Trapped: Murder on My Mind

JJs POV

My thoughts are racing a mile a minute while we drive through town, our destination? 

Tanny-fucking-hill. 

The one place we felt like Rafe would take Willow and Emmy, at least we hope it's that easy. I'm about ready to set the world on fire to find my girls. I'll do anything to get them back. Anything. We're one down, Kie got taken by Shoupe when we passed the wreck of her dads truck, so now I only have Sarah, John B, and Pope to help me find my girls. 

"This is bullshit." I punch the seat in front of me, "We fucking left them."

"JJ, there's nothing we can do about that," Sarah rubs my back, "she will understand that things were hectic, right now we need to focus on finding her."

"If he touches her," I say in a low voice, "I will fucking kill him. If he hurts them... he's done. I'll do it with my bare fucking hands."

"Okay." Sarah looks at me with a worried expression, "Lets chill with the murder talk, we're here." 

We jump out of the Twinkie and hide behind the stone wall on the outskirts of the property, there's that fucking box truck my girls were kidnapped in. The truck stops right in front of the front doors, I can see Willow moving around inside while Rafe walks around and pulls her door open.

"Stay low." Pope whispers. 

My heart clenches when I see Willow crying while she begs Rafe to give Emmy back to her after taking the car seat from her shaky hands, my fists ball at my sides as anger settles inside of me. 

Murder on my mind.  My girls, in the hands of a killer rapist. 

Rafe towers over her, saying something we can't hear, she seems to give up on getting Emmy back, hanging her head when he puts his hand on her lower back and guides her inside his house. 

He shouldn't have his hand on my girl, or be carrying my daughter as if she was his. 

"We storming the place?" I ask, keeping my gaze on the house, I can see them in the kitchen through the large windows, it looks like Willow is drinking something while Rafe talks to her, her eyes stay glued to Emmy. 

"How much do you want to bet Rafe has the cross in the back of that truck right now?" Pope ignores my question.

I clench my jaw, "Pope, stop with the fucking cross talk for a minute. My girls are in that house with him, do you understand what that means? What could happen if we don't save them?"

"Yeah, no, I know." 

"There's only one way to find out." Sarah stands up and walks towards the opening in the driveway.John B jumps up and stops her, "Hey, hey. Wait."

She gives him a questioning look, "What?""Look, before you volunteer on this death mission, I need to know a couple things.""Death mission... that sounds familiar."He sighs, "Okay, look, Sarah, I just have questions."

"About what?""Us." John B places his hands on her shoulders. 

Pope and I huff impatiently from behind him. Sarah pinches her brows together, "Us?"

"Yeah, Sarah, come on.""You wanna talk about us now?"

"Yes. I... I... I'm sorry, okay?" John B quietly tells her, "I'm... I'm sorry. And... and I should have said it sooner." 

Is this really a conversation to have when his sister and niece are being held captive?John B pulls a piece of his bandana out, the token of their love or whatever, "I want you to have this back. Will you take it?"She gently grabs his neck and kisses him, "Does that answer your question?"He chuckles, "Yeah.""And yeah, I want this back." She takes the piece of Bandana from his hand and walks away.

"Okay. Be safe.""Hey! Do you want me to perform your vows while you're at it?" Pope sasses when John B kneels down next to us. We watch Sarah run inside the house, potentially getting herself into trouble too. Shit, I can't let her get hurt either. She's like my damn sister now and I know how important she is to Willow and John B.  

How the hell is he okay with letting his girl walk in there willingly without backup? 

Before I can jump down from the top of the wall to go to the house to help my girls, a small honk sounds behind us, I turn to see an older man rolling up on a golf cart with a shotgun in his hands. 

Oh for fucks sake. 

"I got double-aught bucks in this thing, so, uh, I can't miss." The man stands up and aims the shotgun at me, "Alright there, buddy, off the wall."

I drop off the wall and hold my hands up."That's it. Yeah."

"Sir, it's not what it seems.""You boys are on the wrong side of the island." He eyes our clothes, as if we were trash, fuck off Kook. "I think I'm gonna call the police.""You don't have to do that, sir."

"I'll decide for myself what I need to do.""Sir, can I just talk to you for a minute?" I take a step forward, "Just to explain. I know you think we're just some derelict kids from the Cut, but we weren't that to Mr. Cameron.""Sure weren't." John B adds. "We were his yard workers, sir." I lie. "We were just waiting for our yard associate-- To... Tommy. Tommy to get backfrom planting a row of flowers for Mr. Cameron's memorial."The guy nods, "Keep talking."

