Sighing, I say, “Nothing, really. Just worried about Chalk and you, you know when things aren’t always so good with me?”
“Nonsense, do not waste your energy worrying about us. We just want you to be as happy as you can until then, and even after, okay Abby?” She turns me and forces her ever so famous hug on me. I can’t help but feel the love pouring from her, and I give her a hug back. Leaning my head on her shoulder for a second longer, then I step back.
“Okay, so enough of that. Tell me what happened at the end of school, you had that pissed off look on you, even though you tried to hide it.” Fianna takes the dress up to the counter to pay.
“Some bitch accused me of being fucked by all the guys. And she did that in front of some girls in the bathroom. How sick is she to think that? And me being the fool, I didn’t slap her like I wanted to. I just insulted her a little and walked away, pretty much.”
“Aww, sweetheart she’s just jealous she doesn’t have all the love and attention the guys have for you. Don’t let her get to you. I won’t tell Chalk, this time. But promise me you’ll let me know if anything more happens?” She tries to sound so stern, like when Chalk means serious business. But I know she tries.
“I will, don’t worry. Let’s go get a drink. I need to sit down for a minute, anyways. Getting tired.” I hate being so tired all the time, but I do the best I can.
“Sure, let's go get a sweet tea from Chik-Fil-A. You go find us a seat, and I’ll bring us the drinks.”
Thankfully we aren’t too far away, so it only takes a few minutes to walk down to the food court. It’s hard for me to walk and talk at the same time, so we walk in a calm silence. Fianna stays right beside me, just in case I need extra support.
Entering the food court, Fianna heads to order and I go find a table nearby. As I collapse in the chair, my breathing is a little rougher than I’d like. I pull out my inhaler from my Hello Kitty purse to help give me a little relief, hoping to buy some time before we have to cut our girl’s day short.
After taking the first dose, I hear my phone chirp. Chalk finally let me download Facebook to my phone, and now I’m able to get messages from a few friends I’ve made at school.
Kind of excited, I rush to dig it out and see who it was. I’m nowhere near popular, so it’s always nice to get a message. Hmm. It’s someone I don’t know, sliding to approve the message so I can read it, I adjust my legs a little in the seat to get more comfortable.
I read it and my blood runs cold. I can’t breathe and I struggle to control my emotions before Fianna gets back. I can’t let my tears fall, no matter what. Fianna will notice.
We see you, Abigail. If you don’t meet us at the main entrance at 3:00pm, Chalk dies. Don’t believe us, how’s that arm of yours?
Taking a few deep breaths, I try to think fast. Fianna will be here any second and I’ll have to figure out a way to leave her. I have just under twenty minutes.
I see Fianna walking over, and I figure out the perfect idea that will hopefully buy me some time to get away. I know Chalk will kill me for doing this, but he’s done so much for me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened because of me, when I could have stopped it.
This is going to hurt Fianna as well, but I hope she’ll forgive me, and know I mean well. Maybe she’ll understand what I tell her and go back and tell Chalk.
“Abby, you doing okay, honey? You look pale.” She leans over touching my forehead. “You don’t feel hot, maybe we should head back. It’s been a long day for you, anyways.”
“I think that might not be a bad idea. I’ve just gotten really tired all of a sudden.” I fiddle with my phone, not looking at her. She can tell when I’m lying a mile away.
“Okay sweetheart. How about I head and go get the truck and you meet me over there, east entrance?”
This is too perfect of a way to leave and meet where the message said to. I try to make sure I’m not too eager when agreeing.
“Sure, I’ll wait here, and scroll through Facebook some. Text me when to come out.” I'm getting nervous. I glance at the time on my phone. I’m not sure I’m going to make it. I only have five minutes now, and it's a long way.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a minute. Love you, Abby.”
I clear my voice in attempt to keep back the tears from threatening to shed down my face. “I love you, Fianna. If anything ever happens to me, promise me that you’ll make sure Chalk knows I love him, and that I know he loves me, okay?” I rush the words out, and give her a tight hug.
