Jughead sat at his desk, scrolling through the many emails he had to answer. Betty was sitting in the living room, ankle tied down to the chair, and he hated himself for it. Tallboy had come by the night prior and tried to talk to her, but Jughead had slammed the door in his face. He wasn't going to let that rugged man within ten feet of Betty. He knew he had an ulterior motive for wanting to talk to her and it was Jughead's job to figure out what it was.

As he poured over the emails, his thoughts strayed to Betty. It had been two weeks that she had been their captive, and Jughead wondered how she was faring. It wasn't like Hal Cooper was coughing up the money to secure her safe return. And it pissed him the fuck off. He hated Hal almost as much as he hated Tallboy.

Just then, there was a knock at his apartment door, and he stood up. Walking into the living room, he spotted Betty staring at the door apprehensively. "It's okay, Betty." He could assure her this; he could make sure she knew she was safe. And she was. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was safe – and if Tallboy tried to plant seeds of doubt – well, Jughead would kill him. It was that simple.

Opening the door, he spotted his dad. "Hey."

FP looked older beyond his years and there was a sad look in his eyes. "Hey Jug. We need to go. Get Betty."

His stomach plummeted. He had just told her it was okay. He stepped outside of his apartment, pulling the door shut. "Where are we going and why does Betty need to come with us?"

"Hal wants to see that she's not being harmed," FP sighed. Jughead could understand that if he thought Hal was a good dad. He didn't. He furrowed his brow.

"We haven't sent back letters saying we're harming her, have we?" Jughead demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

FP sighed. "I don't know what Hal is playing at but if this gets me the money faster, than I am willing to do it."

Jughead clenched his teeth. Betty's ankle was still sprained and he didn't want to have to drag her out of the apartment. He knew that his father's word was law, however, so just turned on his heel and walked back into his apartment. He rubbed a hand down his face as he looked at Betty. "We have to go somewhere."

"Me too?" Betty asked with trepidation, and Jughead hated that there was fear in her voice. He nodded his head, walking towards her as he held his hands up placatingly.

"Your dad wants to see that you're not hurt," he murmured, and Betty frowned.

"He never cared about that before," she muttered.

Jughead pulled the fabric he always carried on him out of his pocket. "I'm going to have to tie your wrists and blindfold you. I am so sorry."

She nodded her head resolutely, closing her eyes as he wrapped the blindfold around them. Then he tied her wrists behind her back and eased her out of his apartment, careful to not let her bear too much weight on her still-healing ankle. His dad was waiting outside with Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni. Fangs wasn't making eye contact with Jughead, and Sweet Pea's jaw was clenched. None of them were happy about this. "Let's go, Jug,"

He nodded at his father and led Betty down the stairs and to their van that was waiting outside.

XXX

FP pulled up to the edge of Sweetwater, and Jughead urged Betty out of the van. Something didn't sit right with him in his gut about this. He didn't know what it was but he didn't trust Hal as far as he could throw him. He trailed his thumb up the length of Betty's wrist. "Stay close to me, okay?" Jughead murmured, and she shifted her body weight closer to him.

They walked for about ten minutes and then stopped in the thick of the woods. Jughead looked around, drawing his gun as his friends did the same thing. Then Hal appeared out of the trees. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the prodigal daughter."

There was something off about the crooked smile on Hal's face; something that Jughead didn't trust and he kept his gun aimed at him. "What do you want?"

"Something you can't give me," Hal replied, making his way towards them. Jughead planted himself in front of Betty, keeping her pushed behind him as her breathing irregulated. He knew that with her sight gone and her hands tied behind her back, she was most likely feeling scared.

"Don't let him touch me," she whispered, and Jughead frowned. Was – was she scared of her father? That didn't make sense. They were America's family.

"I won't," he murmured low enough for only her to hear. He nodded at Sweet Pea and the taller boxed her in. She may be their hostage but they weren't monsters; if she was scared, they were going to protect her while she was with them.

"I see she's warmed up to you," Hal spoke pleasantly. Jughead's stomach churned. Something was wrong here. He just needed to figure out what.

A cracking like a whip sounded throughout the air, and Betty screamed. Sweet Pea turned and opened fire, with Jughead shooting too. He didn't know who was shooting at them but his father seemed to. "You sick sonofabitch! She's your daughter!"

"And she means nothing to me," Hal said calmly. Then he pulled out his own gun, and Jughead fired a bullet into his hand. Hal screamed and Jughead dropped to his knees, looking down at Betty. He yanked the blindfold off her eyes as Sweet Pea fell to his knees as well and helped try to staunch the blood.

"You're okay," Jughead muttered. "You're okay."

"Jug…," Betty coughed, but he shushed her.

As crimson red filled the snowy bank, Jughead's only two thoughts were: what the hell was going on and why did Hal hurt Betty?

Then his dad scooped her up, cutting her wrists free. "Warehouse. Now."

They ran, Jughead praying that they weren't too late in the process.