Kidnapped

Chapter 27 - Loss of Control

My captor rounds the car, eyes dark as a storm. He slides into the driver’s seat, the car groaning under his weight as he slams the door hard enough to rattle the entire frame. Tension crackles between us, sharp and electric.

“Please, you have to listen!” I lunge forward, grabbing onto the back of his seat, my voice a high-pitched tremor full of desperation. “Something’s not right. There’s a little girl there—she’s not his! We can’t just leave her!”

He shifts the car into reverse, muscles taut beneath his worn shirt as he turns to check his surroundings, trying to maneuver around my frantic movements. His glare cuts into me, sharp and unforgiving, a silent warning that shivers down my spine.

“Sit. Down. Now.” Each word drops like a hammer, heavy and final.

My pulse is a wild drumbeat, drowning out the crunch of gravel beneath the tires. The cabin shrinks away in the rearview mirror, swallowed by the trees. Panic surges hot and electric, swallowing reason. Callie’s wide, terrified eyes fill my vision. I can’t let this go.

“Stop!” I scream, the sound tearing at my throat as I clamber over the center console, reaching for the wheel. My fingertips brush the cracked leather before he reacts, shoving me so hard I slam into the passenger seat.

“No, please!” My voice cracks, raw with fear as I struggle upright, the world tilting from the pain radiating through my head. “He has a little girl!” I make another desperate grab, but he’s faster. The butt of the gun flashes in the corner of my vision before pain explodes across my temple. The world tips violently, and darkness crashes over me.

---

“This is on you, Vince! If you hadn’t let her run, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” I hear his voice cut through the fog in my head, each word soaked with fury.

Silence follows, suffocating and tense. When Vince speaks, his voice is a low, controlled edge, bracing against the storm. “I’m not the one who brought her here, Tyler. And I didn’t force you to pull that trigger, either.”

Tyler. That’s his name. The realization seeps through the haze, anchoring me.

A bitter laugh cuts through the silence, sharp enough to sting. “You’re kidding, right? What was I supposed to do, let that clerk gut you like a fish? You were bleeding out, Vince. Seconds from dying. I did what I had to do.”

Vince exhales, a sound heavy with unspoken guilt. “I know. I owe you everything. But this?” His voice shakes, raw with frustration. “Kidnapping her, dragging her into this—it’s wrong. Lila doesn’t deserve this.”

Tyler’s voice drops, a dangerous whisper. “And what’s your solution, Vince? Let her go? Watch her run to the cops and tell them everything? We both know what that means—life, no parole. A cell, cold and permanent. Not a fucking chance.”

The silence that follows is taut, vibrating with tension. Vince’s jaw tenses as he pushes back, his voice a plea disguised as resolve. “There’s another way. There has to be. Keeping her like this isn’t it. And while we're at it, grabbing a random girl from some gas station in the middle of the night? What the hell were you thinking?”

Tyler lets out a harsh, humorless laugh, running a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t, okay? It was impulsive. But now we’re here, and we can’t go back. We can’t let her go, Vince.”

His gaze drops to the floor, searching for answers that aren’t there. “And as much as I’d love to keep her tied up indefinitely, you’re right—this isn’t fair. But our options are bleak.”

I stir on the couch, a groan slipping past my lips as I reach up to touch the throbbing spot on my head. Their voices cut off, and I feel both sets of eyes lock onto me. I blink, my vision swimming as I focus on the room. Vince is seated in a rickety chair, eyes flickering with relief, while Tyler leans against the warped counter, arms crossed, muscles taut with tension.