by J. L. Drake
“Seth,” Riggs’s voice rung through his earpiece. “The bellman, Paul, is in the manager’s office. He said he needs to speak to you right now.”
A slow, haunting wave washed over me as I pushed to my feet. The cold chill that followed confirmed my fear. “He’s here.”
“Are you sure? Should I come?” Vanessa calmly glanced around. I had to admit she sure played her part well.
“I don’t think so. You better go back to the room and wait with Campbell.”
“Yeah, okay.”
I whipped past Pete, who was too deep in conversation to even notice me.
I lifted my wrist to my mouth. “Garrett, where are you?”
“I’m still in the lobby in the chair by the fountain. I’m six minutes away from the manager’s office, should you need me.”
“Good, stay there.”
I ran off toward the manager’s office with a heavy weight in my stomach.
***
Emily
I checked my makeup, and then pulled out my phone. I hoped to give Riley a call, but I didn’t have any service. I had been preoccupied with him, as he didn’t return to the restaurant through dinner. That was odd. I had had full service at the restaurant the night before. I stepped out to the lobby and noticed a weak signal, so I tried the number again.
Then I heard Blake call out my name. I quickly ended the call and tucked my phone back into my purse.
He buttoned up his suit jacket as he strolled toward me. “Simon and Pete are out on the balcony watching the surf. Do you want to go out and join them?”
“Um, sure, sounds nice.”
He nodded and then stopped. “Oh, wait! I need to go see Tim. He’s the chef here.” He smiled. “Would you like to meet him? He loves to gloat.”
I laughed as I looked around. The last time I’d seen Riley, he was in the kitchen. Maybe he was still there.
“Yes. Okay.” I followed him back to the double doors and through a quiet kitchen. A dishwasher had just finished up. He whistled to a tune on the radio. He waved and smiled at me as we passed through.
Blake opened an office door and held it for me. As soon as the door closed behind me, I got a sudden rush that something wasn’t right. The room looked to be abandoned. It was full of old boxes of knickknacks. I opened my purse in front of me and quickly texted Riley.
Emily: Where r u? I may need your help!
I turned to find Blake on the phone with someone. I slipped my cell into my bra.
“Got it,” he said, then he tucked it away in his pocket. He stepped toward me and watched me carefully. His eyes were not so friendly anymore. Now they showed determination. “Time to go, Emily.”
Oh God.
“Where?” I choked out and felt the walls close in.
“Purse.” He held his hand out.
“Excuse me?” He stepped forward again, then ripped it from my hand and tossed it into the waste bin. “What the hell, Blake?”
“He doesn’t like to wait.” He gripped my arm and gave me a yank to follow him. My legs felt like rubber while my stomach started to turn violently. How could I not have seen this coming? How could I have been stupid enough to think Lasko wouldn’t find me? I was reckless, stupid, and selfish. A voice from inside screamed at me. This is all your fault. You hurt the ones you love. You deserve to be taken again. You are a fool.
***
Seth
I opened the door to find a nervous-looking employee sweating profusely. Something was off. By the look on Riggs’s face, he felt it too.
“Have you seen this man?” I took the photo from Riggs’s hand and shoved it into the guy’s face.
“Yes, but—”
“But what?” I shouted.
He sighed, then ran his hand over his stomach. “He paid me four hundred dollars to get you to this office and give you this.” He handed me a small silver envelope. “Look, man, I really need the money.”
“Stop talking,” I growled, then stared at the paper in my hand. It looked just like the one Lasko had put on Emily’s windshield at The Goose. My fingers trembled as I slid the card out.
Checkmate.
The tiny sliver card fluttered to the floor as I took off out the door with Riggs on my heels.
“Garrett, it was a trap! He’s here! Where’s Emily?” I shouted over the radio. My phone started to ring.
“Seth, it’s Vanessa. I’m at the front desk. I can see Pete and Simon, but Emily and Blake aren’t with them.”
