the phone. "You better fucking find out where the hell it went or else I will have your fucking head blown off!" I winced when I heard Mark's harsh tone. Derek rubbed my arm in a comforting way as we continue to listen in on the conversation. "I give you fucking five minutes to find out where it went or else I'm coming after you myself." He said in such a calm tone that it scared me more than his harsh tone.

Mark hung up the phone and threw it down onto his wooden desk. "Fucking bullshit." He muttered under his breath as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair that looks like it was black. The man who had come into the office with him was standing tall and confident in front of his desk. He had broad shoulder and a shaved head, but you could tell that his hair was blonde color. His suit jacket looked like it would rip if he made one movement. The guy looked like he could beat down anyone.

"What's going on boss?" The man asked.

"The fucking idiot made the shipment route to the wrong place, Miles. If we don't hear back from him in five minutes you know what to do." Mark said to the man in front of him whose name I'm assuming is Miles. Miles nodded in understanding.

Mark turned towards his book case and picked up a book in the middle shelve and opened it and I was shocked when I saw what was in it. The book wasn't a book at all. It was a decoy that held drugs in it. How many of those books where decoys? Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate three times in my pocket and since I was pressed against the door frame it made a noise. Mark whipped around looking around the room. "Did you hear that?" Mark asked Miles. Miles shook his head. Obviously he was oblivious to the noise. Mark threw the book down on the desk and started to walk near the closet. I felt my breath hitch and Derek get tense behind me as Mark got closer to the closet.

Then Mark's phone on the desk started to ring. Mark turned around and walked over to his desk picking up the phone and answered it. He was on the phone for a few minutes. "You are so fucking lucky you're found the shipment. Be happy you get another day to be alive." I could imagine the menacing smirk on his face.

Mark hung up the phone and looked around the room suspiciously for a moment. "Let's get going. The shipment was found an hour away." He said to Miles. Miles nodded and went to open the office door. Mark took one last look around the office before walking out. Miles closed the door leaving the office in utter silence. I finally let a breath go that I didn't know I was holding in and I could feel Derek relax behind me.

Derek and I were silent for few more minutes, just in case Mark decided to pop back in. "Let's get going." Derek whispered from behind me. I nodded and stood up as Derek opened the door. We walked out and I started to walk towards the door until Derek grabbed my arm. "I don't think we should go out that way."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What other way are we suppose to go out?" I asked.

Derek smirked and pointed behind him. I looked behind him, the only thing that was there was a window. My eyes widen at what he was implying. "The window?" I hissed at him.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, just in case some of Mark's men are out there." I sighed it did make sense, but a window really?

"Fine." I muttered and Derek grabbed my hand tugging me to the window. He opened it and leaned my head out to look out. I'm an idiot. I forgot we were on the first floor of the mansion and I was freaking out thinking we were on the second story of the mansion, but even though we were still on the first floor the window was still high off of the ground.

"You thought we were higher up then that, huh?" Derek teased and I glared at him.

"Shut up." I smacked his arm and he just smirked at me. Derek jumped out the window and landed on his feet.

"Come on." He said grabbing my arm helping me down, his other arm wrapped around my waist to hoist me down from the window and I was on my feet a few seconds later. I looked up to Derek, his arm still wrapped around my waist, we were chest to chest. An unknown emotion flashed in his eyes, before letting me go and shut the window. "We should get going, everyone must be worried." He said giving me a small smile and I returned, glad that we were back to normal. I turned to walk toward to the side street until I tripped over a branch. I was waiting to feel the cool hard ground, but it didn't come. I look to see an arm around my waist.

"Falling for me already, Em?" Derek asked giving me a wink. I chuckled and stood up.

"You wish." I said punching his arm playfully and he gave me a lopsided smile. We walked toward the side street seeing everyone looking towards the front of the house. Guess we came around the other way.

"Missed us?" I said loud enough to capture everyone's attention. Their heads whipped over to Derek and so quickly I wouldn't be surprised if they had gotten whip lashed. You would see relieve washed over their features.

"Thank god." Amy breathe out running up to Derek and I pulling us into her embrace.

I patted her back softly. "Ames, we're fine. We got out safely." I said comforting her.

"I know, I was just so scared when I saw Mark's SUV was there and you guys weren't out yet. I thought he was going to find you." I heard her sniffle. She pulled away and wiped away unshed tears.

I gave her a comforting smile. "Well, we're out and obviously he didn't get to us." She nodded and let us go before walking back to Matt. Derek and I walked up to everyone else each hugging us and telling us how worried they were and glad we were safe.

"Thank fucking god." Aiden said pulling me into his warm comfort embrace and I automatically relaxed in it as I wrapped arms around his neck burying my head in his chest breathing in his scent which smelt of warm cinnamon and mint. "God, I got worried." He breathe into my hair.

"But I'm fine now Aiden." I said pulling away slightly so we were face to face. "No need to worry." I gave him a small smile.

His worried expression soften and a small smile was placed onto his lips. "I love you." And before I could respond he crashed his lips onto mine. The kiss wasn't like anything I've experienced before. It was filled with passion, need, want, love and lust and I never wanted it to end. Just as Aiden was about to deepen the kiss we were interrupted.

"Hey, love birds! Can we get the hell out of here? I'm hungry." Derek's voice called out and laughed as I pulled away from Aiden. Aiden shot Derek a hard glare to which Derek gave an innocent look. Aiden was about to walk towards the car until I grabbed his arm. He turned around with a raised eyebrow questioning why I stopped him.

"I love you too." I said grinning at him and he just smiled down at me slinging his arm around my shoulders.

"Ready to get the hell out of here?" He asked as we walked towards his car.

"You have no idea."