“I think it’s very noble of you,” I said, giving him a peck on the cheek and beaming. “Are you ready to go on an adventure?”
“This isn't a happy adventure, Kelsey, this is a serious situation that isn't to be taken lightly," Liam warned.
“Oh please," I scoffed. "Tell me something, Liam. If you weren't going stir-crazy here from boredom, would you be so eager to go after Anthony? No, you wouldn't. You would've called the police and let them deal with this. I mean, is this even legal? Do you have a warrant for his arrest?"
“I am calling the police once I've captured Anthony, and McIntyre just issued a warrant for him. I'm in the clear legally, and besides, I'm a U.S. Marshal. This is what we do- we capture fugitives. I'm not doing this just for some adventure or because I felt cooped up and bored," Liam insisted.
“Okay, sure. What should I do to get ready?” I asked, dropping the subject.
“I've still got to call and get his phone trace up on my laptop. Get dressed. You're going to navigate for me while I drive." I nodded and got dressed while Liam called the tech team back in D.C. I rifled through my trunk, pulling out black tights, a black turtleneck, and black boots. I pulled my shoulder-length hair into a sleek chignon at the base of my neck, then stepped back to admire my look in the floor-length mirror. I looked like a spy, and I kind of liked it.
Pleased with myself, I walked back out to where Liam was packing his laptop into its heavy-duty travel case. "Hey there, 007," he said. "You know it's the middle of the day. Anthony is more likely to see you in that outfit than if you hadn't dressed like Catwoman."
I blushed, sheepishly wiping my hands down the front of my shirt. "I don't know what you're talking about. These were just the clothes that were lying on the top of my laundry pile." Liam looked unconvinced. "Should I change?"
Liam shook his head. "We should get a move on if we want to catch him. Besides, you look adorable." I furrowed my brows. I didn't want to look adorable. I wanted to look intimidating. Liam ignored my obvious displeasure and went to the front door to grab his gun. "Let’s go.”
I followed him out to the truck and settled into my seat with the computer in my lap. Liam turned the engine on, then pulled the laptop from me and started typing. After a moment, he smiled and said, "Got him. He's in Nashua. Navigate us there and let me know if that dot moves at all."
“Okay," I said, pulling up the map application on my phone. "You're going to hop on 101. Then you're going to get off on Daniel Webster Highway. After that, you'll follow some back roads to get to a casino, where this red dot is standing still."
“Of course he’d be at a casino. Let’s just hope he hasn’t already spent all of the money he stole from Daisy,” Liam said grimly. “What’s the traffic situation like?”
“Clear. We should get there in an hour, give or take,” I said, looking up from my phone. “According to its website, the casino doesn’t even open until seven. Unless he’s drinking away Daisy’s money at a bar, he can’t be spending it. We may be able to recover all or most of it.”
Liam nodded and started driving. He put his right hand on the center console, palm up, and I placed my left hand in his. He intertwined our fingers, and I looked out the window, smiling wordlessly. We sat in comfortable silence together, only speaking when I needed to let him know which exit to take. The drive to the casino was quiet, and traffic was light, as predicted. Once Liam took the final exit on the highway, we pulled off the main street and onto a back road. "Has that red dot moved?"
I shook my head. “Same spot as an hour ago. What can he be doing at noon for an hour?”
“Nothing good.” Liam turned left, then right, then down a side street, then right again. He stopped the truck. “Okay, this is a good place to park.”
“We're still two blocks away," I said. "Yeah, but I don't want him to see the truck, or you. This should be quick and painless. What are our ground rules?"
“Stay put, follow directions, blah, blah blah," I said. Liam scowled at me, and I smiled brilliantly at him. "I'll be safe, Liam."
Liam nodded tersely, chucking me on the chin before getting out of the truck. “Be right back.”
As Liam walked away, fear crept in. I had been all smiles and jokes when we'd decided to come here, but now that we were here, the reality of the situation was hitting me. What if Anthony was feeling confrontational and didn't come in smoothly? What if he had a weapon and overpowered Liam somehow? Why had we not thought this through before coming here? I frowned and turned the dial on the radio to distract my mind from the wild thoughts racing through it.
