Out Bad

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  She sucked in another breath, the next scream not clearing her lips when a meaty hand clamped over her mouth and another gripped her ponytail, yanking her head back sharply. “Stop being a little bitch and get in the car.”

  A knee dug into her back as the guy behind her, shoved his weight against her. She tried to push back, digging her fingers into the edge of the door opening and struggling to keep her feet under her.

  Suddenly his weight was gone from her back. Maybe someone was seeing what was happening to her and they were taking off.

  A second later he slammed into her, breaking her grip, launching her across the back seat of the sedan. He jumped in behind her, sitting on the lower half of her body as he pulled her legs in and slammed the door closed.

  “Go! Get the fuck outta here.” He turned to look out the back window as the car lurched forward, speeding down the empty street.

  The two men were laughing, Cooter slapped his buddy driving on the back. “I told you Skrag. I told you we could get her.”

  “Fuck yeah you did!”

  Gwen was pinned face down on a worn leather seat, the bag from the drug store still wrapped around her wrist. Tears bit at the back of her eyes as she wondered if they would just kill her and dump her somewhere. Would the crap littering the floorboard of this piece of shit car be the last thing she saw?

  She was so fucking stupid. So sure everyone was overreacting. No way would a biker gang really kill someone who had nothing to do with what was going on. Now here she was with fucking Cooter and Skrag driving someplace no one will ever find her.

  She was so close. All the time she'd wasted. When most people have years of happiness and joy to flash before their eyes, she had nothing. Working, spending her money collecting useless shit, that was all she had to remember.

  And Joe.

  Pain seized her chest. He would never get over this. He would think this was all his fault and it wasn’t. It was all hers. If she’d only listened to someone else for a change, everything would still be okay. She would still be with him right now and they could be together.

  Not now. Now Joe would be left to live the life she’d only just been able to leave behind.

  “You sure are pretty girl.” Cooter ran a fat finger down her cheek.

  She felt sick. Maybe they didn’t plan to just kill her. Oh God. She swallowed hard. No way. No fucking way was either of these two twats going to have her. Over her dead body.

  Suddenly death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to her. Somehow, dying had seemed like an inevitable outcome she could accept. Rape though. Rape was not going to be happening today. Not unless she found a broom handle.

  She blinked her eyes hard and fast clearing the tears that had gathered. She was being stupid. Again.

  Stupidity is what landed her here but it was not what would get her out. She needed to be smart. Smarter than the guys who managed to grab her. She didn’t imagine that would be too hard.

  She took a deep breath. As long as she kept it together she would be okay.

  Her legs were numb from the weight of the fat ass who grabbed her. She wouldn’t be able to run when they did finally get out of this fucking car. She looked around, there had to be something in here she could use as a weapon when the time was right.

  The two men were arguing about where they should take her. That should probably have been something they discussed before now, but it gave her a little insight into what kind of people she was dealing with here. Idiots. That could only work in her favor.

  They had her when it came to numbers, she needed to keep that in mind, and they were definitely stronger than she was, not that hand to hand combat would have been part of any plan she considered. Whatever she did, would have to be smart and quick.

  “Think he’ll come lookin’ for her?”

  The man in the back seat looked down at her, a smile on his face. “I sure would.”

  Both men laughed again as Cooter rubbed her back, her skin crawling under his touch. Whatever she came up with, he was going to fucking suffer for this.

  “You sure are a pretty thing girl. You sure you don’t want to end this now and come be my baby?”

  She would rather die. “No thank you.” She kept her voice strong. No way were these guys going to get off on scaring her. “I like men.”

  A hand came down hard across her ass, leaving her skin stinging and her eyes watering. Cooter leaned down, putting all his substantial weight on her back making it nearly impossible to breathe.

  “Better watch what you say girl or I’ll show you how a real man handles a mouthy bitch.” His breath was hot against the side of her head. She jerked away, unable to stand his face so close to hers.

  “Where the fuck are we going?” The driver pulled Cooter’s attention off her and back to their plans, or lack thereof.

  He leaned up, bracing one arm over the front seat as he rubbed his scruffy chin. “Let’s go the motherfucker’s house. He’s gotta come home eventually. Maybe we can get him too.”

  Gwen took advantage of their distraction and slowly moved her hand around the floorboard, carefully shifting empty soda bottles and fast food bags as she tried to find something, anything to give her a leg up.

  Almost all the way under the driver’s seat something caught her eye. Please, please, please. She shifted a couple of napkins and glanced up to be sure no one noticed what she’d found.

  Both men were discussing their near certain rise in rank, caught up in what this was going to mean for them, oblivious to what she was doing. Stupid.

  Her stomach flipped as what she was hoping for came into view. It wasn’t much, but she could do some damage with it if she was smart.

  She hooked her finger over the lip of the small plastic tray and drug it closer. She just had to find a way to get it somewhere they wouldn’t know she had it.

  The car stopped suddenly. Shit. She pulled her hand away as she prayed they didn’t see what she did.

  “Come on girl. It’s time to get moving.” Cooter climbed out of the car, before reaching back in to grab at her.

