Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with TNA. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination.
Chapter Content & Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence, and a very slight attempt at sexual assault
Chapter 32
"Stop," Ella gasped, taking a step forward. "Let her go!"
"Shut-up, Ella," Fournier growled. "Or I'll kill her now!" He used Miracle's bangs to pull the girl's head back and exposed her throat further. "I'll do it. Trust me. You know full well what I'm capable of."
"Give her to me," Ella demanded. Fear laced her next words. "I'll go with you—but let my baby go."
"Yes, you will go with me," Fournier shot back, his icy eyes blazing with cold hatred. "But you're going to pay for making me wait this long to have you."
Her breath shuddered. I have to do something, she thought frantically. I can't let him do this!
"I'm warning you, Fournier," Ella spoke distinctly. "If you don't let my daughter go right now, you'll find out what I'm capable of."
"You don't hold the cards here," Fournier shot back with his French accent, though his eyes did reflect an instant of apprehension. "I do."
Ella wanted to scream, but she knew it would alert Joe. She couldn't jeopardize both her husband and daughter. She watched in horror as Fournier dared to nick her daughter's slender throat with his knife. The horror of it forced a scream from her throat at the same moment Miracle cried out in pain.
"NOOO!"
In a flash, Ella managed to lunge at Fournier and get her fingers around the knife. She yanked it from him, and shoved her daughter behind her, out of harm's way.
"RUN, MIRACLE! RUN AND GET HELP," she screamed, as she backed away from Fournier and brought the knife to her own throat. She watched as the group of men took a cautious step toward her, guns raised.
"MAMA, NO," Miracle shrieked, not willing to leave her mother. Seeing her lift the knife to her throat cinched the deal. "Mommy, I'm not leaving you!"
"Miracle, GO! Get to a phone and call 9-1-1! I can hold them off."
"Put the knife down, Ella. You're not going to harm yourself in front of your daughter," Fournier said, sounding bored with the situation. His calm, confident demeanor sent chills up Ella's spine.
The sound of rapid footsteps on the stairs distracted her and she made the mistake of turning toward the sound. Realizing it was Joe coming down, she whispered, "Miracle, that's your father…Go to him!"
The girl ran for the stairs then, and Ella turned back to face Fournier and his men, when the knife was batted out of her hand. Then a fist collided with her face. She cried out as the force flung her into the wall. She fell to the floor and instantly felt a pair of hands grab her roughly and pull her to her feet. She fought and struggled against Fournier's hold, till he punched her in the stomach. She sagged against him, coughing and gasping for air.
"Take your hands off my wife."
Through her oxygen-deprived state, Ella saw Joe standing in the doorway of the living room. He'd managed to get his jeans on, but was shirtless. Malice was etched across his face as he stared Fournier down. She felt Fournier's hand go around her throat and hold her in place.
"If you attempt to save her, I will kill her this time. I could snap her neck in just a second's notice." He squeezed Ella's throat firmly to prove his point. She gulped for nonexistent air and clawed at his hand frantically.
"Well, then you'd better kill me first, because if you hurt her, I swear on my life, you won't live long enough to take your next breath," Joe replied vehemently. He watched thankfully as Fournier finally released his hold on Ella's throat. Keeping calm was proving most difficult, but he knew acting on his impulses would prove fatal to them both. He had to keep his head.
"Joe," Ella whispered, gulping in air. "Get Miracle...and leave."
"No," Joe replied, still staring at Fournier. "I'm not leaving you. Miracle went for help. This ends tonight."
Knowing Fournier's attention was on Joe, Ella took a chance. She stomped his instep as hard as she could, then rammed her elbows into his ribs. As he bent over in both shock and pain, she turned around and shot her knee up into his face.
At that moment she was aware of footsteps all around her. More hands reached out and latched onto her. She could hear the sound of flying punches amid Joe's growls of rage.
"Let go of me," Ella screamed, struggling against the strong hands that held her. She lifted her gaze and caught sight of Joe punching several of the attackers. But a couple of them finally caught him around the waist and took him to the floor. Several held him down while another pummeled him with hits over and over.
"STOP," Ella begged. "Leave him alone!" They continued beating him and her eyes shot over to Fournier. "Please, stop it! You have me now. Leave him!"
"It's too late for that," Fournier answered in a matter-of-fact tone, pulling out a gun and screwing a silencer onto it.
Ella struggled with all her might to get free and come to Joe's aid. "NOOO! Don't do this! I'LL KILL YOU!"
She continued struggling and watched in horror as the men lifted Joe to his feet, holding him in place. Fournier raised his gun and took aim.
"No," Ella screamed again. Her legs threatened to give way as Joe's gaze flew to hers. His face was bloodied due to a gash on his forehead and one of his eyes was already swollen shut.
"I love you," he said in a labored whisper.
"I love you," she sobbed as she tried to yank her wrists free.
Fournier's cold gaze shifted between Joe and Ella several times. He looked at Joe's shoulders and forearms and then stared at Ella's neck.
