Deserved

by Victoria Johns

  Looking at the map on the phone, I knew instantly where Lacey was.

  The fucking trailer park where my mother lived.

  * * *

  Lacey

  I was crouched behind an abandoned trailer, kicking myself. I was literally a few minutes too late to stop the old woman from getting Carly into a car.

  I was delayed in the school by Principal Weathers, and by the time I raced over to the school gate, I knew Carly would be wondering where I was. I tried to shout her as she was climbing into the back of the car, but she didn’t hear me. The old woman did, though, which only made her move quicker to make a getaway from the school.

  The battered old station wagon was driven by some guy, and I knew when Carly didn’t put up a fight that she knew who these people were. Racing back to the school parking lot and praying that I wouldn’t be too long, I got Tula going and with the roof still down, raced in the direction I last saw them heading. I felt hyped up on adrenaline, and I probably looked like some crazy person behind the wheel of the car. How I was still seeing the road was a mystery because my head was spinning round, glancing down the side streets to make sure they hadn’t turned off or parked somewhere.

  As I sped onto Main Street, I could see the rusty old car at the very end of the street, about a half-mile in the distance. As I continued to follow, I used my car’s phone system to dial Tommy only to get an engaged tone. I kept trying as I followed, with little success. Deciding to keep a safe distance, I maintained my pursuit for miles and miles until we were well out of the town, and as the thought hit me to try to call Tommy, Oli or Lottie, the signal indicator on my cell finally plummeted to zero bars.

  After forty minutes of open road and a patchy signal, the rust bucket carrying Carly abruptly turned left and was engulfed in a cloud of dust. The terrain was flat enough now that they’d know I was following, and in the distance I could see a few random trailers parked on the edge of some wasteland. Deciding to keep my cover with distance, I stopped at the turning point and stood up on the seat of my car, following the direction of the car for as long as I could. When I realized I could follow the dust trails, I slowed my advance and got going again. Seeing the smallest speck of signal on my cell, I tried to ring Tommy. Relief flooded through me when it connected, and I shouted his name, only to be instantly disconnected. We weren’t on the moon so why didn’t my cell have decent service?

  Stopping after another half mile, I could see that the car had parked up by the side of the trailers. I dumped Tula where I thought she wouldn’t be seen if anyone came out looking and hot-footed it in her direction, sliding my cell into the pocket of my pants.

  Only once did I nearly get caught in my attempt to take a closer look at the trailer where Carly had gone, and that was when the door of the flea ridden box next to it swung open and Maisie Greaves stepped out. I watched as she dialed a number on her cell phone and spoke to someone, which prompted me to check my own cell again, but with no coverage still, I felt my frustration rise.

  Knowing that was Carly’s mother, I made the assumption that the older looking woman was Tommy’s mom, Gloria, but what I didn’t know was whether to bust in and grab Carly or sit and wait for my chance. After a long internal monologue with myself, I decided to get closer. If I could hear what was being said then maybe I could decide how to proceed.

  I crawled and shuffled through the dirt and grime until I was flush against the only open trailer window, and hid underneath, waiting for my chance to get Carly back.

  Tommy Sevens

  Lottie agreed to stay by the phone at the house, just in case Lacey or Carly tried to call. She was under instruction to ring us immediately, although when Oli issued that instruction, she looked like she was going to slap him silly, saying, “This isn’t my first drama rodeo, honey. Now go get our girls!”

  We rode in Jonas’s truck. It didn’t take long for him to turn it from soccer dad transport to army off roader, and in no time, with no fucking care for speed limits, he set off. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. The only explanation the three of us could come up with was that the biker story was a red herring and just a way for them to scam money out of me. At least that’s what we were hoping. None of us relished the thought of taking on lawless bikers.

  The sickening thing was that Carly was being used again, only this time it was like they’d been fattening the pig all along for this very reason. I tried not to believe it but in my heart, I’d always known there was some end game and reason why they’d never told me I had a kid.

