A/N: I swear you guys are the best with the caliber of reviews I have been getting on the last chapter. I must be doing something right if I can have two characters arguing and readers see both sides to the issue. I will try to PM you guys as often as possible but my already busy schedule just got more hellishly out of control.
You thought things got tense in the car? Wait.
Jade walked back to the jeep, holding a fresh cup of Columbian blend in hand.
"Sit," Jordan ordered.
Jade raised an eyebrow to the presumptuous redhead. Jordan was almost the anti-Cat. Jade shrugged and sat beside her.
"So," mumbled Jade as she eased into a casual sip of her coffee.
"You know what we have to talk about."
"There's nothing to discuss," protested Jade.
Jordan shot her a look. "Oh, I think there is."
"Are you suggesting that I give in to Tori?"
She shook her head. "I didn't say that, Jade. And I'm not saying that you're completely in the right."
Jade groaned. "Then what then?"
"You both need to remember that there are two of you in this relationship and you can't have one storm off and break off all communication."
"Look, I didn't start this..."
"But you sure as hell ended it," Jordan cut her off. "Listen, I'm not going to say that Tori didn't entrap you back there but you snapping and shutting down doesn't help the situation. You two need to talk."
Jade held her cup close to her mouth but hesitated. "I know," she whispered before finally taking a long sip.
"Tori," Nate knocked on the ladies room door.
No answer. He knocked again, a bit louder.
"Come on, Tori. I saw you go in there."
"Did you see that there was a second door?" asked a familiar voice behind him.
He turned around and flinched.
"Looking for me?" Tori asked, crossing her arms.
"Just wanted to see if you were alright. You looked really bad when you left the car."
Tori closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm fine, Nate. Thanks though."
"You're not really okay, are you?" he asked, squinting.
The half Latina, recently turned 30; sighed and pushed through the heavy metal door, marked "EXIT." Nathan followed.
"So tell me, Tori" Nate said before clearing his throat. "How long have you thought about this?"
"Nate..." she whined.
He put up his hands in defense. "I know, I know. It's not my business but overtime I've been getting used to thinking of you two as sisters. Like it or not, Jordan and I consider you girls family."
Tori smiled at the sentiment, but tried to quickly bury it under her own confidence of being right.
"And I hate to see family fight," he added.
Tori patted him on the shoulder and sighed.
"I know you and Jordan are concerned but..."
"Then let us help!" Nate cut her off.
"How?"
He took the brunette by the hand.
"Come on. He are going to discuss this. And the two of us will moderate."
Tori snatched her hand away and chuckled.
"Why don't we just make this a mock trial? You'll be my attorney and Jordan will be Jade's and you guys will present both arguments."
"Cute," Nate scoffed. "But who would be the decider?"
Tori shrugged, "I dunno."
Their conversation was disturbed by the sound of tires screeching. The pair looked in the direction of the commotion and saw a midnight blue van. A bearded man in his late 30's poked his head out. He was wearing a black work shirt and a purple and orange Phoenix Suns cap.
"Excuse me," he smiled. "Can you help me with something?"
"What do you need?" Tori asked.
The man looked briefly to the passenger side window and back again. "Some directions. Looking to get to St. George. I've know I'm supposed to be on Interstate 15 but I'm kind of lost here."
Nathan stepped in front of Tori. "Well, we aren't from around here so we're not sure."
"Oh," said the driver, looking disappointed. "Wait, do you have one of those GPS things?"
Tori fished out her iPhone. "Yeah, on my phone."
"Would you mind looking it up real quick?" he asked. "Just so I know where to go from here."
The man began to step out of the van when he lost his footing on the little step by the door and fell onto the ground. He cursed at himself, rubbing his elbow. Tori and Nathan rushed over to help the guy.
"Are you alright?" Tori asked, squatting beside him as did Nate.
"Just fine," he smiled in the quickest flash he took out a tazer and jammed it against Tori's neck, knocking her out. She barely made an audible yelp before going limp.
Nathan lunged at the man, trying to wrestle the device from him until he felt a stabbing in his side. Things very quickly began to get cloudy and then all of a sudden turned pitch black.
The man stood up, adjusting his hat as he looked around. Luckily nobody else was coming through this exit. There were half a dozen and this one was the furthest from the parking spaces so it wasn't ideal for anyone to use. Especially at night.
He opened his back doors and dragged first Tori into his van. When he heard the door slam shut, he tensed up and quickly covered Tori with a blanket.
"What happened to that guy?" a group of high school kids asked, indicating the body of Nathan Silver lying face down on the asphalt.
The man said, "Hit and run. I saw the whole thing. Bastard got away."
"Should we call 911?" one of the boys asked.
"Not necessary," the man winced as he dragged Nathan around the front of the car. He opened the door and started propping him up in the passenger seat. "I know him. I'll take him to the doctor. Thank you kids."
"I think I should call the cops," the same boy insisted.
The man contemplated the situation and closed his eyes, feigning thought.
"I believe he went that way," he pointed, indicating the direction toward state lines. "I believe he has Nevada plates, too."
"Okay," the boy nodded.
"Thanks, kids" he said as he deftly closed his back doors. "I hope they catch him."
And with that the dark blue van skidded away heading in the opposite direction of where he told the teens the police should pursue. The man produced a syringe from his jacket pocket and carefully placed it in the glove box.
"You I'm not worried about," he told the unconscious Nate. "That shit'll keep you nice and docile for a couple hours." He then looked behind his seat into the back. "Her on the other hand, I'll need to stop soon and tie her up before she comes to."
