Elara had no idea how many minutes had ticked by since they had brutally shoved her into the back of the car. The interior of the vehicle was completely dark, save for the faint, ambient dashboard light filtering through the shadows, just enough for her to see what her captors were doing. One of the men grabbed her wrists, binding them tightly together.
She let out a quiet, trembling breath of relief when the man finished tying the ropes without paying any mind to the rose-gold bracelet on her wrist. They hadn't even bothered to blindfold her, acting with an arrogant confidence that suggested even if she memorized every twist and turn of the road, there was absolutely no way she could escape them.
And they were right. How could she possibly break free? Looking at the sheer size and physical build of the men surrounding her, she knew she stood zero chance in a physical fight.
Her mind raced as she stared down at her bound hands. She desperately needed to activate the tracker, but she couldn't find a single moment to press the hidden button under the rose. She found herself silently cursing Lucas's design. Why on earth did he have to put the button underneath the ornament? Why couldn't he just put it somewhere on top where it wouldn't look super obvious, but would at least be easy to touch?
She couldn't make a single suspicious movement. If these men discovered the tracker, they would rip it off her wrist, and she would lose her absolute last shred of hope.
The two men flanking her on either side shifted, their eyes cutting to her every few seconds. Trapped right between them, she couldn't even wiggle her fingers to reach the underside of the clasp without drawing immediate attention. They would see her.
Then, a sudden realization popped into her mind, and she mentally chided herself.
How could I be so stupid?
She didn't need to use her fingers to press the button at all. If she twisted her wrist slightly, she could push the entire bracelet hard against a solid surface upside down. If the flower ornament on top were pressed flat against something, the button beneath it would be forced to click.
Holding her breath, she waited, her senses hyper-attuned to the quiet hum of the moving car.
Suddenly, a mobile phone shattered the silence, ringing loudly from the pocket of the man sitting to her right. The sudden noise immediately drew the attention of the captor to her left, who turned his head to look at his partner.
It was the exact window of opportunity she needed.
Acting on pure instinct, Elara shifted her bound wrists and pressed the rose-gold ornament hard against her thigh. She curled inward, trembling violently and bowing her head as if she were simply paralyzed by fear, completely masking the fact that she was putting her entire weight into pressing her wrist against her leg.
She closed her eyes, praying desperately that the mechanism wouldn't make a loud, audible sound when activated.
Click.
She felt the distinct, tactile give of the button being successfully pressed beneath the rose. There was no sound at all.
Elara immediately tucked her chin into her chest, burying her face to hide the sudden rush of overwhelming relief in her eyes. It was done. The distress signal was live.
Her relief, however, was violently cut short as the man beside her began speaking into his phone, his rough voice echoing in the cramped space.
"Yes, Boss. Target is acquired and safe," the man reported coldly. "We will be arriving at the private estate shortly. The chopper is already prepped and ready. We can successfully transfer her to the main central house within the day."
Elara could hear the faint, muffled sound of a man's voice responding on the other end of the line.
A cold wave of panic crashed over her heart all over again, making it beat in a frantic, erratic rhythm. If Lucas was even a second too late in rescuing her, if they managed to get her onto that helicopter, it would be nearly impossible for him to retrieve her. Once she was dragged back inside her clan's territory, Lucas wouldn't be able to breach their borders. Her father would lock her away under an army of security, and she would never be able to escape again.