A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese!
Disclaimer: Don't own OTH
Chapter Twenty Eight
"What about you? He sent his men to kill you," Haley pointed out as she suddenly felt a sharp pain. She groaned out loudly in pain as her hand went to her stomach. Brooke immediately became alarmed. She was about to ask Haley when she answered for her. "I think something's wrong with the baby."
"Are you sure?" Brooke asked her. She knew that Carrie wanted to make Haley go into labor before her due date, but she had hoped that it wouldn't be this early. She was only five-and-a-half months pregnant.
"No, but it might convince Julian to get me over to the hospital to get checked out," Haley replied as the pain subsided. Brooke gave her a skeptical look. "Do you have any other ideas on how to get rescued? Because that's the only way we will get out of here."
"Well, I do have a very important doctor's appointment coming up," Brooke told her. "And Dr. Copeland would get suspicious if we suddenly canceled it. I would feel better if we could convince him about my appointment rather than your stomach pain."
"Why is it so important to go to the appointment?" Haley asked her.
"Because Lucas and I will finally find out if we are having Jayden or Mackenzie," Brooke replied. "We didn't have a chance to find out early like you and Nathan did. Your niece or nephew refused to cooperate."
Haley gave her a look. "So your desperate need of finding out about what sex your child is triumphs over my health?"
"You've been missing for over two months. Do you really think that Dr. Copeland won't call the police after he checks you over?"
Haley was about to respond when the door opened up. Both of them were annoyed when they saw Julian. "Your doctor just called. Apparently, there was a cancellation for tomorrow and knew that you two were eager to find out about your baby. So he was wondering if you would like to take it. Lucas accepted it on your behalf."
Brooke was surprised that he would even let her out of the apartment. "You're allowing me to go to the appointment?"
Haley knew that there was something he wasn't telling them. "There has to be a catch."
Julian gave them a look. "I think you already know the catch. Don't tell anybody and there won't be any trouble."
"Why should we cooperate when you are going to kill our family anyway?" Haley asked him.
"Because I might make Brooke here lose her other baby," Julian replied. "I'm sure you wouldn't want that." He didn't let them respond as he left the bedroom and closed the door.
Haley groaned. "I really hate that guy. I'm almost starting to think that he is making empty threats. Otherwise, he would have killed Lucas and Peyton already. Or even you. I'm surprised that he is still taking orders. I would have thought that he would make his own rules."
"I don't think any of those bastards have a conscience," Brooke said. "If they did, they would let all of us go." Haley couldn't help but agree with her.
Soon, it was time to eat dinner. Brooke and Haley were allowed to eat with Lucas and Peyton. To their surprise, Deb hadn't arrived yet. Lucas told them that his mother couldn't get time away from the restaurant since it was so busy.
After a lot of persuading, Peyton finally convinced Julian to let Lucas sleep in the master bedroom with Brooke and Haley. Lucas was grateful. Even though he was going to sleep on the floor, he was going to be near Brooke. And that was all he cared about. He wanted to make sure none of the bastards holding them captive crept in during the night and touched his wife or sister-in-law; especially Ian.
Haley couldn't sleep. Besides her son kicking her, she was too focused on Nathan. She missed him like crazy. She had a feeling that Carrie would stop running and let him find her. However, she didn't know what would happen next and that part was killing her. She knew that Carrie wouldn't hurt him unless Nathan didn't cooperate. She prayed that they would be together soon. With that thought, she finally managed to drift off to sleep.
Miles away, Agent Hargrove and Nathan were parked down the street from an abandoned house. They suspected that this was the new location that Carrie had taken Haley to. Yet, they had to be careful to make sure that it wasn't a trap. They knew how obsessed Carrie was with Nathan.
Even though it was supposedly abandoned, they could see that there were lights on. Nathan waited impatiently for the light in the front room of the house to be turned off. He really wanted to get this over with so he could see Haley again.
"So what's the plan?" Nathan asked Agent Hargrove. "Because I really don't want to walk in there and find out that it's a trap."
"That's why you're staying in the car while I go and check it out first," Agent Hargrove told him. They then turned towards the house as the front door opened. They watched as two men came out of the house and walked to a car. Nathan was surprised to see that Carrie wasn't with them. "I think she's waiting for you."
"I think you're right," Nathan replied as they watch the other car leave. "You go follow them while I take care of Carrie."
"Are you sure you can handle her?" Agent Hargrove asked.
Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he assured him as he climbed out of the vehicle. "I'll call you if I get into any trouble."
Agent Hargrove sighed, but finally agreed. Nathan then shut the door before he watched him drive off. He then hurried up to the front door and wasn't surprised when he found that it was unlocked. He pushed it open and walked into the front hall. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he looked around for Carrie. He then heard a lock click and something hard hit his head. He then realized that he had walked right into a trap right before he passed out.
The next morning, Brooke had a quick breakfast before she was allowed to get ready for her appointment. Once she was ready, she walked out of the master bedroom to hear Julian telling Peyton that she would be the one taking Brooke, not Lucas. Brooke was surprised that none of his men would be riding along.
"Go to the doctor's appointment and come straight back," Julian reminded them. "Or you will become a single mother," he warned Brooke.
"We'll be back soon," Peyton told him as Brooke and Lucas said good-bye to each other. She then led Brooke to the car and they got in. Brooke was quiet as Peyton drove. "Are we being followed?" she asked her. Brooke turned around in her seat and saw that nobody was following them. She shook her head and Peyton sighed in relief. "Good. That makes my job easier."
