Chapter 11

Mikey and Ari had no trouble for the first few hours at the door. He even left her alone a few separate times to walk the inside, making sure everything was good and check in with Matt. Who was also doing just fine.

It was close to 1 am when a group of rowdy, and already very intoxicated group of guys walked up the street, talking about all the girls they were about to have their hands all over. They were discussing things that were not allowed to happen inside, very loudly and they were headed that way.

Mikey got in the way of the doors and crossed his arms as the group turned to come into the club.

"Sorry, gentlemen, you've had too much to drink already. Why not sleep it off and come back tomorrow."

The group hushed, looking angry. A couple of them could barely stand straight, they were swaying unsteadily. The guy in the front poked Mikey in chest.

"We're paying customers. You have to let us in."

"No, I don't." Mikey didn't move.

Another guy stumbled forward. "You can't fight us all, big guy."

"I assure you, I can, but I'm not alone." Mikey answered.

One of the guys finally spotted Ari, and the smile on his face told Ari that he was going to do or say something stupid. He tapped one of his buddies, nodding his head towards Ari.

"Is this your help, or the discount section?"

He reached his hand out to grab her, but his reflexes were already slow from the alcohol. Ari hit his wrist away with her palm. He snorted a laugh, coming at her with his other hand.

That was it. She punched him right in his adam's apple and when he gasped in total surprise, reaching for his throat, Ari kicked him in the knee. The other guy growled and tried to pounce at her, she jumped out of the way just in time and put herself closer to Mikey and the door. The guy couldn't catch himself and fell over.

"Like I said, not tonight, gentlemen." Mikey still hadn't moved.

"FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE! YOU CAN'T-"

The guy pulling himself up off the ground with a wounded knee was screaming, about to make a further scene. He was interrupted by the sudden appearance and voice of Emmett, plus apparently some of his friends.

"Do we have a problem, boys?"

Emmett sounded a lot less scary the other night to Ari. Tonight with a different side of him, and both Mikey and Ari were worried about him being there in the first place.

"This dick won't let us in, and this crazy bitch has some serious issues!" Knee wound yelled.

Emmett laughed. His friends laughed.

"Don't lie, you tried to touch her without her permission. Clearly the serious issue is you."

Emmett said as they walked through the drunks to stand in front of the door with Mikey and Ari.

"I think it's time to go." Emmett said.

The drunks looked around at Emmett and his friends, and amongst one another. One guy finally shrugged, as if bored. It was enough for the rest of them to turn and walk away. A few of Emmett friends followed them a little ways down the road.

"Hey Ari, can we talk?" Emmett asked, making her frown. She never did tell him her name.

She looked over at Mikey, who most definitely knew who Emmett was. It looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head any second.

"Why not after my shift is over?" Ari asked.

"It's alright." Mikey waved Ari off. "Go ahead."

Ari watched Mikey. He didn't look happy, but she didn't think it was because Ari was leaving, but who she was leaving with.

She nodded as she walked toward Emmett and his friends, and they walked her further down the street. They stopped a short distance away from the parking lot of the club, Emmett friends kept a short distance, but everyone was where Mikey could still see them.

"What's up, Emmett?" Ari asked, trying to get him to the point and end the conversation quickly.

"You know, you're the only woman who has ever talked to me like this." He grinned.

"What do you want?" Ari replied, a little more force in those last words.

Emmetts friends were surprised by Ari, clearly. Most of them with smug grins on their face, one stepped forward from the group to look her up and down closer.

"Who is this chick?" He asked.

"Not for you to play with." Emmett answered, and the guy sunk back again. He turned back to Ari, who was glaring at them at this point.

"Sorry." Emmett said to her, and she shrugged. "Look, I need a favour."

"Why should I help you?" she asked honestly.

"Caitlin is my sister, Ari. I just want her to talk to me. Just tell her... I can help her, okay?"

Ari was silent for a long moment. She wasn't even sure if he was telling the truth, and she could put herself in a worse position with Jackson if she did what Emmett asked. She didn't like it.

"I'll think about it." Ari answered.

Emmett watched her as she turned to walk away from the group. She simply ended the conversation the same way he did the night they met.

She could hear him chuckle, but he left her alone. Him and his friends disappeared down the street further downtown.

Ari went back to Mikey, who was on his phone. He was just hanging up when she came back up to him.

"Everything okay?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ari asked, standing next to him.

"Emmett Colden just ask to talk to you by name, Ari, I've never known that to be good." he replied looking down at the ground.

"You called Jackson, didn't you?" Ari guessed.

Mikey nodded.

"Well, fuck.." Ari leaned against the wall beside the door, trying to swallow the anxious bubble growing in her stomach and up to her chest.

It almost 2 before Sid's car showed up in the parking lot. Both the Holland boys, and Jamal got out of the car with Jackson, who drove, walking straight to the front entrance.

Jackson glared at Ari.

"Get in the fucking car."

Ari tossed Jamal the keys to the Mazda and without a word, she walked over and got into the back seat of Sids car. She sighed, as she heard the doors lock as everyone else went inside.

