by Lauren Marie
“Do you have the number?”
Jay gave him the number and then threw his phone on the seat. He slipped the sweatshirt on and pulled his coat on over it. When he got the Jeep moving he tried not to speed, but ran three red lights.
The question what was Kate doing? kept running through his brain and he felt very confused. What happened since last night that caused her to go to her apartment in the middle of the night, alone? It hit him then that she would have been on foot.
He turned off the highway and followed her street. Up ahead he saw the police cars with their lights on and Frank’s car. He pulled behind the BMW and as soon as the Jeep was shut off he jumped out and ran down the driveway. He walked through the open doorway and Frank and the sheriff both looked at him. Frank nodded and walked toward him. Jay wanted to know what was being done right now to find Kate. He started to feel panicked and didn’t like it. Frank put his hand on Jay’s arm.
“Mrs. Davenport, upstairs, said that Kate looked asleep when she was taken out of here. The black SUV sounds like the same one that we saw the day you plugged one of those guys. The one her mother rode in. Sheriff Bennett’s got the electronic specialists in Pueblo searching for the GPS on Kate’s phone. I just hope she has it turned on.” Frank stopped and looked around. “Jay, I’ve got to ask. Is there any possibility that Kate just went with them?”
Jay looked at his friend and wanted to hit him in the face. “No, no way. She wanted nothing to do with that woman.”
Frank nodded. “Good, I agree. The State Police want to put this off for two days. If they get her out of the state, things could get really difficult.”
“Frank, she wouldn’t just go...”
“I know, Jay. Don’t worry, we’ll get her back. The highway patrol from here to Denver and all the way south to Colorado Springs is on alert.” The sheriff called out Frank’s name. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Jay watched him walk over to the sheriff. He felt as though he were in a dream and never in his life felt so helpless. He wanted to save Kate and then wanted her to explain clearly, with no lies, what she’d been thinking about when she’d left his house in the middle of the fucking night. He put a hand in his hair and walked toward the bedroom. He looked at the bed and remembered that wonderful first time they’d made love. He’d known on that day, deep in his heart, that he wanted her with him, always. Then he saw the duffle bag and realized what she’d been doing. She’d planned to leave him and Canon City behind. He wanted to hit something so bad he turned around and started back for the front door. He needed air.
Frank caught up with him outside. “The highway patrol has caught up with them. They’re about an hour and half south of Denver. There’s a private air field out there and that’s where they seem to be headed. We might as well have a seat. We won’t hear anything for a bit.”
Jay looked at his friend. “I’m going to stay out here for a few minutes. I need the air.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kate could hear men’s voices every now and then as she started to come around. She thought she’d been hit with a sledgehammer and already felt a nasty headache bang at her temples. Her arms hurt and her hands were asleep.
It took a few minutes before she realized she couldn’t open her eyes. Something covered them and felt tied very tightly at the back of her head. It pulled at her hair. She could feel motion and knew she rode in a car.
Her first thoughts were that her mother finally succeeded in getting what she wanted. It wasn’t a fact, but Kate felt it deep in her heart that her mother caused this latest development. The voice in her head started to whine that if she’d just stayed in bed with Jay, this wouldn’t have happened. She tried to shift in the seat to get some sensation back into her hands.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” she heard a low gravelly voice whisper and fingers brushed against her cheek. She flinched back and hit the window with her head. She tried to move her hands and discovered her wrists were tied or cuffed to the handle above the door. She felt the stranger’s fingers move her coat and run along the side of her breast.
Kate squirmed and with both hands grabbed the handle and brought her leg up. She kicked out and hit something, but a pair of hands grabbed onto her leg and held it tight. A man laughed and put his hand on her thigh.
“My, my, aren’t you a little tiger?” He latched onto her leg and started to move his hand up the inside of her thigh.
Kate felt awake enough to keep her wits about her, even though she still had a headache. She brought her other leg up fast and kicked out. She didn’t know what she hit, but the next thing she knew she got punched in the jaw by a hard fist.
“Bitch, do you want me to knock you out again?”
“If you’re going to rape me you might as well try. I will fight you, asshole,” she hissed.
“Boone, knock it off. Max won’t be happy if she’s all bruised up. When we get back to Los Angeles, she’ll have some work to do right away.”
“Fuck, Max. I think I deserve a little taste of her and she has great breasts. I want to see her naked from head to toe.”
Kate heard her mother’s voice. She now knew for certain this was Edna’s work. She wanted to scream at that deranged woman and scratch her eyes out, pull her hair and bruise her soul the way Kate felt she’d been bruised over the years. She was at a complete loss of what to expect and hated her mother more than ever. She would have started to cry, but couldn’t find the tears.
“Boone, I do fuck Max. If you’re going to screw my daughter, then chloroform her again to keep her from screaming, I’d rather not hear it, and don’t hit her anymore.”
