As she was almost out the door, her phone rang. It was Grey. After the call, she told me, “Pearson isn’t in any of the ERs so he hasn’t injured himself.”
I got up and let Rex know so he could pass it on. Then I called Miles and told him the same. Miles asked, “Any other news?”
“Nothing. I’m hoping to hear something soon. I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Rose, Pearson was talking to that PI. Maybe you should call him. His card is on Pearson’s desk.”
“Can you text me his number?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks. And I’ll be in touch.”
About an hour later, Axel came into my office. Sylvie and I were there with Rex. One glance at his face and I knew it wasn’t good.
“Rose, we found his car in the parking lot of Benson park. We sent several of the team out to comb all the trails and unfortunately, we found no trace of him. His car was unlocked, the door ajar, and his phone was smashed underneath it.”
I sucked in a breath and all my thoughts vanished into thin air. I couldn’t think clearly. All I knew was Pearson was either in extreme danger or possibly dead.
“Rose? Rose, talk to me.” Sylvie grabbed my hands that were shaking uncontrollably.
“D-d-do y-you think h-h-he’s alive?”
Axel knelt down in front of me, as I was sitting and said, “We have no way of knowing, but there was no blood at the scene, if that’s what you’re asking. In my opinion, I think he was taken and probably by your ex.”
I pulled my hands away from Sylvie, gripped the chair, and let out a blood-curdling scream. “I’m going to find that fucker and when I do, I’m going to kill him.”
Axel grabbed my arm and said firmly, his tone cutting through the room, “No! That’s exactly what he wants. He’s probably tried to go for you or Montana and couldn’t because of us. So, he went for Pearson instead, knowing you’d come running. Let us and the police handle it.”
“He’s right, Rose. If you charge over there, he’ll kill you for what you did to him in court,” Sylvie said.
“If he so much as touches one hair on Pearson’s head, I’ll kill him. He won’t have an opportunity to kill me because he’ll be dead.”
“And you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison,” Axel said.
“I don’t care,” I screamed.
“Think about your daughter. Where will she end up? In foster care. Do you want that?”
That shut me up fast.
“Rose,” Axel said softly, “let us handle it.”
“Right. I’m also going to call the private investigator that Pearson called.”
“Fine, and we can work together, but promise me you’ll stay away from your ex.” His eyes dug into mine and I nodded. “Good.” Axel stood and went to Rex. They spoke in hushed tones as I picked up the phone to contact the PI.
I checked my texts and found his number.
“Case Jordan.”
“Case, my name is Rose Wilson and I understand Pearson West contacted you yesterday. The reason for my call is he went out for a run this morning and never came back. I need to enlist your services to help find him.”
“Tell me where you are Ms. Wilson and I’m on the way.”
Chapter Forty
Pearson
* * *
The jackhammer in my head was relentless. It made my stomach nearly heave. What the hell was going on? My thoughts were scrambled and any attempts to clear my head were fruitless. Maybe I’d been sick because I had a case of severe chills. When I tried to roll onto my side, I couldn’t. Everything was jumbled into one huge ball of confusion. Opening my eyes wasn’t an option because of the throbbing in my head and I knew it would make my nausea even worse. I willed myself to go back to sleep in the hopes when I woke up again, I’d feel better.
It didn’t work out quite that way. In fact, I woke up to a complete fucking nightmare. This time, I braved it and opened my eyes to figure out why I couldn’t move. It was because my wrists were handcuffed to an iron bed. When I looked at my legs, my ankles were zip tied to the bed too. I was in a dark room with one small window at the top of the wall, indicating it was maybe a basement. Finally, putting the pieces together, I remembered finishing up my run, going back to the car, opening it, but that’s it. Whatever happened, happened then. Something happened at that point, and I had a good idea of what it was. I’d been so diligent on guarding Rose and Montana, I hadn’t given a thought to myself. I’d made a monumental error.
As I lay there, I wondered what his bargaining chip would be. How would he go about this? He didn’t know me very well if he thought I’d give them up. My biggest regret was how worried Rose must be. I hated that. She was so kind and caring, I knew she would be out of her mind by now.
Handcuffs were nearly impossible to get out of unless you knew how to pick a lock, which I did not. I wondered how sturdy the bed was though. I tugged on it and it seemed fairly solid. Having my feet loose would help, but it wouldn’t help me free my hands. As I conjured up ideas, the door opened and in he walked.
“I see you’re awake.” His smug expression grated on my nerves, so I decided to match it.
“Yes, and thank you for the comfortable bed.”
His smugness disappeared and was immediately replaced by anger. “You won’t be thanking me soon. You’ll be begging me.”
“For what?”
He pulled a packet of white powder out of his pocket and dangled it in front of my face. “This.”
Oh, fuck no. He was going to shoot me up. “What exactly do you want?” I tried to stay calm, but my heart was racing. I could not let him do this. If he did, he’d either get me addicted again or overdose me.
“You really have to ask me that, Mister Attorney?”
“Yes, because we can work something out.”
“You must really take me for an idiot if you think I’m going to fall for your games.”
“You’re you married, aren’t you Greg?”
He stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at me. “Are you kidding?”
