I reach out and pull her against my body before her's can hit the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" she screams into the phone, her body vibrating because of her trembles against mine.

Staring into the phone in horror, no words can leave my lips.

Mark's strapped against a chair, his head is dropped forward in pain. Bloody cut's cover his body, his chest heaves with body wracking sobs as he raises his gaze and meets Lola's. He opens his mouth to say something but is quickly stopped when someone's fist contacts his cheek. Mark is flung backwards toppling backwards against the chair, his screams fill the line as Lola's sobs match his.

"Mark," she screams, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The hooded and masked man sets the phone down and walks over towards Mark. He yanks him back up and gives him a slap in the face.

I flinch against Lola's body as I imagine how much that hurt his already blooded cheek.

Lola pleads between sobs, "Please don't hurt him, if you're trying to hurt me come and get me, not him!"

A tear slips out the corner of my eye as I watch the girl I've grown to love plead for someone to take her life instead of Marks.

A thunderstorm of thoughts rushes through my mind. Who would want to hurt Lola so much that they take Mark's life to cause her pain?

I will not lie, the thought that it could be Dante has run through my mind a few times. I know he has anger management issues that have gotten him thrown into a cell several times. However, him stalking and hurting Mark was something I would have never expected to even cross his mind.

Lola's broken voice causes me to snap out of my thoughts, I hold her tighter against my chest as he hunches forward in pain.

"Mark, my munchkin, where are you?"

"Hm," the hooded main hums, walking around Mark. He slowly pulls a knife out of his pocket and drags it teasingly across his throat, "Munchkin I would answer wisely if I were you," he mocks, spit hits Mark's face.

"Mark, say nothing," Lola chokes out, gripping her phone tighter in her small hands.

"Oh Lola," the man taunts, "There's going to be nothing left of Mark once I'm finished with him." he says with fake sadness, "Unless you do as I say."

My blood boils.

"You're such a pussy," I sneer into the phone.

Laughter filled with no happiness fills the line as Lola tenses against my body. I grip her shanking hand in mine and squeeze to offer her some sort of comfort.

"I'm the pussy? Says the man who's wearing a baseball cap backwards? Boy, you have no idea who you're talking too."

"Then why don't you take off that fucking mask and hood and show us your rat face?"

He raises an eyebrow and turns his head towards Mark; he eyes the knife in his hand and scraps it along his arm. Dark red blood trickles down his arm, a sock is shoved in his mouth, muffling the screams of anguish that leaves his cracked lips.

"I'll do anything you want, but please do nothing to him."

"Every single time you say something I don't like," he pauses and plunges the knife in Mark's forearm.

Watching Mark stager back in horror in unbearable pain, he arches his back against the wooden chair and screams against the sock lodged into his mouth. Big fat tears rush down his dirty faces caked in blood, dirt, and tears.

"This will happen, your dearest best friend Marky will suffer the pain." he finches off by ripping out the knife. The hooded man runs his finger along the knife, gathering Mark's blood.

He proceeds to my horror and starts covering Mark's face with his own face. Gags fill the line as his eyes roll to the back of his head. A second later that really feels like an eternity, he passes out from pain and exhaustion.

He throws the knife to the cement ground and walks over to the phone, dusting off his hands against each other. "Now for business" his sick voice rumbles, "I know you phony celebrities are on a tour right now, I hate to break your party but Lola you need to come back to LA-"

My body tenses, every bone in my body fills with anger, my body and mind wants nothing more than to wrap my hands around his neck and strangle the life out of him.

"Like hell she's going anywhere near you," I sneer, interrupting him.

"Lola, do you want to know what happens if you don't come and see me?" he growls, questioning my terrified girlfriend.

Through tears streaming down her now pale face, she nods.

No way am I letting him scare my baby, no way.

I place my lips against her ear, "Please walk out of the room, let me talk to him alone," I whisper pleading to her.

For once in my life I plead to God for her to listen to me and walk away, but of course her stubborn self shakes her head and stays put.

"Stubborn ass," I whisper. She slaps my arm, keeping her gaze on the man who holds her source of happiness in the palm of his hand.

"Lola, do you want to know what happens if you don't come and see me?" his voice drips with irritation as he repeats himself.

Lola nods her head, not being able to form words.

"Glad you're interested," he mums, picking up a bottle of vodka he takes a swing and smashes the half full bottle over Mark's head. His head swings forward as the liquid drenches his hair. "Cheap stuff... garbage if you ask me," he rambles to himself while watching the liquid run down Mark's limp body.

