by LM Terry
I lower myself into the water, turning around so we are facing each other. I feel satisfied yet slightly embarrassed by the way I was acting. Where did that all come from? I’m timid, shy…who was that girl? I look up and notice Dylan is watching me intently.
A large grin spreads across his face. “It’s nice to finally meet you Anna.”
Chapter Twenty-One
∞∞∞
Dylan
Holy crap what was that? I thought I would get her in the bath to help her over her fear. I expected something but not that. I need to talk to her before this goes any further. She needs to understand who I am. I don’t want to end up hurting her. She is young and naïve. She likes it a little rough though. I threw a lot at her in that short time and she took it like a queen. When she called me sir I about blew my load. It flowed naturally off her tongue with no request from me.
I stand pulling her up with me. “The water is getting cold and I am hungry.”
I dry us both off, she is trying to process everything that just happened. We haven’t even been together for a full week, yet I feel like I’ve known her forever. I can’t imagine a world without her.
I need to focus and get the security in place. Then I can relax a little and delve into who Anna really is. She is my sleeping beauty. She has been asleep in the world, hiding, waiting for a monster for the last nine years. I understand why her mother did what she did. She hoped Anna would adapt and create a happy, carefree existence as Sarah.
That wasn’t fair to her, they forced her to live someone else’s life. She doesn’t even know who Anna is. I will help her find herself. I discovered something today. She is feisty. She isn’t the shy, quiet girl she assumed she was. This morning not only surprised me, it shocked her as well.
“Come on baby, let’s go get dressed and I’ll make you breakfast. Do you want pancakes?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Anna?”
“Why did you leave my phone in the living room? Did you forget to take it yesterday?”
I sit down and pull her with me to perch on my knee. “I think we got off to a rough start, I owe you an apology Anna. I wasn’t thinking properly. I was lost in my grief over Sophia and I wanted you to draw Oliver. I should not have shoved you in the trunk. I’m not kidnapping you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting you go but I’m not trying to keep you from the rest of the world…from life. I left your phone in case you had an emergency.”
“I don’t understand.” She frowns.
“I don’t quite understand myself, but we will figure it out together. Okay?”
She nods but then adds, “I’m nervous about talking to Liam.”
I push her off my lap, lightly patting her bottom as she stands. “It will be all right. He is a good guy. We are all grieving the loss of Sophia, but it will all work out. You’ll see. It smells like he found the kitchen.”
We head downstairs to find Liam flipping pancakes on the stove. He turns and looks at us as we make our way over to him. “Bout time you guys got up.”
Anna hides behind me. I reach around drawing her up beside me and motion for her to take a seat at the breakfast bar. “We’ve been awake for hours,” I say winking at her. Her cheeks turn that pretty shade of pink I’m becoming accustomed to.
Liam snorts. I pour her and I each a cup of coffee and hand hers across. “What do you think Anna, two men in your kitchen and we both can cook? Every girls’ dream, am I right?”
She nods in agreement. I let this one slide she is very nervous.
I punch Liam’s arm and nod towards her. He rolls his eyes. I realize he is purposely avoiding speaking to her to make her uncomfortable. He is trying to punish her for lying to him. I’m sure it bruised his pride that he didn’t figure out who she was on his own but it’s not fair to take it out on her. He knows this. He just needs a gentle reminder.
“Anna, would you like pancakes? I feel bad you had to put up with Dylan’s shitty cooking but now you have a real chef in the house.”
She giggles, the sound is music to my ears. “Yes, thank you.” She reaches over and takes the plate that Liam is offering her. “Um, sorry about lying to you. I’ve been very confused and wasn’t sure who I could trust. Anyway, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
“It’s okay, I understand that you were troubled the day we talked at the bookstore and after we found you.” His voice trails, I hear the sadness in his words. Anna hears it too. She looks down at her plate, swiping a run-away tear.
I try to turn the conversation. “Hey, we will get this fucker. First things first, I’m going to leave you both to your breakfast. I’ll go out and set up a perimeter around the property. Then we can get cameras and motion sensors up.”
“I’ll help,” Liam says.
“No. You two stay here. I think you need to talk about things.” I pour my coffee in a travel mug and head out leaving them to sit side by side both with their heads down. They’ll find their way. I need to get out and set things up. Liam will take care of her.
∞∞∞
Anna
When we came downstairs, and I spotted Liam it was unreal. He looks so different from the few times I met him. I’m used to seeing him in a suit and tie. This morning he was flipping pancakes in my kitchen in nothing but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
He isn’t as tall as Dylan, but he stills towers over me. They both have a presence that speaks for itself, a very strong one. He has blond hair, blue eyes and a short beard. In his suit he has a professional demeanor, in jeans he looks like a very hot bad boy. I wish Dylan would not leave me alone with him. I don’t know what to say to him. God, I’m the most awkward person on the planet.
“I’m sorry I should have told you who I was. I didn’t consider it at the bookstore, I was so used to being Sarah. Then when you found us, I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. Oliver made me be Anna, I didn’t want to think about that.”
