Chapter 21: Taken

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy

Okay so here's where things get serious! Happy Reading=)

RPOV

"This is definitely a great way to spend an afternoon," I said slipping into the hot tub across from Dimitri. A naked Russian was definitely on my 'to do' list tonight.

"I'm so glad you suggested a weekend away." I really needed it after the chaos of having my American family here for the past week. I had a lot of fun, but it was also very emotional and I nearly had a panic attack when they were leaving. I'd totally freaked out and begged my mother not to leave me. I knew it was unfair and childish for me to act that way in front of Baba and Abi and it made mom feel guilty for having to leave, but I couldn't help the way I'd reacted. Dr. Olenski said it was a very normal reaction after being separated from them so long.

"I thought you'd enjoy it," he said moving so he was sitting next to me. Dimitri was as always my rock of Gibralter and had dutifully pried me out of my mother's arms so they could board their plane and held me that night as I cried myself to sleep.

"You aren't allowed to wear that in public," he growled eyeing my teeny tiny bikini that barely covered the essentials. I grinned at his expected reaction.
"You mean you don't prefer this to my pink one?"

"That one is the one you wear in public. It should be illegal to look that tempting," he said raking his eyes over my scantily clad flesh.

"This feels so good," I moaned as I let the jets massage my back.

"I can think of something that will feel better," he said with a smirk.

"My my is that all you think about? Are you sure you're not a nineteen year old boy?" I teased splashing water at him.

"What can I say, you make me insatiable."

I moaned as his teeth grazed my taut nipple as he tried to take my top off without using his hands. This was definitely going to be a fun weekend.

As much fun as it had been to escape for a weekend getaway with Dimitri, I had to start focusing my attention on school. My classes were tough, but not as impossible as before and I really wanted to make good marks. I wanted Baba to be proud of me. So here I sat Sunday night cramming for a math test tomorrow.

"So what is the infamous Rosemarie Mazur doing in the library at this hour?" Navid's voice startled me and I whipped around to face him.

"Hey, just cramming for a math test. What brings you here?"

"Just tutoring another student, but it looks like I've been stood up," he mused glancing at his watch. Can I help you study?" he inquired.

"Uh, well sure I guess. It's just algebra and stuff. You'd probably be bored."

"Nah, I love Math."

We spent the better part of an hour reviewing for my test.

"So some of us are going to dinner Thursday night, what do you say? Join us?"

"Uh, I don't know. I have a lot of stuff going on," I lied.

"Oh, is your family still here? I thought they left last weekend."

"No, they left," I said annoyed that he seemed to remember every word I ever said to him. Wait, did I even tell him when they were leaving? I shook my head. I must have told him. How else would he know?

"Come on, you're kind of getting a reputation as a recluse. Sasha will be there and I know how you two get on so well," he encouraged.

"I guess it would be fun and I could use a break I suppose." I was running out of excuses. Dimitri would be working late at the Dojo and Adrian had a night class and Avery was nice, but I spend a lot of time with her already. I deserved some normal fun.

"Great, why don't we meet in the west parking lot at seven. You can park your car and I can drive."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then," I said hoping Dimitri wouldn't be upset by my plans.

"No!" Dimitri thundered for the third time. His voice was loud enough to make the walls shake and the dead rise.

"What? Why? They're my friends," I asked in exasperation.

"You are not going," he said firmly. It was Wednesday night and we were at his apartment. I knew I shouldn't have waited this long to tell him about my plans and now I was wishing I wouldn't have brought it up at all.

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do? You don't own me!" I growled storming over to where my overnight bag was and grabbing its handles. My body was nearly shaking with rage. He'd never been so unreasonable before.

"Just for once can you just trust me?" he asked.

"What's so bad about Navid? Besides the fact that you think he's hot for me. Did he do or say something I don't know about?" I asked crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes as I regarded him.

He sighed in frustration running his hands through his hair.

"Not that I know of, but he's shady," he argued.

"You just said you can't give me an example of why I shouldn't go," I shot back.

"His friend is not a nice guy. He's been in trouble with the law on more than one occasion and his father is bad news," he said pointing it out like he'd just made his point.

"So I can't hang out with Navid and Sasha and my other school friends because one of Navid's friends is a troublemaker?" I asked.

"Thank you for finally understanding," he said coming forward as if he were going to hug me. I dropped my bag and ducked under his arms.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. This is so not about that. You're just plain jealous. Admit it! You're still sore about Lissa's comment."

"Roza, as much as I didn't enjoy her comment, I'd like to think I'm more mature than to hold petty jealousy against a teenage boy. Please just put your faith in me Roza. I feel uncomfortable with you going out with them," he pleaded.

"So what, I'm just never supposed to see any of them again? I'm just supposed to sit locked up like a princess in a tower waiting around for you all the time?"

"No, I would just feel better if you would do it on a night that I could be with you," he said.

"Oh so now I need a chaperone? Geez I already have two fathers. Isn't there a limit on that sort of thing? Here's an idea. Why don't you stop trying to be my father or my worried brother and just be my boyfriend who trusts me to make the right decision."

"I do trust you. It's them I don't trust," he muttered under his breath.

"You know you can't physically force me to stay home don't you?" I asked.

"I am not trying to force you to do anything. I am just very worried about your safety. A lot of bad things happen to naïve girls Roza and I know you're smarter than that. Please just listen to me this one time. I promise I will go with you and see for myself next time. If I didn't have three lessons coming in tomorrow night I would gladly go with you."

