Alright, here we go. The main event!
Rebel8954, I think everyone is a bit afraid of Stephanie. Which is probably wise! And yes, I was definitely going for 'dangerous but comedic' with the villains. Also, I'm a manager in real life, so I feel like I know Lorenzo's pain when it comes to having keen but less than helpful employees!
Idcam, Yep, Hunter is totally having a fatherly crisis. And the good news is, there's more of it here too. Also, I've given Hunter a far too easy ride lately, so it's about time his conscience won out (even if only briefly!)
Mandy, How did the interview go, and the meeting with your doctors? I hope you feel that you made progress with each. What's that saying about long journeys starting with a single step? I think that's probably a good way to look at it every time you reset. You'll get to where you need to be. But in the meantime, let me provide some Lauren-based chaos to help!
Wolfgirl2013, He does, but let's just say that Hunter isn't too happy about it (lol. I like making Hunter mad!)
Skovko, Aww, you would leave poor innocent Kaylee with the kidnappers? Why, she's been nothing but sweetness and light! The good news is, that even with the trauma of her abduction, she's still the same cheerful woman we all know and love (wink wink).
Crazyredhead2005, Yeah, but if you're going to have a millionaire as a father-in-law, I suppose he has to come in handy at some point. This is Hunter's moment!
xXBalorBabeXx, Yay! I'm glad I made at least one person (not including Lauren) feel sorry for Kaylee. Even though it probably won't last long for either of you!
Minnie1015, I know. Swerve! Lauren not being kidnapped for once. I mean, I did toy with it, but the mistaken identity thing seemed too good to pass up. Although, I'm not saying Lauren avoids trouble altogether…
Enjoy!
Big Lorenzo
Lorenzo wanted us to meet at a marina. Like a man who had watched too many James Bond films and wanted to try and live up to the bad guys. And the boats. And the secret nuclear missile launchers they all had.
Although frankly, even that seemed preferable to having to spend any longer in the car, sandwiched between my dad and husband and their never ending sniping—
"For god sakes Ambrose, can you breathe any louder?" Hunter grumbled over my head, trying to turn himself towards the window, but only succeeding in elbowing me in the ribs.
Dean looked back at him in confusion,
"An' how the fuck would you like me to breathe? Through your father in law's asshole like you do?"
Hunter's head snapped back around at that, which meant I had to bite back the giggle that was dying to burst out. Because wow that was good.
My father on the other hand, chose to ignore him,
"Well at least keep your damn belt over on your side," he grunted, pushing the IC title across the footwell with the toe of his handmade Italian shoe.
"Hey, be careful with that," Dean barked, leaning forward to scoop the strap up, before pulling it into his chest like a baby and stroking his hand across the round metal plate, "There, there baby. I know he's an asshole. But don't worry, we'll polish you up when we get home. Oh, and that goes for you too, Princess."
Despite myself, I let out a snort and then tried to hide my instinctual blushing by leaning forward and ignoring Hunter's huff of disgust,
"Hey uce? Um, at the risk of sounding like your daughter, or like I'm not enjoying this impromptu road trip, please tell me we're almost at the marina?"
Roman grinned,
"Not much longer now baby girl. But hey, I'm always happy to have a co-pilot if you want to swap and ride up front with me?"
Hmm—
Did I want to sit in the front seat—without my father's elbow dug into my side—or did I want to stay put in the middle and witness the outbreak of World War Three? Which would probably start up with or without me.
Choice made.
"Okay, here I come," I chirped, unclipping my belt and climbing over the centre console like the most ungainly monkey in the world. And to a chorus of mutual discontent from behind me,
"Whoa, where the fuck do you think you're goin'?"
"Lauren, do not leave me back here with Ambrose. Lauren—,"
"Safe," I yelled instead, dropping down into the seat beside Roman liked I'd hit a winning baseball score and was sliding home to the applause of my teammates.
Or not, in my case.
