Chapter 9
After a great few days at Tommy”s beautiful home, Willow went back to the cottage. Brandi had returned home from her trip and wanted to know what happened with the break-in, call her insurance, and everything in between. There was no real damage to her cottage—Willow’s stuff took most of the blow. However, Brandi still wanted to make sure Willow was okay.
“Did they find out who did this?” she asked. “I’m calling a locksmith and a security company to get some updated cameras out here right now.”
“There’s no real evidence, but the detectives came to ask me questions about Mark. So, I believe it was him. I thought it might have been Charlene at first. But his name jumps out at me more.”
Brandi looked a little embarrassed when Willow told her everything she had been told about Mark, not only by the detectives but also by Tommy. To her surprise, Brandi already knew about him, too. She did some digging on him while she was away and was completely baffled by what she found out.
“It’s a shame,” she said. “What a waste of a beautiful man.”
Sometimes, Willow felt like Brandi would end up getting herself into some serious trouble behind a man. She got so lost and hung up whenever she saw one who fit her fancy—it was like she lost all sight of reality.
“I told you so,” Willow said. “Mark gave me the creeps when I first met him. I don’t know what it was about him that turned me away, but I knew he was no good.”
“Good thing I didn”t seriously dive off the deep end with that one. Ugh!” she scoffed. “I really need to get my life together when it comes to men.”
Willow wholeheartedly agreed with her. It seemed as if she needed to do the same thing. The only decent man she ever met was Tommy. And her father. Richy too. Choosing crappy men was something Willow and Brandi had in common. She guessed that was the basis of their friendship in the beginning—the trauma bonds.
Willow promised herself that after she got divorced, she would never let another man throw her for a loop. She would really take her time to learn the ins and outs of any man she chose to share her time with before things got too serious between them. That way, she would save herself from any more heartache, secrets, and lies.
When the locksmith and security company came that afternoon, Willow and Brandi sat out back by her pool and talked. Brandi told Willow everything she had learned about Mark in comparison to what she had been told about him, and it made Willow cringe even more. His life was a lot deeper than she imagined.
Not only did he have all those charges run off to her by the detectives and Tommy, but he was also on the run for a possible murder. That made Willow’s skin crawl. Knowing he was probably the one responsible for the break-in made her realize how easily she could have been another one of his victims.
“I don’t want you going anywhere alone, Willow,” Brandi said. “Not even to the grocery store. You never know where that creep is or where he will be. So make sure you’re with someone at all times until this is all squared away.”
Willow promised her she would. She was sure Tommy would say the same thing when she told him what Brandi put her on to.
“Can you believe this is my life right now?” Willow asked. “I mean, did you ever see something like this coming for me? When I walked down the aisle and everyone cheered and clapped for Charlie and I, did you ever think for a second he would turn out to be this big of a creep?”
“Not for one second,” Brandi replied. “I always knew there was something about him I hated, but I didn”t think it would be something like this. You know, at one point, I started to let myself believe I was just jealous. I thought I was making your marriage a problem because I was scared our friendship would change. It did change, to be honest. He kept you away a lot and I hated it. Maybe that played a part in why I was so against you marrying him, too.”
Willow understood exactly what she meant. And Brandi was right; their friendship did change. Willow thought about that every day. There were so many times that she wanted to visit Brandi, but Charlie didn’t like the idea so she never did. She regretted that so much after finding out who he truly was.
“If I could go back in time and change things, I would in a heartbeat,” Willow said. “I can’t believe I ever let him come in between us. Our friendship. The things I really wanted and cherished in life. There were so many nights I cried myself to sleep because I felt so terrible about how things were between us.”
“Yeah.” Brandi wiped a lone tear from her cheek and forced a smile. “I’m just glad he’s out of our lives now. I hope we never have to experience something like that again because I don”t think I can handle it. We’re getting older. It’s time to settle down and create our own families. Even if it’s just me living vicariously through you and your family.”
They laughed and hugged each other. Knowing that Willow would probably be the first one to settle down and have children was a thought they both shared. Willow knew how busy a woman Brandi was and how much she disliked the thought of having her life taken over by children, so giving her a niece or nephew wasn’t something she was opposed to. Besides, Willow wanted a little booger of her own.
After the security system was installed and the locks were changed, she went over to the cottage to have a shower. She was tired from the pool and hanging out with Tommy while Brandi was gone.
