Chapter 86 Captured
CAITLYN'S POV
The man grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the closet roughly. I tried to fight him off but he was too strong and I was too scared to fight effectively.
"Let me go," I screamed. I tried to pull my arm free but his grip was like iron. "Get your hands off me."
"Stop fighting," the man said. He twisted my arm behind my back and pain shot through my shoulder. "You are only making this worse for yourself."
"I do not care," I said. Tears were streaming down my face. "Let me go."
He dragged me out of the closet and toward the bedroom door. I dug my heels into the floor and tried to resist but it did not matter. He was too strong and I was too pregnant to fight back properly. My belly got in the way of everything.
"Boss," the man called out loudly. "I got her. She was hiding in the back of the closet."
Collin appeared in the doorway. When I saw him my blood went cold. He looked the same as he always had. Handsome and well-dressed and completely evil. He looked at me and smiled. It was the same smile he used to give me when we were married. The smile meant I was in trouble. The smile that came before the hitting.
"Hello Caitlyn," he said. His voice was calm and pleasant like we were meeting for coffee instead of this. "Did you really think you could hide from me? Did you think I would not find you?"
"Stay away from me," I said. I was shaking so badly I could barely stand.
"I do not think so," Collin said. He walked over slowly. Taking his time. He grabbed my face roughly and forced me to look at him. His fingers dug into my cheeks. "You tried to destroy me. You worked with the police. You gave them information. You agreed to testify against me. Did you think there would be no consequences?"
"I did not try to destroy you," I said. My voice was muffled because of how he was holding my face. "I just told the truth about what you did."
"Your truth is going to send me to prison for life," Collin said. His grip on my face got tighter. "So yes. That is trying to destroy me. That is betrayal. That is treason against your husband."
"You are not my husband," I said. "You never were. You were my captor."
Collin's eyes went dark. He let go of my face and slapped me hard across the cheek. My head snapped to the side and I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Do not ever say that again," Collin said. His voice was cold now. All pretense of pleasantness was gone. "I am your husband. You belong to me. And you always will."
He nodded to the man holding me. "Bring her to the living room. I want Cross to see this."
The man dragged me out of the bedroom and into the living room. That was when I saw Jason and my heart nearly stopped.
He was on the floor lying in a pool of blood. His shirt was completely red and his face was pale. So pale. Like all the blood had drained out of him. Two men were standing over him with guns pointed at his head.
"Jason," I screamed. I tried to run to him but the man holding me pulled me back hard. "Jason no. What did they do to you?"
"Let me go to him," I begged. I was crying so hard I could barely see. "Please. He needs help. He is bleeding so much. Please let me help him."
"He is getting exactly what he deserves," Collin said from behind me. "He helped you betray me. He hid you from me. He thought he could protect what is mine. Now he pays for that mistake."
"You shot him," I said. I could not stop staring at the blood. There was so much of it. "You shot him and he is going to die."
"Maybe," Collin said. He did not sound concerned at all. "Or maybe he will live long enough to watch you die. That would be poetic justice I think. He failed to protect you and the last thing he sees is your death. Yes. I like that idea."
"No," I said. "Please Collin. Please do not do this. I will do anything. I will not testify. I will disappear. I will never bother you again. Just please let us go."
"It is too late for that," Collin said. "You already gave your statement to the police. The damage is done. The only way to fix this is to make sure you never make it to trial."
Jason's eyes opened and he looked at me. His eyes were unfocused at first but then they found me and locked on.
"Caitlyn," he said. His voice was so weak I could barely hear it. "I am sorry. I am so sorry I could not protect you."
"This is not your fault," I said. My voice was breaking. "None of this is your fault. You did everything you could."
"It was not enough," Jason said. "I failed you."
"No," I said. "You did not fail me. You saved me. You gave me hope. You showed me what love really is. You did not fail me Jason. You never failed me."
"How touching," Collin said. His voice was mocking now. "But we do not have time for long goodbyes. We have places to be. Things to do."
"Where are you taking me?" I asked. Even though I already knew the answer.
"Somewhere quiet," Collin said. "Somewhere remote. Somewhere no one will find your body for a very long time. If ever."
"You are going to kill me," I said. It was not a question.
"Of course I am," Collin said. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What did you think was going to happen Caitlyn? Did you think I would just let you walk away? Let you destroy my life and suffer no consequences?"
I started fighting again. Pulling against the man holding me with everything I had. Kicking and screaming and twisting. Trying to break free.
"Stop fighting," Collin said. His voice was irritated now. "You are only making this harder on yourself. And on the baby."
"I do not care," I said. "I am not going to make this easy for you. I am not going quietly."
"Fine," Collin said. He sighed like I was being unreasonable. "Do it the hard way then. It makes no difference to me."
He nodded to one of his men. The man came over and grabbed my other arm. Now there were two of them holding me and I had absolutely no chance of breaking free. I was completely trapped.
"Take her to the car," Collin ordered. "And make sure Cross stays conscious. I want him to know exactly what is happening to her. I want him to live with the knowledge that he failed."
"No," Jason said from the floor. His voice was desperate. Pleading. "No please. Collin please. Take me instead. Kill me. Do whatever you want to me. Just let her go."
They dragged me outside into the cold night air. I could see vehicles parked near the cabin. Three big black SUVs with their engines running and headlights on. Waiting to take me away.
"No," I said. "No please. I do not want to go. Please do not make me go."
"You do
not have a choice," Collin said. "You stopped having choices when you decided to betray me."