by Beth Abbott
Jeans, a coat, and Evan!
Chapter 37 – Suzy
Suzy stood by the gates, rubbing her arms and stamping her feet, trying to get some warmth back into her limbs.
Her feet, thankfully, had gone completely numb with the cold, because her shoes had definitely not been bought with walking in mind, and she was going to have to stop at a chemist on the way to the office to buy herself some plasters to cover the blisters on her heels.
She hobbled her way up to the booth, and cupped her hand against the glass to peer in.
What sort of set up was this where there was one locked point of entry, and nobody there to let anyone in?
‘Back in five minutes’. The sign declared.
“Five minutes, my ass!” She grumbled. She’d been there almost fifteen minutes already.
“Umm, excuse me?” Suzy glanced around to see a dark-haired woman standing behind her. “Is this the club entrance? I was told there would be someone in the booth next to the gate.”
Suzy turned around properly, wincing as her shoes rubbed on her blisters.
“Well, this is the entrance, and there is supposed to be someone in there, but I’ve been here almost a quarter of an hour and there’s been no sign of anybody, despite the ‘back in five minutes’ sign.” Suzy pulled a face. “I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait until they get back from what was no doubt a very pressing appointment.”
The woman smiled at her.
“I have a contact inside the stadium.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll see if I can get hold of him to come and let us both in.”
“If you could, you’d be my own personal heroine.” Suzy sighed. “Anything to get me off my poor aching feet.”
She watched the woman tap on her screen and then listen for the ringtone with half a smile on her face.
“Damnit!” The woman growled after a short pause. “I’m sorry, but he can’t be getting a signal. I keep getting a message saying that his phone isn’t switched on.”
Suzy frowned.
“Oh well. It’s my own fault for being a heinous witch-hag this morning.” She shrugged, perching herself on a bollard to take some of the weight off her aching feet. “My mum would say I’d gotten my comeuppance.”
“Heinous witch-hag?” The woman grinned. “Might I suggest that there are only likely to be two reasons for a woman to be a heinous witch-hag. Either it’s that time of the month, or she has a husband who has sorely pissed her off. Somehow in your case, I’m suspecting the latter.”
“Smart woman.” Suzy grinned, holding out her hand. “Suzy Johnson, pleased to meet you.”
The woman stepped forward and took Suzy’s hand.
“Megan Powell.” She smiled. “Are you here for the presentation, too? I wasn’t sure how many awards there were going to be.”
“Presentation?” Suzy frowned. “I didn’t know there was going to be a presentation this morning. My husband is in there for a meeting with the owners, and unfortunately, while we were driving here this morning, we had something of a disagreement. I exited the car, politely suggesting that he and his PA go off and enjoy carnal relations, intending to take a train back to the office in Birmingham.”
“So, why are you sitting here, freezing your backside off?” Megan frowned.
“Because, silly bitch that I am, I forgot to grab my handbag before I dramatically jumped out of the car and stomped off in a hissy fit.” Suzy scowled. “I have no money, no credit card, no phone, and no keys. Which means I had to walk all the way here to ask my dickhead of a husband to come down and retrieve my bag out of his car, just so I can get myself to work.”
“Oh, how embarrassing.” Megan sympathised. “But, wait… is he actually having an affair with his PA?”
“No, he’s almost certainly not.” Suzy sighed. “But not for want of trying on her part. She’s doing her damnedest to get under my skin, making out they have such a ‘special relationship’.”
“She sounds like a prize bitch.” Megan sympathised. “But as long as you know your man wouldn’t stray, at least you’ve got the last laugh.”
“Yeah, it’s just not so funny when he feels sorry for her, and then hides the fact that she’s accompanying him to a meeting, because he knows it will piss me off.” Suzy growled. “Hence the argument this morning.”
