Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter 26

There was a distinct thud and groan of a person landing roughly on the ground next to me. My hands automatically went to the blindfold, letting me watch the van that Steve had driven speed off. The smell of burnt rubber lingered in the air. My body hurt too much to move, but I had to see Garrett. He was lying next to me. There was blood seeping through his clothes, his eyes were closed, and he wasn’t saying anything.

"Garrett?" I asked, as I forced myself to crawl over to him. Shocks of pain shot through me as I moved and toppled to the ground next to Garrett. "Garrett, please answer me," I begged, as I lightly shook him to get a response.

Garrett didn't move, but I heard a soft moan of pain escape from his lips. That meant he was alive, and that was enough for me. I could feel happiness filling me as I realized that I had Garrett back. He was with me and it was time to help him just like I planned to.

"Help! Anyone help us!" The words flooded from my mouth without a thought for who would actually answer the call. Calling for anyone could be dangerous for us, but Garrett needed help. "Help! Help us please!" I called a little louder, which caused my voice to crack as it breached my strained throat.

"Anna! Anna!" I recognized James' voice as he got closer to us.

"We need to get Garrett to a hospital," I cried, as James scanned me over with concern clouding his eyes.

"We need to get you to a hospital, too. Jessi, call 9-1-1 please, sweetheart," he called behind him to a small figure in the distance. 

"Is Mommy okay?" she asked as my vision started to blur again from the pain.

"She's fine, we just need to take her to a doctor to double check," James said, attempting to wave Jessi away from seeing Garrett and me like this. She quickly turned around and ran back toward the house.

"Anna, what happened? I came downstairs to check on you and the place was torn to pieces. I knew I should have kept you in my room with me, but you were so set on giving Jessi time to adjust without you. Did you ever think that she needed you?" James chastised. He was angrier with himself than at me, but was taking it out on me.

"Sorry," I said as I glanced at Garrett again. I took his hand and held it in mine as I heard sirens coming down the street. I tried to move so that I could be closer to him, but it hurt too much. I talked to him softly telling him that people were coming to help us and that he needed to hold on.

"I did it! I did it! They are coming," Jessi called as she got close to us. 

I felt Garrett's hand suddenly grasp onto mine. He gave my hands a squeeze with all the strength he had in his system when he heard Jessi's voice. I felt tears start to trickle down my cheeks as I felt him fight through the pain. He must be in worse pain than me, but he still found a way to let me know he was still with me. The sirens got closer as he started to make more sounds and break from the death rattles that he had produced earlier. 

"Daddy?" I heard Jessi ask as her voice seemed to be right in my ear. There was a choking sound as she tried to hold back the tears, but it was a losing battle. This was probably one sight that would haunt her for the rest of her life—us bloodied and beaten, unable to move. 

The ambulances surrounded us just has Jessi's tears started falling. I was moved from Garrett, and I instantly felt the world closing in as my vision started to turn dark. My vision started to turn black, and my head started to spin as I heard an authoritative voice call out orders. I saw two men lift Garrett from the ground with extreme caution and put him in the back of the ambulance. 

The darkness closed in on me. It felt as if I was floating on a cloud even as I heard the metal clank together as I was hoisted into the back of the car. I could hear the words of those around me as I drifted in and out of consciousness, but I couldn't make sense of the words. I could hear James’ and Jessi's voices as the car started to move, then a new voice that sent fear into my veins.

Then there was silence. When I woke up I was in the hospital, in a white-walled room, in a white bed, with white drapes covering the windows and a white curtain to my side that acted as a movable wall. 

A lady dressed in nurse's scrubs suddenly emerged from behind the curtain. "She's awake," she stated, as she moved the curtain out of my sight.

I saw Jessi and James sitting beside Garrett, who was stuck in the bed next to me. He had tubes and wires running all over his body, and a machine was monitoring his heart rate. I moved as much as I could to look at Garrett. He didn't look to be awake, but at least he didn't seem to be in pain anymore.

"Is he okay?" My voice was dry and scratchy like I hadn't spoken in days.

"He had a lot of internal bleeding, but the doctors stopped it and he should be fine. He will require more surgery, but it will be minor compared to what he went through already," the nurse stated as she came over to check on me.

"That's a relief," I muttered more to myself than anyone else.

"You on the other hand, how are you feeling?" she asked as she took out instruments to run tests on me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, her question didn't make any sense Yes, it hurt to move in any direction, but that was because of the beating I had just gone through.

"Well, you lost the baby about a week ago and we had to take it out. You’ve been through a lot, and last night the man came back again. The good news is that the police officers said you gave them samples to go off of. Skin cells under your nails and the saliva from him. We are one step closer to catching that man."

"I had a baby?" I asked in disbelief as my hands automatically went to my stomach.

"You did, but it was lost after you took a nasty beating or trauma. I'm sorry about that, all of this really. Officer Sparks said you had been with him for a while, it will be good to catch him and send him away," she said, trying to cheer me up.

"You won't catch him," I stated bluntly, as I turned my head away from her so my tears could escape.

