Hi. Another update and in only a few days. I feel good but bad. My GCSE's start in two days...not even and I'm writing this. Not good. lol well thanks to all those who reviewed last time. Hope you enjoy this.

Laura

The hand on my shoulder gripped tight forcing me to stop in my tracks. All kinds of terrible thoughts ran through my mind. No one knew I was here. If I disappeared no one would know where to go. If they killed me no one would know...no one would know. You hear on TV people screaming "I'm too young to die!" when they're just about to be killed or whatever and you always laugh and I know because I'm guilty of it too. But just then it was all I could not to shout it out right then.

I mean, I'm not ashamed to admit but I'm still a virgin. Like seriously I don't want to die a virgin. God I've barely reached it pass first base and I'm 17. What was wrong with Jesse? Honestly, I'm a 17 year old and, if I do say so myself, a fairly attractive young woman who was completely willing, from what I can remember every time he kissed me, to go further. My God. Still looking back, I couldn't have been more besotted with him, even though I tried and still try at times to deny it. I was like fresh meat, laid out on a platter; he could have had me any time he wanted.

This is his entire fault. I'm going to die a virgin.

Still conscious of the person behind me I took a deep breath and turned slowly, biting my lip as I went. Was there any excuse? Any way out of this? I didn't even though who it was yet, for all I knew it could have been the freaky butler I'd been expecting to see last time I was here. But eventually I found out when I did the 180 degree turn with the help of the hand still gripping my shoulder.

I gulped.

"Can I help you?" asked Rick Gordon casually, his smile seemingly warm but the fact that it didn't reach all the way to his eyes told me otherwise. I felt a shiver creeping its way down my spine but I fought it. Showing fear was the last thing I should do, instead I just smiled and nodded my head, ignoring the pounding of my heart against my chest and how hot my face felt.

In the light of the afternoon sun he looked much different than he had the first time I'd met him. At the club that night he had been wearing casual jeans and a shirt, like the rest of the guys, and he had been slouched down in a chair clearly the "cool" guy, the centre of attention. Now however, standing in front of me he looked like a completely different guy. He was in a black suit, the blazer of which was buttoned up. He wore a silk tie which had thin silver patterns twisting in diagonals against dark navy. His dark brown hair was slicked back in a business style manner and his young looking face was tight with stress, making him look older than he actually was.

I began to panic in the silence that followed. He wanted me to explain why I was here. But explain what? That I was here trying to find the guy I loved – okay that freaks me out – and I had come here because I thought Rick might know where Jesse was but I just guessed where he lived because he looked rich the time I met him. Yeah that sounded great. Totally believable. Not.

"Um...hi," I spluttered quickly, shoving on my best smile, an idea suddenly jumping into my head. I stuck out my hand for him to shake and when he accepted it I pumped it in a I'm-not-sneaking-around-I'm-here-for-a-reason kind of way. "I'm Suze Simon. I'm a pupil at the Junipero Mission Academy. I'm here as a representative for my school, we're doing a sponsored run for...eh...charity! I was just wondering if it would be at all possible for you...to...eh...sponsor me, for you know...charity?"

Oh God. It sounded better in my head.

Rick continued to smile down at me, his left eyebrow rising up sceptically yet he nodded all the same. Over his shoulder, the big house seemed to loom over us and in one of the front windows I saw a curtain twitch...and then the one beside it did the same...and the one beside that too.

We had an audience.

Over head the sky had gotten darker. Large grey clouds were coming together, forming a blanket of gloom above us. A soft wind blew across the garden, lifting fallen leaves and petals as it passed. I quickly glanced at them as they flew in tumbles down to the ground again. The trees that surrounded the house rustled and I realised just how alone I really was, standing here with a complete stranger.

"Sure...anything for a good cause," He said, still smiling but not once moving as if he were going to sponsor me at all. I had a sudden urge to shiver again as he scrutinized my face. He stood unnervingly close, so much so that I needed to cough from the extensive smell of his cologne but couldn't.

