by Anna Lewis
Three long days passed. Three days where no one could find Kayla. There was a massive media man hunt for her. The police were on it, the FBI were investigating. I had looked everywhere I could think of, but had found nothing.
This guy must have been planning this for a very long time to have covered up his tracks so well. I couldn't actually believe that he'd managed to evade so many people. It was sending my mind to areas that I hadn't considered before. Was it someone who knew Kayla? Was it a shifter? Was it someone obvious?
At one point I had even considered Mouse, but considering he was spending most of his time in front of the cameras, appealing for Kayla, I had to dismiss that theory. He was a dumb ass, and a manipulator, but not clever enough to be so evil. All my leads and hunches were exhausted. There wasn't anywhere that I hadn't been, any clue that I hadn't investigated, and I didn't have anything from it. I was doing some research instead, scouring the Internet and social media to try and work out anything from there.
I had searched the IP address of the computer sending all of the horrible messages to Kayla, but it was rerouted to China, so clearly he'd been hiding away his identity for a very long time.
He wrote, You will soon see.You look nice in this, I can't wait to see that outfit on my bedroom floor.Hot stuff, my girl.
He clearly was obsessed with Kayla, and not in normal fan type way. His obsession had gone out of his mind and into real life. I had a feeling that if he had her somewhere, he probably wouldn't have done anything bad to her. That made me feel a little better…
Unless, she had refused and that freaked him out. Oh God, this was not going well at all…
But then I noticed something a little off. It wasn't anything too unusual, it shouldn't have caught my attention at all, but something about it sent a chill up and down my spine.
A school photo, a class one, with a geeky, awkward looking Kayla standing next to a boy who was looking at her with admiration in his gaze.
No, more than admiration. Obsession. He had been obsessed with her for years and years… if this was my guy. I had to do some more research before I could be certain.
Charlie Thurston was the name of the boy, so I searched for that name instead, just in case. I wasn't sure why, but I had a deep gut instinct it was him, a really wrong feeling about him, and it was making me feel sick.
***
After an hour of searching I felt convinced. It was him, I was sure of it. He liked everything related to Kayla and a long while ago he shared some of her stuff… until his other account started, when the obsession took over.
Plus, he lived nearby and worked in IT. He seemed to get hooked on ideas, and he didn't exactly display lots of friends. His weird, loner profile fit the crime exactly. This was the sort of thing lonely people like him did all the time, particularly when they assumed that something belonged to them. It was him, it had to be.
My heart lifted at the prospect of finally having a clue, something to follow. It might have led to nothing, but I had to research it… just in case. I had an address now, somewhere to go and that made me feel more positive.
I desperately prayed that this was right, and it would lead me to her. I couldn't take this anymore. It was making my heart ache like crazy.
Chapter 13 – Kayla
“Does that sound good, wife?” Charlie grinned brightly, before grabbing my shoulders a little too hard. The warning was there, made very clear, so I nodded quickly. My face was still stinging from the last time I hadn't listened so I didn't want to make that mistake again.
“Yes, that sounds good,” I whispered, moving my eyes down to the ground where they felt most comfortable. It might have only been a few days, but this already felt like it had been a lifetime. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep it going. He hadn't let me out of his sight, even for a split second, even to use the bathroom, so there hadn't been any hope of escape.
He had made a suggestion to me, and I thought it was a good one, but only because it benefited me. It bought me time and kept me safe, for now. But I certainly didn't enjoy going along with him.
He had proposed a marriage. He was planning a wedding, and he didn't want to have sex until after it. I was willing to do anything to put that off, but if the wedding went ahead I would be trapped forever. The way that things were going, I would never be able to go back to my old life.
“Great, glad you are on board,” he smiled serenely at me. I stared at him for a second, still trying to work out where I knew him from but my brain wasn't coming up with anything. He really did know me though, he knew all sorts about me that only people who had really been in my life would know. “Now, why don't you go and make us some dinner?”
This was all so fake, all so weird, but I couldn't stop it because I was so afraid. “Anything you like.”
As I stepped over to the cooker, I allowed my imagination to run free again, the way it only could when I was cooking. It was the only time that Charlie left me to my task, and didn't bombard me with incessant questions. He obviously wanted me to concentrate, which worked out well.
I stirred, and thought of Hex. I remembered his face, his smile that didn't come out very often, that kiss… We had something, we really did, and I threw it away. Sure Hex had pushed me away when we kissed, but that was because he felt afraid. He overstepped a boundary, risked his job, it was only natural for him to freak out. I should have cut him some slack.
It said something that all I could think about was him while my life was in danger and I was a prisoner. It said a lot, actually. It reminded me that we connected on some deeper, chemical layer. It allowed me to see that there was an intense chemistry between us, and now I would never get the chance to explore that.
I missed him. I hadn't even gotten a chance to really be with him and I missed him like crazy.
What the hell was wrong with me?
