|
Post by celticbear on Jan 8, 2014 23:19:42 GMT -5
Oh Boy! Fireworks are about to explode!
|
|
mkk59
Wicked Fan
Posts: 94
|
Post by mkk59 on Jan 12, 2014 14:41:23 GMT -5
When Nicole finally came to, she had a splitting headache, her hands and feet hurt so badly, and her mouth was completely dry. She was confused and had no idea where she was or what was going on. She shook her head violently a few times to clear the fog. It was then that she realized that she was in the trunk of a car. She could feel the bumps every time the driver went over one.
She began mentally analyzing her body from head to toe. She knew from her headache that she at least had a bump on her head but the stiffness of her eye lids told her that it was more likely a big gash that had stopped bleeding a while ago. Using her tongue she probed around her mouth to find that there was a gag tied tightly around her head. That explained why her neck hurt so badly. She was having a hard time feeling her hands or feet and what she did feel was painful. Trying to move all four appendages she realized that they were bound, her hands behind her back and her knees bent with her ankles and wrists tied. Trying to move her legs, she realized that not only were they separately bound but that her ankle restraints were connected to her wrist restraints.
The only thing she could do is cry. As she cried, Nicole remembered the fight she had with Riley. If you could call it a fight. He was always so understanding. She hated thinking that those words may be the last she ever heard from him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riley finally made it back to the hotel after what seemed like hours in afternoon traffic. He had never been so grateful to see the busses in his life. George was right, living in that close of a space isn't for everyone. Riley was positive it wasn't for him.
Reaching the elevator he was surprised to find it completely empty. Riley welcomed the silence of the ride from the lobby to the tenth floor. It gave him time to figure out how he was going to explain to Nicole why he was staying, that it was purely out of respect for Sharon, and try to convince his heart of the same reasoning.
“What am I doing?” Riley asked the empty elevator, banging his head back on the wall in exasperation.
When the doors finally opened, he walked into chaos. People were shouting and running from here to there. Sharon stood in the middle of the hall trying, unsuccessfully, to reign everyone in.
“What's going on?” Riley asked her.
“Oh Riley! I'm so glad to see you! It's Nicole! No one can find her.” She was trying to keep the hint of panic from her voice.
Riley's heart dropped. He'd left her and the man that was after her had struck again. He could feel himself start to panic. 'Keep it together' he kept telling himself. There was a whole production of people that needed him to know what to do. Taking a deep breath, he whistled a shrill whistle.
Once everyone was still and silent, he spoke. “Everyone. Get everyone in the hall. Empty all rooms. NOW!”
The silence ended as quickly as it began as everyone started running around, knocking on doors, and getting everyone into the hall. Riley turned to Sharon. “Do you still have the list of everyone on tour with you, cast and crew, handy?” Sharon nodded. “Good. Please go get it. We're gonna do an old fashioned roll call.”
Riley's heart was in his throat as he did the roll call. As suspected, Nicole was the only one missing. Each person reported that she wasn't in their room, even her room mate Angie.
|
|
|
Post by barbt on Jan 12, 2014 15:11:03 GMT -5
Poor Nicole! And poor Riley, too!
|
|
|
Post by celticbear on Jan 12, 2014 18:44:44 GMT -5
Please let Riley find Nicole in time! I want things to work out between them!
|
|
mkk59
Wicked Fan
Posts: 94
|
Post by mkk59 on Jan 14, 2014 0:37:42 GMT -5
Peter was nervous. The traffic in the city was outrageous and he had a kidnapped woman in the trunk of his car. She should be waking up from the knockout blow he gave her back at the hotel, he hoped. Never would he do anything to harm her intentionally when it wasn't necessary. His father had taught him that.
Sitting at the red light, Peter took the time to look at the map he had in the passenger seat for the millionth time. He knew the route he was going to take to the home he had gotten for his new love and himself.
“This time I won't lose you!” he said to himself more than to the woman in his trunk with a snarl on his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole didn't think she had another tear in her to cry. She wanted her life back. She wanted Riley back. Hiccuping back a sob, she tried in vain to pull at her restraints again. Her entire body just sunk into the carpeting of the trunk with exhaustion as she drifted off to sleep. For the first time in months, her dreams weren't filled with nightmares but stunning memories.
