20 – Ciara – Two Hours Earlier
W e were quite successful with Alyssa’s parents, and I feel like I’m one step closer to finding out who this creep is. I couldn’t have done it without Gerard, and I’m so glad he came with me. I was scared they wouldn’t talk to me if he didn’t.
“Thank you for today,” I say to him as we drive out of town.
“No problem,” he murmurs, lost in thought. “It’s hot, do you mind if I pull over and take this sweater off?”
“Sure.” I say. “I could use a drink anyway.”
He pulls the car over on the side of the road leading out of town. It’s a quiet day, and we’re the only ones on the road. Stepping out of the car, he pulls his sweater over his head and when he does, his shirt lifts all the way up, caught in it. That’s when I see it. A dark tattoo that runs up his chest and... oh my god.
It’s like a knife is being driven into my chest as the pieces come together.
I know that tattoo. I’ve seen that tattoo.
It’s the same tattoo in the picture we found in Alyssa’s room.
It’s Gerard.
Vomit rises in my throat, and I know I have to keep calm. I need to be smart, even though my hands automatically start trembling as he climbs back into the car, tossing the sweater in the back and offering me a smile. I force one back, but right now, the only thing I can think about is getting the hell out of this car.
I need to act calm, cool, and collected.
I can do this.
My mind is spinning at the realization that it has been Gerard all along.
Not a single second went by where I thought it would be him. Not a single damn second. I was so certain that I was on the right track, but never once did I realize the answer was right in front of me the entire time. My legs shake as I try to keep my cool, turning towards him with a smile. “I’m just going to grab my water bottle out of my bag and stretch my legs before our trip.”
Nodding, he acts as if he doesn’t sense a single change in me.
Climbing out of the car, I will my knees not to shake as I reach into the back and pull out my purse. I need to call Spike, and then I need to run. Glancing at Gerard as I straighten, I turn and act as though I’m stretching my legs as I pull out my phone, keeping my back to the car so he doesn’t see.
My fingers tremble as I try to unlock the phone, desperate.
“Put it down.”
The cold words have my spine stiffening and my heart skipping a beat.
No.
No. This can’t be happening.
The cold steel of a gun pushes against the back of my neck and I gasp, vomit rising in my throat as fear unlike anything I’ve ever felt grips me.
“Turn it off and throw it on the ground, or I’ll blow your brains all over this road.”
“All this time,” I whisper, a tear rolling down my cheek. “It was you.”
“I don’t have time to chat, Ciara. Drop the phone.”
My body screams at me not to do it, but I don’t want to die. I know he’s capable of killing, and I know he’ll do it without hesitation. So, I drop the phone. It falls to the ground, and I turn slowly to face him. He doesn’t move the gun, so now it sits at the base of my throat, pressing into the soft piece of flesh there.
“Get into the car. If you try anything, I will shoot.”
How is this the man who helped me? Who was kind and generous? I never suspected him, not for a single second.
What a fool I am.
I climb back into the car and stare out the front windscreen as he moves around the front, not once taking the gun off me. I can’t run, I can’t escape, I’m trapped with him and there isn’t a single fucking thing I can do about it. Spike won’t even know, not for another few hours when I don’t return.
Even then, he probably won’t realize it was Gerard the whole time.
Getting in the car, Gerard puts the gun on his lap and starts the car, skidding out onto the road and driving at a far more rapid pace than he had earlier.
“Why?” I whisper, staring at him, fear clenching my chest. “Why now? Why Alyssa?”
He’s silent for a minute, his fingers are white, he’s gripping the steering wheel so tightly.
“Alyssa was a means to an end,” he says, so calmly it’s terrifying. “She wanted more, she wanted to expose me, I couldn’t let that happen. She was fun for a while, but eventually, she got boring and was too much trouble. When you came to the school, I knew I no longer needed her.”
“So you killed her?” I cry out, unable to stop the emotion flowing out.
“I told you, she was in my way.”
“Because I showed up,” I whisper, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It was never about her, it was always about me.”
He smiles. “Now you’re understanding.”
“You don’t even know me. Is this all because of Cheyenne?”
His hand lashes out, slamming against the side of my face so hard it slams into the window. I cry out as a shooting pain radiates down my jaw. I fight back the tears because I know better than anyone, they will only make him enjoy this more. I’m strong, and I have to get through this. I have no choice. I will get out of this alive. I have to.
For my babies.
“Do not say her fucking name out loud,” he roars.
“Why not?” I grind out. “You are obviously doing this because of her, yet I don’t understand why. I didn’t take her from you. She died years ago. Why me? Why now?”
“She’s dead because of you,” he bellows, slamming his hand down on the steering wheel. “She is fucking dead because you introduced her to that scumbag biker. I was going to get her back, everything was going to be okay until you brought him around.”
