Finders Keepers (9 page)

Ellie’s skin felt cold but tiny beads of perspiration formed on her forehead making her bangs uncomfortably sticky.
 
She couldn’t stare at the floor, but she couldn’t look into their faces either.
 
After a few excruciating moments, conversation picked up again.
 
She breathed through her nose and relaxed her stance a little.
 
A very little.
 
On second thought…she barred her arms across herself, lowered her eyebrows and frowned.
 
If the stick dude even twitched, she was going postal.

Two others slouched against a side wall arguing over a video game the larger one was playing.
 
It could have been a scene from any teenage household, except for the boy’s black hair which shimmered with color whenever his head moved in the light, like an oil spill.
 
The other, another boy, could have been her next door neighbor with his blonde hair, pale skin, jeans, and a t-shirt.
 
Both his eyes were blackened from what appeared to be a broken nose.
 
Ellie’s elbow
twinged
with recognition.
   

           
A hand so cold it felt like she’d brushed up against a metal freezer, touched her wrist.
 
“You’re a babe.”
 
The little guy had come up from behind her.
 
When he grinned, his sharp little teeth glinted like diamonds.
 
He twirled an unlit cigar between his fingers.
 
“Don’t worry, I’m older than I look.”
 
Ellie’s knees buckled.
     

           
When she came to, she didn’t open her eyes immediately.
 
She’d been halfway conscious convincing herself that this was all a bad dream and she’d wake up in her own room, in her own bed just like Dorothy, when the smell and feel of unfamiliar couch upholstery became all too apparent.
 
Her heart plummeted like that carnival ride that takes you up several stories and then drops you in a matter of seconds.
 
Taylor convinced her to try that one over the summer and she’d agreed in an attempt to appear fearless to Manny and his friends.
 
Compared to now, her experience on the Drop Zone felt like child’s play.
 
At the rate she was conditioning her heart to sudden bursts of adrenaline, she’d be ready to base jump in just a few weeks.
 
A chair scraped close by, close enough that she felt the small flutter from the person’s movements.
 
Her eyes flew open and like a Murphy bed she sat straight up which earned a chuckle in response.

           
“So Sleeping Beauty awakes, and I didn’t even have to steal a forbidden kiss.”

           
She turned to look at where Gibbs sat next to her on a stool.
 
In his hand he held his phone, on which it appeared he was playing
skeeball
.
 
She took quick surveillance of the common room and found it’d been completely emptied of goblins.
 
Gibbs was watching her closer than she expected because he said, “It’s almost midnight.
 
They’re preparing for the raids,” and answered her unasked question.
 

           
“I told Zak his pickup lines must have improved if they could make pretty girls like you swoon.”

           
Ellie’s biting retort fell short on her tongue.
 
Pretty
.
 
Really?
 
She waved her hand at the compliment as if swatting an annoying fly and the movement caused the corners of Gibbs’ mouth to twitch.
 
She scowled.
 
“Glad to see you’re enjoying your little game of abduction.
 
Maybe my parents are occupied presently, but sooner or later they’ll figure out I am missing and then there will be an Amber Alert and the FBI will be all over you, and then your little secret society of goblins will be found out.
 
We’ll see who is laughing then.”

           
He sat back, crossed his arms over his chest, which with his jacket removed showed incredibly well under his tight t-shirt, and looked her over with interest.
 
“For someone who I’ve been told is constantly standing in her best friend’s shadow, you have quite a bit more spunk than I would have guessed.”

           
That was not what she’d expected to come out of his mouth and her scowl flickered momentarily.
 
He nodded as if he saw it and that it affirmed his suspicions about her.
 

           
“You don’t know anything about me.”

           
“As I am quickly finding out.”

           
The stool upon which he sat had wheels, and he scooted it across the floor to the mini fridge.
 
Cracking open the door he glanced inside and announced, “Coke or water.”

           
Ellie didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of taking anything from him or admitting any kindness.
 
He’d tried to kill her.
 
He’d abducted her twice.
 
He’d even stolen a kiss.
 
He was the enemy and she hated him.
 
She pressed her lips together and stared at the opposite wall.
 
At the first mention of water, however, her mouth and throat started to ache as if she’d been wandering the scorching hot desert for hours.
 
Who knew when her next opportunity to drink would be?
 

           
Just before he slammed the door shut, she blurted out, “Water.”
 
Traitor
.

           
He laughed and it wasn’t the same laugh she’d heard before which sounded like crunching metal.
 
Surprised, she looked at him.
 
He was bent low over the little fridge fishing around for two bottles of water.
 
