Chasing Charli (10 page)

He puts an arm around me and we start to walk back to the apartment in a quick paced stroll.

Charli

I sit on the edge of the couch just watching Jax, trying to see his reaction. I'd explained in full detail what happened that night and what I saw. After not much thought I pulled out my bag and rummaged through until I pulled out the tin of mints.

He looked confused at first before I saw understanding cross his face; he must have figured out what I was hiding.

His face is blank and it's killing me because I can't tell what he's thinking as he sits on the couch next to me, watching the footage I had of that night.

Towards the end his expression turns into a menacing glare and I realise he's up to the part where I'm running and getting shot at before the video cuts out; obviously he's not a big fan of that happening either.

I sit with my knees pulled up and my arms wrapped around them nice and tight as he slides the laptop away from him and turns his eyes to me.

At first I think he's mad but then I see the fear and sadness behind his eyes.

"This is bad Charli, this is really fucking bad" he says as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me against him.

He kisses the top of my head softly and then stands up, before he starts to pace back and forth in front of me. "We need to go" he says sternly.

"What do you mean go? Go where?"

"Away from here; Jesus they know where your apartment is, they can easily find you here, literally one floor above it. I'm surprised they haven't got to you yet" he says and sighs deeply. He runs his palms down his face before sliding them up and through his hair.

I automatically stand and take a deep calming breath before walking over to him and putting both my hands on either side of his face.

"Jax, I need you calm for the both of us. There's no point in freaking out over what can happen."

He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off before he can manage.

"Listen...we can go wherever you want. We'll pack some stuff we need right now and go...okay Jax?" I ask and look deep into his eyes, trying to ease some of his tension.

I should be the one freaking out but for whatever reason, I've managed this whole situation more calmly than I thought I would.

He looks at me and nods once before turning and heading towards the bedroom.

By the time I manage to get my head around what we're actually doing he's already packed a bag each full of clothes and shoved my hand bag into my duffel bag so there’s less to carry.

I walk into the bathroom and scoop up the essentials like toothbrushes while he makes a few calls, I'm assuming to arrange a car since we don’t have our own.

I throw the small things into the bags and zip them up, then carry them into the living room.

I rummage through the kitchen for some food and Jax walks in just as I'm grabbing handfuls of mac and cheese packets, before shoving them in a small plastic bag.

"Really?" he says with a smirk as he eyes the packets in my hands.

"It's all I can find that's simple and quick okay?" I laugh with him and I'm slightly relieved to see him a little less stressed out.

He's the professional around here, he's the one that's supposed to be all cool and collected and keeping it together. If he starts panicking and freaking out, it'll freak me out and probably make me panic for no reason; which will get us nowhere in the end.

"How about we just buy something on the way and get stuff when we get to the next town over?"

"Is that where we're going?"

"For now, yes" he answers and doesn't elaborate. I don't push for more information because maybe it's for the best. Yeah okay that sounds stupid; it's not like I'm going to go run around shouting at the top of my lungs that we're running away, I'm not the bad guy in all this.

Now I just feel like an idiot, what the hell am I even talking about, with myself as well; I need to get a grip. It's a sure sign you're going crazy when you start having conversations with yourself in your head.

I shake my head and get up off the kitchen floor and make my way to the couch, picking up my duffel bag full of clothes.

"Ready?" Jax asks as he walks out of the bedroom and throws his bag over his shoulder.

I nod at him before taking a quick look around the apartment, making sure I haven't forgotten anything important.

We make our way to the elevators and silently make our way to the street to wait for our ride.

Before I can ask whether it's just a cab picking us up, Jax's phone starts to ring and by the look on his face it must be someone important.

"Vince?" he answers as he puts his bag down by my feet and walks away a few steps back towards the entrance of the apartments. He keeps his eyes on me and smiles softly every time he sees that I'm looking his way, before returning to his phone call.

I'm now standing by the curb on my own with our two duffel bags by my feet. I take a look up and down the empty street and then at Jax who is still leaning by the main door of our apartment; only a few steps away.

Very quietly and very slowly, a black SUV turns the corner and drives up to park right in front of me. I presume this is our ride, pretty fancy for a ride out of town I realise though so I send a quick look at Jax.

