by Bliss Carter
Boomer was in the middle of a major verbal rant. “That sorry piece of shit. He had access to all the info we gathered, all the evidence. I wish I could find him right now. I’d tear him apart limb by limb”, Boomer heatedly stated, rage boiling within. How dare this prick hurt and kill innocent people, women mostly, just to get his jollies. And to know that he is obsessed with Grace. His Grace. No, no way. No way is this douche getting any where near her or Jaxson. Or any of the other girls, either. This prick was going down and he was going to be the one to do it.
Kresley looked around the barn to locate all of her siblings and Grace. She saw them congregated over at one round table. She caught the eye of Gertie and mouthed the word Grace. She saw Gertie look around and then ask her sisters, indicating that Kresley was asking. Kresley felt panic began settling in, having looked around the room several times and also getting hand motions from her sisters that they couldn't see her. She tilted her head up to Cade. Worry and terror slowly forming on her face, she stated starkly to Cade, Boomer, and Gunnar, “We can’t find Grace. I don’t see her. Do you?”
All three men looked around and didn’t see Grace in the barn. Cade found Francie, Gertie and Birdie, all at one table together and hanging around with Ash, Boots and Braxton and some other firefighters that had come for the wedding. Jaxson sat next to Birdie, coloring on a pad of some kind. “Kresley come on, go sit with your sisters and Jaxson. Let me find her. She must have gone to the restroom or something. Let's not panic.”
Cade led Kresley over to her sisters and Jaxson. “Do y'all know where Grace went?” Cade asked casually, trying not to show any panic.
“She left to go to the restroom while waiting on Kresley to get here. I honestly thought she’d be back by now. She must have gotten held up by someone talking.”
“Kresley stay here. Francie, don’t let Jaxson out of your sight. And all of you stay here, together. Ash, Killian, Braxton, I’m leaving y’all in charge of the girls and Jaxson. They are to go NOWHERE without one of you with them. Do not let any one talk to them, or go off with them alone. Got it?” At the men’s confused looks and nods of understanding, Cade and Boomer took off towards the bathrooms. Captain Phillips headed outside to wait for Officer Shelton and her team to arrive.
“She better be here, Cade. I’m not kidding when I said I was going to tear him apart”, Boomer stated with a dangerous growl in his voice.
“I hope she is, Boomer. But if she isn’t, we’ll find her. I promise you we’ll find her.”
“I’m not losing her now. I don’t even really have her yet, but I know I want her. She’s mine. She can deny it all she wants to in her mind, but she and Jaxson…they’re mine.”
Cade and Boomer turned the corner and came upon the bathrooms. After calling out to see if anyone was in there, they both entered into the ladies’ restroom, looking in each stall and corner. There was no sign of Grace. “Damn it!”, Boomer yelled out. At that moment, a woman, who was dressed as a server, walked in with a small envelope in her hand. She eyed them hesitantly and stated, “Are one of you Cade?”
“That’s me.”
“A guy in the parking lot wanted me to give you this. He said that you’d probably be in the ladies’ bathroom by now”, the woman stated, handing over the envelope.
Cade tore it open and retrieved what was inside. “Son of a bitch!”
Boomer yelled out, “What? Show me!”
Cade handed him a polaroid picture. Boomer looked down and after one look at it, went to a stall and threw up. Cade stood there and looked down at a pic of Grace, tied up, a handkerchief shoved in her mouth. There was blood coming from the side of her head and she was laying in the trunk of a car, unconscious. Her bridesmaid dress was dirty and torn in places. Cade looked up at the woman and demanded, “Tell me what the guy looked like who gave you this. Describe him for me. Now.”
She stammered out a description that exactly matched Sloan Smith. Boomer had returned from throwing up by now and Cade asked the woman to wait out in the hall, but not to leave if he had more questions. Cade looked down at the remaining note in the envelope. He took it out and read out loud for he and Boomer.
