I looked down at my belly, hoping whatever I had inhaled hadn’t affected my baby. What was going to happen to us? What if Chip hurt my little nugget? Looking around the small cabin, I hoped to see something that would eventually help me to free myself. Everything was neat and tidy. I couldn’t see anything that would help me. Chip was nowhere in sight, but at some point I was certain he would show up. At least he had bound my hands in front of me and not behind. The rope was cutting into my flesh, so I tried to keep as still as possible. The bobbing, however, moved me making the rope cut me a little each time.
I’d always thought Chip was a little unusual, not possessing the normal social graces of the average person. I had no idea however, that he was capable of kidnapping or worse. He seemed to appreciate that I went out of my way to be nice to him when some of the other women working at the company didn’t give him the time of day. Obviously, that had no meaning now as I was tied up and alone on his boat.
My parents must be wondering where I am, but I had no idea how long I’d been gone. I wasn’t wearing my watch at the time he took me. Sadly, it would take forty-eight hours before the police would begin searching for me. No one would have any idea how to find me because no one knew about Chip. My heart sank at the realization that unless I figured a way out of here, this would most likely be the last place I’d ever see.
I heard creaking of the floorboards and had the sinking feeling Chip would be appearing any moment. The door opened, and Chip stuck his head in.
“Charlie, you’re awake. Welcome aboard.”
Is he kidding? He sounded like I was a guest, not here against my will. My options were to act indignant, or be nice and see what he did. I didn’t know how to play this. Shit.
“Can I get you anything? Something to drink perhaps?”
“I’d love some water,” I said, unsure if I should take anything he gave me, but my baby was going to need food and water.
“Coming right up. Sorry to have you tied up, but it just can’t be helped right now.”
“Chip?”
“Yes,” he said, turning back to look at me.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“So we can be together, silly. Like we always talked about. But you were with Mitch, so we had to wait.”
Oh, no. It was worse than I thought. He was delusional.
“I see. But you know I’m going to have a baby, right?”
“Yes, our child is going to have a wonderful life. We’re going to sail the world and show him everything.”
Now I had no idea what to say. The one psychology class I took in college didn’t prepare me for this.
“The baby and I are going to need some things before we go on a trip. Do you think I could go home and pack?” I asked, hoping that playing along was the right move.
“I’d be happy to go to your house and pack some things for you. I can do it late tonight.”
My parents. Shit. What if he hurt my parents?
“Let me think about what I might need. Maybe I can just get things as we go.”
“That’s probably a good idea, Charlie. I’d hate to see what would happen if your over-protective father and I crossed paths.”
His veiled threat struck my heart. I couldn’t risk Chip hurting my family. Not if I can prevent it.
Chip handed me a glass of water. “Would you like something to eat? I picked up some Chinese food. I have your favorite,” he said, waggling his brow.
“How do you know my favorite?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I’m very observant. I’ve learned a great deal about you. I plan on knowing every detail.”
I nodded. I was starving, so eating Chinese sounded good. “I could eat, if it’s not too much trouble.” Damn it, I sounded like I didn’t have a backbone. Come on, Charlie. You’re only going to survive this if you take control.
“I’ll be right back. I left it up on deck.”
Chip vanished through the door with the promise of returning sooner than I wanted him to. How was I going to get him back to reality? It was like I’d entered some other dimension.
Chip returned with a bag filled with Chinese food. I inhaled deeply, my stomach rumbling. As he began taking the containers out of the bag, my mouth watered. I couldn’t remember ever being this hungry before.
Chip brought me a plate of food, and it was what I always ordered, mushroom chicken. He had clearly been studying me. The strange thing was I couldn’t recall getting Chinese food for lunch or ever going out for it with the people I worked with. It was usually something I got to eat on Friday nights with Mitch.
“It smells delicious. Thank you,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “Could you untie the ropes so I can eat?”
“I think I’ll be feeding you tonight,” he said, scooping up a fork full to give me.
I opened my mouth and let Chip feed me like I was a toddler. What choice did I have?
Chapter 51: Mitch
My phone lit up. It was Neil. I had a meeting in a few minutes and I almost ignored his call, but something told me I needed to answer it.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Mitch, is Charlie with you by chance?”
Neil’s voice was strained, concerned, and it scared the shit out of me.
“No, why would she be here? What’s going on?”
“Charlie went missing yesterday. Her parents went out to get food. When they returned, her car was there, but she wasn’t. They can’t find her. She didn’t take her phone or purse with her.”
“So, you think someone took her?”
“It’s possible. Charlie’s not the type to worry her family unnecessarily. She wouldn’t be this irresponsible.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, beginning to wrack my brain on possible reasons she was gone. Nothing that made any sense came to mind.