“Oh, I see.” Megan looked around them to see the booth still unmanned. “Look, I can let you have the train fair to get you back to Birmingham if that would help you save face. You’re quite welcome to borrow my phone if you want to call someone to get help.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” Suzy smiled. “That’s really kind of you. But the only number I know off by heart is my home phone number, and as you might’ve guessed, we’re not home. I might as well suck up the last shred of pride I have left and wait until I can get Matt to come and retrieve my bag for me. I may throw in a tiny apology while he’s here and see how that goes down.”
“I’m sure his PA hasn’t got anything on you, anyway.” Megan smiled. “How could he resist accepting an apology from such a beautiful wife?”
Suzy patted her blonde hair and grinned.
“Of course, she has nothing on me.” She preened, jokingly. “She’s just got a degree in trouble-making, and she’s putting it to good use.”
They waited quietly for a few minutes until a white van pulled up at the gates.
“They may buzz and get let in.” Megan hissed. “Wanna tailgate?”
Suzy climbed to her feet as quickly as the pain would allow her, and they moved closer to the van.
But, instead of someone climbing out to press the buzzer, the back door slid open, and four men jumped out.
For a split-second, Suzy thought it strange that men would jump out of the back of a van in the middle of the morning. Somehow, the fact that each of them looked like members of the group Take That didn’t strike her as odd.
“Grab ‘em both!”
She heard the words, but the masks stopped her from being able to tell which man it came from.
“Oh, my God!” Megan grabbed Suzy’s arm as the four men charged towards them.
Suzy clung onto Megan’s jacket and tried to pull her away, but they were both too slow.
Hands grabbed them from behind, and before she knew what was happening, someone had a hand across her mouth, another arm across her wind-pipe, and someone else was grabbing her legs.
She tried to turn her head to see whether Megan was Ok, but it looked like they were both getting the same treatment.
Suzy tried to wriggle and scream at the same time, but the men carrying her were far too strong, and the arm across her wind-pipe was cutting off her oxygen.
She felt the moment the men climbed into the back of the van, just before the hand left her mouth and a sack was pulled over her head.
The door slammed shut and suddenly another body landed half on top of her.
“Megan?” She hissed as she heard the van door being slammed shut.
“Suzy?”
“Shut the fuck up if you want to live.” A deep voice growled at her.
She felt hands pulling Megan off her, and suddenly the woman was pushed roughly back against the side panel, and Suzy felt herself flying backwards, landing almost on top of her.
Before she had a chance to pull back, her hands were pinned together, and plastic ties were fastened around her wrists.
“Ow!” Shit, that hurt! She’d have no circulation left in her hands in about five minutes.
“Shut the fuck up.” This voice was different, but no less threatening. “You keep quiet and do what you’re told and nothing bad will happen to you. Scream, fight, or just piss me off in any other way, and you’ll be raped and tortured before we kill you. When we’ve had enough of you, we’ll send your heads back to your family in cake-boxes. Understood?”
Suzy didn’t imagine Megan liking that alternative any more than she did.
She nodded compliantly, wondering exactly what was going on.
; Was Megan rich? Famous, maybe? God only knew Suzy was so out of touch with popular culture these days the poor girl could be a famous pop-star and she would have no clue.
Ok, given that Megan had looked to be late-twenties at least, maybe pop-star was unlikely. She’d been very pretty, but with minimal make-up, so Suzy guessed that also precluded her from being a reality TV star.
She supposed Megan could be one of the players’ wives or girlfriends, but she was probably underdressed for the role.
Suzy was jerked sideways as the van quickly reversed away from the gates, and she felt Megan fall on top of her.
“Sorry.” She heard the woman whisper, and she almost smiled. How incredible that the woman continued to have good manners under such trying circumstances.
“Are you Ok?” Suzy murmured.
“Yeah, you?”
Suzy didn’t get a chance to answer, because the van jerked again and sped off, leaving the two of them incapable of grabbing hold of something to stop them being flung all over the place.
