by Barb Shuler
I moved out of the bed and to the desk and I ate slowly, savoring it as long as I could. I wasn’t in the mood to puke it all up. I heard the library door open and looked up to see Nicole standing there, her hands on her hips as she looked at the open laptop on the desk.
“What?” My words came out clipped, but what did she expect?
“Why is that open?”
Because I opened it… Yeah, now is not the time to upset the psycho. I looked back up at her and shrugged my shoulder as I popped a blackberry in my mouth. “I was bored, so I’m playing solitaire. I have a little battery left, might as well put it to good use.” I finished off the berries and leaned back in the chair, scrubbing my hands over my face before I ran them through my hair.
“You have a book to write, you have no need to be bored.”
“Why do you care? I’m stuck here. No one will see it, so why fucking bother?” My voice was harsh. I sat back slightly waiting for her to let loose on me again, but there was something in her eyes. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was there. I moved to stand up, leaning to the side to stretch out my back. “I could sure use one of Drew’s massages. My back is killing me.”
On that, she turned red, her fists clenched as she stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. I sighed and went back to my desk… no, not my desk. It was just a desk; this wasn’t mine, it was hers. It just looked like mine. I closed the laptop to save what battery was left and slowly made my way back to the bedroom and stretched out on the floor. If I was gonna be stuck here I would have to do something to stay sane, so yoga and anything else I could do on the floor would have to work. As long as it wouldn’t hurt my baby. I stretched my arms out and shifted, stretching my legs out before I pulled them straight up and started stretching.
The next morning, I was again brought a tray of food. After the food I had yesterday I wasn’t feeling all that well. I didn’t know what it was, so I simply pushed it away. I pulled out a notebook and a pencil and started making notes on the pages of my book I had gotten printed before my laptop died. I had to keep my mind busy, at least until I figured a way out of here. A few hours later, I was still staring at a blank page in my notebook and the pages in my hand. I couldn’t concentrate. My head felt as if I was swimming around in a bowl and I couldn’t get out. I must have passed out, because when I woke I was on the library floor, curled up in a ball and freezing. I heard the door creak open and thanked the heavens I was behind the desk. She couldn’t see me.
“Dani Lynn.” Her voice rose as she called out to me. Right, like I was going to answer her. I peered around the desk and saw that she had left the door cracked. If I could get to it, I could get out. I shifted to my knees and then to a squat, ready to run for it. When she opened the bathroom door I took off running, my feet hitting lightly against the hardwood floors as I made my way down the hall. The front door was out; I didn’t have the fucking key. I ran through the house and found another door. Was it open? Oh God, Thank you. As I pulled the door open it was slammed shut, my head shoved to slam into it as Nicole started to scream at me.
“Where do you think you’re going? I told you there’s no way out. You. Are. Mine!” I groaned as she shoved me to the floor and dragged me back to the library by my hair. My heart slammed into my chest wall as I tried to grab out at things, anything I could use as a weapon. It was time to fight, enough of this prisoner shit.
“Let me go! What do you want from me?” My voice cracked as the pain from my head traveled through my body. I stood and grabbed at her wrist and yanked. “Let me go, dammit!”
As the words left my mouth she shoved me and I fell face first on the floor of the library. A guttural groan fell from my lips as I moved to sit up, only managing to roll over on my back. My movements would be subtle until the room stopped spinning. When Nicole moved to stand over me I shifted back, but as usual I didn’t move fast enough. She moved and straddled my hips, holding my arms down. I tried to buck her off, but she had me pinned too tight. I was too dizzy and had no leverage. I tried to shift around and use my legs to pull her away but she didn’t budge. I gave up and just lay there, looking away from her.
“Look at me!” I refused. I was not abiding by her orders; she did not own me. I felt her hand cup my face, at first it was soft and gentle, her fingers skimming along my jaw. It reminded me of the soft touch Drew and I shared. My heart ached. Had he thought I left him? Had they all thought that? I squeezed my eyes shut as she pulled my face harshly to her as the tears started leaking from my eyes.
