Riley Poole x reader ~A National Treasure Fanfiction~

Chapter 9

You and Riley had been sitting in the car for hours without any change. Ian had been speaking on the phone for at least 30 minutes now, but you'd probably lost any sense of time. Ian abruptly turned to face you with a smirk on his face. "Your friend Ben's been captured by the FBI." After dropping that information, Ian turned back around and continued conversing with his phone. Shocked, Riley leaned forward slightly, wearing a worried expression. After what felt like ages, Ian finally hung up. Riley immediately rushed forward with a torrent of words. "Spill. What's going on with Ben? How'd he get captured? You're going to save him, right? Cause you need his brain or whatever to find the treasure. Right?" Ian gave Riley an irritated look, then slowly answered, "Ben's been captured by the FBI, like I said. The idiot was still using the same car. And unfortunately," From Ian's expression anyone would have though he had just eaten a rotten fish, "We do need to save him." Riley relaxed, just a little. Ian parked the car, and climbed out along with Kevin. Six other men emerged from other cars and made their way over to him. "Get out." Kevin snarled at you, his ever-present gun in his hand. Ian handed him a thick rope. "You're going to tie us up." Riley didn't say it much like a question, more like a defeated statement. "Both of you, hands behind your back." Another, deeper-voiced man growled. Riley scowled. "Uh, I can't. Not while I'm holding (Y/n). And she can't stand by herself." Unimpressed, the man shot back, "Then I'll have to make sure she doesn't fall over. Hand her over to be." Riley opened his mouth to (loudly) protest, but you stopped him with a look and a faked smile. "I'll be alright, Riley." Riley hesitated, but then handed you over to the man. "Be careful. You'd better not hurt her, or I'll-" The man chuckled as Riley's hands were tied behind his back. "You'll what?" You felt your hands grabbed from behind and tied at the wrists by a prickly rope. They tied Riley's legs and roughly threw him into the backseat of the car. "Don't tie her legs!" You could hear Riley's muffled shout from inside the car. "She's been shot, remember? She can't use them to walk even if she tried." Ian's men shot Ian a questioning glance, who returned it with an eyeroll and a 'Just do it', shrug. A rope was tied tightly around your ankles. You let out a hiss of pain, trying to keep the drama to a minimum to not upset Riley. They chuckled you back inside the car, causing you to hit the side with a thud that knocked all the breath out of you. Thankfully, you hadn't landed on your leg. They slammed the door and locked the car behind you. Ian peered through the window, sent the two of you a glare, and then growled,"if anything happens, Ben will suffer." He and his men stormed off. After much effort, Riley positioned himself to face you. "How are you doing?" You forced a small smile. "Not great." "Listen, I'm sorry-" You interrupted. "What are you sorry for?" Riley struggled for words, and then simply said, "For kidnapping you. I should've just driven away instead of stopping you from telling that policewoman." You let out a laugh. "I could've told them what Ben looked like and what your car looked like. They would've found you in no time. Besides, then you and Ben would be in jail right now, and I never would've met you." A grin formed on Riley's face. "That wouldn't be good." He became serious again. "But don't you miss your family? Don't you wish you were living your life with them instead of chasing down a crazy treasure?" You shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "Wishing won't help anything." "But you do miss them." Riley softly filled in for you. You nodded. "Like crazy." You paused. "Do you ever miss your family when you're searching for treasure?" Riley visibly flinched. "I was an orphan. The closest thing I've ever had to family is Ben." You mentally kicked yourself. "Sorry. I didn't know." Riley stared at the floor of the car. "It's okay. My dad died when I was seven, and it was just my mom and I for a while. My mom worked two jobs, and when I turned 13 I had to work anywhere I could find a job to support both of us. She died on my 15th birthday." Riley's eyes looked red, and you could see tears starting to form. You wished you could walk over and hug him, but while you were tied up in a cramped car, that was impossible. So you just said, "That must've been hard. I'm sorry." And gave him a comforting half smile. Riley took in a deep breath. "I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me." You looked into Riley's blue-ish grey eyes and whispered, "I'll always worry about you, Riley." He gave you a smile. "Me too." A pause. "I mean, I'll always worry about you, not about me worrying about me... Wait, hang on...?" You laughed together, for a long time. Even though you were in a cramped, stuffy car, possibly about to die, you could think of no better place to be.