Chapter 33 FAILED BARGAIN
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE | FAILED BARGAIN
LYRA
Silence surrounded us after Damien's offer to Anika. Two billion dollars wasn't a small amount of money; it would set her up for the rest of her life. With that amount, she wouldn't need to work a day in her life anymore, and she'd be free from Orion's pursuit.
It was a tempting offer that anyone in his or her right senses would have rushed to take, especially since kidnapping and killing me would bring no financial benefit to her life. Satisfaction, maybe, but not benefit.
I expected her to jump at the offer in exchange for my freedom, but she didn't. She held on to me even tighter, as if she was scared her body would betray her and she would be forced to give me over because of the tempting amount.
“I don't want your money. You can keep it. All I want is her, and I already have her.” She crossed the border without hesitation, and a car pulled up immediately.
She went into the car first, still holding on to my hand tightly. I think she knew she would have been shot if she allowed me to get in first.
I didn't put up a fight. I was frozen in both fear and shock by the turn of events.
The driver zoomed off immediately. We were both settled, and as the car drove off, I heard a voice in my head. “We'll find you, Lyra. Even if it kills us. Stay alive for us.”
I knew for a fact that it was the twins, and it gave me a sense of comfort.
“Oh my goodness, that was wild,” Anika breathed, a smile on her face. “Are you okay?” she asked, genuine concern on her face.
I was taken aback and stared at her like a few screws had gone loose in her head. What exactly was going on?
“I didn't hurt you, did I?” she asked again, but I still couldn't bring myself to answer.
Was this another one of her games? Was she playing with me again?
“I don't understand,” I mumbled, looking between her and the driver.
The driver laughed, mumbling something I couldn't make out.
“Wait, you didn't really think I turned on you, right?”
I blinked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. I had no idea what she was talking about. “I need you to explain. I'm confused.”
“I didn't actually turn on you. That was the plan B if we got busted. This is Dave, my friend's mate. He was to pick us up after we crossed the border. We had another plan though—if we got caught while trying to escape, we had to pretend that I was your nemesis and would kill you if they came close. They would never have let us leave if we didn't work that way.”
My brain was slowly starting to comprehend her words. She was never evil; it was just another plan to make sure we left the pack. And now that I thought about it, she was absolutely right. If the twins found out we had both been planning to escape together, they would have killed her on the spot and maybe punished me. What I didn't understand was the reason she kept this plan away from me. It was very suspicious that she would keep something that big from me when we were supposed to work together.
“Why didn't you tell me about your plan?”
The driver, who hadn't spoken since the ride started, spoke for the first time. “Because we needed you to be terrified. The twins are your mates, ain't they?”
I nodded, still confused.
“Which means they can feel a part of your emotions. If you knew the plan, you wouldn't have been scared. You can act it, but can't feel it. The Valentino twins are extremely smart. They would have easily picked up the fact that something wasn't right. We need to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
I finally understood everything, and a smile appeared on my face, followed by a small grateful laugh. I was happy that things worked out at the end.
“I'm so happy we escap—”
Her words were suddenly cut off and replaced with a scream when a car crashed into ours from the side, hitting Anika and sending us tumbling down.
Somehow, the car managed to land on the tires and continue moving, despite the fact that we literally just somersaulted. I felt bile rise in my throat, and I closed my mouth shut to stop it from spilling out.
“What is happening?” Anika screamed, holding onto her seat for her dear life.
“I think we're being attacked. Someone is chasing us,” Dave yelled, swerving out of the way just in time to avoid another hit from the guy that was in high pursuit of us.
“Do you think it's the Valentino twins?”
“It can—”
Another powerful hit from the car, and this time, our car wasn't strong enough to withstand it. It wrecked ours so badly that it hit a tree and caught fire instantly.
“It's going to explode. We have to get out,” Anika yelled, attempting to open the door, but it was stuck. So stuck that no matter how hard she tugged on it, it wouldn't budge. My side couldn't be opened too; it was directly next to the tree we hit, which meant it'd hinder me from pushing the door open.
“My door is stuck. Dave, help us!” Anika screamed, watching with wide eyes as the fire spread all around the car engine.
Any second now, the car was going to explode. Anika called out to Dave, but again, she got no response. Too busy to check up on him, I decided to do so. Forcing down my nausea and dizziness, I leaned forward to pat Dave. The moment I saw him, a scream rippled out of me, and the bile I had been trying to keep down came to the surface.
I turned just in time to puke my guts out, tears running down my face as I did so.
Sensing that something was wrong, Anika let go of her desperation to open the door to check Dave, and her reaction was similar to mine.
Dave was dead. The tree we had hit had broken the mirror and pierced Dave right in the middle of his head.
And worse, the car was about to explode too.