“Why would I be kidding?”
“That piece of shit I call a wife?”
“Why do you call her that?”
“She’s nothing but a heroin addict. Oh yeah, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” he sneered. His words surprised me, but I didn’t let it show.
Calmly, I said, “I can help her if you’ll let me.”
He roared with laughter. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I would.”
“Forget it. I don’t want her. Never did. I want Rose and Montana. Rose, with her naivete. And my daughter with her innocence. And you, you bastard, took them both away.”
“No, I didn’t. You lost them long before I entered the picture.”
“No! I had them exactly where I wanted them. And now I’m going to have you exactly where I want you.”
He went to a small table in the room I hadn’t noticed earlier and began the process of melting down the heroin. Then he drew it up into a syringe. He came to the bed and tied a latex tourniquet around my arm in order to locate a vein.
“Please don’t do this. I swear I can help you. It’s not as hard as you think. I can get Rose to bring Montana here and I can help with your wife.”
“Honestly, you must think I was born without a brain. If I let you go, you’ll end up at the police and I’ll go directly to prison.”
“No. I won’t say a word. Just don’t push that into my vein.”
He laughed and stuck the needle in. Seconds later I was floating on that familiar cloud I wanted to hate, the one I had worked so hard to free myself from. There was no doubt he would have me addicted again in no time or kill me. My life as it had become was over and I never had a chance to tell Rose how much I loved her or Montana either. I heard him through the haze, laughing crazily.
“Cry, Mr. Tough Guy. Cry. You put this on yourself.” He left the room and I lay there in silence.
He came back, again and again, to give me more heroin. He was kind enough to give me water. I guess he wanted to keep me alive for a certain amount of time. I was lucid for short periods, but didn’t recognize the passage of time. Was it hours? Days? Maybe even weeks. At this point, I didn’t care anymore. All I cared about was when my next hit was coming. He was sporadic so I’d beg him for it when he walked through the door. And beg him I did. I’d say anything he wanted. When the beautiful rush hit me, I’d sigh and float. But they weren’t lasting long enough, and I’d beg him not to leave or to come back sooner and sooner. I wasn’t even sure what he was saying anymore. All I knew was the drug. Until he didn’t come one day and withdrawal struck. I thought I was dying. Perhaps I was. He finally came and gave me some after he punched me in the face. He told me to beg for that too. I didn’t care as long I got my drug.
My time turned into this. Drug … withdrawal … beating … drug … withdrawal … beating and so on. I lost all awareness but this. I was beyond sick and prayed he would overdose me. But that didn’t happen. Something else did.
As I lay there one day, waiting and praying for my next hit, the door crashed in, though I was barely conscious, and the room swarmed with people. But she was there. Brushing the hair off my forehead and telling me how sorry she was. I remembered how soft and warm her hand was and that she never let it go. And then I must’ve died because all the lights went out.
Chapter Forty-One
Rose
* * *
We finally found him, or I should say Case did. His team of PI’s didn’t let up and his connections with the police helped too. It took almost three weeks and when they got a hit on where he was, a team of police, along with Case, Axel, Rex, Grey, Hudson, and me rode along. Rex wouldn’t let me go in. I jumped out of the car when we arrived at a run-down shack of a house. The paint was flaking off and the windows looked like someone had broken into the place several times. The screen door was hanging off its hinges and it gave me the creeps. Case and his team found it because it was rented under the name of Caro Bluffton. That was Greg’s wife’s maiden name. I suppose he thought he was being clever.
I tried to run to the front door, but Rex’s huge arms circled me and held me back.
“Rose, let them do their job. It’s dangerous in there. We don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I don’t care about me.”
“We do,” Rex said. “Remember your promise to Case?”
I nodded. Case said I could come along if I swore to remain in the car. Grey and Hudson had gotten out but came over to where we were.
“Rose, calm down,” Grey said. “They’re going in and getting him.”
“What if he’s …” I couldn’t finish. I broke down again. It had been too much for me. Rex held me as I cried.
Through the glaze of my tears, I watched as the men disappeared inside. It was the longest passage of time I’d ever endured. Two of them finally emerged with Greg in handcuffs. He was smiling as if he’d won the lottery. What was up with that?
I ran up to him, balled up my fist and slugged him in the jaw. His maniacal laugh sent pinpricks of ice all over me.
“Your man awaits you.” And he spat out blood and laughed some more as they continued walking him toward a police car, where they shoved him inside.
I ran up to one of the officers asking, “Can I go inside?”
“Ms. Wilson, it’s best if you wait.”
“Is he okay?”
“Ma’am, he needs medical attention.”
Grey took off, followed by Hudson. Grey yelled, “I’m a doctor.” Hudson echoed, “So am I.”
By this time, Rex had me back in his grip. “I need to go. I have to see him.”
“It’s your call ma’am, but he’s in pretty bad shape,” one of the officers said.
“Rex, let me go.” My tone gave Rex no choice and I took off. When I got inside, there were people standing around, taking in hushed tones. “Where is he?” I asked.
“In the basement. Over there.” One of them pointed me in the right direction. When I got down to the dank space, there was a door to my right where people were spilling out of.
