by Ladew, Lisa
As soon as her right boot slipped off, Seth stepped closer and poised the Taser. “Now lay down, and if you utter one sound or kick out at me even once, you’re going to regret it," he said as he lowered the Taser to her face. Kara squeezed her eyes tightly shut and reacted in the only way she could in this situation. She fought.
She rolled so the taser slipped off her eyes and to the back of her head. As she rolled, she grabbed Seth’s upper arms with her hands and pulled him off balance. She tried desperately to head butt him as he fell on top of her but the back of her head met nothing but soft shoulder. She scrambled and pushed out from underneath him, swearing madly at him, and started to stand. She meant to grab for her gun, but Seth already had his balance back. He kicked out at her ankles and brought her crashing down to the floor, then tased her again. The current ran through her body until all the fight was electrified out of her. She could only lay there, shaking, as he wrapped the duct tape around her ankles. He ripped off one more piece and slapped it over her mouth, then stood over her, panting heavily.
He walked two steps away and picked something up off the floor. Completely worn out, her mind and body limp, she still followed him with her eyes to see what he had. It was a phone. He inspected it and tried to turn it on, then swore under his breath. Kara felt fierce gladness course through her that she had managed to mess up at least one little part of his plan. But then fear replaced it, as he turned to her, murder written on his face.
Chapter 30
Zane sat in the cell block, his head in his hands. All around him, criminals prodded at each other and yelled to be let out or talk to their lawyers. All he could think about was two things, and they chased each other in his mind endlessly. The first was what had happened to make Kara pull her gun on him. He’d been told he was arrested for murder, and his mug shot had been taken, but no one had been in to speak to him for over twelve hours now. Murder of whom? And how? And did this have anything to do with the man who was stalking Kara? And if so, what had made her side against him so quickly?
He looked again at the clock on the wall. The second thing he couldn’t stop thinking about was his court date. The one that had happened today at 2:00. The one he had missed because he had been in jail for murder. Had he lost his parental rights for good? Had the fake note combined with the fact that he didn’t show up for court pushed the judge to make a harsh decision, one that affected Zane for the rest of his life. Could you get something like that reversed? He didn’t know. He thought of the sweet little girl in the picture and felt a hole open deep inside him in a place he never knew existed. How much longer would he have to be here and why hadn’t anybody told him anything yet?
A door opened into the large room, the one they had brought him through when they put him in here. He looked up automatically, not really caring who it was this time. Cops had been walking in and out of that door all day and night. But it was the blonde sergeant with the harsh tone. He stood up immediately and hurried to the bars. “Sergeant, can you please tell me what’s going on? Don't I get a phone call?”
The sergeant flicked him a steely glance. “Calm down Mr. Rowe, I’ve come to answer all your questions and to release you.”
Confusion flickered across Zane's face. “Am I getting bailed out?”
“You don't need bail,” the woman said and motioned for the cell block guard to open the door and let Zane out.
Zane stepped out gratefully and hurried to follow the woman as she motioned him towards a door on the other side of the room. She spoke to him over her shoulder as she walked. “We finished the investigation at your house and determined that the body in your shed had been moved there within the last few days. We combined that information with new evidence Officer Price uncovered and have come to the conclusion that you were not responsible for the murder. We will be erasing all charges against you.”
Emotions swirled through Zane. Relief first, then gratitude, then a hard and fast anger that this had ever happened in the first place. He replayed everything she had said. “Wait, body in my shed?”
“I will tell you everything as soon as we get into an office,” the female sergeant said and strode farther down the hall, gazing into rooms as they passed. Finally she picked one and motioned him inside. She followed him and sat on the other side of the desk, then motioned for him to take a seat in the only other chair.
She slid a business card across the desk to him. “My name is Sgt. Gale and I will be your contact for this incident. First let me apologize for the unfortunate nature of your arrest. We had no choice, someone leveled an accusation against you and a body was found in your shed, so we had to arrest you.”
Zane shook his head, understanding filling him slowly. He could almost see why Kara had acted the way she had, but it still hurt.
Sgt. Gale slid several pieces of paper across the desk to him. "I would appreciate your signature on these." She explained what each piece of paper was and then sat back watching him as he signed. He finished and looked up at her, waiting for the next item of business. At this point, all he wanted was to get home and work on forgetting that this had ever happened. Too bad he didn’t have a time machine to go back and actually make it to his court date though.
The sergeant stared at him for a few minutes until Zane actually started to get uncomfortable. She seemed to be trying to think of what to say to him. Finally, she spit it out. “It’s probably none of my business, but I just want you to know that Officer Price is extremely sorry for what happened at your house. She’s worried that you are going to hold it against her.”
Several smart ass remarks rose to Zane's lips. You’re right it is none of your business. Damn straight I'm going to hold it against her. He bit them back and tried to level with the sergeant in the same way she seemed to be trying to level with him. “I won’t lie and say I’m not upset.”
Sgt. Gale nodded, her eyes dark. She leaned forward. “Look, you understand who planted that body in your shed, don't you?”
