A Quartet of Desire

Chapter 21: Unexpected Help

*Claire's POV*

As I fought against the muscular man whose arm was wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides with his other hand struggling to keep my mouth shut, there was only one thought that crossed my mind: Ryan was right.

That Friday night before Thanksgiving when he and Sean had dragged Saoirse and me out into the alley from the club, they had both warned us that we were always in danger now that we were known as their future wives. Neither of us had taken them seriously or believed that anyone would think of us as a means to get to them. This attack had come out of nowhere, and it was only now I realized that this was truly the world we lived in. Ryan was right, and I was going to lose my life because I didn't listen to him about being safe.

I heard a heavy Russian accent as the man dragging Saoirse told her to shut up. Hadn't there been trouble with the Russians and the Donnellys in the past? Were we going to be collateral damage for business issues they had with our fiancés?

A new sense of fear pulsated through my veins. I struggled harder to get out of this man's grasp as I watched the other two men haul Saoirse up into the back of their dark van. One man fought against her arms, while the other grabbed onto her legs. I saw the flash of pain in her face as he bumped into her injured ankle and heard her muffled screams increase.

I didn't want this. I didn't want to be dragged off and tortured or raped or killed. I didn't want any of this.

The man carrying me suddenly collapsed to the ground, causing me to stumble and fall but freeing me from his clutches. In the next second the man who was fighting with Saoirse's kicking legs fell forward on top of her. I bolted up from the ground and ran towards the van to try and save her. A new pair of arms wrapped around my waist, stopping me from moving any further.

To my surprise, two additional men in masks surrounded the van. The first man ran to the front of the van. The driver was hauled out from behind the wheel and drugged around to the side where a gun was pressed to his temple. There was no hesitation as the trigger was pulled, though there was hardly any noise that accompanied it. The man's body twisted and fell to the ground, leaving only one kidnapper left.

Silencers. That's what they were called. The weapons had silencers, which was why I hadn't heard the shots that killed the first man who had his arms around me. If these men were using modified weapons, then they must be just as much trouble as these Russians who had started abducting us. The relief of knowing the Russians wouldn't take us was quickly replaced by the fact that a whole new set of dangerous men were now capturing us.

The second man had hopped into the back of the van and released Saoirse, pinning the man on the van floor beneath him. The man's mask was ripped off his face and he was handcuffed before I could fully register what was going on.

"Miss McKnight, please calm down," the man who's arms were holding me back from Saoirse called out. "We're your bodyguards. Please calm down!"

When I saw the man who had shot the Russian driver approach Saoirse, I screamed for her. She fought against him, but he quickly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. I felt myself being lifted up and pulled backwards. I twisted around to find myself being brought to a dark four-door sedan.

The man who held onto me climbed into the backseat first and drug me along. Saoirse was carefully placed into the front seat while the third man stuffed the handcuffed Russian into the trunk and ran around to the driver's seat. After Saoirse was secured, the man slipped in the backseat, sandwiching me against the first man.