Spencer: Ems, where are you? Did you find him?
Spencer: Emmy, answer me. Please let me know you are not in a ditch somewhere.
Spencer: I am freaking out. Why won't you answer my calls?
Spencer: Damit Ember answer my fucking call!
All I can do is stare at the screen. I can't make my fingers work to text him back. I'm still sitting in the squad car. Now there is someone taking samples of the blood and another one looking up at the buildings.
“There are no cameras in the area sir. There is a traffic camera down the street, we can check it but I doubt that we would find anything, there are too many routes out before getting to it.” one of the officers says to the man looking at the buildings.
“This building here. What is it?” he asks the officer
“I believe it is an old warehouse sir. Most of these buildings are abandoned and now used as shelter to the homeless.” he responds
“This one looks well taken care of.” he points to the one behind me, on the opposite side of the street from the car and blood. “Find out if anyone uses it and see if they have private surveillance.” he orders.
“Is there someone I can call for you?” the original officer asks.
Unable to speak I had him my phone with the screen still on the text from Spence. He reads it and sighs.
“Would you like me to call him?”
I nod, and he makes the call.
“Sir, please calm down. My name is Officer Stevenson with Shoreline PD.” he moves the phone away from his ear and looks at it with wide eyes.
“Sir, please let me speak. I am here with your friend Ember, she is physically safe.”
I zone out again.
I am pulled out of my daze when Spencer shakes me. I look up to him with dead eyes. My face is now lifeless, my body still unable to function. He pulls me into his arms and I lose it all over again.
He finally gets me into the passenger side of my Jeep and leaves me to talk to the detective. He takes his card and walks back to me getting in the driver's seat. I close my eyes and lean my head against the cool window.
I wake up to Spencer carrying me to my room. Victor pulls the cover back and Spence lays me in my bed and covers me. He sits on the edge of the bed and runs his fingers through my hair until I fall asleep again.
Chapter 24
Ember
It's been five days since Jonas went missing. I have hardly left my room, all I can do is focus on the window in my room. I watch as the sky changes colors from dusk to dawn to dusk again. I can't sleep, can't eat, can't speak. Spencer keeps trying to force me to drink water and eat but everything just comes back up.
Spencer contacted Janessa as soon as he got us back home that night, she was on the first flight back here with Wellington. Then he called my uncle who came to see me the next morning. Apparently he was worried enough to call my grandparents. They too caught a flight back to the state.
Now I find myself sitting in one of the armchairs in the living room with my uncle sitting on the arm rubbing my back. Wellington is holding Nessa in his arms as they stand against the wall near the door, Spencer and Victor are standing in the kitchen making tea for my grandparents who are seated on the couch. Detective Castor is seated in the other armchair ready to speak.
“I know you are all hoping for good news, unfortunately I have none to give. I wanted to be the one to tell you personally the search is to be called off.”
Nessa buries her face into Wellington's chest and starts to cry, Spence also has tears, but I can't seem to feel anything.
“There has to be something you can do, detective. How can you just give up?” my papa asks as he looks in my direction.
“I am sorry, but we have no leads. Nothing. You all have told us that he has no enemies, no one with the motive to take or harm him. We have already looked into the fight with Kade Graham, but unable to reach him due to being out of the country at the time and he has yet to return. We can't even disprove what the tabloids are saying about him faking his abduction and leaving on his own.”
“That is ridiculous, my brother would never leave like that, nor would he have any reason to make it look as if he was taken against his will if he did want to leave. There was blood, his blood where his car was found. How can you say these things?” Nessa cry-yells as Wellington tries to calm her down.
“Miss Drakos, please forgive me, I am only stating the facts. All we know at this point is that the email for the meeting he was going to was sent from a computer at the company, but the email address is a fake. We have not been able to trace it any further. At this point they are calling it a body recovery rather than a missing person case. There has been no ransom, no clues as to what he was taken for.”
“So, you know that he was lured to the location and you still insinuate that he did this himself?” Avo cuts him off.
He sighs and rubs his temples. “No, that is not what I said. Look, I came here as a courtesy. I wanted to let you all know that this is now out of my hands. I have a contact in the tech department, I have asked him to keep looking for a signal. If his cell phone powers on the tech will get me the location and I will personally look into it. That's all I can do at this point. Im sorry.”
He stands and walks to where I am, crouching down to my level, he hands me a card, gives me a sad smile that is full of pity and then leaves. I look at the card for a while, it is for a grief counselor. I set it on the side table and returned to my room, locking the door behind me.
I don't need a grief counselor, I need to find Jonas. I pull my phone from my nightstand and dial his number again. Then I squeeze the teddy bear that he recorded a message on. “Agápi mou. You always ask me what it means, in greek it is ‘my love’. You have and always will hold my heart in your hands. I love you, Ember.” I have been doing this every hour for the past two days, just to hear his voice. I close my eyes and drift off into a dreamless sleep.
∞∞∞
1:50AM and my phone is dinging with a text. The only reason I even have it on is to be sure I don't miss when Jonas finally calls. The text is from an unknown number.
