An Illicit Attraction: A Roleplay

Garrett woke up next to Selene in Kara's and Hayden's guest bedroom, his head throbbing, his mouth as dry as the desert. Then he thought of the ring he'd hidden in the last bottom pocket of his overnight bag and smiled. It was time.

His hand crept beneath the blanket and squeezed her ass. She stirred and let out a groan. Garrett laughed. "Come on, doll. Rise and shine."

Slowly, she rolled over to face him, her eyes barely open. "What the hell, Garrett?"

"We're leaving today," he answered. "Let's explore. I'm kidnapping you. Just like old times."

Selene buried her face back inside her pillow, her words muffled when she spoke. "Kidnap me some time after ten in the morning, then."

Garrett chortled. "No, ma'am. Sorry. Can't." He threw the covers off until they landed in a pool at her feet. "Up and at 'em, beautiful."

Despite her annoyance, he caught the hint of a smile. She couldn't seem to stay mad at him for long. Especially not when it was obvious he had plans. There was no arguing with an enthusiastic Garrett. He was a kid in a candy store in those moments, and no one was keeping him from his treats.

"You're getting slapped for this, Garrett."

Garrett only smiled wider. "I'm hurt. Now, get dressed." He eyed her short, silky nightgown and smirked. "Although, I quite like the look you're rocking now."

In response, she picked up her pillow and hurled it at his face. Taking the hint, he stood up. "I best not come in here and find you fast asleep," he warned her, playful disapproval in his eyes. "I'll be in the kitchen making coffee."

With that, he was gone, whistling all the way.
-----

First, he took it slow. He took her to little shops, just like he'd done the first time he'd taken her on a date, to a beautiful restaurant with romantic settings and exquisite food, on a walk around the park. He bought her a bubblegum snow cone from the first shop they passed. And, just as she'd finished devouring it, he'd taken her in his car and drove to his last destination, his heart thumping like a drum in his chest. She had to say yes. She had to.

When the Hollywood sign came into view, he sneaked a sideways glance at Selene. Her brows furrowed, clearly not understanding why they were here. Today he'd shown her all things new, and this was a place from their past. Garrett mindlessly stroked his hand over the ring box in his pocket and flashed her a smile. Without an explanation, he got out and made his way to her side of the car. He opened it to find Selene staring up at him, her head cocked quizzically to the side.

"Come on, captive. I say, you do. Step on out."

Selene snorted, but she obeyed. She crossed her arms over her chest and let herself admire the Hollywood sign in all its glory. It had probably dawned on her by now that they were parked at the exact same spot as before.

When he stepped closer and captured her chin in his palm, silently commanding her attention, she did. She let a slow smile creep across her face at the sight of him.

"You challenged me here," he said, his voice soft, barely a whisper. "You called me out on my shit and halfway made a fool out of me. You can make a man into nothing, and you and all that attitude made me want to be something. Doll, I knew then I wasn't letting you go."

Selene was catching on, now. Her eyes were turning from confused to flattered to wide and watery.

"Then when you threw that glass of OJ in my face and it didn't do nothing but make me want to kiss you? Baby girl, that sealed the deal."

When he lowered himself to one knee, his eyes piercing into hers with all the love he could wordlessly convey, he saw that first tear escape down her cheek. "Selene, you love me and accept me more than anyone ever has. You make me want to be so much better. And, baby, I'll do the best I can. I'll do anything humanly possible to be the best husband you could have and the best damned stepdad Jenny could ask for. I'll spend my life showing you just how much you saved me."

Slowly, he withdrew the small box from his pocket and held it in front of her. "All you have to do is say yes. Say you'll be my wife and make me the luckiest damn man on the planet."

Selene looks at him, she knew he quit his drug business and now it was all making sense. She looks at him, "Of course, yes...I will marry you." She kissed him.

Garrett let out a celebratory whoop, not caring in the least who heard, and swept Selene up into his arms. He swung her in the air, making a full, dizzying circle of limbs and giggles, and then hugged her against his chest.

"Selene O'Byrne," he grinned, tasting the name on his tongue and loving it instantly, her answering smile tugging at his heart and turning him into mush. "Baby, I'm gonna make you glad you said yes."

Again, and this time of his own accord, he pulled her close until his lips crashed against hers.

"I said it...I'm not going to tell you anything." Lopez snapped, spitting in his captors face. The man shook his head, wiping himself clean. "Well...I can always have my boys help convince you some more. Boys..."

Lopez was hit again, he was tied to a chair in his apartment. He coughed up some more blood, the guys hitting him looked like UFC wrestlers. Hours had gone by, he refused to tell them where Garrett was.

"What do you want with him? He's out of the business, I am not selling him out." Lopez said, The man in charge came up to him and looked into his eyes, "I appreciate the loyalty you have, it's remarkable...especially after you lose a few fingers." He added a grin at the end, taking a pair of pliers and taking a finger off Lopez' right hand.

Lopez cried out, the man smirked "Now, do I need to take off all of them?"

Lopez looked at him,"Please..." The man nodded,"Okay,..." Sure enough, he took off another finger. Lopez cried out again.

"This will all stop...if you just tell me where he is." The man said, Lopez still kept his mouth shut. "Alright, on to the eyes next then...." The man said, Lopez was forced his head back, screaming as they put eye drops of acid into them.


The man continued, "Where is Garrett O'Bryne?"

Lopez took a deep breath, "Arizona..."

The man clapped Lopez's shoulder, "Thank you...too bad you had to be difficult and not listen the first time but don't worry, Garrett will never know it was you who sold him out....,boys." The man walked off and the boys who worked for him, slit Lopez's throat.

