Taken and Misused.

V a u g h n ’ s P e r s p e c t i v e .

Two hours. It had been two hours since Elisabeth had been taken from me and I had no idea where she was right now or if she was okay. After the one man had taken Elisabeth out of the bar the rest of them just kept Stephen and me from leaving the bar to go after Elisabeth. They couldn’t keep up their routine for long, not against Stephen and I. Those thugs were knocked out cold back at the bar. I did not care one bit if they were dead or alive; all I could think about was Elisabeth.

“Vaughn,” Stephen had been trying to get my attention for the past three blocks but I just kept on walking. “Vaughn!” he said sternly, this time grabbing my arm as well and jerking me around to face him. I yanked my arm free of his grasp and shoved him back.

“What do you want?” I snarled, my breathing suddenly heavy.

Stephen looked taken aback, his dark eyes wide and slightly hurt. “You need to calm down Vaughn,” he said calmly.

“Calm down?” I nearly shouted, throwing my hands up in the air. “Jake’s men took my Elisabeth to God knows where and I have no idea if she’s alright or not, I can’t just calm down Stephen.”

“Your Elisabeth?” Stephen questioned, I shut my mouth and turned around quickly. I hadn’t mean to let that slip, judging by Stephen’s reaction to just a hint of a relationship between me and Elisabeth I knew he would react in a very negative way and no matter how much it bothered me to keep him in the dark I needed his help. “Are you just planning on barging into Jake’s place of business, brandishing a gun in his face and demanding he give Elisabeth back to you?” He snapped, hurrying to catch up with my quick pace.

“That was my plan ever since the moment Elisabeth was taken,” I replied.

“I am sure if we stop and think there is a much better plan than this one,” Stephen tried to reason but I wasn’t having any of that. I just wanted to get Elisabeth and shoot whoever was responsible for this. “What if it is my father who has ordered Jake’s men to take Elisabeth?”

I stopped short and Stephen stopped as well, “that’s impossible, how would Jake know Semyon? The little shit could never handle clients like that.”

“It is a possibility we must be prepared for in a time like this.”

I hated it when Stephen made sense, especially when I was just itching to shoot someone. Particularly someone who had hurt my Elisabeth.

My phone ringing broke the silence that had fallen between me and Stephen; I took my phone out of my pocket and noticed that the caller was unknown.

“Who is it?” Stephen asked, picking up on my wary attitude.
“The phone number is blocked,” I answered, glancing from the phone to Stephen with the silent question of whether or not I should answer the call. Stephen nodded and I looked back at the phone and pressed answer.

“Who is this?”

“If you want to get Elisabeth back meet me at 2438 West Parker street in one hour, just you and your friend.”

“If she is hurt in any way I will kill you slowly and painfully, do you understand that?” My voice deadly low, I knew that every word I spoke rang true in my voice. And they were true, anyone who had taken part in this would regret it, I would make sure of it.

“She will be fine if you come on time” the voice on the other line replied.

“I want to talk to her, otherwise I won’t come,” I lied, if there was any hope of rescuing Elisabeth I would go. There was some shuffling from the other line and then a small whimper and the harsh sound of quick breathing. “Elisabeth?” I questioned.

“Vaughn?” It was her.

“Thank God, Princess are you alright?” I let out a breath I had been holding and tugged my hand through my hair in relief. She was alright. The fire burning inside me burst into an inferno of renewed determination, I would rescue her and find someplace where she could be safe. Where we could be safe together.

“Don’t come, you and Stephen have to go, it’s Sem-” her frantic voice was cut off by a sharp smack and a quick scream from Elisabeth followed by a heavy sob that broke my heart.

“Don’t you touch her!” I roared, earning a few concerned and wary glances from the people passing us by on the sidewalk. There was no reply, the line went dead and I had to fight myself not to crush the phone in my hand. “Dammit,” I growled, tugging both of my hands through my hair, furious tears were forming in my eyes.

“What happened?” Stephen asked, calm as usual. However, I could see the growing worry raging within him. He cared for Elisabeth just as much as me. I couldn’t find the words to reply, my mind was a utter mess and I had to find a way to clear it otherwise Elisabeth was as good as dead. I turned to the brick building we had stopped in front of and sucked in a breath before punching the wall, “what the hell are you doing Vaughn?” Stephen questioned, pulling me back from the building and turning me to face him. I shrugged out of his grasp; the sharp pain in my knuckles cleared the emotional pain in my head. I wiped my bloodied knuckles on my jeans, ignoring the stinging pain that came with the action.

“They have her, those fucking bastards,” I snarled, spitting out each curse word. “And they want us to meet them at 2438 West Parker street in an hour,” I relayed, pacing back and forth.

“What did Elisabeth say to you?”

I paused and glanced at Stephen, “she told me that we shouldn’t come, they cut her off but I’m pretty sure why she doesn’t want us rescuing her. Semyon has her.”

“Then we shouldn’t waste the precious hour we have to prepare ourselves,” Stephen said, glancing around us to figure out where this place was.

“Elisabeth should know we never listen to her, why should now be any different,” I said, a dark humor entering my words. I was going to get her back and kill whoever tried to stop me.