"Are those scratches from her," he asked Joe, indicating the red welts marring his skin. He looked at Ella and demanded, "And that mark on your neck... from him," he jerked his head toward Joe.
"Yeah," Joe growled. "That tends to happen during sex!"
Fournier whirled on Joe and instantly fired his handgun at him.
WHOOSH!
Joe's pained grunt mingled with Ella's sorrowful scream as the bullet tore into him. A hole appeared in his chest and began pouring blood. His knees wobbled and he fell to the floor, fighting for breath.
"Joe…" Ella sobbed. "God… Please, no…"
"Wait for me at the vehicles," Fournier ordered his men. "I can handle it from here." He pulled out a syringe and eyed Ella. "Leave her with me," he added.
Ella vaguely felt herself passed over to Fournier, her eyes glued to Joe. Blood puddled beneath him and held her attention as Fournier jabbed the needle into her neck, injecting her instantly. The Frenchman then dragged her over to Joe and tossed her down beside him.
"Say your goodbyes."
Ella touched Joe's face, and found that he was still alive.
"Oh, God, Joe…" she whispered, watching the blood pour from his wound. "Please, stay with me."
His eyes were closed, but his hand searched for hers. And though her mind was growing dim, she managed to reach out and curl her fingers around his.
"I-I'm sor-sorry… lo'u…lo'u alofa," he panted out. "I…I wanted…us to be…to-together…agai-again."
Ella raised his hand to her lips. "Shh," she sobbed mournfully. "We will be. Soon," she added in a sleepy whisper, so Fournier wouldn't hear her. "He won't have me for long. I swear it."
"Ella…no…" Realizing she was talking suicide, he tried to tighten his grip on her hand. "Jeff…he'll find you…"
"You know that's not true," Ella said sadly. "He'll try, but-"
"Enough of this," Fournier said in frustration. He dragged Ella away from Joe and started to lift her up.
"Let go of me," she cried, shooting her fist upward. It connected with his chin and ignited his rage.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and lifted her upper body from the floor. Ignoring her scream of pain, he growled in her face. "I was just going to give you a second dose of this stuff," he said, showing her a hypodermic needle, "but I don't think it's having a strong enough effect on you." He chuckled at her attempts to fight him off. "I think I'll just take the quicker approach, little wildcat." He lifted her head a little further and prepared to strike it against the floor as she let out a small cry laced with fear and trepidation.
"Leave…her alone…" Joe turned onto his stomach and tried to reach Ella.
His attention captured, Fournier grinned at Joe while she began to struggle against him. "I don't think so," he said confidently. A look of calculated spite etched his face, and he smirked at Joe. "You do know what I want from her, don't you?"
Ella froze for a split second, and then fought him with a vengeance. He simply laughed and sent her sprawling across the coffee table as he began unbuckling his belt. "Why don't we give your husband a preview of what you can expect to endure," he taunted as she struggled to lift up from the table with a weak cry.
Joe cursed softly and tried to rise to his knees. "I'm going…t-to kill…y-you… S-somehow…"
"You're wrong again," Fournier shot back, towering over a slowly weakening Ella. Whatever drug he'd given her was finally taking effect. "With that gunshot wound, you're as good as dead."
Using the last of her strength, Ella rammed her fist straight into his groin. Instantly, Fournier howled in pain and fell to the side of the coffee table. He managed to collect himself quicker than she expected however, and proceeded to lift her up and backhand her across the face. She fell to the floor, smacking her head hard against the wooden planks. A whimper barely passed her lips as she went limp.
"El-Ella…" Joe moaned in pain as he reached for her. His dark gaze lifted to Fournier. "This isn't over. Mark...my words..."
Fournier lifted Ella's limp body up over his shoulder. Ignoring Joe's threat and flashing a sadistic grin, he stated, "I want you to die thinking about what I plan to do to your wife. You'll be dead… And she'll wish for death."
With that, he headed into the kitchen and out the back door, leaving Joe's bleeding form behind.
"Ella…." Joe cried softly, trying desperately to rise to his feet. The pain was incapacitating him but he refused to give in to it. Using the coffee table to assist him, he slowly managed to sit on it. He looked down at himself and saw the amount of blood he was losing and tried to focus on consciousness. He shakily reached his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Seconds later, he had a call going through to Jeff.
"Hello? Joe?"
"Jeff…" Joe said softly. "Found…Ella…alive…"
"WHAT? She's alive?! Is she okay?!"
"No…time…" Joe continued, "Going by…Claire J-Jones…"
"Ella's going by Claire Jones," Jeff clarified. "Joe, what's wrong with you? You sound hurt."
"Been…shot…" Joe rasped out. "Ambulance...and c-cops…Fournier…took El-Ella…"
"My God. Okay, Joe, where are you," Jeff asked frantically.
"Ella's house," Joe managed to pull the slip of paper which had Ella's address written on it, and read the address off to Jeff. "It's…here in…S-Seattle…"
"Okay, Joe, I've got it," Jeff said. "I'm calling for help and I'll be there soon."
With the last of his energy spent, Joe fell into unconsciousness and landed hard on the floor.
