Jaeger's POV
NO! Damnit!
I slide down the ladder with the insides of my boots and hands, not caring whether or not my skin gets burned from the rusting metal. As soon as the soles of my shoes hit the wet pavement, I'm sprinting around the building toward Rue's apartment building.
It was definitely not Tate who stepped out of that Wrangler. It was the Riverton Brothers. And they are here for Rue.
Why? I don't know, maybe because--
An arm the size of a tree trunk hooks around my body and throws me to the ground. The back of my head cracks on the edge of the sidewalk, and a grunt escapes my lips as pain ricochets around my skull.
Malcolm Riverton smirks down at me, all 6' 7" of him, glaring down like a jaguar in a tree. His neck alone could probably crack someone's head open.
"I didn't know people like us could take steroids," I roll onto my feet and brush off my shirt, sighing.
He cracks his neck and pops his knuckles, "You're about to know what it feels like, Reynolds."
"I was wondering when I was going to get the chance," I ponder out loud, flicking a firefly off my sleeve. "I just didn't know how to, you know, pop the question."
Malcolm cackles, "She's ours, buddy. Your little revolution? Kiss it goodbye."
I scoff, "After I kick your ass, I'll be welcoming it with open arms."
Rue's POV
Lolly pop, lolly pop, oh lolly, lolly, lolly, lolly pop---POP!
My head cracking on something hard jolts me awake, and I give a low groan. The old song is blaring, and annoying the hell outta me.
"I call her Lolly Pop, Lolly Pop, oh Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Pop---POP!" Men sing in the front, probably only about two.
Wait, sing in the front of what?
I struggle to sit up, but all that really happens is my face attacking the floor once I realize my hands are bound behind my back.
"COOL!" I cry frustratedly. Obviously I'm in a vehicle. Probably a van, but maybe an Excursion or something big like that.
"Hey," a soft voice comes from the corner on the other side of the car. "Don't be so loud."
"Jaeger?" I use all my abdominal muscles to slowly pull myself up.
He's really beat up. Bruises cover his arms, his lip is split worse than before, and his left eye is swollen. Blood covers most of him, 'course some of it is from earlier in the night.
He hesitates before answering, "Yes."
"What's going on? Why are--" I'm suddenly thrown onto him when the vehicle makes a sharp turn to the right.
I pretty much dig my chin into his chest, and we both groan. When I peel my face off him, it feels like something wet is on my face, and there's so much that it drips off my cheek and back onto Jaeger.
I hiss at the smell of iron, and start crying when I see all the blood in the dim lighting.
"Jaeger," I blubber. I hiccup in the middle of it, so it sounds more like, 'Jae-GAH-er!'
"Shh," he winces as he sits up, struggling against the movement of the truck. "Stop crying."
"You're bleeding!" I cry. The music up front turns down a little, like our kidnappers are listening.
"It's not my blood," he gives a wry chuckle. "Well, a little bit is."
Instantly, I suck up all my tears, and grimace at the thought of having the blood of someone besides Jaeger, or Tate, all over me. I ungracefully try to balance while I rub the blood on my face onto the back of the row of seats.
Having my hands behind my back is really starting to bother me, so I fall to my side and maneuver so I'm laying on my shoulders and legs pushing my body up as much as possible. Carefully, I slide my wrists under my butt, lay down with my legs curled, and pull my arms over my legs.
"They bound you?" Jaeger's voice doesn't seem very surprised.
"They kidnapped me..." Wait. "Us," I correct.
"Guess you pose too much of a threat to other people in the van."
I stare at the ceiling of the van, a very pissed off feeling bubbling inside my body. Why the hell did someone kidnap me? Of all people? Are they bounty hunters for the orphanage? And instead of getting people for money, they're just getting people to get people?
"Wait," I sit up. "Aren't your hands tied?"
He smirks and holds up his hands. I frown at the dried blood on them.
"They were. It's not that hard to untie something with your mouth," he states as if it's obvious.
I shove my hand into his bloody stomach, "You untie them. I'm not putting somethign in my mouth that has another person's blood on it."
