Chapter 9: How She Tried To Lie To Me.

Ally's head throbbed in her skull. She brought her shaking hand up to the side of her head, and felt the gash on her face. She hissed in pain, and squinted in the darkness. There were shackles around her hands and they were attached to a wall. From what she could tell, she was in a basement.

That bastard hit me really hard!

Ally shifted uncomfortably, and she knew that screaming for help would only endanger her more. I hope Austin finds me. She remembered phoning him and then some man had appeared in her doorway, and he had tackled her to the ground, when she tried to fight him off he had grabbed a photo frame from her desk, and smashed it on the side of her face, then everything had gone dark.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been down here for, minutes, hours, days? She was scared, but she knew that fear wasn't going to get her anywhere in this situation. The man that had come into her apartment wasn't anyone she knew personally. He wasn't a loan shark. But he seemed awfully familiar, like she recognized him, but she didn't know why, there was just something about him.

Ally squinted again in the darkness, and she could just about see a rickety staircase in front of her. She knew there was no hope of her escaping, she wasn't quiet, nor was she good at thinking of a plan. Ally groaned, and she shifted again.

What the hell am I sitting on?

Ally awkwardly reached her hand underneath her ass, and she flung out a sharp rock from underneath. She sighed in relief, and let herself relax - well as much as she could - She wanted to scream and cry, but she swallowed her tongue.

That's not going to get me nowhere. Just stay calm.

The door creaked open at the top of the stairs, and a hint of light filtered the basement. She heard the flick of a switch, then a light bulb flickered on, and Ally stared at the grimy place. The stairs creaked, and she stared at the man walking down them. She narrowed her eyes.

I swear I know him. He looks like someone I know.

"Miss Dawson," His voice was rough. She gulped, and he grabbed a chair, then sat down in front of her. He leaned forward, linking his fingers together. "How's your head?"

"How do you think," Her voice was like a whip, and she cringed.

Don't piss him off!

"Now I know why my son likes you so much."

"Son?"

"Yes."

"Austin?"

"Yes."

"Crap."

He laughed and Ally sunk back into the wall. She stared at him, and she saw similarities of Austin's. They had the same deep brown eyes, and the same small smirk. Ally sighed.

"I bet you're wondering why your here?" He asked, and another man walked in, holding a silver case.

"Yes, the thought may have crossed my mind," Ally replied sarcastically, then mentally cursed at herself. He smiled again, and gestured for the man to hand him the case. He placed it down in front of her feet.

"I hear you have engaged in a relationship with my son," Ally slowly nodded her head. "Now, in this case is one million dollars," Ally's eyes widened.

"Why?"

"Take it, and leave my son alone."

...

Austin drove madly around the city. He couldn't track the chip on her phone, because it came up that she was at her apartment, but he knew she wasn't there. He had called everyone he knew, and none of them could track her down.

He was racing around downtown Miami, and he knew that she could be anywhere, but he didn't stop looking. He reached for his phone, and brought it to his ear.

"Austin?"

"Dez, where the fuck are you right now?" He snapped, and Austin could hear the music in the background.

"I'm in some club, why?"

"I need your help," Austin growled. "Someone's taken Ally."

"Your assistant?"

"Yes!" He shouted.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" Dez asked.

"I've been to all the places I can think of. I know she owes money to people, but I've been to all of those places, and I've come up empty-handed. Would you please check where my dad is," Austin seethed through gritted teeth.

"Why would your dad have taken Ally?" Dez wondered.

"When I was on my lunch break he rang me and asked me about the woman on the news. He got angry about the fact that she was my personal assistant, and you know what he's like. He doesn't want his son to be seen with someone he considers a peasant."

"He said that?"

"Yes," Austin responded, and his grip tightened around the steering wheel.

"Austin, I just checked the CCTV outside Ally's apartment building, and she's there, right now. She's just walked in," Austin slammed his foot on the brakes, and performed a U-turn. He sped away, and hung up his phone, tossing it onto the passenger seat.

He sped down all of the streets, and he got closer to her building. He prayed that she was okay. He came to her street, and slammed his brakes, causing the tires to screech. He flung open the door, and stormed into her apartment building. He marched up the stairwell, then down the corridor.

He saw her standing in her kitchen. She was pushing something into one of the cupboards. Austin's boot crushed a piece of glass under his foot, and her head whipped over in his direction. Austin's eyes widened when he saw the cut on her face.

"Austin?" She gasped. "W-What are you doing here?"

Is she stupid, why would she ask a question like that?

He appeared in front of her, and he reached up a hand to her face. She hissed when he touched her cut. He grabbed a cloth from the floor, and he turned on the tap. He ringed out the excess water, and brought it up to the side of her face. Her face went ridged, and Austin noticed she was looking anywhere, but him.

