by A. L Inman
My brother answers his phone curtly. He doesn't step away from us, but his phone volume isn’t loud, so all we can I hear is his side of the conversation
“Yeah. No. I did that already. Uh-huh. Yeah, try that. It might work. Did it? Seriously? You’re amazing! Yes. Yes. Send it now. Hurry. Yes, send us backup. Okay- bye."
“What’s going on Arch?”
“My friend Baylee at the BAU has a location! She used a trace by using the headbands last known location. She was able to pull up a range before it was damaged or cut off. Abby had said she was in a “wareho...” before getting cut off the phone earlier. I had Baylee correspond the location with warehouses in a 10-mile radius. There is only one. Get in the car, let’s go!”
We all take off running towards the SUV, barley getting buckled in before Bray takes off.
Jax is on the phone with law enforcement requesting back up. We’ll be there in 15 minutes and they’ll be there in 12.
They’re instructed to wait on us if they by chance are able to get there first. With Bray’s driving though, we’ll be there before they will, even though we’re farther out then them.
I look over at Archer who looks relieved, but still on edge. Turning his head towards me he gives me a ghosted smile. I feel regret for ever accusing him of intentionally hurting Abby of putting her in harm’s way.
There are many monsters that we fight every day; my brother isn’t one of them.
ABBY Chapter 45-
I must’ve cried myself to sleep after talking to Asher on the phone. I’m emotionally and physically exhausted.
After Emilio hung up he told me he would send someone back shortly to get me ready for the sale.
When I hear the cell door clank open, I look up expecting Emilio, but I'm sorely mistaken.
Lil-J.
I back myself up against the wall, like that would even be able to help me hide from him, as he stalks over towards me.
“Leave her alone!” Nick yells out at him as he starts thrashing against the chains.
Lil-J shoots him a wink before continuing to my side of the cell. He's taunting Nick. He knows Nick can’t help me.
When he squats down eye level to me, I try to turn my head to avoid eye contact. He grabs my chin hard, forcing my head back to look in his eyes.
Out of instinct, I spit in his face, which earns me a slap across the face and explicit words in Spanish.
Nick is yelling and cursing, but I can’t focus on his words, all I can focus on is my stinging cheek and Lil-J's black beady eyes. His rancid breath burns my nose, leaving me to fight off gagging from the smell.
He grabs my chin again before thrusting my head against the wall, making pain radiate through my skull. My vision blurs for a moment and I taste blood. My tongue is bleeding from biting down on it… I wasn't prepared for the impact.
Lil-J starts giving me sloppy kisses along my jaw line working his way down and over my chest. When he gets to my breast he bites down hard and I cry out in pain. I’m sure there will be a bruise there tomorrow.
I’m turning my head and trying to push him off with my hands, but it’s futile, the chains leave little movement for my arms.
I feel finger tips running over my stomach under my dress, before making his way to my underwear.
I’m telling him no, but he’s not responding at all to me. I beg him to stop, but he acts like he can't hear me.
The only indication that he actually heard me and is choosing to ignore me, is the dilation of his pupils. He likes the fight in me.
I’m crying at this point, uncontrollably. I beg Nick to turn away. I don’t want him to see what Lil-J is going to do me. I don’t want that image forever ingrained in his head.
Should we make it out of here, I don’t want the memory of this to be all he sees when he looks at me.
Lil-J pushes me down on my back, hard, wrenching one of my arms behind my back from the impact. My arm is pinned underneath me and I’m almost positive my wrist is dislocated or broken.
Lil-J pulls a knife from his pocket, sliding the switch blade open. Working his way from the bottom of my dress he cuts straight up the middle passing over my belly button, in-between my breasts and up to the neck opening. Effectively severing the dress in half.
I close my eyes as I feel him starting to work his hands back over my body. I’m staying silent, but my body is stiff with resistance. If Nick really does have his eyes closed like I told him, I don’t want to ruin the images in his mind by screaming.
It’s inevitable what’s going to happen. I can’t stop him. Lil- J is going to rape me and I don't want to give his the satisfaction of fight he craves or give Nick any more fear.
I'm forever protecting Nick.
I hear the sound of his zipper and I know he’s working himself out of his pants.
Dear God, please make this stop.
Just like an answered prayer, a loud shot rings out through the room. A warm spray covering me, and I hear someone screaming.
It’s me. I’m screaming.
Its blood I feel sprayed on my face, but it isn’t my blood.
Lil-J is on top of me, dead.
ASHER- Chapter 46
We pull into the warehouse on two wheels. I immediately notice Emilio’s black Mercedes is sitting out-front. We’ve got him.
Please God, let Abby still be here.
Law enforcement said they were two minutes away, but I can’t wait for them. Neither can my brothers apparently, because we’re all running for the doors of the warehouse.
There’s a guard out front and before he can even comprehend what’s happening, I’ve raised my gun, shooting him in the head. Clean kill.
We don't enter in as quiet as we normally would. We have a precious item to recover, there's no time for game plans and silent entrances.
