Chasing Daylight

by Carey Heywood

  There’s no answer. I struggle against the hold, but it does nothing. I’m carried into an air-conditioned room. One moment I’m held and the next I’m sitting on a hard chair. I try to move; but a hand on my shoulder holds me down, as a second person ties my still bound hands to something behind me and both my feet to one of the chair legs.

  Since no hand covers my mouth, I scream as loud as a can. I’m struck, fast and hard across my mouth, and taste the coppery tang of blood on my tongue.

  “Why are you doing this?” I wheeze.

  There is no answer, only the opening and closing of a door. For a moment, I believe that maybe I’ve been left in this room alone. Is this how they mean to kill me, starvation? That thought flees when I hear footsteps coming toward me. With a harsh tug, the hood is pulled away from my head. The room I’m in is bright compared to the darkness of the hood and it takes me a few seconds to focus on the figure standing before me.

  I shake my head certain I’m dreaming. This can’t be. I don’t understand.

  “You?” I ask, confused.

  I’m passing the pool when Spencer Romlin, who lives in unit 14, stops me.

  “Saw what happened this morning. Is everything okay?”

  Zeus leans against me and I drop my hand to his head. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

  He blanches and gulps before responding. “I saw Frank yelling at your girlfriend and grab her arm.”

  “What?” I shout. “When did this happen?”

  He shakes his head. “I’m not sure what time it was. Zeus was with her and Diane saw it too.”

  He’s at my heels as I turn and make my way to the leasing office. My hand is on the knob when my phone rings. I start to ignore it, but McKenzie is expecting me, so I pull it out of my pocket and look at the screen. It’s Alec.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, man, any chance I can talk you into bringing something back for Rachel and me while you’re out with Kenzie?”

  “Sure, just tell her what you guys want to eat. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”

  “You aren’t with Kenzie right now?”

  A chill runs up my spine. “No, I’m still at Gramercy Square. Isn’t she with you?”

  “Hang on.”

  I rub my hand over my face as I wait for him.

  “She isn’t out back, man; but, shit man, her purse is on the ground.”

  “Fuck. Is her phone in her purse?”

  “It is. Something isn’t right, Mitch. She wouldn’t walk off and especially not without her phone.”

  “Call the police. I’ll be there in five.”

  I turn back to Spencer. “And Diane saw what happened?”

  He nods, “She was right there with them.”

  I go to turn the knob, but it’s locked. I pull my keys from my pocket and unlock it. The leasing office is dark, the lights are off, and Diane is nowhere to be found.

  “He’s got them both,” I growl.

  “Who?” Spencer asks.

  I push past him and call for Zeus to follow me before I shout over my shoulder. “Frank fucking Gayton.”

  I’m drawn up short when the object of my anger comes running straight toward me.

  “Where are they?” I shout, stopping him in his tracks.

  “It wasn’t me, but I saw who did it. You’ve got to come with me.”

  His face is still bruised by my hand; but despite that, I feel in my gut, he isn’t lying. Spencer follows and hops in the back of Frank’s car with Zeus while I slide into the front passenger seat.

  “Speak,” I order, the minute Frank starts to drive.

  “All right. This morning I yelled at your girl.”

  “What?” I snap.

  He holds one hand up.” “I’m sorry. I was pissed at you, and I wasn’t thinking. Diane walked up and I took off. An hour later, I was going to the office to file a complaint against you for fucking punching me when I overheard her talking on the phone.”

  “Diane?” Spencer asks from the backseat.

  Frank nods. “She was saying some fucked up shit and I heard her say your girl’s name so I followed her to be safe. A car was waiting for her. I got into my car and followed them. They drove down to that animal place by Bellissima’s.”

  “The guy that’s with her is almost as big as you man. I saw them take her and put her in the trunk. I was on the phone with the cops as I tried to follow them, but they must have seen me and took off. I lost them and came back here for you.”

  I clench my fists, thinking of some guy hurting Kenzie. “What did the police say?”

  “They were tracing the plates.”

