by Maria Walton
She smiled and nodded her head before closing the door behind her. I quickly opened the computer back up and hit 'play.' I had anticipated seeing Alyson and Ryan fighting but it wasn't them on the screen, what I saw struck horror in my body. Jenna and Fabian were standing in Alyson's room talking. They seemed to be very close and their relationship was confirmed when I saw them wrap their arms around each other and kiss passionately. I looked away for a second, trying to gather my thoughts before turning back, just as they broke apart.
I couldn't hear anything that they were saying but I didn't need too. What I was watching was bad enough that I knew Jenna had given me the slip. If she knew that I was watching the video, there was no telling what she would now do to Alyson. When Fabian reached under the mattress and pulled out a large stash of money, I knew that they had already planned Alyson's abduction. If they didn't think she'd be needing the money anymore, I could only assume the worst.
Closing out of the video, I quickly uploaded the file onto my phone. I would have to give Donovan proof is he was going to believe that his girlfriend was crooked. I ran out of the bedroom and across the hall to Jenna's room. It was still in perfect shape which told me that she had planned on returning at some point. Any information I could get would help to point me in the right direction. I frantically started digging through all her drawers but came up empty handed. From the corner of my eye I saw that she had a computer just like Alyson.
I jogged the short distance and clicked on the screen. She had it password protected. A photo of her and Donovan sprawled across the background. A feeling I didn't know I had started to well up inside of me. She had been playing Donovan, a man that I still cared about even if I didn't want to be with him. Jenna had taken advantage of my sister and my ex both because they had trusting personalities. I thought about breaking the computer but it would be a loss if the police needed to get more information from it. I knew I didn't stand a chance at cracking the password.
I slumped back in the seat, looking at the beaming faces of Jenna and Donovan. The picture looked so familiar. They looked like a happy couple but there was something else about the photo that was bothering me. I leaned forward and squinted my eyes.
"Holy crap!" I said in shock, "The lake!"
There, in the background of the photo was the same lake where Fabian and Ryan had met. It was the same one from the photo Marcus had.
The cabin directly behind them had a number down the side that I quickly wrote on a piece of paper. If this was one of their cabins, then there was a good chance that's where Alyson was being held. It also explained why Fabian was meeting Ryan in the woods that day. He must have been with Jenna before the meeting.
I took a photo of the screen and held it in my hand for a few minutes, trying to decide. I needed to share the information I had with Donovan but I didn't want him getting in my way. I slipped my phone back into my pocket before sprinting out of the apartment and down to the parking lot.
"Shit," realizing I didn't have a car, "I am so fired for this."
I walked over to the first car that I saw and lifted the handle. In a quiet town, it was nothing to leave your car doors unlocked at night. Hopefully, the owner had insurance. I jerked down on the panel below the steering wheel and grabbed the two wires that I needed. As they sparked together the engine roared to life. I shut the door behind me and sped from the parking lot. I needed to get to that cabin before it was too late.
I drove for thirty minutes before my phone started to vibrate. Looking down, I felt my heart start to race. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet but it didn't look like I had any choice.
"Hello Donovan," I said softly.
"Where the hell are you? I just left your father's house and you aren't there. You are going back to jail damn it!"
"That's fine, you can lock me up but I need to save my sister first. I'm sorry Donovan. I'm sending you a couple files. You need to look at them right away."
"I don't take orders from you, Cass."
"No, but this goes deeper than just Alyson, Jenna is involved."
"What? Is she okay? Is she home? I'm going to her apartment right now."
"It won't do you any good Donovan. She isn't there."
"What have you done, Cass?"
I laughed, "I didn't do anything. Just look at the files I'm sending you okay? It explains everything. If you can't figure out where I'm going from them you probably shouldn't be a cop."
"I swear to God, Cass, when I find you; you aren't going to see daylight again for years!"
"Cool your jets and just look at what I sent you before you give yourself a heart attack!"
He started to say something but I ended the call. I wasn't in the mood to listen to him bitch and he needed to see the truth about Jenna. As the road narrowed and the trees grew thick, I knew that I was getting close. I passed a sign for the lake and a faded arrow pointing to a row of cabins in the distance. Four-two-one was the last one on the right. I recognized Jenna's car seconds before I parked my own three houses down. Pulling out my handgun, I took a deep breath and prayed that I wasn't too late.
Chapter Twelve
I raced around to the back of the row of houses to the one on the very end. Through the cracks, I could see a black van parked in the driveway. It had been hidden by a large fence before. I was just about to move closer when I saw a figure coming out of the house and looking around nervously. He stuck his head back into the house then reappeared. When I saw what he had with him, the blood drained from my face. The man was dragging Alyson along behind him, her wrists bound and her body bruised.
