An Illicit Gentleman II

                                           Chapter Nineteen

AJ sat against the wall, his head rested against it and it didn’t do the screaming, pounding headache he had any good.  He hadn’t seen Eve in hours but he also hadn’t left the room in hours, not since he woke up here after the fight at the door.  He wondered if they moved her into another room or if she really got away.  His eyes closed and he prayed she got away.  The house was quiet so when one of the men started walking up the stairs he heard it right away.  AJ stared at the door and waited to see which one it was.  The door opened and he saw the average size man walk over to him.  The man said nothing as he picked AJ up and dragged him out of the room.

They had retied his hands and put duct tape over his mouth.  His one eye was not almost swollen shut, his jaw hurt when he tried to move it and his entire chest ached.  The man escorted him down the stairs and shoved him onto the couch, AJ grunted as a sharp pain in his chest took his breath away for a moment.  When he sat up the man reached for the duct tape on his mouth and pulled it off, leaving his mouth stinging.  The kidnapper than pulled a cell from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Let me talk to her.” The man sighed and AJ wondered who picked up, he waited and waited and AJ noticed he was getting impatient.  “So, you did make it home, I was kind of hoping you’d be out wondering around.” The man said.  “What, you have nothing to say, after all that jabbering you did here?” The man replied and that confirmed he was talking to Eve.  AJ closed his eyes and sighed in relief she was home and she was safe, that was all he wanted.  When AJ looked at the man again he saw the kidnapper staring at him.  “Well you’re the one that escaped; I really don’t think you should be allowed to talk to him.” There was another pause.  “Nope, cry all you want sweetheart, you ain’t going to talk to him, put his Mother back on.”  AJ frowned he wanted to talk to her too, just to hear her voice, just to let her know he was ok.  The phone was pushed to his ear and he looked at the small man confused.

“Alex?” His Mother said and he sighed.

“Hey Ma” AJ replied happy to hear her.  “Eve’s there?” He asked.

“Yes darling she’s here.” Denise told him and the words of validation he had been waiting for were like a weight lifted off his shoulders and he started crying.  “How are you, are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” AJ replied trying to calm himself.  “I just wasn’t sure if she was ok or not.”

“She’s ok, she’s at home and safe and you will be too, soon.” Denise told him and her confidence seemed strong, it gave him hope.  Then the phone was pulled from his ear and AJ looked up at the one kidnapper as he started talking on the phone.

“You know where to drop it off right?” The man asked and there was a pause.  “Good, when we get our money, we will drop him off.” The man shut the cell phone and put it in his pocket. 

“Get him ready.” The smaller man said to the bigger man.  He pulled AJ up as the smaller one taped his mouth shut again, and then he was dragged into the back and out the back door.  The man pushed AJ into the back of an SUV and slammed the door shut.  Quickly he looked around looking at his surroundings.  The seats to the car were blocked off by a cage, like someone would have for a dog or like you would see in a cop car. 

A minute later the two kidnappers came out and got into the SUV, the smaller one looked back at AJ and then looked away.  He wondered if they would really let him go if they got the money they wanted but apart of him didn’t want his Mom giving them the money.  They pulled away from the house and AJ watched out the back tinted window as it disappeared down the street.  He got a funny feeling, a feeling of relief glad to be rid of the place.

The big man who drove the car followed back roads and residential streets, the smaller one telling him to stay off the main roads, trying to stay out of site of the police.  They were stopped at a red light when AJ saw a cop car roll up behind the two cars that were behind him.  He panicked a little, they were right there and there was nothing he could do to get their attention.  Then it hit him, the back window.  Quickly lying on his back he brought his feet up and started kicking the window as hard as he could with both feet.  He heard one of the kidnappers screaming at him but he didn’t care, it felt like a couple of more kicks and the window would pop and he was right. 

The window smashed as his legs went through, scrambling onto his knees AJ looked out the back window just as the cop lights came on.  He sighed realizing they saw something and the red, white and blue lights were almost comforting.  The smaller kidnapper screamed at the bigger one to go and the SUV took off into the intersection and the momentum caused AJ to fall back against the back of the car.  He felt the glass on the floor cut his legs up as he slammed into the back door.  When he got his bearings he looked out the back window again and saw the cop car chasing them.

