by Sable, R. J.
“I dunno,” I frowned. Something was definitely wrong and he hadn’t told me. With our promise to be open and honest with each other, I had no doubt that he would tell me, he probably just needed some time to work it out in his head.
“You okay?” Matt scrutinised me.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I smiled. I knew that we’d work it out, whatever it was. “I should probably be heading off to go eat all Alex’ chocolate.”
“You want a lift?” Jake offered, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of speeding around in his new car.
“No thanks,” I laughed. “I think I’ll just walk.”
I wrapped myself up tight in my nice thick coat and my snug, wool-lined boots and set off towards Alex’ house. It wasn’t all that far. I’d made the trip a thousand times before.
I wondered how he and Rab were getting on. I knew their Christmas had been great despite a few strained moments with his Dad who’d walked out at some point during Christmas dinner. I still found it hard to believe that a father could reject his son like that. It wasn’t like Alex had done anything wrong, and Rab was great.
With my head lost in my thoughts I almost didn’t register that awkward, prickly feeling on the back of my neck. I shook my head and tried to shake it off. I didn’t want to turn into one those paranoid people who were scared to go outside.
“Jamie-Lea!” A man’s voice called out. I didn’t recognise it but whoever it was obviously knew me.
I turned around and scanned the street for the source of the voice. The broad figure of a man was approaching me from the driver’s side of a black Mercedes. I hesitated. Who is he? Something felt off about the situation and Jason’s voice in my head was telling me that my best bet was always to run to safety. As the man came closer, my body decided to do just that. My feet turned to run but then I caught sight of the man’s face and I knew exactly who he was.
“You,” I spat, unable to hide the obvious contempt from my voice.
Chapter 42
Wednesday, 27th December 2013
“So you know who I am then,” he smirked, his face turning uglier with the foul expression.
It would have been impossible not to. I’d recognise those green-blue eyes anywhere. I knew instantly that I’d seen them before on Craig’s birthday. The question was: why? Jason hadn’t seen or heard from his father in eight years. What was he doing at the same nightclub as me? I doubted it was a coincidence.
He took a few steps closer to me and I instinctively took a few steps back. Whilst he had obviously donated his eyes to his son, there was barely anything in his face that was familiar.
The years had clearly been unkind. His face was lined and angry, with a slight greying stubble on his chin. His hair must have been brown before he aged but it was limp and greasy and in need of a good trimming. He wore an expensive suit and I could see a lavish watch on his wrist. His well-dressed appearance contrasted with his unkempt hair and unshaven face.
“Get away from me,” I took another step back as he neared. I grabbed for my phone and pulled it out, ready to call for help.
“Got a mouth on you,” Gregory Reed scowled at me. “You obviously haven’t learnt your place.” His polite smile contrasted with the ugly flare in his eyes. Those eyes that were so like Jason’s. Despite the similarity, they were so very different. Jason’s eyes were always filled with love, they never held hate and anger aimed at me. Not like his father’s.
“I think it’s time you and I were formally introduced, don’t you?” He maintained his filthy smile.
“Leave me alone,” I warned, proud of myself for keeping an even and calm tone.
“I don’t think so, little girl,” he smirked. “You’re coming with me.”
I readied myself to run but Gregory seemed to sense it and removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a small gun.
“I know you’re a fast runner but you can’t outrun a bullet. Although you’re welcome to try. I assure you, my aim is exceptional.”
I didn’t like the fact that he knew I ran, it implied too many things. I rapidly worked through my options. Ian and Karl had only recently started going over these sorts of scenarios with me when they taught me krav maga. It wasn’t something I ever thought I’d be facing again. Disarming my brothers with a plastic gun wasn’t the same as doing it on a real person with hate in their eyes and bullets in the chamber. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take the risk. If being kidnapped had taught me anything, it was that I wanted to live.
I still had my phone in my hand and I’d been discretely trying to call 999 but Gregory had seen.
“I’ll take that,” he smirked, gesturing to my phone.
I reluctantly handed it over, taking great care not to make any contact with his skin.
“Now, if you’ll come with me,” he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back towards the Mercedes.
My eyes scanned the street rapidly as I considered my options. I was quickly realising that I didn’t have any. Not with the gun still pointing at me. I didn’t fancy my chances in the car but I didn’t seem to have any choice.
“There’s a good girl,” he cooed as if I was his lap dog. “Hands out in front of you.”
I made sure my eyes let him know how despicable I thought he was whilst I put my arms out in front of me.
“Obedient. Maybe Jason has you trained after all.”
I promptly spat in his face, which was the very least he deserved. He didn’t like that one bit. His cool and collected façade fell as he wiped the spit off his cheek.
For a split second, I saw the depths of the monster within and it was completely terrifying. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Jason and Ben growing up with that every day.
Having collected himself, he handed me a pair of metal handcuffs and waited for me to put them on. I gritted my teeth and hesitated, earning myself a sharp nudge in the ribs with the nasty looking gun.
Once again, I had no choice so I handcuffed my own wrists together. Gregory ushered me into the car and hopped into the driver’s seat.
He smirked at me, the gun pointing in my direction whilst he started the car one-handed.
