by Anna Scott
A loud crash sounded overhead and my gaze shot up to stare at the ceiling, as if I could see through it. More loud noises, banging and shouts could be heard throughout the room and I watched as the two men left the basement and fled, shutting the door tight behind them.
Kelly stirred and started to cry as the commotion overhead got louder and louder and the minutes dragged on. I held my breath as men began shouting incoherently, the ruckus was so loud, it was overwhelming in the dark, musty space where we were held captive.
The stairs echoed just beyond the door with what sounded like an entire army running down them. I braced and held my breath, terrified by what was about to happen. Lightening quick, I scooped Kelly up and ran to the little bathroom. It wouldn't provide much protection, but it was all we had. I closed the door as quietly as possible and shut off the light. I didn't want to bring any attention to us, having no idea if the hoard of stomping feet on the stairs were saviors or our worst nightmare. I did everything I could think of to sooth Kelly and keep her frightened sobs silent. Thankfully, she had burrowed her face deep into my chest so any sounds she made were muffled.
A light was flipped on in the main room and shone under the door, I could hear men's voices speaking low, but couldn't make out what they were saying. More thudding came from overhead and finally Kelly let out a loud cry of distress. The room outside went instantly silent, not even the shuffle of one heavy boot, not a breath. I moved farther into the cramped corner between the toilet and the wall, crouching down and curling my body around Kelly's.
"Clear," one male voice shouted from somewhere overhead, the same word was shouted over and over again by many different voices. Something seemed to kick the inhabitants of the basement just beyond back into action, as I heard a few murmurs and doors being opened. I hadn't ventured from the small space Kelly and I were held in, so I had no idea just how big the space was or what was beyond the places where the dim bathroom light had reached.
"She has to be here," one voice called from just beyond the bathroom door. It was a familiar voice, but was my mind just being hopeful and making me hear something that wasn't there? I held my breath, in a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. The door crashed open and a flashlight beam scanned over the small room in a methodical pattern, seemingly inspecting every inch of space before it finally reached us. The light stopped its movement and froze, but it was so bright, I couldn't see anything beyond.
"Thank you, Jesus," I heard the same familiar voice mutter softly just before the light was clicked off and the bathroom light was turned on. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, but the figure looming over us, made my breath catch just before Jake plucked us up off the ground. He held me and Kelly tight against him, shielding us from whatever was outside our hiding place.
"Jake?" I whispered, just to confirm I wasn't hallucinating.
"Yeah honey, you're safe now."
"Thank you."
"Are either of you hurt?" His question was asked softly, as he stood, still in the bathroom holding us.
"No, no, we're okay, just scared."
"Everything will be okay now. Did," he took a deep breath and looked at me sympathetically, "Did anything - fuck, did anyone, did anything happen to either of you?" He stuttered and stammered so much through the question that it took me a second to figure out what he was asking, but when I did, my heart melted for this normally hard edged man. I knew in that moment, exactly why Hope loved him so much.
"No one touched me, I was out for a while, but Kelly was still dressed in her pajamas when I woke and she seemed okay and I'm pretty sure that my clothes weren't messed with either."
He nodded, relief evident on his face. Jake took a step back and turned, sidestepping us out of the bathroom. As I got a look at the group of men, and two women, who filled the room, I noticed a lot of familiar faces. Trent smiled wide and walked to the open doorway, then shouted "She's down here," up the stairs.
Within seconds, someone was running, the boots sounding so loud it could have been rhinoceros on the steps. Reed sprinted into the room, barely clearing the door before he stopped dead and stared. The fear and frustration left his body in a whoosh as he gazed into my eyes. So much emotion showed on his, I finally gave in to the tears that I had held back since I'd awoken into this terrifying reality. Within seconds, Jake had transferred me into Reed's arms and he held me and Kelly, who amazingly was still silent, most likely in shock, cradled against his chest.
"Reed!" Kelly exclaimed with so much joy, her relief it was palpable.
