by Angela Ford
She knew it wasn’t the wisest choice to make, but as she looked into Gina’s terrified eyes, she slowly placed her gun onto the dresser next to her, and then walked to him with her hands up to show him she came in peace.
In an instant, he pushed Gina to the floor, grabbed Jess and gripped her the same way he’d had Gina just moments before. “Don’t even think of it,” he warned when Gina went for Jess’s gun.
Mark must have heard the commotion, as he raced up the stairs, but he halted in the doorway. When Trevor ordered him to put his gun on the dresser with Jess’s, she nodded to him to obey. Then Trevor demanded that they move to the other side of the room. As they did, he moved closer to the door with Jess still in his hold. Backing out of the room, he swatted both guns to the floor out into the hall and told them that if they followed him he would kill Jess.
Trevor forced Jess down the stairs and put her hands in cuffs behind her back. She looked back as he dragged her down the stairs and saw Mark with his back up against the wall at the top of the stairs. As Trevor pulled Jess out the front door, she saw Mark and Gina come down the stairs. Once they got to the SUV Jess drove there, he pushed her into the back and then climbed into driver’s side and sped out of the driveway before Mark and Gina could reach the vehicle.
****
Trevor sped fast by Mike who was still with Eric at his vehicle. Mike turned in surprise when the black SUV roared past him. He was shocked to see Jess in the backseat trying to mouth something to him. He ran over to the police car that just arrived on the scene and told the officer quickly what was happening and that he needed to follow the black SUV. The paramedics were checking on Eric who was coming to. He had been hit on the side of the head and possibly suffered a concussion. Mike heard him tell the paramedics he would be fine and refused to go to the hospital.
“Mike, what the heck is going on,” Eric asked.
Mike took a quick breath, as if he could even begin to catch his breath. There was so much going on around him that he didn’t know where to begin, but he tried to give a quick update. Mark and Gina came running from the driveway, “Get in the vehicle, we can’t lose her,” Gina commanded.
“Eric, listen to the paramedics and get checked out. We’ll keep you up to date. By the way, this is retired Special Agent Mark Withers who will explain everything to you eventually, but the short story is Trevor Marshall is our UNSUB, Jess’s stalker and the one who killed her parents. Tom is in the hospital. Trevor attacked and stabbed him earlier this morning and took Tom’s laptop and files which lead him to Gina.” Mike quickly told him. It was a lot for Eric to digest the brief update and when he tried to stand, he collapsed. He nodded to Mike, “You’re in charge Mike; find Jess.” Eric had no choice but to go to the hospital with the paramedics.
Mike, Mark and Gina quickly jumped in Eric’s SUV and headed in the direction that Trevor had gone with Jess. Gina immediately put out an APB on the FBI SUV, the name of the suspect and that it was a kidnapping of a federal agent.
Chapter Eleven
Eric was treated at Mercy emergency and required a few stitches. The doctor on call ordered a CT scan even though Eric said it would not be necessary and he didn’t have the time. His team needed him.
“Your team will have to wait. Which sports team are we talking about, by the way?”
“Not sports doc, FBI, and in pursuit of a man under investigation who has just kidnapped one of my team.”
“You are the second FBI agent I’ve treated today. Is it possible you are both from the same team?”
Eric nodded, introduced himself and asked if the other agent he spoke about was Tom Erickson. Dr. Elliott nodded. Eric asked if he could see Tom and the doctor said he could after his CT scan. He knew he wasn’t going anywhere until he followed the doctor’s orders.
Following the scan, a nurse wheeled him into Tom’s room. Tom was awake and more alert than when Jess had been there. “Eric? What is happening?”
“It’s a long story, a lot of which I don’t know yet.” Eric still felt a little foggy from the blow to his head.
The nurse parked Eric’s wheelchair alongside of Tom’s bed and left them alone. He told Tom what he knew.
“You have to find her.” Tom’s tone spoke more from his heart than as a boss.
“We will. The rest of the team and some Agent Withers are on it. I’m waiting for the doc to release me and then I’m with them,” Eric reported, still confused about the new information Mike briefly gave him.
“Agent Withers has been working undercover tracking Trevor. He’s our UNSUB and Jess’s stalker from the past,” Tom admitted.
“I didn’t know Jess had a stalker,” Eric said.
“She didn’t even know. Eric, you have to find Jess. She’s in danger.” Eric knew what he had to do. Tom turned his head to look out the window.
“Tom?” Eric whispered.
Tom slowly turned back to Eric. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as if saying a prayer and mumbled to Eric, “Find her. Please.” Eric knew if Tom could get out of bed, he would already be searching. It must kill him that he couldn’t.
“Top priority boss, top priority.” Eric touched Tom’s shoulder for reassurance, then got out of the wheelchair and walked out of Tom’s room in search of Dr. Elliott. He needed the doc’s clearance to leave. He had a promise to keep to Tom.
****
Gina was about to radio the local authorities again when they heard over the speaker that they’d lost sight of the black SUV.
“What!” Mike said and he quickly pulled off the road with a squeal of the tires. He parked, put on the flashers and jumped into the back seat, opening Eric’s laptop.
