“Any answer?” Madison growled beside me.
“No, man. Get the fuck there.”
It wouldn’t have taken us so long to get out there, but unfortunately we were workin’ out in the furthest field from the house when we heard the explosion. My mind was literally racin’ a thousand miles a minute with all the unimaginable possibilities of what could’ve happened.
Finally we reached the small dirt road that led to the horseshoe driveway of mine and Cami’s house, but before we could even make it to the drive, broken tree stumps and debris cluttered the road, preventing us from going any further. Madison slammed on the brakes, the truck skittered to a stop with a huge cloud of dust followin’ close behind, engulfin’ the truck and causin’ our vision to be clouded.
“Do you see anything?” I shouted in his general direction without being able to see him.
“NO!”
The dust cloud was finally startin’ to settle a few minutes later as Madison and I both reached the front of the truck.
“The explosion came from there?” Madison pointed towards a large hole that had been blown between the line of trees on the edge of the property. “Jesus, what the fuck happened here?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t know, but we’re sure as shit goin’ to find out. I’m goin’ into check the house.”
“I’ll check out here more.” Madison replied as he headed towards Cami’s truck.
As soon as I reached the front door, I noticed that the door was still cracked open, and my heart literally sank. “CAMI?” Her name came out a lot louder than I anticipated it to, but I was clearly freakin’ out. “KJ?” What the hell.
I rounded the corner of the kitchen and almost ran right into Madison.
“Anything?” He growled as I simply shook my head. “There’s a few suitcases in the back of the truck. Would they seriously come over here even after we both told them not to?”
“Uh...have you met our wives? Hell yes they would, and they did.” Anger and disappointment raged through my veins as I picture my and my best friend’s pregnant wives completely alone in this house. “What the fuck were they thinkin’?”
Madison’s hand clamped down on my shoulder, “I don’t know, but I think it’s time we involve the cops. I don’t think we have any other choice.”
I simply nodded in agreement as I hung my head in shame.
Madison was on the phone with the authorities as I paced back and forth in the foyer. I could hear bits and pieces of what he was sayin’ as I keep glancin’ through the open front door. I toed the marble floor, when I noticed a small half burnt up piece of paper. I hesitantly bend over and grabbed it without even considerin’ that the cops may want to go over the place before we touch anythin’, but I couldn’t not do it. What if this held a clue as to where the girls are? I flipped over the small piece of paper in my hand, realizin’ that it’s a note. It’s partially burnt on the corner that says who it’s to but the rest is fully intact.
I’ll incinerate your livelihood just as you incinerated my heart.
I know exactly who it’s from, and it takes me only three seconds to reach Madison and grab him by the collar. He instantly turned around to look at me as he sat on hold with the dispatcher. I held up the note by the corner, motioning for him to take it while I took another look around. I walked right over to where it looked like the blast hit first. I turned around to see how far from the house it happened, and I was amazed that it wasn’t closer. If you were tryin’ to blow my house up maybe you should actually get it in the house, or at least closer than where it happened. I shook my head, tryin’ to clear the very prominent thoughts about what the hell happened here from my head.
I was makin’ my way across the blast radius when I came across bits and pieces of what looked like a cardboard box and metal shards. I turned back to motion for Madison, but he was turned in the opposite direction. I quickly pulled my phone from my pocket and started takin’ pictures. Can’t hurt, I thought to myself. A couple more feet to my right and more towards the house I found what looks to be the metal covering of a homemade pipe bomb. I took a few more pictures and continued on my route back to Madison who was still standin’ in the driveway impatiently waitin’ on the phone.
“I found some shit, man. What are they sayin’?”
“They’re on their way now, but apparently I have to wait to talk to the Chief of Police? I don’t fuckin’ know.” He threw his hands up in irritation, and I couldn’t help but feel his pain.
“Well, come look at this shit.” I held up my phone in front of him so he could see the pictures I took. His mouth fell open in shock as we both try to decipher what exactly happened here. “Not to be morbid, but I don’t see any traces of them, so I’m assumin’ the girls either weren’t here or...even worse. What if someone took them?” It was a possibility neither of us had thought of...until now.
Madison’s head fell, mine did as well, and then as though we were both thinkin’ the exact same thing, we both looked at each other with one person’s name on our lips. Kole!
“Do you think he’s still here? We made it pretty clear he needed to get the hell outta town.”
“Did he really look like the type of guy to listen to anythin’ anybody says to him?” Madison’s balled into fists at his sides, and I know that when and if we do find this guy, he won’t leave Texas alive. “Let’s go!”
“Don’t we need to wait for the cops?” I reply as we jump into the cab of the truck.
He holds up his phone, “I’m still on hold with them. I’ll tell them the gist of what’s goin’ on when I finally get to speak to someone.”
“Works for me.” I gave him a look, “you think he’s still at the motel?”
“Honestly...I have no idea, but it’s the only place I know of to start lookin’.”
I glanced at the clock on the dash and realize that it’s been exactly forty-two minutes since the blast. That’s forty-two minutes that some sick bastard has had our girls’ lives in their hands. I gave Madison a knowin’ look, and he immediately pushed his foot against the accelerator. Forty-three minutes now!
