Contrasting Lives

by Leah Dempster

  He knew he had. Despite the issues, despite the problems… he should have been willing to fight for Emily, not dumped her because it all seemed too hard. He'd used Courtney's issues as an excuse to dump her, and her suspected infidelity as a way of shifting the blame away from himself. In that instant, Matt realized how fucked up life was, without Emily in it. How much he'd loved spending time with her.

  How much he'd loved her.

  How much he still loved her.

  He loved his kids, Christ, he loved them so much, but with startling clarity, Matt knew he was in love with Emily and if he didn't get her back, his life would only be half-lived. While he'd loved Caroline deeply, he suspected that Emily was his soul mate, the other half of his world. With a silent word of prayer to Caroline, begging for her understanding, Matt admitted to himself what he should have done months ago.

  He was in love with Emily Coulter.

  Matt glanced upwards and studied the sky for a moment, pondering what to do next.

  A shooting star crossed the darkened skyline its descent leading it towards Seattle and Emily. Matt wasn't a huge believer in fates, or destinies, or any of that other crap, but he had to wonder if this was a message from his beloved wife and she was pointing him in the directions he was meant to be headed.

  He was about to get to his feet, when he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and glanced up to discover Courtney standing beside him, her brown eyes exposing her concern. “Dad? What's wrong?”

  Matt took a split second to think before he spoke. What he was about to say might destroy their recently rebuilt relationship, but he didn't want to deceive her, didn't want to tell her any lies. “Emily's missing. Paul thinks she's been kidnapped.”

  Courtney swallowed heavily. “That's bad. Who would have taken her?”

  “She had a boyfriend, a while ago. Paul thinks it might be him”

  Courtney was silent for a long moment, before she settled down on the step beside him. “You care about her, don't you?”

  “A lot, Court,” Matt admitted quietly.

  “Maybe we should go home, so we can help search for her.”

  Matt could hardly believe his ears. “Are you sure, honey?”

  Courtney nodded, hesitantly. “Yeah. I think we should.” She glanced away from him and chewed her lip pensively. “I can't say that I'm thrilled with the idea, but I get how you could be lonely after Mom died. And I was being selfish, before. I should have considered your feelings, not just my own.”

  Matt stared down at his daughter for a minute, his eyes widening. Was this the same girl, who'd been so unbearable to live with just a few months ago? As much as Matt hadn't held a lot of faith in Mark Warren, he had to admit, the guy had gotten through to Courtney, more than any of them had been able to since Caroline's death. “Thank you, baby. I appreciate it.” He wrapped his arm around Courtney's shoulder, and his heart soared when she allowed it, even snuggling closer.

  The door to the cabin was wrenched open and Brandon stepped out. “Dad, are we playing Monopoly, or what?”

  Courtney responded for him, offering Matt a faint smile. “Nah, we're going home. Something important has come up.”

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The music on the radio matched Matt's mood; edgy, almost intrinsically urging him to drive faster, to reach Seattle as quickly as he possibly could. The sense of urgency was overwhelming; he could feel it from the tips of his fingers gripping the steering wheel, to the tensed muscles in his shoulders and spine. He was trying to subdue the panic, which clenched the muscle in his abdomen, aware of the kids in the seats behind him. It wouldn't be good for them to realize how anxious he really was, how worried that it might already be too late.

  Courtney was hunched over in the seat beside him, arms clasped tightly around her waist and long dark hair draped across her face, hiding her pretty features. Her body language belied a similar stress to what Matt was trying so hard to disguise.

  Matt took his hand off the steering wheel for a moment, brushing his fingers through Courtney's silky hair.

  When Courtney glanced up, Matt's heart twisted when he saw unshed tears brimming against her eyelashes.

  “It'll be okay, Court,” he murmured, trying to offer her some comfort. “It's gonna be okay. They'll find her.”

  “It's my fault, Daddy.”

