Sharkbait Ch. 16-20

"I think so," I said. "I'll need help getting up. The bastard broke my ribs."

"Just stay put then," he said. "The ambulance will be here in a minute. We'll take you to the emergency room at West Florida Hospital."

I brought the phone back to my ear. "Thank you. I'm going to call my Mom now."

"You're welcome, dear."

I made the call to Mom's phone this time. "Mom? The police are here. I'm free!"

"By the Goddess, I'm so happy now," she said.

"They are going to take me to West Florida Hospital to get checked out. You need to meet me there, and bring some clothes," I said. "I look like a mess, and I have a few broken ribs."

"We'll be there, baby. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." I hung up the phone and gave it to the officer. "You'll need this as evidence. It was his phone. I just used it."

As the men started taking photos, the ambulance arrived, and the EMT's brought the gurney through the house. Working together, they lifted me onto the stretcher without hurting my ribs too much. A minute later, I was in the back of the ambulance. "The FBI will meet you at the hospital to take your statement," the Deputy who cut off the lock said.

"Thank you, Deputy," I said.

"We're all glad you're safe," he said before he closed the back doors and smacked it twice to tell the driver it was secure.

The EMT with me hooked me up to the monitors as she talked me through my symptoms. She put in an IV drip, and removed and checked the cut on my cheek that Todd had stitched up. She told me they would have to be re-done. "It wasn't bad to close the gap, but we'll get a plastic surgeon to do it. We don't want a scar to ruin that beautiful face of yours."

I almost laughed, which hurt. "I must look like a boxer who lost bad," I said. "I feel like one too."

"I have to ask. Did those men rape you?"

"I don't think so," I said. "I don't feel any pain or discomfort there." She relaxed at that. "Max hit and choked me before he left yesterday. Todd cleaned me up and dressed my wounds."

She gave me more ice packs for my face and ribs, and after talking to a doctor, she gave me some IV medication to help with the pain. By the time we arrived at the Emergency Room, I felt much better.

Then I saw the crowd waiting for me. Press and cameras were everywhere as the ambulance pulled to a stop, and the staff opened the door. The reporters shouted questions at me that I wasn't going to answer; I just waved one hand and gave a thumbs-up before we were out of sight. "VICKI," Mom said as she came to my side. She was able to hold my hand for a few seconds before she had to let go and return to the waiting area.

They wheeled me into a treatment room where a nurse cut my clothes off and put me in a gown. The staff, including the doctor, was female. The doctor did a full exam before sending me off to X-ray for films of my face and chest. When I returned, Mom was in the room, and the Doctor was looking at my injuries on a large monitor. "Was I right," I asked.

"Close. Two broken ribs, one cracked, and a fractured cheekbone. We'll get you fixed up and out of here in a few hours," Doc said. She taped up my side around the broken ribs and talked to me about what to do and not do. "The cheekbone will heal on its own," she said.

The plastic surgeon came in and replaced the stitches on my cheek. "Follow up with your doctor in two weeks to have them removed," he said as he finished up.

With the medical stuff done, it was time to talk to the FBI. The agents were professional, walking me through what I remembered. I told them what Max and Todd did and how I was able to get Todd to see how he'd been played. "Todd didn't know what his father had in mind for me, and he didn't hurt me," I said.

"He hurt your friend," the senior agent said. "We'll be in touch." He left me his card in case I remembered anything else, then they left.

Mom and Adrienne came back into the room with a nurse and a wheelchair. "Leo couldn't come, he's dealing with the fallout," Luna said.

"You're ready for discharge," the nurse said.

"Not looking like THIS," I said. Mom pulled out a bag, and they helped me put on underwear, a button-up blouse, khaki shorts, and sandals. "I want to see Amy," I said.

"I thought you would. Amy's still in a coma, and you can't go into the room," Adrienne said. The nurse pushed me out into the hall, where I got waves from other nurses as we went down the hall. We went up the elevator to the ICU.

Kai was sitting in the waiting area, and I squeezed his hand as he got up to walk with us. "I'm so sorry about this," I told him.

"It's not your fault," he replied. "I should have gone with you."

