Taken

Chapter 40

I walked into the dressing room and dropped the jacket on the seat before sitting on it and burying my face in my hands. Before long I could hear people speaking out in the sitting room before the door opened.

"I'm sorry to have put you through that Anna. Thank you for getting them to agree to it." Nico said walking forward and placing his hand on my back. I nodded and stood up.
"It's done. Speak to who ever you need to speak to about getting the agreement done."
Nico nodded, and gestured to the sitting area.
"That would be David. I'd like for you to meet him." I nodded and walked to the sitting room. Kevin and Ford were talking to a young man with blondish mullet like hair and a moustache.
"David, Anna. Anna this is David." Nico said walking beside me, Kevin and Ford stepped back and David stepped forward and shook my hand.
"I believe I have you to thank for keeping the discussions civil and short." I nodded.
"It's not my first rodeo unfortunately." I replied stepping back. Nico put his arm over my shoulder and smiled at me.

"I have a good feeling about this."
I looked at him and nodded, I didn't.

"I'm going to go to the gym. I need to run or something." I said, pulling out from under Nico's arm and stepping to the side. They all looked to me.
"If you want. We'll be down soon. Just remember, the Murdock's are allowed to go there." Nico said furrowing his eyebrows slightly.
I scoffed.
"I'll be fine." I said turning and walking into the dressing room. I grabbed a sports bra, a pair of shorts, shoes and a light jumper before walking to the bathroom.

I pulled off my pants and pulled on the shorts before I grunted. I opened the door and peaked out.
"Can I have a hand?" I called out. There was silence but soon Nico was standing by the door.
"Hey. What can I help with?" He asked smiling at me.
"Can you unzip my top please?" I asked turning around. Nico didn't respond, but I could feel him unzipping the top. I crossed my arms over my chest to prevent it falling to the ground. I then turned and looked at Nico.
"Thank you." I whispered. He nodded and smiled before turning and walking back to the sitting area. I dropped the top and pulled the sports bra on. I was impressed with it, it was pretty tight and held everything where it needed to. I watched in the mirror as I did the cursory few jumps to suss the support.
I made a small grunt of approval and surprise before quickly pulling my hair down and braiding it into Dutch braids before walking back into the seating area.

I could feel the men look up at me and pause their discussions.
"Do you have like Spotify or anything down there?" I asked pulling the jumper on.
"Ah yeah, it's all set up, there's a couple of ear sets in the cupboard down there too." Nico replied leaning back in his chair and staring at me.
I nodded.
"There's also the mini fridge with water." Kevin said standing up and stretching.
"Awesome. Well I'll be there." I said nodding at them then moving to the lift.
"I'll send someone down to open the side." Nico called out. I gave him a thumbs up and continued to the lift. I could hear them talking quietly between themselves.

I stepped into the lift and pressed the button, moving quickly when I was out into the gym area. My heart was pounding against my chest as I walked through making sure no one else was there.
I sighed when I realised I was alone. I unzipped the jacket and threw it to the seat.

Walking to the cupboard I opened it and pulled out the earbuds, clipping them to the back of my bra so I wouldn't drop them when I was running. I grabbed a water bottle and sat down to pull on my shoes while I punched in some song choices into the treadmill and started.

My feet hit against the treadmill lightly as I tried to maintain a pace. The song blared into my ears as I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel the rhythm.
Suddenly, cool air hit my face. I opened my eyes and pulled the buds out my ears before stepping to the side of the treadmill.