FIVE

Frank drove through the clogged streets of the city, eyes scanning every face on his way. He'd left the girl and the kid with Curtis. If there was anyone is this God forsaken world he knew he could still trust, it was him. If he died today, Curt would know what to do. He would help her the rest of the way.

And besides, if today was the day he died, he'd be taking half of those scumbags with him.

His mind drifted to the little girl, small black ringlets hanging around her round face. Big green eyes staring back him appreciatively when he handed her his phone to watch a movie. She had no judgements to pass about him. She didn't care who he was or what he did. In that instant, he was her hero. He missed the simpleness that came with children. It made his heart ache for Lisa and Frank. They used to rush home to tell him about that day in school in mundane, painstaking detail. What he wouldn't do to have that back.

Then there was her aunt. What kind of stupid name was Bellamy anyway? She was stubborn, but she was fierce in her own way. He'd give her that much. The similarities between the kid and her ended with the dark hair. The woman's eyes were darker, heavier, filled with all the bad shit she'd seen.

But that stubbornness is what would get her killed. It's what'll get her in trouble if she lands with the wrong people. She had gone after him with no hesitation back at the apartment. Hell, even this morning she'd been ready to lay into him when she woke up and then stood toe to toe with him in the kitchen. Yeah, that lack of fear was a flaw. An admirable one, but still.

He thought about the way she had yielded in the kitchen. Like she realized the stupidity in fighting him, in standing up to him. Her ass had hit the chair so quickly he'd had to stifle a laugh. But when he saw her body shiver in fear, the muscles in her legs tense up, ready to defend herself, the laugh died in his throat.

There was a part of him that hated being the cause of that fear, being the monster she was afraid of. But it was necessary. Fear would keep her in line.

The light he'd been waiting for turned green and he blinked away the image of Bellamy's fear filled eyes. He had work to do.

Jimmy belonged to the Irish Dogs. It had been easy enough to set up a "meeting" with the Irish and the other gangs that had names on that fucking list. Easy for Frank to send out a message posing as one of them saying he had the girl and was willing to deal. It spread through the city like wildfire.

They all wanted her. Wanted that list. And they were all willing to do whatever it took to get to her. Oh yeah, today their little territorial wars meant nothing. Today, they were a united front.

And today, they were all under one roof. Exactly where Frank wanted them to be.

He stood on a nearby rooftop, watching them arrive one by one at the old warehouse through the scope of his sniper. Men of all races, ethnicities, shapes and sizes piled in, all leaving their guns in the guarded basket at the door. Her knew better than to believe that they'd go in unarmed. No doubt every single one of them had another gun hidden on their person.

It was easy for him to pick out which ones were law enforcement. All police carried themselves in a similar manner, even the rotten ones. Long tactful strides, straight shoulders, right hands always lifted a bit higher to be as close as possible to the gun hanging on their hip.

Another gray van pulled up, side doors sliding open and men pouring out into the lot. Two of them turned and yanked something out of the van behind them. No. Not something, someone.

The bag over their head made them hard to identify at first, but the long slim frame covered in familiar clothing gave it away. She was completely limp in the guy's arms as he slung her over his shoulder. Frank would have thought she was dead had it not been for the bag over head. Why cover her eyes if she was dead.

Two hours. He'd left her with Curtis only two hours ago. How the fuck did this happen. He cursed to himself, heart beat picking up speed.

"Fuck." He spit. Time stood still as he waited to see if they'd pull Miya from the van next, or Curt. But it looked like she was alone. We're the others already dead. A ball formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Fuck!"

She just needed some air. Curtis had tried to stop her, but unless he planned on tying her to a chair, he couldn't. He was a good man, Bellamy could see it in his eyes. They were deep and soulful, flooding with concern and hope. What a rarity in this city.

The air outside was cooler than she'd expected and the thin zip up she had borrowed from Frank didn't help to stave it off. She hugged it closer anyway. Though cold, the openness felt good. It was exactly what she needed. The cramped trailer, Curtis's tiny apartment, it had all be suffocating these past 24 hours.

She couldn't help but replay her last conversation with Frank as she leaned against the outside wall of Curtis's building.

"I'll call a meeting." He said, stuffing some shirts into a duffle bag. "Tell them I have you and the list and I'm willing to hand you over to the highest bidder."

The stupidity of the plan wasn't lost on her. He'd die. It was that simple. The man really had a death wish. And for what? What did he get out of this? She had asked his as much on their way to Curt's.

"I… I just can't sit back and watch the innocent die. Not when I know there's somethin' I can do about it."

"So you believe me?" the word innocent hadn't been lost on her. "You think I'm innocent?"

"I think you believe that you're innocent." he countered, the corner of his mouth pulling up into what could almost count as a smile.

"Trust me, I'd give you whatever you wanted if it meant that we'd be safe." Bellamy peered down at Miya who occupied the middle seat of the truck.

"You'll be safe." the conviction in his voice startled her. She let her eyes travel up to his face, which was still concentrating on the road. He had morals. Were they fucked up? Yeah. But they were there. Something about the way he spoke to Miya, the way he interacted with her, made Bellamy wonder if he was a father. Where were his kids now?

Bellamy was so lost in her own head, thoughts of Miya, Jimmy and Frank all overlapping one another, that she didn't even realize she was being watched. And when she did catch on, it was too late.

The van pulled up to the curb and the two men who had come up on either side pushed her in. It was done in a matter of seconds. She didn't even have time to scream.

A weight appeared on top of her, pinning her to the van's floor. She rolled her body but no amount of squirming would be enough to counter his body weight. Rough hands shoved something soft into her mouth and pressed a long strip of tape down over top of it, preventing her from spitting it out. Preventing her from calling out for help. Plastic zip ties bound her wrists together, biting into her skin.

"Shut her up." a voice from the front seat shouted back just before something hard made contact with the side of her head. The lights went out.