He looks up at the SUV, pulls his phone away from his ear to check the time I'm guessing and then back at me, but as soon as his eyes hit mine though they grow wide with panic.

I turn my head quickly back to the SUV and watch as the rear door opens and a tall, broad chested man wearing all black steps out. It feels like everything is happening in slow motion as I watch him reach behind him and pull out a gun. Instead of pointing it at me, which I assumed he would have, he points it behind me.

I turn my head and follow the direction of his gun, which is now pointed at Jax who is almost right behind me. He must have started running towards me as soon as he realised what was going on.

"Get in the car Charli, no need to make this difficult" says the muscly guy in black.

I don't move or even speak as I'm stunned into place, my legs won't move an inch.

My head turns from him, to the gun, and then finally to Jax who is only looking at me. I can see his jaw muscles clenching and he looks furious; not at me for a change.

My mind is working in overtime as thousands of thoughts filter through my brain. Do I get in the car? What would happen if I do? Will they leave Jax unharmed if I co-operate? Will he find me after and save me if they do take me?

I remember then that my phone is in my front pocket of my jeans. I pray to god that Jax actually did bug my phone for this plan to actually work.

The guy startles me before I can think any further by nudging my shoulder with the gun.

"Move...now" he says and points his gun towards the car and then back to Jax again.

I nod once and then look at Jax, then down at my pocket; hopefully he understands what I'm trying to show him.

He shakes his head at me and he clenches his jaw tighter, if that were even possible. He's grinding his teeth so hard I'm surprised they haven't shattered in his mouth.

"No" Jax says softly, whether to me or at them trying to get me in the car.

I take another step closer to the car and before Jax can move another inch towards me, the front passenger door opens and the guy from the bar hops out casually, the same one that was watching me at the party too.

"Hello sweetheart" he says in a calm voice and smiles at me.

My mouth opens in shock and before I can answer he speaks again, "sometimes if you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

He takes a step closer and wraps his rough hand around my wrist and pulls me against him. His arm slides around my neck almost choking me and I'm now facing Jax with my back pressed right up against this guy.

Jax practically growls as the guy pulls out a gun and aims it at me this time, pressing it right against my temple.

He shakes his head at Jax and then looks down at me. He presses his lips against my cheek softly and says, "get in the car Charli."

I nod again and look at Jax then down at my pocket again. If he doesn't get what I'm trying to show him then he isn't cut out for this work I almost laugh to myself; I swear to god he better understand otherwise I'm throwing myself to the wolves.

The big man next to me puts his gun away and leans down, grabbing our bags off the ground and throwing them into the back seat of the car. He then leans down and throws me over his shoulder while the other guy points his gun at Jax.

"Hey!" I complain just as he throws me into the back seat, not so gently I might add. I scramble to sit up just as the guy from the bar gets in the back with me and shuts the door behind him.

The window is down so when Jax starts talking we can still hear him.

"I swear to god if you even so much as think of fucking touching her I will kill you" he says.

The guy I've currently started thinking of as creepy stalker from the bar laughs a deep throaty laugh and leans out the window a little as he finally replies, "Jax, we'll be miles away before you can even think about killing me."

The big guy leans towards Jax and cracks him on the head with the gun and then hops into the front seat.

I watch Jax through the back window as we pull away from the curb and start driving away. He's spread out on the ground unconscious and it fuels a fire inside me of pure rage. I start to kick with my legs in every which way and manage to get a good kick into creepy bar guys' side. He groans lightly and then turns an angry glare on me as he grabs my ankle and slides me closer.

"Don't make me fucking hurt you Charli" he says irritated just as the guy in the front seat aims his gun at me.

"Fuck you" I spit out at him and try to wriggle my leg out of his grasp and kick with my free leg to try and get him again.

He rolls his eyes at me and locks both my ankles in a tight grip, but before I can complain or attempt to break free the beefy gorilla in the front seat knocks me against the side of the head with his gun.

"Was that absolutely necessary?" says creepy bar guy just as my eyes close over and everything is black.

