Taken - Before her very Eyes

by Faubert, Wade

  The sight of Summer stepping out the front door of the station was enough to send Dean into a rage. He wanted answers and he wanted them right now. Dean stormed across the grass, glaring up at her as she stood on the edge of the steps, her face looking a mix between sorrow and happiness. Maybe it was the painkillers, but he swore she never looked as beautiful as she did right now. Her blond hair was blowing in the morning breeze, and for the first time in a long time there was a glow to her skin. He knew that if Sabrina was safe and sound, he’d run up the stairs, scoop Summer into his arms and take them as far away from this place as possible, because all he wanted right now was to get his family back and get things back to normal.

  “Summer,” Dean said, his anger fading with every step he took. “Why—” His words caught in his throat as Nate stepped out those same doors and placed his arm around Summer’s shoulders, almost smothering her with his massive size. Dean had been right. She never pulled away from Nate’s touch. Maybe Nate was the reason that she wanted a separation? Maybe he’d talked her into it, hoping to snatch her away while she was vulnerable?

  Dean staggered up to the top step, holding his wound tightly, feeling the ripping pain inside. “Get your hands off my wife!”

  Nate immediately removed his arm from Summer’s shoulder. Probably not out of fear for Dean, but more fear of what the media would do with the story. “Sorry, Dean. I was only taking care of her.”

  “Dean, don’t start,” Summer whispered, stepping closer. “I’m in no mood to listen to your ranting about our relationship. Not now. Not with Sabrina missing.”

  Dean stood glaring up at Nate until his vision began to blur, then turned to Summer. “Why didn’t you tell me about the ransom?”

  “When? When could I?”

  “At the hospital. You could’ve told me then.”

  “And what difference would it have made? It would’ve only ended up in another fight and you…” Summer smiled as the tears began flowing. “You stupid ass. Why aren’t you in the hospital? You know you’re in no shape to be out walking around.”

  “How can I just lie around when he has Sabrina? I never could when they took you, so what makes you think I could now.” Dean reached out his hand to Summer, waiting to feel her touch. He didn’t care how long it would take, he was willing to stand there forever until she took his hand. He watched her eyes move from his hand clenching the wound, to his tearful eyes, then to his outstretched hand quivering before her.

  It took a few seconds, but her fingers reluctantly met his, sliding down over his palm and the warmth of her touch ignited his body.

  Dean smiled. He felt complete for the first time since John Scott had entered their lives. “I just don’t know where to start looking,” he said, taking the last step up and standing beside Summer. “Help me. Give me a clue. Any direction and I’ll go search for her.”

  “I wish I knew.” Summer shook her head. “But nothing’s surfaced. We’re waiting for the chief to release John Scott, then hopefully the kidnapper releases Sabrina right away. Otherwise we’ll tail John Scott and hope he leads us to the hideout.”

  Dean gave her hand a squeeze. “I don’t like the thought of that bastard walking free. Not after what he’s done to you.”

  Summer leaned closer and Dean could feel her warm breath on his cheek. “Don’t worry. They won’t let him get far. Nate’s in charge of the tail and I promise he’ll do everything in his power to stop them and get Sabrina back.”

  Dean looked past Summer, up at Nate who was busy scanning the crowd around the station. “I’m sorry for jumping all over you, Nate. I had no right taking my frustration out on you.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from, but just don’t make a habit of it.” Nate tipped his chin to the crowd. “What the hell is Gavin Stone doing here?”

  “Sorry, he came with me. I borrowed a change of clothing and he wanted to help.”

  “Help interfere in the investigation’s more like it.”

  “What do you have against him?” Dean asked. “He’s done his time, Nate. What else do you want from him?”

  “I don’t know. I just don’t trust that guy.” Nate looked Dean in the eyes. “For your own sake, keep a close eye on him and don’t let him loose in that business.”

  Summer pulled her hand free and glanced at the time. “Nine fifty-eight. Shit, where is he?” She dug in her pocket, withdrew the cell phone and flipped it open, making sure it was on as Nate turned and disappeared inside the station, drawing the attention of all the reporters.

