Love, Lies & The D.A.

by Rohman, Rebecca

JK: Looking forward to that. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.

  JM: Great. I can’t wait to see you. xoxox.

  JK: You too Baby…

  I’m eager and excited to see him. I relax in a nice hot bubble bath and listen to the jazz that plays in the distance. I lie back, close my eyes, and picture him as he reads his dad’s words to the crowd—the very words he read to me a few days ago when he practiced.

  I know how much the association honoring his dad means to him. I know he wanted tonight to be perfect, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will.

  A while later, I get his text saying he’s on his way home. I suppose that picture motivated him to get here quickly. I slip into one of his white shirts and an incredibly hot pair of shorts. Just before he arrives, I’ll rid myself of them to expose the red lingerie below. I take another quick photo, this time of me smiling into the camera, and send it to him, slipping the phone into the pocket of my shorts.

  Quickly, I set the candles alight, starting in the bedroom and working my way down the stairs. I return upstairs with the champagne and two flutes on ice in the bucket and set it down neatly on the bench at the foot of the bed.

  I still need to get the fruit, so I head to the kitchen. I fix the bowl, and I’m about to head up the staircase when the dogs start growling and barking aggressively. My mind instantly drifts back to that time in Big Sur. Only now, it’s worse. Goose bumps cover my body. I look through the doors where they sniff at, but I see nothing. They continue to bark, loudly.

  I’m getting extremely nervous, although I see nothing through the expanse of glass windows around the house. I’m about to pull the phone from my pocket to call Jonathan when I hear glass shatter.

  Chapter 1 6

  I scream instinctively, dropping the bowl of fruit onto the floor. The alarm goes off. I don’t have time to turn when someone grabs me from behind, putting a towel over my mouth and nose. I struggle and try to break free, but a second attacker, a masked man, walks in front of me and holds me by my legs. I can’t see, but I can hear the dogs attacking them as I try to kick the man in front me. Suddenly, two quiet gunshots and then silence… I fight and fight, but I feel my limbs going weak soon… darkness…

  * * *

  I feel my phone vibrate. Looking at the message, it’s a sweet picture of Jada. She’s been playful tonight. I wonder what she’s up to. I turn round the corner onto my street. A black van almost hits me as it speeds in the opposite direction.

  Minutes later, as I approach the house, I hear the alarm blazing. I pull my weapon out of the locked compartment and quickly load it, calling Phillip while running into the house.

  What I see is a sight far from what I expected. Both Maggie and Micky appear to be shot dead, lying on a carpet of shattered glass and in a pool of blood. Ice runs through my blood; my heart viscously pumps in my chest.

  “Jada,” I shout, running through the house frantically then up the stairs, but there is simply no trace of her anywhere. The landline rings as I search desperately through the house. I answer. It’s the security company. I quickly get rid of them. She’s not in my room, or my bathroom, or the guest rooms, or laundry room, or the office. I know she’s not here. I can feel it. By the time I return downstairs, Phillip and Douglas have arrived. Phillip is on the phone.

  Someone has taken her away.

  I try to process what’s happening around me. Then I realize the rest of my family might be in danger as well. Douglas makes the call and agents go over to my parents’ house.

  I play the last few minutes over in my head. This had to have just happened. She was probably in that black van that almost hit me. I retell the last half an hour of my life while Phillip takes note. Then I hear him on the phone.

  “We need to put out a BOLO… black van, possibly a late model Ford. Nevada license plates.”

  My phone rings, distracting me. I quickly pull it from my pocket hoping it’s Jada, but it’s my mom.

  “What’s going on?” she asks. She’s panicking. “Why are FBI agents here?”

  “Mom, I’m sorry, I can’t talk right now. Just let them do their job. Jada has been kidnaped.”

  “Oh my God. What happened? Did someone call?”

  “No. Not yet. The house has been broken into. The dogs were killed, and there’s not a trace of her here. There are signs of a struggle.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Allow the FBI to do their job. I have to go.”

  “Johnny.”

  “What is it, Mom?”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too,” I reply. I know what she’s thinking. If Jada had been with me, this would have never happened. I end the call.

  “What can I do?” I ask Phillip. “What can I do to find her?”

  “For now, just let us do what we do best. Your calls are being monitored, in case they call.”

  “I noticed one of her phones is missing. She sent me a text a few minutes before I got here.”

  “We’ll put a tracer on that too. If she tries to call or text, maybe a cell tower will pick up a location.”

  “I need to do something. You can’t expect me to sit here and wait.”

  “Jonathan, you need to back off for a moment. We’re on it.”

  “Do you know if she was wearing that necklace?” Douglas asks.

  “I’ll check, but I doubt it. She only wore it when she was leaving the house.”

  I head up to the bedroom and check through her drawers, and as I suspected, the necklace lies together with some of her other jewelry in a small silver box.

  I deliver the bad news when I return downstairs. I pull away my jacket and tie, and I sit at the kitchen island. I have no idea how they got here, but a group of agents suddenly appears through my back door. My house has become a crime scene that is being processed.

