"This is insane!" I yelled when Cody took the hood off my head. We were in an abandoned warehouse, and I was lying tied up on the floor. The sad thing was that I was thankful I had been kidnapped by my junkie cousin and his friend and not Herbert the perverted Santa.
"It's not insane. We're going to ransom you for money. It’s the perfect plan," he replied.
"I don't have any money," I repeated slowly. "You kidnapped a broke woman."
"I need you to make Jack give me money," Cody said. "Call him and tell him to give us a hundred thousand dollars."
"He's not going to give you that much money!" I screeched. "He won't even believe this is real unless we talk to him in person. He's a billionaire; he's not going to just make a deal like that over the phone."
"But he needs time to go to the bank and take out the cash," Kevin said dubiously.
I laughed. "Are you kidding? He has a safe full of cash." I could see Cody's eyes light up with greed.
"Take me to Frost Tower," I ordered. "You can wait with me in the lobby. Jack will go upstairs and fill a shopping bag full of cash for you, and then you can be on your merry way. Easy peasy."
Kevin looked at Cody. Thankfully, their drug-fried brain cells decided that this was, in fact, a great idea. I shook my head. This was the jankiest kidnapping ever.
"Okay," he said. "We'll go to the tower. But no funny business."
I had to bunny hop to the car because my feet were taped together.
The ride to Manhattan was painful. The car was moving slowly down the street, and people kept swerving around us. My cousin was high as a kite and driving slowly. I was sure that in his mind, he was trying not to draw attention.
As we approached Frost Tower, I looked out the window and saw Jack. I had to escape the car.
Cody's friend, Kevin, wasn’t paying attention to me, and they didn't even have me tied up all that well. I pulled my feet out of my boots. My hands were still tied, but I was able to open the car door and jump out.
"Jack!" I yelled.
"Chloe!" he said in surprise while Milo barked.
"Where are your shoes?" he asked as he hugged me against him. "Why are your hands tied?"
Jack broke the duct tape on my hands as Cody and his friend jumped out of the car.
"You need to pay us if you want her back," they said, Santa hats bobbing in the wind as they jogged across the street.
"The hell I am!" Jack yelled, pushing me behind him.
Kevin lunged at me, but before he could touch me, he was tackled by a man in a Santa suit. Jack let Milo off his leash, and the dog guarded me while Jack went after Cody, punching him in the jaw.
The other Santa stood up, grinning. His beard had been ripped off, and his sunglasses were bent.
"Dad?" Jack said in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"Just watching out for my future grandchild," he said cheerfully. He walked over to me and rubbed my belly. I slapped his hand away.
"Don’t touch her!" another Santa said, running up to Jack's father and tackling him. "She's mine! I love her. Chloe, we're going to be together forever." It was Herbert, the mall Santa. Both men went down, and another Santa came sprinting out of Frost Tower.
Jack shook his head in disgust as Eddie jumped into the fray. The stalker Santa and Jack's father were fighting. Eddie was taking on Cody and his junkie friend.
"I'm surprised Eddie is sober enough to see where to hit," I commented as Eddie socked my cousin in the stomach. I didn't feel sorry for him one bit.
Dr. Frost punched Kevin with a powerful uppercut. I could hear his jaw crack.
"Ooof. Maybe you should do something?" I said to Jack.
"I just…" Jack said. "I don't even want to involve myself."
