Claimed by Her Web Master (Web Master #3)

by Normandie Alleman

  Digging my hands in the pockets of my trousers, I gulped back a wave of emotion as I watched the car leave through the window. My fingers closed around the ring in my pocket. I’d tried to send her away wearing it. I’d hoped she’d get used to it, view it as a symbol of our love and not be able to take it off. Instead, she’d refused, telling me to hold on to it for now.

  I’d wanted to argue, to try to persuade her, but I’d already been too aggressive with her so I agreed.

  After the car drove out of sight, I poured myself a couple of drinks and downed them before going for a swim in the pool. The environment was truly gorgeous, lush with its deep-green vegetation, orchids, and air plants hanging from the tops of trees. There was even a built-in waterfall that whooshed its refreshing cooling spray above my head.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy it. All I could think was how much I needed Sophie. Not only here with me now, but cleaved to me as my wife. Forming a family with her was essential. Without that, how could I go on, knowing that somewhere, the most beautiful woman in the world, both inside and out, was raising my child without me? And all because of some misguided manipulation on my part.

  Damn, I was an asshole. But I prayed to God that she could forgive me.

  23

  Quentin

  I ducked down behind the wheel of the rental car. I told myself I’d part ways with Sophie, but that only lasted a few hours. I’d installed a tracking app on her phone so I knew when she was moving or changing locations. The car was parked on one end of the parking lot of Sophie’s hotel. I’d actually been reading a book, not expecting to see her when I noticed from her phone that she was on the move.

  Judging from her attire it looked like she was heading out for a hike. There were many natural paths not far from the hotel, and I considered getting out and following her. I was dressed well enough for it, but part of me was beginning to feel desperate and foolish chasing her around like this.

  Sophie was a grown woman, and I wasn’t going to be able to force her to love me or give me a second chance. As much as I’d like to control her, I realized that was not possible and I didn’t want a wife who didn’t want me even if it did mean that I can be with my son all the time.

  I was going to have to accept whatever Sophie decided, and I was probably going to need a lot of therapy to get over her. What the fuck was I doing staking her out? If she found out it would only cement her decision to stay broken up with me.

  As I watched the back of her disappear down the lush path, I decided to let her go.

  It was time for me to move forward with my life, regardless of what she decided. Either way I would have a son and that would be a blessing. Having Sophie as the mother of my child would be a bonus. And if she allowed me back into her life I would be thrilled, but if she chose not to I would have to come to terms with that.

  I turned the car around and drove back to the rented house where I’d held Sophie for two days.

  Before I went to bed I poured myself a drink and called Kate, who was still staying at the hotel where the wedding had been held.

  “Hi, Kate, it’s Quentin. Hey, I’ve decided to quit monitoring Sophie tonight. She went on a hike earlier, and I opted not to follow her. Can you take over just making sure she’s okay?”

  “Sure thing, boss. I’m on it.”

  “Thanks, I think we should head back tomorrow.”

  “If you say so.” I could hear the disappointment in her voice, but we couldn’t stay in paradise forever. It was time for me to get started on my new music project in earnest. It was why they were paying me the big bucks.

  Kate and I hung up, and after another drink I fell into a restless sleep.

  The next morning I was awakened by my cell phone.

  “Hello,” I answered groggily, wondering who the hell would call me at this hour.

  “Quentin, I think something is wrong.”

  It was Kate. At first I had no idea what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s Sophie. I don’t think she’s in the hotel. I don’t think she came back from her walk.”

  “What makes you think that? Where do you think she is?”

  “I’m not sure, but she doesn’t answer her cell phone or the phone in her room. When I looked for her yesterday I couldn’t find any sign of her, and her cell phone is not tracking.”

  A cold feeling of dread washed over me. “I’ll be right there.”

  I dressed in record time and practically flew over to the hotel, even though my rental car was probably not built to go over sixty-five miles per hour.

  When Kate met me in the lobby, she seemed quite distraught. Her hair was in disarray, and the bags under her eyes told me she hadn’t slept.

  “When were you going to tell me this?”

  Kate ran her hand through her tousled hair. “I just—I didn’t want to worry you if there was no need, and in the dark I’m not sure what you could have done anyway. I guess I wanted you to get some sleep in case you needed to deal with … In case something was wrong.”

  “Are you sure she’s not in her room?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about the other girls’ rooms?”

  “I don’t know, maybe you should ask.”

  I went to Sophie’s room and knocked. No answer.

  I called Shelby, who was at the hotel. She told me that Bryan left a few hours ago to return to the States for a race, but that she wasn’t going back until tomorrow.

  “I haven’t seen her. Bryan and I have been in Maui until this morning. I flew back here to spend another couple of days with the girls. I’ll ask them, but I think the last time I heard she was going on a hike yesterday afternoon. Hey, I didn’t know you were in Hawaii, Quentin. I didn’t see you at the wedding.”

  I didn’t have time to explain myself to Shelby, so I asked her to let me know if she found out anything and gave her my number as well as Kate’s.

