Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (23 page)

From
the start I knew that there was a chance Bailey may not be with Pete when he
came to meet us. I almost expected him to pull such a deceitful trick now that
I knew who he really was. I figured it was a known possibility to all three of
us, but we hadn’t discussed how to proceed in that event. I think it had to be
because Eli and Ren didn’t want me to worry more than I already was, but I had
my own plans. I knew in my heart I couldn’t just desert Bailey. I would be
going with Pete either way. I had to get to the bottom of it, and the only way
to do that was to go with him. I didn’t give Eli the chance to tell me
otherwise and kept it to myself.     

It
was no surprise to me when Pete pulled up next to our car and he was alone.
Pete and I stepped out of our separate cars at the very same time, and I was
instantly less than two feet from him. Our cars were parked much closer
together than I thought and it made me extremely uncomfortable. But I couldn’t
let Pete see it.

My
heart was thumping in my chest. I took a moment to collect myself and gain
courage before I could say a word to Pete.

“Who’s
that?” Pete spat, pointing at Ren who stood inconspicuously on his side of the
car.

“A
friend. How did you expect me to get here? I don’t have a car,” I stated
rudely. “Plus, Bailey was going to need a ride home, but apparently you seem to
have forgotten your end of the deal,” I added for good measure.

“Well,
I couldn’t lose my leverage when your boyfriend tries to interfere. So you will
just have to come along to get her.” He pointed at Ren who was silently
watching on his side of the car. “He will have to go on his way without you and
Bailey. I will be sure Bailey gets home.”

It
was then that Ren broke his silence. “Abby will not be going with you unless
Bailey is here to stay in her place,” he said firmly.

“Is
that so?” he paused and then challenged Ren. “Well, I think it is up to Abby
and if she does decide to come with me, what are you going to do about it?”

That
was my cue to speak up before things got ugly. “If I go with you now, what
happens to Bailey?” I asked.

“I
call my friend and he brings her home. Just like that,” he said, smiling at me.

“Abby,
you can’t…” Ren started pleading.

I
noticed him take a step towards the front of the car, so I took my chance
before it was no longer available. I barreled around Pete’s car and swung open
the door.

“Abby!
No!” Ren shouted.

I
didn’t look in his direction, but I knew Ren was almost all the way around his
car before I made it to the inside of Pete’s. When I jumped into the car, he
turned back to get in his own to chase us down.

Pete
was right on cue and our doors slammed at the same time. His engine roared to
life. The tires squealed as they spun, trying to get traction on the asphalt. I
saw Eli in my rear view mirror, his arms waving wildly as he ran towards us. At
that moment, I felt awful. What had I done? He would never forgive me. I hadn’t
thought about how it would affect Eli before I did it, other than that I knew
he wouldn’t let me do it. I hadn’t considered why. All I could think of was how
to get Bailey back. My mind only had one track at the moment. I didn’t want to
hurt Eli, but I saw at that moment it was exactly what I had done.

Ren
was right on our bumper as we sped out of the parking lot. Pete didn’t wait for
the stop light to turn green before he sped out.

“Where
are we going?” I asked.

“A
friend’s house,” he stated. “Of course, not until we lose your friend and
prince charming behind us. You sure do come with a lot of baggage,” he
chuckled.

He
started weaving intricately through the city, whipping down streets at the drop
of a hat. He created a very difficult, but not impossible, path to follow until
suddenly he glided around a corner into a dark parking garage. It was so dark I
could hardly see anything else around us. When Ren caught up, I saw him
continue driving in the direction he must have thought we had gone. A few cars
back I saw Eli continue to follow Ren. He was so far back he probably had no
clue which way we had gone. I wished that Pete wasn’t as good at losing people
as he was that day.

Pete
laughed out loud—he was so proud of himself. It made my stomach roll in
disgust.

 “Good.
Now that we lost the dummies we can get where we need to go,” he said as he put
the car in reverse and drove out of the parking garage.

Now
I knew Eli would have no idea where I was. Or would he? He did find me last
time using my visions. Somehow I had sent him mental pictures of where I was. I
didn’t know what he would see or even if he would see any of it, but I decided
to give it a try. I looked at every possible thing I could as we continued driving,
hoping something might be a giveaway. The drive didn’t take more than 10
minutes, but I felt confident that if Eli saw anything I saw, he would be able
to find me. He seemed to know the area like the back of his hand.