I shoved my way through and the first thing I saw was a small table. What I saw on it made my blood chill. “That son of a bitch,” I muttered. I kept moving until I laid eyes on him. And when I did, I almost threw up. My beautiful Pearson had been reduced to a quivering mass of skin and bones. Greg had brought him back into his drug addicted world again. That fucking bastard.
Case took my arm and said, “An ambulance is almost here.”
“Do you know how much he’s had?”
“The best we can tell is he’s been getting it ever since he was taken. Wilson wouldn’t tell us much more, but I aim to find out during his interrogation.”
“Did Pearson recognize anyone? Did he know Grey or Hudson?”
“No. But he will when he comes to in the hospital. One of the officers gave him Narcan just in case that jerk tried to overdose him so he’ll be in rapid withdrawal.”
“All of his hard work, down the drain. I could kill that asshole.” Anger drove through me, washing away any sadness or concern I’d had.
“Hey, he has you and his network at NA. He can get through this. But he’ll need a lot of reassurance over the next few days.”
“Case, it’s my fault this happened to him.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Rose. It’s not your fault. It’s your ex-husband’s. He’s a sick man.”
I went over to Pearson and put my hand on his head. He was clammy and shaking. The withdrawal had already begun. He needed methadone, but no one here had any. I’m not even sure if they carried it on the ambulance.
“Pearson, can you hear me?”
He opened his eyes and looked directly at me.
“We’re going to get through this. Do you understand me?” I took his hand giving it a firm squeeze. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t leave your side. I hope you hear and understand me.” I bent down and kissed his cheek. That was when I saw the tears running down it. I wiped them gently away. “I’ll always be here. I promise.”
The paramedics came in and transferred him to the gurney. His wrists and ankles were terribly bruised and cut from whatever Greg had used to bind him. It pissed me off all over again and I wished I’d kicked his balls in instead of punching him in the jaw.
When he was covered and strapped on, they carried him out, as I followed. “I want to ride with him.”
“Are you family?”
“Yes.”
Grey smiled at that. He and Hudson said they’d meet me at the hospital. I held Pearson’s hand the whole way. When we got to the ER, I told them he needed methadone, stat, that he was a recovering heroin addict, but had been held captive and given the drug again. They asked me a lot of questions and dosed him with the appropriate medications. I told them I was an addiction counselor, which helped.
By that time, Grey and Hudson had arrived. Grey talked to the physician and nurses, giving them more information. I placed an urgent call to Dr. Martinelli, and she came over as quickly as she could.
With Pearson dosed up, he was now resting comfortably. I asked if I could bathe him, because he was a filthy mess.
The doctor wanted to give him a few hours before we did anything to him. Each time I looked at him, my heart shattered. I thought of how he did his best to protect Montana and me, but he was the one who’d been in danger. I slumped in the chair and my attempt to hold the tears back failed. They shoved their way past my lids, and that’s all it took for the storm to break loose. Hudson was on one side and Grey on the other. But I didn’t want them. I wanted Pearson to get out of that bed and hold me, tell me he was okay, and walk out of the hospital. But that wasn’t going to happen. It would be rehab all over again. Only this time would be worse. I knew how it worked. The patient had more difficulty in believing in themselves the second time around.
Dr. Martinelli crouched in fro
nt of me and took my hands in hers. “We know he can do it, Rose. He’s strong and willful. He has you on his side and all the elements necessary to succeed.”
“I understand that, but he’ll also feel more vulnerable.”
“Yes, he will, and you and I will talk him through those weak moments. We’ll get Reese to help and his other sponsor at the local NA group here. He’ll go back to rehab and do everything necessary to make it happen. But there’s one thing he needs most of all and that’s for you to believe. You have to have faith that he can do it. If you show even the tiniest hint of weakness, he’ll see that and then he’ll begin to have doubts. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”
“I need you to talk to Reese too. He fell off the wagon. And Case.”
“Case?”
Dr. Martinelli smiled. “You didn’t know?”
“Know?”
“Case is Reese’s sponsor.”
“Really?”
“Reese should share his story with you, as it’s not my place, but yes. I’m sure he shared it with Pearson. He’ll talk with him, and so will Case. Rose, I promise, that man in there has what it takes to get through this. With you by his side, showing your strength and encouragement, he’ll do it.”
I gripped her hands. Dr. Martinelli knew what she was talking about and I believed her. “Yes, you’re right. I know that. Pearson is strong and has a lot of faith.” I turned to his brothers. “His family is also supportive, and I’ll rely on your help too.”
Grey spoke first. “You know you can always count on us.”
“I second that,” Hudson said. “Anything you need, you let us know.”
“Rose!”
I glance up to see Sylvie running down the hall. I stood and went to her where she hugged me so hard, I could barely breathe.
“Oh, God. How is he?”
“He’ll have to go through rehab again.”
“Oh, no. What happened?”
After I explained the whole story, Sylvie’s face was as pale as a ghost. Before she could say a word, Pearson’s parents showed up. After we all shared a hug, Grey explained what happened. My emotions tore into me and I apologized.
From Smoke To Flames— Amazon: A West Brothers Novel Page 26