Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raelyn
I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but I can tell it’s getting dark outside from the change of light coming through the small window high on the wall.
I close my eyes, feeling lost. My head still hurts, but the throbbing has subsided some. My wrists and ankles are sore from the restraints.
I’ve been alone in this room all day. What are her plans for me? I know she’s a cold blooded murder. A chill runs through my body at the thought of the four women whose lives she took without any remorse.
I hear gravel crunch from an approaching vehicle, then a car door slams—she’s back. My body grows tense as I wait.
I hear a lock turn, then the door opens, revealing my enemy again.
“You’re going to be here for a while, so I might as well give you something to watch and some supplies,” she says. “You’re all over the news.”
Relief washes through me. She’s not here to hurt me right now.
She carries in a small table, setting down a small, old school TV with antennas on it, along with a bag of supplies. She throws what looks like a sleeping bag on the floor.
She looks pointedly at me. “Here’s the deal. I’ll cut you loose from that chair, but only if you behave. There’s some food and water in the bag.”
She walks to the back of the room to a door I noticed earlier. “This is your bathroom.” She pulls out a gun, making sure I understand the threat. “If you try to get away, or try to take advantage of this offer, I will kill you. You know I mean that, too. Do you understand?”
I nod. “Yes.”
She walks over to me while pulling a knife out, and I tense as I watch her. “Shame I lost my other one.”
I know she’s referring to the knife that was recovered from the break-in. She bends down, cutting my feet loose, then does the same for my hands.
She points to the corner of the room. I follow her direction to see a camera secured to the wall. “I’ll be watching you."
She walks out of the room leaving me alone once again, and the padlock clicks, locking me in.
I let out a breath as silence fills the room, and start to move my hands and feet, working out the stiffness. I stand slowly as a little dizziness comes, but then subsides after a minute or so.
My bladder is about to burst, so I make my way to the bathroom. There’s a dirty toilet and sink, but I’m thankful. I quickly use the bathroom then walk to the sink.
I take in my reflection in the small mirror. I look like shit. My skin is pale with dark circles under my eyes, dried blood is crusted on my face and matted in my hair.
Feeling for my gash, I wince at the tenderness.
I notice a towel in the corner. Grabbing it, I turn on the water, letting the coolness cover my sore wrists, then proceed to clean up my face. Carefully, I wash the blood out of my hair the best I can, then secure my hair in a low loose ponytail.
Walking back into the room, I take everything in. The window isn’t low enough to access.
Making my way to the table, I pull out the contents inside the bag. Four bottles of water, and four cans of Vienna sausage.
At least she had a little decency to give me this.
My stomach rumbles in response. I pop open the top of two cans, scarfing them down. I decide to save the rest, not knowing when she’ll return, and grab a bottle of water.
I lay out the sleeping bag on the cold, hard ground and take a seat. Flipping on the TV, I’m instantly hit with a grainy image of myself. I try to adjust the antenna for a better image, but have no such luck.
“I’m reporting live from the scene of the abduction. As you can see behind me, police presence is heavy. Right now, we’re told there are no further leads in the case. Everything we know is that the abductor is a white female, and the car she was driving was a rental paid for in cash under an alias. She’s believed to be armed and dangerous. Holt Hayes has canceled the remainder of his tour. We’re told by an inside source doctors had to sedate him once he received news of the abduction shortly after exiting the stage. Stay tuned. We’ll do live updates as they come in about the country music duo everyone has come to love,” the reporter says.
The screen cuts to footage of Holt singing to me on stage before I was taken.
Tears form in my eyes as anger rages inside me. I throw the remote at the TV and watch it bounce across the floor.
Getting up, I turn the TV off and start to pace the floor. Figure out a plan, Raelyn, I tell myself while staring at the walls.
This bitch isn’t winning.
Holt
Hell. My life went from heaven to hell. It’s been four days since I last held Raelyn. My heart feels as if it’s been ripped from my chest. There are no damn leads.
I can’t eat or sleep.
Everyone keeps checking on me.
My mom won’t leave my side because she thinks I’m about to break. Maybe I am?
I refuse to leave Louisiana until we find her, everyone does.
They’re all still here as well just waiting for a breakthrough. Praying she makes her way back to us.
Raelyn should have never fallen in love with me. She’d have been safe in a world without me.
The unknown is killing me. Is she hurt really bad? Is she alive? Does she have food and water?
I’ve been praying for a ransom call. I did a live interview with her family. I begged for her safe return and stated that I’d give the callous woman who took her everything.
