Five Men, A Kid, And A Baby
Story by Daisy

~~*Chapter Eleven*~~

          “So AJ, what has been going on with the two children and the woman seen here in this photo?” The guys were at a live interview and the woman held up a picture from the tabloid that AJ had gotten mad at earlier.

          He stared blankly into it for a moment, trying to block out the memories. They flooded back to him as he realized how good they all looked together, almost like a real family. He stared at Lexy’s blurred face in his arms and Ally’s smiling one in Hope’s arms. He stared at Hope, remembering how she had held him tightly just two days earlier while he cried as he realized that he may never see those two girls again.

          “AJ?” The reporter asked, pulling him out of his trance. It was only then that he realized that the entire audience was looking strangely at him. How long had he sat there like that?

          “Uh, not much.” He spoke into the microphone in a tone that said, no more questions.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

          AJ slid his key into his garage door late that evening. He swung the door open and found the house in shambles. He had been robbed. With his mouth hanging open, AJ surveyed the damage. His big screen TV was gone, his stereo…anything worth value. AJ stared down at the spot where his beloved TV used to sit. In its place was a small leather wallet. AJ bent down and picked it up by the corners, opening it carefully so as not to remove any fingerprints.

          “Joseph Taylor.” AJ read. The name clicked in his mind. Joey, Lexy’s mother’s boyfriend was this Joseph Taylor. AJ eyes flashed with anger. His mind burned with the forming of a plan.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

          “Hope, please do this for me!” AJ grabbed Hope’s hand and pulled her to him. She stared at him with a skeptical look on her face. “Please?”

          “AJ, this might not even work! It’s dangerous! Do you really wanna put me at such a risk?” She sat down in his lap and threw her arm around his neck. AJ thought about it for a second.

          “Hope, that’s a risk we have to take.” His voice shook with his next words. “I need to get Lexy and Ally back.”

          Hope hugged him and ran her hand through his hair. She sighed deeply.

          “Okay. I’ll do it.” AJ placed both of his hands on her sides and pulled her to where he could see her face.

          “Really?”

          “Really.” AJ kissed her softly, stroking her soft cheek lightly.

          “Thank you, Hope.” He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

          “You owe me.”

          “I know.” He laughed, and kissed her again.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

          “Oh! Excuse me!” Hope turned around to find Joe Taylor staring at her with a hard expression. When his eyes took in the beautiful woman that stared back at him, his face softened.

          “It’s alright. We all bump into people sometimes.” There was a hint of flirting in his voice. Hope watched him as he turned away from her and willed herself to strike up a conversation with him.

          “So, do you work here?” She moved beside him and brushed his arm. The touch sent spooked chills up her spine. This was so much harder than what she and AJ had practiced. Then again, AJ had been more than willing to go out on a date with her…

          “Yeah, actually, I do.”

          “Then maybe you could help me.” He turned to her and stared at her with the same piercing blue eyes that Lexy had. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

          “You see,” she said, smiling at him flirtatiously. “I’m having a little trouble finding someone to go to dinner with me tonight.” She flashed him a smile and batted her eyelashes a few times. He smiled back at her.

          “Maybe we should start like this.” He shoved his hand out and Hope jumped back instinctively, then smiled and shook his hand, scolding herself for being so jumpy. “Hi, my name is Joe Taylor.”

          I know, Hope thought, but instead said, “And I’m Hope Weathers.” She shook his hand and grimaced inwardly as he squeezed it affectionately. “So about tonight?” She asked, taking her hand from him.

          “Sounds great. Where were you planning on eating?”

          “Olive Garden. Know where that is?” He nodded. “Great! So, would you meet me there at say, seven-ish?”

          “Sounds great.” The two exchanged numbers and Hope walked out the door and walked straight to the car where AJ waited for her.

          “So?” He asked anxiously, speeding away from the parking lot before Joe had a chance to even glance out the window at them. AJ pulled into the parking lot at the city park and turned off the engine. He turned to Hope. She was shaking.

          “Hope? Are you alright?” AJ’s voice was gentle and he scooted over towards her, taking both of her shaking hands in his own. A small tear trickled down her pale cheeks. AJ brushed it away and let his hand linger on her cheek. She closed her eyes.

          “AJ, I just made a date with the man that took Lexy and Ally from you and robbed you.” She opened her eyes and leaned towards him. “What if this goes wrong?” Her eyes grew wide and glossy with tears.

          “Hope, nothing will go wrong.” AJ pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, deeply inhaling the fresh scent of her shampoo. He stroked her hair.

          “Promise?” She asked, pulling slightly away from him. AJ wiped her face clear of tears.

          “I promise.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. They sat staring at each other for a few moments. Finally, AJ said, “Ready to go home and get ready?” She nodded and AJ started the car after giving her one more hug.