"Hey, baby girl." He glanced down at Kelly, a soft smile on his handsome lips.
"No crying," Kelly demanded of me, as she tried to wipe away the tears from my cheeks that wouldn't stop falling.
I forced a wobbly smile and took in a deep breath, trying to control my emotions, but it was impossible. Reed kissed my forehead and the top of Kelly's hair and pulled us in even tighter. Another loud crash sounded overhead, Kelly jumped in my arms and the fear crossed her sweet little face once again.
"Why they so loud, Reed?"
"It's okay princess, it will all be over in a few minutes."
I watched Reed look to Gavin, who was near the doorway. They exchanged some silent communication before Gavin gave a quick nod and disappeared up the stairs. Jake moved in and took Kelly from me, then went over to the sofa and sat with her in his lap, talking quietly. I heard her ask him about baby Dylan, and I knew that she was hounding him, hoping to see the baby again.
Reed's arm moved from beneath my knees and swung me around as he turned, his back facing the room and repositioned me to standing in front of him. His big hands moved to cradle my face and he peered deep into my eyes. After letting out a long, slow breath, he blinked and I watched with avid fascination as a lone tear rolled down his handsome cheek.
"Are you - did they hurt you?" His words were spoken so softly I had to strain to hear him, but I shook my head in answer. "Kelly?"
"No, nothing happened while I was awake."
He blinked rapidly several times, and nodded his understanding. "I was so scared, precious, so fucking scared. I'm so sorry."
"It wasn't your fault, but I'm glad you..."
My words were cut off by the loud Pop-Pop-Pop from upstairs. An electric energy filled the room, someone moved outside the door and closed it, Reed positioned us against a far wall, pressing me into the cinderblocks, Jake had Kelly in his arms, and was moving them into a nearby corner, shielding her so completely, I couldn't see any part of her. The others in the basement positioned themselves around us, with two guarding the door, guns out and ready for anything. The space filled with bad ass super heroes ready to serve and protect at a moments notice, was eerily silent. Even Kelly was quiet, until another round of gunfire was heard from above. Kelly let out a frightened, but muffled sob, and I turned my head to look in her direction just in time to see Jake rocking back and forth, just like I'd seen him do with Dylan so many times.
A few more running steps, shouts and a loud thud were heard before the entire structure was quiet. We waited for what seemed like ever before a very tall, handsome but older man descended the stairs and entered the room. The man glanced around the room, gave a quick jerk of his head to officer Dan Dupree, who I hadn't noticed before, then moved toward Reed and me.
"One down, all secure. We can get you guys out of here in ten."
Reed nodded in acknowledgement, then asked; "Any injuries?"
"Nothing serious on our side. Justin was hit in the thigh, Luke's bicep was grazed, nothing else." I listened to the man's words but didn't completely understand them, what did he mean by grazed? Grazed by what? I didn't even know Luke was here, with Aurora so close to delivering I was surprised that he wasn't home with her. I knew that he'd been in a panic the last couple of weeks, worrying about her. I felt terrible that this mess had taken all of them from their homes and their wives to have to come out and rescue us. I appreciated their efforts of course, we were safe and that was some
thing I would never forget.
The man who had come in sidled up to Reed's other side. He spoke softly, so the others wouldn't hear, but since I was so close, I had no choice but to listen. "DeMarco is in custody, Brooks is down, two to the head."
"DOA?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, glanced down to me with a reassuring smile and moved away. He quickly left the room, presumably to return upstairs to deal with whatever mess was up there.
Reed held me, rocking me back and forth as I kept my gaze on Kelly who seemed to have fallen asleep in Jake's arms. It amazed me that the innocent little girl had been through so much in her young life and could fall asleep in the strangest situations. I had no idea what time it was, or how long Kelly and I had been gone for, and regardless of how long I had been out, I was exhausted.
I could remember vague instances, of being tossed around in the back of a vehicle. It was all metal inside, maybe a utility van or something. It had been going really fast and hit a series of bumps, which I thought must have awakened me for a few seconds. There was the feeling of being carried, probably when we'd been brought down the stairs. I could remember Kelly crying; she'd been calling for Reed before darkness overtook me once more.
