The Elite

I knew I shouldn’t be drinking and planning on driving home, but I wasn’t thinking about it. I just couldn’t get the thirst out of me. “You were thirsty, weren’t you?” he said and laughed as I gulped down the rest of the can. I tossed it into the garbage can and sighed. “Guess so.” I said and took a deep breath. Within the next fifteen minutes, I’d drunk two more beers and I started to feel it. The alcohol was taking effect. It was fabulous. I was laughing and having a great time. “Come on, Babe. Let’s go into the house for a while.” he said and laughed as I stumbled. He put an arm around me, holding me up. He was more sober than I was. We went into one of the back rooms. I was still laughing as I closed the door and kissed his mouth hard. I stopped when I felt something cold and hard against the side of my head and pulled away. I looked over and Jake had a gun pointed at my head. I swallowed hard and took deep breaths. “What are you doing, Jake?” I asked. “Back up. Put your back against the wall. Keep your hands where I can see them or I’ll blow your brains out.” he said roughly. I did as told, beginning to sweat. “What are you doing?” I repeated as my voice cracked. He pointed the gun at my chest. “Shut up, Penelope.” he said. My bottom lip quivered as he locked the door, but never took the gun’s barrel away from me. “Please, don’t.” I said, silent tears rolling down my cheeks. “Trust me, it won’t hurt one bit. I’ll make it quick. You’re one of the lucky ones. You won’t feel a thing. My other missions were harsh.” he said and moved the gun barrel so it was just under my chin. “It was torture.” he said and pressed the gun harder to my flesh. Fear boiled inside me. How could Jake do this? What had I done to anger him so much? “Drowning, stabbing.” He brought his face just a little closer to mine. I felt his hot breath on my cheek. “Draining their blood.” I swallowed and took in a shaking breath. “I was only told to kill you quickly.” he said and pulled the trigger back just a little. Then, the door busted down. Jake’s attention flashed from me to whoever just busted down the door. I closed my eyes and curled into the fetal position on the floor. He fired the gun and I just hoped that he didn’t hit whoever was there. I felt a bullet graze my arm. I held my breath, figuring Jake would kidnap me once he killed whoever was at the door. To my surprise, Jake wasn’t there when I opened my eyes. He’d broken a window and left. The only one who was there was an older man. He had to be at least twenty. His shaggy blond hair hung in his eyes and the blue of his eyes pierced me. He was better looking than I ever remembered. He held a gun in his hand and was panting. He spoke only six words. “I told you I’d be back.” he said. I stood and ran to him. I wrapped my arms around him. “Spencer, oh, my God.” I said and started crying. He wrapped his arms around me to keep me from falling. “It’s all right now, Pen. He ran off.” he promised. “No, it’s not. He’ll be back.” I sobbed. “Dear God, He tried to kill me.” He hesitated a moment. “We have to get out of here.” he said. “I don’t think I can.” I said. Spencer reached down and lifted my body to a cradle at his chest. “I’ve got you.” he said and walked out of the bedroom. There was a crowd by the door.