by Angel Steel
He heard the other say that he was going to stay with her until either Joey or the paramedics came, but she had insisted that he go and help with the fire. She had been left alone, out back, in a damn dark alley, for whatever to happen.
“Fuck.” How stupid did she have to be? Why couldn’t she just have kept her mouth shut while the guy sat with her till more help arrive No, she wouldn’t allow it. Well, she was in for a rude shock once he got his hands on her for scaring the living shit out of him, and not listening to anyone.
“No one has seen her. One guy said he saw a car driving down the alley and turned left away from the shop” Joey panted as he got his breathing under control.
“Who would be driving around at this time of night?”
“I don’t know, but I have a funny feeling that she knew whoever was driving that car.”
“I have the same feeling, Joey.” He actually felt sick to his stomach not knowing where she was. Pulling out his phone, hoping that she had taken her own phone with her, he dialed her number. He heard her phone ringing. Following the sound, he found her bag sitting near one of the trucks parked out front.
“She never grabbed her bag. I went back into the building to get it, Dom,” Joey said behind him.
He was livid. His fist slammed into the side of the truck, no one around him noticed or heard. His hand stung like a bitch and he knew blood was dripping from the wound on it, but at that point he didn’t care. All he wanted was Chantal safe and back in his arms, where she belonged.
“Maybe she went back to Skylar’s? I know she wouldn’t have gone back to her parents’ place, knowing her father, she would be up at the hospital by now.”
“If she has, Nate wouldn’t know unless Skylar called him. He’s on his way here.”
Nate’s truck pulled up and he jumped out and walked their way. There were close to around twenty firefighters there now, trying to control the fire. They had stopped it from spreading to the shops on either side, but whatever had started it, wasn’t stopping.
“Is she alright? What the fuck happened?” Nate asked as he stood in front of them both.
“I have no bloody idea on either. She isn’t here anymore,” he told him.
“What do you mean? Joey was here first.”
“He was, he got her out just in time, but she just disappeared into thin air. No one knows where she is.”
This was driving him up a wall, where would she go? Her fucking shop was on fire, she wouldn’t just up and go. The shop was her baby.
“Jesus Christ, I knew this was going to happen. That woman never listens and look what happened.”
Dom frowned. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
Wiping his face, he knew just by the look on Nate’s face that it wasn’t going to be good.
“Over a month ago, Chantal was at Skylar’s place. Before she even had the chance to go inside, I heard her scream. Taking her inside, she asked me to carry a box for her. I was a little curious to it, she didn’t look ok...pale, sick kind of look. When I asked what was in the box, she couldn’t tell me.”
“What was in the box?”
“Some pretty fucked up shit, Dom. She made me promise not to tell you, but it wasn’t the only thing she got. She has had four letters, the box, and a DVD sent to her.”
“What did the letters say, and you better bloody tell me what was in the box and on the DVD, Nate?”
“The first letter was simple, non-harmful, then they just got nasty, the DVD that was sent was of you guys together, in a compromising position.”
“Fuck,” he growled.
“She has a stalker, Dom. Whoever it is, thinks you’re no good for her, that she belongs to whoever is sending this shit to her. The day she received the DVD was at her house, it was filmed at her house. They know where she lives. She called me to go over and that is why she was staying at my place. Skylar doesn’t even know the whole story.”
What? Fucking God damn, bloody shit. Storming over he pulled Nate close to him, face to face. “What was in that box, Nate?” He growled.
“A pig’s heart with a knife in it.”
His fist came up so quick and connected to Nate’s nose. He stumbled back, grabbing his blood-dripping nose. “Shit.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, Nate? If I knew anything to do with Skylar, I would have told you, especially if it was something like this shit. I can’t fucking believe you kept this shit from me!” he yelled.
“Dom,” Joey warned behind him.
“Don’t, Joey. I’m way past it. If you had told me, this wouldn’t be fucking happening right now. She would be fucking safe at my place, safe from whoever this wanker is.”
He needed a breather. Stepping away, he wondered how the hell did she keep this from him, and Nate did as well? This was absolutely bullshit. He knew there was something wrong that night when he had seen both Nate and her at the opening of her shop. Shit, he should have pushed the point with her, demanded more that she tell him the truth, not bloody hide it.
“Dom, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was much at first, but after seeing what was in the box and watching the DVD, I wanted to tell you, trust me, but she made me promise.”
“You better hope to all the fucking gods nothing has happened to her, Nate. I will never forgive you if it has,” he growled, and then stormed off towards his truck.
How could she not have told him? He understood why she didn’t, because he would have had her safe at his place, tied to the fucking bed so she couldn’t bloody leave. But he wasn’t one to ask, since he had kept the biggest secret from her. Everything was just fucked; there was no other word for it. Jumping into his truck, he needed to get away from the burning shop and try to find her. He only had so many ideas as to where she would go, so he was going to start off with the obvious...her parents’ house.
