Risky Vengeance

by Rhonda Brewer

  Trunk ran his hands over the top of his bald head and sighed. He felt as if he sat on the edge of a cliff, and any moment it would give way, sending him tumbling over. The edge of the cliff was the possibility Abbie would never come home.

  “Fuck, Trunk. Don’t let that enter your head. She’s coming back. You’re going to find her, and then you’re going to marry her,” Trunk whispered to himself.

  Chapter 30

  Abbie sat in the small closet she was shoved into when they stopped driving. Abbie assumed the house sat in the middle of nowhere because they drove for a long time. Since she was blindfolded, she had no idea where she was.

  Someone walked her up five steps and in through a door that sounded heavy when it slammed behind her. She took sixteen paces and then was pulled to a stop by someone gripping her arm roughly. Mrs. Woodman ordered the person to shove Abbie into the closet, then the door was closed, and she heard a click.

  It was then she pulled off the blindfold and was relieved to see a dim light above her. The closet was empty except for a bucket and a roll of toilet paper. She assumed they put it there for her. Clearly, they were expecting to keep her there for a while.

  The zip-ties was biting into her wrists, and when she tried to gnaw through the plastic, it hurt her teeth. Abbie’s heart pounded in her chest as she shifted to get into a comfortable position.

  “Stay calm, Abbie,” she whispered.

  Abbie closed her eyes and tried to will her heart to slow down. She took deep breaths and tried to calm the panic. If she lost her composure, it wouldn’t help her get out of her situation.

  Abbie winced as she twisted her arms to see if she could loosen her restraints. She cursed under her breath and looked around to see if there was something she could use to break free. She looked up at a bar above her and noticed a wire hanger. Abbie struggled to her feet and grabbed one.

  For a moment, she didn’t know how it would help, but she pushed the hook between her hands and used her fingers to turn it toward herself a couple of times. The plastic dug deeper into her skin, and she whimpered.

  “It’s got to break sometime,” Abbie whispered and pulled the hanger through again.

  It hurt too much, and she dropped the hanger to the floor and fell to her knees. She could see blood seeping around her wrists, where the zip-ties cut into the skin, and as she stared at her arms, she blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

  “Stop it, Abbie. You can’t fall apart,” she murmured.

  She shifted around on the floor until she found a comfortable position again and kicked off her shoes. Her wrists hurt, and she wasn’t able to stretch out her legs, but at least she was warm.

  Abbie rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She’d get out of there and get back to Trunk. She missed him so much, and she tried to think about what he would tell her to do in the situation. She was staying calm, but she was scared.

  She didn’t understand why Mrs. Woodman would abduct her. Abbie knew the woman had help because someone was driving the car. She assumed it was a man, especially when he grabbed Abbie by the arm. His bony fingers dug into her painfully, and she was sure she had bruises.

  “Ben, I need your strength,” Abbie whispered.

  Abbie didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she woke to muffled voices outside the closet door. They were talking in hushed tones, but she recognized Mrs. Woodman’s voice and at least two men.

  “The police are all over that place,” one man said.

  “Then it’s a good thing we don’t have her out there,” Mrs. Woodman replied.

  “They’ll connect the dots. No matter what you think, these people aren’t stupid,” the other man interjected.

  “I don’t care what you think. Nobody will ever figure this out. It’s not like they know my name.” The woman scoffed.

  “Who the fuck are these people?” Abbie whispered.

  “I’m not going to jail again,” one man snapped.

  “Will you please stop being dramatic. Nobody will ever figure out who I am. Gary took care of that.” Mrs. Woodman chuckled.

  When Abbie shifted on the floor, she noticed dried blood on her skirt. Her wrists had bled while she slept, and the zip-ties cut deeper. She wanted to cry, but she refused to give in to the fear.

  “Are you going to at least feed her?” another man whispered.