He sets his fork down after finishing his last bite, he reaches over and places his hand over mine. “It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry about Sophia. I wanted to get her out of there. I wanted to help her,” I sob. He pulls me into his arms and shakes, overcome by his own emotions.
“Shh, Anna, we all wish we could have helped her. I wanted to marry her you know. I had all these dreams of finding her, taking her away from there. Erasing all her bad memories to replace them with new ones.”
I sob into his shirt. “She wasn’t the Sophia I remembered. She cried every night, I couldn’t do anything but hold her. Oliver let me stay with her although I think he was just setting us up, letting her and I get close again, so he could separate and torture us even more.”
“I’m glad she had you at the end,” he says.
“It was my fault. She had the pistol because of me.” I hadn’t admitted this to anyone. Liam deserves the truth.
He pulls back and stops me, placing a finger over my lips. “I know Anna. I went over the scene and the evidence. I discovered you had killed that man. His gun holster was empty, it was obvious what had happened. The marks on your hand. Do not blame yourself, she would’ve done what she was going to at some point. I don’t think getting out would have helped. She had been there too long.” He sits back down. “Let’s talk about something else, shall we? Like what is up with Dylan? What have you done to him?”
I must give him a confused look because he chuckles. “I’m not sure what you mean? He is the one who kidnapped, well whatever you want to call it, but he did it. I have done nothing to him.” I flash back to my encounter with Dylan this morning in the bathroom and shift, so he can’t see my cheeks heating.
He laughs again so hard he almost falls off the barstool. “You are kidding me right? You got that man all kinds of crazy. It’s okay, I realize you probably don’t see it, you’re just getting to know him.”
“Oh, I can see that he is crazy all right.” I cross my arms across my chest, finding myself growing irritated with his flippant attitude ab
out Dylan taking me.
He smiles, he is so handsome. It saddens me. I wish Sophia would have had a little more fight left in her. Liam was perfect for her. The guilt creeps back inside me. I get up to rinse off my plate and put it in the dishwasher, then I take Liam’s doing the same for him. I sense his eyes on me, it makes me nervous.
“Anna don’t feel guilty. Oliver is a piece of shit.” He looks behind him as if to make sure that no one overhears our conversation. “Look, I want to ask you something.” He runs his hand thru his hair looking anxious himself. “I need your help.”
I listen to Liam’s plan, my stomach slowly sinking, what he is saying makes perfect sense. He needs my aid to catch Oliver. Dylan recognized it too but now his obsession with me clouds his vision. When he finishes, he says, “Anna, if you are not comfortable with this tell me. We will find another way.”
I lean back on the counter and process everything he said. “No, I want to help. I’m tired of hiding. I want the monster dead.”
He nods. I’ll do anything I can to keep you safe Anna, but you understand how dangerous this is?”
“Yes, I do. He called me yesterday,” I say.
“Oliver?”
“Yes. His right-hand man, Brian, must have looked at my number on my cell when he took me. It’s weird though. I don’t understand why he did that, surely they didn’t know that I would ever make it back to my phone.”
“They are assholes like that, maybe they were going to call your phone while they had you to fuck with your parents. Sorry I mean the Madronos.”
“Yes, I guess. So, what does this tracking device look like? You know once they take me they will strip me of all my clothing?” Liam grimaces at my words.
“It is injected under the skin. It is possible they will find and remove it, especially if they’ve learned you have been with us.”
I don’t know if I can do this. Can I let them take me again? He is right, even if they wait for someone to come it will be Brian and a few others. They could get them, but they wouldn’t get Oliver. They need me to lead them to him.
“I have a backup plan though. A tracker in a pill form, you swallow it. But, it only lasts as long you don’t flush it away if you know what I mean,” he says raising his eyebrows.
My nerves tingle on edge as I turn to look out the window, watching a little bluebird that stares back at me through the glass. He is tilting his head back and forth looking as confused as I feel.
“Anna are you okay? This is too soon. Shit. Forget I said any of this.”
“No, I want to help. So, I take the pill if I have time,” I say.
“Yes, if they sneak up on you, then that won’t work, we would need to rely on the tracker under your skin.”
“Dylan will not go for any of this. Are you going to tell him?” I ask.
He sighs. “No, I’m going to tell him that we found Oliver and he is being transported to the states. He will want to see for himself. It will send him on a wild goose chase while we wait here.”
He looks at me long and hard, trying to gauge my thoughts. He is struggling with what he is about to do. I’m struggling too. But, I refuse to hide any longer. I want to help him get his revenge. It’s the least I can do.
“I’ve never lied to Dylan about anything,” he says as he buries his face in his hands.
I walk over to him and place my hand on his, trying to support him like he had done for me. “It will all work out Liam.”
“I have no right to ask this of you.” He shakes his head as if he is about to change his mind.
