by Paris Hansen
“I think make-up sex and a movie sound amazing,” Finley admitted as she unlocked her front door.
As soon as she walked in, she flipped the switch to the porch light. The yellow glow filled the doorway, instantly making her feel a little bit better. She flipped the switch that controlled the light above the garage and then walked further into the house so she could flip a few of the lights on around the house. Illuminating her surroundings chased away some of the unwanted paranoia, but didn’t really help to calm Finley down at all. The more it made her feel better, the angrier she got.
“This is such bullshit,” she screamed as soon as Liam shut the front door. “I don’t want to be a prisoner in my own home…a home that I don’t actually feel safe in at the moment because every shadow could be hiding something nefarious. It was one thing when whoever was behind all this was one of your crazy fans. For some reason that didn’t feel as unnerving. Now, knowing this guy is someone I once trusted enough to employee, the situation just seems scarier, more dire. I hate it.”
“Hey, I get it,” Liam told her as he pulled her in for a hug. “This whole thing fucking sucks and I hate that I can’t guarantee your safety. I hate that I might not be able to see this through with you. I’m going to try. I don’t want to leave you alone while this psycho is still out there, but I might not have a choice.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you Finley. I love you and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that sooner, but someday you’re going to get tired of how often I tell you. The police are going to catch this guy then I’m going to spend the rest of our lives telling you and showing you how much I love you.”
“I don’t think I could ever get tired of that.”
Liam smiled, “let’s head to your room and put that theory to the test.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Grabbing his hand, she led him down the hall to her bedroom. She flipped on the hall light as she walked by, then turned on the lamp next to her bed once they were in her room. Although she felt safe with Liam, she was still paranoid and probably would be until they caught the guy.
Finely took off her jacket, throwing it on the antique trunk at the end of her bed. Liam followed suit. She smiled as she watched him slowly unbutton his shirt. It seemed like forever since the last time they were together like this. She was going to soak up every second of it; enjoy every look, every touch. Bending over, she started to unzip her boots when a loud crash came from her living room.
“What the fuck was that?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Stay here. I’ll check it out.”
“Oh fuck no. That’s not happening. I’m calling the police, then we’ll go out there together.”
Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she dialed 911 and waited impatiently for an operator to answer. As soon as someone was on the other line she let them know what was happening. She also made sure to tell her that she had a case with the Seattle PD and that the break-in could be related. The operator told her to stay on the line and to find a spot in her room where they could stay hidden until the police arrived.
Liam was still close enough to her bedroom door that he could push it until it was almost closed. Then he moved onto the other side of the bed from the door where she stood, her phone still in her hand. There really wasn’t anywhere they could go in her room. The closet was too small and her bed too close to the ground to crawl under. Finley’s heart thundered in her chest. She had no idea what they were going to do.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” a voice bellowed from the hallway.
Finley’s breath caught in her throat. He was a hell of a lot closer than she thought. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Her door flew open.
“Hello Finley. Long time no see.”
Chapter 13
Finley
“Oh my god.”
“Did you miss me? Lord knows I’ve missed you,” George Douglas said as he stepped into Finley’s bedroom. “Now why don’t you be a good girl and put the phone down. And you, lover boy, don’t move another inch. I will not hesitate to pull the trigger.”
Finley’s head snapped up in time to watch George wave a gun around a few times. How she’d missed it when he’d first entered the room, she had no idea. Her eyes welled up, making it difficult to see.
“She’s so happy to see me, she’s crying. God that’s sweet. Now put the phone down. I won’t tell you again. You know if we’re going to make this relationship work Finley, you’re going to have to listen to what I say. I will not tolerate disobedience.”
George took a few more steps until he was in the middle of the room. The bed was no longer in his way, giving him a clear path to her. If he wanted to walk up to her, he could do it without any obstacles, aside from Liam. God, Liam. Finley just had to hope he didn’t do anything stupid and that he would just stand there next to her. She didn’t doubt that George would shoot him if he got out of line.
Finley dropped the phone onto the bed next to her. George had no way to know that the phone was still connected to the 911 operator. She just hoped that the operator could hear what was going on.
“Why are you doing this George? Why did you burn down Heat? I saw you standing there watching me while it burned.”
“I told you months ago, nothing was going to stand between us Finley. We were made to be together, but I knew that you needed a little push to finally see it. Heat was going to hold us back. I knew you wouldn’t leave with me if you still had to worry about that place, so as soon as I knew this jackass was out of the way, I torched the place. If it weren’t for that hell hole, this would have happened so much sooner.”
“George, you know you’re delusional, right? We weren’t meant to be together. You were fired because you were creepy as fuck with employees and me. I can’t stand you. There’s no way I would leave with you, with or without Heat.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever fucking say that,” George screamed as he waved the gun around. “If this asshole wasn’t here, you wouldn’t be saying any of that. You love me. I know you do.”
“No George, I don’t.”
