“How did you know it was me and not David? If he had seen you, all of this would have been over.”
“Not really,” he said, with such arrogance that Tom wanted to hit him. “Besides, our boss told us you called him. Why are you helping out our enemy?”
“Because he approached me, and he wanted me to help him.”
“Does this have anything to do with your feelings towards Emily?”
Tom was silent. He refused to give them any more information than he already had. “Where is she? If I don’t save her, then I’ll look suspicious.”
“You look suspicious regardless, and you know it.”
“I would rather look like a hero. Now, tell me where Emily is.”
He rolled his eyes and finally handed him a piece of paper. “If you rat us out,” he said, as he grabbed the collar of his shirt, “then you will be a dead man. Do you understand?”
“You do not bite the hand that feeds you,” Tom said, as he took a step back. Unfolding the piece of paper, he saw the address where she was located, and he shook his head. “How suiting,” he spat as he walked away.
Getting into his car, he slammed the door shut. Maybe agreeing to help them a few weeks back was not wise, but they were helping him get through school. They were making his life stable, and now it seemed as though it was all for nothing.
Chapter 16
Sitting outside, she had not even realized it was nearing midnight. She was not even too sure why she was here, but she was curious. Despite the fact that a woman had been murdered in the house, people still lived there. Over all of these years, she had never truly moved on from what had happened, and she still felt as if she was haunted by it all. She was not too sure what to make of the situation, but what she did know was that this was where it had all started. As she sat there in the car, she could not help but feel as if she had put the wrong man in prison. He was her father after all, and there were so many things she had never known about him.
While she had been attempting to unravel everything that had happened, she remembered the opinions she had, but they were not entirely her own. During the investigation, she had been influenced by Isaac and his family. They knew her mother personally, and they knew the man who was her father as well. All of them had pointed their fingers at him, and now she had to wonder why.
Sitting in her seat, she wondered what had happened to James. He would not just disappear from her life so abruptly. Even if something had transpired that made him fell as if he was in imminent danger, he would have found a way to leave her a message. He would have done something to make it obvious. Or maybe she had missed his warnings.
She listened as her engine was idling, and she knew where she had to go. Putting her car in drive, she pulled away. James had no one else in the world other than herself. She could not deny the love that she had for him, nor could she deny the fact that he had sacrificed so much for her. Her mind was playing memories from when their relationship first started. At first, he had her on lock down, and he was doing everything in his power to ensure her safety. They were both stubborn, and once she had recovered from being shot, she began to test her boundaries. She very much disliked being cooped up and being treated like a damsel in distress. They argued frequently, and he usually won the fights. Then one night she had woken from a bad dream, and he was there consoling her. Their relationship sprung forward from that point, and she had never been happier.
One night when they were moving to Primer, they made a last stop at the cemetery where his entire family had been laid to rest. He said that there would always be answers there. Even if he could never speak to them again, he always had a sense of clarity when he was there. He had visited the cemetery a little over a week before their anniversary, and she was certain it was not just so he could get out of Primer.
Continuing to drive, she didn’t notice there was a sedan following behind her. As she proceeded to drive, her mind was only focused on what was in front of her, along with the memories she would never forget.
###
Parking just outside the gates of the institution, he realized it was a fortress, plus there had to be hundreds of different rooms. Looking at his watch, he still had a few hours to spare, but going through each of the rooms here could take him about that time. Taking in a deep breath, he knew he needed to be careful because he doubted that Nancy was the only one in there.
Killing the engine, he got out of the car and began to walk towards the chain link fence. He immediately saw there were sections of the fence missing. Slipping through one of the holes, he was alert, and knew that this easy access through the fence could have easily been set up to steer him into a trap. If they truly wanted him to back off the case, why not make it so he could never pursue it further? It seemed to him they were just buying time, but for what? What could be their reason for attempting to distract him?
Pushing those thoughts away, he knew his focus at that moment needed to be right there and nowhere else. He went ahead and made it to the front doors. They were bolted shut, and he wondered how anyone had been able to get inside. It would take him some time to walk around the perimeter, but he had no other choice. The windows were barred, and he could see no way to break in.
As he began to walk the perimeter, he stopped dead in his tracks. He heard voices, and he saw the overgrown shrubbery. He would be able to hide there for now. In doing so, he felt as the shrub cut his skin, and there was an odor to it that made him want to sneeze. The voices got louder, and he was able to hear their conversation.
“Do you think that he’ll actually show up for her?”
“Psh, please. Our money is on that other chick. Besides, I doubt he is that stupid to walk blindly into a trap.”
“I think he is that stupid. So, do we know what the boss wants us to do with him?”
“The only thing we are good for, Leo. Now we should split up. He could still show up anytime.”