“You will tell him once they take me? He’ll find me even if the trackers fail. He will.” I hug myself, hoping that I am correct. Does Dylan care enough about me to come looking for me? He looked for Sophia, they found her too late. I am risking the same fate.
“Yes, I will tell him. He will hate both of us.”
I laugh nervously. “Yes, yes, he will.”
Liam takes me into the bedroom he is staying in and injects the tracker on the backside of my upper arm. He places a band-aid over it instructing me to remove it as soon as it stops bleeding so that Dylan doesn’t see. He then gives me the pill form. I cradle it in my palm. It looks like a Tylenol capsule.
“Keep it where you can get to it quickly. Remember, if you flush it and then you change locations we won’t be able to find you.”
“Do you have any idea how close they are to finding me?” I ask.
“No. The last location we tracked them to was Belize. My theory is that he is sending his guys up through Mexico. It could be weeks, months, I wish I had an answer for you Anna. You will know when I inform Dylan that the FBI has captured him.”
He sits by me on the bed and puts his arm around me. “If you change your mind, please tell me.”
I shake my head in understanding and lean over on his shoulder. I see why Sophia loved him. He is easy to be with. I see how much he hates asking me to do this but we both realize this needs to end. This is the only way.
“I’m going to go outside and help Dylan. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. It will all fall into place won’t it?”
He kisses my forehead before standing. “I think so, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t expect this to work. It has to or else you and I will both be in a world of hurt.”
I understand what he means by that. Dylan will kill him, he may murder him even if the plan works and I don’t get hurt. Both these men are ruthless. Both will do what they need to do to protect and defend those they love. I shake my head at the silly thought, Dylan doesn’t love me, he loves my body maybe but not me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
∞∞∞
Dylan
As I’m finishing up with the security around the perimeter of the property Liam walks towards me. He smiles and waves that must mean it went well. I knew the two of them would get along. They just needed to feel each other out.
“Get everything all worked out?” I ask him.
“I see why you like her,” he says.
“Don’t get any ideas, she is mine,” I joke and slug him in the arm.
“Dylan, are you sure about what you are doing with her? She has feelings for you. She’s been through a lot. Do you really want to continue down this path? I don’t want her to get hurt.”
He flinches at his own words, what is that about? I pick up easily on people’s reactions. He is keeping something from me. That’s what has made me good at what I do. I watch everything, the way people shift their eyes, nervous twitches, their dialect. Every detail about a person gives me more information than what they say.
“I’m not going to hurt her. She sees the real me. I’m not hiding anything from her. I think we were destined to meet. I recognize I have had my share of ladies, Liam. But, I want her, only her.”
“Okay man, she is young and vulnerable right now. I want to make sure you have good intentions.”
I laugh at this. “Oh, I have good intentions.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
He slugs me back and laughs, finally the mood is lightening. “What do you need help with?” he asks.
“Information Liam. I don’t want his men stepping foot into Colorado without me knowing. I do not want them coming anywhere near her. We need to cut them off before they find her,” I say.
“So, if we get them what is your game plan for getting to Oliver? You know he won’t risk coming to the states.”
“I will make his men talk.”
“We’ve tried that in the past Dylan. It’s never worked, they are all loyal to him.”
“They aren’t loyal. He just scares them more than we ever have. That won’t be the case this time. I will fillet their skin off inch by inch until they tell me where he is.” My adrenaline spikes with just the image of torturing one of them.
Liam looks back up to the cabin, sullen, deep in thought. “They were in Belize a few days ago, that’s all I know.” He kicks at a rock on the ground.
“Hmm, well maybe he is filtering them
up through Mexico. Isn’t that how they got in when they came for her a few months ago?” Something sends off alarm bells in my brain. I watch him closely.
He continues his mini soccer game with the stone. He looks back at the house again. “Yeah, they have the drug cartels behind them. You know it’s all in the family with these assholes.”
“I think I will head inside to determine if all the cams are syncing up to my computer. No one is coming in or out without me knowing,” I say.
When we approach the cabin, I notice that Anna has found a shady spot under a tree not far away. “I’m going to check on her.” I point towards where she is sitting.
“Sure.” He hesitates, he is nervous, reluctant to go inside. “I’m sure she is fine, she has a lot going on in her head.”
“I know, but she doesn’t have to do it alone anymore.” I leave him on the porch and make my way over to her plopping down on the hard ground. “Hey baby, how are you doing?”
She is leaning back against the trunk with a book face down in her lap, looking out over the mountains. It is a spectacular view. “I’m good,” she says turning to me.
I pick up the novel thinking I will get to scold her for reading longer than an hour. But, I realize she hasn’t made it past page one. I close it and put my arm around her hugging her tight. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
“Nothing, I’m just enjoying the sunshine.” She turns away from me back to the mountain view.
“How did your talk with Liam go?” I watch her face closely to try and get a read on how it all really went.
She drops her head and looks to her lap, wringing her hands together. She seems uneasy, they both seem nervous. “It was good, he is very nice. I understand why Sophia liked him.”
