A/n: Sorry this chapter took awhile. I wanted to make some changes to it and it took longer than I thought! Thanks for the reviews you guys have already submitted and please continue to contribute your opinions. Hope you enjoy this one!
Frank bounded up the stairs and reached to open the door. It was locked. Looking through the window, Frank was surprised to see both Joe's sandals and sneakers illuminated by the light from the t.v. The kitchen light down the hall was also on. Frank smiled. Joe picked a good time to play it safe, Frank had left his keys in his other jeans. Frank checked the pocket of his navy hoodie just to be sure he hadn't stuck them in there on his way out. Sure enough it was empty. Banging on the door Frank shouted inside.
"Joe, come open the door I left my keys inside." He waited. There was no movement in the house and no sound. Sighing, Frank tried again. "Seriously Joe, open the damn door." Again nothing. He could see a shadow moving in the kitchen. Joe was probably making himself something to eat and wasn't paying any attention to the noise Frank was making.
Cursing, Frank turned back down the steps and walked towards a large rock propped at the end of the driveway. Turning it over he relieved to see the hide-a-key still there. He grabbed it and trotted back up the stairs and slipped the key into the lock.
Opening the door, he immedietly knew something was wrong. Other than the t.v blaring in the livingroom next to him, the house was completly silent. Frank quietly shut the door behind him and reached over to turn on the hall light, never taking his eyes off the end of the hallway. Feeling for the light switch in the dark hallway, Franks hand slipped in something wet. With a feeling of dread, he reached the switch and flicked it on.
His hand was stainedwith blood.
Franks heart completly stopped. He suddenly lost his balance and caught himself on the wall. This was blood... this was his brothers blood on his hand. The thought made him nauseous,and he fought back the urge to vomit. Not even thinking about his own safety, Frank flew down the hall yelling his brothers name.
He was running so fast he practically slid into the kitchen. The sight he was met with froze his blood and stopped him cold. The man he had offered to help with his car troubles was holding his brother in front of him with a gun jammed in the side of his head. The mans short brown hair was stuck to his head with sweat and he eyed Frank without fear. Joe didn't look good either. The left side of his face was wet with blood coming from a gash on his head, his white hoodie had drops of blood forming around the collar. Frank stared at Joe. His brothers eyes were filled with fear, and he was gasping for breath.
"Jesus.. Come on man, we'll give you what you want. Just calm down and let him go." Frank pleaded with him. He felt somewhat responsible for this since he had failed to see this man as a threat the day before. If only he had let the police know they could have caught him before it escalated to this.
Donovan eyed the young man before him. The kid was outfitted in a navy blue hoodie and a pair of jeans. He was tall, not as tall as him, but tall none the less, and his brown hair was shaggy like his brothers. Both boys were lean and muscular, it was a trait that one could use to link them as siblings. But this didn't intimidate Donovan. He was bigger than both these guys, and with Joe by his side, he knew Frank wouldn't try anything.
Donovan sqeezed Joe a little tighter, making the boy tilt back his head in an attempt to get more air. Joe grabbed onto the mans arm, trying to pry him off his neck, but it was no use, the guy was too strong.
"I got what I came here for. Now listen to me Frank. If you want to see your brother again I have some demands that need to be met. First off, I want you to take a seat at the kitchen table. Good.. yeah, that seat right there. Now Im going to leave a message for you to give to your father. Tell him I have his kid," with this Donovan lowered the gun from Joes head, opting insted to point it at his neck. "and if he ever wants to see him again, he's gotta start playing by my rules now. Im in charge this time. And Im not fucking around. If I see one cop following me or showing up at my house, the kid is going to die."
Joe shut his eyes. He couldn't believe the mess he was in this time. This guy was going to kill him. In the back of Joes mind he knew. He knew that even if his dad did everything he could this man was still going to kill him. He was unstable, and bent on revenge. Ransom money wasn't going to satisfy him. Opening his eyes he looked once again at his brother seated at the kitchen table. Frank had the same confused and shocked look on his face that Joe had earlier. But with one glance into his brother's brown eyes, he knew. Frank had come to the same conclusion that Joe had. This man had come to kill one of them. He didn't come to play around or maybe rough them up a little. He was serious. Frank breathed in a shaky breath. He couldn't let this happen. Taking one last deep breath Frank stood up from his seat at the table.
"Why don't you just let him go. Ill come with you. I won't struggle or anything. Just bring me with you insted." Frank slowly started moving towards Donovan. His hands slightly raised in the air. His heart was beating rapidly.
At first Donovan tensed seeing the teen move towards him without his permission. He tightened his grip on Joe and eyed Frank. howvere, it seemed he was taking Franks proposition into consideration. He eyed Frank up and down. The gun aimed at Joes neck was slowly moving away. But insted of being lowered, the gun was aimed at Frank insted. The teen stopped moving. He stood a couple feet in front of the crazed man, his arms still raised letting Donovan know he was in complete control. Joe had tensed up as well. His eyes had widended at Franks request and he had vigourously shook his head no. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to his brother because of him. The mans arm wrapped a little tighter around his neck and Joe began to struggle to breathe. His gasping breaths were the only sound in the room. Tension swirled in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"Thats a really good offer there Frank. But I think Im good. Now go sit back down. We're going to leave now. I think we've alrady spent enough time here." Frank backed up and took a seat at the same chair feeling completly helpless. He watched silently as Donovan began to move backwards, dragging a terrified Joe in front of him. Every muslce in Franks body was twitching. He used every ounce of willpower his brain held to keep himself seated. Joe was dragging his feet hoping to maybe slow him down a little. But it was no use. The man easily overpowered him and he still had the gun trained on Frank. Joe didn't want to risk making him angry for fear of him taking a shot at his brother.
Upon reaching the entrance way of the kitchen Donovan stopped. The mans face was hidden in the shadows and for a moment all Frank could see was his brother and a gun pointing from the hallway. With the gun still aimed at Franks head Donovan leaned in to whisper in Joe's ear. "Im going to let go of your neck. Insted Im going to hold onto your hood. Stay in front of me at all times and we're going to slowly make our way out of the house and into the car I have parked in the driveway. If you do everything like I say, Im just going to leave your brother alone. Do you understand me?" Joe nodded his head. He still had his eyes locked on his brothers. It was the only thing keeping him calm at the moment. "Good, now Im going to let you go, one wrong move and Ill kill him. Understand?" Joe once again nodded his head. Finally he could feel the pressure on his neck lessening. He could feel a hand grab his hood and hold on tightly. Joe lifted his own arm and wiped his forhead with the sleeve of his sweater. It came back stained in red, but he could already tell that the bleeding was going down.
"Now move." Donovans voice was louder now and Frank watched as Joe debated on what to do next. Please just do what he says Joe. This one time don't do anything stupid. Frank attempted to convey this message to Joe who stood stock still at the other side of the room.
But Joes mind was reeling. He didn't want to leave the safety of his house. He had escaped situations like this lots of times, couldn't he do it now? His headstrong attitude was beginning to push its way out, and Frank watched terrified as Joe hands tightened into fists. Joe cast Frank one last look before he turned, pretending to enter the hallway as Donovan, who was standing behind the teen turned to let him through. To accomadate the teen passing him, Donovan lowered the gun for a fraction of a second. Joe saw this as his oppurtunity and before Frank had a chance to stop him, Joe swung out and aimed his fist towards Donovans head