“You may not remember, but someone did break into your place while you were in the coma. The cops never found the guy. For all we know, he could have been stalking Charlie.”
“Shit, this is really serious.”
“Very. We need you to get back here. We’re going to need all the help we can get to find her. I’ve already hired the team that protected Kate to help with tracking Charlie.”
“Thanks, Neil.”
“You and Charlie are family. I’ll do whatever it takes to find her. Kate is beside herself.”
“I wish I had an idea, but I really don’t. I’ll be on the first flight out. I’ll text you my flight info when I have it.”
“Great, Mitch. We’ll pick you up at the airport.”
After hanging up with Neil, I began gathering my things. My plan was to go to the airport and get the first flight to San Diego. I’d search airlines in the taxi ride there. Now I just had to inform my boss what was happening.
Popping my head into Devin’s office, I was acutely aware my departure would be a problem. I explained the situation while she stared at me the entire time, not blinking.
“Well, if you must go, you must go,” she finally said.
“I’ll keep in touch.”
“Okay, I hope it all works out and you find her. We’ll have to fill your spot on the project. I’ll message your boss in San Diego and let him know you are coming back.”
I nodded. “Thanks. It’s been great working with you and everyone here.”
Devin smiled. “You better go catch your flight.”
***
On the way to the airport, I found a flight on my phone. I had just enough time to check in and make a run for the gate. Getting back to find Charlie was my only concern. During the flight, I was going to make a list of any possible suspects I could come up with. So far, no one came to mind.
Boarding the plane was such a relief. Charlie missing was a dagger in my heart. I still loved the woman. She was my girl and always would be. Why had I been wasting all this precious time? I couldn’t change anything that had happened because of my accident and it certainly wasn’t Charlie’s fa
ult. She was a victim in all of this mess as well. Blaming her had been easy when I was angry, but the minute I heard Neil on the phone, my anger disappeared. I was going to turn San Diego inside out if I had to. No one was going to hurt Charlie if I had anything to say about it.
I got settled in my seat and took out a note pad and a pen. I just started writing the names of everyone we knew, even people that would never hurt Charlie in a million years. I just wanted to get as many on the list so I could start eliminating.
After a while, my anxiety meds kicked in. I always had to take them when I flew, so I put my list away and leaned back with my eyes closed. Within moments, I was sleeping, dreaming I was back in the hospital, in my coma.
Someone entered my room and I could sense their presence, smell their cologne, but they didn’t speak. The scent clued me into the fact it was a man. A woman wouldn’t wear a woodsy scent like that. Who was he and why wasn’t he talking? An uneasy sensation spread over me while I waited for something to happen. I hated being vulnerable like this, unable to defend myself if I had to.
He came closer to me and hovered over me. What the hell do you want? My heart rate had increased significantly, my instincts telling me something was very wrong. Then he whispered, “After I make her mine, I’m coming back for you.”
Opening my eyes, I gasped. This was the first time I was remembering my visitor. But I didn’t know who he was. Damn it. I had to think. I had nothing on my hands but time to think. All I had to go on was his scent and voice. Closing my eyes, I worked at concentrating on his voice. I’d heard it before, but maybe just a few times. He could be someone from anywhere we went. He wasn’t someone I knew well, but maybe Charlie did. Could he be someone she worked with? I think I’d recognize voices from the gym or anywhere else we went together. I’d gone to a few of her work functions. I kept thinking, mulling through my ideas. Writing down everyone I could remember from her work, I at least felt like I was doing something productive. I had to save my girl. She had been through too much as it was and I had added insult to injury by leaving the way I did. All I could do was hope she would understand when I found her that I had to get away…from everything. But my talk with Heather in Dallas really snapped me out of my fog. She reminded me what was important in life. Now I was going to have to fight to have the life I wanted with my beautiful Charlie. I couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option.
Chapter 52: Charlie
“Mitch,” I mumbled, waking up. My sorrow had grown so greatly since he had left for Texas. Now, I knew I would never see him again unless I could find a way to escape. I didn’t even know if my parents had contacted him or if he even cared I’d been kidnapped or worse. I’d hurt him so deeply because of my immature, selfish act. If I could only rewind time, but that was an impossibility.
“Chip,” I called out. I thought he was on the deck above.
I heard him clomping down the stairs. “Yeah,” he said as he popped his head through the door.
“I really need to go to the bathroom. Could you help me?”
“Of course,” he said, coming inside the room. Chip proceeded to come over to the bed and picked me up. “I’ll take you.”
“Will you please untie me so I can wipe myself?”
“If you can’t do it, I’ll do it for you.”
So many things came to mind in that split second. Not no, but hell no was one of them. I didn’t dare say that however as I had no idea what would set Chip off.
“I’ll let you know if…if I can’t manage.” What else was I going to say? This guy was out of his mind.
