by Blythe, Jane
She took the teenager’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Don’t be sorry, Maegan. You did what you felt was best, and we’ll find the girls.”
Looking unconvinced, Maegan gave a half-hearted nod.
“Now, I need you to think.” Laura waited until Maegan was looking her directly in the eye. “Can you think of anything that might help us find Malachi?”
“I don’t know,” Maegan shrugged helplessly.
“Do you think he’d go back to the house? He’s on the run; he would go someplace that he feels safe. Do you think that could be the house where he’d kept you?”
She considered this, then nodded. “I think he’d go back there. But I don’t know where ‘there’ is.”
There had to be a way to figure it out. Laura went with a few assumptions. One, that the house Malachi had taken the kidnapped girls to was the one in which his family had lived and then died in the fire. Two, that Jack and the others hadn’t been able to locate the house by the fire. Otherwise, they would have gone straight there to look for Malachi and not needed her to talk to Meagan. Based on those assumptions, there had to be a way to locate the house. She just needed to figure out what.
Then it occurred to her. “Maegan, Malachi brought you here in a car tonight, right? Not an ambulance?” She was already positive of this because Malachi wouldn’t risk someone coming to the house.
She looked confused. “Right.”
“What kind of car? A new one or an old one?”
“New. It wasn't the same car as the one he used when he kidnapped us.”
“Does it have GPS?”
“Yes, I think so. I rode in the front seat, there was a screen, I assume it was a GPS.”
She felt relieved; hopefully that would work. If Malachi used the GPS system, then it would have a record of home, as he would have used it to get to and from there to other places. There was only one last thing to find out. “Maegan, can you find Malachi’s car in the parking lot?”
Renewed confidence shone from her blue eyes. “Yes.”
* * * * *
12:46 A.M.
“Okay, you can go back to bed now,” Jack informed Laura.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Go back to bed? I'm fine, Jack. Really, I don’t even have a headache anymore.”
“Angel, just because you helped us out with Maegan doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Mark was concerned enough about you to tell you to stay in bed and rest. That means you will be spending the night in bed, sleeping.” Jack was still concerned about his wife, but the fact that she was going to go back to her therapist was easing his worries a little. He’d never wanted her to quit in the first place.
“I want to stay with Maegan until her parents get here. They’re on their way, right?”
He caught the wistful look in her eyes and wished that he knew how to help her properly reconnect with her own parents. She was so much closer with his than hers these days. Jack knew that Laura had hidden herself away for ten years because she hadn’t been able to deal with her own emotions about her abduction, let alone her family’s. She had convinced herself that they were angry with her for hiding. Despite the fact that her parents and sister had told her many times that they weren’t, Laura continued to believe that they did feel angry and were just scared to express it to her because of the trauma she’d suffered.
“Maegan’s family are on their way, angel,” he assured her, pulling her into an embrace.
“Did you talk to them?” she asked as she snuggled her head against his chest.
“No, Ryan did.”
Before he could say more, the door burst open and Paige came in, Mark on her heels. “I found the other girls,” she announced.
“Did Mark clear you to work?” Jack asked her. Not only did he not want Paige working tonight, but he’d prefer to lock her away in protective custody until her stalker had been arrested.
She glared irritably at him. “Mark doesn’t get to clear me for anything. I'm fine; Mark taped my hand.” She held it up for him to see.
Ignoring her, he looked at his brother. “Is she okay to work?”
“I'd prefer she go home and rest. Scratch that, I'd rather she disappeared until you guys find out who the stalker is. But, she’s right, I can't stop her from working. If I can't even get Laura to stay in bed, I don’t stand a chance against Paigey.”
“I hate when you call me that, Mark,” she frowned.
“I know.” Mark grinned back.
She turned her back on him. “I need to work, Jack. I’ll drive myself crazy if I don’t.”
He relented, because he understood. “Okay, fine. Where are Ryan and Xavier?”
“Right here.” Xavier appeared in the doorway. “Ryan is just finishing up with Sofia.”
“I’ll go back to Maegan. I just wanted you to know everything she told me,” Laura announced, putting her hands on his shoulders and tugging him down so she could kiss him. Then she caught Paige in a deadly serious gaze. “Paige, please, promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise. I won't do anything stupid, but I'm not just going to run away and hide,” Paige said.
“I have to go back to work. I don’t want any more phone calls from you guys. Well, I mean, I want you to call me if you need me,” Mark explained. “I just don’t want you to need me. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt. Paige, be careful, no one wants to bury you. Come on, Laura, I’ll walk you back to Maegan, check on Sofia, and head back upstairs.”
“He’s right, Paige.” Jack shot her a serious look of his own once Mark and Laura left. “No one wants you to die, but the stalker seems intent on trying to kill you, so please let us watch your back.”
Tears shimmered in Paige’s brown eyes. “I don’t want to die, Jack. I don’t want you guys following me everywhere either, but I'm not going to fight you on it. Let’s just hurry up and find him.”