Kate couldn’t believe her ears. Her mother was insane and she thought about starting to scream if that man came near her. As she wished to be knocked out again so she wouldn’t have to face any kind of abuse.
“Hey, we got a problem,” a new voice piped up.
“What?” the one called Boone said.
“There are two or three cops behind us with their lights on. Asshole, did you check her pockets?”
She felt the stranger’s hands move around her jacket and when he slid one into her outside pocket, he pulled out her cell phone. She thought to leave it behind at Jay’s but forgot in her hurry to leave. Kate felt relieved until she felt something sharp stab into her leg and she began to feel fuzzy again.
****
Sheriff Bennett walked into Kate’s apartment. He held his phone up to his ear. Jay paced back and forth in the kitchen, while Frank sat at the table going through some papers.
The sheriff turned off his phone and came all the way into the kitchen. “The highway patrol got them on I-25. They tried to pretend Kate was asleep, but since the patrol was alerted to her likeness, they didn’t have a problem identifying her. The kidnappers apparently knocked her out with something. She’s being taken to Parkview Hospital in Pueblo just until she wakes up and they make sure she’s okay.”
Jay bolted out the door and up the driveway to his Jeep. He sat for a moment in the seat and looked at his cell phone. He tried to remember why he looked at it, but all he could think of was Kate. He knew from the bag on her bed that she’d planned to leave him, and wished he could have gotten through to her that she would be safe if she stayed with him. Somewhere along the lines, she’d freaked and felt she couldn’t turn to him for help.
He keyed in Parkview Hospital in Pueblo to get directions and when it came up, he reached forward to start the engine on his vehicle. He wanted her to tell him why she’d tried to run.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kate couldn’t hear anything for the longest time. Not that she’d gone deaf, but wherever she’d been taken, there wasn’t any noise at all. The quiet scared her. She remembered she heard voices that sounded very far away and they seemed to talk about her, but otherwise it was quiet and sh
e thought it should be peaceful. She knew that man and her mother must be somewhere near her and tried to get her head clear enough to come up with a plan - not that her plans tended to work. The last one fell apart and crumbled to dust.
When she tried to open her eyes she couldn’t keep them open. She didn’t know how long she lay there flat on her back, but one thing she knew for certain, she needed to roll over. Her lower back felt like it was bound in a vise.
As she tried to turn, she felt a hand on her arm and it became apparent that the hand attempted to help her roll over, but the memory of what that hand did to her crashed back into her head. She swung her arm out and tried to push the hand away. She fought as best she could but felt exhausted and finally stopped. She could hear Jay’s voice and prayed she wasn’t hallucinating or in a dream.
The hand continued to hold hers tightly and she opened her eyes. She saw Jay look down at her and it wasn’t the friendly face she remembered. He looked angry and his beautiful brown eyes were pinched. His brow folded down.
“Please, let go of my hand, Jay,” she croaked.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“I don’t know where you’re going, but I have a bus to catch.” She brought her hand up and saw an IV in her arm. “Where am I?” she whispered.
“Frank’s on his way. He wants to talk to you. He’s pretty pissed, too.”
“No. There’s nothing to talk about. Jay, the longer I stay the more you’ll be hurt and I can’t take it. If you’d just read the note I left you’d understand. Please, just let me go,” Kate said and tried not to let her voice rise. She thought maybe she’d finally made him mad enough at her, that he realized she wasn’t worth wasting his time.
Kate saw Frank walk in the door with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Kate, you’re awake. How do you feel?”
“I have a headache. Where is this place?” She frowned at Jay and began to push herself into a sitting position. “Would you, please, let go of my hand?” she barked at Jay.
“You’re in Parkview Hospital. We have some things to discuss, my dear,” Frank said and grabbed a straight back chair. He put it next to her bed and sat down.
“There is nothing to talk about. I appreciate everything you guys have done for me, but...”
“No buts, Kate.” Frank put his hand on her arm. “Jay, let her go.”
Jay looked down at her and Kate knew at that moment he was done. She hated that she’d made him so angry, but it would be for the best. She needed to leave and then he could look for a good woman to make him happy. He released her hand and that one action just about broke her heart for good. She looked away from him and bit her lip to keep it from trembling.
“Sweetie, just hear me out, please,” Frank said.
Kate looked at the clock on the wall. “I’ve missed the bus, so you have a little time.”
“Good. Jay, would you wait out in the hallway a minute? I need...”
“You need to speak to your client alone. We’ve been there. Whatever.” Jay stood up and left the room. “I’m out of here.”
Kate heard the anger in his voice and instead of being afraid she just felt sad. She swore to herself, then and there, that she’d never get involved with anyone again. She felt guilt at what she’d done to him and never wanted to feel it again. She looked at Frank and waited for him to start his lecture. She felt pretty certain he would tear into her for trying to run.