“Sweetheart, what’s this all about? Nothing is going to happen, I’ll be just outside.” She hugs me back, rubbing my back. I pray this won’t be the last time I get this hug of hers.
“Promise me, Fianna,” I whisper.
She tilts up my face to look into my eyes, I squeeze them shut and then open, more in control of my tears. “I promise, Abigail. Now, stop this, I’ll see you in a minute.”
With that she lets go and takes off towards the direction we came into the mall. I hurry and grab my purse and take off walking carefully, but as fast as I can towards the main entrance.
Chapter Fourteen
Abigail:
I make it to the exit with just two minutes to spare. I won't let them hurt Chalk. Walking out the automatic door, I take one last deep breath and look back, wishing I had time. More time, to think. A tear escapes, and I wipe it off. No time for tears. I have to be strong.
Especially with not knowing what going to happen, I just pray Chalk and the guys find me in time. I flip my phone on silent and then look up to spot a black van, with no windows. Fuck me. It's like those criminal shows on TV, you never want to go into those vans, and I'm walking there freaking willingly.
A guy wearing club colors jumps out. "Cut it pretty close bitch, thought you were going to let your pussy Chalk die instead." He grabs me roughly and I fall, losing my balance.
"Stand up bitch." I struggle, but manage to right myself. He shoves me in the van and slams the door shut.
Inside, I’m pushed down. Someone else is back here but I don’t get to see them. He ties my hands up, and it hurts like hell. The burn from the rope stings, and it feels like my hands are going to fall off. I hear the sound of tape being pulled, I panic, knowing what they plan.
“This will keep you quiet.” One guy with tattoos up and down his arms grabs my face.
I try to pull away, banging my head on the wall of the van. Pain shoots down my neck. “Please, don’t. I’ll keep quiet. I promise.” I beg, hoping like hell by some miracle he might care even in the slightest. Though I know my chances are slim to none I still try. I won’t be able to breathe well enough if I’m taped up.
“You hear the little princess bitch, guys? She promises,” he mocks, joking with the others in the front of the van. They all laugh at me. My face burns with embarrassment.
He forces me back and tapes my mouth shut. I try to stay calm, knowing that’s the only thing that will help me get through this.
I sit and wait, listening to everything, from what the guys in the front are talking about, to the sounds outside. The more information I have the better.
They drive for a long time, and I have to struggle to keep my breathing regular. Every mile away from Fianna and Chalk makes it less likely I'll be found in time. It doesn't matter, though, as long as they're safe. I'm on borrowed time anyway, so I don't care.
One of the guys in the front turns to speak to the one that dragged me into the van. "You sure you know how to get the money, Ripper?"
The man laughed. "Fuck, of course I do. That old Death Joker pres, Vince, he told Flank all about it. Just have to get the account number out of her. Easy."
My head hurts really bad, like when my oxygen is low. The fear that man's words create doesn't help one bit.
I become aware of rough hands dragging my legs, and realize I must have fallen asleep. The van has stopped, and they're taking me out of it now. My head pounds even harder, and it feels like my
spine is being yanked apart, one vertebrae at a time. My hip is worse, though, with a horrible burning pain.
Bright light slices through my eyes, making me squint. The bruising grip switches from my leg to my arm, and I get jerked upright. My legs buckle the instant my feet hit the ground, and I slump forward, unable to stand even if I wanted to.
"What's wrong with the little bitch?" a voice I haven't heard before booms from right in front of me.
I blink, trying to clear my vision. The man before me is a damn giant, with tattoos all over his face and arms. And he looks mean, scowling at me.
"Ain't nothing wrong with her. She's faking." The one called Ripper glares at me. "Skinny bitch trying to make somebody feel sorry." He tightens his grip on my arm, dragging me.
I still can't stand, but he doesn't care, half-carrying me. If I could speak, I would cry out, but the tape over my mouth keeps me from it. My vision starts to go dark as my oxygen goes lower.
