“You wait here. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
I looked at the phone knowing that I would leave once I knew where my daughter was.
“Please hurry, Dad. He has my little girl.”
Mr. Carlisle grabbed the keys and darted out the door.
The phone rang. I took a deep breath and reluctantly answered it.
“Hel-hello?” My voice quivered.
“Nicole?”
“Steve? Where’s my baby?”
“Hello, my love. Jessica would you like to say hi to her mommy.”
“Hi Mommy. I am with the nice officer. We are waiting for you.”
“Jessica, Jessica. Are you okay, princess?”
“She is doing fine for now. So Nicole, will you be joining us?”
“You will let her go? You will let her go, if I sacrifice myself instead.”
“Yes my love, I’ll let her go home if you take her place. Remember, no police. I have a radio. I will hear if you call them. Hurry, Nicole. I do not like to wait. Tick tock, tick tock”
“Where is my baby? Where do I need to go?”
Steve explained to me how to get to the location. I looked over to see my mom sleeping on the couch. Exhaling, I tried to figure out how I was going to do this alone. A gun! I need a gun! I quickly searched my parent’s room. He’s got to have a gun! I checked in the nightstands and in between the mattress. Dad, where do you keep your gun! Shit! I gotta hurry. I looked around and then suddenly a memory popped into my head.
I saw my dad putting his gun away so little Jess would not be able to get to it. I grabbed a chair and reached on the shelf in the closet. Finding the box, I pulled it out, placed it on the bed and opened it up. I loaded the gun and stuck it in the waist of my pants. I grabbed my purse, pulled out the mace and the stun gun and put it in the pocket of my jacket so they were easily accessible. In a drawer in the kitchen, I found a pocket knife.
I was shaking. I ran to the living room, searching the pockets of my mom’s jacket for her keys and grabbed the phone Steve sent me in case he tried to contact me again. “God, please help me, please keep my angel safe!” My hands were trembling.
I got in my mom’s car, driving frantically. Pulling the cell phone out of my jacket I dialed Dylan again hoping he would answer but only got his answering machine again. “Dylan, he has Jessica. He has my baby.” My voice started to quiver and tears poured out of my eyes. “He says if I go, I can take her place and he’ll let her go free. I’m scared, Dylan. I am so scared. I need you to promise me you will take care of my baby. I need you to promise me, no matter what happens to me, you will take care of my baby. I’m going to some deserted farmhouse in Boonsboro. It is off of Mountain Road. I don’t know if that tracker thing will work on my phone—I don’t know if I’ll have service. I love you, Dylan. I love you. I’m calling you from the cell phone Steve gave me in case there is a way to get his number from it. I don’t know if it will help you find out where we’ll be. I’m really scared, Dylan. I’m really scared.”
My car sped down the highway finally reaching the back roads that wound through the pitch country side.
I arrived at the gravel road. The amplified sound of the tiny rocks spitting off my tires on this silent country street sent chills up my spine.
The road was dark, and the trees seemed to whisper as the wind gently blew through the baron branches. I spotted a light on in an old farm house at the bottom of the hill. I scanned the area for some sign of life. There were no other cars anywhere. No sign of anyone who could help us, if we were able to make out alive. I put the car in park and tried to collect myself, quickly texting ‘I’m here,’ but I didn’t seem to have signal. I touched the gun in my pants. I had never shot at anyone before. I didn’t know if I could do it. I looked up at the house and breathed in. The broken shutters hung as if about to fall. Thunder growled. I apprehensively approached the unlevel porch. My head darted around at each sound that seemed to echo in the trees behind me. The lights were out and the dark windows seemed to possess a warning. I climbed the steps, the rotten boards squeaking as I took each one.
“Steve, Steve, are you here?” My eyes scanned the surroundings, anxiously. “Jessica? Baby, where are you?” I hated the silence. Is it too late? I stood in front of the door, my heart rate thumping so loud I was sure he could hear it. “S--Steve?”
