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CHAPTER TWENTY: CICELY

The only good part about this scenario is that we’re dealing with amateurs: three men, four if you count the driver, to kidnap three women. Granted, one is a young girl. While the driver stays behind the wheel, the other three zip tie our wrists together in the front. Rookie maneuver. Then they shove us, still conscious, to the rear before turning their backs on us—another mistake.

“You’re sure he’s at the clubhouse?” the guy who grabbed me asks the driver.

“He’s always at the clubhouse. He doesn’t leave. It’s why Jordan wanted us to grab the little bitch. He’ll leave for her,” says the driver.

Shit. These men are after Sammy. Margo’s eyes widen and fill with tears as she stares at me.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this,” I assure her.

“She’s right. These guys are amateurs.”

“I’m scared,” Margo whispers.

“I know, but you aren’t alone. Lily and I will protect you.”

“How?”

I glance at Lily.

“We’ll figure it out. I’ve had training for this situation.”

“You’ve been trained to escape from kidnappers?” Margo asks in a tone that blends hope, disbelief, and suspicion.

“Yes. As strange as that sounds. I’ve grown up knowing I’m a target for kidnappers because of my family. My father ensured my brothers and I received training to prepare for the worst.”

“So what do we do?” Margo asks.

I’m proud to see her tears have dried up. She may be young, but she’s a fighter.

“First, we need to get out of these zip ties. I dropped my purse. Do you have anything that will cut through these?” Lily asks me.

“I have my keychain in my pocket. The eye gouger should suffice.” Lily and I have several items we can use against attackers attached to our keychains. We have an eye gouger shaped like a cat. There’s a hole in the center for a finger and sharp, pointy ears. I also have a pair of brass knuckles that fold into a silver hexagon, a small spray bottle full of mace gel, and a thin cylinder extending into a baton. “Can you reach it?”

“I don’t know. Let me try. Which pocket?” Lily asks. She maneuvers her bound hands to reach my right pocket and pulls out my keychain. I hold the eye gouger so she can scrape the ties against it, but we quickly realize that sawing the zipties will take too long.

“Not working. Okay, let me try this. Hide me from view,” Lily says before stretching out on the floor. Margo and I shift out of her way. I keep my eyes on the men, especially the driver, who occasionally flicks glances into the rearview mirror to look at us.

Lily pulls her legs to her chest and wraps her arms around her knees. With a sharp thrust, she snaps her legs open, breaking the zip tie.

“Your turn,” Lily says to me. I repeat her actions and break free.

“What about me?” Margo asks.

“Keep them on for now. They’re focused on you. We don’t want them to realize we have the use of our hands. But don’t worry, you can fight back. I’ll tell you how.”

Lily gives instructions to Margo while I divvy up the weapons between us. I hand Lily the baton and eye gouger before sliding the brass knuckles over my fingers and palming the mace. Glancing out the window, I see we’ve pulled into an empty parking lot. At the far end, there is an abandoned building. It was once a sporting goods store but shut down years ago. Every October, it turns into a Halloween shop.

“We’re almost there,” I whisper to Lily and Margo. “You know what to do?” Margo nods solemnly. She’s shaking with fear. Grasping her hands, I move so we’re eye-to-eye. “Lily and I will protect you. Trust us. These guys won’t know what’s hit them. All you need to do is follow Lily’s plan, and we’ll handle the rest.”

Lily and I hold our wrists together and hope he doesn’t take a closer look when one makes his way to us. Luckily, his focus is on Margo. He grabs her by the arm and drags her away from us. Panic rises. The plan will work, but only if we stay together.

He takes out a phone in a sparkly pink case. I smirk at the incongruity, even though I know it’s likely Margo’s phone. He places a call and puts it on speaker.

“Demon Dawg clubhouse,” says Sammy.

“Hello, Sammy, I have someone who wants to talk to you,” the man says, holding the phone closer to Margo. “Say hi to your friend’s brother.”

“Sssammy,” Margo stutters.

“Margo, where are you?”

“She’s safe. For now,” the man says. “Whether she stays that way depends upon you. Come to the parking lot on 50th Street, near the old Sports Authority. Come alone. If you don’t, Margo here will become my new plaything.”

“Margo, stay calm,” Sammy says. “I’m on my way…”

The man ends the call, pushing Margo to the floor next to him.

“You should get used to sitting at my feet. That’s where you’ll be until I want to fuck you. Young flesh is always the best.”

“Why do you get her?” the driver complains. He turns to look back at Margo. It’s the first time I've gotten a good look at his face. He looks familiar, but I can’t place him. Margo’s sobs draw my attention back to her. She’s looking at me with such fear that my heart breaks. I give her a small smile and a nod.

I mouth ‘don’t worry’ to her, but I can see my assurance is no longer helping. She’s terrified. I can’t blame her. The man threatening to rape her is more than twice her size. Since I can see the sick hunger in his eyes, she can, too. He brushes his palm over her hair before wrapping his fingers around her neck. Margo chokes in fear.

“Leave her alone,” Lily snaps. “What’s the matter? Are you such a chickenshit that you can only get excited by young girls? Too weak to take on someone who can fight back?”

“Shut up, bitch or I’ll make you,” he snarls.

“Oh yeah, big man? Think you can take me? I wouldn’t break a sweat taking you down. Weak men like you are all the same. Cowards. It’s why you have to tie us up. You know you can’t win unless you have us at a disadvantage. Pathetic.”

I watch his temper spike and pray he doesn’t take it out on Margo. Luckily, he pushes Margo away to lunge toward us to backhand Lily. However, Lily’s ready for him. She snaps her head back and kicks out her foot. She lands a hard kick against his exposed throat. He stumbles back while clutching his throat and trips over Margo, who crawls back to us. Lily and I put her between us.

Trapped inside the van may seem like a disadvantage, but Lily and I are more compact than these men. The other three can’t get past the fourth man to reach us. While Lily fends him off, I grasp the door handle and yank. The back door slides open. The three of us hop out. We can’t outrun them, but we can give Margo a chance.

The van doors open, allowing the other men to pile out.

“Don’t fucking let her get away!” one shouts.

I see the driver take off after her. I shift to tackle him, but I’m grabbed from behind. Dropping to the ground, I break free of my captor’s hold. Rolling to my back, I kick his crotch. When he doubles over in pain, I jump up and slam my metal-covered knuckles into his windpipe. Turning, I see another man down, his hands covering his face. Blood oozes between his fingers. Lily holds the baton and swipes at the man she kicked. Leaving her to deal with him, I scan for Margo.

The driver is dragging her toward the van. I run toward them and shout ‘Now!’ as soon as I’m close enough. Margo stops struggling and goes limp. He stoops to grab her just as I spray the mace into his face. He bellows in pain as he stumbles against the van. Rushing forward, I grab Margo and pull her behind me.

“You fucking bitch! I’m going to kill you!” screams the man fighting Lily. He’s bleeding from several cuts on his neck and face. He cradles his right arm against his chest, reaching for Lily with his left. Hoping the driver remains out of commission, I jump on his back to pull his chin up. Using my right fist, I slam into his throat, trying to hit his windpipe. Lily swipes the baton against his left knee as he claws at me. His knee buckles as he howls with pain and rage. She swipes the baton again and hits his injured arm. He screams in pain.

Hands grab me to pull me off the man, I turn and punch out at my attacker, stopping short before I smack Chrome in the face.