He gives me a rough shake and thrusts me toward a chair. "Sit down, bitch." Before I can even start to catch my balance on the chair, he rips the tape off my mouth, taking a lot of skin with it.
I gulp in air, unable to cry out, despite the tears rolling down my cheeks.
The big mean man looms over me. "Where's the money?"
Money? Confusion eats through my brain. I shake my head, still unable to speak.
His hand snaps out and he grabs my hair, yanking hard to twist my face up where I can't look away. "You hold out on me, and your buddy Chalk dies. Understand?"
He has my head at such a bad angle, I can't even nod.
"Now, where the fuck is all that money?"
"I-I don't know," I whisper, praying he can hear me.
"Don't try to give me shit. Vince explained it all to Flank years ago. Now where is it?"
My thoughts race. Vince is the reason I got shot when I was little. Chalk and the others killed him for it. I struggle to suck in enough air to explain. "My dad set it up. I don't know how to get it."
Movement flashed and pain burst through my head as his hand struck my cheek. "Don't try to lie to me. I'll beat it out of you if I have to."
Anger gives me a moment of courage. "Whatever. I can't tell what I don't know."
Ripper came up beside him. "Give me a few minutes with her, boss. I'll get it out of her."
***
Chalk:
“What the fuck do you mean she’s gone?”
Fianna is hysterical, I can barely understand what she’s saying.
“Fianna, calm the fuck down. Take a breath for me sugar, now what’s going on? Tell me.”
That gets the attention of the other guys in the room. Tank, Brax and Roadkill come over and sit around me in the living room, waiting to hear what’s going on.
“She couldn’t have gotten far, Fianna. Did you check the bathroom? Okay, stay there, we’ll be there as fast as we can.” Panic rises in my chest full force. Something doesn’t feel right. Abigail would never just walk off from me, but especially not Fianna.
I look over to the guys, faces tense ready for anything. “Guys, something happened. Fianna says Abigail just disappeared. We gotta go, Tank, Roadkill, and Astro come with me. Karate Joe, Messer, and Brax you guys stay here. You get any intel you let me know, ASAP.”
***
A few hours later and there's still no sign of Abigail. We’ve looked everywhere in that damn mall. She’s only a small fifteen year old with no real money and no way to get around.
“Where the fuck is she?” Karate Joe says with frustration, cracking his knuckles, a habit I don’t think he even knows he does when he’s in a stressful situation. We’re all getting frustrated and more anxious as time goes by without any sign of her.
We head back to the club house even though it kills me to leave there, knowing she could be there hurt, or worse. But I get the distinct feeling she’s long gone.
“Look let’s go over what happened last, when she was with Fianna.” Messer suggests. He’s the calmest of the bunch, at least on the outside.
“After, I got Fianna to stop crying, it almost sounded like Abigail was saying goodbye to her and me. Why the fuck would she do that?” I pace back and forth, not able to stand still for shit.
“Okay, what else do we know? Let’s keep it together, man.” Messer continues to keep everyone level headed.
“Fuck, her cell phone. Anyone know if she has it and it’s still on?” The thought of calling her gives me a weird feeling. What if she’s in trouble and it could cause her more?
“Fianna sugar, come here. She had her phone, right?”
“Oh my God, she did, and when I first got back to the table, she had this look on her face. She was on her phone doing something. Chalk, she looked scared now that I’m thinking about it more.” Fianna is more distraught, now. After that she decides to start cleaning the whole house, room by room. She’ll tire herself out by the end of the evening. But I know she’s just worried and wants Abigail back home.
“A’ight. I think it’s time we call Hound. See if he can track her cell. This is right up his alley.” Bringing in another club is risky business, but the Tennessee Hell Raiders have had our six on many things over the years. Hound is the best there is, even after that wreck tore him up, he might not ever walk again. But no one is better at the computer shit than him.
“I second that.” Tank nods at me in agreement.
