She checked up on him around lunch, and the food on his plate was half gone, but he was still lying on the couch.
Could… I manage today?
He didn’t seem like he was going to move. Her heart was already beating fast in her chest as she wondered if the time for her to make her escape had finally come.
Dammit! Now if I could only get away…
There was still the car. She didn’t know how much fuel it had, but if she could find the keys for it, then she could go away fast. But, she’d been looking around for several days now and she had yet to find anything.
At the very least, she needed that damn remote.
Once it hit afternoon, she got to searching. In the end, just like before, she ended up frustrated, even after she checked a few more places. She was starting to wonder if he’d found some loose floorboards or something, or hidden the stuff in the ceiling somehow.
It was late when she wound up back in the living room. Adrien didn’t look like he’d moved at all.
Something occurred to her, and slowly, she walked closer to Adrien. She looked around him carefully, and sure enough, there was something sticking out of his pocket.
She hesitated for a long moment, just standing there staring at Adrien. He didn’t look like he was moving. She bit down on her lip, but in the next moment, clenched her hands tightly in determination.
It’s now or never.
She felt, that if she waited another few days, Adrien might be closer to death’s door and there’d be less risk to running away. But she didn’t want to keep waiting, and waiting, and she felt that if she didn’t do anything right then, she’d just tell herself to keep waiting.
Careful.
There was no guarantee Adrien wasn’t just lying there awake, so she crouched down and moved forward slowly. She was wary now, compared to the last time she tried. If he caught her this time, he probably won’t let her off as he did before. She knew he’d punish her longer and harsher if he caught her.
She kept glancing at his face, then back to her hand as she reached for the black thing sticking out of his pocket. When she had it between the tips of her fingers, her eyes shot quickly to his face. Still nothing. Breathing a little slower, and feeling sweat slide down her nape, she gently tugged with her fingers. She kept tugging, and glancing at his face, until she had the object pulled completely out of his pocket.
When she had it, she quickly scrambled back, for a moment shocked that it went so well. She had felt for sure that she would just fall into another trap. Then, she felt so glad that she could almost cry, even more when she looked down at the object and realized that it was the remote to her collar.
Finally.
Camila didn’t waste any more time. She had the remote, and Adrien was still lying there. If there was any moment to run, it was now. She hadn't had her second meal for the day, but it wasn’t as if she could wait for it. She had to go now!
As long as she moved fast and kept moving, Adrien shouldn’t be able to catch up to her, not in his condition.
He must have had the keys and their cellphones locked up somewhere. She debated looking for them. Whichever one she had, as long as she had it, she was sure she’d be able to get away, but she had been looking already and not found anything.
I can't wait any longer. I’ve got to go!
This was the closest she’d been to freedom in weeks. Adrien incapacitated, and one of his strongest weapons against her in her hands. The thought of sticking around to search again didn’t appeal to her, her desperation to get away growing.
So, she rushed out of the house, then picked a direction, and started running. She had dressed that day in her own clothes, as well as put on her shoes, and she was never happier that she’d thought to wear them. She had no idea where to go, where they even were, but she had a feeling that as long as she kept moving, she was bound to get somewhere, or meet someone.
After moving for a while, she noticed a light in the direction she was heading. It looked like it was acres away, but if it was so small in this distance, she felt that if she got closer, it would be bigger. Big lights meant other people, something she hadn't seen in their isolation since Adrien had stuck them there.
Damn.
Physically, she’d degraded by a lot. She’d lost her stamina during her weeks of captivity.
As she got a little closer, she realized what she was looking at. A truck. At least, it looked very much like a truck, and a truck with its lights on meant a person nearby. In her excitement, she pushed herself to move even faster, pumping her arms and legs to move past their limit. Her breath was coming in gasps, her limbs already starting to ache and she hadn't covered that much distance.
Everything was dark around her, and fear chased after her, nipping right at her heels. This reminded her of the dream she’d had, back when she was still with Samuel when she’d feared there were people coming after her, wanting to hurt her. Her breath was already wheezing in and out of her throat and she still had a ways to go.
Please…please, let me make it!
Camila continued her icy, terrifying run through the dark, even as the muscles in her thighs burned, and she stumbled and nearly tripped a couple times, her heart almost jumping out of her chest each time, as if someone was really right behind her. The more she ran, the closer she got, and the more her hope grew.
Finally!
Whoever they were, they might have a phone, or live nearby. Whoever they were, she hoped they were nice enough to help a woman in need and not take advantage of her in her current state.
In any case, right then, she felt anywhere was better than going back to that farmhouse.
“Hey!” she screamed once she got close enough she felt they could hear her. “Is someone over there? Hey!”
She screamed until her throat scratched painfully, and her voice cracked. The distance was growing even shorter, and when something moved into the light and blocked it off, she realized that there was a person right there.
Her heart almost stilled, both in happiness and trepidation.