UNKNOWN: There is a debt to be paid and you are the only one who can.
I look at it confused and put my phone back on the nightstand and try to fall asleep again. Ten minutes later another message comes through
UNKNOWN: 1409 Crestfield Rd. Come alone.
UNKNOWN: I will give you 1 hour before I gut your pig and strangle him with his own intestines.
I stare at the message for a moment, not sure I really understand. My pig? This has to be some sick joke.
My Jonas? Before I can convince myself to ignore the pain in my chest I climb out of bed and pull on my black leggings and the first pair of sneakers I find then run out the door. On my way down the stairs I call Detective Castor. He doesn't answer so I have to leave a message.
I know that they said to come alone, but there is no way in hell I am going to walk into danger and possibly get myself killed without someone knowing why. I may be reckless but Im not completely stupid. He probably won't even get it till morning, but I have to tell someone.
“Detective, it's Ember. I got a text from an unknown number and I think they might have Jonas. It said to go to 1409 Crestfield Rd. I'm going there now. I just needed you to know...you know just in case...in case I don't come back.”
I disconnect the call, get in my jeep and set google maps to take me to my destination. It reads ‘45 minutes to destination’ Shit. I drive as fast as I can, not caring about anything else. My heart is beating in my ears and my body is burning, all I can think about is what this sick fuck could be doing with the love of my life. I feel bile start to rise in my throat and make myself swallow it back down.
I keep telling myself this is just some prank. Nothing is going to be there. But then I want him to be there. My mind is racing and I can't get my thoughts together.
It’s 2:33AM when I arrive at the address given to me. It looks like more aband
oned factories, only these are just on the outskirts of the city. I slowly get out of my jeep and close the door quietly, not that whoever this creep is doesn't already know I'm here.
The buildings form a ‘U’ shape with a wide open center. The whole place is fenced in, but it is old and broke through in places. Probably from the homeless using it for shelter. I find a large gap in the fence and slide through, trying to be as quiet as I can.
How am I supposed to know which building it is. All three brick buildings are so old and rundown. The center building is almost falling in on itself. There are no distinguishable addresses on any of them, at least not that I can see with only the moonlight.
I have twenty minutes to find them. I decide to go to my right.
I keep my back close to the building hoping to blend into the darkness. When I get to the center of the first building I see a soft glow coming from the building across from me. That has to be it. I look around to see if anyone is around, but all I find is more darkness. I keep going the way I started, I don't really feel safe running across the open courtyard. The door is partly ajar, wide enough for me to squeeze through it.
Inside it is pitch black, I know I need to get to the third floor, and to go toward the center building. Finding my way there is the issue. I feel my way along the wall swaying my feet in front of me to keep from tripping or falling down some unseen stairs or hole. I walk slowly and after a few minutes I am able to make out shapes in the hallway. There is a window just above the staircase, giving it just enough moonlight for me to find my way to it. Quietly I make my way up to the third floor and walk to where I see the soft glow.
What I see when I get to the entry of the large open room makes my heart stop. My hands fly to cover my mouth to stop from letting out a sob, but that doesn't stop the tears that start to fall.
There in the center of the room sits the love of my life, bound to a small wooden chair. His white shirt lays open and is covered in blood, he looks lifeless. The small lantern is the only source of light, and it is hanging just above his head. The ring of light I cast is only about 20 feet before it starts to fade, it gives off enough to see another 15-20 feet if you have good night vision.
I take a deep breath before taking a step into the room. I am still hidden by the darkness, slowly creeping closer to him as soundlessly as I can. Going any further I will lose the cover of the shadows, but he is so close. Fifty feet tops. Listening for any movement, looking for any sign of life, I pray to whatever God will hear me.
A few more steps and I am in the light enough for his captor to see me and speak. “Welcome. You must be the one and only Ember. I have heard so much about you.” a man says form the shadows.
Jonas moves his head to look at me, eyes filled with fear. His face is swollen, bruised and bloody, but those emerald orbs almost glow in the dim light. My heart starts to beat again just knowing he is alive.
He has tape over his mouth, but he still tries to speak, letting out muffled sounds as tears fall from his eyes. I know he is telling me I shouldn't have come, but how could I leave him alone with this creep.
“I’m here, what do you want with him?” I demand.
“Oh princess, I don't want him, or you for that matter. This is just a job for me. I’m not the one you should be worried about.” he walks into the light and his smile makes me cringe.
“Then who should I be worried about?” taking a few steps closer, testing his limits.
Then a woman speaks. The voice is vaguely familiar, yet I can't place it. “This was never about him, it was about you. He is just a means to an end, dear. A casualty of war. You are the real prize. Had I known you were truly in love with this disgusting excuse of a man I would have drawn out the torture, made you watch as he dug a knife into his gut. Right next to the one macho man over here gave him.”
