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CHAPTER 4

DPOV

Because Tasha and Jesse were distracted for a moment, giddy with happiness now that they'd found the cash, I saw an opportunity to talk to Ivan in private. Quietly, I retreated back into the hallway and went upstairs to find Ivan. I tried a few doors and finally found him in the master bedroom, frantically searching for jewelry. When I walked inside, he looked up, startled. Then he sighed in relief.

"Dimka!"

"Keep your voice down," I told him. "I don't want them to hear us. They found the money, but I don't think they'll be distracted for long."

Once they'd counted every dollar bill, they're attention would go right back to us and their hostages.

"I'm so sorry," he started, looking at me pleadingly. "I didn't know… If I had – I would have never – I wouldn't – I didn't think they'd go this far. I – I tried to stop Tasha when she hit that guy, but I... I was too late." He hung his head, ashamed. "I should've listened to you."

"Yes, you should have," I said sternly, "but it's too late for that now. All we can do now is make sure that these girls come out of this unharmed. But I'm going to need your help doing that."

"There's nothing we can do," Ivan returned. "Tasha destroyed our phones! And she's constantly playing with that knife. And I really think Jesse's on her side. Do you know that he's emptied the kitchen? Like, took every sharp object away and threw it down in the basement with that kid!"

Shit. Now I was never going to find a weapon to defend myself and the girls if need be.

"Of course he's on her side! He's always been on her side!" I snapped. Ivan looked taken aback and I sighed, realizing that getting angry at him wasn't going to get us anywhere. "I'm sorry, but they've got a gun now as well and I'm fearing for the girls' safety. I don't trust Tasha one bit."

"A g-gun?" Ivan spluttered, looking afraid. He cursed and started pacing. He was on the verge of freaking out again. "Maybe we should just make a break for it, now that they're distracted. W-we could run to the police department and-"

"If they know we're gone, they're going to hurt those girls," I cut him off. "I know they will. We can't risk their lives."

After everything I'd witnessed today, I was sure that Tasha wouldn't react well to our betrayal and she'd take her vengeance by inflicting pain on Rose and Lissa. For some reason she thought that Rose meant something to me. Sure, I thought she was beautiful and I might've stared at her longer than I should have, but I didn't know her. I would've liked to get to know her under different circumstances, though. What the hell are you thinking, Dimitri? You have other things to worry about now.

"What about our lives, Dimka?" Ivan said, bringing me back to the here and now.

I scoffed. "Now is not the time to be selfish, Ivan. If you didn't get involved with them in the first place, this never would've happened." Well, it probably would have happened, but without us in the middle of it. "I could've walked away, but I stayed for you! Now I'm asking you to stay and help me get those girls out of here."

Ivan looked torn. "I'm scared, Dimka." He stopped pacing and looked at me. "What's going to happen to us – if we ever get out of here, I mean. We're going to be locked up in prison for this."

"I know you're scared. I am too," I said, trying to remain calm. "But we have to do the right thing. I can't stop you if you want to run, though. I can't stop you either if you're going to join Jesse and Tasha in their madness to save your own skin, but as your friend I'm asking you to keep what we've said here to yourself."

"I'm not joining them," Ivan said, balling his hands into fists, suddenly angry. "A-and I'm no coward! I'm not leaving without my best friend." He took a deep breath and, suddenly, he didn't look afraid anymore. "So if you want to leave with the girls, then I'll help you. No matter what."

I was relieved to hear it. "I'm finally hearing my best friend speak again after a long time."

Ivan looked down at the floor, hands in his pockets. "You were right," he mumbled. "Jesse's a bad influence on me. I realize that now." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "But I swear, I never thought he was capable of doing this. H-he's family. I didn't think he would… I'm sorry."

I sighed. "Honestly, I think Tasha is the main problem here. Her behavior is deeply disturbing." And I guessed we hadn't even seen half of it yet. "I think she planned this all along," I confided. "It was no coincidence we went to that store and met those girls."

Ivan looked confused so I explained him my reasons for thinking Tasha had set us up. I was careful when I told him that I believed Jesse was in on it as well.

"I don't know how she found out, but I think she knew those girls were going to be at that store. It was all a set-up."

"That's crazy," Ivan said, shaking his head. "She is crazy." He started pacing again. "God, I don't know what to think anymore."

Me neither.

"Can you go downstairs and keep them busy for a while?" I asked.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Ivan asked, anxious.

"I'm going to check on the girls," I answered, "and give them a chance to defend themselves in case Tasha gets any ideas. Besides, I have a few questions for Lissa about the house. There's gotta be a way to warn the police."

Ivan nodded. "Okay, I'll keep them distracted."

"Thanks," I muttered.

I went downstairs with Ivan, but we parted in the hallway. Going through the living room and keeping clear from the office, I walked into the kitchen and looked around. It was true what Ivan had told me. Everything that could be used as a weapon had disappeared. The knife block had disappeared. The shards that had been on the floor were gone.

Walking over to the trashcan, I looked inside and found the shards. Well, I guess that was something. Passing through the living room again, I looked around for anything sharp, but there was nothing. Quietly, I slipped back into the hallway and tiptoed my way upstairs. I could hear a lot of chattering and laughing coming from the office so that meant they were still busy counting their cash.

When I opened the door to Lissa's bedroom, Rose's head snapped up and her eyes widened when she saw me. Quietly, I closed the door and walked over to them. I put my finger to my lips and then tore the tape from her mouth.

"Ouch," Rose muttered.

