I wondered what Heather’s reaction would be when I told her. “Charlie’s pregnant and since she slept with Garrett while I’d forgotten her, it’s most likely his baby.”
Heather took a deep breath and tilted her head, as if contemplating what I had just said. She didn’t know Charlie, but she knew Garrett. Finally she answered, “Mitch, she made a mistake. You broke her heart and Garrett was there. I’m not saying what they did was right, but are you really gonna punish her and an innocent baby? She loves you, Mitch, and I know you love her too. Don’t blow this.”
“It’s just hard to get past. I’m not sure I can.”
“Mitch, if you wanna be mad at someone, aim your fury at me. If I hadn’t interfered, then you wouldn’t have hurt Charlie. I was manipulating the situation to get you back. You should hate me.”
I stared at Heather, her eyes filled with tears. She was so sincere. I couldn’t hate her even if I wanted to. “I don’t hate you, Heather, but that doesn’t mean I consider you a friend, either. I appreciate everything you’re saying. I’ll take it into consideration.”
Heather stood up from her chair. “I know we’ll never be friends, but I’m right about this. Charlie is the one for you and I only hope you see it before it’s too late. Try putting yourself in her shoes.”
Before I could say anything else, Heather walked out of my office. Taking a protein bar out of my brief case, I leaned back in my chair and pondered what she’d said. Between her and Neil, I was getting the advice to accept things, not let Charlie go. Heather’s words were spoken from a place of unselfishness. She surprised me quite honestly. I half expected her to suggest we see each other, but she did me a solid instead. I had no question that Neil had good intentions. He knew how happy Charlie and I had been before all of this. I felt like my reason for coming here had just been revealed and it had nothing to do with my job.
Chapter Fifty
Charlie
July
It had been weeks since Mitch had basically vanished. I had read his email over and over again. I felt obsessed with his words. He was gone and I had no idea if he’d really come back. It was the only communication he’d given me and as much as I wanted to email, call, text, go out and see him, I didn’t. Time was moving at a glacial pace and my heartache wasn’t going away. My belly kept growing and I did everything in my power to focus on my baby. Now that I was six months along, things felt very real to me. This was actually happening and I was going to be a single mother. I had a lot of respect for women who had to do it alone. I was fortunate enough to have my parents who wanted to be involved in my life and the baby’s. No matter what happened, my child would be loved.
My parents had gone to get Chinese takeout for us. They often did that on Saturday nights. It was tranquil to be alone for a few minutes and reflect on my life, but my solitude didn’t last long, as there was a knock at the door.
For a brief second, I thought it was strange, but it was probably just someone trying to sell something.
“Who is it?” I called out before I looked through the peephole.
“It’s the Orkin man. We have a special this week.”
I froze in my tracks. That voice. It was him. The same voice I’d heard outside my apartment, the same man who had broken in. I looked through the peephole, but he was wearing a baseball cap with the word Orkin on it. I must’ve been paranoid or having some kind of flashback. Then I stepped over to the window and saw an Orkin truck outside. Come on, Charlie. Get a grip.
I opened the door, about to tell him I could take a flyer for my dad, when his hand covered my mouth and nose with some sort of cloth and his other hand grabbed me around the neck. Struggling was useless as I felt myself losing consciousness. Looking into the eyes of my assailant, I was astonished. His face…
***
Opening my eyes, I tried to focus, but it was very difficult. I felt hazy and couldn’t quite focus on anything. Why was the room spinning? Not spinning. Bobbing? Feeling and hearing the waves lap against the side of the boat, I realized I was on the ocean. I attempted to move myself to look out the window, but my hands and feet were bound and I was having trouble maneuvering myself with my belly in the way. What the hell was happening and why was I here?
It all came rushing back to me. Opening the door, passing out…but the startling part was recognizing the man who’d taken me. Chip. None of this made any sense. I always thought he was a good guy, but Chip was the one who’d broken into my townhouse and had taken me now. My mind began racing with all of the possible scenarios of what could happen to me on this boat. None of them were good. Breaking out in a sweat, I began taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself. Survival had to be my top priority.
I looked down at my belly, hoping whatever I had inhaled hadn’t affected my baby. What was going to happen to us? What if Chip hurt my little nugget? Looking around the small cabin, I hoped to see something that would eventually help me to free myself. Everything was neat and tidy. I couldn’t see anything that would help me. Chip was nowhere in sight, but at some point I was certain he’d show up. At least he’d bound my hands in front of me and not behind. The rope was cutting into my flesh, so I tried to keep as still as possible. The bobbing, however, moved me, making the rope cut me a little each time.
I’d always thought Chip was a little unusual, not possessing the normal social graces of the average person. I had no idea, however, that he was capable of kidnapping or worse. He seemed to appreciate that I went out of my way to be nice to him when some of the other women working at the company didn’t give him the time of day. Obviously, that had no meaning now as I was tied up and alone on his boat.