There was Riley, standing right in front of her, with flowers in his hands. Lilys. Her favorite. Smiling shyly, she took the bouquet from him and took a deep breath, inhaling the exhilarating scent. “What are these for?” she asked.
“I saw them and they reminded me of you.” Riley said.
“They're beautiful! Thank you!” She said, putting the vase on the counter of the tiny kitchenette in the bus. She took the few steps forward to embrace the man that had saved her more times than she could count in the last couple of weeks.
Riley gently allowed the woman to be enveloped in his arms. He inhaled the scent of her shampoo. Lilys. Just like the ones that he had gotten for her. A scent that would forever have a different meaning to him. “Come to dinner with me?” he whispered in her ear.
Nicole raised her head, smiling and nodded her agreement. “One request?”
“Anything.”
“Beer and pizza.”
Riley laughed. “That's two requests but I think I can manage that.”
Nicole laughed as well.
She awoke with a single tear falling from her eye. It took her a minute to realize that the car had stopped. Her fears resurfaced as the trunk lid popped open, making her come face to face with her kidnapper.
“Now, love, I need you to promise to be quiet,” he said as he sat her up, “and I'll take off your gag.”
Nicole nodded numbly, indicating her intention to obey.
Peter carefully untied the bandana from around her head, being sure not to take any hair with it.
Nicole fought the urge to scream. 'Stay calm' she kept telling herself. “What... What's your name?” She whispered.
“I'm Peter.” he told her. “Peter Callahan.”
“Hi Peter. I'm Nicole.”
“I know.” he said, a wistful look in his eye. This frightened Nicole to the point of trembling.
Peter looked at her. Really looked at her. Nicole found herself flinching away every time his eyes ran over her body. Then he looked in her eyes. “Now listen. I don't wanna hurt you. And I won't if you listen to what I tell ya to do. Got it?”
Nicole nodded. She remembered what Riley had told her the night after their first date.
Riley and Nicole returned from the pizza place a bit buzzed from all the beer and laughing hysterically at everything. Both were appreciative that they were staying in a hotel that night since they didn't want to wake the entire bus of sleeping musicians.
Once inside, their buzz quickly wore off. “Movie?” Riley asked after Nicole returned from the bathroom in her pj's.
“Sure. Anything particular?” She asked.
“Nah. Nothing really hits me. You?”
Scrolling through the pay per view list, Nicole found a recent romantic comedy that she'd been wanting to see. “This one okay?”
“Sure. Makes no difference to me. Let me go get comfy and we'll start it.” Riley replied.
Nicole nodded and settled back on her bed, her iPad in her lap checking her social networks.
They sat together on the bed watching the movie. Neither got to the end before they fell asleep, Nicole's head resting on Riley's chest and his arm encircling her shoulders.
Suddenly the nightmares began and Nicole began tossing and turning, even hitting Riley once or twice and waking him up. “Nic?” he asked groggily.
When he got no response he continued to watch her until he could see her distress, her eyes moving violently under her closed lids. He continued to try to wake her gently, even to the point of shaking her a bit, but nothing was working.
All of a sudden Nicole sat bolt upright, trembling in fear. “Nic?” Riley asked again, quietly.
She turned toward the voice that spoke her name, nothing registering after all of the gruesome imaged that had just flashed in her mind. She felt like she was freezing even though her tank top was sticking to her shoulder blades.
“Nic? It's Riley.” he said nervously. She still didn't answer even though his voice was starting to register more. “Do you need some water?” he asked. Nicole just shook her head no, her eyes still wide, unfocused and unblinking. “A blanket?” Again she shook her head. “Should I get someone? Laura? Angie? Sharon?” Nicole continued to shake her head.
It took a good hour for Nicole to come out of her trance, every moment of which Riley stood close watch on her. He knew she was in a mild state of shock and if it got any worse, he'd have no choice but to call someone to get her to the hospital. For now, he was allowing her to process what she had seen in her dreams and when she was ready, he would be there to talk about it with her.
Eventually she did come out of it, but she refused to go back to sleep, afraid of the images that would once again fill her head. “Riley? Can we just stay up and talk?” she finally asked meekly.
“Sure.” he said, sleepily. “But I can't guarantee I won't try to doze off on you.” He grinned.