He was relieved that they had that taken care of. “You said you found the other girls identities?” he asked Paige.
“Yes, Bethany Christian was abducted from a library the same day Eliza and Maegan were taken. Her mom had taken her to story time for preschoolers. Bethany was playing with the other kids, listening to books, and making crafts. Her mom was talking with the other moms, then when it was time to leave, she went to look for Beth but couldn’t find her anywhere.”
“What about Hayley?”
“Hayley Newton was six months old when she was taken from her home. Same day as the other girls went missing, Grace Newton says goodbye to her husband, puts the baby down for a nap, then takes a shower. When she comes out, the baby is gone. Obviously, we’ll need to confirm with DNA, but the names match. They were taken on the same day and physical descriptions match.”
“We contacted the families?” Ryan asked entering the room.
Jack shot his brother an assessing look, trying to determine if things had gone okay when he’d told Sofia about Paige and the stalker. Ryan looked somewhat stressed, so Jack guessed things hadn’t gone too well.
Paige’s face grew sad. “Yes, Bethany's parents are bringing their three other children and coming straight to the hospital. But unfortunately, Hayley's parents were killed in a car accident a few months after she went missing. The only family I could locate was a grandmother who lives in a nursing home. She was thrilled to hear that we think we found Hayley, but she doesn’t think she’ll be able to care for the girl. Which means the poor thing will probably go into foster care; not the best option considering she’s already going to be traumatized.”
“Hopefully, something will work out for her, and foster care isn’t always so bad.” Ryan consoled his partner. Paige nodded distractedly.
“Now, we just need to find them. Laura said Maegan didn’t know where they were, that she just told them to go and hide. Apparently, she never intended for them to go back with Malachi, no matter what happened,” Jack informed the others.
“And we have to find the car,” Ryan added. “That was total genius on Laur
a’s part thinking of that.”
“Maegan gave her a description. Ryan, you and I can go and search for the car, and then if it pans out like Laura thinks, we can go to Malachi’s.” Jack wanted to get moving, find this man before he had a chance to do anything else.
“I’ll try Eliza again,” Xavier offered. “I don’t know if I can make any progress with her, but it’s worth a shot. She’s the oldest. Maegan was only ten when she was taken; Eliza was eighteen. She would have picked up things that Maegan missed.”
“I’ll look for the girls,” Paige said. “That means I’ll be here—safe and sound in the hospital—and you guys won't have to worry about me. Plus, Xavier will be here if there are any problems.”
Ryan looked like he wanted to argue, presumably in favor of locking Paige away where no one could get to her, but he said nothing. Probably because he couldn’t think of a reasonable alternative. They needed to find the children, they needed to find Malachi, and they needed to talk to Eliza again.
“CSU is coming to check out where the shooting happened and where the car tried to run down Paige.” Jack tried to glance at her unobtrusively. She paled at his words, but otherwise remained calm. “Okay, let’s get going.”
* * * * *
12:51 A.M.
Ariyel was scared.
She wanted …
She wanted …
Well, she didn’t really know what she wanted.
She didn’t know much of anything right now.
Just that she was tired.
Really tired.
So tired that even thinking took up more energy than she had.
She thought it was because the doctor had given her something earlier.
Something to calm her down.
Because those police officers had upset her.
Questions. They had so many questions.
And they kept saying things to her that she didn’t understand.
Maegan? She didn’t know anyone called Maegan.
Kidnapped? She hadn’t been kidnapped.
They had told her she was in the hospital because she’d suffered a drug overdose. They’d asked her if she did it on purpose.
They had said horrible things to her about Arianna.
They had asked her if she needed help.
But she didn’t.
Did she?
Her head hurt.
It spun, too.
She couldn’t process more than snippets of thought at a time.
Where was her father?
She hadn’t seen Malachi since she’d woken up.
But did she want to see him?
Malachi scared her.
She thought he hurt her.
Only Malachi told her that it was what fathers did to their daughters.
Maybe those cops had been right.
Maybe she did need help.
“Eliza?”
The voice at the door startled her.
Scared, she shrunk back into the mattress, pulling the blankets right up to her chin.
It was one of the detectives.
He had light brown hair and unusual eyes, one hazel and one green.
He reminded her of someone. Only she couldn’t remember who.
“Hey, Eliza, how are you feeling?” He came and sat on the chair beside her bed.
“Ariyel,” she countered desperately. “My name is Ariyel.”
“No, it’s not,” he said firmly, but gently. “Your name is Eliza, Eliza Donnan.”
“No,” she pressed her hands to her ears. “No, no, no, no, no.”
He took hold of her wrists and softly tugged her hands away from her ears. “It’s okay, Eliza. Malachi won't hurt you again.”
She stared back at him.
Malachi would hurt her again.
He always hurt her.
She thought he might be wrong.
She didn’t think fathers were supposed to hurt their daughters.
