Taken Twice

"It is now or never"

Panicking, l violently opened my dresser drawers and pulled all my contents out then shoved them into my large duffel bag. Through out the whole time my heart was pounding so hard and I thought it might burst. My thoughts were also jumbled with everything that could go wrong if l didn't hurry up..

I had no idea what I was throwing into my duffel bag but I didn't care either. As long as I had some type of clothes and a plan I would be fine. I never expected my life to turn out this way but nobody in their right mind would have. I was stuck in a relationship with a guy who had a heart made of ice and lived in a house that should be condemned according to state laws, but never was.

Everyday was a living nightmare for me and I was done with all of it. I couldn't do this anymore. I only had a small window of time to escape and l was going to take it, even if my life was on the line. I couldn't stay here any longer and I wasn't going to. Prison was better than this place.

Just as I was lost in my own thoughts, I heard the sound l dreaded most as Alex's rumbling truck pipes echoed through the thin walls and the blood in my body ran cold. He wasn't supposed to be home yet. He wasn't even supposed to be in town.

I froze looking at the half full duffel bag in my hands as l tried to think of what i was going to say. How was I going to explain myself. It isn't going to look good when he walks in and sees me with a duffel bag full of clothes in my hands and a startled look on my face. I will never lie to him, he always knew what I was thinking even before l knew what I was thinking. And that always made it impossible to get away from him.

Until now.

The front door flew open and slammed shut with a bang. I jumped instantly, listening to Alex's heavy boot steps coming closer and closer. The pounding of his boots matched the racing of my heart thumping against my chest. "Karen, where the fuck are you?", His voice was filled up with venom and l felt my eyes swim with tears. I quickly blinked them back not wanting to see me this way.

I didn't know what kind of mood he would be in as l never did and waited for him to come into the bedroom where l stood stiff as a board, still debating on what to say. He was going to be beyond angry and l knew he would lose his shit if knew what I was really up to. Then here, he was standing in the doorway.

His demeanor was filled with anger as he glared at me. Alex was the kind of guy that girls looked at and drooled over while he grinned at them. He was beyond sexy in a bad boy kind of way. His dirty blonde hair sat messed up on the top of perfect face with a sculpted jaw and mesmerizing green eyes.

Tattoos lined his hands, courtesy of my work which only made him more good looking. But as l stood and stared at him right mow, l knew who he was underneath, all those handsome features were useless. He was the most ugliest person on the planet.

I was shaking and still stood frozen, unsure of what to do or say. My throat was dry and I wasn't sure if I could speak.

"I was.... cleaning out my drawers", I lied before he could ask me, hoping that he could just drop the questions and tell me why he was home early. "You home early", I added softly lifting my eyebrow at him. His eyes clouded over and he stepped into the room. "That's none of your business", He stared down at the bag and anger fueled in his body.

"What is this Karen?",

"I... I was just cleaning up some old clothes for Reena, she got kicked out last night and doesn't have anything so.... so I was just going to give her some of my old clothes", My heart was pounding hard in my chest that l swore he could hear it. When he looked down, my eyes looked heavenward and prayed to whoever might be listening to get me out of this.

Alex sized me up before he stepped forward and grabbed my duffel bag. He then tossed it on the bed behind me. He stood so close that I could feel his breathing on my neck, sending a .wave of shivers through my entire body. "I paid for those fucking clothes, so you ain't going to give them to that crack -head. She can walk around naked for all l care", He grabbed my chin then forced me to look at him.

"I'm expecting someone to stop by in a little while who owes me some money. I need you to stick around until he gets here, got it?",

I nodded not looking into his eyes even though he was forcing my chin towards him. "Are you leaving again", I asked in a low voice. His grip on my chin tightened up and I flinched.

He stared into my eyes not saying a word for the longest time before he kissed my lips forcibly, making me want to gag. "I have some business to take care of", He finally released my chin and walked into the closet where he pulled a shoebox down from the top shelf and turned his back so that l couldn't see what he was doing.

"The guy will be here soon. Just take the money , kick him out and wait for me to return. Am I clear?", He shoved the box up onto it's shelf and turned to me with a questioning glare.

"I got it. A guy is coming over. Take the money. Kick him out", I said with a forced smile on my face.

"Good girl", He turned on his heel and left the room. Emotions filled my throat the moment, he closed the door behind his back. I was seconds away from sobbing like a little child. I wished I had never met Alex Michaels those five long years ago when my life changed forever.

