by Jane Blythe
Then again, maybe she wasn’t just being paranoid.
Ryan hadn't called. He had sent a text a few hours ago to say he was held up at work and wouldn’t be home till late. That was odd. He usually called her when he was going to be late. It was like he hadn't wanted to talk to her. Her imagination was working overtime conjuring up reasons why that could be.
It was also odd that he hadn't sent Jack or Rose to come and stay with her. She knew he was worried about her here alone, and yet in his text he had merely said to lock the doors, set the alarm, and not to open the door for anyone.
He knew something.
She was sure he did.
Something he didn’t want her to know just yet.
“Are you okay?” Annabelle came up beside her.
“I don’t know,” Sofia answered honestly. She was standing in the kitchen, staring out at the dark, cold night. She shifted her gaze to meet Annabelle’s in their reflections in the window. “Have you heard from Xavier?”
“Only the text earlier to say that he was held up at work and would be here late to pick me up,” Annabelle replied. “Why?”
Unable to suppress a shiver, Sofia said, “I have a bad feeling. I can't explain it.”
“Did you try calling Ryan?”
“Yes, but he won't pick up. I keep getting his voicemail; he’s avoiding me,” she answered.
“Want me to try calling Xavier?” Annabelle offered. “He and Ryan are probably together.”
“If they’re together and Ryan’s avoiding me, then he probably won't let Xavier talk to you. That’s why I haven’t bothered trying Paige,” she explained.
Annabelle was quiet for a moment before proposing, “Why don’t you go lie down for a while, and I’ll answer your phone if Ryan calls you.”
“Thanks.” Sofia was touched by Annabelle’s offer, but knew there was no way she was going to be able to close her eyes until she knew what Ryan was trying to hide from her. “But I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
“At least take some painkillers, then,” Annabelle suggested. “You look like you can barely stand up. Your leg must be aching, and I haven’t seen you take anything for it all day.”
Annabelle was right. Her leg was aching and she hadn't taken anything for it today. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed. If Ryan had bad news, then she didn’t want to be distracted by pain.
“Good.” Annabelle’s reflection smiled at her. “I’ll get you something to eat, too.” Then she moved off in search of food before Sofia could protest.
While Annabelle bustled about the kitchen, Sofia turned her attention back to the dark night. There was a clear sky, although they’d had a little snow earlier in the day. The moon hung like a huge white ball in the black sky, millions of stars sprinkled around it. Usually the night sky calmed her, made her feel better and more peaceful, but tonight it didn’t seem to be working.
Something caught her eye.
Movement.
Behind the bushes.
A shadow.
A moving shadow.
Someone was out there.
Enough was enough. She was putting an end to this here and now. She grabbed the gun from the table where she’d left it—Ryan had told her not to get it out, but she couldn’t just sit around unarmed and vulnerable. Disregarding the fact that she was dressed only in sweatpants, an oversize sweatshirt and fuzzy socks, she threw open the back door and darted out.
Startled, Annabelle called after her, “What are you doing?”
Ignoring her for the moment, Sofia headed straight for where she’d seen someone hiding. She stopped short when she saw a figure behind a tree. “Hey,” she yelled. “I have a gun; come out where I can see you.”
She anxiously waited to see if the person was going to comply. She was desperate to know who had been stalking her and at the same time, she was terrified. It could be anyone. Maybe even someone she knew and trusted.
Slowly, the figure began to move. As they stepped out from behind the tree, they were hit by a beam of light from the moon, their face illuminated.
Sofia gasped, “Isabella?”
Her sister said nothing, just stood and stared at her.
“It was you?” Sofia stared back in astonishment. Surely it couldn’t have been her sister who had been stalking her for over a year? There wouldn’t have been any need for Isabella to stalk her before. Maybe now that she was on the run from the police, but not a year ago. Isabella was crazy, though, so she didn’t have to make sense.
Isabella continued to just stand there.