David waited for several minutes after the voices died down. Of course, there was more to it than he had expected. He knew he needed to get in there as quickly as possible, and he also knew he had to get the cops involved, but he didn’t trust them. He knew that he could do this on his own without bringing in the cops. They would just ask a lot of questions. He did not require their involvement and complications in this instance.
Taking in a deep breath, he knew what he had to do. He moved silently, and he kept his ears sharp for any sign of someone coming back. Most likely there was only one way into the building, and it was probably guarded. What he needed was to get through a window, but without making too much noise. The task itself sounded impossible.
There was no way for him to pull the windows open, and all that was left was breaking the glass. He knew it was crazy, and he knew that someone surely would investigate it. David was beginning to feel anxious, and he found a good sized stone. Throwing it at the window, he heard as it shattered and he quickly ducked inside.
Everything in here was pitch black, and it did not seem right. It was almost as if this place was haunted, but that thought was not an important one. He knew that he had hundreds of rooms to search to see if she was there. This entire institution was a maze in itself, and he knew that he needed to get out of here undetected.
Standing there for a moment, he thought about what he could do, what he had to do. If he had planned this out and he was just baiting someone, he would not have taken all these different measures to hide the girl. It would be a heavily-traveled area, so even if guards were not around, they would be walking past there. They would all be trained to know if something was wrong. He knew where she was. The only question was how he was going to pull this off.
###
All she wanted was to die. Her heart was pounding, and she was now too tired to scream. Tears were rolling down her eyes and she didn’t understand what was happening or why. The room they put her in was small, but she could not find it in herself to get to the door. Hell, she did not
even know what was behind the door.
Beginning to shake, she couldn’t help but feel exhausted. This needed to end, but she could not see a way out. As she was beginning to lose everything, she heard the creak of the door as it opened, and saw the silhouette of someone as they approached.
“No,” she sobbed as she felt as that person grabbed her.
“Nancy,” said that familiar voice. “Ssh, it’s me. I’m going to get you out of here. All you need to do is be quiet. Can you do that for me?”
Nodding, there was little to nothing else she was able to do. She felt as he grabbed her, and she wondered what was happening. How did he find her? Nothing was making any sense, and she didn’t know how to proceed from here. Could she trust him? Was he behind this? As she thought about that, she knew it was ridiculous. David would never be part of something so shady.
Free from the hell she had been put through, she allowed David to lead her by the hand. He seemed to be paranoid. As if he was expecting something to happen, and she wanted to know… she had to know what was going on.
As they made it around the corner, they both froze. She saw someone standing there, and she felt as David moved himself in front of her. She heard a laugh, and then a voice. “David Orlando, it is so nice to see you made it here. However, we do not want to see you leave. We would enjoy nothing more than for you to remain here.”
“I am not really interested in that,” she heard David say. “But you can tell William that I would like to see him face-to-face. Actually, I will be arranging to meet him rather soon.”
“I am afraid that is not going to happen.”
Nancy saw the gun as it was being raised. Everything happened so quickly, and it seemed as if time had slowed for a moment or two. What brought her back to reality was the sound of the gunshot.
Chapter 17
Emily felt lightheaded, and all she wanted to do was fall asleep, but she was not ready to do that. If she went to sleep it could mean that she would never wake up again, and she was not prepared to die. The adrenaline rush she’d had all this time was wearing off, and she knew she was about to crash. Her heart rate had decreased, and her will to escape was diminishing. It was also more than possible that she was running out of air.
Breathing deeply through her nose, she could not find another way to get over this. She was uncertain about how deep she was buried, and she doubted anyone would come. This was all about the case, she told herself. They were getting too close to the sun, and she got burned. She only wondered what had happened to David.
Pushing him out of her head, she did not want to think of him. He was delightful to have around, but she was not what he wanted. During the course of working together, she developed feelings, and she shouldn’t have. He was her boss, and she was just his assistant, and they would never be more than that. She shook her head. She should not be driving herself crazy over some man. All men were the same. They disappoint you.
Closing her eyes, she was thinking back on happier times before her life had not flipped itself upside down. She remembered how happy and carefree she had been, but now she was haunted by her name. As she was beginning to lose herself within her thoughts, she heard something above her.
“Emily,” she heard someone call. “Emily, hang on!”
David? No that was impossible, but she was more than hopeful. She heard as the shovel hit the coffin in which she was contained. She was going to be free from this hell. Her heart was beginning to race, and she heard the splintering of the wood.
Suddenly she could smell the fresh air of the night. Soon, she was being taken out of the coffin, but when she looked to his face, she saw it was not David, but Tom. He seemed to be relieved to see her there.
“Emily, are you okay?”
Words were not coming easily to her, and she shook her head. She did not feel right, and he nodded. “I will get you to the hospital, alright?”
