The Runaways - Kaylor

6

It's been 48 hours since Taylor & Karlie's date and the blue-eyed girl has yet to hear from her again. Although worried, she waves away the thought that Karlie may have found dirt on the recent dealings of the cartel and lay in wait to entrap her. So lost in her worries, Taylor doesn't even notice Cara urgently walking up to her.

"Your date has gone missing!" she hissed at the blue-eyed girl.

"Wha– what?! What do you mean missing?"

"Like there's a slightly irate yet gorgeous woman over there questioning me on whether I've seen or heard from a certain Elizabeth Garrn within the last 2 days," Cara huffs in retort. She even jerks a thumb discreetly just to point out to Taylor she wasn't making it up.

Just then, the unknown woman happens to glance up the length of the bar and spots Taylor. They share a glance and the woman makes her way toward their end. Taylor feels her stomach fill up with butterflies – the bad kind; the one you get when you know something isn't quite right.

"Excuse me, my name's Jourdan and I was wondering if you've heard anything about my friend Lizzie? Last I know is she was coming home from a date with a woman she'd been meeting up with at this bar."

"N-no, sorry. I haven't heard from her either since she left my apartment that morning," Taylor gulps. She can see the hard look Jourdan was giving her as if trying to read out any lies in her responses.

"Wait! You two already did it on the first date?! Smooth one, Swift!"

By this point, Taylor has turned beet red and is adamant in keeping her gaze towards the floor. You're sooo dead, Cara.

"We did not sleep together, seriously! She got really drunk over dinner and could barely stand or speak so I let her crash with me."

"Something's wrong," Jourdan interjects. "This isn't like her at all. I think someone may have taken her."

The three are stunned in silence for a moment, mulling over the possibility of the idea when like a lightbulb in Taylor's head suddenly clicks.

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Karlie woke up feeling sore as she sat rigid against the cold steel. She had no idea where she was; her eyes unable to adjust to the pitch black darkness.

"Oh, dear Karlie"

She knew that voice. It was the same one she heard day in and day out from the moment she set foot in the Bureau.

"Director Crawford, how could you? All this time...you've been working with them, making a fool out of everyone."

A bright light suddenly comes to life right next to her face, blinding her from the sudden exposure. As her vision clears, the image of her longtime mentor and boss hovers closely. The triumphant smirk on her face is what breaks Karlie. She'd never felt so helpless before; not even after Toni's death, that she could seek vengeance for. But this? How do you get the bad guy when you're working for one?

"It's been pretty easy actually, what with the magic of money can do."

"All that bullshit you fed to Toni to take on this mission only to get her killed and now, me? Why didn't you just take us out from the beginning then?!"

"To be perfectly honest, I was waiting for the right time to train you into being my protégée. I had offered Agent Garrn the same proposition all those years ago. Alas, she refused and we ended up here," Director Crawford tells Karlie in a calmly manner. "You've become too unpredictable and difficult to control. As much as I want to induct you into our little club, you're too much of a risk."

"You're fucking psychotic if you think I'd join you. You killed the love of my life! You're the reason Toni's dead!"

Karlie screams out in anger, trying desperately to wriggle free from her restraints to lunge at the woman in front of her.

She's met with a loud laugh that stabs at her heart and fuels the rage even more. "Oh my dear, you think I killed your precious Miss Garrn? You have Miss Swift to thank for that, not me."

"You're a fool if you think Taylor has no idea who you are. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't already know you from the moment you stupidly set foot in that bar of hers."

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A/n:
first off, i'd like to thank everyone who still read this book and sent me messages even if i've been MIA af. That means a lot that you appreciate this little fictional world i've made.

that being said, i'd like to apologize for this crappy excuse of a chapter...it's been sitting in the drafts for 6 months now (i was surprised too lol) & tbh it's mostly cause i've lost inspiration and my creative focus/energies have been elsewhere (aka uni life).

I do want to reassure you that i'll finish this book one way or another. so if you're still up to reading it, please be patient and do stick around! :)