“What are you doing?” Gina asked him in a panic as she turned around to face the backseat.
“Tracking our vehicle; all FBI vehicles have trackers,” Mike said as his fingers frantically flew across the keyboard. He cursed.
“That bastard turned off our tracker!”
“Trust me, he’s one smart guy. I know, I’ve tracked him for years and he can disappear into thin air when he senses the heat’s on him,” Mark said.
“Who the heck are you anyway?” Gina did not mean to sound so rude but emotions were high and desperation set in.
“Special Agent Mark Withers of the Washington FBI Internet security. Well, retired agent.”
“Don’t forget the deceased part as well,” Mike added with sarcasm.
Gina looked at Mike with confusion written all over her face.
“Long story, Trevor Marshall is our UNSUB. Trevor is the guy that attacked you, stabbed Tom and now kidnapped Jess. Oh, and he’s also Jess’s stalker and the guy responsible for her parents’ deaths,” Mike spoke fast.
“Tom got stabbed? When? Where is he? Is he okay,” Gina asked.
“He was stabbed earlier this morning. He’s at Mercy and will be okay.”
“What the hell has happened? Things were going smoothly until…wait a minute, Jess had a stalker? She never mentioned it to me.” Gina asked.
Mark interrupted Gina and he quickly filled her in.
Gina’s exacerbated expression told it all. Now it all fell into place and made sense. The problem now was to locate Jess and pray she was okay. Still parked on the side of one of San Francisco’s many hills, Mike relentlessly ran his fingers over the keyboard, searching for some way to trace Jess. Mark had moved to the driver seat of the vehicle, awaiting Mike’s direction. .
“Yes,” the corners of Mike’s mouth turned up in a grin at this success. Gina and Mark quickly turned around and looked at him in anticipation.
“Mike” Gina questioned.
His fingers continued to run across the keyboard, without looking up at them, he announced that Jess’s cell phone was still turned on and he was in the midst of tracing its whereabouts, hoping
that Trevor had not discovered Jess’s phone and that it was indeed still with her.
“Well,” Mark asked.
Mike looked up at Mark, but before he could speak, the back door of the SUV opened. “Shit! Eric! You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry guys. What do we have on Jess,” Eric asked.
“Mike located Jess’s cell and he’s trying to track its whereabouts. We’re hoping the phone is still on her body,” Gina told Eric.
“I’ve got it!” Mike shouted and gave Mark a location.
Chapter Twelve
Trevor maneuvered his way through the streets of San Francisco eluding the police car that followed him and pulled over to the curb for a few moments to disengage the tracking system in the FBI vehicle. Puffed up with pride, he smiled into the rearview mirror at Jess as he pulled away and drove off again.
Jess tried to talk to him, but he just smiled arrogantly and kept driving. She knew exactly what he had just done and wondered how her team would trace her now. Completely on her own with this psychotic, she desperately needed to come up with a plan for survival. She remembered that her cell was in her front pocket and on silent but she couldn’t get to it since Trevor cuffed her with her own hand-cuffs.
Trevor pulled into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse near the docks on the Bay. Jess recognized the area, surrounded by a few unused warehouses with no vehicles or people in sight. She could see the San Francisco marina from the distance so she had an idea of the vicinity and all she could do now was cooperate, if possible, with this crazy person until her team tracked her down. All her faith lay in the hands of the man she’d trained, who she thought of as a brother, Mike. She knew her phone was still turned on in her pocket. That was all that was necessary for Mike to trace her. She hoped Trevor would not discover it.
Trevor stopped the vehicle, got out and went through a door. Within seconds, a roll-up door opened and he walked back to the vehicle. He didn’t say a word, or even glance at Jess; he simply drove into the warehouse and parked. Opening the back door, he motioned with his hand for Jess to get out and directed her again without a word up the stairs before them.
Jess looked around as he led her to a leather sofa in the middle of the loft room. The room was rather messy with papers, computers, and a large television screen in front of the sofa, amongst other furniture and a bed in one corner. Though it looked like a hurricane had been through it with papers scattered everywhere, the furniture didn’t look cheap and the computer systems looked expensive. It looked as though Trevor had more technical equipment in this area than the FBI had in their situation room at headquarters.
Jess’s attention was caught by a huge billboard beside the computer area. On it were pictures of the victims—the same ones that the team had up on their board—and beside them were pictures of Jess. Some were from ten years ago and some more recent photos of her. She shivered at the thought that he not only tracked her ten years ago as a teenager but still followed her and invaded her life. Anger struck her at the thought that he was responsible for the deaths of her parents when they’d only tried to protect their daughter. He was the one who took away Jess’s desire to be close to another human being; because of him, she felt unable to love.
That thought brought her back to Tom and the fact she had almost lost him to the same man she had lost her parents to. Thinking of Tom, feeling some sort of hope for the future, she forgot for a brief moment where she was, until she felt Trevor’s hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in a calm and soothing voice.
She turned to look over her shoulder as he stood there, resting his hand on her shoulder and he smiled at her. It was not a comforting smile but rather the bloodcurdling smile of a psychotic killer. She tried not to show fear. Trevor leaned in closer to her and she felt his breath on the nape of her neck, as he whispered in her ear.
