Now that contact has been made, maybe I can do something. I call Hound first to give him the number Abigail called from. Hopefully, he can track that shit. Next, I let Tank know.
"What the fuck are we going to do? We can't touch that money." Pissed, he stubs his cigarette out.
"There has to be a way. Her dad surely built in a safeguard for something like this." At least, I fucking hope he had that much of a brain.
"Right. Yeah. Okay, call and see what you can find out." He stalks away, and at that moment, I'm not sure who's more scared, him or me.
After three hours on the phone, I not only learn her father made no contingency plans for this kind of situation, but that the only way to withdraw anything is for Abigail to be physically present, or dead. The fucking idiot at the bank kept saying I should call the FB-fucking-I.
I don't know, maybe I should. We're sure as fuck not getting anywhere. But that would come with a whole new set of nightmares for us. No doubt, they would dig deep into the Death Jokers, and ignore what happened to Abigail. Not yet.
I take a minute to look up the area code of the number, but it doesn't do me any good. From another fucking state. It must be a burner phone. That doesn't surprise me, since it's what I would do in that kind of situation.
The walk to my room seems to take forever. Fianna is there, resting, after she's fucking exhausted herself with helpless, repetitive cleaning. I know she blames herself for Abigail getting taken. I've told her over and over it isn't her fault. Abigail is smart, and she would have found a way, regardless.
Fianna's sleeping, and I hate to wake her, but she would never forgive me if I didn't tell her immediately that I've heard from Abigail. I gently shake her shoulder and wait for her to rouse up.
Her eyes flutter open, and alarm wrinkles her forehead. "What is it? Have you found her? Is she okay?"
I shake my head. "No, sugar, we haven't found her, but she called."
She sits straight up. "And? Why aren't we going to get her?"
"We still don't know where she is. They let her talk on their phone, and made demands." I hate like fuck telling her all this shit.
"Demands?"
I shrug. "Money. Someone found out about the accounts her father set up. They think we can get the money. I tried to find a way before I came to tell you about this. There is simply no way we can get it, without her being physically present."
"What do we do now?"
I shrug and pull her into my arms. "We're still looking for her. Other than that, and wait, I'm not sure what else we can do."
Chapter Fifteen
Chalk:
“Tell me you got something? Did I keep her on the phone long enough?” I ask Hound. He arrived here a few hours ago, hoping we’d get a phone call so he could tap into the location on whatever phone they might call from. Abigail sounded scared, but okay. I know she can put up a good front, so who the fuck knows how she is really doing.
“Sorry, we needed about thirty more seconds. All I could get is a fifty mile radius which isn’t a whole hell of a lot of help.” Hound sounds a little defeated.
“But she’s still here, in the state? And alive. That’s something, right?” Roadkill says, always the optimistic one in the bunch.
“He’s right, we’ll go with that. She’s alive and can’t be more than an hour or so away. Let’s go over who the fuck knows about her accounts around here.”
Brax speaks up. “What about the Mongrol Horde? They’ve been too fucking quiet since we took out Flank a few years back. Think they could be behind this?”
“I wouldn’t put it past them. Why don’t two of you go ride out that way, see if you can find anything out?"
“You got it boss. We’ll find her, don’t worry. And baby girl is strong, she’ll be okay.” Brax gets up to leave.
***
The night comes and goes, and we're still no closer to finding Abigail. Last night I spent the night comforting Fianna. She’s strong but the stress of everything is getting to her. I worry that soon she’ll have a breakdown. I just don’t know when. I’m strung so tight myself, it's a wonder I haven't broken under the strain. My patience is thin and I’m snapping at everyone.
All I want is for Abigail to be home. I don't feel complete without both her and Fianna here. They've both become vital parts of me, and I can't live without both of them.
Sometime toward dawn, Fianna finally drifts to sleep. I lay there, staring into nothing, trying to sense Abigail. If I concentrate hard enough, maybe I'll be able to feel her. Sometimes, I've been able to feel if she were scared or hurting. Maybe it can be more.