After twenty-five minutes of waiting and no sign of Liam, I was really starting to get nervous. I kept repeating the one rule Liam had been most adamant about- stay put- but I couldn't wait here in the truck any longer while Liam could be lying in the streets bleeding out from a stab wound. I turned the truck off and zipped my jacket up, making up my mind to find Liam and assist him. Just as I was jumping down into the street, I heard a shout.
“Get back in the truck!” Liam barked, coming towards me with an unconscious Anthony slung over his shoulder. I stood frozen, gawking at the sight of them.
“Liam, you’re all right! Why is he unconscious?” I asked. “Did he become combative and you had to use a chokehold?”
“First off, chokeholds are illegal. Second, why were you leaving the safety of the vehicle I explicitly told you not to leave? Lastly, I found him like this. He's strung out on something, and I don't think it's just liquor. He's in for quite a shock when he wakes up in a jail cell," Liam said, plopping Anthony into the backseat.
“I was worried that Anthony had attacked you after I didn’t hear from you after a while. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dying in the street. Sorry for caring.” I pouted in the hopes of making him feel bad, but Liam didn’t fall for it.
“You're going to give me gray hair, Kelsey, and you're going to get yourself killed." Liam shook his head. "Keep an eye on the junkie back here. If he so much as twitches, let me know so I can pull the truck over." He cinched Anthony's wrists with a large zip tie, securing them behind his back. Anthony didn't budge through any of this. For a crazy second, I wondered if he was dead. I dismissed this- Liam had checked his pulse, no doubt. I was leery of getting into an enclosed space with an unconscious someone who could wake up and attack us, but I didn't voice my apprehension. Instead, I got into the truck, gently closing the door so as not to wake Anthony.
Liam got in the driver’s seat, closing the door with a loud slam that made me cringe. He pulled his sunglasses from the visor and turned to me with a grin. “We got him. Now to hand him off to the appropriate authorities.”
“Are we going to the Langdon Falls police or the Nashua police?” I hoped it was Nashua- I had a vested interest in getting Anthony out of this truck as soon as possible. I didn’t want to spend an hour-long ride on edge while I watched a passed-out drunk junkie.
“Langdon Falls. He stole from a resident there, so this is their jurisdiction. You know that," Liam said, pulling out onto the main street. I nodded weakly, watching Anthony like a hawk and willing myself to relax.
Unlike me, Liam was in a great mood. He hummed along to the pop music on the radio, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and grinning at me. Weirdo. He could deny it all he wanted, he was an adrenaline junkie, and catching Anthony had scratched his itch. Me? I had just learned that I probably could do without the excitement of a real-life fugitive capture.
Anthony never stirred during the truck ride, to my immense relief. We pulled into the back parking lot of the police station on Main Street in Langdon Falls, and Liam cut the engine. "You ready for this?" he asked. I nodded. Liam enabled the child locks and motioned for me to get out. I got out quietly, and Liam came around to my side of the truck. "Go inside and get an officer. Let them know that Anthony Jackson has been captured and that the warrant was faxed to them this morning. I'll watch him while you're gone."
I went inside the police stat
ion, grabbed the first officer that I saw- Officer Nichols- and pulled her outside with me. She objected to me grabbing her wrist and pulling her out into the cold, but she stopped protesting when she saw Liam leaning against the truck with his gun drawn. When she saw Anthony in the backseat, her eyebrows nearly disappeared in her hairline. "Good grief, is that Anthony Jackson? What on Earth is going on?"
“This man stole jewelry and approximately five hundred dollars cash from one of Langdon Falls' residents, Daisy Jackson. I got a warrant from the U.S. Marshal Service and captured the fugitive. Officer Nichols, I need your complete silence about us being the ones to bring him in. I am in the middle of a federal investigation. No one can know we're not who we say we are, understand?" Liam stated seriously, flashing his Marshal badge at her.
Officer Nichols nodded, wide-eyed. “Done and done. Does Daisy know about this?” I shook my head, and she let out a low whistle. “She’s going to be pretty unhappy when she finds out. What’s he on, anyway?”