So now you know my secret. Well one of my secrets any way. Since I can’t hide who I am anymore, I decided to hide this beautiful girl instead and have some fun with all of you at the same time. I’ll even give you a hint where we are. We haven’t gone far, we’re still within reach, come find us together, having some fun, right there on the beach. You have one hour to find her or she dies. And you know how I like to show my girls the ways of dying. So let’s play a game…
“That bastard wants to play games? Seriously? I can’t wait to play a game with him, with my fist shoved down his throat”, Boomer heatedly stated. “So where has he taken her? He said something about the beach. Are they down at the lake on the beach somewhere?”
“That’s what I think automatically, but it could be a misdirect to lead us off the scent. Do you have your weapon with you?”
“Yeah. On me actually. You?”
“Yep. Never go anywhere without it. I’m calling Shelton to see how far out they are. Then you and I are about to go hunting for this SOB”, Cade stated, rage burning in his eyes.
Cade got out his phone and made a call to Officer Shelton. He gave her the updates and asked how far out they were. She stated she and her team were about five minutes away. After agreeing to meet outside near the chapel, since it was closer to where the lake shore was located, Cade and Boomer walked back towards the girls. Cade pulled Kresley aside and took her off to talk to her by herself. Boomer stood at the sliding barn doors to the outside, seething quietly. He looked devastated.
“Kresley, baby. Grace is missing. And that SOB has her. I can’t say more than that right now, but Boomer and I are waiting on Shelton and her team to get here, then we’ll be canvasing the area to find Grace. Do not say anything to anyone about it. Don’t let on to Jaxson that anything is wrong. If he asks about his mama, tell him she got sick and is laying down for a short nap. Keep him occupied. If you have to, let Birdie or Francie take him home to their house and keep him there, but make sure one of the guys goes with them. Got it?” Cade could see the fear and panic in Kres, but he was in awe as he watched his strong wife take a deep breath and push the fear aside.
“I know you’ll find her. Just find her alive. That’s all I ask.”
“I will do everything in my power to bring her back safe. I love you baby. I’ve got to go now. I love you. I’ll be safe, too. I promise.” Cade leaned down and kissed Kresley’s lips, softly and tenderly telling her without words how much she meant to him.
“Be careful. I love you Big Sexy. Find Grace so I can hear her call you Sasquatch again.” Cade nodded to her and took off running towards Boomer. They went through the sliding barn doors and into the night, determined to find Grace and find her alive.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Her head was killin’ her. Wow, what in the world happened? Grace tried to crack her eyes open, but it seemed they wouldn’t work for some reason. She could hear water moving somewhere nearby. She then noticed her hands were tied behind her back with some sort of rope or cord. A napkin or piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth, making her want to gag. Her brain felt like a fuzzy haze was blanketing it, keeping away important details. Her eyes drifted back closed. She struggled not to let the grogginess overtake her. She needed to stay awake. She instinctively knew that. She opened her eyes again and through the dark she could make out shadows only. Where was she? Why was she wearing a strapless dress? Grace could feel the top hugging below her breasts. It had obviously slid down at some point. Her strapless bra didn't offer much coverage. Big boobs weren't all they were cracked up to be.
Abruptly, it came flooding back to Grace. Bridesmaid dress. The wedding. Kresley and Cade walking down the aisle after saying I do. Jaxson’s sweet speech to Cade while giving Kres away. And Walker, looking so handsome standing up with Cade as his Best Man. She remembered going
into the reception after pictures, talking with the sisters, laughing about how nervous Cade had been as he said his vows and had to start over. Their shock that Kresley had uttered the word obey in hers. Then she had needed to go to the bathroom and left Jaxson with Birdie, coloring in his book. What happened then? It was fuzzy after that.
