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If anything ever happened to Ariana and Kendal, I’d make them tell a story ofoncerunning a school.
“Let’s leave, our plane leaves in an hour.” He locked the door behind us and dropped the keys at the reception counter.
Outside the hotel, he called a cab to take us to the airport as we proceeded to fly back to Canada while I prayed and hoped that nothing happened to Ariana and Kendal.
* * *
Speeding was an understatement to define how fast I was driving. After we got down from the plane the next morning, I checked my phone and I had a new message from whoever kidnapped them –which I knew was one of the remaining two Antonios.
Unknown
Are you playing with me? They don’t mean anything to you, is that what you are saying? Listen, I did my research and I know these kids mean the whole world to you. 24 hours Alex, I give you 24 hours to show yourself or I’ll dump these kids’ bodies in front of your door. This boy looks familiar by the way, but I won’t make any guesses until I see you.
It was definitely Daniel Antonio. He had seen us before –Kendal and I– and that was why he said the boy looked familiar.
When we got to where we had to board a cab, I stopped Jayden from following me. I told him to go to his house, that I was going to be okay, and he only accepted after I handed him his phone.
When the driver dropped me at my house, I darted to the warehouse with my car.
My heart raced, my brain showing different videos and pictures of what could be happening to Ariana and Kendal. My mind pictured Ariana tied to the chair with blood dripping down her thighs.
Blood dripping down her thighs? No, no, no. I’ll kill them if they touch her, I’ll murder each and everyone of them in cold blood if they even thought of doing anything like that to her.
“Bitch, watch where you’re going.” A blue Lexus raced past me, honking angrily. I pressed on the accelerator, turning left as the tracker switched its arrow to the left side.
After about thirty minutes, the tracker beeped and I looked at where I was. I was just following the tracker that I hadn’t realized that the place was such an empty and almost forgotten place. It was a warehouse, but I doubt it was still in use considering the fact that there was dirt everywhere.
I saw a guy outside wearing a dark pair of glasses, a black mask and holding a gun. He moved closer to me and asked for my name and as I told him, he repeated it into the microphone in his ear. He searched me for a weapon and when he saw the knife I had with me, he seized it and took me in.
My heart ached when I got in.
Kendal and Ariana were each tied to a chair with ropes, their eyes were covered and Kendal had a busted lip, while Ariana wiggled on the chair in tears.
Daniel looked at me and I could see the shock on his face as he took me in and realized I was the same girl from the cafe. He looked at Kendal and me again, and a small laugh fell from his lips as he finally realized that he was right about Kendal being familiar.
“You?” He asked with an amused smile on his face, I glared at him and clenched my hands when the guy who followed me earlier placed a gun on Ariana’s head, she whimpered in pain. I looked at the guy and thought of what type of death I was going to give him.
He undid Ariana’s eye cover, while Daniel undid Kendal’s. He removed it and once Kendal and Ariana took me in, their eyes lit up and my heart clenched in pure hurt.
I couldn’t believe they were still so happy to see me when I was the cause of all that was happening to them.
“Lexi,” Ariana exclaimed and I nodded at her with a small smile on my face. If I was smiling, she wouldn’t be so scared.
Kendal, on the other hand, knew what was happening. He wasn’t crying, but he wasn’t smiling either. He was just as indifferent as always and I wondered what he did to get his lips busted.
“So you are Alex?” Daniel asked and I stayed silent. He frowned and pushed the gun to Ariana’s head, she winced and my muscle ticked.
“Yes… yes I am.” I answered as quickly as I could and he released the gun on Ariana’s head with a mocking laugh.
“Did Jordan really send you?” He asked again and I almost gave myself away with the way I snorted. He still didn’t know I was Jordan, he still thought Jordan and Alexis were two different people.
I nodded in response and he laughed again, while I fought the urge to wipe that grin off his face. “As if she’s not stupid enough, she sent another girl to fight for her,” he said and I clenched my hand again. He was daring me, I knew he was.
“But not to lie, you are either pretty smart or my brothers are pretty dumb.”
“Both,'' I replied with a smug grin on my face, as I folded my hands to my chest. I was pretty smart, but them being pretty dumb was an extra credit, since it made my job faster. He was also dumb; if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t bring us to a warehouse with only one goon. The only reason I wasn’t doing anything was because he had Ariana and Kendal.
The moment they were on my side, he was a dead man.