Hunted: A Suspense Collection

by J. L. Drake

  “You’re that girl!” the man yelled.

  “Anna! Anna Cowles! Do you remember us, we live in your neighborhood?” the woman said as she gave me a once over to look for injuries or scars.

  “We have to get out of here! He’s behind me!” I yelled in panic, trying to pull the woman along with me.

  “Who’s behind you, Anna?” the lady asked me.

  “Steve! He’s behind us!”

  “Who’s that? I’ve never heard of him,” she asked, giving me a look of disbelief. She didn’t believe me that there was a man following me. I thought James had told me my whole town was looking for me, but this didn’t make any sense. Did they all think I had run away or something? Why else would I be breathing so hard from running in the woods all night?

  “We have to go to the police station! The hospital! Anywhere but here!” I yelled in frustration, raking my fingers through my wildly matted hair.

  “We have to get you home. Your parents have been worried sick!” The man took my hand and started walking me down the path. I didn’t recognize the people, but they sounded familiar, like a voice from my past.

  I wobbled with them as they walked me down the path. I felt as if I had aged drastically from my captivity, both mentally and physically. As we walked down a hill I saw the three dirt paths combine and then take a fork on the road. At the intersection of all three paths is where Andy had asked me to be his girlfriend, and where I had said yes.

  I let one tear fall for my fallen friend, but I had little emotion to show for him. He was gone, just like I was, and the only person I felt any connection to anymore was Garrett. From him it expanded to Jessi then to James, the few that saved me. Would I be able to feel anything for my family after this? I glanced up just in time from my reverie to see a tall figure running out of sight. His hair was a dark curly brown, with a bald spot just on top of his head. His reminded me of someone I knew.

  “Dad? Dad! Dad!” I called, breaking from the man’s hand and running toward my dad.

  “Anna, wait!” I heard the man yell after me.

  I ran down the dirt path, ignoring the couple behind me as they called for me to come back. I followed the man up the hill and out of the park. I was just about to touch him when I heard a blood-curdling scream from behind me. I turned around to see the woman running toward me with fear chiseled across her face. There was a significant air current created as she ran past me, leaving me there staring at the man that had once been attempting to help me.

  He was lying on the ground with a knife in his back, his position contorted. He was lying as if he was thrown sideways, like he had leapt in front of his wife to save her life. I looked up to see Steve slinking from the body and coming toward me. I was frozen with fear as he continued to advance. I couldn’t get my body to cooperate with me, I needed to run, but couldn’t.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Anna, Anna, Anna. Did you really think those people would do you any good? Have you learned nothing? It’s a pity, really. Do you have any idea what a wonderful life we could have had?”

  I started to walk backwards, away from him, but he followed and continued to talk to me as we got closer out of the woods. Steve would kill anyone that got in his way—that much was clear. How many people would I put in danger if I left this park? Was it worth risking my life over?

  “That wouldn’t have happened. I was faking the whole time!”

  “Don’t say that, Anna! Don’t say that!”

  “I just did! By the way, that honeymoon was horrible!” I spat, knowing it would hurt him.

  “Don’t say that, Anna!”

  “What are you going to about it?” I yelled angrily, unsure of what I was trying to accomplish. I was ready for this all to be over, maybe this was the only way to do that.

  “You were the one, Anna, but if you think I’ll let you go and tell people what happened, you’re sadly mistaken,” Steve stated, pulling a gun to my head.

  “No, Mr. Bennett, I’m afraid you’re the one that’s mistaken,” a voice stated from behind me as a gunshot went off.

  Chapter 30

  The shot made me jump, and I turned to look at the officer standing behind me with his gun in the air. The pistol was smoking from the recent shot into the air. The sound must have alerted his back-up because soon we were surrounded by officers and patrons that had come to assist in any way possible.

  “Put the gun down, Mr. Bennett. You’re surrounded; let this end peacefully,” the officer commanded, as he took hold of my shoulder and pushed me behind him for protection.

  “Fine, I can see that I’m beaten. I surrender,” Steve stated nonchalantly. I glanced around the officer to see that Steve was holding his hands in the air as two other officers put him on the ground. A smile curved onto my lips as I heard the handcuffs click into place.

  “Anna! Anna!” I heard a voice calling from the woods. I attempted to glance around the officer again, but he put me behind him again and leveled his gun.

  “Don’t move!” the officer stated authoritatively.

  “I’m not here to hurt anyone! I’m here to find Anna. Is Anna okay? I heard a gunshot!” the voice asked, his words dripping with worry.

  “Garrett?” I hadn’t heard his voice in so long. I glanced around the officer again to see Garrett standing on the edge of the trees, taking tentative steps toward my voice. “Garrett!” I stated excitedly, as I ran around the officer and toward Garrett.

  “Anna, it’s good to see you again,” he said, as I closed the distance between us and he lifted me into a hug. He felt better than I remembered. The second I touched him all my fears vanished and only he and I were left. I missed him so much, I hadn’t even realized how much he meant to me until I touched him again. I heard him groan as he put me back on the ground, a loud crack echoed in my ears and his grip loosened slightly.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Let’s just say I’m not really healed and I should still be in the hospital,” he stated with a soft chuckle.

