by Willow Rose
“They’re using them for the attacks, right?” I said, hoping to get his confirmation.
Matt gave me a look. “You don’t have it from me.”
“Of course not.”
“They haven’t found any of the girls at the raid. They must be keeping them somewhere else, but who knows how long it might take to find them? By then, they’ll probably be transported across the border and resold or maybe even killed.”
I swallowed the rest of my wine while sensing the fear spreading like wildfire through my veins, engulfing everything on its way. He was right. If Olivia was still with these people, then they’d get rid of her soon, along with the others. If she wasn’t and had actually escaped, then she was out there somewhere looking for me. No matter what, there was no time to waste. I knew what Matt was telling me to do, and I agreed.
Sometimes, you have to do the wrong things for the right reasons.
Chapter 79
His soft lips touching my skin made me shiver. I closed my eyes and moaned as he grew more insistent with each and every kiss. We had left the bar and gone to his hotel room, realizing this was our only chance, maybe for a long time, to be together. The thought was at once devastating and arousing. I just knew I needed to feel him close right now; I needed to have him.
“I missed the way you taste,” he said between kisses. “I missed the way you smell, the way you look at me, even the way you breathe. I missed every part of you, Eva Rae.”
I pulled him into a deep kiss, then wrapped my legs around him and pressed him closer. Neither of us wanted to think about the future in this instant, not even an hour from now. Still, it lurked in the back of our minds as he entered me. I felt tears roll down my cheeks as he pressed me back against the pillow.
We made love in silence, letting our desires overpower us and knock every thought of reality out of us.
Matt sank to the pillow next to me, moaning. His eyes were strained with sadness. I stroked his cheek, then kissed him again while he caught his breath. I forced a smile, but my tears revealed how I really felt.
I was terrified to the core. Scared that I was never going to see him again, that everything would go wrong after this and then we would never see each other again, and maybe I would never see my daughter again either.
It wasn’t a result I was willing to live with. I had said this before, and I’d say it again. I was never going to give up looking for her. Ever. Not even if I had to continue my search from inside a prison cell. The people who had taken her were going to regret the hell that was being unleashed on them once I found them.
Matt mumbled something as he dozed off, and I realized he had once again told me he loved me.
I sat up in the bed, then looked at the clock. I couldn’t stay the night. As soon as daylight came, it would be dangerous for me to try and leave the hotel.
I leaned over and kissed Matt on the lips, then whispered, “I love you too.”
There, I had said it — the way I had wanted to for a long time. But then I realized Matt wasn’t awake to hear it. He was in a deep, calm sleep, and I didn’t want to wake him up. He needed his rest, and I wanted him to get a good night’s sleep and for once not worry about me. At least not until he woke up and realized I wasn’t there anymore.
As much as I hated to, I had to leave him once again. I felt another tear escape my eye, then wiped it away. I rose to my feet, found my clothes, and got dressed.
I stared at Matt from the edge of the bed, then leaned over, stroked his hair gently, and kissed him again. He mumbled my name, then smiled and turned to the side. I sniffled and chuckled, then smiled to myself, thinking about the hours we had spent together. I could still smell him on my skin, while leaving the room as silently as possible, closing the door carefully not to wake him up.
Chapter 80
I stood for a second by the door, a hand placed gently on it, the other holding my shoes and purse, while I let a tear escape my eye.
If only I could stay the night. If only I could make time stand still and stay in his arms forever.
I wiped the tear away with my sleeve, letting the images of us together in bed play like a movie in my mind, trying to savor the memory before I finally turned away and started to walk, my head slumped. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear him approach me from behind. I walked down the carpeted hallway, then stopped to put my shoes back on.
“Well, well, well.”
I jumped at the sound of his voice. I turned to see a small stubby man with sweaty patches on his light blue polo shirt. I immediately knew who he was. I had seen him with Matt in front of the Catholic church and coming out of my hotel.
It had to be Carter. Matt’s partner.
“Eva Rae Thomas. We finally meet,” he said and approached me. My eyes landed on the gun in his hand. Big drops of sweat lingered on his forehead, and I could hear his heavy breathing.
“I knew you two were involved. I sensed it,” he almost snorted. “It was only a matter of time before you’d show up. And here you are.”
“Please,” I said. “Matt didn’t…”
“Save it,” he stopped me.
I felt my hands shaking as fear rushed through my body. The last thing I ever wanted was for Matt to get in trouble. First Sydney, now him? Was everyone that I loved going to have to pay for my decisions?
“Please…”
But he wouldn’t listen. I could tell by the look in his eyes. He didn’t care what I had to say. Instead, his lips pulled into a smile, and he raised the gun and fired.
Thank God for fast reflexes. As I heard the gun go off, I threw myself down. I dropped my purse on the floor. The shot whizzed over my head and ended up in the wall behind me. I screamed, got up on my feet, and jumped toward the emergency exit door in front of me. I pushed it open with all my weight as the gun was fired once again, this time aimed right at my back. Throwing myself out the door, the gun went off again, and the third shot hit me in the arm. I screamed, dropped my purse, and fell forward down the flight of stairs ahead of me, face first, the stabbing, throbbing pain in my arm making my entire torso shake. The door slammed shut behind me, and I scrambled to my feet while frantically staring at it, expecting it to open any second and him come out, shooting at me, this time to end me.