It took all my self-control not to burst through the fence and run to my sister but I knew that I needed to plan my time accordingly. He shoved her into the van just as Jenna came storming out, behind her was Fabian.
"I told you that bitch was going to be a problem! Now we have to move her," screamed Jenna.
"Babe, how could I know that she was recording us? It's no big deal. We will move the girl. The buyer is meeting us at the lake tonight so we will just keep moving until then. Once we unload her we can head to the next town okay?"
"How, you moron! Cass knows we are working together. She will have her federal buddies looking high and low."
"Baby, let's not even worry about it right now," he said to her before kissing her.
I watched in horror as they climbed into the van, Jenna staying behind and watching them go. I started to run back to my car and in my haste to catch up to them, I let my guard down.
She came out of nowhere, tackling me and sending me flying to the ground. My gun flew from my hand and landed three feet away in the soft grass. I struggled to get on top of her. She was fast and small but no match for my training.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed at her.
I grabbed the handcuffs from my back pocket and locked them around her wrists. "My sister trusted you! Where are they taking her?"
"I'm not telling you shit! Fabian will come for me, just you wait and see."
"Are you that much of a moron? He doesn't love you, idiot! You are just a way to get to my sister. Why does he want her?"
She laughed, "He doesn't want her. I don't know why anyone would. It paid off my debt and that's all that I care about."
I backed away from her in shock and retrieved my gun. "You traded my sister for a debt? Why?"
Jenna shrugged her shoulders, "Ryan tried to pay it off but Fabian didn't want money. He had a buyer that wanted a young American and when he saw me, his heart just melted."
"Then why didn't Fabian just give you to him?"
Her trill laughter made me cringe, "Because silly, that wasn't the deal. Fabian wanted me and I wanted to be debt free. When he saw Alyson, he knew that we could make a deal."
"What about Ryan?" I asked.
"Ryan is just a dumb fool. He thought he could get my freedom by paying off Fabian. Of course, it was all Alyson's idea to have Ryan pay off Fabian but by that time, Fabian and I had already falle
n in love. All we needed to do was sell off Alyson and we were home free."
I glared at her, fighting the urge to shoot her right then and there. I grabbed a hold of her wrists and started to drag her back to the cabin just as my phone rang. It was Donovan. I didn't answer the call.
"What about Donovan? Why did you suck him into all of this?"
"I needed a way for Fabian to get around, he's not exactly popular and with that petty thug Marcus on his tail, I had to make sure that the town was safe for him to come and see me. Donovan was just too easy of a target. He was so heartbroken after you left, he would have done anything to get over you."
I shoved her into the cabin. She stumbled and fell onto the ground, glaring back at me, "So, if you think about it, it's really all your fault that your sister is going to be sold off to some weirdo."
"Not if I can help it, where is he taking her?" I asked again.
Jenna shrugged her shoulders again but I no longer had the time or patience to deal with it. I stomped over to her and planted my foot into her stomach. She crippled over in pain and screamed out.
"Tell me," I hissed.
"Go to hell," she sneered through a clenched jaw.
My phone vibrated again and this time I answered it, "What?"
"Cass! Where the hell are you?"
"Getting friendly with your girlfriend. She isn't talking though and Fabian just drove off with Alyson."
"Jesus, Cass, I know you are upset but you are still a cop. Follow protocol, we are less than a mile out now."
"Then get here and find out where in the hell they are taking my sister!" I screamed at him.
In a fit of rage, I planted another swift kick to her stomach, "Talk!"
"Over my dead body!"
I pulled out my gun and cocked it, pointing it at her head. "You have ten seconds."
Jenna's eyes grew wide with fear. "You wouldn't!"
"Try me."
"The other side of the lake. He's got a boat there. If I had to guess, I'd say that they are taking her there," she confessed.
I nodded my head and knelt down. Removing one of her wrists I attached her free cuff to the old heating element system running along the wall.
"Your boyfriend will be here soon," I said as I set the cuff keys by the door.
The police were almost there, I could hear the sirens in the distance as they approached. I jogged to my hotwired car and lit up the street, speeding past the first cruiser and quickly making my way down the ten-mile road to the dock. It had an outlet that opened to the sea. If Alyson was taken that far, I'd never get her back. I pushed the car even harder knowing my sister's life depended on it.
Donovan called me and I answered him, putting it on speaker while I navigated the sharp turns.
"Give me your location, Cass," he said frantically.
"Are you coming to arrest me?"
"Of course not! You need to come make a statement though, let my guys handle Fabian."
"No offense, but I'd rather do it myself."
I hung up and turned off the volume on my phone. I couldn't deal with him, not then at least. He would understand after I had Alyson back. Let him get angry, it wouldn't be the first time I pissed him off. Hell, he always seemed angry at me.
