Second Chances (121 page)

Forced awake, Sarah tried to cover her sudden fear as she realized that Evan was indeed her captor.  She scowled.  Brian’s suspicions were valid.  “So, I guess I was wrong to trust you?”  She asked him.

Taken aback at Sarah’s reaction, he stuttered.  “No, I… no, uh.  No.”  His eyes were wide.  He couldn’t believe she wasn’t happy to see him.  Shouldn’t she be glad to see a familiar face?

Reading his thoughts, she responded.  “So, you thought I’d be happy to see you?”  Sarah watched as his eyes bulged out of their sockets.  “Did you think I would just look beyond the fact that you have kept me from everyone I love for two weeks?  That I would forgive the worry you had caused me, my family?”  He sat down hard on the end of the bed.  James had an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes that only fueled Sarah.  “Did you think I would just want to stay here with you?  Leave behind everything and everyone I care about?”

Something in Evan snapped.  “You mean your beloved Brian,” he spat as he stood abruptly.  “Maybe an empty stomach will change your mind.”  He grabbed her lunch tray and swept past James.  “Let’s go,” he commanded over his shoulder.

James moved to follow, but Sarah knew this might be her only chance to speak to him.  “James,” she pleaded in a low voice once Evan was a safe distance down the hall, “I’m pregnant.”  His face fell.  “Think about that.”  With that, she passed him Brian’s phone number, which she had scribbled in lipstick on an empty granola bar wrapper a few days before.  He nodded and quickly exited the room.

Ravenously hungry, Sarah struggled with the knowledge that she had plenty of food to eat, but couldn’t without the safe cover of night to hide her actions.  Fighting back tears, she curled up on the bed and laid a hand on her lower abdomen. 
Sorry, little one.  Mommy will try to take better care of you,
she thought.  And even though she knew it was far too early, she could have sworn she felt a slight flutter in response. 

James agonized over what to do.  Poor Miss Sarah.  She needed to go home.  She needed to be cared for by a doctor and surrounded by those she loved at a time like this.  Instead,
she was being terrorized by a young man he didn’t even recognize anymore.  As he drew closer to the closet, he could hear the tantrum raging inside.  Sighing, he turned and headed to gather the necessary cleaning supplies.

Maybe it was because she was so light headed from lack of sustenance that she was able to do what she had wanted to for so long.  It was early evening.  She imagined her mother tucking Chloe in to the room that had once been Sarah’s, reading her fairy tales where the witches were always pure evil, and finally collapsing from exhaustion on the couch.  Something in her longed to see Brian, to be back in the loft that had so easily transitioned into their home.  And suddenly she was there.  She knew that she must only be an ethereal light, but she hoped Brian would see her, somehow communicate with her and ultimately find her before Evan hurt her or the baby.

Sarah floated through each and every room of the loft, even pausing on the patio, but Brian was nowhere to be found.  She panicked. 
Where could he possibly be?
  She thought there was a possibility that he might be with her mother, with Chloe, but before she could even attempt to travel there, she was suddenly snapped back into her body with such force that her breath caught.

James was shaking her and screaming for help.  Struggling to reassure him, she reached a hand up to grasp his upper arm.  “It’s okay,” she managed to whisper.  “I’m fine.”

The man had gone ghostly pale.  “Miss Sarah,” he cried.  “I came to bring you food.  I was worried about you missing meals.”  He glanced down at her abdomen and she nodded to express her comprehension.  “And you weren’t breathing.  I can’t even be certain your heart was beating.”  He stifled a sob.  “I thought you were…dead.”

Slowly, Sarah rose to a seated position to console the old man.  “I’m all right,” she murmured.  “I’m sorry for frightening you.”  She wanted to say more, to offer more words of comfort, but he could never know what she had done.  Reading his thoughts, she relaxed some.  James was more certain than ever that he must find a way to contact Brian, no matter how long it took.

After weeks of pestering, the police were finally ready to reveal the results of their extensive investigation.  According to them, they had worked closely with the Boston force in an effort to unearth the clues surrounding Sarah’s disappearance.  And after they had finally disclosed the meager information they had compiled, Brian looked ready to throttle them.

“So,” he began slowly, exercising a great deal of control, “you mean to tell me that you essentially have merely confirmed what I had surmised all along?”  He looked from one serious face to the other.  Both nodded.  “Wow.  Thank God you work in Vermont, a reasonably safe, low crime state.”

“Now, sir,” one of the detectives interjected, obviously offended.  “This is a very difficult case.  I understand that you are upset, but don’t say anything you may regret later.”  He ended with a thinly veiled warning.

Brian stood and stalked over to the window.  “My only regret is that I haven’t hired private detectives sooner.”  Slowly he turned, leaned back against the windowsill and said, “Good day gentlemen.”

Understanding the cue to depart, they walked briskly to the door.  “We’ll be in touch,” Detective Green announced as the door closed behind them.

How reassuring,
Brian thought to himself.  He sank down into the couch, much like he had seen Sarah do on her first few visits to the loft.  He looked at the spot that she had gravitated toward, remembered brushing her hair away from her face and longed to hold her in his arms once more.  Sighing, he grabbed the phone from the end table.