Chip put me down inside the ridiculously small bathroom.
“I’ll be right out here if you need me,” he said, leaving the door open as he stepped away. Great. I wasn’t going to get to pee in private. I wondered if I was going to spend the last of my days tied up here on his boat. Despair draped over me, making me feel heavy and lethargic. Everything seemed hopeless as I knew no one would have any clue as to where I was.
It took way too long to pee, since I knew he could hear me, but finally, my shy bladder complied and when I was done, I managed to wipe myself. I had a feeling I was going to have a lot of managing to do. I had no idea how long it would take for Chip to trust me and take my bounds off.
“Okay, I’m done,” I called out.
Chip returned. Helping me up, I motioned toward the sink. “I’d like to wash my hands please.”
“Of course, Charlie.” He said it in such an adoring way, I thought he might actually kiss me. But, I didn’t give him a chance by sticking my hands under the faucet and turning my head away.
After that awkward situation was done, he carried me back to the bed.
“Can I get you anything?”
“I’d appreciate a glass of water.”
“Coming right up.”
Chip went up to the galley, returning a moment later with the water.
I was able to hold it in my two hands, even though my wrists were burning from the ropes.
“Looks like your wrists are hurting.”
“Yes, they really hurt,” I said, with hope that maybe I’d have some reprieve.
Chip took pity on me and began loosening the ropes.
“I’m only taking these off temporarily because I believe I can trust you. But if you do anything at all to change that, the ropes go back on.”
“I understand. You won’t regret your decision,” I said, rubbing my left wrist with my right hand. Both of my wrists were red and swollen.
“I have a few things to do before I go to work, so you can have the ropes off until I leave. I’ll come back at lunch to check on you and we can eat together.”
“Okay, do you have anything for breakfast on the boat?”
“I’m sure I can come up with something for you. You stay put and I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He bent down and stroked my hair. I felt goose bumps rise on my arms and felt ill. When he touched my cheek, I had to hold in the vomit rising to my mouth. Please stop touching me.
I nodded. Staying put was the only thing I could do. I had to actually gain his trust before I could get away from him. I knew I couldn’t physically fight him, no matter how much I’d worked out in the past. Chip closed the door behind him and I peered around the room again. It was small and sparsely furnished. The bed took up at least half the room. I opened the drawer of the nightstand next to me, but it was empty. The bookshelf along the wall contained books, but it did have what looked like a heavy stone as a book end. That could come in handy if I could hit him hard enough over the head to knock him out. My confidence in defending myself was diminished by my little nugget being vulnerable. All Chip had to do was deliver a hard blow to my belly and my baby could be hurt.
Okay, well I may not have a perfect plan at this moment, but I had to come up with something before we left town. Once I was out on the open sea with him, I would have no escape. My heart sunk as I realized I was at the mercy of Chip Peterman and his delusions about our relationship. Even more so that no one would have any idea where I was or with whom. I couldn’t see any way out of this situation and my heart ached with pain thinking I may not see any of my family and friends again.
Chapter 53: Mitch
Neil had picked me up from the airport last night. His worry about Charlie kept his jaw tight and his grip on the steering wheel bore his white knuckles. I couldn’t keep still in my seat, fidgeting the entire way to his and Kate’s home.
I gave him my list of suspects and he faxed it over to his private investigator to start running background checks even though it was late. I told Neil about my dream on the plane about my encounter with whom I presumed was the man who had taken Charlie. I just wish I had more details to figure out who he was.
It wasn’t until the morning that I could go over and see Charlie’s parents and I hoped somehow between us we’d figure all this out.
“Are you ready for this?” Kate asked me.
“As ready as I’m going to be,” I said, opening th
e car door. Facing Charlie’s parents’ house, I knew her parents may not be too happy to see the man who had caused their daughter so much pain. I had no idea what to expect.
Kate and I approached the house.
“I’ve been such a selfish ass, Kate. They probably hate me.”
“No, they don’t. They love you. What’s happened between you and Charlie wasn’t anything intentional on either of your parts. Tom is a level-headed man.”
I hoped Kate was right. I couldn’t take Charlie’s parents rejection. I’d been so close to them for so many years. Tamera was like a mother to me, and I think I needed her even more now that I was aware of all the things my own mother had done.
After pushing the doorbell, we both stood there. Reaching out and squeezing Kate’s hand, I said a silent prayer that God would give Charlie back to me even though I had foolishly tossed her aside.
“Thanks for being here with me, Kate.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be. You and I have to find Charlie. We’re her best shot.” Despite her confident words, I could see from her tired and red-rimmed eyes that she was struggling to hold it together.
The door opened, the grave look on Tom’s face piercing me. Had something else already happened?
“Thank God, Mitch. You’re here. Come in, you two.”
Forgotten by You Page 19
