Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
T hree men and a dog had no business in one tiny room except for that was all the hotel had. Sam had argued that there had to be more hotels in Denver, but Connor had said he was in communication with someone at FREE International and he’d told them the name of that hotel.
Zeus looked at the door and whined, his large eyes shifting from the door to Sam and back again.
“You don’t have to go out, you’re just nervous.” He sat on the bed and turned on the TV, scrolling until he found a nature channel for Zeus. The poor dog had been either in a car on duty for a whole day. He’d managed to get Edwyn to go to a store and get dog food, so at least Zeus could eat.
The dog sat on the floor at his side, but he didn’t miss the dog’s harrumph as he settled in. Connor picked up his phone on the second ring, “Connor.”
Sam tried not to listen in. The conversation could be private. Then again, he could be talking to someone about how and when they would go after Nathan Klein in the hopes of finding Kelly.
“Yes. Understood,” Connor said. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.” He pressed the screen of his phone to end the call then set it on the small table in the corner of the room. “Okay, it’s go time.”
“Go? Where?” Sam barely kept his frustration under control. “Even if we know Nathan is back here, we don’t know that Kelly was with him.”
“We do. Remember I called right away when we got in the car to head for Denver? Well, FREE has contacts in Denver. They’ve done big searches here and have friends on the police force and in the FBI. They were able to verify that not only did Nathan arrive back at the apartment complex he manages, but there was a man and a woman with him.”
“A woman. That doesn’t mean it was Kelly.” He wanted to hope that it wasn’t. He wanted her to be anywhere but back with her captor.
“We have no other leads. The police are going to meet us there in ten minutes.”
“And will someone from FREE be there?” Sam glanced at Zeus. Having him there would lead them to Kelly and might even help them in a pinch but if he was aggressive, like he was before Sam trained him, he could lose his chance to become a service animal. As it was, Sam would already have to have compelling evidence that Zeus was completely reformed.
“No, the local contact will be, but he’s only a friend of FREE International.”
Sam whistled for Zeus. He’d take the chance, so he didn’t have to face regret later, wishing the dog had been there. Zeus could go where others couldn’t and he was still looking for a way to make it up to Sam.
Edwyn handed Connor the keys, and they all piled into the car. Connor pulled up the directions on his phone and they took off within seconds. “Police will be there. We may not be able to do much, but I hope they’ll allow us to see Kelly.”
Sam resisted the urge to be negative. He still wasn’t certain Kelly was there. He still couldn’t understand why she would walk away again. Why choose Nathan’s lies over him? He had tried to be truthful with her about everything. Nathan had done nothing but lie. Where was the security?
“A known enemy is easier to overcome than a stranger. We know how these guys operate. The hope is to arrest Nathan and any offenders on the premises. We’ll save all we can,” Connor mumbled. “So, go into this with your eyes wide open.”
A known enemy is easier to overcome than a stranger. Connor hadn’t meant to, but he’d answered Sam’s concerns. Nathan was an enemy, but Kelly knew how to live with him. She’d constantly felt uncomfortable at Wayside because she didn’t know what to do. Church had been the cherry on top, forcing her to want to run. He’d been as welcoming as he possibly could, but that didn’t change the fact that he was not as known to her as Nathan.
“Let’s get her out of there.” He headed for the door with Zeus at his side. There was still no way to be certain she was even there, but he wouldn’t know until they checked, either. “What else did they say?” Connor had been on the phone for a minute, so they had to have given him more information than that .
“Not much. We need to rely on the police or risk having them complain that procedures weren’t followed. We don’t want these people to get off on a technicality.”
That meant he wasn’t going in there for a rescue, but that also meant that people inside would be safer. At least, that was the hope. No one ever knew for sure how an invasion was going to go down. Sam laid his hand on Zeus’s back and prayed that Kelly and anyone else they found would be alright. He prayed that they would take Nathan down without having to draw a single gun. The people in there didn’t need that kind of fear.
