CHAPTER 21-GONE GIRLS
The house had seemed to semi-normal until they had stepped near the kitchen. It was a faint mess in the living room but it wasn't a shocking as it was in the kitchen. Pope had kept Smurf behind him just in case whoever was there was still lurking around.
He ended up telling Smurf to stay there while he checked the rest of the house. He moved to J's room first in order to see if Nicky or J were inside. The other missing link was Jessica whose car had stolen in the driveway but Pope wasn't sure where she could be in the house at that point. Smurf had backed up against the sink in order to get a perfect view and her surroundings. She had been worried due to the mass but she had been more worried about one person more than the other two.
watching something move in the backyard Smurf narrowed her eyes in order to get a better view of what it was. J had miraculously drug himself out of the pool and it was a struggle to do so, to begin with. After she noticed the hoodie, Smurf had run outside in order to pull J completely out.
"Pope!" She called out the second she raced outside. Grabbing J by the gray sleeves, she pulled him on to the concrete while he began gasping for air. "Hurry up!" She yelled for him.
Hearing his name being called Pope had sprinted through the house and out into the backyard. when he saw J he realized the bad feeling he had was right all along. He helped Smurf put him on one of the lounging chairs before heading back inside for a knife in order to cut the zip ties.
"J? J can you hear me? What happened?" Smurf had asked making sure that he was conscience rather than just choking on the water.
"They're gone…Javi had taken them with him" he managed to say still fighting to breathe.
Smurf had been cradling her grandson feeling faint relief that he was okay for the most part. His leg was still cut wide open and the water from where he was at was lightly pink. She looked around the backyard and saw that there had been a beach towel lying on one of the chairs. Ripping it off quickly, she wrapped it around his leg.
"Javi was here?" Pope asked once he reached him for the zip ties. J had winced once they were loose and leaned back on his elbows. "I thought you handled the situation?"
Smurf hadn't said a thing and just stared at J's injured leg. She hadn't believed it was going to go this far but Javi turned out to be a bigger problem than expected. Paying him money was something that she already did and Smurf honestly thought that he was done hanging around the family. Sure she thought he'd cause trouble down the line but for now, it was subdued.
Ignoring Pope's question, she applied more pressure to his leg. She had heard what J said knowing that Jessica and Nicky were missing. It had taken the eldest Cody sibling a moment to realize it as he was trying to solve J's issue first.
"Where is Jessica?" He asked another question, forgetting that Nicky was even there.
"He took her, Nicky too…Javi grabbed both of them and left"
Pope's usual demeanor was dark but his eyes seemed to change when he said that. The Cody family was very protective of one another, this would just open up a can of worms. He had been protective of Julia more so but Jessica was his younger sister and mostly all of the boys had looked at her that way, including Deran. She, in fact, was the only sister left and he would fight for her like he would anyone else in the family.
Staring intently at Smurf, he spoke again. "Did you hear what J just said? Now it looks like you have a missing person to go get"
Clearing her throat, the matriarch stood up and stared into the pool. Smurf had no idea it was going to get this far and her golden goose had been hurt while she had other problems going on at the same time. "Call your brothers, get them over here now!"
Moving away from J and standing up, he gripped her arm and took her off to the side. "What do you want me to say? Oh, your sister and J's girlfriend have been kidnapped and we need you to go search for them?"
It wasn't that Pope didn't want to help, it was his family after all. Calling the boys was the smartest thing to do as everyone needed to be informed. Half of the time it was hard getting a hold of everyone and he wanted to get more information from his nephew before calling them. She had given him a dark look just he had in his eyes earlier but he hadn't said a word. Stepping away, Pope rubbed his eyes before reaching for his phone in his pocket.
Lucy and Baz had been hooking up in her rented hotel room that she currently had. Meeting together was from a business standpoint as Baz had been helping her brother with a little gig he had down in Mexico. Marco didn't have the tools that needed nor did he have the connections in the United States.
Things turned a little different once they met up but something seemed off about this meeting. Lucy had a few questions on her mind that she needed confirmation on. Things had shifted slightly and Jessica seemed to be the root of the problem. Even though she had asked her personality what those two were up to, the Cody sister didn't answer and walked away. Lucy was suspicious since the moment she met Jessica because she knew that they were not related whatsoever. The moment she saw her at his home and taking care of Lena made her question him.
On the other hand, Baz was caught in between both women. Lucy had always been a side girlfriend and couldn't be anymore since Catherine had been around. His history with both of them was rich but it seemed that he had more baggage tied to Jessica. Baz and Jessica had something sparking between them since she showed back up and it wasn't something he was going to let go of. Leaning towards the blonde more, he truly wanted to stop things with Lucy while messing around with Jessica but was having a hard time letting go.