I stopped mid-run and held up a hand as Garrett approached them. “Are you positive?”
“Yes, and they’re not in the restaurant or the bar.”
I felt all color drain from my face as I lowered my cell from my ear. My heart fought with my stomach on which would fall to the ground first. Things started to spin as the horrible realization surfaced.
“He got Seth away so he could get Emily alone,” Riggs said, taking the moment to fill Garrett in. “I guess that’s why we can’t find Riley either.” Their voices sounded far away as Emily’s face from the basement ripped through me. That was a look I promised myself I’d never see on her again.
“Holy shit,” Garrett whispered.
“He will not get her this time,” I snarled as my fear fueled my anger. “Hey!” I yelled as I approached the counter. I banged my fists on the granite until the young man from the back appeared. “I need to see your videos of the restaurant and restrooms on this floor from the last thirty minutes.”
“Excuse me?” The man folded his arms. “Who are you?”
I slammed my badge down. “Tapes. Now!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Emily
I stumbled in my heels and tried to make my brain work. My braver side shouted at me. Think, Emily! “So, what, you’re Lasko’s bitch?” I snarled, like I was in the middle of one of my out-of-body experiences.
He just chuckled as he pulled my limp body up a set of stairs. We were in the emergency exit stairway, although we were headed up instead of down, and for some reason this made me happy. At least I was somewhere Riley and Pete might still be.
“Why? Why are you doing this? Do you enjoy being his puppet? You’re a worthless piece of trash, just like him.” That finally got him to stop. He turned to look down at me; all signs of friendly Blake were gone.
“Stop talking!” he snapped at me. “It will only make it worse, sweetheart.”
If I shut up, my panic would set in, and I couldn’t afford that right now. My mind scrambled to think of something. “What about Simon? Is he in on this too?”
“No.” He pulled me harder, and I flinched at the jolt of pain. “Simon’s a good guy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“What do you think Simon will think when he finds out what you are?”
“He won’t.” He pulled open the exit door and stopped in front of the first door—number 329. We were on the third floor. Maybe if I could break the window, I could jump? My mind raced as Blake stuck the room key in the door. I decided to try one last thing. I placed my shaky hand over his, looked up, and mustered all my willpower.
“Please, Blake.” I started to cry, all my emotions scattered like a deck of cards “I know there’s got to be a part of you that doesn’t want to do this. Please, just please let me go.”
A small smile sneaked up on his lips. He went to say something, but before he got a chance, the door flung open…and there stood Jimmy Lasko. Everything in my body went weightless. My nightmare had come true. I was back in the hands of the psychopath.
***
Seth
I had a death grip on the counter as the man slowly brought up the footage. Time was not on my side right now. I was prepared to take this guy out if he didn’t hurry the hell up!
“Okay, there you go.” The man pointed to the screen, looking up at me. “I’ll, uh, speed it up for you.”
“Wise idea,” I muttered.
“Look,” Riggs said. “There she’s coming out of the restroom, and there’s Blake.” W
e watched as they spoke, then returned to the restaurant. The man hit a few keys and switched it to a camera that faced the bar. We watched as she entered the kitchen, then disappeared inside.
“Ah, Blake.” The man shook his head.
“You know him?” I tried to remain calm.
“Yes, he’s a regular. Very popular with the ladies.”
“What about the cameras in the kitchen?” Garrett asked before I could.
“Those cameras are controlled by the head of the kitchen, Alexander. I can’t access them, but I can tell you Blake often takes his ladies in the back to meet the chef. It seems to seal the deal, if you know what I mean.”
I raced in that direction before the man could say his next word. The restaurant was quiet; all that could be heard was my heavy footsteps. I burst through the double steel doors to the kitchen.
***
Emily
I started to scream, but Blake’s hand covered my mouth. I bit down hard to make him release me, but Lasko lunged forward and hauled me inside. He tossed me on the bed and watched me scramble to the top. My entire body trembled, and my breathing became shallow. Blake looked pissed. He started to say something, but Lasko shook his head and held up a hand.