“Isabella!” Sofia was becoming exasperated, but she didn’t feel like her sister was a threat to her, so she lowered her gun. “Why have you been stalking me?”
Isabella blinked. “Stalking you? I haven’t been stalking you,” Isabella protested. “I've come by a couple of times to see you, but I'm not your stalker.”
“Then what are you doing in my backyard, in the middle of the night?” she demanded.
“I had to see you one last time,” Isabella replied softly.
“One last time? Are you going to run? Please don’t, Isabella,” she pleaded. “Let me call Ryan, turn yourself in, I won't walk away from you. I miss you; I don’t want you to disappear. Please, Isabella, Ryan told me that you’ve been hanging around with some guy—a killer. Isabella, that’s crazy. He’s no good for you, and you can't let him around the baby. Ryan said you named her Sophie. After me?”
Isabella nodded.
“Isabella, please, please come inside with me. Let’s call Ryan, end this now. If you turn yourself in, they might be able to offer you a deal. You could go to a psychiatric hospital; clearly, you need help. What those kids at your school did, and then finding out about what Logan was doing, it messed you up. But I can get you the help you need if you’ll just trust me.” Sofia could see her sister was wavering. “Please, Isabella,” she pushed, “please let me help you.”
“Actually, Isabella already has someone to help her.”
The voice spoke in her ear, and before she knew what was happening, an arm had wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms at her side, and a hand clamped over her mouth. Sofia struggled wildly, but it was no use. The man holding her was bigger and stronger than she was. She still had the gun in her hand and attempted to maneuver it so she could fire it, but the man holding her simply shifted her slightly so he could grip her wrist and twist the gun out of her hand. Was this the killer Ryan had told her about? Ricky Preston? Her frantic eyes turned to Isabella. Surely her sister would help her. Isabella loved her; she wouldn’t let this monster hurt her. Would she?
But Isabella was just standing there—not moving to help her at all. Sofia wanted to beg her sister to tell this man to let her go, but with his hand still over her mouth she was unable to.
She frantically fought to get free. Sofia knew she was fighting for her life. This man wouldn’t let her go, and it seemed she couldn’t count on her sister for help. She should have stayed inside. Called the police. Now her only hope was Annabelle. The other woman hadn't followed her out, but surely she would realize something was wrong when Sofia didn’t come right back.
“It’s okay, Sofia.” Isabella had come up beside her and brushed her hair back off her face with a gentle hand. “I'm so glad you miss me; I've been missing you, too. Now we can be together, you and me and Sophie and Ricky.”
Sofia frantically shook her head, straining to speak past Ricky’s hand, knowing it was pointless but having to try. They were going to kidnap her, take her with them, wherever they were planning on running to. She wanted baby Sophie, but not like this. She didn’t want to live as a prisoner.
“We have to go before her cop boyfriend comes home,” Ricky announced, lifting her higher so her feet came off the ground.
“It’ll be okay, Sofia,” Isabella promised.
Only Sofia knew that it wouldn’t be okay. If they got her out of her backyard, then she’d never come back. Ryan would look for her but there were too many places where Is
abella and Ricky could take her and hide her away. He would never find her.
“Sofia?” Annabelle called.
Ricky froze, and turned so they were facing the house where Annabelle was standing a few steps from the open backdoor. “Well, I’ll be darned,” Ricky drawled. “Annabelle Englewood. Of all the coincidences, of all the luck,” he chuckled.
Annabelle stood frozen in place as she registered Ricky’s voice. Sofia wanted to scream at her to run. Lock herself inside and call the police. But all she could do was squirm in a fruitlessly desperate bid to get free.
“Come here, Annabelle,” Ricky ordered. When she hesitated and didn’t immediately comply, Ricky stepped closer so Annabelle could see him, and see Sofia in his arms. “Come, or I’ll kill her—slowly and painfully,” he threatened.
Sofia had no doubt that was true. And apparently, Annabelle didn’t either, because she whimpered and hurried toward them.
