Against All Odds

by Stacy Claflin

  He raced over and tapped on the window.

  She was busy with her phone and didn’t look up from the screen.

  Nick tapped again, this time faster.

  She still didn’t move her gaze.

  He pulled on the door handle. Locked. He knocked. “Foster!”

  Nothing.

  “Genevieve!”

  She looked up.

  “We need to talk!”

  Genevieve shook her head. Her disappointed expression said more than enough.

  “Please!” He pulled on the handle again.

  She turned back to her phone.

  Nick leaned against the front car door and raked his hands through his hair.

  Chang was looking out through the living room window.

  “My day is complete.” Nick’s mind raced, trying to figure out a way to get Genevieve out of the car so he could explain himself.

  Then he thought of something.

  Nick pulled out his phone. He called her.

  One ring, then it went to voicemail.

  He spun around and threw her a pleading look. She had her back to him, facing the other side of the vehicle.

  Nick called again, but this time it went straight to voicemail.

  He went over to their texting conversation.

  That wasn’t what it looked like. Let me explain.

  If she got the message, she didn’t respond—with a text or by turning around. That left him with only one option. He would have to explain himself through texts. The ball would then be in her court.

  I’m only staying here on the couch to be here for the kids and to see if I can get a confession out of Corrine.

  He waited for her to respond. She didn’t.

  I don’t trust that she’s telling us everything she knows. I’m playing good cop, that’s it.

  Genevieve didn’t respond.

  Nick’s mind raced. What could he say to get her attention?

  I’m really sorry I haven’t gotten back to you. I’ve been meaning to. It’s just that I’m barely functioning with Ava missing.

  He waited, hoping that was what she wanted to hear. If it was, she still wouldn’t look at him or text back.

  I really appreciate you being there for me the other night.

  Still nothing.

  He waited longer before sending another text, hoping she’d at least glance his way.

  I don’t blame you for being pissed at me. I deserve it the way I treated you. I’m sorry.

  No response.

  If you hate me, it won’t affect work. You’re a good officer and I want to see you succeed. You don’t have to worry about your career. Nothing has changed in that regard.

  He glanced back.

  She had her face in her palms.

  It gutted him. He wanted to throw open the door and wrap his arms around her.

  Garcia and Chang now stood on the front stoop, talking to Corrine.

  Garcia and Chang are coming.

  I really am sorry.

  Without glancing back, Nick marched up the walkway with an air of confidence that was fully faked. He nodded to Garcia, who nodded back.

  Chang, who had fallen behind the detective, stopped and made eye contact with Nick. “Did you get what you needed from your car?”

  Nick drew his brows together. “I may be on leave, but don’t forget who the captain is.”

  “And don’t you forget there are rules in the force. This isn’t a dictatorship.”

  “What exactly are you trying to say, Officer?”

  Chang crossed his arms. “Hey, I get it. Foster’s a hot little thing. Can’t blame you. You’re only human.”

  Nick clenched his fists and held them close to keep from hitting him. “What do you want?”

  “Just to move through the ranks as quickly as I deserve. Nobody can keep a secret like I can—for friends.”

  Nick drew in a deep breath. So the officer was going for blackmail. There was no other choice but to go along with it since he already knew too much. Nick would go along with it for now. Once he had Ava back, he’d dig up some dirt on Chang and make him wish he’d never crossed his boss. “Fine.”

  “So we have an understanding?”

  Nick nodded. “But leave Foster out of it. Your issue is with me. Got it?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “I’m serious. If I find out you’re giving her grief, I’m going to be pissed.”

  An odd expression crossed Chang’s face. “Yeah, okay. Have a good day, Captain.”

  Nick glared at him. “You too.”

  They parted ways, and Nick headed back to the house. Chang was going to go down. How dare he blackmail Nick when his kid was missing?

  Alone

  Zoey leaned against a tree and pulled another sliver of wood from her foot. Blood oozed out, running over dirt and crusted blood. Her feet ached and burned. But she barely noticed it over the hunger and thirst.

  She didn’t know if she was moving closer to civilization or if she was just going in circles. Everything looked different and the same all at once. The only thing that gave her hope that she was going the right way was that she hadn’t come across the cabin.

  In fact, she hadn’t come across any other signs of humanity. She’d run into several wild animals, but nothing too scary.

  Zoey slid down to sitting and closed her eyes. Exhaustion ran through her in waves, and this time she didn’t fight it. As much as she just wanted out of the woods, she needed sleep. So far, she hadn’t allowed herself much, hoping to reach help.

  Suddenly, it didn’t seem to matter. She wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone where the cabin was. Though she had a good sense of direction, the whole world was turned around at this point.

  Her mind felt like it was floating above her. Alex and Ariana appeared, playing a board game. They didn’t see her. Zoey knew it was a dream, but she still ran toward them, ready to embrace them.

  Everything melted away around her before she could reach them.

  Zoey woke with a start. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was dark now. How much time had passed? With as groggy and rested as she felt, it had to have been at least a couple hours.