"The Knight of the Rhododendron lives on in here." I gesture to the house, "That's why we planted those flowers."

"Yep. That's why." Pope sadly agrees. "You smell that, right?" I waft air to my nose.The man sniffs loudly, "What is that, night-blooming jasmine?""No, that's more like, um... like, uh... Sir, that's, um... natural Viagra." 

Shit, what am I thinking? I'm usually better at lying but I am so fucking worried about my girls right now, I can't think straight. 

"Okay!" John B blows out air.

"That's what it is."

"Really?" The man excitedly asks. "One sniff and bam!" My hands together with a harsh smack, "It's hammer time! You know what I'm saying?"

Pope grabs my shoulder to shut me up, "Our associate Tommy should be here any minute. We'll be quiet, alright?" He pushes me behind him as he talks. "And we'll finish up here. I'm sorry to bother you.""I gotta get some of those flowers." The man mutters to himself while he climbs onto his golf cart.

How the hell did that work? "Have a good night, sir." Pope and I call out. 

John B shakes his head at me with a smile, "You are so stupid but like not at the same time." "Let's go!" I fling myself over the wall and duck down in the bushes. 

I stay frozen in my spot when I see Rose and Rafe carrying Willow out by her arms and legs, she looks passed out. Wheezie follows after them holding Emmys car seat carrier, her cry pierce my ears, bringing tears to my eyes. What did they do to them? I feel a hand on my back but I cant bring myself to look, my eyes stay focused on the car that my girls are now inside of. 

Willow can't handle anymore trauma, she needs to be at home resting and getting better, she doesn't need to be kidnapped by her stalker who causes her daily stress. Even when we haven't seen him for weeks, she's a mess. I can't even begin to think about how much damage this will cause her fragile mind, or how stressed Emmy will be now. I'm sure this will cause her issues, babies can go through trauma too, she's terrified right now and needs her parents but we can't do anything for her. 

I'm scared to storm the fort, Rafe has his stupid pistol, I don't put it passed him to put a bullet in one of my girls if he see's me, it's not like he hasn't already tried. 

John B curses when they bring Sarah out the same way as Willow. 

Our girls. Drugged and unconscious. 

Rafe jumps into the box truck, as it drives past us Pope takes off and jumps onto the back of it, "Pope!"

I don't chase after him, I can't leave my girls again. John B and I watch as Rose and Wheezie stuff bags into the trunk of the car and hurry to the front seats. John B grabs my arm and pulls me with him, we chase after the car when it starts to drive away.

I get to Willows window and bang on it, "Willow! Emmy!" 

She peels her eyes open, weak from the drugs, I can see her twitch her hand like she wants to move but she cant. Tears run down my face when I look at Emmys red face as she screams, she's so scared and probably hungry. 

Fuck. The car leaves us behind. 

My hands grab John B, helping him up after he fell from running, "Lets get to the Twinkie man, come on." 

"Yeah." He grunts as he follows after me. 

I cant fucking lose them, they're all I have. 

~~~~~

The morning sun peaks over the horizon, reminding me of the sunrises I've watched with Willow over the summer. She'd love this one, it has purple mixed in with the pinks and oranges, she always loves the purple mornings, as she puts it. God she's so adorable.

We've been sitting behind machinery at the port, watching workers load the cross on to a cargo ship called; Coastal Venture. We already saw the girls get taken onto the ship earlier, but we have no idea how to get on without being seen. 

"Howdy." Kie startles us.

I flinch and throw my fists up, making her stumble back so I don't hit her. 

"Whoa, I was about to stab your eyes out." I exclaim, shaking my arms out so I can settle my heartrate.

Kie chuckles, "You look scared as shit." 

"How'd you guys find us?" I ask, ignoring her comment. 

She shrugs, "Geo-located your phone."

"Smart." I mutter, kinda creepy too. 

"You okay?" John B asks Pope, I look over to see blood on his face and mud all over his clothes, "What happened?"

"Rafe, round three." Pope breathlessly tells us.

"Hell yeah man, hit him a few times for me?" I pat his back.

"This was a tie." Pope watches the large wooden box in the distance as it gets lowered onto the ship, "Is that the cross?"

"They're holding the girls hostage." I blurt out.

"We need to figure out how to get on that boat." Kie rests her hand on the middle of my back when she looks over my shoulder. 

I shift away and turn to John B and Pope, "First we gotta get past the goon squad."

"I have an idea," Pope looks passed us, "just trust me." 

John B tries to argue but he ignores him and runs off, we stay put waiting for him to come back.

"How are you doing, JJ?" Kie quietly asks, while stepping closer to me. 

I take my hat off and run my free hand through my hair, "Honestly, not good."

She pulls me in for a hug, her hands rubbing my back, "I'm sorry, but it'll be okay."

"I hope so," I hug her back, "all of this shit is too much, you know?"

She pulls away, though her hands find their way to my cheeks, "I know. Like I've told you before, you can talk to me about anything, JJ, I'll always be there for you."

I nod, taking a step back so her hands fall from my face, "Thanks Kie, I appreciate it." 

She smiles, "Of course." 

I start to worry Pope's been caught until a loud explosion goes off 20 feet or so away. We duck down and watch all the workers run towards the fire, Pope runs up, out of breath and gestures for us to follow him. 

My mind screams at me to slow down and think for a minute when he shows us the open cargo container he wants us to go into. 

"Did you think this through?" I stare into the dark space.

"Yes." Pope stops halfway into the door. "This is the plan.""That's a trap right there. We can't get out once we get in."

How do I get out to save my girls?

"I know!" Pope rushes inside.

I huff and follow him. I said I'd do anything to get my girls back.. even if that means trapping myself in a hot ass metal container.

Kie climbs in after me, "Guess this is better than boarding school."

We all rush to the back and hide behind boxes. 

