The mate of his nanny

Chapter 109: A Sudden Stop

Moana

As we took the elevator down to the lobby, Kelly's demeanor almost instantly shifted from warm and apologetic to stiff and uncomfortable. I thought that maybe she was just acting like this because she and Ella didn't always get along very well, so I tried not to think too hard about it. Besides, with Ella here, I was certain now that Kelly wouldn't try to pull anything.

She wouldn't start any fights or play any tricks with a child around. It almost felt as though Ella knew that somehow, and that was why she wanted to come so badly. But I knew that was silly; Ella was only eight years old, and too young to understand these sorts of things. In my mind, Ella probably just wanted to come because she overheard that we would be having fun and didn't want to be left out, and after the way that she reacted the last time Edrick and I went out without her, I didn't want to disappoint her again.

Kelly had her car pulled up front. Much to my surprise, there was no driver; she got into the driver's seat herself, which was a bit of a shock to me since she was so wealthy. Either way, I got Ella safely situated in the back seat and then climbed into the passenger seat. Kelly then pulled away from the curb and began to drive.

"So, um... Does anyone want to listen to music?" Kelly asked as she reached forward and began to fiddle with the radio.

"Sure," I replied, just wanting to fill the awkward silence caused by Ella's presence, which clearly made Kelly uncomfortable. Kelly finally settled on a classic rock radio station, and none of us spoke.
As Kelly drove through the city, however, I eventually began to realize that she wasn't headed toward the hospital where my appointment was. I tried to push it off as a detour at first, but I began to get nervous. Meanwhile, Mina started to get even more uneasy, and urged me to start prodding Kelly for answers as to where she was headed.

"Isn't the hospital that way?" I said, pointing.

Kelly nodded and smiled. "Yes. Sorry, I just have to run an errand really quick. It'll only take a moment.:

"Oh," I replied, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. "Okay."

I couldn't help but wonder why she would be running an errand now, right before my appointment. But then again, I figured that she did come to pick me up a little early, so we had time.

And yet, as we drove further and further away from the hospital and into some of the more sketchy neighborhoods of the city, I couldn't deny the growing pit of dread in my stomach as I wondered where Kelly was taking me. Was she really going to try something sinister now, with Ella in the car?

I turned around momentarily to check on Ella, whose eyes were glued to the back of Kelly's head. Even just seeing the fervor in Ella's eyes made me worry even more; I had never seen her look at anyone like that. She was watching Kelly like a hawk, like she knew Kelly would do something wrong at any moment.

"How far is it?" I asked with a light chuckle, not wanting to raise any red flags.

"Oh, not far," Kelly said with a smile. "We're almost there."

I swallowed, sitting back in my seat. My palms began to sweat nervously, and inside of me, Mina was furious. I knew I should have listened to her.
But finally, Kelly pulled over in front of a pharmacy and put the car in park. "See?" she said, smiling warmly at me. "We're here. I'm just gonna run in for a moment, and I'll be right back."

I watched as Kelly got out of the car. It was a bit of a relief to know that she was just going to the pharmacy, but at the same time, I wondered why she would be going to such a run-down pharmacy in a sketchy part of town.

"Moana?" Ella asked a few moments later, pointing. "Who's that?"

I looked up and followed Ella's finger to see who she was pointing at, and when I did, my heart dropped. Three men in black hoods were headed our way, and as they approached, they split off. Two of the men went on either side of the car, while the third man stood in front, watching. The men were large, clearly werewolves, and all of them looked equally scary with face tattoos and sinister expressions. I gulped and tried to lock the doors, hoping that they would just go away, but the locks wouldn't work; and it was already too late.

The masked man by my side of the car suddenly swung the door open with a grimace. Ella began to scream as the man hit me upside the head with his fist, making my head reel. While I was too stunned to react, he grabbed me, unbuckled my seatbelt, and yanked me out of the car with so much force that I could hardly even fight back. He was far stronger than me as a werewolf; I was helpless. But I wasn't worried about myself.
I was only worried about Ella.

"Don't hurt her!" I shrieked, struggling against the man as he pulled me away from the car. "Stay away from her!"

"Calm down," the man growled in my ear. "We're not here for the kid."

Had someone sent them? Was Kelly in on this? They spoke as if they were specifically here for me, as though they had a specific goal in mind. The way that they walked straight up to Kelly's car not even moments before she disappeared made me realize now that I never should have trusted her, and neither should Edrick.

I felt Mina raging inside of me, but she still wasn't strong enough to fight back, and I wouldn't have been able to fight against these three huge, muscular men myself, even with her power.

"Who are you?" I replied, sobbing. I tried to struggle harder against the man, but it was no use. He was too strong. He dragged me, screaming, over to the man who was standing in front of the car. I yelled as loud as I could for Kelly, but she didn't come; and even when I screamed for help, no one came. This was not the part of town where anyone bothered to get involved with situations like this.

I didn't know what they were going to do, but I was terrified. "Look away, Ella!" I yelled at the car while Ella screamed inside, trying and failing to get the door unlocked. Before, the doors wouldn't lock, and now... She was stuck inside. I kept my eyes on her, begging the men to stay away from her as they zip- tied my wrists.

Then... A sack went over my head. I heard the sound of screeching tires, and then felt myself being shoved into the back of a van.

And all I could do was scream for Ella, praying that she would be safe. I could only hope that Kelly would get her home safely, and that Kelly didn't have an equally sinister plan for her.