“Where are you taking me?” I growled. My mind was already running through my possibilities. I could open the door when he slowed down enough, or I could hit him in the face and hope the gun didn’t go off. I could grab the steering wheel and make the car swerve off the road. I didn’t like any of the options. It didn’t seem too hopeful with the gun in the way.
“Don’t speak unless spoken to,” he growled, whacking the side of my face with the back of his weapon-wielding hand.
I spat blood from my mouth and shifted in my seat so I could see him better. “Does it make you feel like a big man? Hurting the people around you?” I scorned with all the disdain I felt for him.
“And there it is,” he smirked. “The confirmation that my sorry excuse for a son has been running his mouth.”
I closed my mouth at that. I didn’t have an answer. It was true that Jason had told me all about him but I didn’t see what relevance that bore. Maybe the sick bastard was taking me to hurt Jason even more for disrespecting him. It seemed like the sort of thing someone so twisted would do.
I kept track of the roads whilst Gregory drove. We were still in Derby and I knew roughly where we were. We weren’t far from the industrial area behind the twins’ gym. That knowledge gave me comfort and I began trying to form a plan. If I could get out of the car in this area, I could get myself to the gym and I knew I’d be safe.
“Your thoughts are written all over your face, you know that?” Gregory snickered. “You’re not getting out of this car unless I let you out. Go ahead, try the door.”
Of all the times my lack of poker face hindered me, this was by far the worst. There was no point trying the door. I was pretty sure he wasn’t bluffing. I knew that if I tried, the child lock would have been on.
He must have seen the hope in my eyes fade because he chuckled to himse
lf, pulling the car off the road and into the parking lot of a shut down pub with the windows boarded up.
He led me out of the car and into the pub by dragging me by my hair. I stumbled across the crumbling tarmac and my scalp hurt like hell but I refused to let him know. He seemed like the sort of freak who would get off on knowing he was hurting me.
“Get off of me,” I gritted once we made it into what must have been the serving area of the pub at some point in time.
“Keep your mouth shut, little girl.”
My response was to kick him in the shin. Hard. All that did was earn me another backhand to the face and another mouthful of blood.
“The only reason you don’t have a bullet through your leg right now is that I don’t want you bleeding out before Jason gets here. I wouldn’t want him to miss that.”
That shut me up. Not because of the threat of the bullet. I didn’t want Jason here. Nothing good could come from that. Gregory obviously wanted to hurt Jason in some way and I couldn’t let that happen.
He sat on one of the dusty, threadbare stools by the bar and stared at me. It made my skin crawl. I wished he’d sat close enough for me to kick him again. I’d go for the groin this time. It’d probably be worth a gunshot wound.
“You’re pretty,” he said after a while. His slimy smirk made me want to vomit.
“And you’re a sick bastard,” I retorted. After all, I was raised not to tell lies. “Do you beat on women and children because you’re afraid to take on a man your size?”
“Louisa, Jason’s mother, was a pretty woman,” he ignored me. “That was my first mistake. Women who know they’re pretty think it gives them the right to do whatever they want. They need to be taught their place.”
I scowled at him, loading my glare with all the venom I could muster.
“Obviously, Jason hasn’t learnt anything from me. That stupid little shit always was slow on the uptake. His brother may not have had any balls but at least he knew his place.”
“Shut up,” I screeched. “Jason and Ben are better men then you’ll ever be.”
“Those two?” He laughed bitterly. “Pathetic little shits both of them. I knew that whore was sleeping around on me. No son of mine would ever turn out like that.”
This guy was insane. That was the only explanation. I would have been over the moon to be able to tell Jason that Gregory wasn’t his real father but those eyes told me otherwise.
“Speaking of which, it’s about time me and my supposed son had a chat.” He gestured with his gun for me to sit down by the table, a good two meters away from him.
I took my sweet time but I did as he wanted because I still wasn’t too keen on the idea of bullet holes. I figured Ian had used up all the Carter family luck when he survived being shot.
I watched as Gregory took my phone from his pocket and dialled Jason. He put it on speakerphone on the table in front of me, taking his gun-free hand and seizing the chain linking my hands together.
“Jamie?” Jason’s voice answered. “What’s up, baby?”
Gregory shook his head at me, forbidding me to speak and I bit my tongue, biding my time.
“Hello, Jason.”
There were a few seconds silence before Jason spoke. “What the fuck are you doing with Jamie’s phone?” I could hear how tense he was in his voice.
“Is that any way to talk to your Dad?” Gregory smirked. “I thought I taught you better than that.”
“You were never my Dad. The only thing you ever taught me was that you’re a twisted fucker.”
“Jason, Jason, Jason,” Gregory chuckled evilly. “Language like that is disrespectful, you need to be taught a lesson. Since you’re not here, I guess this pretty little thing will have to take your place.”
“Don’t bluff, old man,” Jason snapped. “She’s not with you.”
“Say hello, pretty girl,” Gregory lowered his head to mine and pushed the gun right up against the side of my neck. His breath smelt of cigarettes and something sour.
I kept quiet, I didn’t want Jason to know I was there. If he came here, I knew without a shadow of a doubt his Dad would hurt him. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what he was up to but I knew it couldn’t be anything good.