  “What exactly did the ransom note say?” Dean asked.

  Summer turned and peered through the glass doors. “To release John Scott at ten o’clock sharp, then to hand him my phone. I suspect the kidnapper’s going to call him and make sure he’s free before Sabrina’s released.”

  Dean felt sick to his stomach with worry and didn’t know how much more he could take today. “Do you really think he’ll let Sabrina go?”

  “He has to.” Summer started shaking. “It’s part of the deal.”

  “It just sounds sloppy to me. It’s one of those, who lets who go first deal. The minute he releases Sabrina then he’s lost his security and the minute we release John Scott then we’ve lost our bargaining power.”

  When the automatic doors whined into action, Dean placed his arm around Summer’s waist, feeling the tremors that she was fighting to control. This was the first time he’d been able to hold Summer. And now, feeling this once strong warrior trembling in anticipation of the man who’d attacked her, he finally understood how damaged she really was. Despite how she tried to hide the fear from him, she was a complete mess inside. How could he have not seen the extent that John Scott had hurt her? How could he not have known that inside that frail petite body lives a growing fetus—their love child. Dean placed his other hand on the slight bulge beneath her shirt as John Scott stepped through the doorway and out into the bright sunlight. Or that bastard’s child.

  The shouts from the reporters grew louder and louder with every step John Scott took toward the stairs. Despite his battered appearance, he seemed to be getting the rock star greeting from the press who were all screaming their questions, trying to out shout their competition.

  Chief Dickson followed John Scott to the edge of the top step and held up his hands to the sea of reporters. “Quiet down, please! Mr. Scott will be glad to take your questions one at a time, but only if you behave in an orderly fashion.”

  “Are you associated with the kidnapper?” One reporter bellowed over the rest. “And if so, how does he plan to release the hostage?”

  John Scott held a hand above his eyes, blocking the glare of the sunlight. He didn’t seem bothered by the mass of reporters or the amount of cameras trained on his battered face

  “I’m an innocent man. The cops dropped all the charges.” He scanned the crowd of cops standing in front of the station and smiled when he spotted Summer and Dean. “As far as what happened to Officer Demure, I’m sure she had it coming to her. I’m just sad I didn’t get to be a part of it.”

  Dean couldn’t believe the bastard had the balls to say something like that—and in front of all the reporters and cameras, too. He let go of Summer and took a step toward John Scott, feeling her latch onto his hand.

  “No, Dean! Don’t do it,” Summer said. “That’s… exactly what he wants.”

  “You son of a bitch!” Dean walked right up to him, seeing the flashes from cameras reflecting in the glass front of the station. “How dare you speak to my wife like that! I know you’re guilty and I know you’re behind Sabrina’s kidnapping, too.”

  A phone began ringing in the distance, but Dean could barely hear it as the blood was pounding in his ears. He’d never been so mad as he was right now, standing inches from the bastard who’d ruined his life. He wanted to reach out and smack that stupid grin right off his face, but he knew he’d fall flat on his own face in his current condition if he even tried.

  John Scott leane
d in close to Dean and whispered, “What’s the matter? She too loose for you now?”

  Something snapped. He could feel his arm moving, but couldn’t control it if his life depended on it. The pain in his stomach was excruciating as his fist connected with John Scott’s swollen jaw, but it was worth it. The punch felt so satisfying, but he wished he wasn’t injured so he could continue the fight until he’d ripped the bastard’s head right off, but instead he’d lost his balance and toppled down to the concrete, doubled over in pain.

  The feeling of satisfaction lasted only briefly. John Scott recovered and gave a swift kick to his stomach as Dean landed on the concrete. The shot felt a hundred times worse than any normal kick should have and the bright flashes of light behind his eyelids didn’t seem right. Dean rolled onto his back, reeling in pain and felt the gun digging into him.

  “Maybe your daughter will get the same treatment as your w—”

  Dean opened his eyes and saw the last words from John Scott being cut off by the massive right hook from Nate. He was so grateful that Nate was there to defend Summer while he was down for the count.

