Page 15 of Kidnapped

“What’s up?” Cash asks.

“There’s a fight in the parking lot of Richie’s,” Trick replies with a heavy sigh, “between one of ours and one of Tomlinson’s apparently someone overheard someone call for backup and some more of Tomlinson are on the way.”

“Shit,” Rafe signs.

“We need to get there and break it up before anyone else turns up; the last thing we need is for a full-on brawl,” Luc adds.

“I’ll go,” I offer, “I doubt that it’s going to need all of us to break up, and all of us going might even escalate shit.”

“Good point,” Trick agrees and then turns to look at Rafe, “go with him.”

Rafe was already standing up and getting ready to come with me, so he just nods, and I hide my smile. Trick often sends us out on jobs or to break up fights together, mainly because we work so well together and know each other so well that Rafe not being able to talk doesn’t affect how efficiently we can do whatever job we’re on. I am also aware that there is another reason thatTrick and the others actually try to put us together as much as possible, and honestly, I may not be able to confront that reason right now, but I am damn grateful that they do it. I like spending time with him, and I’ll never turn down an opportunity to do so.

Not unless my demons are screaming things at me, but even then, he somehow seems to understand.

Honestly, he’s amazing and one of the best friends I ever could have hoped to have.

Chapter Eleven

Riot

“I’ll drive,” Rafe signs as we say goodbye to the guys and promise that we’ll let them know if we need backup.

We shouldn’t. There are plenty of our people there, so if we need any help, they will step in too. The trouble is that we’d like to avoid that happening if possible because if our people step in, then more of Tomlinson’s people will step in, and then the fight will just get out of control; that’s why we’re going to try and de-escalate it before it gets to the point of no return.

We both jump into Trick’s truck since neither of our cars are here and head to the parking lot where Trick said the fight was.

“How bad do you think it’s going to be?” I ask.

Rafe shrugs and signs with one hand as he keeps the other on the steering wheel, “Hopefully, not too bad.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m up for being hauled down to the station; my aunt would not be impressed and try to ground me or some shit,” I reply, rolling my eyes and making him smirk.

“Like you’d listen,” he replies, his hand moving quickly as he signs.

I chuckle, “Well, I’d make her think I was listening for as long as I could, and then just deal with the disappointment when she found out I was still doing everything I normally do. She can't enforce it if she’s not at home, and I can’t afford to be grounded and out for the count when we’ve got stuff going on with fights practically every night breaking out between Tomlinson and us, our jobs, and now, with the overdoses and Tomlinson’s most likely involvement. I absolutely refuse to leave you guys short one person when we’re dealing with things that are so dangerous.”

Rafe glances at me and nods, moving his eyes back onto the road as he takes his hand off the steering wheel and signs, “I know.”

There’s no more time for conversation as he pulls into the lot and heads to the back corner, where the crowd is obvious and starting to gain attention.

“This isn’t good,” I say, and Rafe shakes his head in agreement, “Don’t park; they should all recognize the truck, drive it as close as you can, and I’ll hop out, grab our guy, and throw him in the truck. Hopefully, that will stop the fight. there only appears to be the two of them fighting at the moment.”

Although he doesn’t look too happy about the plan, Rafe nods, “Stay safe.”

I smile as we approach the crowd, and people immediately start moving away, some of them leaving and getting in their own cars, which is a good sign and hopefully means that this plan will work.

“I always do,” I reply and then add, “stay in the truck and keep the engine running so we can get him out of here without incident, the last thing we need is for the Tomlinson guy to try and follow him. We need to get him into the truck and away from the fight so he can calm down.”

“Got it,” Rafe replies, looking even more worried now that he’s staying in the truck, even though he knows that I’m more than capable of dealing with one little fight.

As he stops the truck, getting me within a couple of meters of the fighting pair, who haven’t even noticed that there’s a truck so close to them, he undoes his seatbelt, and I know that it’s in case he needs to get out of the truck and help me. Everyone has now scattered and decided to leave, which, to be honest, is a relief. As I said before, I really didn’t want to deal with a full-on massive fight; I don’t really have the energy for it, amongst other reasons.

I jump out as soon as the truck stops, pulling the door to the back seat open quickly, then stride toward the fight. Fortunately, I recognize which one is our guy, and I duck a stray fist as I grab him and haul him quickly backward, throwing him into the truck and hopping in myself before he realizes what’s happened.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?” He yells, looking around, his eyes wild before they land on Rafe in the driving seat, and then moves to see me calmly watching him.

The fight drains out of him, and he leans forward, his head drooping slightly as he catches his breath.

---