A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my awesome beta: Leeese!

Disclaimer: Don't own OTH


Chapter Thirteen

Karen just stared out of her bedroom window as she watched the sun rise. It was a beautiful morning. However, the day didn't match her mood. She hadn't sleep a wink the previous night since she was so worried about Beth.

She felt someone wrap his arms around her and knew it was her husband. "It's all my fault. I should have made her leave as soon as she got that message," Karen said as she pushed him away. "Why didn't I push her?"

Keith immediately shushed her as she turned around and buried her face against his chest. He embraced her in a comforting hug as the tears started to fall. "Don't blame yourself. You didn't know how close Dan's men were. None of us did."

"We should be celebrating her birthday right now. Our baby should be turning twenty-four today," Karen said tearfully. She was trying to hold it all together, but it was getting harder by the hour.

Keith tried to calm her down. "We will as soon as she gets back."

Karen pulled her head back and gave him a look. "May I remind you that Dan wants our daughter dead? And what about Haley? I hate to think what they are going to do with her, especially since she is part of Nathan's punishment."

"Nathan told me that Dan never has his men do the job right away," Keith replied. "He has his men wait a few days."

Karen could tell that there was more, but he didn't want to tell her. She turned to him. "Not that I want Dan or his men to kill our daughter, but why the wait?" she asked him.

Keith knew it was best not to answer that question. He knew Karen would be heartbroken if she found out that Dan's men loved to torture their captive before killing that person. "Does it matter? It gives Nathan and Lucas a chance to find Beth and Haley before it's too late," he replied.

Karen gave him another look. "How can we trust them? They are Dan's sons. And Nathan knows the truth about us," she reminded him. "How do we know that it's not just an act?" she demanded.

"Because I saw how upset he was when he found out that Haley was missing too. And I could tell that he wasn't acting. I know it's hard to trust him, but he's all we got," Keith told her. "He and Lucas will bring Beth back to us safely. I know it," he assured her as he held her close again.

Karen just nodded as she had a thought. "What I want to know is who ratted us out," she said as Keith frowned. "I know in my heart that it's not just a coincidence that Beth and Haley just happened to be kidnapped the same night that Beth's surprise birthday was scheduled. They knew that Beth and Haley were going to be alone."

Keith nodded in agreement. "You're right. Someone else is working for Dan."

"And if we find that person, maybe we can persuade him or her to tell us where they are keeping Beth and Haley," Karen added as she suddenly had a thought. "And I think I know the perfect person to start with."


Brooke suddenly was woken up by the smell of bacon and eggs coming from the other room. She then knew it was morning and the guys were having breakfast. She and Haley exchanged nervous looks as they heard footsteps.

Cooper appeared and started walking towards Haley. "I'm sure you girls are starving since we took you before dinner last night," he told them as he pulled the tape off Haley's mouth. Haley just glared at him while he walked over to Brooke and pulled off the tape from her mouth too. "And after a nice breakfast, we'll put you in your new room before we discuss some business with Beth since we didn't have a chance to last night. It got too late."

"New room?" Haley asked him as she frowned.

"Well, Dan wants to make you more comfortable since you are pregnant," Cooper replied as Julian came into the room with a couple of containers of food. "Breakfast is served." Cooper undid the tape that bounded Brooke's wrists before doing the same for Haley. Julian then handed the containers to Brooke. "You're lucky that it's your birthday or we wouldn't be doing this for you," he said before leaving the room.

"And I wouldn't try to escape if I were you," Julian added before he followed Cooper out.

Brooke waited until she was sure that they were gone before she turned to Haley. "Hales, I know that you don't want any special treatment, but please don't fight this," she begged her. Haley didn't say anything. "If something happens to you or your baby, I would never forgive myself."

Haley looked at her as Brooke gave her a pleading look. She sighed as she said, "Alright, I'll play along for now."

"Good. Now eat so we can do our business meeting," Julian called impatiently, letting them know that he'd been eavesdropping on their conversation.

Haley was about to respond back when Brooke gave her a warning look. She instead angrily grabbed one of the containers and started eating hungrily. Brooke didn't move. She was too nervous to eat. However, she didn't dare say a word since she was afraid that they would make her go to the so-called business meeting right away if they knew that she wasn't eating.

Haley knew what she was thinking. She quietly encouraged her friend to eat and Brooke finally grabbed the other container and started eating. Both ate quietly as they thought of Nathan and Lucas. They knew that they would be desperately searching for them. Brooke prayed that they would be rescued before her time was up.

It was only a few minutes before Cooper and Julian came back in with some of the other men. "Ok, time's up," Julian said as he grabbed Brooke's arm. One of the other men grabbed her other arm.

Cooper grabbed Haley's arm tight. She struggled to get away from him, but he kept a firm grip on her. Haley was sure she would have bruises afterwards. "Girls, why don't you say your good-byes now? Because you won't see each other for the next few hours."

"Don't hurt her," Haley exclaimed.

