Betrayed

Vanessa fought against her ties. The rope was tightly bound around her hands and feet, and was cutting into her skin. She grimaced by the pain, but she had other things to worry about. Jake was leaning against the fireplace mantel, watching her struggle with dark amused eyes.

"There's no use," he said, the corner of his mouth lifting into a mocking smile. It sent a shiver down her spine. "There's no escaping now... besides, of course, you agreeing to tell us where he is."

Vanessa glared at him threateningly. "Never!" she growled. "You will never find him! I'd rather die than tell you!"

Jake's grin grew. "That can be arranged," he crooned. Icy fear washed over her as she stared into his brown eyes. His words had been so matter-of-factly and simple that it seemed to slice through all the hopes she had of surviving. He was telling the outmost truth, and that terrified her. "We can always ask you brother."

"No!" she practically shouted. Angry tears swam in her eyes. "Michael has nothing to do with this!"

Jake laughed scornfully. "We'll see about that."

Suddenly a knock came from the door. Her eyes widened in fear. 'This was it,' she thought, tears streaming down her ashen cheeks. 'There's no way out. I'm going to die... I'm going to die...'

The chair she was tied in was faced away from the kitchen, where the front door was, so she had no possible way of seeing the person unless he came and stood next to her. The wait was agonizing. She was finally going to find out who her enemy was at last. All this time Jake had been stalking her, keeping an eye on her for him. Jake had betrayed their relationship for this man... if he had ever though of it as a relationship at all.

She couldn't believe she had gotten herself into this. Her brother Mike... her dear, dear brother Mike, had warned her to stay away from him -- that he was dangerous. Was he ever right. She had told him that she could be friends with whoever she liked. Turns out Jake had only been so nice to her for the past month because he was trying to obtain information about her cousin Blake, who was in the witness protection program. He had betrayed a large mafia group that was trying to get there hands on a lot of gold, one of them being a golden egg that apparently was worth millions of dollars. Blake worked as a spy, along with his good friend Trevor, and had corrupted the group, but since it was so large, not everyone was caught. It got a new leader, and that very man was entering my cabin.

"Finally." She heard Jake's voice from where he was in the kitchen. "Do you know how hard it was to bind her? It would have been nice if I had had some help."

The other man didn't say anything but strolled through the kitchen to the den, still behind her. He sounded close. Vanessa stifled back a cry.

The leader spoke quietly to Jake for a moment, his words almost too faint to hear. Vanessa caught a few words though, and they were "Finish it".

All her life, she had never been so scared. Her very existence rested on this moment, and this moment alone. She was either going to die or betray her cousin who she loved with all her heart and have him murdered. Never again would she see Blake's smiling face, or Mike's, or her mother and father. Never again would she play with her dog or spend time with her friends, Anne or Robyn or Trevor.

Trevor.

The boy she loved with all her heart since she was twelve. Her high school sweetheart and loving boyfriend. He would die too, if she gave Blake away. They were working together when they were in the mafia, and had brought it down together. They would surely want revenge on him too.

Vanessa's vison blurred again as a new wave of tears spilled. She didn't want her life to end. She loved the world and didn't want to leave. But she would have too. She could not betray them.

It took a moment for her vision to sharpen again and for the world around her to return. Her tears subsided and as she blinked the rest away she realized that the man was standing right in front of her.

And it was Trevor.