♪ Dusk Till Dawn - ZAYN ft. Sia

My pulse quickened further, my chest tightening, the breaths getting shorter and shallower. "Wh-what do you mean?" I tried to sound like I was still in control when I was about to break.

"Someone very close to us took the fall for Arthur Lennox's crimes." He paused. "I'm sure you heard about it on the news earlier this year. A week ago, he was killed in prison by an upset investor who'd been jailed. I'll bet you didn't hear about that on the news."

"I-I'm sorry," I said frantically.

"Shut up," the second one snapped. "You have no fucking idea what's happened here. Don't pretend for one second you have any clue, or any right to say anything."

"Why would the Lennoxes come for me?" I asked. "They don't need me." Maybe if I reasoned with me, they would eventually let me go if I was no longer of any value to them.

"You're right. They don't care about anything except themselves and lining their pockets with cash. But we're not after you sweetheart. We're after Parker Lennox. We left him a nice note, and an even better photo of you."

No. I didn't know what his family was like, but Parker was good. He didn't deserve this. After all the times I'd come to him, or rather, he'd come to me, I still knew almost nothing about him. He was the voice of reason always. When emotions ran high around him, he was calm. He was the guy who escaped to a rooftop above the city, the one who wanted his bodyguards away from him. The one who hated being loved for his family, for what he represented.

"You're wrong. He's got his bodyguards. They won't let him out of their sight."

But a part of me was scared. Scared that he would still come. The first one held up a photo in front of me. It was me, tied to the chair with my head slumped to the side. There was a purple bruise on the side of my face. My breath was caught in my throat.

"We hear he's a smart chap. I'm sure he'll find a way," the second said.

"Y-you've been following me then?" I asked. My mind was racing. How had I let this happen to myself? I was always cautious. How long had they been planning this?

"You're an easy person to follow," the first one responded. "But it was quite a rare opportunity to find you alone. You're quite the popular one, aren't you?"

"The theme park...it was empty. A fake sign?" I asked again.

"No. We owe your boyfriend for that one. Because like the fucking selfish, entitled prick he is, he hired out the entire park for the day."

"You think that the two of you can win against the Lennoxes?" I spat, trying to seem brave.

"Once we have Parker, the Lennoxes have no moves left," they laughed. "You're just like us. Once a Lennox gets tired of you, they're done with you. They'll chew you up and spit you out. We can offer you a better deal. When he comes, you show him what betrayal feels like and we let you go. Maybe, if you do a real good job, we'll give you a small bit of the money we'll get. We know you're not a trust fund kid," he scoffed.

"Really? Just like that, you'll let me go?"

"Really. We're men of our word," the first one said, leaning down to meet me at eye level again.

Parker. Please don't come for me.

"Never," I said before spitting onto his ski mask.

He laughed before bringing the back of his hand to my face, putting stars in my eyes. I could taste blood against my cheek. He wiped the spit from the mask. The second guy laughed at him, leaning against the wall.

Then rapid beeping started. "The sensor outside's been triggered. He's here," the second guy said. The first one picked up a metal pipe.

It isn't him, I told myself. Anyone could have triggered that sensor.

"Get away from here!" I shrieked.

"Shut her up," the first one said. The second ran towards me with a roll of duct tape. I tried to bite him, to keep him away.

"They're after you!" I yelled, just before his hand clamped down hard against my mouth.

Then I heard the thing I'd been dreading.

"Daisy!" Came Parker's frantic voice.

No. Parker dodged the first swing with the metal pipe, but he wasn't so lucky the second time when it caught him in the gut. He fell to his knees, doubling over.

"Relax," the second one held the first's back. "We need him in one piece." The first tossed the metal pipe and it clattered across the ground. He picked up the wooden plank instead before punching Parker in the jaw.

"No!" I shrieked. Parker groaned and managed to bring himself to his feet again. He looked over at me. A thin trail of blood ran down from his lip and he wiped it away with his forearm. The first swung again and Parker caught the plank with his hands, pushing back. The first stumbled backwards slightly before coming back again, swinging at Parker's back.