She can have it all. Every penny, if I just get my girl back.
Screw my career, I could never go back on a stage again if I lose Raelyn. I close my eyes. Please don’t leave me baby. God please don’t take her.
Jace
That crazy bitch is calling me again. Since Sunday, Jessica has called me every day. I already know it’s because of the news of Raelyn’s abduction, so I refuse to answer.
If I hadn’t been a weak son of a bitch, I might still have Raelyn. She would’ve been safe. She was perfect—everything I could want in a partner, and I had to go screw everything up. I never deserved her.
After work one night, a few of the guys and I went to a bar to have a few drinks and play some pool. That’s where I met Jessica. She had the looks with a nice body and was coming onto me hot and heavy. I was too drunk to think about the consequences until I woke up to her naked body with a massive hangover.
I’m ashamed to say it didn’t end there. I took advantage of the situation. Raelyn trusted me and never questioned me at work. Jessica was an easy distraction no one knew about.
I figured out the girl had issues a little too late, but that ship sailed when she crushed my life by sending those damn pictures. Karma served me well.
Raelyn deserved better than me, but now look at her. Her new famous boyfriend can’t even save her. Why her? How can one life endure so much?
Frustrated, I rub my hand down my face. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could save her.
My phone lights up as a text comes through.
Jessica: You can’t avoid me forever Jace. I’m pregnant. We need to talk.
Raelyn
Five days. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out an escape plan, but it seems hopeless. I can’t reach the window, and the door has a padlock on it. I sit on the hard floor feeling defeated.
Watching Holt and my family do a press conference begging for my safe return has crushed me.
My mom and Rylie were hysterical, and my dad was crying. He has always been such a strong man, never the emotional kind.
Holt looked like a shell of the person I know and love. He’s lost weight and looked defeated with dark circles under his eyes from stress and lack of sleep.
I wish I could reach through the screen to touch them. To tell them I’m okay. Gosh, if I could only just talk to them. Send them a message. Anything to let them know I’m still alive.
I feel like I’m running out of time, though.
The woman has continued to bring me a few cans of food and water, and I’m thankful for that. I’ve tried to make small talk with her. It has worked some.
Steps sound down the hall and then I hear the lock turn, she’s back.
I sit, alert as I watch her enter.
She saunters in smiling. “I have a new plan,” she says happily. “I just told Jace I’m pregnant. He’s agreed to meet and discuss the baby. So, here’s the deal, you get to watch me take him back. You will help me, if it comes to that. Once that happens, I’ll have to kill you though. You are a weakness of his, so I can’t let you live. I’ll finally get the happily ever after I’ve always dreamed of,” she says, smiling at her delusion.
I take in everything she just said. This woman is more than crazy. Her moods are constantly unpredictable. I think she might be mentally unstable. It’s as if she’s in her own world, making things up as she goes.
“You’re not pregnant though, are you?” I ask.
She stops smiling and pointedly looks at me. “Not yet, but I will be soon. Mark my words.”
I shift my focus to Jace. He’s my only hope right now. “Bring his favorite meal while discussing the baby,” I blurt out. “Jace loves the Mexican place not too far away from where their man camp is located. The Cactus.”
She crosses her arms. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“Pick up an order of street tacos with extra cilantro,” I say.
She places her finger to her chin, then smiles. “We might be friends after all. Even if it’s only for a short amount of time,” she adds as she leaves the room.
I’m throwing a Hail Mary here, and praying Jace picks up on it. I bite the inside of my cheek, as anticipation fills me. Everything’s riding on Jace now.
Jace
Jessica’s lying. She’s a manipulative, crazy bitch.
If there’s a chance she’s pregnant though, I want to be part of my child’s life. Never would I turn my back on a baby that’s part of me. Plus, I don’t know that she’d be a stable mother. I grimace at the thought; this baby will need protection, if there even is one. That’s the only reason I have agreed to meet her, to discuss the pregnancy.
Pulling into her driveway, I take in a deep breath. “Here we go,” I say, as I climb out of the truck.
I knock on the door and wait. She opens it with a smile.
Jessica’s a pretty woman, but ever since she showed me her crazy side, that’s all I can see. Plus, she’s a constant reminder of what I lost because I was only thinking with my dick.
“Hey Jace, it’s good to see you. Come in,” she says, cheerfully. “I called in an order from your favorite restaurant, so we can eat while we discuss the baby.”