The SUV swerved and AJ rolled to the left side of the car.  His shoulder slammed into the plastic lining and he grunted in pain.  They swerved again and he went flying to the other side.  Just as he looked up and out the side window he saw a red object coming at him, right at him, and as it slammed into the SUV AJ ducked and curled up as the back end sent the car into a spin.  He heard glass shatter and metal crunch, he heard tires squeeling and then he felt the side window slam against his back as the SUV rolled onto its side. 

AJ’s breathing was heavy as he looked around, he realized they had been hit by something and he started to mentally check himself.  He could breathe fine besides the panic that had set in, his head hurt but not any worse than it did before, and his back ached but he could feel his toes.   Looking to the front of the SUV he saw both men starting to move and he realized he needed to get out before they did.  Carefully AJ slid along the side of the car towards the back window he had kicked out and tried to crawl out but he was stopped by a cop with a gun pointed at him.

“Mr. Mclean?” The officer asked and AJ nodded quickly.  The officer shouted that it was him as his partner pulled the big driver out.  “Are you hurt?” The cop asked and AJ shook his head.  The officer reached for his leg and carefully pulled him towards the back window and then helped him out of the wrecked car. 

As the cop pulled the tape from his face AJ took a deep breath in.  “Thank you” He sighed as the officer cut the rope from his wrists. 

“Well get the EMT’s to look at you and try to get you to your family right away.” The officer said as two cops walked by with the big kidnapper.  “Get that eye checked out.”

“Thanks” AJ said as he looked away from the big man back to the cop.

The officer walked him to a car and opened the door.  AJ climbed in and sat down, he relaxed a little, feeling safe inside the cop car and he felt himself wanting to curl up in the backseat and go to sleep.  Resting his head against the window he closed his eyes and thought about the last couple of days.  Now he had lived a crazy life being apart of one of the top selling groups of all time, and a lot of it was brought on by him but these past few days definitely took the cake.  Sirens broke him from his thoughts and he saw an Ambulance roll up, a minute later one of the officers came to the door and opened it. 

“The EMT’s will take you to the hospital now for a check up.” The cop told him and AJ climbed out of the car.  He followed the officer over to the ambulance and stepped into the back sitting down on the bench.  On the way to the hospital the attendant did gave him a basic check up but they wanted him to see a Doctor to check his head and back, just to be safe.

When they got to the ER they helped him out and set him down in a wheelchair.  He was taken inside, checked in and sent to a bed to be examined.  The Doctor came in shortly after and started asking questions about where it hurt, what happened in the SUV, and at the house.  He checked over AJ’s jaw and ribs, he checked out his back and knee, and then he sent him to have a cat scan.  If that came back clear he told AJ he could go home.  A few minutes later a nurse came with a gown for him to change into.  He undressed when she left and wrapped the thin cotton gown around him.  When the nurse came back she had a wheelchair waiting for him.

AJ laid on his back staring at the top of the tube he was surrounded by, he wasn’t sure how long he was in there but he was finding himself getting anxious.  Finally the Doctor came onto the speaker and told him he was done.  Slowly he started to feel the bed sliding out of the tube, when he was out in the open he sat up.  The nurse helped him into the wheelchair and took him out of the room.  He waited for a few more minutes and then the Doctor came out and told him everything looked good. 

As the nurse wheeled him down the ER hallway, back to his room, he saw his Mom and Kevin standing at the end of the hall with Detective Ozwith.  He watched as Kevin let his Mom know he was there and she spun around.  She took off down the hall towards him and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. When she wrapped her arms around him he didn’t care how old he was, it felt good to be there.

“Are you ok?” Denise asked after a moment of crying and holding her son.

“I’m fine, Doc says I can go.” AJ told her as she pulled away.  She frowned at the swollen eye and he lightly smiled.  “Really Ma I’m ok.”