Chapter 35
Cami
My hands are tied behind my back and my head felt as though it was stuck in a cloud. I tried to open my eyes by blinking them at least a hundred times, but my vision was hazy and I could barely see right in front of my face. I tried to roll my head side-to-side trying to dislodge the disorientation, but just as I started to come to a bit, I could hear a faint voice coming from next to me.
“Cam.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but I could still make out that it was Kayla. “Cam, wake up.”
“Kay?”
“Yeah. Cam, you gotta wake up. We need to figure out how to get the hell outta here.”
My vision finally started to clear up as I turned my hundred pound head in the general direction of Kayla’s voice. I instantly saw the huge cut to her head and I couldn’t help but gasp in horror. “Oh my god, Kay. Are you ok?”
“I’ll be fine.” A small smile formed across her lips and I felt a tiny bit relieved. “Can you move your hands or feet?”
I shook my head as I tried to release the pressure from the ropes binding my hands and feet together. “Can you?”
“No, but I think I loosened my hands a bit. Look around, see if you can find anything to use as a weapon.”
“Kayla, where are we?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She pondered as she started to look around. “A barn maybe?”
The walls weren’t wood like normal barns, but there were stalls on either side of us, convincing me that she might be right. I glanced around the open structure for something to use to cut the ropes that were binding us, when I noticed something gleaming out of the corner of my eye. “Holy shit!” I muttered.
“What is it?” Kayla questioned, worry lacing every word she spoke.
“It’s not a barn. We’re in the old slaughterhouse off of Old Mill Road. Look over my right shoulder. T
hat’s where they keep the grinders.” Kayla gasped as she noticed what I’d already seen.
“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” She groaned as she tried to loosen the ropes around her wrists a bit more, but I quickly told her to stop as I noticed drops of blood falling to the straw covered ground below us.
“Kay, you’re bleeding.”
“Cam, do you really think I care about a little bit of blood on my wrists when I have this huge gash on my forehead.” She laughed.
“No, I guess not.” It’s wasn’t a funny situation by any means, but it definitely felt good to laugh instead of drowning myself in a puddle of tears like I wanted to.
As Kayla kept trying to loosen the iron clad hold the ropes has on her wrists, I started to do the same. Within seconds I could feel the unmistakable feel of blood starting to slide down the length of my hands, dripping from the tips of my fingers as slow as molasses. I quickly pushed the thought far from my mind as I continued to make quick work of trying to get free before our kidnapper, or kidnappers, come back to finish the job.
I could feel the ropes start to give a little, when I suddenly heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction of where we sat. I quickly glanced over at Kayla in horror. “Hurry, Kay.”
We were both moving our hands vigorously against our restraints when I felt the rope finally give way, and fall to the floor. I pulled my hands onto my lap as I gently rubbed the flaming bloody rings around my wrists, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the pain. I quickly bent forward to undo the restraints binding my ankles, but then I saw a horrified look on Kayla’s face just as I felt something hard and heavy come down against the back of my skull. My vision went blurry before everything suddenly went black. The only thing I could comprehend and hear before everything faded away, was Kayla’s blood curdling screams.
My head felt as though I was ran over by a herd of cattle. My vision was still blurry and going in and out as I tried to raise my hand to the back of my head. As I pulled my hand back in front of my face, my mouth fell open in horror as I took in the sight of the thick congealed burgundy colored liquid. Suddenly it occurred to me that my hands were no longer bound together, and neither were my legs. Why would whoever took us go through the trouble of knocking me out, but not tying me back up? But then I suddenly remembered the terrified screams that came from Kayla.
I glanced over my left shoulder where I last saw her, but the only thing left in her place was the chair she was tied to. I tried my damndest to push myself up on my shaky, pain ridden hands, but I was instantly consumed by the pain radiating all the way up my arms, causing my upper body to fall back down to the cold unforgiving ground beneath me. I let out a loud grunt as tears began to roll down my cheeks. For a brief moment, I gave into the overwhelming fear and let the tears steadily stream down my face.
The more I cried, the more I thought about never seeing Glenn again, or meeting our unborn child whom I would give my life to save. My hands instinctively fell to my burgeoning belly as thoughts about our unborn child began to cloud my thoughts about my current predicament. I allowed myself to drown in my own self pity for a short while longer, before realizing that if I wanted to see my husband again, and my child being born, then I needed to fight like I’ve never fought before. I couldn't let myself become complacent and give into the fear that these people obviously wanted me to feel.
I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hands, and then took in a deep cleansing breath before attempting to push myself up off the ground. I was both amazed and relieved when my wrists were able to bear enough weight to allow myself to get into a sitting position. My heart was racing, practically beating out of my chest as I glanced around at my surroundings to make sure no one was nearby. When I realized the coast was clear, I let out a strangled breath before pulling myself up on the chair next to me. Once I was able Abel to stand, I felt liberated and free, but before I could get too far into celebrating my small victory, I realized that Kayla is nowhere to be seen. I wanted to scream her name at the top of my lungs. Loud enough that anybody in the vicinity of this god-forsaken place could hear me, but I had to play this smart. I had to find her without drawing attention to myself. Obviously our kidnapper thought I was dead, or at least thought they were leaving me for dead, or I would’ve been bound to the shit metal chair that I was still currently leaning against.