We’re greeted by three men at a table- Abby's dad- Michael Jacobs, Emilio Esteban, and Patricio Benito (Pato). They're playing cards at the table like they haven't completely ruined my life in the past few hours.
Each man raises their hands in surrender. They’ve been caught off guard, they weren’t expecting us. We have guns pulled on them. They may be jackasses, but they’re not ignorant of the outcomes if they test us.
I go to raise my hand to terminate the lot of them. They’re worthless and deserve to die, but Jaxon steps in front of me.
“Ash, we have to take them in. We need to make sure there aren’t other girls and if there is, find them. Plus, if Abby's already gone we need to know where she's been taken.”
I hate his logic, but he’s right. All of my brothers each have a man standing handcuffed in no time. I stalk over to Emilio before getting right in his face, screaming for him to point in the direction of Abby and Nick.
His face is pale. He knows he’s done for. He’ll be killed in prison before he even goes to trial for the kidnap of those women and Abby. The cartel has many enemies.
He points me down the hall to a staircase that leads to the basement. I hear the police pulling in, their sirens blaring, so I head that way solo. I need to get to my girl.
I stop dead in my tracks when I reach the bottom of the steps that lead into the poorly lit room.
Nick is curled in a ball, crying and screaming for something to stop. What is he talking about? What needs to stop?
Then I see it. Lil-J is sitting on top of Abby.
Her dress is cut down the middle, panties ripped off, and his pants are down.
Oh my God, he’s trying to rape her. Or he already has and this is the aftermath.
I don’t even think. I lift my gun and pull the trigger.
He slumps over on top of her. I run over quickly to push him off of her.
She’s screaming and there’s so much blood.
She won’t stop screaming.
Then she’s quiet. She blacked out.
ABBY Chapter 47-
I hear the faint sound of beeping.
God, my head is pounding and that beeping is annoying.
> I try to open my eyes, but they feel so heavy.
I can hear people talking, but I only get bits and pieces.
“No, she wasn’t...”
“Are you sure doctor...?”
“Yes, I’m sure... no fluids...”
Then the beeping goes silent, letting me fade back to sleep.
ABBY Chapter 48-
This time when I wake up, I actually am able to open my eyes when I try.
I open them to a sterile white room. That, accompanied with the beeping, I can tell I’m in a hospital. But why?
I don’t feel hurt. Except this awful headache. My head is throbbing.
I look around the room tentatively once my eyes adjust to the brightness of the lights. I see all of my boys in one room, asleep.
They all are in the clothes we went to Emilio’s in… none of them have left me. I wonder how long we’ve been here.
Jaxon and Archer are asleep hunched over on the couch. Nick is laying on the floor on a blanket with a pillow. It looks like he’s been there a while.
I notice he has a few stitches in the gash on his forehead. His blonde hair is still matted with dried blood. Bless his heart, he’s not even taken a shower yet.
Brayden is on one side of me in a chair; its lounged back like a recliner. Asher is on the other side of me. He’s bent forward with his head laying near my hand and his hand is on my leg. It looks like he’s holding on because he thinks I’ll disappear if he let’s go.
I move my fingers pushing them through his hair, causing him to stir in his sleep.
Opening up his bright blue eyes, he jumps in shock when he sees me staring down at him.
“Abby! You’re awake!” He says excitedly, waking everyone else in the room. Suddenly the quiet, sterile room comes to life with the movement of the boys.
Nick comes running to my bed, practically jumping onto the bed with me, hugging me fiercely.
“Abs, oh my God. You’re awake. Abby-bear I love you so much. You’re the best sister... I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if...I just… I can't…I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you…I’m sorry I couldn’t save you…” he chokes out, crying.
I know what he's thinking because I’m thinking the same thing. What would've happened if Asher didn’t save me? If they didn't get to us in time.
The memories come flooding back and I feel myself start to hyperventilate, my chest tightening.
Jaxon pulls my brother off of me, telling him to give me some space before he pushes the nurse call button.
Jax heads them all out of the room, making them exit, saying they need to go to the cafeteria and grab food. I know he just wants them to give me space to process what all has happened. I’m thankful for it.
Asher stays back with me, not that I expected any different. When the nurse comes in, she gives me a relaxing sedative. Something that will keep me calm, but will also let me stay awake and lucid.
I lay here for about twenty minutes just letting Asher hold me.
He’s got his arms around me, lying beside me in the tiny hospital bed. Running his fingers through my hair. At one point I thought I'd never feel his arms again.
“Abby, I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Asher.”
“Baby, I thought I’d never get to see you again. I thought I’d never hear you say those words in person. I’m so sorry I let you down.”
“Asher, I had been sold to that maniac before we even started talking. It was going to happen regardless. Babe, you saved me.”
He nods his head, but I can see his guilt.
He kisses my forehead and the boys file back into the room from their cafeteria visit. They each make their way over to me, regarding me in their own ways.
Jaxon squeezes my hand before dropping a kiss on my forehead. “Abby girl, I sure am glad you’re okay. How would you feel about becoming a member of our team? You can think about it.”
