All our helmets immediately come off and I stand in line to take a few shots. My aim is perfect as usual and I take a backseat from shooting to help the guys with their aim, but that sinking feeling continues to grow and I can hardly concentrate.
Not long after the lady comes back around to tell us it’s go time. I quickly duck to my locker and grab my helmet. I rip off my gloves and check my phone and find a text from Cass telling me she’s here, though, that was at least twenty minutes ago, but that one text from her eases me just a bit. I can handle fucking up one game as long as Cass is there afterward.
I jam my phone back in my locker, pull my gloves and my helmet on and take my position at the door, ready to lead the boys out. They all fall in line behind me, but my head is completely out of it. My eyes stray to the ground as my head goes over all the possibilities.
“Jax,” Coach hollers with a clear annoyance in his voice. My head snaps up to him and I notice immediately that everyone is waiting for me to go. “Where’s your head, Payne?” Coach demands.
“Sorry, Coach,” I stutter out, as my eyes revert back to the ground.
Bobby slaps me upside the back of my head and I turn around with a scowl. “Dude,” he hisses as he gives me a wicked nudge to get out the door. “Pull it together.”
I reluctantly lead the boys out of the locker room and that bad feeling intensifies. I come out of the hallway and enter the stadium. The noise from the crowd is deafening, but I push on. As soon as we turn the corner, my eyes instantly flick up to Cass in the crowd, but I don’t find her there. Where the hell is she? She hasn’t missed a game all season and she sent a text saying she was here.
I look over to the food lines even though she has never eaten stadium food in her life and just as expected, she isn’t there. I mean, could Brianna have gotten worse and she had to go? If that were the case she would have texted.
I turn back to Bobby. “Have you heard from Bri? Is Cass with her?”
He gives me a strange look, probably wondering why the hell I’m thinking about his twin sister at a time like this, but I know he see’s something off in my eyes as he answers, “She’s fine, just got some bug. Last I heard, she was starting to feel a bit better. Cass was coming by herself. She should be here,” he says casting his eyes up at the grandstand. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know, man,” I tell him as I continue looking around the stadium, “She texted twenty minutes ago, saying she was here. She should be in her seat. It’s not like her to miss a game without telling someone where she is.” The thought hits me like a freight train. The sinking feeling. It’s Cass. Something’s happened to Cass.
I take off like a bat out of hell with Bobby hissing my name behind me. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Coach demands, catching me at the end of the line.
“It’s Cass. Something’s wrong,” I tell him. “Please, I just need to check she’s ok. I won’t be able to concentrate until I know.”
There’s anger behind his eyes but he gives in and lets me go. “You have thirty seconds,” he says under his breath. “And then your ass better be on that ice.”
I take off once again, no time for a thank you.
I burst through the locker room doors and the metal door slams against the back wall before slamming closed once again. I tear off my helmet and gloves before I’ve even made it to my locker and I pull my phone straight out.
I call Cass as quickly as possible and wait the agonising moments for her to answer, only there is none, the call rings out and goes to her voice mail. I try a second time and a third before I find Brianna’s number.
She answers immediately. “Aren’t you supposed to be on the ice?”
“Is Cass with you?” I ask urgently.
“No, why? She left ages ago,” she explains.
“She texted twenty minutes ago saying she was here but her seat is empty,” I tell her, “She didn’t go home?”
“No, she’s not here,” Brianna says slightly alarmed. “She would never miss your game.”
“Fuck,” I curse as I hang up the phone. I try Cassie’s number again and get nothing. Shit, where the hell is she? I’m whipping my hockey gear and skates off before I even know what’s going on. I grab my keys and am halfway to the door when Coach barges in.
“What the fuck is going on, Payne?” he demands as he blocks my exit.
By this stage I’m frantic and hardly have a moment to spare for him, but it’s out of sheer respect that I don’t push him aside. “Something’s wrong. I have to go.”
“Like hell you do,” he bellows. “Start talking.”
With an agitated groan, I let it out. “Cass isn’t here, she would never miss a game. I feel it in my gut. Something’s happened.”
He hangs his head as he thinks it over. He and I both know that if she was in danger and he didn’t let me go, he would never forgive himself. “Fine,” he grunts. “But you get your ass back here as quickly as possible.”
I’m flying out the door before he has finished his sentence.
I run through the doors of the arena and fly down the stairs only to stop at the bottom, thankful that she has a bright yellow fucking Beetle that I could spot anywhere. My eyes scan the whole parking lot and come up with nothing before I remember she thought she was late. I rush around the side of the building to the athletes parking and instantly find her Beetle parked behind my truck.
Relief begins to stir in me, maybe she was here all along and I’m just overreacting but that feeling still remains in the pit of my stomach. I take off towards her car but a black pile of something on the sidewalk stops me.
I rush over and pick it up to find a handbag. I peek in the top and instantly recognize one of Cassie’s notebooks. I look around and see spots of blood on the ground and I know without a doubt my gut feeling was right. Something has happened and I hope my girl is ok.
I follow the track of blood which leads me to an empty car space and I immediately think the worse.
