by Dawn Atkins
Stay strong. Be confident. Dazzle him. “I know you want things to be right. You were a gentleman from the beginning, waiting for me to turn eighteen. You want me to be ready.” Her heart beat wildly.
Her words registered, but not deeply. Lust was lighter fluid to his banked rage.
She needed more. Then it came to her. “I have another problem.” She ducked her head as if embarrassed. “It’s that time.”
Barrett’s head jerked back. “Oh.”
“In fact, I need to change my…you know…” And use the phone. Before he could object, she got up, grabbed her purse and made it to the bathroom, locking the door. Her heart racing, she got out the phone and a tampon, tearing the paper near the door, so he would hear. When she turned on the phone, it died. Damn, damn, damn.
She’d have to get the charger and try later. Aching with frustration, she applied the tampon she didn’t need, washed her hands, then started to leave. What if Barrett searched her purse? To be safe, she tucked the phone behind the trash basket before she stepped out.
Sure enough, he reached for her handbag.
“What are you doing?” she said.
Barrett didn’t reply, just pawed through it, setting it down with a sour smirk. “I guess I need time to trust you, too.” He studied her, angry suspicion in his eyes. “In fact, I think we should go straight home. We need a more controlled environment to get reacquainted.” With doors he could lock, she thought. And tranquilizers he could force down her throat.
They couldn’t leave. Not with the police on the way and a plan in the making. A plan she didn’t yet know.
The door rattled, then opened. Beth Ann ran to Cara and threw her arms around Cara’s waist. Her grandmother wore a disagreeable expression. “It was crowded and Beth Ann did nothing but whine and pout.”
“I wanted you to come.” Beth Ann raised desperate eyes to meet Cara’s. Cara hated to see her suffer this way.
“You baby her,” Cara’s mother declared with a sniff.
Her impulse was to defend Beth Ann, but she realized she could use this moment to good advantage. She dropped to Beth Ann’s level. “I know you’re upset. This has been soo hard on you. You need your Bunny, don’t you?” She was almost baby-talking. Beth Ann looked puzzled.
Cara went to the plastic bag, hid the charger in her palm before she grabbed the rabbit and carried it to Beth Ann. She hugged her daughter, looking up at Barrett. “She’s exhausted, Barrett. We all are. We’ve had a long, stressful day. Leaving again will be worse.”
“We’re leaving?” her mother said. “We just got here.” For once, she was being helpful.
Cara realized how she could ease Barrett’s fears. “How about if we all have a slumber party? We’ll open up the sofa, order room service and watch pay-per-view movies until we fall asleep. No one leaves except to use the bathroom.” She emphasized the last words, looking straight at Barrett, promising him the controlled environment he was after.
“Won’t that be fun, Beth Ann?” she said, squeezing her arms, begging her to agree with her eyes. Beth Ann looked confused. “How about a big order of chicken nuggets covered with the ketchup cure?”
Beth Ann’s lip trembled at the reminder of happier days, but she nodded, a brave trooper once again.
“Sound good?” she said to Barrett.
“I suppose.” He sounded weary, too.
“Would you order for the two of us, Mom, while I help Beth Ann change and wash her face? I’ll have a salad.”
She practically shoved Beth Ann into the bathroom, her heart pounding, praying Barrett wouldn’t stop them cold. She locked the door, dropped to her knees to plug in the charger, then the phone.
“That’s my—”
Cara put a finger to Beth Ann’s lips. “Get dressed. We’re making a plan to get away from Daddy. You need to stay calm and do exactly what I say. Can you do that?” She handed Beth Ann her clothes.
Fear sparked in her daughter’s eyes. “He’ll be so mad at me.”
“He’s using your feelings to trick you into doing what he wants. He’s not better, Beth Ann. He’s dangerous. I won’t do anything until it’s safe, okay? Will you do what I say?”
Beth Ann gave a miserable nod and started to dress.
“We’ll pretend-talk while I call Jonah.” The phone showed two missed calls and one voice mail. To save time, she called Jonah so she could tell him where they were and hear the plan. She flushed the toilet for sound cover.
As soon as he answered, Cara told him the name of the resort and their casita number.
“That’s the place we figured. The police are on their way,” he said. “The plan is to send in a female officer as a maid with towels. When she knocks, you two answer, then run. Deputy Collins left you a message.”
“I don’t know if he’ll allow that.” She stood and turned on the faucet for more noise.
“It’s the best they can offer. If it doesn’t work, it becomes a hostage situation and they follow protocol.”
“I’ll try. When?”
“An hour, maybe less.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“Cara?” Barrett rapped on the door. “What’s going on in there?”
Adrenaline rushed through her and the phone slipped from her fingers, clattering to the tile floor.
Beth Ann gasped.
“What was that?” Barrett rattled the door.
“Soap dish!” Cara said, bending to hide the phone. She smiled at Beth Ann, put a finger to her lips, then grabbed her hand and stepped out of the room. She forced herself to return Barrett’s suspicious glare with a smile.
He pushed past her into the bathroom and shut the door. Cara held her breath, her heart pounding. Maybe he just had to pee.