"What the fuck happened?"

"Just some loan shark wanting to scare me," She said.

Liar. She's lying!

Austin's fingers curled around the cloth, and his gaze burned into the side of her head.

"They knocked me out, took me to an alleyway, and shook me up a bit, telling me that I need to pay them," She explained, and her gaze fell to the floor. "I'm fine."

There's another lie!

Austin looked around her trashed apartment. She can't stay here. "You can stay at my apartment."

"N-No, I'm fine honestly. I can fix all this-"

"Ally!" He snapped, and she jumped. "Stop, you are not fine. None of this is fine!"

"Stop shouting," She whispered. "I said I'm fine."

"Okay," He said, flatly. He brought the cloth away from her face, and tossed it across the room. "Deal with this shit yourself!"

Austin stormed from her apartment, and as he didn't have a door to slam behind him. He slammed his fist into the wall. He was so angry, steam was practically coming from him.

She's lying to me!

Austin walked down the stairwell, and out to his car. He looked back at Ally's window, and he turned away, thumping his fist against his car. He flung open the car door, and sat down in his seat. He sped away, leaving her apartment building behind him. He just needed to cool down.

He drove around the city until he came to a raging club. He knew Dez was inside, because he always came here. He walked past the bouncer who just let him in without question. The club was booming with life, people were dancing, drinking, sucking each others face's in every corner.

He saw Dez sat in one of the booths with some girls, and two other men. He walked over, and Dez's gaze snapped over to him. Austin slid into the booth and the woman next him, pressed her chest up against his arm. Dez gestured for a drink, and one soon appeared in front of Austin, and he knocked it back.

He glanced at the woman who was pressing herself up against him. She had massive breasts, and clearly knew that, that was her best asset. She looked up at him through her thick lashes and gave him a seductive smile.

Another drink appeared in front of him, and that one quickly disappeared. Dez looked away from the woman he was talking to, and his gaze settled on Austin.

"What happened?" Dez asked.

"She's lying to me," He growled. "She says it was a loan shark, but I'm not stupid. She's hiding something from me."

"And coming here is going to solve that problem?" Dez raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"As soon as I walked in she was distancing herself from me in an instance, something's wrong," He played with the rim of his glass, and it was quickly topped up, and he swallowed the burning liquid.

"Why don't you go and find out," Dez suggested.

"She just makes me really angry when she doesn't listen to me," He clenched his hands around his glass, and Dez smirked.

"That's what it's like when you like someone that much," Dez sung, and took a sip of his drink.

"Pfft," Austin grumbled.

"Austin, don't blow this," Dez said, seriousness flowing throughout his tone.

Austin got up from his seat, pushing the woman from his arm. He pushed through the crowd of dancing people, and exited the club. He made his way over to his car, and got inside. He sped away, and he felt like he'd already drove down these streets so many times tonight.

Suddenly, he slammed his foot on the brakes. He turned off his headlights, and stared at her.

Where the fuck is she going?

Austin stared at Ally. She was wearing a black jacket, her hood was up, but he'd be able to recognize her from a mile away. She was carrying a silver case in her hand. Curiosity filled Austin's mind, and he sat back in his seat.

She stopped at one of the doors to the buildings and she knocked on the door. It opened, and someone Austin didn't recognize, answered. Ally handed the silver case over, and the man didn't look happy. Ally shrugged her shoulders, and walked away. It was then that a second person appeared, and he saw his dad standing there, watching Ally as she walked away.

Austin's jaw clenched, and he waited till Ally walked onto the next street, and until his dad had disappeared back inside the building. He turned on his engine, and drove off after her. She was walking with her hands in her pockets, and her head hanging low. He pulled up next to her, and she stopped. He pressed the button to make his window come down, and he saw that the cut on the side of her face was still bleeding.

"Ally," He whispered. "Get in," Ally seemed to think over her next move, and he sighed. "I'm sorry for shouting, will you just get in, so I can sort your head out."

Ally brought her hands out of her pockets and walked around his car, and slipped into the passenger seat. He drove off, and headed into the city. He glanced over at her, and she kept quiet the whole time. He was going to clean her head up, then they were going to talk about it.

After ten minutes he pulled up outside his apartment building. Ally got out before Austin could come around and open the door for her. Austin pushed his anger to the side, and focused on getting her inside.

