Chapter Eighteen - Blackout

"Ready to go?" I ask Roman as I walk out of the bathroom.

"Yep." He grunts as he loads a magazine into his gun before turning the safety on.

I stare at him as he tucks it into the back of his jeans before putting on a jacket to cover it. His emerald eyes finally meet mine and they soften a little at what they find. He sighs before walking over to me and cupping my face in both hands.

"There's going to be a rush and it's the perfect scenario for him to get to you. I'm just taking some precautionary measures okay?" His voice is low and soothing, as if to reassure me through his words that everything will be fine.

"Okay." I smile shakily before my eyes flutter shut when he presses a firm yet lingering kiss to my forehead.

"Navy and Morgan will be there too so don't worry. Just focus on the sales." He winks cheekily which makes me smile.

"I hear Victoria's Secret has a sale on." I tease and watch in satisfaction as his eyes darken with lust.

"I can't wait to see what you find then." He murmurs huskily as he brushes his lips against mine.

I laugh before knocking echoes through the room. Grabbing my purse and coat I open the door to find Zoe standing there. She loops her arm around mine excitedly as we make our way downstairs. Michelle, Evan, Noah, Ryder, Theo, Ella, Zoe, me and Roman are all going to the sale whereas the rest are staying home. We bid goodbye to the others before me and Roman catch a lift with Ryder and Ella to the mall.

As expected, when we arrive twenty minutes later, it's almost impossible to find a parking space. When we walk inside the mall is crowded with people trying to get some bargains. Roman intertwining our hands captures my attention and I look up at him with a reassuring smile. He pecks my cheek before we head inside the first store that everyone wanted to go to.

The afternoon flies by quickly as we spend the time shopping in various stores. I find out that Roman is a very picky shopper and the sight of him turning up his nose at almost everything makes me laugh. I do make a mental note of the things he does like in case I ever need to get him a gift or something.

Halfway through we decide to take a break for food and head to the food court. Michelle and Ryder take everyone's orders before leaving while Noah rambles about the new things he's bought. I chuckle when I realize the number of video games he's convinced his parents to buy outweigh the amount of clothes he's got.

Eventually the food arrives and I dig in. All this walking around has had my tummy growling in hunger for the past hour. I tense when Roman's hand curls around my thigh before relaxing. His lips quirk ever so slightly at my reaction which makes me roll my eyes in response.

Everyone lists off names of a few more stores that they would like to visit before we head home and Zoe mouths Victoria's Secret to me. I grin and nod in reply while Ella chuckles in amusement. Michelle and Evan leave soon, mumbling about getting Noah some actual necessities instead of a new electric scooter he's been begging them for. The young boy drags his feet as he follows them with a pout, walking slightly behind them as they make their way through the crowd.

The rest of us finish our food before the boys decide they want to check out a men's store. As we're walking out of the food court Roman nudges me and his gaze flickers upwards. I follow his line of sight to see a tall man around the same height as Roman standing on the second balcony. If Roman hadn't pointed him out to me as Navy I would've never spotted him. He has tan skin, blonde hair with dark blue eyes, sharp features and a built figure.

Roman then points out Remi next who's on the third floor and also being very discreet. He has blonde highlights in his brown hair and the tousled curls are peeking out from under his baseball cap. Roman tells me he has light green eyes and pale skin since it's difficult to make out his features from here. I can see that he's very boyish looking than Navy.

"They're cute."

Roman rolls his eyes before turning to me with crossed arms. I laugh at the flicker of jealousy I spot in his eyes before stepping closer to him. Pulling his arms down I wrap mine around his neck before kissing him sweetly. It's short but it's enough and he pulls away with a fleeting smile.

"Don't worry I'm all yours." I whisper with a wink. "Now let me go and decide which lingerie sets will get you rock hard in an instant."

He throws his head back as he laughs and I smile at the rich yet husky sound. "I think the answer is any Lena."

"Any color preferences?" I tease him a little more.

"Baby blue and red." He bites his bottom lip which makes me want to find a janitors closet or something and jump his bones right away.

"As you wish." I chuckle before pecking his jaw and following the girls to the store.

"Tease the hell out of him?" Zoe asks with a cheeky grin.

"Oh yeah." The three of us enter the store laughing.

We make our way through the store while chatting and finding more about each other. I find out about Ella's past which makes me want to find Seth Morgan and have a go at him with a metal bat. Zoe isn't close with her family and hearing about what they did to her makes me sad too. I hug them both tightly and they chuckle at the sudden action.

"So, where did he take you on your first date?" Ella asks me and I laugh as I think about it.

We've decided not to freak his family out by telling them about how D.S. has taken a sudden interest in me so I twist the truth a little when I answer. "I got injured when we were following the serial killer's trail so Roman planned a date night at home. It was so sweet though! He had an outdoor movie setup with dinner!"