She heard him moving around, opening the medicine cabinet, the shower curtain, looking through the toiletry basket.
Please don’t let him find the phone.
After a few seconds, the door whipped open. Barrett grabbed her arm, his face red, holding the phone in his other hand. “What did you do?”
“Don’t, Daddy!” Beth Ann squeaked. “It’s my phone. I had to charge it.”
Barrett ignored Beth Ann. Holding on to Cara, he clicked buttons with his free hand, then put the phone to his ear.
He was listening to the message from the deputy. She hadn’t had time to hear or delete it.
As Barrett listened, his face changed, his eyes going hard, his mouth tight. He squeezed her arm so tightly it tingled. He snapped the phone shut and stuck it in his pants pocket. “Deborah, get your bag and Cara’s. Beth Ann, take your own. We’re leaving.”
Holding Cara, he put his bag strap over a shoulder and went for the door. Cara spoke so only Barrett could hear. “Don’t do this. It’s kidnapping. You’ll be in prison for the rest of your life.”
“We need more time, that’s all,” he said grimly, squeezing her arm so tightly she cried out. “Guess I don’t know my own strength,” he said. He would soon lose control of his rage. Could they escape before then?
Beth Ann started to cry.
“Shut up!” he yelled, then spoke calmly. “I can’t think with you shrieking, sweetheart.” He reached into his shirt pocket for a pill bottle, thumbed the cap, popped a pill into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. “That should help. Now go ahead with Grandma to the car.”
Beth Ann shook her head, Bunny tight in her arms.
Barrett went very still and he spoke in a low, threatening tone
. “Did you forget about ice cream on Family Night?”
Beth Ann shot a scared look at Cara, then bolted to do what her father had said. He’d threatened her with ice cream?
While Barrett marched them to the car, Cara looked right and left for someone to signal—a gardener, a maid, a hotel guest—but no one appeared.
In the parking lot, Barrett switched cars with Deborah and sent her off in the opposite direction to the one they would take.
Cara pulled out of the lot.
Barrett turned to Beth Ann. “All set?” He frowned. “You’re too old for that ugly thing.” He took Bunny from her, leaned way back to shove it onto the back window ledge. “There. Now he can see out.”
As he did that, Cara saw the phone he’d taken from her tipping out of his pocket. She tried to reach for it, but he sat down too soon. He popped another pill and they drove in frightened silence, Beth Ann staring back at Bunny, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry that I panicked,” Cara said to calm Barrett. “You’re right about my condition. Sometimes it takes over. That was why I made the call. What I really want is our family to be the way it was. I just need time, like you said.”
She talked on and on and she seemed to be succeeding because Barrett didn’t argue with her. Then she noticed that his eyelids were drooping.
From the pills. Maybe he would drift off and she could stop the car, grab his gun and Beth Ann and run. That only worked in the movies, she feared.
Barrett cleared his throat and blinked. “I need coffee.” He looked at a billboard. “Look there. The Date Shake Ranch is the next exit. We’ll have family ice cream after all, Bethie.”
“I don’t want ice cream,” Beth Ann wailed.
“Sure you do. You love ice cream.”
“No, I don’t. I hate it,” she shrieked.
He leaned into the backseat. “You wanted it then, though, didn’t you?” His tone was pure evil. “More than anything. Didn’t you?”
Beth Ann went silent instantly.
Then? What was he talking about? Cara thought back to the attack. It had been on Sunday. Family Night at Carcher’s.
With a jolt, it hit her. Barrett must have promised Beth Ann ice cream. She’d told Beth Ann not to answer the phone, but if she recognized her father’s name on the display, she might have been tempted. It was Beth Ann who left the door open. When she went next door to play.
That was why Beth Ann hated ice cream and why she wouldn’t talk about what had happened. She didn’t want Cara to know what she’d done. And Barrett was blackmailing her with the secret.
He was a monster.
As Barrett leaned back, the cell phone stuck out even farther. Holding her breath, she pushed the call-back button, hoping the microphone would pick up their conversation for Jonah.
“It’s okay, Beth Ann,” she said as loudly as she dared. “The Date Shake Ranch is famous for its ice cream. Just one more exit.” She had to remind Jonah about the sirens. “We’ll go inside, slow and quiet, so no one gets hurt.”
“Stop scaring her,” Barrett snapped. “I told you I’m not angry. I can’t get angry.”
“Sorry.” She glanced down and saw the phone was black. The battery must have died. Had Jonah heard anything? She felt more scared than she’d ever been in her life. Her one chance at getting help had gone black.
* * *
THANK GOD FOR Beth Ann’s ratty stuffed rabbit. It caught Jonah’s eye in the rear window of a sedan pulling out of the resort parking lot just as he was pulling in. He’d whipped around to follow and verified the plate number matched the rental car from Barstow—the city where Warner had rented the car, according to Deputy Collins, the officer handling the case.
Getting closer, he saw that Cara was driving, her ex-husband beside her, Beth Ann in the back. He called Collins and informed him, warning him again against marked cars and sirens, which would enrage Warner, who’d somehow gotten wise to the plan or simply decided to run for it.
