Chapter 38—Jade

I slowly open my tired eyes. Where am I? The last thing I remember is getting into my Jeep to go to Skye’s. I look around a dark dingy room. Its large and barren. There are some windows across the room and one of them is broken. It looks like no one has been in here for years. There is a thick layer of dust on the desk top nearby. This must have been a storage facility at one time. My head is still not clear. I am starting to panic. My breathing gets shallow as I take everything in. I try to move my hands only to discover that they are tied behind my back. I'm sitting up in a chair. My feet are tied as well. My mouth feels so dry. Probably because there is a rag gagging me right now. It tastes disgusting. I can slightly smell something like rubbing alcohol. How did I get here? I my head is killing me. I notice some blood on my shirt. It’s really dark in here. I don’t know for sure that its blood. But considering the sharp pain in my skull, I think it’s coming from my head.

I try to think back and search my mind for any clues as to what happened. I remember feeling startled by something in the Jeep. Was someone in there with me? I don’t remember for sure. My thoughts aren’t coming together. Looking out the window, I think it must be really late at night. Last time I noticed, it was around ten when I hopped in the Jeep. I don’t know how much time has passed since then. Hours maybe? I'm starting to feel dizzy. Good thing I'm sitting down. Nausea is imminent. I must have a concussion. I think I'm taking this whole thing rather calmly considering the circumstances. I decide I need to start screaming and see what’s going on here. I try to make a sound, but it is muffled by the rag. Sweat is starting to spring up on my forehead.

I try to loosen my hands by wiggling free. No chance of that. Whoever tied these knots is an expert. Then it finally hits me. Ezekiel. Terror runs through my body. I begin shaking. Please, please don’t throw up. I try to take long even breaths through my nose. My eyes are franticly scanning my surroundings. The hard cement floor won’t be good to fall against. I shouldn’t try to knock my own chair down. That’s what people do in movies right? I have no idea. I'm still not completely coherent. It’s not a good time to make rash decisions.

I sit still and alone for a long time. Maybe an hour or more. Then I hear a latch followed by loud door scraping open. I look over and see a man approaching me. He has blondish hair I think, and a scraggly beard. He’s wearing a dirty t shirt, jeans, and work boots. I just know this is him. I instantly feel chilled to the bone. He walks quickly over to me. “I see you woke up. How do you like your accommodations?” he asks gesturing around the filthy room. “Not the beautiful house you’re used to Princess?” he nearly spits with disdain. “Probably not. You know why you’re here right?” he asks leaning down close to my face. “I was coming for what belongs to me. Maybe have a little fun torturing Raine. But then I found you. It was like a sign. There you were, all distraught about your precious Raine. I couldn’t let this chance slip out of my hands. I mean, what better way to torment the boy who ruined my life?” he says laughing with amusement. He’s smiling at me now.

He reaches out and touches my face. I flinch even though I don’t mean to show any reaction to him. “I know I lost all of my family. And I know it’s that boy’s fault. I could probably start over with you pretty girl.” He says with a sneer. “Oh, I would enjoy that. But it might be more fun to see Raine’s face when he watches me kill you. Slow and painfully. And I'm sure he will bring along that mama of his.” He’s walking around my chair now in circles. Looking up at the ceiling like he’s imagining the whole thing. He stops abruptly in front of me. “It would be even more fun to enjoy your company in front of him a little bit before I kill you though. What do you think Raine would do? Would he turn over Hope to save you Princess?” I'm sure this is a rhetorical question, but he stands looking at me as if he is waiting for a response. “Maybe I could punish you for the things he put me through. I would enjoy that.” He says rubbing his beard in thought. My skin is crawling and I’m trembling. I don’t want him to see my fear though. I can’t look at him anymore. I turn away. I feel the unwanted tears running down my face. He grabs my face and forces me to look at him. “It’s a shame I can’t keep you. I bet you would work hard for me, just like Hope. She’s pretty like you. The prettiest one I had actually. And she would do anything to protect that boy. What about you? Would you do anything for him Jade?” My words on his lips make me feel sick. My face twists in contempt.