We
pulled into a neighborhood and I suddenly realized that I had one last shot. I
willed him to see what I saw with everything I had. I mentally pushed the
images out to him as if I could talk to his mind. An estate sign surrounded
with wrought iron décor at the entrance of the subdivision, a street sign that
said Casper, a bright red house with a broken mailbox and white shutters, a
playground structure in someone’s back yard with a rainbow canopy, and lastly,
as we were getting out of the car, the house number: 5435.

Pete
pushed me through the doorway of the house as I dawdled outside, trying
unsuccessfully to get one last mental picture of something that might stand
out. The house was dark. All the curtains were drawn. He guided me into what I
assumed was the living room. It had an impressive entertainment bundle boasting
what had to be a 70-inch TV in the center. There was an action movie on that I
didn’t recognize. The blood and gore of it alone was enough for me to not want
to watch it.

Two
burly guys I’d never seen before stood when we walked into the room. One was
tall with brown hair and brown eyes, and the other was shorter, but was still
quite a bit taller than me, with brown hair and green eyes. Both looked to be
the same age as Pete, but in that new world, who knew what that meant for how
old they truly were.

“So
this is the troublemaker,” the taller of the two said rudely.

I
wasn’t a troublemaker. Pete was the troublemaker. I wasn’t going to give him
the satisfaction of a remark in return so I gave him a dirty look and crossed
my arms in protest.

“This
is her,” Pete responded as he crossed the room and opened a door that I hadn’t
noticed until then. “Come on,” he said to someone inside. Pete stepped back,
exposing a trail of light coming from within the adjoining room. It created a
nightlight effect in the dimly lit room we were standing in. Slowly, Bailey
emerged. I was at her side in an instant, hugging her and telling her it was
going to be okay.

I
held her at arm’s length to get a good look at her. She looked healthy, which
wasn’t surprising since I had just seen her the day before. I cringed when I
saw that there was a bruise on her wrist, and her arm was scraped, but other
than that she looked fine.

“I’m
okay Abby,” she said sounding different than normal. It was Bailey’s voice, but
it was stronger and bolder. It made her seem more sure of herself than ever. It
surprised me, but it was a good surprise or so I hoped. I didn’t question it
because I knew she was telling me the truth. She was a fighter.

“Ryan’s
worried sick,” I said sympathetically.

“Yeah,
I’m sure he is,” she said.

“Okay,
okay enough of all this reunion talk, time to get down to business,” Pete
interrupted.

“What
do you want Pete?” I felt like the question was on repeat. It seemed I was
always asking him that. I rounded myself to face him, but I didn’t let go of
Bailey. Instead, I pushed her slightly behind me as if I was making myself a
human shield.

“Well,
I have a bit of an issue with your boyfriend. An issue that I have yet to…
let’s just say… fix. And you two are going to help me. It was really so nice of
you to make it so easy to get my hands on you Abby. I really thought it would
be harder.”

His
triumphant smile made me want to punch him in the face.

“Why
am I here?” I asked. “Why is Bailey here? She has nothing to do with any of
this.”

“Well
my brave one, Bailey was bait to get you here and you are bait for Eli.”

“I
get that much, but what exactly do you intend to do with us?” I asked. “You
will never win against Eli.”

“You
want to bet?” Pete said with opposition.

His
whole demeanor changed. His eyes blazed, and it was as if a flame was ignited
within him. He didn’t appear to like losing and maybe it was something he
wasn’t use to, but defeat was my only option at this point. The alternative would
mean something terrible for Eli. I couldn’t be sure what Pete had planned for
him, but based on Pete’s track record it wasn’t something I cared to find out.

“In
case you haven’t noticed I have a little help here. Eli doesn’t stand a chance
against the three of us,” Pete sneered. “Oh, and just to be clear, I let Bailey
in on Eli’s little ‘secret’ which I’m sure you were informed of after our last
debacle.”

Bailey
looked up from the floor at the mention of her name to look at me. I could see
the hurt in her eyes. Pete must have shared everything with her. I was a
horrible friend. The guilt I already felt from not confiding in her resurfaced
and threatened to choke me. I wanted to go to her and explain everything and
tell her I was sorry, but I knew I couldn’t right then. It wasn’t the right
time. I mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to her and moved on for the moment. She shrugged.