  Fucking bitches.

  Oli was only slightly more relieved that we knew where Lacey’s car was, although I knew in a heartbeat that if she had been at a biker compound, the fear of what that would entail would not have stopped him barging in to get her back. He loved her like his own daughter, and whatever the outcome of our relationship, I had to respect him. If you loved someone, you didn’t make them choose, and Lacey and I needed to work together to make him see that because I knew making her pick between us would kill her. I’d have to be the adult in that situation and walk away, and that would kill me.

  “What are those?” I asked, looking at the screen in Jonas’s car from the back seat.

  “Maps.”

  “They aren’t maps I’ve ever seen,” I commented.

  “Agreed. They aren’t maps you’ve ever seen or will see again. Understood?”

  I nodded and then watched as he turned off the main highway at a clearing that didn’t even have a junction, track or a road, and he began to zip off-road around Hawkstown. I tried to look at and understand the maps, but couldn’t. It was only when we swerved to avoid streams or bodies of water that I understood what I was looking at.

  Military maps.

  The kind designed for and only understood by special forces personnel who could interpret them to land at a destination in the quickest possible time. Before I could get my bearings, we bolted out from a tree line, down alongside an old railway line and then back into the cover of the trees. When he came to a complete stop, I realized we were about half a mile away from where we needed to be and just the other side of the bushes where we were hiding, I could see the glint of Tula’s paint work. There was Lacey’s car.

  Oli had spotted it, too, and was making his way over there with a speed he didn’t use often. I followed, hot on his heels, and we both scooted round the car, looking for anything untoward or out of place. When we found nothing of note and no Lacey, we jogged back over to where Jonas was preparing.

  “You haven’t seen any of this shit either,” he muttered, strapping a gun to his calf and putting one in a shoulder holster before securing some secret floor panel back in the trunk and locking it with a thumb print.

  I mean, honestly, this guy was the absolute fucking dog’s bollocks. Built like a mountain and could probably kill you without breaking a sweat, secret maps and a thumb print lockable weapons compartment in his car. I was already in awe of him and we hadn’t really done anything yet.

  “How’s this gonna play out?” I asked.

  “Lots of unknowns—unknown assailants, unknown state of captive and unknown territory,” he mumbled. It was like touching a gun had immediately changed him into someone else, transporting him to a different time in his life and making him the mercenary he had once been.

  “They’re not unknown to me, so I’m just going to walk up there and surprise the fuck out of them,” I told them.

  “You can’t be serious,” said Oli, clearly not taking me seriously.

  “You got a better plan?” Jonas asked him and I knew he was on board with my idea.

  When Oli didn’t provide one, I just marched forward in the direction of the trailers.

  “Be smart. Scope around first and keep your eye on everything. We’ll have your back,” Jonas told me as I continued to walk past him. My anger was coming to the surface now and I knew it would keep me going. The fucking cheek of them trying to extort money out of me using my own fucking daughter was
beyond comprehension. Oli should have let me strangle her when I’d had the chance. With a bit of luck, I might get a second go at it.

  * * *

  Lacey

  This was sickening. I hated these people. They were scum.

  I could hear them discussing what they were going to do if Tommy didn’t come up with the money. Gloria and Maisie were convinced that he would. They were certain he was going to make contact and arrange for a handover rather than risk anything happening to his daughter. Carly was just a payday for these people. She meant nothing to them, and the more I heard, the more I knew I was going to move heaven and earth to get her to safety.

  Whatever it took.

  Whoever the smelly old guy was, he wasn’t convinced about any part of their plan. He seemed to think that Tommy would either get the law involved or take on the bikers in an effort to get her back. Smelly Guy was sure he was already at their compound, taking them on as they sat around. That was something neither of them had thought about. If Tommy did feel brave enough to pay the Rough Riders a visit, it would only increase their problems. They wanted the money so they could make a getaway, and alerting the bikers to the fact that they might be coming into money wasn’t part of the plan. Not to mention it would piss them off if they knew they were being used in a plan that implicated them in child kidnapping.