"Traitor," Dean huffed. Although at least he was smirking knowingly at me. Unlike Hunter, who had turned to stare at the road, presumably in an attempt to pretend he wasn't with us, clutching a briefcase of two hundred thousand dollars to his chest, having lied to his wife about where he was going and why he was going, and who he was going with. Because no way would she have let him come otherwise.
Well, not alone anyway, which would have been worse.
"So," Roman started, "Seeing as we're so close, isn't it about time we worked out a plan here?"
"What is there to plan?" Hunter frowned. Although in hindsight, he may have been frowning at my husband, who was using his title as a stand in guitar and jamming along to Girls, Girls, Girls on the radio like he was on the main stage at the Monsters of Rock, "Myself and Lauren give these dirtbags the money, they give us Kaylee and everyone goes home."
"Provided they haven't already—like—killed her, an' are pretendin' she's still alive so they can still get the cash."
"Dean," I hissed, nodding surreptitiously at Hunter, who had turned an unnatural looking shade of white. Although he quickly regained control of his emotions as Dean shrugged back at me cluelessly,
"What? These are criminals, Princess. This ain't wrestlin'."
Which was why we had Seth on standby back at the hotel, with strict instructions to call the police in if he hadn't heard from me, Dean, or Roman within two hours. By which time of course, we would already be goners if Big Lorenzo had decided to bring a gun, or a knife. Although naturally, I tried not to think about that part.
"Roman's right though," I offered, "We need some kind of plan. Even if it doesn't work out when we get there."
"You want a plan? Fine," Dean groused in response, "You an' pops here give 'em the money, while me an' Roman lie in wait in case the fuckers try anythin' funny, or decide to take two hostages instead of one. They can have your dad though, I'm not fightin' for his ass."
"The feeling is mutual," Hunter sassed back, which seemed as close to a tentative compromise as I figured the four of us were likely to get.
"Good," I nodded, despite the fact that it wasn't. Not even remotely. None of it was. But hey, someone needed to try and keep the mood up, "Great plan honey. I'm sure that will work."
Outside, the lights from storefronts and houses had begun to give way to the sloping banks of a shore and the reflection of the moon, elongated across water, like something drawn by Vincent Van Gogh and studded by the prows of multiple sailboats and small river cruisers and weekend fishing vessels, since Lorenzo had chosen a rural marina to make the exchange.
Away from cops and prying eyes.
"Okay, this is as far as we're going," Roman grunted, pulling up behind a shed but making sure to leave the engine running as he and Dean slipped out into the dark.
Hunter took his place as the driver, making sure to click the door shut as quietly as he could.
Dean meanwhile popped up at my window,
"Remember, if you get into trouble, just yell, or scream, or sing the national anthem or somethin', an' me an' uce will show up to kick ass."
"Got it," I nodded, trying hard not to panic as the whole thing suddenly became more real.
Kaylee had been kidnapped. We had the ransom, and we were going to meet a man who made Dean's mother scared. Or at least, scared enough about losing her money that she'd fled across the border in her brand new motorhome. Or okay, driven there really slowly. But to my mind, it totally still counted as fleeing.
"Let's just get this over with," Hunter snarled as I leaned in to give Dean a kiss through the window, which I couldn't help think was deliberately timed, "Before Steph finds out I'm not in a meeting and ends up calling the police to find me."
"Geez, alright, alright, keep your bra on," Dean muttered, stepping away from the car, but looking at me as the rental slid past him and on to our late night rendezvous by the shore.
In total silence.
Which made it even more nerve wracking.
And awkward.
"Thank you again, for—well, you know—doing this," I offered in the silence with a wave of my hands, not needing to explain to him what the this was.
Hunter's eyes flickered sideways momentarily, then returned to the asphalt,
"I should be thanking you for doing this."
"Me?" I blinked, feeling totally lost. Especially since my sticky-fingered in law had technically been the cause of the whole thing.
Not that Hunter knew about that part.