“What’s
next?” I asked Pete.

“Well,
next you give me your phone so I can call Eli and set up a little meeting if
that is what you want to call it,” he laughed. 

I
hesitated. Eli must be waiting for this. Even though I didn’t exactly follow
what he wanted up until now I felt bad about it so I decided that from there on
out I would cooperate. I took my phone out of my pocket, pressed the speed dial
for Eli and it started ringing. He picked up before the first ring ceased.

“Abby!
Are you okay?” he sounded frantic.

“I’m
fine Eli, really don’t worry about us,” I threw in the ‘us’ to make Bailey feel
included in the worry and also to let Eli know she was okay and with me.

As
soon as the words left my lips Pete snatched the phone from my hand. Strong
hands grabbed me from behind to hold me back. I struggled to free myself, and I
heard myself scream out. I fought so hard that he threw me to the ground. My
shin throbbed where it had struck the coffee table on my way down and my arm
was bleeding steadily. I realized fighting wasn’t going to change anything.
Pete and his goons had other plans for Bailey and I. The taller guy in the room
grabbed Bailey and we were both pushed into the small room Bailey had come from
when we arrived. The door slammed closed and locked from the outside. Trapped.

CHAPTER Fifteen

I
could no longer hear what Pete was saying to Eli. I tried to calm myself since
I knew my fear would only frighten Eli more. But the truth was, I felt like we
were in danger and it scared me. Trapped in the little room did nothing to make
me feel better. And to make matters worse, Pete no longer seemed to care about
what happened to me or Bailey. He had gotten what he needed, his bait. I looked
down at my arm. The blood was dripping onto the tiled floor.

I
found Kleenex on the nightstand and used some to stop the bleeding. Upon closer
inspection the cut itself wasn’t too bad, it wouldn’t need stitches, but it
sure looked bad, worse than it was. I held the tissue firmly on it until it
stopped bleeding.

The
room we were in was a small bedroom with two beds. The first thing I noticed
was that it only had one exit. The one we had come through. I was surprised to
find it was decorated very tastefully. There was a small TV in the corner that
wasn’t on. The room possessed a small refrigerator that was stocked with a
variety of food and drinks upon inspection. The only thing we lacked in the
small room was a bathroom.   

I
turned to Bailey, who had taken up residence on one of the beds. She seemed so
disheartened, so un-Bailey-like. 

“I’m
sorry Bailey that you got dragged into this,” I said sincerely. “I never would
have guessed he would get you involved.”

“I
know. I just wish you would have told me everything. I thought we were
friends.”

“We
are, but I couldn’t exactly tell you about Eli, it wasn’t my place, and I don’t
really know all the rules about it yet. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to
tell anyone. I wanted to tell you so bad. I didn’t have anyone to go to except
Eli. I was so lonely.”

“That’s
why things were strained between you guys last week…” she said as realization
hit her.

“Yeah,”
I answered.

“What
did he tell you?” I asked.

Bailey
went on to explain what she knew about Eli’s special gift. She left out a few
details. Specifically about his bond to me, that Ren was here, and was also a Protector.
I filled her in on all of the things she didn’t know. We needed to be on the
same page. I hadn’t trusted her before and look where that had gotten us. I
wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. She was beyond surprised when I
told her of our special bond.

“We
went by your house looking for you,” I stated. “Nobody was there.”

“Yeah,
my dad is out of town on business till Saturday, nobody probably even missed
me,” she said sadly.

“We
did,” I said encouragingly.

“Oh
I know, besides my friends, and of course Ryan. I miss him,” she admitted.
“What do we do now?” she asked.

“I
don’t know, I guess wait,” I said helplessly.

I
sat down on the other bed and looked around, quietly thinking everything
through. There was one thing I hadn’t considered. My mom. What would she think
if I didn’t come home tonight? She would be calling the police right away if I
knew my mom. I wondered briefly if Eli had thought of that. Bailey was lucky in
the sense that her dad was out of town all week so he wouldn’t suspect anything
being out of place. She wouldn’t have to try to make up some kind of lie to
cover up where she had been.

