by Anna Scott
"I love to see the fear in your eyes. Don't worry Amber, once I teach my son his lesson, I'll let you go."
That wasn't even remotely comforting, and it was clear to me now why Trent had such a skewed idea of guilt. This man had brainwashed him all those years when he was young. Trent had told me about it, but not having seen it, I hadn't fully understood.
One thing I knew for sure was that if or when Trent found me, he would hold himself responsible for all of this. He would blame himself for whatever happened to me.
"You look good like this. Maybe I'll leave you like this for days. Just think about all the fun we could have."
Closing my eyes, and trying not to react when he touched me was extremely difficult. If I knew anything, it was that this sicko wanted to see me terrified. It must have made him feel like such a big shot to terrorize people he deemed weaker than himself.
He stroked my thigh down to my knee and up to my hip over and over again. It took every bit of control I had not to shiver in revulsion. After a while, he ran what felt like the tip of one finger through some sticky goo on my abdomen and spread it around. I remembered feeling something warm splash against my skin when I woke. Absolute revulsion did run through me then, and I was unable to repress the shudder. I knew just what had splashed over me and what he was now rubbing over my bare skin.
"This is nice. I'm going to cover your entire body, then you'll see how much Trent really wants you after you've been claimed. Maybe I'll keep you for my own personal pet."
Breathing deeply, I did my best to calm my racing heart, but couldn't stop the single tear from leaking from the corner of my eye. Thankfully, it was on my other side, so Joseph didn't see it.
Please, please, please, please, God, please help me. I pleaded in my own mind, blocking out his monotonous threats. Chanting over and over again, while staying completely silent, I calmed my body and fought to ignore his every touch and caress. Minutes passed - hours maybe, as I called out mentally. I felt the warm liquid jetting against my bare skin once more. This time, he aimed himself at my breasts.
The feel of this disgusting man's semen touching my skin was almost enough to pull me from my mental safe place - almost, but thankfully, not quite.
I heard him say Natalie's name. My brain jolted back to awareness, and I listened. Trent had mentioned to me months ago, that he was worried his father had done more to his sister than hit her, but he'd never been able to coax the details from her.
"I liked it better when she cried. You're not doing anything, just lying there like you're asleep again. She always cried, begged me to stop, not you. We'll see, maybe I'll have to take it to the next level with you. It will be fun to see what breaks you."
Hoping, praying that someone saw something. That soon someone would come to my rescue. I blanked my mind once more, forcing the knowledge of what he was doing out of my consciousness and focused only on my prayer. I prayed that I would be rescued because, in this state, there was no way for me to rescue myself.
Gavin
"We need to move in," Trent demanded quietly, and I knew that my best friend was about to snap. He was vibrating with tension next to me, and I feared that soon he would do something rash and put everyone at risk. We had no way of knowing if Joseph was in the cabin, if he had Amber in there or if he was armed. Enough time had passed that he could have even placed boobie traps around the perimeter. This op had to be executed with precision and the utmost care. I didn't know if Trent was still able to see the big picture.
The ramshackle cabin was set back about fifty feet from the lake. It was small, no larger than a basic garage and so old, small amounts of light shown through the wide planks that made up the walls. Through the small, hastily covered window, one of the other officers had seen movement and the flicker of light, indicating that indeed, someone was inside. Who that was, we didn't know, and that was the most terrifying thing of all.
We had been in position for almost fifteen minutes, while Fuller gathered as much intel as possible and coordinated all the agencies in attendance. Since this was personal to our Law Enforcement family, the majority of officers, deputies, and agents on the scene weren't on duty in any official capacity. We were on our own time, so it was important that Fuller take that into account as he moved forward. Fuller had a lot riding on his shoulders and by the rigid set to the older man's face, he knew it.
