Page 97 of His to Own

He opens his mouth to reply but no words come out. What is there to say?

“I got suspended from school,” I blurt out. Now that the words are coming out of me, there’s no holding back.

“What?” both Maxim and my mother say at the same time.

“Because my professor is out to get me. She’s upset that you got her fired and she’s taking it out on me. I never asked you to fire her.”

“I was doing you a favor,” he says. “And you thanked me for it.”

“I am going to get expelled because of plagiarism when I didn’t even do that. I am going to lose everything. I am failing.”

Maxim frowns. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“Because I hate how you make me feel,” I sob. “I hate that you make me happy and upset at the same time. I hate that I want to kiss you so much I can barely breathe and I hate that you keep things from me and I hate that you’re my husband when all I wanted was to find love and be a writer and a mother one day. That was all I wanted. I just want a family and a career and to be happy.”

The stunned expression on Maxim’s face is an understatement. I can’t breathe. I can’t stay in here. I have to go.

I run past my mother and Maxim and leave out the back door. My father will be upset but I don’t care. The guard stationed at the back door doesn’t stop me as I run away. My father no longer owns me.

I make it to the sidewalk and I run and run and run as fast as I can in my heels.

I run until I can’t take it anymore and I collapse to the ground. The back of my neck tingles. A black van pulls up beside me and the back door opens and a man jumps out.

It all happens so fast before I can even process it all.

The next thing I know, the man is grabbing me and pulling me towards the van.

Chapter Thirteen

Elena

The man trying to kidnap me has plain features and a strong build. Someone you might notice but also someone you might just look over. The perfect person to commit this sort of crime.

As he hauls me towards the van, it dawns on me that I need to scream. I need to draw attention to myself and get help.

I suck in a large gulp of air and let out the loudest piercing scream I have ever done before the man clamps his hand over my mouth, muffling the sound. My body twists and turns as I fight him but he’s much stronger than me. It doesn’t take much for him to throw me into the back of the van and slam the door, locking me inside. He gets into the passenger seat. It’s then I notice another man in the driver’s seat, who calmly takes off like he didn’t just play a part in kidnapping me. The driver is also plain like the other man. I’m not sure I would remember either one of their features to describe to the police.

Maybe that’s the point.

“Who are you?” I ask, shivering. I run my hands over my arms but it doesn’t do much. I can’t stop shaking. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

Neither man answers me. I try to look out the back windows but their all tinted, making it hard to see. I can only look through the front window but the passenger seat man notices and he closes the small partition that’s between me and the front seat. Now, I can’t see anything.

I slump against the floor. The back seat actually has no seats. It’s just a large, empty space. I have to catch myself when they make a sharp turn to prevent myself from falling.

Who are these men and why are they kidnapping me? I haven’t hurt anyone. I haven’t done anything to make anyone angry with me. Why is this happening?

A slow realization dawns deep within my body. Does this even have anything to do with me? Or is this because of who my husband is? Who my father is? Who my brother-in-law is? All the mafia men in my life. The life I have no say in and yet they do. Is that why I’m being kidnapped?

Lana was kidnapped twice and survived but I’m not Lana. She has a bravery and courage within her that was always admirable. I don’t have that. I’ve always been so scared. Too scared to stand up to our father. Too scared to run away when I had the chance. Just too scared.

But the one thing I do have is my brain. I count as the minutes go by and pay attention to how much time has passed since they took me. I count every turn they take. I count every stop they make.

In case this can help me find out where I am.

My gut drops to my feet when the van stops. That means this is it. The place they wanted to take me to. The place where who knows what is going to happen to me.

The back door is yanked open and the man who grabbed me to begin with grabs me again and pulls me from the van. I try to scream but this time, he stuffs a rag into my mouth. He holds my hands behind my back and walks me forward.