“Leave,” Lasko dismissed him. Blake didn’t move. He watched as Lasko opened a bag and removed a needle and a small vial. My insides burned at the thought of Lasko and his drugs. He poured himself a stiff shot of Jack Daniels and tossed it back with a flick of his wrist. He bent over the desk as if waiting for the Jack to hit him.
“I’d like to stay.” As soon Blake said the last word, Lasko turned, raised his arm, and shot him in the head. It all happened so fast that it took my mind a minute to react. Brain matter and blood spattered on the walls like a paint show, while Blake’s wide eyes clung to mine as he slumped to the floor. His neck was in a position no neck should be in.
A loud noise filled the room. I looked over at Lasko, who shouted something. He moved the gun and pointed it at me.
“Shut the fuck up.” His words found me, and I realized the noise was me. I had to cup my mouth to get myself to stop. My chest heaved with the adrenaline that plowed through me from the inside out. “Now listen to me. Take off your shoes.”
I flinched between the shakes. I didn’t want to, but I nodded. Something about having a gun with a silencer pointed at your face will make you do just about anything. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his arm and smeared some of Blake’s blood across his brow. He seemed different, somehow, like he was on something that made him agitated and jumpy.
I slid both my shoes off and dropped them on the floor.
“Good girl.” He sat down at the table, picked up a glass tube, and prepared a line of a white powder. He quickly inhaled it, and then cursed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He reached for a bottle of pills, shook four in his mouth, and then chased them with more Jack. Jesus Christ, this guy was high as a fucking kite! I started to think maybe I could use this to my advantage. Oh no, I could feel my braver side taking over.
“Who is Julia?” The words rushed out. He shook his head and ran his fingers madly over his skull. The gun flopped around, and it made me nervous that it might go off by accident. “Was she your wife?” I saw his back muscles flex almost like he was crying. I couldn’t see his face, but his body language suggested this. I kept going. “Did someone kill her?” He started to rock back and forth. Oh God, had I upset him? Stop talking, Em, or he will kill you. I felt my chest vibrate. Holy shit, I’d forgotten about my phone.
“She was my wife,” he whispered, then wiped his nose. “He killed her and my daughter while I was away on a business trip.” He stared at the ground as he showed me a glimpse into his soulless mind. “My neighbor said she heard my daughter cry out for me as he slashed at her little bones. I hear her screams when I’m alone at night.” His head dropped, and I saw his jaw clench.
I took that moment with his head down to slowly move my hand across my chest, over to my shoulder, and down to my phone. I carefully dropped it onto my lap and down between my legs. “How old was she?” I whispered and tried to keep him occupied. I tapped number one on my iPhone, and it brought up a picture of Seth and me. I could see it was ringing as I let it slip between me and a pillow.
“It happened three days after her seventh birthday.”
“I-I’m sorry.” I actually did feel sorry. No one should have to go through that.
His head slowly rose with a grin so eerie it made my skin want to crawl off my bones. He leaned his head to one side as if to study me.
“That was a pretty good story, huh?” He chuckled. “That was Jamie. Say hello, Jamie.” His face suddenly fell and showed aged emotion. “Hello, Emily,” the sad voice from earlier whispered in defeat.
Holy shit, a split personality? At least it seemed Jamie had a conscience.
“I’m sorry he’s doing this to you,” Jamie said. “He’s a monster.” His pupils contracted as he leaned forward and whispered, “He’s going to kill you Emily. Run!” His words turned into a cat hiss while he cried…and then began to laugh.
Fear didn’t even begin to describe how I felt at that moment.
***
Seth
I impatiently listened as the dishwasher told me Emily and Blake had walked through the kitchen. When I heard a strange noise, I reached up and turned down the radio.
“Do you hear that?” I asked and moved around the kitchen. What is that?
