Tires squealed as the driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt. Seconds later a car door slammed shut. Someone was here. Her prayers would be answered.
Gravel crunched with each footstep this person took. Cassie’s heart pounded in her chest with her growing anxiety. Her accelerated breathing caused a ringing in her ears and she began to feel lightheaded.
Taking slow deep breaths, Cassie worked on slowing her heart rate. The last thing she needed was to pass out now that help was here.
A heavy door slammed shut, assumedly the front door. Stomping footsteps moved across the building, headed in her direction. The closer they got, the more she had to concentrate on her breathing.
The doorknob squeaked as it turned and a stream of light blinded her as the door opened. A switch was flipped and the overhead light burned her eyes causing a pain to shoot through her skull as it flooded the room with its brightness.
She slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust her vision. She looked at her surroundings. Cassie could clearly see that she was in someone’s home, trapped inside of a bedroom. This was good. Now she knew that she was in a residential neighborhood.
In the doorway stood a beautiful woman dressed in an elegant evening gown. Her auburn curls fell loosely around her shoulders. If Cassie had to guess, she’d say the woman was about her own age. Twenty-seven years old.
The woman tapped her chin with a fingernail. Cocking her head from side to side, she looked Cassie over.
Cassie was relieved. Surely this woman would help her get the heck out of here. The woman smoothed the skirt of her dress before stepping into the room. Her smile seemed forced as she knelt down at Cassie’s side.
Cassie felt a rush of relief as the tape was gently pulled from her mouth. She rubbed her lips with her bound hands. “Oh, thank goodness. Do you have a phone? I need to call home.”
The woman giggled, which Cassie thought was odd. “Sure I do.” She stood and left the room without another word. Cassie slumped forward. What did this mean for her? Was this woman leaving her here or was she going in search of a phone?
The seconds passed by like hours. Fear gripped her with its ice cold hands, squeezing every ounce of air out of her lungs. The walls around her started closing in. Fire burned within her veins threatening to take her very life.
Cassie’s heart pounded in her ears. “Oh God, help me,” she screamed as loud as she could.
“Well, I don’t know about any god but I’m here.” Cassie wasn’t sure when the woman had returned but she was so glad to see her standing in the doorway holding a cell phone in her hand.
Cassie sucked in a much needed breath. The lack of oxygen had drained her face of all color. After several deep breaths her heart rate slowed and the color returned to her cheeks. Her eyes stung from the dryness. “I thought that you had left me here to rot in this hellhole.”
“Don’t be silly,” was the reply.
Cassie relaxed somewhat. Now she could focus on getting that cell phone in her grasp so she could call Ryder and get the heck out of here. She held up her wrists. “Could you untie me, please? I’m sorry. I don’t even know your name.”
“Cheryl.” She stood over Cassie with a sinister grin plastered on her face. “My name is Cheryl.”
By this time Cassie was beginning to get the feeling that something was completely off about this Cheryl woman. “Would you untie me, Cheryl?”
A thunderous laugh escaped Cheryl’s lips. “Why on earth would I do that?” She tossed her phone onto a chair that sat near the door before sitting next to Cassie on the floor. She looked her over speculatively. “Just what is it do you have that I don’t?”
Where had that statement come from? Cassie didn’t have a clue who this Cheryl woman was and the turn of events had her stomach twisting in knots. She was finally coming to the conclusion that Cheryl wasn’t going to set her free. On the contrary, it looked like this woman was her captor. “What do you mean?”
“Come on,” the woman leaned in, sniffing Cassie’s hair, “you’re pretty and all but let’s face it. I’m prettier.” She looked at Cassie’s breasts. “I definitely beat you in the rack department.” Cheryl cupped her own breasts, pushing them together. “I paid good money for this full rack of beauty.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open in shock of what she’d just heard. On what planet did this psycho come from? Comparing her body to Cassie’s made zero sense. What was the common denominator? “Look, I just want to get home. I want to be with my family.”