Baz's phone began going off on the nightstand on the table next to the bed. Lucy had been sitting his lap when he went reaching for it. Pausing for a brief moment, he read the caller ID and ignored the call. About ten seconds later his phone had gone off again which made Lucy look as well. Pope had probably been calling about Lena which would have been important considering that she was his daughter.
Taking a breath he raised his finger to silence Lucy while answering his phone. "Is everything okay?" He asked calmly and not really in the mood to speak to his brother either.
"You couldn't answer the first time?" Pope had asked which made Baz remember just getting on him for not answering his phone earlier. "You need to get to Smurfs now" He said with an urgent tone in his voice.
"What's going on? I'm kind of in the middle of something at the second"
"You need to get over here now. Javi came around the house and beat J Is an inch of his life. Nicky and Jessica were here when it happened which means you need to get here now without any more questions" Pope was leaving out the fact that both girls were missing.
Forgetting that smurf had had a family dinner it occurred to him that Jessica had been the only one that had gone. after hearing about the incident with J, Baz couldn't help but worry about what happened to her. After moving slightly, Lucy knew it was something important by the look on his face. Shifting off of his lap, she sat on the other side of the bed watching him.
"Is Jessica okay?" Baz asked getting off of the bed.
"J seems to be doing alright for the time being but Nicky and Jessica are gone and according to him Javi took them. Get here now" He was going to tell him about everyone anyway.
Pope had hung up giving him enough information until he got to Smurfs. He still had a call Craig and Deran so he didn't want to talk to Baz for longer than he needed at the moment. Immediately looking for his jacket he couldn't help but think what would have happened if he would have just gone with her to the house. Lucy was the last thing on his mind currently as he needs to get out of there and get to Smurfs as fast as he could. She had been asking what was going on but he had been giving her simple answers that he just needed to leave.
"Baz, what is going on? The way you are answering is starting to scare me. What is it?"
"I have to go, something is happening with my family and Jessica is gone" He once he reached the door and opened it quickly.
Lucy bit her tongue for a moment but decided to speak what was on her mind. "She's an adult, she can handle herself". It wasn't the right thing to say at the moment but it was what she was feeling. Not even wanting to answer her, Baz slipped out without worrying about the drama that was brewing between her and him.
After hanging up with Baz, Pope had called his younger two brothers in order to get them to the house. Both of them had also complained about getting there but Pope just told them it was an emergency and they needed to get there as quick as they could. He had spared the details an only told them that Javi showed up at the house.
Deran was the first to arrive and his green Jeep while Craig trailed behind him on his motorbike. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence that these 2 had shown up at the same time. Out of all of the siblings, Craig and Deran had to be the closest with the exception of Baz and Jessica. turning his car off, he stepped out while looking over his shoulder.
"What's this big emergency that pope is talking about?" Deran asked Craig.
Craig had been in the process of taking his helmet off and set it on top of the bike. "I don't know he did it really tell me anything and I take it he didn't tell you much either?" Shaking his head lightly, his brunette hair went flying. "I was at a really killer party"
"I mean he mentioned something to me about Javi coming here but I don't know anything else. Do you think everything is okay?" Deran had always been convinced that Javi was going to be a problem compared to the others. He had a feeling nothing good was going to come out of it but it seemed that no one else listened.
As Craig approached Deran's car, Baz's silver Challenger fly into the driveway. Jumping out of the way, the tall brunette was furious. "Really? Are you seriously trying to hit me? What's your problem?"
Baz had gotten out, slammed the door shut and glared towards him. He hadn't said anything thinking that they both knew the whole situation. Since he didn't' talk to either of them on the phone, Baz didn't know what Pope told them but they seemed unfazed by the whole thing. Baz wasn't sure if that was because of the not knowing or if they just didn't care.
Following him into the house, the younger Cody's walked behind him. All three of them had been taking a look at the inside of the house that was still torn up. Smurf had only fixed a spot in the kitchen and was more concerned about treating J.
"What's going on?" Craig asked seeing the mess and Smurf standing against the kitchen island. He watched her gaze and looked out into the back yard. Pope had been wrapping J's leg in a towel to cover the large cut.
They had seen all of them standing in the kitchen and the eldest Cody began to help his nephew inside. Deran was at a loss of words not believing what he was seeing.
"Javi decided to show up at the house…He took your sister and Nicky"
"What?" Craig spoke again with confusion and a faint touch of fear in his voice.
"Jessica and Nicky are gone?" Deran questioned moving out of the way for J to sit in one of the bar stools.
Not answering any of them, Smurf moved away from the counter and began to search for the camera remote. She had surveillance cameras on the house at all times so there had to be something on the tape. They had faced the back yard, the front and the sides of the house so the cameras had to pick up anything. With the kitchen a disaster, she wasn't sure where it was.
