Chapter 20
Noah’s phone chirped, and he grabbed it from the coffee table in front of him. His dad paused the news channel their eyes had been glued to for hours. They had just reported that a staff member was missing and had been kidnapped.
Todd and Mary Smith, Emma, Katie, and their dogs were perched on the couch and a recliner, watching intently and praying. Everyone turned to Noah. The room silenced, waiting for his response to the incoming text.
Noah dropped his phone and covered his eyes with his hand. After a moment, he let out a roar. “No! God, please! No!”
Everyone clamored around him, and the dogs barked and ran in circles around the room.
Todd jumped up. “What? What’s going on?”
Noah set the phone on the coffee table and started to pace. “He has Ashley. That psychopath kidnapped my wife.”
The girls began to cry.
“Not, Mom!” Emma wailed.
Katie’s eyes widened in horror. “What does that mean?”
Todd rushed to Noah’s side as Mary tried to settle the dogs without success.
“What was the message, son?”
Noah picked up his phone again with shaking hands and stared at the screen. His face paled as the family gathered around him.
He spoke in a grim voice. “He wants Jason Peterson in exchange for Ashley.”
The sound of gasping filled the room. Emma and Katie threw their arms around him and hugged him as if they would never let go. Mary put an arm on Noah’s shoulder, now heaving with emotion.
Tears now ran freely down his face as the girls clung to their grandparents and each other.
“This is all my fault for allowing her to stay behind at the school and protect the children.” He banged his fist on the table. “She told me Jason’s father was after him.”
Todd broke loose from his wife and granddaughters and stood facing his son.
“Noah, she wanted to stay, needed to stay and help those children. That’s who she is, son.
Ashley never would have left them.” He pulled Noah into his arms. “Let’s strategize how we’re going to respond.
I’ll call the police, and you stall him.
Don’t promise anything until we speak with the authorities. ”
Noah melted into the couch and picked up his phone. He motioned for Emma and Katie to sit beside him. They crept up next to him and clung to his arms on either side. Callie and Nikki lay at their feet, on high alert, their liquid brown eyes attentive to every move.
“What are we going to do, Daddy?” Katie’s voice tremored.
Noah kissed each of the girls on top of their heads.
“Right now, we’re going to pray.”
“Aha!” Hank bellowed in a slurred voice. “I caught him. Like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“What did he say?” Ashley asked in a trembling voice.
Hank gave her an appraising eye. “He said, ‘Go ahead. Take her. I’ll find someone new.’”
With a snort, he leaned down in front of her and cupped her chin. Ashley couldn’t help but turn her face at the combination of foul breath and cheap whiskey.
Hank pulled her back to face him and undressed her with his eyes. “It’s been a while… and you probably clean up good.”
Ashley cringed. It was hard, but she tried her best not to appear too revolted. Fortunately, her stomach was empty, or she would have spewed its contents.
She forced a smile and tried not to gag. “Can I bandage my hand? Blood is getting everywhere. I have some first aid supplies in my fanny pack.”
He took another drink before answering. Now the bottle was half empty. He swayed as he stood and tossed her the fanny pack.
“I gotta pee.” He staggered to the cabin door, flung it open, and set about his business.
Ashley averted her gaze and reviewed the contents of her first aid kit. There was a pair of bandage scissors, she thought. They weren’t very sharp but would serve as a blunt weapon. And my cell. If I could just get a text off to Noah and alert him. Keep drinking, Hank.
He stumbled back inside and locked the door behind him, hunkering down in front of it to block the exit.
He considered her with a bleary-eyed leer. “I think we’re going to have to wait a little bit before we have our fun, honey.” He waved at her fanny pack. “Go ahead and clean yourself up and get pretty for me. I’m just gonna close my eyes for a minute.”
He settled back and closed his eyes, then re-opened them. He still had the gun in his lap, and he picked it up and pointed it at her. “No funny business. I still have my little friend here.”
Ashley tried to look casual. She unzipped the pouch and pulled out supplies to clean and dress her wound. Hank watched her every move.
Wait. Just wait. Ashley told herself.
His phone emitted a beep. He nodded at the text and smiled.
I have arranged to pick up Jason. We will meet you at 8:00 p.m. in the parking lot at Centerville Park. No police. I promise. Just don’t hurt her.
“Your hubby and Jason are on their way. We’ll meet them at Centerville Park in two hours. Then you’ll be free to go.” He eyed her in a way that made her squirm.
“Or maybe not.” He laughed and swigged the bottle again… and again.
Back at the Smith’s home, Captain Adams conferred with Noah and Detectives Stevens and Gonzalez, strategizing a plan.
“This is exactly what I was afraid of if Hank was released. That kid made a terrible mistake, but he had no chance with a father like that. He doesn’t deserve this,” Captain Adams responded while shaking his head.
“I know you don’t agree with Jason being released, and to be frank, your opinion doesn’t change anything.
A young man has a second chance, and I’m going to do anything I can to help him.
Jason didn’t cause the guards to be overpowered, and he certainly isn’t responsible for this.
” Noah sat and looked fixedly at the detectives.
“I have faith in God and also in my wife. We’ll get through this. Now, what’s our next step?”
Ashley sat still as Hank began to snore. Every few minutes, he would stir and glance over in her direction, but it was obvious that he wasn’t focusing clearly. She placed her hand in the fanny pack and found her phone. She tapped out a quick text to Noah.
In a shack 0.25 mile east of school. He’s armed.
She pressed send. Hopefully, the police would ping her cell and zero in on her location. She slid the phone back into her pack and withdrew the scissors.
Hank grunted and shifted. She froze. Once his snores became regulated, she placed the scissors under her thigh.
She only had one chance. The heart or the jugular? Lord. Help me.
Should she wait until the police arrived? She looked over at him. Drool ran down his chin. No. She absolutely could not stand the thought of him laying hands on her. She assessed her target shrewdly.
He was a large man… and strong as an ox. There were two factors in her favor. One, he was intoxicated. Two, because of his large frame and obesity, his movements were slow. A clear plan, dexterity, and speed were her advantages.
She took a few minutes to pray and think about her family.
Her resolve strengthened as she pictured each of their faces in her mind’s eye.
She clamped her lips as her anger rose. This monster was not going to stop her from being there for her girls and husband.
Not while she still had a heartbeat in her body.
She was meant to be there for her daughters through each stage of life.
As they graduated from school, went to college, married, and had their own families.
There was no way she would let him take that from her—she would do everything in her power to stay alive.
She stood to her feet, took a deep breath, and attacked.