“Yeah, I do.” The dishwasher tossed his rag in the sink. “Sounds like it’s coming from…” He went over to one of the walk-in cupboards and opened the door. The pounding noise got louder, and the man turned to a refrigerator and quickly unlocked the door, revealing a frozen Riley.
“How did you end up in here?” I asked and pulled him out of the cold. “Where the hell is Emily?”
“I don’t know. Fuck, he tricked me,” Riley said through shivering breaths. “She’s gone, Lasko’s here—”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. My hands fumbled as I pulled it out. “It’s her! Em, Em, where are you!” I could hear her screaming. “Emily?” I turned the phone to mute after I realized what was going on. Smart girl. I shouted to Garrett, who had arrived in the kitchen. “She’s called me. I can hear her talking. She’s with him.”
“Anything in the background?”
I strained to listen over my wild heartbeat. “No, quiet.”
“We’d hear an engine. She could be close.”
I nodded and pressed the phone harder to my ear.
Okay, baby, I’m here with you now. Tell me where you are.
***
Emily
I yelled and covered my ears. This was too much. He was playing with me. “No! Please stop! Why are you doing this to me?”
His cold fingers held my ankles as he pulled me down so I was flat on my back. I kicked and screamed, but he was too strong. He climbed on top of me and straddled my hips. Then he caught my arms and pinned them at my sides, squeezing them with his knees to hold them in place. I needed to let Seth know where I was. If his voicemail picked up any information, it would help him find me.
“I-I guess I should be happy I’m still at the resort and not tied to a chair in a freezing basement.”
He shrugged, then leaned down and sniffed my hair. Yuck. He smelled like he lived in a sewer. Urine, dirt, and sweat. It made my stomach roll and forced me to breathe through my mouth.
I frantically tried to recall the room number. “W-why third floor? Why by the stairs?”
“Why so many questions when you could be doing something else with your mouth?” He laughed and squeezed my hip painfully.
“I’m not Julia!” I screamed, and his body tensed as he looked up at me.
“No, you’re not, but you are the next best thing.” He laughed as I cried harder.
“Why? Please just tell me why you’re doing this?”
“You want to know why?” He tugged my dress up. I screamed as I fought him off me.
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He looked up at me. “I was seven the first time I remember Julia forcing herself on me in my bedroom closet.” My eyes widened at his words. “My father was beating my mother for the second time that day. I was so angry. Julia showed me how to control it.” His free hand moved to run the length of my arm.
I wrenched away, and he laughed. “When I was eleven, I was on top of Julia in the closet, and my father caught us. He sent me flying into the wall, and he started to beat her. I shot him three times in the back with his own gun. Stupid man kept it around so we’d be in constant fear. When my mother came screaming into the room, Julia grabbed it from me and shot her in the head.”
He pulled down my panties and freed my hands momentarily. I reached up and clawed at his face, drawing blood from his cheek, but he barely seemed to notice. He laughed as he took my wrists in one hand and pinned them above me.
“I was so aroused after the killings that I found other ways to enjoy fucking.” Oh God! My nerves kicked up a notch. “One night I wrapped my hands around Julia’s neck while she was on her knees. I got carried away in the moment, and she stopped breathing.”
I froze as he wrapped his icy fingers around my neck and applied pressure. His head tilted as a small grin tugged at his lips. His hold got stronger and stronger. Things started to go fuzzy, black spots appeared, and my eyes ached. The room went dark. This was really it. I was going to die. My blood pounded against his hold, begging to get by. I clawed at his wrists, my knees drove into his back, and my hips bucked, but he didn’t seem to feel anything.
He laughed softly as he let go. Air suddenly rushed to my lungs as they burned from the bottom up.
“I lost her that day, but I’m determined to get her back now.” He reached over to the table for a small bag and placed it on my chest. I coughed and cried as I fought for more air. My neck pulsed and my windpipe felt crushed.