  “Do you still remember the plate number?” Spencer asks.

  Frank nods. “I had to say it over and over again until I got someone on the line.”

  “Give it to me,” Spencer orders pulling out his phone.

  He texts it to someone and explains, “My brother is a police officer in Charlotte. He’ll get us the name and address it’s registered to.”

  “What if it’s stolen?” Frank asks the question on my lips.

  I pull out my phone and call Alec. When he doesn’t answer, I assume he’s on the phone with the police.

  “I have a local address,” Spencer says, “I’m pulling it up on GPS right now.”

  We are headed in the direction of where Frank lost the car.

  “What name is the car registered under?” I ask.

  “Brandon Johnson. Do you recognize it?”

  Both Frank and I shake our heads.

  “My brother is texting me his priors. It’s not good, armed robbery, possession with intention to distribute, assault.”

  “Drive faster,” I growl, not wanting to think of Kenzie being taken by a violent criminal.

  “That’s the car,” Frank shouts as we turn onto the street Spencer’s brother gave him.

  I look at Frank. “If you already gave the police the plate number, why aren’t they here?”

  Spencer answers, “No clue, man. I’ll call them”

  Spencer has his phone to his ear as I burst from the car. Frank is behind me. He stops to look at Brandon’s car as I continue to the front door.

  “There’s blood.”

  That’s all I needed to hear. I dip my shoulder and force the door open. That’s when I see her. She’s gagged. I run to her, pulling it free from her.

  “Mitch,” she sobs and it pains me to hear how weary her voice is.

  I curse when I see her wrists and ankles bound with zip ties, the plastic cutting brutally into her skin.

  “Hurry. I don’t know when they’re coming back. Mitch, it was Diane. She took me.”

  “Find a knife,” I shout when I notice Spencer in the doorway.

  He pulls a pocketknife out and passes it to me.

  I make quick work of her bindings before lifting her into my arms. “Watch the door. We don’t know how long they’ll be gone.”

  She’s breathing. She’s bloody and beaten; but for the first time since I learned she was taken, I can relax because she is fucking in my arms and breathing. My girl is alive and that’s all I care about. Now it’s time for me to take care of her.

  Spencer moves into the doorway and looks both ways before motioning me to follow him. We all climb back into Frank’s car, this time with Kenzie on my lap in the backseat.

  I pass Spencer my phone. “Call Alec and tell him we have her and to meet us at the hospital. Tell him to bring a leash for Zeus.”

  We pass four police cars on the way out of Brandon Johnson’s neighborhood.

  “Should we have stayed?” Frank asks, pointing back at them.

  I shake my head. “She needs to get to a hospital. We can talk to them there.”

  Spencer passes my phone back to me and calls his brother to update him.

  Kenzie quietly cries against my shoulder as she clutches my shirt in her hands. Zeus whines next to us and pushes his face into her lap.

  “She’s okay, boy,” I murmur, holding
her to me.

  “She was giving me to that man,” Kenzie whispers so only I can hear.

  I kiss her temple. “Shh, baby. I’ve got you now.”

  Frank drops Kenzie and me off at the emergency entrance. He’s going to wait with Spencer and Zeus until Alec gets here.

  The woman at the registration desk gasps and stands when she sees Kenzie in my arms. Lifting a phone to her ear, she motions for me to go through the doors behind her. A nurse is opening the door as we approach. She presses her hand to her chest, when she sees Kenzie’s feet.

  “I won’t leave her,” I breathe once I’m close to her.

  She nods. “Follow me.”

  The first thing they do is start an IV with a painkiller and saline. Next, they treat and wrap the cuts at her wrists. They loosely place bandages on her feet, but wait to treat them until she’s been x-rayed. That is the only time they separate us. I want to throw something when I learn not only is her nose broken but also every one of her toes. She holds my hand as her nose is bandaged.

  Each of her toes is bandaged to the one next to it, except for each of her big toes, which receive their own split. Once her toes are bandaged, they are then wrapped in a larger bandage covering her foot entirely. Her ankles are then cleaned and bandaged as well.