Cheryl’s head snapped up, her blonde hair swaying with the movement. Her eyes met Cassie’s and the hatred radiating from them caused Cassie to take in a breath. “You may have his son but you’ll never have him. He’s mine. Do you hear me, wench?”
“How do you know about my son?” Cassie was back to panicking now. The last thing she wanted was for this crazed witch to go after her son. “Who are you?”
“I’m Ryder’s lover.”
Ryder looked at his watch again for what seemed like the millionth time. Where could she be? Cassie had called before leaving work to check in on Lucas. That was over three hours ago.
Something was not right here. She would never be this late getting home. If it was traffic holding her up then she would have called to let them know. He cracked his knuckles, something he did when he was nervous.
He pulled his cell from his pocket. No missed calls. No missed texts. He dialed Allie. It rang and went to voicemail. Odd, maybe the two of them were together. Those two were best friends after all.
He dialed Jared. It rang and went to voicemail. He redialed with the same results. Three tries later and Jared finally answered. “What man, I’m kind of busy here.”
“Is Cassie over there?” Ryder paced back and forth. “She should have been home by now.”
“No. I haven’t seen her today.”
“Maybe she’s with Allie.” Ryder was grasping at straws here. Freaky images of her being run over and left for dead were flooding his mind, scaring the living crap right out of him.
“Trust me, she’s not with Allie. I would know if she was.” So Cassie and Allie apparently were not together. Where in God’s holy name could she be?
“Say bye, Ryder.” Allie’s breathy voice rang through the speaker. It sounded like Allie was with Jared, in bed. Not the image that Ryder wanted floating around in his head. Not now and definitely not ever.
Jared’s ragged breathing came through the receiver and right into Ryder’s ear. “I’ll call you later.” Ryder shivered at the image of what his friends could possibly be doing as he hung up the phone.
He stopped pacing and sat on the edge of the coffee table. More than three hours ago Cassie was leaving her office. She wasn’t with Allie and her phone went straight to voicemail. He tapped his cell phone on his knee.
Where could that woman be? When he talked to her earlier in the day she sounded ecstatic about coming home. She was looking forward to spending a romantic evening with him. Surely she hadn’t changed her mind and run away. If she had decided to run, she’d take Lucas with her. He sucked in a breath.
The more he thought on that the more he thought she had done just that. Maybe this was payback for running out on her eight years ago. Maybe she let him fall in love with her all over again just to break his heart the way he had hers back then.
He dashed into her bedroom. Throwing open her closet door, he checked to see if her clothes were missing. No, all of her clothes appeared to be there. Her drawers were all still full of her belongings as well. He ran across the hall to check their son’s room. Nothing appeared to be missing there either.
He breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she hadn’t packed their clothes and left the state. Or so he hoped. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called Cassie’s dad. Mr. Strong answered on the second ring. “The boy’s fine. Enjoy one another would you.”
Ryder gripped the doorframe until his knuckles turned white. “Lucas is there?�
� He held his breath as he awaited the answer.
“Yes,” Tom said slightly befuddled. “I’m looking right at him.”
“Is Cassie there?” He closed his eyes, silently praying that for some unknown reason Cassie was there.
“No. Why on earth would she be here? She is supposed to be there with you.” Tom’s tone rose with worry and anger. “What have you done this time?”
Ryder was offended that Tom would automatically assume he had done something to upset Cassie but refrained from speaking his mind on the matter. “Nothing. When I talked to her earlier she seemed happy. I had a nice dinner planned, Lucas is with you. It was supposed to be beautiful. But she never showed. Her phone just goes to voicemail.”
“Have you called Allie?” Tom’s voice wavered a bit. He was clearly on the verge of tears.
“Yes. She’s home with Jared and neither one of them have seen or heard from Cass.” Ryder had moved from panicked to outright terrified. She wouldn’t run away without Lucas so what on earth really happened to her?
Tom let out a shaky breath. “Let me make some calls.” He hung up before Ryder could say another word.