“Are you just humoring me?” she asked, seeing how exhausted he looked.
“No I'm not. I'm giving you the opportunity to tickle me or draw on my face with a marker if I do. Whatever you girls do when you're at a sleepover.” he chuckled, causing Nicole to smile.
After several moments of silence, “Riley? Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.” he said, sitting on the edge of his chair.
“Is that guy gonna come after me again?” she finally asked the question that had been burning in the back of her mind ever since she was rescued from that room.
Riley took a deep breath. “Well... Do you want me to be honest or tell you what you wanna hear?” he asked.
“Honestly.”
“Yes.” he whispered. “I fully believe he will. But I think if you're prepared and can keep yourself composed you'll be okay if he gets past all of them and me.”
Nicole took a minute to digest what was just told to her. This guy wasn't going to give up. But Riley said there was hope. “What do I need to do?” she asked with renewed determination.
“First and foremost,” Riley said, sitting a little straighter and his eyes more alert, “whatever happens, stay calm and do as he says. If he says to keep quiet, keep quiet. If he wants you to go somewhere, do it. The longer you appease him, the less likely he is to harm you and the more time you have to be safely found.”
Nicole processed the information, making sure to clearly remember it. “Anything else?”
Riley thought back to his training in the academy and from experience, “Engage him in conversation. Humanize him. Ask him about himself and tell him about you. Do anything you have to to keep him calm.”
Nicole had made sure she remembered everything Riley told her that night. She wasn't about to do anything to make this man, Peter, want to hurt her.
|
|
|
Post by celticbear on Jan 14, 2014 23:00:33 GMT -5
Good for Nicole, for remembering Riley's advice! Now let's hope Nicole can follow it and give Riley the time he needs to rescue her!
|
|
mkk59
Wicked Fan
Posts: 94
|
Post by mkk59 on Jan 17, 2014 0:37:21 GMT -5
Sharon and Riley had gone into her room to call the police. Riley had explained how he couldn't get involved in an official capacity since he was technically out of his jurisdiction. Once the police had arrived, Riley took them, and Sharon, to his room to look into his files.
“I don't have a good description of the guy, but this is the sketch we came up with after the first attempt at kidnapping her.” Riley said, all business, handing over the sketch. “These are all of the notes and reports made in Atlanta when it first happened. The hospital report is in there too.” he said, handing over the file.
“This has also happened in Georgia? You know what that means?” the officer asked Riley.
He nodded. “Yes. That means we have to call the FBI. I know. I've put in a call already but you would probably have more pull than I do, since we're in your area now. Sharon here has also called Immigration and the Irish consulate.” he added.
The officer nodded his understanding as he read over the file. “I'll head back to the precinct and put in a call of my own to the feds.” As he turned to leave, he looked at Riley and Sharon, “Why don't you two try to get some rest? You both look exhausted.”
Sharon left Riley soon after to settle the rest of the group with them and Riley stretched out on the bed. His thoughts drifted to a beautiful brunette with a killer smile.
“Nic! C'mon! We're gonna be late!” Riley called to her. They'd been on the road for a little over three weeks and the two of them were spending more and more enjoyable time together. This night in particular, Riley had planned a romantic evening for the two of them.
“Okay.” Nicole said, walking out of the bathroom, “How do I look?”
Riley was stunned. She was wearing a pink hued see through flowing tunic over a black tank top with jean leggings that had crystal designs at the cuffs and silver ballet flats. Her hair was pulled back in some fancy bun at the nape of her neck. She walked into the room to grab her black leather trench coat and her purse.
Nicole had noticed that Riley had said nothing about how she looked and she worried that maybe he didn't like it. It was too late to change now though. “Ready?” she asked him.
Nicole's question had pulled Riley from his musing. “Huh.. oh right.. dinner.” he said, causing her to giggle.
“Sorry, Nic. You just look so stunning.” he finally said as they made their way to the elevator.
Nicole laughed and playfully punched him in the arm. “Nice save, officer.”
The elevator and the car ride were comfortably silent. Riley even took Nicole's hand and she didn't push him away.
“Here we are m'lady.” he said, opening her door in front of the newest sushi bar in the city.
She was shocked as she took his had to assist her out of the car. “How did you get a reservation here? Sharon tried and they were booked solid for the next two months!”