  Snap!

  She froze. Her pulse pounded.

  Snap!

  Zoey scrambled to her feet, keeping her back pressed against the tree. She couldn’t tell which direction the breaking twigs came from. Holding her breath, she waited.

  A wild dog appeared in front of her. A coyote? A wolf? She didn’t know the difference, but it didn’t matter. What she needed was to get away.

  It met her gaze and paced in front of her, not looking away.

  Zoey’s heart beat wildly out of control. If she ran, it would chase her. If she stayed where she was, it could attack her. It might be able to sense her fear. It was probably sending a silent call for the rest of its pack.

  She swallowed, not looking away. Her pulse pounded even faster, though she didn’t think that was possible.

  The dog stopped pacing, then sat.

  Was that good or bad? It wasn’t growling. That had to be good. Unless it was just waiting for the rest of its family to arrive.

  Zoey imagined a pack growling at her. The lunging, teeth ready to tear into her skin.

  She hadn’t come this far to be taken out by wild animals. No, she needed to get home to her family. Ava needed her to get help.

  Even though Zoey didn’t know exactly where the cabin was, she could at least give a general direction. The police could comb the area and find it.

  She took a deep breath and licked her lips, not that it helped. Her tongue was just as dry as her chapped lips. Her hands shook and her knees wobbled.

  Zoey took a small step forward. She held her breath, waiting for the dog to lunge for her.

  It didn’t budge.

  She nearly threw up. “N-nice doggie.”

  Its tail twitched slightly.

  “I-I’m just going to walk away. I w-won’t hurt you.”

>   The dog kept still.

  Zoey took another step and waited.

  It stayed where it was.

  She looked around for others, hiding or approaching. There were none that she could see.

  “I’m just going to walk away,” she repeated.

  The dog didn’t move.

  Zoey turned her head but kept it in the corner of her vision as she took one slow step after another until it was finally out of sight.

  She wanted to burst into a run but kept her steps steady, listening for the sounds of the animal coming after her.

  Everything remained silent. She continued walking, picking up her pace just slightly with each step. Rocks and sharp twigs dug into her feet but she was growing used to it.

  Snap!

  Zoey spun around, her throat closing.

  The dog was trotting after her.

  Trotting?

  It caught up and looked at her, tilting its head.

  Mind reeling, Zoey swallowed and continued walking. The dog caught up and walked next to her at the same pace.

  Her pulse raced through her body, but she pretended not to notice the animal. She just kept going, moving a little faster. It did the same. She slowed. So did it, staying next to her.

  Despair

  Alex stared at Nick’s latest text and leaned against his couch. Nobody had been at the cabin. It had been a false lead. Not only that, but Nick hadn’t gotten anything out of Corrine or found anything to implicate her.

  They were back to square one with no clue where Dave had taken Zoey and Ava, or why. And it had been days. Days! In most cases, when a killer was bent on murder, it happened within hours.

  That led to the question of whether Dave took them to kill them or for some other reason.

  Alex dropped the phone into his lap and closed his eyes. Fatigue squeezed but wouldn’t allow him any rest. The moment he tried to sleep, bloody images filled his mind, making staying awake preferable.

  He knew what would help him relax.

  Not this again.

  No! Alex wasn’t going to give in. He’d already made up his mind. Temptation had been beat the moment he stepped away from the alcohol aisle.

  But here he was again. The drink was calling his name. Singing the song he had given into for far too long. It was stronger than that of the mythical siren.

  No. He had to resist. It wasn’t just one drink. It was never just one. He could fall asleep without it.

  Alex closed his eyes, determined to sleep. Once again, images of Zoey’s battered and bloody body taunted him.

  What if she really was already dead? Statistically, she was. But Alex knew statistics weren’t always right.

  But what if they were this time? He’d been lucky so many times before. Luck could only last so long. What if he’d run out?

  He’d been stupid to lose Zoey in the first place. Then even more so to keep pushing her away all those years. He’d probably even been an idiot for waiting so long to propose.

  Now what? Had he lost his one true love forever?

  Was it just his destiny to never fully have the woman of his dreams? Everything had been against them from the very beginning. Zoey had been fifteen when he was thirteen. She’d also been his sister’s best friend. Then Macy went missing just after they’d admitted their true feelings to each other. Then came Ariana at such a young age. They’d weathered that, but stuff had always led to a rocky relationship until they finally broke up and went their separate ways.

  Alex sat up and banged his fist on the coffee table. He swore at the unfairness of it all.

  Sure, he deserved all the heartache, but she didn’t. Just look at all the pain he’d inflicted on her. Teenage pregnancy. Breaking up with her the way he had. Hell, even Ariana’s abduction was his fault. Had he been watching her like he should have, she’d have never followed Flynn out of the Ball Palace. Now Alex couldn’t find Zoey. Everything bad was his own damn fault.

  Alex hit the table again. He really did need a drink.

  His mouth watered and his insides pressed on him, both inward and outward.

