Searching for Bristol, page 25
Bristol smiled. It was strained, but she did her best as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. He’d moved to Kingsport because she was there? How long had he been watching her? She didn’t even want to think about it. She took a deep breath. “Where are we?”
“In my apartment.”
She blinked in surprise. “We are?”
“Uh-huh. But don’t worry, they aren’t going to find you. No way. I made the room soundproof. The walls here are way too thin. They’d hear you for sure if I didn’t.”
Looking around, Bristol realized why it was so dark. He’d tacked blankets to the walls and over the window. She wasn’t sure how many there were, but it looked like enough to at least muffle any noises that might come from the room.
It took everything she had to smile at Lance. “Smart,” she said softly.
“I know. We’re right under his nose and he won’t ever realize,” Lance crowed. “We’ll stay here for a while, until they stop looking for you. Then I’ll take you home, to my home, where you belong, and we’ll live happily ever after. You’ll make your windows for me, and I’ll love you, and we’ll never need anyone but each other.”
Bristol’s blood ran cold. If Lance took her away from Fallport, the chances of anyone ever finding her would be slim to none.
“I’m sorry about your leg,” Lance said again, frowning. “I wasn’t going to hurt you, but when I was taking off the cast, I got to thinking that you might try to leave me. I couldn’t have that. Before I knew what I was doing, I was hitting you with a hammer. I thought it would be better if I did it while you were sleeping, so you couldn’t feel it.”
Bristol wanted to throw up. No wonder her leg hurt so badly. He’d hit her with a hammer? She gave him what she hoped was a pitiful look. “It really hurts.”
But instead of Lance being worried or doing something to stop the bleeding, he shrugged. “I know, but now you can’t leave me,” he said, as nonchalantly as if he was talking about what was for dinner.
As she stared at the man sitting next to her, Bristol realized he was more than just delusional. Something else was seriously wrong with him…and she’d have to tread carefully.
He wouldn’t be able to stay with her every minute of every day. She’d find a way to get out of this room. If she could get to the door and get outside, she’d be free.
Knowing she was so close to Rocky, and so far at the same time, was reassuring and depressing at the same time.
Lance leaned forward and casually put his hand over the split skin of her shin—and squeezed. Bristol couldn’t stop the screech of pain.
“Don’t think about leaving me, Bristol,” he said, as if he could read her mind. “I’ve worked too hard to have you. I’m not giving you up. I’ll kill us both before that happens. He doesn’t get you. You’re mine. Understand?”
Bristol nodded frantically.
Lance sat back with a huge smile on his face, as if he wasn’t just hurting her a second ago. He leaned an elbow on the bed and rested his chin in his hand. In his bloody hand. The one he was just using to squeeze the wound on her leg. “Good. Now, are you hungry? Maybe you want to work on some jewelry? I know it relaxes you. You can make me something, then we’ll work on replenishing the inventory for your store. Your fans have missed you, and it’s time you reopened for business.”
Bristol swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat. She wanted to scream. Wanted to rail against what was happening to her. But instead, she simply nodded.
Rocky tried to stay calm as Raiden and Duke worked. He was standing in the parking lot, watching as the bloodhound went back and forth on the walkway in front of the apartments on the second floor. It was obvious the dog had Bristol’s scent, but he also seemed confused about where it was coming from. He walked from Rocky’s apartment down the walkway to the stairs. He went down the stairs, then back up. Sniffed at each of the apartment doors on the second level, then went back down and sniffed all the way around the parking lot.
Eventually, Raiden approached Rocky and the rest of the team. Simon and two of his officers were there too. “I’m sorry, but because she’s been up and down the stairs and in and out of your apartment so much, Duke can’t lock onto the most recent scent. The most likely scenario is that she came down here and got in a car.”
“Fuck,” Rocky muttered.
“I’ve got my other two officers setting up a checkpoint on I-480,” Simon said. “They’ll stop every car leaving Fallport and search it for Bristol.”
Rocky appreciated the police chief’s effort, but if someone had taken Bristol and fled town, they were probably long gone. Five hours had passed since he’d last heard from her. Five hours during which absolutely anything could’ve happened.
He felt sick.
“I called Sandra and asked her to spread the word that Bristol’s missing,” Ethan said. “Everyone in Fallport will be on the lookout for her.”
Rocky appreciated that, but it didn’t stop the dread overwhelming his entire body.
“We’ll spread out here and comb the area around the complex,” Talon offered.
Rocky nodded.
“We’ll find her,” Brock told him.
“We won’t give up until she’s home,” Zeke added.
“Go on and get started. I’ll be with you in a second,” Ethan told the rest of the Eagle Point Search and Rescue team.
Both of Simon’s officers went back up the stairs to his apartment, to have a closer look inside for any clues they might’ve missed in their initial search of the place.
“Talk to me,” Ethan ordered his brother.
Rocky lifted his gaze to his twin’s. “About what?” he said brokenly. “She’s gone.”
“Did you guys have a fight?” Simon asked.
Rocky practically growled at the other man. “No,” he said with a firm shake of his head. “No fight. We’re good. Solid. I didn’t do this, Simon. You fucking know me. You know I wouldn’t do this.”