Riley grinned. “A gentleman never reveals his secrets.” He winked “But a badge may have had a little to do with it.”
“Isn't that abuse of power?” she laughed.
“Only if it's not for a good reason. And this was for the best reason ever.” he said, offering his arm to her, grateful when she took it. The evening was starting off perfectly.
Before they knew it, their date was over and they were back at the hotel. “I had a great time tonight Riley. I really needed it.” Nicole said, taking Riley's hand in hers.
“I did too Nic.” he replied, turning to face her. Their eyes locked for what seemed like hours.
“You know, a gentleman always walks a lady to her door.” she whispered, grasping both of his hands.
“We're already there.” he whispered back.
“Oh.” she said as she pulled him in closer. “you know, I've been wanting to do this all night.” she said as she leaned up on her tip toes to kiss him.
Riley's head spun. He had been fighting the urge to just wrap his arms around her and kiss her all night and here she was, instigating it. The kiss lasted long after it should have and soon the pounding in his head would cause him to break it. The pounding just kept getting louder and louder and more incessant.
Riley finally broke contact and leaned his forehead on hers, but the pounding didn't go away even after catching his breath.
“Who is making all of that crazy noise?” he finally said, irritated.
Nicole looked at him. “Riley!” her mouth shouted but it wasn't her voice coming out. “Riley!” the voice shouted again as Nicole was slowly disappearing from in front of him.
“RILEY! GET UP!” he heard as he finally came to. After realizing where he was and what was going on, he raced to the door to find Declan, the band's drummer, breathless and about to pound on the door again. “They found her! They found Nicole!”
|
|
|
Post by celticbear on Jan 17, 2014 18:59:02 GMT -5
Glad the Feds got involved! Loved Riley's flash back to his date with Nicole! Nicole kissing Riley first was a great scene! Also Loved how Nicole's outfit flustered Riley Speechless! Now bring on the Rescue!
|
|
mkk59
Wicked Fan
Posts: 94
|
Post by mkk59 on Jan 26, 2014 0:38:32 GMT -5
I'm so sorry it's so short. I've been insanely busy with another project for the last almost 2 weeks. But I'm back at it. I guess my mind has decided to take out the story a bit longer... so here goes.. Enjoy!
It felt like it had been years since Nicole was leaving Neil's hotel room, crying on his shoulder about Riley. It was so strange to be going to the one man that she thought she'd be with forever for love advice. The man that she was going to marry. The man that had fathered her child.
The thought of Ava brought tears to her eyes. Nicole didn't even try to keep them from falling. She silently cried herself to sleep.
“Nicole! Why won't you talk to me?” Riley begged from the other side of the bathroom door.
Nicole found herself sitting on the toilet, her head in her hands, crying freely after their first kiss. “Go away.” she whispered, not even caring if he heard her.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered back. “I just wanna help.” before he stood up and Nicole heard him walking away.
This broke her heart. “I'm sorry too.” she whispered to herself.
Nicole woke, her eyes sore and stiff from crying. She knew at that moment that she was in love with Riley and that nothing would be able to save her heart since he was gone.
“Knock, knock.” Peter said, cracking the door open. “Are you up?”
Nicole tried her best to compose herself. “only just.” she told him.
“May I come in?” he asked, peeking around the door.
Nicole nodded, sitting up in the bed. “I brought you some breakfast.” Peter said.
“Thank you. I'm famished.” Nicole lied, digging into the eggs benedict.
Peter sat in the chair across the room and watched Nicole as she ate. After a while he started fidgeting and cleared his throat.
Nicole stopped her picking through the food and looked up at him. “Peter? Are you okay?”
He jumped at hearing her voice. He didn't want to tell her but it was the polite thing to do and if his parents had taught him anything, it was politeness. “We have to leave here. After breakfast you need to get yourself ready to go. If you cooperate, I won't put you in the trunk.” he said and got up and left, locking the door behind him.
|
|
|
Post by barbt on Jan 26, 2014 9:36:59 GMT -5
Oh, come on! That's not fair! (I understand busy, just teasing!)
|
|
|
Post by celticbear on Jan 27, 2014 0:06:18 GMT -5
Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to write this update! Glad Nicole is following Riley's advice! Now please bit sweet and rescue Nicole from Peter!
|
|