by T. K. Leigh
“What are you talking about, Alex?” Carol asked, looking at him with her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “They didn’t catch the guy.”
“Olivia said she ran for help, and a stranger walked back to the house with her. She said that this guy attacked the intruder after he saw he was still in there,” he said urgently. “She said he pushed him down the basement stairs and that he was knocked unconscious.”
“Nobody was ever found, although the exterior basement door was open.”
“So this guy is still out there?” he asked, his voice trembling. He kicked himself for not following up sooner on what happened to the intruder.
“It appears so.”
“Fuck…” His mind started racing, thinking about Olivia at the hospital without him. At least Carter was there with her.
Carol didn’t know what to do. She thought Alexander knew that they never caught the guy. It was entirely possible that Olivia didn’t know. But then there was the letter. “So, where is Olivia?”
“At the hospital,” Alexander responded. “Visiting Kiera.”
“Did you send Carter or anyone with her?” She tried to keep her inquiry casual, not wanting to key him in on why she was prying.
He looked up from the desk and glared at his sister, certain that she was keeping something from him. “What’s going on? Why do you care? Do you know something?”
Carol returned her attention to the box in front of her, trying to avoid eye contact with her brother. “No. Of course not. It’s not even my case,” she said quickly.
Alexander got up from his chair and stalked across the room. He stopped in front of the desk she sat at and leaned toward her. “You know you’re a terrible liar. Tell me what you know.”
“Alex, please…” She raised her eyes and met his.
“Carol, we already know that there’s some sort of threat against her life in regards to this evidence box that could be anywhere. Whatever you know can’t be worse than that.”
She took a deep breath. “The crime scene techs may have found something at Kiera’s that involved Olivia, and I may have shown it to her.”
“To who?! Olivia?!” Alexander raised his voice.
Carol cringed, surprised by his anger. “Don’t you shout at me! Someone was bound to talk to her about it! I figured it should probably be me!”
“What was this something, Carol?” he asked through clenched teeth.
She reached down into her purse and produced her cell phone. She scrolled through it and found the photo of the evidence bag containing the letter that she had shown to Olivia the previous day.
Taking the phone, Alexander squinted his eyes to make out the scribbling on the piece of paper in the photo.
We know who you are. Your loved ones are no longer safe unless you give us what we want. Consider yourself warned, Olivia.
“Shit! What does this mean?!” he asked, his heart thumping in his chest. His eyes searched hers for an answer.
Carol exhaled loudly, taking back her phone. “I think it means exactly what it says,” she responded dejectedly. “These guys are now going after everyone close to Olivia to draw her out.”
“FUCK!” Alexander shouted, running out of the room and up the stairs to his office.
“ALEX! WAIT!” Carol shouted after him, following close behind. “Don’t do anything stupid!”
“Are you listening to yourself, Carol?! You’re asking me to not do anything stupid?! The time for not doing anything stupid is so long past! Do you know what Olivia is probably thinking at this exact moment?! I was ready to tell her about everything, but now I can’t!”
“What are you talking about? Why?”
“Don’t you see? Once she knows what these people are after, she’ll sacrifice herself to save her friends. That’s who she is. I can’t lose her again!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
GONE
“ALEX,” MO SAID, JUMPING up when he saw him running through the glass doors of the hospital into the waiting area, his expression panicked. “Everything okay?”
“Where is she, Mo?”
“Who? Livvy?”
“Yes!” he answered frantically, his eyes scanning the hospital corridors. “Is she with Kiera?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. Carter’s in there with her. She just wanted some time alone with her.”
Alexander exhaled loudly, his momentary panic waning slightly as he turned to head toward the ICU.
“Alex, wait a second.”
“What?” he growled, spinning around.
Mo raised his eyebrows, wondering why he was so insistent on finding Olivia. “Listen,” he said calmly, hoping that he would relax. “I know things have been off lately between you and Livvy…and the rest of us, really. I’m saying this right now as her friend and not yours.” He took a deep breath before continuing, meeting his eyes and giving him an icy stare. “You better get your shit together. Stop trying to protect her by keeping information from her. She’s been lied to by everyone, including you, her entire life. You’d better tell her whatever you’re keeping from her or you’ll lose her, and I doubt you’ll get her back again. She’s giving you a second chance right now. Don’t fuck it up. I know she said that she wasn’t ready to hear what you have to say, but I’m pretty sure you weren’t going to tell her the whole story anyway. You better tell her about her past. All of it.”
Alexander listened to Mo’s words as he spoke, torn about what to do. If he told her, he risked her remembering and sacrificing herself for the sake of her friends. If he didn’t tell her, he risked her walking away again. Either way, he’d lose her, but at least in one scenario, she would still be safe. “I’m not sure I can do that, Mo. I’m sorry…” He lowered his head in defeat as he ran down the corridor toward Kiera’s room.
~~~~~~~~~~
OLIVIA SAT CLUTCHING HER friend’s hand, hoping that the doctors would be able to bring her out of the coma soon. “I hate not being able to talk to you, Care Bear. I hate that all of this has happened to you.” A tear fell down her cheek. “I hate that this is all my fault.”
