Destiny: Hilltops Series - Book One

by Faith Starr

  “Wait a minute. You’re going to let him leave just like that?” My lips pressed together in agitation. This was bullshit.

  “Mr. Dorian, we have no probable cause at this time to take any further action.”

  Sloan smirked, stood up, and gathered his briefcase. “If you all wouldn’t mind, I’d like to lock my office before I go.”

  The officers were the first ones out the door with the rest of us in tow. We walked up to the front desk to where the homely girl sat. She still seemed a bit disturbed by everything going on in the office, her face a bit pale.

  “What the fuck, Watson? Sloan gets to just leave?” There had to be more the police could do to him.

  “He can’t be deprived of his freedom, Noah. The cops have no reason to seize him at the moment. Trust me, if they need more information, they’ll contact him.”

  I huffed in frustration. “Fuck. Well, if Jordin’s in danger, we’re wasting valuable time. We need to get the ball rolling and do something to help her.”

  “That’s what we’re in the process of doing, Mr. Dorian, gathering relevant information.” Ramsey looked almost annoyed by my comment. He slipped his pen in his pocket.

  “But it’s gotten us nowhere,” I snapped back.

  Watson put her hand out to shut me up. She then focused her attention on Ramsey. “I think we should do a search for her phone.”

  Thank you, Watson, for taking the reins. Someone had to take charge and do something worthwhile.

  The officer’s eyes went to her.

  “May I please have a word?” she asked him.

  He agreed. The two of them, along with the silent officer, stepped to the side for a brief powwow.

  A few minutes later they stepped in front of me and Derek.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go down to the station and begin a search for Ms. Turner’s phone,” Ramsey advised.

  I nodded. That sounded like a good plan of action.

  Sloan brushed past us and exited the building without saying goodbye. Dick.

  We all exited together and went to the parking lot. I followed Watson and Derek, who followed the police car, to the station. Once there, we were taken to a specialized unit which worked with wireless carriers who helped assist emergency response teams, government agencies, and police in locating phones that might be involved in criminal activity.

  We were led into a room where an officer awaited our arrival.

  “I’m Officer Dillan. Please have a seat.” He gestured to the empty seats in front of his desk. There were only two. Derek stood. “May I please have Ms. Turner’s number?”

  Why did he ask me to give it to him? I was pretty sure the database on his desk had info on all of us. But I wasn’t about to argue a moot point. It was a waste of precious time.

  I dug my phone out of my pocket and opened Jordin’s contact. Her beautiful face smiling at me caused my hands to start shaking. She better be okay. I wasn’t used to relinquishing control. And in this situation, I was anything but. It infuriated me.

  Dillan took the phone from my trembling hand.

  “What’re you going to do now?” I wanted the 411.

  “We’re going to track her phone.”

  “How?”

  Watson flashed me an impatient scowl. “Let him work, Noah.”

  My brow creased. “I’m just asking a question. I’m sure he can work and talk at the same time.”

  The burly man in uniform sitting behind the desk typed away and proved he could talk at the same time. See Watson. “We have our ways. All we need is the number. Some cell companies have websites designed for police to use to request permission to locate a phone instead of having to get a court order to do so, which could make us lose valuable time in matters such as these.”

  I nodded. His clarification gave me hope.

  My fingers vigorously tapped against each other in my lap, my knees bouncing frantically. This was as patient as I could be under the circumstances.

  Dillan got busy on the phone, speaking in a foreign language, something about GPS Triangulation capabilities in newer phones that assisted in identifying the location of a phone within a few feet. I had no clue what the fuck he was talking about, but whatever it was, it gave me hope, especially if it could locate Jordin.

  Officer Ramsey led Mitch to the office where we were sitting.

  “Hey bro, I got here as quickly as I could.” Mitch directed his attention solely on me.

  “Thanks for coming.” I filled him in on what we knew so far, which was basically nothing.

  A bang on the desk caused my heart to skip a beat. Officer Dillan nodded with a huge grin on his face. “Good news, boys. We got a location.”

  “Where is she?” My heart more than made up for the skipped beat. It was now on overdrive. I rose from my chair, too energized to sit.

  “We’re dispatching officers to the area now. She’s not far from here.”

  Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I held my hand up in rebuttal. I felt out of the loop all of a sudden. “And what’re we supposed to do?”

  “Wait,” Dillan replied.

  My mouth fell open. Wait? No can do. I needed to see for myself Jordin was safe. “I’m sorry but I can’t just sit here and do nothing to help her!” Maybe speaking in such a loud tone to a cop wasn’t the best idea. Ramsey gestured for me to take it down a notch from the doorway where he stood.

  “Sorry, Mr. Dorian, this is a police matter now. We’ll find Ms. Turner. You’re free to wait here in the station if you’d like.”

  Was my sigh too fucking loud for Ramsey too? At least I didn’t verbalize my sarcasm.

  “How long is this going to take?”

  “I don’t have an answer to that question, but the dispatched officers will be in communication with us.”

  “Fuck!” It was my turn to hit the desk. Harder than I thought too. I rubbed the side of my hand with the other one. “I have to do something to help Jordin.”

