Chapter 17 - Count Your Blessings
When Jonah returned to the hospital, his fake normal persona already in place, he found his sister distraught, walking in circles, a pensive expression on her face and lips. Expression wrinkles were clear on her forehead and around the cheeks making her look older than she was. It was almost as if she had aged twenty years in twenty minutes, a worrying sign on all accounts. He glanced at her new pants, wondering what was that all about.
"Hey... I brought you the clothes you asked for but it seems you already made other arrangements."
"I'm so glad you're back," she said, hugging him. "I think we have another situation on our hands."
"What happened? Is Mom okay?"
"Yeah... I think so. It's Gail."
"What did that bitch do this time?" He snarled.
"The ambulance that brought us here is gone. I think she kidnapped Nick."
"Nick?" He queried, confused. "Oh, you mean the paramedic guy you have a crush on?"
"I don't... Jonah, this is serious! He could be in dire straits right now!"
"I'm not doubting you but let's be reasonable about this for a moment. Why do you think she kidnapped him? Perhaps the ambulance was called to another emergency. Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions, here?"
"Mary would have been in it if that were the case and she's not. I'm telling you, something is wrong! We've seen what Gail can do already and now she has her eyes on him, I'm sure of it!"
Jonah took three steps backward giving her some room to breathe. "Okay, hold on a second. Who's Mary?"
"Nick's co-worker, a witted lady with a terrible taste in food. We had this very enlightening conversation in the woman's bathroom just now. She saw the two of them talking and it looked like she was hitting on him. After everything that happened earlier why would she do that if not to get to me, somehow?"
"Does this have anything to with that other complicated story you still haven't told me about?"
"I think so. Nick and I... well, we've 'known' each other a long time ago, so to speak."
"Oh?"
"He's Gregory's son and if Gail discovered that, I know she'll use him as a weapon to hurt me."
Jonah's mind was blown, even more than he thought possible. "Gregory? The guy you...? Fuck, what are the odds of that?"
"I know. It's like the Universe is conspiring against us today. Everything that could go wrong, does. It's a nightmare!" Tears rolled down her eyes.
"Easy now... we'll get this sorted out."
"What needs sorting?" Another female voice joined the fray. It was Mary, risen from the cesspool of foul stenches, a pair of short shorts replacing her borrowed pants. The frantic tire marks on the ground caught her eye. "Oh..."
"Yeah, it's gone." Angela repeated.
"Well, that sucks. Did your 'friend' or whatever she is, had anything to do with this?"
"That's what we're trying to determine," Jonah replied. "I take it you're Mary. Nice to meet you, I'm..."
"Her brother. Yeah, the family resemblances are obvious. So what do you think happened here?"
"A kidnapping, that's what!" Angela sobbed.
"Are you serious? Then why the fuck haven't you called the police yet? I'm on it."
"DON'T!" the brothers shouted in unison but for different reasons. With a swift move, Jonah snatched the phone from her tired hands and tossed it into his back pocket.
"Hey, what gives?"
"Mary. This... this is a rather delicate situation, one that would become even messier with the cops involved. Gail is our problem, our thorn. We need to be the ones to deal with her before anyone else gets hurt, do you understand?" Angela retorted.
"What she said," Jonah concurred though his conditioned self was more worried with the safety of his Goddess than with anything else. "Besides, the police wouldn't believe us, anyway."
"Okay, what sort of kinky shit are you involved in?" Mary raised her voice, restless hands ready for a fight. "Nick is a sweet guy who never had trouble with anyone as far as I know and now after meeting you lot he's kidnapped?"
"We don't know what happened yet although Angela could be right," Jonah tried to calm her down though that was easier said than done. "We want to explore all possibilities first, that's all."
"It sounds like you're covering your own asses, if you ask me. I don't like people who do that at the expense of others. Nick is my friend. If anything happens to him, you two will wish you were never born."
Having dealt with troubled people for over a decade now, Angela knew her threats were anything but vain. She too wouldn't forgive herself if another innocent soul was compromised because of her poor judgment. Pulling herself together, she said:
"Jonah, give me the phone. I will try calling him again."
"Here you go."
The result was the same, the fear that something was amiss unbroken. Had it been her own device, it would have flown helplessly in rage. Angela took yet another deep breath, trying to recall the mantra of before but, this time the words, failed her. The horrible day was relentless, nothing would ever change.
"Mary... " Jonah mumbled. "Is there any way to know where the ambulance is at the moment? Is there a GPS system we can track or something?"
"I'm sure there is but I'm not too savvy on those things. Unless I call Dispatch but if I do that, I'll be raising red flags for sure and you don't want that, right?"
"Right," Angela agreed as she sat down on the cold ground. She had never been prone to hyperventilation but her breathing difficulties were getting more pronounced, the weight of everything gone wrong crushing her throat and larynx. She needed a sign that things could go back to the way they were before she went insane.
The only one she got was the opposite, another confirmation that the night would get darker before the dawn. When her own phone came to life, the following message displayed on the screen.
"Hey, Angela. You wouldn't believe the fun Nick and I are having right now. If you want to see him again, meet me at Warehouse 15 by the Wolford Docks in half an hour. And don't forget to bring Jonah. If I see anyone else, things will not end well, that's a promise. Bye."
Angela banged her head against the plastic screen and cried.
A few minutes earlier...
Boobs. Perky, round, almost perfect boobs in plain view, tantalizing fleshy orbs of unspoken temptations with the sole purpose of distracting and ensnaring men. Of all the things Nicholas expected Gail to use as a hypnotic focus, her breasts were not one. Not that he was complaining for they were quite...
"... intoxicating?" she said, finishing his sentence as if she had read his mind.
"Something like that..." he agreed.
"Glad you think so."
"Gail, is this really necessary?"
"No, but I wanted to give you a treat. Tell me how beautiful they are, Nick."
"They're beautiful," his gaze locked on the subtle way she played with the aureolae, making them look bigger and juicier. A topless doll on the back of an ambulance was the wet dream of many but this doll wanted more.
"Don't you want to suck them?"
"I... I think I'll pass for now."
"For now, huh? Funny how your cock says otherwise. Come here, Nick. Take a small bite. You know you'll love it."
"As sexy as this is, I need to get back to..."