“Good girl,” Ricky mocked. “This way.” He gestured Annabelle in front of him and herded her toward the front of the house. “You didn’t tell me your sister was friends with Annabelle,” he commented to Isabella.
“I didn’t know,” Isabella replied. “They mustn’t have been friends for very long.”
“Then this was an amazing stroke of luck.” Ricky stopped at the trunk of a car. “You get your sister and I get Annabelle. There are zip ties in the backseat,” he told Isabella. “Grab me four.” Isabella did as she was told and retrieved the zip ties. “Try anything stupid and I’ll kill your friend,” Ricky warned Annabelle, then gestured at Isabella to put the zip ties on Annabelle. Once Annabelle was secured with the ties around her wrists—fastened behind her back—and ankles, Ricky turned his attention to her. She considered screaming for help when he removed his hand from her mouth, but she was worried about what Ricky would do to her and Annabelle if she tried it, so she kept quiet. In less than a minute, Sofia found herself bound and thrown in the trunk of Ricky’s car with Annabelle beside her, making the already-small space unbearably cramped. “Just in case you think of screaming,” Ricky smiled at them as he put a piece of tape over both of their mouths.
The thunk of the trunk closing seemed to echo inside Sofia’s head with an air of finality that she found deeply disturbing and terrifying.
* * * * *
11:29 P.M.
Ryan was quiet as they walked through the hospital halls, heading for the ICU to check on Paige. Really, Xavier corrected himself, Ryan had been quiet ever since they’d left the hospital earlier.
After they’d left, they had gone straight to the restaurant where Ricky and Isabella had played out the next chapter in their sick, demented game of love. Ryan had been focused and observant, but quieter than he had been the last few days.
Once they wrapped up there, they had met Jack and Rose back at the station, where the two had briefed them on the little they had recovered from the parking garage where Paige was attacked. What they had discovered amounted to nothing—nothing that would help them find out who had nearly killed Paige. Nothing that helped them figure out who was obsessed enough with Sofia to almost beat someone to death because they believed that person was cheating with Sofia’s boyfriend.
What they needed to do was talk to Sofia. Xavier sympathized with both her and Ryan. She was no doubt going to blame herself, and the fact that Paige was still in a serious condition was only going to make it worse. Her surgery had gone well, but they still didn’t know if Paige was going to make it. They had found and repaired the sources of her internal bleeding, but she still hadn't regained consciousness, and until she did, they wouldn’t know the extent of her head injuries and whether there would be permanent damage.
Xavier also got why Ryan didn’t want Sofia told until he could be there to support her. It would be a blow to Sofia, and she was still fragile following her sister’s murderous spree five months ago. However, facts were facts, and they needed to see if this new information would help Sofia figure out who was stalking her.
So as soon as they checked in on Paige they were going to go and talk to Sofia. And not just about her stalker. They also needed to question her about her sister. If getting married was now Ricky and Isabella’s focus, then, hopefully, they could use that to get a step ahead of them. Sofia might know things about what Isabella would want in a wedding. Maybe she could point them in the right direction, like where Isabella would want the ceremony, and where she might buy a dress; these things could be crucial in finding them before the pair could commit another murder.
Reaching the intensive care unit, a nurse directed them to Paige’s bed. Ryan went completely still at the sight of his unconscious partner. Paige’s head was heavily bandaged, and her face beneath was bruised and swollen. She had a tube down her throat to help her breathe, and one arm was in a cast. Elias clutched her other hand as he sat in a chair at her bedside, his gaze riveted to her face as though he could will her into waking up if he tried hard enough.
“Hey,” Xavier said softly, and Elias’ eyes bounced their way. “How’s she doing?”
He exhaled slowly before replying, “She’s stable for now, which is good, but they’re listing her condition as serious. I just wish she’d wake up,” his voice trembled.
“It’s only been a few hours; give her time,” Xavier comforted. After Ricky had almost killed Annabelle, she had been unconscious for almost a day before she finally came around.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” Ryan finally ripped his blue eyes from Paige’s face to look at her husband.