Connor pulled into the parking lot of a ratty-looking apartment complex. It was five stories tall with cracked windows and chipped tan stucco. The dark vanity shutters had seen better days, and the roof shingles had curled like aged paper.
“Isn’t this place . . . charming?” Edwyn didn’t usually turn to sarcasm, but the scene warranted it.
Three squad cars sat parked in the street along with a black large SUV. “Looks like they’re already here.” Connor unbuckled and opened his door. “Not sure if they’ll let us close since we asked for the help or if we’ll have to stay back.”
There were no police lines up yet, if they would put any up. Three women in their twenties stood by the front door, looking unsure about what they should do. None of them were Kelly.
“I want to go in,” Sam said, holding Zeus’s lead. He tugged against the hold with his nose to the ground. “Is she in there, boy?”
Zeus halted and his whole body went rigid. In the next instant, he lunged, breaking free of Sam’s grip. He raced inside the open front door. Sam raced after him, but a uniformed officer stopped him at the door.
“You have a reason to go in here?”
Sam pointed toward the dog running up the stairs. “That’s my dog, but I don’t live here. I was the guy who called in the request for help.”
The officer raised an eyebrow. In the next instant, Zeus’s barking and growling had the officer racing for the stairs. Sam didn’t wait for the invitation he knew wouldn’t come. Zeus had to have found Kelly, but what would he find when he got there?
Kelly stood in the corner with her back exposed to the room. This kind of shaming was meant to keep people in line, but she’d long ago lost her ability to feel anything. She’d been standing there for what felt like hours, alone, waiting for Nicolas Viceroy.
That was meant to keep her wondering and worried, too. Little did they know that for the two hours she’d spent downstairs with Anna, they’d both prayed for either deliverance or peace. One or the other. If God spoke only in absolutes, then she was about to die because she felt a peace like she’d never known before. They couldn’t hurt her. God had her.
The sound of loud barks made her jump. No one in the apartment had dogs. Nathan wouldn’t allow pets, especially ones that could turn against him. She turned, only then realizing Nathan had left at some point and she was alone in the room.
With tentative steps, she tip-toed her way to the other side of the room and shrugged on what was left of her flannel shirt, holding it shut in the center since the buttons had been torn off in the removal. The barking grew louder and was now coupled with growling.
Nathan’s voice screamed, “It’s that demon dog of Kelly’s! I thought Ramona took care of it?”
Viceroy answered, “Forget about it. Get out of here, now.”
Her door slammed open, and Nathan stood there. “I won’t fail again. He’ll kill me if I let you go.” He gripped her arm and thrust her toward the door.
“I’m not going.” If Zeus was here, then so was Sam. She knew it right down to her bones.
“You think you have a choice?” He cuffed her over the head.
Kelly fought against the stars swirling in front of her eyes. If she resisted now, Sam would have time to find her. “No!”
Zeus barked and the unmistakable sounds of a running animal filled the room. “Let me go and you’ll have time to get away. Fixate on me and you’re going to jail.” She planted her feet, sure that if Zeus came through that door, he wasn’t going to let Nathan anywhere near her.
Nathan shoved her toward the door. “Get moving.”
Zeus barreled through the open doorway and knocked Nathan to the ground. Zeus didn’t stop growling and snapping, his teeth mere inches from Nathan’s face. Kelly had never seen the dog act that way, but she was hesitant to call him off. Nathan would probably shoot Zeus if he was able to get some control.
“Denver police! Hands where I can see them!” An officer stepped into the room, gun raised and aimed at Nathan .
Kelly raised her hands to be safe, and squealed as Sam rushed in right behind the officer.
“Zeus, hold,” Sam said, then gave a low whistle. Zeus backed off, but he didn’t take his eyes off Nathan, a low growl rumbled from his throat and his hackled made him appear huge. Nathan wasn’t going anywhere while Zeus had him in sight.
“That’s a good dog. Have you thought about having him trained?” the officer asked as he cuffed Nathan.
Sam looked at Kelly and gave a sigh. “The thought had crossed my mind.”
