A shadow fell over Nolan’s body as Mallory moved closer. Cassie knelt to check if he was breathing and she glanced up expecting to see Mallory looking stunned and possibly relieved. Instead, she caught a burning intensity in Mallory’s eyes before she swung her arm. In her fist, she clutched one of Cassie’s heavy metal candlesticks. It collided with the side of Cassie’s head and everything went dark.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jack
“Stone!”
Jack ignored the yelling from the house as he finished speaking to Peterson. Before driving off to find Cassie, he needed to know her location. Peterson could hack the GPS in Jack’s car and get an exact position.
“What the hell is going on?” Suza stormed across the porch which shrieked in protest under his heavy steps.
“Reynold has Cassie,” he said, opening his car door. “I have to get to her.”
“What exactly is your plan?” Suza said. “You can’t just get in your car and drive like a bat out of hell. You’ll never get there in time.”
“I have to try.” He had one leg in the car when Evans appeared on the porch.
“Hey! You guys are going to want to see what Conway just found.”
It was the most torn that Jack had ever felt. He needed to be on the road, racing to Cassie’s rescue. But the look on Evans’ face was not something he could ignore. Jack ordered a nearby officer to call the county and dispatch their deputies to Cassie’s home. Peterson hadn’t confirmed that as the location yet, but Jack thought it was the most likely option. Then he jogged inside and found a small group of officers huddled outside Mallory’s bedroom.
“What is it?” he asked over the men blocking the doorway. He could just barely make out the top of Conway’s head.
“We were spending so much time trying to learn more about Reynold that we didn’t thoroughly check this room until just now.” Conway waved him inside and the crowd parted to allow Jack into the room. “Look what we found in the closet.”
At first, Jack didn’t notice anything strange. The room looked exactly as it had when he peered through the window earlier. But then Conway stepped to the side and Jack’s jaw dropped. A small girl, probably only four or five-years-old, sat on the floor.
“Who is she?” Jack breathed, already fearing the answer.
“She keeps asking for her mommy.” Conway shrugged helplessly. “I can’t get her to say anything else.”
Jack said, “Ten strange men are standing over her with guns, Conway. Did you really expect her to trust you?”
“Let’s clear the room,” Suza snapped, pushing the men back.
When it was just Jack, Suza, and Conway in the room, Suza closed the door. Jack squatted next to the girl. “My name is Jack,” he said. “What’s your name?”
She stared at him with big blue eyes and her bottom lip trembled. “Where’s Mommy?”
“That’s what we are here to find out. We think she might have left with a man. Do you know who he is?” Jack hadn’t spent a lot of his time as a detective interviewing witnesses this young. He had no idea what he should be doing.
“Nolan?” she asked, looking to him for approval.
“That’s good.” He smiled. “How long have you lived with Nolan, sweetheart?”
“I dunno.” She shrugged her little shoulders. “Always.”
“Do you know your Mommy’s name? Her other name, I mean. What does Nolan call her?” Jack thought he already knew the answer, but he needed it confirmed.
The little girl twisted the hem of her nightgown in her tiny fist. “He calls her Mallory.”
“Is Nolan your daddy?” Jack asked, certain that it was true.
“Yes.” She tilted her head at him. “Is Mommy coming back?”
“We’re going to find your mommy. Now, one more question. Can you tell me your name? I want to let your mommy know that you are safe.” He kept his smile firmly in place, hoping it was believable enough.
She tugged at the end of her pigtail and said softly, “Hope.”
Jack had everything he needed. If he did somehow make it to Cassie before it was too late, he thought he might know just the right way to save her. Ten minutes after he left the house, Peterson called with the location of Jack’s car. Just as he suspected, it was at Cassie’s house.
With a flashing red light and blaring siren, Jack was going well above 100 mph as he dodged traffic on the highway. It was fortunate that it was a Saturday night and there were more cars trying to get into the city than leave it. He called the county sheriff’s office to see if their deputies had arrived at the scene yet.
“We have two men on their way,” the dispatcher told him.
“On their way? We called it in over thirty minutes ago,” Jack screamed into the phone.
“Detective, there was a terrible accident out here on the highway. Five vehicles involved with multiple casualties. We don’t have the same kind of resources as the city.” The dispatcher had an annoyed clip in her tone.
Jack slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “You are about to have another casualty because you didn’t do your job.”
“I don’t have to take this abuse,” she snapped. “If it’s so important, why don’t you go check it out yourself?”
“Thanks for the advice.” He threw his phone into the passenger’s seat and pounded the steering wheel again. It would be at least 30 more minutes before he reached Dayton. Jack was slowly beginning to accept that he might already be too late. Cassie could already be dead.
Jack’s head was filled with an overwhelming array of thoughts and memories. There were so many things that he hadn’t told Cassie and now he might never get that chance. Her last words to him had been I love you, and he hadn’t thought to say it back. It didn’t seem fair that one week after reuniting with Cassie, he was going to lose her. Jack reached for his phone.
