Four

by Jane Blythe

  The seconds ticked into minutes and the swirling anxiety in her stomach grew.

  “It’s only us,” Ryan finally announced, re-entering the room, and Paige lowered her gun.

  “Who was it?” Sofia asked.

  Ryan shot her a troubled frown. “It was a package. For Laura.”

  Panicked, she asked, “For me? But no one knows I’m here.”

  “Someone does,” Xavier told her gently.

  She struggled to keep her breathing even. “What’s in the package?”

  “You want me to open it for you?” Ryan asked, his blue eyes, so like Jack’s, examining her carefully.

  She gave a shaky nod and watched as Ryan slipped on a pair of gloves, then sat at the dining table. Paige, Annabelle, and Sofia joined him. Xavier remained standing by the door, his expression alert as though he expected a threat to walk through the door at any second. Given that someone had dropped off a package here, she guessed he could be right.

  “You okay, Laura?” Ryan asked when he realized she hadn't joined them at the table.

  “Yeah.” She forced herself to stand, willing her legs to hold her up, and managed to make it to a chair before her knees buckled.

  Using a knife, Ryan cut the tape sealing the box and eased it open, peering inside. With a gloved hand, he reached inside to pull something out. “You recognize this?”

  An ice-cold shiver raced through her. She opened her mouth but no sound came out.

  “Laura?” Paige’s hand gripped her shoulder, shaking gently.

  She drew in a harsh breath. “It’s mine,” she whispered, staring at the delicate gold chain Ryan was holding in his hand. Her eyes were drawn to the diamond cross. Her parents had given it to her for her eighteenth birthday. “I was wearing it when I was abducted.” She was fighting not to hyperventilate. “The police never found it. They searched the Garretts’ house, but it wasn’t there. I thought I must have lost it in the woods. It was a gift from my parents. I thought I’d never see it again.”

  “Hang in there, sweetie.” Paige kept a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly.

  “Is there anything else in there?” Annabelle asked.

  Her head snapped up to hear Ryan’s answer.

  He grimaced. “Sorry, Laura.”

  “What?” she asked but was sure she didn’t want to know the answer.

  “It’s photos.”

  Her heart dropped. “Photos of what?”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Of them raping me,” she answered her own question.

  “I’m sorry, honey.” Ryan looked pained.

  She attempted to hold on to control. “How many of them in the pictures?”

  “Three. And you.”

  “So there really is another man.” Laura could feel the color draining from her face as reality sank in. So far, she’d been clinging to denial. She had needed to believe that what had happened to her was in the past. But she couldn’t do that any longer. There had been three men who had assaulted her, not two, and that other man was clearly intent on bringing her past crashing into the present.

  “Are you okay?” Sofia was peering at her worriedly.

  No, she wanted to answer, but instead, “I think I’m going to go lie down.” She needed to be alone. No, she corrected herself, what she really needed was Jack to come back. The only place she was going to feel safe was in Jack’s arms. And she so desperately wanted to feel safe. She missed that feeling so much. Had always taken it for granted before her abduction.

  She rose on shaky legs, and Ryan stood with her. “You want me to come up with you?”

  She was grateful, but having Ryan there wasn't the same as having Jack. “No, but thanks.”

  “What about I call Mark and ask him to come back and bring you something to help you rest?”

  “No, I don’t want to take anything.” She ignored the concern in his eyes, mirrored in the eyes of the others. She paused at the door. “Ryan?”

  “What do you need?”

  “Maybe you could call Jack?” She attempted to control the tremble in her voice but failed dismally. “Ask him to come back here as soon as he can?”

  “Done. Call out if you need anything. I’ll be up to check on you soon.” His calm voice soothed her a little.

  She managed to make it up the stairs before her legs gave out, and she sunk down onto the top step, dropping her head to her hands. Tears were pricking the backs of her eyes but she held them back. She didn’t want to give this man the satisfaction of making her cry.