"Don't," I said. "Beating yourself up will do no good for anyone. Be strong for Amy; she needs you." I thought I was ready to see Amy, but I wasn't. My best friend was in the hospital bed, her hair shaved, and her head wrapped in gauze. Machines surrounded her, and she looked dead. Only the slow rise and fall of her chest told me she was alive. "No," I whispered.

"Todd let you go, but he bashed the back of her head in," Kai said.

Tears flowed down my face as I looked at my best friend in the world. I could plead for leniency all I wanted, but if Amy died in the course of a kidnapping? Todd would never get out of prison.

And if he ever did get out, Kai would kill him.

Ch. 18

"I need to know what happened while I was gone," I told Adrienne. She thanked the nurse and let her know we'd be staying for a bit. As soon as there were no humans in the waiting area, she guided me to a seat next to Kai.

"Everything went to shit from the time you alerted Leo," my Luna replied. "He jumped up like he'd been shocked, said your name, and ran from the room. I was right behind him, with Kai and his Alphas. We got out of the room, and a tear gas container went off. Leo didn't care; he ran through it and out the front door."

I could feel Kai starting to shake; I reached over and took his hand. I couldn't imagine what it was like for him. Kai picked up the story. "I saw Amy lying on the ground before the tear gas cloud covered her up. I held my breath as I ran in and picked her up. She was limp in my arms; I brought her outside and laid her on the grass. I could barely see from the gas; others had come out other exits and were running to help. I felt so helpless," he said as tears went down his cheeks. "Her blood was soaking the ground, and her pulse was weak."

"They took you away in a catering van they had parked by the door," Adrienne continued. "Leo and a few others shifted and took off after it. They blew the bridge as soon as they passed over it. The cars we sent couldn't continue the pursuit, and the wolves lost him shortly after. You were gone, and there wasn't a fucking thing we could do about it."

"Is that when you called the humans in?"

"I did," Adrienne said. "We needed an ambulance and hospital for Amy, and we don't have the resources down here to locate a van that could be going anywhere. The Chairman found out as I was giving a description of the van and plates to the 911 operator. To be honest, he was pissed at me for bringing them in. We were still having the argument when Leo came back. His nose was running, and his eyes could barely open. He didn't give a fuck about anything except getting you back and Amy to the hospital. He told the Council that they needed to fix the fucking bridge, so the ambulance to get in. His dominance was flowing out of him; even the Council members were afraid of him like this."

"What happened next," I asked.

"They fixed the fucking bridge," Kai said. "They had timbers and wood in the shed, and everyone pitched in to get it done before the ambulance arrived. By then, Leo had convinced everyone to play it straight. We were having a conference, the girls went to the bathroom, and two men knocked out Amy and took you. I went with Amy in the ambulance, and my Luna followed in a car. The rest I watched on holo-television in the waiting room. Sharkbabe's kidnapping was wall-to-wall all day."

Adrienne continued the story. "We gave our statements and waited. The local police and sheriff departments set up roadblocks, watched the airports, and had all-points-bulletins out on that van and never got a sniff of it. The FBI took over the case an hour later. Since you are famous and Leo owns a huge construction company, we went with the ransom angle. They set up taps on our phones in case the kidnappers called."

My mind raced with this; I'd called Leo, and if they were monitoring the call, I'd said things about the Packs I shouldn't have. "Oh shit, I called his phone."

"Leo gave the FBI his business phone number, not his unlisted personal phone," Adrienne said. "He has all the Pack contacts on his personal and couldn't let the FBI access it." I let out a sigh of relief. "Local agents informed your mother, who already knew from the media coverage. The day went on forever with no calls. No leads. Nothing until you called Leo to tell him you were all right."

"What happened to Beta Max? Does the FBI have him in custody?"

Adrienne looked at the floor. "The Council did what you asked; they put Theodore and his Luna in silver and locked them in their rooms with guards. After the FBI heard, they came for the Beta. As soon as he realized the situation, he pulled out a gun and started shooting. He got shot twenty-two times before he went down."

"Fuck," I said. I leaned my head back against the wall; I wanted to see that fucker suffer for what he did, and he'd taken that away. "And Todd?"

"He's in jail, and he was smart enough not to say anything without a lawyer. The Council is sending one to work with a local. He'll make sure this goes no farther than the two of them."

My eyes got wide as I worked through the implications of all this. "Todd has no leverage for a plea deal anymore," I said out loud.

