A Mermaid's Kiss

by Katie Holland

  My hands seemed to be taped to the side of my body and I seemed to have four more straps holding me down. One at my knees, upper thighs, waist, and shoulders. I was thankful I still had my clothes on.

  I heard the door again and put my head back down quickly. Wes came around to the side of the table with a bottle of water in his hand. He put his hand under my head to lift and put the bottle to my lips. Even taking a few small sips was hurting my throat. It was spilling down my chin so he moved it away.

  “Why aren’t you drinking more?” he asked, with a hint of anger.

  “My throat hurts and it’s hard to swallow.”

  “I should have thought of that,” he said less angry. “I’ll go make you some hot tea.”

  “Thank you. Can you tell me what time it is?” I wasn’t sure if he’d answer but hoped to catch him off guard.

  He looked at his watch without thinking. “It’s 8:54,” he said then looked angry again. “Why do you want to know?”

  I had to think fast. “There was a documentary I was supposed to watch tonight for history. It started at 9:00 and I didn’t want to miss it.”

  “Do you remember what it’s called? Maybe I can find it for you.”

  I didn’t know if it was a test or just part of the crazy that was overtaking him. “No. I left my notes at the dorm, but I’m sure the professor will give us another chance to watch it. After all, who wants to watch a boring documentary on a Saturday night.”

  “Well, you missed it anyway because it’s Sunday morning. I’ll go make your tea,” he said, and left the room again.

  My whole body tensed when he said that. The only good thing was that Karma and Major would know I was missing for sure since it had been almost twenty-four hours since Wes kidnapped me. I had to find a way out of here, but first I had to find a way off this table.

  I struggled as hard as I could but there was no way I could get the straps off me. I was going to have to find a way to get Wes to undo them and let me up.

  A few minutes later he was back with a hot cup of tea.

  “Give it a minute to cool. I don’t want you to burn your tongue.”

  “Thank you, Wes. Do you think I can sit up so I don’t spill it?” I was hoping it was a start to getting the rest of me free.

  He looked at me as if he was considering it so I tried to lay it on thicker.

  “I would hate to waste any of the tea that you so considerately made for me, which I really appreciate by the way.”

  My own words wanted to make me puke but they seemed to have worked on Wes. He put the cup down and did something under the table that made the straps at my shoulders and waist come loose. I heard the click of a knife and watched as he freed my left hand from the tape.

  It was more than I could have hoped for. He helped me sit up and handed me the tea. My first inclination was to throw it in his face but I knew that wasn’t going to help me right now.

  I took a sip of the tea. “This is perfect Wes. Thank you.” Every time I said something nice to him, I cringed on the inside, but if that’s what it took to help myself I was willing to do it.

  “I’m glad you like it. It’s my mom’s favorite.”

  “She has good taste,” I said forcing a smile. “Do you have a picture of her I could see?” I really didn’t care, but I was willing to try anything that would stop him from hurting me.

  “Uh, yeah sure. I have one on my phone.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “Hang on a second, I just have to turn it on.”

  I wondered if he’d had it off so that it couldn’t be tracked and that gave me an idea. A minute or so later he was showing me a picture of his mom and dad.

  “She’s beautiful,” I told him.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Would you like to see a picture of my parents? They died when I was little but I have a picture of them on my phone. Wait I hope I didn’t lose my phone. Have you seen it?” I tried to make it sound like I didn’t remember where I’d put it instead of the real reason I didn’t have it.

  “I think I saw it around here somewhere. Let me check.”

  I knew right then that he had officially lost it. Something in his mind had broken. I hoped that if I could keep him talking about “normal” things I might have a chance to make it out of this room alive.

  “I found it,” he said with a smile.

  “Thank God, I feel lost without my phone and I don’t have the money to buy a new one. Can you turn it on for me? My hands are full,” I said, holding up the cup of tea.

  “Of course I can.”

  I was hoping that Bodie was doing his computer thing and when my phone came on they’d be able to track where it was.

  I saw the screen light up and sent out a little thank you to the universe. I just hoped my plan worked.

  “If you go to the Gallery and click on the Family album, there are some pictures of my parents.”

  He did what I said and started scrolling through the pictures.

  “Who is this older lady?” he asked, holding the phone up so I could see.

  “That’s my Nana, she raised me.”

  He scrolled through a few more and stopped. “Is this them?”

  “Yes.”

  “You look just like your mom,” he said, staring at the picture.

  “I’ve been told that a lot.”

  It was at that moment, when my phone finally realized it was turned on, and started dinging and buzzing. Every text and message I’d received in the last day were all coming through at once. There was nothing I could do about it. I watched as Wes saw one name keep popping up, Major’s.

  He threw my phone across the room and it shattered into pieces. I immediately got scared because Wes had turned red with anger. He slammed me back on the table hard enough that my head bounced. The cup dropped to the floor. The sound of it breaking seemed fitting for the situation. Tears were leaking from my eyes again.