  “Garrett...” I started to reprimand, but stopped when I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. I turned to see the same officer that protected me earlier standing behind me. His nametag flashed in my eyes to show that his name was Weston, Officer Weston.

  “Anna, this isn’t the place to do this. Plus, I have a few people that have been waiting for you to come home,” he stated to me, then turned to the officers and citizens behind him. “We can call off the search! Anna Cowles has returned home and her captor has been captured.”

  A loud roaring cheer echoed off the trees around us as everyone let out an excited scream. I felt one of the few genuine smiles that I’ve had over the past few months stretch across my face as I watched them cheer. Garrett took hold of my hand as we followed Officer Weston out of the woods. We were escorted to a police cruiser and for the first time I wasn’t worried about the police working with Steve.

  After all of this, I would never be able to look at police officers the same way. It had been their job to protect me, to keep me safe, but look what happened. I was torn; I couldn’t truly blame them. I had been alone at the park, but what about the other parents? Maybe they knew Steve meant business and that’s why they didn’t step in, but then why did one dad choose to step in? Did he see something the others didn’t? I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; it could have been anyone. I shook my head lightly to get rid of those hopeful thoughts; it couldn’t have been anyone else. He had been watching me, he had been waiting for me. He would have just found another way to kidnap me later.

  I saved at least one other girl by escaping and having him caught. No other girl would have to suffer now; they were safe. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live a normal life because I couldn’t pretend that this didn’t happen to me; although, I took solace in knowing that one life was spared torture by my actions.

  The cruiser pulled in front of the police station as I felt Garrett lightly squeezed me hand.

  “Are you ready, Anna?” Garrett asked as
he stepped out of the car and took my hand again. “If you aren’t, tell me and we can wait outside for a while, until you’re ready,” he said, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek as a form of comfort.

  “I should do it now or I’ll chicken out,” I said honestly, as I looked at the looming building. He nodded and led me up the steps.

  As we walked up the stairs to the police station doors, I noticed that each step was difficult for him. He tried to hide the pain that it caused him, but it didn’t work. His movements gave him away as he limped slightly and his hand covered his ribs. I could hear him groan with each few steps and his breathing quickened far too soon for such little effort it should take to climb stairs.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should go back to the hospital,” I suggested as I looked around for an officer to take him back.

  “No, I’m fine. I’d rather be here with you. This is important, and I’ll be here in case you need someone,” he said, offering a gentle smile and a quick kiss on my forehead.

  He opened the door for me against my opposition and let me go in front of him. I glanced around the police station and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were posters of me everywhere asking where I was and if anyone had seen me. They were plastered to the wall, all over tables and desks of the officers, and filling up the recycling bins as they started to throw them out. Found posters were being printed off the big printer near the door; my face was everywhere.

  Another loud cheer came into my ears as I came into view of all the people in the station. Garrett came from behind me and took my hand again as we were told to follow one of the officers. The throng of police officers and citizens slowly parted to make way for us. Creating a single path through them to the opposite side of the station. That’s when I heard a loud screech that hurt my ears because of the sudden high pitch. The officer in front of us stepped into the side crowd to make way for my frantic mother to wrap me in a hug.

  “I’ve missed you so much! We never gave up! We didn’t know what was going on in other stations though. We didn’t know they found you until James Sparks called us personally!” she stated loudly as she squeezed me into a hug.

  “Mom, please let go. This hurts!” I said as the air slowly left my body.

  “Sorry,” she apologized sweetly as she set me down.

  Kendall was on me the second my mother let go, my father came next, his hug wasn’t as tight as Mom’s, but it was still solid, and it wasn’t as careful as Kendall’s. I could tell that they had been worried and never gave up the fight to find me. It was all in their touch, my mom’s was strong but tired, and Dad’s was strong and relaxed. They had missed me and were exhausted from a year of searching. When he let me go, he offered a gentle smile to Garrett when he saw that Garrett’s hand hadn’t left mine during the exchange. It was as if he respected Garrett for his determination to be with me, even though pain was evident on his face from his beatings.

  “Did you say that James called you?” I asked curiously.

  “Yeah, Kendall had answered. They’re actually with a lovely little girl named-”

  “Mommy! Daddy!” a familiar voice cut in before my mom could finish speaking. Garrett and I turned around to see Jessi running toward us with a big smile on her face. I hadn’t seen her smile so genuinely since she heard we were having mac and cheese for dinner back at Steve’s.

  “Hey, little one!” Garrett said excitedly, kneeling down to hug Jessi when she came up to him.

  “You came back!”

  “Just like I promised you I would,” Garrett stated, receiving awe from the crowd surrounding us. I felt a blush form onto my cheeks as everyone turned to stare at us. I knelt down with my makeshift family and hugged Jessi with Garrett.