I got to the knob. Did I dare enter? “Steve? Jessica?” I peaked in the door. Only a few lights were on in the old farm house. My hair stood at attention on my arms. I shivered. I would probably not come out alive.
Steve popped out of nowhere, causing me to jump. “Nicole, my love. You made it.”
“Steve. Where’s Jess?” I tried to remain calm. “Where’s my angel?
“I just put her down, honey. She just fell asleep.”
“I’m here. Let’s get her home. I am here.”
“Not so fast, my love. Let her sleep for a little while. She has had quite a day.”
“No, let’s get her home now. I’ll stay, Steve. I promise. You have me, so please let her go.” I had to get her the hell out of here.
“They have been lying to you, Nicole. Did you know that? They have been lying to you.”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“That Dylan and Bradley. They have been telling you lies.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was you and me.” He walked around me, taking my hair in his hands and smelling it. I cringed. “You were living with me. We were a family.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you find it strange how they have kept you captive? Have they let you answer the door or go anywhere alone? They are the ones who have kidnapped you, my love. Think about it…have they given you any freedom? Everything they have told you has been a lie. They have been trying to keep us apart. They kept you a prisoner.”
It was true. They didn’t let me do anything by myself. “They were protecting me.”
“From what, Nicole? From your family? It was Bradley who attacked you. He was the one, Nicole. Why do you think they never found the other person? He attacked you, but the police came so he made up the story. He was jealous of us. Why do you think there were no other witnesses, Nicole? He was going to kill you, just like he killed Katie. He is the dangerous one.” Bradley—dangerous? No way.
“What are you saying?”
“You don’t remember, do you? You don’t remember how in love we were. We were a family. If you weren’t my lover, how would I know about the little mole you have right here?” His finger pressed to the top of my thigh. “Don’t you remember?” I stood silent. A sudden image flashed into my mind. I saw him putting gummy bears on Jessica’s ice cream. Is it possible? Then I saw him, I saw him helping me dig my car out of the snow in front of a beautiful A-frame home with a huge bay window. Could it be? So clear, the visions were so clear.
“I remember a house. I remember you helping me shovel out my car. And gummy bears. I remember gummy bears.”
“Oh yes, Jessica’s favorite. She loved gummy bears in her ice cream. We were so happy together. We were such a happy family.”
“We were together?”
“Yes, my love. We were so happy together.”
“I think I remember, I remember us laughing. I remember…did we watch movies together?” I breathed in, pausing for a moment. Why would I have these memories if they were not true? Could he be?
“You remember, you remember.”
“You gave me these Nicole.” He took underwear out of his pocket and sniffed them. “You are my muse. You are my love. You are my Nicole.” A sudden nausea entered my stomach. Bradley…He tried to kill Bradley.
“Why don’t we drop Jess off at the hospital or someplace and you can help me remember more. I want to remember, Ste
ve. I so want to remember. Let’s bring her, so it will be just you and me.”
“Oh Nicole, you don’t know how happy you make me. I knew you would remember.”
“Let’s get Jess out of here, so we can have some time alone together.”
“Oh no, Nicole. You need your little girl. We have to be a family.”
“Steve, remember you told me that I could come in exchange for Jessica? You told me you would set her free.”
“Nicole, Nicole, Nicole. Now why would I do that? We are such a perfect family.”
“No. Steve. Remember you told me. You told me you would let her go. You promised. Let’s get her to the hospital or someplace and we can send a message to her grandparents to pick her up. They will come after her, Steve. I’m older. I can tell them that we are in love. Where is she?” I started searching around. “Where is Jessica?”
“She is resting.”
“I want to see her. I want to see my Jess.” My voice became anxious. It didn’t seem like he was going to let Jessica go. I had to find Jess and then I would start figuring out what to do next. “Where is Jess, honey?”