  It was difficult to tell which scenario frightened them more, but I was past caring. I was still going with my simple plan of do whatever it takes.

  Smelly Guy appeared outside the trailer and grabbed a chair from near to where I was hidden. I followed his wobbly legs as he dragged it to the other side before taking up a seat with his back to me.

  One down, only two left guarding.

  I hadn’t heard Carly since I’d got into my hiding place and I was starting to worry that they’d done something to her. I knew I couldn’t leave my rescue attempt too long, but timing was everything. I was, however, starting to worry that if she wasn’t conscious, I wouldn’t be able to carry her back to my car and get us out of here.

  “I fuckin’ told you, Gloria,” he shouted. “I told you he wouldn’t buy the line about the bikers.”

  I heard footsteps approaching and watched as the guy in the chair stood up. Following his line of sight, I saw Tommy walking from the direction of the trees towards the trailer.

  My heart started to beat again. I wasn’t on my own trying to come up with a solution anymore. There was two of us now, fighting to save Carly and in my head, I was praying that loving someone would win the day rather than hatred and abuse.

  “You fucking old cunt. I should kill you for taking her,” he snarled when he got close, and then I heard footsteps running along the floor above me.

  “Now listen, son, don’t go being hasty. Maisie’s got the girl covered. You lay a finger on him and I’ll tell her to start getting… choppy,” I heard as I watched an old woman’s legs step outside.

  That meant another one down, with only one left inside. The old cow had pretty much confirmed that Carly was in danger and being guarded by her monster of a mother. With Tommy distracting his mother and the guy, I knew now was the time to take my chance and see what was going on inside. Gently shoving forward in the dirt, I felt my foot hit something and when I looked behind me to see what it was, I was elated that fate had provided me with a weapon to give me some extra courage and protection. My foot had brushed up against an axe.

  I knew Tommy was coming to the end of his patience, so I continued to approach as the argument heated up. Tommy would be turning himself inside out to try to get to Carly, and with a bit of luck, I’d be able to do that for him. With a stealth I didn’t know I possessed, I got to my feet in a crouched position and once I was clear of the trailer floor, I tested the weight of the axe in my hand. I had no clue what to do with it, but figured I’d swing it if I needed to. Stepping into the trailer quietly, I could hear Tommy continuing to threaten Gloria and the old guy and them berating him further in return. It was a fight for control that gave me the opportunity to go unnoticed.

  The trailer was a disgusting mess and the smell was something I hadn’t come across in years—poverty and hopelessness. On the rare occasions when my mom had taken me to her dive hangouts, a lot of them had been trailers in the middle of nowhere. I shuddered, remembering those times. I used to spend my time perched in a corner, pleading to go somewhere else. There was no way I was going to let Carly feel like that. I would protect her if it was the last thing I did.

  “Hey, I know you!” said a voice from behind me and I spun round, wielding the axe like I knew what I was doing with it.

  “Don’t come any closer,” I said, glaring at her. “I want Carly and I’m taking her with me.” At the sound of my voice, a door opened and out stepped Carly, who looked upset but in one piece. I could see her wringing her hands in despair. “Hey, girlie, don’t be afraid. We’re getting out of here.”

  “Like hell you are. You uppity bitch, that’s my girl and she ain’t going nowhere.”

  The vile, despicable whore had the brass balls to try and lay claim to Carly, and that made me so angry I thought I was going to burst in annoyance.

  “She is coming with me,” I snarled. “Because you don’t fucking deserve her. You deserve to die a sad and lonely death out here in this shit hole. If you think this is an acceptable way to raise a child, you need your head looking at. If you get much closer, I will happily oblige,” I shouted, gripping the axe tighter.

  Carly was behind me now and the fact that I could feel her shaking was making me want to hurt this woman. I took a step towards Maisie and dared her to challenge me.