“Hello, Anna,” he began quietly.  “Yes, we spoke.”  He listened a moment.  “Oh, they were very helpful.  So far they told me everything we had suspected all along.  The conference was a set up.  The group that hired her doesn’t exist.  And they have no leads.  No license plate.  No video of her being abducted.  Nothing.”  He sighed again.  “Please don’t tell me to be patient.  I can’t.  I love her.  I’m afraid for her.”  He laid down now and let one foot dangle off the couch.  “Of course, I believe in her.  I know she’s strong, but that doesn’t mean she’s invincible.”  He sat up abruptly.  “I’m calling Brenda.  She’ll be our unbiased third party.  We’ll all meet at your place tomorrow night, after Chloe is in bed.”

Instead of growing easier, Sarah found each moment without Brian was a greater challenge.  Maybe it was the child growing inside her, longing to be with its father that made the distance between them even more acutely felt.  She stared longingly out the window, studying the landscape.  Nothing but trees and
grass for as far as her eye could see.  She imagined the Winters estate was on multiple acres.  Naturally.  The security was undoubtedly top of the line.  All the hope that had been building inside since her contact with James was rapidly diminishing.  Dragging her weary body to the bed, she allowed herself the luxury of emotion.  Her entire body shuddered and shook as she wept.

Walking to the door, Brian turned the handle and let himself in.  He had been quickly accepted into the family and allowed all the privileges that came with that distinction.  Yet, without Sarah by his side, it felt empty.  Brenda and Anna were sitting at the kitchen table, so he turned to walk their direction.

Brian,
Chloe called in his head.

He moved to locate her, but she caught him in time. 

Don’t,
she murmured urgently. 
Just say you are tucking me in.

And so without even showing he had heard her, he walked into the kitchen to greet the women.  “I’ll just be a moment,” he said quietly.  “I want to tuck Chloe in.”

Anna, who had aged ten years since Sarah’s disappearance, only nodded.  She and Brenda sat in silence, each absorbed in what was about to transpire.  When she believed Brian was out of earshot, Anna looked at Brenda, willing her to make eye contact.  “I think Sarah is pregnant,” she whispered.  “I fear for both their lives.”   

As he rounded the corner, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his heartbeat quickened, and he struggled to steady his breath. 
Could it be true?
  He leaned against the wall to steady himself before he met up with Chloe at the end of the hall.  When he finally looked up, he saw her sitting in the doorway, staring at him. 

Her eyes welled with tears as she whispered, “It’s true.  Mommy’s having a baby.”

Emotions churned through him.  On the one hand he wanted that more than anything, to have children with Sarah, to be constantly connected to her, to have such an unbreakable bond.  On the other hand, the timing couldn’t have been worse.  They were both in danger.  And if her kidnapper found out, it could put them in greater jeopardy.  Fear evident in his eyes and voice, he asked, “How can you be sure?”

Chloe put her hand to her heart.  “I feel it.”  She studied him a moment.  “Can’t you feel it?”

He paused, obviously trying desperately to sense whatever it was that Chloe felt so sincerely.  Disappointed, he shook his head.  “I’ve been so busy trying to find her.  I hardly feel her anymore, Chloe,” he whispered, his voice hoarse as he fought the shame in his admission.  He hugged her to him in an effort to comfort both of them.  Pulling back reluctantly, he studied her eyes.  “Are you sad about the baby?  Is that it?”

“Oh, no,” she murmured, leaning heavily against his chest once more.  “I’m so afraid for mommy.  I’m so afraid for our baby.” 

He blinked at how accepting she was. 
Our baby.
  “I will find her.  I promise.”

Nodding, Chloe suddenly looked very grown up.  “I know you will. But you have to go home now.  Mommy needs you.”  She paused for a second, letting the words sink in, making sure he understood the gravity of the situation.  “Save them so we can be a family,” she added quietly.

Brian gathered her in his arms and the tears started.  “I’ll go.  I’ll go right now.”

It had been over a month since Sarah had passed him the number and this was the first time James had found an opportune moment to escape the compound and make a phone call.  He gripped the phone number in his sweaty palm as he drove.  He had to find a pay phone, one that was out of the way, yet where a man driving a Mercedes could still blend in.  Now that everyone had cell phones, the quest was far more difficult than it might have been even five years ago.  At last he found the ideal spot. He circled once before parking.  Confident that he was safe from prying eyes, he stepped out of the car and pulled some coins from his pocket.  He tapped his foot impatiently as the phone rang once, twice, then three times.  As he was about to give up, the answering machine picked up.  He was surprised, realizing that he hadn’t even thought about what he might say.  Finally, he managed to utter a few words.  “Evan Winters has her,” he said hoarsely, in an effort to disguise his voice.  “She’s at the family compound in Brookline, Mass.”  He opened his mouth to say more, but the machine clicked off. 
Please, let that be enough,
he prayed.

The unmistakable sound of the answering machine could be heard through the door as Brian struggled with the key.  “Damn it!”  He screamed in frustration as he finally gained access to his home.  Sarah’s disappearance had him on edge and forced him to reconsider the security of his own home.  He wanted her to always feel safe once she was finally returned to him.  The new locks had made sense at the time, but at the moment, struggling with extra locks and keys was a frustration that threatened to push him to his breaking point.