Chapter 34 A Place To Die
Nathan sat on the bed of the hotel room staring at the phone. He didn't hear his uncle or his brother asking him what the kidnapper said. He didn't hear his mom crying and trying to calm Jamie down. He also didn't hear either of his wife's best friends repeating her name while being held in their lover's embraces. All he could hear was Haley's scream, the evil laugh and John telling him how his ex-girlfriend had died. He should have never told this lunatic that Haley was pregnant. He should have never agreed to stay at Duke for the last two years of their college lives.
"Nathan come on man, what did he say?" Cooper asked his nephew.
"I gotta get out of here" Nathan said nearly choking on the words.
"Whoa, little brother where are you going?"
Nathan didn't answer he walked out of the room.
"Get up you two. Don't you see what's happening? He's going to the address that was sent. It's the only hope he has." Deb yelled at the two men that stared at the hotel door.
Cooper looked to Lucas and nodded. He looked down at the broken woman in his arms. "Brooke, I've got to help Nathan. I'll be back as soon as I can baby ok?"
"Lucas, please be careful." Peyton kissed his hand that she had been holding for what seemed like forever.
The two men looked back at Deb with the unspoken words of take care of them, written all over their faces and then left behind the man that they knew would die inside if he lost his wife.
When Cooper and Lucas found Nathan he was standing outside the front of the hotel trying to flag down a taxi. Cooper walked up behind him and put an arm around his shoulders to try to hold him back to listen to his words.
"Nathan, you are not going alone. You have to calm down. We've got to figure out a plan if we're going to save her. Now, tell me what he said."
"Cooper there isn't time. If you want to know what he said you better get your ass in the taxi behind me when I get one to stop. I will tell you once we are on the way"
"Nathan, you talk I'll find the cab." Lucas told him.
"He said that Jenna being pregnant didn't stop him from hurting her. Damien West is the psycho that killed her."
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine. Nathan had told him what John had said about the cause of Jenna's death. He put more urgency in his efforts to get a cab.
Cooper, Nathan and Lucas decided on a plan just before they arrived at an abandoned old warehouse located in what appeared to be the slums of Atlanta. Cooper had called Deb to tell her that she needed to update the police when they got their and send them to the address that he gave her. Once he finished with his instructions he told her to tell them it was a matter of life and death.
Taylor silently prayed that Nathan would hurry. She didn't know how much longer she could hold Damien back from Haley. He was beginning to get suspicious of her stalling.
"What the hell is up with you Taylor? You keep coming up with reasons for me not giving your sister, who you hate by the way, exactly what she needs to make her life complete."
"Damien I do not hate Haley. Where did that come from?"
"You're here." He smirked.
"That doesn't mean that I hate my sister and I think you know that. You knew I would never have agreed to this little farce if you had told me your plans to hurt her."
"Shut up bitch. Her being pregnant just gives me one more thing I can take away from Scott"
"Are you even listening to yourself? You're fucking obsessed. When did this happen? What did he do to you to make you this way?"
Damien sat down on the worn couch and glared at the floor. He remembered the last game that his dad went to before he died. It was the playoffs at Tree Hill senior year.
Flashback
"You got nothing Scott, nothing."
"Take a look at the score board. In case you can't count it's tied."
Nathan moved the ball down the court, Damien undercut him and he fell to the floor.
"You did that on purpose" Haley said pushing him off as he backed into her.
"Hey, bitch, get off me" shoving his enemies girl back against the gym wall.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Nathan yelled at him as he got up off the court and moved toward him. When he reached and grabbed him, he shoved him away from Haley with a calm reserve.
Walking away, the Oak Lake player heard him ask his wife "Are you ok?" but he never heard her answer him. He glanced up in the stands and saw his dad shaking his head in disgust.
When Nathan gave Damien the smile at the end of the game and made the free throw that won Tree Hill the game, Damien knew what the night would bring and the beating that he was faced with. His dad had always told him not to ever let anyone beat him on the court. Nathan had done it with grace, confidence and skill. Damien's dad would never let that go.
He knew he had let Scott get inside his head. Hell he had played the mind game so many times, he practically invented it but for someone like Nathan Scott to beat him at his own damn creation? Yeah his dad would never let that slide.
"He took away the glory and pride my dad could have placed in me. The last chance I had to see that pride. He died three days later. They called it an accident. I knew I just couldn't take the beatings anymore. After the game, he kept yelling at me that I had let the Scott kid get the best of me. He kept saying Nathan Scott will always out shine your ass Damien. Did you see the confidence that kid has? Hell he's your age and married, on his own, being a man you will never be. You are the sorriest excuse for a son that has ever lived. You were supposed to have been the best at the game. You were supposed to have been KING of basketball. You're just the joker son, you met the KING tonight. You're pathetic! You make me sick!" Damien finally stopped repeating the harsh words said to him that night after the game. He had heard them so many times over and over in his mind, he knew them by heart.