  I look around my home. My Miles Davis record is playing. I can also smell a trace of her perfume. On the floor among the blood, glass, and the shattered bowl, strawberries and grapes are scattered across the floor. Candles glow on the staircase. The night she planned for us is a dream. I pray she’s not hurt. I hope she’s okay. Once her kidnappers call with their demands, I’ll give them whatever they want. I just want her set free.

  “It looks like there might be skin tissue on the dogs’ teeth,” one of the agents says.

  I’m so worried about Jada. It looks like my dogs were killed trying to protect her. I hope they got enough DNA so we can identify who is responsible for this.

  “We have two sets of shoe prints in this blood,” another agent says. “Probably size twelve and fourteen shoes—both Caterpillar.”

  “They’re most likely men,” Douglas says. “There’s no way she would have been able to fight off two of them.”

  I sit for hours and wait, and hope, and pray for my phone to ring. I hope and pray that she’s okay. I know she must be scared, and I feel completely helpless knowing there is nothing I can do to help her. I wasn’t there to protect her.

  I check both my cell phones maybe a hundred times, and double-check to ensure the landline hasn’t been disconnected, and make sure all phones are fully charged. I sit here clueless as to what I can do to make this better. I want to get her back. I want her in my arms. I want to hug her, kiss her, and tell her that I love her. I’ve never felt so out of control and helpless in my life.

  I suddenly think of Bobby and her mother. Do I need to let them know about this? Or should I wait and hope this is settled soon, and they won’t need to worry about it. I glance at my watch; it’s almost midnight. It’s in the early hours of the morning in Florida. I put myself in his shoes. I’d want to know immediately. I scroll through the numbers on my phone and call him.

  It’s difficult news to deliver. He tells me he’ll be here soon. The agony is indescribable. Not knowing. Not having the answers. The waiting; every minute seems like an hour. My phone sits in front of me, and I stare and wait…

  * * *

  I
hear faint voices. None of which I recognize. I lie still and silent, trying to remember what happened. I think I’ve been drugged. I feel so sleepy and lethargic. I’m in a cold, dark room. The only light comes from a crack under the door.

  I am gagged. My hands are cuffed behind my back, and my feet are bound by what feels like duct tape.

  Why am I here? What do these people want from me? What sense would it make to kidnap me if they wanted money from me? I think about Johnny. These people had no problem killing his beloved dogs, the dogs who tried to protect me.

  When will this nightmare be over? From the day Richard was found dead, I seem to be followed by whatever nasty activity he was involved in that caused his death.

  These are probably the same people. What reason do I have to think that I’ll ever make it out of this alive, especially considering the brutal way in which he was killed?

  Tonight, when I looked into Jonathan’s eyes, it was probably the last I’d ever see of him. A man who has been there for me through the most trying time in my life, and a man who I’ve come to love.

  I lie on my side. It’s cold and dark and it smells moldy. I want my life back. I wish I never met Richard, but I suppose that if I never met him, I would have never gone to Lake Tahoe that fall day, and Jonathan Kole would have never walked into my life.

  I know he must be worried. To make matters worse, he lost his dogs too. Then there’s Bobby and Mom… I don’t know what this will do to them… I don’t want any of this. I don’t want to think about it. I want to wake from this nightmare.

  I wish someone would find me and get me away from these people. I start to fully understand why Phillip wanted me to wear that necklace. God, how I wish I were wearing that necklace. If I did, they’d know where I am right now. They’d know where to find me, and I might not have to worry about making my way out of this alive. I close my eyes and try to sleep through my fear… It’s useless.

  I don’t know how much time has gone by, but the talking has stopped. For hours, I think about Jonathan. I’ll never get to see or hear how his speech went. He’ll never make love to me again. I’ll never get to look into his beautiful piercing greys. I’ll never feel his arms around me… I can’t hold back further, the tears burn. They’re unstoppable.

  I must have drifted. When I open my eyes, I can see little streams of light coming through a mostly blocked window. I am in a basement somewhere, which accounts for the musty smell that irritates my nose. The faint voices are back, but this time as I listen, I can hear them drawing nearer. I can also hear what sounds like heavy boots coming down a set of wooden stairs. I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. I hear what sounds like someone fiddling with several locks on the door.

  The door bursts open and the room is now flooded with light. I am quickly drenched with what feels like ice-cold water.

  One of the men kicks me over to my side and pulls the tape from across my lips and the rag from inside my mouth. He’s wearing a mask. All I can see are his deep blue eyes. I feel the other person’s presence behind me, but I can’t see them.

  “Sit up,” he says, and I obey. As I look down at my soaked shirt, some of the red lingerie underneath shows through. The shirt is now stuck to my skin. I’m scared to death. I don’t know these men. What if they try to rape me?

  “I bet you’re wondering why you’re here,” the other man says, looking at me. He too is wearing a mask. His eyes are brown.

  “What do you want?” I ask coldly.

  “Your boyfriend stole lots and lots of money from some very important people… We had to teach him a lesson.”

  “I don’t know what he was involved in.”

  “You don’t need to know. We want to collect on what he owed us.”

  “And how am I supposed to do that if you’ve kidnapped me?”

  “We’ll get your new boyfriend to flip the bill.”