A beep sounded from her phone and she looked down in her lap to see a blocked call coming through. Assuming it was Alexander calling from his office line, she picked up.
“Hello, Mr. Burnham,” she said in a sultry voice. “Looking forward to oysters tonight.”
“That’s nice, Libby,” a strange voice sneered. “But you may want to cancel your plans.”
Her eyes grew wide in shock, the greeting she received on the other line completely unexpected. “Who is this?” she asked, standing up from her chair and backing up cautiously.
“That’s not important right now. What is important is that I have your little friend with me.” A scream sounded through the phone. “If you want her to live another day, you need to come to the new boathouse on the Charles. Alone, or she dies. In twenty minutes, or she dies. If anyone follows you, I’ll kill them and the girl. Do you understand?”
Nervous energy coursed through her body and she slowly nodded her head, her voice stuck in her throat.
“I said, do…you…understand?” the voice demanded.
“Yes,” she croaked out. “I understand.”
“Good. Boathouse. Twenty minutes. Alone. Or she dies.”
Olivia hung up, her mind racing about which one of her friends they could have now. Slowly pulling back the door to Kiera’s recovery room, she scanned the hallway.
“Miss Adler,” Carter said, noticing her expression. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes,” she quivered. “It’s just hard to see her like this. That’s all.”
He nodded his head in understanding. “Can I get you anything?”
She met his eyes and shook her head. “No. I just need to go powder my nose.”
“Okay.” He followed her down the hallway.
“I’ll be fine on my own.”
“I don’t doubt that, but I’ll lose my job if I don’t escort you wherever you need to go.”
<
br /> Olivia opened her mouth to protest, but didn’t want Carter to become suspicious. Stopping in front of the door to the ladies’ room, she looked at him. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
He sent her a reassuring smile. “Take your time. I’ll be right outside.”
A twinge of guilt washed over her for deceiving Carter when he had only been watching out for her, but she had no other option. At least in the privacy of the restroom, she could try to come up with a way to get out of the hospital unnoticed.
Taking several deep, steadying breaths, she tried to formulate a plan as she paced back and forth in frustration. A familiar voice sounded in the hallway, asking Carter where she was, and her heart sank even further into her stomach. Not only did she have to get past Carter’s protective eyes, but now she also had to sneak by Alexander.
She had all but given up any hope and contemplated telling Alexander and Carter exactly what was going on when the bathroom door swung wide open, six chipper cheerleaders swarming the room.
“I can’t believe that asshole dropped her!” one of them said.
“She’ll be out for the season now. And at our first competition, too!”
Olivia surveyed them, her eyes settling on a girl who appeared to be the same size as her. “Hey,” she said, addressing the group before lowering her voice. “Do you all want to make a quick hundred dollars?” She raised her eyebrows. “I need your help.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“WHERE IS SHE?” ALEXANDER asked Carter as he hurriedly ran up to him in the hospital corridor.
“She’s using the restroom, sir. She seemed pretty upset and just needed a minute.” He gestured with his head to the door of the bathroom. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” Alexander replied, watching as a group of cheerleaders walked past them and into the bathroom. “I don’t know what the hell to think anymore.”
Carter simply nodded. “Well, I’m here to keep an eye on her, sir. She’s in good hands.”
Alexander met his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, sir.”
Several anxious minutes passed as the two men waited for Olivia to emerge from the bathroom. Finally, the door swung open and they looked in its direction, their hopeful expressions falling when the group of cheerleaders filtered out.
“Oh-Em-GEE!” one of them squealed, running up to Alexander. “You’re Alexander Burnham, aren’t you? Macey! Look! It’s really him!”
Alexander stood back in shock, Carter glancing over their heads as another girl in a cheerleading jacket walked out of the bathroom in the opposite direction, obviously completely uninterested in the local celebrity. “Ladies,” he said. “This is a hospital. Please leave Mr. Burnham alone.”
“Just one picture, please?” the short redhead begged, placing her hands together in a pleading manner.
Carter looked to his boss to see what he wanted to do.
Sighing, Alexander nodded his head. “Okay. One picture.” He beamed his brilliant smile as the group of teenagers piled around him, and Carter snapped the photo.
“I’ll never get used to that,” he said a few minutes later after saying good-bye to the excited cheerleaders.
“I imagine it must be difficult. It would certainly irritate me.”
Alexander shrugged. “Yeah. But my public relations rep says the more positive publicity the better. And if that means taking pictures with a few teenage cheerleaders, I’m happy to do it.” He glanced at the bathroom door, wondering what was keeping Olivia. “She’s been in there for a while, hasn’t she?”
“She has,” Carter responded, looking at his watch. “It’s been over ten minutes. I know she was upset, but…”
Alexander strode over to the door, pushing it slightly ajar. “Olivia? Are you okay?”
He listened for a response. Nothing.
“Olivia, love?”
Still nothing.