The pleading tone in his voice and the true worry in his eyes softened me up a little.

"Okay, I won't go, but don't blame me when I go crazy from watching another stupid documentary about how they make farm equipment or something with Avery," I threatened.

"Thank you," he sighed in relief as I finally allowed him to embrace me.

"If you're that worried Comrade, then I trust your judgment," I said as he stroked my hair softly.

"It would just kill me if something were to happen to you," he murmured into my neck as he began kissing it softly.

"Oh no you don't," I said stopping him in his tracks.

"If I'm not getting a nice dinner tomorrow, then you're taking me for one tonight," I grinned dangling the car keys in front of him.

"Now that is something I can agree to," he said laughing as he took the keys from my outstretched hand.

I made him take me to this funky place I'd found that served nearly authentic Mexican food. He wasn't very fond of it, but I sure was. I always laughed at the grimace on his face as he scoured the menu for something he deemed edible.

"You cannot seriously be ordering that," he said wrinkling his nose in disgust as I asked the waiter for an order of fried ice cream.

"Oh yes, this is definitely my favorite part," I said drizzling the chocolate sauce over the top before digging in.

"I will never understand how you eat that and don't become ill," he said shaking his head at me.

"Iron stomach," is said patting it with my free hand.

Dimitri had come to my room Thursday night late with a bouquet of the most beautiful peonies and two steaming mugs of his special hot cocoa. He'd apologized for being so rough on me and said he'd do his best to stop acting overprotective.

It was nearing the end of May and there were only around six weeks of the semester left and once again I was headed to the library on a Sunday night. Dimitri had taken on a Sunday evening class and had dropped me off.

"I'll pick you up around 9," he said kissing me as I hopped out of the car. It was pouring rain and I was glad that for once, one of Lissa's gifts was useful. I sent her a silent thanks as I opened up my huge red and white polka dotted umbrella hurrying in the direction of the library splashing through the puddles as I ran.

DPOV

I sat in the parking lot closest to the library waiting patiently for Rose to come out. I was really proud of her these past few weeks. She had really been cracking the whip pulling late night study sessions at the library and even making good marks on her midterms. I felt just awful about the fight we'd gotten into a few weeks ago about Navid.

I'd been researching like a mad man and still couldn't come up with a connection between him and Sahin. It was probably nothing and Rose was right about me acting like an overprotective father, but something about the guy still seemed unsettling.

I glanced at my watch. It was ten after nine. She was definitely not a punctual person, but I was anxious to see her so I sent her a quick text.

Five more minutes passed and she hadn't responded. It was still pouring rain and I wasn't keen at the idea of getting out of the car to go get her, so I decided to wait another five minutes.

They too passed and she still hadn't emerged. I sighed heavily pulling up the hood on my sweatshirt before exiting the car.

I didn't see her in her usual spot when I entered and figured she must have been distracted by something or someone and went in search of her. After canvassing the entire place three times, I was beginning to worry. We had probably just missed each other and she was most likely standing at the car right now cursing at me for making her stand in the rain. I ran out to the car, but was disappointed and a little unnerved that she wasn't there. I decided to call her.

Her phone rang six times and sent me to voicemail. I hung up and decided to go back inside.

"Excuse me," I said politely trying my best to pronounce my Turkish to the lady behind the desk.

"I am looking for my girlfriend. Have you seen her?" I asked holding up my phone to show her a photo of Rose.

She nodded in recognition. "Yes, I have seen her. Miss Rosemarie comes in and sits over there," she said pointing to the table Rose preferred.

"Did you see her tonight?" I asked.

She nodded. "She was there for about an hour, but then she left abruptly," she said.

"Was she with anyone?" I asked.

She shook her head in negation. "No she was alone."

"Thank you for your time," I said exiting the library. If she had left after only an hour, where had she gone? It was unlike her to leave and not at least text to say where she was going. There weren't too many things open at this hour. I tried her phone again and hung up as soon as her voicemail clicked on.

"Come on Roza, where are you?" I asked.

I walked to the only two places that were open on campus, the coffee shop and the gym and she was at neither. I was about to give up here an call Abe to see if she'd gone home when something on the ground caught my eye. It was her umbrella. I knew it was unmistakably hers because she'd claimed she looked like Minnie Mouse every time she'd used it. It was lying in the grass bent up and broken. I reached down and picked it up and noticed it wasn't the only thing she'd dropped.

My heart stopped beating. Something was definitely not right. The umbrella she might have dropped and left, but she wouldn't have left her phone. I bent down to retrieve it noticing the screen was cracked. I drew in a deep breath as I checked the last message she received.

~Roza, I'm early. Meet me outside. I can't wait another minute to see you. ~ D

I turned and ran back to the car as fast as I could. I had not sent her that message. I was sure of it. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and much to my surprise there it was in my out box.

"I couldn't have sent it," I muttered. It was sent at seven twenty-eight. I was in class. I didn't even have my phone on me. It was sitting on my desk at the Dojo.

I began to panic as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall in place. Someone had lured her out of the library and they weren't working alone. Their accomplice had been at the Dojo. I dialed Abe's familiar number.

"Mazur," his voice came over the line.

"She's been taken," I said my voice shaking as I realized the gravity of the situation.

Uh oh! Do you think Rose has really been taken? If so who has her and why? What will Abe do when he finds out? I will post early if you answer my questions=)