"What if you'd die if you didn't?" Jaeger asks quietly as his nimble fingers untie the knot.
"I'd figure it out then."
The need to know why I was kidnapped and where we are going is nagging at me, but the panic hasn't started yet. I guess this is just how I deal with things. Instead of panicking, I wait to see how things turn out first.
Plus, given the situation, I'm pretty sure we'd be able to escape. I mean, my hands aren't tied behind my back, I'm not gagged, and my feet aren't chained together. Although, I'm sure if I was tied up, gagged, and chained, I'd still be able to make it past the seats and knock out the driver.
Of course, that probably wouldn't be the smartest idea considering I wouldn't be able to stop the van from hitting something, rolling, and killing us all.
"Who's blood is that?" I ask while gingerly rubbing my wrists.
"Their brother's," he coughed, nodding up to the twins.
"Why--"
"I'll have to explain later," he shuffles next to me. Suddenly his hands are on my cheeks, his face close.
"Jaeger--"
"Shush," he whispers. "I need you to distract them."
"For what?" I whisper-shout. What could he possibly need me to distract them for?
"Just trust me, okay? Try to... Try to distract Micah. He's not driving, but I need you to try to get him back here."
"You aren't killing him," I state firmly.
He shakes his head, "We're going home."
The panic is stating to set in, and just in the wrong moment.
"Where are we? Where are they taking us? Jaeger why did they kidnap us?" I start shrieking, and the music is turned down lower.
"It's your cue," Jaeger winks and opens the back door---I don't know how, but he does---and jumps out to his death.
"What's going on back there?" A gruff voice calls back.
"No!" I shriek and kick the door. It doesn't budge.
"Hey!" Micah yells back at me. "What are you doing?"
I kick the door again and again, but all it does is jar my legs. Soon I'm shrieking and flailing around like a banshee on crack.
"Hey!" Micah screams, tumbling over the seats to get to me. "Why are you screaming?"
"Shut her up!" Marcus shouts back. "Hurry up, or I'll stop the van to get the gag!"
Micah reaches for me, but I shudder and scoot away. He reaches for me again, but this time I grab his wrist and yank him in the back with me.
He gives a yelp of surprise, and I quickly clap my hand to his mouth.
Micah about crushes my wrist, trying to get my hand off his mouth, but I slowly dig my fingernails into his cheek. The harder he squeezes, the harder I dig.
"Now, listen to me," I whisper into his ear. "I want to know what the hell is going on. I may not be much of a threat, but my friend sure is."
I see his eyes dart around, and they widen when they find that Jaeger just isn't back here. Suddenly he's chuckling.
I feign a moment, wondering what could be so funny. Micah takes the opportunity to wrestle me over. Under five seconds I'm pinned, and I hear the knife slide out of its sheath.
My stomach drops. How could I have pulled off what I'd just tried anyway? Jaeger didn't give me any warning before he went and killed himself. Which is absolutely not like him. Why would Jaeger kill himself? Right in front of me?
Cold metal tickles my neck, and fear spikes my veins. I failed.
"Go ahead," I whisper. "Follow through."
Micah hesitates, "What?"
The van swerves, and Micah's blade nicks the skin on my collarbone. I let out a hiss, and tears threaten my eyes from the pain of the gash.
I grab a fistful of Micah's shirt and yank him to me, "Kill me. Do what you were planning this whole time."
His breath is hot on my face, "I'm not going to kill you."
Hold up. "What?"
"I'm not going to kill you." There is no humor in his voice. If Marcus were saying this, he'd definitely be all smiles.
"Who is?"
"Tate Williams."
The front windshield shatters, and we screech to a halt. Marcus groans, and suddenly the back doors open.
Jaeger yanks me out from under Micah, and sets me on the ground. His fist rockets across Micah's face before he closes the doors.
I struggle on the gravel as I try to scoot away from Jaeger. How is he alive? He ducked out of a moving van! We should have at least been going somewhere around sixty-five miles an hour!
Jaeger kneels beside me, a wicked smile on his face. "Let's go home. I have a lot to explain."
I take this chance to sit up, turn to my side, and puke.
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