“She had a choice,” I say, calmly. “She chose that scumbag biker.”
“Stop!” He barks, shooting me a glare so cold it sends shivers up my spine. “I won’t hesitate when it comes time to kill you, Ciara. You will suffer for taking her from me.”
“I didn’t take her from you,” I yell, pressing my back into the door so he can’t slam my face against the window again. “She left you. She chose to leave you. She was going to put a restraining order against you. She hated you. Couldn’t stand you. She chose Spike because he was a better man.”
“Shut up,” he roars, his hand lashing out again, but this time I catch it and twist his fingers.
I’m not really thinking, I just react. I bend them back as hard as I can until one of them cracks. A bellow leaves his throat as the car swerves off the road and rolls, forcing my hand away from his. The car flips over and over as it plummets down a gully. It all goes by in slow motion, as if we’re in a movie. The windows smash, the top crumbles in, and then we’re skidding to a stop at the bottom, the car on its roof.
It takes me a moment to gather my bearings. My neck aches and there is blood trickling from a wound somewhere on my head, but I’m alive. I look over at Gerard and see he’s awake, too, sitting in some kind of shock. I don’t have long. I unclip my seatbelt and then start kicking at the door, trying to push it open. It doesn’t budge.
Heart racing, I kick harder and harder, until finally it springs open. I move quickly, twisting and shoving my body, groaning in pain as I get out of the car and slowly push up to my feet. I don’t think, I start hobbling away, desperate to climb the bank and get out of here. It takes all my effort to climb, but I do it, my fingers clawing at the dirt as I scurry my way to the top.
Just as I step up and over the ledge, I see a car has come to a stop and a man is coming toward the accident site. His eyes are wide with concern, especially when he notices me.
“Oh shit. Ma’am, are you okay?”
Staring behind me, I see him, crawling up the side with the gun in his hand.
My heart skips a beat.
No.
“We need to go,” I whisper frantically. “Now. Now. Please.”
The man looks confused, and for a moment, he just stands there.
I want to scream but instead, I hurry towards him, my arms frantically waving around to get him to understand what I’m saying.
This isn’t safe.
“There is a man back there and he’s dangero...”
I’m cut off when the man standing on the side of the road goes pale, and his hands go up. I know, I just know , that Gerard has made it up and is pointing the gun at this poor innocent onlooker. Turning slowly, I see Gerard standing, bleeding from a deep wound on his head, pointing the gun at the man.
“Put your keys on the ground and walk away. I won’t kill you. If you fight me, I will.”
The mans eyes dart to me, then back to Gerard.
He shakily pulls his keys out and drops them onto the ground.
“Turn and walk. Do not look back. I can easily find out who you are from your car. If you say a single word, I will come after you. Believe me, I’m not the kind of person you want on your back. I can and will kill everyone you love. If anyone asks, you got carjacked and you didn’t see the man. Your car will show up for you somewhere by tomorrow.”
He does as he’s told, and with every step away from us, my soul breaks a little. Gerard watches him leave, then turns the gun to me. “Get in the car. Right fucking now.”
With shaky legs, I get into the poor stranger’s car.
A minute later, Gerard is in, and his foot is on the pedal. This time he keeps the gun on me. “One fucking move, I’ll blow your brains out.”
I stare out the window as we pass the man. He turns to look at us, and I mouth help , but I know it’s no use.
There is nothing he can do.
I’m fucking trapped.
WE ARRIVE AT AN OLD , burned down house about two hours later.
I don’t know what direction we’re going in, I’m not familiar with this area so I can’t keep track. All I know is we’re not going back home, instead we’re here, at some vacant lot with no one around. The house, or what was once a house, is surrounded by woodland as far as the eye can see.
It’s basically a pile of burned timber, but behind it, there is a barn.
It looks run down and the roof sags, but it’s upright enough to be noticeable behind what’s left of the house.
I don’t know why he brought me here, is it because it’s quiet and secluded? It looks like nobody has been down this road for a long time, let alone come near this house. I stare at it and my body has gone into some kind of shock, because I can’t think clearly. All I can do is stare out the windscreen, my mind blank.
“Get out.”
Gerard gets out of the car, but never once does he move that gun from my direction. I should attempt to run - at the very least I might be able to dodge him. I turn and glance out my window as I put my hand on the handle, and I can see the woods surrounding this place are thick and would be easy to hide in. All I have to do is run and pray I miss the bullet that he fires.
The piercing sound of a gunshot ringing out has me screaming in shock, my hands darting to my ears as they ring from how close it landed.
Lodged in the car right beside my head, is a bullet.
A threat.
A warning.
“Don’t even fucking think about it. The next one won’t miss.”