"He tried to kill my mate, the fucker isn't going to live," Kai growled.

"That fucker could have left me to die. Instead, Todd gave himself up before I could be raped, bred, and killed," I replied. "It doesn't matter. It's all in the human system now. You have to let the anger go for now. Amy needs you."

Kai let out a breath. "I know. It's just difficult to control my wolf."

"You should take a break, Kai. Get showered and changed, have a decent meal, maybe let your wolf out for a hard run. Beta Susan can watch over her daughter without you while you refresh."

"You haven't even slept, have you," Adrienne asked. He looked worse than me, and I'd had the shit beat out of me. He didn't answer; he didn't have to. "Come back to the Summit and get some food and rest."

"I can't be that far away," he protested.

"There's a hotel not far from here. Get a room and get some room service and sleep." I finally convinced him, and he hugged me before he walked towards the elevators. I waited until he was gone before I rolled my wheelchair over until I was next to Beta Susan. "What are the doctors telling you?"

She looked just as bad as Kai, but no one was going to tell a Mama Wolf to leave her pup. "Amy had a depressed compound fracture right here," she said as she pointed to a spot just below the back of her head. "The neurosurgery team removed the bone fragments, stopped the bleeding, and moved the larger pieces of bone under the skin of her stomach to keep them viable for re-use. Right now, the key is to control the swelling inside her brain. If the pressure is too high for too long, parts of her brain could die," she said with trembling lips.

"Oh, Luna," I said as I let out a breath. "What is the treatment?"

"They expect the swelling to be gone within a week, at which time they will piece the bones back together. After that, they will bring Amy out of the coma, and we find out what kind of brain damage she might have. That area of the brain handles visual functions. My baby... my little girl might not be able...." She couldn't say any more; it was too terrible to contemplate. I hugged her from one side while Adrienne hugged her from the other. Finally, she dabbed her eyes with a Kleenex and continued. "The doctors said it could be weeks, maybe months before she can leave the hospital."

Months? I couldn't be gone that long. "What about your family?"

"Siena is going to stay in Michigan, but she will be here when Susan has to return home for other reasons," Mom said. "Luke is going to move in with us for the rest of the school year. If it goes into summer, he'll go live with Siena's Pack." Luke was a sophomore, so I could keep driving him to school. "We need to get home, Vicki. Leo doesn't want us around all the other Alphas, and you need to get back to school."

"You'll have a bodyguard anytime you leave the house," Adrienne said.

My face fell. A minder? "What?"

"This isn't negotiable, Vicki. First, there is your newfound fame. I don't know if you noticed the crowd of press outside, and you haven't seen what is going on in the cyber world. You are a celebrity, and celebrities need protection from the weirdos. Wolf or otherwise," she said. "You can't shift with broken ribs, and the Summit only left you in more danger. Colleen Underwood has already been in contact with your school, and as a law enforcement officer, she can carry firearms on or off-campus. She will not leave your sight. If you are going somewhere more public, other Pack Warriors will be along." Colleen was a Deputy Sheriff in Dakota County; the Pack must have swung a deal with her boss to get her assigned to my protection detail. She fixed me with the look that said, 'don't fuck with me on this,' so I didn't bother.

"Fine," I said with that tone that meant it was anything but fine. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as we get to the airport," Mom said. "Your bag is packed and in the car. You need to say goodbye to Amy now."

"Can I go in," I asked.

"Family only," Susan said. She leaned over and embraced me. "I'll give her that when I can."

"Thank you. I know you'll take care of her." Mom let the nurse know we were leaving the hospital, and an orderly came over to push me out to our car. Hospital rules, you know.

The press was gathered in the lot across from the Emergency Room entrance when we were spotted. They started to push forward, which the Police didn't like. "Enough," I said. "Go back over there and behave, then I'll make a statement." The police helped get them off the access road as Mom helped me to my feet. I walked over and stood in front of the cameras as they yelled questions at me.