“Kate, I can’t keep you from running. I’d like to convince you to stay, but in the end, it’s your decision. You’re going to do what you want. My friend outside that door is not a very happy camper right now. My problem with you being my client and Jay as a friend makes this difficult. I’m perched on a fence and don’t want to fall off.” Frank crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “First of all, we need to let the cops know if we’re going to press charges against your mother and her stooges. The cops will wait patiently for only so long. I’ll ask you now. Do you want to press charges?
“What happens if I do? Will I have to stay in Canon City and testify?”
“Unless your mother plea bargains and I don’t see that happening, there will be a court case and, yes, you’ll have to testify.”
“I don’t ever want to see her again, Frank. If I don’t press charges then she’ll go free and be a threat. I’ll still have to run and hide, but at least Jay won’t be ruined.”
Frank nodded. “Something like that. I don’t recommend it. Running will make you feel very alone. Kate, you have friends here and they care for you very much.”
“I know, Frank. I’ve lived with being alone most of my life and know it very well, believe me.”
“I do believe you, Kate.” He shifted in his seat. “I have another idea and if it works, then it would keep your mother away from you for life. I’ve got a call into a circuit judge in Pueblo and I’ll give you the full details after I’m sure we can proceed. I don’t want to get your hopes up.” Frank adjusted in his seat, again, and put his hand on her arm. “Sweetie, on another note, I think you know how Jay reacts when he’s lied to. When you told him you thought everything was going to be fine last night, he took it at face value. I also know you’re aware of the woman who lied to him about the baby. He’s still not forgiven her and I can tell you, if you do stay, you may have lost him already.”
“I don’t want to put him through anymore, Frank. Jay deserves better than what I can give him. I must have been crazy to think I could have a real relationship. Sometimes things from the past keep coming back and...” She looked at him. “Never mind, it’s not important. After that meeting with the parents at the rink last night, even though they know him, I could see in some of their faces they had doubts. I’m sure some of them went home and talked to their kids and asked questions. Jay’s a good man and he loves those kids. He’d never do anything to harm them. I’m the one who brought this down on him and he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Kate, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to that big idiot. I’ve never seen him act this way about anybody and I’ve known him a long time. I hate the thought that your mother is going to get away with all of this. I also hate that you’re letting her. As long as you’re in Canon City you are my client and I’ll take care of you to the best of my abilities.” He fisted his hand around hers and looked at her with a smile. “Kate, I know I’m being redundant, but please, don’t let her win and make you go back to hiding. I know you’re used to that lonely world, but there could be so much more for you if you just stand your ground against your mother. We can beat her. You know this and there are a lot of people who believe that, too; present company included.”
“I know you and Jay care, but I’m really not worth it. I’ve never faced what went on with my mother back then and it scares me too much to even think about those days. It’s always been easier to run. Jay deserves better than what I can give him, because I’m nothing, really.” She put her hand in her hair and shook her head.
“You know, I’ve never in my life wanted to hit a woman, but I will, if you don’t wake up and realize you are worth it. I think so and I’m sure if you hadn’t lied to Jay, he’d feel that way, too. You are worth fighting for, but it’s a two-way street, Kate. You have to want to help and fight for yourself.” Frank stood up and turned away. He stomped through the door and then came back in. “Jay seems to have left. I’ll find out how soon we can spring you from here and get you home.”
Kate knew Jay was gone for good and he wouldn’t come back. The look on his face appeared full of anger with her and she’d done the worst thing possible to him. The lie was there and no matter how hard she wished it the lie would never go away.
She put her hands over her face and felt the tears start from her eyes. She tried to remember when she’d last had a decent night’s sleep. Everything around her seemed to slow down and speed up, but didn’t give
her the time to catch up. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was seven-thirty in the evening, not the morning. Just several hours ago she and Jay made passionate love to the point of getting his sheets damp with sweat. She’d had everything she could possibly want in the world with him, but she’d thrown it away. She blinked and realized her actions brought her back around to the start.
“What goes around...” she whispered.
She was alone again, with no one to count on but herself. She kicked the covers off her legs and sat up on the side of the bed. Her head spun and she thought she should just go back to sleep and never wake up again. It would be the easiest. Then she’d never have to run from her mother again. She would just end.
****
Jay walked into his house, shut the door and twisted the lock. He felt no desire to see or hear from anyone. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and threw it across the living room. It hit the glass doors that led to the deck. The throw shattered the phone and the glass in the wood frame.
He didn’t know what to do next. He took his jacket off, dropped it onto the floor and walked into the kitchen. He opened a cupboard. The bottle of whiskey looked down at him. As he turned to lean on the counter, he saw a piece of paper on the counter by the coffee maker. He opened the fold and read Kate’s note.