  “Noah, they’re on it. Let them do their thing.” I wanted to push Derek’s hand off my back, but I knew he was only trying to help.

  Ramsey led us to a waiting area where I steadily paced back and forth. Every minute seemed like too long to wait.

  77

  Jordin

  “Karina, if you keep me locked up like this, I won’t be able to help you. And once we’re found, I can guarantee you I won’t be permitted to work with you anymore.”

  She could pucker her lips and stand defensively with her hands on her hips all she wanted to, but that wasn’t going to help her cause. I must say, yoga and meditation were definitely paying off. I was surprised at how calm I was able to keep myself.

  “What do you mean? You’re my therapist, and the only friend I have. Nobody’s going to stop us from being together!”

  Even with her screaming in my face, I focused on my breath. It was the only weapon I had at the moment.

  “I know we’re partners in your recovery, but when we’re discovered here, I can assure you Dr. Reddy and Dr. Symons will take me off your case because it’s now obvious I’ve been unsuccessful in my attempts to help you.” I would take the fall if it would help the situation.

  “What’re you talking about? You are helping me!”

  Ouch. Was she a CrossFit junkie in her spare time? My arms were definitely going to be bruised tomorrow, if I lived to see it. I wished she would remove her hands from them.

  “Clearly, I’m not.”

  Ah, much better. She took her hands off me, storming over to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge instead. Maybe she would remain there.

  She leaned her back against the counter.

  “If I was, you would’ve never felt the need to go to this extreme to get your feelings heard. I should’ve done a better job, and for that I’m sorry. I’ve failed both of us.”

  She chugged down half the bottle. Guess she wasn’t going to offer me some, not that I would share with her anyway.

  “Stop tal
king like this. You’re the only person I know who turns every negative into a positive. Your inspiration is the only thing keeping me clean right now. We’ve come too far together for you to start doubting yourself.”

  “But look at us? Here I am tied to a chair. I’ve failed you, Karina.” I put my head down and gently shook it for added effect.

  “Jordin, you could never fail me. You’re my inspiration. My muse. I love you.”

  Sadly, the water did nothing to fix her breath. She was back in front of me, gripping my arms again.

  “How could you love someone who led you to behave this way?” I’d taken Acting 101 as an elective in undergrad. I could play the pathetic victim role to near perfection.

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t push me into doing this.”

  Please stop rubbing my arms.

  At least she didn’t look at my face, because somehow I didn’t think she would approve of the way I winced.

  “Then why am I here?”

  “Because, can’t you see?”

  This rapidly transformed into a scene from a B-rated Lifetime movie for women. And the way she held my cheek was just overkill.

  “We’re two peas in a pod. We belong together. You make me a better person, and I make you a better therapist.” Her eyes were empty, no emotion behind her gaze. Her mind had clearly taken a vacation.

  “No. We don’t belong together like this, Karina.” Maybe if I shook my head like this, she would remove her hand. “You are the inspiration right now. Not me. You are the one fighting for what you believe in. That takes guts.” Yes! Mission accomplished.

  “Stop it. You’re the strong link in our chain. Not me.”

  Uh-oh, Sybil was back.

  “Then why am I the one tied to a chair with you calling all the shots?”

  “You’re confusing me. Please stop.”

  That’s it. Keep pacing so I can gather my thoughts.

  “I can’t help it. This is all my fault.”

  “Like hell it is,” she spat out.

  Damn. This had become a freak show instead, her face contorted and her hands balled up into fists.

  She’d certainly done a good job with the binding, because I could barely move.

  She punched herself in the arm a few times, closing her eyes at the discomfort. Maybe she would do an uppercut and punch herself out. I could only hope. At least those dukes weren’t aimed at me.

  “Now listen here, missy, stop acting like such a pussy and be the strong, independent woman I know you are. I don’t like seeing this weak side of you. It’s unappealing. I’m sorry if I made you doubt yourself. That wasn’t my intention. We’re supposed to make each other feel good.” She stood in front of me and rubbed her arm, the one she had just punched.

  It became more and more difficult to keep track of which personality was going to speak to me. “I’m sorry, Karina. I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t think I’m as great a therapist as you seem to think I am.”

  “Yes, you are. But you’re starting to piss me off with your self-defeating attitude!” Some spit flew out of her mouth again but luckily missed me. “Besides, we’re beyond the client-and-doctor shit anyway. We’re friends. Best friends. I tell you my deep, dark secrets. Things I’ve never shared with another soul, and yet you still look at and treat me with no judgment unlike everyone else I’ve ever met.” Her voice softened, to the point where it was almost a whisper.

  Why did she seductively move her hand across her chest and breasts all of a sudden? I preferred watching her punch herself instead.

  “I’ve been abused by men and women my entire life, but not by you. You taught me how to trust again. I’ll never have that with anybody else. You also taught me how to love again. Can’t you see the irony in all this?”

  Shit. She kneeled in front of my knees.

  “We’re supposed to be together, not you and Noah or you and Casey, but you and me. We’re a team, The Dream Team. We can make magic together.”

