Hang on, Sarah, he urged. I’m coming to get you.
Sarah woke with a jolt at six. She hadn’t woken up that early in quite some time. She knew that her breakfast wouldn’t be arriving for almost two hours. She wasn’t hungry, but on the bright side, she wasn’t nauseous either. Trying to steel herself for whatever the day had in store, she began with her new ritual. Sarah rubbed her lower abdomen for a moment and hummed to herself, then stopped and waited. She wasn’t disappointed. The little one sharing her body swam around causing delicate little flutters that made Sarah’s heart dance. Finding no excuse to prolong the inevitable, she threw back the covers and slowly came to a seated position. Minutes after she made it to the window to stare longingly at the yard now painted in fall colors, the door opened, startling her.
Evan held her breakfast tray in his hands. And he wore a smile that positively chilled her. “I saw you rubbing your stomach,” he said smoothly.
Her eyes widened and her mind raced as she tried to prepare a response for whatever he was about to say. “Oh, I…”
“I know, Sarah,” he said casually. “You were hungry.”
She bit her lip. “Thank you. You are so…perceptive.” She sat down on the bed as he placed the tray in front of her. “My word but this is a lot of food.” And that was when she spotted the second set of silverware and her heart sank. She would prefer dining in a pit of vipers to sharing a meal with this…poor excuse for a human being.
“I thought I’d join you for breakfast,” he said cheerfully, completely oblivious to her true feelings. “And then I have a little surprise for you.”
She tried to read his thoughts, tried to see what he had in store for her, but he was so dark. Trying to explore his inner workings was not only challenging, but also emotionally draining, and fruitless. Ever since he first revealed his presence and she had shown her true feelings, he had grown guarded, more so than most. And for some reason his barriers were virtually impenetrable. It was unusual that she had even been able to hear him in the night.
Cocking her head to one side, Sarah said quietly and with more concern than enthusiasm, “That will be nice.”
For the next half hour, Evan prattled on endlessly about his life. He told her of the wonderful and exotic countries he had visited, hinting that he would love to take her on a vacation. Sarah had merely smiled politely. Then he had spoken at length about his career plans. Sarah had feigned interest and encouragement. All the while he dropped thinly veiled hints that all of his future plans included her. And at that, Sarah merely picked at her food.
She had studied Evan to see what he was eating from the plates, certain that he wouldn’t risk drugging himself. That was how she decided that the scrambled eggs were safe, and the bacon. What she really wanted was some of the milk and a warm apple fritter, but Evan hadn’t touched either of those items, despite having foisted them upon her.
“I’m watching my waistline,” she lied, in an attempt to explain her avoidance.
He put one hand over hers. “I’m watching it, too, and it is fabulous,” he said flirtatiously.
Fearing she might become physically ill at his touch, she pushed the tray away. “I’m really full,” she explained.
“Well, sit back and relax,” he said with a flourish as he removed her tray. “I’ll be back in just a moment with your surprise.”
“Okay,” she said quietly. She really wanted a shower, but with Evan lurking around, she didn’t dare. She glanced at the clock. It was only seven thirty. She sighed.
En route to the airport, Brian was working his way through his call list. Anna was first. “I’m not waiting anymore,” he said when she picked up. “I don’t have the patience necessary to deal with the detectives. I’m on my way to Boston.”
He heard her sigh. “I figured as much.” She took a sip of her morning tea. “I have very mixed feelings about this, Brian,” she began quietly for fear of prying ears. “I want desperately for Sarah to come home, but at the same time I don’t want you to endanger your life.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said firmly, exuding more confidence than he truly had. He glanced at the clock. “Listen, I’ve got to go. With any luck, Sarah and I will call you later.”
He pushed the button that dropped her call and scrolled through his phone book to place the next one. His department chair answered after nearly four rings.
“This better be good, Waite,” he said groggily into the phone. “You know it’s nearly midterms.”
Brian rolled his eyes. “I know, but I need to take a few days off.” He waited several seconds for the grumbling to cease and for the man to come to his senses. At last the implication seemed to strike home.
“This is because of Sarah, isn’t it?” The dean was suddenly ripe with interest.
“Of course,” Brian said seriously. “But please don’t breathe word of this to anyone. I need secrecy to pull this off.”
“Take care of yourself,” his mentor advised.
“I will,” he responded.
Once he checked in at the airport, he found himself a quiet corner to make the rest of his calls. For this he dug deep into the wallet. The early bird catches the worm, he thought. Let’s see who’s awake and ready to work.
Wrapping her robe tightly around her body, Sarah paced back and forth restlessly while she awaited Evan’s return. After nearly fifteen minutes, he pushed the door open and entered with James at his heels. “Just the towels for now, James,” Evan directed.