While in the shower, her phone began to ring. At first, she ignored it and said it could wait until after her shower, but when it kept going off, she had to check it and see who it was. It was Mark, and she answered immediately.
“You’ve got some nerve calling me,” Willow snapped. “After breaking into my place and destroying all my things, you’re really gonna call me? For what? To play nice and pretend like it wasn’t you? I know it was you!”
Even with all of her ranting and raging, Mark didn’t raise his voice at her. He barely said a word. All he said was, “I have someone here who would like to speak to you.”
Willow’s heart sank in her chest because she thought he found Charlie. After weeks of looking for him high and low, she thought he finally surfaced and was ready to put an end to everything. But her heart sank even lower when she heard Richy’s voice instead.
“Willow! Please! You have to help me!”
Before Willow could ask him a single question—before she could even ask him if he was okay—Mark took the phone away from him and started to toss around demands for the money she had no idea where to find.
“Not so mouthy now, are you?” Mark chuckled in her ear like a true madman. “We’ve gone around in circles long enough, Mrs. Shorts. If you really care about this kid and his well-being, if you ever want to see him go home to his shitty parents again, you’d figure out a way to get me what I want.”
Tears flooded her eyes. She was terrified for Richy. After learning how dangerous of a man Mark really was, Willow thought for sure she would never see him alive again. All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind. The biggest one being how scared Richy probably was.
“Please! Let him go,” she begged. “I don’t know where the money is. I told you a thousand times. I have no idea! And Richy’s just a kid. He has nothing to do with this! Just let him go! Please. Take me instead.”
“You?” Mark laughed. “What can I do with you? This kid seems to be the only thing you care about right now. Maybe seeing his little fingers and toes sliced off will put some fire under your ass and get you moving to find my money. We’ll see.”
Before she knew it, the phone call ended. There was nothing but silence on the line. Willow immediately tried calling Mark back, but the call went straight to voicemail. She tried calling Richy’s phone too, but got the same notification.
“Damnit!” She shouted and started to pace the floor. “I have to do something!”
She quickly got dressed and jumped into her car and headed to the police station. Tommy was at his office. She was sure he would know what to do. Or at least help her figure out what to do. He was close with Richy’s parents and they needed to know what was happening, so Willow had no other choice. Even though it felt like everything was all her fault.
“Tommy!” She burst into his office with her face full of tears. “Please, you have to help me! It”s Mark.”
“Mark?” Tommy frowned and stood up from his desk. “What happened, Willow? Calm down and talk to me.”
“Mark! He has Richy! He took him! I don”t know where he is, but he’s demanding I find his money or he’ll kill Richy. Please! You have to help me find him!”
“What!?”
Tommy’s eyes widened. His knees got weak and he fell back onto the sofa in his office. His hand crept up to his chest as he tried to catch his breath, while Willow was in a full on panic, afraid for Richy’s life.
“When did this happen?” he asked.
“He just called. I tried calling him back but he won’t answer.”
Both Willow and Tommy knew that Dale, Richy’s father, was going to flip. Willow felt she was even more afraid of him than she was of Mark. Even Tommy was hesitant to call and tell Dale the news about his son. But it was a deed that couldn’t go undone.
“Dale.” Tommy sighed into the phone as he prepared himself to break the news to his friend. “Are you sitting down? I have something I need to tell you.”
Willow couldn’t hear what Dale was saying exactly, but she could hear the loudness of his voice blaring through the phone already. Tommy didn’t even get a chance to tell him what happened with Richy before he was already flying off the hinges. That’s how Willow knew when he did break the news to Dale that things were only going to get worse.
“Seems like Richy’s run into some trouble,” Tommy said. “I don’t want you to get all worked up over this. I”m gonna take care of this. But dammit, Dale, Richy’s been kidnapped.”
That was all Tommy could manage before Dale hung up. Tommy and Willow both knew he was on his way to the station. Tommy thought it would be best if Willow left before Dale got there, but she couldn”t go. Not while Richy was in danger. She felt it was her fault and she was ready to accept responsibility for getting him involved with her mess. Even if it meant Dale being angry with her.
“Willow, you really shouldn’t be here when he gets here,” he said. “Things are already bad… I don’t want them to get worse. I know Dale. I know nothing good will come of this and I just don’t want you being hurt.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “If he wants to curse me out, then so be it. But I”m gonna be here. For Richy.”