  Abbie recognized the voice, and she wanted to scream. Jerome. He was there and knew she was in the closet. The fear quickly faded, and anger started to bubble up. Abbie didn’t care how much it hurt. She was getting free of the restraints around her wrists.

  She brought up her knees and continued to slam her arms down across them. It took a long time, but she managed to free her arms, but the ties bit deeper into her skin. She flexed her fingers and then grabbed the toilet paper.

  Abbie wrapped it around each of her wrists several times, but withing a few minutes, blood seeped through the thin tissue. She wrapped more around her injuries and by the time she was done, she looked like she was wearing sweatbands. Her skin burned terribly, but she didn’t care. It was the first step in escaping.

  She blew out a breath and pressed her ear to the door again. Jerome argued with Mrs. Woodman about keeping Abbie locked in the closet. He seemed upset about it, but the woman told him to trust her.

  “So, you’re not going to feed her?” Jerome wasn’t even lowering his voice anymore.

  “I’ll get her a sandwich. It’s not like she’s going to be here long anyway,” the man said, and Abbie could hear the smirk in his voice.

  “I’m telling you they don’t have it,” Jerome shouted.

  “They have it, and I want it,” the woman yelled.

  “You’re out of your freaking mind. We can’t keep her here until you get some trinket you think they have.” Jerome was angry, and it was odd to hear him out of control.

  “Calm the fuck down,” the man spat.

  “No, I’m taking her home. This is insane. If I’d known this was what you were doing, I would never have agreed to it. You almost killed her, twice.” Jerome seemed to be getting closer to the closet door.

  Abbie huddled in the corner at the back, wondering if the man she thought responsible for her attack would be the voice of reason and take her home. She hoped so even if he was a jerk for his involvement.

  “Do not open that door,” Mrs. Woodman shrieked.

  “This has gone way too far. You got the money, and you terrified her family. That’s enough.” Jerome sounded like he was right next to the closet.

  Abbie heard a click, but it didn’t sound like the lock. She curled up into a ball as she waited for the door to open. She didn’t know what to expect, and maybe it was all a ploy.

  “I said do not open that.” Mrs. Woodman sounded as if she was right outside the door.

  “Are you serious? You’re going to shoot me if I let her out?” Jerome sounded scared.

  “I will if you defy me,” Mrs. Woodman sneered.

  “You’re just going to let her do this?” Jerome said, and Abbie assumed he was speaking to the other man.

  “She has the gun,” the man chuckled.

  It was quiet, and Abbie prayed Jerome wouldn’t endanger his life. She was angry that he was involved, but she would never want to see him dead.

  “You’re insane. I’m washing my hands of this and getting the hell out of Newfoundland.” Jerome’s voice got further away from the door, and her heart sank.

  “You can go wherever you want, but keep your damn mouth closed about this,” Mrs. Woodman shouted.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere near the cops,” Jerome returned.

  “You’re damn right, you won’t,” Mrs. Woodman said with an eerie tone.

  Abbie heard two loud pops and a heavy thud. She knew what it was, and tears formed. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought, but when the man shouted, she knew what happened.

  “Why the fuck would you kill him?” he bellowed.

 
“Do you think he wasn’t going to leave and run to the police? He’d turn us in and get some kind of deal so he wouldn’t end up behind bars.” Mrs. Woodman sounded as if she had simply killed a bug.

  “What do we do with him?” he asked.

  “Shove him out in the shed with the others, for now. We’ll get rid of the bodies later tonight.” Mrs. Woodman was getting further away from the closet.

  Abbie gasped at the word, bodies. Who else did the woman kill? Abbie started to tremble because she realized Mrs. Woodman had no problem ending someone’s life.

  “Fine. Are you going to feed that woman? Jerome is right about one thing; you can’t starve her.” The man didn’t sound afraid of Mrs. Woodman.

  “Sure, make her a sandwich or something and give her water. We’ll be gone for a while,” Mrs. Woodman said.