On shaky legs, I get out of the car and walk around the front, fighting back the urge to scream and cry. With every step closer to that run down old barn, is one further away from freedom. I don’t know how Spike will ever find me here, and I sure as hell don’t know how I’m going to get away.
This is bad.
It’s really bad.
Gerard waits for me to step in front of him, then he shoves the gun into my back and pushes me towards the barn. I can’t help but stare at the house as we pass, feeling sad for all the memories that must have been consumed by that fire. Someone lived here once, and I’m sure it wasn’t all bad, at some point that house must have experienced joy and laughter.
“I burned it down,” Gerard says casually, as if we’re suddenly having a friendly conversation. “My parents were inside.”
I flinch.
My stomach twists with horror as I consider how terrifying that must have been for them, especially the moment they realized it was their son who did it. That must have been soul crushing for them. Or maybe they were really bad parents who abused him and tortured him his whole life, maybe then this would somehow make sense.
“Why?” I dare to ask.
“Because they were in my way. Everyone is always in my way, trying to change me, trying to make me get help. I don’t need help. I need everyone to get the hell out of my way.”
“But they are your parents.”
“ Were ,” he corrects me.
“How aren’t you in prison?” I breathe, more to myself than him.
“Because nobody ever figured out it was me. I can play the traumatized son well. Everything left here was given to me and I decided never to build on it again. I enjoy looking at the burned down old house, knowing it was the last thing they saw.”
I feel sick.
I fight with everything inside me that screams at me to run.
I need to be calm.
Forcing me to open the barn door, Gerard shoves me inside and reaches out, flicking on a light. It barely illuminates the small, dusty, space but it’s enough for me to get a quick glimpse at my surroundings. The floor is entirely dirt, and there is a loft that has a ladder attached to it. Other than piles of old wood, hay and broken machines, there seems to be nothing else in here. A door that leads somewhere is right in the far left, but otherwise, it appears empty.
“Nobody will find you here, not for a long time. This barn is getting on my nerves now, so it seems fitting to burn it down with you inside.”
My body jerks with shock and fear.
He’s going to burn the barn down with me inside it.
No.
“You don’t need to do this,” I say, as he shoves me towards a large structure pole in the middle of the barn. “I won’t say anything. Just please...I have kids.”
He ignores me as he pulls a set of handcuffs from his jacket pocket and shoves me against the pole. I know if I let him cuff me, I’ll never get free. I have to fight; I have to at least try. I won’t let this creep get me down without effort. It’s just me and him, if I can get the gun away from him that is.
It’s worth a damn try.
I do the only thing I can think of, I kick out.
I have the beauty of being flexible, so I use my leg to kick the gun out of his hand. He doesn’t see it coming, and for a moment, he stares at me in shock before jumping into action. He launches at me as I drop and scurry for the gun. If I can get it, I will shoot him, no questions asked. His hard body lands on top of mine, crushing me into the dirt. Squirming, I keep trying to move toward the gun even though his weight is holding me down.
“I’ll fucking kill you.” His voice is a low growl as he takes a handful of my hair and jerks my head back.
I keep fighting.
But he’s stronger than I am.
He presses a hand over my nose and mouth, the other holding my head back with a large clump of hair. I squirm as the air quickly becomes trapped in my lungs. He’s going to kill me. I thrash and fight, I try to bite his fingers, but he’s too strong.
“Stop fighting or this will be how you die.”
My vision blurs and I know I have no choice.
I have to stop fighting.
I let my body go limp and only then does he release his hand. I suck in a breath, never realizing just how good it feels when it fills my lungs. The burn as they expand is incredibly relieving.
Gerard moves off me, taking the gun before I can.
He spins it on me, and he fires.
For a moment, I wonder what he shot at, but then I feel the pain ripping through my hand that is planted firmly on the ground. Staring down, an agonized scream rips from my throat as I see the hole that has been created from the bullet. Blood gushes out and pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt consumes me. Gerard leans down and hauls me up. I’m screaming and trembling as the realization that he just shot a hole in my hand totally takes over.
It takes all of my attention, so I don’t realize when he jerks my hands behind my back, and cuffs me to the pole.
Standing in front of me, his eyes fill with delight when he understands that he has won.
“I’ve never done anything to you?” I cry, my voice shaky with pain.
“It’s because of you she’s dead.”
“No. It isn’t.”
“We’ve been over this. I don’t owe you any further explanation. I never thought I’d get the chance to fight for her life, but here I am. You deserve this. She didn’t deserve to die.”
“She couldn’t fucking stand you, you creep,” I scream, letting my legs fly out from beneath me to try and kick him once more.
He laughs.
“I’ll enjoy watching you burn.”
No.
Please.
Spike. Help.