I pull out my phone and hit dial on Logan’s number as I sprint off towards her car just to double check she isn’t there.
“Yo, fucker, what do you want?” he says into the phone. “Wait, don’t you have a game?”
I ignore his questions. “Have you heard from Cass? I think she’s been taken from the stadium. I found her bag on the sidewalk and a trail of blood that leads to an empty spot.”
“Fuck,” he curses, “Taken? Who the fuck by?” My mind goes to one person and if it is, the bastard is going to be sorry. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he roars before going quiet for a moment. “Umm…. Ok, yeah, we put a GPS tracker on her phone when she moved,” he tells me. “Does she have her phone on her? Is it in her bag?”
I rush over to my car and empty out the contents of her bag into the tray of my ute. I search through it but come up empty. I quickly search through her car. “Nah, no phone,” I tell him.
“Good, she might have it on her,” he says, sounding as though he has put me on speaker phone and I’m sure he must be looking up the GPS. “It’s searching,” he tells me and I hear the frustration in his voice, wishing it would go faster. “Come on,” he grunts running out of patience.
I get in my truck and turn on the ignition, waiting for his go ahead. “Shit, here we go,” he says urgently. “I’m texting you the address, it’s about a five minute drive.”
The text comes through not a moment later. “Got it,” I tell him.
With Cassie’s car parking me in, I floor it up and over the parking island and up the pathway, knocking down a few light reflectors on my way. “We’re on our way,” Logan says before hanging up.
I fly up past the side of the stadium and past the drops of blood where I had found her handbag. My fear settles a tiny knowing that the triplets are on their way, but I will beat them there by miles. I come screeching onto the road and barge in front of the oncoming traffic, only to be honked by pissed off drivers, but I honestly don’t give a shit right now.
I speed
down the road, honking and weaving through the traffic, daring these fuckers to get in my way. The thought crosses my mind that maybe she’s fine, maybe she met a friend and took off. I look down at my phone and double check the address, certain I know which street she’s on.
I push my foot harder to the ground. Hold on, baby. I’m coming for you.
Chapter 22
Cassie
My head pounds like you wouldn’t believe and my nose is assaulted by a god awful smell. I struggle to open my eyes on this cheap, uncomfortable bed. My body shivers and I pull my hands up to rub my face, but something is holding them down. What the hell?
Wait, bed?
My eyes ping open. Holy shit.
My body automatically attempts to sit up, but it’s then I realize my hands and legs are tied to each corner of the bed. I search frantically around the room as memories of being assaulted and knocked out come rushing back.
Where the hell am I?
My breath comes too fast as I search the room. I find only darkness and I wonder if my vision is fucked after getting my head knocked into the side of a car or maybe I’m in some place that has the windows boarded up, but I know it’s worse than that. My gut is telling me I’m in some creepy basement on a bed.
A shiver takes over me and I look down, horrified to find I’m in nothing but my underwear.
Tears stream down my face. How the hell did I get myself into this situation?
My eyes begin to adjust to the dark room and I start to really take in my surroundings. It’s a small brick room with one tiny window above a washing machine, but the window has been blacked out, hence why it is so dark in here.
Old wooden stairs lead up towards the main house and my eyes desperately want to remain locked on the door at the top, knowing that’s my path to freedom, but I can’t. I need to continue looking, searching for something that I could use to help me out of here, after all, no one even knows I’m gone.
Bri is sick at home and as far as she’s aware, I am at the game. The triplets would have no idea what’s going on and why should they? But Jax, he’s my one hope and he’s in the middle of a massive game. He may notice I’m not in my spot in the grandstand, but would just assume I’m sitting somewhere else.
I’m on my own.
After I finish scanning the room, I realize I’m fucked. There’s nothing sharp left in the room, not that I would be able to reach anything with my hands and feet bound. I locate all my clothes on the ground and realize they’re all torn up and my hope starts to plummet.
My brain goes into survival mode and I reach my hands down to feel along the frame of the bed. Hope begins to surge within me as I feel a screw under my finger, I jam my nail into it and try my hardest to turn. That hope is gone quickly as my nail splits in two and bleeds. I curse but try to keep quiet. The last thing I want is to draw attention to myself and let the fucker know I’m awake.
I keep working on the screw but only end up with each of my fingers bleeding.
I hear creaking coming from above and realize the guy is moving around the house and I pray he isn’t coming this way. Why rush? Not a soul knows I’m down here. I’m all his for the taking.
Fear laces every thought in my mind and I hate that I’m not stronger. For fuck's sake, I grew up with three big brothers, I should know how to get out of shit like this but instead, they treated me like a princess.
I work faster at the screw but it isn’t budging. I realize it’s a waste of time and start searching for something else.
I try pulling at the binds on my wrists to see if I can break them, but once again, all I end up doing is hurting myself further.
The door at the top of the stairs is pushed open and my eyes flick to the door. My heart rate picks up to the point where I fear a heart attack. A sliver of light shoots through the room but the light is quickly blocked by a man.
He slowly makes his way down the stairs, leaving the door open behind him, probably so he can see whatever it is he’s going to do to me.