The older man nodded and headed to the bathroom with an empty basket. He came back with a heaping load of laundry to do. Before he could make eye contact with Sarah, Evan spoke once more. “Next trip, grab her clothes. We need to switch out her wardrobe for one more fitting the season.”
“Is that my surprise?” Sarah asked quietly. “Is it the fall clothes?” She bit her lip anxiously. She could tell that James had wanted to get her attention, but he slipped past before she was able to discover what had him in turmoil today. She wanted to read his thoughts but they were so jumbled and erratic that all she could pick up on were his feelings. Whatever was going on, James was overwrought with concern for her. She frowned as she tried to remain calm and keep her wits about her.
“No, my dear,” Evan said grandiosely, “the fall clothes are a necessity. Now this is your surprise.” He produced a portable DVD player from behind his back. Gesturing gallantly, he said, “Have a seat.”
Numbly, Sarah did as she was directed. Apprehensive because of the gleam in his eyes, she slowly took the equipment he offered her.
“It’s already loaded.”
She looked at him warily. It was like watching a train wreck. She could see that something terrible was going to happen, yet felt powerless to stop it. The events had to merely play themselves out and she would have to prepare for a great deal of devastation and destruction in the meantime.
“Go on,” he urged.
Pushing the play button, Sarah realized what she was watching immediately. Evan had taken videos of her with her family, and with Brian. The first clips were from the loft. Brian and Sarah were walking in together, arm in arm. She could see Brian looking at her with pure unadulterated love. She gasped. She had nearly forgotten how it felt to have him look at her like that. Her heart beat furiously in her chest. They were walking into the living room area. She remembered this night. It was one of the first times that she had visited after admitting that she wanted to give a relationship a try. Their kisses were soft at first then grew more passionate. Sarah hugged herself tightly. Her eyes watered as she found herself fixated on the screen.
Soon Brian was scooping her up in his arms and making his way to the bedroom with her. She was mesmerized by the way Brian touched her, she could almost feel it if she closed her eyes and imagined hard enough.
In the next instant the scene changed. Now she was at the farm house with Chloe. They were outside. Sarah was gardening while Chloe played. They were so carefree and happy. Chloe ran over to her mother
and soon enough they were twirling around, spinning madly until they fell on the ground in a dizzy giggling heap. Moments later, Jamie arrived on the scene. The sprinkler was turned on for Chloe to run through while the adults talked animatedly on the porch.
The tears were streaming unnoticed down her face now. Her nose was beginning to run, so she sniffled constantly. This was her life, the life she missed so desperately. This was her family. She ached to be loved and held by Brian again. She longed for him to be a part of her once more. She was dying to tell him about his baby. And then there was Chloe.
Her daughter had been two months without her. In all those years since Chloe’s birth she had scarcely let her out of her sight, and now she had been without Chloe for two whole months. Her heart ached just to think of it. How might her innocent child have changed in that period of time? What if she was irreparably damaged from this? How many ouchies had she suffered without her mother to kiss them better? Who had helped Chloe prepare for school in her mother’s stead?
Her head was reeling. Her insides felt as though they were being wrenched out of her. And Sarah knew she was about to be violently ill. She raced to the toilet, clumsily lifted the seat, and lost the contents of her stomach to the commode. Evan couldn’t have done more to show her who he was than he did in that moment. He sat on the bed with a triumphant look on his face and waited for her to brush her teeth and return to bed.
“You need some rest,” he said as he tried to tuck her in.
Exerting every last bit of self-control, Sarah asked evenly, “Why did you show me that?” She was spent. Her nerves were raw. She had been forced to once again face what she was missing. And she knew that Evan was plotting. This was, without a doubt, supposed to distract her. She couldn’t allow that, but she would take a moment to rest. Slowly her eyes closed as she heard his response.
“I thought you might like to see them,” he said innocently.
But she also heard what he wasn’t saying. Overconfident, bordering on cocky, he had let his guard down. This is too easy, he laughed. She’ll be mine by lunch time. Time to review the checklist. He left her then, reminding her that he would check on her shortly.
Sarah waited until the door closed and she heard his steps receding down the hall. She stood up and moved to take a quick shower when she heard the door open again. Peeking out from the bathroom, wearing only her bathrobe, Sarah was relieved to find James preparing to empty out her dresser drawers. His brow was furrowed, his shoulders stooped.
Immediately, her relief turned to concern. “What’s wrong, James?” She asked in a whisper. Moving from the doorway, she squatted near him so that he had to meet her face. Slowly his eyes settled on hers.
“Something is going on, Miss Sarah,” he murmured. “Master Evan doesn’t trust me enough to share it with me, but I can tell.” He swallowed sadly.
