by Jolie Day
Elina stayed in the bed and looked at her hands in her lap. What had her sister’s story been on? Some type of criminal organization? And if this was a criminal organization, they didn’t actually seem very organized if they got Carla’s address mixed up with Elina’s. Still, this was a dangerous situation, and now Elina understood the handgun Alec toted around, as well as his hush-hush behavior.
“Got your pants on yet? We need to leave,” Alec said as he turned the water off.
Elina remembered her folded jeans and pulled them over her legs quickly, just finishing fitting the button into the hole when Alec walked out wiping his face off with a towel. He dropped it in the chair he’d sat in a minute before and then picked up his bag.
“Where are we going?” she asked while Alec unlocked and swung open the door to lead the way out. Elina dug her feet into her flats and followed while finger-combing bedtime knots out of her hair.
He didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes fixated on the opening elevator doors. “We’re getting you out of town for a while until your pursuers cool their heels.”
“And where is ‘out of town’?”
He punched the down button next to one of the pairs of doors. “Just out.”
Elina had begun to feel a bit annoyed by his constant vagueness. He stepped inside the elevator, and she followed him.
“Here’s what I’m thinking, Elina.” Alec pressed the button for the bottom floor. “I take you out to someplace remotely safe first. From there, I’ll form a plan on how to get them proof that you aren’t your sister.”
The doors opened, and so they stepped out. “Well what about Carla? Does anyone know where she is?” Elina wondered. “This isn’t just about me. If my sister is in trouble, I want to be reassured that she’s safe, too.”
“Well, luckily for the two of you, I don’t believe they know her address. And I’m sure she’s been warned by now about the situation. Her client is a very keen individual that we’re familiar with.”
“We?” Elina repeated curiously.
He only shrugged one shoulder.
“So at least answer me this. Whose side are you on?”
Alec walked her out to his motorcycle and hooked one leg over the seat. “I’d assume you’d know by now, since I’m sacrificing myself to keep you alive.”
“But why?” Elina continued, straddling the bike behind him.
Alec revved the motor. “Because when it comes down to it, it’s not in my nature to watch ignorant girls get murdered.”
He backed out of the parking space and then turned the bike around, ripping out of the lot and back onto the road. Elina closed her arms tightly around his waist. The morning breeze wasn’t as cold as the wind from last night, and the jeans helped keep most of the chill off. She ducked her head to keep the wind out of her face, though Alec’s broad shoulders helped to shield her some.
She tipped her head to the side and watched the buildings rush by. The local dentist’s office blurred as it flew past, followed by a bevy of doctors’ offices and a strip mall. Elina wondered if she’d stayed at her parents’ house, what the events of last night would have been like. What would have been different? What truly bothered her was thinking about what would have happened had she stayed home that day instead. Would that attacker have broken in and attempted to kill her? Probably. Elina visibly shuddered at the thought. She felt like she owed Alec her life, even though the most he’d done so far was let her stay in a hotel.
Just as she’d begun to drop into a soothed state from the steady lull of the bike motor, a loud bang rang through the street. She started in alarm, and Alec cursed under his breath, turning a corner sharply. Elina gave out a small wail of surprise as she was jerked from the seat but gripped hard onto Alec’s jacket to keep steady.
“What was that?” she exclaimed, twisting her head around to see behind them.
“A gunshot,” Alec answered as he turned another corner, nearly throwing Elina off the other side this time. “They must have had their sights on the hotel already. They’ve spotted us and are in pursuit.”
Elina heard the motors of two other motorcycles catching up to them. She strained to look. Though she couldn’t focus too hard on them from her position, there were two men on bikes. One had a full-face helmet on, and the other was a man with a buzz cut wearing sunglasses. He’d been the one who had shot, as a gun was in his left hand, raised up toward the sky near his head in a readied firing position. She watched in horror as the man angled the gun toward Alec’s bike and took another shot. The bullet was close enough to her to feel its heat as it blazed through the air.
