Scrolling through her phone for any sign of where she might be, I was sweaty and panicking. There was nothing in the phone to help me. I didn’t know where to look, until it dawned on me. There was an abandoned building about twenty miles from the park that we used to hold meetings at before we got the funds to rent out the lodge. It was possible they would take her there. That’s exactly where they are! Oh hell, I gotta get there fast…
I kept her phone and ran back to my truck. I was out of breath but on an adrenaline high. I hopped in and tore towards the building. There was no point in calling Kemara, since I had her phone, and if I called my father or brother it would only tip them off. I just drove as fast as I could without causing a wreck or risking being pulled over by the police.
The minute I turned down the street to the building, I spotted my father’s car in the parking lot. I was almost there and could only pray they hadn’t harmed her yet. I shut off my lights and coasted into the parking space beside his truck. I jumped out of the car, then ran to the door of the building. I opened it up and stepped into darkness.
I had to inch my way along the walls until I heard her whimper. Then, I quickened the pace toward her agonizing cry. When I rounded the corner, I heard men’s voices.
“You’re not about to interfering with me and my son. You hear me, bitch? He thinks it’s love, but he wouldn’t know love if it bit him in the ass.” The booming laugh echoed through the building. “Once you’re out the picture, then he’ll come back to his family where he belongs. He’s going to be the man I raised him to be, come hell or high water. I’m his father and you…you’re nobody,” Dad said in a gruff, unpleasant tone.
There was a long pause. I didn’t hear any sounds from Kemara. I swallowed hard and tiptoed down this long hallway. “Let me fuck her just once, Dad. I hear black pussy can be nice and sweet.” I heard Damon say.
My heart fluttered with contempt. I was livid. If Damon laid one hand on her, I would kill him and not blink. I got closer to where the voices were coming from and peeked my head around the corner to size up the situation. That’s when I saw a door with a small hole in it by the keyhole. I stooped to peep in and saw Kemara had her arms strapped to the wall. Her mouth was taped shut and she was wide-eyed. My father was holding a gun directed at her head, and my brother was inching towards her with one thing on his mind. That was to rape her and never miss a beat in his sick, sad life. It was my dad’s voice that stopped him from moving any further.
“Shut up, fool,” Dad grumbled and turned back to her. “If anyone was going to fuck her, it’d be me, but I’m not that desperate.” Dad looked like hell. Days worth of not shaving had caught up with him, and he had on wrinkled clothes that barely covered his tall, thick frame. His long hair was pulled back into his signature ponytail, though he was balding in the front.
The thought of my dad or brother taking one more step closer to her had my hairs standing up. I had to do something to protect her and get them away from her…for good. I stepped back, so that they couldn’t hear me, then dialed up 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“My girlfriend is in trouble,” I hissed. I kept my voice low, so no one would hear me. “She has a gun drawn on her. They’re going to kill her.” I rattled off the address. “Hurry!”
I hung up the call and moved back in. My breathing was so heavy that I had to control myself. I was sure they would catch on that something was going on.
“You better be praying bitch, because you need to get things right with the Lord. The only way you’ll leave here is in a body bag, and that’s only if we allow it,” Dad said. “The fact of the matter is, no one comes in this beat up warehouse, so maybe we’ll just let your corpse rot in here. What do you think, Damon?” Dad asked.
“Yeah…I like it.” Damon moved closer and touched Kemara’s cheek with his finger. Damon looked at Dad. “It’d be a shame to let her die without servicing us first, though.”
I had to bite back a growl. I was seconds from making myself known.
Dad snickered, not even bothering to tell Damon to get away from her. He was too busy toying around her hair with the gun. “You see the way I see it is…the only choices you have are heaven and hell, so you better pray it out,” Dad said.
I couldn’t believe he was being so hateful. I cringed at the realization that this used to be behavior I turned a blind eye to. My dad held up the gun and I froze.
“Pray now bitch, because he’s going to blow your fucking head off,” Damon screamed at her. The sound of his voice echoed through the warehouse.
Dad clearly had the upper hand, so I looked around for something, anything, I could use to sneak them and knock them both out. I also did some praying of my own, wondering when the hell the cops would get there.
Dad cocked his gun. “Three…two…”
I turned the doorknob to sneak in, but it was locked.
“One…”
I turned away and closed my eyes, fearing that the gunshot would go off and it would be over. I clutched my chest, breathing harder, when the only sound I heard was laughing coming from both my dad and brother.
I peeked back in.
Dad was jerking so hard with laughter that he could barely stand up. Was that some kind of cruel fucking joke to him?
He stopped laughing and looked up at her. “Silly me. I forgot the bullets. Won’t make that mistake again.”
I gasped, relieved that I didn’t just stand back and watch the love of my life die. I watched Dad pull out a couple bullets from his pocket and put them into the gun.
Damon moved closer to her, and he nearly pressed his face to hers. “Definitely won’t make that mistake again. Bitch, you’re going down, because I’ve made a prediction and you won’t make it to heaven.” Damon laughed. “I crack myself up with these predictions. Come on, Dad. Get rid of her, so we can go get something to eat.”