  Shit, she hadn't called him Daddy in years, not since before Caroline died. His heart clenched at hearing her say it now, the word so filled with guilt and grief. “It's not your fault, baby,” Matt protested, indicating to turn onto the exit ramp leading to Seattle.

  “If I hadn't been such a cow… if I hadn't driven you and Emily apart… this wouldn't have happened.”

  “I was at fault, Court. Not you. Some stuff happened, and I didn't give Emily a chance to explain. I should have, instead of jumping to conclusions.”

  “You broke up with her because of me though, didn't you?” Courtney asked quietly. “Because I was… cutting myself.”

  It was the first time Courtney had ever referenced her psychological issues and Matt inhaled sharply before he responded. “Baby, I broke up with Emily because of a number of factors. Not just because of your difficulties. You were going through a tough time. I wish I'd known how tough, but I honestly never guessed…” Matt trailed off uncertainly.

  “I was acting out,” Courtney said, turning towards the darkened window. “I wanted someone to notice me, someone to care about how much I was hurting after Mom died.”

  “I saw you, sweetheart.”

  “But you didn't Daddy, you were so busy holding everything together, you didn't see me.”

  Matt placed his hand on Courtney's shoulder and squeezed gently. “You might not believe it, but I saw you, baby. I saw you every morning, when you came out of your bedroom and your eyes were red-rimmed from crying over your Mom. I saw you every night, when you tucked that photo of your Mom under your pillow and slept with your hand against it. I followed you, when you went to the cemetery to sit with your Mom, to make sure you were okay and got home safely. I've wanted to be there for you, every step of the way, but I'm not certain I've always gotten it right.”

  Tears dripped down Courtney's cheek and she turned around to face him, her eyes wide. “I didn't think you knew about that stuff.”

  Matt shook his head. “I'm your Dad. It's my job to know.”

  “I was just so furious because you and Emily…” Courtney blushed and turned to face the window again.

  Matt flushed with embarrassment, but managed to retain his composure. He wasn't quite certain how to respond. “I'm sorry you had to find out about it that way, Courtney. I would never have willingly hurt you so badly.”

  Courtney lapsed into silence for a few minutes, before she spoke again. “Like Mr. Warren said, I shouldn't have been eavesdropping. He says all our actions have consequences. If I hadn't been so horrible to Emily, and so angry with you, Emily wouldn't be missing.”

  “If this guy was determined to get Emily, there's nothing anyone could do to stop it,” Matt responded, clutching the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “None of this was your fault, Court.”

  “It was my fault! I knew you liked her, and I didn't want her to take you away from us!”

  Matt glanced across at his daughter; saw the tears running freely down her cheeks again. “Courtney, listen to me. Emily would never have taken me away from you. No woman can come between you guys and me. You will always be my biggest priority. Always.”

  “But if he hurts her…” Courtney's words tapered off abruptly and she sobbed, holding her hand over her mouth.

  Matt's chest clenched painfully at the thought of what Collado might be doing to Emily. If he had her, he reminded himself. Matt was still holding on to a smidgeon of hope that Emily had taken off somewhere, forgotten to tell anyone, but even as he let the hope run through his mind, he tamped it down. Paul had said she was always so careful, but didn't seem to care anymore after he'd br
oken things off with her. After he'd been such a bastard. If she died, it would be his fault. Jesus, their entire relationship had bounced from one disaster to the next. If only he'd shown more trust, if only he'd given her the opportunity to explain.

  Raking his fingers through his hair, Matt made a promise to himself. If Emily survived this, he swore to God he'd never doubt her, not ever again. He would prove to her that he loved her, every day for the rest of their lives. Despite the issues they were facing, he loved her.

  And he wouldn't let her go again. Never again.

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  Matt pulled into the driveway, turned off the ignition and slumped in the seat. His eyes were scratchy with tiredness, his shoulders stiff with exhaustion. It had been a hell of a night, and Matt's anxiety levels hadn't decreased one tiny bit during the four-hour drive home. He planned to get the kids sorted out and then ring Paul to get an update on the situation. While Paul wouldn't thank him for it, Matt had nowhere else to turn. And he owed Paul, and Mandy, for that matter, an apology. They'd tried their darndest a few months ago to get him to listen to reason, but he'd been too obstinate to listen to them. He needed to eat some humble pie, and pull his own head out of his ass.

