"What's the plan?"
"The guys we're supposed to exchange the money with will be here in fifteen minutes. Let's go down and wait for them. The magic should keep her knocked out for twenty-four hours. It gives us enough time to get the money and ditch."
"What if they sense she's human? There's no way they're going to give us the money once they see her."
"We can tell them who she is. Something Thorn. We can say she's the secret heiress of that rich family and they've been hiding their supernatural daughter or some shit. We'll think of the perfect excuse."
"Argh, this sucks. What if we say the guys put a seal on her so she appears human or something?"
"Hey. That may actually work."
"Let's go with that. We have a picture of her from the internet. Take a quick picture so we can prove we have her."
"Why don't you take the picture?"
"Your phone is the latest one. Mine's the old, crappy, flip phone shit. If we get this deal, I'll finally be able to get the latest iPhone Z18. We can get out of this city and go all the way to Dubai, where the rich live."
"You dream big, man. This deal better work or my heart will be broken as we rot in jail."
"We'll be good, man. Trust me. If they don't believe us, I got the backup plan with the black market. She'd sell in an hour, tops. If these lab dudes know what's good for them, they'll take her. Last resort, we drop her in the ocean."
The sound of a picture being taken made me mentally cringe.
"Got it. Are you bringing that brick of a phone?"
"Nah. It's charging. Leave it there. Let's go down and get ready to be millionaires."
"Let's do this." There was a clapping sound before two sets of footsteps began to fade until the door shut.
Silence followed, but I kept my breathing even, afraid there was a third party in the room watching me continue to fake-sleep the evening away.
I did my best to keep calm, but as I continued my unconscious act and the silence stretched, my heart began to race as I confronted what was going on.
Was I just kidnapped? No. Stupid question. I was kidnapped! Damn. How could I be so naive? Wait. This isn't my fault. Just at the wrong place, wrong time, wrong Uber. Jeez. Why didn't I just take a damn bus!
Those men had mentioned they saw me before the restaurant. What if they were eavesdropping and waiting for the right moment, hoping I'd come out alone? It was possible, but that meant they had to be working with a supernatural.
The restaurant was for supernaturals only, and I only got in because no one would dare say otherwise to my bros and Everett.
The last new guy learned the hard way and ended up handing in his resignation once his six months of medical rehab was over with. Poor guy.
I could continue to spend my time wondering how I fell into the perfect setup, or I could find my way out of here, but I couldn't help wondering if that witch had something to do with all of this. She was a snake shifter, and they were known for being two-faced.
Could she have arranged those guys to follow us, and told the guys to inform me of their abrupt departure? Did she predict I'd run out and somehow get into that Uber? No. I was getting ahead of myself. Jeez, I need to get the hell out of here.
I was afraid to open my eyes. To accept that I was in this situation and whatever move I made from this moment would determine if I got out of here alive, dead, or tossed over to the highest bidder.
As scary as it was, I didn't survive growing up with four supernatural elites and a mega-powerful bear shifter just to be afraid of the unknown. Slowly, I peeked an eye open and eventually opened the other as I took in the dimly-lit room.
Scanning what I could see, I came to the quick conclusion I was alone. I immediately regretted sitting up as the world spun once more.
"Shit," I whispered the curse and let myself stay completely still. "Did they drug me or something?"
They had been talking about some magic music they got from a leprechaun. Who would have thought those short supernaturals that should have carried pots of gold and created rainbows would sell magic tapes that encouraged kidnapping?
Waiting for the spinning to stop, I attempted to figure out where I was and what could I do to get out of here.
First off. Cameras.
I made a detailed scan of the room, looking for anything that could be perceived as a hidden camera. From their conversation, I doubted they had enough to have any cameras and from the looks of the single room, it had to be a hotel of some sort.
"If I can just get to the door, I'll be able to race out of here.” I was still in the sparkly red dress I'd been wearing, but my heels were nowhere to be found.
My purse was on the nightstand next to the charging phone the guy had mentioned.
"Damn. He wasn't kidding. His phone is ancient," I muttered before shaking my head. "Cass. No time for sarcasm! Focus."
It was time for fight mode and I'd have to use everything the guys taught me about self-defense and emergency situations.
I'd been trained since I could walk. It was something I began doing because the guys would have to train to keep fit and protect themselves as supernaturals. Back when we were younger, society wasn't as smooth, and many fights would break out over simple disagreements among supernaturals of different shifter races.
Everett decided to train us for two hours a day, one in the morning and one later at night. I only got to join because I started complaining that I felt left out and wanted to learn as well. I might not be able to shift into anything I wanted, summon flowers out of thin air, move super-fast, or seduce the hell out of anyone, but I could run, punch, and kick someone in the balls.
That had to mean something.
I'd have to recall what each of them taught me to get myself out of this situation. Having my bag meant there was a good chance my hidden credit cards were still there, and seeing as that brick phone wouldn't have fingerprint or code security, I'd be able to call one of the guys.
Otis would have been the smartest to call since he could run here the fastest, but I was mad at him, so that wasn't an option. Tristan had just recently gotten a new phone for his job, so I'd yet to memorize his new number. That left Adonis and Dominick.
Adonis hated technology unless it was a must for his music process, so if he was around Otis, he wouldn't bring his phone.
Guess my best bet is Dominick.
He also wasn't too fond of technology since it seemed to overtake the importance of mother nature and the planet. However, the new government had implemented many laws to protect the earth, and since Dominick was a model, he always needed a phone on him just in case his agent had to schedule a shoot or interview last minute.
With a nod, I decided the only way I'd get out of here was to start moving.
Let's do th-OOF!
My thoughts were cut short when I tried to pull my arms from behind my back, only to realize I was handcuffed. The movement was abrupt since I hadn't even acknowledged the chances of me being cuffed to anything, resulting in me face planting on the bed.
Great! Damn stupid cuffs.
"Alright, Cass. Don't panic. You were taught this."
When I got nervous or was afraid, I'd talk things out to help my brain believe in myself. My words reminded me of the lesson on how to get out of handcuffs that Otis taught me.