CHAPTER 10
Christina's POV
It's been a few days since Hardy's call. John B and I had been arguing the last few hours about the two goons following us, the dead squirrel in his mailbox, and the note left on the Twinkie. He was on edge along with everyone else. I got in the Rover and left for the Figure 8. I was tired of the fighting, so we needed some space from each other. I parked in driveway and walked into the guest house. I sat my things down and sighed.
"Hey baby." I heard. I jumped and turned around. It was Cody.
"Cody. What. What're you doing here?" I asked backing up. He smiled as he came closer.
"I came to get you." He said.
"I'm not yours anymore." I said shakily.
"But you will be again." He said laughing. I put a chair between us and ran for the side door. I opened the door and gasped. Corey stood there.
"Hey darling." He said pushing me in. I ran to the bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked the door. I tried the window, but it was stuck. I screamed when the door got kicked in. I ran for the dresser where I kept a spare gun, but Cody grabbed me and slammed me against the wall.
"You know better than to run sweetheart." He said holding my neck tighter. I nodded and he let me go. He nodded and back handed me. I yelped and grabbed my cheek. He held me there while Corey moved around.
"Got the gun and her some clothes. Let's get her to the car and go." Corey said sighing.
"We need to make this look serious, first. Go destroys the other room. Send this to her uncle and friends." Cody said touching my cheek. He got that look in his eyes. Before I could say anything, his fist was connecting to my face. His fists, knees and feet all connected to me. He grabbed me up by the hair and leaned me against the wall.
"That boy of yours, won't ever touch or see you again." He said.
"You leave him out of this." I spat.
"I will. Get up, let's go." He said yanking me up. He shoved me into the living room where Corey was. The whole guest house was destroyed. Corey grabbed my head in his hands and looked me over.
"Bro what did you do to her?" He asked.
"Sent her uncle, a message." Cody answered.
"You said you weren't going to hurt her." He argued.
"I went easy on her. If I wanted her badly hurt, I'd do it." He snapped at him. Cody grabbed my arm tightly and yanked me towards the door. That's when the gun went off. I screamed. I fell to the floor with Cody. He was staring at me with wide eyes as he was bleeding out. Corey knelt beside me and covered my mouth.
"Shhhh. Darling, I got you. Now you and I are going to go to my car and get in, okay?" He said nodding to me. I nodded. He got us up. We got in his car and drove off. He handed me my phone awhile later.
"Call that boy of yours. Tell him it was all a lie; you were just waiting for everything to settle with Cody before running off with me." He said.
"No. No, I won't hurt him like that." I said shaking my head. He pointed my gun at me.
"Yes, you will. Do it. Now." He demanded. I dialed John B's number.
"Hello?" He asked.
"John B?" I asked. Corey took the phone and placed it on speaker.
"Hey baby. Look about earlier." He started. Corey pressed the gun to my head.
"No. Listen to me. It's over with us. I was. What you and I were doing, it wasn't real. None of it was. I'm sorry I put you and your friends through all of this. I was waiting for everything to settle with Cody, and I want Corey. I never wanted you." I said sniffling.
"Hold on. Christina? What happened?" He started. Corey hung up and tossed the phone out the window.
"Good girl." He said before driving off.
John B's POV
It had been two days since I got the phone call from Christina saying she was ending things with me. It wasn't because of our fight; I knew it wasn't. Something was up and I could feel it.
"Dude stop moping around. She'll come back. She just needs to cool off and she'll be fine." JJ said sighing.
"No. Something is wrong. I can feel it. This isn't right." I said shaking my head. We looked at the driveway as someone pulled up. We got up as her uncle stepped out of the black SUV. Hardy and Steven got out too. They walked up onto the porch.
"Everyone inside. Now." The uncle said. We walked in and he sat down at the table. Hardy and Steven stood behind them.
"Have a seat." He said. We sat down and he started tapping his finger on the table.
"I want to know everything that happened here, three days ago. Every little detail." He said calmly. I leaned forward.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Tell me and I tell you." He said.
"Christina and I woke up, we uhm, uhh, messed around, got breakfast, the guards updated us on Cody and Corey, then she and I got into an argument about them, the dead squirrel, the note on my car, then she got in the Rover and left. She called me about an hour later, she said it was over, that she was sorry for putting us all through this, and that she was only dating me until everything with Cody was settle and she wanted Corey. Then she hung up." I told him.
"Where were you three?" He asked Pope, JJ, and Kie.