  “C'mon, kids. We'll unload in the morning. For now, we could all do with some sleep,” Matt suggested wearily.

  Courtney unclipped her seatbelt and slipped out of the car, looking as tired as Matt felt. She reached into the back passenger seat to unclip Millie's seat belt, while Matt gently shook Harper and Brandon, who'd been sleeping for the past couple of hours.

  Matt trudged up the stairs leading to the house, wishing he could get out now and start searching for Emily. But he knew from experience, exhaustion wouldn't help with the task of finding a missing person, rather it would see him make poor decisions, and miss important clues. For now, he needed to sleep, regroup and get a fresh start first thing in the morning. He would contact Paul, make his apologies and ask for the latest information about Emily. Missing Persons would be handling the case, but Matt was certain they'd welcome someone else to help with the search. He'd need to call his parents in the morning, ask them to sit with the kids. Courtney had been determined in the car that she was coming along to help and Matt thought it might be good for her to be involved. She was carrying a lot of guilt for her part in Emily's abduction; despite how many times Matt had tried to tell her she had nothing to do with it.

  As he pushed the key into the lock, his only intention was to shut the door behind him, grab a bottle of water, and fall into bed. He planned to set the alarm for six am, which should be enough sleep to tide him over for the day. He sent up a silent prayer that by the time he woke up, someone would have already found Emily safe and well.

  Pushing open the door, Matt ushered the kids inside before him, and nearly fell over them when Courtney stopped abruptly just inside the doorway.

  “What the hell?” Matt cursed, gripping Courtney's shoulder to stop himself from falling over and taking everyone with him.

  He followed the direction of Courtney's gaze and his own eyes widened, taking in the horrific scene before him. And he cursed, knowing he had no weapons on hand to deal with this.

  Millie and Harper started screaming. Brandon remained silent, his gaze focused on the center of the room.

  In the area between the living room and the dining room, someone was strung up, their back to him and the kids, a length of chain running from their wrists to an enormous meat hook, which had been screwed into the heavy ceiling beam that delineated the line between the two rooms. Bile rushed up in Matt's throat when he saw the dark curls.

  Holy mother of god. It was Emily.

  She had been stripped down to her underwear, and she was facing away from Matt and the kids. At first, it was hard to distinguish what he was seeing; Emily's back and thighs were covered with welts, cuts and bruises, her skin resembling so much shredded meat. He'd never seen anything like it in his life and he had to swallow back bile as his mind processed what he was viewing in slow motion. Emily was wearing simple white cotton underwear, or at least, it had been – the back of the material had been soaked through with blood.

  Matt gripped Courtney's arm, pushing her behind him, even as he tried frantically to push the four kids back out through the front door, but they had each frozen in place. Courtney's eyes grew rounder as she stared at Emily's back and Matt could see his daughter was still trying to process what it was she was seeing. Millie continued to scream, but Harper had lapsed into a muted stare. When Courtney did recover her senses enough to move, she wrapped her arms around her father and buried her face against his chest, sobbing hysterically.

  “Courtney… for the love of Christ…” Matt pleaded with his daughter, desperately trying to unwrap her arms from around his waist, wanting to get her and the others out of the house, while there was still time. He had no idea what was going on, prayed that whoever had done this had abandoned Emily here and already left, but Matt doubted it. This was some sort of sick joke, and he and his kids had just become pawns in the end game.

  “You're not planning on leaving are you?”