For the first time Taylor realized just how messed up Damien West really was. The realization only made her feel guiltier. She had been jealous of Haley. She had admitted that more than once in her life. Her little sister, had a good looking man that adored her, a beautiful son, respect of everyone that her life touched and now more money than she would ever know what to do with. She could just see Haley still pinching pennies, being careful not to spend anything unnecessarily. Haley was three years younger than her. She wasn't supposed to have that life, especially not before Taylor got it. But one thing Taylor was not, she was not so jealous that she wanted to see Haley hurt unlike the screwed up man she saw before her. She would find a way to keep her little sister safe until her brother in law got here. When this was all over she would face the consequences of a bad decision turned horrible.
The closer Cooper, Nathan and Lucas walked up to the building, the faster Nathan's heart raced. He zipped up his jacket and took a deep breath. He knew that the next few moments could seal his future. There was no room for any mistakes.
Cooper being the ever observant race car driver put his hand up to halt the other two men. "This garage door is practically brand new. They've planned this well in advance."
"Coop, we don't have time to appraise the fucking place, Haley could be hurt, man. This pervert killed a pregnant girl in Durham just a few months ago. He's been after Haley for nearly four years. We've got to find a way in and get to her man."
"Nate, if you don't calm down man, you could get her hurt worse. We are not going to do Haley any good if we are hurt and can't help her." Lucas said.
Nathan glared at his brother. His selfishness never ceased to amaze him. He was most concerned for himself always, yet he had called Nathan the spoiled rich kid all those years ago. It was ever apparent which Scott loved Haley more. Lucas had acted like the world when he didn't want her dating Nathan.
They made their way around to the back and found a small door. As they took one more second to look at each other all of them nodded. This was where the fight would begin.
Damien had had enough. It was time. He had been waiting for this for so long. He fully planned to take all of his anger out on Nathan Scott's wife. He looked over at Taylor and gave her an evil grin. "Care to watch?"
"No Damien. You can not do this. She never did anything to you?"
"Oh you mean besides embarrassing me in public? Or being a tease? Dancing her sexy little dance and enticing me join her at the senior party. Putting me down in front of hundred of people. Yeah that bitch never did anything to me but she is sure about to do something for me.
Taylor grabbed Damien's arm. "Wait, what if you warmed up with me first? You know take the edge off. It'll last longer with her then right?"
Damien smiled. "What's wrong Tay? Jealous?"
"No of course not. You're planning to kill her why would I be jealous of that?"
Suddenly Damien was enraged. "No! You're stallin. For What?"
Nathan Cooper and Lucas had made their way into the warehouse. As they began to walk toward the front, they heard voices.
"Yeah I'm stallin! She never shared her dick with me. Why should I share mine with her?"
The men all recognized Taylor's voice. When Nathan heard her, the fury in his blood only raced faster. How could that crazy bitch do this to her sister? He knowingly looked to the other two.
"You mean you didn't get any Nathan Scott? Damn Taylor, I'm disappointed in you"
Taylor wouldn't dare tell him the history behind her and Nathan. She knew that would only add fuel to the fire.
Nathan pointed for Coop to go around to the left and Lucas to go around to the right. "I'm going to confront them" he whispered.
"No Nate. You can't do that. Until we find Haley man they don't need to know that we are here."
Nathan sighed heavily. "You're right" He was about to say something else when he heard Taylor's next words.
"No Damien, I am not going to let you hurt Haley. I told you that already. That was not part of the deal."
Nathan's body tensed. They had his full attention now.
"You and what army, are going to stop me bitch? I plan to sink my dick deep inside of that. I told you that was my plan all along, now get out of my way."
Nathan began to walk slowly closer to the voices. He turned to Cooper and Lucas and whispered, "If we follow him he'll lead us right to Haley"
When Damien opened the door Nathan heard "her" whimper. He moved a little faster toward them. He could see Taylor trying to drag Damien back from the room he was entering. Nathan glanced back to Cooper and Lucas who also saw what was unfolding before them.
"Taylor if you don't let go I am going to blow your fucking brains out." Damien said removing the gun from the inside of his jacket.
Taylor froze. "Where did you get that? We never talked about guns."
"Don't worry about where I got it. Here like I said you can watch" Damien began to tie Taylor to a chair.
Nathan, Cooper and Lucas saw this as their opportunity. They moved forward toward the room. Nathan peeped around the doorway to get a look at the room he knew his wife was in. He saw Damien, tying Taylor to the chair. He knew they had to be careful now. Damien could shoot any of them. His eyes finally rested on his wife's face, his rage only growing when he saw her top was torn open and her bra covered breasts exposed. Suddenly he saw it. There was an open bite mark on her right breast. It was a deep purple bruise in the shape of a mouth. He took a deep steady breath. He'd kill that bastard for that.
Cooper had made his way to the other side of the doorway. He too was looking in the room figuring out where everyone was placed. He saw West put the gun down and move to the other side of the room. He nodded to Nathan and both of them rushed through the door. Lucas was close behind.
