Chapter 26 Capri
Chapter twenty-six
No! No! Please stop!
I plead and scream at the monster who grabbed me in the night and pulled me into the shadows with him.
I fight. Bucking and clawing to no avail.
He’s too strong, and I’m much too weak.
His meaty hands wrap around my throat, squeezing tighter every time I attempt to fight him off again.
So I quit trying. I stop fighting. Giving in to the monster as I stare up at the stars, silently begging for it to be over.
His hateful, dark eyes stare daggers down at me, beckoning me to stay quiet.
His wicked lips moan in his own twisted pleasure until he’s finished with me.
He stands, hovering above me. The zipper to his pants is loud in the deafening silence surrounding us.
I can’t move. He puts himself together again, leaving me broken beyond repair on the cold, damp earth with no one but the stars as witness.
“Thanks for that. Get home safe.” He winks at me before strutting back into the light of the world without a care in the world.
The last thing I see is a shooting star, falling to the earth in a heap of flames. I have no wishes left in me. Salt tears streak down my face and into my ears as raindrops cascade softly from the sky above.
Maybe they’re weeping for me, too.
I jerk awake, drenched in sweat, my heart pounding with terror. I lurch up, dry heaving repeatedly while being haunted by the aftermath of my nightmare.
It’s been years since this has happened.
After I gave my daughter up for adoption, that nightmare plagued me for years. I felt like it was my punishment for abandoning her, even if I still believe she’s safer without me. They still haven’t caught my attacker, and I won’t risk him ever finding her.
My mind and body felt as if they were constantly reliving that moment every night until I told Lee what happened.
Nobody in my life knew about it. I didn’t want them to see me as this poor, broken girl.
I’ve been fighting those demons for years, and I’ll be damned if I let that monster define who I am.
After I confided in Lee about the attack, the nightmares stopped.
Until now.
I take a few deep breaths, reminding myself I’m not really back there. That the weight of his body, the stench of his breath, and the pressure between my legs isn’t real. It’s in my head. Only a memory. Repeating my mantras as my therapist taught me years ago.
I reach over, searching for Lee. His presence always seems to ground me faster than my own head does.
My heart grinds to a stop when I don’t feel my husband’s body next to mine. Instead of feeling the warmth and safety he brings me, my hand is met with nothing but air. Panic claws its way up my throat as I struggle to take in my surroundings.
This isn’t my room, and I’m definitely not in bed at Windermere. I’m lying on a firm cot inside a tent, the fabric walls around me glowing with a flickering light.
My head pounds fiercely as I try to stand.
The red lacy dress does nothing to protect me from the frigid air.
I fall back onto the cot, wrapping the small, pitiful excuse for a blanket around me.
A painful moan escapes my lips as my head pounds viciously.
Shutting my eyes, I try in earnest to piece together what happened last night while my world spins around me.
Lee.
My eyes fly open again. I jump to my feet, swallowing the bile that still lingers in my throat. The last thing I remember is Lee’s panicked expression when the smoke filled the room.
Who drugged us? Is this another one of Pierce’s games? If so, I’m going to pummel that stupid grin off his face the moment I get my hands on him.
There’s a plastic bag sitting on the end of the cot. I grab it and tear into it. Inside, I find a change of clothing, shoes, a flashlight, and a letter addressed to me. I change into the outfit and slip my feet into the sneakers, tying the laces tight before picking up the letter.
My darling Capri,
This isn’t how I wanted to meet the mother of my only niece, but life rarely works out the way you wish.
Yes, that’s right, my dear. We share more than just our love for the twisted and macabre.
My little brother is the one responsible for your darkest and most coveted secret—your daughter.
You see, my brother was never great at being told no. Unfortunately, you found that out the hardest of ways, and for that, I honestly do apologize. Our father was a wretched man, and his sons take after him in more ways than one.
My father was obsessed with filling in our family tree as best he could, so much so that all the children were required to submit a saliva sample to one of those genetic testing sites that are all the rage these days.
You’re wondering how I know about all this, I bet.
Did you know that when a child is brought up in the foster system, they are subjected to genetic testing if potential parents request it? Color me surprised when I matched with a bouncing baby girl as her uncle years ago.
I assure you, she’s been a blessing to raise here in Windermere.
Now for the really good stuff!
I’m giving you a second chance to be in your daughter’s life. While we both know you don’t deserve it, I’d never willingly keep a mother from her child.
You once said in one of your podcast episodes that it’d be impossible to keep a child safe if a real-life murderer were out to get you. Did you not?
Well, Capri, it’s time to put that to the ultimate test.
Find your child. Keep her safe. Deliver her to Windermere alive before you’re killed first by the person I’ve hired to hunt you down.
Easy enough, right?
Fail, and you’ll lose more than just your life.
You’ll lose her. You’ll lose Lee. You’ll lose your friends.
Everyone is relying on you, Capri. For their fate rests solely on your shoulders.