"Gee, thanks," I replied, taking a step backwards towards the gate. "I had just realised before you came out that I left my sponsor sheet in my car. I'll just run and get it,"

I made to turn around, praying to God I would get away with it, but I knew it wouldn't or couldn't be that easy. But I tried all the same.

"Do I know you? You look really familiar and your name...I've heard it before," Rick said slowly not even caring to raise his voice, almost like he knew I'd stop walking anyway. His voice had a tone to it that I couldn't even describe. It had authority in it that seemed to come naturally to him. The kind of voice a General or someone like that would have, a voice that people just stopped and kept quiet to hear, to listen, to obey. I tried to gulp but my mouth had gone bone dry and the urge to run kept increasing, especially when Rick began to close the gap I had made between us.

"Nope," I said breathing out a nervous laugh, trying desperately to keep my calm. I longed to have someone next to me, to help me, to guide me away. Someone I trusted to be with me. I thought of my mum and Andy. I suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Even the thought of my brothers made me feel sad. I would have given anything to be with them right now. Family dinner didn't seem all that tormenting.

"Not that I can remember, anyway," I continued, smiling up at him. Again I tried to turn away but he reached out with a tanned hand and took hold of my wrist. His hand was cold and clammy and I wanted so badly to pull away from him but I knew how that would look. Suspicious.

"Are you sure?" He asked a wicked grin stretching across his face. I don't know if it was his cold hand on my skin or the wind that had suddenly picked up but all of a sudden I just felt really cold. Goosebumps had risen on my arms and Rick noticed, causing that smirk across his face to widen further. He knew.

"Suze," He said, though I knew perfectly well it wasn't a question but more of a clarification on his part. I may have been cold but what he said next chilled me to the core.

"Susannah,"

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying with all my might to look confused but I knew how I really looked...scared and caught out. But I didn't give up. I couldn't. I needed to go home and be with my family. I needed to find Jesse – even though it was his fault I was in this mess. So I kept the act going not even caring if he didn't believe it anymore. It was all I could do.

"Yeah...as in "Oh Susannah, don't you cry for me"...you know the song?" I asked him as casually as I could.

"I sure do, Susannah," Rick replied, that grin still on his face. His green eyes lit up in a way which frightened me even more than when he'd used my full name...again. He turned from me and looked back up at the house. The front door, which I hadn't noticed before was still open.

"Hey boys!" He yelled, so suddenly that I jumped violently backwards, out of his grasp and widening again the distance between us. Rick ignored me though and continued to shout. "Come and look who's just joined us!"

That's when he started laughing. A laugh that matched the mood in his eyes a moment before. He was happy and not in the good way. It was the hysterical kind of laughter the bad guy in a batman film would look after just getting away with something evil.

The curtains along the front windows all fluttered again and then through the front door three...five...okay six men appeared. They all ranged in different sizes, some were big, like really big with scruffy beards and thinning hair whilst some were small and skinny with slick greasy hair. It was easy to tell who were the business men in this operation – which is what it appeared to be like, it reminded me of that film the Departed with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, you know the one about the Mafia people and all that – and the ones that did the dirty work.

I kept taking steps backwards, slowly at first but once the men started to loom closer my steps quickened in panic. I could bolt for the gate now, I was fast enough but it was getting over it that was the problem. It took long enough on the way in.

As I retreated Rick stood in the exact same place, watching me go, still laughing that scary laugh of his.

"Recognise her, boys?" He sneered, a glint in his eye as some of the men stood beside him – the ones in suits – whilst the others, wearing torn jeans and shirts, continued to walk by him and towards me.

"It's De Silva's dark haired beauty...and a feisty one at that if I remember...but a bad liar," Rick continued and I could feel white hot fear bubbling up inside me, rising into my throat, making me what to scream out as loud as I could. My legs felt like jelly but I knew I could run if I wanted to, if my mind would let me but all I could manage were the few steps backwards every other second.

"She's probably here wondering the same thing as us, where is her suave Latino boyfriend?" That's when Rick started to walk towards me again, anger obvious in his walk. I had a sudden urge to cry when I realised what he'd last said – he didn't know where Jesse was either. I had put myself into danger for nothing. Jesse, as I'd previously thought, had just disappeared.