******
Nate felt like shit when he arrived back home. It wasn’t just the fact that he was covered in black smudges and whatever else, it was the fact that he had a choice to make. Tell Skylar about Chantal being missing, or keep it to himself until they found her.
He slammed his fists against the steering wheel, losing count as he continued, repeatedly. The driver’s door opened and a hand came down over his, stopping what he was doing. He struggled to get his breathing under control.
“Nate, what’s going on?” Alex asked.
“Fucking everything,” he grumbled.
“What happened to your face?”
Getting out, he took his time walking towards his place. He couldn’t see Skylar right now, looking the way he did. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a beer and gulped half of it down in one hit.
“Chantal’s shop burnt down.”
“Jesus, is she alright?”
Good question!
“Don’t know. She wasn’t around when I got there. Both Joey and Dominic where there, and Joey was the one that pulled her out of the shop.”
“Where is she?” he asked as he got a beer for himself and sat down at the table.
“No one knows. Joey left her in his truck out the back of her shop. By the time Dom arrived, she had just disappeared.”
“How can she just disappear?”
“I think it is more than that, Alex,” Nate said as he slumped against the wall.
“Well?”
“Shit’s been happening with her. And to sum it up, she has a stalker and both Joey and I think she was kidnapped.”
“Bloody hell,” Alex hissed.
That’s exactly what he was thinking of the whole frigging thing.
“Joey is out there looking around, asking all the firefighters if they remember a car being there in the alley. Dom, well, he said he was going out to look for her, but I’m unsure where.”
“You need to tell Skylar, Nate.”
“You know I can’t. It will only upset her more, and she will possibly go into early labor like last time, and I can’t do that to her.”
“It’s her best friend t
hat is missing, Nate, she would want to know.”
“I know that, I just need to figure out how I am going to tell her without upsetting or coursing her to go into labor, which I know will bloody happen,” he mumbled.
“Let me talk to Craig, he might have an idea on how you can tell her the news.”
“Where is Skylar?” he asked.
“Asleep. We told her you got a call out for a job, and didn’t know how long you would be.”
“Thanks for that. I’m going to have a shower and wash all this shit off of me, and then I’ll pop over.”
“Sure. We’ll think of a way to tell her, Nate, don’t stress too much over it.”
He couldn’t answer, only nodded towards him. After Alex left he walked down towards his room and into the bathroom. Stripping his dirty and awful smelling clothes, he slid under the hot, relaxing water. Leaning against the shower wall, he didn’t have the energy to even wash himself. All he could think about was how Skylar was going to react to the not-so-good news about her friend.
How did one tell someone about a situation like the one he was in now? Could he handle telling her and seeing her in pain over her friend? Risk her going into early labor yet again? Or not say anything and wait to see if Chantal would come back from wherever she was?
This was the hardest thing he had ever had to decide on. The wellbeing of his child and the only woman he ever loved, or the friendship he had with Chantal. Jesus, he knew which one he was going to pick, and he hated himself more now, for keeping all this to himself and not telling her in the first place. He was going to upset her over something he couldn’t fix—finding Chantal. Anything else, he could fix, just not that one, single thing.
Chapter 54
Chantal’s head was throbbing as she struggled to sit up. Her arms felt like lead weights and her legs, too. Opening her eyes carefully, she looked around the room. Where the hell am I? Did she end up going home with someone? Shit, she hoped not. Glancing around the room, nothing was familiar to her. There were boards covering the window and the door was closed. There was a dresser to the right, a side table and lamp, and a small, really old TV sat in the corner. And the bed had the oldest and ugliest comforter set that she was sure had never seen the light of day, let alone a washing machine.
Since was she standing and not moving, she could see everything in the room, so she wasn’t on the bed. Looking down her body, she noticed that her legs were tied to something behind her, there was rope around her waist and as she looked above her head, her wrists were tied, too. She could only move her head a tiny bit much, so she couldn’t quite make out what she was tied to.
Someone was walking down the hall, outside the room, louder and louder it got. If she could move from where she was, she would, but there was no chance of it happening. The door opened slowly. The lighting in the room came only from the small lamp so it wasn’t the best but she could make out a shadow standing in the doorway. They never said anything, all she heard was both of their breathing.
She squinted her eyes to get a better look at whoever was at the door.
“Hello.”
Nothing. Not even a sound. The person just stood there, facing her way. “Where am I?”
Was there something wrong with who was standing at the door? Why was she here, wherever it was? Her mouth was dry; she needed to use the bathroom. She had been busting to go since she got into the car last night. Wait. What was going on?
“Why won’t you answer me?” she said as she pulled on the restraints.
“Don’t do that, or you’ll hurt yourself,” the shadow said.
“Who are you, and why am I here?” she tried again.
The shadow stepped forward, and she gasped at who came into view. “Bryan. What are you doing here?”
He stopped right in front of her, and checked her restraints that she pulled hard on. They had loosened only the slightest bit, but it wasn’t enough to get her hands free.
“I’m here for you, Chantal.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and I are meant to be together, as one. Two souls joining into one. That is why you are here,” he said to her.