“Speak, or I’ll make sure your face doesn’t stay pretty for long,” Gregory warned.
I held my tongue. He could threaten all he wanted. I’d give anything to keep Jason safe.
“Speak, you stupid bitch,” he used the gun to smash the side of my face. I was pretty sure something cracked. The flash of plain momentarily blinded me and my ears rung with a high-pitched whining. Despite my best efforts, I cried out from the shock and the pain.
“Jamie?” Jason’s voice softened and became desperate. “Is that you?”
I cursed inwardly. He’d heard me. I needed to say something to warn him.
“It’s me,” I answered dejectedly. “I’m so sorry, Jason.” My voice almost broke as I apologised but I forced it back. I wasn’t going to show Gregory any weakness or fear.
“If you hurt her I will fucking-” Jason began.
“Bit too late for that, son,” Gregory sneered. “You’ve failed to inform her of her place. Somebody had to put her there.”
“You son of a-” Jason’s angry voice sounded down the phone.
“How about this,” Gregory cut him off with a deceptively calm voice. “You come here within the next thirty minutes, and I’ll make sure that your girlfriend remains recognisable by the time you arrive.”
Jason started shouting obscenities down the phone and Gregory turned to me. “It’s in your best interest to make sure he gets here. Convince him,” he demanded, moving the gun to the joint of my shoulder.
“Jason,” I interrupted his rant with a slightly trembling voice.
He quietened and I knew I had his full attention.
“Don’t come here,” I begged him.
Gregory swore and hit the side of my face with his free hand, knocking me sideways onto the dusty bench.
“Thirty minutes, Jason. You call the police, she dies. You take longer than thirty minutes, she dies. And I’ll take my sweet time killing her.”
He rattled off the address and hung up the phone before launching it against the wall where it smashed into pieces.
Chapter 43
Wednesday, 27th December 2013
I didn’t want Jason to come but I knew he would. He wouldn’t want his Dad to hurt me. He’d put himself between his father and Ben and now he wanted to do the same for me. It was who he was.
I hated myself for getting caught in this situation and consequently putting Jason in danger. When I heard the door to the pub opening, my eyes turned in that direction. I was completely blown away by what I saw.
“Ian?” I whispered disbelievingly. What is he doing here?
He came in side-by-side with Jason, and Gregory made sure the gun was lodged snugly against my temple as they approached.
“That’s close enough,” he warned them. “Who’s this?” He demanded, his voice calm but the tense grip with which he held my neck betrayed him.
I could see Jason grinding his teeth and clenching his fists but he answered. “Jamie’s brother.”
“What are you trying to pull, son?” Gregory chuckled.
“He was with me when you called,” Jason explained grudgingly. “The Bluetooth in the car picked up the call. He heard everything.”
I frowned internally. That couldn’t have been true, Ian was on his way down to London to work.
“What’s one more body,” Gregory muttered, loud enough for all of us to hear him.
My stomach vaulted at his words. He intended to kill us. All three of us. I looked at Ian and Jason in panic and was met by contrasting expressions. Jason looked fairly terrified, his eyes filled with regret. Meanwhile, Ian was the picture of calm and relaxed. He wasn’t in big brother mode, nor was he the stern soldier I was familiar with. This was something else.
“So which brother are you?
” Gregory sneered. “You must be one of the older two.”
Ian just cocked his head at him, clearly not surprised that Gregory knew about our family.
“I’m guessing you must be Karl. You’re too built to be a filing clerk,” he continued.
I frowned in puzzlement. What on earth is he talking about? Ian wasn’t a filing clerk. I looked over at Ian and he gave me a subtle headshake that told me to keep my mouth shut. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Ian couldn’t exactly have his job title down as spy or assassin or whatever the hell it was he did.
“Military scum,” Gregory spat bitterly. “Just blindly following orders because you’re too stupid to think for yourself.”
I tensed and gritted my teeth, fighting back the urge to elbow him in the groin because the gun was still wedged against the side of my head. I gathered that he hadn’t exactly enjoyed his time in the military.
“Why don’t you tell me why we’re here, and why you’ve got a gun pressed to my sisters head,” Ian spoke for the first time.
“We’ll get to that,” Gregory smirked. “Jason, come here.”
Jason’s clenched fists were turning white and it took everything in me not to go over to him and give him a hug.
“Now, boy,” Gregory snapped, jiggling the gun against my head.
When Jason stood in front his father, Gregory pulled me up from the bench with his hand round my neck.
“Check him for weapons and don’t even think about trying to pull anything,” he ordered me.
I approached Jason gingerly, meeting his eye and trying to tell him that I loved him through my gaze. I could see that he was struggling. He needed me.
I squeezed him gently as I patted him down, the usual joy I felt from touching him was absent under the stress of the situation. Gregory’s attention was on me and Jason so I chanced a glance over at Ian. He met my gaze and I saw him signing over at me.
Keep calm. Don’t try anything. Help on the way.
I nodded subtly to let him know I’d seen. Completing my check of Jason, I stepped away, aware that the gun had been focussed on my head the whole time.