Chapter Twenty
Ava Anderson
“This is not happening. T-This is not happening.” I shake my head as I bite my nails anxiously.
“No, this is a dream. Yes, a nightmare. DJ is fine. He is fine. He’s sleeping in his room, he’s fine.” I look down at his favorite toy in my hand and I burst into tears again. “Oh, my baby. Where are you?’ I sob as I clutch the toy to my chest, trying to breathe in his scent. How could they take my son? He’s barely even four, and he was kidnapped. Just like that!
When the police arrived at my door this afternoon, I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear. Their tense expressions and hesitant words were enough for me to grasp that. But what I would never have imagined was for them to say Daniel, my son, was nowhere to be seen.
And worse, the men who had been in charge of taking him to school and picking him up had all been killed. According to Wade, they were shot in the chest, and not just once or twice. They were all murdered in cold blood.
Goosebumps cover my skin as I try to get rid of the image of DJ lying still on the floor with blood all over his body. Please, not my baby.
It’s only been a week since the shooting in the house occurred, and I had been just starting to get over the trauma. The nightmares I had of gunshots and blood had stopped and I was finally ready to return to my daily routine until this devastating news.
Why is this happening to me? Why me? What have I done so wrong to this person that he’s hellbent on making my life a living hell?
If he wanted me, why involve and take so many innocent lives just to get to me? Why? Why?!
I jump up from the bed when Wade opens the door to my room. “Wade, is DJ here? Please tell me you’ve found out where he is.” I rush towards him, but my expression falls when his face turns grim.
“We haven’t been able to find any clues to his whereabouts.” Wade says quietly and I hear bells ringing in my ears and his words cut into every vein in my body.
“No, no.” I shook my head as I took a step back, trying to give myself some air to breathe. “No, Wade, please.” I beg.
It’s been three hours. Three horrifying hours and I don’t have the slightest clue as to where my three and half years old is. I don’t know if he’s dead, or if he’s barely alive or how he’s doing.
“No!” I screamed and Wade tried to grab me, but I pull away from him. “Why don’t you know where he is? Aren’t you the police? This is your job! I’ve been silent for months, even when you guys couldn’t properly investigate and catch the bastard behind all this but now? My son is with him! My son is with him, Wade!” I pounded his chest so he would know how my heart was aching with each passing second.
“Ava, I understand your pain. The culprit is after you and he has taken your son only to lure you in. In cases like this, the kidnapper normally sends a message-”
“Are you asking me to wait until that jerk decides to send me a message? Each passing minute, my heart breaks into a million pieces and you’re asking me to wait for a damn text?” I yell at him, my frustration getting out of hand.
“Ava, you need to understand—”
“Please, just find my son. That’s all I ask.” I close my eyes, trying to stabilize my breath so I don’t collapse on top of everything I’m going through. “If you do not want me to go outside and throw myself as bait to that cold-blooded human, then find my son immediately!”
I sit back on the bed as I clean the tears from my eyes and place my hair in a bun. I don’t know how to do this anymore. I don’t know how to remain calm when the person who’s after me is out there, roaming free and threatening my son’s life.
I don’t know what Daniel will do when he hears of this—
“No.” I breathe out silently when the terrifying possibility comes to mind. T-There’s no way, right?
My heart sinks to my stomach when the scene plays out in my head again .
I walk out of the hotel, hugging my coat to my body to shield myself from the chill in the air from last night’s rain. I force myself not to look back because I know if I do, I will want to run back into the strong and warm arms that held me tight throughout the night.
I can’t believe I actually did it. Yes, I was drunk yesterday and even though I wanted to be picked up, I never actually thought I would have the guts to sleep with a stranger. Heck, I don’t even know his name!
DJ’s face comes to mind and the guilt pinches at my stomach. I was no longer with his father, but I feel like I have cheated my son.
I stand by the pavement, looking down the road to see if I can catch a cab to take me back home. I know it’s going to be difficult as it wasn’t even six in the morning yet, but walking in these heels is killing me already.
My eyes catch some movements coming from the jeep that was parked just a few blocks away from me. I saw two men dressed in black carrying something that looked like a wooden box from where I stood, and I don’t know why but my heart flipped with fear when a white packet fell from the box.
One of them curses the other for being careless and I watch as he picks the packet up from the ground and places it in his pocket. Drugs.
I have never inhaled any of those substances before but living with a drug addict let me know one when I see it. I quickly avert my gaze, not wanting to get caught staring at them but something pushes me to look back.
Dread fills me as I stare into the blue eyes I knew too well. What the hell was he doing here? I try to walk down the street, but he calls my name from behind which makes me pause on my tracks. My ex-husband is the last person whom I wanted to see just after a night of really good sex. Not to mention, I just witnessed him committing a crime .
Smuggling drugs?
“Ava.” I breathe back into reality and see Wade right in front of me. He’s staring wide-eyed at me, and his grip tightens around my shoulder. I had no idea I had blacked out.
“Ava, are you okay? Please, say something.” His desperate voice fills my ear but I’m unable to say anything. Instead, tears rushed down my face and I let out a sob.
“Wade, I have something to tell you.” I utter and his entire body tenses up. “I-I think I know who’s trying to kill me.”
“W-What do you mean?” Wade stutters slightly with his pupils dilating.
“I-I’m not sure. I mean, there’s no way he would go to this length just to keep my mouth shut. I—”
“Ava!” Wade shakes me by the shoulders as he stares into my eyes. “Who is it?” he asks slowly. I can tell he’s barely able to hold his anger.
“That morning, when I left the hotel. I saw some men smuggling drugs into a building. It was at dawn, so it was a little dark, but I know they were up to no good with how discreet they appeared. A-and, I saw Daniel there.”
I watch as Wade’s face changes color, almost as though he’s about to explode. I know how much he despises DJ’s father, especially after I cried out my heart the last time he called. If Daniel was really the one behind this, it would only be God’s intervention that would stop Wade from ending his life .
“And then what happened?” Wade asks in a terrifyingly calm voice.
“He saw me too and threatened me not to tell anyone what I saw. I was a bit terrified so I promised him I wouldn’t say anything. I tried to forget what I saw and with the preparations for the show coming up, I was engaged in so many activities I was too busy to remember anything else.”
“Why didn’t you tell me or the police any of this?” Wade questions and I feel foolish to tell him the truth.
“I never thought he would be able to do this. Daniel was a bad husband to me and uninterested in DJ but I thought he had some humanity left in him and that he would never try to harm me or DJ. And I promised him that day that I wouldn’t tell anyone, so I thought I would be safe as long as I didn’t say anything.” I wipe the tears from my face.
“Ava.” Wade takes a deep breath. He’s clearly stressed, especially with this new piece of news I just delivered. “You need to know that men like this never leave any loose ends in their jobs. You’ve seen how this killer has eliminated anyone and anything on his way to get you. Your ex-husband might be trying to kill you to keep you silent forever.”
The dread in me increases as I finally realize that Daniel may be the one who killed Lynn, my friends, and the policemen.
“B-But DJ is his son.” I ask in a small voice. “What kind of sick man would put his son in this much terror to get what he wants?”
Wade looks at me and strokes my head gently. I don’t like the look in his eyes. It’s as if he’s trying to show me how na?ve I have been all this while. And my naivete has put my son’s life in danger .
“Stay here and try to calm yourself down. I’ll be back.” Wade gets up and leaves the room.
As I recall Daniel’s haunting face, I sink to the floor in despair. What have I gotten myself into?