by Blythe, Jane
And getting a new house wouldn’t be all that hard, either. He had access to enough money. He always kept several accounts, as well as huge stashes of cash for an emergency. Losing his home was a tragedy but one he could overcome quite easily. Sure, the house had memories, but the good thing about memories was that you could always create more.
So, decision made. He wouldn’t bother with the girls. He’d just find more. They were important to him, but not important enough to risk his freedom. So, he would let them go—all except Arianna and Eliza.
Arianna was his child. His own flesh and blood. He could not abandon her. He would not abandon her. And Eliza was her mother. He must have them both.
Malachi remembered his own mother fondly.
He wished things had turned out differently with her.
But she had turned the way all women go in the end. Disrespectful and disobedient. With Eliza, it had been different. He’d made sure that she truly understood that he was her master. He would make sure Arianna learned the same lessons as her mother.
Heavily disguised with a blond wig, brown contact lenses, and a fake nose, he strode through the emergency room. He was unsure how he was going to get Eliza out. The police were on her. They knew she knew things and know things she did. She knew it all. Everything about him. Because he had told her. It had been part of her reprogramming.
He was confident he could come up with some plausible reason to gain access to her, right up until the moment he approached her room. There was an officer standing outside, plus the pretty detective he’d been watching earlier was chatting with Detective Xander and two other guys he assumed were also cops right outside the door to Eliza’s room.
Muttering under his breath, he kept walking so as not to draw suspicion, making his stride purposeful. No one gave him a second glance, and he continued down the corridor and away from all the people.
He needed a new plan.
Grabbing Eliza right now was obviously not an option. He would have to come back for her and the baby.
Malachi didn’t want to leave empty-handed.
He could try and lure the pretty detective away and take her with him. But she wouldn’t satisfy him long-term. She didn’t fit his physical requirements. She may do until he got someone else or until he was able to come back for Eliza.
Wondering how he could get her on her own, he rounded a corner and saw the answer to his prayers standing right in front of him.
Pacing up and down just a few yards away from him was a beautiful, raven-haired woman.
He quickly glanced around to see if anyone was about. Once again, he was in luck. This corridor was deserted. No one in sight.
He fingered the gun in his pocket.
He didn’t want to shoot her, but he could use the gun to gain her compliance.
She didn’t register his presence as he walked toward her.
It wasn't until he wrapped an arm around her neck and pressed the gun into her side that she realized he was there.
“Make a sound and I shoot you,” he whispered in her ear. “Understand?”
Against his chest her body trembled, and she didn’t answer at first. Presumably, she was weighing up her options. It was possible she could survive the gunshot, if it missed her vital organs. And the sound of the shot would bring people immediately. Fleeing would be difficult.
At last, the woman nodded, one hand pressed to her swollen stomach. If she hadn’t been pregnant, Malachi thought she would have risked it and screamed for help.
“Okay, I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. We’re going to walk out of here nice and calmly. If you do anything to draw attention to us, I won't hesitate to shoot the closest person. Understand?” he asked again. The safest way out for him was to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid.
Again, she gave a harsh nod.
He walked her toward the nearest door, avoiding the main doors where there were too many people and cops. He had stolen a car earlier, so all he had to do was get the woman into it. That should be easy enough. So far, she was complying. The threat of being shot or getting someone else shot was enough to ensure she did as he said.
That all changed when they stepped through the door and out into the night.
The woman began to pant, her breath coming in short, sharp, gasps. She began to shake violently, and she stopped walking, her body all but going limp in his arms.
Malachi didn’t know if she’d gone into shock or she was trying to get him to leave her behind, but whatever the reason, he didn’t have time to figure it out. He needed to get her out of here immediately, before someone stumbled upon them. And even if he wanted to, which he didn’t, he couldn’t leave her behind now. She would go running straight to the cops, and despite the disguise, they could easily figure out it was him behind the attempted abduction.
Picking the woman up, he ran to his car and threw her inside.
* * * * *
2:34 A.M.
Cold metal pressed against her side.
This couldn’t be happening.
Laura was so scared, she couldn’t move.
It was an effort just to nod her head in response to the man’s instructions.
She had weighed up her options and she didn’t like her chances if she tried to call for help or make a run for it. If she hadn’t been pregnant, she might have risked it. It was one thing to risk her own life, but she couldn’t risk her child’s.
So she had let the man walk her through the hospital with his gun digging in her flesh.
Deciding her best chance at surviving was to be as compliant as possible, she made no attempts at escaping. It was hard, though. She knew that Jack and the others were just a few corridors away. And she knew that her chances of getting out of this alive decreased dramatically if he got her into a car.
But what choice did she have?
He had threatened to shoot her or any innocent person he came across if she did anything.
How could she have been so stupid?
She didn’t even hear him until he was upon her. She knew better. She knew not to be so distracted that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.