  She almost had a dreamy look in her eyes. I took a deep breath because I didn’t know how much longer I could play this thing out. She became more delusional by the minute. And now certainly wasn’t the appropriate time to ask her if she’d been taking her antidepressant and antipsychotic meds as prescribed, even though I already knew the answer to the question.

  Huh? My bound body instinctively jerked from the loud sound that came out of nowhere. Karina jumped a good two feet off the floor.

  “Shush. Don’t say a word.”

  I folded my lips inward. I didn’t like her finger on them.

  The pounding came again, and we both peered at the door.

  “Ms. Lombardo, its Jorge, the super! I have a key! I’m coming in!”

  His thick Hispanic accent was clear enough for me to understand. Thank God! My heart pounded hard again. I was both afraid and excited at the same time.

  “Shit. Come on.”

  Ouch. She should’ve had more forethought about the chair situation and put me in one with wheels. But then again, she wasn’t playing with a full deck. So instead, she leaned my chair back and dragged me to another room.

  A twin bed and a dresser—guess this was the guest room.

  “Sit tight until he’s gone. Not that you have a choice in the matter. If you make a sound, I’ll hurt you. I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.” She stormed out of the room.

  Finally, I was by myself. Too bad I couldn’t get my hands or feet untied.

  There were mumbled voices out in the living room. It sounded like a few people, not just Jorge, the super. And Lombardo wasn’t Karina’s last name. So things were about to get even more interesting.

  Screw this.

  “Help me! I’m in here! Please, help me!” I didn’t know who was out there and whether they were armed, but I had no options. I was either going to die or get out of here. This was my only chance of escape. “Help!”

  Loud shouting took place, and the next thing I knew, the door to the room I was in came crashing open.

  “Police! Jordin Turner?”

  Oh my gosh! A gun was pointed in my direction. My body began trembling. “Yes! I’m Jordin Turner! Please, help me! I’m being held against my will!”

  “That’s why we’re here, ma’am.”

  Thank my lucky stars! Tears came flooding down fast and furiously.

  “Jordin, help me! Please! I’m not a criminal! You know me better than anyone!”

  Karina could beg and plead all she wanted. Being cuffed and read her rights was exactly what needed to be done right now.

  “You’ll get help, Karina. That I can promise you.” I sighed in relief.

  The skin on my wrists was raw and chaffed from the binding. I held them against each other during the drive to the police station to help ease the pain. At least my ankles were in better shape. Nothing a little antibiotic ointment couldn’t fix.

  78

  Noah

  “They have her! They’re on the way here now!” Watson’s face was like an angel. She stood in front of me and shook my arms excitedly.

  “Thank God.” I looked up, knowing my prayers had been heard and answered.

  “One of her psych patients went off the deep end, but she’s safe and unharmed.”

  “Shit.” Mitch’s brows rose, he took a step back, a reasonable reaction. “That’s fucked-up.”

  We waited impatiently for the officers to arrive with Jordin. My palms profusely sweated, my heart raced a mile a minute, and I couldn’t stand still, staring intently at the door to the room we waited in.

  When the doorknob jiggled, everything seemed to move in slow motion. The knob turned and the door slowly opened. And there she was, Jordin Turner, the love of my life.

  “Noah!” She ran into my arms, holding on to me with all the life she had inside her, and began to cry.

  “I know, baby.” My eyes closed as I held on to her with everything I had inside me.

  “You found me?” Her tear-stained cheeks crushed an already bro
ken heart.

  I wiped away the tears falling from both of her eyes. “I told you before, I’ll always take care of what you need. But this time I was selfish. This time I took care of what I need instead, and that’s you, Jordin. I love you.”

  She froze in my arms, her eyes on mine. “What?”

  “You heard me. I’ve known it all along, but sadly, it took something like this to make me realize how true it is. I love you, Jordin Turner.”

  “I love you too, Noah Dorian.”

  She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face into my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt. Not that it mattered. I had her in my arms, and that’s exactly where I wanted her to be for the rest of my life.

  “Finally. It’s about fucking time.” Derek patted me on the back as he approached.

  “Shut the fuck up, D.”

  “Welcome to the family, Jordin.” Mitch gave her a hug.

  I had to say it was a little upsetting to witness because I wanted her back in my arms.

  “Glad to see you’re okay,” he added.

  “Thank you, Mitch. That makes two of us.” Jordin smiled warmly.

  Ah, much better. She was back where she belonged, in my arms.

  “I hate to break up this love fest, but the officers need Jordin to make a statement.” Watson wore a look of satisfaction for a job well done.

  Fantastically done was more like it.

  79

  Jordin

  Karina was locked up, but it wasn’t in a prison cell. Rather, she was placed in a mental health facility.

  In all my years working with different clients and observing various psychiatric facilities, I had never experienced anything like I did with Karina. I considered her to be both a blessing and a gift.

  While being held hostage, even though I feared for my life, I never once feared her. I knew deep down she wouldn’t hurt me. I treated her with both dignity and respect. Sure I had negative thoughts about her knocking herself out, but that meant I was human, self-preservation built into my DNA. At least I never verbalized them.