George let out a scream, his hands flying up to rub at his head. He started to pace, never taking his crazed eyes off of either of them. Liam still stood in one spot, not saying a word. He looked at Finley though and shook his head. She knew she shouldn’t be saying the things she was, but she couldn’t help it. Now all it seems like she’d done was rile him up. He was agitated and she was only going to make things worse.
“Quit fucking lying,” George grumbled as he rubbed at his temples. “Come here. I need to be close to you.”
“I’m sorry George. I’m sorry for lying. You’re right. You and I were meant to be together. I have no more excuses not to be with you.”
“I said come here. I will not say it again,” George yelled as he pointed the gun at Liam.
Finley shuddered, she didn’t want to go anywhere near him, but she knew she had no choice. The man was crazy, damn near rabid. With any luck, the police would be here soon. If she could stall for time, maybe they could all get out of there alive. She took a hesitant step forward and then another. He quickly closed the gap between them until his body was nearly pressed against hers.
“Why is he here? Why did you go back to the police station?” George asked as he ran his free hand over her cheek into her hair.
His breath was warm against her ear and he smelled like he hadn’t showered in days. Finley’s stomach rolled, being so close to him made her skin crawl. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep her growing fear and disgust hidden.
“Liam wanted to take the letters you sent him to the cops, but I made him tell them to drop the case. We told them that we knew the fire was an accident and that the letters were from some crazy fan of Liam’s. But as soon as he got here, I wanted to turn him away. He’s not you.”
“I wasn’
t ready. I needed more time. He’s ruined everything once again. I was trying to make everything perfect for us. Now he’s back and I have to take you before your surprise is ready,” George rambled.
Finley had no idea what he was talking about, nor did she want to know. It sounded like he had plans for her. A chill ran down her spine as she realized this man had more up his sleeve than she imagined. He was certifiable and obsessed with her.
“Why’s his shirt unbuttoned?” George asked, using the gun to point at Liam as he took a step back from her. With George no longer pressed against her, Finley felt like she could breathe a bit better. But she knew it wasn’t a feeling that was going to last long. She could see how on edge he was. It was only a matter of time before he lost it.
“Hey George, you’re making me really nervous with that gun, do you mind putting it down? Liam was only going to change into one of the shirts he left here. Then he was going to head back to the airport. I already told him that I didn’t want to see him again. I already told him about us,” Finley said the lie feeling like acid on her tongue.
The sleazy look on George’s face made her skin crawl. The man was clearly bat shit crazy and he had a hard on for her. When he noticed, she was looking at him he licked his dry, cracked lips. Bile burned the back of her throat as she fought the urge to throw up. He was no longer agitated, but she felt dirty having had to play into his fantasy to calm him down.
“You know I can’t let him leave. He’s going to be a problem for us.”
“No he won’t George. He’s moved on. Haven’t you Liam?”
Liam looked at Finley, anger clouding his brown eyes. “Yeah man, I’ve moved on. You can have this one,” he said through clenched teeth.
“You’re a fucking liar. I can see it all over you. You’re both fucking liars,” George screamed as he pushed Finley backwards. She fell against Liam, but then quickly stepped away from him, not wanting to anger George more than he already was. There was no telling how quickly he could flip a switch from agitated to fine and back.
“George,” she said tentatively unsure if she should engage him in that moment. He’d started pacing again, his hands waving around wildly as he mumbled to himself something that she couldn’t hear. After a minute, he stopped pacing, staring at them both as he pointed the gun at Liam and then at her and then back to Liam like he was playing eeny meeny miny moe.
“I don’t know why I even bother with you. You’re such a dirty whore, but I love you and I know that it was this one that’s really to blame. God damn it George, she’s not worth the trouble,” he yelled at himself as he smacked himself in the forehead a few times. “But it doesn’t matter what either of you say, Finley’s mine and no one’s going to keep her from me.”
Finley’s mouth opened, to say what she wasn’t quite sure, but it didn’t matter. Anything she had to say would have been drowned out by the deafening bang of George’s gun going off. The sound echoed off of every wall and surface in her room. Although the bullet sped across the short distance between George and Liam, the moment slowed for Finley. She didn’t have time to scream even though it felt like forever between the sound and the impact; between the recoil and the red stain that bloomed on the surface of Liam’s white undershirt.
Liam’s eyes met hers a second before he went down. Panic, pain, fear she could see all of that reflected in his eyes. Dropping to her knees next to him, she tried to put pressure on his wound, but she couldn’t see anything through the veil of tears filling her eyes.
“Oh god, Liam. Oh god,” she sobbed as his blood stained her hands.
“Get up Finley, we have to go,” George said yanking on her arm as he tried to pull her up.
She fought him as much as she could. Remembering something from a self-defense class she took with Savannah, she tried to make her body relax so it was all dead weight, but she couldn’t relax enough. Instead she flailed her arms around hoping that she would connect with something vital.