"Excuse me?" the nurse questioned, either not hearing me or astonished at what I said. Did she want me to repeat it? She didn't know Steve like I did. He wouldn't give up until he had me again or both of us was dead.

"You won't catch him. He won't let it happen," I said forcefully.

"How can you say that?" James asked with shock lacing his words. He was so stunned that he didn't notice that Officer Rivers had stepped into the room.

"I heard what happened last night. Is everyone okay?" Officer Rivers asked with what sounded like genuine concern in his voice. James automatically went stiff in his seat as he heard Rivers. He hadn't been expecting anyone to show up.

"They are fine, Chief." James said standing up from his chair to greet Rivers. He held out his hand and they quickly shook before returning to the conversation.

"Good, because it's not safe for them to be here," Officer Rivers stated as he came toward my bedside.

"Why not?" James asked with a worried tone.

"We got a phone call from the man who claimed responsibility for the kidnap of Miss Cowles last night. He said that if she was kept here, then he would blow up the building. She needs to leave immediately, we can't risk several lives for one individual."

"She can't be moved yet!" James practically yelled in anger. "There is no way he would blow up the building, she stays or she gets transferred to a different hospital. She can't just leave!" James stated with authority in his voice.

"Then we put that hospital at risk, James!"

"It would take a lot to blow up a hospital, he would have had to know where she would be taken days in advance. If we move her to a different hospital, we follow the demands and she is still safe. We can’t let her go for him to find her again," James pointed out.

"That's not possible to do James! She can't just be moved to a different location!"

"Why not?"

Rivers stuttered through an answer, clearly running out of things to say. "Because it's just not! Steve wouldn't agree!"

"Who is Steve?" James questioned Officer Rivers as he glanced at me. Rivers had just given up the fact that he knew the man that had done this to me. Also, by saying Steve wouldn't agree with that plan Rivers confessed to working with him to keep my location a secret instead of helping me.

"It's the man that took Jessi and me," I stated as pure anger swept across James' expression, but I had a different reaction. I felt a smirk tug onto the edge of my lips as James walked toward Officer Rivers. Justice was about to be served, and I couldn't wait to see everyone that worked with Steve crumble under interrogation. James threw a punch, and hit Rivers square in the jaw. Rivers staggered backwards into a cop that had come into the room.

"Officer Rivers, I place you under arrest for harboring and assisting a criminal," James declared, causing the team of four officers to take hold of Officer Rivers and handcuff him.

"You'll never catch him! I'm not the only one that works for him to keep our families safe. That girl will be dead before any one of you can take the stand. Lock me up! I don't care! I'll get out eventually. That boy will be dead long before her, and with any luck you'll only get me for maybe five years."

"As an officer of the law, they will make an example out of you. Now get him out of my face and let no one else collect the evidence. I will be collecting it, and this department will be purged," James stated as the officers forced Officer Rivers out of the room.

"He only gave me twelve hours to live. He said Garrett was as good as dead, and that if I tried running, we made it too easy for those cops that work with him to find me. I don't know what to do, but we're in trouble! We can't trust anyone because they'll turn me over to him and then I'll be dead like the other girls!" I blurted out, sounding hysterical. The nurse called for sedation to calm me down so I could sleep, and that meant I only had a limited amount of time to tell James what Steve said.

The words flew from my mouth as fast as they could to get the urgent message out. James attempted to listen intently over the yelling and screaming for someone to sedate me. His eyes flashed worry, then anger, and finally he nodded just before I was forced to sleep.

Chapter 27

There were faint voices, they were soft, barely audible to me, but they grew clearer with each passing moment. Soon the voices were accompanied by a shadowy figure on the edge of the darkness. The voice was soft at first, like the others, but that was to gain my trust. Once I was within arm’s reach the shadow grabbed me and started to choke me.

"I told you, Anna. You only had a few hours to live," Steve's voice trickled into my ears.

The breath left my lungs painfully slow. My lungs attempted to pull what little air they could grab, but there was nothing more for them to take in. I felt my body go limp before I stopped fighting.

I woke up from the dream taking in a large fear driven breath as I shot up from my sleep. I glanced quickly around the room trying to get my bearings again. James was by Garrett's empty bed and gave me a worried glance, while Jessi was curled up in a chair fast asleep, completely unaffected by my outburst.

"Are you okay, Anna?" James asked, moving from Garrett's empty bedside to meet me. He was careful not to disturb Jessi's sleep as he moved. 

"Just a bad dream I guess..." I huffed out through tears.

"Well, if it's what I think it was about, that's all about to come to an end," James stated, taking a seat next to me.

"How so?" I asked, taking in deep slow breaths to calm myself down.

"The police department is being purged of anyone under suspicion of working with Steve Bennett or Officer Rivers and tipping Steve off to your location. With any hope this will force Steve to come out of hiding and we can catch him."

"How's that going?" I asked curiously.

James' face fell slightly as he let out a long, annoyed breath. "Technically it's going well. Although, it has now become quite clear that a majority of the department was in on this scheme with Bennett, more than we originally thought."

"How many?"

"Too many to count. It would be easier to tell you which ones aren’t parts of it and which ones actually care about upholding the law anymore. They are all being put in holding cells while we root through the main conspirators."