“Don’t worry my lovely, I wouldn’t hurt you.” Her voice sounded foreign to me as I turned away from her, trying to keep the rest of my tears at bay.
“LOOK AT ME!”
“No!” my voice cracked, the tears falling in earnest now. My cheeks became wet as my face was snatched back towards her. “Leave...me...alone!”
“You don’t get to look away from me.”
I could barely see her face for the tears. “Please, let me go… Drew… I need… him.”
“Drew, Drew, Drew. You’re delusional!” Her tone was clipped as she glared down at me. “He doesn’t love you… not the way you deserve.”
I pulled back from her and shoved at her shoulder. He did love me. She had no idea what she was talking about. As my anger rose my brain shut down. “HE DOES LOVE ME!” I was mad now. I punched at her and shifted again. Screaming at her, I tried to pull away again, but as I did my arm was twisted and a pain shot through me. My screams of anger turned into screams of pain as she yelled at me and slammed my head into the floor.
“Stupid, stupid little girl. He is only using you.” As her words left her mouth I could feel her hand moving up my thigh and I tried to get away.
“Don’t touch me, you bitch!” my words flew from my lips all my pain pushed aside as I watched her smirk. I shifted away from her and tried to crawl to the bedroom. Anywhere just to get away from her. Nicole grabbed my leg and pulled me back to her, her eyes heavy as she looked down at me. The desire I saw in them made me want to hurl. I was not going to do that. No, it wasn’t going to happen.
“I will kill you....” my gaze eyes met hers as she pushed my hips into the floor hard, making me shift again, my back rubbing against the carpet. The burning sensation was almost enough to bury the pains in my arm. I was snatched up, my arm already hurting from where she twisted it, but this made it worse as I was shoved into my bedroom. That was where... I slowly started to die inside.
CHAPTER NINE
Coming Up Empty
Drew
“GABE!” I STORMED into the makeshift command center, trying to catch my breath. My brother Jackson was on my heels. “Nothing. She isn’t in there. These leads are bogus.” I had to keep my cool, but how could I? My girl was missing. Fucking missing.
They tried to say she skipped town that night so she wouldn’t have to see so many people. Fuck that shit. I knew Dani Lynn wasn’t one for crowds, but that was the most absurd thing I had ever heard. Gabe agreed with me. I mean, for fuck’s sake, why would she just run off like that? If it hadn’t been for Jackson, I may have popped the Mayor in the mouth for saying that. I never did like that ass-hat. So, when I walked into the command room and saw him talking to one of the other officers, I glared. He decided it was time to leave. Good call on his part. I was in no mood for his bullshit today. My rage was like a stick of dynamite ready to explode. I just needed a spark. I took a deep breath. I had to keep it together. We were coming up short - and no one liked that - but with everyone working together we would figure this out. Right? We had to.
For now, I had to think of Dani Lynn. If I was kicked off the force or put in jail I wouldn’t have the connections that I do. I needed those connections to search for my girl. We had searched most of Texas, it seemed, and were getting no fucking where. We’d put a hit out on the wire and got a few bites, but nothing concrete. It felt like someone was playing with us. Every lead turned out to be bogus,
or led us somewhere else. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take without putting someone on their ass.
The night of the book signing… that night was going to haunt me forever. I couldn’t think of anything but my precious girl. I’d not stop until I found her and could hold her in my arms. My chest ached thinking about her in the hands of Nicole, or some crazy person. We had kept our relationship a secret until that night to make it easier on our families. Especially during the re-election process. The only one that knew was Jackson. I never could hide anything from him as it was. She had been gone for a bit and I went to look for her. I mean, really, how long did it take to piss?
I remember it like it was only a few minutes ago… not six days. Six very long, daunting days. Sighing, I scrubbed my hands over my face. The voices around me faded away as I looked back on that night.