My purse had landed in the hallway, and I couldn’t reach it. I felt the gun that I had strapped to my ankle and pulled it out so I could defend myself when he did come out after me.
I forced myself to move forward, even though the biting, burning pain in my arm made me want to give up. I somehow got myself down the next flight of stairs without my pursuer coming after me and, realizing this, I found the strength to get myself down one more. Seconds later, I was able to push open the door to the outside and, while leaving a trail of blood behind me, I staggered into the warm Miami night.
Chapter 81
Matt woke up with a start. His eyes shot open, and he blinked to make sure he wasn’t still dreaming. Had he heard right? Was that a shot being fired?
Hearing a scream, Matt jumped to his feet.
Eva Rae!
He bolted for the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open just in time to see Carter lift a gun and fire at Eva Rae. Eva Rae let out an ear-piercing scream and fell out the exit door. The door slammed shut, but Matt could hear her body as it fell down the stairs.
NO!
Carter was about to go after her and had his hand on the handle, when Matt leaped toward him, grabbed him around the neck, and pulled him back. Carter yelled in distress while Matt pulled him back and held him down, buying Eva Rae some valuable seconds to escape. Carter pushed the gun toward Matt’s face and slammed it into his forehead. The pain made Matt lose his grip on Carter, and the small man jolted for the door, panting and agitated. He opened it, then ran down the stairs.
Please, be gone, Eva Rae; please, tell me you made it out.
Holding his breath, Matt waited. He listened anxiously and prayed that Carter wouldn’t find her
. Matt’s eyes were fixated on the door in front of him, his hands shaking. He rose to his feet, then opened it and peeked out. It was eerily quiet out there, and all he could hear was his own ragged breath.
Where did they go?
Matt stood for a few seconds, feeling his knees go soft when he heard footsteps on the stairs below. He peeked down and spotted Carter coming back up, taking two steps at a time. He approached Matt on the plateau, sweat gushing from his face, his light blue shirt soaked. He spoke through gritted teeth.
“She got away. Because of you,” he said, his voice growing louder and louder as he spoke like he was talking himself up, getting increasingly agitated the more he spoke. “Because of you, she got away. How do you explain that, Detective, huh? How are you planning on explaining what she was doing in your room, huh? Our main suspect in this town’s biggest terrorism case, sleeping in your hotel room in the middle of our investigation. And then we add to it that you helped her escape? You know what that makes you? Do ya?”
Matt swallowed and stared at the angry little man in front of him. He knew it didn’t matter what he said at this point. He knew how it looked. Still, he couldn’t help but feel deep relief inside of him. Eva Rae had escaped. It was all that mattered at this point.
“That’s right. You’re now officially an accomplice,” Carter continued and threw out his arms. “Congratulations.”
Carter lifted the gun and placed it at Matt’s forehead. He scrutinized him, his eyes oozing with anger.
“I knew there was something suspicious about you from the moment you set your feet in my police department. I have a brilliant nose for these things, you know. I’m glad I listened to my instincts and kept a close eye on you. Now, you’re coming with me. I’m taking you in.”
Chapter 82
They had beaten her up for running, and every fiber of her body was throbbing. She was back at the house with the rest of the girls but had been lying in a corner on the floor for most of the time since she got there, crying in pain.
Olivia looked around the room, and she realized that she didn’t know any of the other girls anymore. She didn’t know if the others had been killed or maybe sent away after the attack at the school, and she didn’t allow herself to think about it. She hoped that they were arrested and maybe — please let it be so — sent back to their families.
Where are you, Mom? Why haven’t you come for me yet? I need you, Mom. I need you more than ever.
Olivia smacked her lips and felt thirsty. She vaguely remembered someone helping her drink while she laid there, but she couldn’t recall who it was. Deep down, she didn’t want to know. If anyone had been kind to her, she was eternally grateful, but she didn’t want to get to know any of the girls again. She knew too much to let herself get attached. The fact was, most of these girls would be killed in the next attack, and so would Olivia. It was only a matter of time.
Olivia curled herself into a ball and cried on the cold floor, her tears spilling on the tiles. She missed her family so much; it hurt her physically to think about. The guilt was eating her up. This was all her own fault. She deserved what happened to her. How could she have been so stupid as to meet with someone she barely knew? Why did she trust him? Because he said he could make her a model? How stupid was that? Her mother had warned her about this her entire life. After losing her own sister, she feared that her children would be kidnapped more than anything. Why hadn’t Olivia listened? What made her think this guy was all right? That it wouldn’t happen to her?
Olivia tried to imagine her siblings. Her sweet sister Christine and her annoying, yet so adorable, little brother, Alex. She pictured all three of them in the car, driving to the beach like they used to when she was younger. Back when her dad still lived with them, back when everything was all right, and life was worth living. But it was hard for her to picture them anymore. All the darkness and terror she had been through over the past months had altered the way she saw things. All her memories had turned gloomy.
“It’s time to get up,” a voice said.
Olivia felt a kick on her leg and lifted her head. She glanced at the man hovering above her, grinning from ear to ear.
“You. Get up now.”
Fearing another beating, Olivia tried to push herself up using her arms, but the pain was terrible, and she fell back down. Seeing her struggle, the man laughed. He reached down and grabbed her by the collar, then pulled her to her feet. She gasped and felt like she was choking while the man grinned again.
“There. You’re up. Now get in the line and follow the others. You have work to do.”
Chapter 83
Ryan Scott wasn’t feeling well. He hadn’t been for a while now. Not since the day he had been on the Metrorail during the gas attack. Lately, he was beginning to realize that maybe he needed help. Perhaps he couldn’t deal with this on his own after all.
He stood in his kitchen and stared at the rat that had been living with him for the past few days, gnawing its way through the garbage that was piling up in his condo that he didn’t dare to take out. The rat was munching on an old pepperoni pizza slice, making eerie squeaking sounds.
Ryan swallowed and looked at his phone; his only means of contact with the outside world. There were seven new messages from his mother, but he didn’t want to hear them. She was worried about him; he got that, but there really wasn’t much she could do to help him. She kept telling him to go see a doctor, and he would like to do just that, but the problem was that it meant he’d have to leave the safety of his apartment, and he didn’t dare to do that. He didn’t have to take the train or bus; he could just grab a taxi, she had said. His parents would gladly pay.
Grab a taxi? Did she have any idea how many people were killed in traffic every day?
“You have to leave the condo someday. You can’t stay in there forever,” she had told him.
Why not? He had thought to himself. But that wasn’t what he had said to her. He had indulged her and told her he would go and see a doctor. That was why she had been calling him over and over again. To ask him how it went, if he went. But he didn’t, and he didn’t want to have to tell her that. So, now, he had stopped answering his phone at all. Maybe she would go away, just like everyone else had.
In the beginning, he had watched the news all day long to see if there was any development in the search for the terrorists that nearly killed him. But it had ended up driving him nuts and filling him with even more fear, so he had shut the TV off completely and pulled out the plug. He had stopped going on social media or even the Internet. He didn’t want to know about all the dangers that were out there. He just wanted to sit inside, on his couch, and be safe. He didn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone.
Ryan rubbed his neck agitatedly. He felt the panic as it rose inside him like a burning fire, just at the thought of taking out the trash. His heart began beating rapidly, and he felt short of breath. The same thing had happened every time he had tried — trash bag clutched in his hand — to open the door and step out. An overwhelming force had hit him as the panic spread into every fiber of his body, and he was unable to get any further than the threshold. His heart was beating so fast, it became unbearable, and all he could do was shut the door again and put the trash down.
Ryan sat on his couch, flies buzzing around his leftover food, then stared at the black TV screen. Outside his windows, he could hear sirens wailing as usual, and it reminded him of how dangerous the world was. Ryan sniffled, then glanced at the bottle of sleeping pills given to him by the doctor who had examined him after the attack. To make sure he managed to sleep. He had never taken any, not yet.
Ryan picked up the orange bottle. He popped the lid open and poured them all out into his hand, thinking this was the only way he would be able to make it outside ever again.
Ryan lifted his hand to swallow all the pills at once when a rapid knock on the door startled him.
Chapter 84
When no one answered, I knocked again. This time even
harder.
“Ryan!” I yelled, slamming my fist into his door. “I know you’re in there. You don’t dare to leave the condo. Open up!”
“W-who is it?”
“It’s Eva Rae Thomas,” I said, leaning my forehead against the door. I was so exhausted from dragging my hurt body across town all night; I could barely find the energy to speak. But I had to. It was my only chance. Ryan was the only one in Miami that I knew and trusted not to turn me in.
“Go away,” he said. “I don’t want any visitors.”
“I know you don’t,” I yelled, sweat pouring down my chest, my shoulder throbbing. It felt like I had a fever, but maybe it was just the pain. “But I’m not here for your sake. I’m here for my own. I need your help. Please, just open the door, will you? I’m not trying to trick you here, Ryan. This is an emergency.”
“I’m sorry. Could you come again later?”
I clutched my fingers, feeling my legs go wobbly underneath me. The room started spinning, and I could no longer stay on my feet. Instead, I sank to the floor with a loud thud, grasping in thin air for something to hold onto, to stop the fall, while desperately thinking: This is it! It ends here!
I sank into a sea of stars for what felt like an eternity, and when I came to, the door had been opened, and a set of hands was dragging me across the floor. I was placed on the ground, and the door slammed shut behind me. I blinked my eyes and spotted Ryan, who was locking it safely, then breathing heavily, leaning his back against it. I saw the panic in his eyes and realized that grabbing me and pulling me back in had taken all the strength he could muster.