"Surf shack over there." JJ answered.
"Why are you asking about what happened three days ago?" Kie asked him. He pulled out his phone and slid it over to us. I picked it up and froze. Kie gasped, JJ gagged, and Pope was frozen too.
"They found her. We stopped at the guest house on our way back in and found Cody dead in the doorway. Danny tracked her phone and found it 9 miles away from town. Corey has her." He said.
"What do we do? We can't sit back and not help." I said standing.
"My men are on it. So is the local law enforcement." He said. I shook my head and paced the room.
"Before she was taken, she asked for a favor for you John B. In help with finding your father." Her uncle told me. I looked back at him.
"What?" I asked.
"Your father. She said you believe he isn't dead. She believes in you. I got men out looking in all countries as well." He said.
"Why would she do that?" I asked. He nodded to Hardy and Steven. He was handed a folder.
"Same reason she asked me get control on JJ's father. He's been doing his thing in house. She cares for everyone in this room. She has a big heart." He said sliding it to JJ. JJ looked at the file with a guilty look.
"Her father died. She wants to make sure everyone still has theirs even if they have made many mistakes." He said nodding.
"How do we get her back?" JJ asked.
"If she is playing her cards right, she's waiting it out. She'll send him to us when it is time." He told us.
"When?" I asked.
"I'm not sure." He said shaking his head. I sighed and rubbed my head. Hardy's phone rung and he took it outside. A few minutes later he walked back in.
"Boss. Danny ran the bank and phone records of Corey and Cody." He started.
"And?" He asked.
"Its bad, boss." He said.
"Tell us, Hardy. We have no secrets between them." He told him.
"Marissa deposited over 200 grand in their accounts last week. Phone records indicate that she called them several times since Cody's release." He told us.
"Call Teller and Yondo, tell them to find Marissa and bring her to me." He said.
"One other thing. She also, paid for the rental house next door to the Cameron's." He added. He sighed angrily.
"Call Tony too. Have him check out the rental. Find Marissa." He said nodding. They nodded and went to make their calls. Christina's uncle stood up and looked around at the photos on my wall.
"These your folks?" He asked pointing to a photo. I walked over and saw the picture of mom and dad. I nodded.
"Yeah. Dad disappeared almost a year ago and mom left when I was 3." I told him.
"Want me to look into your mom as well?" He asked.
"No. No thanks." I said shaking my head.
"This isn't going to end nicely, is it? With Corey kidnapping Chrissy? And her aunt funding them?" I asked crossing my arms.
"Just tell me one thing kid. Do you want a hit on Corey for taking your girl away?" He asked turning to me.
"A part of me is saying yes. Beat his face in until he's unconscious. But another part of is saying don't, be with her when she comes home, don't leave her side." I said.
"Be with her. She'll want you with her when she comes back." He said nodding.
"Think she'll want me around?" I asked.
"Most definitely." He said. Hardy and Steven walked in.
"Marissa is being escorted to your new house. She was trying to leave town." Steven said. He sighed.
"Of course, she was. Lock her in, let her sweat it out. I'll have my moment with her later." He said buttoning his jacket.
"Any word on Corey?" He asked Hardy.
"Tony checked the house, nothing there. But Rafe Cameron and his friend Topper stopped by, asking questions about Christina. They want to help find her." He said.
"No. No one other except us, as in my men, and the local PD. Tell Tony to show them a picture of Corey though, keep their eyes open." He said shaking his head.
"Sir." I started.
"Our girl doesn't need you in the hospital again, Mr. Routledge. Please. Let us bring her to you." He said patting my shoulder. I nodded and they left. Kie came over and hugged me. Pope and JJ came over and hugged us.
"I'm sorry, John B." Kie whispered to me. I nodded and we pulled away.
"She'll be home soon, bro." JJ said slapping my shoulder.
"We got your back." Pope said nodding.
"Thanks guys." I said nodding to them. I hated waiting. Now all we had to do was wait. I didn't want to just sit around and wait. I wanted to find her. We had to act like it was a normal day before we met her. But that was hard for us.
Christina's POV
I sat in a chair in the house Corey was funded. He was on his way to a breakdown. Corey knew it wasn't going to end well for him once my uncle got wind of me missing. He didn't trust me at all, so here I was tied up. I had to get out of here, get home to John B and his friends.
"Core." I said softly. He looked at me.
"Hungry? Thirsty? Bathroom?" He asked.
