Hoping to relieve any guilt that Traci felt about not recognizing the man, he added, “And you were definitely not expecting the captain to be Ryan’s stalker.”
“We need to get to Riever’s house,” Traci said suddenly. She realized that they had been standing doing nothing as Ryan got closer to a dangerous situation.
“We need some backup,” Levi said. He was surprised when Traci shook her head at his suggestion.
“We don’t know who we can trust,” she explained. “The captain has already used at least one other cop to watch Ryan. He got a picture of Ryan when the suspect was holding him hostage on his first night. Only cops were in the house at the time.”
The two cops were finally on their way out of the station to rush to Captain Riever’s house. Traci made it to the driver’s seat, and gave Levi a look daring him to complain.
Levi just shrugged innocently and climbed into the passenger seat. He wasn’t about to get in her way when she was fighting to protect her partner. She and Ryan had hit it off immediately, and he knew she was very protective of her partner. After hearing what Ryan had been through, Levi couldn’t blame her for wanting to keep her eyes on the kid.
“I told him he could trust Riever,” Traci admitted softly as she drove quickly through the city.
“What?” Levi asked. She repeated herself, and he shook his head in disbelief. “You’re questioning yourself because you told your partner that he could trust his captain. That’s ridiculous. There is no possible way you could have known that Riever couldn’t be trusted.”
Traci just stared at the road in front of her hitting redial as she tried to call Ryan. Ryan, where are you?
She hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
EIGHTEEN
As Ryan drove from the precinct he fought with the emotions that were warring within his body. He wanted to trust Traci, but how could he? Captain Riever must have trusted her to be his partner for a reason. She had to be a bad cop in order for the older man to put her with Ryan. She had also told him he could trust Riever, and she had seemed sincere. That made him think that he might be able to trust her, but it didn’t allow him to feel like he could call her and tell her where he was going. If Riever had killed his uncle, it would be Ryan who brought him in for it. His parents and uncle deserved justice, and Ryan was a few minutes away from getting it for them.
He heard his phone ring, and saw that Traci was calling him. He ignored it, hoping she would think he had gone home to sleep. It took nearly fifteen minutes for Ryan to reach Riever’s house where he noticed that there was only one car in the driveway.
As he exited his car, Ryan unsnapped his holster to allow him to reach his gun quickly if it became necessary. He knocked on the door, and waited for Riever to answer it.
“Ryan?” Riever asked. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
“I need to ask you some questions about my parents,” Ryan answered. He hoped his face didn’t give away that he thought Riever was guilty. When Riever smiled and nodded, moving over to allow Ryan access to the house, Ryan felt comfortable enough to walk past him, leaving his back wide open.
Riever glared at Ryan’s back as the boy walked past him. He knows. The plan is fulfilled now!
The blow stunned Ryan, and the last thing he heard before his world turned black was Riever saying, “You should have left it alone. Now you’re mine.”
***
Traci pulled up to the curb in front of Riever’s house, and threw the car into park. Grabbing the keys, she practically launched herself out of the vehicle and up the porch stairs to the front door.
“Captain Riever? It’s Traci, I need to talk to you,” she called. She glanced behind her as she felt Levi joining her on the porch.
Traci tested the front door, and found that it was unlocked. She drew her gun, and motioned for Levi to do the same as they entered the house. “This is the Weaton City Police! If anyone is in this house come out now!”
There was no reply. She and Levi cleared the house as quickly as possible but right away she noticed the broken lamp in the front hall. There was blood on the floor and Traci thought the worst when she saw it.
“He killed Ryan!” she gasped with a sob as she saw the blood on the lamp and on the floor near it.
“I don’t believe that,” Levi disagreed with her. “If Riever stalked Ryan it was for some kind of reason, and I don’t think that reason has been fulfilled. We need to check around outside; we might find something that could indicate where Riever would take Ryan.”
Near the back door, Traci found a blood trail.
“I got blood here,” Traci called to Levi, trying to sound calm but failing as she followed the trail out the door into the driveway. “He must have dragged Ryan into a car out here.”
She and Levi stood in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what they should do.
As they contemplated their next action, they heard a rattling from the shed in the corner of the yard. Cautiously, the pair moved closer to the shed.
Traci removed her gun from the holster as they took positions on either side of the shed door. Using her fingers, Traci counted down from three. On one, Levi pushed the door open while Traci covered him with her weapon. She put it away as she realized what they had heard.
“Whoa,” Levi said, recoiling nervously. “That’s a big beast.” He noticed the big dog looking at him over the straps of the muzzle that kept him from barking or opening his mouth more than a few centimeters. The dog was tied to the wall of the shed by a chain wrapped uncomfortably around the animal’s neck.
“Hunter!” Traci exclaimed.
“You know him?” Levi asked, still eyeing the dog with trepidation.
Traci shook her head. “I’ve never met him, but from how Ryan’s described him, this must be Ryan’s dog.”
Levi was confused. “Why would Riever have kept Ryan’s dog? What could possibly be gained by it?”
Traci just shook her head and shrugged as she knelt by the frightened animal. “It’s okay, buddy. We’re going to get you some help.”