He comes towards me with the devil in his eyes, looking me up and down and licking his lips. Bile rises in my stomach but I hold it down. The thought of this creep touching me is terrifying.
“Hello, Cassandra,” he purrs, watching me with interest.
My eyes are wide and fearful, but there’s not a chance in hell that I would look away. I couldn’t risk it. I know what he wants and I realize he won’t stop until he gets it. That knowledge has me in an absolute panic but what I fear more is the unknown.
How far will this monster go? Will he have his way with me and dump me somewhere or will it be worse? Will I remain down here for weeks until someone finds me or will he kill me to cover his tracks?
My eyes track his movement as he comes closer and runs his fingertips up the length of my body. I try to move away but my bound arms and legs make it nearly impossible. His eyes heat at the touch and I choke back vomit. “So beautiful,” he says with his eyes on my chest. “I’ve been waiting a long time to have you but that damn hockey player just keeps getting in the way.”
My mind spins back to the night at Micky’s when Jax was punched and I can’t help but wonder if this was the guy and I pray that Jax did a number on him that night.
His eyes continue to look me over with darkness and excitement which has me wondering if this has happened to some poor girl before me.
He sits down on the bed beside me, leaving his fingertips trailing over my stomach. His eyes remain locked on mine. “I’ve been watching you,” he tells me, “day in and day out for months now. I think I might even know your schedule better than you do and I must say, you’re quite a predictable little thing. Your schedule never changes, but I like that in a woman. No surprises,” he continues as his fingers lower on my tummy, making their way down.
No, no, no. Please don’t. I’m not ready. I know it’s ridiculous to prepare for a moment like this, but if I could mentally check out, it would make taking the abuse that bit easier. I mean, the only man I have ever been with is Jax and I know he will still love me afterward, but I can’t stand the thought of my body being ruined for him. How could he love me the same when I’ll never be able to love myself again?
His fingers linger on the inside of my hip, right where my tattoo sits. “But you know what really surprised me and quite frankly, pissed me off?” he asks. I refuse to answer and my silence spurs him on. “I was there you know, the day your skank friend convinced you to mark your beautiful skin with this filth,” he spits, pulling down the edge of my underwear to reveal Jax’s name. “It’s was the same day I stopped you on your run. I introduced myself, but I bet you’re too shallow to remember my name, aren’t you?” he questions. He’s right, I can’t remember his name, maybe I am shallow, but I honestly don’t give a fuck right now.
“That little bitch deserves to be shot for the way she talked to me,” he says. “I knew I should have just taken you then, knocked the bitch out and had my way with you, but there were too many people around, too many witnesses. They wouldn’t understand what we have.”
I scowl up at him. How could someone be so freaking deranged? I can’t hold my tongue any longer. “You’re fucking scum,” I spit at him. “Just you wait until my brother’s and Jax catch up with you. You’re going to regret the day you ever saw me.”
He smiles down at me, the same way a parent would smile at a misbehaving child. “Darling, that isn’t going to happen,” he says so sure of himself. Though I know the truth. My brothers would never let this guy get away with it and who knows what lengths Jax would go to.
The guy takes a breath and looks around his sickening little basement. “This is special, isn’t it?” he muses as his eyes come back down to me adoringly. “Just you and me with all the time in the world.”
“You’re fucking delusional.”
He shrugs his shoulders before pushing up off the bed. He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans and pulls out a pocket knife. My eyes go wide and I can basically feel the blood
draining from my face. I watch as he looks down at his knife with love then flicks open the blade. His eyes light up with excitement as he looks back down at me. “I think it’s time we got this show on the road.”
My breathing becomes laboured as his knife lowers to my body. I didn’t expect this. I mean, I’m expecting he’s going to hurt me in the most volatile ways possible, but the scenario where he pulls a knife on me never entered my brain and I feel I need a few moments to mentally prepare. But it’s too late, I’ve run out of time.
The knife comes towards me and I watch it with wide eyes. I try my best to squirm away but the bounds on my hands and feet are keeping me in place. Tears flow down my eyes as I realize this could be the beginning of the end, “Hold still, baby,” he grins wickedly as the blade comes in contact with my skin at my hip.
Instead of the knife plunging down into my flesh, it slips shallowly under the side of my underwear until the material is held up off my skin by nothing but the blade. With a quick flick of his wrist, the material slices in two and the fabric bounces away from each other, clearly revealing my tattoo.
His eyes focus in on the tattoo as darkness and anger flashes over his features. I sense him move before he does it, “No,” I cry out as his blade comes down on me and slashes deeply through my tattoo. I scream out in pain and instantly feel the warm blood oozing down my hip and in between my legs. Sobs are ripped from my chest as the stinging intensifies but he doesn’t stop there. His blade comes down once more in the opposite direction and slices through the tattoo once again, making an X.
I scream and cry out, not just in agony but for the symbolism behind the tattoo in which he’s just taken away and destroyed.
His hand connects with my face in a harsh slap as he tries to get me to shut up, but it’s no use. I can’t stop and I won’t. “You better quit that shit before I show you what else my knife can do.” Yep, that shut me up. I try my hardest to swallow my sobs and I close my eyes, not wanting to see anymore.
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