Ezra sat in his blacked-out car outside the Hallquist house. It was night, so he felt safe that they wouldn't be able to see his car. He made sure to park away from streetlights so he wouldn't be detected. He glared at the large, fancy house. He never really liked the rich but never felt as much disdain for them as Jearon does. It wasn't their fault that they grew up the way they did. They were just some of the unlucky ones. Now, they were comfortable.

He watched as Deacon Hallquist stepped out of his house and hopped into his car. Ezra knew it wasn't extremely late; it was only eleven at night. He knew that Deacon Hallquist always left his house at eleven o'clock and wouldn't return until three. He didn't know where he went, but Ezra knew he had plenty of time. He watched Hallquist drive down the driveway and the road away from the house. He didn't care where he went; he only needed him to be gone for as long as this was going to take. 

Ezra waited a few moments before sliding on a mask, hiding half his face, and stepping out of his car. The cover was going to ensure that his face was hidden from any security cameras around the property. He kept note of his surroundings while walking toward the door. All the lights were off except for one on the second floor. Ezra guessed that that room was where Aubrey was. He took a deep breath. He hated doing this. He took out his lock-picking tools. He got on his knees and played with the lock on the door for a few seconds before hearing it unlock. He slowly opened the door and stepped into the house. He was expecting to set off an alarm, but none came. 

Strange, he thought to himself. He quietly closed the door behind him, causing any light from outside to disappear. 

He couldn't see what the inside looked like and wasn't about to turn on any lights. He needed to get out of here and fast. He walked slowly and blindingly until he found the staircase. He carefully climbed them until he reached the second floor.

Ezra could see a little light streaming through the bottom of a closed door down the hall. He stalked towards it and leaned against the wall beside the door. He took a cloth and dabbed a few drops of chloroform onto the rag. 

Please don't put up that much of a fight, he hoped.

He turned towards the door and slowly pushed it open. The girl sat at her vanity, brushing her long, red hair. She was wearing a lace nightgown that stopped at her knees. He couldn't help his eyes traveling down the rest of her legs. Ezra shook his head from the distraction and walked toward the girl. He accidentally made the floor squeak making the girl jump and turn around. 

Her green eyes widened in fear as she pointed her hairbrush at him. "St-stay away from me!" Her eyes kept snapping over to her bed, and he followed them to see her phone on the nightstand. She wouldn't get to it before he got to her. 

Ezra stopped and held up his hands. He smirked at her underneath his mask. "Now, what's a hairbrush going to do against me?" He kicked the door shut and continued to walk toward her.

She scampered off of her seat and fell back against her bed. She tried to get off and run for the door, but Ezra was quick. He pinned her down on the bed with his body before she could get anywhere close to the door. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them high above her head.

"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" she whimpered. Her body was already tense underneath him. 

Ezra's smirk fell a little. He wasn't going to do what she was thinking. He wasn't a monster, just someone following directions. He leaned down closer to her. "My boss wants money, princess, and your daddy has much of it." She kept eye contact with him. She's braver than she thinks, he thought to himself. 

"You're going to h-hold me for r-ransom?" Her eyes widened even more. She tried to move out of his grasp and kept bringing her knees up. They were getting so close to kneeing him that he forced her legs so he was resting between them. This made her stop moving.

Ezra nodded. "Ever heard of the Strangle Gang?" He waited until she nodded before continuing. "I'm second in command and have the honor of bringing you to my wonderful boss." He then covered her mouth with the rag and waited until the chloroform did its job. She struggled again, but he was stronger than her, keeping her in place. 

Once she was asleep, he moved off of her and the bed. He left the note Jearon had written on the girls' nightstand underneath her phone and scooped the girl into his arms. She was surprisingly light and fit comfortably in his arms. Her head rested on his chest. He carried her down the stairs, out the door, and into the backseat of his car. He was cautious with her nightgown when putting her in the car. He took off the sweatshirt that he was wearing and covered her legs. 

After a couple minutes of driving towards the warehouse, he heard movement in the back. Ezra looked in the rearview mirror to see the girl slowly moving around. She fell, laying down on the seat, the sweatshirt falling, revealing her legs. 

Damn it.