  “This girl is not yours. She will never be yours again. Do you hear me?” I screamed in her face, the axe dangerously close to her head.

  I was too preoccupied to notice that the conversation outside the trailer had stopped completely, but I knew Tommy wouldn’t leave here without Carly. Getting us through that door meant that it would be three on three and I had every confidence we could take them on and win.

  “I said do you hear me?” I bellowed, about two inches away from her face, bringing the axe down on a pile of mould infested dishes by the sink. It knocked them everywhere, smashing all the crockery it came into contact with, finishing with a god-awful noise when it finally connected with the metal surface of the draining unit. Maisie seemed to consider whether to stand her ground, which only served to spur me on. “Carly, honey, you get behind me right now and stay there. We’re going home.”

  I took another step and then started slamming the axe at anything within reach. I attacked cupboards, counter tops and chairs as I continued to press her back in the direction of the door. When I saw her realize we were on top of her, I faked going to swing the axe at her head and then pushed her through the open door. When her ass hit the ground and the doorway was clear, I reached behind me, reassured that Carly was still in touching distance, and screamed, wielding it again to encourage her whore of a mother to get completely out of my way.

  In the commotion, Tommy spied his chance and punched the old guy until he fell to the ground, and shouted at him to stay down. I saw him turn and see his mother trying to hot foot it away, but Oli and Jonas appeared out of nowhere, thwarting her escape attempt. When I realized they were outnumbered and we were going to be safe, I let the axe fall to my side as I started to shake. Within seconds, Oli and Jonas were by my side, talking to me.

  “Put down the axe, sweetheart,” Oli whispered, and I knew I still looked like some manic murderer who was having an out of body experience. Tommy was on Carly immediately, checking her over, trying to calm her crying, and apologizing for falling for Gloria’s lies in the first place.

  When I realized I was still holding the axe, I threw it aside like it was a snake that could bite me at any moment and felt my knees start to wobble.

  Oli immediately stepped closer and whispered, “Keep it together. Don’t cave now. They’re terrified of you.” And he winked at me.

&nb
sp; Had I really just stormed a trailer with an axe and acted like I was going to start hacking people up if they didn’t do as I said?

  You bet your ass I did, and I did it for Carly.

  Gloria was busy trying to get Maisie off the floor and the old guy was stuffing a dirty old vest up under his nose in an effort to stop the bleeding.

  “Yeah, I’ve got some information that your president may want,” I heard Jonas say. “Maisie Greaves and Gloria Sevens have just tried to extort money from someone on your behalf. I would have thought you guys were more professional than that.” I heard the gasps of shock from the two women who had now gone very pale. Jonas stopped talking, like he was listening, and then said, “Sure. They’re at the trailer park just off… Yeah, you know the place. Okay.” And then he hung up the phone.

  “You! You don’t know what you’ve done,” Gloria squealed.

  “Sure I do. I know they don’t mind crime when they instigate it and get paid for it. I also know they won’t take kindly to having their reputation used, being made a laughing stock and not getting the rewards. I think we all know that’s never going to fly. I reckon you have about thirty minutes to make state lines. Here’s five grand to see you on your way.” Jonas pulled an envelope from his pockets and threw it at them. They didn’t argue or bitch for long. They all scrabbled for it. There was little honor amongst thieves and whoever got their paws on it first would end up calling the shots for the others. “You know who I am?”

  Both of the women nodded, but the guy just looked on.

  “Good. So you’ll know that I don’t make empty threats. You come anywhere near Carly again and I will hunt you down and deliver you to their compound. You no longer have a daughter, granddaughter or son. If Carly even suspects that she’s seen any of you, I will make good on that. Now fucking leave.”

  None of them countered his threat. They just got up and scuttled to the car they’d originally used. Only when the dust was swirling around them as they headed back down the track did I breathe again, and by breathe again, I mean collapse in a sobbing heap on the floor.