Cassie was terrified. This Cheryl person kept going on and on about how Ryder was her man. How many times they’d had sex, correction, how many times they’d made love. And every time she’d glance in her direction Cassie noticed the evil gleam in her eyes.
“Ryder? You’re talking about Ryder Hanson?” Cassie swallowed, hard. Her eyes were burning behind the newly formed tears.
Cheryl stopped rambling and stared at Cassie like it was obvious who she spoke of. “Of course I mean Ryder Hanson. Who else would I be referring to, you brainless twit?” Cheryl cackled. “You didn’t honestly believe that Ryder loved you, did you?”
Cassie pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face behind them.
“You did.” She snorted. “Oh, this is priceless.” Like a hawk circling its prey, Cheryl walked circles around Cassie. “All that time he spent getting you to fall in love with him was just a ploy. It was me that he came home to. You were just a means of getting his son.”
Cassie’s heart shattered into a million pieces. She wanted to die. Words could not describe the amount of pain she was in just listening to this line of horse poop. If a Mack truck came cruising through and just happened to run her over she’d never feel it over her current state of torment.
The walls started closing in on her. The oxygen in the room burned up with every breath Cheryl took, every word she spoke. Darkness beckoned Cassie with a crook of its evil finger. She didn’t want to resist. If she gave in to the darkness then maybe she would be relieved of the throbbing pain slicing through her heart.
She looked up at Cheryl. The crazed woman was still going on and on about her love life with Ryder. But soon her words faded into the background. Cassie smiled as much as her weakened body would allow. Any minute now she wouldn’t have to see or hear this woman.
She closed her eyes as exhaustion took over and the darkness claimed her.
Ryder’s phone buzzed noisily on the coffee table. He’d been staring at the darned phone for the last ten minutes just willing it to ring. Now that it was ringing he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Answer it dummy, he thought to himself.
He picked up the device, looking at the caller ID. It was an ‘Unknown Caller’. How strange. He slid the green answer button across the screen and put the phone to his ear. “Cassie?”
“Cassie?” Cheryl’s voice boomed over the phone. “Why are you expecting a call from her?” Her high-pitched shriek grated on Ryder’s nerves.
“Cheryl, we have gone over this several times.” He was starting to get very upset with this woman. Could she not get it through her thick skull that he wanted nothing to do with her? “I have other things to do.” And with that he hung up the phone.
He didn’t have time for foolishness. The love of his life was missing. Walking across the room, he snatched his shoes up off the floor by the welcome mat and slipped them on his feet.
His phone buzzed again from this unknown caller, from Cheryl. He ignored the call. Again his phone buzzed. Several times in a row it buzzed. He rolled his eyes, tempted to just shut off the stinking device. If it wasn’t for the fact that Cassie could call at any moment, he would have.
His car keys hung on a hook next to the front door. He grabbed them and locked up the house. The humid air clung to him like a jealous girlfriend, sweat instantly forming on his body. Well, so much for looking and smelling nice for his date.
He hopped in the car and sped away in search of his future wife.
Cassie was awakened by the sound of Cheryl screaming. She opened her eyes to see a chair being hurtled across the room. The lunatic cursed, stomping her feet like a two year old throwing a tantrum. She spun on her heel and left.
Cassie watched her exit the room, seconds later the heavy front door opened and slammed shut. She still didn’t move for fear that Cheryl would come storming back in. Seconds ticked by hauntingly slow.
When the car engine revved Cassie exhaled the breath she’d been holding. Once she heard it peel out and speed away, she relaxed further. Now she could work on getting herself free.
She brought her hands up to her mouth, using her teeth to tug the rope free. To her dismay, the thick rope hurt her teeth and she had to stop before she broke a tooth. She inched to the door in awkward wormlike movements.
Cheryl had left the door open in her hurry. It was taking her entirely too long to get from the center of the room to the door. She feared that she wouldn’t make it out before getting caught.
