by Kay Maree
"No, its fine. I want to hear whatever he has to say. Especially if it's about me and the gold digger status he has put on me. I want to be the one to correct him. Can't guarantee he will have a very fun wedding night though if I do." Toby and I both tried to hide the groan at the mental image.
"That's your choice. I won't stand in your way if you do. Can't say he doesn't deserve it." The thought of his wedding stuck in my head though. It was now Friday and his ceremony was on Sunday. I was supposed to be going but given our last meeting, I didn't think it was appropriate to go. Not without Rosa with me either. "It could be about the wedding. Hailee is probably at him to find out if I am coming or not."
"Yeah, but he could just ask that over the phone or Hailee could call you herself. You aren't not speaking to her."
"That is true."
"Best not to think about it, Bee, you will drive yourself crazy wondering what it could be." Deciding she was right and that there was nothing I could do about it until we got home, I kept eating. When we were done, Abby and Rosa decided that they wanted ice cream so they took a walk and got that. I was glad that those two were getting along as well as they were. Rosa seemed more at ease now knowing that Abby didn't hate her but in true form, my sister waited until she had gotten to know her before making a judgement. The other guys had called me but they too had taken the 'not my circus, not my monkeys' approach to the situation too which was fine. I didn't want anyone else caught up in this mess. Especially when they didn't need to be. Once the girls got back, we headed home. I left it a little bit before I sent the message to Raven letting him know that we were home. Abby and Rosa had been talking about a book that she had just finished reading so again, I lost Rosa so Toby and I sat out on the back deck with a few beers.
About an hour or so later, we heard the front door. Toby went to answer it before coming back to join me on the deck, Raven following behind him.
"Cameron." Abby greet him as she came out and stood with Toby and Rosa went to stand by them but behind me as well. "Can we get you anything?"
"No thanks, Abs, I'm good. Can Corey and I have a minute please?"
"Sorry chief, I'm not going anywhere. The girls can go inside though but given your last interaction with each other, I am surprised there were no punches thrown so whatever needs to be said, can be said in front of everyone." The girls stayed right where they were.
"Really Corey, like that is it?"
"Do you have a problem with your memory that you need to speak with Tucker about because the way I remember it was you were an asshole." He let out a breath and ran his hand over his face.
"God, not you too. I haven't stopped hearing it from Hailee. I'm sorry, okay. I didn't know how to handle that information and I reacted badly." I had to bite my tongue from reacting to that because hello Captain Obvious, that was clear. Rosa didn't have the same reaction to that as I did and she spoke up.
"So your natural reaction is to basically call someone a gold digger who is just after money that her father may or may not have had? Wow, would hate to see what you do with good news."
"Rosaleen, I am sorry. I don't know what your relationship with Derek was like, but he and I didn't have a good one. From the time I was born until the time he tried to kill me. He is a very sore subject for me. I shouldn't have reacted that way though."
"No, you shouldn't have. As for my relationship with your father, there wasn't one. He found out my mam was pregnant and stayed well away. He didn't want to know me but you know what, Corey was right when he told me that I was better off without him in my life. Liam was more of a Dad to me than anyone. He looked out for us when he didn't need to. He always made sure we had a roof over our head, food in our cupboards and we had everything we needed. Just because we had different upbringings though Cameron, doesn't give people a right to treat someone he has never met like dirt just because she happens to share DNA with him." After that, Raven went deathly quiet. I motioned for him to take a seat and the rest of us followed suit and let that tongue lashing from Rosa sink in.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rosa
After I said my piece, I still had some pent up frustration but I had to hold my tongue. Cameron had apologized for his actions, I just hadn't accepted it yet. After a little while, he looked over at me.
"You are nothing like him. Guess you take after your mom." Nodding, I softened a little.
"I do, I am very lucky for that fact. I have his eyes though. We both do."
"How did you know?"
"My mam's are lighter. I guessed the brown came from him and it was confirmed when I met you." After Toby saw that it wasn't going to end in a fist fight again this time around, me, I was still unsure of that, he and Abby gave the three of us some space. I hadn't moved from beside Corey, my hand firmly gripping his.
"There was a reason, other than apologizing, for me coming over. To say I am sorry and extend an olive branch, I have come to ask you Rosa, if you would come to the wedding on Sunday. I know I acted like an asshole and don't expect you to forgive me but it's the direction I want to move in."
"You mean your fiancée kicked your ass over with the invitation and is making you apologize?" Cameron rolled his eyes at Corey's correction and laughed.
"Okay so she kicked my ass over here, I wanted to apologize though. I really am sorry. It was a really bad first impression. I don't expect you to forgive me though. I just wanted to make it known."
"We will be there, Cameron. I wouldn't let Corey miss out on one of his best friend's weddings no matter how he felt about you at the time. In your defense, Abby and Corey have both told me that they were surprised you lashed out like that. I get it, sort of. Most of the girls who go for club members are only after one of two things. Sex or money. Those of us who are born into it though, like to work hard for everything we have. I am sure the other girls feel that way too."