“I had to ask,” Simon said with a shrug, his hands up in capitulation.
Rocky knew that, but he didn’t like it. “She’s buying a house here. She met with a realtor just this morning. She asked me to move in with her. I wouldn’t hurt one hair on her head, Simon. I swear it. I texted her at lunch, and she said she was making me a surprise. That’s the last time we communicated. She didn’t sound weird. Nothing happened. I came home and she was just…gone.”
The look of sympathy on Simon’s face was almost unbearable.
Rocky had been where Simon was right now, too many times to count. Talking with a loved one about a missing family member. Wanting to know the last time they were seen, the last words they’d said…trying to get any indication of where to start looking. And now here he was, on the other side. It sucked more than he ever could have imagined.
“Could anyone in town have found out about her financial situation and maybe want that money for themselves?” Simon asked.
Rocky sighed in frustration. “I don’t know. But shit, Simon, you know Bristol. Everyone loves her. And the last thing she’d ever do was flaunt the fact that she’s rich. You didn’t even know until I mentioned it earlier.”
Simon shrugged. “I know. Just trying to figure out a motive.”
“What about Theodore Lorenzo Allen?” Rocky asked. “Could he have done this? Hired one of the people he claimed to know to grab her?”
Simon’s lips pressed together. “I’ll look into it.”
“Or maybe that Mike guy. You know, the asshole who left her in the woods in the first place? Maybe he still can’t accept no for an answer when it comes to being with her.” Rocky knew he was grasping at straws, but he was having a hard time believing this was happening.
“He’s on my list of people to check out,” Simon reassured him.
Rocky struggled to force himself to think. “All her stuff’s still in the apartment. Her phone, purse…shoes are still by the door. I think she had to have opened the door. Maybe she knew whoever it was.”
“I don’t know,” Ethan said. “This is Fallport. Even if she didn’t know the person, she might’ve still opened the door.”
Rocky knew his brother was right.
“When my officers are done looking over your apartment, we’ll canvas the neighborhood. See if anyone in the complex saw or heard anything. Then we’ll spread out to the businesses and homes nearby,” Simon said.
Rocky nodded, but inside, a deep, intense anger was beginning to burn through the shock and fear. Someone had taken his woman. He had no doubt that she hadn’t gone willingly. She would never just up and leave without a word.
He and Bristol were on the cusp of a wonderful life together. A life he never thought he could have. And he wouldn’t stop searching for her, ever.
“When I call the Kingsport police to ask about this Mike character, I’ll see if they can do a welfare check of her house. Maybe, just maybe, she decided she was homesick and went back there,” Simon said.
Rocky didn’t believe that for a second. Bristol was already considering Fallport her home. She wouldn’t go back to Kingsport without telling him. And certainly not without her phone, purse, and fucking shoes.
No, someone took her. Rocky was sure of that.
He didn’t want to think about what that someone was doing to her right now. That wasn’t something he could deal with at the moment. Once he found her, they’d deal with whatever she’d gone through together. He would be there for her no matter what.
For now, he needed to do something, anything.
Rocky turned to Ethan. “I need you to coordinate the search.”
His brother nodded. “Already planned to.”
“And I have to be involved. I can’t sit home and wait.”
“Don’t blame you.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Simon started, but Rocky turned on him.
“I’m doing this,” he said between clenched teeth. “You’re not stopping me.”
“It’s not smart. Your presence could hurt a criminal case down the line.”
“Someone will be with him at all times,” Ethan assured him. “If we find anything, Rocky won’t touch it.”
Simon sighed. “All right. The criminal case thing…that’s mostly just an excuse. I’m trying to protect you, Rocky. If she’s found…not alive, I don’t want you to see her that way.”
The chief’s words turned Rocky’s blood to ice, but he didn’t show what he was feeling. “I’m not a noob,” he told him. “I know there’s a possibility that we’re looking for her body. But I have to do this.”
He didn’t tell Simon that he didn’t think Bristol was dead. That he’d somehow feel it deep inside if she was. The man wouldn’t believe him, but Rocky didn’t care. He believed enough for both him and Bristol.
“Fine. But do not touch any evidence you might find. I mean it,” Simon warned.
“This isn’t our first search,” Ethan said, the irritation loud and clear in his tone. “We know how DNA works.”
“All right. Stay in touch. If you find anything, let me know.”
“We will,” Ethan said, grabbing Rocky’s arm. “Thanks.” He took a few steps to the right, away from Simon. Then Ethan wrapped his arm around Rocky’s neck and pulled him close. Rocky rested his forehead against his brother’s. They stood like that for a long moment. Rocky absorbing the love and support from his twin, needing it more than he’d needed anything in a long time.
“We’re gonna find her, bro,” Ethan said softly after a minute had passed.
“I’m scared,” Rocky whispered.
“Me too.”
“Someone’s got her. She didn’t walk away,” Rocky said.
“You’re right. We won’t quit until we’ve got her back.”
