The next time the photographer counts to three, Josie does smile. She is smiling straight at me.
16
Hunter
My phone rings for the hundredth time today. It’s Jaxon. “Yeah.”
“Hey, we just made it to the house. Are you close?”
“About twenty more minutes. Is it a good place to hide out for a while?” I don’t even know how he found this place, but I don’t really care. I trust Jaxon with my life. If he says it’s a good place then his word is good enough for me.
“Yes, it’s perfect actually.”
“Is it big enough to where I don’t need to see her?” I really don’t want to be under the same roof right now, but I don’t have a better choice at the moment.
“Hunter, just hear her out. It’s really not what you are thinking.”
What the hell? Great, she must have told Jaxon and Eliza some semi-believable lie and got them wrapped around her finger. Now they are all okay with this and I end up the bad guy. No way will I believe anything she says. I heard her very clearly on the phone. There is no mistake in what she was saying.
“I’ll see you soon,” is all I can manage to say through the anger. I hate this. All of this. The last few days have been nothing but a nightmare. A never-ending nightmare.
The closer I get to the address Jaxon sent me the more nervous I get. I just don’t want to face her yet. I start seeing fewer and fewer houses on the side of the road. Jaxon was right, this is a perfect location. There is thick forest on either side of the road and I haven’t seen another car for a while. There is a lake down to my right and I am guessing this is more of a summer vacation spot. It’s too cold for people to enjoy the lake yet.
I pull into the long paved driveway leading to a good sized lake house. Nice, I can hide out on one side while Jenna hides out on the other. We never even have to talk. The garage door opens and I pull into the two-car garage next to Jaxon’s Mustang. My hopes of not having to see Jen are crushed immediately when I see her standing at the door. She closed the garage door before I get out of my car. Locking us in together. Great.
I get out and slam the car door shut louder than I intended. Jen flinches by the sound which just pisses me off. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I say, keeping my voice angry on purpose. I was hoping it would be enough to make her move out of the way. It didn’t. She is still standing in the doorway, blocking my way inside the house. Where the hell is Jaxon when you need him?
“Please Hunter, just give me two minutes to explain,” she begs. Her brown long hair is uncombed and messy, her eyes look puffy like she has been crying since yesterday. She is fidgeting around with her hands like she does when she is nervous. She looks pitiful and all I want to do is hug her. “You have thirty seconds,” I say in resignation.
17
Jenna
“I have a sister.” I still feel weird saying the words out loud. Hunter’s face relaxes slightly, but he clearly needs more of an explanation than that.
“When I was twelve, I found a shoe box hidden in my mom’s closet. Inside I found a bunch of pictures and some baby stuff. At first, I thought it was just a keepsake box my mom had made for me. Most of the pictures showed me as a baby, but there was also another baby in them. The other baby only looked to be a few months younger than me, but other than that we looked similar. I thought she might have been a cousin that I didn’t know about or something. I kept digging in the box and found two tiny hospital bracelets. One of them had my name and my birthday on it. The other was identical, even had the same date on it, but a different first name. I thought they must have put the wrong name on the first bracelet and printed out another one. It wasn’t until I turned around one of the pictures of me and the other baby that I understood what was going on. The picture read ‘Jenna and Josephine at their first birthday party’. Josephine was the same name from the second hospital bracelet.
Hunter's eyes widen. “You have a twin sister?”
I nod. “Yes, Josie. She was on the phone with me yesterday. After I found the picture, I confronted my mom and she told me everything. Our father had left right after he found out my mom was pregnant. We were born two months premature and my sister Josie had a lot of health issues because of it. That’s why she was smaller than me in the pictures. My mom was young, alone, and overwhelmed with two babies. I think she really tried, but in the end it wasn’t enough. She didn’t have enough money for all the medical expenses. Josephine kept getting sick and it had gotten so bad that my mom couldn’t put enough food on the table for both of us. Child protective services had already gotten involved and they were threatening to take both of us. My mom made the decision to give Josie up for adoption, so she could at least keep me.”
“Why have you been hiding that fact that you have a sister? Does Eliza know?”
“I told Jaxon and Eliza about her earlier today. But just that I have a sister. I haven’t told them the whole story. I wanted to tell you first. Before today, nobody knew about her. It’s a deal we made with her adoptive parents. When they first adopted Josie, they were hoping to adopt me too. They left my mom with their number just in case she would change her mind. So naturally, my mom tried to con them into giving her money using me as leverage. After that, they told her not to contact them ever again and she didn’t for a long time. When I found out about Josie, I contacted them myself and they agreed to let me and Josie meet, but without my mom being involved.” Just the thought about the moment when I met my sister for the first time brings happy tears to my eyes.