"Why would we want to do that? We just want to talk to her," Cooper replied before he gave a nod to Julian. He and the other man dragged Brooke out of the room. Cooper then followed them, forcing Haley to go with him. Brooke was pulled to the table where the men had sat at while doing their work. As the men taped Brooke to a chair, she watched Cooper lead Haley down the hall. "Don't start without me," he called.

"Alright, but don't take too long," Julian called back as he grabbed the roll of tape from the table. He bent slightly and looked Brooke directly in the eye as he said, "Here is how it's going to work. If you keep your mouth shut while we're talking, we won't have to use the tape."

"Why don't you just kill me now?" Brooke demanded as she glared at him. "Isn't that why you were searching for me in the first place?"

"Because this is our reward," Julian replied as he grinned. "We get to play with our captives for a few days before we kill them. You, however, get one extra day because it's your birthday today. So all you are going to get today is a little chat with us. Then tomorrow, the fun begins."

"Let's get started," Cooper said as he came back into the room. "And I'll ask the questions." Brooke was now more nervous than ever. She had been dreading this all night and now that it was time, she was terrified. "I'm sure that you still remember that night six months ago when you saw the little business deal between Dan and his associate, right?" Cooper asked her.

"I'm sure she would have nightmares about it if she didn't stay with your nephew all the time," Julian said with a chuckle.

Brooke glared at him. "Leave Lucas out of this," she exclaimed angrily.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?" Julian asked. He didn't let Brooke answer as he tore off a piece of tape. He then put it over her mouth. "And I thought that you would be more cooperative considering your position."

Cooper just smirked as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He pressed a few buttons as he spoke. "Speaking of Lucas, I have a lovely picture of you two at the club," he said as he showed Brooke the picture he had taken. "I wonder how heartbroken he will be when he discovers that not only did you worked for Dan, but you also lied about who you were," he taunted her.

"He'll probably never want to speak to you again. So in a way, we're doing you a favor by killing you," Julian added.

"Can we just skip the chit-chat and just get to the fun?" asked one of the other men impatiently.

Cooper gave him a look. "You know the rules, Ian. I'm in charge until Dan says otherwise. And I'm saying that there is no fun until tomorrow. After all, it is Beth's birthday and I'm sure that is what she wants. And I promised Haley that we would take it easy on her today."

"Do you always do what your niece tells you to?" Julian teased him.


Lucas just stared out the window as the plane finally arrived in Las Vegas. The four hour flight was too long. Of course, he had spent the entire flight thinking about Brooke and Haley. He prayed that they were alright. He would kill Dan if they weren't.

Yet, he still didn't understand what Dan had to with kidnapping Brooke and Haley. He didn't quite believe Nathan's story about the reason why they were kidnapped. There had to be more to it than what he had told him. But he wasn't in the mood to ask him. He was too pissed off at him to talk to him about it.

Lucas waited anxiously until the passengers were allowed to get off. He then grabbed his carryon bag before quickly heading down the aisle. Nathan was right behind him. They were soon out of the airport and in a taxicab, headed for their dad's hotel. Like the airplane flight, both of them were silent.

When they arrived at the hotel, Nathan tried talking to him. But Lucas just ignored him as they got their suitcases out of the trunk. He pulled his suitcase through the hotel entrance and into the lobby. He rolled it over to the front desk and waited for Carrie to see him. He wasn't surprised when Carrie immediately noticed Nathan and started flirting with him. "Hey, Nathan. It's been too long."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested, Carrie?" Nathan asked her annoyed. She always flirted with him every time he had come to visit. He tried to tell her that he was taken, but she could never take a hint. "But I am interested in knowing if we could talk to my dad."

Carrie nodded as she gave him a flirty smile. "He's been expecting you two. Your room is all ready for you and Lucas. I'll arrange for a bellhop to take you to your room. After you get settled, I'll take you to Dan."

"Thank you, Carrie," Nathan replied, ignoring the look. It wasn't long before the two were in their room unpacking their suitcases. Lucas didn't even look at him. Nathan sighed. "Ok, this has gone on long enough. How much longer are you going to give me the silent treatment?" he asked him.

"I don't know. How long it will be before you tell me the truth about all this?" Lucas demanded as he looked at his brother angrily. Nathan didn't say anything. "If you really didn't do what Dan asked, then why the hell don't you just apologize and do the task for him? Then we can get Brooke and Haley back and it will all be over."

"It's not that easy," Nathan replied with another sigh. Lucas looked at him and waited for more. Nathan knew that it wasn't the right time to tell him. However, he had a feeling that Dan would if he didn't. He loved spilling juicy little secrets like that. "He already has what he wants and that is Brooke."

Lucas looked at him confused. "Last night, you told me that the only reason that Dan's men kidnapped her was because she was with Haley. Now you're telling me that she is the one that Dan was after in the first place?" he asked him. He shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell does Dan want with her?" He then shook his head again. His brain was having trouble processing everything that had happened. "You know what? I don't care what he wants with her. You just convince him to let Brooke and Haley go."

Nathan nodded in agreement. He knew that he had to be the one to do it. "I'll go talk to him now," he told Lucas before leaving the room. He just hoped that his dad would listen to him and let Brooke and Haley go. However, he knew that he wouldn't. But he knew that he had to try.