  Wes got right in my face and started yelling. “How could you demean yourself and fuck him. He’s a rich bastard who uses women for sex and throws them away. You’re a stupid naïve woman. How could you stand to have those dirty hands on your body? You’re worthless now after being with him. You’re dirty and unclean. He’s contaminated you.”

  He slapped me hard enough that I was momentarily stunned. I felt a strap being thrown over my shoulders, heard a click and I was unable to move again. He stormed off and I heard water running. I was terrified of what he was going to do to me and I was full on sobbing. In my head, I was saying “Somebody please find me. Somebody, please find me.” I repeated over and over. I didn’t want to die in a dark room strapped to a table.

  Wes was back and had scissors in his hand. I thought he was going to stab me, so I started screaming. He slapped me again and put the gag back in my mouth. I tried to stop him but he was so much stronger than me.

  He moved the scissors close to me and started cutting off my clothes around the tape and straps. I was grateful he didn’t stab me, but scared as to the reason he was cutting my clothes off. When he had as much of them cut away as he could he threw a bucket of cold water on me. I was already cold and it was a shock to my body. Then he started scrubbing at my skin with soap and a cloth. He was continually muttering about me being “unclean.”

  I screamed through the gag, but it had no effect on him at all. I was shivering uncontrollably, both from fear and the cold. I could feel my skin getting raw where he was rubbing it with the cloth.

  He started at my legs and worked his way up. I had no idea how long he’d been at it but it felt like hours and I cried the whole time. I stared at the ceiling, not wanting to see him touching any part of me. When he finally made it to my breasts I cried harder. I did not want him touching me there and ruining the good memories Major started making for me.

  Wes unexpectedly stopped and looked at the door like he’d heard a noise. I listened for any faint noise. Suddenly, the door flew open. There were moving lights and a lot of yelling at Wes to get on his h
ands and knees. I turned my head to look at Wes. I saw him reach behind him and pull out the gun he’d used on me. Multiple gunshots rang out and Wes fell to the ground.

  The next face I saw was a lady in a police uniform. She undid my gag and I started sobbing.

  “Are you Kayleigh Mills?”

  I nodded because I couldn’t talk.

  “You’re safe now Kayleigh.” She put her jacket over me and called for someone to get EMS in here. The straps were removed first and then someone cut my legs and hand free. I cried at the feeling of being able to move again. I was covered up with a blanket and EMS was putting me on a stretcher. They put me in the back of an ambulance and took me to the hospital. The lady police officer stayed with me the whole time.

  I was wheeled into Emergency and taken straight back and put in a room. A doctor came in and started asking me questions. Was I allergic to any medication? Was it okay to examine me? I don’t really remember the rest. I let them perform a rape kit because I didn’t know what happened to me while I was unconscious. I held my police officer’s hand while they did it and hoped it came back negative. They hooked me up to an IV and gave me a shot of something to help me relax. I didn’t want to be put out but the officer told me she wouldn’t leave me so I would be safe. I felt the medicine start to take effect and I closed my eyes.

  Chapter 60

  Major

  Twenty-Four Hours Ago

  We were sitting in the coffee shop talking about what I wanted to do to surprise Kayleigh when something kept nagging at Karma. She took out her phone and read the text from Kayleigh again.

  “Something isn’t right,” Karma said.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “This text from Kayleigh. It said she was going to the library to study for history, but we didn’t have any homework in history. The professor wanted us to enjoy the weekend after our exam.”

  “Maybe she meant another class,” Bodie offered.

  “Maybe. I’ll text her back and see,” Karma said.

  Karma sent a text and we waited for Kayleigh to answer. After five minutes she called her.

  “It went straight to voicemail. She never turns her phone off. I’m going to the library.”

  We got up and followed Karma to the library that Kayleigh usually went to. We checked every floor. She wasn’t there. We went to the other library and did the same thing. There was no sign of her.

  After that, we went to the dorm hoping that maybe she was in her room. She wasn’t there and neither was her swim bag.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I said.

  “The last place we know for sure where she was at was the pool,” Karma said. “I think we should go check there.”

  We ran over to the swim complex only to find the doors locked. I banged on the doors hoping someone was inside.

  “Fuck,” I yelled at the sky.

  While I’d been pounding on the doors Karma and Bodie had been looking around.

  “Over here,” Karma yelled.

  I ran to where she was. Kayleigh’s swim bag was sitting on the ground.

  “Fuck, this is bad,” Bodie said.

  “No shit,” I said. “What are we going to do?”

  “I’m going to call the police,” Karma said

  “Wait,” Bodie said. “They won’t do anything. She’s only been missing for like an hour. In the eyes of the police, she’s a college student that’s probably on a date or something. Let me make a phone call.”

  Bodie walked away from us for his call.

  “Who is he going to call that would be able to help us,” Karma asked.

  “His dad.”

  “Okay … and who’s his dad?”

  “His dad is the founder of West Security and Recovery,” I told her. By the look on her face, she had no idea what that was.

  “West Security is the world’s largest security firm that specializes in high-end clients. Celebrities, world leaders, billionaires, that sort of thing.”

  “And the recovery part?”