Being that Garrett was the owner of his shop, he rarely had to frequent it besides the occasional visits to check up on things. His employees were all efficient and half of them mastered in just about every instrument his new business sold. It had been up and running for the past four months, and business was booming now more than ever. Every now and then, JohnBoy called to let him know how things were going in L.A. in between jabs about selling his soul in matrimony. Garrett couldn't care less. He wanted this life with Selene more than he'd ever wanted anything.

He cut his day short, stuffing a brand new Fender into the backseat of his car, smiling at the thought of how happy Jenny would be to receive it, and got in. The shop wasn't far from his home, either, which was another plus. Things were almost too nice, but Garrett wasn't one to look a gift horse in the eye. He was happy, and all else besides Selene and Jenny were unimportant.

Just as he pulled into the long and winding driveway that led to his home, his phone rang.

"Chocolate, you son of a bitch," Garrett grinned. "How's it-"

"Fuck, Garrett. Jesus fucking Christ."

Garrett paled at the anguish in Chocolate's voice. "Hey, easy, brother. What's going on?"

"He's fucking-" There came a stuttered breath. Whatever it was, Chocolate was barely holding it together. "Lopez, man. He's fucking dead."

Garrett got out of his car at once. "What do you mean, dead?"

"He was fucking tortured, man! Jesus. We hadn't heard from him since Tuesday, so we went to his apartment. His fingers, man. They fucking... Shit, Garrett, we don't even do this shit to people."

Garrett swallowed. "Who the fuck's got a problem with Lopez? You got any ideas?"

"No, man. He takes orders. He just takes fucking orders. We deliver. We do the visits."

Garrett knew this, but something was wrong if Lopez was dead. Someone wanted something.

"Man, I don't even know what to think," Chocolate lamented. "His phone's gone. His laptop. But thieves don't do this shit, man. They wanted more than revenge."

Fuming, Garrett marched up the steps. Lopez. Fucking loyal, quiet, easygoing Lopez, of all people. "Whoever did this is going down, brother. Let me check on my girls. I'll call you right back."

And, before his thumb could even disconnect the call, he threw open the door and knew something was up. The carpet at his feet was rumpled and rolled at its edges, three feet away from where it should have been. A broken vase lay no more than a yard away. Tables and chairs were overturned.

Garrett's heart stopped, and pieces to a puzzle he'd never expected to solve started falling into place.

They'd been taken.

Psycho looks at Selene, tied to the chair and knife scraping gently along her cheek. He calls up Garrett, using her cell phone. Garrett answers, "Nope, not your wife...but mm, she is sexy. I can see why you quit the business...but sometimes the business doesn't quit you."

Garrett clenched his phone so hard, it was close to crumbling in his fist.

"You touch her, I will fucking kill you," he growled.

Psycho laughs, "Just like you killed my brother? Oh, yeah...I see your silent now, should I just say the name or let you think on it a bit more?"

Garrett wanted to snap back that he wasn't in the business any more, not for two years, but it would do nothing to placate anyone. His desperation was reaching its limit.

"You want to take it out on someone, don't do it to my wife. Not my little girl. Take it out on me."

His eyes roamed the room, as if expecting Jenny to materialize from out of nowhere. But they were both gone. And, judging by the state of the house, she'd fought like hell all the way. He was dealing with more than one person. Maybe a hell of a lot more.

"Tell me where you are," he demanded. "Tell me and we can settle this. But don't you dare fucking hurt them. They ain't done shit to you."

Psycho looks at Selene, then answers "No but you need to pay for shit you do, you want them back...I will leave you with one hint of who this is, Jacob Hart." He hung up.

Garrett threw the phone to the floor. Overturned a table. Smashed his hand through the plaster wall at his back. Fucking Selene. Jenny. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fucking right.

His eyes welled up with unshed tears, but he wouldn't cry. Not now. He'd kill the motherfucker and he'd get his girls back. He'd win this.

One hand fisted in his hair, he reached down and grabbed his phone. The first person he dialed was Hayden as he ran to his car.

Hayden was just getting off the phone with Kara, a smile on his face. She was just at the doctors, and they both knew what it meant.

As he walked back into his work, his cell rang again and he answered,"Hello..,Garrett why are you callin--, wait, slow down..."

Garrett could barely suck in the breath he needed to get his words out clearly. He was so damned close to crying, he had to rake his hands over his eyelids, stretching and pulling until pain came before despair. He put the car into drive and peeled out of the driveway, the phone to his cheek.

"They took 'em, Hayden," he stammered. "Brother, I never begged for anything but I'm begging you now. You've got to help me. I need all the men I can get." He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. "They fucking killed Lopez and now they got Selene. They got Jenny, too."

Hayden stopped, "What? Who has Selene and Jenny...Garrett, call the fucking cops."

Garrett floored the gas, shaking his head as if Hayden could see him through the phone. "Fuck no, man," he rasped, easily clearing a hundred miles per hour as he navigated the streets, to where in particular, he wasn't sure. He needed to call his boys. They'd help.

"I do that, I get arrested and that's it. Think they'll help once they've got me? And who the hell's gonna raise Jenny if-"

He cut himself off. He didn't want to entertain such a thought. No, Selene would be okay. She had to be.

"Brother, you don't want to help, then fine. I'll call my boys. But I ain't dragging the cops in this shit. I ain't trusting no one who cares more about locking my ass up and throwing away the key. I'm getting my girls back if I have to go down swinging."