Only she had been thinking about her family. Seeing Maegan reunite with hers had gotten her thinking. She wanted to let go of the guilt that prevented her from becoming close with them again. She missed them. As a child, she had been very close with her big sister and her parents. She wanted that back. She just didn’t know how to get it back.
That was the least of her concerns at the moment, though. If she didn’t get herself out of this alive, then she would never see them again, so the condition of their relationship would be irrelevant.
She tried to calm herself. Tried to focus all her energy on keeping control of her emotions.
But then, he took her outside.
Already totally stressed out, her agoraphobia kicked into high gear as soon as the fresh air hit her.
And she was unable to do a thing about it.
She struggled to draw enough air into her lungs. Her body shook uncontrollably. Her heart was pounding. And she couldn’t walk even if she wanted to.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She was completely helpless. Completely at this man’s mercy.
The only part of her mind still functioning knew her panic attack could anger her abductor. If he was angry enough, he could shoot her right here and now.
He didn’t, though.
Instead, he picked her up and ran with her toward the parking lot. Stopping at a black SUV, he opened a door, threw her inside, then jumped into the driver’s seat, roaring out of the hospital’s parking lot.
All Laura could do was close her eyes and attempt to talk herself through the panic attack.
After several minutes, she had it under control enough to start to think clearly again.
Precious minutes lost, she tried to play catch up, gather as much information as she could so she could try to talk her way out of this.
The man
in the driver’s seat was lean but obviously strong as he hadn’t struggled at all as he’d carried her to the car. Laura knew she wasn't going to be able to out muscle him, especially since she was eight months pregnant.
That left her with taking advantage of any opportunity that presented itself to run.
Or making a connection with him.
But that depended on who he was and why he had taken her. For all she knew, the man who had her could be Sofia and Paige’s stalker who had decided that she had somehow hurt Sofia and deserved to be punished.
Thinking about that made the panic inside her swell so much that it was almost physically choking her.
Deliberately, she stamped it down.
Jack would notice she was missing soon. He didn’t like to have her out of his sight for too long, especially if he knew she was on her own, so he’d go looking for her. When he didn’t find her, he would know something was wrong. All she had to do was keep herself alive long enough for him to find her. And he would find her. She just had to keep believing that.
She studied the man closely. He didn’t look familiar. He had curly black hair and brown eyes. Or did he? The light in the car was dim, but she thought one of his eyes might be blue.
Then it clicked.
Curly black hair and blue eyes. This was Malachi. He must have come back to the hospital to see if he could get his hands on the girls. Only he must have realized that it would be impossible. So, he’d grabbed her. She fit his profile—almost—her eyes were more violet than blue.
The knowledge that Malachi had her in a car and no one knew where she was, was so terrifying that she had to fight off another panic attack.
She had to get herself under control.
Her life depended on it.
And not just her life, but her baby’s, too.
She had to get them both out of this alive.
She forced herself to at least project an air of calm. “You're Malachi,” she said, her voice coming out wobbly despite her best efforts.
He was surprised that she knew that. Obviously, he hadn’t bargained on abducting someone who knew who he was. “How do you know that?” he demanded.
“My husband is Detective Jack Xander. He spoke with you at the hospital. I'm Laura. I'm the one that Maegan first talked to,” she explained, pleased that she had managed to eradicate the wobble from her voice.
He burst into peals of laughter. “Well, of all the coincidences. Of all the women in the hospital, I pick the one person who started this mess.”
A stab of fear shot through her. If Malachi blamed her for him losing the girls, he could take that anger out on her.
“Relax,” Malachi correctly interpreted her fear. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You want to keep me,” she whispered. How would she cope with that? Four days of hell at the hands of Frank and Francis Garrett had been bad enough. How would she endure years? Or forever? She couldn’t discount that possibility. If Eliza hadn’t gotten Malachi to take her to the hospital, then those girls would likely have lived out their entire lives in his house.
“You make that sound like a bad thing.” His voice was conversational. “It’s not. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. I took good care of those girls. So long as you follow the rules and respect me as the head of the house, you’ll be fine. You and your baby,” he indicated her pregnant stomach.
Laura believed that. Malachi didn’t enjoy hurting people. He simply used it as a means to an end. He wanted to be in control, and he would do whatever it took to make sure those around him bowed down to him. If she could make herself obedient, then she could survive.
Realizing with a start that she still had her cell phone, hope surged through her. She’d dropped her bag somewhere along the way, but her phone had been in her pocket. Malachi hadn’t thought to check for one. That was a gift from God. And one she would have to use carefully. She needed to wait until Malachi was distracted before trying to make a call. If she messed it up, she’d lose the phone for good.
“We’re here.” Malachi suddenly stopped the car.
She scanned their surroundings. It looked like they were in a cemetery. What was Malachi doing here? Had he come to visit the graves of his dead daughters? If he had, that could turn out to be good news. Once they had the details of Malachi’s background, Jack and the others might think to come and look for her here.