As hard as I try, nothing comes. Well, nothing but terror and pain. I've been feeling that all along, though I didn't know at first where it came from. It's about to break me, and I don't even want to imagine how it is for Abigail.
Fuck, can she even breathe? She has a hard time when she gets upset. Without her meds and breathing treatments, it'll get worse. That thought tightens my chest even worse.
I can't fucking do this. I need her home.
What the fuck will I do if I lose her? I shake that idea out of my mind again. I can't think that way. We will get her back. She will be okay. She has to be.
Chapter Sixteen
Chalk:
I’m sitting at the kitchen counter, throwing back Jack and Coke. Anger slams into me that we still haven’t located Abigail. The glass shatters against the wall, and the last bit of drink runs down in streaks.
My phone buzzes, and I nearly throw it after the glass. It’s Tank.
“What?” I grind out.
“Chalk, get to the gate, fast. It’s Abigail, we found her."
My mind races. I can't get moving fast enough. Time freezes, and my lungs restrict, not allowing me to take a breath. Not knowing where she’s been and what’s been happening to her has gutted me this last week.
Knocking over the chair, I take off in a full-out run towards the gate that seals off the club's property from the outside world. It’s pouring down rain, and my boots slosh through the puddles, soaking my jeans with mud.
I see the guys up ahead, all huddled on the ground. I try to push my way through, until Tank jumps me, and pulls me back.
“Chalk, listen man.” His voice is strained with emotions I’ve never heard from him before. He takes my hands behind my back to stop me from going. I fight to get away from him, but his hold just gets tighter.
“What the fuck! Move outta the way, let me get to her.” Why isn’t he letting me go? He knows what Abigail means to me.
Desperate, I twist to the right and punch him in the gut. His hold loosens but not enough for me to get to my Abigail. He slams me to the ground, and throws a punch to my jaw that I can’t turn away from. The pain does nothing to slow my adrenaline.
“Chalk, seriously. Listen the fuck up, get your head on straight. She’s not looking good. We need to decide what to do.”
I can’t take it anymore, not seeing her is killing me. I shove Tank off me with such force he falls back. I push my way through the other guys and fall to the ground beside Abigail.
“Oh my God.” Her hair is caked with blood and she’s soaking wet, and cold to the touch. My heart stands still. “Abigail! Abigail, wake up, talk to me. It’s Chalk.” I brush the hair from her face. Her eyes are closed and I get no response.
I lean towards her, trying to see if I can feel a pulse with my fingers. Everything is too fucking wet and cold. We need to get her out of the rain. The worry of not knowing what all they did to her makes me second guess my thoughts of picking her up and rushing her inside.
A car’s headlights shine in my eyes, blinding me. The front door is thrown open and Fianna screams my name.
“Chalk! Oh God! Is it her?” She runs up, frantic. Tears flow freely down her rosy cheeks.
I run up to her pulling her into me, hugging her tight. “It’s her sugar. I need you to stay calm and go inside for me. Get some blankets and meet me in her room.”
She hesitates but nods
her head. With one last look back towards Abigail she takes off to the club house.
I take a deep breath and look up to the sky. I’ve never prayed before in my life. But at this moment, I would do anything to give me the strength to keep it together for Abigail and Fianna. They both need me. I need them. With that thought I turn back and start giving orders to everyone.
“We’re taking her inside. Call the doc, Brax. Tell him to get here quick with everything. Let him know it's Abigail, so he’ll know whatever else he’ll need to bring.”
“On it boss. Anything for our baby girl.” Brax pulls out his phone and starts dialing. He walks off a little ways away to talk.
“Okay, I’m going to lift her up. Karate Joe, give me your jacket. Lay it over her very softly.” I bend down and gently pick Abigail up. She’s lost weight since I’ve held her last, and she didn't have any to spare.
Karate Joe rips his leather jacket off and covers Abigail up as much as he can. He turns away a little before speaking.
“Chalk, we can’t lose our baby girl.” His gruff voice speaks for the whole fucking club.
“We won’t. Now let’s get going. I’m going to take it slower, go ahead of me.” We don’t say anything further as nothing needs to be said. The other guys already took off ahead of us.