"You shouldn't even be here," he carried on, "I mean hell, if some criminal kidnapped Sting right now and held him for ransom, I certainly wouldn't care. And yet here you are, putting yourself in danger for someone who wouldn't do the same thing for you."
Huh. Well when he put it that way—
"You get that from your mother. That caring about people thing. She was always so good at that part, and she made me better because of it too. Or at least, she did when we were together, because after her, I kinda—,"
"Changed," I finished off, sensing that he was searching for the right word and struggling,
"Yes," he nodded, "I changed. But for what it's worth Lauren, I'm glad you haven't."
"What?" I frowned, feeling insulted, "Yes I have. I mean, two years ago I had never been kidnapped, and I had no idea how to throw a right hook, or what it felt like to be totally in love with someone, or—,"
"What I meant," Hunter cut in, "Is that you're still you. The same brave, thoughtful woman you always were."
Wow.
I blinked and then narrowed my eyes doubtfully in case he was lying, which was a terrible thing to think. But I mean, in my defence, it was Hunter. The father who had drugged me to try and stop me from seeing Dean.
"Let me guess," I hedged, remembering his pep talk from earlier, "If I tell Steph you said that, you'll deny everything."
"No," he shrugged, pulling up to the dockside and killing the engine, "You can tell her if you like."
In front of us, three men stood in front of a parked car, although instead of a mafia movie worthy black sedan with tinted windows and alloy wheels and presence, they were hovering in front of a nine year old Nissan, which had clearly been used to ferry cookies to bake sales before unwittingly being sold into a life of hard crime.
Two of the men I recognized instantly, since they were the ones Matty and I had met before. Mick and his friend with the tattoo near his eyelid. Both of whom were looking about as friendly as an ox that had been asked to haul a cart up a mountain only to find that it had climbed the wrong one.
Not that I'd expected them to be pleased to see me.
Although they both looked delighted compared to their boss. Or at least, the person I assumed was Big Lorenzo, but couldn't have been on account of him being—
Well, small.
"Come on Lauren, it looks like it's showtime," Hunter murmured, sliding out of the car with the briefcase tightly clutched in his fingers.
The briefcase filled with two hundred grand of cash. Which I still wasn't sure how he'd managed to pull together. Although I guessed that was a perk of being married to a millionaire.
And also being personally loaded.
"Right behind you," I squeaked in fright, before clearing my throat and climbing out into the moonlight to a rapturous greeting,
"You?" Mick snarled, looking furiously across the docks at me,
I turned to Hunter,
"See? I told you they were fans."
"You sent us to room 492 at the Plaza. Only there ain't no room 492. Which made us look like a couple of idiots."
"Ohhh, did I say the Plaza?" I gasped, trying hard to sound convincing and not totally guilty as Hunter's head bounced back and forth, "Because I meant room 492 at the Hilton."
"That's enough. Everybody shut up," Lorenzo snapped, proving that you didn't need brawn to be scary. Or loud, "All this talking is making my head hurt."
He looked like a corporate accountant close up, with a long thin face, a neat pencil moustache and narrow eyes set high on his face. Not to mention the oversized suit he was wearing, which sagged at the shoulders and was rolled up at the cuffs. Even though he was still an inch taller than I was.
And slimmer.
Which hurt on a personal level.
"Is that the cash?" he asked, nodding down at the black leather briefcase that Hunter had clutched in a death grip, "Well? Don't just stand there. Hand it over, so my men can make sure that you've brought the right amount."
"Not until you let us see Kaylee," my father countered, like he managed complex hostage negotiations all the time, and wasn't fazed by the goons stood before us.
Unlike me, who was quaking like jello in a mould.
"Ugh," Lorenzo sighed in resignation, "Fine. Henry, would you be so kind as to fetch our ungrateful houseguest?"
In response, Tattoo Guy—Henry—paused and then turned back towards the beat up Nissan uncertainly, which made his boss' eyelid flicker irritably,
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just—the last time, she bit me," Henry mumbled, scratching his arm and at least having the good grace to look a little sheepish about being scared of a woman who was easily half his size.
