Cut!

Take 33 - Taken - Part 2

A/N: Comment as you read. It would make me much happy. 

I stared at him. Out of all the people who’d assaulted me, given me grief or caused trouble in the past month. He was one of the few people I’d actually forgotten.

“Ah,” he said. “So you do remember me.” He puffed his chest out. “Must have left an excellent first impression.”

It was hard, but I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes at his words.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“In safety…” He closed the box with bandages and rose from the floor. “I’ll make sure no one ruins you again.”

“Ruins me?” I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

I tried to move to sit in a better position, but the ropes around my wrist and ankles prevented me from moving.

Max reached out and placed a finger under my chin. “You’re perfect,” he said.  “But filth like Peyton Moon and that”—he moved back and gestured to Harry—“bastard are spoiling your innocence. I won’t stand for it any longer.”

“That is none of your goddamn business.” I spat on the floor. Max simply looked at it without reacting. Probably because he knew, my saliva wouldn’t actually do much to this already disgusting place.

“I’m your biggest fan, Ludmilla,” he said. “And I need to make sure you’re not ruined—it’s my duty.”

What the…?

I stared at him. He was completely delusional. Max turned to Harry with a grave expression on his face. He walked over and lifted Harry’s head up.

I bit my lip to avoid gasping. Harry’s beautiful face was covered in bruises, and there was a line of dried blood from the corner of his mouth.

Max turned to me. “Not so pretty now, eh?” he said and winked. “When I’m done, you won’t even recognize him.” He lifted his arm, ready to strike across Harry’s face.

I panicked. “How long was I out?” I asked. If I could just keep Max occupied and talking, then he might not hurt Harry in front of me. I glanced at the unconscious Harry, relieved to see a steady rise of his chest.

“A few hours.” Max turned back to me. “It took a while to get here, but you were an angel all the way. Unlike this guy.”

A few hours… That meant we couldn’t be that far away from Milan. I hid my joy. If we weren’t too far away, there might be a chance we’d get saved soon.

“How’d you manage to control the locks at the stadium?” I tilted my head, trying to stretch my sore neck.

“Why should I tell you?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, come on. Every master villain reveals the plan when they’ve captured the hero—haven’t you seen any movies?” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, you already told me about the janitor—I was just making conversation. It’s not like I can do much else.” I gestured to my arms.

Max clenched his fists, and his jaw tensed. He walked over to me, stopping right in front of my face. “I am not a villain,” he said.

The horrible smell of his putrid breath made me want to hurl. I swallowed, trying to keep the contents of my stomach—which albeit weren’t much—down.

“I’m tied up,” I said. “If you weren’t the villain, you’d release me.”

He pulled back, and I tried not to gasp for air.

Dude, ever heard of a toothbrush, maybe?

Max grinned. “I know what you’re trying to do, Ludmilla. You’re trying to trick me. But I’m not falling for it. If I release you, you’ll run away from me.”

“No, no,” I said, forcing myself to sound reassuring. “Why would I do that? You’re trying to keep me safe, right? Why would I run from safety?”

I wouldn’t run without Harry anyway.

“Shut up,” Max said through gritted teeth. He tore at his hair.

“Max…” I said with a soft voice. “I wouldn’t leave you.”

“Shut up!” he yelled. “You’re a liar. All women are. I won’t fall for your wicked mind games.”

It was worth a shot, I thought. I opened my mouth to speak again, when the door to our basement opened. Jamie walked in, carrying a tray with a bowl on it. My throat clenched when I spotted a bottle of water. I hadn’t noticed how thirsty I was.

Jamie didn’t look at me, he kept his eyes firmly on Max. “I have what you ordered,” he said.

“Good,” Max said. “Just place it over here.”

Jamie walked over beside me and put the tray on the ground. When he turned around, I met his eyes for a second.

His otherwise pretty face was now sporting an enormous black eye. He didn’t smile, and even the crazy look was gone from his eyes. In fact, his expression was completely void of any feelings except defeat.

Max gave him a condescending pat on the head. “Good boy.”

“What’s this?” I asked. “The super secret Ludmilla fan club for deranged fans or something?”

Max chuckled. “Nah.” His hand clamped down on Jamie’s shoulder. “This young fuck-up is James, my baby brother.”

I frowned. “What?” They didn’t look anything alike. Where Jamie had a rugged handsomeness to him, Max looked like a lump of clay randomly put together. Of course, that could be my irritation of my current predicament talking, but I still couldn’t see any resemblance.

“Yeah,” Max said. “I know he doesn’t have my classic beauty, but eh. We don’t share genes.” He released his hold on Jamie. “He volunteered to help me get back at you from your rudeness at the hotel.”

“Did he?” I kept my eyes on Jamie, hoping he’d look up to meet my eyes again. It was a small hope, but he’d been so determined to keep me safe before—had he been talking about Max? Maybe Jamie was my only chance to get out of here.

“Sure.” Max walked over to me and sat on the ground in front of me. He moved the tray closer, and I had a feeling what would come next. “He was the one who introduced me to your movies when we were younger. I was in a very dark place, but somehow, you pulled me out of it.”

Somehow, I doubted that he was out of that dark place. With one last glance at Jamie, I faced Max on the floor.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said. “You can let me and Harry go now, and I won’t press charges.”

Max simply laughed. “Oh, it’s much too late for that.”

 A/N: I really want to know if you saw any of this coming. I tried to foreshadow it, but I don't know if anyone caught on. Tell me, please. Did I surprise you? 

Give this a vote, maybe?