Emily's POV
Running. Keep running.
The thought was glued to my head as I sped down the corridors of the grand layer my psychotic, criminal boss had kept me locked in for two days.
For two days, I remained in that hellhound of a room. I got food three times a day, and I had an ensuite bathroom with no windows whatsoever. The room was rather large and had no windows either. For two days nobody talked to me. Austin entered to hand me my food and then he would just leave without acknowledging me. This place is worse than jail and a mental hospital combined.
My lovley chance at escaping arrived exactly 26 minutes ago. I had called Austin in with the excuse that the toilet flush wasn't working, and as soon as he entered my bathroom, I fled the room in a flash. I have been running for 26 minutes yet there seems to be no escape to this rabbit whole.
My legs finally gave away as I approached yet another black door at the end of the passage. I stopped, panting for air as I bent down, placing my hands on my thighs. Surely my kidnappers would be here soon though I didn't mind. There was no way I could escape this place without having a map with marked exits. Sure enough, not a minute later, I spotted Adam running down the corridor.
"Didn't get very far did you?" he mocked as he advanced towards me.
"What the hell is this god for saking place anyways?" I snapped, ignoring his smirk.
"I like to call it, Satan's Black Whole." He responded, motioning it with his hands. "Alright, time to return Duffy" he addded, pointing towards the illuminated return pathway.
"Don't call me that. It doesn't even make any sense." I stated as I started making my way back inside the Devil's Cage.
"Yes it does. Dufon-Duffy. See what I did there?" I looked at him in utter shock. How old is this guy?
"What are you, five?"
"Oh close. I'm four" he told me.
"Idiot" I said under my breath as he guided me back down memory lane.
As we stepped back into my cage, I noticed Austin standing by the corner of my bed casually with a pair of fresh clothes.
"Oh good, you're back. Go take a shower" His comment took me by suprise, making my expression turn weird.
"Aren't you pissed I ran away from you?" Instantly they started laughing. "What the hell, are you guys mental or something?"
"Oh Ems, not even god could escape this prison. It's simple, no one gets in and no one gets out unless we want you to. We have had this layer for eight years, and never have we ever been spotted." Replied Austin as he placed my clothes in my arms and walked away, leaving me alone in the room again.
I'm going to need a big plan if I was going to escape this damn place. A really big plan.
"Oh god save me" I murmured, making my way to the bathroom before settling for a very long bath that I very desperatley needed.
When I came out of my lovley hour of a bath I was suprised to see my door unlocked and opened. As I stepped outside I heard noises coming from down the hallway. Following it, I arrived what looked like a small coffee room. Austin, Jack and Adam were inside laughing at a joke. My presence was quite soon notified as Jack's eyes landed on mine.
"Ah Emily, there you are. We were just waiting for you, come on in" he signalled with his hands. I hesitantly stepped inside and took the empty seat between Jack and Austin on the round, wooden table.
They continued laughing at jokes and after the third one, I spaced out thinking about Logan. I thought about his eyes; the way they trapped mine and looked into my soul. I thought about his kissable lips; that I was craving to- wow, wait. What the hell am I thinking. Logan Miller is a criminal. Get your head out of the damn gutter Emily.
By the time I finished scolding myself, I heard my name being called by someone.
"Earth to Emily." I turned my head up to see Adam facing me, waiting for an answer.
"What?" I asked, making a complete fool out of myself. Way to go Emily.
"I said where are you from?" he questioned, taking my mind back to my past. Instantly I felt uncomfortable, but not answering wouldn't make it any better. I barely had any friends to tell my story to, so it didn't matter if I told them.
"Oh, I'm from Chicago but my mother is spanish and my father is french. I actually very recently moved to New York." I responded.
"What made you move to New York?" Austin asked. My head immediatley snapped down to my hands as I bit my tongue to control the tears that were arriving the corners of my eyes.
"Umm... my boyfriend cheated on me." I whispered, still fiddling with my hands. There was a moment of silence before I felt a hand on my back, calming my tears down. As I looked up, I noticed the hand belonged to Austin as all three gave me simpathetic smiles.
"Anyways, what about you guys? How long have you been working here?" I asked, changing the topic. Austin's hand dropped from my back as he composed himself with an answer.