  It was quiet for a while, and then the sound of heavy footsteps getting closer to the door. Abbie pressed herself up against the back wall and waited for the door to open.

  “You got that blindfold on?” the man shouted.

  “No,” Abbie replied.

  “Put it on, or you don’t get the food and water,” the man said.

  Abbie frantically looked around for the scarf they’d had around her eyes when they abducted her. She wrapped it around her head and sat back again.

  “Okay. I have it back on,” Abbie told him.

  The lock clicked, and the closet brightened. She heard something thud against the floor and assumed it was the bottles of water. When he grabbed her hands, she whimpered.

  “What the fuck did you do?” The man growled as he touched Abbie’s wrapped wrists.

  “The ties cut into my skin, so I worked my way out of them.” Abbie didn’t know what else to tell him.

  “This is fucking great. I’ll be right back. Keep that blindfold on,” the man snapped.

  The closet door slammed, and the lock clicked. Abbie waited for several minutes and then heard the door open again. There was a loud bang on the floor, and Abbie jerked away from it.

  “That’s a first-aid kit. Wrap those up better and put some antiseptic on it, so it doesn’t get infected.” The man slammed the door, and the lock engaged again.

  When she pulled off the blindfold, she saw a large white box with a first-aid crest on the front of it. She was relieved to see bandages and antibiotic cream when she opened it. She carefully removed the toilet paper from her wrists and then cleaned the cuts as best she could. After applying the cream and bandages, she blew out a heavy sigh.

  She spotted the sandwich on a plate next to four water bottles and wondered if she should ration the food since she didn’t know when her abductors would return. After contemplating that she didn’t plan to be there as long as Mrs. Woodman expected, Abbie decided to eat half the sandwich and take a few sips of water. She didn’t want to drink too much because the last thing she wanted was to be locked in a closet with a bucket full of urine.

  What seemed like hours passed, and Abbie stood up to stretch out her legs. She was relatively tall, and she had to stand close to the door so she wouldn’t knock her head on the metal pipe.

  She knew it was a waste of time, but she tried the door to see if, by some chance, it didn’t close properly. As she expected, it was secure. She noticed a blanket on the shelf above her and pulled it down. She wasn’t cold, but the floor wasn’t exactly comfortable.

  Abbie made herself as snug as possible and scanned the closet. There had to be some way to get out. The closet door looked solid, so she knew she wouldn’t be able to slam through it without hurting herself. The pipe across the closet was locked into a bracket on each side and was solid steel. Abbie sighed as she kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet under her. She rested her head against the wall, and that was when she spotted it. A large stain on the opposite side of the closet. It looked like water damage, and the area had leaked several times since the stains were darker in some areas.

  Abbie ran her hand over the damaged drywall. She knew as a real estate agent that a leak could make walls soft and easy to break through. She pushed at the darkest part of the wall, and it started to crumble. After she gave it a hard punch, she waited to see if someone would come running. When she didn’t hear anyone, Abbie punched the wall again, and it cracked.

  “Yes,” Abbie cheered quietly.

  She grabbed a water bottle and used the top to pound against the damaged wall. Abbie had done more damage with her fist, and she tossed the bottle behind her. She smiled when she saw her block heels. They were the closest thing to a hammer she had.

  Abbie pounded her shoe against the wall over and over. She prayed the wall connected to another room and not an area where she couldn’t escape. After what seemed like an hour, she barely made a hole big enough to put her arm through, but she could see into the next room.

  The sight made her more determined to get out. Abbie pulled on her shoes and began to slam both feet against the wall with every ounce of strength she had.

  Her legs tired quickly, but she managed to make the hole big enough to stick her head through and get a better look. The room had no furniture, and the hardwood floor had seen better days.

  Abbie eased back into the closet and continued to kick at the wall until the hole was big enough to squeeze through. Praying she could get out before Mrs. Woodman and the man returned.

  It seemed to take forever before she could crawl through the hole but when she managed to escape the closet, Abbie stood up and carefully approached the window. After almost eighteen hours in the dim closet, the daylight streaming through the window was a welcome sight.