“Do you see the blood spilling out? Well, it's not that deep, but it still felt good. You know, pushing it into his flesh. Listening to his sounds of pain. Though I must admit he took it better than most. What a tough guy you got yourself, he just gritted his teeth and gave me a small muffled grunt as I twisted it. Still enough to make me happy with my work. I know we said an hour, but I got bored.”
“I have to admit I didn't think you would actually show up. I was sure you would save yourself, let your little toy here pay the price. Didn't think you were capable of real love. See we always thought you were just some gold digging slut that used men. Not just any men of course, the rich and famous.”
“I thought for sure when Christoper Blane showed up in your office you would push this beast to the back of your mind and jump on the opportunity to spread your legs and have a piece of him. Hell, I might have it if I were you, he is one sexy man.” she laughs “But anyways. No, you disappointed me and played the good girl card. The loving girlfriend. We both know that is a lie.”
I know better than to banter with her about Jonas. I want to get her attention away from him, not give her more reason to hurt him. I try my best not to look at him but I fail. How could I not look at him, this may be the last time I get to see him. I have a feeling one or both of us won't be leaving here alive. If I have a choice it will be me. He is defenseless, bleeding out yet he is still fighting. I see his hands behind him working to free themselves. Oh God, baby please don't do something that will get you killed.
“You have been stalking me?” what the fuck is wrong with this chick? Why does she want to punish me? What did I ever do to her?
“Ha, stalking? No, I wouldn't call it stalking. Lets just say I have eyes and ears all over the city, not to mention friends in high places.”
“So, what do you want? You have me now, let him go.” speaking in the direction of the voice. I hear the clicking of heels on the cement floor, and a feminine figure becomes visible, she is thin and has long legs visible from her short dress. Her hair is straight and long, even with the low light I can see it is very dark.
“We want revenge, it's that simple. You took something from me, something I can never get back. You took my pride, my good name, all of my accomplishments went down the drain because of you.” she seaths.
“What are you talking about?” none of this is making sense.
The creepy man wearing cargo pants and a light colored shirt covered in dark stains, presumably blood, is leaning against the column in front of Jonas, picking his nails with a large fancy knife. Never taking his eyes off of his task. His hair is light and very short. His feet clad in combat boots with more dark stains. He doesn't respond to the woman as she approaches him.
The woman's voice claims my attention again. “You really are stupid, but that’s ok. I didn't expect you to remember me, you selfish greedy little whore.” she spits with venom, then returns to her bubbly voice. “Well, let's just say everything you have is because of me. I mean you would still be running errands and cleaning up the showrooms if it wasn't for me. You think the gala was your success? Wrong bitch, it was mine. I started it. I put my blood, sweat and tears into that fucking gala, and you waltz in and take my glory.”
“Karen?” holy shit, no fucking way. She is crazy.
This is the most ridiculous tantrum I have ever seen. She lost her job after the disaster at the policeman's ball. She was trying to seduce the chief of police, for God knows what reason. Turns out she succeeded.
His wife caught them in the mens room with her dress around her waist and his pants at his feet. Needless to say the wife was pissed and caused a huge screen. Karen then attacked the woman with a cocktail fork, stabbing her in the neck. From what I heard she almost died on the way to the hospital.
Once she was healed she filed a lawsuit against Event On Point, and filed for divorce. In the end she ended up with everything; the house, cars, pets and a large sum of money from the company.
From what I remember the cops had taken Karen out in cuffs and then she just disappeared after the trial. She got off with a slap on the wrist because, well like she said, she has friends in high places. I
suppose that's what happens when you spread your legs for a slew of old rich men.
“So, you do remember me. Good. I'm sure my partner in crime will be much more familiar to you.” she moves toward the center of the room, closer to Jonas. My stomach drops when I see the gun in her hand. Please God don't let her hurt him. My body moves on its own taking a few more steps.
She catches my gaze and laughs waving the gun in front of her. “Oh, don't worry about this little thing here. I have no intentions of shooting you or prince charming here. I merely want to watch you suffer for all you have taken from me. My dear friend here.” she points back to the darkness behind her. “Well she might feel differently.”
So her partner isn't the man? What is his part in all this? Just the muscle? I look in the direction she came from, seeing nothing but black. No sound. Does she have an alter ego she is referring to?
Before I can ask who she is referring to, a shot is fired and I have a searing pain in my right thigh and fall to my knees. The bullet went straight through and I can feel the blood seeping out both sides. Jonas struggles against his restraints and the man puts the huge knife to his throat.
“I never was a very good shot.” the woman in the shadows laughs.
I am far too distracted by the shock and pain to place her voice. I push my hand to the top of my thigh while the other side is pressed to my calf under me. It's not squirting so it's safe to say she didn't hit an artery. I look up to see her figure coming into the light. She is thinner than Karen, shorter too. Her hair is bleach blond, curled and waving from side to side as she walks forward.
“I was aiming for your heart.” she giggles.
That voice, I know that voice. Come on Em think. I know that I know that voice, I hate that voice. My eyes start to go in and out of focus. I need to get over this shock or I won't stand a chance.
Ribbon of Fate: Love or lust? Page 22