"They do. We all know that Abby doesn't do anything the easy way, Katy worked hard in med school to get to where she is. Ellie wasn't so much born into it but she and JD were always going to be together so she learnt quickly what club life was. If you are staying, maybe you could talk to her. She owns a club in town and I am sure she and JD could use an extra set of hands running the place so they can have some time off. Hailee had her hand forced. I was selfish and wouldn't let her go," he chuckled.
"She didn't put up much of a fight though. She was beside your bed when you almost died. There was no separating you after that," Corey added.
"That's true. I would have given up if it wasn't for her. As cliché as this sounds, I knew she was waiting for me and just kept fighting to get back to her." He shook his head to clear the memory and stood up. "Anyway, got shit I need to take care of. I will see you both on Sunday." He moved to rest his hand on Corey's shoulder, giving it a squeeze before holding his hand out to shake mine. Deciding that it would be easier for us all if I took that olive branch, I stood up and leant in, pressing my lips to his cheek.
"See you Sunday, Cameron." He gave me a smile and turned to leave through the house. Sitting back down beside Corey, I tucked myself into him.
"We don't have to go, ya know."
"Yes we do. As I said, one day, in the not too distant future, you would regret not going. So unless you know about secret plans to build a time machine, then yes we are going."
"You know that means you and Abby have to go shopping for something to wear tomorrow, right?"
"Oh I know. I don't look forward to that." He chuckled, pressing a kiss to my head and wrapped his arms around you.
"I am sure I could make it up to you when you get home though. Maybe I can convince Toby to take her back to his place for the night so we can have the house to ourselves." I looked up at him with a smirk.
"Why, Mr Marshall, are you suggesting what I think you are?"
"Damn right I am." He dropped his head, his lips covering mine before I could reply.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Co
rey
With the girls off shopping for the day, it gave me a chance to go into the club and see the guys. I hadn't been in since I got home. I had been spending my time with Rosa instead. I had spoken with Ruby about keeping the car that I borrowed to get to the airport and back in case Rosa wanted to go somewhere and I wasn't home. Sure Abby had her car, but I know that there are times when we just wanted to go and be by ourselves. Between Liam and I, we made sure she had everything she needed for her time here, however long that may be. Her leaving wasn't something that I wanted to think about. I went to the gym in the club to burn off some extra energy I had before deciding to go and meet with Abby and Rosa for lunch. Dialing Toby's number as I left the house after showering, I frowned when he didn't pick up. It wasn't like him not to answer. I tried to call Abby after that and got nothing there too. I had just pulled out of the driveway when Toby called me back.
"Hey, brother, what's up?"
"Nothing, just calling to see what the girls were up to."
"Why are you asking me? Aren't you with them?"
"No... Abby said you were taking them."
"Yeah, I took them. I had to go into work so I couldn't stay with them. They were just going shopping so I didn't think anything of it."
"Okay, I am headed there now to meet up with them for lunch. Wanna join me?"
"Sure, let me call Abby and see where they are at."
"I just tried, she didn't answer. I will try calling Rosa. Let me know if you get hold of Abby?"
"I will. You okay? You sound off."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Something just isn't sitting right with me. Abby always answers her phone."
"Maybe it was in her bag and she didn't hear it. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about."
"You're probably right. I will swing past the station and pick you up. We can come back for your car later."
"No problem, see you soon." I hung up from Toby and tried to call Rosa as I headed toward the police station in town. When she didn't answer either, it didn't calm me down at all. I was just hoping that Toby got hold of Abby. About ten minutes later, I pulled into the station car park and Toby was waiting outside for me. He moved to get in the passenger side.
"I couldn't get hold of Abby. Did you have any luck with Rosa?"
"No, she didn't answer either. Was it just the two of them or were Hailee, Katy and Ellie going too? Meet Rosa before tomorrow."
"Abby didn't say. Want me to try calling Raven?" Nodding, I picked up my phone and went through the address book.
"I'll call Katy." Hitting my thumb against her number, it rang a few times before she answered.
"Hey, Corey, welcome back."
"Thanks, it's good to be home." It sounded really quiet on her end which wasn't doing anything for the bad feeling I had. "Tell me something, you haven't spoken to Abby today have you?"
"No, Chaos and I have been with Raven and Hailee all morning. I was just getting some last minute things together before they all come over here. Abby, Ellie and Hailee were all staying at mine tonight." I looked over to Toby.
"That's news to me. Can you do me a favor, if you hear from Abby can you get her to call me? She went shopping and we can't get hold of her. Just trying to meet up for lunch."
"Yeah, no problem." Thanking her, I ended the call and headed for the mall. Toby struck out with Raven, having been told the same thing that Katy just told me. We both tried the girls again with no answer.
"I really don't like this. They had to have checked the time at least once and seen our missed calls. Something isn't right." No sooner had the words left my mouth, my phone was ringing with a private number. Pulling into the carpark, I answered the call. "Corey speaking."