Though Trent understood it, probably would respect the legality of it all in any other situation, now he was about to lose his shit. I understood, I would be in much the same unhinged state if Dawn was in the same position. The thing that really bothered me, and him, was that we didn't know for sure that Amber was even inside. The cabin could be inhabited by an old fisherman alone. No one had heard a feminine voice, not a scream, not a scuffle, nothing. That told me that if Amber was inside, she was likely unconscious or already gone - in which case, Trent would seriously be lost to us.
After the miscarriage, when Amber closed in on herself and shut Trent out completely, I hadn't known what was going on. Nolan's suicide obviously overshadowed their personal hell, but for the months it took him to get her back, he was a fucking mess. He didn't show it openly, but this was a man I knew, I worked with daily. I had served with him in the worst of times. He was a man I got shit faced drunk with one night in Paris and the next day, we were both pierced in some pretty interesting places. We shared so much over the years. I knew that he'd been struggling all that time, but hadn't known why. Now, I knew, and I understood without one single shred of doubt that Amber was his one, just like Dawn was mine and always had been.
I had felt like I was missing something - her - all those years that Dawn and I were apart. Trent would feel the same if he lost Amber. So, not knowing what we were about to find in that cabin was heart wrenching. I was very aware of the risk we were taking with all our resources focused in this one place. She may not even be in there. We may be wasting time, but there was nothing else to go on. Understanding Trent as I did, I could imagine what he was feeling, and it sure as fuck wasn't good.
"On three," Fuller called. An unnatural stillness moved across the area. Every man and woman in attendance ceased even breath it seemed. The wind calmed, the animals quieted, and the entire area took on an eerie sense of anticipation. I could feel the energy crackling around the dark woods.
Fuller's hand was raised, three fingers extended, then two, then one. The two men at his sides moved into the door, shouting, "Step away from the door! Police." The old wood didn't put up much resistance, as a line of uniforms and plain clothes, filed into the room. I stayed back with Trent. I knew he wanted to be the first in that line but someone had to hold him back, and that was me.
"Trent," Reed's loud booming-voiced called from within, and Trent took off at a sprint, seemingly pulling up the roots that had held him just seconds ago.
Following close behind, I almost collided into him when he abruptly stopped in the doorway. He stood rooted, staring, still but so tense. Moving to one side, I peered around him, and the vision I saw before me, stopped my heart. I knew that Trent was going to murder his father, maybe not actually, but he would find a way to bury that sick son of a bitch.
Trent
I couldn't move, my feet, my legs. I couldn't breathe, my heart raced, by my body was stuck. Staring at my beautiful Amber tied down to an old wooden kitchen table, with an opaque liquid all over her torso. She wasn't moving - wasn't speaking, she was gagged, but her eyes were closed, was she awake?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my half-naked father being Mirandized only feet away from her still body. A long white T-shirt covered his torso and hung just past his nasty old balls. A pair of black dress socks covered his feet. He wore nothing else. Nothing. My body vibrated with a mixture of burning rage and debilitating fear.
Thankfully, Jake moved in with an emergency blanket and covered her the best he could, while Officer Fuller quickly collected a sample of the liquid. Bruises were visible on her upper arms and scra
pes on her knees. From what I could see there were no serious injuries. Why wasn't she moving?
To one side, I noticed Reed moving quickly to untie the ropes that bound her. Jake held the metallic silver blanket with one hand and used the other to untie the ball gag from her mouth. Once it was free, she released an audible sigh. Just that one sound was enough to get my feet to move toward her.
As I moved farther into the room full of law enforcement personnel, I noticed my father again. His haughty look and ridiculous ranting about how this was all my fault reminded me so much of the night I had him arrested when he hurt my mom and sister. The only difference, he was wearing all of his clothing then. I paused a moment, glaring at the disgusting man. Fucking hell - I couldn't lose it now, but all I wanted to do was to go over there and rip his pathetic dick off. I wanted to kick his ass and beat him to death for even daring to touch my sweet Amber.
