Pulled Back Again

by Danielle Bannister

  “Well, you should be upset with me,” she whispers. “If I hadn’t been feeling lonely that morning and reading one of her letters when Hawk burst through my door, then you would still have Jada!”

  A long silence fills the air while she cries softly into her hands. I know she blames herself, but after what I saw of Hawk yesterday, I know he would have found us eventually, one way or another.

  “It was only a matter of time.” I try. “He would have found us. Don’t blame yourself.”

  She turns back to me and sits beside me on the couch, casting a quick glance at Janelle.

  “He didn’t lift a finger to me, Tobias. He just walked into my house, demanded where Jada was. Then when I didn’t answer, he saw the letters sprawled out on my table, took a stack, and left. I called Jada right after he left, but while I was leaving Jada a message, he came back. He took one look at me and marched over to where I was standing and ripped the e-port out of my hands and threw it across the room, breaking it.” She shivers at the memory. “He didn’t hurt me, Tobias, but I could feel it in my bones that he could have if he wanted to.”

  My eyes grow hard. Yes. I know exactly what she means, which is why I need to find Jada.

  “Did he leave after that?” I ask.

  She nods. “After taking my car, bastard. That’s why it took me so long to get here. I had to get a new e-port and ride the damn train to get to you.”

  My heart sinks. She doesn’t have her car. I’d been relying on her using that to get Janelle out of here.

  “All done,” Janelle says, hopping off the stool. She wipes her mouth on her sleeve. A bit of egg clings to her flower-print T-shirt. “Can I draw where Mommy is now?”

  Kari looks at me, worry creasing her brow further.

  “Yes, baby girl. You can draw Mommy now.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jada

  I listen in petrified silence as Hawk rummages around in the next room. I can’t tell what he’s doing, but it’s clear that he’s hurrying. He curses, kicks something across the floor, and then his footfalls head my way.

  When he comes back in, he’s holding a flannel shirt in his hand. A wicked grin is planted on his lips. He tucks the shirt in his back pocket, then in a flash, releases me from the radiator and flings me over his shoulder.

  Kicking and screaming, I try to wiggle out of his grasp. When he carries me out of the room, I still my body, trying to get a better sense of the room and where my hopes of escape might lie.

  Little had been changed since he brought me through yesterday. The only thing I notice that’s different is the end table next to the couch.

  It’s covered almost entirely with pills now. Like hundreds of them. Suddenly, Hawk’s plan seems all too clear. I am to be drugged.

  He tosses me onto the couch where I shrink away from the bottles. His eyes follow my horrorstruck gaze and he laughs at me.

  “What? Scared of a few pills?”

  I nod quickly, not daring to speak.

  He brushes my hair behind my ears, exposing my scar. After a second, he frowns and pulls the strands back where they were.

  Bastard.

  “Where did you get those drugs?”

  He snorts a little. “From the doctor. They’re mine.”

  I gasp. “All of them?” There was no way one person could take all that medication. “Are you sick?”

  He looks over his shoulder to glare at me, as though I’ve slapped him. “My docs seem to think so.” His tone is sharp, almost annoyed. “I’m not crazy, but I played along and let them give me the pills. For two and a half years they gave me these suckers twice a day. Or at least they thought they did. I became a pro at faking it.” He smiled. “Those pills they tried to get me to use so I could be their controlled puppet backfired. I never took them. Flushed them all. And when they discharged me? They sent me home with a month’s supply. A supply I don’t need, obviously.”

  I shake my head slowly, trying to absorb it all.

  “How else do you think I’m funding all this? These babies fetch a great price on the street. We won’t be here forever. Just until I can get those pills sold. Then it will be better. You’ll see.”

  “Hawk.” I try. “Tobias will be looking for me. He’ll send out the police. Just please let me go and I won’t tell the cops anything.”

  He sinks down on the couch beside me and grabs both my wrists.

  “I’m not worried about the cops or Tobias. We’ll be long gone before anyone can find us.”

