Kidnapped By Johnnie and Jake

Plan of Action

Tara's POV:

Another long, depressing week passed by again.

At some point during the week, Jake had allowed Kaycee out of her captive room, and into the rest of the house to roam free.

To be honest, I hadn't expected it. I didn't really know what I'd expected him to do. The initial goal had been to kill her after some torture, but I guess now Jake probably liked the idea of someone being there for him to take his future frustrations out on on demand.

So, it looked like she'd be staying with us for a while longer. She got lucky.

Today was the day. Jake had organised for himself, Sam, Colby, Scuff, Vinnie, Tana, and Bella to shoot up the prison which Johnnie was being held in, and get him out of there.

I was terrified. Terrified for Jake, and for my friends.

I mean...I had always trusted that Jake would be fine, no matter what situation he was in. But, since Johnnie had been arrested, a little of that trust had faded away. It had made me realise that they weren't invincible.

But when I raised these concerns to Jake, he assured me that Johnnie had only been arrested because he'd allowed himself to be. He'd never have usually put himself in a situation where that could happen, but he'd chosen to be selfless to get Brooke to the hospital. And, Jake also reminded me that Johnnie was about to be set free by us...so he still was invincible.

Anyway, I was undecided about whether I should go with them or not. I wanted to help set Johnnie free, to make Jake proud, and to help protect Jake (not that he really needed my protection, but I still wanted to do whatever I could), but I was also scared. I didn't wanna get tasered, or shot at, or arrested, by the police...and I defo wasn't confident that Jake would protect me like Johnnie protected Brooke. Jake liked me, sure, but I wasn't convinced that it was love on his end.

I'd probably stay home with Hellie and Kaycee. Scuff wouldn't allow Hellie to go, for her safety, and obviously Kaycee wasn't going to be let loose near jail officers, so they were both out of the question. At least I wouldn't be alone at home.

I was kinda civil with Kaycee now. Obviously I still held a grudge—I mean, who could possibly forget what she did—but I didn't mind living civilly with her.

I kinda felt sorry for her. She clearly had issues. To be that desperate for attention—allowing yourself to be degraded to the point of walking around naked 24/7–had to be some sort of indication of a severe lack of attention during childhood...or a mental disorder.

But, anyway, the sun went down and the evening rolled round, and everyone in the house (apart from me, Hellie and Kaycee) was in the foyer of the house, getting their coats, loading their guns, and murmuring to one another, preparing to leave.

There was a chill in the air. Everything felt mysterious. None of us knew what was gonna happen. No one knew if everyone make it back home tonight. Later that night, things could be drastically different.

It was in that moment that I decided I had to go with them. I had to do what I could. Do my part.

If anything would've happened to Jake, Sam, Colby, Tana, or even Vinnie...I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself for not being there to help out. One extra person meant a lot, especially when up against a literal prison.

As Jake pulled his balaclava over his face, I approached him. "Jake, I'm coming with you," I said profoundly.

He looked down at me and reached for my shoulder with his gloved hand. "Good girl."

I smiled weakly up at him. Deep down, I'd hoped that he'd beg me not to go. Hoped that he'd say there was no way in hell he'd risk putting me in danger, like Scuff had to Hellie. But Jake wanted me to go. He cared more about Johnnie's freedom than my safety.

Jake patted my shoulder nonchalantly, and then walked off to talk with Sam and Colby...and that was when Vinnie approached me. He'd been stood off to the corner, pretending to be occupied with preparing his gun, but secretly listening in to mine and Jake' convo, I guess.

"You shouldn't go," he said to me.

"Why?" I asked. Someone had to attempt to convince me not to, if Jake wasn't gonna step up to the task.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

Those eyes he gave me...I could drown in them. "The more of us that go, the less likely any of us will be to get hurt," I said.

He watched me with a solemn face.

"I'm a member of this gang too, Vin," I added, giving him the eyes, blinking up at him sweetly.

He nodded reluctantly. "You're a loyal girl. That's hard to find." He paused, as if he was considering whether or not to say his next statement. "Jake's lucky."

"Thank you," I whispered, glancing over to make sure Jake didn't catch that.

We both knew what would happen if he did.

*

We took two black cars out on the road. I was in the backseat of one car with Jake, Sam, and Colby. The other car held Vinnie, Scuff, Tana, and Bella.

As we drove, the tension was clear. We had to get this right. We had to get Johnnie out of there. If we lost anyone in the process, it would make it all the more difficult to make a second attempt.

Vinnie's car followed steadily behind ours on the quiet road.

I shivered, and I couldn't tell whether it was from the cold air or the nerves. Probably both.

*

At long last, after a hours on the road...we approached the prison.