Lola flinches forward and cries out, "Chris, we need to do something, he's going to kill him."

I stare into her desperate bloodshot eyes, "Baby, I need to do something." I shake my head as tears rush down my face, "I'm not letting you go to him Lola, no way."

"That's where you're wrong Chrissy, If your precious girlfriend doesn't come to me her beloved Marky will become a memory. Chris, you will hold the love of your life as she sobs watching her best friend getting buried into the ground forever. You're choice really, I can get it over with right now and kill him so you can see, shows better with more than one person watching."

"No!" Lola screams in anger and desperation, "I'll come, I'll come please don't kill him."

Shaking my head in disbelief at the girl in front of me, there's no way I'm letting the love of my life walk into her own death.

If she thinks I'm going to just let her walk away freely, then she must be insane. I would have to be dead in the ground for that to happen.

The devil himself smiles and shakes his head, "That's amazing I'm very excited about your arrival butterfly," he teases, feeling Lola shiver against my chest as I wrap my arm around her waist. Placing her delicate hand on my wrist, she squeezes and pays close attention to the psycho on the screen.

"Pay close attention Lola, this is what I need you to do. You are to come to LA by tomorrow night. If you are not here by 12 am sharp, I will plunge this very knife," he pauses while sneering and picking up the knife from the ground, "Into your munchkins neck. No one will know about this. If words get out, I will then kill Tyler. Then I will find everyone you love and torture them, till they cry out for mercy. My driver will wait for you at the airport, don't bother calling the cops. I have the entire building surrounded by my men. See you tomorrow love... his time," he points over his shoulder to a bleeding Mark, "Is running out," he continues and hangs up the phone.

***

Pacing back and forth, I try to reason with Lola, but she's having none of it.

She's determined, packing her bags in a hurry. The amount of times I threw all her clothes out of her luggage onto the floor, trying to stop her.

Nothing I do and say will stop her. My mom taught me that under no circumstances should you lay a hand on a girl if you are a man.

All my life I've lived by this rule until now.

I need to stop her from going somehow, and the only way I can think of is physically stopping her. I would never dare lay a hand on Lola and hurt her, but I do have to stop her so she won't walk into her own death.

"There's no way I'm letting you go tomorrow," I scold, blocking Lola from all her clothes.

"Move out of the way Chris I'm not playing."

"I'm not playing ether," is all I say crossing my arms across my chest.

She glares and places her hands against her hips; I glare right back at her. "Move right now," she demands.

"No."

"Movie it," she grunts, trying to move past me, but I stop her with my hard body.

"Not in your wildest dreams."

"You don't get it," she stresses, pushing my shoulders, "I need to go to save Mark."

"There has to be another way," I argue, thinking hard for a safe plan.

Tears stream down Lola's face as she pleads with me, "Mark will die, he will die Chris if I don't go."

I grab her face in my hands and whip the tears off her face, but it's no use when more rush out of her puffy red eyes. "Butterfly people like him give no mercy, he will probably kill Mark before he will do the same to you. Mark is a great guy, but I'm not letting you be anywhere near that man."

Looking at me with her mouth wide open in horror, she pushes against my shoulder with all her strength, making me stagger backwards.

She advances for her suitcase, but I push it off the bed, making it smash to the ground. I grab her waist and fling her on the bed. I trap her under my body as she tries to break free from my hold. "Let me go, Chris." she demands strongly through her tears.

Shaking my head at her I plead, "I will not let you kill yourself."

"Does it look like I want to die?" she screams, pushing a finger against my chest, "No! But I'm doing this for Mark, I'm doing this for my best friend that has saved my life more times than I can count. I'm doing this for Tyler because he's the next hit, I'm doing for everyone that I love." she sneers up to me.

"But what about me, do you not love me, what do you think this will do to me when you leave me and go into a trap?" I say as my voice betrays me as it cracks, tears pool into my eyes, I don't even try to blink them away, I let them fall freely trying to show Lola how deeply she's hurting me.

Sadness clouds over her face as she reaches up and touches my face, "I love you more than anything. What happens if I don't go, and he gets Tyler? You don't think he's going to come for you? Butterfly, I'm doing this for you too, because I love you with every fibre in my body."

Little does she know, she will kill me if she leaves me.

I don't even know what to say, I guess I'm sorry?

Things are about to get crazyyy.

Makes sure to follow my insta every day I'm posting stuff about my books on there!

Peace out, till tomorrow...

Xoxo, Lexi