But she had to be wrong.
Malachi was right.
He was always right.
“Eliza …” the detective didn’t release her; instead, he slid his hands from her wrists to hold her hands. “Malachi kidnapped you. He took you from your family. He tricked you while you were walking home from college one day. Pretended his car had broken down. You saw the little girls, trusted him. He chloroformed you, threw you in his car, and took you. That was five years ago. Do you remember that?”
He was lying.
He had to be.
She hadn’t been kidnapped.
She hadn’t.
And yet …
Fleeting images tumbled through her mind.
A sweet smell.
A phone falling.
A feeling of floating.
“Eliza, do you remember?”
“No,” she whispered frantically. “You're wrong. I wasn't kidnapped.”
“Honey, I'm not wrong. Try not to be afraid. I won't let Malachi hurt you. I know he messed with your head, convinced you that you are his daughter, but he was lying. Try hard to remember. You are Eliza Donnan. Your parents are Richard and Maggie Donnan. You have an older brother, Michael, and a younger sister, Naomi. You were an early childhood major. You loved to read and go camping and ride horses.”
His voice was so gentle, his grip on her hands reassuring, but she was so afraid.
The fear consumed her.
Prevented her from thinking of anything else.
He must have seen it in her eyes because he said again, “Malachi won't hurt you, I promise. I know he did awful things to you, but you're safe now. He can't get to you again. We know who your sisters really are, we’ve already called their families. They can go home now, they’ll be safe from Malachi, too. Maegan said you fought so hard to save them. That’s why Malachi had to brainwash you, because you wouldn’t stop fighting him.”
Cold.
Hungry.
Thirsty.
Dark.
The images flashed into her mind so violently, she cried out. She pressed her hands to her temples as though she could physically stop what she was seeing.
“Eliza? Are you okay?” His voice was full of concern.
“Stop, please,” she whimpered. “Make it stop.”
“Make what stop, honey?”
“My head, it hurts, stop talking to me. You're lying. You're lying.” She began to sob.
She was a bit surprised, but not totally, when he put his arms around her and held her as she cried.
“You're lying,” she said again.
Only, the problem was, she didn’t think he was.
* * * * *
12:53 A.M.
Paige was so tired, even putting one foot in front of the other was becoming a problem. Yet, as tired as she was, she knew if she were home in bed, she wouldn’t be sleeping.
In fact, after tonight, she’d be surprised if she’d ever be able to sleep again.
She was still shaken up by what had happened.
She’d heard the car, but she’d been focused on Malachi and her partner. It hadn’t been until a split second before Ryan launched at her, tackling her to the ground and covering her body with his own, that she had realized what the driver intended to do.
She was still struggling to comprehend it.
For the last four years, she had lived with the possibility that the stalker would return, but now that he had, and he’d tried to kill her again, it all felt so surreal. She didn’t want to believe that it was really happening.
But it was.
If Ryan hadn’t pushed her out of the way, that car would have plowed into her. It had been going fast enough that it probably would have killed her. At the very least, it would have left her fighting for her life. Again.
Paige didn’t really remember the attack that had almost ended her life. Her head injuries had been too serious and had wiped out most of her memories. All she did remembered was pain and fear. She liked it like that. She didn’t want to remember details. It was terrifying enough witho
ut having every awful second seared into her mind.
She wanted to end this before the stalker made another attempt on her life. She didn’t want Ryan, Jack, and Xavier hovering over her every second. It could be years before they caught him. Or, what if they never did? She couldn’t spend the rest of her life with bodyguards shadowing her every move.
So, she was going to do something about it.
In the morning she intended to talk to their lieutenant about using herself as bait to try to trap the stalker. She couldn’t live like this any longer. The fear of knowing he could come after her again at any moment was too much. Using herself as bait was risky, but she was willing to take the risk to bring this to an end. She wasn't, however, going to tell Ryan, Jack, and Xavier what she was planning because they would veto the idea immediately. They were way too overprotective of her.
Right now, though, her focus was finding these little girls.
Tonight was not the best night to be working a case with kids. Having anything to do with children always made her heart ache. She wanted to be a mother so badly. But she meant what she’d told Ryan earlier. She was done. She couldn’t go through another failed adoption.
When she had seen Elias’ name pop up on her phone while she’d been in the bathroom earlier, she had known immediately that it was bad news. Apparently, the young woman whose baby they had been going to adopt had changed her mind. Amy had been scared to take on the responsibility of raising a child on her own. She was only nineteen. Her parents had refused to help and she hadn’t known who the father was. Then, an aunt had offered to let her move in and even to look after the baby once it was born so she could continue her studies and work. So, the young woman had decided to keep her baby. Wanting them to know immediately, Amy had called Elias, and Elias had called her.
Of course, she totally respected Amy's decision and sincerely wished her and her baby all the best, but she just couldn’t deal with getting her hopes up again only to have them dashed to pieces.