Which weirdly made me feel a little proud of Kaylee for managing to stand up for herself.
If only from one kidnapping victim to another.
"Then stay away from her teeth," Lorenzo snapped, before looking back at us with a brow lift that seemed to say you just can't get the staff. Which Hunter might have even agreed with if the smaller man hadn't abducted one of his staff.
"You stay away from her teeth," Henry muttered, which all of us politely pretended not to hear as he plodded dejectedly back towards the Nissan, flung open the door and pulled something off the backseat.
Something loud and none too happy.
"Get the fuck off me you Prison Break reject."
"Ouch," Henry wailed as Kaylee bit him on the hand. Or kicked him, or stomped on his toe or something as he wrangled her around to the front of the car.
"Where are you taking me? I want my lawyer, and—,"
"Kaylee," I cut in, giving her a little wave. Because having been through the same thing one or two times, I knew what a relief it was to see a friendly face, "It's okay. Me and Hunter are going to get you out of this. So don't worry, okay?"
"Where's Dean?" she replied, looking straight past me into the darkness as if I didn't even exist. Which kind of hurt my feelings a little. Or make that a lottle.
"He's not here," I lied, feeling a blush spread over my cheekbones that I hoped didn't make things too obvious, "It's just us."
"Oh," Kaylee huffed, deflating like a burst beach ball, which seemed ungrateful considering that we had come to rescue her and raised two hundred grand to make it happen.
By which I meant that Hunter had raised two hundred grand.
Not that we needed to remind Big Lorenzo, who was practically champing at the bit to make the switch,
"Alright. Here she is. You've seen her," he offered, waving a hand in front of Kaylee as if she was a brand new washing machine being given away on a seventies game show, "I think you'll find she still has all her fingers and her toes, along with that mouth and her glittering personality."
"Fuck you asshole," Kaylee snapped back, apparently without even a vague hint of irony.
"As you can clearly see for yourselves," Lorenzo deadpanned, not seeming offended. Probably because he'd been called far worse, and more than likely by Dean's mother, "So, I think you'll agree I kept my part of the deal, which means that it's time to make good on your part and give me the money that thieving bitch stole from me."
Uh oh.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hunter frowned, "Do you mean Kaylee? Did she steal from you?"
Lorenzo blinked back at him,
"That thing? Of course not. The bitch I'm talking about is—,"
"Oookay," I interrupted, clapping my hands together, "You heard the man, he kept up his part of the bargain, so go ahead and give him the briefcase, dad."
The second I'd said it, I wished that I hadn't, since the word made Lorenzo's eyelid do the twitching thing again.
Although this time it definitely wasn't from frustration.
"Wait. You mean Big Daddy Warbucks here is your old man? Well now, that does make things more exciting," he purred with a chuckle that made my skin crawl, "Because if he's prepared to part with two hundred thousand for some bitchy broad who just works for him, I wonder how much he would pay for the privilege of getting to walk out of here with his own kid."
Hunter stiffened,
"Don't even think about it."
But apparently the skinny crook already had, since instead of listening to Hunter's growled warning, he turned and nodded at Henry and Mick in what I assumed was a silent go get her, based on the way they both lumbered forwards.
"Damn," Hunter muttered, handing me the briefcase and then pushing me behind him as he tightened his fists. Not that he could take on both of them.
Which was why I initiated Plan B.
"Dean," I yelled, loud enough to be heard clearly three counties over. And by Kaylee, who perked up considerably,
"Dean's here?"
"Forget the girl, grab the cash," Lorenzo shouted, clearly sensing that reinforcements were near and wanting to get out of town with his payday before he ended up having to face them one on one.
"Okay boss. We're on it," Mick chirped back, throwing a sudden right hook at my dad, which Hunter dodged by stepping sideways—
To reveal me.
Holding the money.
Oh crap.