As I tried to pick the lock, I heard murmuring coming from Kemara’s way. My love was pleading for her life. I couldn’t take it anymore. My heart was breaking for her. I glanced down at my phone to see how long it’d been since I called the cops. Just under ten minutes, but they had to get there soon. I looked through the hole again to see what was going on in there.
“What’s that baby? Do you wanna tell me something?” Damon asked Kemara.
“Damon…don’t bother. I’m ready now. We can kill her and put this dirty mess behind us.”
Damon turned to our father, then back to Kemara. “What’d you say? You want to say something?” Damon grabbed the corner of the tape and ripped it off her mouth.
I felt the pain all the way on the other side of the room.
She flinched as I’m sure the tape burned her flesh.
“There…speak your last words and I’ll be sure to share them with my bro,” Damon said.
“Damon, don’t be so fucking stupid,” Dad called out. “You can’t tell Channing you were here.” He laughed. “If you keep quiet, Channing will just think his precious girlfriend fell off the face of the earth. He won’t know what hit him. But don’t you worry, we’ll be there to console him while your remains are fertilizing the soil.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Kemara said bravely.
Damon and Dad turned to her. “What do you say, bitch?” Damon asked.
She glared at him. She was full of anger, and I was just glad that she was prolonging until the cops getting there. “You won’t get away this. Channing will know the truth.”
Damon smirked. “Once you’re gone, he won’t even care,” he said. He ran a finger down her chin.
She looked beyond irritated. “Get your fuckin’ hand off me,” she said through tightened teeth.
“Or what?” Damon asked.
She spit in his face.
He shook his head. “Oh, no you didn’t just do that,” Damon said, his voice piercing the walls. He reached up and grabbed Kemara’s neck and started choking and shaking her.
She made several choking sou
nds.
I couldn’t stand back and watch him choke the life out of her. I had to get in that room.
“Get your hands off her!” I yelled as I pummeled my body into the door and rammed it open with my sheer strength. I ran up to Damon and grabbed onto his shoulders and threw him away from her.
“What the hell?” He swung around and the anger and irritation on his face was evident. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“That doesn’t matter. This is over. The cops are on their way and you both are done.”
I shot a look towards Dad, and he was dumbfounded. I was so engrossed in what he was doing that I missed the punch that was headed my way. Damon slugged me in the jaw, knocking me backward. I steadied myself and turned to him and threw a punch his way. We were beating the crap out of one another, with one punch after another, hitting the face, throat, gut, and anywhere we could find. I could hear Kemara’s voice pleading for us to stop.
“Channing…don’t…please…stop!”
“See what you did, bitch. You’re tearing this family apart,” Dad’s voice rang out. “This is why you have to pay.”
The sound of cocking of the gun jogged me out of the fight with my brother. I dodged a right hook to look at Dad. The gun was pointed directly at her and there was vengeance in his eyes. It all played out in slow motion. I turned to Kemara, and she had tears in her eyes, begging for her life. I couldn’t worry about Damon.
“You’re going to die and get exactly the payback you deserve,” Dad said, speaking with venom in his voice.
I made my move. “Noooooooo!” I hollered, running in front of her, as the gun went off. I heard sirens in the background as I went down, hitting my head hard on the floor. I was out and all I could hope was that Kemara would get to safety.
Chapter Nineteen
Kemara
“Channing!” I cried out in horror as he went down. The tears sprung to my eyes as I sobbed and tried desperately to pull my arms away.
Channing’s father and brother were still there. His father dropped the gun and stared at the lifeless form in front of him. “Son,” he said in almost a whisper.
Damon started to look frantic as the sirens drew closer. “Dad, we have to get out of here.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” I said, staring them down.
“Shut up!” Damon ordered. He reached down and grabbed the gun, and I wondered if maybe I spoke too quickly. I feared that maybe I would get shot before the cops could come in to rescue me. The sirens were right outside the door and they knew it. “Let’s get out of here,” Damon said. They ran towards the door and I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding.
“Channing…wake up baby…please…” I mumbled, sobbing as the tears were now raining down my cheeks. I heard rustling outside the room and hope flourished inside of me. “We’re in here! Help!” I called out.
Two cops, followed by a stretcher and paramedics, came running into the room. We were saved. One cop came over to me and helped to get my wrists undone. I was at a loss for words, but needed them to know that both men were on the loose. “They left…someone needs to find them,” I said, barely able to catch my breath.
“It’s alright, ma’am. We have two officers with them now. They tried to escape, but it’s over.” I fell into his arms, relieved to hear him say that. I started sobbing as I looked past him and saw Channing being loaded up on the stretcher. He looked so helpless. He looked like he was already gone.
But the words, we’ve got a pulse, echoed through my mind and I was hit with relief. They pulled the stretcher, with Channing on it, out of the room and I had to go with him. “I have to go to the hospital,” I said.
“Of course! We’ll meet you at the hospital, so we can get an official statement. Can we call someone for you?” the officer asked.