  Bracing himself on his elbow, Dean reached behind his back and pulled the gun from his waist band. He knew there was no way he could let John Scott walk away from here. Could never chance him getting his hands on Sabrina. He raised the gun in the mist of all the confusion and aimed it at John Scott’s head.

  The look on John Scott’s face was priceless. It was as if he never expected to see Dean with a gun—let alone a gun trained between his eyes. There was a moment of satisfaction knowing that John Scott wasn’t immune to fear. That he could be manipulated like the rest of mankind.

  Every police officer drew their weapon, training them on Dean’s body.

  “Drop the gun, Dean!” Nate yelled, taking a step closer to where Dean was lying.

  A phone continued to ring in the distance as Dean lined the sight up with John Scott’s nose. He knew at this range, he’d never miss the shot and John Scott would be dead before his body hit the concrete.

  “Drop the gun!”

  “Dean,” Summer said. “Put it down! It’s not worth it.”

  Dean heard her voice, but couldn’t look away from John Scott. He waited, giving John Scott a chance to say something about Sabrina again, because if he did, Dean was ready to put a bullet between his eyes.

  “What the hell are you doing?” John Scott held his hands up to fend off the bullet. “You’re crazy. You’ll never get away with this.”

  Dean lowered the gun and Nate quickly grasped it, taking it away. “Dean, don’t pull that shit. You know we need him alive.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dean said, rolling to his side and attempting to get to the sitting position. “I lost my head when he started taking about—”

  “No, he’s here. He’s free to go, but I want to talk to Sabrina,” Summer glanced at Dean and Nate crouched on the ground before John Scott, “before he leaves.”

  She listened, her face hardening with each passing second. “No! I want to talk to her. How do I know you’ll keep your word and let her go?”

  A second later a smile filled her face and she dropped to her knees. “Oh, baby. I miss you so much. Are you—god damn it!” Summer glanced over at John Scott. “Yeah he’s standing right here.” Summer walked over and held out the phone to John Scott. “He wants to talk to you.”

  “I don’t want anything to do with this. Tell him to go fuck himself.” John Scott glared down at Dean. “Better yet, tell him to go fuck your little girl, too.”

  Dean tried to get to his feet, but Summer beat him to it. She slapped John Scott so fast that he didn’t see it coming.

  “That’s more like it.” A smile covered John Scott’s face. “You like to play rough, don’t you?”

  A whistling noise tore through the air and suddenly John Scott’s head exploded before Dean’s eyes. It was unreal how he was standing there talking, then the next second, the back of his head was gone. Just exploded right off! Dean watched as John Scott’s body collapsed to the ground at his feet, sprawled out like a puppet—a bloodied puppet at that.

  The crowd was silenced for a second until they realized exactly what had happened, then as if everyone sensed the danger, they dispersed in a heated panic. The police stood guard, guns drawn, looking for the shooter, but there was nobody in sight.

  Chapter 12

  Summer stood with the phone in her hand, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She’d seen it all and doubted she’d ever forget the image of John Scott’s skull exploding, showering his twisted, demented mind all over the glass doors. At first she thought Dean had pulled the trigger and she wouldn’t have blamed him if he had, but that little handgun could never do the amount of damage that had occurred. It looked more like a sniper’s bullet and sounded like it’d been fired from a long distance away.

  She slowly walked behind John Scott’s body, careful not to slip in the gooey brain matter and stared out into the distance where she thought the bullet had come from. She should’ve been afraid for her life. After all, a sniper had just sent a bullet into this exact location, but she wasn’t scared. She was angry. Angry that someone had used her and used Sabrina’s safety to silence this man. Summer knew that the shooter would be running for cover, evacuating the area as fast as he could, or if he had balls of steel he might be sitting there watching her through the scope of the gun, waiting for the order to take her down. But there was no need to take her down and suddenly Summer wondered if the shooter was actually there to help her. There like a powerless super hero taking care of crime in the city.