  I grabbed a bottle of water and my fully charged phone before heading out on the trail where I’d seen Sophie the night before. The pit in my stomach ached, and I prayed to God that Sophie was okay.

  24

  Sophie

  When I set out on this damned hike, I had no idea it could go so terribly wrong.

  As I walked along the trail, I barely noticed nature’s beauty that surrounded me. My mind raced with thoughts of Quentin and what he had done—basically kidnapping me and holding me for two days. His behavior should have disgusted me. But instead it made me feel special, flattered to be the object of his desire. I knew that was sick, but maybe it was because I’d spent so long trying to get his attention, to win his love, to get him to make a commitment to me. Now that he was interested in being a permanent part of my life it seemed ironic and unfair that it was too late.

  Timing had never been my strong suit.

  A part of me wanted to rush into Quentin’s arms, put that ring on my finger, and never take it off. There were moments when I dared to dream of what it would be like for us to be married and to raise our child together.

  But then that reasonable voice in the back of my head pops up and reminds me of all the pain that man has caused me—all the lies he’s told. I know I can’t trust him, and a marriage without trust is doomed to fail. What kind of life could we build together when the foundation is built not on rock, but on sand, able to be washed away at a moment’s notice?

  These were the things I was thinking about when, instead of paying attention to where I was going and my footing, I slipped on some volcanic rock and started sliding down the side of the mountain. My left foot caught on something and I heard a snap as my ankle turned at an awkward angle. I remember thinking, “My ankle doesn’t go that way.”

  By the time I fell to the ground with a loud, sickening thud, I landed in a ravine about twenty feet below the path.

  I lay there for a minute, trying to catch my breath. The impact knocked the wind out of me and it took me some time to recover. Everything from my head to my toe
s hurt, but my ankle screamed the loudest. But before I could assess my injuries I wondered if my baby was okay. I couldn’t find any signs anything was wrong with him or her, but I was still worried. Next I tried to assess my injuries. As I’d fallen the rocks I’d fallen down had scraped my skin all over. Most of the cuts were more like scrapes or road rash, but there were a few on my legs that were bleeding.

  Besides the searing pain in my left ankle, I couldn’t help but notice how my foot flopped to the side at a disturbing angle that made me want to vomit, though I guess that could have been the morning sickness. I found I couldn’t move my foot or my ankle by myself, and when I reached out to touch it the pain was so intense I almost lost consciousness.

  “Damn!” I screamed into the air.

  But there was no one around to hear me.

  Surveying the rest of the damage, I noted a few scrapes all along my forearms and one on my cheek. Those rocks had done quite a number on me. My hand caressed my belly, and I prayed that my baby was okay. There was still no bleeding or any other signs of a miscarriage, at least not yet.

  I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket only to find that I had zero bars—no coverage. No way to call for help.

  I dragged myself on my rear end over toward the side of the mountain and rested my back against the rocky side of the cliff. Hopefully someone would come along soon, but I knew I needed to remain calm for the baby’s sake. I was afraid that if I panicked I might put my child in danger.

  A few hours had passed and I could tell no one was coming. That was when I started to worry about it getting dark. I had to try to get back to the hotel, so I made an effort to stand. Holy crap! I almost passed out from the pain as I accidentally put weight on my bad ankle. I immediately fell back onto the ground.

  There was no way I was getting out of this ravine by myself.

  Trying to hold back tears, I hugged my arms around myself and watched helplessly as the sun went down. My anxiety level started to climb once that orange ball went south of the horizon, and I prayed there were no predators in the tropical jungle where I lay.

  As it became dark the loss of the sun made it cooler, and I hunched over into a ball to stay warm. It amazed me that it could be cool at night even in Hawaii where you always thought of the weather as being so warm. Fortunately I didn’t think I would suffer from exposure, but every noise made me jump. I don’t think I closed my eyes for longer than a minute the whole night. I kept imagining the creeks and groans of the forest were a black jaguar coming to eat me for dinner. Numerous times I thought I heard footsteps and I froze in terror. Then after a while I’d realize it was nothing, and I cried over my foolishness.

  I had been taught better than to get myself into this situation. I knew to always hike with a buddy, someone who could go for help if needed. But I’d been so lost in my own world, consumed by the drama of my life that I simply forgot basic safety protocols.

  By the time dawn broke my thirst was extreme. I was torn between dragging myself to find some water and staying where I was, which was close to the path where I’d fallen and where someone might find me.

  I wouldn’t know where to find water. Surely someone would come down the path sometime today. Whereas if I went looking for water I might never find it, and I might never be found either. What if I went looking for water and got lost to where I couldn’t find my way back here? Considering those things, plus how much it hurt to even move, I made the choice to stay where I was. My lips had begun to crack and my parched mouth made my tongue feel twice the size it usually did. My stomach rumbled, but I tried not to think of it. The throbbing pain in my ankle made that easier, since it fought for the majority of my attention and won.

  My ankle and my baby were the two things at the forefront of my mind. I constantly prayed for God to spare my baby, promising Him that if He would, I would never go anywhere without a buddy again.