They walked inside the lobby, and into the elevator. He pressed the button for his floor, and Ally wedged herself into the far corner of the elevator. Austin frowned, then the doors opened. They walked down the corridor, and Austin got out his key and opened his door. He flicked on the lights, and Ally stood awkwardly in the doorway. He reached out and grabbed her arm, and her eyes snapped to his. He guided her inside, and sat her down on the couch. He grabbed his first aid hit, then sat down next to her.

Ally turned to face him, and he placed an antiseptic wipe on her cut. She winced in pain, and her eyes fell down to her lap. He quickly cleaned up her cut, and gently rubbed some cream into it.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked, and she nodded her head, not giving him a proper answer. He went to his kitchen and filled up a glass of water. He returned and handed the glass to her. He watched her take a nervous sip, and saw her eyes sparkle with tears. "Ally, what happened?"

She took another large gulp of water, and brought it away from her lips. He watched her bite down on her red bottom lip, and his eyes traced over her face. Even with a cut up face she's beautiful. Ally sighed, and her eyes fell back to her lap.

"Look at me," He reached out and nudged her chin with his fingertips. Her eyes found his and a single tear fell from the corner of her right eye. Austin wiped it away with his thumb, and a weak smile formed on her lips.

"I...it was your dad," She whispered.

"I knew it," Austin growled.

"I called you when I found out my apartment had been trashed, then he had appeared in the doorway. He grabbed a photo frame from my desk and hit me with it. I woke up in a basement, chained to a wall. I thought I recognized him, but I didn't know why. I-I don't know how long I was there for, but he eventually came down, and he told me who he was...he...h-he...he offered me one million dollars to never see you a-again."

Austin dropped his hand from her cheek, and stared at her blank face.

That's what was in the silver case.

"I-I took it..."

She took it. Oh...

"I-I just wanted to get out. I couldn't think properly, because of my h-head, so I got out of there as quick as I could. Then you showed up at my apartment."

"You hid the case in the cabinet," His voice was flat, and she slowly nodded her head, wincing slightly.

"After you stormed out. I-I couldn't do it. My neighbour started playing music again, and my h-head wouldn't s-stop pulsing. I just started moving, I went back to where your dad was, and another man opened the door. I handed him the money, then asked him why there was any need to trash my apartment, and he told me they never did that. That's when I-I realized that whoever it is that's been following me had done it. He tried to get me to come inside, but I didn't want to, so I just left...I-I didn't want money...I didn't know I was that bad of a person to be seen with...g-guess I-I am just s-scum."

She's never going to forgive me for saying that...

"Ally," He reached up and cupped her cheeks, being careful not to touch her cut. "Thank you."

"What?"

"Thank you, for returning the money," He whispered.

"I never really wanted to take it in the first place, but I needed to get out."

"I understand," He stroked her cheeks with the pad of his thumbs. She smiled sweetly at him, and he searched her eyes. She bit her bottom lip again, fuck.

Austin crashed his lips against hers and Ally squeaked in surprise, but she soon softened against his lips. Her lips were soft, and when he nudged them apart, and explored the inside of her mouth, he could taste strawberries. He groaned, and pulled her closer. Ally reached out and rested her hands against his chest. Austin knew his heart was beginning to beat fast, and he'd never reacted like this before, never whilst kissing anyone.

One of his hands fell from her cheek and grabbed her waist. He pulled her closer, and she surprised him when she straddled his lap, pushing him back into the couch. Austin felt her tremble slightly under his touch, and he knew she was nervous.

I know this is unexplored territory for her.

His other hand cupped the back of her head, and he massaged her scalp. She moved her hands further up his chest, then wrapped her arms around his neck. Austin pulled away, kissing the corner of her mouth, he kissed a trail along her jawline, and a moan escaped her lips. Austin smiled at her reaction, and he sucked at the skin of her neck, feeling satisfied when he left a mark.

Austin gazed up at her. Her eyes were still closed, her lips were bright red, and he swore it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Her eyes fluttered open, and locked with his. He pulled her closer to his chest, and she kept her arms locked around his neck. Her breath plastered his face, and he smirked.

"Stay here with me. You can't go back to your apartment, I won't let you."

"Okay," She whispered, and he grabbed her chin, bringing her lips back onto his. Ally smiled, and Austin lowered her onto the couch, molding his body against her. He wasn't going to take it any further now, knowing she wasn't ready, but he'd wait. For her.

AN: Sorry about the wait, I've just been a bit busy, and tired. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and in the next one Austin and Ally are going to be taking a day off work, together :) I'd just like to say a MASSIVE thank you to all you guys, thank you for the birthday messages, and all the love and support you've given the story, I cannot believe it's gotten over 200 reviews in eight chapters, I hope you guys review this chapter, and I'll see you when I next update (Well not literally) :)

CookiesForMyTummy,x