Baz had rubbed his forehead hard and stepped away from everyone. He remembered the last time he spoke with her and how he blew her off. He regretted what happened and only thought if he would have showed up at the dinner. He hadn't been the only one thinking that as the three Cody's brushed her off as well. They were a family who always looked out for one another, a missing family member was worse.
Throwing items around all over the floor, Smurf began checking cabinets looking for the little black box. Moving more things, all of the Cody's kept quiet while she kept digging. Having a sense of relief when she looked towards the patio door, she walked over to it and pointed it at the TV. Stopping the camera, she toyed around with before rewinding it to earlier in the night.
It had begun playing and after a while Baz came back into the room. All but J were staring at the TV screen. He didn't want to see any of it considering he was there and the pain he went through. He tugged on the towel he had around his shoulders more and stared at the countertop.
"So they jumped the gate…" Pope said aloud watching intently. "Didn't they expect someone to be here?"
It was a very good question as if Javi knew anyone was there in the first place. Jessica's jeep had been the only car in the driveway so he had to of known she was inside. There had usually been someone inside so Javi was there to cause trouble no matter what. They all had believed that he wasn't just there looking for the money, he wanted to make his mark known.
As Smurf switched to one of the other camera angles which faced the back yard. The Cody's had watched as the men began torturing J while floating in and out of the house. J wanted to excuse himself from the scene but knew he had to stay there in order to help. He wanted to lay down in bed and forget about everything that happened but he could with Nicky and Jessica missing.
Gritting her teeth, the matriarch watched Javi dunk J in and out of the water. It was moments later that Jessica popped into frame trying to save him. All of them watched her get decked by one of his men and that made Craig look away for second. Thinking along the same lines as Baz, one of them should have been there but it wasn't like they knew what was going to happen. Baz on the other hand stared at the screen with anger boiling in his blood.
"J, where was Nicky?" Smurf asked not seeing her at all in the picture.
"Some guy had her in the corner, they bound her hands together and ducted taped her mouth shut so she couldn't scream" He answered her after a moment. The cameras didn't show the house and that was were Nicky was at the whole time.
The tape had proceeded with J getting his leg ripped open though it wasn't a clear shot. It was evident that he had gotten hurt so they knew exactly what went on. Watching the rest of it, the Cody's had watched J fight for his life in the pool while Jessica had gotten attacked once again, this time by Javi.
Cutting it off once the group disappeared from the tape, Smurf had turned to face the refrigerator. She had a variety of emotions that she was feeling but was trying to not let the others see it. Everyone had kept quiet but went separately. Baz placed his hands on the back of his neck and moved towards the living area where they would talk about jobs. He couldn't believe what he watched and there was nothing he could do at the moment.
Deran had been sitting in a stool next to J and was remaining quiet. He placed his elbows on the countertop then placed his forehead in his hands. Pope was staring at the pool with his hands tucked in his pockets. Craig had been leaning against the wall looking between everyone in order to see where everyone's mind was even though he knew everyone had been thinking the same thing.
"Did they say anything? Where they were going?" Pope asked glancing away to see J.
Shaking his head faintly, J hadn't said a word. Even if they did, he would have been under water that he wouldn't have heard it anyway. At the end of the video, they had drug both girls out to the gate and had Jessica type in the passcode to get out. They disappeared without a trace and no one knew where they went.
"So what do we do?" Craig asked pushing himself forward and off of the wall.
"We get Nicky and your Sister back…" Smurf responded gaining complete composure and turned around to face the group.
"And how are we going to do that? We don't even know where they are?" Deran chimed in with a faint trace of anger rising in his voice.
Looking between her boys, it was a question that Smurf was still trying to figure out. The only lead they had was who was the culprit and that was it. Not knowing where Javi was going or even where he was staying was the huge problem. They had all watched Jessica get attacked multiple times which meant the guys were willing to not only hurt her but as well as Nicky. They needed to come up with a plan and fast in order to find both girls before things got worse.
Parking the van at the beach, Javi and his guys were trying to figure out the next part of the plan. Javi wasn't going to take the girls when he first arrived at the house considering he didn't know they were there to begin with. He wasn't willing to leave three of them there and wanted them to bargain with. He knew Smurf well and knew that she wasn't going to hand over money just because he asked. Using Jessica and Nicky was good for his advantage, he was willing to do it.
Jumping outside, all four men stood towards the front of the van speaking. The girls were sitting in the back with their hands still bound but Jessica managed to rip the tape from Nicky's mouth.
"Are you doing okay?" Jessica whispered trying to see out the front windshield, the lights were hitting the beach but she couldn't see any shadows.
Jessica's shirt was still stained with blood but it had already began drying, leaving maroon patches towards the neck and hem line. She knew she had it dried on her face and she wiped away as much as she could. Her hair was a wild mess, the beach wave curls looked as stressed as she was.
