Chapter 4. Then She Comes Creeping
Eric followed Kevin down in the truck while Kevin dropped off the sedan at Jasper's Garage, then Kevin drove them to a gas station. When Kevin ran in to pay for gas and get them sodas, Eric searched out the pay phone. Once he was certain that Kevin couldn't see him, Eric dashed for the phone, fishing Mike's wallet out of his pocket. Picking up the receiver, he looked nervously over his shoulder, praying Kevin wouldn't come out before he'd finished the call and gotten safely back into the truck.
"Operator, can you connect me to the police, please." Eric stage whispered, terrified of what would happen if Kevin overheard him. "Yes, sir," he continued when the call had been connected. "I need to report an accident. No, no…not now. This morning. Early…like, 2am. On Pacific Coast Highway." He glanced over his shoulder again and noticed Kevin with his back to him through the window, approaching the register. "We hit a pedestrian. A man. He's really hurt. We thought he was dead, and we panicked. We took him somewhere, only he's not dead and now ..."he paused again, then shook his head, "No, he's alive, or at least he was when we left, but they won't take him to hospital and I'm not sure how long he's safe there." He paused to listen, panicking as Kevin paid for their things and headed for the door. "No, no, I'm sorry. Please, just listen. His name is Michael Nesmith. He lives at 1334..."
"HEY!" Kevin shouted, running toward Eric.
Eric pocketed the wallet quickly and said nervously, knowing Kevin could hear him. "No, mom, I told you I stayed over at…"
Kevin hung up the phone, eying Eric suspiciously. "Who were you talking to?"
"My mom," Eric answered, clearing his throat. "I just called to tell her I stayed over with you, so she wouldn't worry. I think maybe she's still drunk, though."
Kevin looked at Eric as if seeking some hint of deception, but finally seemed to buy his story. "When isn't she? You could call her a hundred times, and she'll still ask you where you were when you get home, right?"
"yeah…" Eric answered, thankful for the first time in his life for his mother's alcohol addled memory. "I guess so. I just thought maybe this time…"
Kevin ruffled Eric's hair and shoved a Coke into his hands. "Come on. I'll drop you off at home before I go get Kait's supplies."
Kaitlyn barely noticed the boys leave, so focused was she on the beautiful broken man lying there in front of her. "Don't worry, Michael," she said, brushing his hair back gently from his eyes, admiring the contrast of his long, dark lashes upon his pale ivory skin. "I've got you now."
She finished cleaning his injuries, then set about repairing what she could. She stitched the long gash on his head, then carefully pulled his dislocated right shoulder back into place, wrapping it and his ribs so that they would heal. After a quick run to her room to get what she needed, she put together a traction splint for his obviously broken right femur. Once she was sure she'd taken care of all of the obvious injuries, and knowing there was little she could do to keep him alive if he'd suffered any serious internal injuries, she took his temperature again, then frowned.
"We have to warm you up, my love," she cooed, bringing blankets to tuck around him. Climbing underneath them with him, she laid her head upon his left shoulder, wrapping her arms around him a moment before slowly and deliberately running her hands up and down his chest. After a moment, she planted a row of soft, gentle kisses along his icy collar bone, then down his sternum, her hand trailing along before, following the dark, downy trail lower.
"Soon," she whispered as her hand found its target, her fingers gently tracing along its venous length before circling the tip, then tracing back only to begin their journey again. Her tongue delicately flicked at his Adam's apple before her lips worked their way up his.
"You're too thin." She whispered between kisses. "I know, love. It's hard to keep weight on when some bitch steals your livelihood, isn't it? Don't worry, though. I'll take care of her for you. Her and the other three, too. They'll all pay for hurting you like this. I promise."
She smiled softly as she gave more attention to the effect of her ministrations, grasping his thick, firmness and urging him onward with long, slow, deliberate strokes along its entire length.
"mmm…I'm so glad your finally home, Michael," she breathed, the heat between her own thighs demanding attention. Placing another kiss tenderly upon the still unconscious man's lips, she drew her hands up his torso, then sat up, shedding her garments quickly. Carefully, she straddled him, then lowered herself onto him, savoring the delicious feeling of him within her, filling her so completely, for a moment before she began rocking her hips, slowly at first, then faster, coaxing him toward release even as her own body demanded the same. "You're mine, Michael." She said breathlessly, circling her hips, her head lolling back in ecstasy. "You belong to me." She cried out his name as she came with him, then wrapped herself around him, letting her own body warm his, until no hint of chill remained.
"It's taken too long for you to come home to me." She informed him as she slowly rose, dressed, and cleaned him once again before tucking the blankets securely around him. "Now that you're here, though, I'll take care of you. I'll take care of everything, you'll see. You'll stay here with me from now on and I promise, nobody will ever get near you again. I'll kill anyone who tries to take you away from me again."
Back at the pad, the phone rang. Four sets of hands reached for it together. Shug gripped the receiver, tugging it insistently from the others.
"Hello," she answered, then paused to listen. "Yes, this is she." She looked at the others, waving them closer as she tilted the handset so that Micky, who stood across the phone table from her, could listen as well. "Did they say where he was?" She closed her eyes tightly in frustration, then asked. "Well, did they say who they were? Maybe they can…" Looking over to Peter helplessly, she shook her head. "Thank you…no, I appreciate that, sir….we will….goodbye."
Peter hung up the phone as she sank into a chair, drawing her knees up to her chest. "He's alive." She told them, in case they hadn't heard. "Whoever hit him took him with them. They said the boy who called sounded very young and very afraid. He said they thought he was …" she swallowed hard, fighting back against the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Struggling for a calm she didn't feel, she began again, " they thought he was dead, and they panicked." Davy paled visibly at the thought, so Shug reiterated, "…but he isn't, though. He's alive." She considered leaving off the rest of what the detective said, but she knew Davy and Pete, who hadn't been able to hear much from where they were, deserved to know. "But he's hurt. Badly. And whoever has him won't take him to a hospital." She shook her head, lowering it to her knees, unable to fight back the terror and guilt and overwhelming sense of loss any longer.
"How are we going to find him?" Davy asked, looking to the others for answers. "We have to find him."
"I don't know," Micky, who'd been nearest the receiver alongside Shug, answered, starting to pace, desperately needing to be doing more to help their missing friend. "The caller didn't give his name or say where he was calling from. They're trying to find out now, and they're sending out cars to each of the auto repair shops in the area to see what they can find. It's not much to go on."
Peter did his best to comfort Shug despite the tears coursing down his own cheeks. He felt helpless. Looking at the Micky and Davy's expressions, he knew he wasn't alone, either. They'd all do anything to find Mike and bring him safely home. Unfortunately, the detective's call had given them only the very slightest of assurances and no real leads at all.
Please God, Peter prayed silently as he held Shug tightly in his arms. I'll do anything you want, but please let us find him before it's too late.
( tbc)
