Mistaken Hope

by Sarah Elizabeth

  MISTAKEN

  Sarah Elizabeth

  Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Elizabeth

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or passed, is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

  COVER DESIGN by Sarah Elizabeth.

  FORMATTED by Sarah Elizabeth.

  EDITED by Sarah Elizabeth & parts by Stacy Land.

  To keep up-to-date with author news, upcoming releases, teasers, cover reveals, and more, please follow the links below:

  Sarah Elizabeth's Goodreads Profile

  Sarah Elizabeth's Facebook Page

  The Misjudged Series on Facebook

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  Dedication

  Dedicated to all those who are fortunate enough

  to have and be living their forever.

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of the readers of The Misjudged Series. You took a chance on Brandon’s and Alexis’ story when I released my debut novel back in July 2013, and it’s overwhelming to see where their journey has not only taken them, but the rest of us as well.

  Most of you are already aware that Misjudged was only ever meant to have been the one book, but Mr. Taylor would not leave my head and has lived inside my mind for the past 18 months, telling me his story. (Trust me, it isn’t such a good thing!)

  I can’t put into words how appreciative I am to you all for sticking with the series as it went from one book, to two, then three, four, and finally five. Without your encouragement, support, and love for the characters, Mistaken Hope would never have been published.

  You’re all amazing!

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  A Gift for My Readers

  Upcoming Releases

  The Prologue for Bliss

  Prologue

  Mistaken Hope on Spotify

  “He told me his name is Neil.”

  Me, Alexis, and our beautiful daughter, we were supposed to be living our forever. But, he came back. He fucking came back and took away one of my only reasons left to breathe.

  He took her.

  The love of my life. My best friend. My soul mate. My entire fucking world.

  When Holly told me who’d given her the white flower, my first instinct was to go after him. I instantly scooped our daughter up in my arms and headed straight toward the back gate of our home. When Holly said his name, it winded me. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t breathe. For the past sixty months I’d refused to believe that he could ever hurt us again. I mean, we were just starting to forget, or at least, we were trying to forget what he did to us. We just needed each other. I just needed her.

  I sprinted down the alleyway and then toward the main street looking for her, but she wasn’t there. There was nobody around at all. I ran back inside the house and called for Alexis. No. I fucking yelled for her! But, she didn’t answer. She didn’t answer because she wasn’t there. Then? Well, then I did the only thing I could think to do. The one thing that I’d never imagined I’d have to do in my entire fucking life. I picked up the phone and reported my wife missing.

  For the past five years and right up until this day, I truly believed that our worst nightmare was over, but it’s now I realize that it’s only just begun.

  This day … is the beginning of the end.

  Chapter One

  While resting the back of my head against the kitchen wall, I raise my left wrist so that I can get a clear view of my watch. They’ve been here for over an hour already. What’s taking them so long? Why are they here when they should be out there looking for her? They’re wasting time. I’ve already told them that being here isn’t gonna help find Alexis. They need to go after him. They just … they just need to bring my beautiful wife home.

  As I let out an exasperated breath and turn my attention toward the dining room, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach almost immobilizes me when my gaze lands over on her.

  She’s sitting up at the dining table without a care in the world, and she’s completely oblivious to everything that’s going on around her; around us. If there’s one thing I’m sure of then it’s that I hope to hell it stays that way. I pray to God that she’ll never have to find out the true extent of any of this.

  “Daddy?” It could’ve easily been her. I instantly ball my fists by my sides, beckoning for the couple of deep breaths that I’ve just taken to bring me under some kinda control. I need to stay calm for her; for the both of us. Every time I think about him being so close to my daughter, my blood runs cold with fear, and I can’t even begin to explain how it feels to know that Alexis is with him. Has he hurt her? Why? Why did he come back? Why would—? “Daddy? Daddy, what’s wrong?” Holly asks, placing her purple crayon down beside the paper she’s been drawing on for the past sixty minutes. She’s looking directly over at me, her eyes filled with her pure innocence.

  How do you go about telling your five year old daughter that her mommy has been taken away from her by a monster? That you’re not sure when or if she’s ever gonna be coming home? Well, that’s an easy one to answer. It’s an impossibility. You can’t. I can’t.

  No. No, she has to come home. No ifs, no buts, no fucking maybes. There’s no way I’m gonna let that motherfucker take her away from us. Hasn’t he done enough already? Why? Why can’t he just leave us the fuck alone? All we wanted was to be happy. All we’ve ever wanted was to be with each other. Why does he have to keep trying to destroy everything? Why does he have to keep trying to destroy me?

  “Mr. Taylor?” I blink a couple of times, swallowing hard when I bring my gaze away from Holly and over on the detective. He’s standing in the doorway and nods at me the one time, his eyes darting toward my daughter for a split second before they land back on mine. He summons for me to follow him through to the hallway, and when we step inside the living room, I see the other detective standing over by the window. “We’ve concluded our search of the house, and it does seem highly possible that there was a struggle.” His voice holds regret as he turns around to face me, his whole demeanor bleak.