  “My other daddy came here too. He heard you escaped and got worried,” Jessi stated, pointing James out in the crowd. He had a big smile running across his face when Jessi called him daddy. It must have hurt him to lose that connection with his daughter, but now he had it back. I’m sure he would do everything in his power to make sure he never lost it again.

  “It’s good to hear that someone cared, but I was worried about your mom. It was good news to learn that she was okay,” Garrett said looking at me with a gentle smile.

  “I also have good news,” James said stepping forward. “I did some investigating with the officers in this county and found two cases of kidnapping that could be you Garrett. One boy was taken when he was five from Mississippi and one was taken when he was ten from New Jersey, but since you don’t know your actual age, we’re still going to have to investigate. We don’t want to get the hopes of these parents up only for you not to be their son.”

  “I understand. That’s great news. Thank you, Officer Sparks,” Garrett stated with a genuine smile on his lips as he hugged Jessi just a little tighter.

  I leaned down and kissed both Garrett and Jessi on the forehead. “I missed you guys so much. I’m glad to have you back again and that this is all over. I don’t know what I would do if...” I was interrupted by a yell for someone to put down the gun.

  There was a loud slam followed by four shots that sent some officers running into duty. I felt a body crash into mine and put me on the floor, I grabbed Jessi and put her next to me with her head under my arm. The shooting stopped, and the remaining officers that had stayed behind to protect the citizens were running toward the fight. When I looked up, there was an officer holding his side, blood covering his hand and trickling down through his shirt.

  “He’s escaped. He’s killed four cops, wounding many others. He’s escaped. Call a man hunt, don’t let him get too far,” the officer pleaded as he collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

  “Call a bus! We need an ambulance! Officers down!” James called to someone as he started to look over the body of the man that gave us the warning.

  “Steve’s escaped? You’re kidding me, right? I thought the officers were good around here. Did no one check out these people to see if they worked with Steve?” I yelled in anger and disbelief. He always managed to get out of it because of his payments and promises to the officers he controlled. If the officer that was bringing him in was one of the guys he paid off, he would let him go to keep his family out of his way. Even if it meant letting Steve back into the world because he knew his family would be safe. That’s all that mattered to them, and I couldn’t blame them. I would love to know the feeling of safety and security again.

  “Wait, don’t call a man hunt!” James called as the policemen and women started to scatter to their specified jobs.

  Garrett and I stared at him in disbelief once the words left his mouth. Garrett put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me as anger flowed through me. He was kidding, right? He was just going to let Steve walk around like a free man when he deserved to be behind bars? James was supposed to catch him, this was supposed to be over.

  “What are you thinking?” Officer Weston was shocked at the demand.

  “I’m thinking, we have the perfect trap here. So, why call a man hunt when we can bring him to us?” James asked quizzically as he looked between Garrett and me, then even his own daughter, Jessi.

  “What’s the perfect trap you have in mind?” Officer Weston asked, seeing the gears turning in James mind and saw the pieces falling into place.

  Chapter 31

  I glared at James as he shut the door behind him, “Don’t worry, we’ll be right here in case he comes,” he said as the door clicked shut.

  “That’s what the cops said last time they stuck me in a safe house,” I said with an annoyed sigh as I plopped onto the sofa next to Garrett. Jessi was upstairs sleeping, in order to make it believable that we were staying here for the night and draw in Steve. The plan was to put us in my family’s home and have my parents gone for the night. Personally I thought it was a dumb plan, but James was sure Steve would fall for it.

  “You’ve been in a safe house before? What have I missed from your little escape artist act?” Garrett aske
d with a chuckle.

  “You wouldn’t believe what you’ve missed. I spent a week with Jessi’s family, looking for you I might add. Only to stumble on to a dead cop that Steve killed, along with multiple rogue cops that would do anything to get me out of their hair. Then I ran through the woods for a while. When I finally found a town where the officers cared about me, they stuck me in a safe house. Steve found me, killing at least one officer and again chasing me in the woods.”

  “Wow, all I did was run through the woods. I somehow ended up in the wrong town, then got caught by Steve. I had to watch him rape you and then had surgery.”

  “I’ll trade you,” I offered.

  “No thank you! I don’t want to experience your side of things! I did miss you though, Anna,” Garrett said with a chuckle as he wrapped me up tight in a hug.

  “I miss you too, both of you actually. Do you think Jessi’s okay by herself?” I asked, glancing nervously towards the stairs.

  “You mean you think she’s not safe in a bathroom, which has no windows and that she can lock from the inside? I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to bust down the door to get to her. So there’s no way he would even go for her, so I’m sure she’s safe. Just relax.”

  “Relax? Seriously, Garrett, how can you say that after what we’ve been through?”

  “It’s a figure of speech I picked up in the hospital,” he said with a small grin.

  I groaned, making him chuckle. “Hospital humor is not something you want to have.”

  “I don’t know, at least I got to spend some time with you before you ran out on me.”

  “Trust me, it wasn’t because I wanted to. I could have done without the car crash and the dead officer.” I shivered at the memory.

  “What’s wrong?” Garrett asked, his voice full of concern.