4.

 Author's POV:

"What do you want me to buy today? I'm going out for a bit, so I'll get a takeout in return." She turned to the owner of the voice.

She has been sitting there for quite a time now. She was forcing herself to think of something, but nothing came up, her mind had blocked every possible mechanism that could create any possible thoughts. She sat there with her mind completely blank with no thoughts and just overwhelming emotions devouring her.

"Buy anything. I don't have an appetite right now anyway." Tiger replied monotonously, his gaze fixated on his phone with his brows furrowed lightly in focus.

"Okay...." Warren trailed off, his eyes finding her ultimately. She couldn't guess what he was thinking now, his face was hard to read. She shifted awkwardly in her place, looking away instantly when she realized I was staring at him more than needed.

I badly need a scarf to cover my hair. She thought in her head.

He walked to the edge of the bed where Tiger was sitting, scrolling down on his cell phone.

"Should I buy something for her too?" He tried to keep his voice as low as he could, but the room's quietness made it audible to her, nonetheless.

"No."

Monster.

"Dude, she might be starving. I don't think she has eaten anything since morning." Warren's voice was now a little loud, one could say that he was annoyed.

"And why do you care?" Tiger finally spared him a glance, his brows furrowed in a scowl. His eyes held a glint of displeasure.

"I don't... I just-" He tried to justify himself but got cancelled by his friend.

"She's a hostage, not a guest. Remember that." He raised his one eyebrow smoothly; his index finger was pointed towards her.

She sighed hopelessly, there's no way he has any sort of concern with the people around him. She didn't expect any better, she knew how ruthless he could be, they all are.

"Go." Warren sucked on his lower lip, watching her from the corner of his eyes. And again, she was wondering what his expression meant this time.

Was it a concern? Was it a pity? Who was she kidding? Do guys like him even feel? If they did, they wouldn't be involved in such atrocious acts of violence and crime.

He puffed out a cold breath, giving one last glance to Tiger before turning on his feet and leaving the room.

Her stomach growled weakly. She hasn't had any food, not since morning, but since yesterday. She again tried to observe around, the window, the table, the laptop, the bed, and him sitting on the bed.

Without realizing it, she was lost staring at him. Her eyes scrutinized every detail that they could assimilate, the way his eyes were zeroed in on his phone as he scrolled up now and then, the way a part of his face was shining with the brightness of the device, his silky locks falling beautifully on his forehead, his one leg above the other, his thick eyebrows, his sharp jawline, his veiny hands...

"I know I'm attractive, but you don't need to stare at me like that."

She blinked twice, eyes widening twice their size. He turned off his cell, gazing down at her from where he sat.

She gulped hard; her heart almost skipped a beat at the intensity of his orbs.

His eyes were searching for her so attentively as if nothing else around mattered at the moment. His gaze held something unknown yet powerful, something so intimidating and demanding that it could make anyone bow down to him and surrender instantly.

She wanted to look away, his gawking orbs burned her skin, but she kept on continuing eye contact with him. There was something that held her captive under his deep, intimidating stare.

"I wasn't staring at you." She muttered lowly, finally tearing her attention away from him, looking down at her lap and playing with the fabric she wore.

"Yeah, sure." He smirked sarcastically, annoying her even more.

A beat of silence passed by them, both spoke nothing and just the buzzing sound of crickets out in the grass could be heard.

She was afraid to raise her head and get trapped by his eyes again. However, she could feel his gaze on her still, and that was the exact reason why she was avoiding any movement at that instance. But the curiosity to know if he was still looking or he had gone back to his phone was bothering her.

She finally mustered up the courage and peeked through her big eyelashes. Her eyes first landed on his legs, then slowly on his torso and finally, his face.

His veiny smooth neck, his sharp collarbone, then her eyes took in his perfectly sharp jawline, his naturally pink lips, his nose and then finally his eyes. Eyes; which were glued to her frame on the floor.

"Now who's staring?" she asked accusingly, sassing her question but her eyebrows were furrowed in a frown.

"Who?" He asked with fake confusion.

