Chapter 13 Alley Sandwich
Elena screamed as the car rocked her and the breath was knocked right out of her lungs.
The impact had come so hard and so suddenly that her body slammed back against the seat, her head snapping forward before the seatbelt yanked her back again.
Her chest burned, as she clawed weakly at the belt across her body.
Before she could even gasp, the airbags deployed.
The explosion of white fabric filled the car, slamming into her face and chest, stealing what little air she had left.
“No!" She cried out at the impact.
She coughed violently, tears streaming down her face as she fought to breathe.
“Oh goodness! Help!” she cried hoarsely and tried to open the vehicle. .
But just then, the car doors locked with a sharp mechanical sound.
She fumbled for the handle, pulling at it desperately.
It didn’t budge.
A calm, automated voice sounded inside the car.
“Security system activated.”
“No, no, no!” Elena screamed. “Open! Please open!”
She grabbed her phone with trembling hands, trying to dial anyone to report the attack.
But just as her fingers hovered on her father's number which was on speed dial, the blue van in front of her rolled closer, inch by inch, pressing her car tighter between it and the green van behind.
Fear gripped her as she wondered if this was how she ended. As a sandwich between two vans in a lonely street.
Her hand shook so badly the phone slipped from her fingers, falling into the footwell near the pedals.
“Help me!” she screamed, slamming her palm against the window. “Please! Somebody help me!”
No one heard her.
The street was empty and through the cracked windshield, she saw doors of the two vans opening at once.
Two men stepped out of the van in front and threw more emerged from the one behind.
They moved calmly, confidently, like this wasn’t their first time doing this.
Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.
They rounded her car and yanked at her car doors on all four sides.
It was locked.
She stopped screaming and folded into her seat as she looked at their dark outfits.
One of the men leaned forward, peering through the windshield, his eyes cold and assessing. Another circled the car slowly, knocking once on the glass as if testing it.
She was trapped.
Completely trapped.
And she couldn't tell if that was good or bad. One one side, they couldn't get her and on the other side, she couldn't escape either!
Then one of them turned and walked back to the van and when he returned, he was holding what looked like a metal bat.
“No,” Elena sobbed. “Please, please don’t!”
He raised it and brought it down hard against the passenger-side window.
The sound was deafening and the glass cracked but didn’t shatter.
He swung again and this time, it exploded and Elena screamed and folded into herself, curling against the driver’s seat as shards of glass rained down.
She raised her arms to protect her face, feeling sharp stings as fragments cut into her skin.
“Stop!” she cried. “Please, stop!”
Hands reached inside the car as someone yanked at the door from the outside, wrenching it open with brute force until the hinges screamed in protest.
Strong hands grabbed her arm and she was quickly dragged out.
Her knees hit the ground hard, pain shooting through her legs as she struggled weakly.
“Did you think your fancy little car could save you?" The first man asked in a snarl.
“Please,” she sobbed, her voice hoarse. “You have the wrong person. Please let me go.”
That was when she noticed it.
Two of the men were wearing silicone masks.
They had smooth, lifeless faces stretched unnaturally over their real ones.
One of them crouched in front of her. “We have the right person,” he said calmly. “Now show us where the diamonds are.”
Elena froze.
“What?” she whispered. “Diamonds? I don’t have diamonds.”
Her mind raced. She hadn’t worn any diamonds when she left the house.
She’d stepped out wearing a simple gold necklace.
“I don’t have diamonds,” she said again desperately. “You can take this. Please. This is all I have.”
Her hands went to her neck, trembling as she tried to unclasp the gold necklace.
One of them lunged forward and yanked it off her neck so hard it burned her skin.
“We’ll take this too,” he said. “But that’s not what we’re here for.”
Another man stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Stop lying.”
He pulled out his gun and shoved it in her face.
Her blood ran cold.
“The necklace you got from the Lorraine Mehaliz Boutique,” he said. “Bring it out. Now.”
Her breath caught.
They knew. They had followed her from the store.
Her hands shook violently as realization hit her.
“They’re in the car,” she whispered. “Please. Just take them and let me go. Please don’t hurt me.”
She scrambled back to the car, fumbling clumsily as she reached inside and pulled out the shopping bag.
Her fingers barely worked as she opened it and handed over the diamond set.
“Here,” she cried. “Take it. Please. That’s all I have.”
One of the men took the diamonds and smiled broadly. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”
He turned to the others. “What else you got in there?”
“That’s enough,” another said sharply. “We got what we came for. Madam will be satisfied.”
The first man scoffed. “You’re kidding. Look at this car and look at her. She’s got more.”
He turned back to Elena. “Bring everything out. Your bags, phone, jewelry. We want everything now!”
Before she could respond, a loud engine roared to the lonely road and all four men stiffened.
They turned as a grey truck screeched into view, stopping abruptly a few feet away.
“What the hell?” one muttered.
The driver’s door of the grey truck opened and a tall figure stepped out.
One of the men hissed, “Let’s get out of here.”
Another scoffed. “It’s just one man. We can take him down and teach him a lesson.”
They grabbed their bats and wrenches, moving toward him.
Elena’s vision blurred as fear mixed with shock.
She tried to see clearly but her heart was hammering so wildly.
The man from the gray truck didn’t hesitate.
The first attacker rushed him but he went down in seconds.
The second swung his wrench but it never landed.
A sharp crack echoed as the man hit the ground.
The third man barely had time to react before he was slammed into the pavement.
The fourth tried to run but he didn’t get far.
Elena stared in disbelief as all four men lay groaning on the ground while the fifth ran off in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him.
Stunned as such raw power, Elena stared in fascination as the figure finally turned and pulled off his hoodie.
“Julian?” she gasped.
He reached her in two strides, dropping to his knees beside her.
The moment he pulled her into his arms, her strength gave out and Elena lost consciousness in his arms.