Grace finally made her eyes open and she could see mostly darkness, but a little moon light was shining through a single window into some sort of building. She could see the outlines of kayaks and other water sports equipment. Was she near the lake? Grace struggled with her hands, the rope rubbing raw marks over her wrists. Who would put her here, tied up? Nothing was making sense. She moved her feet, finding them unbound and thanked God for that small miracle. If she couldn't move her hands, at least she could find her footing to stand up. That was something. But what dumbass would tie her hands and not her feet? It was obviously not a woman since women were smarter than that. Grace snorted at that and immediately regretted it as she felt like she swallowed half the wadded up material in her mouth down her throat.
Another flash of memory had her panicking. She remembered Officer Smith walking up to her as she left the bathroom. He asked her how her night was and how the wedding had been. She had looked at him strangely, wondering why he would have asked how the wedding was, when he should have been there himself. He and Cade did work together, so Grace was pretty sure he had been invited. Then she had felt a slight sting in her upper arm and looked over as Smith took a needle out of her flesh. Within seconds she was feeling woozy, barely able to stand up straight. The last thing she remembered was the evil smile on Smith's face as her sight waivered. Then nothing but blackness.
Oh my gosh! Jaxson! Was Jaxson alright? Who had her baby? Grace began to cry hard then, worrying about her son, her reason for existing. It had been her and Jaxson for years, just them living in this world. They were like peanut butter and jelly according to him. Or toast with Nutella. Lord she loved that boy. Maybe Boomer was taking care of him. He and Jaxson didn’t know each other very well, but Grace felt like Boomer would see about him if she wasn’t there. Make sure he was okay and safe. And Grace knew that any of the sisters would look after Jaxson as well.
Wait, now that she thought about it, she really hoped Boomer would be trying to find her! He and Cade were the ones that were more like peanut butter and jelly. They had made a tight friendship fast. Grace knew that both of those large, muscled men would be trying to find her right now. They better be or she'd have to kick their asses. She needed to get out of this storage shed or whatever it was. She had no clue how much time had gone by and she didn't want to be this vulnerable when Smith came back. Grace knew he would. She would die fighting before she'd let him rape her or worse. She would never allow a man to treat her abusively again. Never.
Grace looked around her, trying to figure out if anyone else was around her in the dark. She stilled herself for a few moments, trying to silence her breath so she could hear. She didn’t hear any noises, not even a peep. The only sound was the nearby water. She turned her head in every direction, but didn’t detect movement or any other shadows besides the kayaks.
She moved her tongue around as much as she could, pushing the material out little by little. Finally, the napkin fell from her mouth to the floor, freeing her to make noise if she needed to. She wasn’t going to scream just yet, just in case the douche Smith was anywhere around. With tears still rolling down her cheeks, Grace tried to think of how to get her hands free. She could feel the ends of a thinner rope of some kind dangling from her tied wrists. So, if she could find something sharp or something with a pointed end, maybe it would be enough to tear the rope up and free her hands. She was tied up pretty tight, though. So no way could she gain the leverage to untie herself.
Grace’s tears had dried up and she was pissed off now. How dare this guy think he could take her away from her family, away from her son. No one was going to do that. No one was going to separate her from Jaxson. She would get out of this and find help. She had been in worse messes than this in the past, she’d seen scarier things and had her dad and brothers treat her with the same insolence and inflicted pain.
No Grace, stop thinking about the past. No time for wallowing in self-pity. You’ve got shit to do. Now do it! You're a bad ass woman with too much to lose. Grace took a deep, steadying breath. Nice pep talk.
Looking around more intently, Grace saw light reflect off of something metal across the room on the wall. Grace rose up on her knees, trying to get her legs to work right. Dizziness overtook her for a moment, then she resumed trying to get on her feet without being able to use her arms or hands to help. She leaned against the stack of kayaks for leverage, and slowly pushed to her feet. She stood there, continuing to lean against the high stack for a few moments until the dizziness passed some. She was glad that they were secure and didn’t lean. If they had, she’d be leaning with them and falling to the floor.
Grace prided herself on being a strong woman, even being described as a ball buster by more than one man. She really enjoyed that description. And she was strong because she had no choice but to be. For her. For her son. For her friends. And now, she was digging deep and finding that ball bustin’ witch because that’s who she needed right now. Otherwise, she would let her marshmallow demeanor take over and just sit on the floor and cry.
