Elizabeth tightened her red peacoat around her body as she dipped into one of the alleys down by the docks. She leaned against the cold, brick wall long enough to slide her high heeled shoes off. The last thing she needed right now was a sound that would allow him to follow her. She took several deep breaths, knowing at this point, this was the only break she was going to get.
Bracing herself against the wall, she kept her azure eyes fixated on the end of the alley. Waiting. She'd always hated waiting. She wasn't sure which was worse. The anticipation of the bang or the bang itself.
She grimaced, realizing how cold the concrete was, arching to stand on her tiptoes, as if that would ease the pain. Tears stung her eyes, her heart aching to be at home. Where she was safe. But had she ever really been safe?
She sucked in a breath when he appeared at the end of the alley, the outline of his body glowing against the streetlight. He was tall, not too tall, but she knew that didn't matter. He had a gun. She didn't notice what kind, probably a glock, and there was no doubt in her mind that he wasn't afraid to use it.
She waited for him to take the first step into the alley. To show that he wasn't relenting, that he wasn't going to let her go. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she took a deep breath as she clutched her heels to her chest. She had the choice to stay or run. But where would running get her?
"I know you're here," he growled, his voice echoing softly in the dark around her.
She held back a whimper, tears falling down her face. He was going to get her. She slid against the wall, several feet, until she bumped into a dumpster. Her eyes focused on the darkness in front of her, she began to slowly ease herself around it. She panicked when she realized she couldn't see him, that he could be right there in front of her, that she wouldn't know until it was too late.
She was oblivious to how badly the garbage smelled, the flies gathered around it's opening. She didn't feel it when the heel of her foot came down on a broken beer bottle. She didn't think about the infections that could follow. And when she made it the other side of the dumpster and pressed herself up against the wall, she remained oblivious to the two men, hunkered over a car at the opposite side of the alley.
"You shouldn't make this so difficult on yourself," came his low, husky voice again. She cursed under her breath, the beginning of a sob escaping from my mouth. "Aw, honey. You don't have to be afraid."
She noticed his footsteps were closer, still heavy, thudding against the pavement. She pressed her head against the brick wall, telling herself it was now or never. She slipped her hand into her purse quietly, relief washing over her when she wrapped her slender fingers around the tiny knife she'd been hiding for this possible moment.
She would not go down without a fight.
"Look, you brought this on yourself. And if you would have just played fair, this wouldn't be happening. You know the rules."
She bit her lip so hard that she was sure it was bleeding. It was the only way to keep herself hushed, the only way to stop herself from breaking down.
His gun scraped against the side of the dumpster and she screamed. Short and curt, cutting it off with her hand when she realized the sound had come from her. She flicked the knife open and stepped forward. "Go to hell!" she screamed, dropping her shoes. She sunk the knife into her shoulder.
She saw him pull the trigger, felt the bullet ricochet off the concrete beside her feet, but she didn't stay long enough to give him another shot. She turned and ran the other way, still oblivious to the two men standing at the other end of the alley. She screamed when she heard more gunshots and felt the bullets whizzing past her.
And then, she was laying on the ground. Unsure of how she got there. This is it, she told herself, you are going to die.
She screamed, bursting into tears when she felt the body lay over her, bullets still firing all around her. She placed her hands on the body that was on top of her and tried to push it away. "Please," she sobbed. "Please don't kill me. You don't understand."
And then, someone was standing above her, reaching for hand to pull her to her feet. "I'm not going to kill you," he said gently, his piercing, cerulean eyes locked on hers. He nodded towards the body laying a few feet away. "But apparently, he was." She took in his face, the way the sandy blonde hair fell into his eyes, how he remained so calm and relaxed after what had just happened.
Finally, she nodded back at him, doing her best to catch her breath. She watched as he approached the body slowly, rolling the man onto his back. Stooping down he fished the suit jacket for a wallet. "Nice stab wound…Let's see," he murmured, flipping it open. He moved back to his feet, trying to position the wallet just right so he could see the ID. "Andy Rodriguez."