  My stomach rolls and my whole body becomes tense. My throat feels tight and it’s taking me all of my will to not lose it right here and now. Alexis wouldn’t have let him take her without a fight, and surely knowing this should bring me some kinda comfort, but it doesn’t. Knowing that he has her and what he’s capable of over shadows everything else. First he took Holly, and now … now he has Alexis.

  When I feel Rach placing her hand on my right arm, I look to her for a brief second, lifting my gaze back away from hers when the female cop starts heading slowly toward us. Rach came over here as soon as I called her. I could hardly form any words when she answered the phone. All I managed to choke out was that he came back, that he’d taken Alexis away from me. But, I guess that’s all I needed to say because a half an hour after that, she arrived on the front porch. We waited for another half hour for the cops to show, which makes it app
roximately two hours since that asshole was here in our home.

  “Some officers have already started to carry out door to door enquiries with the neighboring properties, to see if anybody witnessed anything.” The detective informs us, though her eye contact is unsteady and I can already tell that she’s hiding something.

  “What else?” Her brow furrows when I ask, her face deadpanned. “You’re hiding something. What the fuck are you trying to hide from me?” I raise my voice, startling her some. Does she seriously think that I don’t know how they work? Huh? Well, I think you and I both know that I’ve had more than enough dealings with the cops throughout my lifetime to know when they’re keeping shit from me.

  “We …” she hesitates, slowly closing her eyes before clearing her throat. “Mr. Taylor, while we were conducting our search of your home we found some remnants of blood over by the fireplace.” Rach squeezes my shoulder at the same time that I clench my eyes firmly closed.

  Blood? No. No fucking way. If he’s hurt her then I’m gonna … he’s hurt her. He’s already hurt her. My mind is spinning and my gaze darts around the room as I take an involuntary step backward. When something just ahead of me catches my eye, I pause before hesitantly kneeling down beside one of the broken picture frames. It’s been smashed into tiny pieces and there are shards of glass all around me.

  I take a hold of the picture in my right hand, lightly stroking the fingers of my left over the both of us. My vision becomes blurred when my eyes settle on her beautiful face; her beautiful smile. I’m holding one of the photographs that was taken on our wedding day. The day I promised Alexis that we were finally living our forever. That day was the second best day of my life, the first being when we welcomed Holly into the world. No. No, he can’t do this to us. He can’t and I won’t let him. She’s never been his to take.

  “No. No!” I say, and my voice falters. My hands are vigorously shaking, and both my head and chest are pounding harder now, in extreme rhythm with the other. “You need to get outta here and find her! He’s capable of anything. He’s fucking capable of everything!” The picture slips from out of my hand and I start to grab fistfuls of my hair, yanking it hard, trying to hold myself together. Taking deep, agonizing breaths, I stand back on my feet before spinning around to face them again, noticing that the three of them are looking right at me.

  Rach takes a few steps forward and comes to stand beside me, reaching out to take a hold of my hand, trying to offer me some comfort. Nothing’s gonna bring me any comfort, though, is it? I mean, the only thing that could make any of this okay again would be if I could turn back the clock. If I hadn’t headed to the store … if I’d have just stayed home then none of this would’ve happened. She’d still be here because he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to snatch her away from her family, away from her daughter, away from me.

  The two officers exchange glances, and when the male detective nods, the female one takes a minuscule step forward, “Mr. Taylor, we would like to speak with your daughter and ask her a few questions.” Her voice is small, almost a whisper, and her eyes reveal her uncertainty. Well, she’s right to be hesitant on how to approach this, and I immediately start to shake my head.

  “No, I’ve already told you what she told me.” They wanna talk to Holly? Nope. Not a chance. There’s no way in hell that I’m gonna let them upset her. No. No, they’re not gonna tell her what’s going on. They can’t and I’m not gonna let them. She can’t know what’s happening around her, no fucking way.

  She’s still holding a sympathetic gaze on me, but she’s not gonna sway my decision on this. Holly isn’t gonna be subjected to a police interrogation. Not now. Not ever.

  “If it was Mr. Kelly then we will—”

  “It was him!” I spit through my teeth. “Who the fuck else is it gonna be? Holly said his name for crying out loud! She said his fucking name!” I think my frustration is pretty damn evident and she’s looking surprisingly shocked by my outburst. Yeah, well, she hasn’t seen anything yet.

  How can they even be questioning this? It was him, and the more time they waste trying to prove otherwise, then the less likely it’s gonna be to—“Mr. Taylor, please. The first twenty-four to forty-eight hours are the most crucial in any missing person’s case, and until we’re one hundred percent certain that it was Mr. Kelly who took your wife, we will need to remain open minded on all other possibilities. Brandon, if you do not allow us to speak with your daughter then this could potentially slow down the entire investigation. However, if you do give us the permission we need, then it is possible that your daughter may be able to shed some light; give us something to go on. Be it a conversation she had with him, perhaps something that will help us to make the initial link.” I shake my head and Rach grips my hand tighter. When I turn my head to the side and look at her again, I see that she’s already nodding slowly at me, offering a small, yet tight lipped smile.

