Chapter 31
The five of us got tickets to enter the theatre, but I’m not sure if I’ll find Storm here anymore. All sorts of nightmare scenarios enter my head, and I shove every one of them out.
I will find my dog, and he will be alive and well.
Actually, I’m teetering on the edge of a major breakdown, and I’m doing my best to stay sane. I nearly told the guys the secret I held inside me for ten years, and that alone shows how weak I’ve become.
This bastard… and I know it’s him, is attempting to pull every ounce of sanity I have left. I won’t let him, not this time.
Because, this time, I’m ready.
This time, I know he wants to abduct me.
This time, I know his end game.
He abducted my dog, and I’m fucking pissed off.
I look at the four men who surround me. Each one would lay out their lives to make sure I remain safe. They don’t know the lengths my stalker will go to mentally torture me, to eventually kidnap me, but they’ve already sworn to protect me at all costs.
This time, I have something the bastard hasn’t contemplated.
I’m not alone.
I should tell them the truth so they understand what they’re up against. But my biggest fear in life isn’t my abductor and what he’ll do to me.
It’s these four men.
If I tell them what happened to me, I know they’ll never look at me in the same light again. To them, I’ll be changed, altered, different.
Disclosure of my story will destroy my relationship with them.
I close my eyes momentarily and open them slowly to wipe away the thoughts and visions I’ve just had. They need to concentrate on finding the bastard and not on what he did to me. That’s why they can never know the truth; he’ll use their rage against them. The need to focus and get Storm back prevails.
“You alright, siren?” Callum’s behind me and noticed my momentary halting.
The aroma of popcorn wafts through the air in this dimly lit hallway. The walls are adorned with vintage movie posters and neon lights showcasing each one.
“I’m good, just readying myself for what’s next.”
“Eden,” Jagger stops and turns to me. He has that look like he’s going to say something profound, and I know what that is. “You don’t have to do this. One of us could take you home, or we can call Rick to come and pick you up. We’ll find Storm.”
“Yeah, princess,” Haze chimes in, “We won’t leave a rock unturned until we get him back.”
Asher says nothing, instead he takes my hand in his and squeezes it. For a brief moment, we remain here as silence befalls us.
“Excuse us,” I turn to the couple holding hands. One has a paper bag filled with popcorn standing behind us.
“Excuse you,” Callum says back, and I pull him aside to let the couple pass.
“Why do you have to be so rude?” I ask.
“Because they could have slid to our side and passed through. But the gormless twats need the entire entryway to make their appearance.”
I huff a worried laugh at Callum’s obvious irritation, which has nothing to do with the two people who just passed us but our current dire situation.
“Eden needs to be here with us,” Asher says, still clinging tight to my hand.
“Thank you, sexy,” I say. “Let’s get moving. So far, no one’s screamed or heard any dog barks, so I don’t think Storm is inside there.
“Fine,” Haze and Jagger say simultaneously.
“Let me go inside first,” Jagger once more takes charge. “Haze, follow me. Callum and Asher stick close to Eden and only come through if Haze gives you the all-clear.”
“Yes, Sir!” I would salute Jagger if Asher wasn’t gripping my hand so hard.
I think he’s afraid I might disappear into thin air or something.
The movie is already playing as soon as we enter the screening room. There are just a handful of people here, and I don’t want to know what the dodgy ones are doing all the way at the back. I’ll let the boys venture up there, better them than me. This is LA and a six-dollar ticket theatre. It’s cheaper than a motel by the hour.
Ewgh! The thought is creepy as fuck.
Jagger jumps over a couple of seats and makes his way across the other side of the room. We begin our ascent up the aisles, our eyes scanning the seats as we go. My gaze moves to Asher, who still holds me, and I realize he isn’t looking in the same direction as we are; he’s locked on like a hawk and eyeing our surroundings as we make our way up the lighted stairs.
It’s dark, and the only light is the soft glow of strategically placed floor lights and the giant screen of the movie that’s already playing. The ceiling twinkles with tiny lights, mimicking a starlit sky.
Our collective anticipation fills the air as we continue climbing and scanning each row. This has to be it. I can’t think of any other place the kidnapper would suggest through his cryptic message.
As we ascent with no discovery in sight, my hope begins to fade, and the idea that we are at the wrong place starts to fill me with dread.
Asher pulls me to stop, and we all turn towards Jagger on the other side. He’s holding up yet another rose at us. I stopped expecting to find Storm in here as soon as we stepped inside, but I’m beginning to feel emotionally exhausted, even though determination still surges through my veins. The need to find my dog prevails.
With trepidation, we all make our way down and follow Jagger outside to the street. I watch him tear off the envelope from the flower and toss the rose onto the street, where a car just pulled up to the curb and ran over it.
Jagger takes the black card out of the black envelope containing the same handwritten white ink. I lean in to read it as he quotes it aloud for the other three men.