"Well we have been working with Logan for eight years now. Adam takes care of the technical stuff and me and Jack take care of the rest. Logan, of course is the brain of everything. That boy is one smart guy." I nodded, feeling impressed but at the same time frustrated.
"Where are you guys from?"
"Well myself and Adam are from San Francisco. He's actually my idiot cousin who thought it would be funny to follow me and see where I work. That's how he got involved in all of this anyways. And here we are, eight years later, working together." A smile crept up to my face as he said so.
"Oh come on dude, I was curious, you always said you worked at a big company, I just wanted to see the view from a skyscraper" Adam whined as Austin hit him on the head. My head snapped towards Jack as he sat awfully quiet.
"What's your story Mr.Australia?" I asked, making them chuckle at the nickname.
"Well as you very well spotted, I am from Australia. I moved to NYC at the age of eighteen, after my parents were murdered. I was looking for a job when I met Logan at a bar. Soon, he offered me a job doing this-" he said pointing at his surroundings "-and to be honest, I love it." He clarified as he shrugged. I felt bad for him as he completed his story. My mind was in a hard situation debating wether these guys were actually good people. But who was I kidding. They were criminals, and I was their hostage.
Suddenly, my thoughts jumped back to Logan. Where was he anyways?
"Where is he anyways? Logan?"
"He has gone to meet someone. He should be back soon." Austin replied, walking up to the counter for a coffee refill. And as we started bonding, I asked the question that had been bothering me for two days.
"Do you think he will ever let me go?" I almost whispered. My gaze remained on my lap as I controlled the urge to look at their faces as they all remained silent.
"To be honest-" Austin began "-yes I think so. I mean, he was so determined to kill you before we brought you in. But then he just switched his plans and decided to keep you alive even though that would screw up a lot of things for us - no offense - so yeah, I think he will come to an agreement if you stop running and have some patience" he finished. I looked back at him and saw nothing but honesty in his eyes. I couldn't believe it: Logan had kept me alive insteado of killing me. Logan kept me alive. But, why?
Logan's POV
As I drove towards his building the only thing penetrating my mind was Emily. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I didn't want her, yet I wanted her so much. My mind was in a bipolar state of confusion.
On one side I loved my life as a player who used women for nothing but sex. I loved my life as a free man who doesn't have to worry about his secret coming out to his women. But on the other hand, I wanted to be with her. When I was with her, my mind seemed to want to forget everything and make her happy. She would come in my dreams and I wouldn't leave the layer before peeking in her room to see her petite frame curled up into a ball as she slept.
For now, I pushed the thougts away as I arrived the abandonned building where I am supposed to meet my enemy. Deklan Johnson. The guy I despised. The guy I would one day kill.
I dragged my feet out of the car and started walking towards the building, locking the car behind me. As I approached the door, it was automatically pushed opened by Deklan's second, Jake. I walked past him and he walked behind me as I made my way to his office." When I arrived, I pushed the doors open, not bothering to knock. Deklan was sitting on his chair with a girl on his lap as they sucked each others faces. They noticed me immediatley and the girl ran out, flushed with embarrasment.
"Oh Logan, you havn't changed a bit have you?" He asked me as he leaned back in his chair, his hands joint together in front of him, and an evil smirk on his face.
"Let's get straight to the point Deklan. Why have you called me here?" I questioned, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Well, I was thinking, we have been in competition for eight years Logan. We both are the biggest criminal organizations and we both have alot of power and resources. We also want the same thing out of this job. Power and money. So, why don't we join teams. I mean, together, we could be invincible." He commented leaning forward on his elbows. I looked at him in disbelief. There was no way in hell I was accepting this offer. He was out of his mind. And there was only one reason he was offering.
"Just because you lost your IT girl, it will not make me merge organizations with you Deklan. We might seek the same thing, but I am not as low as you, and I never will be. Don't ever ask me such a stupid question again." And with that, I got up and left his office. He kept calling behind me, but I didn't stop. I walked outsidet the building and headed back towards my layer.
Her thoughts invaded my mind again as I punched on the accelerator. I knew I wanted her, but I couldn't have her. I also could't keep her hostage my entire life. What am I supposed to do with her?
A/N
And there you have it!! Thoughts so far??? Advice??
Picture of Austin to the side----->
VOTE
COMMENT
SHARE
-Neha