My Champagne Problems

10: Ruinart

'Actions have consequences'

The tension settles as a thick cloud over the silent environment of the car as we drive down the freeway.

"We will split into different vehicles and then proceed to the safe house," Enrique instructs, his eyes fixed on the road as he gradually increases his speed, but not enough to concern me.

"Are they there yet?" Kayden questions while furiously typing on his phone, like he has been since we left the house.

"They're twenty minutes out," Wesley replies.

'What the heck is going on?'

"What's going on," I ask Kayden in a whisper, who glances up from his phone from his position beside me.

"Nothing," he replies nonchalantly.

"Do I look stupid to you?" I deadpan.

"There has been some...problem but we're sorting it out," he shrugs going back to typing on his phone.

"Great," I mumble under my breath and slump back in my seat and watch as our ride prolongs for another thirty minutes of suspiciously calm driving.

"Black sedan, your four o'clock," Wesley remarks calmly, gaining Enrique's and Kayden's attention at once.

I turn to see what he's referring to. "Don't look that way!" I'm reprimanded immediately by Kayden who now has a firm grip on my arm--not enough to hurt, but still enough to caution me against defiance.

Thrown back into my seat on impact as Enrique steps on the gas without warning and skillfully sways between cars beside us, making his way to the upcoming signal with no indication of slowing down impending the yellow light.

Throwing caution into the wind, from my peripheral vision, I take notice of a car that stands out from the rest as it mirrors Enrique's irrational driving and sways itself between others trying to stay hot on our heels.

The cusses from angered drivers don't seem to bother either man in the car with me, but I inevitably sink a little in my seat to avoid their gaze.

But all my emotions go out the window when I realize that at an alarming speed with no indications of slowing down we are now inching dangerously close to the signal crossing that is still a cautionary shade of yellow.

"The signal is yellow," I point out hopelessly in fear of my life. But my words fall on deaf ears and we continue en-route.

The deafening sound of horns blaring and tiers screeching has my ears numbed in pain as Enrique runs the signal that is now red and directs the car between two others coming from the side making a narrow escape and avoiding a collision and possibly our deaths.

"You're crazy! All of you!" I yell in utter terror. The smell of burnt rubber evident in the air.

"We lost him," Wesley replies ignoring my outburst.

"My apologies for my rash driving, Olivia," Enrique addresses in a calm tone like he didn't just almost get us all killed.

My eyes snap to observe the other two only to find their calm composed exterior greeting me. Just as I detect a hint of amusement glimmering in Kayden's eyes.

"You think this is funny," I snap at him without thinking.

"Very," he nods no longer trying to mask his amusement.

"Asshole," I mumble under my breath, crossing my arms across my chest and slumping down in my seat. But that doesn't stop me from taking notice of the reaction my words articulated--a reaction of complete hostility and disapproval.

The car falls back into a state of muted tension, my fingers finding themselves fidgeting on their own accord, my heart still pumping at an accelerated rate.

"Here." A bottle of water appears in my line of vision. I trace the hand holding it out towards me only to land on Kayden, his face not even turned in my direction--his attention captured by his phone.

"Thanks," I mumble taking the bottle and lightly sipping on it.

Another few minutes of calm driving is soon followed by a bumpy drive down some terrible terrene. I hold on to the edge of my seat and the door handle prying that it does just fly open on impact.

I hate this, every microsecond of it. But from their unspoken words and our encounter before at the signal, I can gather enough to know that this is serious.

'What has mum gotten us into'

The road finally starts to even out as we drive further into a densely vegetated area, with slim tall trees encompassing the surrounding in a way sheltering it from the rest of the world.

A few minutes pass by and an opulent mansion comes into view. The structure of the building itself is very strategic with the minimum visible points of entry and possibly several points of exit.

The structure stands amidst a huge compound with trees guarding its entire radius, with a single distinct car parked in the driveway.

"This is our getaway home, and also our safe house when need be," Wesley explains to me as we exit the car.

"Oh God, thank heavens you all are safe!" Mum's voice thick with relief greets me before I can even put my foot past the threshold of the house.

"Honey, you okay?" She asks me while engulfing me in a hug with no evident intentions of letting go.

And as much as I love my mother and respect her concern, I hate human contact, and even though I try to suppress my urge to break free from the hug I can't for long.

"Sorry I forgot," she chuckles lightly even though I can see the hurt in her eyes.

"It's fine, I'm fine," I tell her and she nods with a smile.

But the flash of hurt in her eyes nudges me in the back of my head, forcing me to give in and I tentatively wrap my arms around her and hug her as compensation for pulling away earlier.

She's caught off guard and inevitable surprise by my reaction causes her to take a minute to respond to my gesture.

"But just so you know, you're marrying into crazy," I whisper to her just before pulling away, causing her brows to shoot up almost immediately.

"Excuse me?" She replies trying to suppress her laughter, but the amusement in her eyes gives her away.

Her eyes move to someone behind me in question, I turn to find Wesley shrugging in response to her gaze. "We were being tailed," he justifies, and I had guessed as much.

"Thank you for getting her to me unharmed," she nods in gratitude towards him.

"Unharmed?" I scoff. "They almost got your only child killed!" I exclaim, throwing my hand up in disbelief.

"Well they also did get my said child to talk to me more than she has this entire month and not to mention hugging me, this is a Christmas medical!" Mum points out.

"Mum we are in July," I reply dryly.

"Fine, it's a Christmas medical in July," she rolls her eyes at me. "Happy?" She adds and I just shake my head in disbelief. While Kayden and Wesley laugh in the background, Enrique and Ryan--who's presence I just noticed--share an amused look.

"Why are we here?" I ask and immediately the atmosphere in the room changes from light-hearted to a one thick with tension.

"Someone broke into our home."

Author's Note:

So I'm finally done with my finals and to celebrate here's a chapter!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for all the love and support you guys have shown to this book, I really appreciate it.

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~Kia