He had promised me a beautiful future that involved my dream of owning my own tattoo parlor. There were other more empty promises and he charmed me into falling in love with him. I had never claimed to be the smartest person in the world but I was feisty and didn't take shit from anyone. Well until when Alex Michaels walked into the restaurant I worked at five years ago.

I heard his truck start back up and a moment later he was driving away. Knowing that he had left, i grabbed my duffel bag and finished shoving my clothes into it before I zipped it up and tossed it into the bed. I spun and stared into the closet at the shoebox. Alex would kill me if he knew what I was about to do but he couldn't find me, he couldn't hurt me.

And after everything he has done to me, I think he deserved what I was about to take. I slowly made my way to the closet, grabbed the shoebox and opened the lid. I stared down at several wads of cash wrapped up in rubber bands and grabbed a few bundles for myself. I shoved them in my back pockets.

looking at all this cash in the box made me sick to my stomach. He had made me do less than honorable actions recently because we were desperate for money, desperate to keep this decrepit roof over our heads. I did all those horrible things all the while Alex had this cash all along.

Alex Michaels was dead to me.

I considered this back pay for the life he stole from me, for what he's made me do.

After putting the box back on the shelf, I went back to the grab my duffel bag and ran from the room across the living room and out of the back door.

I didn't want the neighbors to see me leaving through the front door. I took the safer route out of the back door. The tall privacy fence blocked the neighbors from seeing into the backyard so I pushed through the garage and slipped into my old trusted Toyota I have had since high school and backed out of the trickery garage.

As I drove down the alley, I watched the garage and fence disappear in my rearview mirror and kicked it down when I turned left on the highway, leaving El Paso, Texas and Alex Michaels in the dust.

With no destination in my mind, I drove East. I knew it that Alex will have a harder time finding me. The only solution I had was driving East until when I feel safe, wherever it will be. But before I actually picked up a destination in my head, I was going to ditch the car then take a bus the rest of the way.

