Kidnapped

Chapter Two

I woke up and looked around dazedly.

Where am I?

I tried to stand up but immediately fell back down. I saw that my ankles were tied together, and my hands were, too.

I was in a small room with only one window, way up high on the wall, and one door on the other side of the room. There was a cot in one corner, and I was sitting against the wall next to it.

My head throbbed and memories of the night came flooding back.

"Aww, nooo," I groaned, leaning my head back against the wall.

I need to get out of here, I thought. Like now.

I thought about screaming, but decided it would probably only get me into more trouble. Besides, no one within earshot would be wanting to help me. They would be in league with my kidnapper.

I knew how to get out of ropes, luckily (most ropes, anyway), but as soon as I started trying to wiggle and twist my wrists out of the rope the doorknob jiggled.

I froze.

"Well, looks like our little Audrey is finally awake," a man who looked to be in his forties rasped, casually waltzing into the room.

"A...Audrey?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know who you are," he growled.

"I'm not play—"

"Shut up, would you?"

I glared at the man until I couldn't take it anymore, and then started shouting at him.

"How dare you!" I yelled. "What do you want with me anyway? Let me go!"

The man smirked. "Well, I might let you go once I get some money from your dad. I heard he's got...quite a bit of it."

Now I was confused. "He...does?" Our family had never had a lot of money.

"Yes!" the man practically shouted. "Stop it!"

I wasn't sure if I should say anymore, but this guy was clearly pretty confused about me.

"Is that the...only reason you kidnapped me?"

"Pretty much," the man said with an evil grin, tossing his dirty blonde hair out of his face.

I sighed. If I wasn't going to be let go until this dude got a bunch of money, then I might be here for a really long time.

"You might as well make yourself at home," the man said, changing the subject. He stepped closer and I tried to scoot back.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he said in a somewhat creepy voice that was definitely not reassuring. "Ransom doesn't work if you're dead."

I didn't care; I definitely could not trust this guy.

He knelt down and started untying me.

"Why are you letting me go?" I said.

"I'm not letting you go. I'm just letting you out of this. You won't be able to leave; there's no reason you can't walk around."

I eyed him suspiciously but stood up as soon as I could in case he changed his mind.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" the man asked, chuckling a little as I raced out the basement door.

I clambered up the stone steps into a small hallway with only a chair in it. Past it was a large living room with a lot of couches, a rug, and a giant TV with three people staring at it.

"Oh, look who it is," said a man who also looked to be in his forties.

"Audrey," said another, who looked only a little older than me. Nineteen, maybe?

The last person, an older woman, said nothing; she just glared at me, and then turned back to the TV.

"Aw, lighten up, Evelyn," the younger man said, punching her lightly on the shoulder.

"Why should I," Evelyn responded icily. "She is our prisoner."

I immediately took a disliking to the woman.

"Sorry 'bout her, Audrey," the younger man told me. "I'm Jake. Jake Rivera."

And then I immediately took a liking to this guy. But still, why was everyone calling me Audrey? It's not that hard to remember my name.

"That's ok," I said, smiling at him. "But why is everyone calling me Audrey?"

"Because that's your name," the older man on the couch barked.

"But it isn't," I protested. "My name is Aubrey."

"Oh, big difference," Evelyn said sarcastically.

I glared at her. I could already tell it was going to be very hard to be around this lady.

"Ignore her," Jake told me. "And this is Marcus Donovan, but we call him Brick."

The man grumbled but kept his eyes on the tv.

"What's going on in here?" the man who had untied me said, coming up the steps from the basement.

"Aw, nothin'," Jake said. "That's Victor, by the way." He pointed to the man.

"I'm the leader," Victor said a bit proudly.

"Come on, watch with me," Jake told me, patting the couch next to him.

These people kidnapped me, yet Jake seemed so nice...

I sat down on the couch and gazed up at the TV. It was a hockey game. Even though I didn't really like sports, the game suddenly seemed interesting. At first, I had been intent on trying to escape. And of course I still needed to, but I was content for the moment.

"Hey!" Brick shouted. "Girl!"

I wondered if he was talking to me until a girl with dark olive skin and about my age scurried into the room.

"I want a Coke," Brick commanded.

"Oh, uh, yes sir," the girl said. She stared at me for a second, then ran back off to what I assumed was the kitchen.

"Who's that?" I asked Jake.

"Elara," he replied. When he didn't say anything else I guessed that was the only information I was gonna get.

But I soon forgot about the girl as I watched the game, and forgot about the fact that I wasn't here of my own will. Jake was really nice, and I knew that we could be friends (if, of course, he hadn't been a part of my kidnapping). Evelyn, on the other hand, could never be a friend (and besides, she was in her fifties). Brick and Victor were practically the same, hard-faced men in their forties whose idea this whole "ransom" business was. They certainly didn't care if I was comfortable or not, but Jake tried to make sure I was. Whenever I had imagined being kidnapped, I thought I would be tied up in a little room with no food until someone found me. Boy, was this different!

I found out I had woken up at 2 pm, and it was now around 5. My stomach grumbled loudly while we were watching American Ninja Warriors, and apparently Jake heard because he called for the girl named Elara.

"Bring Audrey—er, Aubrey—something to eat," he said.

I looked up at him gratefully, noticing his straight yet messy brown hair and warm brown eyes for the first time (somehow). Honestly, he was cute.

Really cute.

I had a feeling that this experience would be very, very different if Jake wasn't here.

At around 9 Victor told me it was time for bed. I was tired and didn't argue.

"I'm sending the ransom note to your father tomorrow, Audrey," Victor announced as we headed to the basement.

"My name is—"

And then it clicked.

Audrey. Lots of money.

How could I not have realized it before?