“I’m thinking heroin and alcohol. He’s out cold,” Liam said. “You should get him into a holding cell until he comes to, and then book him. I’ll let you guys take it from here.” Officer Nichols nodded, still dumbstruck by the revelation that we weren't just two vacationers visiting her quaint village.
Once Anthony was situated in his cell, Liam and I drove from the police station to the village square. “You think she’ll say anything?” I asked, concerned for our anonymity.
“Nah, she’s a professional. Besides, the U.S. Marshal Service would come down on her if she blew our covers.”
I nodded, satisfied. “You know, that guy is an asshole, but he needs professional help. I hope that they get him some instead of just locking him up and throwing away the key."
"Look at you, Miss Bleeding Heart," Liam teased. "That guy is an alcoholic abuser junkie who stole from your friend after assaulting you guys in a grocery store. You don't want to see justice done?"
“Of course I do. But I also want to see someone who needs help get that help. I’m not ashamed of my bleeding heart.”
Liam grabbed my hand and hauled me into his side. “I know, and I love that about you.” He kissed me deeply, lifting me off the ground, surprising me. He put me back down eventually though, but kept hold of my hand and interlocked our fingers. “Want to walk around, look at the lights, get a coffee? Tell Daisy that we witnessed Anthony being escorted into the police station while we were minding our own business?”
“That sounds nice,” I said, still dazed from the kiss. I would’ve went with him if he’d asked me to go alligator wrestling.
The sun was already starting to set at four in the afternoon, and the streetlights on Main Street, adorned with garland and twinkling lights, lent golden radiance to the plowed sidewalks. Walking hand-in-hand down the street with Liam was a little magical. We stopped at every decorated storefront to study them, and we waved at townspeople as they greeted us at every turn. It almost felt like we belonged.
We stopped in front of Daisy's coffee shop, and I inhaled deeply, preparing myself to go in and tell Daisy that her ex-husband had just been arrested.
“You good?” Liam asked.
“Let’s do this,” I said, going through the door that Liam was holding open for me.
“Hey, guys!" Daisy called from the counter, beaming as always. "You made it out of your cabin!"
“Yeah, thanks to you plowing us out,” I said. Daisy shrugged modestly. “Daisy, I have some news for you.”
“Oh yeah?" she asked, glancing at Liam and me. "What's that?"
“The police picked up Anthony somewhere in Nashua,” I said. “He’s sleeping it off in a holding cell at the jail right now. After he comes to, they’re going to book him and send him to rehab.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped. “What? How do you know?”
I looked at Liam, who cleared his throat. “We overheard an officer talking about it when we walked past the police station. Great news, right?”
Daisy nodded slowly. “I was kind of hoping that he was finally gone for good. I guess something will always bring him back to my doorstep though.”
I stood still, unsure of what to say. This was not the reaction I had expected from Daisy- I'd hoped for elation, not disappointment. Did she not want to recover her stolen stuff from Anthony? "Aren't you happy about this, Daisy?"
“I mean, it's great that he's been arrested. But he's been through this rehab cycle before. It's not going to stick, and before long, he'll be right back in town, begging me to either take him back or lend him money. I just wanted to be rid of him, no matter the cost." Daisy's face was sadder than I'd ever seen it, and I wanted to make everything that had ever made Daisy blue disappear.
I hugged Daisy, trying to console her. “It’ll all work out. Call me if you need to talk. Call me if you need anything at all. Remember, this is a good thing. Don’t let it bring you down.”
Daisy nodded. “Okay. I will. I do have to get back to work though.” She pulled an apron on and tied it around her waist, which I took as my cue to leave. Grabbing Liam’s hand, I waved goodbye to Daisy, who nodded curtly at me, then went back to steaming milk with a frown on her face.
“That didn’t go as well as I thought,” Liam said in a low voice. “She’ll come around, though.” I nodded in agreement.
As we were walking out the door, I glanced at the message board tacked onto the wall. There on the board was a large poster advertising the tree lighting ceremony that was happening this Saturday. "Check it out," I said to Liam, nodding towards the advertisement.