Zane shook his head slowly. He hadn’t even thought of that yet. He was still trying to process the being arrested for murder part and then being set free all of a sudden.
“Probably the same guy who put that bomb under your seat. He wanted you out Kara’s life, one way or the other.”
Zane grunted. It made sense, but so what?
“I don't know how much Kara has shared with you about the investigation, but basically it came together to indicate that if the body was in your shed, you were the stalker.”
Zane felt the tightness in his chest unravel a little. That explained things a little better. The intense emotional charge that Kara had displayed and her inability to do anything but react.
Sgt. Gale kept talking. “Shortly after I had you put in the patrol car, she calmed down enough to realize there was a good chance that evidence had been planted there. She tried to convince me she had made a mistake by believing it was you. I told her it didn’t matter, we still had to investigate it with the assumption that you were guilty. Courts operate under the assumption that people are innocent until proven guilty. Cops do the opposite. We have to assume you are guilty until proven innocent. Otherwise we can’t do our job.” Sgt. Gale brushed a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes and went on. “She wanted to talk to you but I wouldn’t let her. It would have contaminated your interview. She took care of your dogs, you knew that, but what you didn’t know was she spent all night last night trying to find a break in the case and all day today interviewing people who could tell her who the real perpetrator was. She turned up evidence that left no chance it could have been you. That’s why you’re getting out of here.”
Zane nodded, glad to hear it. She was trying to make up for what she had done. Not that she had made up for it yet. A small part of him reacted loudly, as if to say, get over it! She made a mistake. A perfectly understandable one. But he ignored it. He was still hurt and upset.
Sgt. Gale read his eyes perfectly and tried one more time. “She felt horrible about ev
erything and she still feels horrible. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive her?”
Zane grunted. “I can’t see how that’s any of your business,” he said grumpily.
Sgt. Gale’s eyes hardened instantly. “Fair enough. We’re done here. I’ll take you to the desk sergeant.” She stood up quickly and pushed the door open.
Zane felt taken aback at how quickly she had dismissed him. But at the same time he didn’t care. Not yet.
He followed her to the receiving desk where he got back all of his personal items. The first thing he did was check his phone. The battery blinked red at him, telling him he had only minutes until it died. He had fourteen messages from work. They could wait until morning. And a text from Kensi? He checked it quickly, wondering what in the world she would message him about now. Gloating maybe, that he had lost any small chance he had ever had?
Want to meet us at Northwood Mall on Monday? Zaina has a tumbling tots class. You could hang out and buy her ice cream after or something. Sorry about my dad. You know how he is.
Zane pulled his head back and looked around the room. Was this a joke? Suddenly she wanted to offer him a chance to see Zaina?
He shook his head in confusion and saw that his lawyer had called. He punched the button to listen to the voice message. “Zane, this is David Phillips. The police officer you sent over here was quite convincing and the judge granted you a new trial date. Call me tomorrow and we’ll talk about it. If you are in a relationship with that woman, she should come to the next one too. It can only help you to be involved with a police officer.”
Zane sat and listened to the message play over several times, as his voice mail tried to get him to save or delete it. Kara had gone to court for him? She was the only police officer it could be, right? She remembered he had court today and made it there to convince the judge to give him a new date? The computerized voice cut off in his ear mid sentence as his battery died.
He walked outside the police station, into the cool night air, still feeling dazed, but no longer upset. He looked around and realized he had no way to get anywhere. He walked back inside and asked the desk sergeant to call him a cab, still trying to decide where he would have it take him.
Chapter 31
Kara lay on her back, her face and neck throbbing, her hands and legs tied together, knowing this was going to be it. Seth had won, and no one was going to think of looking for him here until it was too late. Don't give up, her mind snarled at her. You won’t even have a chance if you’re giving up already. Kara gritted her teeth and watched Seth closely, looking for her chance, however small it would be. She knew he had to be planning on killing her. Otherwise, she never would have gotten to see his face.
Seth dragged her by her feet into the living room, away from the line of sight of the front door. For the first time, Kara wondered where Duke was. She looked out the sliding glass door to the back of her and could see nothing moving in the dark yard. Anger flared inside her head. If he had hurt Duke …
Seth kicked her lightly in the hip. A grin spread across his face, now that they weren’t fighting to the death. “I bet you are surprised to see me here, a-a-a-a-aren’t you?” he said, a mocking tone to his voice as he pretended to stutter.
Kara narrowed her eyes and watched him closely. So he’d been faking the whole time. To what end? Why fake having a stutter? Just in order to seem to be a completely different person than he really was? And what should she say? Should she pretend that she hadn’t figured out it was him? Should she play along with whatever sick fantasy game he was cooking up? Her survival instincts said yes, she should do both, but she knew she wouldn’t. He was the worst kind of monster, the kind who pretended to be someone very different than he really was. If he hadn’t duct taped her mouth shut, she would spit in his face.
He kicked her in the hip again, not quite as lightly. “I know you are surprised,” he said as if she had agreed with him. “Me and you, we’re going to have some fun tonight, aren’t we?”