  Laura wondered whether it really could be Axel Christenson who was doing all of this. She didn’t see why he would. So, she wouldn’t sleep with him because he was married and had a baby at home. That was no big deal. Nothing that should cause him to hate her so viciously. Surely her rejecting him couldn’t have been enough to make him orchestrate her abduction and rape. Or enough to make him hurt people just to get to her. And where had he been these last eleven years? Waiting? Waiting to come back and torture her some more?

  Images of those horrible days flashed across her mind.

  She forced them back with years of practice. Imagined herself picking them up one by one and putting them in a drawer, then closing and locking it. It was what she always did when the memories got too overwhelming.

  Nauseous, she pushed herself upright, leaning against the wall for support and headed for the bathroom. She was reaching a hand for the doorknob when someone grabbed her. A hand clamped over her mouth. An arm wrapped across her chest, pinning her arms to her side.

  Panic swelled inside of her. Laura could almost feel it stretching out its tentacles to fill every inch of her frame. As fear took over, she lost control of her body. In her mind, she was back in the woods, lying helplessly as the Garrett brothers assaulted her repeatedly.

  A chuckle rumbled in the chest she was pressed against. “I see nothing’s changed. Still too cowardly to fight back.”

  Tears seeped from her eyes. He was right. She was a coward. She’d done nothing to prevent herself from being raped and tortured. And she was doing nothing now to save herself. He was going to take her—where, she didn’t know. But to do what to her, she certainly did know. And she was going to let it happen because she was scared frozen.

  Another chuckle. “Come on, we better hurry before your cop buddies come to check on you.”

  As he started to drag her, Laura could feel herself starting to pass out. Her vision began to fade, and her body sagged. Caught off guard, the man holding her stumbled, his hand dipped from her mouth as he tried to stop himself falling.

  On autopilot, Laura let out an ear-piercing scream.

  Growling in frustration, the man released her, shoving her violently and she went crashing into the wall. Still not in control of her body, her face took the brunt of the impact, pain radiating out across her cheek.

  Panting, she struggled for control, and her legs turned to jelly.

  Then Ryan was there, holding her up. Xavier rushed past them and into the room where the man had fled.

  “He went out the window,” Xavier announced a moment later.

  “Go after him, I got Laura. Take Paige.” When Xavier was gone, Ryan turned his attention to her. “Laura? Honey, look at me.”

  But she couldn’t. Her head was spinning mercilessly.

  Keeping hold of her with one hand, his other grasped her chin, giving it a firm shake. “Laura, come on. I need you to focus. Are you hurt? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

  Steadying herself a little, her hands reached up to grab fistfuls of Ryan’s shirt, clinging desperately. “I’m okay,” she whispered.

  “Do you know who that was? Do you know who attacked you?”

  She clenched her eyes closed and managed a nod. She thought she did, anyway; she was pretty sure she recognized the voice.

  “Who was it?”

  “I think it was Axel Christenson,” she answered, unable to believe that her worst nightmare was coming back to life. She fought to pu
sh down a sob, but it half escaped.

  Ryan pulled her into a hug. “If you need to cry, go for it, don’t hold back on my account.”

  Laura allowed herself to draw comfort from Ryan’s arms, but she wasn’t going to cry. Not until this was over. Or at least until Jack was here and it was his hard chest she was leaning against, his strong arms around her, cocooning her in a bubble of warmth and safety.

  JULY 28th

  12:41 A.M.

  “Where is she?” Jack demanded, running frantically into his brother’s house.

  “Calm down,” Ryan ordered.

  “I can’t calm down, someone broke in here and attacked her.” His heart had been beating wildly ever since his brother had called to tell him what had happened. “I thought she’d be safe here. I need her safe. Where is she?”

  “She’s upstairs with the girls,” Xavier replied.

  “Alone?” he asked incredulous. “No offense to Sofia and Annabelle, but I don’t think they’re going to be much help if that guy comes back.”

  “Relax,” Ryan ordered again. “Paige is up there with them.”