“You heard about the twin connection thing before?” Hunter nods and I continue. “It was just like that for us. I always felt like something was missing when I was younger, but I thought it was not having a functional family with a dad. As it turned out, I was missing my twin. As soon as we met, it was like I had found my other half. We instantly reconnected. We wanted to be together all the time. The only problem was that her dad had gotten into politics and was running for senator at the time. They thought that with me showing up it would be bad for the image of the family, especially with my mom being a drug addict and a stripper. They asked me to keep quiet, and in return they would make sure that we get to see each other frequently. They kept their word and I kept mine. I never told anybody about this. I see Josie once a week and we talk on the phone usually every day. I would show you a picture of us together, but they are all on my old phone. There are pictures of her and her family in the living room though. This is their lake house.”
“Wow,” Is all he says. At least he believes me. I always felt bad for lying to everybody, especially Eliza, but I couldn’t risk losing my sister again. Once we are eighteen, no one can tell us what to do anymore.
Hunter takes a step forward and before I know it, he pulls me into his arm. “I’m sorry that I stormed out and didn’t let you explain.”
“I am sorry that I lied to you and didn’t tell you about Josie sooner.” I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest, so I can breathe him in. We stand like that for a while. His face is in the crook of my neck, it feels like he is inhaling my hair.
“You guys kissed and made up yet?” Jaxon’s voice breaks through our little bubble of happiness. Hunter lets go of me a little but not enough for me to step away.
“No, this is how we fight,” Hunter says, pulling me closer again.
“Well then, continue fighting in the living room where we can talk.”
“What are we going to do now?” I ask the obvious question when we all sit down on the couch.
“This place is good for now, but we can’t stay here forever. People are looking for us, not just cops. We are all over the news and social media.” Jaxon is right, we can’t stay here forever and Mindy needs to come home to her baby.
“We need to find Colt and figure out where he is keeping Mindy,” Hunter says. “I think that is the only thing that can get us off the hook. Coleman knows too many people. If they catch us, we’ll go to jail for the rest of ou
r lives.” Just the thought of that makes me shudder. I look over to Eliza who is clinging onto Jaxon for dear life. Yes, we need to find Mindy.
With every hour that ticks by, I lose hope that we will find her. Jaxon and Hunter are on the phone for the rest of the day. Calling different people, trying to get clues to figure out where Colt is hiding. Their conversations are always the same and I start to drown them out. It’s after nine when Jaxon sounds excited about what he hears. The upbeat tone in his voice immediately gets my attention and I start to listen closely. He scribbles down an address and thanks the person on the phone before he hangs up.
“Someone saw Colt heading to this address an hour ago. It’s an office building downtown that is supposedly closed for renovation and…” he sighs. “He had a girl with him.”
“We need to go there,” I yell. Eliza looks at me like I have lost my mind, shaking her head profusely.
“It is a risk, but it might be our only shot,” Hunter points out. I don’t like the idea of Hunter and Jaxon out and exposed either, but what other choice do we have?
Jaxon looks out the window like he is deep in thought. “We can’t take either one of our cars. Every cop will be on the lookout for those.”
“Unless they moved it, there is a Jeep out in the shed next to the house. We can take it.”
“We?” Hunter asks. “No way are you and Eliza are coming. You guys need to stay here.”
“No!” Eliza yells.
“Hunter is right,” Jaxon tries to calm Eliza. “It's not safe for you two.”
“It's not safe for you either,” I retort a little annoyed. “We all go. We need to stay together.”
“Yes, we all go,” Eliza agrees with me.
“I don’t like it.” Hunter glares at me.
“Neither do I.” Jaxon looks at Eliza hopeful, but she is not about to back down. That settles it. We are all going.
We had to jump start the Jeep, but at least it has gas in it. The whole ride there, Eliza and I sit in the back, holding hands. I am so worried. This just has to work out.
When we get closer to downtown, my heart rate picks up. It’s late and we are in a car that no one knows, so the chances we get recognized and pulled over are slim. Still, just the thought of Jaxon and Hunter being arrested and put away for the rest of their lives has me all up in knots.
“It’s that building over there.” Jaxon pulls up at the side of the road and points out a building ahead of us. The whole unit is completely dark.
“Is there a light on up there?” Hunter points up at an office on the third floor. I look closer and realize that he is right. There is a dim light shining out of the window. I almost didn’t catch it because it’s so faint. We are on the main road and Jaxon tells us that we are too exposed here. He drives around the building into a small alley when he slams his breaks almost hitting a woman. She staggers back and the Jeep’s headlight illuminates her face.
“Oh my god, it’s Mindy!” I yell out.
She looks distraught and scared. But other than that, she seems unharmed. Everyone except Eliza jumps out of the car. Mindy starts talking, rushing through the words. “Help me, please, call the police. Someone kidnapped me. He is still up there.”
“We know Mindy, calm down. You are going to be okay.”
Mindy looks between us confused. “How do you know my name?”
“For one, you are all over the news. Two, your sister works for me. Three, we are the ones being accused of kidnapping you.” Jaxon’s words confuse her even more.
“I will tell the police everything, but we need to hurry before he takes her somewhere else,” Mindy says hysterically.
“Her? Was someone else with you?” Hunter asks.
“Yes, he brought back another girl sometime last night, I think. I saw her for the first time this morning. He separated us, but I saw her briefly, and then earlier she helped me escape. She distracted him, so I could leave.” As I listen to her, I get a bad feeling in my gut. Please don’t let it be her
“Do you know who she was? Did you get a name?” I ask anxiously.