  Just one drink. That’s all he would need to relax and get some decent sleep. It wasn’t like he was going to drink to get drunk. Just to rest. So he could focus on finding more clues online. He couldn’t focus when he was this tired.

  If he had just one beer, it would be a service to everyone. He would be a hero, really. All he needed to do was to find the one missing clue that had to be just out of his reach.

  And to do that, he needed sleep. To sleep, he needed one beer. Just one. All he had to do was go to the store. Then everything would be fine. Zoey would be in his arms. Ava would be in Nick’s. Dave would be in jail.

  Alex grabbed his phone, shoved it into his pocket, found his keys, and headed for the door. Relief washed through him, just having made the decision.

  Confusion

  Genevieve clutched her phone and pressed her head against the headrest. She stared at the maple tree just outside her car as if it could give her answers.

  As soon as Garcia had pulled into the parking lot at the station, she had fled without a word to her car. Despite the hours that had passed, she hadn’t moved. She’d watched the sun go down behind the tree.

  She wanted to reread Nick’s texts but was afraid they would hurt too much. More than anything, she wanted to believe everything was true, but Chang’s words kept echoing through her mind. She didn’t want to be the person that kept three kids from having their parents together.

  A text came in. She swung the screen in front of her, hoping it was Nick, then hating herself for wanting it so bad.

  It was from her parents, wanting to know if they should put Tinsley to bed at their place.

  Tinsley. She’d completely forgotten. Some foster parent she was.

  Does Tinsley want me to come get her?

  It’s hard to tell.

  Of course. Because the traumatized girl only spoke to Genevieve.

  I’ll be right there. Sorry.

  She hurried to her parents’ house. Tinsley lay on the couch, watching a cartoon. Genevieve went over and sat next to her feet. “You ready to go home?”

  The girl turned to her and half-smiled.

  “Today was rough at work. I hope you had a better day than me.”

  Tinsley gave her a slight nod.

  “Good. Should we get home?”

  She got up and put her shoes on.

  Genevieve exchanged a look with her parents. If only she knew how to get her to open up, but even the therapist—the expert of childhood trauma—could only do so much. And Genevieve was no expert. She certainly wasn’t a parent, but she was trying.

  She got up and patted Tinsley’s shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some ice cream.”

  “Bye, Tinsley.” Genevieve’s mom gave her a big smile, then turned to Genevieve. “I’m off again tomorrow if you need me to watch her. Do you know when the kids are going back to school?”

  “I haven’t heard, but they’re still getting homework. They have to figure out where all those kids are going to go, and there’s so much of the building destroyed. They’re talking about possibly starting over from the ground up. If that’s the case, they’ll have to move the kids around to other local schools.”

  Tinsley stared at her, but of course didn’t say anything. It was nothing short of a miracle she hadn’t been there the day of the shooting.

  Genevieve patted her back. “Nothing to worry about. It’ll get figured out.”

  They said their goodbyes and headed home. All of Genevieve’s muscles ached and her head pounded. She was trying to ignore the worst pain of all—her heart.

  Bowls of ice cream covered in chocolate sauce and sprinkles did help somewhat. Keeping the conversation going on her own at least kept her distracted until Tinsley went to bed.

  Then she was left with her thoughts. She tossed and turned in bed, and then it felt like no time passed between falling asleep and the alarm going off.


  She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. Still bleary-eyed, she fixed some breakfast and dropped Tinsley back off at her parents’ house.

  Her mom welcomed Tinsley with a big smile. “I was thinking we could work on the garden today. You seemed interested in it yesterday. What do you think?”

  Tinsley’s eyes lit up and she nodded.

  “You two have fun.” Genevieve forced a smile, then headed to the station. Her stomach churned acid at the thought of having to face Chang for another day. She picked up a strong coffee on her way in.

  To her surprise, he didn’t bother her. Didn’t even look up as she passed his desk on the way to hers. Was it another mind game? Just trying to make her worry about what was coming next?

  There was no way he would stop torturing her about Nick, especially after he walked out in a towel, obviously not expecting to see anyone from work there.

  Her breath caught as she remembered how good he had looked, but then her stomach knotted when she thought of what might’ve happened before she’d arrived.

  She was a fool, and Chang knew it. He was going to hold it over her head until when? Until Genevieve moved to a different precinct? Or would he get bored and find someone else to bother?

  “Here.”

  She looked up to see Chang standing about a foot away from her desk, holding out a case file. She took it, and he left without a word.

  Weird.

  Genevieve watched him walk back to his desk and turn to his laptop. She glanced through the file. It was on the current case, their recent visit to Corrine’s in particular, and needed her signature on some of the forms.

  She filled it out and returned it to Chang, who took it back without a word. In fact, he barely looked at her. No smirking or hurtful comments.

  “What’s going on?” Genevieve demanded.

  “Nothing.” He typed on the keyboard, not looking away from the screen.

  “You’re not acting like yourself.”

  He kept his attention on the computer. “I’m just working. If you don’t have anything to say about the case, I need to focus on this.”

  “Okay.”