The van bumped along dark roads for what felt like hours. Alex's wrists hurt from the zip ties the guys had used. Next to him, Ethan was quiet, his face pale in the dim light coming through the small windows.
Suddenly, the van stopped. The back doors opened, and two men pulled them out. They were at an old building by the river. The windows were closed up, and the walls were covered in graffiti.
"Move," one man barked, pushing them forward.
Inside, the building was empty except for some old chairs and a table. The men pushed Alex and Ethan to sit down.
"The boss will be here in the morning," one man said. "Try to remember where that USB drive is by then." He and the other guards walked to the far corner of the building, where they sat watching.
Now that they were alone—or as alone as they could be—Alex turned to Ethan.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
Ethan nodded. "I'm sorry I got you into this. They grabbed me three days ago outside my flat. They said they would hurt Hannah if I didn't help them find you."
"It's not your fault," Alex said. "Do you know what's on this USB drive they want?"
"No, but it must be important. Very important." Ethan looked around to make sure the guards weren't listening. "They're not just random crooks, Alex. I think they're government spies. Bad ones."
Alex thought about his father's watch. Could there really be a USB drive hiding inside? And if there was, what was on it that these people wanted so badly?
"We need to get out of here," Alex whispered.
"How? They have guns, and we're tied up."
Alex didn't have an answer. He looked around the warehouse, looking for anything that might help them escape. Nothing.
"Tell me about your sister," Alex said, trying to keep their moods up. "Is she okay?"
Ethan's eyes filled with worry. "I don't know. They showed me a picture of her two days ago. She looked scared but not hurt."
"We'll find her," Alex promised. "And we'll get out of this."
Hours passed. The guards changed shifts. Alex's stomach growled with hunger, and his mouth was dry with thirst. Finally, one of the guards brought them water and snacks. They had to eat with their hands still tied.
As night turned to early morning, Ethan moved his chair closer to Alex's.
"Can I tell you something?" Ethan asked softly.
"Of course."
"I broke up with Melissa."
Alex blinked in surprise. Melissa was Ethan's girlfriend of six months. They had seemed happy together.
"When?" Alex asked.
"Two weeks ago. Before all this happened."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Ethan's eyes looked sad. "I was going to. The night of your bachelor party. But then we got drunk, and I... I didn't know how to say it."
Alex remembered that night. How Ethan had brought him home. How they had almost talked about something important before the strange attack.
"Why did you break up with her?"
Ethan took a deep breath. His eyes found Alex's, and something in them made Alex's heart beat faster.
"She's not the one," Ethan said, looking right into Alex's eyes.
The way he said it, the way he was looking at Alex... it made Alex wonder if Ethan meant what he thought he meant.
Before Alex could ask, there was a loud crash from outside. The guards jumped up, pulling out their guns.
"Check it out," one told the others.
Two guards went to the door. As soon as they opened it, smoke poured in. There were screams and the sound of fighting.
"Get down!" Ethan yelled, throwing himself at Alex and knocking both their chairs to the floor.
Through the smoke, Alex saw figures moving. More shouts. Gunshots. He closed his eyes, frightened.
Then someone was cutting the zip ties on his wrists. Alex looked up to see Sophia, her face smeared with dirt and determination.
"Come on!" she hissed. "We don't have much time!"
Alex couldn't believe it. "How did you—"
"Later! Move!"
They ran through the smoke, stepping over fallen guards. Outside, a car was waiting, engine going. Behind the wheel was a woman Alex had never seen before.
"Hannah!" Ethan cried, moving forward.
The woman—Ethan's sister—smiled through tears. "Get in! Hurry!"
They piled into the car, and Hannah hit the gas. The car sped away from the building just as more black vans pulled up.
"How did you find us?" Alex asked Sophia, who was in the car with him.
"I followed the van last night," she said. "I called Hannah—I had her number from the wedding guest list. We came up with a plan."
"A crazy plan," Hannah added from the front seat. "Those men were holding me in a different place. Sophia helped me escape first, then we came for you two."
Ethan looked at his sister in wonder. "You did all this?"
Hannah grinned. "I'm not just your little sister, you know. I work in security too."
They drove through the city, taking back roads and watching for follows. Finally, they stopped at a small hotel on the edge of town.
"We should be safe here for now," Hannah said. "I paid cash, and I used a fake name."
Inside the hotel room, they finally had a moment to breathe. Hannah checked the windows while Sophia turned on the TV to check the news.
"We're all over the news," she said, pointing to the screen. There were pictures of all four of them, with the words "MISSING" underneath.
"They're saying we disappeared before the wedding," Ethan said, watching the story. "They're making it look like we ran away."
"But why would they do that?" Alex asked. "What's on that USB drive?"
Everyone looked at him.
"USB drive?" Sophia asked. "What USB drive?"
Alex told them about the watch his father had given him, and how the men thought it held a USB drive with important files.
"That must be why they've been after us," Sophia said. "It's not about the wedding at all. It's about whatever your father gave you."
"But what's on it?" Hannah asked. "What could be so important?"
"There's only one way to find out," Alex said. "We need to get back to my apartment and find that watch."
Ethan put his hand on Alex's arm. "It's too dangerous. They'll be watching your place."
"I have to try," Alex urged. "Whatever's on that drive, it's important enough that they took all of us. It might be the only way to save our parents."
No one disagreed with that. They came up with a plan: Hannah would make a distraction near Alex's apartment building. Sophia would keep watch outside. Alex and Ethan would go in and find the watch.
As they prepared to leave, Ethan pulled Alex away.
"About what I said earlier," he began. "About breaking up with Melissa..."
Alex's heart beat. "Yeah?"
"I meant it. She's not the one." Ethan's eyes held Alex's. "I think I've always known who the one is for me. I was just too scared to admit it."
Alex swallowed hard. "Ethan..."
"I know this is crazy time. We might not even survive the next few hours. But I needed you to know." Ethan took a step closer. "It's you, Alex. It's always been you."
Time seemed to stop. All the years of hiding his feelings, of watching Ethan date other people, of deciding to marry someone he didn't love... and now here was Ethan, saying the words Alex had dreamed of hearing.
But before Alex could reply, Sophia burst into the room.
"They found us!" she cried. "There are men outside in the parking lot!"
Hannah ran to the window and peeked through the curtains. "She's right. At least six of them. And they have guns."
They grabbed what they could and ran for the back door. But as Alex reached for the handle, it burst open from the outside.
Standing there was the tall man from the wedding site, the one with the cold eyes and thin smile.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, pointing a gun at them.
Behind Alex, Ethan stepped forward, putting himself between Alex and the gun.
"Leave him alone," Ethan said, his voice steady. "He doesn't have what you want."
The man's eyes narrowed. "Actually, I think he does." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar item.
Alex's grandfather's watch.
"We found this in your apartment, Mr. Rivera," the man said. "But there's nothing inside it. No USB drive. So where is it?"
Alex looked at the watch, confused. "I don't know what you're talking about. That's just a watch."
The man's face twisted with anger. "I'm tired of your games!" He pointed the gun at Ethan's heart. "Tell me where the drive is, or I'll shoot him right now!"
Time seemed to slow down. Alex looked at Ethan, at the fear and love in his eyes. At Sophia and Hannah, frozen in fear.
And suddenly, Alex remembered. Not a USB drive, but something else his father had given him. Something hidden in plain sight.
"Wait," Alex said, raising his hands. "I know where it is."