It was a stupid thing to do. There was no chance that Cassie would be able to answer. It was possible that his call would only anger Reynold more. But he had to try. If there was any possibility that he might be able to speak with her– rectify his last words to her– he had to do it.
After three rings, a female’s voice said, “Hello, Jack.”
It wasn’t Cassie. All of Jack’s suspicions were confirmed in those two words.
“Mallory.” His mind raced as he determined the best approach to take. “Can I speak with Cassie, please?”
“You are very polite, Detective Stone. I can see why Cassie loves you.” She sighed loudly. “I’m afraid you can’t speak with your girlfriend. She’s busy dying.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cassie
“Wake up!”
Cassie’s head was spinning as she slowly regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, the room shifted and spun around her. “Mallory? Did you… hit me?”
She was struggling to remember what had happened before everything went black. As her vision slowly came into focus, Cassie remembered that she shot Nolan. She also remembered that Mallory had struck her with something.
“You sound so surprised,” Mallory said with a laugh. “Did you think we were friends or something? You don’t even know me.”
“I was trying to help you,” Cassie said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She could now see Mallory seated in a chair about five feet away with a gun pointing in Cassie’s direction. “Did you do this because I killed Nolan?”
“Nolan?” She scoffed. “The man that got me pregnant when I was sixteen and promised to take care of me and help raise my baby, but instead kept me tied to a bed while he gratified himself day and night? The man who brought other girls into the house and had sex with them while I nursed our child upstairs? If you hadn’t killed him, I would have done it myself.”
Cassie closed her eyes for just a second, struggling to make sense of everything. “Then why? Why are you doing this to me?”
“I went with him willingly. Can you believe that? He was twelve years older than me when we met and he was
sweet… in the beginning, at least. When I found out I was pregnant, he told me to come live with him. He said that after the baby was born, Nikki could come live with us, too.” The gun shook as Mallory recalled everything. “One month after I moved in with him, he changed. He became violent. Nothing I did was good enough for him. I was sick all the time because of the pregnancy and that made him angry because I couldn’t fulfill his needs sexually.”
Cassie’s vision was back to normal and she slowly scanned the room, hoping to see something that would help her formulate a plan. Nolan’s body was still motionless a few yards away. His knife protruded from under his torso.
“I tried. I let him do things to me that I didn’t want him to do, but it was never enough. So he started going out at night and when he would come home, he wasn’t alone. Eventually, he grew tired of putting in the work to pick up girls and he started taking them against their will. I heard him building out his prison in the basement.” Mallory glared at Cassie. “I know what you are thinking. It’s the same thing everyone else will think when they hear my story. Why didn’t I just leave?”
“He brainwashed you. He made you completely dependent on him and convinced you that you couldn’t live on your own. He told you that if you went to the police, they would assume you helped him and you would go to jail. Your baby would be taken away.” Cassie had spent enough time around Nolan to know exactly what type of monster he was. “What happened to us wasn’t your fault. But if you kill me, that will be. It’s not too late for you to do the right thing.”
Mallory looked at Nolan’s body. “I thought he loved me. Even when he was doing those terrible things, I was the one he would come back to every night. After the baby was born, he stopped tying me up. He treated me like his girlfriend. I thought that if I could just love him back the right way, he would stop what he was doing in the basement.”
“You couldn’t have helped him. Nolan was sick, Mallory. He wasn’t capable of loving you in a normal way.” Cassie felt something wet slide down her temple and it was only then that she realized she was bleeding.
“He did love me!” Mallory yelled. “Until you came along. He spent more time with you than the other girls. You were his favorite. That’s why I helped you escape.”
“You didn’t want to compete with me anymore.” Realization dawned on Cassie. For the last year, she had assumed that the girl at the window had helped her because she wanted her to escape and get help. Cassie had felt guilty for leaving Mallory behind and up until a second ago thought that she was being punished for failing Mallory. But now she could see the truth written across her face. “You wanted me out of the picture so that Nolan would spend more time with you?”
The absurdity nearly made Cassie laugh out loud which would have been a very bad idea considering that Mallory was still pointing a gun at her.
“He had a daughter that he barely saw. Some nights he didn’t even come to bed.” Mallory’s nostrils flared. “All because of you.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this,” Cassie said. “He held me against my will. He raped me, every night. Multiple times. I would have gladly sent him to your bed.”
“When you went out that window, I thought things would go back to normal. But Nolan couldn’t get over you. He would pace the house muttering about how he was going to find you. He would tell me about all the things he wanted to do to you. He gave you my necklace.” She glared at Cassie like it was her fault. “I should have let him kill you in that basement.”
Cassie played her last card, slowly standing as her head continued to throb and spin. “What about your daughter? If you kill me, you will go to prison for a long time. Your daughter will grow up without her mother.”
“She’ll be better off with me,” Mallory said uncertainly. It was the first waiver in her resolve. “I was a terrible mother.”
“You raised her and kept her safe. You should be proud of that.” Cassie wasn’t sure she believed what she was saying, but it only mattered that Mallory believed it. “She loves you and she always will, but not if you choose to commit a murder over being her mother.”
