Brax POV
Gun in hand and with a wallet short of about $250, I hop back into my car. My dealer speeds off down the street, and I head off in the opposite direction. I don't know what will happen when I find Brodie, Riley and Tegan, but it won't be pretty. If they put up a fight, I'll be ready for whatever they have to throw at me. No one hurts Charlie the way they did and gets away with it.
A short way down the road, my phone goes off. I pull it out of my pocket, not bothering to actually pull over to answer it (getting pulled over by the police for talking on the phone whilst driving would be the least of my problems considering I now have a gun sitting in plain sight on the passenger seat!).
'Hello?'
I don't hear much on the other end, just muffled sounds and quiet talking.
'Hello?' I repeat. And then I actually listen. I hear what sounds like Charlie's voice. And Riley's.
'Why are you here? Get out of here!' Charlie yells her voice more pleading than threatening. I hang up the phone, slam down hard on the breaks and turn the car around. Revenge on Brodie and Tegan will have to wait a bit longer – I have to save Charlie from Riley now.
Riley's POV:
'What was the point of calling Brax?' the cop asks me, practically hyperventilating. 'You know he's just going to come straight here, and when he does - '
'That's exactly the point!' I shout, and she starts sitting up more in her bed, moving as far away from me as possible, holding her knees in her shaky hands. It is obvious that she is on the verge of tears. I almost feel sorry for her... almost.
I pace around the room, staring at my phone, every so often, looking up at a distraught Charlie who has her head in her knees. Her sobs are quite loud. The machines around her are beginning to beep quicker, and I know I'm running out of time. I sigh a breath of relief when my phone rings, and it's Brodie.
"It's all set, you can leave now" he says, before hanging up.
"Finally" I think to myself, as I walk out of the room. It is perfect timing too, because as I do, the cop's machines begin to beep out of control, and she starts to scream for help. I make sure that I am not seen as I leave the hospital.
Brax's POV:
I am well over the speed limit, but I don't care. Charlie is at the wrath of Riley, and although he isn't very bright, he is strong... strong enough to badly hurt an already weak Charlie. My phone starts ringing so I reach for it on the passenger seat where it is laying next to the gun and my wallet. I take my eyes off the road for just a minute.
I am lucky enough to look up in time to see the detour sign in front of road work. I swerve the car at high speed to avoid it. But now I am headed for the shrubs on the side of the road. I slam the breaks and hope for the best. It's funny though, because although I could die in this swerving car, all I can think about is Charlie being hurt by Riley... the only reason why I want to survive this is for her. I need to be there. Finally the car stops...
It takes me a minute to recover from the shock. How the hell could this have happened? I don't have time for this! I go to open my door, but find it pulled out from the other side. A pair of arms reaches in and pulls me out of the car, tossing me to the ground. I look up. A pair of cowardly faces look down on me.
'Not so tough now are we?' Hammer says, holding a gun out towards me. Brodie is weapon less, although even if he was packing heat I doubt he'd use it on me. He's not brave enough to do that. And even though Hammer probably does have the guts to use the weapon he's holding, all I can think about is how the longer I spend sitting here, staring down the barrel of his gun, the longer Charlie is in danger.