Trembling With the Strings

I Never Liked Allusions

When I regained consciousness I was in yet another different room. Bryce was gone, but now I was with someone else.

“Oh, she’s awoken. You’re going to bring in a pretty penny for me, girl,” Bryce’s father told me, smirking.

“What the fuck is going on?” I demanded, glaring at my company.

“Sweetie, I’m afraid I no longer have any money. And Darius and his family seem to be doing quite well. Just how is that fair? Darius is going to pay the ransom, and then we can put this all behind us. Won’t that be nice?” he asked, grinning evilly.

“I hope you know he won’t come for me. I doubt if he’d pay you a cent for my safe return,” I spat at the pacing man before me. I shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable in the mattress that was as soft as a wooden slate. And, no, that isn’t very comfortable at all.

“But you’re his fiancée, are you not?” he asked, sounding genuinely perplexed. I rolled my eyes despite how nervous I was on the inside.

“That may be, but I’m only his fiancée because he knows I’ll be miserable married to him.” And that wasn’t a total lie. I'm sure he loved me...to some extent. When I wasn't being a total bother.

“Well, Darius is a very snobby, possessive child. I’m sure his pride is worth more than a few pennies to him. And if he tries anything funny, it’ll be you that pays the price. Don’t worry.”

I didn’t honestly care to listen to the man as he rambled on about my future-husband’s failings because my thoughts were simply focused on something much more important. All I could think about was how my brothers were doing. They were with Darius and I knew Marc didn’t much care for him, Marty loved him, and Johnny didn’t take much notice to him. I bet Marcus was screaming at Darius to find me while Demetrius was defending him. Johnny was probably sitting quietly, letting everyone else be overdramatic. I honestly had no idea if Darius would make any attempt to find me, but I had my hunches. And if they were right, I was going to have a very lonely and miserable life without Darius and my brothers.

“I’m sure he’ll think twice before abandoning you,” he whispered in my ear, suddenly right beside me. I swatted him away.

“And why is that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. He seemed to think he knew more than I did.

“I have my reasons to believe as such. Do you honestly not know?” Dray’s uncle straightened up and glanced sideways at me, a smirk plastered to his face.

“Know what?” I demanded, abandoning my seat on the bed. He had my attention if that was what he wanted.

“Oh, you certainly wouldn’t care to know.” He grinned mockingly. I wanted to deck the guy.

“What is it?” I growled through clenched teeth, my hands curling into tight fists as I tried to keep myself from strangling him. He glanced indifferently down to my fists and smirked, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, killing me won’t be necessary, dear girl,” he told me, shaking his head and chuckling.

“And, pray tell, why is that?” I muttered, glowering at him. He was playing with me and I didn’t care for it much—or at all, for that matter.

“Because I’m the one who’s going to kill him.”

I jumped in my skin and turned around to see Darius standing in front of the open window. He had a stern look on his face and his lips were pressed in a grim line.

“Look who finally showed up,” he joked. I kept my eyes glued on my liberator. A sadistic grin formed on his lips.

“You don’t mess with what’s mine unless you want to die.”
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You guys are so amazing! Every time I get a new comment I feel all fuzzy inside =] I'm glad you guys like this story, so I'm updating again right after I post this chapter, so it's probably up by now =] Hope you like the updates!