“Wanker thinks he’s a bloody lyricist,” snides Callum. “Bastard can’t even find a rhythm with those poor taste of words.”
“Bloody bastard’s playing us,” Haze says as he snaps a photo of it and sends it to Rick, who is with the cops as we speak.
Rick’s already forwarded a copy of the first card to them. Except police operate under rules and procedures, and shit like that takes time. Maybe if it was a human abduction, they’d work faster, but I can’t just sit by and wait for them to react at the turtle pace they are doing for my dog.
“Terra Sands,” I blurt out.
“Yeah, got the same impression as soon as Jagger read it out.”
“Should have realized it,” Asher scorns loudly, “Bastard wants you out of LA.”
“But why?” Haze gazes at me; his expression is warm but full of concern. “Is there any reason from your past that someone would want you gone from this city?”
I shrug my shoulders. As if I hadn’t spent years pondering the same question.
“Eddie,” Jagger interjects, “think back, darling. Maybe something you heard or saw and didn’t realize the significance. We were exposed to a lot of individuals. Plutocrats, politicians, mafia, corrupt people. We didn’t see or understand their substance of power back then because we thought our exposure to these groups was all meaningless PR stunts.”
“I’ve had ten years in the desert to run every scenario in my head. But during those ten years, I’ve only had one thing that bore more importance over everything else.”
I look at each one in the eye.
“Survival,” I say. “Terra Sands became my home, my sanctuary, my safe haven. If that bastard took my dog there and left him to perish in the desert, I’m going to find him, gut him, and string him up like a pig in a rotisserie. He’s made it not about me anymore. He invaded your home, interrupted OUR lives, OUR music, and took MY dog.
“I’m tired. Emotionally and physically, but I’ve got enough adrenaline coursing through me because of the hate and venomous feeling I have towards that bastard. It’s what’s keeping me active to find Storm, and if I find that bastard who’s ruined my life, then I’ll kill him. I’ll spare him the same mercy he gave me. None. Zero.”
There’s a brief silence as the men take in what I’ve just declared.
“Your life isn’t ruined, Eddie,” Asher declares. “We’re here, maybe ten years later, but none of us are going anywhere, and together, we’re getting our music career back.”
“And we’ll keep playing our music, even when the curtain falls on our stage,” Jagger adds. “Because that’s what we do, that’s what our souls need us to do. This time, we’re doing things our way and together as a team.”
“And partner’s in life,” Haze finishes off.
I smile, but I catch Callum stepping slightly away. He’s drifting, I can sense it, and before he fades into the abyss, I step between everyone and grab hold of his shoulder, steadying myself.
“I need you,” I say quietly to him. “Right now, I need all four of you.”
He nods his head and slides his arm behind my back.
“Lead the way, siren,” he says, taking out his metal box, going over to my parked truck, and laying it on the hood. I watch him roll up a smoke with precision and experience.
“So you’re driving with Callum to your place?”
“Is that okay?” I look at Haze, who’s come up to my side, and he smiles but says nothing further of the matter.
“I’ll speak with Rick. He should meet us with the authorities at Terra Sands. If the kidnapper left any traces or signs that might lead to his identity, then we need to let them do their job.”
I agree with him but am skeptical about letting the police know. I feel if anything goes wrong, my stalker might act on his promise to kill me. What if the case is mishandled or it reaches the news?
I tell them my worries and their understanding is etched all over their faces.
“Tell us, babe. What do you want us to do?” Jagger’s face is full of confusion as he swipes his hand across his face, wishing he had the proper answer for me.
“If you want me to call off Rick and tell him to drop the case with the police, I’ll do that. Maybe we can get his own men he trusts on the case.”
“Like a private investigator?”
“More like a private assassin,” Callum now joins us. He exhales, and a billow of sweet-smelling tobacco surrounds his face.
“I’m actually shocked that I like the sound of that,” I admit. “I think this being LA and with someone in the police department probably having a direct line to the tabloids, perhaps we need to call off the search dogs. These cryptic clues are intriguing enough to get the media involved to sell a perfect story and animal activists to come out of the woodworks.”
Haze nods and gets out his phone to send orders to Rick.
“Come on then,” Callum says, tossing his cigarette to the curb. “Let’s get this drive going.”
I follow him to my truck and open the door, hopping in and turning to see the other two follow Haze down the road to where the SUV is parked.
“Great,” Callum catches my attention as he takes his phone out. “Your player connects to Bluetooth.”
I rev up the engine, and the low purr it makes echoes the anticipation building between me and Callum. With a confident grin, he plugs his phone into the truck’s Bluetooth system, unleashing a burst of energy as the first chords of this classic rock anthem reverberate through the speakers.
I pull out of the parking, and the rhythmic vibrations seem to synchronize with the hum of the tires on the asphalt as we begin our journey out of the city’s urban landscape into the tranquil expanse of the desert.