Chapter 5 #2
Bobby scoots over to give us room to sit.
I don’t want to sit; I want to find my best friend.
What the fuck is going on around this town?
How could crazy shit like this happen repeatedly?
It’s one fucking thing after another, and I don’t even know what to think right now.
Bobby was here. He was right fucking here and couldn’t protect her.
If it’s not Phil, who the fuck are we up against?
I don’t feel sorry for Bobby one bit. Hazel has been through much more than him, and who knows what those bastards are doing to her now.
If my eyes could kill, Bobby would be begging for his life.
“I’m sorry, Cady. We will find her.” Bobby winces and adjusts the ice pack.
“Oh, yeah?” I spit. “How the fuck are we supposed to do that?”
Bobby waits for the cops to move away from us. “I may have an idea.”
HAZEL
Voices boom in my head, making me want to cover my ears. I attempt to pull my hands up, but I can’t move them. When I can finally wake up, I see why. My body is strapped down to a bed. One across my chest, one over my waist with wrist restraints, one over my thighs, and the last one over my shins.
Two men chasing me.
I jerk my head around and check for them but see no one.
The room reminds me of a clinic. All white, with plain walls and laminate flooring.
A table sits near the bed, and there are things strewn on it.
The main thing that catches my attention are the syringes.
I do not want to be injected with whatever shit is in those.
A speaker outside the door crackles and a loud voice muffles through it hurting my head.
That must be what woke me. I lie here and try to slow my heart rate, but it’s no use.
Fear of the unknown rules me. Twisting my wrists, I pull at the restraints with the hope I’ll slip free.
They seem to only get tighter the longer I fight against them.
I drop my head against the pillow to ease the ache in my neck from craning to get a better view.
The sound of my frustration echoes in the quiet room.
How the hell am I supposed to get out of this?
I hear the thumping of footsteps right outside, and then a shadow appears under the crack of the door.
My heart pounds faster as my hands automatically make fists.
I hold my breath as keys rattle in the door before the knob turns.
When it opens, two men wearing suits step inside, closing the door behind them.
The men in black.
The black-haired man smiles tightly at me as he clutches the strap of a bag.
He seems nervous—out of his element. He’s waiting for his cue.
The blond man stands tall and confident, with a stern expression.
He’s the one that grabbed me. He must be in charge.
What he’s in charge of, I’m scared to know.
Phil had to have something to do with this. He’s the only reason I’d be kidnapped.
We watch each other for what feels like forever before they approach the bed.
I go to scoot away, but I’m trapped by the restraints holding me down.
Blondie pulls a chair from the table to my bedside and sits down.
Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his knees and laces his fingers together. Not once does he look away from me.
“You were brought here because we believe you have information that is of use to us. We do not wish to harm you,” he pauses for a moment. “But we will if we have to. Behave, and tell us what we want to know, and you’ll go free. Understand?”
I look between the two men who are waiting for an answer. I don’t know what information they need, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got nothing for them. They will never believe anything I say. If I leave here, it’ll be so they can dispose of my body.
I tremble under Blondie’s sour stare and wish that Phil had killed me when he had the chance.
Who knows how much worse these guys are than Phil.
I can’t survive another beating right now.
And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to experience another one and live to suffer through the agony again.
They say third time’s a charm. Maybe this time will be the time I die.
I nod, already knowing what’s coming for me. Maybe they’ll make it quick.
“I am going to remove these.” He tugs the strap on my arm. “Stay still until I am done.”
The dark-haired man reaches for a syringe and uncaps it. I keep my focus trained on him. The straps over my body loosen, and Blondie tosses each one onto the far side of the bed. When he’s done, he scoots the chair backward and lowers himself on it.
“Sit up.”
I roll to my side, to hide the wince, and ease myself up.
The men watch my every move with narrowed lids as I struggle to get comfortable on the bed.
Once I stop shifting, Blondie snaps his fingers.
The dark-haired man pulls a laptop from his bag and sets it up on the table.
A moment later, an image of us in this room appears on the screen.
They are going to record our little chat.