When Traci spoke to the dog, Levi realized that it was in poor condition. The chain around his neck had drawn blood, and it looked like he had been beaten. Hunter looked at his two rescuers warily, and growled deep in his throat, causing Traci to believe that keeping the muzzle on might be a good idea.
“I’m going to call animal control to come and get this guy to a vet and then we need to get some backup. Riever needs to be taken down, and we need to get Ryan back,” Traci said after removing the chain from around the dog’s neck. She clipped the end to the collar that was still on Hunter.
What had been done to Ryan’s dog was awful, and Traci shuddered to think about what Riever would be doing to her partner. What he’s already doing to him, she corrected herself silently.
“I thought you said we couldn’t call for backup,” Levi was saying as Traci thought about her partner.
She had heard him, and replied, “We can’t trust the people who worked closely with Riever. We should be able to trust most of the street cops and detectives.”
Traci looked at him with desperation in her eyes. “I need to find him! I don’t know if Kerry or Jane could handle losing him. I don’t know if I could handle losing him,” she added quietly. She realized that in the few weeks she had known him, Ryan had become her best friend.
Levi nodded, and called for backup.
***
While Traci and Levi were waiting for the other officers, Kerry was sitting at home waiting for word from Traci. She was worried about Ryan as well and hoped they were just too busy with work to call. After nearly half an hour of her being concerned, her phone rang. When she went to answer it, she saw that a text message had been delivered to her from Ryan’s phone. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Ryan’s number on her screen but wondered why he hadn’t just called her instead of texting her. Her relief quickly turned to dread as she read the message: HE’S GONE. She started shaki
ng and it took a few deep breaths for her to calm herself enough to think to call someone.
“Traci… I need to call Traci,” she said to the empty room. She didn’t want anything on her cell phone to change, so she called Traci on the landline. The phone rang several times before she heard, “Hello?”
“He has Ryan, doesn’t he,” Kerry stated fearfully.
Kerry heard a catch in Traci’s voice as she answered. “Yes. At least we’re fairly certain that he does. We found Hunter.”
“You found Hunter? Where was he? Who had him?” Kerry asked. For Ryan’s sake, she hoped the dog was okay.
“He was just taken to the vet a few minutes ago. How did you know that Ryan was taken?” Traci asked. “I haven’t had the chance to call you yet.”
“I got a text message from the stalker. It said “He’s gone” and it came from Ryan’s phone.”
“We’re waiting at the suspect’s house right now for backup. Come down to the station now and bring your cell with you. We’re going to need it as evidence. When you get to the station, wait at my desk for me; I might be able to tell you more by then. For now, I have to go.”
The two women hung up their phones, foregoing the polite goodbyes in favor of abruptly ending the conversation. Kerry left her house soon after she hung up, and drove to the station to await news of Ryan.
***
Ryan woke slowly, his head threatening to explode. He tried to move around and realized that the sensation of movement was not from his headache. He was in the trunk of a car, and his hands were taped behind his back. It was too much work to think about what had happened, and his head pounded every time he tried to move, so he lay still wishing the ride was over.
Several minutes after he had woken up, Ryan felt the texture of the road change. The smoothness became bumpy, and he figured they had turned from an interstate or highway to a gravel road. He shuddered knowing that he was being taken somewhere deserted. Riever would be able to do anything to him, and no one would be around to hear him calling for help.
Why Riever? Ryan’s body tensed as he felt the car pull to a stop, and the vibration from the engine ceased, leaving an eerie silence. The silence was broken by the creaking of the driver’s side door opening and closing, and footsteps coming toward the trunk of the car.
With the threat of danger so imminent, Ryan put all his energy into an attempt to break free of the tape that held his arms. His hands had gone numb, and when he tried to move them spikes of pain went through his arms. He froze when he heard the key in the lock and took the time to mask his face before Riever opened the trunk lid.
“Captain,” Ryan sneered, his voice full of venom.
“Be nice, Ryan,” the man said calmly. “I’ll have to discipline you if you aren’t polite, and you don’t want that.”
“What do you want?” Ryan asked, hating that his voice came out sounding weak and uncertain.
“I let you grow up with another man acting as your father. That was my mistake. It’s time for you to be retrained. You have to be taught that I am the only one you can trust, and that you should obey me in anything I tell you to do.”
Ryan looked at him incredulously. “You have got to be kidding me,” he said. “You won’t be able to force me into your way of thinking. You’re insane if you think I’ll ever view you as a father after what you did to my parents and Frank, you deranged psychopath!”
Riever struck Ryan hard across the face. “I warned you. Next time I’ll be using something to hit you that will cause some real pain,” he said as Ryan shook his head, trying to focus his eyes. “The training process won’t be easy, but it is for your own good that I’m doing it.”
Riever looked down at Ryan. “Maybe some more time locked in there will help you,” he suggested calmly.
Ryan’s eyes widened in panic; he had been able to stand the ride in the trunk only because he had been too out of it to react when he had first woken up. “You can’t…” he began.
