Hope I Never Lose You

twelve

"Hey!" The girl behind me spoke up as the man stopped in front of me. "Leave her alone."

"Shh." I lifted a hand towards her. Staying quiet was in her best interest right now. Fuck, I couldn't think of what to do. I'd never been in this situation before. I was always so careful.

"Wonder how much your husband will pay to get you back? How much the world would pay to get you back?" The man tilted his head. "Give me your phone."

"I don't have it." I whispered. I hadn't thought I'd be longer than ten minutes, so I'd felt no need to bring it with me. 

"Bullshit." The man jerked his chin, and another one of the men came over. "Hand it over or we'll search you."

"I don't have it." I repeated. "I can prove it." I placed my bag on the counter and tipped it out before putting down my keys and my wallet. Then I dug in all my pockets, proving they were empty.  I really, really didn't want them to feel the need to search me. Who knew where they'd put their hands. "See?" I turned out my last pocket. The first man jerked his chin again, and I bit down on the inside of my lip as the second one handed over his gun and then stepped closer. "Touch anything you're not supposed to and I'll..."

"You'll what?" The first guy asked as the second guy patted me down. "Throw money at us? Write a song?"

I stifled a remark back, biting harder on my lip. I stood still and silent as the second guy's filthy hands slowly dragged over my body. But he didn't give anything a try, so I didn't say anything. When he was finished, he nodded to the first guy and stepped back. The first guy chuckled, handing over both guns and then stepping quickly up to me. I stumbled back a step but he grabbed me around the throat, squeezing.

"We were just here for a little cash, but you're worth so much more." He murmured. "Thanks for making this so easy."

In all my life, I think today was the only time I was glad I had cameras stalking me. I lifted my chin.

"I'm worth so much there's paps stalking me outside." I told him. "Good luck getting a block."

His eyes darkened. Releasing his hand, he twisted his fingers into my hair and tugged, dragging me along with him as he headed to the back of the store. I stumbled along next to him, wincing as he yanked me into what looked like a staffroom and threw me down on the ground. My knees burning from hitting the ground, I shuffled over and tried to get up. Then a fist struck my face and I went reeling, my hand flying to my cheek to cover my head. 

"Oh, look at this gold mine." The man chuckled, grabbing my hand and flattening out my fingers.

"No!" I tried to snatch my hand back, realizing he was going for my rings. "No, please, not them!" I pleaded, fighting back. Not those. Anything but those. But he yanked my wedding ring off, followed by my engagement ring. I tried not to cry, I did, but tears fell down my cheeks. "Please, I'll give you something worth ten times more!" I pleaded. "Don't take them!" I didn't care. I couldn't let them go. They represented everything that was ever important to me. My family, my love. "Please!"

"Shut the fuck up or I'll really mess up that pretty face." 

I pressed my lips together, trying and failing not to cry. Not my rings, please. They were so much more than pieces of jewelry to me, so much more. I looked down, unable to watch them being taken from me. God, why couldn't I have just brought security with me? Then I might not be scared that I might not go home to my husband. My husband who needed me, needed help. I couldn't leave him.

"Whatever you want, you can have it." Whatever got me home. I couldn't stand to think of Travis by himself, hurt. If I took too long, he might get up, hurt himself more. "Just let me go. You can have anything, but I need to...

"What did I say about talking?" The man snapped at me, turning and sending the back of his hand across the same side of my face he'd hit before. "You don't get to bargain, so if you open your mouth one more time, I'll make sure you'll never be able to fucking talk again."

God. I nodded, casting my eyes down as he jammed my rings into his pocket. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Why did this have to be the one day I didn't protect myself? Talk about ironic.

"Fuck! Cops are here!" Someone shouted. 

"Showtime for the popstar." The man chuckled. "Up." I quickly rose, my cheek burning. He grabbed me around the throat, jamming his gun into the side of my neck and pushing me in front of him as I stumbled back out into the store.

Everyone else was being held against a wall by two masked men, two more at the doors. There were a few cop cars outside, and those damn paps. If I got out of this, I knew I'd be under heavy surveillance from now on. I blinked away my tears as the man forced me to stand a few meters back from the sliding glass doors and then nodded to one of his guys. They pressed a button off to the side, and the doors slid open.

"Any closer and I'll blow her head off!" The guy holding me yelled through the door. "I want her lawyer on the phone!" No one moved, so he jammed the gun harder against my neck. I cried out as something sharp dug in.

"Okay!" Someone called back. "Okay!" The pressure on my neck released slightly.

I stood there, shaking as I fought off tears. I watched as the cops talked behind their cars, obviously trying to make a plan. Someone got my lawyer on the phone and held it up, approaching the doors. Just as the cop with the phone came closer to the doors, an all too familiar black car pulled up, way too fast. Fuck, no. He shouldn't be here.

Travis was quickly stopped by two cops as he tried to rush towards me, yelling something I couldn't hear as the glass doors slid closed. I pressed my lips together, silently begging him with my eyes to stop. He looked at me, and the expression on his face would have brought me to my knees if there wasn't a gun at me neck. I'd never seen him look so terrified, like his world was crumbling. I knew the feeling.

I didn't listen as the man holding me spoke with my lawyer. I didn't want to know what he wanted. 

Then, without warning, there was a sharp bang and a scream that rang loudly in my ears as something exploded against my neck.