Or even better, if Malachi got distracted at the gravesites, that could be her opportunity to run. There would be plenty of places to hide, and if she could call Jack, then he’d come and get her.
Hopefully, Malachi would leave her in the car when he went to visit the graves. Not only would it increase her chances of slipping away unnoticed, but Laura wasn't sure she could handle going outside again. She needed a moment to prepare herself so she could make a run for it. If Malachi left the keys in the car, maybe she could avoid going outside altogether and climb into the driver’s seat and drive off.
Unfortunately, Malachi seemingly had no intention of leaving her alone in the car.
He climbed out and then came to retrieve her, dragging her out and into the night. Laura fought her rising fears. Repeating over and over to herself that she needed to stay calm to escape. She couldn’t condemn her baby to a life of imprisonment in Malachi’s house.
Once he had her out of the car, he didn’t drag her off toward some graves as she had anticipated. Instead, he pushed her up against the hood of the car, bending her over it as his hands slid under her sweater.
She knew what his intentions were.
He was going to rape her.
Already, she could feel his erection pressing against her back.
“I've never done it with a pregnant woman before.” His mouth was so close to her neck, she could feel his breath warm against her icy cold skin.
He hadn’t done it with a pregnant woman before and she wasn't about to let it happen now. She was not letting this man rape her in a cemetery. She had been raped before, and she had no intention of going through that hell again.
Biding her time as Malachi caressed her stomach with one hand, the baby in her womb kicking its tiny legs as though it too wanted to fight off this horrible injustice. His other hand was fumbling with the zipper of her jeans.
In order to undo her pants, he had to move her a little away from the car. Taking advantage of this, Laura spun around and rammed her knee into his groin in one fluid movement. Hours of self-defense drills with Paige had her hitting her target perfectly.
As Malachi’s howl of pain echoed through the silent cemetery, Laura ran.
* * * * *
2:42 A.M.
Something was wrong.
Jack could feel it.
Laura should be back by now.
She had said she needed some time. She had been thinking about her family. Jack knew she had. Watching Maegan reunite with hers had gotten Laura thinking.
Stressed out enough after the night they’d had, he hadn’t wanted to let her go off on her own, he had wanted to keep his wife where he could see her. But he was trying hard not to be too overprotective. He knew Laura didn’t like that. He had to try to accept that he couldn’t keep her in his line of sight permanently. It was hard. He loved her so much and the thought of losing her terrified him almost to the point of paralyzing him. But Laura was strong, and tough, and smart, he had to learn to trust that she could take care of herself.
Right now, though, he knew this was different.
This wasn't paranoia talking.
Nor was it his head injury.
He didn’t remember the explosion or the tree coming through the window and striking his head. He didn’t remember the fire or Ryan dragging him through the crumbling house. He didn’t remember anything until he woke up on the sidewalk. But he didn’t have a concussion, only a couple of stitches and a headache, which was currently pounding at his temples as his fear amped up several notches.
Apparently noticing this, Paige narrowed her eyes at him. �
��What’s wrong?”
“I have a bad feeling about Laura,” he replied.
“Want me to go and find her?” Paige offered.
“No.” Not only did he not want Paige going off on her own, but when he found Laura, he wanted a moment alone with her. He needed to reassure himself that his wife was okay. Maybe that head injury had messed with his head more than he’d thought. “You stay here with Ryan; I’ll go look for her.”
Jack didn’t wait for any response, just jogged off in the direction Laura had gone earlier. He expected to find her pacing in a nearby hallway. Instead, he found nothing.
Nothing.
Not a single thing.
The corridors were empty.
Laura was nowhere to be found.
Terror swirled inside him. Burning hot. Smothering him.
What he saw next made him nearly pass out in horror.
Laura’s bag lay on the floor.
He fell to his knees beside the bag. He was sure it was Laura’s, but maybe he was wrong. With shaking hands, he reached inside, finding the purse, and pulling it out. Opening it confirmed his worst fears. Laura’s driver’s license was inside, as were pictures of the two of them and Zach.
This was Laura’s bag.
And she wouldn’t leave it, with her license, credit cards and cash still inside, lying on the floor in a hospital corridor.
At least, she wouldn’t leave it on purpose.
Something had happened to her.
Something bad.
His feelings of foreboding had been spot on.
“Xavier,” he yelled. He was aware of the fact that there were patients asleep in the rooms that lined the hallway, but right now he didn’t care in the least.
“What’s wrong?” Xavier appeared beside him moments later.
“Laura’s gone. I found this.” Jack thrust the bag at his partner.
“Gone?” he repeated, confused.
“Disappeared, missing, lost, taken, abducted,” he raved. His terror was rising. Choking him. Laura had been through enough, and now she was suffering again.