A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese!
Disclaimer: Don't own OTH
Chapter Sixteen
Lucas was pacing across the floor while Nathan was sitting on the living room couch. They were waiting anxiously for news on Haley and where Brooke was located. Nathan had insisted that Haley should go to the hospital to get checked out. Haley had agreed, but she had wanted Deb to take her. He had understood since she was angry at him.
They then heard the front door open and the two brothers turned to see who it was. Haley and Deb walked into the front hall. Nathan looked at Haley, hoping she would say something to him. However, she just looked at him before hurrying up the stairs.
Nathan turned to his mother. "Please tell me that the baby is alright. I don't need any more bad news," he said in a pleading tone.
Deb nodded. "Yes, the baby is fine. But her blood pressure was really high. So the doctor recommended her to stay on bed rest for awhile," she explained. Nathan nodded understandingly. "Have you heard anything from Peyton yet?" Nathan shook his head. Lucas didn't say anything as he stomped out of the room. Deb knew that he needed some time alone.
She then turned to Nathan. "Aren't you mad at me too?" he asked her curious.
"Yes, I am, but I can't say that I was surprised to find out that you were working for your father. You always were closer to him than Lucas," Deb replied. There then was a short pause. "I know you're not telling me the truth about why Cooper and the others took Brooke, but I didn't want to say anything in front of Lucas. What the hell is going on between your father and Brooke?"
"Dad is after Brooke because she saw him do something bad and he wants to make sure that she stays quiet about it," Nathan explained. Deb listened and waited for more, but he didn't say anything. She looked at him hard. Nathan let out a sigh before he spoke again. "Since Dan was looking for Brooke, she and her parents were in the Witness Protection Program."
Deb raised her eyebrows at his words. "So that means that Brooke isn't her real name, is it?" she asked her son. Nathan nodded. She then asked him another question even though she already knew the answer. "And Lucas doesn't have a clue, does he?"
Nathan shook his head. "No, he doesn't," he said quietly. Just then, the doorbell rang and Deb walked over to answer it. She pulled the door open and Nathan was surprised to see Rachel standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.
"You know her?" Deb asked him.
Nathan was about to respond when Rachel spoke up first. "Yeah, I ran into him when he and Lucas were in Las Vegas."
Nathan didn't let her talk this time. "Is that what you called it when I caught you making out with my dad?" he exclaimed. "Because I don't think so, Rachel."
Rachel didn't say anything as she pulled something out of her pocket. She gave him her wallet and he opened it. He gasped in surprise as he saw the contents. "First of all, my name isn't Rachel. I'm Agent Virginia Johnson. I was assigned to get close to your father. We were hoping he would eventually trust me enough to spill his guts about Daunte Jones's murder. It took awhile, but he finally did."
"So he's arrested?" Nathan asked hopefully.
Rachel nodded. "I even got him to confess about Beth Roe as well. And I got some more good news for you and your brother."
"What is it?" asked another voice. Everyone turned around to see Lucas, who had come back into the house. He had a pleading look on his face as he said, "Please tell me that Brooke is safe."
"Well, it took some arm twisting from Peyton, but Julian finally told us the location where they're keeping her. Apparently, they are in a warehouse in Charlotte," Rachel told them. Lucas was about to speak when Rachel continued on. "Normally, we wouldn't allow family members to go with us, but we think you can help us. However, there are some rules. You will have to do what I say. These are dangerous men and if we don't do this right, these men won't hesitate to kill Brooke. So you have to promise me that you will do what I say, no matter how hard it is."
Nathan and Deb turned to Lucas. He let out a sigh before answering. "If it means that we are going to get Brooke back safely, then I will back off until you say so."
Nathan then turned to his mother. Deb knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry about Haley. I'll take care of her. Just go and rescue Brooke."
"We will," Lucas promised before he headed out the front door. Rachel and Nathan were right behind him.
Brooke groaned in pain as she tentatively touched her painful, swollen stomach. Cooper had given her the bad news shortly after he had examined her. She hated that she had never had a chance to enjoy being pregnant before finding out that she had lost the baby. Even though she hadn't been ready for one in her relationship with Lucas, she was willing to accept the baby.
The blood on her face had dried and it was now itchy and irritated her. Her nose and ribs were painful too and she couldn't fathom which part of her hurt more. She dreaded to think what she looked like.
She wished that she had Haley back for company. She hated being alone in the room. She wondered what was taking them so long with her and hoped that they weren't hurting her too. She didn't think so. Cooper had promised Haley that he wouldn't hurt her. Besides, she would have thought she would have heard screams by now if they had.
She didn't even look up as she heard the door open and Cooper stepped into the room. "You look like you need some company. Don't worry. I have just the perfect person for you," he said with a wicked grin.
Brooke gasped in horror as Ian came into the doorway and gave her with a sinister smirk. "Where's Haley?" she asked nervously.
"Don't worry about her. She is in a safe place, where she won't stress out about her baby," Cooper told her.
Brooke wasn't convinced. "And where is that?" she asked him. She wanted to make sure that her friend was truly safe from these men.
Before Cooper could answer, they heard a commotion coming from the distance. He left the room, leaving a gleeful Ian with Brooke. He walked to the other room and over to the entrance of the warehouse. "What the hell is the problem over here?" he asked the men in a demanding tone, before noticing the redheaded who was trying to enter the building. "It's ok. She's allowed in," Cooper told the others. He gave her a wide smile as he helped her past the guards. "Well, what are you doing here?"
