Saving Annabel

Chapter 17

His eyes burn fire as he stands erect, hands balled into fists. My eyes become frantic as I begin to fear for my life.

"What do you want?" I say, my voice shaking all over.

"You despicable rat!" He spits at me. "And here I believed you against my better judgement! And you've been playing me all along." He takes a menacing step forward. I flinch, mirroring his steps backward.

I gulp, not able to get any words out.

"I know everything. You can't hide anymore Raegan."

"What do you mean?" I stutter, barely able to form the words.

"Don't play dumb. I know about the plan to assassinate my father."

"Your father?" I exclaim, shocked.

"Yes. And you're going to help me stop the attack."

He takes my arms and pushes me out of the room. The mirrors reflect our image back menacingly. I look ragged and tired, but a determination flares in my eyes. I'm not going down without a fight.

Tyler notices my gaze. "The guards know of your plan. They are keeping a lookout for your friends."

Instead of deflating me, this news lifts my spirits. They haven't been caught yet.

We reach the stairwell where I was supposed to meet Alex. To my surprise, I see him leaning against the opposite wall with a smirk on his face.

"Alex!" His face doesn't change. He looks at me with no emotion. I connect the dots. He's the rat.

"You told him about everything?" I cry in outrage.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Tyler promised me a place on the council. It was a small price to pay."

I can feel rage boil up inside me, threatening to overflow. "I trusted you!"

"Yeah sucks doesn't it." Tyler says behind me.

I spin around to face him. "I never pledged my loyalty to you. You had no reason to trust me."

"Shut up!" Tyler barks at me. "Alex, tie her up."

I look at Alex with wide eyes. "Please don't do this! What about Dr. Shields?"

Alex laughs as he tied my hands behind my back. "Did you really fall for that? I never liked her."

Disbelief crosses over my features, but I feel a twinge of doubt in Alex's words.

"How could I not notice?" I mumble to myself. Alex answers. "Because your ability doesn't pick up on lies when the teller truly believes what he says. You know, you should never disclose your true abilities to anyone. It's because you did that I was able to get around it."

Frustration and fury spark up in me and I fight against the rope, letting out a cry of rage.

"Let me go!" I bring my knee up and kick Alex where it hurts most. He lets out a cry and drops to the ground. I turn around to face Tyler but he takes me by my shoulders and spins me around again. Clutching my arms, he holds me against him chest so I can't move. Not willing to give up that easily, I bring up and a foot and smash it down on his toe.

Tyler lets out a yelp as his grip loosens. It gives me an opportunity to slip free. I run down the stairs as fast as I can, my arms still tied behind my back. I can hear Tyler's feet pounding on the staircase as he bounds after me.

I make it one flight of stairs before Tyler barrels into me from behind. We both fall and tumble onto the ground, Tyler lying on top of me. His heavy body crushes mine. I gasp for air.