Parker stumbled towards me. His hands were streaked with blood – hands that'd never done manual labour, never been injured before. "Are you okay?" He gasped, looking at me. His breath was ragged, red staining the corner of his lips. "Your face is purple," he winced.

"Stop," I sobbed. "Why would you come here? And alone!" Parker, you're smarter than this. Why would you do this?

"So they wouldn't hurt you." I looked over at the metal pipe that was lying on the ground, praying he would get my message. His eyes glanced over briefly and looked me in the eye. I knew he'd understood. The two guys were coming up behind him. He lunged to the side, grabbed the pipe and swung, catching the first in the side of his arm.

"Behind you!" I yelled as the second came up from behind him. He was knocked to the ground and the first came back around to tie his hands behind his back.

"Let go of me you bastards," Parker growled, flailing against their grips. But against the two of them, he didn't stand a chance.

They tied him to the chair beside me. He looked over at me. "I'm sorry," I said.

"No. It's my fault. I'm sorry, but I promise that you're going to be okay," he replied.

"That's a big promise for someone tied to a chair," the second guy remarked.

"I know who you are," Parker laughed before wincing slightly, looking at his ribs. "You're his sons."

"Oh, well there's no need for these then." They took off their masks, wiping sweat from their foreheads. "How long do you think it'll take your parents to pony up?"

"Fuck you," Parker said. The first punched him in the face and I saw red. Parker spat the blood out from his mouth. Why was he making them angrier? "If you think...my parents are going to give you a cent...you're insane."

"Well, they'll do anything for their precious child. Even if he is a little bruised once he's returned," the second remarked, raising his fist.

"That's pathetic. You needed to tie him up to stand a chance," I taunted. He turned over to me. I glanced over at Parker. A bruise was beginning to form on the side of his face, and so much blood around his mouth and nose I couldn't tell where it was all coming from. I needed them to focus on me instead, so they'd stop hurting him. It was working because they came towards me.

I could see the vessels in Parker's neck straining. His eyes were darting back and forth between me and the guys. Don't say anything. Please. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore.

"You're going to hit a girl?" Parker spat. "That is what I call pathetic," he laughed. He took a breath in and suddenly stopped. He gritted his teeth and down at his ribs again. They turned their attention back to him. He let out a yell, and I could swear I heard something crack as they tipped his chair to the side and he landed on his left arm.

That was when I saw the little black button-shaped thing come out of his shoe. It gently clattered across the cement floor. It was flashing red. I wasn't the only one who'd seen. The first guy picked it up. "It's a fucking GPS tracker!" He growled. He threw it back to the ground and crushed it with the heel of his shoe.

A smirk played at Parker's bloodied lips. The second's eyes narrowed, glaring at Parker as he walked towards him slowly. His fists were balled, and he picked up the wooden plank. Parker was still strapped to the chair, lying on his side. He couldn't take another blow. And this time, they weren't going to bother keeping him alive, knowing that it was inevitable that they would be found.

My skin around my ankles stung as I desperately struggled against the ropes, see-sawing back and forth on my heels, shifting my weight up and backwards to shuffle the chair across towards Parker. Suddenly, I lost my balance as my foot landed unsteadily and the chair came crashing down diagonally backwards.

The chair broke beneath me and my body was slammed against the ground, lying amongst the remnants of the chair legs. The second guy was still coming towards us. The splinters dug against my flesh.

The wail of sirens.

"We need to get the hell out of here," the panicked voices said. They gave us one last look before dropping the plank. Their figures got smaller and smaller as they ran away.

Rapid footsteps against the concrete.

My vision hazed.

Then everything went black.

---

ok so this lil arc of the story has been my brainchild since i started this story over 2 years ago (yeah i'm a slow writer lmao) but it was actually so tough to show the right emotions in this chapter - hopefully i did ok

also...i love listening to music and i'll probably be including songs i feel fit with the vibe at the beginning of the chapters - let me know what you think!

thank you so much for reading & as always, stay golden,

daria xoxo

p.s votes are always appreciated hehehe