"You!" Her frown deepened if that was even possible. She never liked being scanned like that by men, let their intentions be anything.

"Am I?" He raised one of his eyebrows, sounding rather unfazed than embarrassed.

Gosh, he's so annoying!

She opened her mouth to say something but nothing strong came out. Not like she had any energy to think, let alone argue with him about who was staring at whom.

She watched as a corner of his lips lifted in a small smirk coolly, knowing that she couldn't retort back at him, and he won.

What is he? A kid?

"Idiot." she muttered under her breath.

"I'm a lot smarter than you, squirrel."

She blinked at him perplexed. How was he able to hear what she said? She barely made any sound.

"I know lip reading." He answered her unasked question, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Why do you keep on gawking at me? Don't you have any other thing to do?" She didn't like the idea of him constantly staring at her and not taking his eyes off even once.

"Why? Do I perhaps make you uncomfortable, squirrel? " She stared at him perplexed for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath, trying her level best to not say something too rash that he would take that gun out of his belt and shoot her directly in the head.

"I'm just doing my work." He shrugged afterwards, unlocking his phone again.

"What work?"

"Keeping an eye on you." He said flatly.

She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed with the fact that his only job was to watch her all the time. That was just so uncomfortable for her given that she never likes any male presence around her, let alone have two guys sticking their eyes on her 24/7.

She doesn't remember when they got her hijab out of her head, she only remembers when she got off the bus and they took her just the moment after. She squinted her eyes, reliving and revising everything from yesterday but in return, she only got a very unwelcoming headache.

She sighed, leaning her head against the pole and playing with her tied hand and the handcuffs on it to keep herself loose for some time.

Although she wanted to ask for any piece of cloth to cover her head, she was too afraid to do so. She didn't know to what extent the man sitting in front of her was a monster, she knew for a fact that he was indeed one, all of them are, but imagining what he alone was capable of was truly terrifying.

He had a strong build, wide shoulders, piercing eyes that could kill and perfectly toned muscles which were so evident and flexed through his clothes every time he would make a movement.

There was a question settled deep in her breath, curtained behind her erratic breaths and disquietude. The words were suddenly coggled up in her throat, threatening to come out, which she knew she shouldn't ask out loud.

She fidgeted with her fingers, looking at his relaxed sitting figure, on her lap and then at him again. This went on for a couple more minutes before he got up, tossing his cell to the center of the bed and taking his foot to the doorway.

The door closed with a creaking noise like those of horror- paranormal movies. She sighed again, hopelessly, her heart feeling heavy and chest tightening so painfully as if her body was being tethered and her skin was on fire.

She gulped in, only to realise that her throat was dreadfully dry and the muscles around her neck were clenching way more than they should; terribly.

The question once more surfaced in her mind, causing her heart to sink lower and lower. She wet her dry lips, trying not to think about it because she had already assumed the answer, even in a practical way, but she still held a little hope in her heart that it wouldn't happen. Her predictions mostly came true, but this time she wanted the opposite.

Time passed, as seconds turned into minutes and turned into an hour or so. She didn't know what she was supposed to behave like then. Feeling numb and undeniably dejected, she sat there with utmost quietness surrounding her.

She recalled everything that had been happening since she had gained her consciousness back. All she could do at that moment was to endure it, be patient and pray, pray to be helped, to be rescued, to be protected and safe.

She was lost in the web of her daunting thoughts when Tiger walked back in with a figure trailing behind him lazily. He had a plastic bag in his hand hanging loosely.

She could make out that he was the one who went out to get food earlier.

"Why have you bought this much food, War? I told you I didn't have the appetite." Tiger trudged inside and sat at the edge of the bed.

Warren kept the plastic bag beside Tiger on the bed, rolling his long black hair back.

"I'm too lazy to get something in the morning too so I just bought sufficient food." Tiger gave him an 'Are you serious?' look to which he only shrugged with an innocent half toothy smile.

