p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Chapter 5/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie tried counting the days she was stuck there in some semblance of sanity. She had counted 3 nights total. Though she often nodded off when stress and exhaustion proved too much to bear, leaving her worried she was asleep for days on end and perhaps it had been a full week or two that she had been held captive. She tried marking time passages through the meager meals the Lost would give her. But that proved useless when the meals came erratically, sometimes twice in a day, sometimes once every two days./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Her new bondage consisted of chains wrapped around her sore wrists, the other end of the chains tied to a bolted down space heater. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but much better than the rope they had used on her earlier, even allowing her the freedom to sit and lay down before sores started welling up on her body./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She looked to her hand once more, as she often did nowadays. The Lost had been courteous enough to wrap up her hand in bandages, although poorly and her finger was still gone, taken with them as some sort of sick trophy. When she had woken not long after she lost the digit, she had for a few seconds forgotten the terrible event. But when she looked to the source of her most intense pain and saw the bloody nub, she was reduced to fits of screaming for hours on end, whether is was the immeasurable amount of pain or purely despair./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie soon after had been transported out of the trailer she had thought she would die in, instead to what was little more than a broom closet. There was little for her to sit there and do until her days were finished, often looking through a small window near the ceiling, that provided no means of her knowing where she was, only pointing towards the sky. She could hear she was in some kind of building the MC frequented, but she couldn't tell what. She wasted her time listening into conversations about who said what, how many people railed someone's old lady, and anything and everything in between. She deduced it was some type of clubhouse. In the distance, she could hear what had to be a busy road, so at least she wasn't far from civilization. Natalie found comfort that her body would perhaps be found./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was only 3 men total who would come to see her, asking the same question time and time again; 'Where did Trevor cook?'. She answered with silence, too tired to fight back, but she would receive a short, strong punch to the face before being left on her own again. The frequent beatings left her right eye swollen shut. Nat was glad she didn't have a mirror in there, glad they were the only ones to see the mess done to her face./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"In her times of despair, she thought of home, a place she'd been so eager to leave but now wished so dearly that she could go back. She was raised nuclear, a mom and a dad who loved each other very much and an older brother who was expecting a child with his college sweetheart. Her childhood was the American dream, but she found so painfully, depressingly boring. They were a quiet family, never making a fuss, liked among their neighbors, and did as so many planned before; get married, raise children, see their grandchildren and pass away after a long life./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie never wanted that for herself. She didn't want a quiet life where she would pop out kids and die a death that wasn't memorable. She was upset that her family was happy to live quietly, that they never wanted to step out of their comfort zone. When they heard she was moving away to be some 'trailer trash' they were scandalized; their little girl wasn't content enough to be a housewife. She hadn't spoken to her parents in years, the last time she had spoken to their brother, it was obvious that they had nothing in common. They ended their phone call in a silent agreement that they wouldn't speak until one of them was dying./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie lay her head down, looking at the door that was her only means of escape, but it was locked so tightly she had no hope left in it. She spent countless hours thinking of what she could do to save herself, but nothing seemed feasible, her will to live was dwindling./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a commotion outside, people were yelling at each other, but it happened so often it wasn't anything new to her. Despite that, she listened in to see what the issue was this time around. It sounded like a bunch of guys, they sounded angry and tense, something about an attack, but she couldn't hear much to know the specifics. She, however, could tell the fight was coming their way and some small part of her had hoped that maybe there would be a window of opportunity for her to escape her captors. Said window expanded to the door when she heard Trevor's name being spoken in anger. Her heart skipped a beat and she choked on a sob of pure eagerness, a grin stretched across her face, smiling for the first time in what seemed like eons./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a sudden onslaught of gunshots. It made her jump and tucked herself into a corner, her eyes locked on the door, wait for someone, anyone, to barge in. She could hear people were dying, some she was sure were the Lost, though