I began walking down the dark hallway, opening the doors along the way only to find them empty. Then a slight whimper escaped out of one. I flung open the door, “Jess!”
I stood in shock. There, tied up, was a girl in her early twenties, her dark hair matted as if she had been in a struggle, her mouth taped shut--her eyes wide.
“Oh, you found her, my love.” Steve walked in with a huge dagger. He walked around me and took my hair in his hands again and sniffed it. “I brought her for you. You are my muse, you see.” He walked over to the girl, taking the blade and carving a line in the girl’s skin to draw blood. I felt dizzy and short of breath.
My mind haunted me again. Make it stop! I saw the blade. The blood. It was me. It was me. It was him. I saw his evil stare as the blood seeped into the white snow and I lie there, unable to move. The knife dug into my skin. Make it stop. Make the memories stop! I became paralyzed with fear. I tried to inhale quietly, to steady my heart. Petrified, I stood watching. We have to get out of here. I have to remain calm. God, don’t let me die.
“I’ll show you how much I love you. I will hunt her for you.” He took the tape off the girl’s mouth and made her take a bite of an apple. “The forbidden fruit. Women made men eat the forbidden fruit. That is why everything is wrong, you see? I have come to restore balance.”
“Please help me, please.” The girl screeched, and Steve slapped her, putting the tape again over her mouth and bent over to take off her shoes.
“At midnight, I’ll let her go. I’ll give her an hour to hide and then I will hunt her down. Which ring do you like, my love? How about this one? It can be a symbol of our love. It’s nice to see my trophies worn on someone. I will see it every day on you.” He brought the knife to the girl’s hand to cut off her finger.
“No, no…let me just take it off. It will have more meaning that way.” I hurried over to the girl’s body and slid the ring off her finger. What the hell do I do? What the hell can I do? I touched the gun I had waiting in my pants. I need to find Jess. I need to find Jess first.
“This ring is perfect. What time is it, Steve?”
“It’s eleven thirty.” He grinned, a sinister grin that made me even more nauseous.
I have to be strong. I have to be calm. “Why don’t we leave her alone until midnight? Where is Jessica? Where is my baby?”
“She is sleeping, I told you.”
“Can I see her? I miss my baby. Let me kiss her goodnight.” I stuck my hand in the jacket. The mace? The stun gun? I swallowed, making my way down the hall. He opened the door and there was my angel, lying on a bed. I ran to her. Jess was breathing. I picked her up in my arms and held her tightly. What am I going to do? What can I do?
My eyes scanned the room. A window. Ground level. “Steve, it’s really stuffy in here. Jess is allergic to dust. Can you open the window for me? The fresh air will be good for her. I don’t want her to get sick.”
“It’s cold outside.”
“She has covers, please. If she stays here all night like this, she won’t be able to breathe in the morning. I don’t have her inhaler.”
Steve tugged at the window until it finally opened.
“A little wider, just for a little while, then we can close it once the air is fresh. Can we leave the light on? She is scared of the dark and if she wakes up in here alone, she will be frightened.”
Steve flipped on the light switch. I kissed Jess and looked out the window. Where could we go? I saw a house further down the hill. The porch light was on, maybe someone would be home. I touched the keys in my pocket. I can’t let Steve hunt that girl. I needed to get him far away from the girls. But how?
“Let’s let her sleep.” I motioned that we should leave the room. I left the door open a crack so I could return quickly. I would lock the bedroom door and escape through the window with Jess and run to my car. But what about the girl? I couldn’t leave the girl there to die.
“Steve.” I put my hand on Steve’s chest, looking into his eyes. “Is there anything to eat here? I really am hungry. Can you get us something to eat?”
“It’s almost midnight.”
“Steve, I came all the way out here and you are going hunting?” I couldn’t let the girl die. “Can you go in the morning? Isn’t that a good time to go?”
“I go at midnight.”