Jackson kept her locked in the car for almost an hour. She knew if she opened any of the doors, the alarm would sound. Apparently she was in plenty of trouble already, so she didn't bother. They were clearly staying to help close, since they do last call at 2.

Finally Sid and Jackson came out to the car, while Jonah went with Jamal to take Caitlin home. Jackson drove again, but Ari could tell they weren't headed home. Instead of asking, she just made sure to pay close attention to where they were.

"Why am I getting phone calls about you having private conversations with Emmett?" Jackson finally asked Ari, who sat in the back.

"I don't know. It was Mikey who told them I could talk, I told him to come back after my shift, Jackson. Jonah would have been there by then." Ari snapped.

Jackson drove even faster, clearly furious.

"What did he want?" Sid asked this time.

"Is Caitlin really his sister?"

They were silent up front until Jackson finally told Ari that it was true, but Caitlin didn't want to see Emmett, so to drop it.

She did for now, and they drove in silence to a storage facility, which was gated. Jackson had the code to open the sliding gate for them to gain entry.

They parked outside of one of the units and Jackson got out of the driver's seat, and opened the back seat. He grabbed Ari and whipped her out of the car onto the ground beside him.

"Jackson!" Sid snapped, jumping out of the car.

Jackson put his boot on Ari's collar bone, staring at Sid as he came around the car to stop him. The closer he got, to heavier Jacksons boot got, so he stopped short near the front of the car.

Ari didn't fight back. She wasnt expecting it, but she knew the consequences for fighting Jackson off would be worse than what she was getting now. She stared up at Sid with eyes of anger, telling him to back off for now. Jackson pointed for Sid to get back to the car.

Jackson grabbed Ari by her jacket and dragged her on the ground to a big storage unit door. He smashed her against it as he took the lock off, she rolled off it to the ground as he opened it.

Without warning or a chance to block him, Jackson kicked Ari so hard, she skided across the ground into the storage unit. She gasped for air, and held her ribs, rolling over.

She rolled onto all fours to pull herself up but Jackson kicked her again in the stomach, right into an empty corner. He went and closed the large door as she pulled herself up off the ground again.

Jackson said nothing to her. He just beat her senseless until she could only see out of one eye, and her nose was definitely broken. As she struggled for air, thinking she may have pierced a lung with a broken rib, she laid on the ground, this time not attempting to get up, but Jackson nudged her with his foot.

"Get up, Ari." Jackson growled.

She rolled to her side, trying to use her good arm to pull herself up. When she was sitting up almost, Jackson picked her up the rest of the way, and off her feet. He had her at eye level.

"I told you to watch your fucking attitude. I also figured it was common sense to not go sneaking off to talk someone you were warned to stay away from. You fucking hear me? Because I'm about done hearing about you."

Jackson said, he waited til she nodded at him before dropping her on the ground again.

She tried to pull herself back up off the ground, but Jackson held her down with his boot again.

"I mean it. It's bad enough I have to do this to make sure you listen. I clearly can't trust you. You can call yourself an ambulance, but keep your mouth shut in that fucking hospital bed."

Jackson left her in that storage unit. He didn't lock it, but he closed it. She had her cell phone and had every intention on listening to him, but she passed out from all the pain and her adrenaline dying down.

Some how, when she opened her eyes, she was

in a hospital bed. The room she was in was filled with 3 other patients and it was all curtained, but hers were wide open.

A nurse came in, happy to see her awake.

"Oh, she's awake!" The nurse called.

A doctor and two police officers walked into the room to Ari, and the nurse closed her curtains around them. Everyone was quiet while the doctor looked her over, Ari didn't object.

"It'll hurt to breath for a few weeks from the bruising. You're very lucky your lung wasn't punctured." Doctor pulled her blanket back over her hospital gowned body and looked towards the police.

"Please make this quick, gentlemen. She needs her rest." He said to them before taking the nurse out the room.

"Hi, are you Ari Cooper? One of the officers found ID on you." The taller officer asked, the smaller one grabbed out a notepad.

Ari nodded, but said nothing.

"Ari, can you tell us what happened?"

She shook her head.

"Do you remember?" He asked.

She shook her head again, making the officers frown at one another.

"Ari, I really need you to tell to me the truth if we're going to find out who did this. Who did that storage locker belong too? Why were you there?"

She shrugged.

The shorter officer sat on the edge of her bed, she didn't move, just watched him.

"Ari, we're just here to help. I promise.."

Ari finally spoke.

"I don't know where I was, I'm sorry. I didn't see any faces either. Just boots."

The tall officer spoke next.

"Do you know why this happened to you, Ari?"

"How the fuck should I know. Isn't that your job to find out?" Ari snapped.

"Not if you keep secrets, Ms. Cooper."

Ari frowned. "Since when is not remembering anything, keeping secrets? Get the fuck out, assholes."

She slowly rolled over to go back to sleep on her side, completely ignoring the officers after that. They walked out shortly after.