“Alec!” Elina shouted in desperation. She wasn’t sure what Alec could do, but he had a gun as well and could fire back.
Alec didn’t respond to her. Instead he sped up after turning onto the highway and swerved, making repetitive back and forth motions with the bike to throw off their pursuer’s aim.
The bikes revved harder to catch up to them, and Alec answered them by speeding up even more. The scent of pine trees reached Elina’s nose as they scaled up toward the mountains. The bikes roared across a long bridge suspended over the local lake. Another gunshot sounded, and a sudden race of fiery pain coursed through Elina’s upper arm. She gasped sharply, and Alec finally tugged the gun from the back of his pants and leaned over her to aim. Elina wanted to close her palm over her arm, but she didn’t want to lose her grip on Alec. His own gun went off, and the slam of the barrel was deafening so close to her head. This was immediately followed by a stark skid of tires, and Elina forced another look back to see the man with the sunglasses drop off his bike and roll across the road. The motorcycle veered dangerously close to the other pursuer who turned around just in time to go help his partner.
Alec turned back to focus on the road, scaling the hills and rounding out toward a collection of campsites and parks. He finally slowed after several minutes and pulled off the road to a dirt path leading down into a deserted camp. Elina didn’t realize how much she shook from head to toe until Alec stopped the motorcycle beside a picnic table and waited for her to step off. She placed both her feet on the grass before finally assessing her arm. Blood had dried in streaks across her skin, done so by the wind. The injury itself was a long graze from the bullet. It hadn’t gone very deep, but there was enough of a divot in her arm and enough of a nasty pain to prove that it wasn’t something that could be shrugged off.
“Let me see that,” Alec said as he came in front of her, taking her arm with gentle hands. He rotated her arm a little, inspecting it in the sunlight. “Well, it won’t kill you, but we need to clean it off and wrap it up anyway. Can’t afford an infection right now.”
Elina let him search through his saddlebags until he’d found what he was looking for. She stood trembling in the warmth.
“D-Did you kill that man?” she wondered as Alec returned to clean her injury with a cloth wetted down from a water bottle.
“I shot him,” Alec answered.
“But did you kill him?”
“Shooting him doesn’t necessarily mean I shot to kill, but if I did, then that’s how it is. He was trying to do the same to us.”
Elina winced as Alec fitted antiseptic bandages over her arm. “Did you know him?”
“Yeah.”
She shivered more, hugging her arms to her body. Alec took one step back to look her in the face.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she mimicked, her voice raised. “What do you think is wrong? I was shot by a psycho just a few minutes ago!”
Alec raised his gloved hands. “Elina, lower your voice--”
“Not only that,” she continued, ignoring him, “but I’ve been caught in the middle of something that shouldn’t involve me all because I have a twin who can’t keep her nose out of trouble! I want to go home! I want to go back to my parents’!”
Alec’s voice was calm. “Your parents won’t be able to help in this kind of situation, Elina. This is a situation t
hat’s more grave than I think you think it is.”
“At least I wouldn’t be up in the mountains with a complete stranger!”
“Elina, please. Your voice--”
“I want to go home!”
Alec quickly moved forward and pulled Elina into an embrace, planting his lips firmly over her own. Shocked, she let him keep their mouths locked in a deep kiss. The terror and stress of the day washed from her mind for just a moment as she tried to decipher just why Alec had decided to kiss her. Whatever the reason, she felt grateful, as her mind was blank just long enough for her to collect herself.
He broke away from her just for a moment to look her in the face. “I’m sorry, but I had to get you to shut up.”
Elina stared at him in a daze, curling her fingers into the lapels of his jacket. “F-For a moment I wasn’t thinking. Please...do that again before I really lose my head.”
Only pausing for a moment, Alec pulled her into another kiss, this time wrapping a hand around her head and keeping the other about her waist. She melted against him as he held her, and this time he let her pull away from the kiss, but the break was short-lived. She came back for a third, and he readily gave it to her.