I
felt panic welling up in my throat. It threatened to choke me. I looked around
the room. There wasn’t a clock in sight, and I tried to think back to when we
had met Pete at the park at 5 p.m. I figured it was probably around 5:45. I
hoped tonight would be one of her late nights so I would have more time to
figure out what to do. Time ticked by slowly, and minutes seemed to feel like
hours.

I
wished I knew what was happening outside of the room. I couldn’t sit still. I
paced the small room. I paced so much that I began counting my steps. It took
10 strides to get across the room. I counted each time. Then I became
frustrated with myself for counting them.

“Abby?”
Bailey whispered.

I
swiveled on my heel to face her. “Yeah?”

“How
long have you known about Eli?”

“Only
a week and a half, I promise,” I answered closing the small distance between
us. I sat next to her on the bed.

I
was glad she was willing to talk to me. She didn’t seem mad, she seemed sad,
but I couldn’t tell if that was because of our surroundings or if it was
because I hadn’t opened up to her.

“I’m
so sorry Bailey,” I said hoping to convince her.

“It’s
okay, I’m not mad at you. I sort of understand. It’s really just a lot to take
in. I always wondered why it felt like Eli was more concerned about you when we
were dating though. It all makes sense now,” she said sadly.

“Oh,
Bailey, it’s not like that.” I felt slightly guilty saying that, because for me
it sort of was like that now. I know now that the way I felt was growing into
something more. I didn’t know if I’d be able to stop it, I didn’t know if I
even wanted to anymore. I felt so vulnerable in the position we were in and
there was nothing I wanted more than to be swept up in his arms. He made me
feel at home.

“It’s
okay if it is,” she said slowly. “It’s like you were already written in the
stars anyway. You were his before you even knew him, before I even knew him.”

“I
guess so,” I said secretly, hoping that she truly meant it.

She
took a deep breath, and let it out in a rush. “So, how are we going to get out
of here?” she asked, radiating more confidence than I had ever witnessed coming
from her. It was like she pushed everything aside and took the bull by the
horns.

It
inspired me. “Any ideas?” I asked.

We
talked through various scenarios for a while until we had decided on one. We
didn’t know if it would work, but we didn’t have much of a choice if we wanted
out. It was uncertain what Pete and his goons had planned for us and we had no
intention of finding out.

“Ready?”
I asked.

“Yep,”
she said.

I
went to the door and started banging. “I have to pee!” I shouted, “Let me
out!!”

I
didn’t stop banging and yelling until the taller of the two goons opened the
door. He looked angry so I turned on the charm hoping to pacify his anger.

“Hey
there handsome, mind taking me to the bathroom?” I looped my arm in his and
started to try to push out of the room. He didn’t budge. It was like trying to
move brick wall. He seemed to hesitate and look around, like he was waiting for
something. I’d guess Pete. He came up empty and slowly backed out the doorway
with me still clinging on. He lead me though the living room and headed to a
hallway. I was relieved when he left the door to our prison unlocked with
Bailey still inside. So far our plan was working magically.

Half
way down the hallway our plan started to go south, when the shorter of the
thugs wandered into view. I already had enough of that guy and I wanted nothing
to do with him again. He was obviously unconcerned about hurting me or Bailey.
He must have had no conscience.

“Randy,
what are you doing? Pete said not to let them out for anything!” he almost
shouted.

Randy,
so that was his name. I wondered briefly if Eli would know either of these two,
if I could just get the shorter one’s name I could ask him.

“She
has to go to the bathroom. I’m taking her.”

“Did
Pete tell you to?” he questioned.

“No,
but I’m not cleaning up her pee if she can’t wait, are you?” Randy threw back.

With
that he stepped out of the way and let us through, but he was headed right for
the living room! I had to distract him otherwise our plan would never work.

“You
guys wouldn’t happen to have any…” I paused and looked each guy in the eye for
effect. “Tampons, would you?”

They
were dumbfounded for a moment while they stuttered a few times trying to figure
out how to respond. Speaking of girl matters never failed to make guys
uncomfortable. It turned them into bumbling fools, just the effect we were
wishing for.

“Come
on gentleman, you can’t expect to keep women hostages unless you have proper
supplies,” I chastised. It was proving to be very hard keeping a straight face.

“We’re
sorry,” they said in unison, as if they were little boys being scolded by their
mother.