By the time I had the food plated up and I laid it in front of Charlie, I could see that his expression had darkened all over again. My heart rate kicked up a notch and I started to tremble fearfully. What had I done? I tried desperately to work out what I'd done wrong, was the food wrong? Had I stepped wrong, or made a noise or something? There were so many things that angered him, I found it hard to tell.
It was almost as if he had spent so long planning our fantasy relationship in his mind that he was disappointed to know that things weren't always plain and simple. I wasn't the person he assumed I was in his mind, and that irritated him.
“Do you remember Greg Vickly?” he asked me suddenly, sending a rush of emotions through my body. Greg was my high school boyfriend, and we'd had a really sweet relationship until he went off to college. We were too young for long distance, so we gave it up without a second thought.
How did Charlie know about Greg?
“Erm, yeah, I remember that,” I replied quietly. “W… why?”
“Did you love him?” he asked sharply. “When you were together, did you love him?”
He was acting crazed and jealous about something that had happened years ago. Although this wasn't the weirdest thing that Charlie had done. “No, I didn't love him,” I insisted. “I was too young for love.”
“You weren't,” he told me seriously. “I loved you back then.”
Back then? This was the first time that he'd ever mentioned school. But the way that he said that made me think… was he in school with me? Was that where I knew him from? Was that how he knew so much about me?
“You… you were?” I gasped out, a sickness gripping onto my heart. “I didn't realize.”
He mustn't have been someone that even registered on my radar. I mustn't have acknowledged him at all. Was that why he harbored these feelings? Why it had become something so serious? Maybe if I'd been more aware, I would be okay now.
“Of course you didn't,” he smiled kindly. “You were surrounded by the popular girls, you had lots of friends. I was a nobody, always stuck in the corner.”
I couldn't really recall the people that
I spent a lot of time with in school anymore, never mind anyone else. So much else had happened in my life since that it was insignificant now.
“Erm, well, I'm sorry,” I told him, desperately hoping that might be enough. “I never knew, but I was young then, and immature.”
He leaned forward with a serene look on his face, then he mushed his mouth against mine sending me into shock. “Now you aren't,” he said kindly. “Now you're mine. Soon to be my wife.”
Shit, there was no getting out of this, however hard I tried. I was going to be stuck with this crazy man for the rest of my life.
Chapter 14 – Hex
My heart raced in my chest, self doubt spinning through my brain. Even though I knew that I could probably do this, I wasn't one hundred percent sure, and if I screwed this up I would be left with no hope.
Especially if my suspicions were right, and Charlie did have Kayla. My gut was still utterly convinced that this was right, and even though my logic wasn't in total agreement I was still going through with this.
I was at Charlie's address. I really needed to look through the window, but I needed to do it right. If this guy spotted me that would give him the chance to run. If he ran I might never find him… but then I couldn't exactly continue to stand here doing nothing, could I? People were starting to acknowledge my presence anyway, so I had to take some form of action.
I strutted forward, walking with as much confidence as I could muster towards this guy's front door. Chances were, he was human anyway, which gave me the strength advantage. I just wasn't as used to psychopaths as I probably should have been.
An eerie feeling crept over me as I got nearer, a cold iciness overcoming my heart, but I forced myself to keep on moving. This was for Kayla. I felt responsible for what had happened to her, so I had to keep going no matter how I felt inside. She needed me, and I wouldn't be able to rest again until I knew that she was safe.
Actually, the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that the fear was because of Kayla. My fear wasn't anything to do with facing a psychopath, it was what he could have done to her.
As that hit me, I pushed the door open, watching it swing far too quickly, too easily. My heart raced painfully, a sickness swirled. I became convinced that I was about to stumble across a dead body.
But the whole building was empty. Cold, quiet, and empty. I raced from room to room, just to be one hundred percent sure, but in a way I already knew.
Charlie had outwitted me.
I sank to the floor and held my head in my hands, trying not to let the emotion get the better of me. I had so desperately needed this to be the answer, I really wanted to be right, now I had absolutely no idea what to do.
“…yeah, okay pal…”
Footsteps and an unfamiliar voice, followed by the clicking of a door had me leaping to my feet. Someone was coming in the house, and if I didn't want to be spotted breaking and entering then I needed to make a snap decision. I could have ran, I could have jumped out of the window and been on my way, but I couldn't shake the sense that I needed to know more.
I spotted a small cupboard under the stairs, one that I would have to absolutely cramp my body into, but I didn't have a choice. I needed to get out of sight somehow, and this seemed as good a spot as any. I forced myself into it, and listened carefully.
“…well, I'm back at my apartment at the moment, but only for a second. I need to get back to my project…”
What the hell did he mean by 'project'? It wasn't inherently suspicious, but because I was so desperate I was clinging onto it, trying to figure out if that could mean Kayla.
“…oh, you know how it is! I will try to fit it in. The wedding will be soon, so possibly sometime after that…”
Okay, this was crazy. Either I had it totally wrong, I was mentally accusing an engaged man who was totally innocent, working on some other project… or he was planning to marry Kayla. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and searched him online again, just to see if there was any sign of him having a fiancee, but before the webpage could load I heard him moving back towards the door and I couldn't let him go.