“Yes!” I answer quickly, making them all laugh at me.
Jax nods at me, smiling, before he steps back and lets the next brother come in.
Brayden hugs me and kisses my forehead, just like Jaxon did. “I’m so glad you’re okay Abbykins. I love you, girl.”
I smile softly at him back. “I love you too, Bray.”
Next Archer comes up. I’m not expecting much on the affection side. Maybe a nice firm handshake... Archer isn’t a touchy feely guy or someone who is over sentimental.
You can imagine my surprise when he bends over and follows suit like his brothers, kissing me on my forehead.
He stands back awkwardly, then proceeds to ruffle my hair. I laugh out loud, that was more like Archer, unsure how to show affection so he pets me like a dog.
I’ve been dying to know what happened to Emilio, so I ask.
“Well, your dad, Pato and Emilio will all be serving a very, very long time in jail. We don’t expect Emilio or Pato to make it to trial though. They will most likely be killed because their affiliation to the cartel. They have a lot of enemies.” Jax tells me.
“Lil-J was dead on impact. Our boy here’s a sharp shooter.” Brayden says proudly, slapping Asher on the shoulder.
The room goes quiet, I know it’s because of an unanswered question. They're curious about how far Lil-J got before Asher intervened.
“He didn’t.” I tell them. “He didn’t rape me, but it was close. Too close.”
The emotions on their face range from sympathy to anger, so I add in something to ease their minds.
“I’m okay. I might need, I don’t know... to talk to someone about it eventually, but right now I’m okay. He’s gone. He can’t hurt me anymore. They can't hurt anyone anymore.”
Asher pulls me into his side squeezing me tightly. It wasn’t long until I fell into a peaceful sleep, surrounded by my Badd boys.
Epilogue- ASHER- 1 week later
“Abby, we’re so proud of you for graduating as salutatorian!” Jaxon coos.
It’s utterly strange, and surprisingly comforting how Abby has my brothers and myself wrapped around her little finger.
Abby just graduated second in her class and we’re out celebrating.
We celebrated Nick’s 16th birthday a few nights ago. It wasn't surprising to find out neither of them were celebrated much since their mom passed away.
We went to a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant, bought him cake, and even pitched in to get him a birthday present. The little blue Honda Civic was being sold at a local car lot for fairly cheap.
None of us wanted Abby to have to worry about Nick having a way back and forth to school once we settled and got him enrolled in school.
She will be working at one of the Badd Incorporated offices in the analysis unit, but we’ve not talked about which location she will be at yet... Nick needed a little freedom anyways. Jaxon is going to start helping him with driving lessons next week.
Brayden was terribly disappointed he wasn't giving the lessons, but Abby was adamant that Nick didn't need to be taught by a wannabe NASCAR driver.
I have to say I agree. Jaxon taught all of us to drive, so I know Nick will be fine.
Tonight, though is all about Abby. Archer and I were in her grade, but we were only there on undercover assignment. We actually graduated through a homeschool program before we came on assignment to Tipton, Kansas. Being high school students helped our cover story.
“Thanks, Jax! I’m so excited to be a part of the team officially. I promise I’ll do whatever you need me to so I can be up to speed.”
“You’re okay, Abby girl. We’re going to take some time off since we just wrapped up this assignment.” Jax informs her.
“Can I be on the team too, Jax?” Nick asks. We suspected he would ask soon about joining. I saw the way his eyes lit up when we showed him the forensics lab at Badd Incorporated a few days ago.
We already all discussed about Nick joining the team in the future. After speaking with Abby we decided that even though we know he'll eventually be on the team
if that’s what he wants, we want him to have an education. Something to fall back on to.
“Yeah bud, but you have to get your degree first. So, make sure you start looking into colleges. You need to start visiting and applying this upcoming school year.” Jaxon tells him.
He grumbles about Abby not getting a degree but leaves it alone with the promise of looking into some schools.
“What's the game plan Jax? Are we staying in Tipton, or going home?” I ask.
We’ve not talked about it yet, but we need to. I personally don’t want to stay in Tipton, there's too many negative factors and bad memories, but I have Abby and Nick to think about now too.
“Where’s home?” Abby asks
We all smile widely. We love our home town. “Leland, North Carolina” we all answer in unison.
Abby and Nick look at each other and seem to have a silent conversation before apparently coming to a conclusion.
“When do we leave?” They ask at the same time, and all I can feel is how full my heart is with them in it.
Archer’s phone dings with an incoming text. I see the message has effectively drained all the color from his face.
“What’s wrong Arch?”
“You remember when you told me that a few weeks ago that you would have my back and help me protect the girl that I love with your last breath?”
I’m utterly confused because, Archer loves a girl? And, I don’t know about her? I remember the conversation vividly so I nod to him, waiting for him to explain.
“Well, I’ve found her, and she’s in trouble.”
I look around the table to see the concern on everyone’s face.
“What can we do?” Abby and I ask at the same time.
“Help me find her, she’s missing.”