“I don’t want to be here. I want to go home, Bryan.”
“Yes, you do, Chan. You are mine and will always be mine, completely, and I will show you just how much,” he growled.
“It was you that sent me those letters and box and DVD?”
“Why didn’t you listen to me in those letters, Chan? I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
He tugged harder on the restraints around her wrists, making her cry out at the pain that shot down her arms. He knelt down in front of her and did the same to her ankles. Once he was done, his hands slid ever so slowly and softly up her legs until they reached the top of the skirt she was wearing. Swallowing the vomit that rose in her throat, she whispered, “I’m not yours and never have, or will be, Bryan. Why are you doing this? Just let me go and we can forget this ever happened.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, that won’t be happening. I had someone train me how to treat you the way you want, I can’t wait to show you.” His mouth came down over hers, she tried pulling away as he pushed his tongue down her throat, but was held firm by his hand around her neck.
“Don’t fight it, Chantal. We both know you want it.”
“No, I don’t. What happened to Sherrie? Think about what this will do to her and your kids if they found out.”
He laughed harshly. “Sherrie wouldn’t have the first clue how to please me, like I know you will. And those kids aren’t even mine, the bitch cheated on me with my best mate. She honestly thinks I have no clue, but she is so fucking wrong about it.”
What was going on here? It was like he was on another planet or drugs. His hand slid down her body and started lifting up her skirt. He was like an older brother to her. They had never crossed the boundaries, well she never had, and now that she was here with him, alone in some kind of creepy place, she was scared shitless. Why did things like this happen to her?
“I don’t want you, Bryan. If I have at any time given you that hope, I’m sorry. You were always a big brother to me, nothing more.”
“You have no idea what you have done to me over the last five years. Seeing you with all those losers you called boyfriends, then you went and slept with the biggest playboy of the town, Dominic Grayson. How could you lower yourself that bad, Chantal? You deserve so much better than him, but, you couldn’t help yourself, could you? No one can once they have had Dominic,” he growled.
His hand around her throat tightened and her breathing grew shallow. “He loves me, Bryan. If you did, you wouldn’t be doing what you are now,” she croaked out. His hands loosened enough that she could gulp in a breath.
“He doesn’t love you, he never has. If he did, he wouldn’t have done half the things he did to you, and especially in front of a whole crowd at a fucking dirty club, Chantal. But now that you have been with him, my plans for you have changed. And it’s going to be very interesting to see how they go.” He laughed.
She had never seen this side of him. It was nothing like the usual sweet, happy, help with anything that you needed done, Bryan. What stood in front of her now, was someone that was evil. The sweet side was an act, and his true colors came out now as she watched him move towards the only other door in the room and disappear behind it. His laughter echoed down the hall. What had she done to deserve this treatment from him?
She screamed out his name an endless amount of times, until her throat was raw. Swallowing was painful to do. She didn’t even know what the time was, or even what day it was. God, she hoped someone had noticed that she had been taken from her shop and that they didn’t think she just walked away.
******
Three fucking days he had been looking for her, and she was nowhere to be found. No one had seen or heard from her; the last was Joey and the two firefighters. It didn’t turn out too well when he arrived unannounced at her parents’ house. He
r father was livid, and ready to lay him out flat by the look in his eyes. He was grateful at the time that he had both of his security with him; he didn't know if he would be able to hold back if he started a fight.
He had to then explain the situation to him and her mother, which was one of the hardest things he had to do. He told them she had been taken from her shop when it was burning down. The investigator from the fire crew said that the fire was deliberately lit, and it was hard to determine what the device thrown through the window was originally, but the liquid coming from it was easy to discover.
It had been a long day, sitting down and listening as her father made phone calls, arranging things under the radar so he could have his daughter found. No police were called, Dom tried convincing him but he knew what he was doing.
He had checked every place he could think of that she would go to, but came up empty handed. She hadn’t been to her place, or his, or back to the shop, which she couldn’t get into since it was taped off. Joey’s was out and so was Skylar’s. He was getting frustrated.
The last place he had taken her to was the club. He wasn’t getting his hopes up that she would all of a sudden be sitting at a table when he walked in. This was the last place he wanted to be. He wasn’t up to seeing anyone from the club, let alone be there by himself without her by his side. Though, it didn’t end well the last time they were here, together.
Sliding onto a stool at the bar, he didn’t even have to order as the bartender knew what he was after. He needed a drink to calm his nerves, and soothe what his heart was doing to him—breaking, bit by bit, from not knowing where she was.
After several hours of sitting at the bar, and too many drinks to count, the club started filling up. Everyone that he knew bypassed him, he never once spoke to anyone in particular, and they all just left him alone. When it came to the last show of the night, it was time for him to leave. It wasn’t doing much for either him or Chantal with him sitting all night at the club.
Stumbling towards the front entrance, someone stood in his way to exit the building. Looking up, he groaned. Why him? Why, of all the times, did this dickhead have to be standing in front of him now?