  “They track down and find kidnapped people who are connected to the wealthy.”

  “Like when someone is held for ransom?”

  “Yes, exactly like that.”

  “So is that how Bodie knows the hacking shit?”

  “Part of it. He also just likes doing it.”

  Bodie came back over to us. “Dad will be here within the hour. He’s going to get all the details from us then he’ll talk to the police on our behalf. He has some sway with most police departments in California so if anyone can convince them that she’s missing it will be him.”

  “Thank you, Bodie,” Karma said and hugged him.

  “Thanks, man,” I said.

  We waited for Mr. West by the swim complex as instructed. Forty-five minutes later we saw two large black SUV’s and a van pull up. Bodie went to greet his dad.

  “Thank you for coming Mr. West,” I said, shaking his hand.

  “Nice to see you, Major. Bodie tells me that Kayleigh is your girl.”

  “I was hoping she would be. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her before she went missing.”

  “We’ll get her back son.”

  I nodded. He went over to his team and gave them instructions. They started scanning the area for anything that might help. He came back over to us and started asking questions. We told him about Wes and the phone thing as well as the meltdown he had at the pool. Bodie even confessed to the emails. We gave him as much information as we had. He went back to the van that was being used as a command center and took Bodie with him.

  “Can he do what he said he can do?” Karma asked me.

  “If anyone can find Kayleigh it’s West Security.”

  Eventually, Karma and I were allowed into the command center. It was cramped but Mr. West knew we wanted to be involved. There were people coming and going and lots of phone calls being made. But in my opinion, Bodie had the most important job of anyone. He was watching for Kayleigh’s phone to be active. The second it was turned on, he was going to track her GPS.

  We sat there for hours, only moving to stretch for a second or to get out of someone’s way. Early Sunday morning Mr. West was talking a local police commissioner. He was able to convince him that this was a real missing person’s case. We were told that the police were ready to move as soon as there was a location.

  There was a lull in activity when Bodie suddenly yelled, “Her phone’s on.”

  He started typing furiously on the keyboard in front of him. Mr. West was standing behind Bodie watching him. It seemed like hours but I think it was only a couple of minutes and Bodie said, “Got it!” Mr. West made a phone call and all we could do was wait.

  Two hours later Mr. West got a call. He was only on the phone for a minute.

  “They’ve got her. She seems to be okay but they’re taking her to Central Hospital in San Francisco to check her over.”

  “Thank you, Mr. West,” Karma told him.

  “Yes, thank you,” I said shaking his hand. “I owe you one.”

  “Maybe someday I’ll need a favor from you so don’t worry about it. Good luck Major.”

  Karma, Bodie and I went straight to my truck and headed for San Francisco.

  * * *

  Present Time

  Karma and I were sitting in the waiting room of Emergency. I knew Kayleigh was back there but because none of us were family we weren’t allowed to go see her. I had flown her Nana in from Tulsa and she was due to arrive at the hospital soon.

  I was a wreck. They’d told me she was physically okay, but the need to see her with my own eyes was overwhelming.

  I looked at the clock again, only two minutes had passed. This had been the longest twenty-four hours of my life and I hoped to never repeat it. I got up and started pacing, the sitting was driving me crazy.

  “Here,” Bodie said handing me a cup of coffee. I was wired enough without the extra caffeine but having something in my hands helped a little. “Any news?
” he asked.

  I shook my head and started pacing again. Looking at the clock again only three more minutes had passed.

  Karma’s phone rang and I heard her say “In the Emergency waiting room.”

  A minute or so later, an elderly woman walked in and Karma ran over to her. Karma hugged her like her life depended on it.

  “Where is she?” the woman said.

  “Back there,” Karma said pointing to a set of double doors. “We haven’t been allowed to see her.”

  “I’ll fix that,” the woman said and marched over to the desk.

  A couple of minutes later the woman came back, took Karma’s hand and they were let into the doors.

  “I take it that’s Kayleigh’s Nana,” Bodie stated.

  “I would assume as much. God, it’s killing me, Bodie, I need to see her.”

  “I’m sorry man. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

  “I can never repay you for finding her,” I told him.

  “All I did was stare at a screen and press a few keys. West Security and the police did the hard work.”

  “But without that app you put on her phone, they wouldn’t have known her location since Wes had turned off her GPS.”

  Bodie just nodded because I think he didn’t know what to say. The app he’d installed would not only alert her if someone was trying to hack her phone but it also had a hidden feature that ran the GPS even when the user thought it was turned off. I was starting to think that more people needed that app. It had saved Kayleigh’s life.

  Fifteen minutes later Karma came back out of the waiting room.

  “They’ve knocked her out so she’ll get some rest and they’re going to move her to a room that’s not an emergency. Nana is going to sit with her until she wakes up. She suggested that we all get some rest since it looks like Kayleigh is going to be sleeping for a few hours.”

  “I’m not going back to the University,” I said seriously.

  “I’m not either. I was told there’s a hotel just a block from here. I thought we could crash there until Kayleigh wakes up. Nana said that she would make sure you get to see her when that happens.”