His shirt stretched tight over his hard body.
 
Dark brown hair fell over his ears and curled at the base of his neck.
 
If she were comparing, she’d have to admit he was slightly better looking than his brother.
 
And he’d been her first kiss.
 
The room suddenly felt very hot.
 
And cold.
 
He made it very hard to breathe normally.
 
He glanced up and caught her staring at him.
 
Warm blood rushed to her cheeks.
 
This was probably a reaction he was used to, something he received from girls a hundred times a day.
 
She kicked herself for being one of them and waited for an arrogant self-satisfied acknowledgment of his good looks.
 
Instead, he held her stare for several moments and then looked away, his eyes hooded and troubled.

           
But maybe she imagined the look because by the time he scooted back over to her, his usual sarcastic, cocky self was back.
 
Tossing the bottle toward her (which she caught), he said, “If I don’t want to return and find you’ve knocked yourself into next Tuesday, I really shouldn’t leave you here.
 
On the other hand, I wasn’t planning on babysitting tonight, which puts me in a predicament.”

           
Probably has a hot date
.
 
Now why did she think that?
 
Enemy.
 
Nemesis.
 
Bad guy.
 
Repeat.
 
Enemy.
 
Nemesis.
 
Bad…

           
He tapped her chin with his finger to get her attention.
 
His touch and sudden nearness startled her away from her thoughts.

           
“What?”
 

           
“I said…” he repeated.
 
“…that you will probably have to come with me, but only if you promise to be on your best behavior.
 
If you don’t, I will lock you in the storage closet until morning.
 
And I should warn you, I am not the only one who has the key.”

           
Ellie gulped.

***

When she thought about stealing food for survival, she thought about Oliver Twist or Jean Val Jean from
Les
Miserables
.
 
That’s how far removed she was from the reality of what was about to happen.
 
After borrowing a pair of ballet flats for her from one of the twins, he’d blindfolded her and led her aboveground.
 

Currently, they were in Gibbs’ Escalade which Ellie couldn’t help but wonder if he were to sell it how much food he could actually buy legally.
 
Her thoughts must have been clear on her face even in the dim light from the stereo system, because he said, “You’re assuming that the car isn’t stolen.”
 
She was still blushing and scowling for being so transparent when they pulled into an upper class neighborhood only a few streets away from her own.
 
Gibbs’ eyes practically danced in anticipation.
 
He drove slowly around the block and then pulled right into the driveway of a two story brick house.
 
The only lights on were the porch lights.

           
“The owners are out of town,” he said as if it were just that simple.
 
He leaned over her to open the glove box and pull out a small black object that looked like a garage door opener.
 
His chest brushed across her shoulder.
 
He then reached behind them to the back seat and pulled out a black hoodie and tossed it into her lap.
 
“You know the deal.
 
You run and it puts a target on your family’s back.”
 
Gibbs pulled out a pair of black leather gloves.
 
“The all-time record is three minutes and sixteen seconds by yours truly, but…”
 
He slid his phone open and checked his text messages.
 
“…tonight’s time to beat is seven minutes flat held by Erika.
 
She’s one of the twins.”
 
He grinned.
 
He flipped to a different application and handed her the phone which she took from his hand tentatively.
 
It read:
 
Eggs.
 
Ketchup.
 
Mustard.
 
Deli meat.
 
Tomatoes.
 
Hamburger.
 
Cereal.
 
Chips.
 
Salsa.
 
Oatmeal.
 
Frozen pizza.
 
Juice.
 
Bread.
 
Canned beans.
 
Canned fruit.
 
Canned soup.
 

“There’s no dairy on this list.”

He grinned.
 
“You must not have been the fairy-tale type of child or you would know why.”
 
When she didn’t answer, he said, “Spoiled milk,” as if that explained everything.
 

“You only get on the board if you retrieve at least ten things from the list and you are long gone before the police show up.
 
I prefer to do a simple break and enter through the back, but when Zak scouts the houses, he also programs the universal remote as a backup.
 
Since it’s your first time, I think we’ll go ahead and use it.”
 
He pressed the Genie and the door automatically began to go up.
 
Ellie pointed to the little triangle sign planted in the flower bed near the front door.
 
“There’s a sign in the yard for a home security system.
 
Don’t you think it’s too risky?”

           
“
That’s
the game, sweetheart.
 
We
purposely
trip the alarm.
 
It’s a race against the police response.”
 
He jerked his thumb toward a dark blue sedan parked a couple of houses down on the street.
 
“Zak is the timekeeper.
 
He’ll start the clock as soon as we’re out of the car.”