Brooke frowned. "What are you talking about?" she asked before she slowly realized what was going on. "Dr. Copeland's office didn't call yesterday, did they?"
Peyton shook her head. "When Julian asked Lucas to call Deb, he really called your mom and hinted about our troubles. She then called Rachel and told her the situation. She was the one who called and pretended to a receptionist. She knew that it was easier to get you out first rather than Haley."
"How did you know that it was my mom and Rachel in the first place if Lucas was the one who answered the phone?" Brooke asked her curiously.
Peyton sighed. "Because this was the plan if something like this ever happened," she replied. Brooke was surprised. "Lucas, Nathan, Deb, me and your parents all discussed this with Agent Hargrove and Rachel shortly after Haley was kidnapped. Even though it was Carrie who was behind that plot, they didn't want to take any chances with the rest of Dan's crew."
"How come I wasn't involved in the discussion?" Brooke demanded.
"Because we knew that you would have refused to leave without Lucas or Haley if we did tell you," Peyton said.
"You're damn right I would have," Brooke said. "We have to turn around and go back. Those bastards are going to kill Lucas if we don't return to the apartment."
"No, they won't. Julian won't let them," Peyton replied. Brooke wasn't convinced. "I know Julian. He may be tough, but he isn't a murderer. Unfortunately, Ian's patience will wear thin and he may cause trouble."
Brooke gave her a look. "Are you kidding me? Of course he will cause trouble." It was too obvious that he would. "That's why we should turn around before it's too late."
"I'm sorry, Brooke. But I have strict instructions to take you to a safe house," Peyton replied. "And then I'm going back to the apartment and I'll make up an excuse about why you're not with me."
"What if they decide that they are going to go to the hospital and check up on me?" Brooke asked.
Peyton let out another sigh. "See, this is why your family didn't want to tell you. They didn't want you to stress out because of the baby. Don't worry. Lucas and Haley will be rescued before it gets to that point. Rachel has already notified Agent Hargrove. Nathan wants to deal with Carrie before they head back to Charlotte. He wants to make sure that she won't go after his family again."
"So where are you taking me?" Brooke asked her.
"I'm taking you to Nathan's and Haley's house," Peyton replied. "You'll be safe there. Rachel and Deb are already there waiting for you. Even if Julian and those guys go after Deb, they won't be able to find her in Charlotte."
"You do realize that you are on borrowed time, right? Especially after you go back without me?"
"I know, but it's the only shot we have in getting everyone out safely," Peyton replied.
At the same time, Nathan slowly opened his eyes and groaned. His head was really hurting. His eyes started to adjust to the bright light as he looked around at his surroundings. He was horrified to discover that he was tied to the bedpost. He struggled to get out of his restraints, but Carrie had tied them extremely tight. He then realized that he had tape over his mouth so he couldn't talk. He knew that he was in big trouble.
He wasn't in there for long when the door opened. He glared at Carrie as she walked into the room. "Well, I was wondering when you were going to wake up. You had me worried. You drifted in and out of consciousness all night. But now that you're fully awake, we can talk." Nathan waited for her to take the tape off and was disappointed when she didn't. Instead, there was a short pause before Carrie spoke again. "Well, I can talk and you'll listen," she corrected herself.
Nathan had no choice but to listen to the sick bitch as she angrily ranted about the two of them. "You know, I was going to give you a chance to leave Haley. But then I heard that you two had got back together. So I knew that I had to take drastic measures. You're lucky that I just kidnapped Haley. If it wasn't for her being pregnant, I would have killed her right then and there." Nathan glared icily at her as she continued. "Why am I so desperate for a child? Because I can't have children. So I will do anything that I can to get one. Unfortunately, that means that I am going to have to kill both parents to make sure that they won't come after me."
Nathan's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe his ears. "Yes, you heard correctly. As much as I love you, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to kill you too. I've realized that you will never love me because of Haley. So it's best to let you be with her so I can raise your baby without any interference from you or your family." She then laughed as she pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. "It's too bad that you two will never get a chance to say good-bye to each other."
Before Carrie could shoot him, the door banged open. Carrie jumped and dropped the gun. Before she could pick it up, Dan came charging at her and pinned her against the wall. He squeezed her neck as she struggled to breathe. "How dare you blame me for making my family believe that I would go after Brooke and Haley again! How dare you try to kill them! And try to take my grandson away from his parents! If you ever go near my family again, I will kill you," he exclaimed angrily before he let her go.
He then started to help his son by beginning to untie his restraints. He had only managed to pull the tape of Nathan's mouth when Carrie grabbed the gun from the floor. This time, she pointed it at Dan. He froze in his spot. "You do realize that I'm not the only one after your family, right?" she asked.
"Yes, I do," Dan admitted. "Why do you think I went to find Nathan and Agent Hargrove first?"
"Well, I know that Julian and Ian wanted you to suffer. But I'm afraid that I can't let anyone interfere with my plans."
She was about to fire off the gun when there was another gunshot. It hit Carrie and she fell on the floor. The two Scott men turned and were relieved to see Agent Hargrove. "I'm sorry that it took so long, but I had to find out where those men were going. Are you ok?" he asked Nathan as his father helped him out of his restraints.
"I will be once I get my wife back," Nathan replied as he gently got up from the bed.
Agent Hargrove nodded understandingly. "We have no time to lose then," he told them.