Jackson

As soon as I know the car is a good distance away I jump to my feet and grab for my phone. If they think I'm out cold on the concrete then that gives me a little time before they even bother with me again. If they think they have a head start then that's good.

I grab my phone and pull up my app that tracks Charli's phone. I wish there was a different way to do this. As soon as I saw her trying to tell me she had her phone on her, I knew she was going to willingly go with them. She knows I would follow her anywhere so I watch the screen as they turn corner after corner and surprisingly stop at a familiar destination – Drew's house.

What in the world would they be doing there? They probably know he was one of the few people she talked to and probably tried getting information out of him, pointlessly since he doesn't know anything.

Knowing they are this close gives me a little hope and I realise I need to be prepared. I turn and run back into the apartment and once I'm in the elevator I hit the button for the rooftop. What I never told Charli was that I was always prepared for any situation. As soon as we arrived into this town I hid some weapons in the rooftop garden.

As soon as the elevator door opens I run the few remaining steps and practically kick down the door to the rooftop. I shove my hands straight into the dirt of one of the big rectangle pots and yank out the few plants, and then I quickly scoop out whatever dirt there is before finally pulling out the case I hid in there

I drop the case on the ground and drop to my knees as I scramble to open it. I click the lock open and start prepping my weapons, grabbing everything and anything that will be easy to carry.

I shove a pocket knife against my waist band and then pull out the two guns I have in the case.

I've had these hand guns ever since I started working with Charli and took them along with us when we came here, just in case.

I detach the clip on the first gun and check the ammunition before clipping the magazine back into place and sliding it into my waist band as well. I check the second one while I already make my way back into the elevator, not caring if anyone sees me running around with a gun.

As soon as my feet hit the pavement on the street I run towards Drew's house; I run so fast and so hard like my life depends on it.

Charli

I can hear faint murmuring before it gets louder and then suddenly I open my eyes to see at least 4 guys in the room, I take a quick look around before they even notice I'm awake.

It looks like we're in someone's lounge room and I'm propped up against the couch on the floor.

I look around at the pictures on the walls and on the shelf and before it clicks how familiar the furniture is I see a nice picture on the wall of Drew and someone who I presume is his little brother.

I groan and hope to god they haven't hurt him. As soon as the sound escapes me one of the guys turns to me and laughs a little.

"Looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake" he smirks.

As soon as the thought of running crosses my mind I realise my wrists are tied together in front of me. I have to think things through, try and plan something quickly. I'm not saying Jax isn't reliable but I should be smart about this. Jax didn't train me in stuff just for me to give up so easily and expect everyone to help me and get me out of this mess.

I look around then and see the creepy bar guy leaning against the far wall inspecting his gun casually. There are two guys standing towards the entrance of the room closer to the front door and then I notice the beefy gorilla who hit me across the head standing in the middle of the room with my bags.

I send him a murderous glare as soon as I feel my head pulse in pain – stupid thug looking asshole.

He opens the first bag and empties the contents right on to the lounge room floor which I realise is Jax's bag. All his clothes scatter to the ground and the ape squats down and flicks a few things around. He realises there's nothing but clothes so he picks up my bag and empties that out too.

My clothes drop to the ground and one of the guys squats down and picks up one of my lace undies, dangling it from his finger.

"Interesting choice sleeping beauty...care to give us a show in these?" he grins at me.

I can't help it when a laugh escapes my lips. I must be insane to be laughing right now, either the knock to my head was worse than I thought or I'm a weirdo that laughs in intense circumstances.

"I'm sure they'll look much better on you" I smirk.

He scowls at me and reaches out to grab my hair but creepy bar guy stops him, "Marty, that's enough" he says lazily, not even looking our way.

The guy called Marty drops his hand before he can even touch me and drops down on the couch next to me, his leg casually leaning against my arm since I'm still on the floor.

"Charli...we know that you know what we're after, you're a clever girl. So instead of playing around and wasting time, how's about you just tell us where you've got it and everything will end nicely."

The asshole with a tendency to wack people across the head with his gun is still rummaging through my stuff. He finds my hand bag inside the other bag and empties that out too, dropping makeup, loose change, notes, and finally the mints onto the floor. As well as all that my small gun clatters to the ground.

