Heartbeats in the Dark

Veronica groaned as she was pulled from the van at their destination. She could hear Josie and Cheryl yelling at the guys to let them go.

"Hold on!" she heard the one who took her phone say. She opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by tying a blindfold around her eyes. She struggled against him.

A yelp escaped when she felt a squeeze on the back of her neck. "Don't fight, missy!" Tim said, squeezing to make her stop. He finished tying the blindfold.

Veronica held back a whimper as a rag was pushed into her mouth. She guessed Josie and Cheryl were being treated the same way. "Now, let's go inside," Tim said, pulling her along.

"We're about to get paid," Mitch said, gently pulling Josie and Cheryl along. "It is, brother!" Tim said with a smirk. "And this little miss will get what's coming to her," he added as he opened the door.

"She's lucky I can't backhand her for making me look like a fool when I was trying to get her," Tim said as he stopped and knocked on the door of the room.

Veronica could only be pulled forward. "Come in," a new voice said, making her blood run cold. She recognized the voice instantly. 'Nick!' she thought, knowing his voice anywhere.

"How about you take Josie and Cheryl to a room and leave me with Veronica?" Veronica heard Nick tell the two guys. "You can take their blindfolds off and cuff them to the two chairs that are set up," Nick said.

Tim nodded and pulled Cheryl out, with Mitch pulling Josie after them, leaving Veronica alone with Nick.

Veronica heard the door shut, and Nick walked over to her. She tried to move away, but then she felt Nick's hands taking off the blindfold. She smirked when he came into view.

"Hello, Ronnie!" Nick said with a smirk, watching Veronica's eyes turn cold. "Miss me?" Nick asked, brushing his hand against her face. Veronica yanked her face away. "Fuck no!" she hissed.

Nick laughed and looked at her. "Oh, you'll change your mind soon, baby." He gripped her chin. "What do you want from us?" Veronica demanded.

"You'll find out eventually, but Josie and Cheryl are only here to make sure you do as I say." Nick said, "And don't worry, I won't hurt them."

Veronica glared into his eyes as he tightened his grip on her chin. "And what is that?" she demanded.

"I can tell you bits and pieces now," Nick said, leaning closer to her face. "I'm making you pay for what you and your group did to me. But you're the only one I'm interested in punishing, since I know you're the ringleader." Nick laughed as she struggled to pull his hand away.

Veronica managed to move her mouth enough to bite down hard on Nick's palm, making him pull his hand away. "That..." Nick said, rubbing his hand, "was not..."

Nick clenched his hand into a fist, then opened it before backhanding Veronica, hard enough for her to stumble. "That's for biting!" he said.

Veronica caught her balance and glared at Nick, trying to rub her face. But with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn't wipe the blood from her lip.

"This is going to be fun," Nick said, pulling her out of the office and towards the room where Josie and Cheryl were. They reached the room quickly.

Veronica grunted as Nick forced her inside. She swallowed hard when she saw Josie and Cheryl tied to chairs, and the bed in the middle of the room.

"Vee!" Josie said, watching Nick drag her friend in. Her eyes went to Veronica's bloody lip. "You better let us go!" Cheryl growled, trying to move against her chair.

Nick laughed, pushing Veronica onto the bed and cuffing her hands above her head after removing the zip ties. "I don't think so," he said, looking at Cheryl. "At least not until you two watch Veronica get what she deserves. She'll also be getting what you two did to me."

"You creep," Cheryl hissed, watching him get up from the bed, his hand running along Veronica's bare leg. "Archie will find out what's going on, and he'll come with the others," Josie threatened.

Nick laughed. "I'll be sending Archie a message in a few days," he said, walking out of the room. "I'll see you ladies in a bit." He left the girls alone.

Veronica waited for Nick to be out of earshot. "You guys okay?" she asked, licking her lip. "We're fine," Josie said.

"We need to worry about you more," Cheryl said, staring at Veronica. "And we need to find a way out of here and get a hold of Archie and the others."

Veronica nodded, resting her head on the pillows and closing her eyes. She had a feeling that Nick wanted more than revenge on the girls. She suspected he wanted Archie to pay for beating him up when Archie found out what Nick tried to do to Veronica.

- Archie -

Archie yawned as he walked into the house after taking Vegas out for the last time that night. He went into the kitchen to get a drink before bed.

He checked the time. It was 11 PM. He wondered if Veronica was asleep, but he figured she probably was, so he didn't want to wake her.

The redhead was relaxed, which surprised him. He figured it was because whoever was following him had stopped. He was thankful. After finishing his juice, he went upstairs to bed, making sure both doors were locked.

Archie hummed as he reached his room. He walked in and lay down after checking his phone for texts or calls, but there weren't any.

"Hey, buddy," Archie said as Vegas jumped on his bed and lay down. He petted the dog before slowly falling asleep until the next day.

Archie groaned when his phone rang. He answered it, seeing the time was 8 in the morning. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, Archie," Jughead's voice came from the other end. "Hey Jughead, is there anything you need?" Archie asked, yawning as he got up to get dressed.

"Betty and I were wondering if you could meet us at Pop's. We have something to share with you," Jughead said. Archie pulled his jeans up. "Sure, I'll be there in a bit," he said.

Archie grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. "Good, is Veronica with you?" Jughead asked. "No, she's with Josie and Cheryl, but I think we'll see them at Pop's soon," Archie replied.

"Okay, I'll see you at Pop's then," Jughead said before hanging up. Archie finished getting dressed.

Once he put on his shoes, he texted Veronica, "Good morning, gorgeous!" Then, he went to Pop's to meet Betty and Jughead.