"He obviously just up and left her without a proper explanation... bet she doesn't even know why he was here in the first place...bet he lied to her too - though he no doubt has a better knack at lying than she does," He paused there and shook his head in what could only be disbelieve. He ground his teeth together and gave out an aggravated growl.

What was he talking about? Jesse had lied to him too? About what though? I'm sure Jesse had lied to me more than once, but Rick was furious. Jesse had obviously done something really bad to piss him off... but what?

As much as I was curious though I was much more afraid. My thoughts were going a 100mph, as was my heart. I was almost at the gate now. I looked around at all the men. They were still advancing towards me, the closest being about 10 yards or more away. I knew now was my only chance.

So while Rick continued to mumble on angrily about Jesse and his men were slightly distracted by him I swivelled round on the spot and sprinted flat out to the gate.

I thanked God that I had kept an extra pair of sneakers in the car and that I'd decided at the last minute to put them on. I couldn't have run as fast as I was in the heeled sandals I'd been wearing earlier. The jeans I was wearing were my most comfortable and most worn so running wasn't so bad in them either.

I heard a furious yell of "Get her!" from behind me and a few more incoherent ones after that before the thundering footsteps followed.

Adrenaline had already kicked in so when I finally reached the big black gate I already knew what I was going to do, so a few steps from it I jumped and grabbed onto the top. I tried to pull myself up as quickly as I could, using my feet to push against the bars. Nearly there, I thought. I was gasping and my arms hurt from the way I'd landed against the gate.

I smiled; with one more push I'd be on top and over. I could feel the men closing in so with as much energy as I could muster I pushed against one of the bars with my left foot.

"No!"

I cried out in defeat. My foot slipped against the gate. I scrambled to right myself but I couldn't lift myself up again in time and the next thing I felt a hand grab my pony tail from behind. I felt my head being pulled back and then slammed forward against the metal right in front of me. Everything went painfully black.

"Suuusanahh,"

Something smacked sharply against my left cheek. My head lolled heavily on my shoulder. I felt sick and a sharp pain on my forehead reminded me where I was and what happened. I tried to open my eyes. It took a while and once my sight steadied up I quickly leaned over in the chair I was sitting it and vomited violently.

What surprised me though was there was a bucket waiting below to catch it.

I straightened up a few minutes later, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve. I glared up at Rick who had been watching me with a smirk of disgust on his face. He stood opposite me, on the other side of a glass coffee table. We were in a large living room and on closer inspection I realised it wasn't decorated quite as I'd once imagined. The floor was carpeted in a rich, dark green; the sofas were of the flowery design. The pictures on the walls ranged from modern day colours to black and white. It had an old Grandmother feel to it. Nothing at all like the modern picture I'd created in my head.

"Did you have to hit her as hard, Jackson?" Rick asked, turning to a tall, rather large guy standing in the corner near the door. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall, his dark eyes intent on me. He shrugged in response to Rick's question. I scowled at him before turning back to Rick.

"What do you want?" I asked. I felt better now, my stomach had settled and the pain in my head was bearable.

"So De Silva told you where I lived? Huh?" He ignored my question and walked around the coffee table and sat down on it, directly in front of me. I sat back in the wooden chair they'd put me on. I wasn't tied or anything. But I couldn't have escaped if I tried though. All the guys who had been outside earlier – how long earlier I wasn't sure – were all standing in different parts of the room. Some like Jackson were leaning against the walls, other the doorframes or sitting on the window seats below the windows I assumed they'd been watching from when I'd first arrived.

"No," I croaked, but Rick just laughed.

"Susannah, I already know you can't lie, so stop trying. It's a waste of my time," Some of his cronies laughed, but Jackson I noticed didn't. He was still watching me.

"Don't call me Susannah," I snapped, standing up quickly and making Rick pull back slightly in alarm. Everyone had stopped laughing then. Maybe it was the throbbing in my head, or the way Jackson was looking at me or the way Rick was trying to make more of an ass of me, but something inside me gave. I was angry now. Not scared. As much. Who did he think he was? He had no right to talk to me that way... he had no right to treat me the way he had...he had no right to call me Susannah. Only Jesse had that right.