“Hey,” she wheezed past her aching throat. “Please… help…”
She was a few feet away when she realized the person in front of her was huge. Like, really huge; taller than Adrien, and bundled up in a thick jacket, but very obviously more muscular than Adrien as well. She hesitated a little, surprised, but he was still her best bet.
Camila wasn’t the only one surprised.
“Who the hell are you?”
The man in front of her had a low, gruff voice, but he didn’t sound like a bad person. He didn’t even sound suspicious of someone who came out from nowhere.
She wasn’t cautious as she approached him at a near run, but he didn’t move.
“Hey, miss,” the man said, getting a clearer view of her as she moved into the light. “You don’t look or sound so good, miss. Are you okay?”
Camila gasped, and went to say something, to plead for his help, only to bend over, her hands on her knees as she broke down into a coughing fit.
“Oh, wow,” the man said. He walked over to her, and she tried to stiffen up, only to cough some more. “It’s okay, miss. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but you clearly need some water and something warmer to put on. I have a blanket in the back of my truck, and my home isn’t so far away, okay? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
The big man came closer, moving slowly as if not to scare her. He didn’t quite touch her as he guided her over to his truck. She felt her eyes and her throat itch, wanting to cry again, because for all his size and gruffness, the man at least sounded kind. It could be a front, but she didn’t even care.
Finally, she was out from under that bastard’s hands.
“Please, you have to help me!” she begged, looking up at the man.
“Of course! But you better at least tell me what a young girl like you was doing all the way out here. I don’t think I’ve seen you around these parts before. Did you get lost, maybe?”
Not at all. Camila could have laughed, and she thought it would come out partly hysterical. Finally, I’m saved.
Just as she thought this, she heard a loud sound in the night, and it startled her so much that she grinned. Then, she noticed the man behind her had stopped. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and watched as he slowly fell forward to the ground, hitting it with a thud.
“Where did you think you were going, Camila?”
She whipped around, only to see Adrien walking forward, gun outstretched in his hand. He was practically dragging his body as he walked closer, his chest heaving with every breath.
He… just shot the man right in his back. Just like with Tansy.
In a delayed reaction, Camila screamed as she scrambled back, only to stumble and fall back on her ass. She kept moving still, her hands scratching against the ground. She didn’t even realize she had dropped the remote, until Adrien noticed it on the ground and his eyes lit up like he’d just found the winning Easter egg.
Dammit!
She should have kept a better hold on it! She’d just been so excited to see the truck, so sure her salvation was right in front of her that she hadn’t even—
She pushed herself up and ran for it but Adrien had already bent down and snatched it up. With a mad gleam in his eye, he pressed the button.
She screamed and fell to the asphalt, her body writhing and twitching on the ground as the collar electrocuted her. He held the button down until there was no sound coming from her, leaving her body twitching, but otherwise lying still. He put the remote away, and got closer to see he’d shocked her unconscious.
“You shouldn’t have provoked me, Camila,” Adrien sighed.
Sticking the gun down the back of his pants, and putting the remote in his pocket, he leaned down to grab her arm in his bruising grip. He pulled her to her feet and she stumbled along behind him as he started the slow trek back to the farmhouse.
* * *
Big Mike
After they were gone, Big Mike gasped, his body jerking on the ground. With a body-wracking cough that made his back flare like it was on fire, he rolled himself so he was on his side. Fucking asshole shot me!
Phone… I need to phone the police…
Big Mike had been minding his own business like he always did. He wasn’t a people person. he much preferred to be left alone. It was why he lived so far out in the country and mostly off the grid. His only connection to anyone was the cell phone he carried, and he generally kept it off. He didn’t need the nosy government tracking him.
His truck had been giving him trouble on his way home from deer hunting, so he’d stopped to look it over. Considering he lived comfortably in the middle of nowhere, it wasn’t every day he saw a scared, weak looking young girl running up to him looking like she was running from something. He also hadn’t expect the bastard who’d come from out of the trees. He’d been stupid not to after the girl had shown up looking as she had, he should have expected some kind of trouble the way she’d been begging for help.
His thoughts turned to the direction the two had come from. That copse of trees led to his old and kindly neighbor, Tansy. She was his only neighbor, actually. If you counted a mile and half as being a neighbor.
Gritting his teeth at the ache in his back, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed 911. He had to get help for that girl.
Chapter Eleven
Samuel
Samuel thought it would never happen, but the police finally came through.
He woke up that day feeling unlike himself. He hadn't lost hope, no, but the little he still felt was dwindling.
How long has it been? he wondered. Too long.
They should have found Camila already. He was barely sleeping nights, no matter what he tried, even going out and exhausting himself. But if he fell asleep, it was only for a bit, then he woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. He walked to his bathroom and saw how terrible he looked, then ignored it as he went about his business. Back in his room, he got dressed, then picked up his phone. He left the room and headed downstairs.