Pushing the door open, his heart sank in his chest when the bathroom was empty.
“SHIT!” he screamed, running down the hallway.
“Sir!” Carter bellowed out.
“You stay here! Question everyone, including those goddamn cheerleaders!”
“Yes, sir!”
Alexander continued running frantically down the hospital corridors, looking for any sign of his Olivia. “FUCK!” he shouted when he noticed a cheerleader’s jacket stuffed in the garbage canister in the lobby. Grabbing his cell phone, he tried calling her. After the fifth time that she didn’t pick up, he become even more concerned.
“Marshall!” he shouted into his cell. “It’s Olivia. She’s missing from the hospital. Track her phone!”
“Yes, sir.” Marshall hung up and returned to the desk, booting up the tracking software on her computer. She punched in Olivia’s cell phone number and, within moments, found her location.
“Sir, it’s me,” she spoke softly into another cell phone. “Burnham called. He knows she’s gone. Better tell Lucas to hurry up. He’s running out of time. I’ll stall as long as I can.”
“Thank you, Cheryl.”
“Make it quick. I can only give you a few minutes.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
A BETTER PLACE
OLIVIA RACED TOWARD THE Charles River, her eyes searching through the torrential downpour for the enormous boathouse. Running along the riverbank, it seemed as if it got further away with each step. Finally reaching her destination, she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, water dripping down her body.
“Hello?” she called out. “Is anyone here?”
Cautiously, she walked up an aisle of rowing boats stacked on beams, listening for some sort of clue as to where she should be headed.
A scream sounded and Olivia slowly followed the source through the warehouse-sized place, her stomach churning when she saw Melanie standing in the far corner, her wrists bound in front of her.
“Libby, don’t. Please…” she cried out.
She paused, her eyes settling on someone standing behind Melanie and holding a knife to her throat. “Lucas?” She squinted, unable to believe her eyes. It was the guy they had all met and partied with in Vegas. She had never thought anything of it when he said he was from Boston. Now Olivia was starting to think it was all a set-up.
“Here’s how this is going to work, Libby,” Lucas sneered. “You scream, I cut her throat. You yell for help, I cut her throat. You do anything to draw attention at all, I cut her throat. Understand?”
Olivia slowly nodded her head, her eyes wide as she scanned the boathouse for anything she could potentially use to disarm him.
“I thought we warned you what would happen if you didn’t come forward, Libby.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucas,” she said quietly as she took carefully measured steps toward Melanie.
“Yes you do, Libby.” He pushed the blade even harder against Melanie’s neck, tears streaming from her frightened blue eyes.
Olivia took a deep breath. “You’re right. I do, Lucas. Why don’t you let Melanie go and take me instead?”
“Libby, NO!” Melanie shouted.
Olivia’s eyes met hers and she gave her scared friend a reassuring look.
“It doesn’t work that way!” Lucas shouted, his voice showing his agitation. “I’m only supposed to encourage you to figure it out. That’s all. I’m not allowed to kill you. That’s someone else’s job.”
“Lucas, I’m the one you want. Not Melanie. Hurting her won’t make me figure out whatever I’m supposed to.” She took another step, closing the distance. Her heart beat frantically in her chest.
“Don’t come any closer, Libby,” Lucas demanded, digging the blade even further into Melanie’s skin, blood seeping out of her neck. He pushed her hair back and leaned down, his lips only a breath away from her neck. “Remember what I told you. You make a sound, you die.”
Melanie bit her lip, trying to hold in the scream that wanted to escape her mouth from the pain of the blade cu
tting into her throat.
Olivia stood only a few feet from Melanie and Lucas. She could try to grab the hand he was using to hold the knife, freeing Melanie, but that would only work if she could momentarily distract him. “Lucas, maybe if you gave me a hint about what I’m supposed to remember, then I can help you and we can put an end to all of this.”
“Do you think they’d actually tell me that?” He threw his head back, laughing, and Olivia took the opportunity to try to disarm him.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t quick enough.
~~~~~~~~~~
ALEXANDER NERVOUSLY PACED THE lobby of the hospital as he waited for Marshall to send him the location of Olivia’s cell phone, hoping that she hadn’t left the building. After an excruciatingly long time, a text finally came through. Dashing out the doors of the hospital, he jumped into the idling SUV. “Martin! Over to the big boathouse on the Charles!” he shouted. “Step on it!”
Martin peeled out of the hospital and drove toward the river. Several minutes later, he pulled up alongside the street. Alexander leaped out of the car, running toward the boathouse, not knowing what he would find when he got there. Quietly opening the door to the huge storage yard, he heard a scuffle echoing through the football field-sized warehouse. Turning the corner, his eyes grew wide in terror. “Olivia! No!”
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as he ran toward her. A tall man that Alexander had never seen before had her pinned to the ground as she desperately tried to wrestle a knife from his hand. Melanie lay on the ground about ten feet away, bleeding profusely from her neck. He inhaled quickly, looking over her lifeless body. There was no way she would be able to survive a wound like that. How was he going to explain that to his brother?