Everything at Once -- (Animal Kingdom -- Craig/OC)

Chapter 10

By the time I got to Smurfs place my whole body was shaking, my hands were sweating as I sat in the front seat of the car. Slowly opening the door and making my way to the backyard I saw her sitting at the counter making a late night drink. I opened the door and stood there, her eyes filling with joy as she motioned for me to come closer to me. "Where's Craig?" She asked me as I looked away for a moment.

"Some of Renn's friends have him. They want thirty grand in exchange for his life." I told her as she just let out an exhausted sigh, "I told him not to ever get messed up with that broad. She was always the wrong sort of trouble." She told me as she pulled her purse up and onto the counter counting bills. "She was cheap, in all the ways a woman can be." She informed me as I swallowed hard.

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked her as she smiled, "Of course I will sweetie." She told me as she stood up and headed out to the cars with me. "We'll take my car, alright? When we get there, I'll deal with his friends. You just get my baby back to the car, and take care of him when we get home." She smiled softly to me.

"Of course anything." I told her.

Once we got to the bar, we got out of the car and headed to the door. Smurf knocking four times before a younger guy opened the door. "Got the money?" He asked her as she just stared at him. "We're here for Craig." She told him as we walked through the back door and stood in an opening. "We called her, not you. Who are you?" The guy asked her, "His mother."

There were three or four guys standing around what looked like a kitchen, with Craig sitting naked on a chair off to the one side. Seeing him like this broke my heart, though I told him not to come to this party. He knew better. He should have known not to trust anyone associated with Renn. Least of all after her death, these people would always be loyal to her above all others.

"Man you called your mom?" He shook his head as I slapped the guy hard across his face. "Want me to call yours?" I asked him as he looked shocked at me. "I called his mother, what phone did you give him after you called me?" I snapped as Smurf took hold of my hand. "Shh, it's ok baby." She told me with a smile.

Smurf still holding my hand walked us closer to Craig, his head looking down avoiding eye contact with either of us. "What'd you do baby?" She asked him softly as I knelt down next to him placing my hand on his knee. He smelt rank, they likely tortured him until he urinated himself, along with whatever else they either did to him or got him to do to himself. He looked utterly ashamed.

"He ripped off our cousin and left her there. She died." One of the boys standing off to the side sassed Smurf. "Craig?" Smurf asked him again as he slowly raised his head to look at me first before looking up at his mother. He nodded, "It wasn't on purpose." He mumbled.

Smurf pulled out the money she had counted earlier and tossed it to one of the guys as I stood up looking over at her. She looked pissed off, one of the guys moved closer and cut the zip ties holding Craig to the chair, he whispered his thanks to her only to receive a slap to the face. One of the boys near me whispered something as she just glared at Craig. "I don't think I even need to say what you put her through tonight." She remarked to Craig as he just let his eyes fall on me.

She moved around me slowly walking over to the one guy, staring him down as she remarked to me to get Craig dressed. I had luckily for Craig brought him something to wear since I really didn't know what state he would be in. Craig stood up and looked at me softly, his face filling with more shame and embarrassment as I wrapped my arm around him , Smurf asked him for his keys taking his bike from him as she told us to go wait in the car.