She was right. She heard the car as it turned the corner, pulling back into the drive. She cursed and tried her best to move back into the room before she was seen. If it hadn’t been for these ropes, she could have.
Cheryl burst through the front door, lit cigarette in hand. She spotted Cassie on the edge of the doorway. “Well, look at you.” She puffed on her cigarette.
“I’m sorry.” Cassie prayed that her life would not be in danger for trying to escape. “I just wanted some fresh air.”
The crazed woman chortled. “Fresh air?” Another puff of that putrid cigarette. “You know I wasn’t born yesterday, right?”
“Yes.” It was just above a whisper. Cassie suddenly felt claustrophobic, even in this open space. She watched Cheryl advance and flinched when she grabbed her chin in a stern grip.
Cheryl looked deeply into Cassie’s eyes. She wanted to know why Ryder loved this silly little girl. He never fully gave his heart to her when they were on the road but she had hoped that his feelings would deepen and they’d live a long and happy life together.
This woman at her feet was nothing more than a soccer mom. And it made her want to spit in the twit’s face. She always hated those types of moms. She hated them because they were everything that her own mother never was.
Her mother cared more about her drugs than she did for her. Cheryl had to raise herself. She was the outcast at school because her clothes were ratty and filthy. She puffed her cigarette then blew smoke in Cassie’s face. “Ryder doesn’t want some prissy miss-do-gooder. He wants a woman that can make him feel alive. Someone that can satisfy his sinful desires in bed.” She looked down her nose at Cassie. “You, little miss, are not that woman.”
She had no desire to sit here and listen to this woman talk about the many times she had sex with Ryder or how creative they were in bed. Disgusting. Hearing these things hurt but this was not the time for crying. She needed to suck up her emotions, ignore Cheryl’s lies and fabrications, and save herself.
She needed to devise a plan. Lucas needed her. She’d do everything in her power to escape this hellhole and get home to her baby.
Cheryl lifted her by the arms. “You’ll have to hop your way back into the room because there is absolutely no way I am removing the rope from your ankles.”
Cassie contemplated shoving this deranged lunatic into the doorframe and making a run, or in t
his case a hop, for it. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t get very far and that would only stoke the fire burning within this woman.
She hopped back to her spot in the center of the room with the help of Cheryl. She had to change tactics if she was going to get back home to her boy. “Do you have any food in this place? I’m starving.”
Cheryl had been quietly mumbling to herself, nothing intelligible just the ramblings of someone in need of psychiatric help. At Cassie’s question she shut up, tapped her long red nails on her chin and thought for a moment. “I think I still have some oatmeal in the kitchen.”
Cassie was not hungry. In fact, the thought of food made her nauseous. This was just a ploy, an attempt to break free.
If Cheryl brought her oatmeal, the only utensil she’d get would be a spoon. No, that wouldn’t work at all. She needed something sharp, she needed a knife. What food could she request that would require a knife? “I was hoping for something with a little more sustenance, like a steak or something.”
Cheryl doubled over laughing. “What? Do you think I run a restaurant here?” She stomped her foot, the sound echoing in the empty room. She no longer laughed. She just stared at Cassie with a menacing gleam in her eye.
“No, I know you’re not running a restaurant.” Cassie swallowed. This woman had fallen off her rocker. “I’m just hungry. I haven’t eaten all day.”
The woman eyed her suspiciously. She knew that the witch was up to something. If only she had the time to figure out what it was she was up to. On the other hand, if she were a betting woman, she’d bet that little miss perfect was one of those that prayed on occasion and went to church on Christmas.
She giggled. Maybe she should give in and serve her one last meal. Even Jesus had a last supper before his death, right? How poetic.
“Well, seeing how you’re all tied up I guess I can run out and get you a steak. I’m getting a little hungry myself.” She gathered her purse and keys. She stopped and fished around in her purse, pulling out a roll of duct tape. “I don’t want you trying to call out for help.” She slapped a piece of tape over Cassie’s mouth.
Love Redeemed Page 9
