Loverboy (23 page)

- 12 -

Nick

I lean back in the chair and look closer at Edmunds’ photograph and file. I’ll be the first to admit, that I’m not one who would help with something like this. Maybe they asked, because, now that Charlie and I are out, they know this is personal for me.

Though I consider myself clueless compared to the people who do this all day every day, I am trying. And for the past half hour, I have ran my eyes over information that I’ve never seen before. I let out a sigh as I purposely push some papers over the printed photos of Charlie from her email. Though Lockland is in jail, Edmunds had to have guessed that his time was running short. His cell phone had been disconnected through the company a few days before. His apartment had been emptied. And, his car
had been found abandoned in some parking lot. It made it seem as though he’d been planning it for weeks. I rub at my eyes as they are beginning to burn from reading the fine black and white print. I toss the file on the table. “I think I need a break.”

“It’s fine, Andrews,” Wilson tells me before directing his attention to the other men in the room who are going over tables and charts and files. “See how Charlotte is,” He mumbles as one of them shows him something in one of the files.

I nod and head out of the room; we’d been buried in papers for a half hour at least. I stop by the lounge and grab her a cup of coffee. When I walk into the Wilson’s office, I feel my heart rate speed up as it shoots up into my throat as I look into the empty office. The boiling cup of coffee dumps to the ground. “Goddamn, son-of-a-bitch!” I scream. I hear the footsteps pounding against the floor as I turn and see Wilson rushing up behind me. “I thought you said the department was on a fucking lockdown?” I yell.

“It is,” he tells me. “Everyone knows proper procedure. Unless…” His voice trails off.

“There’s fucking three of them!” I shoot. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I growl as I run down the hallway for the main set of doors.

“Andrews! Do you even know who it could be?!” I hear him yell.

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” I shoot back. “All I know is that I’m not wasting time. I’m taking a marked car!”

“Andrews, wait until we have something!” He calls.

I shake my head. “Hell no! I don’t have much time.” I start to push the door open and stop suddenly. “Carrington!” I yell. “He and Edmunds are always together! It’s got to be him.”

“Andrews, take one more step out that door and I’ll have your ass!” He yells to me.

I don’t have to think. For once I don’t care. There used to be a time when I thought my job here at the police department was everything. There used to be a time when I would have given up everything for my job here. Things are different now. Charlie made me change. And, right now, all I can think about it getting to her. I made a promise to her. I told her I would never let anything or anyone hurt her, and I’ve failed. Without even replying to him, I continue to the door.

“I’m warning you, Andrews,” he says. “I will fucking destroy you.”

I don’t doubt it. He probably will. But, right now, I
ust don’t care. I give my head a shake as I reach one set of doors.

“Andrews, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” He yells.

I look back for a moment. “I made her a promise. I’m keeping that promise. I’m saving her life,” I say, violently shoving the doors open and running outside, and then heading to the marked cars.

- 13 -

Charlie

My body aches from head-to-toe as he tosses me on the ground like some used rag doll. I glance around and see the room is wide open with windows that are set high on the walls. The ground is cold, hard cement, and some places wet from some mystery liquid that’s from the ceiling. For some reason, I feel a jolt in my memory. It’s just like it was before. They’ve brought me to the same place I was before. An old mill that had once been booming, until sales shot up and they moved to a much larger plant somewhere to accommodate their needs. The ground is freezing and wet as I attempt to pull myself in a sitting position until his foot meets my body, kicking me over. I immediately crumple over, weak, and this time lay on the cold cement.

“You’re going to listen,” he says. “You’ll do exactly as I say.”

I nod.

His foot slams into my side. “I didn’t quite hear you.”

I cough and groan loudly in pain. “Yes,” I finally yelp with tears filling my eyes.

“Good,” he says, bending down and grabbing my wrists. I feel the first cuff latch tightly around my left wrist as he drags me a few feet over by my hand. The metal cuffs clang against something as he grabs my other wrist and locks it in place. I lay back with my arms painfully suspended above my head and let my tears roll down the sides of my face. Handcuffs. I wasn’t bound with chains or ropes…I was bound with police issued handcuffs.

“I can promise you one thing,” he says to me. “You won’t get away this time, and Nick won’t be able to make it to rescue you. Hope you enjoyed the time you had with him.”

I close my eyes and cry even harder. I feel his hands on me suddenly. I fight the urge to throw up. I dare not move an inch.

I can hear a sick little smile in his voice. “You always were the prettiest; it’s why we kept you so long,” he says into my ear.

I can feel his hands move to the collar of my shirt. Nick’s shirt. I whimper, completely terrified to make the one wrong move that could hurt Nick. His hands grip the collar as he begins to forcefully pull. I feel the entire front of the short rip open, exposing my bra and bare upper body. I let out a loud cry, leaving my eyes shut as I beg him no. His hand quickly meets my face with great force, making my cheek bone throb from the blow as he went back to inspecting me.