“I don’t know what’s come over me,” she gasped.
“You’re scared and probably in shock,” said Alec. “It’s okay.” He began to let go, but Elina clung to him.
“Wait. Please.”
Alec met her gaze again in question, and Elina reached to pull his head down for yet another kiss. Their lips met each other’s in growing, frantic want, and soon she found herself tearing at Alec’s jacket. She wrenched it down his arms, and so he shrugged it off and let it land in the grass. Elina’s urgent hands found the hem of his shirt, and she pulled it upward and off his head. Alec did the same with her shirt, gathering it up and tossing it onto his jacket.
Although he’d seemed hesitant at first, Alec was then quick to oblige her, helping her unfasten his biking chaps and pants. He took control after that, bringing his arms around her and pulling her behind the side of his bike. Her lips reached for any exposed skin she could find of his body as he rested her down and curled his fingers around the belt loops of Elina’s jeans. He tore them off of her and knelt over her curvy frame, his broadness shielding her from most of the sun.
Alec dropped his head to her throat to taste her skin, trailing gentle brushes of his lips down to her bra. Elina dropped her arms to her sides and allowed him to push the cups up and over her breasts, exposing them to the springtime breeze. It was cool at first, and the slight chill hardened her nipples to delicate little peaks. Alec gazed at her with those misty eyes. His mouth was close enough to her breasts that she felt the heat of his breath against her skin. The sensation sent a rush of tingling desire through her center.
Elina had no idea why she was out in the forest with a man who was practically a stranger, but everything about it felt right and felt necessary. She’d been so scared, but Alec took that fear away from her. As he pressed his tongue to her nipple, she closed her eyes in relaxation and wrapped her arms around his head and shoulders.
Alec’s tongue and kisses moved from one breast to the other for a minute before moving further down her body. His fingers teased around her hips, playing with the hem of her panties, and he finally removed them with a soft growl. Elina watched as he pressed his hand into his own jeans to draw his erect manhood out into the open. Her chest filled with fluttering anticipation as she took in the proud sight. He left one hand to clutch at his shaft as he dipped himself back down to the sweetness between her legs. Elina gasped as his hot breath coursed over her sensitive flesh. His lips touched lightly against her folds, and he drew her into his mouth to suckle her lightly. The feeling was blissful, and Elina relaxed even more against the grass, ignoring the prickling feeling of the blades against her skin.
Once Alec had prepared her, he rose back up into a kneel and spread Elina’s legs out further. He lowered his hips to her entrance slowly as if testing waters.
“Please, Alec,” Elina begged. The throbbing desire for Alec’s stiff member had her practically squirming. “Don’t tease.”
“Are you sure that you’re ready for me, Elina?” Alec asked with a small, crooked grin.
She nodded frantically, and so Alec inserted himself slowly. At first the largeness of his shaft widening her out hurt for just a moment, but the filling sensation caused a moan to escape her lips already. He slipped deeper, slick from Elina’s easily flowing nectar. The avid attention his tongue had shown her opening just a moment before had helped her grow comfortable and anxious for his entrance. Alec sped up his pace, rocking his hips back and forth until he fell into a steady rhythm. The constant pull and push gave Elina exactly what she’d wanted. Her mind fogged from the pleasure, and the scares and worries of the day washed away.
Alec continued his motions for a period of time, but he stopped just as Elina’s moans began to rise in volume. She whimpered as she looked at him, pulling her eyebrows inward.
“Why did you stop?”
“Oh, I’m not done,” he breathed, and he took her with both his hands, turning her over and lifting her onto her knees.
“A-Alec?” Elina wondered in surprise.
Without much wait this time, Alec’s shaft slipped back inside her, and his hands closed around her hips. He pulled her against him while thrusting, and Elina shouted in heightened ecstasy. Elina dropped her front against the grass and allowed Alec to take her. His hands tightened their grips as his steady motions changed to become quicker and more eager. Elina felt a powerful climbing of enjoyment rising in her body as she neared a climax. Alec groaned as he worked his body, and Elina pressed her head to the ground to let a cry rip through her as she touched the skies in pleasure. When her body collapsed against the ground in exhaustion, Alec removed himself from her center and retrieved their clothes.
