Both Of Us

Prize

~

Tommy had been working in the office going over numbers and fixing races, same old, same old.

He was calm and in his element. The only thing he was truly worried about was Toni. He had no idea whether she was going to run away or not.

If she did, it would kill them both.

There was a knock on his office door.

Tommy sighed, already irritated with his secretary.

"Come in," he said, putting his cigarette out.

His secretary stepped into the room. "Mr. Shelby?" She asked.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked.

"There's a caller on the phone for you. Should I give them the number for your office?" She asked.

"Only Toni has that number," he said.

"I know, Mr. Shelby, but they assured me it was very, very urgent," she said.

Thomas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you get a name before you send my number out, aye?" He told her.

"Yes, sir," she said and closed the door.

Thomas drummed his fingers and rolled his eyes.

I swear, this woman has one more time..., he thought.

Suddenly, she knocked again.

"Yes," he called.

She stepped into the room.

"Mr. Shelby, the caller says his name is Glasgow, should I-,"

"Give him the number," he said quickly. "Do it now."

"Yes, sir," she said, startled. She hurried from the room and did as she was told.

Tommy had not been able to find Glasgow's location much less his number. The fact that Glasgow wanted to talk on the phone was intriguing to him.

The phone rang.

Thomas took a deep breath before answering it.

"Hello," he said.

"Mr. Shelby," and older man's voice said. "I believe this is our first one on one encounter."

"And you're stealing from my business," Thomas said.

There was a light chuckle over the phone.

"Yes, well," Glasgow continued, "call me greedy but I'm not satisfied. Now I want it all. The whole Shelby enterprise."

"Fuck off," Tommy said and was about to put the phone down but Glasgow told him to wait.

"Hold on," he said. "Before you make your decision, there's someone who would like to speak with you."

Tommy remained silent as he heard voices and movement in the telephone. Then there was heavy breathing.

"Say hello," Glasgow said, sounding far away from the device.

No one replied.

"I said, say hello," he repeated. Then there was a sharp cry of pain.

Tommy's heart stopped. That voice sounded like Toni's.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed into the phone.

The voice definitely was Toni's.

There were more sounds of a struggle but they faded away as Glasgow's voice returned to the receiver.

"Keep her quiet!" He snapped and Tommy heard another scream.

Thomas rose slowly from his chair, phone in hand.

"Don't you fucking touch her." He said, slowly and menacingly. It was settled; he was going to kill this man.

"Calm down, Mr. Shelby. I'll take good care of her. Now, ask me what I want," Glasgow said.

"What?" Tommy asked before locking his jaw.

"I want to meet you and I want you to give me the rights to your business and your money. There's no use sneaking around and doing it anymore. I'll just do it legally," He finished, pleased.

"Listen to me," Thomas said, "and listen very closely because I'm only going to say this once... I will find you... and I will cut your fucking throat if you lay a finger on her."

"Find me," said Glasgow, "I want you to. You have twenty four hours, then she's dead," Glasgow hung up the phone.

"Fuck!" Tommy slammed the phone down. He combed his fingers through his hair and labored to take deep breaths.

There was a knock at the door.

"Fuck off!" he yelled.

His secretary came in anyway. He shot her a deadly look

"Mr. Shelby sir," she stood hesitantly on her feet. "I-I know you told me not to come in unless-"

He stormed over to her and grabbed her face, "What makes you fucking think you can come into my office without my permission," his voice was low and deadly.

"Mr. Shelby, sir," she shook with fear once he had let her go. "There was an address wired here while you were on the phone," she began to sob, "and I thought you needed it."

She held out a slip of paper with trembling fingers.

He stared at in amazement for a moment before taking it from her hand.

Glasgow had wired him an address. He truly wanted to be found.

"Thank you," he said, but his secretary had already left the room, a sobbing mess. He tended to have that effect on people.

Now that he had an address, Tommy knew where to find Glasgow.

And where to find Toni.

~

Glasgow still stood before Toni, holding her face in his hand.

After a long moment, he let go of her chin and began walking away.

By now, Toni was trembling all over and possessed bruises all along her cheeks. Her lip was also split open; they had not been gentle with her.

But she continued to keep a brave front. She could not let them break her.

"Stephen," Glasgow called to someone outside the room. "She's awake...," he glanced back at Toni and looked her over, "...have your fun." He said and then left the room.

Toni heart began to pound. What was going to happen to her?

Stephen...where have I heard that name before? She thought.

She struggled in her restraints but to no avail. Her breathing quickened as she looked up and continued her attempt to free herself.

Once in a while, her struggling would bring pain to her wrists, causing her to wince, but she kept at it anyway. She had to escape.

All the while, she thought of her last capture and how her life had almost ended. Was this the end now? Would she die here?

She desperately searched around the empty room, racking her brain for ideas.

She could not die; she had a baby to take care of. And she had Tommy...

"Hello, Toni," a voice brought her away from her thoughts.

She looked up at the doorway and her breath caught. Her eyes bugged in surprise; she could not believe who was standing before her.

"...Stephen?" She breathlessly said.

It was the stranger from the pub.

"What are you doing here?" She cautiously asked.

"Toni," he said, closing the door behind him. "I'm here to receive my prize."

~

Over here crying

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