Hold Me Close (Edited Version)

Chapter 24

I felt myself being shaken awake and I opened my eyes drowsily to look up at Ryan. He was smiling at me excitedly. "We got it! We know how to take down your mom," he said.

My weariness from sleep slipped away faster then and I sat up quickly. I blinked away my sleep as I followed Ryan to the computer that Ben was sitting at. I looked over his shoulder in anticipation, eager to see what they had found only for my excitement to fizzle. "This is a Facebook page," I said.

Ryan nodded, still grinning. "It's your mom's private account. Ben is pretty good at hacking. He majored in tech in college." He pointed to a message on the screen a ways down from the top of the page. "She's been talking about a money exchange with someone for the past few months."

"What does that prove?" I asked. "She could be talking about anyone's money."

He pointed to a different message farther down, making a direct quote of the message. "'Once I get him out of the way, I can take the money and leave,'" he said. 

While he gave me a triumphant look, I felt my spirits rise. "When my dad sees this he can't say I'm lying," I said. "He'll have to believe me."

Ryan nodded. "Exactly. Want to head over and tell him now?" he asked.

"Absolutely. The sooner this is over with the sooner I can relax," I said.

We grabbed our stuff and hurried out the door, saying a quick goodbye and thank you to Ben for the help with the research. We walked down the street contently. "I can't wait to be rid of her," I muttered.

Ryan squeezed my hand. "At least you can now. With the proof we have, your dad can't deny that facts anymore," he said.

If I had been paying more attention to our surroundings, I'd have noticed my mother and that guy from the tattoo shop standing on the other side of the street with some men. They had been talking over a couple drinks at a nearby bar, but were now watching us closely as we walked away from them down the block. Unfortunately, I was too preoccupied with the thoughts in my head to see her closing in behind us. We turned a corner and entered an empty street with only a few homeless people wandering the alleys. As we walked under the glowing street lamps, we talked about what I should say to my dad.

"Maybe you should come right out with it and just say it," Ryan suggested.

I nodded, our arms swinging between our bodies as we walked. "Yeah. I think that's probably best," I said.

Ryan chuckled. "Your dad will probably be relieved when he actually hears-"

Suddenly Ryan's voice cut off and he coughed beside me. Even before I got the chance to turn to him, out of the corner of my eye I saw his body jerk backwards. I looked towards where he had just been holding my hand before I felt something get wrapped around my mouth and I was pulled back too. I choked on whatever was gagging me and grabbed for the hands holding me, trying to shout for help. There was muffled shouts and grunts from behind me and I saw the back doors of a large car. I couldn't pull away and I was shoved inside, thrown to the floor and pinned down. When I bit my assailant and managed to turn my head, I saw Ryan next to me. He was kicking and jerking around in anger as he grappled with someone much larger then himself, a strip of fabric being held down between his jaws to keep him for speaking. I felt panic take over and I clenched my eyes tightly shut, able to yell for a mere second before a hand was over my mouth again and I was silence by a knee in my stomach.

I heard voices nearby and then my eyes widened as I recognized the horrible voice of my mother. "I trust you to take care of the rest, so don't disappoint me," she said.

There was a quick reply before Ryan and I were shoved into the car and I heard the doors slam shut. I glanced at Ryan, who had a guy's arm around his neck to keep him quiet, and saw he was looking at me with worry. I shook a little knowing even Ryan was scared, and I tried to sit up. A hand forcefully shoved me back to the floor. "Stay down," they said.