"Dean?" I yelled again, more fearfully, as Henry moved towards me with a vicious looking grin. One that implied he was looking forward to payback for their trip to The Plaza hotel the week before, and which also gave me the distinct impression that Henry was not a fan of harmless practical jokes, "Remember the you coming out and kicking ass bit? Because I think I could use that right about now. Hello? Eep—,"
The last part of the sentence was squealed in a panic as Henry made a sudden clumsy lurch towards the case.
And ran right into a fist for his trouble.
"Easy Princess, keep your lace panties on, I'm right here," Dean smirked incorrigibly from over my shoulder, not seeming bothered by the situation at all. In fact, he looked positively exhilarated by it.
"Um, for your information, they're not lace, they're silk," I countered, letting Dean pull me sideways as Henry recovered enough to throw a punch, which he managed to deflect by putting up an elbow while wrapping his body around me like a shield.
The second punch however caught him in the kidney and made him wince.
"You mother fuckin'—," and curse. He did that too. Then gave me a prod in the direction of the car, "Princess, take the cash an' get outta here."
"But—,"
"Go," he growled, before straightening back up and turning with an eerie looking smile to face Henry, whose companion had meanwhile picked up an oar and was using it to try and beat Hunter.
Or at least, he was until Roman showed up.
"Who the hell are you?" Lorenzo shouted, stepping forward in attempt to try and even the numbers up—
Which left Kaylee alone and unguarded for the first time.
Perfect.
"Kaylee, run," I yelled, turning with the briefcase clutched to my stomach and starting to awkwardly jog towards the car, assuming she was going to follow.
She didn't.
"Wha—where are you going?" I barked, looking back to check she was with me, only to find her heading the wrong way and along the floating pontoons towards the water, which petered out into a total dead end.
Spotting her, Lorenzo did an about-turn and began to chase after her furiously.
Oh hell.
Abandoning the promise of safety from the rental, I turned with a mildly put out sounding huff and then reluctantly retraced my steps after them, since all of the menfolk were already tied up beating the snot out of Mick and Henry and hadn't yet noticed the other drama going on.
"Come back here you bitch," Lorenzo shouted, as Kaylee reached a segue on the floating boardwalk. If she took a right, the pontoons would circle and bring her safely back out near the car. If she took a left, then she was headed for nowhere.
I held my breath hopefully.
But sure enough, she took a left, and with such a dazzling lack of foresight that I almost stopped running to smack my own head. Although in fairness, I doubted there were many other people who had as much experience in being kidnapped as me, and the first time was always especially scary. As were the second and the—
Well, you get the rest.
By the time Kaylee finally skidded to a standstill beside a boat ironically named Good Times, Lorenzo was almost apoplectic with fury. Which seemed almost understandable since his plan had hit the skids. Along with his attempt to win back his money.
"You are going to pay for running," he snarled, reaching into the pocket of his slacks and starting to pull out what I suspected was a knife.
Not that I actually let it get that far.
"Kaylee catch," I yelled, tossing her the briefcase so I had my hands free to tackle Lorenzo to the ground, using one of the three wrestling moves I had practised, but had in no way managed to master.
The spear.
Which actually worked quite well to begin with. I mean, I remembered to keep my head to the side, and I certainly hit him hard enough to knock him backwards. But what I had forgotten in the adrenaline rush was the fact that instead of landing on a canvas, or the flexible surface of a trampoline, I was powering us towards the water. Which wasn't ideal because I couldn't really swim beyond some gentle breaststroke in a swimming pool, with steps, and sides, and clear water.
Unlike the lake. Which was black, and choppy and so utterly freezing that hitting it all but ripped the breath from my chest. Not that I could breathe under the water.
Although that it stopped me from trying.
Oh god.
Vaguely, I was aware of something thrashing close by me which was probably Lorenzo, but in the moment, I didn't care, since I was too busy feeling my lungs constricting and trying to work out which way was up, as I kicked my legs in a desperate panic and tried to force down the fear that I was going to drown.