I just nod and follow her inside to the table. I scan the house. I don’t see any baby items.
“Mexican from The Cactus down the road,” she states, pleased with herself.
My eyes fly up to hers as I study her for a moment because I’m instantly stumped. I’d gotten food poisoning from that place once and vowed to never return. Sick wasn’t even the word for it.
Raelyn promised to start packing me a medicine bag with some Zofran after that happened, but that was before Jessica came into the picture. Hmm. That’s odd, I think to myself.
“Sounds good. Thank you,” I say casually, still trying to piece things together.
“I ordered you extra cilantro, too. Just like you like it,” she adds, smiling.
What? I fucking hate cilantro. “Thank you,” I say, still confused.
What’s going on here? I think to myself. None of this is making any sense.
The TV is playing in the background, and I hear Raelyn’s name. My eyes shoot up to the screen as it instantly grabs my attention, looking for an update.
“It’s a shame they don’t have any leads on that girl,” she says behind me.
I hate how she says that girl . I clench my jaw as anger starts to rise.
She knows exactly who Raelyn is.
“Said she lost a lot of blood from the blow to her head,” she continues, nonchalantly while putting the food out.
The hair starts to stand on the back of my neck. I don’t recall hearing about a blow to her head on the news. They’ve actually been keeping details pretty quiet.
I swing my gaze to Jessica who’s still setting the table, unfazed. I need to check all the news articles as soon as I leave here .
“You know who she is. Raelyn’s a good person, she doesn’t deserve the shit hand she’s been given lately. I pray the police find her safely, and that bitch rots in prison,” I say, meaning every word.
She glances up at me, and I swear I catch a glimpse of rage in her eyes before she quickly covers it.
She motions to the table. “I do hope they find her. Now let’s sit down to eat before it gets cold.”
Sitting down, I stare at the food in front of me. Only Raelyn knows about this place and my hate for it after being so sick. I rack my brain.
Could Raelyn somehow be involved in this scheme? Could Jessica be connected with her abduction? Surely not, but how would she know this? Could Raelyn have told her?
My mind is going a million miles a second.
I don’t want to cause any suspicions, so I make myself take a bite of my meal, subtly scraping off some of the cilantro.
“How far along are you?” I ask.
She looks down and places a hand on her stomach, smiling. “Five months.”
Her shirt is loose, so I can’t tell if she’s showing a lot yet, but she doesn’t seem to be.
“I was hurt when you left me, Jace, and I thought I’d do this on my own but I decided you have a right to know about your child,” she says. “I mean, you are the father, after all.”
“I appreciate that. I would never turn my back on my child.”
“The next appointment we can find out if it’s a girl or boy if you want. How exciting is that? I was just going to wait to find out the gender, but now I want to know. That way we can have time to prepare the nursery.”
She acts as if we’re going to be one big happy family.
“Are you sure the baby is mine?"
Her smile fades as she glares at me. “Of course the baby is yours. How could you even ask me that? Do you think I’ve been with anyone else? Unlike you, it’s always just been you, Jace.” Her voice starts to rise.
There it is. The crazy lurking under the surface. “If the baby is mine, I’ll be part of his or her life, but I want a paternity test first. I won’t be played as a fool.”
She slams down her silverware. “You know, I planned a nice evening for us to discuss our baby, but I’m suddenly tired. I don’t want to listen to any more of your shit, so you can show yourself out.”
Thank God. I don’t have to finish this meal, I think to myself.
Getting up, I casually scan the house. I then walk to my truck on a mission.
Once I’m back at the camp, I pull out my laptop and start searching everything I can that’s related to the evidence in the case. Sure enough, no information of a blow to the head or a substantial amount of blood loss. What the fuck?
Another article of recent news catches my attention. It’s about the four strippers who were killed over the last few months. Some of the guys were talking about it at work one day. I never looked into it, but here it sits, looking me dead in the face.
Four names I didn’t know, or care to know, but faces I recognize. I start to feel nauseated. I slept with all of these women on different occasions. They all had dark hair and blue eyes like Raelyn.
I was in a dark spot after Raelyn left me, trying to erase her from my mind and forget how badly I screwed things up.
“This can’t be happening,” I say. Could she do this? Could Jessica be the killer of these women? Does she have Raelyn?
Raelyn’s smart. She could have planted that story about The Cactus for a tip off.
Grabbing my phone I text Rylie. I have a strong feeling I could be right.
Please call me as soon as you can. I think I may have some important information. It’s about Raelyn.