~ six days earlier ~
I couldn’t say what made me go looking for her. Maybe I knew it shouldn’t take ten minutes to take a piss. So I went in search of my girl. I don’t know what it was, but the moment I searched the bathroom only to find the trash can overturned I knew something was wrong. It was an immediate reaction. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I ran back to the gymnasium frantically looking for her. Maybe I had missed her and was freaking out for nothing. When Katie ran to me and asked what was wrong I told her I couldn’t find Dani Lynn. She wasn’t here. She wasn’t answering her damn cell. Her house phone again went unanswered. I made a call to the station and Gabe hadn’t heard anything from her either. He was heading to her house thinking maybe she had to go back for something. It was just up the street. I couldn’t believe that was the case. She would have told me, if no one else.
I pulled up to her house just as Gabe did. We walked up the sidewalk, surveying the scene. When I went to knock on the door, I saw it it was opened slightly. I felt my heart skip a beat as I drew my pistol and announced myself before stepping inside.
“Burke County Sheriff’s Department!” I froze for a moment, waiting to hear her voice. To hear anything. “Is anyone home?” Again, silence. “Dani Lynn...”
Silence. The house was deadly quiet. I could feel a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. What could have happened to her? Moving through the foyer I stopped in the living room. Nothing was where it was supposed to be. Her house had been ransacked. I quickly moved through the rest of the downstairs along with Gabe calling out “clear” as we searched the rooms. I slowly made my way up the stairs, pistol slightly raised as I hit the landing. Swallowing hard, I walked into her bedroom. It was clear, no Dani Lynn. Her clothes were tossed everywhere, dresser drawers tossed on the floor. I couldn’t help but let the panic sink in. I had to keep reminding myself to stay focused. “Keep your head, Landry.”
Moving out of her room I made my way across the hall and into her office, or the library, as it was, and froze. This door was never open. Or unlocked for that matter. Looking around my heart thudded louder. Everything was gone. Her desk was clean. The drawers were pulled halfway out, folders all over the floor. Most of her books were gone. The pictures of me and her, the ones that no one had seen, were laying on the floor, smashed. The broken glass spread out all over the hardwood floors. Why would someone do that? I scrubbed my hand across the back of my neck and grumbled to myself. “Where are you, baby?”
A blood curdling scream that turned into my name rang out through the silent house. My heart leaped to life again. What the fuck? Gabe and I hauled ass down the stairs to see Katie standing in the foyer. Tears were rolling down her face. Her arm raised, pointing to the back of the door. In our haste to come in we hadn’t seen it. A knife was stabbed through my face in one of the pictures of Dani Lynn and I. It was one from her office. Big letters written in red were above it on the door. “MINE!”
“Is that… please tell me that isn’t blood.” I looked over at Gabe as his voice cracked and felt my knees buckle. It took Jackson, who I hadn’t even heard come in, grabbing my arm to hold me up. Katie threw herself at me. She wrapped her arms around me and we just held each other for a few moments. Her best friend, who meant the world to her, and who happened to be my everything, was… missing. My eyes glanced to Gabe and he looked pale. His baby girl, his only child was gone. We had to find her. And pray she was alive when we did. None of us would survive if anything was to happen to her.
“We need to put game faces on and find her. Now.”
~ Present Day ~
HIM
It’s hard to not be smug when it comes to pulling off a kidnapping. Well, that is, when it’s you who has masterminded it. You that has made sure everything was in line, and set up for the events to follow. I’d set up for anonymous calls to come in from all over the county. They’d be on a wild goose chase for weeks still, never finding her. As I sit here and rewatch images of her laid out on her bed I can feel something churning inside me. That attraction I once felt for her mother. Long, gorgeous, plump bodies. Curves that molded into you. I remember the way Abbie’s lithe body would come to life at my gentle touch. That was, until Gabe came along and stole her. Now... now I have to settle for videos of her daughter. She looks so much like her mother. I watch and wish it were I that was touching, licking and caressing her supple breasts, her luscious thighs and kissing those pouty lips while I sink into her over and over again.