  “This has nothing to do with him. Let me go and I’ll give you the money.”

  They both laugh.

  “You think we’d make it that simple?”

  “Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?”

  “We tried to make this easy for you, but you had to go complicate things. Your boyfriend fucked with the wrong person.”

  “Take me to the bank right now. I’ll get you the money you want. Please let me go.”

  The two men look at each other. I start to wonder if they’re the ones really behind this, or if there is someone else behind the scenes. They keep on referring to the so-called people that Richard stole from, as if it’s not themselves.

  “How much are they paying you to hold me here? How much did they pay you to kidnap me?”

  They look at each other but don’t answer.

  “Look, lady. You’re asking too many fucking questions. Here,” Blue Eyes says, throwing a McDonald’s bag onto the bed. “This is going to be your only meal for the day, so I suggest you enjoy it.”

  “Can you please set my hands free and turn on the light?”

  “Hands free, no. Light, yes,” Blue Eyes responds.

  “How am I supposed to eat?”

  He pulls a bunch of keys from his dirty jeans pocket.

  “Lean forward,” he says.

  I obey. He unlocks the cuffs from behind my back but then slaps them on in front of me.

  “Here. That should give you enough wiggle room to eat.”

  “How much money do you want?”

  “Lady, shut the fuck up, or I’ll stick my dick in your mouth and make you.”

  I keep silent. That thought alone reminds me that they’re dangerous. I have to find a way to get out of here.

  They exit the room, leaving on a small night light. It’s enough for me to see what looks like old target practice gear stacked against the wall.

  * * *

  My ringing phone startles me. I’ve been resting my head on the counter. As I look up, all heads turn my way.

  I look at the screen.

  “It’s her brother,” I say. Everyone resumes their duties.

  “Any word?” he asks.

  “No. Nothing.”

  “I’m on a jet now. I should be there about ten your time.”

  “I’ll send someone over to pick you up. I need to be here in the event anything happens.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Val is with me. We’ll take a cab.”

  “You’re welcome to stay here with me if you want. Or at Jada’s. I can let you in. Hopefully, they’ll be done here by the time you arrive.”

  “Sure… whatever. Text me your address. We’ll sort it out when we get there.”

  It’s almost nine when the processing agents leave, and some crime scene cleaners come to clean up the space. They’ve taken away Maggie and Micky because they think they might hold more evidence. It was hard to watch them carted away in bags. It’s harder not knowing where Jada is. Or if she’s hurt, or hungry, or healthy… I can’t bear to think of anything worse.

  “Douglas went out to grab us some breakfast. Why don’t you go take a shower?” Phillip says. “You can eat when he returns.”

  My head is splitting. Food is the last thing on my mind right now. Nevertheless, I put on a pot of coffee and head upstairs for a shower.

  This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with, and as I think about it, knowing all that I know now, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I love Jada more than any woman I’ve ever been with.

  I can’t stop thinking about last night, and the look in her eyes the last time I saw her. She had that same look in her eyes in the picture she sent me. I step out of the shower, and more reminders of the night she had planned stare me in the face—the red sheets on the bed, the champagne on what used to be ice.

  Why didn’t I insist she come with me? Why didn’t I take her to her penthouse? She would have been safer there. I failed her. I should have been there. Her safety should have been my priority. I promised her I would protect her… this happened under my watch. How could I have a compl
ete lapse in judgment after this place was broken into a few weeks ago? What the hell was I thinking?

  I should have asked the FBI to keep on following her, even after Chris Hostin’s and Sophie’s arrest. In a moment of pure rage and anger at myself, I ram my hands through the bathroom wall. How could I fuck up so badly? I let her down. I could never forgive myself if she didn’t make it out of this.

  I throw on a pair of jeans and a sweater, pick up my phones, and return downstairs. The spot where Micky and Maggie laid is now spotless and the glass doors are replaced for the second time in weeks. Phillip, Douglas, and another agent eat breakfast at the island. The only thing I can stomach right now is some coffee.

  * * *

  I can hear the two men arguing upstairs. I’m hoping that they’re fighting over taking me up on my offer. Even if one of them is thinking about it, I have a chance.

  I later hear what sounds like a very large metal door open. I carefully pull the duct tape off my ankles and struggle to stand. Eventually, I succeed and I’m able to see two blonde haired men leaving in what might be a black van. I try to make out what else I see, but it looks bare. I think there’s water nearby. I hear water running.

  I sit down and attempt to make myself comfortable when I feel my Johnnyphone in my pocket. I wiggle to fish it out of my pocket, but unfortunately, the flashing yellow light tells me I barely have any battery left.

  How could I have forgotten this was here? You were drugged, that’s how.

  I am so happy the phone’s even on, I blubber like a baby. I quickly dial Jonathan’s number on speed dial.

  “Jada. Baby, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. My phone battery is almost dead.”

  “Jada, this is Phillip. Do you know where you are?”

  “I think I’m near water. It looks like I’m locked in a basement, and there are target practice things in here. The windows are all blocked and I’m in handcuffs. I can only see through the nail holes in the wood that cover the window. Two blonde men kidnapped me. They left in a black van, so please try to hurry.”