A shiver shot through me as I walked through the deserted streets on campus towards my apartment in residence. This is absolute madness; I should have left the party a lot earlier, now I’m stuck all alone at 3 AM. I wasn’t even much of a party freak to be honest, but somehow I’m always invited. Of course it was as obvious as daylight that they all just invited me because of my status. You see, my dad is one of the wealthiest men in Boston, Fergus O’Devlin. And just because of that, people seem to think I’m equally well off. They aren’t too wrong about that though. Having a rich father comes with many perks. I’m one of few students with her own apartment, a gorgeous car, which I wish I had right now, and a wardrobe that would make Paris Hilton jealous. Naturally every guy on campus wants a piece of me, but I’m not like most girls. Frankly, unlike most of my peers, I want to stay a virgin until the day I get married, and being shy and conservative doesn’t help either. In today’s day and age, it’s almost impossible to stay innocent, but I’m all about impossibilities and proving society wrong.

I pursed my lips as I tried to stifle a yawn and tears blurred my vision. Just a few more blocks and I’ll be home, then I can crash and burn for the rest of the day. Classes would have to wait; there was no way I would even be remotely interested or awake enough to sit through Dr. Richardson’s 9 AM class. I was about to cross the street to my apartment, when I spotted a black SUV, one I haven’t seen before, but then again, I never really paid much attention, much less walk around campus during the early hours of the morning. I kept a watchful eye on the vehicle and decided to stay on this end of the street until I was well past it before crossing. As I approached the entrance to the residence, I glanced over my shoulder and let out a relieved sigh. I slipped in and hurried to my place. It was pretty much the entire ground floor, or rather two apartments my father had merged into one. The Dean was opposed to it at first, but when my father offered a sizable donation for the upgrade of their football locker rooms and fields, he didn’t think twice.

I dumped my handbag on the kitchen counter, kicked off my shoes and headed straight for my king-sized bed, flopping unceremoniously down on it with a loud satisfied groan.

“Home at last,” I mumbled to myself as I tucked my pillow under my head. The way I felt now, I knew it won’t be long before I dozed off.

I had just started to drift off when hushed voices filled the room.

“Quick, get her!”  Someone muttered in a hushed tone.

My body went numb with fear the moment I realized I wasn’t alone. But before I could move, two strong hands had me pinned face down on the mattress.

“No, let me go!” I screamed as he flipped me over on to my back.

I kicked with all my might, but I was no match for him. The masked villain had reached for something in his pocket, which I assumed would be a gun or a knife, so I bucked my hips wildly and tried to push him off. It was then that he hit me with such force it felt as if my head was being ripped off my spine. I could taste blood in my mouth and I groaned in pain. Again, my attacker tugged and pulled me, and then there was a second one who grabbed my feet. The one closest to me smelled like old sweat and whiskey. He stuffed a foul-tasting rag into my mouth before pulling a black bag over my head while his partner tied my feet together. It sounded like cable ties being zipped and tightened far too harshly around my ankles, and then around my wrists. The plastic was literally cutting into my flesh. I tried to fight them but it was impossible, tied up and gagged there was no way I was going to get out of this. My brain was in shambles, I couldn’t form a single thought as panic shot through every part of me.

With my tongue, I forced the cloth out of my mouth and cried, “What do you want with me?”

“Shut up bitch before you wake up the entire fucking campus. One more peep from your sorry little mouth, and I’ll show you exactly what that mouth was meant for,” one attacker ground out.

Terrified, I shut my mouth and tried to stay calm, that’s what a person was supposed to do right? Not to panic, as if that was even possible.

Why me? I kept asking myself as he gathered me up and flung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“I can give you any amount, I swear, name the price…” I tried.

“Shut that fucking bitch up or I’ll gut her myself!” came a disembodied raucous voice of the other attacker sounded.

This can’t be happening, I told myself. It was like movie scene, something I never expected. I decided to stay quiet, but tried to listen for anything familiar, any voices or sounds. Maybe, just maybe, it was a bunch of college kids playing a prank, but there was nothing familiar about these men. The cool air hit my skin as they carried me out, and the next thing I know, I was being dumped ungraciously into a vehicle. The engine revved and the vehicle pulled away, causing me to tumble and crash against the side of the vehicle.

“Get a move on!”

A sob tore through my lungs, but I had this sinking suspicion that my tears would win me no favor. Whoever this was, they were out to either use me for ransom so that my dad can pay some ridiculous sum of money, or they were human traffickers, and I was going to be sold to some pathetic rich foreign bastard, to be his whore.

As we sped off, all hope to be found or saved diminished. It would be at least three hours before anyone discovered I was gone. That is if I was lucky enough for someone to come look for me. By then we could be halfway to the next state. The way my heart was beating felt as if it was going to crush right through my rib cage. I realised I was never going to see the light of day again, and I started to cry hysterically.

“Shut the hell up! Jesus you’re fucking annoying!” one of the hoodlums shouted.

“I don’t want to die!” I cried.

“Well then shut your trap and I might spare your fucking life,” he muttered.

Just then screeching tires, followed by a loud bang sounded. My whole body jerked and I crashed into the seat in front of me. My bones and muscles felt like they were being crushed. My lungs contracted with such force that it felt as if I was suffocating. If I wasn’t bound, my arms and legs would be flailing, but now I was at the mercy of gravity and velocity. As if the cloth over my face wasn’t enough, my world kept flickering from semi-darkness to complete darkness. The only sound that filled my ears was the crushing of metal and glass. Then suddenly, everything stopped and the strong smell of gasoline filled my nose. I frantically tried to move, but to no avail. Out of the blue, two strong hands gripped me under my arms and hoisted me up before tugging the bag off my head.

Oh my god, it was Irish! He worked for my father, it all made sense all of a sudden. He’s trying to play my dad and using me as bait! Frantically I tried to back away from him, hopping with my bound feet until I crashed to the ground.

“Easy Alana, your dad sent me, we don’t have much time,” he said calmly.

“What do you mean we…?”

He snapped the cable ties with a quick flick of his wrist and picked me up, cradling me in his arms, “I would love to explain it to you, but now is not the time,” he interrupted and stalked over to a BMW parked not far from the crash.

Around us the street was deserted, considering the accident I was surprised that no one came out to investigate. Other than the smashed-up SUV, there was no other vehicle involved. From what I could see, they must have swerved out of Irish’s way and hit the barrier on the side of the street.

“Where’s my dad?” I asked instead as he gently put me into the passenger seat.

“Are you hurt anywhere else besides your head?” he asked ignoring my question. But the way he carefully felt down my legs for any broken bones made me feel all warm and fuzzy, despite the circumstances we were facing.

“I-I don’t think so, just my head and my jaw,” I whispered.

“I’ll see to that cut as soon as we are out of harm’s way,” he reassured me and then walked to the wreckage. He pulled a gun out of his jacket. Two shots rang in the air as he pointed it to the injured men, shooting each one at point range in the head. Fear ricocheted through me again and I covered my head with my hands, smothering a scream.

When the driver’s door opened and closed next to me, I looked at Irish, “Who were those men?”

With one hand on the steering wheel, and the other resting casually on the center console as he half leaned to the side, he simply stared straight ahead. The way his brows were drawn together and his lips were set in a tight line, he looked dangerous to say the least. Clearly, he was not going to answer my questions right now.

I pulled the hem of my shirt up and tried to wipe the blood from my face.

“Here,” he said and handed me a handkerchief.

Talk about strange days and weird people, I thought as I patted the cut above my brow and wiped the blood from my face. He just killed two men in cold blood and then he hands me a handkerchief like a real gentleman.