I looked like crap compared to the last time I'd been in front of cameras. "First off, I would like to thank every person involved in the search for me after my kidnapping. My family and friends, strangers, law enforcement, EVERYONE who tried to find me have my thanks. I would also like to thank the Sheriff's Deputies and EMT's who found me and brought me here. I was lucky that my kidnapper lost his nerve and let me go, and I know so many other victims don't get this ending. There is one other victim that needs your prayers. My best friend, Amy Miller, is upstairs in the Intensive Care Unit with a traumatic brain injury. The back of her head got bashed in to keep her from interfering in my kidnapping. Right now, she is in a coma as the doctors fight swelling in her brain that could have devastating consequences," I said as I wiped away a tear. "Please pray that she makes a full recovery."

They shouted questions over each other, so I pointed at one reporter. "Miss Lawrence, how did you get your injuries?"

"You mean you can tell I got hurt," I said to laughs as I touched my swollen and bruised face. "Yeah, I don't look anything like I did the last time I was on television. The older kidnapper used me as a punching bag while I was chained to the wall. In a few weeks, my face will be back to normal, and my broken ribs will heal. Like I said, I got lucky."

"Vicki, how do you react to people calling you Sharkbabe?"

I laughed, then grimaced as my ribs hurt. "I can't control what people say about me. I'm not a model or an actress; I'm a high school senior with a passion for sharks and shark conservation. Let's just say I don't think I'll be doing any photoshoots for a while."

I answered a few more questions, then as I turned to go back to the car, someone shouted at me. "What do you say to those who say this was all a publicity stunt to boost your career?"

I froze, taking a moment to breathe and push my wolf back before it came out and killed a bitch. I turned and looked at the camera, making the disgust clear in my face. "I'd say that is a sick and twisted thing to believe," I said. "I'd give up everything I have in a heartbeat to watch my best friend walk out of the hospital right now. You should be ashamed of yourself." I turned and got into the back of the car, letting Adrienne buckle me in. We pulled out as the cameras rolled.

"You handled that well," Adrienne said as we turned onto the main road.

"Can you believe that asshole?" I was still mad.

"Assholes and idiots are everywhere," Mom said. "You can't stop them; you can only hope to contain them."

"Let's go home," I said. I wanted to be surrounded by my Pack again.

Ch. 19

I grabbed my purse off the seat and pulled my phone out, powering it up. As I expected, it had blown up with messages of all kinds. My phone's voicemail was full, and I had thousands of text messages. I started filtering the results, starting by hiding anyone who was not on my contact list.

That got it down from ludicrous to merely unmanageable.

Sorting by person and stacking took care of those who had tried to call or message over and over. I tried to look through and gave up. I composed a short message thanking everyone for their concern, saying I was going to recover while Amy needed our prayers, and that I would be home and back to school soon. I also said that it would take me weeks to get through all the messages, so please don't be offended if I don't respond to you right away. I sent that to everyone on my contact list.

Mom's phone dinged, and she smiled as she looked at the message. "That was a good idea," she said. "Don't worry about responding. Who do YOU need to talk with now?"

"Dad," I said. I called Brent's phone; he'd stayed in Miesville with Mark and Chase while Mom flew down after my kidnapping. "Hi, Daddy," I said.

"By Luna, it's great to hear your voice," Brent said. "How's my Sharkbait doing?"

"Fine, Dad," I said. "I guess it's Sharkbabe now."

"Not for me. You'll always be the little girl who would run under my chest on the Pack runs," he said. "I saw your press conference at the hospital. Your makeup could use a little work."

"I'd need a five-gallon-bucket of cover-up for this shiner," I laughed. Ow. "Stop making me laugh! That hurt!"

"I'm sorry, baby. Have a good flight, and I'll see you soon. I cleared a path out to the smoker so I could make your favorite tonight."

"Ribs?"

"Yep. You can have all the broken ones," Brent teased, making me laugh AGAIN. This time I gave a little yelp of pain, but I didn't care. Daddy could always cheer me up.

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Vicki."

I hung up and went back to my contact list, and one name jumped out. I hadn't talked to her since my appearance on Fox and Friends, and I was curious about what the reaction was to it. I hoped she would have good news for me, and that she would be up already. I sent her a text, and she responded right away, so I called her. "Vicki! My God, girl, you've had a time of it!"

"I know, Ocean. I think I would be safer free-diving with sharks than having dinner with my family," I said. "I'm heading to the airport now and going home, and I'll be back in school tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're ready? I was just watching the news, and you looked, um, kinda like?"