“No wonder Andrews had it out for you,” he tells me. “I bet you’re a model,” he says. “No, a dancer.”

I begin to sob uncontrollably in a way that I feel myself gasping for air.

“That’s it,” he says. “You’re a dancer.”

I feel so ill I can barely more. Nausea is feeling my stomach and my chest, and I can feel my chin quiver as I fight hard not to throw up. He gives me another blow to the face before I hear him stand up. “Now, don’t you run off anywhere now.” He laughs.

I cry, sniffling as I listen to his footsteps disappear. The damp and musty room grows quiet again as I shiver from the cold. Suddenly, I hear the faint sound of whimpers and soft cries coming from another direction. It finally dawns on me that they have someone else.

- 14 -

Nick

I squeeze my hands into tight fists and make the knuckles turn white as I pound on the steering wheel of the black and white. I have no idea how long they’ve been gone and certainly no idea where he’s taken her. Charlie had been so drugged the first time so that she couldn’t recollect anything of the old building she was in, other than it had been abandoned. She could remember the cold cement ground, leaky ceiling, and other attributes pointing to a condemned building.              

I think long and hard for a moment, trying to at least concentrate on the traffic as I weave in between various cars and taxis that are stalled in the middle of rush hour traffic. I bring a hand to my head and rub at my temple as I feel the sudden headache beginning to wash over my
skull. I let out a long huff and pound on the steering wheel once more. “Damn it!” I scream as the side of my fist comes down hard on the steering wheel, this time sending a small pain into my hand.

I dig my phone from my pocket as the traffic rolls to a complete stop. I swipe my finger on the screen and dial Wilson’s office. “Wilson, look, I need some sort of layout of the city. Something that would show me old, abandoned buildings and their locations,” I bark.

“Andrews! You little fucking asshole,” he cracks. “You are one of the dumbest fucking individuals I have ever seen.”

“Look,” I say, “you have my full and complete permission to fire me, to tear me inside out but please, do it after I have her safe. When I have her safe, then you can throw my badge at me. Just help me.”

I hear him let out a sigh. “I knew you would get too fucking attached. I knew we should have put someone else on this.” I hear a rustling sound for a moment. “I fucking trusted you, Andrews.”

“You trusted me to keep her safe, and that’s what I
did,” I snap, “until you had her sit in your damn office!”

He mutters a few cuss words under his breath.

“Wilson, just help me,” I beg.             

“Fine,” his voice rumbles. “She didn’t remember much, though.”

“The only thing Charlie could remember is how old the building was,” I say. “It has to be some broken down old building.”

“And, what makes you think that they’re going to take her back to that pretty boy?” He asks.

“They’re not about to change what’s been working for them,” I tell him. “They’ve been able to get by with too much. They’re too comfortable there,” I say. “And, it’s obvious there’s zero security; no one checks around it too much.”

His silence tells me that he is thinking, but I know that when all of this is said and done, I won’t have a job. As long as I have Charlie, it’ll be worth it. “Whatever you want, whatever you need,” Wilson finally says. “We’ll get it for you. Remember, it isn’t just me anymore; Chief will
have your ass, too.”

What’s new there? Wilson is on my ass half the time and the Chief the next. I thought this special assignment was going to be my big break. My chance to be something, a detective; anything but some street cop. Instead, I fell in love. I guess it’s true when they say loves makes you do crazy things.

I don’t say another word; I end the phone call and toss my phone into the empty seat next to me. I glance back for a moment, just clear enough for a U-turn. I click on my lights and head back toward the department. Without maps and plans to the city, finding Charlie would be as difficult as finding a needle in the proverbial haystack.

- 15 -

Charlie

I lie still on the cold and wet cement. At this point it is all I can muster to do anymore. I have been beaten several times by both of them. I have various cuts all over my upper and lower body. This time I can feel dribbles of blood seeping out. My hands would be aching terribly if it weren’t for the fact that they are bound so incredibly tight by the cuffs they have gone numb. My eyes are burning and swollen so badly I can’t see as well as before. My body is starting to shake uncontrollably, and I honestly can’t tell whether it’s from the cold of the cement or the pain. I groan as I move my right leg slightly. A sharp pain jolts all the way up to my hip. I lay still and quiet, fighting through the pain and I can now hear the two men arguing again. They liked to do that, it seems. Fight that is. Whenever one isn’t in here, he’s in another room with the other, fighting over who knows what. Over the sounds of their argument I can hear the sounds of other whimpers, which at least means that their other victims are still alive. I stop and listen again. This time I can hear the footsteps coming closer to me. I stare off and into the distance where I know the door is, and I can see the shadowy figure walking toward me. I shudder, as this time it seems as though there’s something shiny in his hands.