  I run my left hand over my face and up through my hair while letting out a deep sigh, “She’s only five, Rach.” I say, and my voice finally cracks as my shoulders slouch down low.

  “They know what they’re doing, Brandon” she whispers. “You need to give them your permission.” She nods, her pleading eyes searching mine. “Please?”

  I think about this for a couple of moments before lowering my gaze to the floor in defeat. She’s right. If I want Alexis home then I’ve gotta let them do whatever they need to do in order to make that happen. I’ll do anything. I’ll fucking do everything if it means that we can bring her back to us.

  I don’t give them an answer as I let go of Rach’s hand and walk by them, “Holly?” I call out to her, making my way down the hallway and through to the kitchen. She’s still sitting up at the dining table, this time playing with her favorite doll. “Hey.” I say, and go to kneel down beside her as she twists in her seat to face me. “Listen, I um … I need you to come and sit with me and Auntie Rach in the other room for a few minutes, alright?” I ask her, placing my hands on either side of her waist. She nods, wrapping her small hands around my shoulders as I lift her up. Making my way back through to the hallway, I pause in the doorway to take a breath, trying to compose myself for what’s next. After mentally counting to five in my mind, I step back inside the living room, rejoining them.

  Rach throws a reassuring smile my way as we both enter the room, and I carry Holly over to the nearest couch before taking a seat, turning her around until she’s sitting comfortably on my lap.

  The detectives both take a seat opposite to the two of us, and Rach comes to stand beside me, resting her hand on my shoulder before sitting herself down on the arm of the couch. I feel Holly twist toward me some more, and she starts gripping a tight hold on my shirt. When I look at her, I notice that her eyes have widened and her lips are trembling, “Daddy? Have I been bad?” Unwelcome tears start to form in my eyes and a huge lump begins to lodge itself uncomfortably in my throat when I see how scared and lost my little girl looks. I knew that this was a bad idea. I mean, look how scared she is. She’s fucking terrified. “Am I in trouble?” A single tear escapes from her eye, trickling down her right cheek as she asks, her voice beginning to shake.

  “No. No, of course you’re not,” I answer, weakly. I lift my hand up and wipe the stray tear away with the back of my hand, tenderly stroking her face with my fingers before wrapping my arms tightly around her again. “We just need to help the officers with something by answering a couple of questions for them, that’s all.” I take a hold of the both of her hands in mine, trying to sound and look as though I don’t have an issue with any of this. If there was any other way to help them than to bring Holly into all of this, then I would use it, but I know that we’ve gotta do this.

  “Hi Holly,” she speaks, gaining our attention as she sits forward in her seat. “I’m Detective Nicolson, and this is Detective Land.”

  My focus doesn’t move away from my daughter once, and I watch as her eyes start darting between the both of them, “Hello.
” She whispers, tightening her grip on my hands until her knuckles turn a pure white.

  “We wanted to talk with you about your new friend,” she begins. He’s not her friend. He’s a fucking monster. Her words have me clenching my jaw tight and I can feel Rach shifting in her seat beside me. “We were hoping that you might be able to tell us a little bit about him?”

  Holly’s nose wrinkles up and she shrugs her shoulders, “Um …” She turns to me, her confusion clearly displaying over her face. “Has he been bad?” I close my eyes when visions of everything he’s ever done to us start flashing through my mind.

  “We are just trying to find him, Holly,” Detective Nicolson answers on my behalf, her voice softer now. “Can you maybe start by telling us his name?” Is she kidding? We already know his fucking name. I throw her a glare and her eyes flicker on me, but she doesn’t say anything else. She turns her attention back on my daughter, offering her an encouraging smile while nodding for her to answer the question.

  “His name is Neil,” Holly answers, resting back against me some more. “He told me his name is Neil.”

  The detective shifts forward in her seat, nodding and whispering to the one beside her. He starts scribbling something down in his notebook, and seeing this makes my brow furrow even deeper. They knew his name already so how the fuck can this be helping them any? What? Did they think that she was gonna tell them something different to what I did? Hell! We haven’t ever mentioned his name in front of her before. In fact, we haven’t spoken his name since the day we promised each other that we’d never allow him to inflict pain and misery on our lives again. We swore that we would never let his evil back inside to haunt us.

  “And how long have you known him?” she asks, focusing her gaze back over on Holly. “Do you remember how many times he has been to visit you?” I immediately glance down when I feel Holly lift both of her hands from out of mine, and my whole body becomes rigid when I see her starting to count on her fingers, whispering numbers to herself. Please God, no. Please tell them that this was the first time he’s ever been here.