~ Asher's POV ~
Asher walked aimlessly to the apartment parking garage. He kept sighing out loud and kicking the dust. This situation with Zoie wasn't getting better. He thought it couldn't get any worse, but it just did.
Asher arrived at a parked motorcycle covered under a black tarp. He pulled the cover off and threw it on the ground. His motorcycle was sitting perfectly, slightly dusty as it hadn't been touched in weeks. Maybe months.
In one swift move, Asher got on the motorcycle and revved up the engine. He put on his helmet and within a flash, he speeded out of the parking garage, hitting the open road.
Asher drove through the street and he noticed some fresh tire tracks in front of him. Those were the tire tracks from their BMW. He knew that because he just changed those tires. He got some specialyl-made tires specifically for drifting.
Hm. Zoie must've taken this road too.
Asher kept on driving alongside those tire tracks. But all of a sudden, he noticed that the car's tracks had pulled over to the side. Feeling curious, Asher slow down and inspected the area. He found it odd. Why would Zoie pull over here for no reason? There wasn't a store or anything around. It was just an area surrounded by trees.
In the corner of his periphery, Asher noticed a metallic thing shining on the ground. He came closer and his eyes widened in shock. It looked like Zoie's ring!
Asher turned off his motorcycle and got off. He came closer and bent down to pick up the ring. He inspected it and sure enough, on the inside were Zoie's initials engraved. This was her ring, unmistakably.
Asher narrowed his eyes and checked the tire tracks again. It seemed like Zoie wasn't alone. There was another set of tire tracks following her! And not just that, Asher could make out several footsteps on the ground. There were some that looked like Zoie's shoeprints, but there were two other prints. Men shoes.
Shit.
Asher realized that there must be a car with two men inside that were following Zoie and they pulled over right behind her. Asher threw his gaze upward and saw the tire tracks coming back to the road again. Zoie's car and this other car were going in the same direction.
Oh, this can't be good!
Asher felt a pit forming in his stomach. This could be nothing. It might just be that Zoie was meeting up with some friends. But still, Asher couldn't shake off this dark feeling. He gripped the ring tightly in his hand and went back to his motorcycle. Without wasting another second, he drove off speedily, following those tire tracks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
~ Zoie's POV ~
Zoie's head was spinning. She kept hitting her head on the inside of that trunk. Her body too, it was all bruised up. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her ankles were tied together. The men also put a tape over her mouth, so no matter how hard she tried to scream, she couldn't anything out.
Is this... where I'm gonna die?
A single tear fell from her face as she thought about the possibility. The car had been driving for almost an hour now. They were taking her somewhere far away. Zoie regained her consciousness minutes ago and she'd been banging her head against the trunk as hard as she could, thinking somehow that would save her, but to no avail.
What did I do wrong to deserve this? Who are these people? Where are they taking me? Are they the enemies that dad always warned me about?
In the midst of all the chaos, Zoie thought about Asher. Oh, how she wished Asher was here. Asher would know just what to do.
Ash... I'm sorry... please save me...
And suddenly, the car skidded to a stop, causing Zoie to bang her head against the side of the trunk.
"Ouw!" she squealed in pain, though her voice was muffled.
Zoie didn't hear anything for the longest time. She was waiting in anticipation, her heart racing like a drum, knowing that those kidnappers were coming to get her. And finally, the trunk door flew open. The light filled her eyes and she scrunched her eyes shut.
Oh, no! They're gonna kill me!
Zoie felt a pair of hands holding onto her face. She started shaking and trembling. Tears were falling from her knitted eyes.
"Hey," she heard a familiar voice speak. "Look at me,"
Zoie opened her eyes slowly. Under the bright fluorescent light above, she made out the figure of a man. He had messy, dirty blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. He was looking down and staring deeply at her. That stare made her heart full with warmth.
"Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay," he said.
"...Asher...?" she croaked weakly.
* SPLASH! *
All of a sudden, Zoie felt ice cold water hitting her face. She jerked her eyes open instantly. The water got in her eyes and nose. It took her a moment to catch her breath and realize what was going on.
"Wakey-wakey!" she heard a man's voice say. Then she felt a stinging pain as he ripped the tape off her mouth.
"Ouch!" she cried.
Slowly, Zoie's vision began to get clearer. She was inside some warehouse with white fluorescent lights hanging above. Her hands and feet were still tied, and she was seated on some chair. In front of her, stood three men and their facemasks. One of them she didn't recognize, the other one was wearing the police uniform, and the other one was wearing a familiar baseball cap.
"Miles...!" she gasped.
"There she is, my ex-girlfriend! The fúcking bitch of the year!" Miles took off his mask and started clapping sarcastically.
Zoie was absolutely shocked. Her mouth fell open and her whole body stiffened. Miles was smirking viciously as he strode closer. He bent down and looked at her like she was a prey about to be eaten.