As soon as I was done with the cops after I witnessed the murder and realised there weren't many people I could trust, I went out and bought a gun. I had no clue as to what was a good gun or what was easy to handle so I guess I picked the smallest and girlish gun I saw. Like I said, I had no clue.

"She's probably stashed it back at the apartment Finn" says the big guy while he rummages through my crap.

So creepy bar guy's name is Finn; how interesting I think to myself. I have to make sure I get a good look at all of them, in case I ever get out of this mess and have to ID anyone.

I glance at the guy next to me on the couch and he winks at me as soon as he sees me looking at him. He's not as bulky as the gorilla but he's still pretty muscly. He has light brown hair and hazel eyes and a very detailed tattoo of an eagle on his arm. I realise he still has my lace undies in his hand and is casually spinning them on his finger. Without thinking I try to sit up and reach for my underwear but he ends up grabbing my wrist and pulling me on top of him.

"Fuck Marty, I said enough" snaps Finn but he sounds more drained than angry.

Marty releases me and I quickly scramble to the other side of the couch. I realise then when I get another good look at his tattoo that it looks exactly like the one Jax has. Could that be coincidence?

"You" I say as I point at him questioningly.

He raises his palms as if in surrender and quirks his eyebrow up. I look from him, to Finn who's eyeing the stuff on the floor, and then finally to the bulky guy pulling apart the contents of my bag.

I look to the gun and then to the mints tin and lunge to the ground. I pretend I'm fumbling for the gun but try and push the mints away as far as I can without them noticing.

As soon as I've jumped off the couch though Marty springs into action and jumps after me tackling me to the ground.

I see the mints just to my right and as he's sitting on top of me trying to restrain me I kick and thrash pretending to try and get out of his grip. I flick the tin without them noticing and watch out of the corner of my eye as it slides just out of reach and under the couch.

I grin like an idiot and stop resisting just as Marty manages to get both my wrists locked above my head in his grasp.

"What are you grinning at?" he smirks at me.

"You fight like a girl" I laugh; can't really admit that I'm grinning at my success now can I.

At my words Finn starts to laugh uncontrollably and leans on his knees with his gun still in his hands.

The gorilla as I've now come to call him gets up off the floor and marches towards where Marty and I are on the floor. He shoves him off me and then grabs a handful of my hair pulling me up into a sitting position.

"Hey, what the fuck?" complains Marty as he jumps to his feet and brushes himself off.

"Where the fuck is it?" yells the gorilla in my face.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I play dumb and wince as he pulls my hair back harder, making me look right at him.

"Stop playing dumb princess" he says and before I realise what's happening the back of his hand flies out and smacks me hard across the face.

Fuck that hurt, but I can take it. I guess when you're under pressure, or have so much adrenaline coursing through your veins, the pain isn't as noticeable. Okay I lie, that really, really hurt.

He let's go of my hair and for some stupid reason I decide now is a good time to laugh in his face. I seriously have a death wish; I need to stitch my lips shut.

He growls and reaches out to smack me again but before he gets the chance Finn grabs his wrist.

"Relax Dodge. Not until we find it, otherwise we're fucked" says Finn and drops his arm.

I laugh even harder now, "Dodge? I think Gorilla still suites you better."

Marty starts to laugh but then pretends to cough as soon as Dodge turns his murderous look on him.

"Take her upstairs before she gets herself killed by Dodge would ya?" says Finn and motions towards the stairs with his gun.

"And Dodge, she's smarter than she looks" says Finn and looks down at me, "Don't get riled up and distracted because that's exactly what she's trying to do, god knows why she would want to piss you off though" he finishes and goes back to leaning against the wall casually.

Marty leans down and scoops me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

I start to kick and try to smack him with my tied up hands as we're heading up the stairs, and just before we get to one of the rooms I can hear Finn say to Dodge that it's definitely here.

Marty kicks one of the doors open further and drops me on the bed before walking back to the door.

He sticks his head out and yells, "Do you want me to strip search her Finn, in case she's got it on her?"