Kara resisted the urge to shake her head and lash out at him with her feet. If he climbed on top of her, she would kick and hit. She would fight until she couldn’t fight anymore. There was no way she was going to just let this happen.
Seth looked around the room, muttering under his breath, then standing still for several moments not making a sound. Kara watched him closely, trying to figure out his actions. He turned around and disappeared down the hallway to her bedroom, but only for a split second. Before she could think about getting to her feet he was back, his face heavy.
“I need something to tie you to, because I can see in your eyes that you aren’t going to cooperate with me. But that’s okay, you don't have to cooperate for us to have fun,” he said thickly. “It looks like the only thing I have to tie you to is your own bed. So I guess we’ll be taking a trip down the hallway,” he said, lifting up her feet. “Unless you have any other suggestions?” he said, an evil smile on his face.
Kara thought desperately, trying to find a way out of this mess. A knock sounded on her door, freezing her cold. Zane’s voice drifted into the living room. “Kara, it’s me. Can we talk?”
Seth dropped her feet with a thud. “Lover boy is home early," he growled quietly. "I wonder if he would like to watch or if I should just kill him right away?” He pulled a gun from the small of his back and a silencer from his cargo pocket. He began to thread the two items together and Kara tried to scream, but with the duct tape over her mouth, the only noise that came out was small and insignificant.
***
Zane got out of the taxi in front of Kara’s house, thinking that he still didn’t know what he was going to say to her. Maybe he would just let her do the talking. He had come here, and he knew in his heart that meant he was at least partially over everything that had happened.
The taxi pulled away and he headed up the walkway. A large shape darted out of the darkness, startling him. He pulled back, eyes open wide to see what it was. The shape barreled into him, almost knocking him over. “Duke?”
He looked closer. It was Duke, but with a muzzle over his mouth? And what was he doing out front? Zane examined Duke closely. He seemed happy enough, his tail was going a mile a minute as usual, but his front and back paws were covered in dirt. “What’s going on fella?" The longer Zane stared at him, the louder a warning bell inside him became. He didn’t think Kara would ever put a muzzle on her dog, and there just wasn’t any reason for it with a dog as sweet as Duke. Grasping Duke’s collar, he crept up to Kara’s front porch and stood silently, suddenly feeling that knocking would be a bad idea. He listened closely but didn’t hear anything. He held his hand up to the door, preparing to knock, but the warning bells that had served him so well in Iraq wouldn’t calm down. He felt an insane urge to check his weapon, but he knew he wasn’t carrying one.
He dropped his hand slowly and crept down off of the porch. He would look around first. He walked to the back of the house and pushed open the gate on the high wooden fence, hoping it wouldn't creak. In the glow of the light falling out of the windows of the house, he saw immediately how Duke had gotten out. A large hole under the fence right next to the gate. He let Duke go into the yard and picked up a large, heavy pot filled with strawberries, placing it in the hole so Duke couldn’t get back out. He left the gate standing open and crept along the fence towards the house. When he reached the window he soundlessly peeked inside.
Sour anger filled his mouth like bile. Kara was tied up on the floor and a man was standing over her. As he watched, the man kicked her in the hip. Zane's hands clenched into fists unconsciously. He felt a black and bitter rage flood through his system, but it was overlaid with something deeper, more primal. He didn’t stop to consider what that something was, but if he would have, he would have realized it was a sudden terror of losing someone very dear to him. The disconcerted hurt he’d felt since he’d been arrested yesterday was gone, flash-fried in a fear so great it threatened to knock him to the ground. This wa
s different than anything he’d dealt with before, even during his campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’d cared for his fellow soldiers like brothers, but Kara? He loved Kara with his mind, body, and soul, he just hadn’t known it consciously till now. She’d worked her way into his life and eclipsed anyone else as the most important person there. If he lost her, he would die inside. If he lost her in this way, in the next moment or two, before he could get in there to help her, he would hate himself forever.
Zane ducked down under the window quickly and considered his options. Call the police? His phone was dead. Go to a neighbor? But then he would have to wait for the police. Anything could happen to Kara in that time. Crash through the window? Zane chanced another look inside and saw immediately the man had a holster under his clothing. Zane had nothing but his bare hands.
He ducked under the window again and made his decision. He would have to go for the element of surprise, and tear this bastard’s head off if he could. This man didn’t deserve to live for one more minute.
Zane crept back out the gate and shut it behind him. He ran quickly to the front door and raised his arm one more time. The rest of his life rested on the events of the next few seconds. He would get it right, he had to. For Kara.
He knocked loudly. “Kara, it’s me. Can we talk?” he called, trying to appear relaxed on the outside, but tensing his muscles for the second the door was opened.
***
Seth strode quickly through the living room, like a lion on the hunt. As soon as he took a step away from Kara, she spun onto her belly and tried to stand up, tried to follow him, shrieking Zane’s name, not that he could hear her. Her imagination supplied a terrifying image of Zane taking a bullet to the chest. Kara thought she would just give up if that happened. She wouldn’t have the will or the energy to fight anymore.