My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my throat. My adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going at this point, and I wasn’t about to give up on my best friend. I shuffled my feet along the ground as I tried to steady myself, making my way through the hay-covered corrals. My eyes darted around as I tried to find something to use as a weapon of sorts, when my toe hit hard against something sharp. I bent down, feeling my way through the hay that’s covering the cold ground until my fingers graze a long cold metal blade of sorts. I continued to dig around for a handle, and when I found it, I realized that I may have just found the one thing that would guarantee mine and Kayla’s freedom.
I pulled the heavy machete up, tightly clasping my fingers around the splintered handle. I swung it around a bit to get a feel for its weight, and to make sure my wrists could manage the movements without them giving out. When I finally felt comfortable enough to wield the miraculous weapon, I started to make my way through the pens, crouching down whenever I could so no one would spot me. I still wasn’t certain how many kidnappers there were, so I had to err on the side of caution and assume there was more than one.
As I rounded the corner that led to the long narrow corral that led to the grinder, I caught a brief flash of someone moving towards the back of the structure. It was a tall man. Tall and burly, maybe about six feet tall which boded well for me as far as height goes, but he was built like a brick shit house, and that didn’t bode well for my pint sized self, at all. Just as quick as he disappeared, he reappeared, but as realization set in, my hands flew to my mouth, trying to muffle the gasp that was threatening to give away my position. Kayla’s lifeless form was thrown over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Her arms swaying back and forth as he pulled his tall frame across the flooring, and over to the conveyor belt that fed into the grinder.
I silently prayed for Kayla to wake up. To fight back in the feisty manner I’d grown to love about her. As if I thought I could speak to her with my mind, I urged her to come alive, kick that asshole’s ass, and run to me so we could get away from this living hell. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
The roaring sound of the grinder coming to life caused me to jump in my own skin, and drop the machete to the ground. I quickly ducked down, reaching for the machete before he was any the wiser to what was going on.
I peeked around the corner of the stall I was currently hiding in, making sure that he hadn’t heard the metal clanging against the ground. When I saw that he was still occupied with tossing my best friend’s body onto the metal rollers, I took my chance to move in closer. I was praying that the loud thunderous roar of the machine would camouflage any noise I might possibly make, so I could sneak up behind him. It was the only chance I had at getting out of here alive.
I was almost within reach as I snaked my way through the remaining corrals, but then I came to an abrupt halt as the conveyor belt began to slowly move. Everything slowed down as though I was in a movie, and it was the part where the killer is sneaking up on the undeserving oblivious victim. It was do or die, and I couldn’t let my best friend die. I took in a deep breath even though I couldn’t shake the overwhelming fear of failing Kayla from my brain. I raised the machete high above my head, as I rushed towards the unsuspecting man in front of me, threatening to take my best friend’s life. It was either him or us, and there was no way in hell I was gonna let it be us.
Chapter 36
Glenn
The motel was a dead end, along with a million other leads we thought we had. I wouldn’t tell Madison this, but I was quickly beginning to lose hope. It had been over two hours now and we were no closer to fi
nding the girls. I ran my hand through my hair before dragging it down my face in frustration and hopelessness. How in the fuck is this actually happening?
Madison was just hangin’ up with Jo when I try my hardest to put on a brave face, not just for me, but for the both of us. “What’d he say?”
“He’s on his way. Obviously it’ll take him a bit to get here, but he’s on his way. Diem too.”
My eyes went wide as I imagined Kayla’s reaction to her long lost sister comin’ to town without her knowin’.
“I know what you’re thinkin’, but I think Kayla will be relieved to see that Diem really does care about what happens to her sister, regardless of the state of their relationship, or lack thereof.” I could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t exactly buyin’ what he was sellin’.
I shook my head in disbelief. “So where do we go from here?”
Madison let out an aggravated sigh, “I honestly don’t know, man. But I can’t just stand around with my thumb up my ass. We gotta save our girls. Let’s go talk to the guys at the farm.”
We were headed over to the truck when my phone alerted me to a text message. I fished my phone outta my pocket as though I was on fire and it was my only chance at survivin’. I quickly clicked on the screen. The message was from Jo.
Diem said her informant in the
Jail told her that Tanya had her
Lookin’ for abandoned buildings
In the area. Hope this helps.
See ya soon, bro.
Jo
As soon as I finished readin’ Jo’s text a wave of relief washed over me. At least it was somethin’, but in Abernathy, we had our fair share of abandoned buildings.
I jumped in the cab of Madison’s truck, slammin’ the door behind me. “Step on it. We’re lookin’ for an abandoned building.”
He threw the truck in drive and we were off. “Any idea where we should start? It’s not like there’s only one or two abandoned places around these parts.”
This Family of Ours (Raine #6) Page 18