  The pain, the medication, and her adrenaline wearing off become too much for her. She dozes fitfully while I do everything in my power not to take my rage out on the room. I want to throw the chair I’m sitting on through a window. I want to put my fist through every wall of this room. I want to find Diane, wrap my hands around her throat, and watch the life leave her body.

  “She’s in here.”

  I look up to see Alec, Zeus’s leash in his hand, and Rachel walk in. Rachel takes one look at Kenzie and crosses the room, throwing herself into my arms. I rock back not expecting this and fold my arms around her. Alec stands stock still a step inside the doorway, his eyes on my girl, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

  Zeus pulls toward me and forces Alec to move. I transfer Rachel from my arms to his and take my dog.

  I kneel down, shoving my face into his neck. “She’s going to be okay, boy.”

  Spencer and Frank leave now that Alec and Rachel have shown up. Spencer gives Alec his number asking for an update on McKenzie when I have a chance.

  A knock sounds at the door and a police officer enters. I stand, pulling Zeus with me, and approach him. His eyes widen when he sees Zeus.

  “Therapy dog?” he asks and I nod.

  “He’s gorgeous. Looks just like a dog I had growing up.” He shakes his head. “Best dog I ever had.”

  I follow him out into the hallway so I can give him my statement. I let him know, other than her saying Diane was involved, that McKenzie didn’t tell me anything else before she fell asleep. Before he leaves, I give him Deb’s name with Warrior Dogs in case he’d like to know the name of the breeder she got Zeus from.

  He looks away, blinking before thanking me, and letting me know someone would check back in later and get McKenzie’s statement.

  I watch him walk away, my hand squeezing the loop of Zeus’ leash. He has a look about him that I remember all too well. The one that stared back at me each time I looked in the mirror before I met Kenzie.

  I could have lost her today. That’s twice now someone has tried to take her away from me. What kills me is I wasn’t there to protect her this time. She’s lying broken and bruised in a hospital bed because of a woman I work with. I’ll never be able to make this up to her and that cuts me to my core.

  She’s still sleeping when I walk back into her room. A nurse follows me in.

  “We’re going to admit her.”

  Kenzie mumbles something but doesn’t wake as she’s moved to a semi-private room on the second floor of the hospital. The other bed in the room is empty, so I use the time to call Aunt Cathy to let her know what’s happened and how Diane is involved. To say she’s shocked is putting it lightly. She surprises me by telling me she knew Diane carried a torch for me; and that before I met McKenzie, she had hoped we would end up together.

  I end the call with Cathy when Kenzie wakes. It takes a moment to calm her. Alec runs to the nurse’s station to get someone as Rachel and I both tell her she’s safe. By the time Alec comes back with a nurse, she’s more relaxed.

  She asks the nurse for some water. I offer to get it for her and the nurse points to a plastic mug with a lid and straw next to the sink by the door. “Take that to the nurse’s station and someone will show you where the ice and water machine are.”

  Zeus stays with Kenzie. I’m certain if I’d let him, he’d be curled up next to her on her bed. The nurse is explaining where the remote call button is by the time I’m back with her water.

  Kenzie grimaces when she reaches for it, lowering her hands before she can hold it.

  “My wrists hurt,” she explains.

  I hold the straw to her lips for her to drink.

  When the nurse leaves, I ask, “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She looks first at me, then to Rachel and Alec. Something passes between her and Alec.

  He nods, taking Rachel’s hand. “Rachel and I are going to run down to the cafeteria.”

  Rachel starts to object; but then, concedes and they leave. Of course, Rachel shouldn’t hear about Kenzie’s attack so close to her own.

  “I didn’t think—” I start.

  “Shhh,” Kenzie hushes me.

  Before she says anything else, there’s a knock at the door and the police officer from earlier walks in.

  “Is it all right if I stay with her?” I ask.

  “Is that okay with you, Ma’am?” he asks her and she nods.

  It’s a struggle to keep my expression neutral while she speaks. Aware of my fraying nerves, Zeus pushes his head into my lap and licks the inside of my elbow.

