Sam's Point-of-View
I am in shock! Only because the place we are staying at isn't an actual hotel. It's a bunch of apartments on a small mountainside.
There aren't any cars allowed up here either. A representative of the place walks us through the streets to our private residence.
He keeps going on and on about Santorini's rich history. I'm not paying him any attention. My mind is racing a thousand miles a minute, waiting for the call. The one we're Ryder tells me he has Mom and Dad, and he's on his way back to me.
"Do you want me to help you with your luggage, madam?" The representative asks LeAnn kindly with a greek accent.
"Nope!" LeAnn says coldly without looking at him.
"Are you sure, Madam?"
"Yep! I'm positive." She sighs.
The representative, named Sergio, reaches to grab one of her metal suitcases.
"It's no problem at-"
LeAnn pulls the case away angrily! "Touch me or my suitcases, and the police will find you as you wash up ashore, in pieces," she says, giving him a deadly look.
I guess I can't fault her. If Sergio accidentally drops one of the cases and sees the contents, the police will be all over us.
Sergio gulps and nods. He moves away from LeAnn and comes over to my side. We continue to walk up the street in silence.
"I thought we were staying at an actual hotel?" I whisper to LeAnn as the guy starts to talk to us about the different places to eat.
"Yeah," she whispers. "We are booked for an actual hotel, but to protect ourselves, we booked this at the last minute. Just in case, you know?"
I nod. It scares me that I know precisely what LeAnn means. In the event someone finds out, they'll barge into an empty room at the hotel. We will be miles away from them.
We walk into our residence, and I'm stunned. The only way to describe it is to call it a beautiful cave, with touches of extravagance. Everything white and gold.
Straight back are the double doors that lead to the pool and a magnificent view of the Aegean sea.
I see all of this just standing near the front door. I haven't even given myself the tour yet.
No wonder Mom loves vacationing here. I start to wish Ryder was here with me. No cares, no worries. Of course, my parents would be safe at home, and Max would be in prison or dead.
I look at LeAnn. She's busy thanking Sergio for giving us such useless information. She doesn't have to say it. It's written all over her face. She looks at me in annoyance as she closes the front door.
I watch her as she goes in and out of every room, inspecting it all and making sure windows and doors are locked.
I peek into one of the rooms and marvel at its beauty! White and gold everywhere. It sort of reminds me of my home and Ryders. Just the bare essentials in every room, but somehow it manages to look beautiful and sophisticated. Not a single vase or picture is hanging on the walls.
The headboard, dresser, and nightstands have golden leaves all over it. I try to grab one off of the tv stand but suddenly feel stupid. It's the design of the room. All the furniture looks like someone through leaves on them, forgetting to clean it up. Dazzling!
It's just as beautiful as the living room. I don't dare share my excitement for the place with LeAnn. We are here hiding out, and it doesn't seem appropriate.
"What time is it?" I ask LeAnn. It has been an hour since we last saw Ryder.
She pulls out her phone, taking a seat on the couch. "3:30 pm."
I nod and walk into one of the bedrooms. I'm a little tired, and I know I will not hear anything from Ryder anytime soon, so I figure I'll lay down for a bit.
I wake up, startled!
"Jeez, I'm so sorry! I'm going to order something to eat. It's late, and we haven't eaten." LeAnn is sitting at the foot of the bed.
"What time is it?" I ask, trying to get my bearings.
"It's nine. You slept for almost six hours."
I immediately jump up. "Have you heard anything from Ryder?!" My heart is racing. Six hours is plenty of time to save my parents, right?!
"No, not yet." She sighs. "Come on! I'm starving."
I sit up and lean against the headboard, disappointment washing over me. Ryder isn't a miracle worker, but what's taking so long?
"Can you order me something? I don't care what it is," I ask LeAnn before she exits the bedroom. "I'm going to take a shower."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, and I need caffeine. Lots of caffeine!"
She nods and walks out of my bedroom.
I head into the bathroom, and I'm not surprised at all. It's stunning! It has a Mediterranean feel to it, and the golden tub sits right in the middle of the room. Everything else is porcelain white.
I decide on a nice, hot bath. Lord knows I need it!
Someone knocks on the door as I run the bath.
"Come in!"
It's LeAnn. "I know you have nothing to wear, so I put some of my clean clothes on your bed. We're about the same size. I think." She smiles and shrugs.
I smile at her. "Thanks, LeAnn."
"No problem! Food will be here in thirty."
"Okay."
I get undress and carefully dip myself into the tub. I cringe a little, not realizing how hot it is.
I don't mind it. With all the stress I've been through these past twenty-four hours, my body feels like it's been through hell and back. As soon as my entire body is submerged, I turn the faucet off and suddenly feel very relaxed. All the knots and kinks I had are starting to become undone.
This is why I love bathing. So calming, so peaceful.
About twenty minutes pass, and the doorbell rings. It brings me back from my peaceful thoughts of Ryder and me. It's time to get out anyway. The water is beginning to get cold.
"Food is here, and it smells amazing!" I hear LeAnn yell as I walk out of the bathroom.