some she feared was the team that could potentially save her life. She didn't hear the familiar gruff voice that was Trevor's, she was afraid it wasn't him after all./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She briefly wondered why Trevor would even come, she was just some small, easily replaceable pawn in the grand scheme of his business. Natalie began doubting that he was even there, Trevor being a fairly common name and all, doing what could be called a suicide mission just to protect her. She sat back, chewing her lip and almost ignoring the fight just outside. The Lost was sure to have enemies, maybe it was just a gang war. Maybe the rivaling gang would have mercy on her, any enemy of the MC was a friend of hers./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A bullet burst right through the door, almost hitting her in a place that would've surely killed her. She screamed, trying her best to hide further in the corner to avoid another bullet just as someone broke open the door. She didn't recognize him, he was a black man with a hard look on his face, his clothes were bloody, but it didn't look like he took any hits, an automatic weapon was held firmly in scraped up hands. He looked like an angel of death to her./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;""span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Aw' shit." He winced at her appearance, she apparently looked just as bad as she felt, he closed the door behind him, quickly stepping closer to her and kneeling down, trying to undo the chains, "Are you Natalie?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She was shocked, her hands shaking, "Y-Yeah.. did Trevor send you?" Her wrists were let free, she looked down to find angry red blisters, some bleeding./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He nodded, helping her up, she was weak, hardly able to stand on her own, "Yeah, he called us to help out." He noticed she was having a hard time, speaking into his earpiece, "T, I found her, but we gotta carry her out, I need back up." He paused for a moment, listening to Trevor on the receiving end, before looking back to her, then down at her hand, it mummified in bandages, "What happened?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She frowned softly, "They uh... cut off my finger." Suddenly feeling self-conscious, hiding her hand behind her back/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He shook his head, looking disgusted at what they did to her, speaking into his earpiece again, "Any time now guys, we gotta take her to the hospital." A pause, "Yeah, she's awake, but she's looking rough." He gave her a compassionate look, "Sorry."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The door opened again to another man he didn't recognize, he looked roughly Trevor's age but much well put together, "Jesus, what'd they do to you?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"They didn't give her time to answer, the younger man wrapped her arm around her waist and scooped her up into his arms, "Alright Mikey, we gotta make this quick, you got my back?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The well-tailored guy who was apparently Mikey nodded, and they made a dash to the front door. Natalie looked around, she was in a bar of all places, bodies littering the floors, making her feel nauseous. She caught a glimpse of Trevor before she looked away to eb away the bile rising in her throat./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"When they made it out of the bar it was bright, blinding her for a few seconds before she was toted to a black SUV and tucked into the passenger's side, Michael spoke through his earpiece, "Trevor we got her out, we're taking her up to the hospital up in Paleto Bay."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The younger man hopped into the driver's side, Michael looking like he was going to find his own transportation. She bulked herself up with fumbling hands just as they pulled away from the ruined bar. The guy beside her spoke up, "How are you feeling? I'm Franklin, by the way."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position in her seat, "Like hell, but I'll live... just y'know, try to take me to the hospital sooner rather than later."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He smiled a little, nodding, "I think I can do that." The ride north wasn't a long one, she soon saw the quiet, suburban city that was her hometown. He spoke as they edged closer to the medical center, "I can bring you in, but I need to leave immediately after. I can't have cops trying to talk to me."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She nodded a little, cradling her hand against her chest, "I understand."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Franklin stopped the SUV right in front of the facility, hopping out of the car and dashing over to the passenger's side, he help her out and hauled her into the hospital, "We need some medical attention over here!" He shouted out to anyone who would listen./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A few nurses were at the ready, hurrying to the two and taking Natalie out of his arms, laying her down on a waiting gurney. She saw just as the attention was on her, Frank was already leaving, she smiled a little and giving a small wave goodbye as nurses went through rapid-fire questions./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She laid her head back, taking a deep breath and letting herself cry through a grin. She was finally free, she could finally feel safe. She never felt happier./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie tried counting the days she was stuck there in some semblance of sanity. She had counted 3 nights total. Though she often nodded off when stress and exhaustion proved too much to bear, leaving her worried she was asleep for days on end and perhaps it had been a full week or two that she had been held captive. She tried marking time passages through the meager meals the Lost would give her. But that proved useless when the meals came erratically, sometimes twice in a day, sometimes once every two days./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Her new bondage consisted of chains wrapped around her sore wrists, the other end of the chains tied to a bolted down space heater. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but much better than the rope they had used on her earlier, even allowing her the freedom to sit and lay down before sores started welling up on her body./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She looked to her hand once more, as she often did nowadays. The Lost had been courteous enough to wrap up her hand in bandages, although poorly and her finger was still gone, taken with them as some sort of sick trophy. When she had woken not long after she lost the digit, she had for a few seconds forgotten the terrible event. But when she looked to the source of her most intense pain and saw the bloody nub, she was reduced to fits of screaming for hours on end, whether is was the immeasurable amount of pain or purely despair./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie soon after had been transported out of the trailer she had thought she would die in, instead to what was little more than a broom closet. There was little for her to sit there and do until her days were finished, often looking through a small window near the ceiling, that provided no means of her knowing where she was, only pointing towards the sky. She could hear she was in some kind of building the MC frequented, but she couldn't tell what. She wasted her time listening into conversations about who said what, how many people railed someone's old lady, and anything and everything in between. She deduced it was some type of clubhouse. In the distance, she could hear what had to be a busy road, so at least she wasn't far from civilization. Natalie found comfort that her body would perhaps be found./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was only 3 men total who would come to see her, asking the same question time and time again; 'Where did Trevor cook?'. She answered with silence, too tired to fight back, but she would receive a short, strong punch to the face before being left on her own again. The frequent beatings left her right eye swollen shut. Nat was glad she didn't have a mirror in there, glad they were the only ones to see the mess done to her face./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"In her times of despair, she thought of home, a place she'd been so eager to leave but now wished so dearly that she could go back. She was raised nuclear, a mom and a dad who loved each other very much and an older brother who was expecting a child with his college sweetheart. Her childhood was the American dream, but she found so painfully, depressingly boring. They were a quiet family, never making a fuss, liked among their neighbors, and did as so many planned before; get married, raise children, see their grandchildren and pass away after a long life./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie never wanted that for herself. She didn't want a quiet life where she would pop out kids and die a death that wasn't memorable. She was upset that her family was happy to live quietly, that they never wanted to step out of their comfort zone. When they heard she was moving away to be some 'trailer trash' they were scandalized; their little girl wasn't content enough to be a housewife. She hadn't spoken to her parents in years, the last time she had spoken to their brother, it was obvious that they had nothing in common. They ended their phone call in a silent agreement that they wouldn't speak until one of them was dying./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie lay her head down, looking at the door that was her only means of escape, but it was locked so tightly she had no hope left in it. She spent countless hours thinking of what she could do to save herself, but nothing seemed feasible, her will to live was dwindling./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a commotion outside, people were yelling at each other, but it happened so often it wasn't anything new to her. Despite that, she listened in to see what the issue was this time around. It sounded like a bunch of guys, they sounded angry and tense, something about an attack, but she couldn't hear much to know the specifics. She, however, could tell the fight was coming their way and some small part of her had hoped that maybe there would be a window of opportunity for her to escape her captors. Said window expanded to the door when she heard Trevor's name being spoken in anger. Her heart skipped a beat and she choked on a sob of pure eagerness, a grin stretched across her face, smiling for the first time in what seemed like eons./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a sudden onslaught of gunshots. It made her jump and tucked herself into a corner, her eyes locked on the door, wait for someone, anyone, to barge in. She could hear people were dying, some she was sure were the Lost, though some she feared was the team that could