No crying today Grace! There’s no crying in kidnapping! Grace started laughing softly at her own joke. She made a mental note to watch the movie, A League of Their Own, soon. Wow, she was starting to lose it. She was finally able to stand up straight without falling over and started gingerly walking over to the wall where she had seen metal. Her feet and legs were mostly asleep, so they felt numb. She looked down and noticed she was barefoot. When she had made it to the other side, she saw a small axe hanging on the wall. It would be her luck that the edge of it was as dull as watching paint dry, but she had to try. But how to get it down to try?
A noise outside startled her, and she ducked down as much as she could. She had no coverage where she was and no weapon to help protect her. Fear, tasting like acid in her mouth, flowed through her, freezing her into place. She didn't want to die. After a few moments, no other noise sounded and no one bum rushed her or entered the building. She blew out a held breath and went back to her options.
Maybe her hands could act as a bolster to the bottom end of the handle? She could push the ax up off the pegs holding it in place on the wall. Maybe. She had to try. Grace turned around and got the handle of the ax cradled in her fingers, as much as she could use them. She slowly raised up with her entire body a few inches, holding on to the end of the axe. She could feel it sliding up the wall a little. Suddenly with a rush of movement, the head of the axe lost its secure holding with the pegs and it clanged out of her hands to the table underneath. She froze, praying to God that no one heard the noise, especially if that was Sloan Smith. When no one came running, Grace looked for the axe. Where did it go?
Grace turned around and squinted in the dark. There! It was lying precariously on the work table below the pegboard on the wall. She saw that the head of the axe was pointed towards her, hanging off the edge of the table by a few inches. It made the edge of the axe at an angle that she could use to try to cut away the rope at her wrists. Well, something was finally going right.
Grace turned around and did her best to position the rope around her wrists to rub against the edge of the axe. She wondered if the axe would be dull or…oh my gosh, holy shitake mushroom...yep, it’s sharp alright. Grace felt blood trickle down the side of her hand where she had just sliced it open. Let’s try this again. She rubbed the rope against the blade again, and it landed on the rope instead of her flesh. Brownie points for Grace.
As best as she could, Grace rubbed up and down, trying to cause enough friction to cut through the rope like a hot knife through butter…and just like that the rope broke and her hands were free. She stumbled back with the feeling of freedom of her hands and arm
s for the first time since waking up. Grace’s arms were killing her. They felt tingly and a little numb, but the pain shooting down both of them from being held at an awkward position for so long was excruciating. See, this is the perfect reason why I am not into bondage! Grace could picture the laughs she’d get from the girls after that statement and the eye rolls and flushed cheeks she’d get from the guys.
Since she was now free to move around better, she needed to figure out if she was trapped in here, or if the door was unlocked. Also, if Officer Smith was anywhere around here. She had no clue how far away from the reception she was. It couldn’t be too far, but she hadn’t noticed the storage building before when it had been daylight, so it may be on the other side of the lake or something. Grace peeked out of the small window and paled at what she saw.
Officer Sloan Smith was kneeling down in the grass, hidden behind some tall industrial barrels, with an automatic rifle, several shot guns, and .45 caliber hand gun in his hand. Grace could tell he was aiming at something beyond where Grace could see. He was ready for an ambush and whoever it was wouldn't stand a chance, especially with a trained cop with an automatic rifle. Grace couldn’t imagine anyone else besides Cade and Walker being the subject of Smith's interest. They probably couldn't see him from the view point Smith had, being hidden behind the barrels like he was. They and anyone else coming to him were definitely targets to get picked off one by one. Grace felt her stomach roll and she honestly thought she was going to throw up. A deep breath helped slightly.
Grace couldn’t let an ambush happen. Time to be bad ass Gracie. She saw there was a door on the opposite side from where Smith was sitting outside the building, so she made her way there and silently checked to see if it was locked or not. Score! Not locked.