I didn't know the full extent of what he'd done yet, and I prayed that he hadn't raped her. Regardless, I knew that even if he hadn't physically penetrated her body, he had done plenty that would fuck with her head, possibly for years to come. A new kind of hatred, one I never felt before bubbled up inside me as I glared.
"Trent?" The sweetest voice in the world whispered. Her throat was obviously scratchy and horse, but she sounded beautiful and melodious all the same.
"Here, sweetness. I'm here," I promised, kneeling down right next to her perfect face. Reaching up, I caressed her hair and did my best to ignore the photographs being taken, of the crap on her breasts.
"Are you," my voice cracked, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "Are you hurt?"
A small smile crossed her lips, and she shook her head. "No, just cold and groggy."
"Paramedics are five minutes out." Someone called from outside the door. As I glanced that way, I realized that lights from multiple squads had been illuminated, there were so many spotlights and headlights on it was as bright as day out there. I knew it was partially for investigating the area, as much as it was to assist the ambulance in coming down the narrow dirt road.
I kept my focus on Amber and used all my control to stop myself from either taking over the investigation or killing my father. My entire focus needed to be on Amber now.
"I need to tell you about Natalie," Amber whispered. As my eyes closed for the briefest moment, I knew that this shit was going to be bad. I knew that Nat was safe, I'd spoken to her at least three times since Amber had been taken. She had been vital in coordinating everyone who was on the hunt for Amber. Since it wasn't a current threat and one of the very first things Amber mentioned, I knew that it had to be bad.
Nodding my understanding, I leaned down, kissed her forehead softly and promised that we could talk about it later. "I love you, sweetheart. I'm so sorry about this." Amidst all the chaos around us, we were in our own little world, just Amber and me. My words were spoken softly, but since she was looking right at me, she heard. She furrowed her brow and shook her head.
"No, you're not taking responsibility for this too. We've got a lot to talk about, but this isn't your fault." Her stern face and raised brow were so cute and honestly, ridiculous in this situation, I almost laughed - almost - until I heard my father's shouted tirade from across the room of course.
"Just like when you were young, son. You have to be taught. If you did what you were supposed to do..." His broken sentences may have seemed confusing to the others, but I knew just what he was saying. It was the same thing he had been saying to me for years. When I was little, and he would beat the shit out of my mother and go on and on about how it was my fault, that he was teaching me a lesson. It was strange that all those memories had come back to me after being suppressed for so many years.
"Back up," Jake called, motioning to the door. Three paramedics rushed in the already overcrowded room, a gurney in tow.
All the people surrounding the table, save for me and Jake, backed up. I did a quick sweep of the room as the paramedics began to assess Amber. Looking for Gavin I saw him standing next to Luke, both actively participating in questioning my father. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew they would do their level best to find out the truth.
"Stable, slightly elevated BP. Let's load and go." The man beside me relayed to his partner.
"I'm riding along," I informed them, not willing to take no for an answer. Amber's hand, which had been lying limply at her side before, lifted to mine, and I held it close. I thumbed over the diamond that I had placed there just over a month before.
The paramedic glanced down at our hands, apparently noticed her ring and back up to me, and nodded. "She your girl?"
Squeezing Amber's small, trembling hand, I nodded. It felt so much colder now than it ever had before. I was unable to respond verbally, with the emotion welling up in my throat.
"Let's go!" The paramedic shouted. The path cleared like the Red Sea.
"T-we'll see you there - yeah?" Gavin called as I followed quickly behind the gurney carrying my entire world. Lifting a hand in recognition, I kept my eyes locked on my girl. Her injuries weren't serious, as far as they could tell. They needed to get her seen by a doctor to assess the full ramifications of her abduction.
Sitting next to Amber's bed in the emergency room, I held her small hand and was glad to feel her strength returning. The warmth had begun to bleed back into her skin once she was cleaned up, dressed in a hospital gown and covered with warm blankets. Now, she appeared to be resting comfortably.