He sped the car up until they were on the road to his house. Finally, he reached his home and quickly got out of the vehicle. His house was hidden deep in the woods outside of Seattle. He and Jearon used to come here as teenagers when he bought it to escape the reality of life for a day. Over the years he had worked hard to fix up the dingy, old cabin to what it was now. The place was made of dark wood and was two stories. The roof was pointed at the top with a green hue to it. Stone stairs led to the black door with large bushes on either side. The windows were blacked out. Ezra carefully carried the girl inside, up the stairs into his bedroom, and laid her on his bed. After making sure that all the doors and windows were locked, he sat down in a chair beside the bed and waited for her to wake up. 

---

"Good morning, princess," Ezra chirpily said as he watched Aubrey wake up. She sat up slowly, holding onto her head, and her eyes widened as she looked around the room. 

"Wh-where am I?" she asked as her eyes landed on him. She started to scoot away from him.

"You're at my place," he explained as he leaned back further in his chair.

She gave him a skeptical look. "Why am I here and not with your gang? I-I thought that's where you were taking me."

Ezra shrugged. "I guessed you would be safer here than there." He got up and walked closer to her. She tried to scoot further away from him but was already on edge. He climbed on the bed and pulled her towards him causing her to squeal. She was already causing him too much temptation. He should have just taken her straight to the warehouse. He still doesn't know what possessed him to bring her here. 

"P-please don't hurt me," she whimpered underneath him. She closed her eyes and turned her head as if preparing herself for whatever was coming. 

His heart hurt at her words. He would never harm a woman. "I'm not going to hurt you," Ezra stared down at her with a pleading expression. "I can promise you that."

Aubrey looked up at him with a confused expression. "Why are you promising me that?"

Ezra sighed. "I'm not a bad guy. I just got caught up with bad people, but that doesn't make me a bad guy. I'm only doing a job."

"You kidnapped me."

"I did that because my boss told me to." He got off her, walked away from the bed, and towards the door. "Speaking of my boss, he'll be here soon." He looked her up and down and smirked as she tried to cover herself up. "I suggest you change into something different. My clothes are in the closet; pick something close to fitting you. Also, don't try to escape. The windows and doors are locked with only a code, I know. It will be impossible for you to get out." With that, he turned and closed the door behind him. 

---

Ezra waited outside his bedroom for Aubrey to come out. The thought that he didn't have women's clothing came to mind. He'll have one of the boys from the warehouse go to a store and get her some clothing. He didn't know how long he would have to keep her here and didn't want to keep sharing his clothes with her. 

A knock on the front door brought him out of his mind and back to reality. He pushed himself off the wall, walked down the staircase, and towards the door. Opening it up, he found Jearon on the other side dressed all in black. He had messaged him last night that he had brought her here when he got settled. 

Ezra smirked as he moved to the side to let him in. "Don't you wear any other color besides black anymore?"

Jearon rolled his eyes at him before looking around the house. "Where's the girl?"

"In my room," Ezra answered, pointing up the stairs. "Sit, boss. I'll bring her." He started to walk back up the stairs when Jearon stopped him. 

"Why didn't you bring her to the warehouse as planned?"

"She was waking up." He shrugged. "I wasn't in the mood for her to put up a fight."

Jearon smirked at him. "What kind of mood were you in, Ezra?"

Ezra huffed as he rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs. He walked up to his bedroom door and almost opened it without thinking. Now that a woman was staying in his room, he needed to knock. He knocked on the door twice before opening the door. He raised his eyebrows as Aubrey walked out of his closet wearing his black joggers – tied tightly around her waist to make them fit – and an oversized hoodie that read 'Seattle' in large letters across her chest. 

Aubrey looked up at him before looking back down at herself. She wrapped her arms around herself and kept her head down. "You told me to pick something out of your closet." She snuck a look up at him, piercing green eyes glaring at him. "I hadn't planned on being kidnapped, or I would have brought a suitcase."

Ezra smiled as he walked toward her. He liked the mouth she had on her. She backed up until her back hit the wall. It bothered him a little that she was afraid of him, but how could he blame her? He did kidnap her and brought her to his home against her will. He stopped when he was right in front of her and trapped her in between his arms. 

"You're right," Ezra smiled down at her. Her head came up to his chin. "I did tell you to find some clothes in my closet." He leaned his head down and whispered in her ear. "I'll give you some advice. I wouldn't use your sharp tongue around my boss. I wouldn't be able to protect you if you made him mad." He leaned back to see the fear in her eyes from his words. 

Ezra pushed himself away from her and lightly grabbed her elbow. She still tensed up from his touch. "Come on. The boss wants to see you."