As with her mother she was swept away before I could make a move. Offer her the same thing I offered Abbie. A way into my graces. Into my bed. It’s where she belonged after all. She was Abbie to me. It was Drew’s fault she was taken away. She will not be left in his hands. She needs a gentle, caring caress. One I intend on giving her. Grabbing my cell I type a quick message to Nicole.
“Make sure she is given the pills I left with you in two hours. I will be there soon. I want her ready. Once I am done, you can have her.”
After the message was sent I closed my MacBook, fixed my clothes and made my way out of the no tell Motel and headed back to my car. I had things to do and a girl waiting to be touched by someone that knew what they were doing. This was no job for a boy. It was man's work.
CHAPTER TEN
The Search
Drew
“DREW!” I HEARD a snapping sound as someone elbowed my side. “Hello, earth to Drew.” It was only a moment later a fist hit my arm.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I growled.
“Don’t dude me, you’re the one in space,” Jackson said as he glared at me.
“Enough, you two!” Gabe sighed as he looked at me. “Drew, you need to sleep. And don’t you try to tell me you have been. Jackson said he can hear you up at night pacing outside in the hall.”
I cut my eyes at Jackson. “Gabe, I’m fine. I can’t sleep until we find her.”
He sighed again as he stood up and moved to clap his hand on my shoulder. His grip was hard, but I could see the pain in his eyes. He was just as worried as I was. That night, after we called for the Crime Scene guys to come do a once over in Dani Lynn’s house, her neighbor had come over. She told us that Dani Lynn’s ‘sister’ had come to get a few of her things. Mrs. Morris was eighty-four and couldn’t remember who we were most days. So she surely didn’t remember that Dani Lynn was an only child. However, the moment she started to tell us what Dani Lynn’s sister looked like my eyes met Jackson’s as he said, “Nicole.”
“She was such a nice girl, that one,” Mrs. Morris had said, her smile so big. Ha. If she only knew what that nice girl was actually like.
“Why would Nicole take her?” I shrugged at Jackson’s question. I had no idea. Our worst fears had been confirmed. She had been kidnapped. Nicole had Dani Lynn. But why? Where had she taken her? Was she working alone? Was there another piece to this crazy puzzle that we were missing?
The night of Dani Lynn’s kidnapping there had been a mugging, a carjacking and a man found murdered six blocks from the school where the book signing was held. Unfortunately, that was why Jackson and I were late getting to Dani L
ynn’ signing. It’s also why Gabe was at the station doing paperwork when she went missing. There was inconclusive evidence on the body, but it wasn’t the first body we had come across like that in the past few years. People get dangerous and someone dies. Usually it’s a drunk driver, a bar fight, even a motorcycle gang beating but this one… it wasn’t like the others.
The thought of Nicole having Dani Lynn somewhere, not knowing if she was hurt, made my blood run cold. She never fooled us kids, we knew she was a sadist, but our father always said she was just misunderstood. Right. She was the “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn't know that puppy would get burned if I poured gas on him” kind of crazy only the devil himself could love.
I rubbed my face, my rough hands tugging at the scruff on my face. I really wanted to get my hands on Nicole. One thing I could promise anyone, if Nicole harmed one hair on Dani Lynn’s head, she was dead. The law be damned. We sent out statewide alerts. APB’s were out on Nicole, Dani Lynn and the car that was hijacked. That had to be how she got her away from us. It was the only thing that sort of made sense. The car wasn’t found, not yet at least, but they were looking. The FBI had been called in and we were in the process of having Nicole’s birth records, her adoption papers and her damn juvie record unsealed. Damn red tape. There had to be a reason that at age fourteen she was moved from home to home and somehow she landed on our doorstep. It was time we find out why.
Moving outside, I leaned against a tree and tried to ring Dani Lynn’s phone again. I was silently praying that she would finally answer me. “Please, God, let her answer me.” I stood there, my arm pressed into the tree, my head against my arm as I waited. When someone picked up I jerked upright. Jackson appeared at my side, asking what was wrong with his eyes. I held up my hand, a silent ‘hold on’ as I took a shaky breath.