“How do you know?” Sarah asked then realized that she needed to clarify her question. “It isn’t that I doubt you,” she continued, “I just thought that maybe if you shared what you knew, we might be able to reason it out together.” She rubbed his forearm in a reassuring manner.
“Of course, miss,” he said. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “The staff is distracted today.” He saw her tilt her head questioningly. “The cook has been sent to market, a task that could take hours as the ingredients are rather…specific and unusual.”
Sarah nodded. “Okay…”
“Then there are the maids.” He looked at her intently.
“I’ve never heard about any maids,” she said slowly.
“They’ve been given time off.” He suddenly remembered the cameras and began to pack up the clothes in a hurried fashion. “They are never given time off during the day.” He shut the first drawer and turned his attention to the next one. “The gardeners are working far from the house today. And,” he swallowed harshly, “not only does Master Evan’s father not know you are here, but he is out of town on business for the rest of the week.” He sighed as he finished unloading the last drawer. “Oh, and once I’m done with this task, I’m to go shopping for a new wardrobe for you. I should be gone until dinner.”
Standing abruptly, Sarah narrowed her eyes. She was to be left alone in the house with him. Sarah thought about the movie he had shown her and the removal of all her clothing. She was to be made weak and vulnerable and exposed. Clearly Evan was planning on having his way with her. She squared her shoulders and inhaled deeply. “I see,” she said. “Well, I’d better get ready.” She patted James on the shoulder. “I’ll be fine.” And instinctively, she touched her abdomen in a protective manner.
At ten in the morning, Brian’s plane touched down in Boston. He emerged from the plane and headed immediately to the curb to find a taxi, grateful that he only had a carry-on. Within minutes he was speeding toward the address that accompanied the phone he had called earlier. He paid the driver for the first part of his trip, urged him to keep the meter running, and promised to be back as soon as possible. The driver smiled and nodded, no doubt mentally calculating his potential earnings and told him very happily to take his time.
Unfortunately, time was something Brian had very little of. He raced up the stairs and knocked on the door to the A-1 Detective Agency even while entering the office. The man behind the desk glanced up and fingered the toothpick he had sticking out of his mouth. “Are you Waite?” The man asked, studying him.
“Yes,” Brian said breathlessly. He had taken the stairs by twos for all three flights. Sarah was right, he thought grimly, I should have taken up jogging months ago. His breathing less ragged, he managed to ask the only question he cared about. “Did you find the information I requested?”
The detective put a hand over the folder in front of him and kept it there; as if he were afraid Brian would grab it and run. “I did,” he said slowly.
“I’m in a bit of a hurry,” Brian said agitatedly. “I really just need the address I requested and I’ll be on my way.” He reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and hand the man some bills.
The detective shook his head. “Why do you need this information?”
Pausing, Brian felt his concern. “I’m not some run of the mill crazy,” he said in a controlled voice. “I’m sure you’ve discovered that the Winters are a wealthy family, own a large estate, are captains of industry, and upstanding citizens.” He watched the detective for a reaction, but outwardly, nothing was given away. “That may be true for the father, but Evan, the son, abducted my fiancé.”
The detective leaned back in his seat and seemed to ponder that a moment before speaking. “How do you know that he has her?”
Brian sighed. He had no idea it was so hard to find good help. “I’ve been through this with the police.” He scowled. “She’s been held against her will since August.” He saw the detective’s eyebrows arch. “Yes. August.” He sighed. “And I just want to get her back. She had essentially disappeared from the face of the earth until I had a tip from an anonymous caller last night who said that she was being held in Brookline, by Evan Winters.”
“And you flew here right away? Without going to the police?” The detective stared at him.
Brian gripped his head in his hands. He was a man of action, mired in the muck of lethargy when it came to those in authority. “I can’t do this. Please let me pay you for the information. I have to get to Sarah.”
The detective pulled the file onto his lap and reclined in his chair. Brian’s shoulders slumped. “Maybe you had better start from the beginning.”
Brian sighed. If he walked away now, he would have to find another detective and possibly even go through the same rigmarole to get the information that was a mere three feet away. He nodded and opened his mouth, wondering where to begin.
“Sarah and I are professors at UVM,” he began quietly. “And Evan Winters was my student.” The story was revealed quickly after that. Brian spoke from the heart; spoke of his concern for her safety, his struggle to remain positive, and
his effort to locate her. And finally he revealed his belief in her condition, hoping that even if the detective wasn’t swayed by his tale, the man within might be. Slowly, Brian could feel he was getting to him.
“Let’s start over,” the detective said quietly holding out his hand. “The name’s Sam, Sam Shepherd.”
“Brian Waite.”
They gripped and shook before settling back into business. “So, you believe he has been conspiring not just to keep you apart, but the have her all to himself?” Sam’s brows were furrowed as he spoke.
Second Chances Page 81