“I didn’t want to hurt you Finley. I didn’t want it to play out this way, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Bracing for the sound of another gun shot and the impending pain that it would bring, Finley was surprised when there was no gun shot only pain. Blinding pain then darkness.
* * * * *
Her head hurt so bad trying to open her eyes made her nauseous. Her chest ached from the sobbing, from the pain of watching Liam be shot. She had no idea if he was dead or alive or if someone had even found him yet. When she’d finally woken up in the trunk of a car, she knew she was never going to see him again. Finley had no idea how long she’d been out or where they were. She had no idea if she’d ever be found.
Trying to open her eyes again, she fought through the dizziness and the nausea. As much as she ached, as scared out of her mind as she was, she couldn’t just let George Douglas get away with what he was doing. She might be tied up in the trunk of a car, but that didn’t mean she had to let him win. Even if every part of her wanted to lay there and die because he killed the love of her life. She had to fight back. Liam would have wanted her to fight back.
The music in the front of the car was piercing, which only added to the throbbing of her head. She couldn’t see anything at all in the trunk, not even the glowing release handle she had been praying for. Either George was smart and planned for her abduction or she was in the back of a car that had been made before the handles had been made mandatory. She tried to remember what she’d been taught in the self-defense class she took with Savannah. The instructor had been adamant about teaching them all how to escape any situation they might be in and being locked in a trunk had been one of them.
Finley had been sure she’d never need to know that particular set of instructions and had almost left. Thankfully Savannah had talked her into sticking around. If only she could remember everything the instructor said. Her head ached and every time she lifted it a little she felt like she was going to hurl. Her wrists were bound by a zip tie, but thankfully they were in front of her. Not the smartest move made by her captor, but it made things easier on her. Her ankles were also zip tied together, the rigid plastic biting into her ankle bone. At some point, the asshole had removed her boots. Taking a quick inventory of her clothing, she was thankful when she realized her boots were all he’d taken off her.
Feeling around as best she could, Finley realized that she was facing the backseat of the car. She clawed desperately for a button or handle to see if they could be pushed forward, but they didn’t budge. There was nothing underneath her that she could use to aid in her escape and it didn’t seem like there was anything else in the trunk beside her. He was smart to take anything she could use as a possible weapon, but her hope to ever getting out of the trunk lessened when she realized she had nothing to help her.
Rolling over slowly, she closed her eyes fighting off the nausea once more before she could feel around for something that would help her pop the trunk open. The smell of exhaust did nothing to help with her upset stomach, but she soldiered on. She ran through the list of things she could remember from class until she landed on the one thing she hadn’t tried yet. It really was her last hope, but it would only work if there were other cars around.
Finley had to hope that there was.
Feeling around she found a piece of fabric that wasn’t attached to the car. She pulled on the fabric until she was could pry it loose from the Velcro holding it in place. With the fabric, out of the way the trunk was illuminated by the tail lights. It was faint, but enough that it made what Finley had to do next easier, which was pulling the wires out of the lights so they no longer worked.
Pulling the wire out was harder than Finley thought it would be. She couldn’t get a good grasp on them because of her hands being tied together and the angle she was at. Her vision blurred as she strained to get the wires to move. Finley blinked her eyes rapidly trying to clear the fog that was settling. She didn’t know how much longer she could fight off the pounding headache and fatigue threaten
ing to overtake her.
She yanked one more time, nearly hitting herself in the face when the wires finally came free. The lights went out immediately, taking her ability to see with them. Dropping the useless plastic, she felt around again until her hands met the hard plastic of the lights. She pushed against them with everything she had left in her. A blinding pain shot through her head with the effort, but she ignored it and kept pushing.
Finley couldn’t give up. It wasn’t enough that having a tail light out could get him pulled over. She had to push the plastic out. She had to hope that there was someone else out there on the road behind them that would see her hands hanging out of the trunk and call the police.
She pushed and pushed, her head screaming in protest until she made herself sick, but she didn’t stop. As soon as she finished throwing up, she started to hit the plastic, using every ounce of strength she had. She hoped the music was loud enough that he couldn’t hear the banging, but at this point she didn’t care. Her vision blurred again, her stomach lurching. She was running out of strength and out of time.
With her legs braced against the back seat, she gave one final push knowing that it was her last chance to make something happen. When her hands went through the plastic, she nearly screamed in triumph. She hadn’t pushed the entire plastic casing out, but had weakened the plastic enough to splinter. With her hands through she could pull away at the rest, although it didn’t matter. Her hands were on the outside of the car. If someone else was out there, they were bound to see.
Finley tried to work more of the plastic out of the way, but her body had given up. She tried to see if she could peak through the small gap, but her hands were blocking the way and she couldn’t lift her head enough to see around them. She couldn’t fight the pull of darkness anymore; at least she’d done what she could to save herself. Hopefully, if she was lucky enough to wake up again, she’d be safe.