  From the determination in his voice, it’s clear that this frat house is not our final destination. He’s going to be moving us. I would assume out of the country as soon as he sells his drugs. My only hope is Tobias or the police will find me soon. If Hawk takes me out of Canada, I know all hope would be lost. We would vanish, just like he wanted.

  I try a last ditch effort.

  “Please, Hawk. My baby needs me. Please just let me go.” I hate the tears that trickle down my face.

  “I know she needs you.” He shifts his weight and pulls out the shirt he’d tucked in earlier. “Which is why I need you in my full control. If we’re going to get her, I need you on my team.”

  My mouth opens in fear at the insinuation laced in his words.

  He starts to bring the shirt to my face. Panicking, I try to turn my head away, thinking he’s about to gag me with it, but he grabs the back of my head with his other hand and forces my face into the folds of the fabric.

  “Smell it,” he orders while holding the nape of my neck in a vise grip.

  I can’t help but think it’s laced with chloroform, so I do my best to hold my breath, but the struggle for air wins out and all too soon I’m forced to take a great intake of the muffled air. I brace myself for the inevitable blackout, but it doesn’t come. Instead, I smell that same musky scent I remember Hawk wearing on the train. Warm and delicious.

  Warning bells start going off in my head. I try to piece it together, but suddenly Hawk is looking down at me with his big blue eyes and I can’t help but grin at him like a big dope. He’s so beautiful.

  Hawk’s chiseled jaw sets itself into a perfect smile as he removes the shirt from my mouth and ties it loosely around my neck.

  “Hey, baby,” he breathes against my cheek.

  “Hey.”

  I close my eyes against his hot breath. My head spins a bit, but there is also something else there—need.

  My hands itch to run through his hair, but I notice they are bound. I don’t remember them being tied up. Hmm. Kinky.

  “You smell so good,” I coo, my voice not sounding at all like my own. My hands strain to touch Hawk. I start with his chest first, amazingly firm against the soft cotton tee he’s wearing. I lick my lips, wanting nothing more than to just rip it off of him.

  I loop my caged hands around his neck, my fingers drifting up to the back of his shaggy blond hair, and try to pull him down to my lips, but he stops me. He grabs me over his shoulder and lifts me off the couch. I lick his ear as he carries me and he slaps my ass in response, which only drives me wild with desire.

  He flops me onto the bed where I try to rip off that T-shirt, but he stops my hands. He reaches behind him and produces another tie and secures me to the radiator. Fun. A playful grin spreads across my face.

  “I wish I could play with you more, babe, but I have to go unload some of my stash so I can get us out of this dump. I just needed to make sure this stuff worked.” He bends over the bed and gives me the shortest of kisses. So short it’s almost cruel. He removes the shirt around my neck and tosses it on the ground where it lands in a dark corner. Almost instantly, my head begins to clear.

  My nose stings and my stomach clenches.

  “What—what happened?” I cough.

  Hawk starts laughing. “Just what was supposed to, Jada. I don’t have time to wait around for you to get Tobias out of your head. For this to work, we all need to leave tomorrow at the latest. So until you come around—and you will come around�
��I will just have to use my special brew.

  The confusion must be clear on my face—either that or he’s been dying to let me in on his little secret—because he comes back to the bed and squats down in front of me.

  “See, I made some real nice friends in prison. They knew how to get and keep their women. They gave me a quick chemistry lesson on how to do it right so they didn’t even know anything was up.” He gives me a wicked smile. “Seeing you kiss me the way this will make you,”—he gestures to the shirt—“it’s gonna break Tobias’s little heart. That’s how we’ll end this peacefully. You’ll tell him it’s over with him, that you secretly loved me all along, and we’ll take our daughter and leave. It’s easy really.”

  My body starts to tremble at the ease with which he rattles off his plan to steal my family away from the man I love.

  “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll be back soon and we’ll have some alone time. I promise.” He walks back over to me and tries to touch my face, but I turn away from his attempt. My wrists strain against the ties as I try to pull myself as far away from him as they will allow.