***
After the longest night since Abigail was shot, we finally got some information back from Hound. Unfortunately her cell is off, but he was able to track down the last location. That only gave us that they were heading west out of town. She could be anywhere by now. My gut is in knots over this and I haven’t slept at all.
My cell rings again. It’s Hound. “Tell me you got somethin’ else, man.” I listen, and hope for the best.
"I got into her Facebook. There's a message there, sent right around the time she disappeared. It's a threat to you if she doesn't meet someone." He sounds serious as fuck.
“Goddamn it. So, you’re telling me, one, someone got to her through that damn phone of hers? Then, the little brat thinks she’ll just go halfcocked on her own and save us all?”
"That's about the size of it, yeah."
When she’s back home safe, I don’t know if I’ll hug her, or kill her, or both, for this stupid stunt she’s pulled. I can’t fucking believe it, although I honestly wouldn’t expect anything less from our Baby Girl.
She’s definitely lost her phone privileges, and no more trips to the mall without me. I don’t give a shit if it’s girls day or not, they’ll just have to deal.
"So what do we do now?" I'm at a total fucking loss, and my chest feels like it's going to explode from the pressure.
"Right now, I'm trying to hack the account that message was sent from, even though I expect it was a fake. I would say make a list of anyone with reason to harm you, but I know that would be an endless job." Keys clatter in the background. "Keep searching, anywhere you can think of where someone might be taken. I'll keep trying with her phone. If I can force a restart, I might get a location."
"Okay. Let me know what you get." There's nothing else to say or do. We're flying blind here, and I have the awful feeling things will get worse before it gets better.
***
Abigail:
“Please. I’ll do whatever you want, just stop.” I can’t take much more of them hitting me. I know begging isn’t going to help but what else can I do? Not a thing. I’ve lost count of how many days I’ve been here.
The house is old and run down, and dusty as hell. It smells awful, like maybe they let a bunch of cats have the house to use as a litter box. I can’t stand the smell. It’s hurting my lungs. I’ve already had one breathing attack that I had to fight through in order to survive it. They refuse to let me have my inhaler. They don’t believe how sick I really am.
I close my eyes, laying here on the dirty floor, praying that Chalk and the guys are trying to find me
. I have no clue how they will, but I have to keep faith that they are, and I’ll get out of here.
“Bitch, wake up. Time for you to call your pussy Chalk.” The one guy says, I overheard the other guy calling him Slinky.
“Okay.” What else is there to say?
“You’re gonna tell him, if he doesn’t give us the money from your accounts, you’re a dead girl walking… understand?” He spits, his distaste for me and Chalk palpable.
“I understand.” He passes me the phone. I dial Chalk’s number slowly, trying to buy some time to get my emotions together.
Putting it up to my ear, I listen to it ring, and wait for him to pick up. I start to worry when it rings three times and he hasn’t picked up. Just when I think it’s going to voice mail, I hear a click.
“Who is this?” Chalk’s voice sounds over the phone. Tears spring to my eyes, and start to fall even though I try to contain them.
“Chalk…it’s me,” I whisper. The pain in my side from when one of the guys kicked me, smarts with sharp pain. I cry out.
“Abigail? Where the fuck are you? What’s wrong?” He sounds angry yet worried. I know he’s probably out of his mind with all kinds of thoughts on what’s going on. I feel terrible, but I’d do it all again if it meant saving him.
“I’m okay. They want some money Chalk. They know about the account. They said to tell you, if you don’t get it to them, soon. They’ll kill me.” I hold back sniffles. I miss him so much. I’ve never been away from him like this, not even the incident with Vince.
“Who are they, baby girl? Who has you?” I hear the other guys in the background. Chalk must have put me on speaker.
“Time's up bitch. You have until noon tomorrow, or she’s dead. Call this number back when you’re ready.” With that Slinky hangs up and I don’t even get to tell Chalk bye, or that I love him.
I thought I couldn't possibly have any more tears, but apparently I do, because they start spilling down my cheeks. My heart breaks all over again.
***
Chalk:
PAIN Page 11