Lissa flinched away when I reached out to her. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," I told her before removing the tape from her mouth as well. "I need your help."

"Are you going to untie us?" Rose asked, scowling at me.

"No, but I brought you this," I said, dropping the shard in Rose's hands. Her skin was warm and I felt a spark when our hands touched. I ignored it. "In case something goes wrong and you need to get loose quickly. I know it's not much."

"Why can't you untie us?" Rose demanded. "We could escape right now!"

"No, every door's locked and Tasha's got the keys," I told her. "And…they found your dad's gun," I added, looking at Lissa now.

"What?" Rose gasped, struggling to turn her head towards Lissa. "Your dad has a gun?"

"I don't know about any guns," Lissa said in a high-pitched voice.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, I didn't know my dad had a gun!" Lissa cried out, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. "I only knew about the money."

"Well, they've found that too," I said cautiously. "They're counting it right now."

"So what's the plan?" Rose asked. "How are you going to get us out of here?"

I sighed. "I don't know yet. I have to get the keys somehow. And preferably the gun."

"Well, figure something out!" Rose hissed.

"Lissa, did your dad install any alarms in the house other than the one in the kitchen and the front door?" I asked.

Lissa didn't respond. I looked at Rose and she shrugged.

"What are you doing? Tell him, Liss!" Rose said, trying to nudge her friend.

"I don't know if we should trust him," Lissa shot back.

"I know it's hard, but we're gonna have to," Rose said, glancing at me. "He's the only chance we have to get out of here." Still, Lissa said nothing. "Please, Lissa! Do it for Andre. We have to get him out of here as well."

That did it. "There's a panic button," she said quietly. "If you press it, the local police department will be directly warned."

"Okay, where is it?" I asked frantically. I didn't think I had much longer.

Lissa laughed, but it was without mirth. "It's on the underside of the desk in his office."

My heart sank. That's where they were right now. If they found it, they'd destroy it. Shit.

"Thanks," I muttered. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to put the tape back over your mouths. If Tasha comes in, you're going to have to hide that shard, Rose. If I fail, you should free yourself and get your friend out of here."

"And how am I going to know if you fail?" Rose snapped. "I'm kind of stuck here."

"Probably when you hear a gunshot," I answered with a shrug.

"One more thing," she said quickly when I started to put the tape back over her mouth. "Why would you risk your own life to save a couple of strangers?"

That was an easy enough question. "Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise," I said, my voice quiet, and then I put the tape back over her mouth.

RPOV

As soon as Dimitri left, I started working on the tape around my wrists. The shard wasn't big, but the edge was sharp enough to get through the duct tape. I felt Lissa move around anxiously. It was difficult, but once I had a good grip on the shard I was able to cut through the tape quickly. As soon as my hands were free, I tore the tape from my mouth and started working on my feet while Lissa grew more and more anxious.

"I'll set you free in a second," I told her.

But when I pulled the tape from her mouth, she whispered, "What are you doing, Rose? Dimitri said-"

"I don't care what he said," I cut her off as I freed her hands. "I'm not going to wait until he saves the day. We'll save ourselves."

"But they have a gun now," Lissa said, her eyes wide in fear. "My dad's gun. I didn't even know he owned one." She wrapped her fingers around my arm. "Please don't do anything stupid. You said to trust Dimitri so…let's trust him." She looked at me pleadingly. "He'll find the panic button and then we'll all be rescued. Please just wait. I don't want you to die."

I hesitated for a brief moment. "Lissa, I have to get you out of here. I'm not going to let them hurt you. I'll be quick, I promise. I know my way around the house better than they do. But if you hear someone come up the stairs, I want you to hide under the bed. No excuses."

"What if they catch you?" she said, her voice breaking. "They'll hurt you!"

"Don't you worry about me, Lissa." I gave her a reassuring smile. "I can take care of myself."

There was a moment of silence and then Lissa said, looking out of the window, "Look, the weather's changing."

I looked out the window as well. The sky had turned a darker grey and it had started to rain. "There might come a storm after all." Not that that was important right now. I started to move away, but she stopped me again, her eyes begging me to stay.

"Why are you willing to trust him now?" I asked. "Just a few moments ago, you didn't even want to tell him about the panic button."

She sighed. "Because you're right. He might be our only chance to get out of here." She paused, rubbing her fingers against her sore wrists. "You might be able to defend yourself, but you can't defend us both. Not when they have a gun. So…we need him. He…he looks strong, don't you think?"

Yeah, he did look strong, but not strong enough to take on three people. Unless he managed to get his friend on his side.

"I hope his friend will help us, but we can't count on that," I said, voicing my thoughts out loud. "I mean…if something does go wrong…he can't fight them all off on his own at the same time. Especially not now that they have a gun." I eyed Lissa carefully. "Do you have any idea why your dad would keep a gun in the house?"

"No," Lissa said miserably. "I had no clue. Maybe it was for protection. Maybe it was for when something like this happens."

"The least he could've done was tell you if it was for situations like this one," I grumbled unhappily. I paused, thinking. "Maybe Andre knew."

"Do you think he's going to be alright?" Lissa sniffled.

I gave her a sad smile. "I really hope so. Now stop trying to distract me," I said decisively. "I'm doing this. Dimitri's going to need all the help he can get."

Lissa nodded, realizing there was no changing my mind. "Be careful."

Rose seems pretty determined! Hopefully she manages to stay out of trouble. I hope you liked this chapter! Have a great weekend! :)