  She rolled off the seat, wedging her body between the seats making sure her right arm was behind her.

  “Stupid bitch. You ain’t gonna win.”

  He tried to grab her feet as she kicked at him feeling around desperately for the plastic tray. Finally her hand hit the rim and she felt inside praying the force of her fall hadn’t knocked out what she was looking for.

  The big man managed to grab one foot just as her fingers slid across the mirror. She used the heel of her other foot to dig in to the back of his hand. He yelped and let go. She felt around, the empty pen casing against one side. Oh God, it was gone.

  Scabby appeared in the open door. “Stop fuckin’ around. Just get the bitch out.”

  Cooter reached in and grabbed both ankles and gave her a hard yank. She scooted across the floor of the car, the tray moving with her. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her finger.

  It was still there.

  Quickly, she stuck her nail under the sharp edge, biting her lip at the pain. Pinching it between her fingers, she put her other hand out to grab the front passenger seat, stopping her movement across the car.

  Wrenching her arm further behind her she fumbled for her back pocket, finally finding the top edge and sliding the razor blade as far in as she could get it.

  She had something. Now she just needed to figure out what to do with it. As the two men bumped against each other, fighting as they struggled to get her out of the car, she figured she’d have more than a few options.

  Twenty-Four

  “Fucking pick up!” It went to voicemail. He ended the call and immediately called back. That one went straight to voicemail. He was ready to throw the phone against the wall.

  Joe paced the room, counting as he went. When he got to ten, he called again.

  “What’s wrong?” Heath's words were muddled from sleep.

  “Gwen’s gone.”

  “What the he
ll do you mean she’s gone?” Heath’s voice went from groggy to panic in three seconds flat.

  “Who’s gone?” He heard Gabbi’s sleepy voice in the background.

  “I’ll be back in just a minute.” Heath’s voice was muffled, his shirt scratching against the microphone as he held the phone against his chest.

  Joe tried to stay as calm as he could, but he was about to reach through the line if Heath wasn’t back in two seconds.

  “Where the hell did she go?” Heath's voice was now clear but still a low whisper.

  “I don’t know. I woke up and she was gone. I went downstairs and the panty waste at the front desk said he thought he remembered her coming down to get something out of the store, but she never came back.”

  He felt dizzy. He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his head between his knees as he sucked in lungfulls of air.

  “You’ve gotta come get me. We have to go find her.”

  Why didn’t she listen? What was so freaking important that she had to leave without telling him?

  “Maybe she’s at home. She could have called a cab to come get her. Did you guys have a fight or anything?”

  “No we didn’t have a fucking fight!” It had been the best couple days of his life. He thought maybe it was for her too. But then she left.

  He shook his head. No. She was happy. More than happy with him. She wouldn’t have left to get away from him.

  “Calm down. You’ve got to get it together if we’re going to find her in ti-"

  “Don’t you fucking say ‘in time’.” Joe felt sick. He knew what could be happening to her right now. He’d stayed far away from the ugly things that could happen in the club, but that didn’t mean he was oblivious to what went on. “We’ve got to find her. Send someone to get me now.”

  “I’ll have a marked come get you, but you have to calm down. A lot.”

  “I don’t think you understand what could happen to her.” What could be happening to her right now. His heart was pounding in his chest. His whole body felt like it was pulsating as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

  “I'm just as familiar with what could happen as you are." He heard another phone ring on Heath’s end of the line. “Hang on.”

  Joe shoved his wallet in his pocket and pulled his shoes on. He’d been in such a panic when he woke up and found Gwen gone that he’d run downstairs barefoot probably looking like a lunatic. It would have been a fair assumption considering he felt like he was about to go crazy.

  He heard Heath in the background talking to someone on his work phone. “Go get him, just make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I’ll meet you there. Give me a half hour.”

  Joe sat down at the table were he’d been sharing his meals with Gwen. Their time together this weekend had been everything he wanted, hoped it would be.

  At this point he’d spent more consecutive hours with Gwen than any woman he’d ever been with. It was wonderful and he let himself imagine it would be like this forever. The two of them, then maybe a few more, sitting across from each other at dinner every night. Now there was a real possibility that would never happen and he felt like his life was ending.

  Heath was right. He had to get his mind right or he would start being stupid. He needed to try to get it together so he could figure out where she would be if someone did have her.

  Deep down he knew that was it. Heath could hope she had gone off on her own, but he knew. They had her and it was only a matter of time before they hurt her. His only hope was they would want him to know they were hurting her, so as long as they didn’t find him, she might be okay. For a while.

  But eventually they wouldn’t care. They would do what they wanted and let him figure it out after the fact. Either way was unbearable for him to think about. She was going to get hurt, if it hadn’t already happened. All because of him.

  “Joe!” Heath’s voice in his ear jolted him away from his thoughts.

  “I’m here.”

  “You sure? I’ve been talking to you for a while now.”

  “Sorry. I’m just worried.” Worried didn’t even begin to describe the fear gripping him.