Rocky closed his eyes. His heart was pounding and so much adrenaline was coursing through his veins, he was shaking. “I love her,” he admitted out loud for the first time.
“You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know,” Ethan said. “She loves you too. No matter where she is or what’s happening, she’s hanging on…for you. She’s a tough cookie. She might be tiny, but she’s got more determination in her little finger than people twice her size.”
Rocky nodded and took a deep breath as he straightened. Ethan’s hands went to his shoulders as they stared at each other. His brother was right. Bristol was tough. Not only that, she was smart. He had no idea what happened, but he knew she wouldn’t give up. Ever.
“You ready to search?” Ethan asked.
He was more than ready. “Yes.”
“Come on. Let’s go find your woman,” Ethan said.
Chapter Seventeen
Bristol had no idea how much time had passed since she’d been taken. With the room kept dark all the time, she couldn’t tell when it was daytime and when it was night. She had a feeling she slept a lot the first few days, to mentally escape her situation and to have a reprieve from the pain in her leg.
When she needed to use the bathroom, Lance brought her a bucket and placed it next to the bed. It was humiliating and disgusting, but she literally had no other choice but to use it. It was either that, or soil her bed and herself. Lance had to help her out of the bed, since she couldn’t move her leg without pain. Bristol had been surprised the first time he’d actually left her alone to do her business, but he always returned right after she finished, taking the bucket away. He was probably watching her, which disgusted her even more.
He brought her food and drink regularly. The food wasn’t great, but Bristol ate it anyway. She needed to keep up her energy, and the only way to do that was to eat.
Lance was obsessed with her jewelry and art. He bemoaned the fact that she couldn’t create her stained glass in bed, but was full of promises that when they got to his home, she’d be able to get back to it.
Leaving here was literally Bristol’s worst nightmare. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Tennessee.
Apparently, the entire town of Fallport was banding together to find her. It broke her heart and frustrated her anytime Lance offered updates on the search. There were missing posters and organized searches through every inch of the town and surrounding forest.
It made her feel good that everyone cared so much, but it also made her extremely sad. She was here. Right here! Three doors down from where she’d been taken. Still, as the search continued, it was her only bit of hope.
Lance didn’t feel the same way, of course. He was outraged over the concern for her. He ranted and raved about how she was new here, how no one should care as much as they did. She was his—no one else had the right to love her like he did.
His moods constantly swung from being lovey-dovey toward her, to scarily pissed off at the situation he claimed she’d put him in.
Despite his anger over the search, Bristol knew he was still smugly proud that he’d hidden her right under everyone’s noses. He’d told her several times about how the police had knocked on his door the evening of her abduction, questioning him about anything he may have seen or heard. He boasted about keeping the door to the apartment wide open, and they’d had no idea the woman they were looking for was literally in a room fifteen feet away.
He told her over and over that she was his, that no one would take her from him. Ever.
It was getting harder and harder to stay positive. To play his game. Every day, Bristol had to force herself to smile rather than scream at him. Avoid telling him how sadistic and horrible he was, and that she’d never, ever, love him.
If she told him how she truly felt, he’d hurt her. Maybe even kill her. She still couldn’t move her leg all that much. She had no idea if the pin the surgeon had put in a couple of months ago had been knocked loose or what. All she knew was that even if she didn’t have a chain on her ankle, she wasn’t walking out of the apartment.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t crawl. She’d done it in the forest, and she’d do it again now. Gladly.
The worst part of her captivity wasn’t the embarrassment of having to relieve herself in a bucket, or pretending to enjoy Lance’s company. It was when he left. No matter how much she begged and promised that she’d be quiet, he didn’t trust her. He handcuffed her hands to the chain attached to her leg, strapped a ball gag around her head, and told her to be good.
It was hard to breathe with the ball in her mouth, and every second he was gone, Bristol felt as if she was going to gag on her own spit. It would run down her chin because she couldn’t swallow very well, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach the buckle at the back of her head with her hands cuffed to the chain. Not to mention, moving too much hurt her leg like hell.
Once, Lance came back after being gone for an inordinately long period of time, telling her with obvious delight how he’d joined one of the searches for her. How inside, he was laughing at everyone’s useless efforts the whole time.
Her captor was evil, and the small twinges of pity she’d experienced for this obviously lonely and sick man had long since disappeared.
Her days were endless and boring, since the only thing Lance allowed her to do was make earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. He didn’t let her watch TV, read books, or do anything other than sleep, eat, and make jewelry. He’d brought in a laptop once, and Bristol had gotten excited, thinking she could somehow send a message to Rocky or anyone else, but he’d quickly quashed that hope by not letting her get anywhere near the keyboard.
He’d wanted the password to her website. Wanted her to teach him how to upload pictures and update the descriptions of her wares. When she’d tried to put him off, saying she wasn’t sure she remembered her password, he’d grabbed the hammer from the table across the room and slammed it down on the mattress—right next to her leg.
She’d immediately given him the information he wanted.
Now, every day she made jewelry. Lance put up each listing on her website. And she had to listen to him talk about how great their life was going to be together, how much she was going to love the room he’d set up for her back in Kingsport.