“No, I didn’t get a name but, …” Mindy looks straight at me and my heart stops. “She looks a lot like you.”
My feet are moving before my mind is all caught up. I am running down the alley towards the back entrance. I am dimly aware that Hunter is running next to me. “Wait, Jen!” He grabs my arm, yanking me back but I am so crazy with worry about my sister that I manage to twist out of his grip and keep running. Next time he catches up to me his arms come around my torso and he lifts me off the ground.
“Let me go! Put me down Hunter!” I scream at him while thrashing wildly around me like a fish out of water.
“Calm down and I’ll let you go.”
“I need to go up there now. I need to get to Josie.” Right now, there is not an ounce of fear inside me. Not for myself at least. The rage I feel leaves no room for fright. I need to get to her and if he hurts her… he will be so sorry.
“Jen, I’ll take you up there, but you need to calm down.”
I kick around me a few more times before I give up and let my body go limp. “You’re really going up there with me? You are not just saying it to quiet me down?”
“No, come on.” He lets me down and we head toward the door. I glance back the car where Jaxon and Eliza are trying to console Mindy who is talking on the phone. I am guessing to Lacey. When we get into the building it is completely dark inside. We use our phones as flashlights and run up the stairs. The three floors seem endless, but to my amazement I am hardly out of breath when we get up there. It must be the adrenaline.
“Stay behind me,” Hunter orders and I grudgingly agree. We go from door to door, but every office is empty. Then I see it. There is dim light coming from one of the rooms. I start running towards it, but Hunter puts his arm in front and pushes me behind him. When we finally get to it my heart sinks. It’s empty, no one is here. The light is coming from a small battery-operated lantern and there is a mattress with a blanket in the corner, but no one is here.
“Let’s check the other rooms.” Hunter takes my hand and pulls me out. “Mindy said that Colt separated them. That means they could still be somewhere else.”
We probably should have asked Mindy more information before storming up here. At the moment, running in the building like a bat out of hell seemed like the best plan. We check two more rooms before finding another office with a makeshift bed and a bunch of empty fast food wrappers. I let my head hang down. “We are too late and now he has Josie.”
“We are not even sure that it’s her,” Hunter said unconvincingly.
“Who else would it be? You said Colt took my phone from your place. There are pictures, calls, and messages on that phone that led him straight to her.”
“Call her.”
I take my phone out of my pocket and dial her number. I wait for the dial tone, instead Josie’s familiar voice comes through the line. “It’s me, leave a message.” Josie never turns off her phone. Something is wrong, really wrong. I feel my knees buckle under me. I would have fallen on the floor if it wasn’t for Hunter catching me the last minute. He has her. Colt has my sister.
18
Hunter
I half carry Jen down the stairs. She doesn’t say anything again. She is silent, just like she was when Colt broke into my place. She is almost catatonic. I have no idea what to do with her when she gets like this. We walk up to the car and she sees Mindy. To my shock and relief that apparently makes her snap out of it.
“Mindy, please tell me everything you know. Was my sister okay when you saw her?”
Mindy who still appears confused and distraught looks at Jen apologetically. “I am so sorry that he got your sister. I really didn’t talk to her. I just started hearing a female voice early this morning. Before that, I only ever heard Colt’s voice when he was talking on the phone. I saw her briefly when he let me go to the bathroom. Out of the blue, she opened my door and told me to run and get help
. I told her to come with me, but she said she’ll distract him to give me a head start.”
Jenna bows her head down. “Yes, that sounds like something Josie would do. Was she hurt?”
“As I said, I only saw her briefly. She didn’t look hurt but… she did have something that looked like dried blood on her shirt.”
I loop my arm around Jenna’s waist to support her. She leans into me and starts crying.
“We need to take Mindy to the police station. Lacey is already on her way,” Jaxon tells me.
“I’m going to tell them everything. I will make sure your names will be cleared as quickly as possible,” Mindy says while getting into the back seat of the Jeep.
I tell Eliza to sit up front and I make Jenna sit on my lap in the back. “We can’t go into the police station with you right now. There are still multiple warrants out for our arrest.”
“I know, I heard Colt when he was on the phone with Lacey telling her what to say.” Mindy shakes her head. “I still can’t believe all of this. I just want this to be over. I want to go home to my baby.”
“It’s going to be fine. You are going to be fine,” I assure Mindy. With all three girls in the back seat, we drive to the police station that is only a few minutes away.
“Just let me out right here. I’ll walk the rest,” Mindy says when we are a block away from the police station.
“Her name is Josephine Warren and she is Senator Warren’s daughter. Please make sure the cops know so they can look for her. Also, please don’t mention me to the police. I know it doesn’t make sense, but no one is supposed to know that she is my sister.”
“Okay, I won’t mention you.” Jaxon stops, and Mindy jumps out of the car. “Thank you,” she calls out and shuts the door.
The Things We Hide: A Friends to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 2) Page 8