  “I am too, but we have to be smart about this or she will get hurt. Okay?”

  “I know.”

  “Your ride will be there in ten minutes. I’ll meet you guys at the station and we will figure out what to do next.”

  Joe was already out of the room and in the elevator when he hung up with Heath. He couldn’t sit there any longer staring at the bed were he’d made love to Gwen.

  He wasn’t going to kid himself, he loved her. He was tired of worrying it was too soon and he needed to give her more time. Fuck time. He was going to find her and she would just have to deal with how he felt. She could catch up when she was ready, but he wasn’t going to hold back anymore. Not for her, not for anybody.

  He was grilling the front desk guy again when a uniformed officer came in.

  “How do you not know where she went?”

  “I’m not a babysitter.”

  He wanted to punch the guy in his fat bald face. The condescending prick deserved it. He was at the point of weighing his options when he noticed the cop standing beside him. It was babyface.

  Randy shook his head at Joe. “It’s not worth it.”

  The man behind the desk looked back and forth between them. “What’s not?”

  Officer Quiad leaned against the desk and nodded at Joe. “He was seriously considering punching you.”

  The stubby little man’s eyes grew wide as he looked from Joe to the cop and back to Joe again.

  “He’s right.” Joe nodded, feeling a little satisfied as the man’s face lost color. Good.

  “I might have even looked the other way.” Randy leaned farther across the desk. “Look, this woman could be in extreme danger right now. Did you see anything?”

  The man behind the desk swallowed hard and looked back at Joe.

  Randy elbowed him and nodded to the front doors. “How bout you go wait out front for me.”

  Joe glared at the man behind the desk. The fucker knew something. Joe immediately regretted not punching him.

  As much as he hated to, he walked away from the desk and out the doors. That little prick better hope Gwen was okay. If he held out on something that could have already made a difference, there would be hell to pay. He would be back to get the rest of his shit upstairs, and when he did, that bastard better pray he had the day off.

  Five minutes later Randy was out the front door and he and Joe were loading into the cruiser.

  “What did he say?”

  The cruiser pulled away from the curb and almost immediately hung a left into the parking lot of a drug store across the street. “He said he thought she went here.”

  Joe grabbed the door handle and was halfway to the door when Randy caught up to him. “Keep your mouth shut or you have to stay in the car from here on out. Got it?”

  Joe nodded. He wanted to hear everything straight from the source. No chance for someone to sugar coat it or leave out information in an attempt to keep him calm.

  The older lady at the front desk greeted them as they came in, a smile on her face. The police officer pulled a photo out of the small leather cover for his field notes. “Did this woman come in here a little bit ago?”

  She took the picture from his hand and held it close. It was a picture of Gwen and her nieces. Heath probably sent it over so the guys could print it out. He didn’t have any pictures of Gwen. His throat tightened. He cleared it trying to push the emotion away.

  “Yup. She came in a couple hours ago.” She held the photo out for the officer to grab, but Joe plucked it from her fingers and tucked it in his pocket. He wanted it. He needed to see her face, have her with him in some way.

  “Do you remember what she bought?” The cop flipped open his notebook and clicked the end of his pen.

  “Yes.” The woman’s cheeks took on a pinkish hue as she wrung her hands in front of her.

&n
bsp; Randy waited a minute until it became clear she wasn’t going to continue without prodding. “Can you tell me what it was?”

  “I don’t know if she’d want me to tell. It’s kind of embarrassing.” The woman was clearly uncomfortable with the topic, but there was no way around it.

  “Ma’am, she’s missing. We need to know anything that might help us find her.” Officer Quiad's voice took on a more stern tone, clearly conveying the severity of the situation.

  “Did you call the hospitals or the urgent care clinics? She might be at one of those.”

  “Why would you think that?” The cop’s voice was slow and calm.

  Joe held his breath as he waited for the woman’s answer.

  The woman looked around then leaned forward. “I think she was having a medical issue.”

  Joe wanted to scream. He wanted to shake this woman. It wasn’t that fucking hard to just spit out what she knew.

  “What kind of issue do you think she was having?” Kurt was scribbling in his pad as he waited for her answer.

  “She bought some juice and some pain pills and those pills that help your pee.” The woman looked guilty, clearly not happy about having to disclose Gwen’s secret shopping trip to the two men.

  “I don’t think I know what pills you’re referring to.” Kurt had stopped writing and was looking up at the cashier.

  She held up one finger and walked around her counter. “Hang on, I’ll go get them.” She came back and handed him a small box with the letters A Z O across the top.

  Kurt flipped the box over and read from the information. “Relief from urinary pain, burning, urgency and frequency associated with urinary tract infections.” He looked at Joe. “Eventful weekend?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The little lady behind the counter leaned forward and whispered at him. “Too much sex can make a woman have those problems.” She nodded as she stood back straight, giving him a judgmental once over.

  She had to be kidding. Joe looked at Randy. He nodded along with the woman.

  He wanted to die. All of this was his fault. Literally every single bit. The only thing keeping him moving forward was the chance that Gwen decided to go to the doctor.