Bruising appeared on her soft skin. It spread across her biceps, thighs, and chest to go with the scrapes on each of her knees, elbows, and buttocks. It appeared that my father dragged her across the wood floor of the cabin when he was moving her. Amber's lack of memory indicated that she likely was sedated through most of her ordeal. I took that as a positive sign since she wouldn't remember it.
Officer Fuller came in a while later with a Lieutenant from his department to speak to her. She recounted standing on the sidewalk, watching a little girl and feeling a sharp prick just before blacking out. The tests weren't back yet, but the doctor believed that she was injected with some type of tranquilizer. She explained the feeling of something warm splashing against her skin when she began to come back to consciousness. The sad, worried look she shot my way told me to brace before she told the rest of what she could recall.
My blood ran cold and my vision blurred with anger when I listened to the crazy shit my father had spouted off while he touched her. When she told about Natalie and what he basically admitted to doing to my sister, nausea overtook me to the point that I wanted to leave the room and vomit. Fortunately, I was able to keep myself together enough to stay put and be the support Amber needed.
Thankfully, the doctor assured us that there were no signs of penetration, and though we would never know for sure, it didn't appear that Amber was raped. Dear old dad did leave plenty of his nasty DNA splattered all over my girl, the sick fuck. With all the evidence, it appeared that this would be an open and shut case. Hopefully, my father would wither away in prison for the rest of his miserable life.
Eventually, I would have to talk to Natalie. I needed to find out what our father had done to her and to see if I there was anything I could do to help her. I had noticed the secrets hiding behind my sister's eyes many times. When I asked about it, she wouldn't tell me the full story about our father and what he had done.
Mom didn't know, she and I actually talked about it. She was just as worried as I was and her guilt was just as present as mine. The fact that she hadn't protected us, that she chose him, that she believed his lies and hadn't done more to get rid of him haunted her. It wasn't her fault - I knew that, and as ridiculous as it was, I had a harder time absolving myself of that same guilt. I knew my reluctance to let it go was because he told me over and over again that it was my actions that made him abuse my mom and sister and now Amber.
A light tapping on the door preceded Gavin's head poking around the door of the tiny private room
. With a quick head nod, in welcome Gavin entered and spoke softly, seeing that Amber was asleep on the hospital bed.
"She okay?"
Shrugging, I glanced down at her then back to my best friend, "Yeah, pretty much." There wasn't much to say, she was fine, physically. Mentally I just didn't know yet. The emotional affect would likely come out over the following days.
I sure as fuck wasn't though. My mind was a jumbled mess of guilt and should haves. If I had only dealt with my father when he first started sniffing around, if I had been with her, protected her, if I'd - there were way too many to count.
"Knock that shit off, T. It isn't your fault."
"I knew he was fucked up. Knew he lost his shit. I should have shut him down, done something."
"Yeah, and how would you have done that?"
Lifting my shoulders, I let them fall in helpless frustration. There was no answer, I knew it, and so did Gavin. Gavin's hand patted my shoulder, in an understanding way that only a guy's best friend could get away with. There was solidarity, understanding, and absolute support.
"Was she-"
"No, don't think so. Thank God." I knew what he was asking, and was so relieved to be able to answer with a negative, even if it wasn't definite.
Apparently, Amber's parents had enough of waiting. They crept quietly into the room. The first thing I noticed was their disheveled appearance and red, puffy eyes. I had called Amber's dad early on, knowing that he should be told. I had felt like the worst man on earth, telling him that I allowed his daughter to be taken, that I didn't stop it, and that the man who took her was none other than my own father.
Miranda stepped to the other side of the small hospital bed and took Amber's hand into her own. When Amber opened her beautiful blue eyes and smiled up, I heard Miranda gasp with relief. Amber was fine, we were just waiting on the results of her blood tests. They needed to confirm that what she was given wouldn't cause any further damage. After that, she could go home. I couldn't wait to take my girl home.