"Son." My blood went cold hearing his voice. It was a natural reaction.
"Not now. I'm busy."
"Oh, I know you are. You won't find them though."
"Find who?"
"The two you and Toby are trying to call. I have their phones so they won't be answering."
"What the fuck are you talking about, how do you have their phones?"
"Oh come on now Corey, you are smarter than that. Think really hard."
"You son of a bitch! I swear to God, if you hurt them you are going to die!"
"Well, if you are gonna be like that, I am gonna let you think about that. Should have kept a better eye on them!" He hung up the phone and I cursed. No this couldn't be happening! He had to be lying. I tried to dial Abby's phone again and once again, it rang out.
"What's going on?" I turned to look at Toby who was looking confused.
"It's my fucking sperm donor. He says he has the girls!" I found Duke's number in my phone and called him as I started my car and headed out of the parking lot. I needed him to get me the security footage from that shopping center and he could do it quicker than going into the office and getting Toby to use his police credentials to get it.
"Havoc, how's it going?"
"Been better... Need a favor, boy wonder."
"Sure, name it."
"I need the security footage for the Fernando Shopping Centre from about ten this morning. Abby was dropped off out the front with another girl. I need you to follow them on every camera you can, while you can."
"On it. You heading in?"
"I'll be there soon." When he hung up, I took a deep breath and dialed Raven's number. I needed to tell him what was going on. If both the girls had been taken, then they wanted something other than to spend time with Abby. This screamed ulterior motive.
"Corey."
"Raven... We have a problem. I am headed into the clubhouse now. Can you meet me there?"
"I'm already there. I had some shit I needed to do."
"Okay, I will be there in ten."
"I'll call in the others." We hung up, I looked over at Toby who had been quiet this whole time. At a guess, he is probably wondering what the fuck is going on, but until I got to the clubhouse, there wasn't much point in me relaying the same little bit of information that I had. All I knew was that the girls were gone and we needed to get them back. I also needed to let Liam know the situation so that he could get over here. I would cross that bridge when I knew more information. Right now, I just needed my hands on that footage to know what I was dealing with. Did he plan it on his own or did he have help? Did they go willingly or was someone gonna know something? I didn't like the unknown. It worried the hell out of me because I had no control over it. Right now, two people I loved were in the hands of a madman. I was going to have someone's head over this if it's the last thing that I do.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rosa
There are times in your life where you wonder what you were thinking. For some it's with the people they date or a job they take. Others, it is friends they keep. For me, it is why did I get out of bed this morning. I never regret getting out of bed. I love my job or else I wouldn't be doing it. This morning when I was woken up by Abby knocking on Corey's door to get me up so that we could go shopping, I should have just stayed there. I should have let him keep me there, wrapped up in his arms like he wanted to do. He tightened his arms around me and nuzzled into my neck. I had to go and get a dress for my brother's wedding though. Pulling myself away, I showered and was met with coffee when Corey dragged himself out of bed. Even though I had to be up, I still had a smile on my face. It was there every morning that I got to wake up next to him. I know some might consider this too fast but I was never one to question things. I didn't want to look back and wonder 'what if' one day so I lived every moment like it was my last. Hell I would have stayed in Ireland if I was worried about what would or wouldn't happen between us. Right now, as I sat in this blacked out room with just a bed inside, I regretted every decision I made today. When someone from home found me in that shopping center and told me that I needed to go with them because something was wrong, I regret not listening to Abby when she asked me to wait while she called Toby or Corey to come with us. I shou
ld have let her go and gone with them so that she didn't get caught up in this too, but now we are both here because of me. We got outside where someone was waiting when we walked out the door with chloroform on a rag and it was put over our faces. They must have separated us because when I came around, I was in this shitty room alone. I tried calling out for help and for Abby but didn't hear anything and no one came. I think these rooms were soundproofed or something. Please let her be okay. I didn't care what happened to me just as long as she wasn't hurt in any way. She didn't deserve that. The door opening pulled me from my thoughts and in he walked again. The asshole that had brought us here. See, my mam always told me not to talk to strangers. She never warned me about the danger of those close to me.
"Ah Lass, you're awake."
"What am I doing here?"
"Oh don't worry, this is only temporary. We will be leaving soon enough and going back to Ireland. You should never have come looking for Cameron, Lass. You belong at home."
"What I do is none of your business, Eoin. I'm not going back with you! I'll go when I am ready. Where is Abby?" He motioned behind him with his hand.
"Oh she is somewhere. She is not my responsibility, someone else wanted her here. You are who I came for."
"Does Liam know you are here?"
"No, that fool doesn't know anything. If he had any brains at all then he wouldn't have let you come here."
"You'll never get away with this. Corey will come looking for me and Abby, they probably already know we are missing and have come looking for us. You will never leave the country with me so you may as well leave now and save yourself. If they find you, you are dead." In one quick movement, Eoin was beside me, bringing his hand down against my face.