Nathan grabbed Damien West around the neck from behind with a death grip. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."
"Nathan!" Cooper grabbed his nephew. When he finally got him to let go, he moved him back away and had the gun next to West's head. He had picked it up when they rushed into the room.
"You miserable little bastard. I should send you to hell right now" Cooper was seething.
When Nathan saw that Cooper had Damien and the gun under his control, he turned "Haley" he whispered. She was sitting up against the back of a chair, tears streaming down her face, silently sobbing. Her face was red and puffy but other than the mark on her chest she didn't appear to be hurt.
Nathan removed the gag from her mouth and then worked diligently to untie the ropes behind her back. When her hands were free he pulled her to his chest, holding her as tightly as he possibly could.
"Are you ok?" he whispered.
She nodded.
He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders to cover her open top. He laid his head next to hers and held her as she cried. "Baby are you sure you're ok? Did he hurt you?"
"No" was all she could manage.
Nathan wasn't sure which question she had answered. He began to roam her body with his eyes, making sure for his self that she was ok. He never let go of her. She clung to him, her body as limp as a dish rag.
Finally they heard the sirens. The police were outside. Nathan bent and picked her up, holding her tightly to his body. She buried her face against his neck. "Let's get you out of here" he whispered. He felt her slightly relax against him. "Ok" she whispered.
The police had Damien and Taylor in handcuffs. Cooper walked up to her and glared into her eyes. "You better pray to God she and that baby are ok you bitch" He backhanded her hard across the jaw. Lucas moved behind Cooper and grabbed him around the shoulders to pull him back.
Nathan made his way out of the warehouse, carrying his tiny wife, tears streaming down his face. A police man came up to him and told him there was an ambulance on the way and that he could sit Haley in the back of the police car if he wanted to. Nathan nodded a thank you to him. He moved her to the police car and turned to sit down on the seat in the back holding her in his lap.
"Aw Haley" he whispered. She still couldn't answer him. She just held on for dear life, enjoying being back in her husband's arms.
When the ambulance got there the paramedics were checking Haley out in the back. Nathan was standing by the open door. He still couldn't take his eyes off of her. The mental images of what could have happened refusing to leave his mind. Suddenly they heard a gun shot. A paramedic came out and told them to call another ambulance; the suspect had just shot himself in the head.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that it would be the last they saw or heard of the psychotic man that had threatened his future. If he wasn't already dead, he would hire any legal protection that he had to, to make sure this bastard was either put to death or placed so far down in the prison system that he would never get out. This man had threatened his wife for the last time.
When Nathan saw them bringing Taylor out of the warehouse I hand cuffs he walked over to her.
"Taylor, thank you for sending me that text message, I would never have found Haley without it."
Taylor smiled and Nathan slapped her hard across the face. "Don't ever come near my wife again." He told her.
Taylor knew that she deserved more than that as the policeman moved her toward the back of another car to carry her in for booking. She would never forget the last moments of this day.
"Bye Taylor" Damien laughed, staring at her with an evil look on his face.
"Where are you going?" She snapped.
"To see my dad"
Nathan smiled down at his sleeping wife. She had been sleeping a lot since they had gotten home. The pregnancy was draining her and she was still sick occasionally but not like before. She had been on the couch watching TV and drifted off to sleep a few hours ago. He hated to wake her up but they had a Dr's appointment today. They would have to leave in forty five minutes.
"Hales" he called after gently shaking her shoulder. "Baby, don't you want to let's go find out the sex of our little bundle?"
"Mmmmm" she moaned. She opened her eyes and saw her husband smiling excitedly down at her. "What if I just reschedule this one?" She rolled back to her side facing the couch.
"Hales?" Nathan whined. "You can't be serious. I've waited four and a half months for this."
She couldn't help but giggle. She turned back to him and saw the look on his face. "I'm kid --ding" she said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Did Mom already pick Jamie up?"
"Yeah, and don't forget we have to have this doctor, to transfer copies of your records to Dr. Baldwin. After graduation next week, we're going home baby"
"That sounds so good to me" She leaned up to claim his lips. "God I love you Nathan."
"I love you too baby." His heart swelled.
"Ok Mr. and Mrs. Scott are we ready for a peak?"
"Yes" they said together.
As the doctor ran the wand over Haley's slight baby bump Nathan and Haley looked at the screen in awe. This baby was just as beautiful as Jamie had been. The doctor stopped the wand and turned to look at the young couple and smiled. "It's a boy"
Nathan and Haley looked at each other. Both remembered Jamie pointing to Haley's hand the day they told him about the baby and him saying "Baby brubber" Apparently Jamie knew all along what the doctor had just told his parents.
Nathan and Haley were both tickled to death. Yes they had hoped for a girl but this little boy would be loved just as much. Nathan leaned over and claimed her lips in a searing kiss. "Next time" he promised. She giggled.