  “Paige is here? Is that a good idea? She’s not supposed to be back at work yet.” Jack was out of his mind with fear and concern for Laura, but that didn’t automatically override his concerns about Paige.

  “I'm keeping an eye on her, Jack. Try not to worry about Paige, just focus on Laura right now. She's safe for the moment, but, Jack, you really need to calm down before you go see her. Right now, she’s holding it together, better than I thought given everything she’s been through, but she’s hanging on by a thread. If you go running up there in a blind panic, you’re going to push her over the edge. Jack,” his brother waited till he met his gaze, “she’s counting on you to keep it together.”

  He forced himself to take deep, calming breaths. “Okay, what do we know?”

  “Not a lot,” Xavier answered. “Laura thinks that it was Axel Christenson who attacked her, but she’s not positive. Stephanie’s on her way here to collect the photos and necklace and see if he left anything behind.”

  “Did you get a good look at him?”

  Ryan shook his head. “When we heard her screaming, we ran up immediately, but he was already out the window. Xavier and Paige chased him, but he was already in a car and driving off down the street. And no, they didn’t get the license plate.”

  “I’m going to go see her now.” Jack couldn’t stand to be away from her for another second. He was aching with the need to hold her in his arms. He repeated to himself over and over to keep his cool, but he wasn't sure he’d be able to; it tore him up inside knowing that Laura still wasn't safe.

  He knocked softly on the door, since he knew that his brother’s partner would be keeping watch. A moment later, it inched open and Paige gave him a quick once-over, presumably ascertaining whether he was holding it together before she let him see Laura. Apparently, he passed because Paige took a step back and swung the door farther open.

  Inside the room, Laura sat on the edge of the bed, holding herself stiffly, and looking completely and utterly alone, even though Sofia perched on one side of her and Annabelle on the other, both chattering away, attempting to lift her spirits. Laura was pale, her violet eyes glazed with shock, unable to completely hide the tremble in her hands, which she held clutched tightly together in her lap.

  “Laura?”

  She turned instantly, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. When he held out his hand, she came to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and pressing her forehead against his chest. He brought her closer, one hand cradled her head, threading his fingers through her silky black hair; his other rubbed her back, stroking the length of her spine, feeling her quake beneath his touch.

  “We’ll leave you two be.” Sofia shot him an understanding smile.

  “Try to get her to rest,” Paige murmured quietly in his ear. Then louder, “Ryan, Xavier, and I are right downstairs, so there’s nothing to worry about,” she reassured Laura.

  Once they were alone, Jack gently pulled Laura back so he could see her. He kept hold of her shoulders as he searched her face. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, but he could see a bruise already forming on her left cheek. “He hurt you,” he growled.

  Again, she nodded, but wouldn’t speak. The blank, empty look in her eyes was scaring him. He’d seen it there before, after the incident with Rose. Last time, he’d been able to make it go away, but he wasn’t sure this time he could.

  “Laura?” He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up so her violet eyes met his. “We’re going to get this guy, you know that, right?”

  Another nod, but she let her eyes drop.

  “We’re going to end this,” he assured her.

  She shook her head. “No,” she whispered so quietly he hardly heard her. “It’ll never end. It never ends.” She said it so wearily, it broke his heart.

  Unfortunately, he understood that all too well. “I know, honey.”

  Laura must have read something in his voice because her head snapped up, eyes confused. “You really do know.”

  “Come here.” Jack led her to the rocking chair and pulled her down into his lap, rocking them both gently, as much to soothe himself as her. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, preparing himself to tell the story he’d never shared with anyone else. Laura waited patiently as he readied himself, resting her head on his shoulder and taking his hand, entwining their fingers.