It was still early and it didn’t look like anyone else was around, not even his staff. He stopped by the kitchen to grab something from the fridge. There weren’t any leftovers, so in the end, he picked up a piece of fruit, and made his way to his study.
He sat behind his desk, opened his laptop, and then…stared. He just stared at the black screen.
How is she?
That was what he kept thinking about. Camila had been gone for so long, and it felt a lot longer because he missed her so damned much and worried about what kind of life she had away from him. Was she eating okay? Was she well?
Did she think of him, as much as he thought of her?
Was Adrien being good to her?
Probably not.
They were all separate worries, but that last worried him the most. His mind would cycle through them all, before getting to when will I find her and get her back, only to start over from the beginning.
He was growing so tired of it. If there was someone that would give him the solution to his problem in a minute, he wouldn’t think twice about giving away half his fortune right then and there. Only half, of course, because he still had to look after Brianna and their family’s property. Not to mention, if he did get Camila back, they would hopefully be thinking of building a family for themselves after this ordeal was over and they got over it.
Yes… I’ll get her back and we’ll all move on.
Just… when, not if.
With a sigh, he pressed the button to turn his computer on and waited for it to boot up. He checked his phone just in case there was news.
Should we maybe try that again?
Samuel has been wrestling with the idea of just going wide with Adrien’s face everywhere, on every news program, so people would be on the lookout for his brother. It would probably affect his life afterwards, people would look at him and remember that news about a kidnaper, murderer and escaped convict. He still had a company to run, and his sister’s life would be in ruins before it even began…
Only, it wasn’t like things had to end up exactly that way. He could just withdraw into the shadows and have someone else be the face of Kane Enterprises. Of course, the company might not even stand up to the onslaught, but it wasn’t impossible. And no one had to know that he and Brianna were related. At the moment, he had his team of lawyers keeping strange stories from popping up on the internet from the little they’d let leak out before during the investigation, but it wasn’t as if he really cared what people thought of him, in the end.
He only cared that his sister, and Camila, were both well and happy.
His computer came on and he started going over all the evidence he’d already received so far. There really wasn’t a lot they could use, which meant Adrien had planned well. He had to have been planning it for a long while, even before the trip to prison. A spur of the moment plan wouldn’t have worked this well. He couldn’t have purchased all those homes, and properties from prison. And how did they play into this? He wasn’t at any of them. And some of them hadn’t even been in Adrien’s name, but Samuel’s.
Had his plan been changed? Had he intended to kidnap Camila that day in her apartment? Had this been his plan all along? To grab Camila and run? Disappear? But to what purpose?
He pulled up the map that depicted where they had found his car and the route he’d taken, leading to the way they were looking now. He’d marked areas to show where the cops and the mercs he’d hired had already gone through. The problem was there was still plenty more areas to cover and they didn’t know for a fact that Adrien had even stayed in New York. They were making an educated guess that he had, but it wasn’t as if the couldn’t be wrong.
Maybe, if they sent Adrien’s picture out wide to the news people across the country that ground could be covered a lot faster. Of course, there was always the risk of spooking Adrien if he was keeping an eye on things, but that might be a ri
sk worth taking if it meant something happened.
… Or not. Samuel didn’t want to take risks with Camila’s life, after all. He wanted her back alive.
He was pondering the way forward, finding it such a daunting task, when his phone buzzed. His eyes went to the phone where he’d left it on the desk beside his computer. There hadn't been any news as of late, but recently, any news he got either turned out too good to be true or led him to a dead end. If he found himself at another dead end, this time, he was going to knock his head into a wall.
Still, he had to pick up his phone. If there was news, even if it was bad, it was still better than nothing.
“What have you got for me?” he answered, keeping his voice steady.
“Kane?” the man on the other side said. “It’s Jacobs. We have a lead.”
Samuel blinked for a second. He’d heard that several times already, so it didn’t make him jump for joy. But Jacobs, one of his contacts in the state police, sounded really excited. Samuel let himself feel some cautious hope.
“What kind of lead?” he asked.
“Someone might have seen your brother and Ms. Blake. At least, Ms. Blake’s description matched. He called the police after an… incident.”
“When was this?” Samuel asked, leaning forward. His rational, weakening side was telling him not to grow excited, that this would be another lead that didn’t actually lead to anything. But he couldn’t help himself.
“Sometime last night. No one connected the two cases until this morning, but it seems that Adrien shot a guy somewhere up in Canaan, NY. Well, he’s, according to the information he gave, the guy he shot is a retired trucker and survivalist that lives in the area. His truck was giving him some trouble, so he stopped some ways to his house, on a back road that went through a field near his house. Fortunately, because he’d been out hunting, he was wearing a vest when he got shot, so besides a bruise, he’s absolutely fine.”
Shattered Obsession: Book 3 of the Obsession Trilogy Page 7