"What the fuck!" called out a voice behind her. She flicked her eyes to the man the she'd just realized was standing behind her. He looked scared and worried. Less stoic and fearless as the one stooped over the body.
"Get in the car!" the blonde ordered moving to his feet. She remained frozen, wondering how she'd gotten out of one awful situation and seemed to end up in another. She stepped forward to run, but he was too quick, grabbing her by the arm. "Johnny, open the door." He shifted his eyes back to hers. "You have to come with us. There's a good chance that Andy brought friends."
He didn't let go of her arm, instead he pushed her against the back of the car. The car she'd realized was actually a cab. And she knew they were not cab drivers.
"Shit," Johnny murmured, opening the door, a man's body falling out.
"Oh my god!" she shrieked, noticing the bullet that was between his eyes.
"Johnny!" the blonde hissed.
"Shit," he replied, stooping to pick the man up. He was slightly overweight, probably should have been too heavy for him, but somehow Johnny managed to toss him over his shoulder. He grinned at her. "Long story."
She shook her head, tears slipping down her face. "Please," she asked the blonde man. "Just let me go. I won't tell-"
"You aren't safe," he interrupted, pushing her towards the door. When she kicked at him, he somehow managed to maneuver his body against hers long enough to shove her inside without any more of struggle. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You're kidnapping me!" she hissed, glancing out the back windshield. "And he's putting some dead guy in your trunk!"
"Long story," the blonde muttered, just as Johnny had.
She shook her head, moving against the other door. There was no way for her to get out. The car was pressed too close to the wall of the alley.
"Don't even think about it," he said, sliding over beside her. He shifted to pull of his leather jacket and that was when she first noticed just how muscular he was. "You're freezing." He draped the jacket over her shoulders, reaching to cup her face with his hand. "You're safe. I promise. We're just going to get you out of here."
She would have believed him, would have fallen right over for the truth that seemed to lay within his eyes. But she had been there before. Had fallen so fast. So hard. And woken up far too late. "You don't understand."
He started to ask a question, but Johnny slid into the driver's seat. He bent down below the steering wheel, tugging at wires. Within in seconds the cab started. He threw his arm over the seat and looked back at them. Smiling when he saw how close they were sitting, how protective his friend was being. "Alright, lovebirds, tonight you get a free ride. Where are we going? And I don't have all night to be driving-"
"Just get us the fuck out of here!" the blonde snapped, glaring at him.
"You can take me home," the brunette murmured, staring out the window as Johnny jerked the car out of the alley.
"Cliff road," the blonde murmured.
"I said, I wanna go home," she cried, staring at him. "Who the hell are you? You don't just snatch a woman in an alley-"
"I didn't snatch you," he cut in, his eyes locked on hers again. "I saved your life."
"I would have been fine on my own."
"Actually, you wouldn't have," Johnny piped from the front street. He grinned at the two of them in the rearview mirror. "That was Andy Rodriguez. Hell, the only person better than him is Jason here, and well, now you know why Jason is better."
He jerked the car hard to the left, heading for the outskirts of town, and her head slammed against the window. "Oh, shit," she said, rubbing a hand against her forehead.
"Slow down, Johnny," Jason barked, reaching out to touch her, but she batted his hand away. "I mean it Johnny. The last thing we need is the cops."
"No, they're just what you need," she said hastily as he made another sharp turn. She almost banged her head again, but this time she managed to catch herself. "Where in the hell did you get your license?"
"I don't have one," he replied with a shrug. "But that's kind of a long story."
She shifted in her seat, tugging at the strap of her purse. She pulled it open, reaching for her wallet. "What do you want? Money? I don't have that much of it, but-"
"We don't want your money," Jason cut in, his voice still gentle. "We're just trying to help you. We couldn't stay in that alley. Someone else-"
"You can't do this!" she screamed, turning towards him abruptly, her fist connecting with his face. "You can't just grab me like this! Let me go!" She brought her feet up to her chest, using her legs to kick him away. He growled when her foot slammed hard between his legs.