"Hungry. Remember when it came time for my monthly when I was with Cody? All I wanted was pizza?" I asked him. He chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah. You want some pizza?" He asked.
"Please. With cheese sticks." I said pouting. He grabbed my head and kissed me hard.
"Anything for my girl. Oh, darlin'. When your aunt comes through with that boat, it's me and you on our way to the Bahamas. You, in a bikini all day, lobsters and us drinking all day. We'll have it all." He said laughing.
"Can't wait." I said. He pulled me up and dragged me to the car. He put me in and we headed to OBX. He pulled up outside Vince's Pizzeria.
"Stay in the car. I'll go in and order and come back. You try anything, darling." He said holding up the gun. I nodded. He locked all the doors before walking into the pizza place. I looked around, hoping to see someone. I saw Rafe and Topper headed this way. I looked inside the pizza place and saw Coreys back turned. I waved at them while keeping my eyes on the Corey. Topper caught me waving at them. He hit Rafe's arm and nodded towards me. I motioned to the pizza shop and shh'ed them. Rafe pulled out his phone and made a call. Corey walked out and sat in the car.
"You okay, darlin'?" He asked sighing.
"Just hungry." I said nodding.
"He said about fifteen to twenty minutes." He told me.
"Okay. Do we need anything? Toilet paper, soda, anything?" I asked him.
"No. We're all good at the house." He said shaking his head. He kept looking around everywhere. He saw Rafe and Topper walk pass us and head to Topper's jeep.
"See any of your uncles' men around?" He asked. I looked around and shook my head.
"No." I answered.
"Good. I got us some brownies too. I know that chocolate is something you want when it comes to that." He said.
"We need to go to the store though. I'm close so I'm going to need personals and Midol." I told him.
"We'll go after we grab the pizza." He said nodding. He touched my leg and rubbed his thumb across my thigh.
"We're going to be okay. I promise you." He said softly. A few minutes passed and he went inside to check on the pizza. He came out with three boxes. He got in, placed them in the back and we headed to the store. He went inside and came back out.
"Let's go." He said smiling. We started the drive back. I looked over at Corey.
"Why me?" I asked.
"You weren't like the other girls. It's why Cody chose you. It's why I chose you. You didn't fall for the charm. You became the girl we both wanted. Hell, who every guy wanted. That kid? He's lucky. He's got a good girl with a dangerous side. Now he's lost you." He said.
"My uncle will find us, Corey. You know he will. And it will end bloody for you." I told him.
"Your aunt was careful. So were we. They won't find us sweetheart. Trust me." He said laughing.
"Trust you? Trust you! You and your psychotic brother kidnapped me! Attacked me!" I snapped.
"Hey! We rescued you! We got you back to your life! You belong with us!" He screamed at me.
"I belong with Hardy and the Pogues! Not with a guy who nearly killed someone! Then kills his brother!" I snapped. He slammed on breaks and pulled the car over. He got out and came around to my side. He opened the door and yanked me out. He slammed me against the car.
"Ow! Corey!" I yelled. He grabbed my neck tightly.
"My brother knew I wanted you. He was hurting the girl that I love. He was gonna take you away from me. You want to go back to those poor guys and your drug running friends? Be my guest. But baby, remember, my aim is good with a gun." He said. I felt him press the gun to my chin.
"Run. You'll go home in a body bag, just like I will if they catch me." He said.
"Killing the girl, you claim to love. Ballsy." I grunted. He let me go then threw me down on the ground. I grunted.
"Run! You want to run? Go!" He screamed. I sat up and looked at him.
"You won't shoot me. You do, you'll end up like your brother." I hissed. He paced for a second. He knew I was right. He knew he wouldn't make it out alive once they found us. He yanked me up and shoved me back into the car.
Chapter 11
John B's POV
I paced back and forth of the Chateau. No one had anything yet on Christina. No one had called on an update or anything. It had been a week since we talked to her uncle last. We didn't know much about Cody so we couldn't go looking around for them.
"John B!" I heard JJ yell. I ran outside and saw three cars pulling up. Rafe and Topper got out of Topper's jeep. Hardy and Steven stepped out of the other vehicle. The black SUVs back door swung up.
"John B!" I heard. Christina jumped out and ran to me. I ran over and scooped her up in my arms. She started sobbing in my arms.
"Baby. Oh, baby. Hey. You're home. I got you." I told her. Her arms tightened and I knew she wasn't letting me go.