potentially save her life. She didn't hear the familiar gruff voice that was Trevor's, she was afraid it wasn't him after all./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She briefly wondered why Trevor would even come, she was just some small, easily replaceable pawn in the grand scheme of his business. Natalie began doubting that he was even there, Trevor being a fairly common name and all, doing what could be called a suicide mission just to protect her. She sat back, chewing her lip and almost ignoring the fight just outside. The Lost was sure to have enemies, maybe it was just a gang war. Maybe the rivaling gang would have mercy on her, any enemy of the MC was a friend of hers./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A bullet burst right through the door, almost hitting her in a place that would've surely killed her. She screamed, trying her best to hide further in the corner to avoid another bullet just as someone broke open the door. She didn't recognize him, he was a black man with a hard look on his face, his clothes were bloody, but it didn't look like he took any hits, an automatic weapon was held firmly in scraped up hands. He looked like an angel of death to her./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;""span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Aw' shit." He winced at her appearance, she apparently looked just as bad as she felt, he closed the door behind him, quickly stepping closer to her and kneeling down, trying to undo the chains, "Are you Natalie?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She was shocked, her hands shaking, "Y-Yeah.. did Trevor send you?" Her wrists were let free, she looked down to find angry red blisters, some bleeding./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He nodded, helping her up, she was weak, hardly able to stand on her own, "Yeah, he called us to help out." He noticed she was having a hard time, speaking into his earpiece, "T, I found her, but we gotta carry her out, I need back up." He paused for a moment, listening to Trevor on the receiving end, before looking back to her, then down at her hand, it mummified in bandages, "What happened?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She frowned softly, "They uh... cut off my finger." Suddenly feeling self-conscious, hiding her hand behind her back/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He shook his head, looking disgusted at what they did to her, speaking into his earpiece again, "Any time now guys, we gotta take her to the hospital." A pause, "Yeah, she's awake, but she's looking rough." He gave her a compassionate look, "Sorry."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The door opened again to another man he didn't recognize, he looked roughly Trevor's age but much well put together, "Jesus, what'd they do to you?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"They didn't give her time to answer, the younger man wrapped her arm around her waist and scooped her up into his arms, "Alright Mikey, we gotta make this quick, you got my back?"/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The well-tailored guy who was apparently Mikey nodded, and they made a dash to the front door. Natalie looked around, she was in a bar of all places, bodies littering the floors, making her feel nauseous. She caught a glimpse of Trevor before she looked away to eb away the bile rising in her throat./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"When they made it out of the bar it was bright, blinding her for a few seconds before she was toted to a black SUV and tucked into the passenger's side, Michael spoke through his earpiece, "Trevor we got her out, we're taking her up to the hospital up in Paleto Bay."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The younger man hopped into the driver's side, Michael looking like he was going to find his own transportation. She bulked herself up with fumbling hands just as they pulled away from the ruined bar. The guy beside her spoke up, "How are you feeling? I'm Franklin, by the way."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position in her seat, "Like hell, but I'll live... just y'know, try to take me to the hospital sooner rather than later."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He smiled a little, nodding, "I think I can do that." The ride north wasn't a long one, she soon saw the quiet, suburban city that was her hometown. He spoke as they edged closer to the medical center, "I can bring you in, but I need to leave immediately after. I can't have cops trying to talk to me."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She nodded a little, cradling her hand against her chest, "I understand."/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Franklin stopped the SUV right in front of the facility, hopping out of the car and dashing over to the passenger's side, he help her out and hauled her into the hospital, "We need some medical attention over here!" He shouted out to anyone who would listen./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A few nurses were at the ready, hurrying to the two and taking Natalie out of his arms, laying her down on a waiting gurney. She saw just as the attention was on her, Frank was already leaving, she smiled a little and giving a small wave goodbye as nurses went through rapid-fire questions./span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She laid her head back, taking a deep breath and letting herself cry through a grin. She was finally free, she could finally feel safe. She never felt happier./span/span/span/p