Nodding, she felt as he lifted and then carried her. The pain she had felt earlier was gone, and it seemed as if her entire body was going numb. She was not too sure what was happening now, but she did wonder why Tom was there. How did he find her? Was he somehow involved? No, she thought to herself firmly. Tom was surely not involved. There was something more going on, and she was going to get the bottom of it.
###
They had been following behind Olivia for a while now, and she couldn’t help but wonder where her sister was going. Isaac glanced over at her. “Is something the matter?”
“No,” she said. “I just have no idea what she is doing or where she is going. Obviously something is on her mind.”
“Maybe she has figured it out.”
Marissa shook her head. She knew her sister was intelligent, but there was no way she would have been able to connect the dots. She felt as Isaac took her hand in his own, and applied pressure, as if he was attempting to reassure her, but she was not too sure why.
“You know what? I think your sister is just trying to find answers about James.”
“She knew everything about him—well, for the most part, anyway. She knew he loved her and would not disappear.”
“Do you regret what you did?”
She shook her head. She knew the answer was no. It had to be no, because if she said yes, she would be looked at as a weak woman. If she said yes, it was very possible that she would lose his trust. She spoke, “I just know how much she loved him, and now he is gone. It seems that everything my sister has ever loved just dies.”
“You’re still here aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am, but that is not my point.”
She watched as Isaac put his finger up, and she stopped talking. Taking a moment to look at where they were, it was a cemetery. Marissa wondered what was here that would cause her sister to travel over an hour out of her way.
Keeping their distance, Marissa watched as Olivia got out of her vehicle. Seeming anxious, they watched as she walked among the tombstones. It seemed as if she knew where she was going, and Marissa wondered how she could possibly have known any of it. She never thought she would visit such a place, especially since none of their family members had been buried here.
“What do you think she is doing here?” Marissa finally asked Isaac, but he didn’t answer. She saw that he had a look on his face that told her he wouldn’t be sharing anything with her right now.
“We’re going to head back now,” he said, at long last. “And when she shows up, I want you to figure out what the hell is going on and report back to me.”
Isaac was backing up the car, and she was silent. She knew that there was something he wasn’t telling her, and she wanted to know. It was pathetic how desperately she wanted to know what he knew, but she was aware that once it was time for him to tell her, he would.
###
Nancy couldn’t stand anymore, but somehow she remained on her feet. She was not too sure how she was going to react to this. All she could see was blood on the floor, and she didn’t know who it belonged to. She saw David move, and the man who had attempted to kill them remained on the floor. He was not getting up.
As David walked over towards her, she saw the bloodstains on his shirt, and there was some splatter on his face. She noticed how menacing he looked, and she reach out as he gave her his free hand while the other one held the gun. At first she didn’t think she could trust him, but of course she could. He would never attempt to kill anyone unless it was necessary. He was protecting her.
“Come on,” he said, softly yet firmly. “We need to go before anyone else comes out here.”
Nodding, she found the strength somewhere within her and ran alongside him. Everything around her seemed to be closing in, and she was not too sure why she was freaking out now. She saw a window that was shattered, and she watched as David stepped through it. She took his hand, and they were outside. He stopped her for a moment.
“The car is parked straight out there. It is out of the line of sight from the r
oad and from here,” she watched as he took out a pair of keys. “This one is for you. If you make it there before me, I want you to get in and drive away,”
“I will wait for you.”
“No, Nancy. These people are dangerous, and if you wait for me, they will kill the both of us, alright?”
She nodded, and she felt the tears stinging at her eyes. He took her by the hand, and he counted in his head. He nodded, and they took off running.
Chapter 18
Rodney was waiting anxiously by the phone, and it seemed as if these past few hours had taken days to go by. His phone began to ring, and it felt as if his heart had stopped. He didn’t know what David was going to say on the other end, if it would even be him, and he finally found the courage to pick up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Rod,” David said, and he was clearly out of breath. “Nancy and I are fine, but I—I shot someone dead. I don’t know who he was, but I have his DNA all over me. I have no idea what I am going to do.”
He was silent and he finally spoke. “Who is behind this, David?”
“William Gemangini is behind all of it.”
“Who is he?”
“Look, Rodney, I will explain everything to you when we are safely home. Do you know if Emily is alright?”
“I haven’t heard anything. What can I do?”
“Nothing,” David said firmly. “You should go back to sleep. I’ll be home in a few hours.”
David disconnected the line, and he realized that Nancy was watching him. He was not too sure about the facial expression she was wearing.
“Is something wrong?”
“What is going on with Emily?”
He looked back at the road in front of him, and he didn’t know how to tell her this. He had chosen her over Emily. Would she be upset or delighted? He looked back to her, and he could still sense how anxious she was.
“They abducted the both of you and made me decide which one of you was going to live.”
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