Astrid
It had been a few days since the incident at Eden with Jackson Klein.
The club had been on alert, but there was no retaliation from him or his friends.
They’d heard somehow that Jackson Klein had gone to the emergency room after they were done with him.
He had a cracked jaw, broken ribs, and multiple contusions, bruises, and a few lacerations.
When asked what happened, he claimed he’d been jumped in the dark and three men beat him.
Klein told the police, who were called by the hospital staff, that he had no clue who did it and there was no way to know.
He told them that nothing was taken. Klein put the idea into the cops’ heads that it was a gang initiation ritual. I hoped he’d learned his lesson.
The sex Mayhem and I had afterward had been hot and unexpected, but not something either of us regretted, even if it was in that basement.
Afterward, he’d taken me to get cleaned up in his office bathroom, then we finished the night out on the floor.
I sat with his brothers for the remainder of the night.
Today, Mayhem was off doing work for the club, so I wasn’t with him.
I was puttering around the house, trying to stay busy.
I was making lists and getting myself in order to start work next week.
I was super excited and a tiny bit nervous.
However, I always found that being anxious wasn’t a bad thing.
It made you perform better. It had been the case for me in the Navy.
I was going through my clothes in the closet when my phone rang. Rushing to catch it, in case it was Mayhem, I lifted it to see the name Aubrielle on the caller ID. Smiling, I answered it.
“What’s up, girl?” I asked.
“Well, aren’t you two all cozy? Isn’t that just great?
If you want your little friend to be in one piece, I suggest you meet me at her place.
You want me to leave this bitch alone, then bring me enough money to do it.
And if I see anyone with you, I’ll make sure she can’t dance again, and no one will look at her face either,” Cherisse hissed.
Equal parts fury and fear hit me. I’d been seeing the way Cherisse looked at Aubrielle whenever I was at the club when they were. She hated Aubrielle. I knew there was no doubt that Cherisse would hurt or possibly kill her.
“Calm down, Cherisse. I’ll come and bring you money. And I’ll come alone. But if she has one mark on her, then you get nothing. Send me the address.”
“Don’t try anything, bitch. You think because you’re fucking Mayhem, you’re the queen bee, but you’re not. I won’t let you or this slut take money away from me. The address is coming. Be here in thirty minutes or I start slicing,” she snarled, then the line went dead.
I wasted no time grabbing my purse and running out to the car.
I brought up the address she texted to my phone, then input it into my GPS.
I wasn’t familiar with Bristol yet. It showed it was a twenty-minute drive.
I headed to the gate, and as I waited for it to open, I took deep breaths.
It helped me to get focused and to switch myself into what I called my warrior side.
The drive seemed to go way too slowly, but the clock showed I was making good time.
When I was a half mile from the address, which appeared to be in a residential area filled with apartment buildings and small businesses, I pulled over.
I knew that there was a chance Cherisse wouldn’t keep her word.
And while I had confidence in myself, I wouldn’t dare risk Aubrielle’s life on that.
I quickly typed out and sent the message I’d composed in my head on the drive.
Me: Jamie, I’m at Aubrielle’s—1818 August Ave, Apt C in Bristol.
Cherisse is holding her there. I had to come alone and bring her money, or she’ll hurt or even kill Aubrielle.
Nothing was said about whether I had to stay that way.
I’m going in to see if I can resolve this, but if not, you may want to have some of the club come. Love you.
I knew when he read it, Mayhem would lose his mind, but I had to prevent this.
And Cherisse would be on the lookout for me not coming alone.
Once I was in there distracting her, she wouldn’t be able to keep watch.
I’d make sure of it. I put my phone on silent, then got back on the street.
I was in the parking lot of a small complex in no time.
The lot was pretty bare. I assumed most people were still at work.
That meant there weren’t many people around to hear a commotion.
I picked a spot and parked. Making sure I was set, I exited the car and strolled toward the building.
My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it.
I wasn’t sure how the apartment lettering worked, but I headed to the left.
To me, logic suggested that it would go from left to right the same way we read.
And being in apartment C, she would be on the first floor rather than the second floor.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I found I was right.
I kept going down the row until I reached C.
Lifting my hand, I knocked. I didn’t wait more than a couple of seconds before the door was opened.
Cherisse’s snarly face stared back at me.
“Get your fucking ass in here, now,” she hissed.
I didn’t bother to lower mine as I answered her.
“There’s no need to swear. I came like you wanted.
Aubrielle had better be safe.” I sauntered inside as if I hadn’t a worry in the world.
Inside, my body was coiled and ready to fight.
After I was inside, she slammed and locked the door. I was shoved hard in the back.
“Get moving. Go sit beside your little friend,” Cherisse snapped.
I saw Aubrielle on the couch in her small living room.
Her mouth was gagged and her arms tied behind her back.
She had tears streaming down her cheeks, and she was shaking her head, making garbled sounds behind her gag.
Her eyes were panicked. I went to her, but before I could remove the gag, I was ordered to leave it. Reluctantly, I sat.
“Cherisse, I’m here. There’s no reason for you to keep her gagged. She’ll stay quiet. Let’s get this negotiation over with.”
“Negotiation? You think you can talk your way out of this?” Cherisse asked incredulously.
“I meant the negotiations for how much you want. I didn’t have time to withdraw money from the bank.
So I brought my checkbook, and I’ll give you a check.
