Five
Men, A Kid, And A Baby
Story by Daisy
~~*Chapter Twelve*~~
“Where is the key to these things?!” AJ yelled in frustration. He
threw the desk drawer that he was holding on the floor. He had searched the
entire room for a key to the handcuffs that Lexy was bound by but had come up
with nothing.
“Can you pull out the pipe?” Lexy asked.
AJ stared at the pipe, following it with his eyes. It, like the home, was
pretty old. If he pulled hard enough he could pull it out of the wall and Lexy
could slide off the end. But then they would be overwhelmed by the fast flow of
the water. AJ shrugged. He had no other choice. He had just wrapped his arms
around the pipe when he heard the door of the room swing open. He glanced up to
find Joe standing there.
“Oh shit,” AJ muttered, turning pale.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Joe asked, not moving
and therefore blocking AJ’s only exit.
“I’m taking my two daughters back with me. Where they belong.” AJ
said, sticking out his chest. He sized up Joe. Yup, he could take him if
that’s what it came down to.
“I don’t think so.” Joe reached behind him and pulled Hope into
AJ’s vision. Her beautiful dress was torn and her makeup was smeared with
tears.
“Hope.” AJ said, moving towards her. He stopped dead in his tracks
when Joe pulled a long knife out of his pocket and held it dangerously close to
Hope’s throat. She bit her lip as she felt the cold steel of the object
slightly touching her skin.
“Now, I suggest that you grab the girl and leave without anybody
getting hurt.” Joe’s voice was a growl now as he advanced on AJ slowly.
AJ looked at Hope’s scared eyes, then turned to find Lexy and Ally’s
eyes with the same expression in them. All three pairs held absolute fear. AJ
shook his head. He couldn’t leave any of them behind. But what choice did he
have?
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Twenty-seven oh three. Nick read from the paper he held in his
hand. He shut the car off and walked to the front door, surprised to find it
open. He walked in quietly and stopped when he heard a small scream far in the
back of the house.
“That can’t be good,” Nick thought, suddenly thankful that he had
decided to help AJ out. He walked silently towards where the scream had come
from and stopped just outside of the lighted room and gaped at the scene before
him. Hope was being held hostage with a knife to her throat and from where he
was standing, he couldn’t see AJ or the girls.
“Please, would you like me to pay you money? I can give you whatever
you want.” Nick listened as AJ pleaded.
Without thinking, Nick ran up behind the man and quickly knocked the
knife away and grabbed Hope, pushing her back down the hallway that he had come
down.
“Nick!” AJ yelled. He bent down and quickly grabbed the knife that
had slid in front of him. He looked up just in time to see Joe punching Nick in
the face. AJ ran over to Joe with the knife in his hand and stopped just in
front of him, the knife threateningly close to Joe’s heart.
“Where’s the key?” AJ asked through gritted teeth. But as he said
that, a small chain glittered on his neck. AJ grabbed it and found the key on
the very end. He broke the chain with Joe’s neck and handed the key to Nick.
“Hope, get my cell phone and call the police.” Hope reached into
AJ’s pocket with shaky fingers and began to dial. AJ stared menacingly into
Joe’s eyes as he held the knife to his heart.
“Please come to 2703 Bent Lane….a kidnapping…we’ve got them and
we have the man that took them…holding him with a knife…yes, thank you.”
Hope hung up the phone and bent down to envelope Lexy in a hug just as Nick
freed her.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered. They sat silently
for only a few minutes before they heard the wailing of a siren in the distance.
AJ waited for them to arrive. When they did, he reluctantly dropped the
knife as they handcuffed Joe. He held both girls in his arms as they watched Joe
be taken away. Hope slid her arm around his waist and hugged him from behind.
AJ’s eyes met Nick’s and he silently thanked his friend for saving his life.