~~~~~

Willow's POV 

I'm startled awake, jolting forward as the memories from being kidnapped hit my mind. Sarah reaches out and rubs my arm when I wildly look around, my breath leveling when I see Emmy in her arms. 

"Thank God." I breathe out, she hands her to me, so I immediately latch her so she can nurse. 

"We're on a ship in the middle of the ocean." Sarah finally speaks up, my eyes go wide, "I know, I couldn't believe it either."

"Rafe has lost his mind, Sarah." I lean back, pulling Emmy closer to my chest, "Did he hurt her?"

"No, Rose had her when I woke up. I don't think Rafe has been around her, he's not much of a kid person." She tucks Emmys blanket around her, before handing me a bottle of water, "I was awake for a lot of it. I guess they gave me less of whatever drug they had, you've been out almost 24 hours though, well you woke up in a daze a few times supposedly, Rafe was with you for that." 

"Weird." I chug my water down, "I don't feel good."

"You look pale," She feels my wrist where my pulse is, "your heartrate is really high."

"Probably because I don't have my meds, I have to take it every single morning." I sigh and run a finger over Emmys sweet face, smiling when she smiles while nursing, her little ocean eyes locked on mine, "Hi sweet girl, I missed you." 

"I, uh, I let her nurse while you were asleep." Sarah admits, "She was so hungry and we don't have formula."

"That's fine," I reassure her, "I trust you, Sarah, I'm glad you made sure she ate, even if that meant you had to look at my tits."

She laughs, "It was a bit awkward, I had no idea how to get her on you, but Rose helped." 

"Thank you for making sure she was okay."

"Of course, she's my little niece," She smiles while caresses Emmy's head, "I love both of you. We will get back to our boys."

I look out the window, sighing when all I see is the ocean, "Yes we will."

"There's something I have to tell you." Sarah turns to fully face me on the bed, "Ward is alive."

My heart thuds against my ribcage, "How?"

"He used the scuba gear to escape the My Druthers when it blew up. He's behind all of this," She gestures to the ship, "And.. he also is the reason Rafe started obsessing over you."

"Okay hold on," My lips pinch together for a moment while I try to wrap my head around what she said, "Ward told Rafe to go for me?"

"Yeah, he told Rafe to get close to you to use you to find the gold, I guess he thought that if you and Rafe started some kind of relationship then you'd be more willing to share information with him. But Rafe said he didn't want to use you since you were his friend, I think he ended up falling for you and hyper focused on like... obsessing over making you his." 

"He seriously told his adult aged son to go after a highschooler?" I quietly ask, mostly to myself, "How is that okay? I mean it isn't surprising I guess, since he was willing to have me murdered while pregnant." 

"It was wrong." She sighs, "Rafe admitted that Ward was going to make it look like you committed suicide in jail so he could fake a confession for you saying that you killed your dad, Peterkin, and his pilot because of the gold, to make it look like you went crazy or something. But then everything happened how it did instead." 

My chest aches from the pain, my suspicions being solidified after all this time, "No." 

"I'm sorry, Brookie." She rubs my arm, "Ward said he traded the cross for us, and the boys took the deal." 

"No." I cry, my vision funneling into darkness. 

Broken. I feel broken. And tired. 

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