My parents must’ve been wondering where I was, but I had no idea how long I’d been gone. I wasn’t wearing my watch at the time he took me. Sadly, it would take forty-eight hours before the police would begin searching for me. No one would have any idea how to find me because no one knew about Chip. My heart sank at the realization that unless I figured a way out of here, this would most likely be the last place I’d ever see.
I heard creaking of the floorboards and had the sinking feeling Chip would be appearing any moment. The door opened, and Chip stuck his head in.
“Charlie, you’re awake. Welcome aboard.”
Was he kidding? He sounded like I was a guest, not here against my will. My options were to act indignant, or be nice and see what he did. I didn’t know how to play this. Shit.
“Can I get you anything? Something to drink, perhaps?”
“I’d love some water,” I said, unsure if I should take anything he gave me, but my baby was going to need food and water.
“Coming right up. Sorry to have you tied up, but it just can’t be helped right now.”
“Chip?”
“Yes,” he said, turning back to look at me.
“Why have you brought me here?”
“So we can be together, silly. Like we always talked about. But you were with Mitch, so we had to wait.”
Oh, no. It was worse than I thought. He was delusional.
“I see. But you know I’m gonna have a baby, right?”
“Yes, our child is going to have a wonderful life. We’re going to sail the world and show him everything.”
Now I had no idea what to say. The one psychology class I took in college didn’t prepare me for this.
“The baby and I are gonna need some things before we go on a trip. Do you think I could go home and pack?” I asked, hoping that playing along was the right move.
“I’d be happy to go to your house and pack some things for you. I can do it late tonight.”
My parents. Shit. What if he hurt my parents?
“Let me think about what I might need. Maybe I can just get things as we go.”
“That’s probably a good idea, Charlie. I’d hate to see what would happen if your overprotective father and I crossed paths.”
His veiled threat struck my heart. I couldn’t risk Chip hurting my family. Not if I could prevent it.<
br />
Chip handed me a glass of water. “Would you like something to eat? I picked up some Chinese food. I have your favorite,” he said, waggling his brow.
“How do you know my favorite?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I’m very observant. I’ve learned a great deal about you. I plan on knowing every detail.”
I nodded. I was starving, so eating Chinese sounded good. “I could eat, if it’s not too much trouble.” Damn it, I sounded like I didn’t have a backbone. Come on, Charlie. You’re only going to survive this if you take control.
“I’ll be right back. I left it up on deck.”
Chip vanished through the door with the promise of returning sooner than I wanted him to. How was I going to get him back to reality? It was like I’d entered some other dimension.
Chip returned with a bag filled with Chinese food. I inhaled deeply, my stomach rumbling. As he began taking the containers out of the bag, my mouth watered. I couldn’t remember ever being this hungry before.
Chip brought me a plate of food, and it was what I always ordered: mushroom chicken. He’d clearly been studying me. The strange thing was I couldn’t recall getting Chinese food for lunch or ever going out for it with the people I worked with. It was usually something I got to eat on Friday nights with Mitch.
“It smells delicious. Thank you,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “Could you untie the ropes so I can eat?”
“I think I’ll be feeding you tonight,” he said, scooping up a fork full to give me.
I opened my mouth and let Chip feed me like I was a toddler. What choice did I have?
Chapter Fifty-One
Mitch
My phone lit up. It was Neil. I had a meeting in a few minutes and I almost ignored his call, but something told me I needed to answer it.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Mitch, is Charlie with you by chance?”
Neil’s voice was strained, concerned, and it scared the shit out of me.
“No, why would she be here? What’s going on?”
“Charlie went missing yesterday. Her parents went out to get food. When they returned, her car was there, but she wasn’t. They can’t find her. She didn’t take her phone or purse with her.”
“So, you think someone took her?”
“It’s possible. Charlie’s not the type to worry her family unnecessarily. She wouldn’t be this irresponsible.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, beginning to wrack my brain on possible reasons she was gone. Nothing that made any sense came to mind.
“You may not remember, but someone did break into your place while you were in the coma. The cops never found the guy. For all we know, he could have been stalking Charlie.”
“Shit, this is really serious.”
“Very. We need you to get back here. We’re going to need all the help we can get to find her. I’ve already hired the team that protected Kate to help with tracking Charlie.”
“Thanks, Neil.”
“You and Charlie are family. I’ll do whatever it takes to find her. Kate is beside herself.”
“I wish I had an idea, but I really don’t. I’ll be on the first flight out. I’ll text you my flight info when I have it.”
“Great, Mitch. We’ll pick you up at the airport.”
After hanging up with Neil, I began gathering my things. My plan was to go to the airport and get the first flight to San Diego. I’d search airlines in the taxi ride there. Now I just had to inform my boss what was happening.
Popping my head into Devin’s office, I was acutely aware my departure would be a problem. I explained the situation while she stared at me the entire time, not blinking.
“Well, if you must go, you must go,” she finally said.
“I’ll keep in touch.”
“Okay, I hope it all works out and you find her. We’ll have to fill your spot on the project. I’ll message your boss in San Diego and let him know you’re coming back.”