I was still pissed at him too but I didn't really care about that. I just wanted out of there and to hear Jesse say that. My name. Susannah.

I know Jesse had a lot to explain, but I didn't care about that right then.

God, I thought, Jackson really did hit my head hard.

"Sit down," Someone growled from behind me before grabbing my shoulder and forcing me back down into the chair. Whoever it was kept his hand on my shoulder, pushing down more than was necessary. I didn't bother to look around. I just clenched my teeth together and concentrated on breathing in and out slowly.

Rick was smiling now.

"Mmm," He mumbled, looking down at me that smile still on his face, like he had a secret I wasn't in on. I kept my face expressionless. Whatever they were going to do with me, I knew I wasn't going to be willing. I was going to fight all the way. And something told me that Rick knew that too.

"Well, Suze, you couldn't have come at a better time," Rick began conversationally, almost like I wasn't here against my own will anymore. He started pacing back and forward in front of me, hands clasped behind his back. "My friends and I had just been wondering when on earth we were going to see our little amigo again before you arrived. He hasn't been to visit us in a while, you see... but I'm sure a call from you would convince him quickly enough, wouldn't you agree?"

Great. Hostage situation. What on earth was Jesse involved in? What had he done? It seemed like some sort of business thing. Something illegal anyway...something...something. Oh God. That's when it clicked. A flash of that day in the super market parking lot came to my head. Jesse had been there. He'd...he'd... I'd seen him talking with some guy. He'd passed over some kind of parcel. An envelope maybe. I looked up at Rick and just really looked at him. Was he some sort of drug dealer? I looked around at his "friends". Were they part of it? The men in the suits, were they the organisers with Rick at the head? Were the others the ones that did the dirty work? That went out, like Jesse appeared to have done, and dealt?

But now Jesse wasn't here. He wasn't part of this anymore. He had disappeared. Had he gotten in over his head? Had he decided to bolt at the last minute?

I shook my head. I couldn't believe this. Would he really do that? I nearly laughed out loud. So that was how he was getting all the cars. He got the money from drug dealing. But how could he have gotten more than one? Maybe he stole them, like I'd first thought. Wouldn't surprise me now.

"What makes you think, he'd answer me?" I eventually asked, not sure I really wanted to talk to him anyway.

"Let's say I have a gut feeling," Rick replied mockingly. The he motioned to the guy behind me, whose hand was still on my shoulder. "Search her,"

"What?!" I cried, jumping up. "No way,"

But it was pointless. Two of what seemed to be Rick's biggest men had grabbed me. One held my arms behind my back whilst the other did the search. Swiftly he pulled my phone from my back pocket. I sighed. That was all they wanted. Duh, Suze. Not that I had anything else to surrender but still, being searched by that big ugly...man, wasn't pleasant.

Rick took the mobile from him and dialled in a number. Jesse's no doubt. He put the phone to his ear and waited patiently whilst watching me. The guy who had originally pushed me into the chair did the same again. Then I waited too. With baited breath. Even from where I was sitting I could hear Jesse answer. I gasped.

"Ah, De Silva," Rick sneered into the phone, "How nice to hear your voice again...it's been a while,"

Rick stopped, obviously listening to Jesse's response. The mumble I could make out was rushed. He was angry...worried? I didn't know what to think. Did he like me at all? Here I was, held captive for wanting to find him. To tell him I loved him. For all I knew I could have been just a pawn in this little game of his. I sighed.

"Don't worry, De Silva, she's here. With the whole crew. She's in safe hands... as I'm sure you know,"

Another pause and the familiar mumbling came.

"Course I'm not lying, listen for yourself," Rick walked towards me then. I crouched down in the chair, prepared for another slap across my face, like when I'd first woken up. He surprised me though and placed the phone at my ear. I looked up at him wearily. But he just nodded down at me. Clearly enjoying himself. I looked down at the phone and sighed.

"Jesse,"

This pause was longer now than any of the ones Rick had had.

"Dios, Susannah,"