He greets me with his foot barreling into my already sore and probably broken rib cage. I groan loudly and cough as my body involuntarily jumps forward until I’m stopped by the handcuffs. I can feel them grow tighter and dig even deeper into the cuts they were already making. Now I’m really starting to believe what Carrington had said before. It was nicer last time. Last time I was so drugged up I couldn’t feel the pain. I couldn’t feel anything. Now, I’m almost wishing for the drugs.

I feel him suddenly pounce hard onto my body and knock the wind out of me. I cough hard a few times and suck in a huge gulp of air. It’s Edmunds this time. I quickly realize that he is the one with the passion for sexual humiliation. Carrington is the one who had a love of torment and torture.

“Not much of a fighter now,” he says into my ear. “Are you, sweetheart?”

I’ve honestly been beaten so terribly; fighting isn’t an option. And with Nick’s life in danger it wasn’t an option to begin with. Having Nick on my mind at this point is the only thing keeping my going.

“Bet you’re wondering how Nick is?” He asks, as he pulls on what must have been rubber gloves.

I shudder and close my eyes, but manage to nod slowly.

“He’s doing just fine,” he says. “You’ve been fairly cooperative. He’s probably wondering the same about you.” He laughs.

I feel his hands at the top of my jeans; I cringe and fight off another round of nausea. I have thrown up several times since being here. But, with how I am bound, the only thought that crosses my mind are all the drugged out rock stars who had choked to death on their own vomit. Even though, at this point, even that sounds like a more peaceful way to go. A fiery car wreck in the middle of nowhere would be more peaceful than this. This is just…this is hell.

I can now feel the button and zipper of my jeans rip down as he yanks them off my legs. I can feel the cold cement underneath me. My body begins to shiver as I feel his gloved hands run up and down my legs. He gives my right thigh an encouraging pat. “You definitely are the prettiest, and I don’t say that to all of my girls, either.”

He brings a hand up to my face. “You are very gorgeous,” he says. “Quite the prize. Andrews must be happy he landed someone like you.” He takes a long breath. “I mean, after those train wrecks before. Lucky he snagged you.” He looks down at me as though he had a thoughtful moment. “He was always one of those guys who was looking for someone in for the long haul. Blah, blah, fucking blah.” He cocks his head to the side. “What kind of man is that?”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my voice so low I was worried no sound actually came out.

He shrugs. “Because I can. And, I can get away with it.” He seems so confident of himself as he smiles down at me.

“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask. “Why me?”

He looks back down at me as I feel his hands at my panties. He takes a moment to think. “Before, it was because you are beautiful,” he says, running his hands along the lace and designs as he pushes my legs apart. “Now, it’s because Andrews wants you.”

I can feel my chin quiver. My eyes begin to well up with tears, blinding me. His touch makes me gag. I take a long breath in, swallowing hard. “What do you have against Nick?”

“The pretty boy; the one with morals. The one who wants to find the right girl; he wants marriage, a family, wants to be a detective,” he pauses. “It makes me fucking sick. I’m surprised he even jumped in the sack with you. I’m pretty sure you’re his first lay. Wonder how he’ll feel, knowing that I had you first.”

I squeeze my lips together as my tears start coming on like a waterfall. Physical torture is one thing, mental torture is another, and at times, I don’t know which is
easier to cope with.

“For guys like me,” he says, “it’s hard; always been hard to get a girl. Unless you count hookers that lurk the corners.” He laughs. “I learned a few years back, sometimes it’s easier and cheaper to take the ones you want.”

I close my eyes tightly as he begins running his gloved hands up and down my bare skin. I cry harder. I feel his hands pause on my stomach.

“This isn’t so bad, now is it?” He says. “I figure I’d piss Andrews off more. Go nice and slow with you, since that seems to be his motto.”

I suddenly hear a loud, blood curdling scream. I can now feel my cries coming from the pit of my stomach as my entire body shakes.

“Ah,” he says, finally moving his hands. “Sounds like it’s my turn in the other room. I will be right back, don’t you go anywhere now.” He laughs as he stands slowly, as though taking his time, and starts making his way in another direction.

I want to curl up and not feel any of this pain. I want to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. With Nick. I want Nick, I need Nick. I close my eyes and imagine us the night before, lying in bed together, his arms around me. How safe I feel in his arms. How after a short month, after the worst tragedy in my life, I have fallen in love with him. I go back to our first kiss at the theater. The way he just knows how to comfort me. The way he always seems to sense that I’m troubled. I close my eyes and picture Nick.