Nicky looked at her, mascara and eyeliner running down her cheeks and stained them black. She was beyond terrified and didn't understand how her body was shaking. For the Cody family, this wasn't an everyday occurrence but for Nicky it was something she never thought of facing in her life.
"I'm scared…How are we going to get out of here?" She asked feeling like she ran out of tears at the moment.
Taking a glance around the empty van, Jessica wished she could crawl up front but that would cause too much movement. Even though Javi had a good game plan, he seemed unaware of how hard they would fight or even how to have a hostage situation. Staring at the back door to the van, she thought of a moment then looked towards the front again.
"I want you to run…This is the only thing we can do" She said not feeling good on the idea but she wasn't going to just sit there and wait for whatever was going to happen next.
"What?" Nicky gasped out then followed her gaze to the back doors.
"Look, I'll be right behind you the whole time. I'm going to move and open the doors once they come around. The second the guy reaches for the handle and pulls; I'm kicking it as hard as I can. Once he's down, I just want you to run, okay? I'll take off behind you and if anything happens to me, just keep running until you find help"
Shaking her head in disbelief, Nicky didn't want to do it. She didn't believe that she'd be able to get away with both of their hands tied and four men on their trail. At the same time, she didn't want to know what would happen next. "What happens to you if I get free?"
"I don't know but I'll be okay. I'm putting my trust in you and I'm sorry that we are stuck together like this. For being my brother's girlfriend, I didn't picture our bonding like this" Jessica faintly joked and offered a faint smile.
As they sat in silence waiting for the golden opportunity, both women braced themselves to pull off mission impossible. Chris had gotten into the passenger seat before anyone else and looked at them to make sure they weren't doing anything funny. They both kept their heads down and he didn't seem to notice that Jessica moved her position in the back. After hearing the click of the door, it was time to take matters into their own hands.
Breathing deeply, Jessica nodded towards Nicky before kicking as hard as she could once the door was open. One of the biggest problems besides the men was that the beach was pitch black as it had to be in the middle of the night by now. Nicky launched herself forward and hopped out, running as the fastest pace she could.
Jessica moved passed the man that was on the ground and tripped over him once she jumped out. That had caused her to scrap her knees up but that wasn't stopping her. Running behind Nicky, Jessica was trying to take in her scenery in order to figure out where they were. She hoped that the teenager knew her way around Oceanside and would be able to tell once she got away.
They could hear yelling behind them knowing not only Javi was after them but so were the other guys. Nicky turned back to see what was going on, slipped in the sand and fell face first. Jessica rushed up to her and struggled to pick her up off the ground with her hands tied, but shoved her forward lightly once she got her up.
"Just go…Go!" Jessica screamed at her which Nicky did once she was shaken by her words.
Knowing that the men were behind her, Jessica was willing to sacrifice herself for Nicky to get away. She'd rather be left behind than her because she knew she could hold her own against them. Plus, Jessica had faith in her family and that they would do whatever they had to in order to get her back.
Standing still for at least five seconds, Jessica took off again but at a lighter pace for them to catch up. It was long when one of them had grabbed her around the wait but she was a step ahead, she threw her head back hitting the man hard.
Groaning, he fell to his knees which made Jessica laugh faintly as he had been the one who attacked her the first time. Seeing Javi out the corner of her eye, she wasn't bracing herself for him at all. He couldn't believe that she had been trying a stunt like that yet again as nothing was keeping her down. Javi had no choice but to use more force than he wanted to.
Once he caught up to her, he gripped her upper arms in which she continued to fight. Hitting her straight in the stomach with his fist, Jessica sunk into the sand on her knees, her elbows trying to cover the spot he hit. It had taken the wind out of her for now but he again had to do something else.
"Get the girl now!" He called out to Chris and another man who stopped once they reached him. Nicky had taken off faster but it seemed it was a never-ending beach. She couldn't see the streets or even sidewalk and no one was out. She had assumed she was near the sidewalk and hoped for that.
Looking up at Javi, Jessica was trying the best she could to breath. He had hit her lungs and rips into order to keep her to the ground but his next movement she did not except at all. Yelling and walking around in a circle, he was growing irritated beyond belief.
The man she headbutted showed up next to him with a bloody nose just like she had. He had said something in Spanish to him which seemed to only annoy him more. Whipping around to see his ex-girlfriend, Javi gritted his teeth and grabbed the back of her head. He raised his knee and it smashed directly in her face, shattering her and knocking her completely out. Not expecting him to go that far, Javi ordered the man to grab her and drag her back to the van.
Waiting for the men to hunt Nicky down, Javi was losing his control and grip. He had pushed the guy back and picked Jessica up himself, slinging her over his shoulder and dragging her back inside. He now had to think of his next movement because he knew that the Cody Family found out about the missing women…And that they would be prepared.