"We're not going to hurt you!" Jason repeated, shifting his body over hers. He held her flat against the cab seat, his legs pinning hers down. She wiggled against him, a string of curse words flowing from her mouth. "Do you want us to let you out here on the side of the road where they can find you? They won't give up." He grabbed her wrists in his hands, slamming her against the seat. Her eyes flickered with fear, making it obvious this wasn't the first time she'd been grabbed like that.
"Please," she interrupted, looking at the wallet in her hand. She ran her thumb over the picture. "Please, don't hurt me…I have a-a daughter. And she's four. And she needs me. I'm all she has."
His gaze flickered to the picture, sweeping over the tiny child's face. She was all of four or five years old, her hair hung in loose curls around her face, her eyes just as blue as her mothers. "She's beautiful," he said, staring sadly at the photo. She noticed the immediate change in her eyes and wondered what had happened there. But she was too distracted by her fear to care. Her face crumpled and she began to sob.
Jason shifted off her, almost looking guilty, as though he had caused this some how. He pulled her up slowly beside him. He swallowed hard, turning towards the window as if he couldn't bare to look at her.
Johnny's eyes darted to the rearview mirror when the cab filled with an overwhelming silence. "Well, kids, the honeymoon over?"
"Just drive," Jason hissed, pressing his forehead against the cool glass.
"Don't worry," Johnny replied to her with a wink. "Jason gets testy sometime. What's your name?"
She pulled the leather jacket around her. It barely provided anymore warmth than the pea coat under it did, but something about it made her feel safe. "Elizabeth."
He nodded at her in the mirror. "I'm Johnny O'Brien. It's nice to meet you."
She didn't look convinced. "Are you always this kind to the women you abduct in alleys?"
"Hey, now. Jason didn't abduct you," Johnny replied shaking his head. "And I didn't shoot that-"
"Just fucking drive," Jason said, his palm connecting to the back of Johnny's head. "We don't have time for-"
"You don't have to be such an asshole," Elizabeth cut in, narrowing her eyes at him. "He was just being nice."
"He was just saying things that could get you killed," Jason replied huffily. "You have no idea."
"I know more than you think," she said without thinking. She caught the words as soon as they left her lips, stopping to turn her attention back to her photo. "I need to get home to my daughter. You don't understand."
"What's her name?" Johnny asked, turning onto the bottom of the cliff road. He leaned over to roll his window down, letting the smell of the night air swarm the cab.
Elizabeth chewed her lip, wondering why he was asking so many questions. But if she had learned anything, it was that being friendly with kidnappers or whoever they were, was probably the best idea. "Ella."
"She a real mama's girl, I bet," Johnny said with a wink. "Hell, if I had a mama that looked like you, I'd never-"
"Shut up," Jason cut in, turning towards Elizabeth. "No offense, but right now I don't give a damn about your daughter, her relationship with you, or really how badly you want to go home to her."
"You don't strike me as a man who gives much sympathy," she murmured, snapping her wallet closed. She held it against her chest, just above her heart, silently praying that Ella was safe.
Jason scooted back across the seat to her. "I need you to be honest with me," he said, reaching to tuck hair behind her ear.
The touch was innocent, but it caught her off guard, causing her jump. She felt the panic tighten in her chest and she started to ramble. "I have been. My name is Elizabeth. I have a daughter. She's four. I work at General Hospital as a nurse. I just moved here four months ago. I don't really know many-"
"Stop," he cut in, leaning towards her. He cupped her face, forcing her to look into his. "I need you to answer a question for me."
She nodded, tears slipping down her face. He wiped them away quickly with the pads of his thumbs. "I'll-I'll try."
He sighed, trying to remind himself that she was scared. He could feel the tremors running through her bodies, was sure he could hear her heart pounding. "Why was Andy Rodriguez following you?" She gave him a blank look, forcing him to dig deeper. "Why was Andy Rodriguez, the enforcer and right hand man to one of the biggest crime bosses following you? I doubt this was just an argument between lovers." She shrugged, doing her best to break his stare, but he wouldn't allow it. "I know who Ridriguez works for. And I think you do too. So maybe the better question is why does Lorenzo Alcazar want you dead?"