“Want to go?” he asked, surprising me.
“Really?” I asked, turning to him.
Liam nodded. “Yeah, it’ll be fine. I know you want to go, and I can just be extra alert. Besides, we’ll be in a giant crowd at nighttime. Easy to hide if anything goes wrong.”
I grinned broadly. “Of course I want to go. Thank you!” I kissed him quickly, then pulled back to embrace him. “In the meantime, we should get our own tree to decorate.”
Liam sighed. "Oh boy," he said unenthusiastically. I laughed and led him out of the shop and to the market, where I picked out the most obnoxious tree I could find, and we dragged that thing all the way back to the truck.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I awake in the dark basement again. I’m bound, as always, to this chair in the middle of the unfurnished room. I grit my teeth, determined. I’m going to get out this time, no matter what it takes. My head is pounding, my pulse is rushing, my face is flushed as I pull at my restraints, desperately trying to loosen them. After what feels like an eternity, I stop struggling and slump back into my chair. I need to find a way to cut myself out of these restraints. Pulling won’t work. The heavy metal door opens, and when I see who it is, tears start streaming down my face. My chance to escape has slipped away, and despair overtakes me. If only my restraints had been looser. If only I’d tried harder.
Jack Nelson comes to stand in front of my chair, but I avoid looking at him. He doesn’t like this. He angrily pulls my chin up so that we’re staring at each other and I can’t avoid eye contact. “Hello, bitch,” he sneers. I whimper in response, my courage from earlier a distant memory now. “Are you ready to play?”
Everything around me starts to fade, and I slip out of consciousness.
***
“Kelsey.” Shake. "Kelsey, wake up, baby." Liam was crouched over me when I open my eyes, concern etched on his face. I wiped my face, surprised when my hands come back wet. Had I been drooling? "Kelsey, it's okay."
I sat up straight, looking over at Liam. "What? What's wrong?"
"You tell me. You were tossing around and sobbing in your sleep," Liam said, smoothing my hair back from my face.
“I was having a nightmare. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“You keep having them, though, and it seems like they're getting worse. That can't be good for you." Liam tugged my arm, and I slid over so that I was sitting on his lap. Liam wrapped his arms
around me and put his chin in the crook of my neck. "Want to tell me about it?” I shrugged, not wanting to get into the gory details of it. “Okay. If you ever become ready to talk about it, I’m here to listen.”
“Thank you," I said, cuddling closer. I ground my hips, smiling when Liam groaned. "Time for a change of subject."
“Kelsey, you can’t just distract me with sex when things get hard,” Liam said, frowning.
“I can try. Isn’t that what you do when things get hard, anyway?" I bent down to kiss him, and he gave in with a sigh. The kiss grew deeper, hotter, and Liam growled. He gripped my waist, holding me tighter to him as he pumped his hips up. In one motion, he flipped us so that I was flat on my back now and looking up at him. I bit my lip and smiled. Liam kissed my nose. "What are you smiling about?" he asked softly.
“You look pretty sexy right now.” I waggled my eyebrows at him.
“Thank you. You look pretty sexy yourself, baby,” Liam said, biting my lower lip.
I pulled away, pointing downward with my eyes. "I know a place that you'd look even sexier."
Liam took the hint with a carnal grin. "Yes, ma'am." He kissed his way from my collarbone to my breasts, lavishing attention on each nipple before working his way downward. He ran his tongue down the valley between my breasts and my belly button, making me giggle when he tickled my wet skin with his breath. My laughter died in my throat when Liam grabbed my legs and hauled them over his shoulder. He closed his mouth down on my center, molding his lips to me. He pulled back and held me down as my hips bucked, gazing wickedly at all the intimate bits that were exposed to him.
I squirmed impatiently as he stared at me with a smirk. "Make sure to scream loud for me, baby. Don't worry, no one can hear you." He winked, then kissed the insides of my thighs. He dragged his lips to the area just outside of where I wanted him, dropping tiny kisses all over it. I whined softly, urging him to get to the point, to go where I was craving him. Liam obliged willingly, taking my clit into his mouth and sucking.
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