The silence of the night has my thoughts racing more. Who would have done this to her? She’d never hurt anyone like this. Fuck. I thought we’d gotten past all the trouble her dumbass father left for us to clean up after.
I talk to her, hoping she'll wake up and tell me who the hell did this to her. She's got to wake up, I can't lose her. Not yet, I'm not ready.
"Abigail. Baby girl, come back to me. Just open those big blue eyes of yours. Please?" My voice cracks, tears that I didn't even realize were falling hit Abigail's face. I adjust my hold on her, wiping my face with the back of my hand. I brush the tears and rain drops gently off her face, damn it. She's gotta wake up.
Holding her like this in my arms reminds me of that first day when she showed up at the club, sound asleep in that car seat, but ready to go as soon as she woke up. I was scared to death then, too. Although for much different reasons. Never having been around children, it was so new to me. Her sassiness and spunk when she was such a little thing was something I wasn’t prepared for when Vince had introduced the idea of us taking charge of her that morning. She gave us all a run for our money, me the most. The shit she’s put me through, I can’t lose her after all this, not this way.
Now after these years I think I’ve handled what was dealt to me and Abigail pretty well. Even after everything with Vince and then becoming president alongside Tank. Meeting Fianna topped it off and made me feel like I had just about everything I could ever wish for in life.
I've been living a dream, with my brothers, a perfect woman, and this little angel all around me. Abigail being harmed is some sick way of life getting back at me for all the pain I’ve caused others over the years. I can’t take the pain. Not this kind. It’s too much. It’ll kill me if I lose her.
***
I pace outside the bedroom door while Doc tries to assess Abigail’s injuries without me hounding him. Okay. Really, Fianna kicked me out, told me I wasn’t helping the situation, or helping Abigail at the moment. I hate not being in there with her. I want to know how she’s doing. She never woke up when I carried her inside.
“How is our baby girl, Chalk?” Tank says as he’s rubbing his wet hair with a towel. His jeans are still unbuttoned, like he rushed out as fast as he could change out of the wet clothes he was in.
“I don’t have a fucking clue. They kicked me out. Help me out, man. See if they’ll let you in. I need to know.” Frustrated and beyond tired I collapse, sliding down the wall, and just running my hands through my hair. Tank comes over and sits down beside me.
“She’ll be okay, Chalk. She’s strong, stronger than anybody we know. She’ll be okay. Lemme see if I can find out anything, even if I have to beat it outta them, I will.” With that he gets up and geos inside Abigail’s room, shutting the door behind him.
After what seemed like an hour, but was probably more like five minutes, Tank comes back out. He takes a seat back beside me.
“Look, she’s pretty bad Chalk. Doc’s got her somewhat stable, but I’m not sure you should go in there right now. Let Fianna help clean her up. You don’t wanna’ see her like that, man.”
I let my head fall back against the wall. It's then I notice that I’m sitting in a puddle of water, my jeans are soaking wet, boots heavy with water.
Tank notices, and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll have one of the girls get the floor mopped up. You have a little while before they’d even let you in to see her, Chalk.” Tank tries to convince me.
I think about it, starting to get cold, and that’s all I need is to get sick and give it to Abigail. On the side of caution, I decide to take Tank’s advice. “Fine, but you’d better fucking come get me if anything happens, and I mean anything.” I push up from the floor and stomp off towards my room, to take a quick shower and change. The faster I get clean, the faster I’ll be able to see Abigail and make sure she’s okay. I’ll kill whoever did this to her. Having the water scorching hot eases some of the tension in my muscles. The water is filthy as it washes down the drain, with some mud, and some of what looks like Abigail’s blood. The sight has me rushing to get out. I turn off the water and grab a towel to dry off quickly. I find clothes, pull everything on and head back out towards Abigail’s room.
Chapter Seventeen
Chalk:
Abigail pulls through the next few days, though it's touch and go. Doc thankfully let her stay here at the house. All the guys take turns keeping watch. No one wants to go far from our baby girl. She hasn’t woken up yet, the doc says she will when her body is ready.