Good luck, and welcome to the family,
— A. M. Pierce
Numbness floods my body as I reread the letter. How is this possible? How does he have my daughter? And he’s been raising her? Here, at Windermere?
Whatever game this man thinks he’s playing, he’s not going to win.
Nothing will stop me from killing him if he harms a single hair on any of their heads.
My daughter is here—and I don’t even know her name.
This isn’t the life I envisaged for her. She wasn’t supposed to grow up like this. She was supposed to be loved and cherished by the couple I had chosen for her.
What did Pierce do to make them surrender her to him? I had never met a couple who wanted to be parents as severely as the Johnson family. Surely they wouldn’t have given her up without a fight.
I thought having a closed adoption would be the easiest for us all. But what if I was wrong?
What if they tried to get a hold of me after I handed her over because Pierce was coming after them?
What if I could have stopped him from taking her?
What if he killed them?
Terror like I’ve never known threatens to cripple me as I shove the letter into my pocket, the lingering after effects of the drugs still filtering their way through my nervous system.
But I don’t have time to be weak right now.
My heart pounds ferociously in my chest as a feeling of protectiveness seeps into my every pore. I clear my mind of everything but her—my daughter. I have to find her before someone else does.
Taking one last shuddering breath, I pray with everything in my soul that she’s safe, while hoping Lee and my friends will understand that I have to choose her safety first, even if it jeopardizes theirs.
I unzip the tent’s door and step into the wild, the air heavy with the scent of burning wood and pine.
The first thing I notice is the semi-circle of matching tents before me with a roaring fire in the pit in the center.
The second thing I see is a man dressed in a ghillie suit, perfectly blending into the forest foliage, moving on quiet feet toward the tent furthest from mine.
I watch him, mesmerized by his smooth, silent movements.
He opens the zipper with deft fingers, before stepping into the tent.
I’m about to follow him when I hear a guttural, horrified scream from inside the same tent he just disappeared into.
All noise around me ceases until another scream of terror erupts from the woman in the tent.
Only to be broken off by a loud, shattering crack of what can only be human bones.
The tent door starts to open again, and I dive behind my own tent, panting with shock. That man just killed whoever was in that tent.
And I did nothing to stop it.
Tears slip silently down my cheeks while I force myself to steady my breathing, strengthening my resolve yet again. I have to stay focused. I couldn’t help the woman in the tent, but I have to help my child.
Footsteps hit the earth nearby, the leaves crunching loudly beneath them.
These don’t sound like the quiet, skilled steps of the man in the ghillie suit.
There’s a loud hiss and pop, making me flinch.
Someone is mumbling under their breath, and I risk peering around my tent to find the source of the strange noise.
A man wearing a tan suit has his back to me. He’s pouring water onto the fire with a metal bucket, the coals hissing and logs popping in protest.
“This isn’t what I signed up for,” the stranger mutters, kicking the bucket away. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
I slowly get to my feet, looking in all directions for the Ghillieman. My eyes stop at another tent where the tan fabric seeps crimson. Another dead person, I bet. The man in the suit is too busy having his own crisis, so I tiptoe my way over to the bloody tent.
As much as I don’t want to see whatever awful thing happened to the person dwelling inside, I have to make sure it’s not any of my friends or my daughter.
I peel the tent back and nearly collapse with relief when I see it’s not one of my friends.
It’s one of Pierce’s guests, Sean, I think.
His throat is slit, his eyes wide open with shock.
I quickly close his eyes before rushing out of the tent, tripping on my way out.
The air leaves my lungs as I hit the ground.
Gasping, I hear the intake of breath nearby.
Oh shit. I forgot about the man in the tan suit. Hurrying to my feet, I grab the closest thing I can find to defend myself with, the metal bucket, and throw it at the man as hard as I can.
It hits his face with a sickening crunch. He falls to his knees, grasping his nose.
“What the—Capri? Is that you?”
I look down at the man, now covered in both dirt and blood, and let out a strangled sob. “Josh? What are you doing here?”
Josh’s smile is both endearing and terrifying to look at. His teeth are covered in blood, but my gosh, it’s nice to see a familiar face. Josh and I have never been very close, but he’s still a welcome sight, even if he’s equivalent to scum with what he’s done to Teagan and Lexi.
There’s noise coming from the trees, and my immediate thought is that the man in the ghillie suit is back. I grab Josh’s arm and bring my hand to his lips, begging him to stay silent as we slip back into my tent.
Loud footsteps clamber into the clearing. Josh and I stare at each other, both riddled with panic as we listen to every movement outside.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” the person whispers.
My heart clenches with both elation and fear. I’d know that voice anywhere. Josh’s eyes go wide with recognition, too.
“Teagan?” I mouth, pointing to the door of the tent. Josh nods, then reaches for the zipper.
He almost has the tent door completely open when a loud gunshot rings through the air.