“I’ll
go right now to get some,” said the shorter of the two. I still didn’t know his
name.

“That’s
better,” I said encouragingly. “Oh, and I need the slim ones! Thanks!” I
strutted back in the direction we had been headed. It was easier than I thought
to get rid of one of them. Randy was quickly at my heels and the other was
already out the front door. I only hoped he had done what we had been counting
on and left the front door unlocked. I was surprised when Bailey told me that
there was a dead bolt from the inside too. The house was proving to be locked
up tight.

I
took my time in the bathroom. I washed my hands and checked my face. I cleaned
the cut on my arm and looked for first aid supplies in the medicine cabinet,
but found nothing. I laughed to myself that they had fallen for the tampon bit.
I didn’t actually need one of course. It was genius. Bailey had been doubtful;
she would be so impressed.

I
heard a door close. That was my cue to move out.

“Blaine,
is that you?” Randy was saying in the direction of the front door.

He
was headed back down the hallway towards the front door. I bolted after him.

“I’m
finished Randy,” I bellowed, snapping him out of his concern for a moment.

The
plan was never for me to get away—it was for Bailey. Of course she didn’t know
that. She would be expecting me in the next five minutes on the next street. If
I didn’t come she was to leave without me to get Eli. I knew she would probably
be pretty upset with me that I never planned to escape with her, but it was a
chance I would have to take. There wasn’t much chance of us both getting away,
and if one of us had to be a hostage you can bet your butt it was going to be
me. My mess, my problem.

I
hoped that she would be able to get to Eli quickly. I missed him like crazy. He
had been such a constant lately in my life, and now that he was gone it was
hard to think of anything but him. Then I felt him. He was close. I don’t know
how I knew, but I knew. It was a feeling I was as sure of as if I were to know
I was happy. I had never noticed this feeling before. Was it the special bond
that Ren had referred to? I never imagined I would feel any differently because
of it. It was beyond puzzling. 

My
heart quickened at the thought of seeing Eli. A burst of air surrounded me and
my heart slowed. Excitement and happiness filled me down to my toes. Eli was
calming me. Maybe that was his way of showing me he was there. I silently
thanked him for the boost. I almost couldn’t contain my glee.

No
sooner than we reached the front door, it burst open and Randy was on the
floor, bound with zip ties so he couldn’t move his arms. Eli moved like a
freight train, pummeling Randy and completely taking him by surprise. Ren stepped
into view, grinning from ear to ear. It almost seemed like he was chuckling.
     

“I
got him, Eli,” he said as he stepped over Randy to help him stand up.

Eli
seemed to fly to my side, this time surprising me. He cupped my face with his
hands and kissed me hard, and I found myself kissing back. His kiss was tender,
deep and needy. My stomach was flipping with excitement. I didn’t realize how
badly I wanted it—how bad I needed it. My arms instinctively went around his
neck and pulled him closer. I felt like my knees would give out. His kiss felt
amazing. There was nothing in the world like it. He pulled away slowly and it
was over all too soon. It took me a minute to get my wits back. I had to grab
his arm to steady myself. I felt his eyes roaming over my whole body, and it
made me self-conscious even though I knew he was just making sure I was okay.
His eyes locked on the cut on my arm just as I remembered it was there. Without
luck, I quickly tried to hide it.

“Are
you okay?” he asked, gingerly brushing his fingertips across the fresh wound.
      

Involuntarily
I winced. I hoped he hadn’t seen.

“Who
did this?” He looked furious.

“I’m
okay really, I am just so happy to see you,” I said and hugged him.

He
pulled away. “Who?”

He
wasn’t going to give up, he was angry. I couldn’t say that I had ever seen
anyone as angry as he was in this very moment.

“Blaine,
the other guy helping Pete,” I whispered, looking at Randy who was now standing
next to Ren watching us talk.

I
hadn’t noticed until that moment, but Bailey was standing next to Ren, her
expression blank. I felt for her. It was a big mess that she had been thrown
into. Then to watch her ex-boyfriend kiss her best friend—it had to hurt. Eli
strode past them, out the door and into the driveway. He returned a moment
later, shoving the guy known as Blaine. He pushed him through the doorway and
into the living room. Ren shut the door and brought Randy in, with Bailey
trailing behind.