Bad Boy Judah

t h i r t y t w o

My sense of smell comes back to me first. 

The heavy stench of burning tobacco fills my nostrils. My eyes water, as I bat them open. A grunt escapes my mouth, and I move my aching body from its uncomfortable state. Feeling extremely drowsy, I hear some low voices against a continuous humming noise in the background.

I see a familiar evil face. He's dressed like a gentleman in a fancy suit. I watch him sit across from me, as he's being served a glass of sparkling wine... It's the same man that kidnapped me. Rick...

He looks back at me with a smug smile. My dreary eyes dart everywhere, figuring out my surroundings. We're flying in a private jet.

I tug my arms, which are stuck in cuffs behind the armchair. I look out the small round window, staring at the clouds in terror. After hyperventilating, I try to process what's going on.

"Wh-what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" I tug.

Rick only drinks, though he stares at me from above the rim of his glass.

"There are some things in life that you just take..." he says, swirling his wine. "And there are others that you destroy."

I frown, feeling a full-fledged headache coming on. I realize that my ears are half blocked.

"You're wasting your time!" I shout, "Let me go!"

"Judah and I used to be allies, you know. But then he made a big mistake," Rick chuckles, as if recounting good memories. "And you know how the saying goes. An eye for an eye."

I gulp, wondering when this nightmare will end.

"I have nothing to do with your feud," I mumble under my breath, hurting my wrists from pulling the handcuffs too hard.

"I know, I know. You're as innocent as your name suggests," he sings with a sadistic grin. He then straightens himself in his seat and speaks slowly. "But you're the only thing that'll make Judah move."

I grip my hands into fists and grit my teeth together. My hatred for Judah only gets bigger. It becomes hard to breathe with my severe headache.

"You're wrong," I add, closing my eyes. "Judah is done with me. He's left me for... for some other girl."

I tried my best to be convincing, but Rick only nods his head side to side. I think of how I'm supposed to get out of this.

"I'd beg..." he starts, reaching into his inner suit pocket. He pulls out my ultrasound picture. "To differ."

My breath gets caught up in my throat, and I painfully bite my lips. No! This can't happen!

Rick waves the picture around, taunting me with it. I feel helpless more than anything. Anxiety takes over my whole body, and sweat forms over my brow. I break under his gaze, as tears build up in my eyes. Pain strikes my heart. My life is only going to get worse.

"In fact, I think Judah will move..." he smiles wickedly, "Very quickly."

♠♠♠

The plane lands on ground. I'm forced to stay quiet. Rick's men escort me out. They drag me around, following Rick across the porter runway and into the backseat of a black SUV.

The sunset smokes, too. I look around and see hills on the horizon.

I watch Rick put on his sunglasses through his rear-view mirror. He watches me too, and smiles.