“Use your feet to brace yourself.” Megan hissed, and Suzy stretched her legs to find a bar she could brace her feet against, to stop her being flung around as much.
She listened carefully for any sounds outside the van, but apart from the whoosh, whoosh, as they passed other vehicles, there was nothing.
They’d been driving for maybe fifteen minutes when the van suddenly pulled off the road, following a bumpy track for another minute or two before stopping.
The traffic had been quieter for the last ten minutes, so she was sure they’d headed towards the countryside rather than back into Birmingham.
Suzy heard a shuffling close to her, before the door was flung open, and the van shook a little as the men seemed to be jumping out again.
“We fucking did it!” She heard one of the men gloating. “Phone and tell her.”
“Yeah, we did it alright.” A new voice joined in. “But we only needed the blonde. Why did you grab the brunette as well? How am I supposed to explain that?”
Was that guy the driver? He was the only one that didn’t jump out of the back of the van at the stadium.
“They were grabbing on to each other.” The first man didn’t sound like he cared much. “Besides, maybe we can make some money out of the other one as well. She might have someone who’ll pay a few quid for her.”
Suzy’s breath caught in her throat.
She was the target? Was it because Matt was part of Alpha Company and pretty rich that she’d been kidnapped?
But how did they know she’d be there? She wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the stadium today, let alone sitting on a bollard outside.
Why did none of this make any sense?
Chapter 38 – Jay
“Hello?” Heather’s voice sounded quiet, as though she was trying to keep from being overheard.
“Hey, it’s me.” Jay grinned across at his brother. “Transfer the other payment, doll. We got her.”
“Wait a second.” There were a few background voices and then a door closed. “Right, I’ve got two minutes before someone comes looking for me. What went wrong?”
“What do you mean? Nothing went wrong! We picked up the blonde just like you said.” He protested. “Ok, so we had to pick up another woman as well because she had a friend with her, and they wouldn’t let go of each other. But that’s not a problem. We can use the fact that there are two of them to keep them both in line”
“Why are you trying to bullshit me?” Heather demanded. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“I’m telling you, we got the blonde!” Jay almost shouted. “She was exactly where you said she would be.”
“No, she wasn’t.” Heather bit out in a clipped voice. “I don’t know who the hell you picked up, but the blonde you were supposed to pick up is right here.”
“What? Fuck!” Jay looked back into the van. “Wait a minute.”
Jay grabbed one of the masks off one of his guys and fitted it over his face. He climbed back into the van and pulled the hoods off the two women, not caring how rough he was being.
They squinted up at him, hair messed up and expressions identical. They were both scared half to death.
“What’s your name?” He demanded of the blonde.
“Suzy.” She whispered. “Suzy Johnson.”
“And yours?” He demanded of the brunette. “What’s your name?”
“Megan Powell.” The girl whispered.
“Suzy Johnson and Megan Powell.” He said into the phone, pushing the hoods back on the women’s heads before turning and jumping out of the van.
“What?” Heather chuckled, sounding a lot happier now. “Well, well, well! You’ve actually done quite well out of this fuck-up. They’re both quite valuable as assets go.”
“Both valuable?” He grinned. “Exactly how valuable?”
“They should be worth at least as much as you were going to get for the original target.” Heather snorted a laugh. “It seems as fuck-ups go, this one has turned out to be potentially highly profitable.”
“So, they’re both worth something?” He winked over at Reggie.
“Yes, they are.” Heather confirmed. “So, make sure they’re not harmed in any way. Got that, Jay?”
“Got it, sweetheart.” Jay punched the air. “I’ll expect you to transfer the other five grand straight away, and I look forward to you letting us know when the big money is available.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
The line clicked as the call disconnected.
“Well, boys?” He grinned, looking over at the Reggie’s guys. “Looks like we got the wrong women.”
He waited for their men to groan in disappointment.
“But it looks like these two could be just as profitable.” He laughed. “We just have to keep them alive and well, so we can send them back to their families when the ransom is paid.”