          AJ drove to Hope’s apartment and followed her in. He sat on the couch and watched TV while she took a shower. Ten minutes later, Hope came out of the bathroom with a small towel wrapped around her body. AJ let out a low whistle and Hope blushed.

          “Trying to tempt me?” AJ asked, his voice husky.

          “I have to get my dress.” Hope said, motioning towards the closet at the end of the room. As she did, her towel dropped just a bit and AJ bit his lip. As many times as she had seen AJ almost completely nude during costume changes, AJ had never seen her with so little clothes on.

          “I don’t think you need a dress if you wanna impress the guy.” Hope dropped her head, smiling, and walked to the closet. She rifled through, desperately clutching at her towel with one hand. She had just grabbed the hanger with her dress on it when she felt AJ’s chin drop lightly on her shoulder and his arms wrap around her waist loosely.

          “What are you doing?” She whispered, not trusting her voice. Her skin was covered in goose bumps as AJ answered her with a kiss on her neck. She inhaled deeply.

          “Come here,” AJ said quietly, turning her around in his arms. He let his eyes take in all of her and mentally willed the towel to hit the floor. He leaned in and kissed her mouth, softly at first, then gradually deepened the kiss. Just as his hands began to slide the towel slowly down her body, his cell phone rang loudly, making the two of them jump apart nervously. He grabbed it out of his pocket and turned around to answer it. Hope grabbed the dress and ran to her room.

          “Hello?” AJ sighed as he heard the door of her bedroom shut softly.

          “AJ? Dude, where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for so long!” Nick’s static voice came over the line.

          “I’m at Hope’s apartment, why?”

          “Whatcha doin’ over there?” Nick asked mischievously. “Did I interrupt something?”

          “Just about.” AJ sighed as he remembered how good Hope’s lips had tasted. “What do you want?”

          “We were supposed to play basketball at my house tonight, remember?”

          “Oh yeah. Sorry. I’m just kinda caught up in something.”

          “What?” Nick asked.

          “Getting Lexy and Ally back.”

          “How are you going to do that?”

          “Well,” AJ took a deep breath and related the plan to Nick. “Hope is going to go on a date with the guy tonight, getting him out of his house. Remember how he left his wallet at my house when he robbed me? Well, I have his address. So while he’s with Hope, I’ll be making a quick stop at his place to pick up my girls.”

          “Don’t you think that’s a little dangerous?”

          “What other choice do I have? He said he’d kill them if I called the police.” AJ ran a hand through his hair.

          “Give me his address.”

          “Why?”

          “Just in case.”

          “Okay.” AJ gave Nick the address and hung up the phone just as Hope emerged from her room. “Wow.” AJ whispered as he looked at her. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

          “Thanks.” Hope said, walking over to him. He kissed her lightly and wished that they could finish what they had started.

          “We have to go. It’s already six forty.” Hope reminded him. AJ nodded and drove to Olive Garden where he dropped her off at the front door. He then waited in the parking lot until Hope gave him the signal that he was there. He drove off hurriedly to Joe Taylor’s house, desperate to pick up his two girls.

          AJ walked up to the house and checked the front door. Locked. He moved around to the back of the house and sighed with relief when he found that the door was jammed and hadn’t been locked. He shoved the door open and stepped in. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness, not wanting to touch anything in the house because of his fingerprints.

          “Lexy?” He called softly. He walked towards what he thought was a living room. “Lexy?” He called louder this time.

          “AJ?” A distant voice called so softly that he almost didn’t hear it.

          “Lexy?” He called, stumbling around in the darkness.

          “AJ!” He followed Lexy’s cries to a small room in the very back of the house. He turned the knob but found that it was locked. He shoved his shoulder into the door a few times and it finally gave way.

          “Lexy.” AJ breathed with relief, running to the child. He wrapped her in a hug and tried to pick her up, only to find that she had been handcuffed to a pipe that was sticking out of the wall.

          AJ, instead, picked up Ally and hugged her tightly. “I’ll get you out of here, Lexy. I promise.”

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

          “So how long have you been working there?” Hope took a sip of her wine, and immediately set it down when she saw that her hand was shaking.

          “About ten years now.” He answered.

          “That’s great! It’s so nice that you’re doing something you love and…”

          “Excuse me?” A small voice interrupted Hope. She turned to look at a teenage girl staring intently at her.

          “I knew it was you!” She suddenly exploded. Hope’s brow furrowed with confusion. “You’re the girl that was with AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys with those two girls in the airport! Weren’t you? Weren’t you?”

          Hope’s eyes grew wide and her head whipped in Joe’s direction. His eyes were shooting flames at her. She got up from the table and began walking toward the door, ignoring the stares she was getting from people in the restaurant. Just as she was about to leave the place, Joe’s hand clamped on her neck and he held her like a vise.

          “You’re coming with me.”

Chapter Twelve
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