  The man appeared beside Emily, a gun in one hand, a whip in the other. The whip was made of multiple lengths of short leather, and Matt's rage grew when he saw the metal balls plaited into the weave of the leather. The whip had been designed for one thing, and one thing only – to create maximum physical damage. Matt couldn't imagine the pain Emily had suffered since she'd been taken. He pulled the kids around cautiously, trying to shield them behind his body. It would be of little benefit if the guy fired, but all Matt could focus on was getting the kids out of the front door to safety… just a few more inches…

  “No, I insist. Close the door and come join us.”

  Courtney pushed the door shut, and turned to grip Matt's arm, but the man waved the gun in the direction of the door.

  “Lock it.”

  With shaking fingers, Courtney did as he'd requested, before turning and wrapping her arm tightly around Matt's and gripping Millie's hand in her own. Harper and Brandon were standing together, and Matt noticed that Brandon had placed his arm protectively around his older sister. Millie had finally stopped screaming, but now she stood with her little face squashed up against Courtney's hip, as if by keeping herself from viewing the scene, it wasn't really happening.

  “Now, come and get comfortable,” the guy announced.

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  How the hell did this guy know about Matt and his family? How had he gotten their address? These, and dozens of other questions kept running through Matt's mind as he watched the gunman warily. Who was he? Was this William Collado, the guy Paul suspected was responsible for kidnapping Emily.

  The man had been pacing nervously for the past ten minutes, ever since he'd made Courtney secure Matt's hands behind his back with zip ties. Once Matt was restrained, the creep had made Courtney secure her siblings wrists in front of them with zip ties, before he'd done the same thing to Courtney himself. Matt's blood had boiled in his veins when he saw the way the guy had eyed Courtney's chest.

  He'd situated Matt on the couch opposite where Emily was slumped against the chains, and the kids were all sitting on either side of him. Matt's heart had been in his throat, suspecting Emily was already dead, but he'd seen her taking shallow, life-affirming breaths. Her head was drooping, and he hadn't heard her make a sound since they'd arrived. He hoped, for Emily's sake, she was unconscious. The thought of her being alert in her condition was unbearable, the idea of how much pain she must be suffering intolerable.

  The girls were clinging to Matt, Harper on his left, and Millie on his right. Millie had stared at Emily ever since they'd been placed on the couch, her eyes wide and she was chewing her lip anxiously. Courtney was next to Millie staring off into the distance, her head resting against the back of the couch. Harper and Brandon had adopted a similar pose.

  “Who are you?” Matt asked cautiously.

 
The guy settled onto one of the armchairs, and studied Matt curiously before he spoke, confirming what Matt had suspected. “William Collado. And you're Matt Pendleton.”

  “That's right. How did you know?” Matt took a few minutes to study Collado, trying to find any weakness he could exploit. A cursory inspection of the living room had established there was nothing he could use as a weapon against Collado's gun. In her haste, Courtney hadn't managed to secure the zip ties around Matt's wrists firmly – although he had some flexibility, they were tight enough to ensure he couldn't wriggle out of them.

  Collado was about six feet tall, broad shouldered, with dark hair and eyes. His complexion was sallow, as if he hadn't seen a lot of sun lately. He wore black trousers and a pinstriped business shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the collar undone. When he'd stepped closer, Matt had been sickened by the droplets of blood that had sprayed across the shirt, obviously from his attacks on Emily.

  “Because you stole something, which rightly belonged to me.”

  Matt's gaze turned to Emily, his heart thumping in his chest as he checked again for signs that she was still breathing. He needed to find a way of getting her and the kids out of here, and fast. “Emily doesn't belong to anyone. She's her own woman.”

  Collado was muttering beneath his breath when he began to pace, swinging the whip back and forth and waving the gun haphazardly. Matt had visually established the safety wasn't on, and he cringed every time he saw Collado's finger twitch against the trigger. “Emily is not her own woman. She is my belonging. She ran away from me when she had no right to leave. Hence why,” he said, brandishing the whip, “she needs to be punished.”

  “I can understand you choosing to keep me here, but how about you let the kids go?” Matt suggested cautiously. “They're just kids. They've got nothing to do with this. This problem is between you and me and Emily.”