Several minutes later, the same man returned, leaned into the room and called out, "Let's go, keep it tight." Within seconds, Reed held me in his arms again but this time, he held me tight to his chest, with one of his massive arms completely covering my head and holding me securely. Jake had taken position right behind us and the entire room had surrounded us in a tight formation. It was clear that Kelly and I were being carefully protected. I didn't understand why, since I thought everything had been resolved upstairs, but I wasn't about to ask questions. There was a time and place for clarification and this was neither.
The way we were surrounded, as we crested the staircase, I couldn't see a thing. I had no idea where we were, aside from that the place appeared to be a warehouse of some kind. The ceiling was high, there was exposed duct work and everything I could see was gray, except for the windows which were positioned near the ceiling and showed that it was dark as pitch outside. That gave me some hope, maybe we hadn't been gone very long. If it was still dark, it could only have been a couple of hours.
Reed and Jake slid into opposite sides of a large black SUV that was waiting just outside the large open doors. Reed finally loosened his hold on me and I was able to look around the interior. The man who had talked to him earlier turned around from the driver's seat and looked Reed right in the eyes.
Reed answered his unspoken question without any prompting; "Hospital, Ty." The other man, Ty, apparently, nodded and turned back around and put the vehicle into gear.
"Reed, I don't think we need to go to the hospital." I tried to be quiet, I knew that Reed could be stubborn and I didn't want to start an argument with him if he was going to put his foot down.
"I want them to check you both over. We need to find out what they did to knock you out and Kelly needs to be looked at." His voice was quiet but firm. He was right, so I just nodded my acceptance and kept quiet.
Just before the SUV rolled away, the passenger side door opened and Luke jumped in. With an aggravated huff, he looked back and seemed to examine both Kelly and me with assessing eyes. I noticed that his right hand was clutching his left bicep and even in the dark interior of the vehicle, a dark circle was visible on the fabric.
"You taking them to the hospital?" Luke asked Ty after he turned around to face the windshield.
"Yeah, want to get them checked out. You need stiches?"
"Probably, Rory's gonna have my ass for this. She bought me this shirt for Christmas."
"Your ass huh, you guys really get into it I guess," Jake snickered from behind Luke.
I watched as Luke started to lift his left hand, middle finger extended but he winced and instead turned his head to glare at his friend, who only smirked. Luke noticed Kelly's wide eyes staring up and him. His face took on a sheepish expression and looked at me with what seemed to be an apology. I shrugged my shoulders, knowing that sadly she'd heard and seen more than she should have over her life and honestly, Luke giving Jake the finger wouldn't scar her.
We rode in silence for several minutes, until the shrill of multiple cell phones broke it. I had laid my head against Reed's warm chest and had closed my eyes, breathing in his comforting scent. My eyes popped wide open, panic filled me as Jake and Luke both scrambled for their phones. Reed moved slightly to get his from his pocket as well. It was strange that all three began ringing within seconds of each other. An icy chill of dread filled my veins as I waited with baited breath to find out what one earth could be wrong now.
"Hope, you okay?" Jake asked, surprise and worry clear in his voice. I could only imagine that with everything going on, Hope wouldn't be calling if it weren't an emergency.
"Ma? What? Slow down, say that again?" Luke demanded from the front seat. His mother was calling him? I thought that was especially strange. It was late, like really late, I prayed that nothing was wrong with Aurora.
"Where are you guys at?" Jake spoke calmly, which I thought was a good thing since Luke had started to lose it in the front seat. I couldn't really understand what he was saying.
Jake closed his phone and placed one hand on Luke's shoulder then spoke directly to Ty, "Baylor man, get to Baylor now."
Tyler nodded from the front seat and the SUV picked up speed. Luke was still clutching his phone, but his breaths were coming too quickly. I thought I knew what was going on, and if I was right, I was so excited for my friend.