I can't hear the reply and tense a little as soon as he closes the door behind him and takes a few steps towards me.

He crouches down in front of me and lifts his sleeve up a little, displaying his tattoo fully. He narrows his eyes at me and then puts his finger to his lips as if telling me to be quiet. I realise then that he's not a bad guy; I knew I was right about the tattoo. He knows I recognise it and he's asking me to keep quiet; or maybe I've just gone completely insane.

Before I can think too much into it he walks over to the window and props it open as wide as it will go. I look at him a little confused but before I can ask him a question there's a commotion downstairs and then heavy footsteps on the stairs.

The door bursts open and Dodge comes charging in towards me looking deadly.

Marty steps in between us and raises his palms out; like that would somehow stop a big guy like Dodge.

"What are you doing? You heard the rules, they said not to do anything until we know for sure she has it on her; otherwise we'll never find it."

Dodge laughs and smacks Marty's hands down and then shoves him aside. He grabs me by the throat and starts yelling right in my face.

"I'm sick of fucking chasing you around the country. I'm sick of fucking listening to them and all their rules. Dodge do this, Dodge do that. So you listen here you little fucking princess...for the last time, where the fuck is it?" he says with his hands firmly wrapped around my throat. I gasp for air and Marty tries to nudge him away.

Dodge releases me for a second and swings a hard punch straight to Marty's face. I watch shocked as he drops to the ground unconscious.

Dodge turns back to me as I take the opportunity and kick out, getting him right in the chest. He's a solid guy but that still manages to knock the air out of him even for a second.

I scramble back on the bed as he lunges for me, missing me as I roll off the bed and land with a hard thud on the ground – it’s a little hard to be co-ordinated when your hands are tied up.

I grab for the closest thing near me which happens to be a solid looking lamp and smash it right across his head. He shakes off the shards of broken lamp and tries to get off the bed, reaching for me at the same time.

I squeal and start to crawl away backwards, heading towards Marty where hopefully he has some kind of weapon on him.

Dodge slides off the bed and I notice he's bleeding from his head. Just as I look back towards Marty, I'm grabbed by the ankle and dragged back across the hard wood floor.

He crawls over me and is straddling me, holding my tied arms above my head. He's so heavy that I can barely breathe with him on top of me so I try to kick out, but it doesn't do me any good as I start to gasp.

Jackson

I climb the side of the house towards the open window. As soon as I saw Marty in the room I knew there was hope. I didn’t even realise that Marty my old friend from boot camp, was still working the Morelli case. I guess he's been undercover this entire time.

If he's here though, it means they're nearby, either in the house already, or watching more closely than I thought.

I'm almost to the open window when I hear Marty yelling at someone and then what sounds like someone dropping to the ground.

I panic a little and try to climb faster along the water piping. I hear a commotion in the room and just as I manage to make it to the window and look in, I see Charli smash a lamp across the big guys head. She's got way more fight in her than I ever thought. Most people would be cowering away or giving in to someone as big as this guy but not her. There's pure determination on her face and if this wasn't such a fucked up situation I'd probably say she looked pretty hot, being so fearless.

I try to haul myself in through the window unnoticed just as the big guy starts to climb on top of her and hold her down; my blood boils just looking at it all.

I pull my gun out from my waist band and aim it right at him; I don't fire though because I don't know how many guys are downstairs yet and now that Marty's unconscious, I don't know just how much backup I have or who's working for who.

I clear my throat and he finally looks up at me and practically growls before leaping off Charli and trying to tackle me. I move quickly out of his path and he runs right into the drawers.

He pushes against the dresser making it wobble and then turns around facing me again.

"I wouldn't if I were you" I hear Charli say and we both look over at her standing next to Marty's body, holding what I presume was his gun.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" I ask.

"You really think this is the time to lecture me on how to use a gun Jax?" she smirks at me as she pulls the safety off, and I can't help but smile. I feel slightly stupid standing there smiling at her considering the circumstances we're in and before anyone else can say anything we hear footsteps on the stairs and both look towards the door.

I see the guy that was at the bar earlier and my mouth drops open when I recognise the person standing beside him, holding a gun aimed right at Charli.