It was over. Kelly’s lip trembled, and she didn’t hold it back this time. Before she could go to Sam and get comfort though, she had to tell the officer about Anna. “I have a friend locked in a cage downstairs. Her name is Anna, and she needs to be freed.”
The officer gave her a nod. “We’ll be going through this place and letting everyone know that the owner has been arrested. They are now free to leave if they wish to.”
“What about those that are too young to make that choice?” Kelly swallowed back the bile in her throat. She’d turned a blind eye to their plight when there was no hope, but now she would stand up for every last person there.
“Nicolas Viceroy was here. He ran about two minutes ago,” she told them.
Sam’s eyes focused on her. “You know his first name?”
She nodded. “He was here. He’d planned to kill me twice today. It was interrupted both times.”
Sam took a deep breath. In that moment, he looked as if he’d welcome a hug, so she didn’t ask. She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“Ah, Kelly. I’m so sorry.” He rested his chin on her head and held her close .
“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who left. I’m the one who made this mess. I’m just a bad girl.” And she always would be, at least to some extent.
“No, you’re not. You never were. You were too trusting, and you thought everyone cared about you as much as you cared for them, but that doesn’t make you bad. Everyone makes bad decisions.”
She shook her head and pulled back from him so she could look him in the eyes. “Sam, thank you for forgiving me, but I deserve it. I may have left to save you from me, but it wasn’t noble, I still chose this. Again.”
He gently touched her cheek, and she flinched at the pain. Her face had to look terrible, so why did Sam look at her like she was a precious jewel?
“Would you choose to come back here now, after this?” he asked.
She pulled on the collar, wishing she’d been able to have that taken off before the officer had taken Nathan away. “No. I thought I could handle myself. I didn’t leave with the intent of going back to Nathan. That just happened. I wanted to go so I didn’t ruin your life. I don’t want you to care about me, Sam.”
He pulled her back into his arms and held her gently. “Too late.”
Her tears surprised her as they coursed down her face. Sam cared. She knew it for certain. But would she ever have the capacity to love him? She cared about him enough to leave him for his own good, but could she care for him in person?
“Let’s find a key for this.” He touched the collar and ran his finger along her jaw. “I’m glad Zeus made it in here before I did.”
She shivered at the idea that she might have seen a side of Sam that he never let anyone see, the side of him that would die to protect those he cared about. “I get it now. I’m so sorry, Sam. I didn’t get it until this instant. It wasn’t just about the fact that you saw me with another man. I didn’t allow you to protect me by telling you what was going on.”
He nodded slowly. “You didn’t trust me. Trust and love go hand in hand. I would’ve gone to the end of the world and back again for you, but I didn’t know.”
“Can you forgive me?” Suddenly, all that mattered to her was hearing that Sam wanted to still have her in his life, that she was forgiven, and they could start fresh.
“Of course. Can you forgive me for leaving? For not questioning what I saw that day? For believing the worst of you when I knew better?”
She couldn’t nod her head anymore; the metal was just too heavy. “I forgive you.”
An officer appeared in the doorway. “I think this might be the key to that.” He used the key to point at her collar. “Can I try it? It worked on your friend’s handcuffs downstairs.”
“Anna?” She stepped forward and the chain pulled her back. She choked, reaching for the heavy collar.
Sam caught her and kept her from falling, while the officer stuck the key in the lock and twisted. The metal circle opened and fell to the floor, blessedly behind her and not on her feet. Sam shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her, then zipped it closed. “Let’s go home.”
The officer shook his head. “Sorry, folks. Kelly here is a witness, and I’m going to need to get a statement. She should also go to the hospital and get examined. I’m sorry. I know you’ve been through a lot, and this is just another invasion. You can refuse it if you want, but it limits our evidence.”
Kelly’s chest tightened. More invasions. Would she ever be able to say no without feeling like she was either letting people down or risking her life? “I’ll do it, but I want Sam with me.”
He took her hand. “I’ll be here. You don’t ever have to worry about being alone again.”