“I’ll do it!” I said. “I just need to go.” With that, I hurried out of the room and made it outside, just as they were about to load him into the back of the EMS. “Wait!” I called out. “Can I come with him?” I asked.
The paramedic nodded. “You’ll need to get checked out too.”
“No, I’m fine. I just want you to make sure he’s okay,” I argued.
They put him in the back and I got up after them. I sat down on the bench beside him and grabbed his hand. “I’m here, baby. Just stay strong.” I felt the faint thread of his pulse as the EMS turned on their sirens and pulled away from the building. He was going to be fine. He just had to be.
***
By the time I got to the hospital, I agreed to be looked at, but not until Channing was in the room and being worked on. A doctor checked me out and came back with me being fine, but I could have told him that anyway, other than the fact that nerves were working hard on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my life would be if Channing wasn’t alright.
When I got to the waiting room, my parents were already there. I ran over to them, throwing my arms around their neck and started sobbing. “He looked so lifeless,” I said. “I was so scared.” I had moved past me being scared for my own life. The truth was that Channing came in to save me. I was here, because he had stepped in the way of the bullet and I would never be able to forgive myself if he didn’t make it.
“What happened?” My mom’s soft and soothing voice asked.
We went over to a group of chairs and I sat down. My legs were wobbly and I needed to have a rest. I started to tell them the story, saying just that Channing’s father and brother didn’t like me, and I was caught in the middle. “So, in other words, Channing put you in this situation?” My dad asked. He looked upset and I had to quickly diffuse the situation. I couldn’t have him upset by this, when Channing was fighting for his life.
“Dad…this isn’t Channing’s fault. He loves me and it’s because of him that I’m sitting here right now. He jumped in the line of fire, and he can’t help who his father does and doesn’t like. I should have been more careful, so this was partly my fault too,” I said.
“This is not your fault, sweetheart.” My dad’s face softened. “But I’m just so grateful that he was there for you,” he said. He hugged me and I fell into his strong hold.
“I’m scared, Dad,” I admitted.
“I know honey, but we have to have faith that he will be fine.”
My mom reached out and touched my knee. I looked up at her and she was looking away from us. I looked to where she was staring and standing at the open of the waiting room was Channing’s mom. She was looking at us. Her face was red and for obvious reasons, she’d been crying. I got up and hurried towards her. I wrapped my arms around her and we hugged.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Holloway,” I said.
“Dear…” she said, her breath brushing against my ear. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry about the way my husband reacted to you.” She pulled back and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I’m just glad that my son got to you in time.”
I had questioned how he had found me so quickly and I thought about it. “Was it you? Did you tell him I was in trouble?” I asked.
She smiled through the light tears. “Let’s not think about that now,” she said. “We need to be a strong and united group, so that we can get through this together.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you,” I whispered. She nodded and we headed over to where my parents were seated. “Mom…Dad…I want you to meet Channing’s mother.”
They both looked at her with ambivalence. I knew that, once everything came out about the Holloways, my family would understand that his mother didn’t hold the same beliefs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said as she reached out to shake my parents’ hand. Then slowly they both accepted her hand and she took a seat next to them.
They started to talk and their hushed voices were drowned out by my own thoughts and concerns for Channing. I turned away from them and stood several feet away, my eyes staring down the door that Channing was behind. As I was watching it, willing for it
to open, I spotted one of the officers heading over towards me.
I turned to him and he nodded and tipped his hat. “Ma’am…we have some questions that I need to ask you. Will you give me ten minutes of your time?” I looked at his name badge, then up at him.
“Officer Prescott, I can appreciate that you need answers and that right now I’m the only one that can provide those answers. I am willing to help you out in any way I can, as long as they stay behind bars for a very long time. But I can’t do this right now. I need to focus on my prayers and direct only positive energy on Channing right now. I hope you can understand and respect that.”
He slowly nodded and stepped back away from me. I looked back at the door, thoughts plaguing my mind about how I just wanted to go to him and smother him with kisses, thanking him for saving my life. But I didn’t know what was waiting behind those doors. I didn’t know if he survived and I didn’t know if he would be a changed man, if he did survive. I just needed some answers.
***
I couldn’t sit still. Between standing and staring at the door and moving to sit closer to his mom and my parents, I just felt useless. It seemed like forever that he’d been in the hospital room being worked on, when finally the doors opened. The doctor walked out and I shot to my feet. I reached out and grabbed my mom’s hand as he got closer to me.
“We have him on some high medication, so he’s really drowsy right now, but he’s going to be fine.” The minute the words came out, I felt a sigh burst from within me. “He took the brunt of the damage to his shoulder and he lost a lot of blood. He’ll need some therapy, but we expect a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank God!” I said. I turned to my family, and we all started our celebration. It was a huge relief to know that Channing was going to be fine. I hugged Mrs. Holloway and she started sobbing against me, but the tears now were of relief and happiness. I pulled away from the embrace and turned to the doctor. “When can we see him?” I asked
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