I nodded. “Thanks. It’s been great working with you and everyone here.”
Devin smiled. “You better go catch your flight.”
***
On the way to the airport, I found a flight on my phone. I had just enough time to check in and make a run for the gate. Getting back to find Charlie was my only concern. During the flight, I was going to make a list of any possible suspects I could come up with. So far, no one came to mind.
Boarding the plane was such a relief. Charlie missing was a dagger in my heart. I still loved the woman. She was my girl and always would be. Why had I been wasting all this precious time? I couldn’t change anything that had happened because of my accident and it certainly wasn’t Charlie’s fault. She was a victim in all of this mess as well. Blaming her had been easy when I was angry, but the minute I heard Neil on the phone, my anger disappeared. I was going to turn San Diego inside out if I had to. No one was going to hurt Charlie if I had anything to say about it.
I got settled in my seat and took out a notepad and a pen. I just started writing the names of everyone we knew, even people that would never hurt Charlie in a million years. I just wanted to get as many on the list so I could start eliminating.
After a while, my anxiety meds kicked in. I always had to take them when I flew, so I put my list away and leaned back with my eyes closed. Within moments, I was sleeping, dreaming I was back in the hospital, in my coma.
Someone entered my room and I could sense their presence, smell their cologne, but they didn’t speak. The scent clued me into the fact it was a man. A woman wouldn’t wear a woodsy scent like that. Who was he and why wasn’t he talking? An uneasy sensation spread over me while I waited for something to happen. I hated being vulnerable like this, unable to defend myself if I had to.
He came closer to me and hovered over me. What the hell do you want? My heart rate had increased significantly, my instincts telling me something was very wrong. Then he whispered, “After I make her mine, I’m coming back for you.”
Opening my eyes, I gasped. This was the first time I was remembering my visitor. But I didn’t know who he was. Damn it. I had to think. I had nothing on my hands but time to think. All I had to go on was his scent and voice. Closing my eyes, I worked at concentrating on his voice. I’d heard it before, but maybe just a few times. He could be someone from anywhere we went. He wasn’t someone I knew well, but maybe Charlie did. Could he be someone she worked with? I think I’d recognize voices from the gym or anywhere else we went together. I’d gone to a few of her work functions.
I kept thinking, mulling through my ideas. Writing down everyone I could remember from her work, I at least felt like I was doing something productive. I have to save my girl. She’d been through too much as it was and I’d added insult to injury by leaving the way I did. All I could do was hope she’d understand when I found her that I had to get away…from everything. But my talk with Heather in Dallas really snapped me out of my fog. She reminded me what was important in life. Now I was going to have to fight to have the life I wanted with my beautiful Charlie. I couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Charlie
“Mitch,” I mumbled, waking up. My sorrow had grown so greatly since he’d left for Texas. Now, I knew I’d never see him again unless I could find a way to escape. I didn’t even know if my parents had contacted him or if he even cared I’d been kidnapped or worse. I’d hurt him so deeply because of my immature, selfish act. If I could only rewind time…but that was impossible.
“Chip,” I called out. I thought he was on the deck above.
I heard him clomping down the stairs. “Yeah,” he said as he popped his head through the door.
“I really need to go to the bathroom. Could you help me?”
“Of course,” he said, coming inside the room. Chip walked over to the bed and picked me up. “I’ll take you.”
“Will you please untie me so I can wipe myself?”
“If you can’t do it, I’ll do it for you.”
So many things came to mind in that split second. Not no, but hell no was one of them. I didn’t dare say that, however, as I had no idea what would set Chip off.
“I’ll let you know if…if I can’t manage.” What else was I going to say? This guy was out of his mind.
Chip put me down inside the ridiculously small bathroom.
“I’ll be right out here if you need me,” he said, leaving the door open as he stepped away. Great. I wasn’t going to get to pee in private. I wondered if I was going to spend the last of my days tied up here on his boat. Despair draped over me, making me feel heavy and lethargic. Everything seemed hopeless as I knew no one would have any clue as to where I was.
It took way too long to pee, since I knew he could hear me, but finally, my shy bladder complied and when I was done, I managed to wipe myself. I had a feeling I was going to have a lot of managing to do. I had no idea how long it’d take for Chip to trust me and take the rope off.
“Okay, I’m done,” I called out.
Chip returned. After he helped me up, I motioned toward the sink. “I’d like to wash my hands, please.”
“Of course, Charlie.” He said it in such an adoring way, I thought he might actually kiss me. But, I didn’t give him a chance by sticking my hands under the faucet and turning my head away.
After that awkward situation was done, he carried me back to the bed.
“Can I get you anything?”
“I’d appreciate a glass of water.”
“Coming right up.”
Chip went up to the galley, returning a moment later with the water.
I was able to hold it in my two hands, even though my wrists were burning from the ropes.
“Looks like your wrists are hurting.”
“Yes, they really hurt,” I said, with hope that maybe I’d have some reprieve.
Forgotten By You (Redeeming Love #2) Page 19