  “What was that!” The kidnapper’s voice sounded high and shrill. “Was that a gunshot? You better hope for your daughter’s sake that it wasn’t aimed at John Scott.”

  Summer swallowed hard, fearing the worst was about to come. “It wasn’t us. Someone sniped him right before our eyes.”

  “Fuck! I knew this would happen. I just knew it! They wanted him silenced and they did it. Fuck! What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  “First, let Sabrina go.” Summer grabbed a pair of binoculars from Jones and scanned the countryside. “I’ve kept my part of the bargain. Now, it’s time for you to keep your end.”

  “But he’s dead!” the kidnapper began ranting. “You said so yourself. What good is he if he’s dead? They’ll kill me if I don’t bring him back. I can’t go back now. I’ve got to get away from here.”

  “Then let Sabrina go and leave. There’s no harm done. We’ll forget this whole thing ever happened.”

  There was muffled silence as the kidnapper seemed to be rolling with the changes, and Summer hoped he was smart enough to get out while he could.

  “I’ll need money. I’ll have to lay low for a while. There’s a change of plans.”

  “Mommy?”

  Summer’s heart leapt into overdrive. Every emotion was surging through her body simultaneously. The sound of Sabrina’s voice was unbelievable.

  “Put her on. Please, let me talk to her.”

  “Shut up and get back in the car!”

  Summer heard a stifled cry then the sound of a car door slamming shut.

  “Get me a hundred thousand.” The connection broke up for a second. “And be ready to make a drop wherever I tell you.”

  “But we had a deal! You can’t do this! This isn’t fair.” The line went dead and Summer couldn’t believe her luck. She was so close. He’d brought Sabrina with him to make the drop and he was going to release her, just like he said he would.

  Chief Dickson finished giving the orders to secure the area and search the countryside where the shot had come from, then rushed to Summer’s side. “Where is he? What did he say?”

  Summer folded the phone closed and met his gaze. “He’s got her in a car.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “He was going to let her go. I was so close. So fucking close!”

  Nate lifted Dean to his feet and held him in place.

  “He wants a hundred
thousand,” Summer drew a deep breath, “and he wants me to drop it off when he calls.”

  “A hundred grand. By when?” Nate looked to the chief, knowing he would have to organize the money for the drop, even if it involved faking the bundles.

  “He didn’t say how long, only to have it ready for when he calls.”

  Nate looked bewildered at the kidnapper’s lack of planning. “That could be anytime. An hour, five hours. What’s he playing?”

  “The shooting took him by surprise.” Summer paced to the glass doors and back. “He thinks they’ll kill him next if he doesn’t disappear.”

  Gavin stepped up behind Dean, placing an arm around his waist and steadied him. “And he wants enough money to hold him over until the shit settles?”

  Summer stared at Gavin standing next to Dean and realized for the first time that they had the same colour eyes, but somehow Dean’s looked softer and more caring. She studied Gavin’s face for a second and thought she could see real concern in his eyes. “Looks that way.”

  “Dean, we’ve got fifty in the company account and we can borrow the other fifty from the credit account if you want. It’ll pretty much tap the fucking business out, but at least it’ll satisfy the ransom and get Sabrina back.”

  “Go get it.” Dean nodded. “And bring it back here. I’ll call the bank and confirm the withdrawal.”

  “No, Dean, don’t do it,” Nate said. “There’s no sense. This guy’s an amateur. He’s not thinking straight right now. Bring me ten thousand, tops, and we’ll mix it with some counterfeit.” Nate looked to Chief Dickson for approval. “I promise he’ll never know the difference.”

  Gavin was standing, anxiously waiting to leave, hanging on Dean’s decision.

  “No.” Dean shook his head. “It’s only money. I won’t risk Sabrina’s safety by short changing him. Money means nothing if I don’t get Sabrina back.”

  Summer couldn’t believe Dean. He was risking everything he had to get Sabrina back. His health, his money and his business. What more could she want from him? He’d always been the perfect man for her and she’d pushed him away.