They sat on the bed, opening the plastic bags as the fresh smell of chicken burgers hit her nostrils. She could just stare at the delicious food to satisfy her hunger. She wished she could somehow stop feeling the grumbles in her stomach but the food so inviting in front of her, and its amazing spicy smell wasn't helping at all.

While they both ate, she would frequently look at the food, suppressing her urge to beg them both for it. But she had self-respect that she would not let down in front of anyone. She never begged in front of anyone other than her God, and she was confident she wouldn't do it in the future too.

She prayed in her heart silently, looking down and being as humble as she could. She asked and hoped that some miracle might just happen, and she would get any ounce of food to hold her body.

-----

"So, you are telling me that you both are going to sleep in the same room as me?" She asked them perplexed, switching her eyes between both the males.

"Yes, I mean, no. Only he is going to sleep in this room. I'll be in the next room." Warren explained, pointing his finger at Tiger when referring to him.

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed in surprise and a little hint of anger.

"Why? You have a problem?" Tiger asked calmly, unbothered, making her even more mad.

"Yes."

"Then it can't be solved." Warren chuckled at that but soon his smile was wiped off his face when her cat eyes pierced through him. He cleared his throat to shake off the awkwardness.

"Why would you be sleeping in the same room as me? Go sleep in your room." Her eyes were now boring in Tiger's foxy ones.

"This is my room." He replied nonchalantly.

"What?" She blinked a couple of times.

"Are you deaf? I said, this is my room." His rudeness instantly made her quiet. Warren squinted his eyes at him, somewhat seeming irritated too.

"What? Go to your room." He shook his head, giving her a look of pity and walked out of the room silently.

She was undoubtedly offended by his cold behavior. She asked no more questions and just accepted that she had no privacy for the time she was trapped here. She thought that at least at night, she could get some time for herself so she could think of anything. But fate was not on her side this time maybe.

He was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't lay down in her position, so she attached her head to the metal of the pole, hugging it with her tied hand.

She subconsciously stared at him, studying his hard face features. Since the left edge of the bed was facing her, she could see him fully, from head to toe. Although, there wasn't any source of light but the faint rays of moon coming from the window.

She could only see the outline of his face, glowing in the dark blue shade. At that moment, he didn't look like what the rude, arrogant and ruthless person he was. Instead, he looked different, desolated. Just like her.

Or is it just because of his side profile that he seems like that?

She realized that she was again staring at him, which she is not allowed to do.

She heaved a deep sigh, a wave of sadness and helplessness hitting her again, making her heart sink and eyes watery. She blinked a few times, not permitting her tears to make a pool and glide down her cheeks. But even after her intense struggle, a couple of tears fell down her soft cheeks, slipping beneath her jaw.

She took a deep breath in, she felt like she couldn't hold it anymore, but she also didn't want to be seen as a crybaby by her oppressors.

Wiping away the tears with the back of her free hand, she tried to hold herself together. It felt like things have been bottling up inside of her but somehow, she still needs to keep the lid closed.

-----

Both were fast asleep. Him on the bed and she on the floor, hugging the pole.

"Hey." She stirred in her sleep.

"Hey, little one. Wake up." Someone was saying something, but the words sounded unclear.

This time no voice came but something poked her arm. She founded her eyes open and saw a man with covered in a hoodie.

Her eyes were wide, and heart was pacing. She was about to scream when he spoke, "Hey, relax. It's me."

The darkness made it harder for her to see his face, but his voice was now recognizable. He was him, the long-haired guy.

"Here. Take this." He pushed something wrapped in silver foil paper to her.

She unwrapped it slowly to not wake Tiger up. There was something round it.

"It's burger. I don't know if you love it or not, but this is all I can give you." She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

Why is he giving this to me? What if he has poisoned it?

"Also, eat fast. He might wake up anytime." Everything he said was no more than mere whispers. He seemed scared to make any noise.

"I'll get going. Give this to me." He took the foil paper with him, taking hushed steps cautiously.

Her suspicion alerted her to not eat it as there might be something dangerous in it but the hunger and weakness in her body screamed to get anything inside, even poison.