“Just stop talking.” Mallory stood and paced the room, running a hand through her hair. “You think you are so moral and pure, but we both know that when you escaped you left me behind and never looked back. You never came back for me and you didn’t stop Nolan from taking those other women.”
It took an immense amount of self-control for Cassie to keep her mouth shut. She wanted to explain that she had lost her memory. That she couldn’t forgive herself for not helping the others.
“You deserve to die, just like them.” Mallory stopped walking and aimed the gun at Cassie. Her hand was no longer shaking.
Cassie closed her eyes and waited for the shot. She wondered if it would hurt, or if she would die instantly. In her mind, she pictured Jack the way he had looked last Saturday when they strolled through town. His hair had been messed by the wind and his face was covered with heavy stubble. He looked at her and smiled, flashing perfect teeth as his blue eyes twinkled at her. She wanted that image of him to be the last thing she would see.
“Mallory. Put down the gun.”
So lost was Cassie in her revere that she first thought Jack’s voice was only in her head. But when she heard Mallory gasp, Cassie realized he was there with them. Her eyes flew open and her heart jumped at the sight of him in the doorway.
“Jack.” Cassie said his name so quietly she doubted that he heard it.
He had his gun drawn, but not pointed at Mallory. “I don’t want to shoot you. Put the gun down.”
“I will shoot her!” Mallory said, her eyes skittishly bouncing between the two of them.
“You don’t want to do that, Mallory.” Jack spared a quick glance at Cassie and pain flashed through his eyes. “Cassie never hurt you. Nolan is the one you want to hurt and he’s already dead. You can have your life back now.”
“Cassie,” Mallory said, making a face like she had eaten something rotten, “is a slut who turned Nolan against me.”
Jack flinched. “That’s not true. Cassie was one of Nolan’s victims. He’s the one who betrayed you, not Cassie. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that, Mallory.”
“She left me in that house. Did she tell you that?” Triumph passed over her face as she looked at Jack. “You think she’s this perfect angel, but she left me there with him. She let those other women be tortured and murdered.”
“Cassie didn’t do any of those things. Nolan did. You must stop making excuses for him. He was not a good man.” Jack inched slowly in Cassie’s direction. “You have your whole life ahead of you. Do you really want to spend it in a cell?”
“Nolan hated you,” Mallory said, ignoring him. “He kept track of Cassie after she escaped and he knew that you were spending time with her. He used to say that he hoped you enjoyed his leftovers.”
It wasn’t the words that made Cassie tremble, it was the admission that Nolan had been watching Cassie the whole time, even when Jack was there. Mallory didn’t seem to notice that Jack was only a couple of feet away from Cassie now.
“Nikki asked me to find you. She misses you.” Jack was doing a good job staying calm and ignoring Mallory’s attempts to anger him. It was the first time Cassie had really seen Jack in complete detective-mode. All his focus was on Mallory as he read every detail of the situation. “She asked me to save you.”
“Nikki?” Mallory froze, the same way she had earlier when Cassie mentioned her sister’s name. It seemed to be the only thing that got through to her. “You spoke with her?”
“I did. She’s all grown up now, living with a good foster family.” Jack took another step toward Cassie. She knew that he was aiming to position himself between her and Mallory’s gun. “She wants to see you again.”
Mallory’s hand started shaking again. “She’s with a good family?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “She’s not the only one that misses you. So does Hope.”
Cassie
wasn’t familiar with that name, but based on Mallory’s reaction it was clear that Hope was her daughter.
“Hope.” The gun dropped a foot. “Is she okay? I didn’t want to leave, but Nolan said we would be right back.”
“She’s fine, but she misses you.” Jack was in front of Cassie now and she put her hand on his lower back, both for support and because she was desperate to touch him. “Hope needs her mother.”
The next few seconds happened in slow motion. It seemed like Mallory was listening to Jack and she was going to drop the gun. It was almost at her side when her face suddenly went blank.
“Make sure she goes to someone that is good,” Mallory said. “Tell her that I love her.”
Then she lifted the gun, pointed it to her own head, and fired.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jack
When Mallory lifted the gun, Jack raised his as well. He was ready to fire before she could get off a shot. But then the gun turned toward her head and he froze. There was nothing he could do as she pulled the trigger.
Cassie let out a cry and he turned and caught her before she could fall. Blood streamed down her face from a deep gash on the left side of her head.
“I’ve got you,” he said, holding her close. “I’m never letting you go.”
Jack called for an ambulance and it arrived at the same time as the county deputies. Apparently, they had gotten lost trying to find the house. As they roped off the crime scene, Jack climbed into the ambulance next to Cassie’s stretcher for the ride back to the city.
“Is it bad?” she asked.
“You’ve been through worse.” He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. “I’m so sorry, Cassie. I should have prevented this.”
“You saved me,” she said with a small smile. “It’s over now.”
The hospital doctors diagnosed her with a concussion and it took ten stitches to close the wound, but Cassie would make a complete recovery. Jack spent the night sleeping in the chair next to her bed. In the morning, they traded stories from the night before.
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