Whether I was right or wrong, this was my only chance.
I moved out as silently as I could, and slipped outside behind him. Luckily Charlie was still on the phone so I could follow his voice, although I probably could have recognized his face from the pictures anyway. He moved into the driver's seat of a car, and I watched him panting, my brain freaking out. This was my chance to do something smart, or follow some crazy wild goose chase. I could have followed him by flying, or I could have gone back home to keep on looking…
But then I spotted a flash of blonde hair in the passenger's seat. It told me nothing. It could have been anyone in the world, but the small possibility that it was Kayla was enough. Without even caring who was looking, I tore of my tee shirt and trousers and transformed into a dragon in a heart beat. My underwear shredded and fell away, as did my socks, but the rest of it I could carry in my mouth as I flew through the air.
I felt free in my dragon form, almost more right than I did as a human, but I wasn't focusing on any of that. My eyes were fixed on one vehicle, concentrating only on saving Kayla. This had to work. It was all I had left.
Charlie led me out of the city, to a small home in the middle of nowhere. This had me more convinced that Kayla was inside – it was the perfect place to keep such a well known face away from the rest of the world.
He pulled up and I dropped down to the ground, a certain distance away while I thought about my next move. I couldn't be rash here. I needed to be smart. I had to save Kayla's life.
Chapter 15 – Kayla
I should have run. I don't know why I didn't. When Charlie left me outside his real home for a few moments, I had the one chance that I was ever going to get to leave, but I didn't take it. I just couldn't help keep thinking that he was testing me and it was all a trap. That was enough to have me petrified and fixed in one place.
And now I was his forever. He had me exactly where he wanted me. I was pathetic… and screwed.
The wedding would come soon, then that was it for me. There wasn't any hope of me escaping the 'wedding night', and that would be my life ruined. I was scared for my life.
It had been ages, and no one had found me. Why hadn't anyone found me? I was famous for crying out loud, someone should have been looking.
“Wh… what would you like to eat?” I stammered to him. I was petrified because other drivers on the road had put him in a bad mood. I wasn't totally sure why, as I hadn't been paying attention, but I knew that it wouldn't take much for him to take that out on me.
“Nothing,” he glowered. “I just… I'm going for a fucking nap, okay? All your talking is doing my head in.”
If six words piss you off, then why not let me go? I wanted to scream. He clearly didn't like me, so I wasn't sure why he insisted on being with me except for the fact that maybe he'd been wanting it for so long that he didn't know what else to want.
“Right okay, I'll just… tidy up then.”
As he wandered off, my heart sank. We were at another new address which proved that his plan was moving us around a lot, out in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of escape. Now that I'd screwed up my only chance to escape, I only had myself to blame.
I tugged on the front door, already knowing that it would be locked before slumping down behind it. With that hopeless gesture the tears started to fall once more. I felt like all I did was cry these days, which I hated because it made me feel pathetic, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. I sobbed so much. Sadness and hopelessness wracked my entire body, until I felt like I had nothing left. I was an empty shell, emotionally and physically exhausted. I ended up drifting off into a fitful, uncomfortable rest.
***
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Police, let us in!”
“What the…?” I jumped up in shock, my heart racing like crazy. What was going on? One moment I was dreaming I was on some
island, all alone in the sunshine, now I was hearing banging and yelling and for some reason panic was coursing through my entire body.
My eyes flicked from side to side as I slid my body as far away from the front door as possible. My brain felt foggy, I had memories floating through it at the speed of light, but I couldn't gasp any of them. I couldn't even work out where I was.
“If you do not let us in we will break down the door!”
“Who is it?”
I spun around to spot Charlie at the top of the stairs, looking wild-eyed and afraid. It was the first time since he'd come back into my life that he didn't look cunning and brave. Now he looked like a terrified little child and I couldn't help but feel an affinity with him.
“I don't know,” I told him. “What should we do?”
Bang! Bang!
It had started, they were breaking down the door. I clutched at my clothing as if this were the enemy coming to get me.
“What did you do?” Charlie snarled, turning back to the hateful monster I knew him to be. “Did you do this?”
“I… I didn't, I promise,” I pleaded as he thundered down the stairs with a fire in his eyes. “I didn't do anything. I don't even know…”
Wait! As I moved my body backwards, it hit me that this was a good thing. This was the police, probably coming to save me. This was what I'd been wanting ever since I was taken. I needed this, this was Charlie about to get his comeuppance. I just needed to keep him here until they got inside.
“Look, let's not worry about blame,” I told him quietly. “Let's just work out what we're going to do.”
His expression changed, his eyes softened, almost as if I had him fooled. Maybe he was believing that he'd finally won me over, that I actually wanted to be with him…
But then he pulled his fist back and swung it into my cheek, and my body slammed against the floor with a thump.
Everything went blurry, my vision was fuzzy, my head thumped too much for me to work out what was happening, all I knew for sure was that the noise rapidly became deafening.
