The Cage (Book 2) ✔️

Element of Surprise

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Element of Surprise

In our haste to get away from our attackers, we'd each jumped into the nearest free seat, which meant I was now riding shotgun beside Schneizel, with Aiden and Cade in the back.

I kept my hands in my lap, trying to force them still, but it was no use. My pulse was a chaotic rhythm, my breath shallow and ragged as I turned to Schneizel. He was gripping the wheel with white-knuckled intensity, his jaw clenched tight. His eyes, usually so composed, were sharp and focused, scanning the road ahead with a predator's vigilance. But beneath that, there was something else—something tense. Even Schneizel was on edge.

Schneizel's lips pressed into a thin line, eyes flicking to me for a brief moment. "What happened back there?" His voice when he spoke was low, but there was no missing the edge of urgency, the concern that had been buried beneath his usual detached demeanor.

My voice when I spoke was still shaky from the adrenaline. "I... I don't know. They just jumped me without warning. One minute I was stretching my legs, and the next—" I swallowed hard, as though trying to push the memory back down. The images were still too fresh, too raw. I could still feel the knife pressed against my throat, could still hear them whispering threats in my ear. I shuddered. "It felt like they were waiting for me."

Part of me still couldn't believe that actually happened.

"Did they say what they wanted?"

I shook my head no, then I voiced my suspicion, "No, but it seemed they were targeting me." Despite my best attempt to keep my voice from quivering, it still betrayed my panic. My heart was still pounding, and I could still hear their wretched screams, their eyes flashing with evil like demons in the night.

It was quite obvious that, whoever they were, they'd come for me.

They certainly got the jump on us. I'd been preparing myself both physically and mentally for a fight that was two hours away. I never expected it to come to us.

I caught sight of Schneizel's jaw flexing again, his focus never straying from the road, but there was something simmering in his eyes now. His lips tightened, barely concealing the frustration, the anger that was bubbling up beneath the surface.

The air inside the car felt thick, too thick. In the back, Cade and Aiden had remained shockingly quiet. The whole world felt muffled, like we were trapped in a bubble of tension that was about to burst.

I couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine. Even now, as we drove away, the memory of their faces lingered like a sickening aftertaste. The man's voice—so measured, so damn certain. The way he'd pressed that knife against my skin like he knew exactly what he was doing. It made my stomach churn.

I glanced out the window, trying to focus on something, anything other than the fear that was crawling up my spine, but the darkness stretched out endlessly in front of us, a void of nothingness.

Schneizel must've seen the shudder pass through me because his voice softened, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. "You're okay. We have you. You're okay."

I wanted to believe him. I really did. The calm in his voice was reassuring, but it only scratched the surface of what I was feeling.

They had been waiting. They had been prepared.

"Are they the same people that have Schneider?"

"Definitely." Schneizel said without hesitation.

I exhaled a shaky breath. We'd lost the element of surprise. Or more likely we never had it.