  Kenzie does not miss this. “I’m so sorry.”

  I shake my head. “Don’t you dare apologize for some twisted bitch.”

  She doesn’t remember being taken. The last thing she remembers before being in the back of the car is a pain in her neck and dropping her purse.

  She assumes they bound her there and put her in the trunk. I stopped her and let her know Frank saw them take her and followed the car. They must have bound her sometime between them losing him and Brandon Johnson’s house.

  She blanches, “They could’ve killed me then.”

  “Don’t think of that,” I beg.

  She gulps and continues, describing how she hurt her feet kicking out the back taillight. Pride fills my chest at how brave and clever she was to have done that. She could have anyone in the world and she wants to be with me. I lean forward and kiss her shoulder, afraid to kiss her anywhere else without causing her pain.

  “Diane was the one who poisoned Zeus.”

  My body stills at her words.

  “She thought you were too attached to him; and that if something happened to him, she could comfort you and make you fall in love with her. She was angry at me for ruining her plans.”

  “That’s insane,” I breathe.

  She looks away. “She was pretty pissed it backfired and she was the reason we met.”

  The police officer interrupts at this time. “Where was Mr. Johnson during all of this?”

  “He was in the room, but got a telephone call, and they left together. The last thing I heard her say before they walked out the door was her making him promise he’d punish me.”

  I see red. “Have they been found?”

  The police officer clears his throat. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this since it isn’t public information yet; but Ms. Sloan and Mr. Johnson resisted arrest. There was a high-speed pursuit. Ms. Sloan lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. She died on impact. Mr. Johnson died en route to the hospital.”

  Kenzie’s mouth drops open and sitting up she claws at the officer’s shirt before grasping his arm. If her wrists bother her, she’s showing no sign of it.


  “They’re dead? They’re both dead? They won’t come after me?”

  Tear stream down her cheeks as he gently covers her hand with his and solemnly nods.

  Her head swings left to look at me. “They’re gone.”

  She leans toward me, dropping her hand from the officer’s arm, so I can hug her to me. As happy as I am for the relief so clearly evident in Kenzie’s reaction, part of me is angered that a car accident wrecked the retribution I had hoped would be mine.

  I wanted to hurt Brandon Johnson and make Diane watch. I then wanted to live each day of the rest of my life breathing free air knowing they were behind bars. This justice was too swift, neither of them had an opportunity to suffer the way I wanted them to.

  Bruises fade away and broken bones heal, the latter unfortunately not as fast as the former. My feet were a mess for weeks after my abduction. Mitch hovers, Rachel mothers, and Alec is trying to keep the Critter Haven and Spa going all by himself while also taking care of Rachel as she tries to take care of me. I miss normal, or at least some semblance of it.

  One shocking development that came out after my abduction was Tyler’s involvement in it. In the beginning, we all struggled to understand Brandon Johnson’s motivation behind the attack. While he did have a history of violent crimes, he had never kidnapped someone prior to me. What we learned was that during one of his recent visits behind bars, he and Tyler were cellmates.

  Since Tyler knew he wouldn’t be out of prison for a long time, he hired Brandon Johnson to kill me. For Tyler, his mindset was that if he couldn’t have me, no one could. Mr. Johnson it seemed was not the type to turn down the opportunity at some easy cash. While scoping out Gramercy Park he met Diane. After he learned she wasn’t a fan of mine, he talked her into keeping tabs on me for him. Bank records and Tyler confirmed she sweetened the deal for Johnson moneywise, by paying him to torture me before he killed me.

  It’s scary to think her hate may have saved my life. If all he had to do was kill me, there would have been no reason to put me in that trunk. In a weird way, I’m now thankful I was abducted when I consider the alternative.

  I can’t call it a positive, but I have gained a greater understanding of what Mitch went through. Broken toes in no way equal to the loss of a limb, but more an understanding of the struggle of being helpless when you’re normally independent. My needing his help has gone a long way to ease the guilt he’s been trying to hide from me.