Again.
Just like I had done back when I was younger, but for good this time. Which meant I wouldn't see Dean again. Or Roman, or Seth, or Kelly, or Boomer, or my dad, or my chickens, or-
The water roared again, then swelled as something or someone dove into it. Although by that time, I was almost too incoherent to care.
Or at least I was until an arm wrapped round my stomach and began to pull me upwards.
Oh, I'd been facing upside down.
Breaking the surface felt like a miracle. Not that I managed it very glamorously at all, since I came up coughing and spluttering and gasping with my long hair plastered all over my face, like I had turned into Cousin It under the water.
Cousin It whose lungs were on fire.
"Lauren. Whoa, fuckin' breathe for me, alright?" Dean ordered huskily from behind me, as he trod water to keep us afloat, "The fuck were you thinkin'? Throwin' yourself in here like that, an' almost givin' me a damn heart attack?"
"S-sorry," I spluttered, "I was trying to—,"
"I know you were," Dean grumbled, sweeping the hair off my face, "But that doesn't mean I need to be happy about it."
"If it helps, I'm not happy with myself either," I wheezed, starting to breathe a tiny bit easier, even though I was shivering violently from the cold. Or the thought of almost drowning. Or maybe both of those together, which wouldn't have been a surprise, "Thank you for rescuing me."
"I had to," Dean huffed, "I mean, who else is gonna put up with my ass?"
I chuckled wetly,
"You mean apart from Kaylee? Speaking of which, where's—," Lorenzo, I went to ask, suddenly realizing I'd forgotten the mobster. Although before I could even start to get the question out, the man himself abruptly burst out of the water, looking damp and murderous and like a scene from Jaws.
Even worse, there was a knife in his fingers, just as I had expected before.
"You ruined everything," he bellowed, and yep, he really had watched too much James Bond, since that was a line that could have been plucked straight out of it.
"Fuck," Dean barked, pulling me tight against his front and trying to spin us around in the water as Big Lorenzo brought the knife up and started to arc the blade down towards us.
Or me to be specific.
"Hey, asshole," Kaylee yelled, making everyone look in her direction and then suddenly throwing the briefcase over our heads—
Corner first into Big Lorenzo's temple, which knocked him out as if he'd been hit by a bowling ball.
"Wow, th-that was a good shot," I shivered, which, okay, was definitely because of the cold, on account of the fact that I couldn't feel my fingers. Or my toes come to think of it.
"Alright Princess, you're gettin' out," Dean ordered, guiding me back towards the boardwalk, where another hand grabbed hold of me.
"Hey uce," I smiled, looking up through my shivers at the big man, who smiled back fondly at me.
"Hey baby girl. Wanna get out of the water?"
"Y-yes please," I stuttered, letting him do all the work of lifting my sodden form onto the boardwalk, where Hunter greeted me with a towel that I assumed he had gone to get from the rental.
"What h-happened to Henry and Mick?" I asked, looking around as Roman rubbed my shoulders. Beyond us, Dean was towing Lorenzo across, using the briefcase for added floatation, so at least on the plus side, the money wasn't lost.
Roman chuckled,
"Don't worry about them. Those two decided it was better to sleep things off."
"Oh," I blinked, as Dean called him over to drag Lorenzo back up onto dry land, seeing as Hunter had only gone over to assist in fishing the briefcase back out. You know, because, priorities and everything.
At the sound of footsteps beside me, I looked up and locked eyes with Kaylee who was staring back down at me with a vaguely unreadable expression on her face.
Was it anger?
Gratitude?
Total confusion?
"Um, are you okay?" I blinked, feeling like I had to at least say something to her. If only to fill the super awkward silence in.
For a second or two, she didn't say anything, then she slowly opened her mouth—
Only to be immediately cut off by sirens.
Which I figured in hindsight was probably good. Since when had Kaylee ever been nice to me? And besides, I'd almost drowned.
Her bitchiness would have to wait.