I didn't want Alex to track me using my car or having someone to find me. I may not know everything about running away but the more cognitive l remained, the less likely he was going to find me.

~~~~~~~

BLAIR'S POV.

I was feeling overworked and irritated as hell. The project me and Blake were working on was going to be the death of me. We had one month to complete a full renovation on an old Victorian house in the heart of savannah and we hadn't even received the blue prints or final plans yet.

Without those, we had no idea where to start. My brother, Blake and l lived in Savannah since we arrived in America when we were both seventeen years old. Coming here from Ireland was a huge culture shock to both of us, but we were settling in nicely. After college, we started a home construction company from scratch and we were now the most wanted builders in town.

Both our skills and for lonely housewives to have some eye candy while we worked. We didn't complain since our bills were being paid and we derived from being the best builders to the two most handsome brothers. With nothing left to do for a day and Blake being gone, I shut up the door and headed for the night.

I was stressed to the max and instead of sitting at the bar, drinking my liver into submission, I headed for my favorite spot: Midnight ink.

There was nothing a new tattoo couldn't fix for me. My body was a testament to that as I consistently inked myself whenever I was stressed out, which was a lot lately. And Jackson knew my soul unlike any other person alive and drew up the best pieces, knowing exactly how I was feeling.

But when I stepped into Midnight ink and asked if Jackson had an opening, my mood even went darker when Reena, the shop owner told me Jackson no longer worked here.

"What do you mean Jackson doesn't work here anymore?. Where the hell did he go", I was even more irritated now and thinking the bar sounded pretty damn good right now. If Jackson was really gone, where am I going to go for my ink now?. I only ever let Jackson ink me and if he was gone, there wasn't anybody else I trusted with my work.

Reena sighed, pulling me out of my reverie. "He left a week ago, Blair, I'm sorry. His daughter was having a tough time so he headed North to be with her", she informed me.

"When is he coming back?", I ran my hand over my face and breathed out a steadying breath.

"It doesn't sound like it but I already hired someone to fill his spot who has an opening if you interested in meeting with her and tell her what you want", She spoke with her eyes on the appointment book.

"Does she have a portfolio I can look through, I want to see the kind of work she does"

"She currently doesn't have it right now but just know she is my cousin sister and so good in tattooing"

"Cousin or not am not going to let any chick near my skin without seeing some of her work", I hissed out. My irritation was bubbling to the surface and aimed at Reena. "I don't want to be some chick's doodle book that looks like an art project gone bad".

I heard a snort come from behind and turned to find who had just snorted at me. But when I saw who was standing there, I froze. The woman who had just snorted was the most beautiful brunette I had ever seen. She had legs and hips that I wanted to grip with my hands as I pound into her. Yes that was the first thought to flow in my head.

I also noticed the tattoos lining up each of her arms and disappeared beneath a skin tank top that revealed perfectly sized perky breasts. Her eyes were big, round and a mesmerizing blue that almost looked grey from this far back. I finally noticed that she had a small nose ring and when my eyes landed on her plump lips I felt my dick swell in my pants.

Shit! I needed to pull myself together. She wasn't the first beautiful woman, I had ever seen. Yes it was but she was doing something to me. "My art projects kick-ass, buddy and now that I know how you feel about it - you can find yourself a new artist. Hell you can find a whole studio for all I care", She went on with snorting.

When she stepped up to me and I couldn't think about what to say because the scent of sexy and sweet filled up my nose and my mind cloud over. "Blair meet my cousin Karen. Karen this is Blair Smith. He was Jackson's regular", Reena introduced us and we both stood there staring at each other.

I obviously stared at her with awe while Karen was throwing daggers at me with her eyes.

"I would say its nice to meet you but it's not", Karen spoke and lastly turned away from me then walked behind the counter, disappearing into the back.

Reena laughed when my eyes drifted to her and my eyebrow lifted. "Feisty little thing, isn't she?", Reena asked while laughing. Feisty was one word for her but I could think of other words to describe the woman who had my dick pressed uncomfortably against my jeans while my blood pumped like I had just ran a marathon.

"I should go apologize. Can I go back Reena?", I asked nodding towards the curtain, Karen had just disappeared behind. "It's your funeral, but go ahead", Reena replied with a small laugh and a shake of her head. Before I could answer her, the shop phone began to ring and Reena answered it.

Her voice drifted away as I pushed through the curtain in search of the brunette I just insulted and tried to think how I was going to apologize. I passed several stations where familiar artists worked on their clients. The buzz of the tattoo guns filled the air and the scent of sterilized equipment filled my nose.

Some of the guys looked up at me and nodded their greetings without words as I passed. And then I finally found her. She had taken Jackson's spot in the back and she was leaning over a lit up easel, drawing a piece of work that made my eyes widen. Not only had i insulted her but clearly I had insulted some of the best drawings I had ever seen before; without even knowing it.

Damn my mouth could really get me in trouble sometimes.

I cleared my throat and watched Karen turn towards me. She let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought I told you to get lost, I was being nice for the nice time but I won't be the second time", She spoke while glaring at me. Hearing her made me bite the inside of my cheek so i wouldn't smile.

This girl was unlike any other I had ever met and suddenly I wanted her naked, underneath me and saying more feisty words in her ear. "I came to apologize", I finally spoke with a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "Not accepted", She spun back around and went back to drawing, making me gape.

Here I was trying to be a mature person and apologize for my mouth and she wasn't ready to hear me out. I wasn't the type of guy to openly apologize for being an asshole, since that seemed to be my middle name; and here I was trying to be a nice guy but she was trying to shut me down.

"who is this girl?!. So feisty!

"Listen I am trying to make amends. Can you just hear me out for a second?", I spoke calmly. She spun back again towards me but she wasn't looking amused at all. Shrugging, I just went on with talking. "I have really had a shitty day and took it out on a complete stranger. So for that I'm sorry. I had no right to treat you like shit when I don't even know you. I didn't even give you a chance but it's clear that I should have", I nodded towards the drawing behind her.

"So if you accept my apology. I would like to see what you can do for me. Jackson was my go-to guy and he always knew what I wanted without me having to tell him. So forgive me for being a bit pissy about his departure",

She silently observed me with her eyes, sizing me up and it was actually turning me on. I wished she would say something already though.

"So what do you say?", I asked breaking the silence. She nodded towards the chair and spun back towards the easel.

"It's late in the day, so the best I can do for you right now is a sketch and possibly starting an outline of something",

I didn't hesitate as I took the spot next to her and watched her move the drawing she was currently working on and pull out a flesh paper before looking at me. While seated, I still couldn't get over how beautiful she was and it was making me dizzy.