Please Don't Make Me Beg

**Andi's POV**

I think I'm really in trouble.

Evan has totally flipped out, and if Dan wasn't here, I'm not sure what would have happened. I thought my mom was being a jerk and ignoring me, but now I have no idea if she's been trying to reach me or not. She's probably really worried, and I didn't call her before we left, so I don't think she even knows where I am. How do I get in touch with her now? He watches every move I make!

I wish now I hadn't run out on her...

*******

"What is it?" Dan whispered.

"He took the battery out of my phone," she said, her throat suddenly dry, her words thick. "No wonder... I couldn't understand why she didn't at least try to call me--I mean, it's been three days! Why would he do this?"

Dan's eyes flicked nervously toward the car, and he saw Evan sitting in the back seat, looking directly at them. "Shit," he hissed. "He's seen us. Let's get back in the car."

Evan said nothing as they slid into their seats and fastened their seat belts. But as Andi glanced in the visor mirror, she saw the look of cold anger on his face reflected back at her.

The only sound was the radio for the next few hours, as one radio station faded out and they found another to replace it. She was having trouble seeing out of her swollen left eye, but the ice had helped the pain a little, and she tried not to think about how it looked.

They didn't stop again until they crossed the border into Oklahoma, and by that time, darkness was falling. They were all hungry and tired, and Dan was eager to get out from behind the wheel for a while.

The question of where they would stay for the night--and how she would ever feel safe enough to sleep--was one that her mind had worked over like a dog with a bone since they left the clinic. Miles of flat, straight road had rolled under the wheels, and as the stars began to show, they finally spotted a glow ahead that signalled a town.

They were quiet, too, as they stiffly ambled into the hotel lobby to check in. "Ann," her name tag read, greeted them brightly--"How y'all doin' tonight? You in town to see family?" she chirped.

"No, heading out to California to see them, though," Evan answered casually, as though he traveled with a battered and bruised girl every day.

"Well, you still got a long way ahead of you. Where in California?"

"San Francisco. Actually, Berkeley. My brother's a sound engineer, and our band is going out to meet with him to work on a CD." His smile was a polished piece of acting, smooth and natural, and to Andi's surprise, he was quite clearly turning on the charm right there in front of her. And it was working.

Ann's eyes widened, but her too-pink mouth went right on attacking her gum. "Wowww, you're in a band? Oh my God, have I ever heard of you?"

"Not yet," he said, winking at her, "but you will soon." He slid one of the stickers he'd had made across the counter at her.

"Thanks!" she giggled. "I'll put this on my car, for sure!"

"You do that, okay? And while you're at it, can you hook us up with a couple of rooms?"

"Sure sweetie, no problem! How many you need?" She leaned on her elbows, making the most of her modest cleavage. "One for you guys, and one for your sister?"

In spite of everything that had happened, Andi was still irritated. 'Sister, my ass,' she thought.

Her voice stepped up before her head could stop it. "Not quite--I'm the bassist. And a damn good one, too, if I do say so," she smiled acidly.

"Oh, okay, hon, no harm intended. Hey, what happened to your eye, sug? You look like you got the worst of that one!" The girl seemed shallow, but not exactly unkind.

Andi's feisty attitude sometimes showed itself at the oddest time, and this was one of them. "Well, just between us girls, I was holding out on my pimp, and you know how they are about money, right?"

The clerk's mouth gaped slightly--she looked like nothing so much as a trout, Andi thought with a guilty smile--and then she turned and clacked away on the keyboard for a few minutes. She came back with the check-in invoices, and all three began to reach for their wallets.

"I'll pay for the single," she volunteered. "It's only fair since I'm the only girl, and I can't share." From the corner of her eye, she saw Dan nod approvingly. Ann pushed the paper in her direction, and she filled in the car information and her credit card number.

She was about to slide it back across the desk, when she hesitated, looking cautiously toward Evan. He was engrossed in copying his credit card information down, writing carefully.

At the bottom of the paper, in letters not much bigger than the print, she wrote, "Abducted--please call for help." She added her mother's name and phone number--everything else was on the information sheet. Handing it back to Ann, she tried to catch the girl's eyes, but the clerk's full attention was on Evan. When she had collected his form, she casually dropped them both into the "In" box, with Evan's on top.

Andi groaned silently. Who knew when anyone would see her message now?

Their bags lay in a heap by the elevator, and they began to sort them out. As Dan slung his duffel over his shoulder, she noticed her purse hanging underneath it, and opened her mouth to ask him for it. Before she could speak, he looked over Evan's bent back and shook his head "no." By now, she knew to trust him, so she said nothing.

They reached their rooms, and as she fumbled with her card key, Evan took her arm and turned her to face him. He bent his head and took her lips, not gently, and then leaning close to her ear, he whispered in a rough voice, "Don't forget, a lot of girls would love to have what you've got. Just remember that."

With a satisfied smirk on his face, he disappeared through his door.

Inside her room, she set her suitcase on the chair and laid back on the bed. Her body was humming with road buzz, and even with her eyes closed, she could still feel movement, like the sensation of waves in your sleep when you go to the beach. It was so good to be alone, away from his watchful eyes. She was already beginning to drift away into sleep when she heard a soft tap on the door.

Dan's face was the only one she saw through the peephole, so she unlocked the door cautiously. "What's up?" she asked, checking the hall to make sure he was alone.

"Hey, I think you forgot this," he said, a little louder than he had to. She knew he was making sure Evan could hear that he was still in the hall. "You'll probably need all your girl stuff tonight." He held out her overstuffed purse.

She took the bag from him, a little puzzled. "Yeah, thanks a bunch. You'd look dumb carrying it around, wouldn't you?"

"Uh huh. Well, good night," he said, and before he turned to go back to his room, he made a point of looking back down at her purse and then back at her.

She closed the door, turned the deadbolt, and then as an afterthought, flipped the safety latch as well. Her trembling fingers found the zipper tab, and she slid it open and looked inside.

There, on top of her wallet, was Dan's cell phone, fully charged.