He quickly grabs a chair that’s a few feet away and sits on it backwards facing me. His arms crossed over the back of it. “We have a lot to do today. I already let them know that I have you. You think daddy wishes he hadn’t upset you? Then you would be safe and sound, tucked up in your bed right now. I was just going to take Hope. Raine would have come and given himself over to me easily. Boy has quite a soft spot for his mama. Such a sissy.” He says and the spits right next to my foot. “But this is much better. He’s never had a pretty little thing like you to live for. It will make punishing and killing him that much more enjoyable. He wouldn’t know what to do with you anyway. He couldn’t train you to behave the way a real man like me could. I bet he wouldn’t even give you a good beating when you need it. He’s too soft. Running around trying to help all the kids with their chores. He only taught them to be lazy and worthless. I had to fix them all when he left.” He says with an evil grin.

He reaches out to me again and takes a few strands of my hair to his nose and smells it. I instinctively pull away. He drops my hair and slaps me hard across my face. “Don’t you ever pull away from me girl!” he bellows. “I need to teach you some manners,” he says as he grabs me around the throat. He’s choking me slowly. His eyes are crazy and wide. Tears spring to my eyes again as I try in vain to get a breath of air. He suddenly releases me. “I can’t let myself have too much fun with you until they can watch. I will be back.” He says as he gets up from the chair and walks out the door. I hear the heavy latch slide back into place.

My head falls to my chest once he’s gone. My body aches. My cheek is burning, and my throat is dry and painful. I can’t let him hurt Raine. He’s going to kill us both. The man is psychotic. Does he really think Hope is just going to leave with him willingly? I guess I didn’t go willingly. He must have somehow knocked me out to get me here. I can’t let Raine turn himself over to this lunatic. But I know he would do it to save me or his Mom. He is a real man. The kind who puts others first. One who would never hurt a woman or need to force her to be with him. I would do anything for him.

Time passes slowly as I fall in and out of sleep. I can see that the sun is just starting to rise. What will today bring? Ezekiel hasn’t been back for a long time. How far am I from home? How will he lure Raine here? I try unsuccessfully again to loosen my bindings. I can hear a boats horn in the far distance. I can smell the ocean air coming from the broken window. We must not have driven too far away. Too bad I was unconscious the whole time. I try to continue breathing normally. Don’t get too wound up. I can only breath through my nose. I close my eyes again and hope this isn’t real. I wonder if I have my cell phone. I know I texted Raine right as I got in the Jeep. I forgot my purse at home. I guess they won’t have my I.D. to identify the body right away. Don’t think like that! I'm going to be fine.

Once the sun is fully up, Ezekiel returns. Can’t say I missed him. But I'm curious what he has planned. Maybe he will keep talking. He approaches me again with a bottle of water. He yanks the cloth from my mouth and pours some water into my open mouth. It’s such a relief. He immediately gags me again. “I can’t have you dying on me before he even gets here. That wouldn’t be any fun.” He sits on the desk nearby. I see he has my cell phone in his hands. “Time to get things started, don’t you think?” He’s looking through the phone for something. “Here we go.” He puts my phone down and turns it off and takes the battery out. Then he pulls out a phone from his pocket. Must be new. “Now what should I text Raine? You need his help? Too simple. No, I want him to be afraid.” He comes over to me and takes a picture. I have no idea how bad I look right now. I hope I’m not bleeding. I don’t want him freaking out. But I’m sure he already is. “There we go. That should get him good and scared. I just sent him a lovely photo of his girl. The blood coming down your forehead should send him just the right message, don’t you think Princess?”

“Oh, don’t be so sad. You will get to see your precious boy soon” He touches the cut on my head, and I wince with pain. “Don’t worry, I will give him the address soon enough. Sadly, for him, it won’t be the beautiful reunion he’s hoping for. But it will be exactly the one I want. It’s been three years I’ve waited to punish that boy for escaping and taking his mama from me. The others were not happy at all that he was gone. You know he did the majority of the work on my land?” His reminiscing is starting to piss me off. This guy is completely insane. I know he’s capable of anything. That’s the worst part.