"I love you so much baby, just hold on a little bit longer, okay. I'm so sorry, so fucking sorry I haven't...I know, I know, breathe baby, breathe." Listening to Luke who was obviously talking to Aurora felt like we were intruding on a very intimate and personal moment, but with the small confines of the vehicle, we didn't have much choice.
"You are so strong, so damn strong baby. You can do this."
Reed's conversation had been so brief; it hadn't even registered with me. I'd been so focused on Jake talking to Hope in that loving voice and Luke freaking out with his mother and now with Aurora who was obviously about to deliver their baby. I knew they were told that it was a girl at one appointment, then a boy at the next, so at this point, no one was really sure what, or who was about to greet the expectant parents. As I listened to Luke, I could hear the desperation in his voice, he wanted to be there with her and he should be. A pang of guilt swamped me that he'd been out searching for me and Kelly instead of with his wife when she needed him. It wasn't my fault, I hadn't done something stupid, or gone willingly, but I felt bad regardless.
I thought about Missy and all the things the man had said to me, and I was confused. As far as I knew, Missy had never spoken to Reed or any other member of the law enforcement community. Had she betrayed that man? Was that why she'd been killed? Those were answers I didn't have and wasn't sure if I ever would. I had so many questions for Reed and what had happened, how his case was related to my kidnapping, but it wasn't the right time to talk to him. I also needed to tell him what the man had said.
My eyes moved to the front seat again when Luke's voice changed. He sounded almost panicked as he soothed his wife. We had been in the car for over thirty minutes at that point and I wondered where Kelly and I had been kept. Finally, the lights of the hospital came into view, I had noticed the dark stain on Luke's shirt getting larger and I worried that he would need to be taken care of before he could go into see his wife. Hopefully, Aurora wasn't too close to delivery and he would be able to get into the room in time.
Reed didn't speak as he climbed out of the back of the vehicle, we all watched as Luke sprinted toward the emergency room without even shutting the car door. We couldn't do anything to stop him, he was a man on a mission.
Chapter 13
Aurora
"Just breath dear," my mother-in-law cooed as she wiped my sweat coated brow with a damp cloth that had once been cold but
was now tepid and rather annoying. Instead of snapping at her, like I wanted to, I nodded and gritted my teeth one more time. When the nurse checked me just twenty minutes ago, I had been at nine centimeters. I wanted desperately to hold off until Luke arrived, my husband needed to be here with me for the birth of our first child. I hated that he had already missed so much. My worry for Gillian and Kelly returned in an instant though as I thought about my friend at the hours the guys had spent looking for them. Luke had been exactly where he needed to be, but thankfully, we had been notified a couple of hours ago that the girls had been located, it was just a matter of time before they could be extracted. It was funny the terms I had learned over the past couple of years, being a police officer's wife.
Just a couple of weeks ago when I was doing laundry I found bullets in the washing machine - again. My life had certainly taken a different turn than I had ever anticipated.
"Ohmigod" I let out in a rushed and pained voice, "That one was bad." I looked up into the understanding eyes of my mother-in-law and stand in birthing coach. God I wanted my husband, I felt whiney, but forgave myself since I was in labor after all.
For some reason, my epidural wasn't working as well as I'd hoped and the anesthesiologist wasn't going to up it any more. He told me, in as patient a voice as he could muster after I yelled at him, that my dosage was as high as was safe and some people responded to it differently than others. Whatever, I thought and breathed through yet another gut wrenching contraction. I wanted to push, needed to push, but I wouldn't. Luke wasn't here, and I wasn't about to have this baby without him. No matter if I had to wait another hour, 'please God, no', I chanted to myself, I would wait.
"Okay, time to check you again, sweetie. Looks like those contractions are getting closer and stronger. I bet you're just about ready to push." The cheerful nurse had bustled in with a smiling face and I had to wonder if she was just some sadistic bitch who liked to see other women in pain. Maybe she had some kind of complex or something.