  “God, I’m gonna enjoy breaking you in.” He lets out a soft chuckle. “Be a good girl, now. I’m off to make us some money.”

  With that, he walks out the door and out of the frat house, leaving me alone with an onslaught of fresh tears.

  Tobias

  Kari and I walk into the living room to sit next to Janelle as she prepares to draw on her e-pad.

  “Okay, baby girl. Where do you think Mommy is?”

  Janelle scrunches up her face for a bit, thinking. After a moment, she starts to draw a few lines that don’t look like much of anything: two orange parallel lines. Nothing more.

  Janelle looks up at us with her pale-blue eyes and points to her drawing.

  “Um, what is that, honey?” I ask, trying not to hurt her feelings.

  “It’s a train!” she says as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Can we go too, Papa?”

  My heart starts to race. “A train?”

  She smiles and nods. “An orange one.”

  Beside me Kari sighs, thinking this is pointless, but I know exactly what Janelle is getting at.

  The Metro. She’s talking about the Metro. They’re still in Montreal!

  Digging out my e-port, I quickly pull up a map of the Metro. “Can you show me where?” I know it’s a long shot, but I can’t help but think she might just know where her mother is.

  Janelle takes the e-port onto her lap, looking at all the spots on the line. She scratches her nose at one point and I realize, like an idiot, that she can’t read yet.

  Just as I’m about to start listing off the stops, she puts her finger on the screen: Montmorency.

  “You think she went to the Montmorency stop?” I ask, looking up at Kari, who looks doubtful.

  Janelle nods her head, looking pleased with herself.

  “Well, at least we have a place to start,” I say.

  I close Jada’s e-port and start walking upstairs to grab a bag to take with me. Kari follows right up the stairs with me.

  “And what are you going to do then?” Kari asks. “Walk around aimlessly hoping she’s just sitting there on the street? Think this through, Tobias! You can’t go dragging a child on a dead-end trip like this! Jada could be anywhere!”

  Ignoring her, I rush into my bedroom. I sink to my knees and lift up the bed skirt and dig around underneath.

  Pushing aside the mass of clutter stuffed below our bed, my fingers finally make contact with what I’m searching for. Carefully, I pull out the box I bought the moment we moved here. I can feel Kari watching me from behind. She closes the bedroom door, as though knowing what it holds. Clicking open the small metal locks, I take out the Kel-Tec PF 9 pistol. It only has seven rounds. I pray I don’t have to use a single one of them.

  “Do you even know how to fire that thing?” Kari whispers.

  Instead of answering, I load the magazine and stuff it in the back of my pants and kick the empty box back under the bed.

  A second later there is a knock at the door.

  Kari frowns at me before she opens it. Janelle walks in scratching her head and holding a new drawing.

  “What does this mean, Papa?”

  I kneel down and prepare myself to try and translate more scribbles, but this time, I know exactly what she’s drawn. I take the pad out of her hands and into my own shaking ones. With wide eyes, I turn it around to show Kari.

  “He’s got her in a frat house,” I whisper, dropping the pad to the floor. Janelle scrambles to pick it back up, looking back at Kari and me for answers.

  My mind starts to race. There used to be a university in Montmorency... I remember reading about it when we first moved here. The economy had forced its closure. It was a huge deal. Jada’s work got a lot of their books when they went under. And most importantly, I know exactly where it is.

  “Kari...” The look in my eyes must tell her everything.

  “Go. I’ll watch her. Be careful.”

  I scoop Janelle up in my arms and give her a huge hug.

  “Are we going to get Mommy now?”

  “I’m gonna go get her, peanut. Can you stay here and take care of Ms. Kari?”

  She nods her head, excited at the idea of babysitting a grownup. “I’ll go and get my babies!” she squeals, pushing out of my arms and running into her room.

  “Keep your port on,” I tell Kari. “I’ll keep you updated.”

  Kari gives me a grim nod. I check the gun again and then run down the stairs.

  I’m coming, Jada. I’m coming.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jada

  Over the sound of my sobs, I hear the distinct series of clicks at the front door as the latches release. The door opens, then quickly closes. A series of locks snapping shut echo inside the house.