Ahead I saw the van. With its large size, it hadn't been able to speed down the road like I did.
Chapter Thirteen
I had caught up to them but getting Alyson back was a different story altogether. The driver had noticed me almost as soon as I pulled up behind them. So much for the element of surprise. I saw the gun just seconds before the passenger started shooting at me and I swerved to avoid getting shot. The bullet knocked the windshield and took off the passenger mirror. Swerving back over I rolled down my window and grabbed my own gun.
"Hang in there Alyson, just keep your head down," I thought to myself.
I let the passenger rain down bullets on the side of my car. I knew that it only took one well-placed bullet to bring down a van. Focusing in on the back tire, I pulled back the hammer and fired a single shot while simultaneously easing off the gas. The tire exploded and the driver struggled to maintain control.
The gunfire had stopped but only so the passenger could brace himself. I watched in horror as the van tried to navigate a sharp turn and flipped over onto its top. I slammed on my brakes. My first and only concern was getting Alyson away from her captors. Jumping from my car with my gun drawn, I ran to the back of the van and jerked open the door.
"Alyson," I whispered.
She looked up at me, a small trickle of blood running down her lip.
I reached into the van, thrilled to see that my sister. I pulled her to her feet and wrapped her into my arms. The fact that there were three unconscious men laying around the van and one more in the back was not lost on me. I knew that we needed to get out of there but I wasn't going to let Fabian get away from me again. He had taken my sister and it would be a cold day in hell before he got to escape.
"Go get in the car, I will be right there," I told her.
"Please Cass, let's just get out of here. I'm scared," she said.
I wrapped my arm around her waist, "I promise we will go soon, okay?"
She nodded her head and walked back towards the car as I held my gun ready to fire. The first and second men were too thin to be Fabian but the third I had to flip over to see it wasn't him. When I came to the final unconscious man, I knew that I had the right guy. Tucking my gun into my belt, I grabbed the zip tie I had found in the trunk of my stolen car and took a hold of one of his massive arms.
I didn't realize until it was too late that the bastard had been faking it. Once again, my haste to save my sister had clouded my judgement. He grabbed my wrist and flung me to the ground. I fell with a loud thump and felt my right ribs cracking under the force of my body making impact. He kicked my right hand as I reached for my gun, once again it felt like he was breaking bones.
"Well, today must be my lucky day. Two girls for the hassle of one," he said in a thick voice, "Get up."
I followed his command, hoping that I could still reach my gun but Fabian wasn't as dumb as Marcus. As soon as I was on my feet he pulled it out of my belt and shoved me forward. Alyson hadn't yet made it to the car and she turned around when she heard the commotion.
"Alyson run!" I screamed.
Fabian shot the ground by her feet though and she froze, "If you move I will shoot your ass and send your sister to my buyer instead. Now lean up against the car."
Fabian shoved me to the front of the car and pointed the gun at both of us. I knew that he was enjoying the rush of power he got from having that gun. I wanted to kick his face into the ground but he held all the cards for the moment.
"So here is the problem. I have no car and a buyer waiting for you," he said to Alyson.
I glared at him, "Don't even talk to her you pig. It's already over. Donovan will be here soon and you will end up in jail with your girlfriend."
"Don't you dare talk about Jenna like that!" he hissed.
I laughed, "What? Did I strike a nerve? Maybe she and Donovan are rekindling the old flame right now. I bet she will take a deal to testify against you."
He pulled back the hammer on the gun and took a step forward, pointing it at my head. I didn't know what to do. Any move that I made I would risk him hurting Alyson but I wouldn't let him take her again, not if I was alive to stop him. I thought about my options for a few seconds before deciding the best plan of action was to bargain with him. Before I could move though, Alyson stepped in front of me.
"What the hell are you doing?" I screamed.
She turned and looked at me, "You did all of this just to save me, Cass and it's not the first time you've had to come to my rescue. Let me save you this time."
"Hell no! Get back here," I yelled at her as she approached Fabian.
"If you let my sister go I will come with you willingly. If you promise not to hurt her."
Fabian laughed, "You don't have an
ything to bargain with. I'm going to shoot her and then settle my debt. I'll be out of this hick town before your sheriff can even catch my scent."
"What about Jenna?" I asked from around Alyson.
He shrugged his shoulders, "She was great but I don't have much use for her now that I think about it. She is just like little Alyson here, replaceable for a price."
I stood up, away from the car and he shoved Alyson out of the way. Instantly he was on his guard, he knew just how dangerous I was.
"I've about had it with you," he declared.
Alyson tried to step in front of me once again but he shoved her even harder down onto the ground. I heard her yelp and I looked over. Blood was spilling from her arm where a sharp branch had pierced through the skin.