"Okay, give me a second!" I yell as I jump out of the tub and grab the towel. Drying myself, I walk back into the bedroom and look at the bed.
She's left me a pair of red jeans with the same shirt she has on, a white button-up.
I wince, holding the shirt up. LeAnn's chest is tiny. I, on the other hand, am huge in that area. Over blessed is more like it! Try running around with D cups. It's hard!
She's also put a hairbrush, toothbrush, and deodorant on the bed for me. Wow, she really thinks of everything! I have to make sure I remember to thank her. I step back into the bathroom to finish getting dressed.
"About time! Food is getting cold," LeAnn says as I walk out of the bedroom smiling.
I am brushing out my wavy hair and putting it into a ponytail. "A girl has to wash away a wedding and a psycho husband. That's a process!"
LeAnn is sitting at the dining room table. She holds up her wine glass while chewing a piece of pita bread and laughs.
"Better you than me!"
She looks at my shirt and smiles. "For a second, I thought you'd pop out of that shirt. I'm glad it fits you!"
I look down at the button up.
I was nervous too!
The shirt actually fits me. It's a little snug around the chest area, though. Anyone with big boobs can relate.
The food is actually amazing! I've never had Greek food, even though I've been to Greece before. I was always terrified of eating anything that wasn't American.
LeAnn ordered us gyros with a side of fries. I never knew that even existed! She also ordered us tons of wine, sodas, and three different flavors of ice cream. She says I need girl time, and I desperately have to take my mind off of things! Which is true!
"Wait!" LeAnn yells, cracking up. "You dated Ryan Gosling!? 'The Notebook' Ryan Gosling!?"
I lick the chocolate ice cream from my spoon. An hour has gone by, and we are still sitting at the table, stuffing our faces.
It started with LeAnn showing me all the types of weapons in the metal suitcases scattered on the floor near us. Out of nowhere, we start talking about embarrassing moments.
"Yeah, I don't know why that's embarrassing, but I did date him," I say, giggling. "But he is a good guy! Well, at least back then, he was. I don't know about now." I shrug.
"He is such a hunk! Why would you let that go!? The Notebook is my favorite movie of all time!" She turns in her chair and leans towards me. "God, I need to know! Who broke it off?" She asks with a chuckle.
It suddenly hits me why I never told anyone. I look away from her, trying not to laugh.
"No!! He broke up with you!?" She gets up from the chair, shocked.
I nod. "Yep! To go film 'The Notebook.'"
LeAnn has to hold her side. That's how hard she is laughing. Laughing at my pain! I join in the laughter.
I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. I missed the twins, but I'm enjoying LeAnn's company and making a bad situation a little fun.
LeAnn wipes the tears from her eyes. "Was he at least a good kisser? Please tell me he was?! I need to know for my sanity!"
She put her hands together, begging and laughing.
I look around and then give her an empathetic smile. "You ever kiss someone that has way too much saliva in their mouth?"
LeAnn kicks her head back. She laughs wholeheartedly again, grabbing my hand. I laugh also. Not because of what I'm saying, but because of her reaction. She is literally cracking up!
"No, I can't, Sam! You definitely should've started with that story! You win, hands down, embarrassing moment!"
She grabs a napkin and tries to fix her runny, black eyeliner. I stick my tongue out at her.
I am about to take my plate to the sink when someone knocks on the door. We both freeze, looking at each other. LeAnn's smile disappears from her face instantly.
"Are you expecting more food?" I ask nervously, looking at her.
"No," she scowls.
LeAnn grabs a gun from the suitcase and slides it into the back of her pants. She then goes into the other case and grabs a semi-automatic, motioning for me to get up and back away.
"Who is it?!" She yells.
"It's Sergio! From earlier! I came to bring you the bill for the room service!"
I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Put it under the door!" LeAnn shouts. She looks at me with annoyance and slaps her thigh. "Fucking moron!" She says, walking up to me. "I seriously can't stand him! There's something wrong with him! I can't put my finger-"
Suddenly, the front door swings open! A hail of bullets washes the entire room. I duck underneath the table, covering my ears while LeAnn jumps back behind the couch!
I scream as the bullets continue to pour in! The windows and furniture are being ripped to shreds by the barrage of bullets coming from the front door.
I continue to scream but can't move! I'm paralyzed with fear. The bullets won't stop flying in!
It feels like there's no end to this nightmare!
"Sam, crawl towards me! Now!"
I look up and see LeAnn stand, returning fire towards the front door when our intruder stops firing.
I inhale and exhale deeply. I have to move!
Slowly crawling towards her, I cover my head. The suitcase with her knives is near me. I grab it and finish crawling to her. The only things I can see in front of me is smoke and feathers from the now totaled sofas.
More gunfire erupts above our heads!
LeAnn ducks and pulls the gun out from underneath an end table.
"Take this! Remember how I showed you to use it!" I nod at her, taking a deep breath, and grab it, covering my head.
We suddenly hear the laughter of a man after the gunfire ceases. LeAnn and I freeze. She puts her finger to her mouth, signaling for me not to make noise.
I nod.
She starts to grab the knives from the case.
"I hear there is a slumber party here! Mind if I join?" The voice of a man comes from the front door. He sounds British.