  For a moment, I’m consumed with absolute and utter hopelessness. After seeing firsthand what his tainted cologne does to me, I know his plan will work without flaw. Tobias will be crushed beyond repair. I can’t allow that. I can’t!

  A surge of energy floods my body. This is the chance to escape, while he’s gone. I use all my strength to pull hard against the ties. The hope is that by tugging on them, they will loosen up enough for me to get at least a hand free.

  I plant my feet against the wall and lean my body back against the ties, praying they will weaken with the friction. The pain in my wrists is almost unbearable, but I twist against the restraints, pinching my eyes closed with the strain.

  As I pull farther back against the wall, a small bit of warmth touches my skin. I open my eyes and peer down at my wrists in the crack of light coming in from under the door. Instantly, I know what the warmth is: blood—my blood. The heat I felt a second ago was not from the friction on the ties, but from the scars on my wrists opening themselves up again.

  The etching of my name and attempted suicide a few years ago has left the flesh along the area where the ties are seemingly more fragile than I would have guessed.

  I’m bleeding, quite badly by the looks of it, tied up, and alone. Tears cascade along the edges of my scarred face. This is it. I’m going to bleed out right here in this prison he’s made for me.

  I sink down to my knees on the bed, watching helplessly as blood drips down my arms.

  Perhaps this is for the best. Now Hawk won’t be able to carry out his twisted plans for me. Maybe finding me dead on this bed will be some sort of poetic justice. Maybe he’ll just run and leave Janelle and Tobias alone.

  My head starts to feel dizzy. Is this it? Is this the end?

  As my brain wages war with itself, I feel my tears begin to slow. Think, Jada. Think. Just stop the bleeding. This isn’t like the time I cut myself in the woods, though. I won’t be able to rip my shirt up to make a tourniquet. Not tied up like this. Or can I? Looking down at the pale-yellow sheet on the bed, my brain switches itself into survival mode.

  Using my feet, I kick and pull
against the sheet with the tips of my toes. At first, the fabric doesn’t give, but once one side slips off the corner, a second quickly follows suit. As quickly as I can, I scrape the sides of my feet against the loose fabric until all sides are free.

  It takes quite a bit of effort and strain, but I manage to work the sheet into a sort of blob. Using my head I’m able to inch the blob up the wall until my fingers can grab hold.

  Balling the fabric together in my bound hands, I place it over my wrists. I have to use my head to apply pressure to my cuts, but it’s the only option I have.

  The fabric stings against the fresh gashes. I bite against my lip to stop myself from passing out. I press my head against my wrists as hard as I can in an effort to stay alive.

  Exhausted from the effort of getting the sheet off the damn bed, I take several large gulps of air as I try to steady my heart rate. I need to calm down so the blood doesn’t pump as fast.

  I close my eyes against the throbbing in my wrists and wait for Hawk to come back and cut me free.

  I realize, of course, that it’s ironic that I’m praying for Hawk and not Tobias, but I know the reality of where I am. Tobias will never find me here because Hawk wanted it that way. The only thing I can hope to wish for is that the monster returns soon and decides he wants to help me.

  Tobias

  I fly down the stairwell of the apartment with renewed determination. I know where they are now. All I need to do is get there. If I plan this out right, Jada could be in my arms within the hour.

  Once I’m out on the street, I scan the road for cabs, but of course, there isn’t a single one in sight. Cursing, I head across the street toward the Metro line. I’ll take the train, just as they did. It’ll probably be faster than a cab anyway.

  The two-block walk to the station is nothing but a blur of faces. Bits of conversations in French and English mix inside my head as my feet pull me forward. That’s how I know I’m on the right path. It’s as though my body is taking over now, being pulled in by the force of her now that I am within her orbit.

  The sounds of the city fade into the distance and are soon replaced with dark echoes of conversations all around, the squeal of air breaks, and overhead announcements. The air is markedly thicker down here, but so far my lungs are holding out just fine. It’s because I’m close. I just know it.