“Can you go tomorrow at midnight?” I had no idea what I was doing. I needed time to figure it out. Fifteen minutes. He would torture her in fifteen minutes. Where was Dylan?
Steve began to get a little agitated. His teeth started to grind. I didn’t want to get him mad.
“What is this?” I looked at the laptop sitting on the table.
“See this dot right here?” He seemed pleased with himself. “I’ll be able to find her wherever she goes. I placed a microscopic tracking device on her bracelet.”
“There are two more dots. What are those?” He quickly closed the computer.
Shit, there must be one on me and Jess. He is going to hunt us, too. I twisted the ring around my finger. Maybe it is in this. “Can I get one more ring from that girl? There is one more I really love. Steve.”
“Of course, my love. Let’s go get it.”
“Do you have some tea? Can I have some tea before you go?” I looked into his eyes.
“Yes my love, I’ll get you some.” He gave me an eerie smile. “And then it will be time.”
“I’ll just take one ring. I’ll be right back.”
I let myself in the room with the girl, leaning in to whisper to her. “Listen to me, the bracelet has a tracking device. If I can’t get us out of here together you have to take that off.” I looked around. Steve hadn’t gotten back yet. I pulled the army knife out of my pocket and cut the girl’s ropes so they were almost undone. “Pretend you are still tied up.” I did the same to her feet so she would easily break the binding. “I have to take this. I’m sorry.” I took a ring off her finger so Steve wouldn’t be suspicious. “I have a car. We will somehow get out of here.” I whispered as I left the room. I breathed in again, my anxiety increasing.
Steve came back with a warm cup of tea. A memory pierced my brain. ‘He may give the girls roofie to make them pass out.’ Shit, I can’t drink that. It may be drugged.
“This is perfect, thank you.” I picked up the cup. “Ouch.” The cup fell to the ground breaking. The tea flew up as it hit the floor. “I’m sorry. It burned me. I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry, Steve.”
His eyes began to narrow and he walked to me to smell my hair again. “You give me strength, my love. It is time. Give me your keys, Nicole.”
Shit! “What do you mean? I’ll stay here. I’ll wait for you.”
“Give me your keys, Nicole.” He took the knife out of his pocket. What was I going to do? I tried to remain calm as I pulled out my keys and laid them on the table. He picked up some rope and began walking toward me with the knife. “This is just until I get back, my love. I need to make sure you do not leave me again.” I breathed in, grabbing the mace from my pocket and sprayed him in the face. I pulled out the gun from my pants and aimed at his chest. It took me a moment to steady myself. I breathed in and I pulled the trigger. Steve fell to the ground.
Running down the hallway, I opened the door. “Go out the window. There is a house down the hill. I’ll meet you there. He took my keys. I ran to the back room and grabbed Jess off the bed.”
“Mommy!”
“Everything is okay, baby. Everything is okay.” I got to the window and began climbing out with Jessica, holding her tight. I limped, pain shooting through my legs. Someone popped out of the shadows. “Ahh.” I jumped.
“Shh, it’s me.”
“Bradley, you’re supposed to be in the hospital.”
“Dylan broke me out. He’s here somewhere.”
I looked up and saw the girl struggling to open the window. I handed Jessica to Bradley and began limping back toward the house. “I have to go get her, Bradley. He’ll kill her if he gets up. Keep Jess safe.”
“You’re not going back in there…NICOLE!”
I climbed back in the window and staggered into the room where the girl was struggling to get out of.
“Come on, the window in the other room is open. We have a ride.” The girl followed me through the dark hallways to the window. I heard something and turned around.
“Hurry, go!” I screamed to her.
She climbed out the window. I ran to it. I almost made it out. His cold bloody hands grabbed my leg.
“Ahh!”
“Nicole!”
“Bradley, go!” I yelled as Steve yanked me inside. “Save Jess, Bradley. Go!”
Obsession and Sacrifice (Alaska #2) Page 30