"Let's all go inside." Her uncle said walking up. Rafe and Topper followed us inside. Christina held tightly onto my shirt.
"We've already gave our statements to the police. But we want to thank everyone here for your cooperation in help with finding my niece. Rafe and Topper were the ones who saw her in the car and called Tony. Who called us and the police." Her uncle explained.
"It's no problem, sir. She's our friend." Rafe said nodding.
"Still. Thank you." He said nodding.
"Yes. Thank you." Christina told them. They nodded. Rafe and Topper left after.
"Can I shower, now? I want everything off. I want clean clothes; I want the filth of him gone." Christina said from my side.
"Yeah, you can." Her uncle said. She ran for the bathroom and shut the door. I went to the bedroom and grabbed her some of my clothes. I sat them on the toilet of the bathroom.
"Baby, I got you some of my clothes." I told her.
"Thanks." She said. I walked out and shut the door.
"Is she going to be okay?" Kie asked her uncle.
"Not for a while. She'll be twitchy, not sleeping, cranky, she will do a clean out of her things and Hardy will be going and getting her new clothes, bathroom stuff, plus every little noise will make her jump. Just remember when you approach her, say something first. Make sure she eats too." He said softly. He brought out a bag and handed it to me.
"Her antibiotics and some sleep medication if needed. If she gets worse, call us." He told us. I nodded and looked at the bag.
"Peterkin has everything she needed. Then he will be released to us. We'll take care of him and send him back to his father." He said.
"You can. You can do that?" JJ asked him. He looked at JJ.
"Son, with the right connections, I could make him appear in Paris right now, if I wanted too." He said smirking. JJ nodded and sat down. They poked their head in at the bathroom and said goodbye then they left. Thirty minutes later, the water shut off. We waited for her to come out. She stepped out and looked at all of us.
"Can someone start a fire please?" She asked. JJ and Pope jumped up and went outside. I followed her to the bedroom.
"Can we. Can we get rid of the bedframe? We can keep the mattress and everything, just not the bedframe." She said grabbing her duffle bag.
"Okay. We can do that." I said nodding. She started shoving her clothes in the bag. She looked at me then looked down. I walked over and grabbed her hand gently. I looked at the bruising up and down her arms and wrists. I brought my hand up and pulled her chin up. Her busted lip, bruised cheek, and eye. Then I noticed the handprints on her neck. I sighed angrily. She grabbed my hands and placed them on her cheeks. She sighed and leaned into my hands. Her eyes closed.
"John B." She whispered. I leaned my forehead against hers.
"Just tell me you love me." I told her.
"I love you, John B. I love you, till my last breath. All I want is you. Just you. He forced me to say those things. I didn't want too." She said shakily.
"Hey, hey. I know. I know." I said nodding. She ran her hands down my arms and relaxed slightly. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She kissed my cheek and pulled away.
"I need to finish this." She told me. I nodded.
"I'll grab JJ and we can tear down the bed." I said sniffling. She finished grabbing her clothes and went outside. JJ came inside and helped me break down the bed. She stood with her arms crossed watching as we burned everything. She was burning her bathroom stuff too. I slid my arms around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head.
"Welcome home baby." I whispered to her. She leaned back into me.
"Home is where the heart is, John B. You are my home." She told me. I tightened my arms and held her against me. Everything burned into the pit. That night in bed, I held her in my arms. My back was against the wall, and she was between my legs. She was playing with my fingers.
"Do you want to take a hit at Corey?" She asked me.
"I want too but you need me more." I whispered to her. She was quiet.
"Cody said you would never touch me again. If I go to sleep this may all be a dream." She said softly.
"It's not a dream. You're home. You are safe and home with us." I told her. I squeezed her hand and kissed it. She hummed and held my hand tighter. I rubbed her arm with my free hand.
"Baby. Did they?" I started.
"No. If Corey didn't kill Cody, Cody would have for sure. Even if I did tell him no, he still would have." She said. She sat up and turned to me.
"I know we've been active often in our relationship. But after this, I'm not ready yet." She said shaking her head.
"I know. That's not why I'm in a relationship with you. I fell in love with you for you not for the sex." I told her. She touched my cheek and traced my lip with her finger.
"I really love you, John B." She whispered. I pulled her back down and held her against me.
"I really love you too, Christina." I said kissing her head. She fell asleep a few minutes later. I laid there, watching her as she slept. I fell asleep a while later.