18. Cage
Chapter 18
Cage
Pull yourself together man. Call yourself a Daddy. Then act like one damn it.
Cage took a moment to steady himself.
He was spiraling.
The panic was well and truly setting in.
Cage’s entire body felt heavy. Weak. The emotional toll of what was happening was weighing on him. For all the progress Cage had made recently, this was like a throwback to the period after his partner Nicki had died.
Cage couldn’t allow himself to wallow though.
He had to keep moving forward.
After discovering that Katie was not at her apartment, Cage had wondered momentarily if Katie might have gone back to his place.
There were other explanations for why the door had been off its hinges.
Maintenance work.
The useless landlord quitting the job half-way through.
Even an attempted break in that got disturbed before it got going.
Maybe these seemed like unlikely explanations, but they were possible in theory.
Cage knew from years of experience that it was foolish in the extreme to write off a twist or turn simply because it wasn’t the most obvious option.
With that in mind, Cage had hot footed it back to his apartment. It was possible that Katie had gone there.
There weren’t any other realistic options that Katie could choose.
Sure, maybe she could have gone to a café or bar, but not for this period of time. And not without taking her wallet that Cage had picked up on the table back at Katie’s place.
All bets were on Cage’s home.
Cage had to believe that.
The alternative was just too terrifying.
But when Cage arrived at his place, he saw no sign of Katie.
Worse than that though, there was not a single indication that Katie had been there at any point in the day. Everything was untouched.
No, Cage’s worst fears were coming true.
Katie had gone.
It was at this point that Cage’s mind began to fall back into old ways.
Negative thinking.
Pessimism.
The idea that he could never be a good Daddy.
That he just wasn’t cut out to look after a Little.
Cage began to call Katie’s cell phone.
Over and over.
Each time it rang-out weighing heavier on Cage’s heart.
Cage began to speculate. Rather than being kidnapped, was it possible that Katie had simply run away from him?
After all, making her write those two hundred lines had been pretty harsh. It was the kind of punishment that didn’t come with any kind of up-side. There was no sexy afterwards to it. Only sore hands and two hundred repeated lines.
But if Katie had hated it so much, why had she agreed in the first place?
And why had she even offered to repeat the whole thing after her solitary mistake?
Maybe Katie had gone along with it simply to get Cage out of the apartment as quickly as possible. Then escape.
Cage had seen this kind of behavior before with his police work.
Runaways always tended to have a similar story once you got into it. And nine times out of ten it seemed to involve a breakdown in the home between the runaway and an overbearing or out of control authority figure.
Was that how Katie might have viewed Cage?
‘I’m such a fucking strict asshole,’ Cage said, banging his fist on the kitchen table. ‘Who the hell would want to be around me? It’s no wonder she ran away. Fuck!’
Cage’s head was spinning.
He didn’t know which was more likely.
Whether Katie had run away or been taken by someone else.
It was like his calm and rational detective brain had deserted him at precisely the worst moment.
Cage needed to focus.
He needed to gather his thoughts and work out what the hell he should do.
Cage knew the police department was overworked in the extreme. Even calling in some favors he wouldn’t be able to get this off the ground right away. Katie was an adult after all. She wasn’t obligated to tell Cage where she was. There was no way this would qualify as a missing person’s case just yet.
Maybe the trouble with the stalker might mean Cage could leverage some earlier than usual investigations. But even that was nowhere near enough. Not even close.
Cage didn’t have time to wait.
And neither did Katie.
Cage decided to contact Katie again.
But this time he would send a message rather than call.
Cage: Katie. It’s me. Cage. Daddy. I’m sorry about making you do those lines. If you don’t ever want to see me again, it’s fine. I get it. Honestly, I do. I just need to know you’re safe. That’s all. Please.
Cage put the phone down on the kitchen worktop and decided to take a closer look around the apartment. He hadn’t checked the bedroom yet, there could be a clue in there.
Even the slightest hint as to where Katie might have gone would be a bonus.
As Cage inspected the bedroom, he looked over at the scattered array of toys and stuffies that he had bought for Katie.
Cage was a tough man.
Hard as nails.
But in this moment, he felt a surge of raw emotion.
His Little was missing. Possibly in danger.
Cage felt like crap.
He needed to be out there, searching for Katie.
He desperately need to be trying every possible angle he could think of.
There had to be something he was missing. Somewhere. Even the smallest detail.
Cage moved on from the bedroom and had a look in the bathroom. All of Katie’s toiletries were still there. It felt unlikely to Cage that Katie would have run away without her treasured Disney electric toothbrush. That didn’t make sense at all. Katie loved it so much, even joking to Cage that she would buy him a special Daddy Disney electric toothbrush for Christmas.
No, the more Cage thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Katie had simply run away from him. Cage couldn’t rule it out altogether, but it just didn’t add up.
There was definitely something up.
Cage felt his mind begin to focus.
It was a similar feeling to the one he experienced back in his early years.
Instinct.
Burning desire.
A laser-focus on detail.
Cage ran back into the living area and ran his hands up and down surfaces. He buried his fingers in between the plumped cushions on the couch.
Searching.
Hoping.
At that moment, even the smallest, slightest detail could help.
Cage had solved some big cases with the smallest nuances. It could be done. It was often how the best police work was completed. Going all the way back to his first day in the academy, Cage had been earmarked as having the potential to rise all the way to the top.
He could think outside of the box.
He was meticulous too.
What he needed now was a return to those days.
It wasn’t the time to overthink things, but Cage wished he hadn’t let his career fall into a rut.
Had he kept on progressing, things might have been so different.
Cage would be a different person.
He would have known how better to deal with Katie.
And as a result, Katie would be safe right now.
Suddenly, Cage heard his phone ping.
‘Oh shit, it’s Katie,’ Cage said as he scrabbled across the room and into the kitchen.
But no sooner than Cage had picked up his phone, his face turned to grey.
Cage was aghast.
Shocked.
He couldn’t believe what he was reading.
It was like each and every one of his worst nightmares was coming true all in one disgustingly flippant text message…
You are never going to see Katie again, ‘Daddy’. EVER. She belongs to ME now. Not you. But ME.
Cage felt his legs go weak.
It was like the usual power that fueled his huge, muscular legs had suddenly been turned off at the mains.
‘What… have... I... done…,’ Cage said, burying his face in his palms as he took a seat. ‘This can’t be happening. Can it?’
Cage didn’t know what to do.
He was in a state of total shock and time was very much against him. He had to do something. There had to be some kind of shortcut.
There was no way of knowing who sent that message.
It was clearly the same person who had been stalking Katie. That much was obvious. But beyond that, Cage was drawing major blanks.
This was a worst nightmare type of scenario for a cop.
Made a million times worse by Cage’s personal connection to Katie.
It was a time sensitive situation with no obvious game plan.
But defeat was not an option.
There was no way Cage was going to quit.
It wasn’t all bad.
Firstly, Cage knew that Katie was alive.
That was one thing.
The second thing was that the person who was holding Katie was open to communication.
This could lead to a mistake, or a clue being revealed.
But Cage knew that the online world wasn’t exactly in his wheelhouse.
He needed help.
Suddenly, it became clear.
It was obvious in fact.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Cage picked up his cellphone and dialed a number.
‘It’s me,’ Cage said. ‘I need your help. Serious emergency. It’s time to see if we really are Savior Daddies or not.’