“Watch me,” Riever interrupted, slapping a piece of tape over Ryan’s mouth and slamming the trunk shut. Ryan was trapped in pitch-blackness and had to struggle to keep his breathing even. If he began to hyperventilate, it could cause serious problems since he could only breathe through his nose. How long is he planning to keep me here? I need to get out!
Riever listened to Ryan’s panicked groans as he closed the trunk and smiled to himself. His job was over. He had heard Traci’s call for assistance to his home, but he had never told anyone at work about the land he had procured from a criminal friend as a bribe. He had dug a shelter into the ground and hidden the entrance. He’d known that eventually Ryan or someone else would find out he was the one who killed Ryan’s parents and Frank, so he had set this place up for when he finally took Ryan.
The boy had made it easier for him by coming to confront him, but he was stubborn and wouldn’t be easy to break. He knew Ryan was uncomfortable in tight spaces, so he had designed a room just for him. Unfortunately, since the timetable had been moved up, the room wasn’t finished yet. Riever shrugged. It didn’t matter. For now the trunk was doing the job the special room would be taking over for in a day or so. The car he would be disposing of, so he wasn’t worried about any mess that could happen in it, and would only remove Ryan from it when the room was finished.
Ryan had stopped groaning, so Riever went to his underground chamber to work on the boy’s room. He also set up the syringes full of drugs he had prepared to make Ryan’s mind easier to manipulate.
You will be mine. It doesn’t matter how much you deny it now. I will break you and then you will belong to me!
NINETEEN
Ryan lay in the trunk of the car struggling to control his breathing. He was close to passing out from dehydration and was miserable enough to wish for Riever to come back and let him out of the trunk. Please let someone find me.
He again wanted to kick himself for being stupid enough to run off on his own, despite not knowing if he could trust the people at his precinct. Just because the captain was bad didn’t automatically make the people under him bad.
Ryan figured that it had been several hours since Riever had locked him in the trunk, and he wondered what the man was planning.
Ryan tensed as he heard footsteps coming toward the car.
“I’m back, Ryan,” Riever said as he opened the trunk to find a still defiant, though somewhat weaker, Ryan staring disdainfully at him. Riever reached for Ryan, and smiled as the boy recoiled from his touch. “Now, now, Ryan. I’m just going to help you out of the trunk. You have a new place to stay while you’re here. I’m sure you’ll be comfortable while I have you.”
Since he couldn’t talk, Ryan shook his head and burrowed into the trunk. He had changed his mind. He would rather be locked in the trunk than have to deal with his kidnapper. Ryan winced as Riever roughly grabbed his arm and pulled him up.
“Get out,” he commanded.
The edges of the tape dug into Ryan’s wrists as Riever tugged on his arms. Ryan managed to get his legs under him and slowly worked his way out of the trunk. He winced at the bright sunlight and was confused when he didn’t see any kind of structure near where the car was parked.
“I’m going to be taking you to my secret place,” Riever said. “No one knows I own it, and there are no records of it anywhere. Even if someone manages to find the property, they would have a real hard time finding the rooms.” Riever dragged Ryan along with him to the base of a tree and reached down to grab what looked like a stick lying on the ground. Ryan’s eyes widened and he felt the hope leaving him as he saw the well concealed door open.
Riever pulled on Ryan’s arm, trying to get him to follow, but Ryan jerked away with more strength than Riever had expected from someone who had been locked in a trunk for nearly seven hours.
Ryan turned and ran away, stumbling a little since his legs were still stiff from being in the trunk. Ryan only made it a short distance before he was tackled from behind, his face slamming into the
ground. The tape muffled his cry of pain, but Riever still smiled when he heard it.
“We’re going down there now. There’s nothing and no one around here for miles. You can’t get away.”
Riever dragged Ryan to his feet and was able to push him into the hole and down steps leading down into a cave-like structure with smooth walls. There was some furniture in the main room, and it looked like Riever was planning on living in his subterranean structure. Despite the situation, the underground building fascinated Ryan until Riever led him into a smaller room that he realized was going to be a challenge to escape. In the center of the second room stood a metal cage that had chains and what looked like shackles in it. Ryan tried to back away, but Riever struck him in the face and pushed him into the open door of the cage.
Before Ryan could catch his balance, Riever had chained his ankles with the shackles and had taken out two pairs of handcuffs. He clipped one end of each pair to Ryan’s wrists, and the other end he chained to the rails of the cage. Ryan pulled at the cuffs angrily, making them rattle. Since he was unable to speak to Riever, he had to settle for glaring at him.
Riever ignored the look and locked the cage, leaving Ryan unable to sit down. He was hardly able to move at all, but he still stared defiantly at Riever.
“This will be your home until I determine that you deserve nicer accommodations. I have a special treat for you, but I think I’ll let you get used to your room for the night first.”
Ryan grunted angrily through the tape and rattled his cuffs, trying to pull his hands free.
Once Riever left the room, Ryan slumped against the back of the cage. I’m not going to get out of this. There’s no way that anyone will find this place. I don’t even know how far from the city we are right now. Despite his intent to show no fear to Riever, Ryan felt tears coursing down his cheeks as he realized how truly desperate his situation was. I wish he had taken off the tape.
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