  “I never told this to anyone else,” he began at last. “A couple of years ago, I was away on vacation, visiting with the family of the woman I was dating at the time. One morning, she was catching up with some friends and I went to run some errands. I went to the bank and …” he had to pause to take a calming breath, “and three armed men came in.” Laura squeezed his hand and he found the strength to keep talking. “There were thirteen of us held hostage for a little over five hours. The longest five hours of my life.” His voice was unsteady. “The police eventually took them down, but not before four innocent people were killed.” His voice cracked now and Laura pressed herself closer against him. “Two of the hostages killed were a mother and her three-year-old daughter.”

  “Oh, Jack.” Laura’s devastated eyes looked up at him. “I’m so sorry.”

  He plowed on, even though he knew the words he was about to say might push Laura away forever. “I didn’t do anything to stop them. I just sat and watched as those men shot four people. I couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening,” he repeated brokenly. He’d never forgiven himself for not doing something to keep those people alive.

  “What could you have done?” Laura asked softly. She hadn't pulled away; in fact, she had raised a tentative hand to his shoulder and was kneading softly.

  “I’m a cop, I should have done something,” he replied.

  “Did you even have your gun on you?”

  “No.”

  “Did you do what you thought at the time was your best move to get everyone out of there alive?” Her voice was calm, rational.

  “Yes.”

  “Then nothing that happened was your fault,” she said evenly.

  He disagreed. “I felt so helpless, Laura.” His voice was still wavering. “I just sat there and watched them shoot those people. The little girl’s screams as she watched her mother killed before her eyes, I’ve never forgotten them. Sometimes I wake up in the night hearing them. She wouldn’t stop crying after they killed her mother, so they shot her. I was sitting beside her, trying to console her, when they shot her. I had her blood all over me, in my hair …” He trailed off, unable to say more.

  With gentle fingers, Laura brushed away tears from his cheeks. “Why did you tell me this?”

  “Because you feel alone.” He struggled to compose himself. He had shared his biggest shame with her because he needed her to know that he truly understood. “You think no one else understands what it’s like to feel completely and utterly helpless. I w
anted you to know that you aren’t alone, that I understand.” Praying she wouldn’t pull away, he lifted a hand to cup her face. Fear flashed briefly through her eyes, but she didn’t move. Taking it a step further, he gently traced his fingertips across her cheek. Laura flinched and he froze, not wanting to do anything to scare her away. After a moment, she turned her face a fraction of an inch and leaned into him, and his fingers found her lips. Slowly, her eyes rose to meet his and in them he saw an intense longing. Carefully, not breaking eye contact, he dipped his head …

  “Knock, knock,” a voice spoke from outside the door.

  The moment over, Laura darted up from his lap, and positioned herself on the opposite side of the room. As far away from him as possible.

  Jack sighed. “Come in, Stephanie.”

  The door swung open to reveal CSU tech, Stephanie Cantini. “Hi, Jack. And you must be Laura.” Stephanie turned sympathetic eyes in Laura’s direction. “I’m Stephanie, I work with Jack and the others, I’m crime scene.”

  “Nice to meet you, Stephanie.” Laura’s voice was calm, but her eyes were tiredly wary. After locking herself away for ten years, she was coping remarkably well with meeting so many new people all at once.

  “How're you doing?”

  “I’m okay,” Laura answered, but she wrapped her arms protectively around herself.

  “I already collected the photos and necklace and checked out where he attacked Laura in the hall,” Stephanie told them.

  Jack had to fight to hold down the anger that bubbled inside him at the thought of this man taunting Laura, hurting her, terrifying her.

  “I’m sorry, honey,” Stephanie continued softly, “but I need to take your clothes. He may have left something behind when he grabbed you.”

  “My clothes?” Horror was written all over Laura’s face and Jack pictured all her scars. “But I don’t have anything else to wear. All my clothes are back at my apartment. And I can't handle going outside right now.” Her breath was coming way too quickly.

  “Shh.” Stephanie was at Laura’s side before Jack had a chance to move. “It’s all right, honey. Sofia sent up some clothes for you to wear. It’s okay.” She put a gentle hand on Laura’s shoulder. “Shh, it’s okay.”