  Abbie made her way to the door of the empty room and opened it quietly. She needed to get out of the house before her captors returned. She hoped there were more homes close by, or she recognized the area.

  Abbie stuck her head out of the room praying nobody was there to prevent her escape. When she didn’t hear anyone, she took off her shoes and ran to the front door. As she grabbed the knob, she heard a deep growl. Abbie turned and locked eyes with the biggest dog she’d ever seen in her life. It looked like a Rottweiler and seemed as if it wanted to tear her to shreds.

  “Hey, boy. I’m just going to go and leave you to your house,” Abbie spoke softly as she carefully fumbled with the doorknob.

  The dog took a step toward her, and Abbie froze. She didn’t know if she could get out of the house before the dog had her, but she wasn’t about to stay in a standoff with a dog until Mrs. Woodman returned.

  “I’m sorry, boy, but I got to go,” Abbie tossed her shoe over the head of the dog, and he turned long enough for her to yank open the door and get outside. “Later, Kujo.”

  Abbie slammed the door behind her and turned around. A smile formed on her face as she scanned the familiar area. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized her parents’ house was less than two blocks away.

  As she ran down the front steps, she cursed under her breath. She had one shoe, and the pavement wasn’t soft on her bare feet, but she didn’t care if the road was made of razor blades. She was getting as far away from that damn house as possible.

  It had to be early in the morning because she didn’t see any cars driving up or down the main street. As she made her way down the block, she continued to glance back over her shoulder to make sure her abductors had not discovered her escape. When she turned the corner to the street where she grew up, Abbie ran as fast as she could to her childhood home.

  Chapter 31

  Eighteen hours never passed so slowly before. James had every available officer trying to find Abbie and Abbie’s parents were beside themselves with worry. Trunk was surviving on no sleep and tons of coffee.

  His mother was doing her best to help by cooking and making sure everyone ate. Of course, she had a ton of help with Nanny Betty, Billie, and Dana.

  Sandy and Smash were digging into everything they could find on the woman they knew as Mrs. Woodman, but they assumed the name was fake, and the house she told Abbie she wa
s selling wasn’t for sale.

  “Ben, you need to eat something.” His mother placed a large bowl of stew on the table.

  “I’ll eat when Abbie is safe.” Trunk sighed.

  “Lad, ya ain’t gonna be any good ta her if yer fallin’ down from starvation. Do wat yer mudder says and eat.” Nanny Betty placed a basket of fresh homemade bread on the table.

  “You know better than to argue with her.” Billie sat across the table from him.

  Trunk nodded and reluctantly dug into the thick delicious stew. It was tasty, and he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he looked down into an empty bowl.

  “Good lad.” Nanny Betty smiled as she sat next to him with a cup of tea.

  “I don’t know how to thank all of you.” Claire’s voice cracked.

  “Its wat family does, ducky.” Nanny Betty gently patted Claire’s hand.

  Trunk glanced across the kitchen and watched his mother as she stared into the shoebox they’d left on the counter. She seemed focused on the pearl ring that seemed so familiar to her, and he’d noticed her picking it up several times. It was almost as if she was willing a memory to come.

  Cole arrived after lunch with his daughter and an excited Chad. The young man was ecstatic to find out he had two new cousins. Paige was shy at first but happy to meet her half-brothers even if it wasn’t the best situation.

  “What’s your mother looking at?” Claire asked.

  “It’s a ring that was in the box of stuff Darren had in his trunk. She says it’s familiar, but she can’t figure out where she saw it before,” Trunk explained.

  Claire joined his mother and he figured the mystery of the ring would distract the women for a little while. When Abbie’s mother gasped, he shot to his feet.

  “Claire, what’s wrong?” Trunk asked.

  “I know this ring. It belonged to Lydia.” Claire held it up.

  “Are you sure?” Trunk asked.