Elina was nearly asleep already, but she sluggishly pulled her clothes back on before curling up against Alec’s side when he’d rested down beside her. He pulled her into his arms to hold her closely, and she drifted off without another care.
3| The Capture
A sudden crash awoke Elina. She bolted up into a sit as Alec cried out in strained pain. It was dark out, but Elina was still able to see the dark figure of a man with his boot pressed against Alec’s overturned bike. Alec was under it and trying his hardest to pull himself out.
“It isn’t in my power to kill you, Alec,” said the stranger. His voice was gruff, fitting for his heavy stature. “But I’m afraid your little rebellious tantrum ends here. I’m taking the girl back to base where Max will deal with her as he sees fit.”
“She’s...n-not...the right...girl,” Alec managed through gritted teeth.
The man pressed harder against the bike, pushing it firmly against Alec’s chest. Alec huffed in discomfort. “Shut up. You think I’m that stupid? Of course she’s the right girl.” He took his foot from the bike and stepped around it to reach for Elina, who was quick to scramble up and dart out of the way.
“Don’t make this hard for me now, girlie,” the man advised.
Alec nudged his way out from under the bike, clutching at his chest. Elina gave the stranger a wide berth as she raced back to Alec’s side. He looked on the ground for his gun, and Elina followed his searching eyes.
The man charged at them both. “Looking for this?” This last word was emphasized as he caught Alec off guard and slammed the butt of his gun into his temple. Alec fell to the dirt in an unconscious sprawl, and Elina screamed before the man seized her around the middle and picked her up. Her feet kicked helplessly. She was left to struggle and shout for Alec while the big kidnapper carried her up the dirt path and back to the road.
“Alec! Alec!” Elina shrieked.
“Hush,” her kidnapper growled, “before I’m forced to shut you up myself.”
“Let go of me!” she demanded, throwing her weight against his arms. She was unfortunately no match for the
size of the big man, as he easily placed her on his own motorcycle and straddled it behind her. Elina attempted to lunge from the seat, but the man hooked his strong arm around her chest and pinned her against his body before pulling away from the campsite.
“Alec!” Elina screamed, but her voice was lost in the snarl of the motor.
Her kidnapper tore off down the highway back toward town, and Elina sat back helplessly as she was taken from what she thought had been safety. The intimate exchange that she and Alec had shared earlier that day only made the situation more grave to her, as she feared that these new and strange feelings she had for a man she barely knew would break her. As she’d told her mother the day before, love complicated things, and in this case with things already as chaotic as they could come, that statement was certainly true.
“Where are you taking me?” Elina questioned over the rush of the wind and rumble of the engine.
The man didn’t answer. She looked at his face, seeing he’d slipped shades over his eyes. Elina didn’t know what was with all the men choosing to ignore her, but it was starting to get bothersome.
She watched the trees and brush rush by as they descended back to town. The bike tore through the residential suburbs before he turned onto the back roads. Elina sat up straighter as the motorcycle slowed its pace, turning and entering the parking lot to a big warehouse that looked to have been abandoned for a number of years. The man stopped the bike and pulled Elina off of it without warning, dragging her to a back entrance to the building.
The entire time Elina found herself only hoping that Alec was alright. Despite the potential danger that this kidnapper walked her toward, Elina wanted to be in Alec’s arms up in the mountains again. There, she felt safer than she had since yesterday. Even the electrifying gazes that they’d sent each other in the bar on their first meeting was enough to have Elina hoping she could stare into his mist-like eyes again.
The man pushed open the door to reveal a dimly lit space. Some heavy-duty machinery was scattered about the floor, obscuring the view of a collection of individuals further inside. As the kidnapper walked her around the structures, three of the people turned to look at them.