I wonder if they are going to record killing me as well.
“How long have you been working with Phil Jenkins?”
My brows draw together as my eyes snap from the screen, locking with Blondie’s. What the fuck is he talking about? He thinks I work for Phil? I don’t understand how he could come to that conclusion. I don’t have anything to do with that bastard.
“Wait…. What? I’ve never worked with Phil.”
“Let me rephrase. How long have you been working with Phil to sell drugs?”
“I–I don’t sell drugs,” I stumble confusedly over my words. “I don’t even do drugs.” He quirks his brow as if to say, “Never?” I rush to correct myself. “Okay, I’ve used here and there, but it’s a party thing. Happens very rarely.”
“So you’re saying you don’t work with or for Phil?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” My voice rises as I spit my response at him.
Blondie reaches over his shoulder, and the other man nervously hands him a piece of paper. “Then maybe you’d care to explain this to us.”
He hands it to me, and I unfold it. Complete gibberish is scribbled all over it. It reminds me of the chemistry I failed miserably in high school. There’s no way I can tell them what any of this means.
“I have no idea what this is.”
“That was found in your home. Which would suggest to us that you know exactly what it is, Hazel.” Blondie is losing his patience, and it’s causing me to lose mine.
“I’ve never seen this before,” I retort. “When were you in my home?”
He ignores my question and continues. “I guess it’s just a coincidence that the formula for Snap is in your possession, and Phil recently tried to kill you?”
My mouth drops open in shock as I process his question.
I open and close it, trying to speak, but I’m at a loss for words.
The paper wads in my grip, my fingers curling into a fist around it as I think about that night a week ago.
Phil didn’t say much before the attack, and I tried my best not to listen to the nonsense he spewed during it.
“Tell me,” Blondie says, jerking my attention back to him. He crosses his arms over his chest arrogantly and slightly tilts his head. “Did he renege on your deal? Are you blackmailing him?”
“Blackmailing?” I ask in exasperation. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
His face twists in anger, and he leans toward me. “Answer the fucking question!”
Heat rises in my face as my jaw tightens, and my teeth grind together. I don’t know who these guys are and, at this point, I don’t fucking care anymore. I’m not getting out of here alive, anyway. The chances were slim to none in the beginning, but here in a minute, it’ll be a for sure guarantee.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” I finish rolling the paper up into a ball and toss it on the floor.
“Oh, I think you have plenty to say to us.” Blondie stands up and throws the chair over sideways.
Guess he’s going for the scary look. He’s never been face-to-face with a monster before.
He grips my arm where the belt marks are still raw.
I grimace in response and have to put a clamp on my tongue to keep from screaming out. “You better start talking. Now!”
“Go fuck yourself, Blondie.”
In a flash, my fist makes contact with his crotch, and he gasps for air.
His grip loosens, and I shove him back into the other man.
They stumble into the table giving me enough room to move, and I leap from the bed.
Grabbing the legs of the chair, I swing it around and face them.
My arms tremble under the weight, and my shoulder screams at me.
Blondie is bent at the waist holding himself, agony twisting his lips as he shoots daggers at me.
The dark-haired man seems terrified as he clutches his friend’s arms to keep him up.
“Sedate her,” Blondie grits out.
His friend steps forward, and I lift the chair up ready to smack it upside his head.
His hand trembles as he gets the needle ready to plunge into me.
I’ll be damned if he gets another step closer.
I’ll knock them both out and get the fuck out of here first. My feet slide back toward the door, and that’s when the man makes his move.
I bring the chair to the side to get as much momentum as I can when a hand wraps around one of the legs and halts my swing.
“Enough!”
My heart stops beating as I turn to find the one person I didn’t expect to see.
CASH
Confusion. Disbelief. Betrayal. All the expressions that cross her bruised face as I take the chair from her hands.
I didn’t want it to come to this. I just wanted to keep her safe with Phil on the loose.
Dale wanted to be sure that she played no part in Phil’s plan.
He assumed if she were hiding anything, he could get the truth out of her.
Seems all he did was scare her and piss her the fuck off.