“I will never hurt you. I crave you.”
Those three little words sounded more intimidating to Jess than when she’d read them on the postcards. She wished it was a nightmare and she could wake up, but unfortunately it was real. She didn’t reply. In an attempt to figure out what his next move would be, she simply nodded and forced herself to smile. It seemed to please him for the time being and he walked away and over to his computers.
Jess watched Trevor gather his papers around the computers and neatly place them in an empty cardboard box. She wondered what he was up to, and watched in silence. He whistled a tune that sounded familiar to her, yet she couldn’t place the name of the song. It was rather creepy that he seemed so at peace and happy, but then again he fit their profile. Jess thought she heard a slight noise from the stairs behind her, but didn’t want to turn her head to look in that direction for fear he would take notice as well.
Trevor had his back to Jess, as he stood before the large board of pictures of his victims. It looked as though he was going to take them down. Just then, she felt someone grab her from behind and a hand covered her mouth. Before she could respond, Mike pulled her and took her down to the floor in front of the couch, and she could see Gina, Eric and Mark angled behind Trevor with their guns pointed at him.
“Nice place, Marshall. Did you think I couldn’t track down this location?” Mark broke the silence.
“Thought you were dead Agent Withers,” Trevor smiled sarcastically.
“Put your arms in the air and turn around slowly,” Eric commanded.
Trevor obeyed and Mark moved in behind him, seized his arms and placed him in handcuffs. The team decided to let Mark make the arrest after all his years of tracking Trevor and finally proving he was their man. Mark smiled profusely as he walked Trevor out of the warehouse toward the police car that pulled up in front, and shoved him into the backseat. He said not one more word and neither did Trevor.
Upstairs in the warehouse loft apartment, Mike removed the handcuffs from Jess. She threw her arms around him. “I knew I could trust you to find me.” Mike simply smiled and held her for the longest time. When he finally released her, she ran over to Gina and Eric who were collecting evidence that would put Trevor away for the rest of his life. Jess hugged them as well. They were her team, her family.
“I need to leave,” she announced. Eric and Gina nodded in approval and Eric smiled.
“Tell the boss I kept my promise.”
“Finally” Mike proclaimed in a louder voice which made all of them snicker.
Jess smiled at her team, knowing that they were all in agreement and without another word she raced down the stairs and out the door. She walked toward another police car, showed them her badge and asked the officer for a ride. There was only one place she had to be and it was long overdue.
****
Tom lay in his hospital bed thinking about Jess. He had grown to love her over the past three years. The long hours training together, working on cases... so many memories of her raced through his mind. Terrified to tell her how he felt about her, he’d made mistakes in the past and did not want to go down that path once more. He knew he’d hurt his ex-wife by not loving her and not being around for her and their daughter. When she got pregnant, he thought he was doing the right thing by marrying her and providing for them, but he wasn’t in love with her. Making that commitment only led to resentment that he had ruined both their lives and their daughter’s, which led to his long work hours and his selfishness at wanting his own life. And now he didn’t have a relationship with his daughter. She never saw him. They’d never formed a bond.
His ex-wife said she understood and didn’t hold it against him. Instead, she’d become his friend and was helping him build a bond with their daughter. He’d sworn he would never make another attempt at loving another woman. Now he wasn’t so sure he had made the right decision. He adored Jess and could finally admit to himself—and to her—that he loved her.
Chapter Thirteen
Jess rushed through the front doors of Mercy Hospital. There was one person on her mind and in her heart. It seemed to take an eternity to reach him. The past couple of hours had not yet registered in her brain. She didn’t have the time to piece it all together and deal with it. She reached the door to his hospital room, took a deep breath, knowing that it was so right and she had been so wrong.
Tom was asleep. She rested her shoulder against the door and smiled. She looked at the man she loved. His eyes opened and his head slowly turned toward her. A smile of relief crossed his face. Without a word, she walked toward him and took his hand in hers. Time stood still. They simply smiled at each other, their fingers intertwined. The feel of his fingers wrapped through hers gave her a sense of comfort and security, a feeling she had not allowed herself since her parents died.
Jess broke the silence, “I’m still breathing.” Tom tried to laugh and winced as he placed his free hand to the area of his injury. It had always been a private joke between them every time Jess ‘took the law into her own hands’. Her simple response always caught him off guard before he could begin to reprimand her actions. He had told her many times she wasn’t a cat and didn’t have nine lives. She never listened, never took his advice. She was determined to stick with her gut instinct. She was a free spirit.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you laugh,” Jess said.
“It’s okay,” his eyes were fixed onto hers. He gently stroked her fingers with his as their hands remained together.
“You know I’m going to have to pull a few strings to avoid another suspension Agent,” Tom smiled.
“I know, sir,” Jess smiled back. She had thought about them while she was at the beach. It no longer mattered to her whether she got another suspension. She even thought about asking for a transfer out of the team. Jess knew the rules. The FBI would not allow an involved couple on the same team. So many years had been wasted. Her work, the cases had filled her life; but now, all she wanted was Tom.