I look at LeAnn. She turns and slowly gets up, tucking the knives into her pants.
"And who might you be? This is actually a private party. Sorry! No creepy men allowed," she says, giving the person a look of confusion.
"Come over here, beautiful! I'll give you a proper introduction," I hear the man say with a sinister chuckle.
LeAnn hesitates but then smiles at him. "I don't like to kiss on the first date."
"How about we cut the introduction? Samantha's husband sends his thanks, but he wants his wife now! It seems like her parents don't have enough time!"
"I also caught a little fish that was wandering around the warehouse. First name Ryder. Might belong to Sam, who I am assuming is hiding behind the sofa?"
I am shaking until I hear him say Ryder's name. Is he okay?! No wonder we haven't heard from him! Has something happened? I stand up quickly!
The man and LeAnn both look at me, surprised.
He's a tall, bald, and dark-skinned man. He's dressed in all black leather and is wearing black gloves. The thing about him that stands out is the huge gash on his chin. It looks like a perfect circle.
Odd.
With the smile he's wearing, I know what he's about to do.
My eyes widen in fear! The man is going to kill LeAnn and drag me back to Max! Something we can't let happen!
"If you think you're going to walk out that door with her, you're sadly mistaken, Chocolate Thunder," LeAnn says, raking her hair and stepping out from behind the couch.
The man laughs.
He pinches his chin, and his eyes widen. "Is that right? You talk tough for such a small girl. Why don't you come here and show me what you're made of."
LeAnn looks at me. I motion for her not to do it. She looks at the gun in my hand and then back at me.
LeAnn scowls as she slowly makes her way to the man. I crouch down, low enough to see what's going to happen next.
This is going to end badly! I just know it.
When I have the opportunity, I will shoot him to give her leverage. When she looked at the gun in my hand, I knew it's what she meant. I know he isn't going to kill me. Max wants me alive! I'm just afraid for LeAnn.
If I had blinked, I would not have been able to see it!
LeAnn runs towards the man and throws a knife at his head, missing it by centimeters. She gets on her knees and slides by him. He goes to grab her but misses her by inches.
A move that actually takes him by surprise!
The man turns and casually walks towards LeAnn. When he is close enough, she jumps into the air and plants both of her feet on his chest. He doesn't move an inch.
She falls to the floor and does a kick-to-stand, smiling, when she stands.
"Why are you smiling, Barbie? Your knife missed its target, and your kick did absolutely nothing, " he says menacingly.
She takes out another knife from her pocket and stares at it. "Seems like you're bleeding from your ear. So no, I didn't miss."
My mouth drops! LeAnn's right! The lobe on his right ear is hanging by a thin piece of skin.
The man reaches for his ear, touches it, stills, and becomes enraged, ripping the hanging piece off!
"You're going to pay for that, Barbie," he growls.
She smirks at him, fueling his anger. "It's LeAnn! Come and get me." She uses her hands to motion him forward.
He goes to punch her, and she blocks it with both arms. She then uses her knife and stabs him in his shoulder. He doesn't even yell or wince.
The man just removes the knife and throws it to the floor.
She backs up and looks at me, a worrying expression on our faces. We both know we're in trouble! The fact that he doesn't feel any pain is startling.
I have to shoot him!
He's focusing hard on LeAnn right now. He isn't paying me any attention.
They continue to fight. She kicks and punches him, and he's blocking it. He will kick and punch her, and she'll struggle to block it.
After a few minutes, it gets to a point where she just starts throwing things at him. I can tell she's getting tired. I have to do something!
He manages to get close enough to punch her in the face. The impact is so hard she spins in mid-air horizontally, hitting the floor hard.
"LeAnn!" I yell.
She's in so much pain! I want to have to help her!
I am slowly making my way towards them, with the gun drawn. LeAnn makes the mistake of turning around to kick him. The man grabs her, lifting her over his head, throwing her across the room.
She crashes through the back doors, made of glass, landing hard on the cement and rolling toward the pool. She covers her head with her hands. I need to help her! I don't know how long she can hold out!
I breathe and continue to aim the gun at him. LeAnn struggles to get up. There's a big piece of glass protruding from her arm. The man begins walking towards her—a smile on his face.
It's now or never! I have to do this now!
I pull the trigger with my eyes shut and hear the BANG! I open them back up and see I've hit him in the back of the arm. He looks down at his wound and turns to me.
His smile is gone. Instead, he shows no emotion. "Wait till I get my hands on your pretty little neck."
LeAnn takes the opportunity! Quickly and quietly, she jumps onto a deck table and launches herself into the air. With the knife she grabs from behind her, she aims it at his head.
My heart sinks when he catches her by the throat, never taking his eyes off me. He brings her quickly in front of him, her legs hanging in the air as she struggles.
With LeAnn's blade still in her hand, he stabs her in the stomach.
"No!" I yell.
I can't move as my heart sinks. He turns around and I see her face. Her eyes are wide with shock and pain! He kisses her on the lips and laughs. She looks over at me and mouths to run.
The last thing I see is her body go limp, before the man walks to the pool, and throws her lifeless body in.