She needs to be ready, now. It’s killing me not to hear her sassy self. The rest of the guys are taking it pretty hard, too. “Fianna, sugar. Go take a break. I’ll watch over her for a while. I need to talk to her, anyways.” I rub her back, wishing I could take the tension from her muscles.
“You sure? I guess I could use a shower, I probably stink.” She scrunches up her nose.
“I’m sure. Now go. Get outta here.” I give her a small smack on the ass, making her blush. God, it’s been too long since I’ve had her, but it just doesn’t feel right when Abigail is lying here, hurting.
I take a seat next to Abigail’s bed, and take her tiny hand in mine. I try to rub some warmth into her fingers. She’s still too cold for my liking. The thought angers me all over again, the image of her lifeless body on the ground a few nights before will always haunt me.
“Goddamn it, Abigail! Why? Why did you think you needed to save me? I’m not worth saving. For fuck sake.” I hold her hand tighter, wishing so hard that it was me there in that bed hurt, instead of her. But it’s not, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
The alarms start going off on one of her machines, Fianna comes rushing in. Half dressed, but on a mission.
“Her heart, it's too fast. It’s up to 145 beats a minute. Chalk, you have to calm down. She must be able to sense you here.” She fiddles with the machine and talks softly to Abigail. Brushing her hair back off her face, then giving her some more medicine in her IV.
“I’m sorry.” I'm frustrated and upset. I can’t take it anymore.
I take off, rushing out of the room, and pushing my way through the house. It’s too fucking crowded in here. I can’t breathe. My chest is tight with the panic attack that is in full force now. The only thing I can think to do is to get on my bike and ride it out.
Ride to where? I don’t know. I’ll know when I get there. Riding always settles it, I just hope I don’t fucking kill myself in the process. Although, I don’t even give a shit if that happens. I’m not worth being here.
“Chalk! Wait, baby. Come back.” I hear Fianna yell from the porch, but it’s too late. I’m already to th
e gate of the property and leaving.
***
Fianna:
“Well don’t just sit there! Go after him!” I scream at the guys. They act like this is no big deal. Under normal situations, I might be okay with him needing space to clear his head. The demons he carries are too much for him a lot of times. I see it when he thinks no one is looking, the self-loathing he has towards himself, the feeling that he doesn’t deserve anyone’s love because of things he’s done.
But he does. He does deserve our love. We’ve been together for years, and he’s yet to tell me he loves me back. Nor has he said it to Abigail. Fear holds him back, assuming if he says it, it’ll all go away. Like it’s been some big dream, and he’ll wake up and it’ll be gone.
“He’ll be back. Don’t worry, Fianna.” Tank comes up and gives me an awkward hug. All the men still have such a hard time showing emotions, even when they want to show them.
“I got’em! It’s the Mongrol Horde that had her. Stupid fucks.” Hound types fast away on his laptop, cussing and mumbling. He picks up his phone. Texts out something then puts it away.
“Who’d you text, man?” Tank asks, worry clear in his voice.
“Just Chalk, you know he’s out for blood. Thought I'd at least give him the information, so he can dish it out to those that did this to Abigail.” He sounds perfectly calm, like it's no big deal to hunt human beings down to kill them.
Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. I’ll never get used to it, as some of the guys have said over the years. It’s just not in me, but Chalk loves me just the same. He’d hate for me to be like all the guys. He says my heart and kindness sooth him. I like that thought.
“You guys hungry? Let me fix you something to eat.” It’ll give me something to do, instead of just standing around, doing nothing. Waiting has to be the hardest thing to do, and now I have a double dose of it. First waiting for Abigail to wake up and be back to her normal self, now with Chalk, off who knows where, I’m stressed to the max.
“Sure, Fianna. That’d be great,” Messer says, with the other guys chattering in agreement. Off in the kitchen, I fix a big platter of sandwiches. Turkey, ham, pepperoni, and all the fixings to go with them. I make a turkey sandwich for Chalk, and put it away in the fridge. I know how fast food goes around here, and he’ll need some when he gets back.
PAIN Page 12