  “I swear, dear Lord,” I prayed. “If you will please let my baby live, I promise that I will not attempt to go into new wild territories on my own again. I will trust in Your judgment and have You guide me in the way You see fit.” I was a lapsed Episcopalian, but in times of desperation I tended to turn back to the faith of my upbringing.

  When the sun came out I dozed a little. I think I was exhausted from the night before, and the hazy morning and bright sunshine lulled me into a semi-wakeful state. I don’t know how long I had been lying there when I heard a voice calling my name.

  “Sophie!”

  At first I thought it was God talking back to me, but as it grew louder and more insistent I recognized that voice—it was Quentin.

  “Quentin,” I managed weakly.

  “Sophie! Sophie?” His voice was louder now. He sounded almost above me.

  “Quentin! I’m down here!” And then I saw his face peering over the ledge where I’d fallen, and I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

  “Oh my God, Sophie. What happened to you?”

  “I slipped and fell. I think I broke my ankle.”

  “Okay. Let me figure out how to get down there. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  A sense of relief flowed through me.

  I believed him. Now that he was here, I was going to be okay. He would find a way to get me out of here.

  He disappeared for a few minutes, and I called out for him, “Quentin?!”

  But he didn’t answer. I looked around frantically and started to panic. Where had he gone? Had I imagined him? Maybe I was hallucinating.

  To my great relief, I heard a rustling to my other side, and Quentin appeared, pushing some vines out of his way. I held out my arms to him, and he leaned over and hugged me tight.

  “You have no idea how worried I’ve been about you.”

  “I’ve been worried about me too.” I laughed.

  “Let me see that leg.”

  I sat still as he maneuvered my leg and when he tried to straighten my ankle I groaned in pain, gritting my teeth as hard as I could, trying not to scream.

  “If you can’t walk at all we need to get some help,” he said. Tears welled up in my eyes and as much as I tried to hold back my hysteria I gripped his shoulders tightly and said, “Please, Quentin, please—you can’t leave me here!”

  25

  Quentin

  As I ran down the path, I worried I would miss her so I tried hard to listen for a few minutes after each time I called for her.

  “Sophie!” I waited.

  Nothing.

  I’d been walking for about ten minutes, and I wondered how far I would have to go before I found her.

  What if someone had taken her? The idea struck terror in my heart, and I reassured myself she had just gotten lost or perhaps hit her head or something. I couldn’t imagine my life if I never saw her again. So many people had been taken from me. So many people I cared about, who cared about me—gone. Please, God, do not add Sophie to that list.

  And the baby. Thoughts of my unborn child gave me a renewed sense of urgency. “Sophie!” I called louder.

  The sun had come out and was warming things up. It was starting to get hot. I took a small sip of water and kept going. The path was practically deserted. I only saw one couple and they were going the opposite direction. I asked them if they’d seen Sophie. I described her to them, but they said they hadn’t seen anyone on their hike. My brain insisted on remaining optimistic, but my heart was starting to sink. I hoped Kate had been able to round up more help for the search because I wasn’t having much luck.

  “Sophie!” I’d gotten so used to not hearing a response that when I heard a muffled sound I was surprised. “Sophie?”

  “Down here!” I couldn’t believe it. But as I peered down over the side of the path I could see her. She was leaning up against a rock, legs stretched out in front of her. She looked good and banged up, but she was there and she was alive.

  “Oh my God! Sophie are you okay?”

  “No, I’ve hurt my ankle pretty bad. I th
ink it’s broken. Quentin, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute. I have to find another way to get down to you.” It looks like she had slipped over the side of the path and fallen down some pretty jagged rocks, the volcanic kind that are sharp as glass. It was a miracle she was in one piece.

  On the other side of the trail, there was a place I could scale down the side to the same ravine, only it wasn’t as steep. It took me a few minutes, but I was able to locate Sophie. When I reached her she was extremely happy to see me. She would have probably been happy to see anyone, but I still reveled in her smile. If I could be her hero, then goddammit I was going to be.

  “Oh thank God you’re here, Quentin. I was afraid no one would find me and that I might die of thirst out here.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m here now. Here, drink some water, and then we’ll try to get you to a doctor so he can look at that ankle of yours. What the hell happened?”

  She gulped down the entire bottle of water before she answered. “I wasn’t watching where I was going, and I slipped.”

  Her ankle was a grisly scene. The angle it rested at made me flinch. It was broken all right, and there was no way she was going to be able to put any weight on it.

  Carrying her was going to be tricky. My cell phone had no coverage, and I had no idea how long it would be before a search and rescue team arrived. I was going to have to find a way to get her back up on the path and evacuate her from this trail. I needed to get her to a hospital and fast. I noticed that she was shivering, and I worried that the pain from her ankle might have put her into shock.

  “Besides your ankle, does it hurt anywhere else?” I asked, praying she hadn’t sustained any internal injuries.

  “Only these scrapes and scratches. Some of them are pretty bad, but I think that’s it.”

  I nodded. “Hand me your belt,” I said as I removed mine. I was going to have to improvise.