"Aw, that's so cute!" Zoe squeals and her green eyes brighten with excitement. "He's so serious all the time that I always wondered what he'd be like if he were to date a girl."

"Well there certainly seems to be a lot of sexual tension between you two." Ella nudges me teasingly.

I blush fiercely and groan when it becomes a dead giveaway. Their jaws drop in surprise before they tease me some more to the point where I'm shoving them away from me.

"You work fast!" Zoe teases with a giggle.

"I didn't even think he liked me but we ended up arguing one night and I kept pushing him. Next thing I know he's kissing me and we end up in bed." I chuckle as I look at another pair of bras.

An older woman stares at me as she walks past and I blush again when I realize she must have heard everything. The girls burst into a fit of giggles and I join in before we hurry off to the other end of the store. We grab some things before making our way to the checkout. I pay first before going to stand by the entrance to wait for Ella and Zoe.

I look up to see Roman standing at the entrance of the shop we left the boys at. He smiles at me before frowning as he fishes his phone out of his pocket. I watch as he brings it up to his ear before my gaze focuses on Navy on the second floor. Both of their eyes widen in fear before snapping to mine and I frown in confusion. I watch as Roman breaks out into a run towards me and I start making my way out of the store in worry, wondering what the hell is going on.

But I've only taken a few steps when the entire mall becomes dark. Screams erupt around me and terror courses through my veins when I think that this is probably D.S. I try to backtrack into the store as my eyes adjust but I end up bumping into someone. Whimpering I step away only to shriek when somebody grasps my arms tightly. They yank me to the side and I trip over my own feet in the dark before finding my balance again.

Before I can even call for help duct tape is slapped over my mouth and my arms are quickly tied. Someone puts a pair of goggles over my eyes and my jaw drops in horror when I look around frantically to then see multiple red targets on Roman, Remi and Navy. My gaze then lands on several men pointing guns their way and towards me. I turn my head slightly to confirm that Ella and Zoe are in fact being targeted too.

"We don't have fucking time for this Brandon!" The guy on my right hisses to Brandon, the one on my left.

"Come with us without any drama and they don't get hurt." Brandon whispers into my air as his nails dig into my arm painfully.

I hesitate and it causes the two men holding onto me to doubt my decision. A man on the second-floor shoots into the ceiling and elicits a louder round of panicked screams. It confirms the horrid truth that they will kill if I don't comply.

With a strained sigh of defeat and no other choice I nod and am immediately dragged towards the exit of the mall. Just before the goggles are taken off my head I glance at Roman wishing he could somehow see me. He's all but roaring my name and looking around blindly with his phone in hand. There's an edge to his voice. He's angry yet scared and it breaks my heart.

I kick my legs out as we walk trying to knock something over to alert him. But when another gunshot echoes and I hear Michelle scream then cry out for Evan I freeze in terror. The shot was fired as a warning and after that I don't try anything else.

I'm pulled outside to an alleyway at the back of the mall and my eyes widen when I see Payton and Cleo bleeding out on the ground. Roman must've called them for extra protection but it was futile. The van that I'm assuming they were in is completely wrecked and there's ten men getting into cars. Their faces are completely covered but I realize that they're working for D.S. too when one of them nods at the man holding my right arm.

"Move faster Cody!" Brandon says gruffly to the other guy as he picks up the pace.

From the corner of my eye I notice some movement from Cleo. Her hand reaches for the gun and she manages to quickly shoot Brandon. I take that chance to thrash and kick him away from me. Her grunts of pain echo behind me as some of the other men start hitting her. I've almost broken free when I'm pinned down by Cody before being thrown into the back of a van. He shoves Brandon inside next who's screaming and crying from the pain.

Just before the doors close on me I see one of the other men punch Cleo brutally and her eyes roll shut. I sag against the wall of the vehicle in defeat and worry for everyone. But Brandon captures my attention when he grunts and hisses sharply because of the bullet wound. His murky hazel eyes glare at me fiercely and his pale skin becomes red with anger. I scoot back as he shuffles closer before a muffled cry escapes me when he yanks on my hair.

"This is all your fault! Fucking bitch!" He seethes before banging my head against the floor so hard that it has me seeing stars. "Schmidt better pay me good money for this!"

"We need her alive god dammit! Calm the fuck down!" Cody yells from the front but it only seems to anger Brandon even more.

He kicks me in the stomach before shoving me to the floor. I groan softly in pain as I think of all the ways I'm going to kill these two soon. I watch through drooping eyelids as he presses a rag to his wound to apply pressure. Cody, who's driving, shouts something at him from the front but it's like I'm underwater and can't hear properly.

The last thing I see is his murderous glare before everything becomes dark.

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- R.W. ♡