"How you doin' huh, sweetheart?" he said as he tilted her chin up. "The past few months must be nice for you. Going to school, having thanksgiving dinner with your family, hanging out with that psychopath brother of yours. Well, the last few months have been hell for me. All thanks to you,"
"...M-me?"
"Oh, don't play dumb," he tsked. "I know you're the one who did it,"
"Did what...?"
Miles scoffed in annoyance and turned to his friends.
"Can you believe this bitch?" he sneered.
"She's trynna act dumb with us," the one in the police uniform said. With a closer look, Zoie realized this uniform was fake.
"What a dumb little bitch!" the other one added, laughing viciously. Zoie remembered his voice. He was one of Miles's baseball teammates.
* SMACK! *
Miles suddenly slapped his hand across Zoie's face forcefully, grabbing her attention.
"Ouch!" she grimaced in pain.
"That hurts, huh?" Miles chuckled. "Well, that's nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you don't cooperate,"
Zoie fought back the pain and opened her eyes to glare at him.
"What do you want from me!?" she hissed.
"I want you to give my life back!" Miles roared angrily. Steam was coming out of his ears.
What does that even mean?
"I know you're the one who got me kicked out of Stanford, bitch!" he continued. "And you put that record on my name so I can't even play baseball anywhere!"
"I... I never did that..." Zoie frowned in confusion.
"Psh, yeah, right,"
"Stop lying, little bitch," the guy in the police uniform said. "We know everything,"
"I hired a private investigator," Miles said. "They traced it all back to you,"
"What...?"
"I'll admit it, you were pretty smart, using a decoy, some hacker in Miami," Miles rolled his eyes and his friends laughed with him. "But we traced the calls and emails. He was getting orders from your I.P. address!"
"I... I don't know what you're talking about..."
* SMACK! *
Miles launched his fist at Zoie again, and this time, it hurt ten times worse than before.
"Do I look like some dumbass to you!?" he roared again.
Zoie couldn't hold back the pain. Her face was stinging. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Aww, look at that, she's crying!" the other guy said, mocking and mimicking her.
Miles let out a laugh and walked to the table next to her. There was a stack of baseball bats on that table and Miles took one of them. His friends quickly followed, each grabbing a baseball bat of their own.
"P-please... just let me go..." Zoie quivered in fear. "I won't tell anyone..."
"Let you go?" Miles scoffed and cocked his head to the side. The baseball bat was resting on his shoulder. "I'm not letting you go until you fix this fúcking mess!"
Miles lifted the baseball bat high above his head like he was about to strike her again. Zoie's eyes flinched shut as she was anticipating the pain. A second then passed and nothing was coming, except for the sound of the guys' laughter. Zoie opened her eyes slowly and saw that Miles had stopped the bat just before it hit her head. The bat was still hanging above her, though.
"Fix it bitch or I'm gonna fúcking kill you!" he said through gritted teeth.
"Miles, I don't know what you're talking about-" Before Zoie could finish her words, Miles had thrown the baseball bat on the floor and he put his hands around her neck, choking the air out of her throat.
"Stop. Playing. Fúcking. Games!" he threatened.
"Help--- I can't---- breathe---!"
Zoie's face was turning blue. She tried her hardest to get some air into her lungs, but Miles's grip was too strong. She felt her energy draining and her life was being sucked out of her. The only thing she could do was stare at Miles's angry eyes directed at her. Zoie had never seen anyone like this before. These were the eyes of a madman. The eyes of a killer.
Asher... Please... Help me...!
And just before Zoie was about to pass out, Miles took his hands off of her neck. Zoie could feel the air coming in again and she coughed. Her throat was burning like it was on fire.
"No, I'm not gonna kill you, that'll be too easy," Miles said as he picked up his bat and swung it behind his neck.
"You know what? Why don't we make this interesting?" he said again, his eyes holding an evil glint.
Miles walked over to his friend in the cop uniform and leaned an arm on his shoulder. Then he pointed at Zoie with the baseball bat and said, "What do you think, Rob? Isn't she pretty?"
"Oh, I'd fúck the whore, sure," Rob chuckled.
"John?" Miles turned to his other friend.
John was a big guy. Around 6" 5' and weighing 250 pounds. He let out this ugly, devilish smile as he strode closer to Zoie. Zoie couldn't do anything but tremble in fear. With brute force, John then gripped Zoie's face with one hand. His fingers dug painfully into her cheeks.
"Fúck, yeah! I can't wait to ram my dick into her fúcking cúnt!" he spat. Literally, he spat on her face.
Zoie's eyes shut closed again as she whimpered in fear and utter disgust. There was nothing else she could do. Meanwhile, Miles and his friends were laughing maniacally.
"So, what's it gonna be?" Miles said as he patted the baseball bat in his hand. "Little bitch?"
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -