by Marie Skye
“Where’s Abby? Is she okay; is she hurt?”
“She’s fine. She thinks you’re sleeping.” She took a hesitant step toward me. “He left. He said he had to get something, but he wasn’t supposed to take it this far, I swear. We were just supposed to get the money and leave. That’s it, I swear.”
I cried out as she tried to help me sit up. “Just money? Did you know he killed my best friend, Ashley? Did you know you helped him do that? All for seven million dollars? How far would that have gotten you?”
She grimaced. “Shit, this is so fucked up.” She stood there, looking conflicted. “I thought we were going after Grayson for money, that’s why I got those pictures. They were to blackmail him for money, but he kept mentioning you, and half the time, I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
I tried focusing on Ashley and her hysterics but at the moment, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was losing too much blood. I could feel my sugar level was getting low, but I still needed to get Abby safe. “Ashley. Can you get me out of here?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have the key for those.” She pointed to the chains. I leaned up against the wall, tears welling in my eyes. I can at least save one of us. I tried taking another deep breath, as a sharp pain sliced through me again.
I turned toward Ashley. “Can you at least get Abby out of here? Can you at least do that? Can you help me save her? Take her back to Grayson. Please? I can’t have him hurting her.” She nodded then headed for the door.
“Ashley, before you go, hand me that bag.”
Grayson
I checked my watch again. “Did you get enough to eat, bud?” He nodded, drinking his milk. “Eat your green beans too, all of them.”
“I’m saving them for Abby.”
“Nice try, kiddo, Abby will have her own green beans.” I checked my watch again, then picked up my phone and tried Emmalin’s number again. It went straight to voicemail. They should’ve been home hours ago. I pulled up the tracker on her phone. Signal Lost.
I sighed, because now I was starting to become uneasy. I dismissed security, and now I was starting to worry. I called Benny to head over. They weren’t exactly missing, but they should’ve been here by now, that’s for damn sure.
I set up Noah in my room with a movie, and he was content. Ten minutes later, Benny showed up with Hawkins. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, it could be nothing, but Abby and Emmalin had a girls’ day. They should’ve been back already. I can’t reach her on her phone. I can’t track her. I don’t like this feeling. Something’s wrong.”
Hawkins took out his phone. “I’ll send some guys out to retrace steps, see if anyone knows anything, or saw anything. Do you know what they were wearing? I’ll send out a call to hospitals just in case.”
“They’re girls, Grayson, probably just lost track of time. I’m sure it’s nothing.” I looked at Benny as he did a horrible job of trying to reassure me.
I went back and checked on Noah, who had fallen asleep. I put on another movie just in case and also for distraction, then closed the door. I went back to my office; Hawkins had just hung up the phone.
“So far, no reports that match either of their description at any hospitals.” Well, thank fuck for that. But that still didn’t answer where they were at. I tried her phone again. Straight to voicemail. The buzzer, indicating someone was here, sounded.
Hawkins looked at me. “I’ll go check.” I nodded as he looked at the feed.
“Um. Mr. Mandrake, I think you need to see this.”
I walked over to the feed, and there stood Abby, but she wasn’t standing next to Emmalin. “Who the hell is that?” I looked at the feed closer and noticed the blood red lips. Fucking shit. “Let them in now!”
My blood was literally boiling, but I knew I had to dial it back the moment Abby came in the room. The elevator doors opened, and Abby’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. I lifted her up in my arms. “Look at me, are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m hungry.”
I laughed and hugged her tighter. “I missed you so much.” She looked at all the men in the room, who were probably looking too tense for her taste, and her grip around my neck tightened. “What did we tell you about going places with strangers, Abby?”
“She said you were friends, and that Aunt Emme said it was okay for her to bring me home.” My gaze went to Ashley, who stood at the door looking scared as shit, and like she wanted to run. But with Hawkins standing behind her, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“I have chicken nuggets and green beans for dinner that I’ll let you eat in my room as long as you don’t wake up your brother. How does that sound?”
She nodded as she laid her head on my chest. “Then can you bring Aunt Emme home? She didn’t feel good.”
I kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
After I made sure Abby was settled, I closed the bedroom door, and had a guard outside the door. I stormed into my office where Ashley was surrounded. I pulled her up from the chair and slammed her against the wall. “Talk. Now!”
Her chin started to quiver. “Don’t start that bullshit, Ashley. I said, fucking talk.”
“Grayson, you’re hurting me.”
“I don’t fucking care. Why were you with Abby, and where the fuck is Emmalin?” My hands went to her throat. Never in my life have I wanted to hit a woman so bad, but right then and there, I wanted to murder Ashley Stewart. I wanted to watch her bleed dry until there was nothing left of her. She clawed at my hands, which only spurred me on to squeeze tighter.
“If you kill her, we get nothing,” Benny spoke in the calmest voice beside me. He placed his hand on my shoulder, and I eased up slightly. Enough to let the bitch breathe.
“He has her,” she spat out.
“Who?”
“Carson.”
I jumped back like she was on fire.
“No. No, no, no, no, Carson is dead.” I paced the floor angrily. She shook her head.
“He’s not. He staged it. He knew you were having him followed. He started going to homeless shelters; he found a guy that had the same build and could pass for him, and paid him to trade clothes with him. He told him a few things— that he would eventually be kidnapped, but that it was all a joke— and he would pay him the rest of the money later. He knew what he was doing. He knew they would end up killing him. The people that were following him just saw the same clothes and hair and thought it was him. It wasn’t him, Grayson.”
I faced away from her. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. My mind was going a million miles an hour. He had Emmalin. He was going to kill her.
“There’s more. He’s set to release this video to all major networks.” I glanced back at Ashley as she pulled a USB out of her pocket. Benny grabbed it from her hands and plugged it in. After a few seconds, a video played.
A child in a hospital bed came on screen.
“Can you tell us what happened?” The child sniffed. “Does he visit you a lot?” The child nodded. “And what happens when he visits?” The child looked up at mom. “It’s okay, sweetie.” She kissed her forehead.
“He... Sometimes touches me here and down here.” The child pointed to her chest then beneath the covers.
“And what’s the name of the man that does this to you? Can you tell us his name?”
The girl sniffed, then wiped her eyes. “Grayson Mandrake.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Who the fuck will believe that?”
“It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not, Grayson. Even if it’s not true, which we all know it isn’t, the moment that video reaches major networks, this is going to take you down.”
I ran my hand through my hair. I didn’t care about that shit right now. I walked over to Ashley, grabbing her arm. “Take us to Emmalin.”
“I... I can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?
“I don’t know where it is.”
I stopped walking, my
grip on her bicep tightening, and she hissed. “You don’t know where she is?”
“I don’t know if I remember.” Her eyes flicked from mine to everyone else in the room. “I’m not sure I remember how to get back there. I’ve only been just the one time, and that was today, and it’s dark now.”
I got in her face. “Well you better fucking remember, starting now; do you understand? Because if he kills her, then I’m killing you.” Not taking my eyes off her, I spoke to Benny. “Call Jack. I think we need the feds involved.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Emmalin
I said a thank you prayer to Tyler for always making me carry a Swiss army knife. I somehow managed to loosen the chain and freed one of my hands. I was still bleeding from the kick, and I was losing a lot of blood. I felt myself getting weak. God, I prayed Ashley was able to get Abby out of here. I still had my gun and had it hidden under the mattress.
I winced as another bout of pain shot through my stomach. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to breathe through it. The sound of the door opening startled me, and I tucked the Swiss army knife under the mattress.
“Well. Looks like that bitch ran off with that little girl. Fine, more money for me. She would’ve been too high maintenance anyway.” He begun unbuckling his jeans, and I started to cry. I couldn’t do it again. I physically couldn’t.
“You don’t have to do this, okay? You can just take the money and go. I won’t stop you. I’ll make sure Grayson won’t stop you. Just go, okay?”
He laughed as he dragged me further down the bed. “Let’s make this a memorable experience for you,” he whispered in my ear.
My skin crawled as soon as he touched me, and I fumbled under the mattress with my free hand for the knife.
“Fuck, you feel good. Now I know!”
I found the knife, turned around, and stabbed him in the left shoulder. He jumped away, and I pushed him off of me, scrambling to get as far from him as possible.
There was a loud blast that threw me away from the mattress. Carson stumbled, looking around dazed, and touched where I stabbed him. “You fucking bitch.”
The blast sounded again, this time shaking the whole building, causing debris to fall. Carson started laughing manically. “That must be them coming to get you.” He reached in his pocket to pull out his phone, and I crawled back over to the mattress to get the gun, hiding it behind me.
“You see this phone, Emma? One click releases that video I told you about, and hundreds of pictures to major news outlets across the world. But that’s not the fun part because we both know your boyfriend will spin it, and it’ll be taken care of. But there’s one thing he won’t be able to take care of.”
“Emmalin!”
I looked up at the sound of my name being called.
“Did you know that we had cameras in our house growing up? Did you also know that those very same cameras show you committing a crime? Goodness, Emma, what will the neighbors think?”
My mind was spinning. He knew. He knew this whole time.
“It was self-defense,” I whispered.
“That’s your word now, isn’t it?”
Before I could respond, he lunged at me, knocking me to the ground, then punching me in the face. I decided I wasn’t going to die here. I was going to fight. I kicked him in the balls as I rolled over, reaching for the gun, and pointed it right in his face.
“Get the fuck off of me,” I said through gritted teeth.
He started laughing as he slowly got up, walking backwards. “I see you got some grit. Good for you.”
“Yeah. I do.” I took a shot, right above his head.
“You fucking bitch.”
The pain from earlier intensified and I doubled over, but still kept my gun firmly in place. “Take out the phone and throw it on the ground. Now!”
He laughed as he reached for his pocket and threw the phone down. “Kick it over to me.” The room was starting to spin, but I was determined to end this. Right here. Right now.
The door suddenly opened and in walked two guys in swat gear, followed by Grayson.
“Emmalin.”
My eyes instantly filled with tears. I didn’t want him seeing me like this. He couldn’t see me like this. The guy next to him took off his helmet. Jack. I shut my eyes and focused back on Carson and aimed my gun at his heart.
“Grayson. I need you to leave.” I was shaking now. Grayson walked further into the room, with Jack by his side. Jack spoke first. “That’s a nice gun you have there, Emmalin.”
“It’s mine. I bought it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other guy slowly start to circle the room. “No one move!” I shouted.
Jack held up his hand, and the other guy froze. “You look like maybe you’re getting tired holding it, Emmalin. Why don’t you let me take that from you?”
I shook my head. “Don’t come near me.”
I took a step back, still wavering the gun in Carson’s direction.
Grayson spoke. “Emmalin? Baby, look at me.”
I shut my eyes briefly. “Please don’t look at me. Don’t look at me like this.” A tear fell down my face.
“I’m going to take you out of here, okay?”
“He killed Tyler.”
Grayson stepped further in the room. “I know.”
“He could’ve hurt Abby. I’m going to make sure he never does anything to anyone ever again.”
“He won’t baby. I promise. He won’t. I swear to you.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I know he won’t. Get out.”
Grayson stilled. “I’m not leaving here without you.”
Not taking my eyes off Carson, I replied, “Well that’s too bad, Grayson, because you are leaving.” Then I did something I never thought I would ever do in my life. I pointed the gun at Grayson’s chest. He froze. Jack raised his gun to me, and Grayson held up his hand to stop him. I had no doubt that he would shoot me if Grayson wasn’t there.
“Grayson. Leave. Now. This isn’t your fight.”
“But you are. You’re my fight. I’m not having you live with the brunt of this, Emmalin. I promised Tyler.” My eyes flickered to his at the mention of Tyler. The tears were falling. I shut my eyes as the room spun, and I slightly wavered. He reached up and caught me, and placed his hand over the gun, putting the safety back on.
“Ambulance is on their way,” I heard Jack say, as Grayson started moving me toward the door.
Carson started clapping. “Well, this was great. Great fucking reunion.” Before anyone could react, Carson took a gun out his back pocket and fired. I felt a sting right before Grayson threw us on the ground, covering us both with his body. Jack and the other guy immediately opened fire.
Grayson
“All clear!”
“Mandrake, speak to me.”
I slowly moved off Emmalin. “I’m fine!” I yelled back. “Emmalin?” She hadn’t moved since we hit the ground, and I realized I possibly knocked her out from hitting too hard. I gently shook her. Then I saw the blood coming from her chest, and I felt all of my blood drain from my face. She was covered in it already so I didn’t notice at first.
I shook her again. “Emmalin! Fuck, Jack, she’s hit.”
Jack came racing over, and he stopped when he saw the blood gushing out. He kneeled down. “Is there an exit wound?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. She was already covered in blood.”
He spoke into his speaker. “What’s the ETA on the ambulance? We have a gunshot victim, in the chest.” He checked her heartbeat. “I barely have a pulse. Grayson, take off your shirt and apply pressure to the wound.”
The more we worked, the more blood she seemed to lose, and the paler she got. Finally, the ambulance arrived, and Jack had to physically remove me from her side while they worked. The cops arrived and began questioning us. One look at Emmalin on the ground covered in blood, and it didn’t take long to guess what was going on. We already had a story in hand, and Benny had manag
ed to intercept the video from being leaked.
“Mr. Mandrake, we need you to come down to the station for questioning.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? They’re taking her to the fucking hospital, and you want to question me now? The only place I’m going is in that ambulance.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Mandrake, but we have a dead body in the room; I can’t let you do that. Either you come with us now, or we’ll arrest you.” I sighed, looking at Emmalin as they loaded her into the ambulance. I wanted to be in that ambulance with her. I turned to Jack. “Call Chace. He’s family. He needs to be there with her. Then call my father. He’s my lawyer. I’ll be at the hospital within the hour.”
“Mr. Mandrake, this will take more than an hour,” the detective said to me.
I turned and glared at her. “I said, I’ll be at the fucking hospital within the hour.”
I sat in the questioning room and waited for my father to arrive. It had been thirty minutes. Thirty minutes too fucking long. The door finally opened and I was met with the eyes of my father, who looked at me at first with concern. He immediately steeled himself, and he turned cold the moment the detective entered the room. This detective was up against not one, but two Mandrakes, who were both scary as fuck.
Before she got a word out my father began speaking, which was good because I wasn’t in the mood to take the reins. “Why is he here? A man kidnaps my granddaughter and my son’s girlfriend. She’s covered from head to toe in blood, and he’s here so you can question him. For what? It’s pretty fucking obvious this is a matter of self-defense. Unless you have information to arrest Mr. Mandrake, there’s no reason he needs to be here, detective. You’re holding him against his will. So, I ask you again, why is he here? If no purpose than the fact that he did your fucking job, I see no reason for him to be here. Are there grounds for an arrest?”
“No, Mr. Mandrake, no charges have been filed but—”
My father looked at me, cutting the detective off. “You can go.”
The detective sighed as I got up out of the chair and walked out of the precinct with my father right behind me to the waiting car. We both got in and headed to the hospital. We drove in silence for a few minutes before he spoke. “You want to tell me what the hell that was all about? Why I was coached into saying something I knew nothing about, and more importantly, why my granddaughter was kidnapped and I was told to not tell anyone, especially your mother?”