And before you say I’ll give you a bad one, I’ll prove to you I have the funds, and you can cash it.
I won’t cancel it. I want Aubrielle safe and you out of our lives for good. ”
“Do you think I’m stupid? As soon as you’re free, you’ll cancel it.
No, what you’re going to do is pull up your account on your phone and show me what you have in there.
I’ll let you know if it’s enough. If not, you’ll have to come up with something else to appease me.
If I agree with what you show me, you’ll go in and transfer the funds to an account I’ll give you.
That’s the way this will work. I’m the one in control here, not you. ”
Cherisse’s eyes seemed to bounce all over the place.
I’d noted the gun she held when I entered.
It shook in her hand. Christ, she was high.
I knew that look. She was tripping on drugs, and that made her even more dangerous.
I prayed that Mayhem and his brothers would get here soon.
As if reading my mind, my phone vibrated again. I pretended not to feel it.
“Alright, we’ll do it your way. Just point that gun at the floor. If you don’t, I won’t do it. You’re too shaky for my liking.”
“Shut up, whore! You don’t tell me what to do,” she shouted.
I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back. I stared her down. Eventually, she broke and lowered the gun.
“Alright, now that’s out of the way, I’m reaching into my pocket for my phone. I’ll bring up the account,” I told her.
I moved cautiously. Cherisse came to stand over me.
After I found and opened the app, I gained access rather quickly.
With just a few clicks, I was in my savings account, where I could see the amount of money I had.
It was a substantial amount. I’d never been a huge spender, even when I was in the Navy.
Plus, this wasn’t my only money—the rest I had in a different account and investments.
My parents had left me everything, and they hadn’t been paupers.
All their assets became mine, and after selling their house, the money from the sale was added.
The account Cherisse was about to see was an everyday one.
I held up my phone so she could see the amount. Her face grew excited. “I want it all. You transfer that fifty thousand to this account, and I’ll let her go,” she said eagerly.
I knew that she wouldn’t. If she did, there was nothing to stop us from going to the cops or the club.
Her endgame was to get the cash, then kill us.
I was no idiot. However, I pretended to believe her.
I took the piece of paper Cherisse handed me and worked to set up the transfer.
I knew she mustn’t deal much in transferring large amounts of cash.
According to the law, a bank would only authorize the transfer of funds greater than five thousand dollars to another party after receiving verbal confirmation from me.
Additionally, deposits exceeding ten thousand dollars had to be reported to the IRS by the bank.
It would identify who received the amount.
I sent off the request and then put my phone down.
“Well, show me! Is it there?” she shrieked.
“I sent the request. I have to wait for my bank to get back to me. This much money requires me to speak to them directly. It can take up to an hour.”
“An hour! I don’t have an hour. Call them right now and tell them to do it,” Cherisse spat.
“I can’t. They have to get the request and then assign someone to it.
I’ve done this before. Believe me, calling won’t make it happen any faster.
Surely, for that amount of cash, you can wait an hour.
” What I said about the assignment was true.
The part about the hour wasn’t. It usually took them twenty-four hours to respond with a call.
Cherisse began pacing. As she did, she mumbled to herself.
It was too low to hear what she said. I glanced at a clock across the room.
It hadn’t been long since I messaged Mayhem.
I had no idea where he or the brothers were or how long it would take them to arrive.
Noting that Aubrielle was more frantic than when I walked in, I tried again to reason with Cherisse.
“Cherisse, we’ll be here for a bit. Please let me remove her gag. She’ll stay tied up. And she’ll promise not to scream, won’t you?” I directed the last bit to Aubrielle, who nodded.
Cherisse whirled around and pointed the gun at me. “Shut up! The gag stays on. If you ask again, I’ll put a hole in her.”
I wasn’t about to test her, so I shut up. I wasn’t planning to remain here long. If the Punishers made it here in time, good, but if the chance presented itself for me to free us, I’d take it.
About four minutes passed before Cherisse was towering over us. “I changed my mind. I’m not waiting for the bank to call. In the long run, I bet I can get even more money.” She smirked.
“And exactly how do you think you’ll do that?” I asked.
“Easy. I’ll become Mayhem’s old lady. He’ll dote on me. I’ll be living in a nice house and have him take care of me.”
I laughed. “You think you can get Mayhem to toss me aside and make you his old lady?”
“Yes, because you’ll be gone. And he’s a man after all. He needs sex, and I can give him the best he’s ever had. He’ll forget about you in no time, and I’ll become a Punisher’s old lady.” She smirked.
I honestly thought she was merely high, but there was more than that at work. She had some kind of mental illness if she believed her delusional speech. Before I could argue more, as I wished for my man to get there, she shouted, “I’m done.”
Seconds later, the hairs on my neck rose, and the faint sound of something that sounded like fabric brushing against another object had me turning my head, but I was too late—a stinging pain bit into my neck.
My hand came up and made contact with something.
As I felt it, I realized it was a dart, and as I did, dizziness hit me.
I tried to stand but fell back on my ass.
The world around me was tilting, and I heard a man say, “I’m taking her. You do whatever with the other one.”
I tried to fight back, but my arms and legs refused to work as a large man came to stand before me. He leaned over and hoisted me up over his shoulder. As I bounced there on the way to the door, my last thought was that I hoped the club would save Aubrielle. Then everything faded away.