“Shit! Knowing you have a thing for blondes, I was looking forward to getting me a taste of that brunette’s pussy.” Reggie grinned at his brother, banging his hand on the side of the van. “I guess I’ll have to save that as a reward for me, if either of them tries to get away.”
Jay watched the women shrink back, trying to make themselves invisible.
“Yeah, maybe we’ll just do it for kicks anyway, just before we let them go.” Jay grinned at his brother.
It didn’t hurt to have the women pissing their pants in fear at the thought they might follow through. It sure would help make them more obedient.
Chapter 39 – Evan
“And the award for Player of the Month, goes to… Robbie Jones!”
Evan glanced back at the door as the applause started. He’d checked his phone a hundred times, and even gone down to the booth by the gate three times already, to see if Megan was waiting to be let in, but there had been no sign of her.
He couldn’t understand it. She’d seemed so keen to be there for Robbie’s big moment.
A hand cupping the cheek of his ass had him spinning around to see whether Megan had managed to slip in under his normally effective radar.
“Hey, that’s a cute derriere you have there, Evan.” Cerys purred in his ear. “I bet the package at the front is just as sweet.”
Evan stepped away from Cerys and grabbed her hand to stop it continuing its path to his groin.
“Cerys.” He pushed her hand back towards her. “Lovely of you to come and support your brother today. I’m sure he’s happy you’re here to see him getting his award.”
“The club called my mobile just as I was looking for a way of getting home.” She shrugged. “When they offered to send a car to come and get me, it seemed better than paying for my own taxi to go home later.”
Evan watched Robbie accept his award and pose for a few photos with the owner and manager.
“Maybe you should go and congratulate him.” Evan suggested. “It’s quite a big deal, you know. They don’t just hand out awards because it’s your turn.”
&n
bsp; Cerys wandered off unenthusiastically to congratulate her brother, and Evan quickly made his escape over to where the other Alpha team members were congregating.
“I thought you said Megan was coming in.” Logan challenged him. “Has she gotten stuck in traffic or something?”
“I honestly don’t know.” He shrugged. “She seemed excited about coming to see Robbie get his award, but she hasn’t shown up. I’ve tried calling her, but her phone just goes straight to voicemail.”
“You’re sure she’s not out by the booth waiting for you?” Logan frowned. “She doesn’t strike me as the sort of person to let people down.”
“I’ve been down there three times and left my number with the guy in the booth.” Evan scowled. “He’s assured me nobody fitting her description has been near the gates today.”
“Maybe she got called into work early?” Logan shrugged. “We hear all the time about how the NHS is over-stretched.”
“I guess.” Evan frowned. “But why wouldn’t she have called me first to let me know not to watch out for her?”
“Because she’s a woman?” Logan suggested. “And women don’t think the same way as men.”
“Oh, my God!” Cerys’ voice was right behind him. “Did you actually just say that women don’t think the same way as men, as though that was a bad thing?”
She walked around Evan and got right up in Logan’s face.
“Tell me you didn’t mean it that way.” She purred.
Evan watched her lay her hand flat on Logan’s thigh, her fingers drifting upwards towards his crotch.
“For God’s sake, Cerys!” Robbie grabbed his sister’s arm and pulled her away from the Scot. “Can’t you behave yourself, just once? All my bosses are here, and you’re embarrassing me.”
“Me?” She giggled. “Ok, I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
Cerys stood quietly with her hands folded in front of her, and Evan wondered whether he’d be able to time her good behaviour in minutes, or just seconds.
“It’s a pity Megan couldn’t have been here.” Robbie smiled up at Evan. “She’s never seen me get any awards.”
“She was supposed to be in work today.” Evan stretched the truth a little, not wanting the kid to be disappointed that Megan hadn’t shown up. “I’m sure she would have loved to be here if she hadn’t been. She wouldn’t have missed it through choice.”