“I'm fine,” Elias answered absently.
“Really,” Ryan insisted, “we can get you something to eat. Or if you want to go to the bathroom, or even home to get a few hours’ sleep, I can sit with her.”
“No, I'm fine, really. I want to be here when she wakes up. And you should go home to Sofia. Paige told me about her stalker, breaking in three nights in a row. You should be home with her, make sure she’s safe.”
“I will.” Ryan looked torn. “I just wanted to make sure Paige was okay; the stalker is still out there.”
“Belinda put an officer on her,” Elias gestured to a young man standing by the ICU door. “If the stalker tries to come back and finish what he started, he won't be getting to her. She’s safe, Ryan; go home and take care of Sofia. I’ll call you the second Paige wakes up or if there are any changes in her condition. I promise.”
“Okay,” Ryan somewhat reluctantly agreed. “Call if you need anything.”
After another assurance from Elias that he would if he needed anything, Ryan allowed himself to be led out of the hospital. Xavier drove, heading for Ryan’s house. On the way, he ran through what they needed to question Sofia about. It was a struggle to keep Ryan focused. It was like, after seeing his partner, the thin grip on control he’d had left, had been shattered.
Ryan needed to get it together before they told Sofia what had happened. She was going to be upset enough as it was, and feel guilty, and if Ryan was this distraught and guilty himself, Sofia would only feed off that. Xavier contemplated calling Ryan’s brother, Jack, and his partner, and asking them to come straight to the house. Ryan had convinced them that he would be able to get more information out of Sofia than they would, but Xavier was beginning to doubt that. Jack seemed to have a calm and unflappable air about him, and Xavier suspected he was an expert at drawing out information from traumatized victims.
Pulling into Ryan’s driveway, he surreptitiously typed on his cell phone, sending a text to Jack, whose number he had gotten earlier today, asking him and Rose to meet them at Ryan and Sofia’s house.
He needn’t have bothered trying to hide what he was doing. Ryan just sat there, staring into space, lost in thought. “We’re here,” Xavier finally announced when it became clear that Ryan had not noticed that the car had stopped moving.
“Oh,” Ryan blinked, then turned dismal eyes his way. “I'm not sure I'm ready to tell Sofia about Paige; she’s going to be so upset.”
In a daze, Ryan walked to the front door and fumbled with his key. He fumbled so much that Xavier had to clench his hands together to keep from easing the key from Ryan’s shaking hands and unlocking the door himself. Once they were inside, Ryan seemed to deflate even more. The prospect of telling Sofia what had happened to Paige was clearly crushing him.
“Sofia? Annabelle?” Xavier called out.
There was no response, but there was a light on in the kitchen at the back of the house, so they headed that way.
“Sofia? Annabelle?” Ryan called louder.
There was still no reply.
It was late; maybe the girls had decided to take a nap while they waited. Sofia was still dealing with medical issues, and Annabelle’s sleep was so erratic that it seemed a likely possibility.
However, they both froze as they entered the kitchen.
It was empty.
The back door was open.
Ryan gasped, his already pale face growing even whiter. “They’re gone.”
“We don’t know that,” Xavier contradicted, clawing at denial.
“Their purses are here and their cell phones,” Ryan gestured at the counter. “The stalker must have come here after he attacked Paige. He must have grabbed her, taken her away,” Ryan was almost in a panic.
“We don’t know it was the stalker,” Xavier countered. “It could be Ricky and Isabella. If it was Sofia’s stalker, why would he take Annabelle?”
“Who knows?” Ryan exploded. “Why would he try to kill Paige? He’s crazy and he has them.”
“The cameras,” Xavier remembered suddenly. “You had cameras installed, right? As part of your new security system. We can check them, then we’ll know who took them.”
“Yeah, okay,” Ryan agreed shakily, then took a deep breath and visibly pulled himself together. “I'm sorry. It’s just first Paige, and now Sofia…but we need to remain calm if we’re going to find them.”