Staring at the car, praying Cara and Beth Ann would get away safely, he vowed he would never let them out of his sight again. Specters faded. He could become a better person. He was not giving up. Not this time.
A few minutes later, his phone rang. He recognized the number as the one Cara had used. He pushed speakerphone and heard crackling, then a muffled voice. No way she could have called him with her ex sitting beside her, so it had to be a pocket call. A few seconds later, the call died.
Checking the phone, he almost missed seeing them take the exit. Whipping across two lanes, and swerving to miss the barrier, he made it, following them into the parking lot of the Date Shake Ranch, a road-stand-turned-market. He called Collins, who told him to stay back, that he was calling in every available officer.
Jonah ignored him and slowly trailed the car across the huge parking lot. If there were a chance he could rescue them before Warner heard a siren and pulled his gun, he had to try.
They made the turn to the back of the lot and parked near a Dumpster. Jonah stayed back, parked his truck and crept his way along the wall. When he risked a look around the corner, they were all out of the car.
Barrett gripped Beth Ann’s shoulder and had an arm at Cara’s waist, holding her close. Where was the gun? There…a bulge at his waist.
Jonah braced himself against the wall to wait. His plan was simple. As soon as they passed him, he would lunge at the guy, grab for the gun and yell for the girls to run like hell.
He listened to their steps on the gravel. Closer…closer…now.
When he stepped out, Cara saw him and yelled, “Run,” to Beth Ann, then ran herself. Warner grabbed his gun.
Jonah swiveled, putting himself in front of the gun. He heard a pop, felt the burn of a thousand bee stings, then slammed Warner to the ground. The gun flew across the gravel.
Warner scissored his legs, and twisted in a grappling move Jonah was in too much agony to counter. Warner then jammed a heel into Jonah’s ribs. A bone snapped and pain ripped through him. He couldn’t breathe. Punctured lung, he figured, gasping like a beached fish.
Barrett kicked again and everything went black.
Jonah woke to the sound of Cara’s voice. “Let her go, Barrett.”
He looked up and saw she’d pointed the gun at Barrett, who held Beth Ann before him, an arm across her body.
“Give me the gun,” Barrett said, inching closer, hand outstretched.
The gun wavered in Cara’s hand. “Stay where you are.”
Jonah fought to stand, but his vision grayed, threatening to go black, so he only made it to his knees. He had to save them.
“What kind of mother points a gun at her daughter?” the man said, advancing on her. “You’re mentally ill. We’ll get you the help you need. Just give me the gun.”
Cara stepped backward. She looked uncertain. Then she noticed Jonah and her expression became determined. She separated her legs, added her other hand to the gun grip and stiffened her arms. “Stop right there or I will shoot you,” she said in a tone indicating she meant it.
Warner stopped moving. “I can see you’re too far gone now.” He glanced to his left where the car was parked. “Beth Ann and I will get into the car and leave. We’ll straighten things out once you’ve gotten the help you need.”
He backed toward the car, taking Beth Ann with him.
Jonah crawled toward him, stopping when his vision wavered.
“You can’t take her, Barrett. I promised to keep her s
afe.” Cara lunged closer.
“You’re the one aiming a gun at her.”
“You promised her Family Night at Carcher’s, didn’t you? You talked her into leaving the door unlocked.”
Beth Ann sobbed.
“It’s not your fault, Beth Ann,” Cara said. “He tricked you so he could hurt me. He used you. That was cruel of him.”
“That’s enough!” Barrett snapped.
“I’m not done. You can’t bully me anymore. I’m too strong for that. So is Beth Ann. You said she’s part of this, so let Beth Ann decide. She can come to her crazy mother with a gun or she can go with you.”
“You truly have lost your mind,” Barrett said.
“You choose, Beth Ann. Choose who you want to be with and we’ll respect your decision.”
“Your mother is sick, Bethie,” Barrett said.
“Choose, Beth Ann,” Cara said levelly. “Trust your good heart. Be your brave self.”
Jonah gathered what was left of his strength to stand, hoping that when he passed out, his momentum would take him into the guy.
“I want my mom,” Beth Ann said in a steady voice. “Let me go.”
“You don’t mean that,” Barrett said.
“You said you’d let me choose,” she said, leaning away from him.
“You did this!” Barrett screamed at Cara. “You made her afraid of me.”
In the distance, Jonah heard sirens. Barrett heard them, too. His hesitation was enough for Beth Ann to twist away.
Jonah lunged. The last thing he saw before it all went black was Beth Ann in her mother’s arms. He passed out smiling.
* * *
CARA HELD BETH ANN’S hand as they watched the ambulance take Jonah to the hospital. The bullet had passed through muscle, according to the EMT, so there wouldn’t be much nerve damage. His other injuries included a punctured lung and at least one broken rib, but he would be fine.
She sank down to talk to Beth Ann, praying she could say what her daughter needed to hear.
“I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe,” Cara said, her throat tight. “I know I broke my promise, and—”