"Julian called and told Dan about the trouble with your niece. So he sent over some reinforcements," Rachel replied.
Cooper frowned. "That's funny. I never got a call about it."
"It was a last minute decision," Rachel told him. She quickly changed the subject. "So what exactly are you planning to do to Ms. Roe?" she asked as Cooper brought her to the table. She sat down in a chair, ready to listen. "Besides kill her, I mean?" she asked as they heard distant screams.
Cooper looked at her hard. "Who told you that we were going to kill her?" he asked her curious. He knew that Dan wouldn't tell her something like that.
Rachel pretended to be embarrassed. "I might have eavesdropped on a conversation between you and Dan one night," she replied. "Now why don't you tell me? Then I can give you something that I'm sure you've wanted from me since we met," she said playfully.
Cooper laughed as he said, "Well, I suppose I can't hide what is going on now. Ian is having his fun with her in the other room. And even though it was her birthday yesterday, we attacked her." Rachel kept a straight face as he continued. "We didn't even know she was pregnant until she started bleeding afterwards. Is there anything else you'd like to know before we have some fun?" he asked her as he came close to her for a kiss. Rachel just smirked at him as she pulled away from him. She got up from her chair and turned away from him. Cooper laughed at her teasing. "Come on. You're not going to bail on me now, are you?"
Rachel didn't answer for a moment before turning around to him. She had a playful smile on her lips as she said, "Of course not. I just want to see Beth for a minute and have a little girl talk."
Cooper raised his eyebrows. "Girl talk?"
"She has to be better than Carrie," Rachel said. "I don't know what is wrong with her. But she just isn't a people person."
Cooper nodded understandingly. "I see. As I said, Ian is a little busy with Beth right now. So why don't we have our fun and then we'll go check up on Beth? I would hate to spoil Ian's fun so soon. He's only just got started."
Rachel made a pouty face. "Come on, Coop. This might be the only chance I meet the famous Beth Roe."
Cooper sighed. "Alright. I'll take you."
"How about you take me instead, Uncle Coop?" asked a familiar voice. The two turned to see Lucas and Nathan walking into the room. Cooper was shocked and looked past them. He was surprised to see that his coworkers were being arrested. He then turned to Rachel, who proudly held out a pair of handcuffs. He knew he was busted and didn't even try to fight as Rachel put the handcuffs on him. "Where the hell is she?" Lucas demanded angrily. Cooper didn't say anything at first. They then heard another scream and Lucas took off in the direction where it was coming from. "Brooke," he called as Nathan ran after him.
They listened closely as they heard Brooke's voice. "Lucas, help!" she cried. She sounded terrified.
Lucas and Nathan hurried as they heard loud noises coming from a room. Lucas furiously tried the door handle before he and Nathan kicked it down. They were about to step in when they saw Ian holding Brooke at his side. They soon noticed that her hands were behind her back and were taped. Lucas gasped at the sight of her and frowned angrily when it became obvious at what Ian was trying to do to her. "One more step and I'll kill her," he warned them.
Before Lucas could say a word, Nathan spoke up first. "Forget it, Ian. We have all your buddies. You're not getting out of here. And if you do, you won't get very far since the police are right outside. Even Dan has been arrested," he told him. "Now why don't you surrender and let her go?"
Ian just smirked at him. "Come on. We were just getting started," he said before turning to Brooke. "Weren't we, Beth?" he asked her. Ian then turned back to Lucas and Nathan as Agent Hargrove came up besides them. He then threw down his gun and let go of Brooke as she looked at Lucas's horrified face. Ian just smirked. "You know what? You can have her. You never know what person she wants to play anyway," he said as Agent Hargrove handcuffed him and led him out of the room.
Brooke just looked at Lucas's hurt face as Nathan helped get the tape off her. "So all that shit Dan said about you being Beth and working for him was true?" he exclaimed angrily. "I can't believe that you lied to me this whole time!"
"Lucas, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you the truth. Really, I did. But I couldn't. I wasn't allowed to," Brooke replied, trying to hold her tears in.
Lucas didn't want to hear anymore. "Just stay away from me, both of you," he said before he walked off, leaving Brooke devastated. His reaction hurt her more than any of the injuries she had received.
Nathan tried to comfort her as Agent Hargrove and Rachel came into the room. "We've contacted your parents and told them that you're safe. They are going to meet you at the hospital. After the doctor checks you over and you've been treated, you and your parents can go back home," Agent Hargrove told them.
"You mean to Las Vegas?" Brooke asked them in a hoarse voice.
Rachel nodded. "Of course you don't have to think about it right now. There's plenty of time for you to do that. Now, I think we should get you to the hospital. From what Cooper told me, you had quite a night. Come on. I'll drive you to the hospital," she told her and carefully led Brooke away from the two.
Nathan then turned to Agent Hargrove. "Aren't you going to arrest me too? I deserve it. It's my fault that I got my wife and friend into this mess."
Agent Hargrove shook his head. "No, it's really my fault. I should have checked into your family more before I chose Tree Hill to relocate the Roes to." There was a short pause before Andy said, "We won't press charges if you testify against your father and uncle."
"Gladly," Nathan replied.