I nodded slightly to show that I heard him speak, but all of the information was now spinning in my mind, giving me a headache. If we held Steve's co-conspirators, then he would have a harder time getting information about where I am, but Steve was still out there, and he wouldn't give up the hunt because his accomplices were in jail.

"Where's Garrett?" I questioned glancing at his empty bed. I didn't want to think about Steve anymore. For now I was safe, and that’s what mattered.

"He was taken into surgery early this morning. They had to stop the internal bleeding again. He overreacted when he woke up, ripped out his stitches and had to be put under again. They said that they will wake him up slowly next time so they can explain everything to him."

"Will he be okay?"

"It's risky to go under the knife multiple times, but I'm sure he will do just fine," James stated with a soft smile.

"Chief Sparks?" A new voice asked from outside the door.

"Yes, Officer Webber."

"You're needed back at the station. They say that Rivers is ready to talk about his part in the kidnapping of Anna. He will even point out his conspirators, if you trust his word, I mean," Officer Webber said with an eye roll and a soft groan. He clearly didn't trust Officer Rivers anymore.

"Thank you," James said before turning his attention back to me. "Rest up, I'll let you know if anything happens. You'll be safe here; he's going to guard your door. Only he and the nurses are allowed in, but I will be taking Jessi with me. She needs to get sleep, and she can sleep in my office at the station," he stated as he lifted himself from the chair and turned on a heel to walk out of the room.

"Wait, who is he?"

"He's Officer Webber. Don't worry. As the new acting police chief, I took care of you," James offered a small wink and flashed a big smile at how pleased he was at becoming the new police chief, even under the circumstances.

"But do you trust him?"

"Officer Webber has been vetted, so he's clear. We will be able to get you and Garrett home after you're both cleared to leave. This will be over soon, Anna."

"How can you be sure?" After this experience, I would trust very few people outside of those I truly knew. I needed to be sure that I was safe with Webber outside, and that James knew him to trust him.

"He passed the lie detector test. To be honest, we had no other way to know if they were telling the truth or not. Officer Rivers wouldn't call them out and they weren't going to speak up, so we took the only way we knew how. Now just rest, we'll take care of everything."

I watched James lift Jessi from her makeshift bed and walk out of the room. Loneliness and fear started to creep in as I waited for someone to come back in. I wanted to see Garrett, but I was so nervous. What would he say to me after what we've been through? I fell into an uneasy sleep again soon after James left. It didn't feel long because I was soon shaken awake by a rough hand. I glanced up at the face of an older gentleman who had black hair speckled with grey and soft green eyes filled with sorrow.

"We need to go, Anna," he said, pulling me from the bed and throwing my clothes at me.

"What's going on?" I asked, as I put my jeans on under the cover of the hospital robe. I cringed with every little movement as I pulled the pants up to my hips. Then carefully untied the robe before turning around to put my shirt on.

"I received communication that Steve is on his way here. We need to move you to another hospital in the next town, just to keep everyone here and yourself safe."

"What about Garrett?" I questioned, glancing at his empty bed as I was pulled out of the room.

"He's still in surgery, we have guards protecting him and they will give their lives to protect his so don't worry. Just worry about yourself for now."

Steve wouldn't give up the chase anytime soon, but I could delay my recapture as long as I could run. People stared at us as we ran to the front door and straight into the waiting police car.

The older officer opened the passenger's side door for me and pushed me in. I turned around to see the older officer have people surround him to ask what was happening, but soon he was out of sight. The doors slammed shut just as Officer Webber roared the car to life.

We soared down the roads with the sirens blasting in my ears. Of course, the sirens made cars pulling over to let us get out even faster and soon we were out of town limits. Trees whizzed by as we hit the road out of town. There was nothing, but trees, yet I still had a bad feeling.

"Where are we going?" I asked Officer Webber.

"To the next town. Hopefully he won't risk coming to you there." 

"What if he does?" I asked.

"The officers in Chesterfield are working on precautions to keep you safe. I promise you, Anna, there are still good cops out there. Please don't let this taint how you see all of us," he pleaded as a loud screeching sound came from behind us. 

I glanced back in the rear view mirror to see a speeding black hummer coming from behind us. The words 'objects in mirror may be closer than they appear' have never held more meaning than in that moment. The hummer crashed into the back of our police cruiser, sending the front end into the asphalt and pole-vaulting us forward. 

There was nothing but air for a while and then a loud crash as the car slammed onto the pavement on its roof. There was a sickening crack as its frame crushed from rolling down the road. An unbearable sound of metal screeching on the asphalt reached my ears as I saw sparks start to fly and flame for a period of time inside the car.

The car finally stopped in the middle of the long abandoned road, with my head still spinning. The windows had shattered around us, the seat belts locked us in place and there was blood dripping on my face. When I regained my senses, I could see two feet walking toward the car as my head slowly stopped spinning.

"You have two hours left, Anna," a voice said as the two feet got closer to the car.

I glanced at Officer Webber to get his attention, but his head was bleeding profusely. It had been forced open by the collision. I knew he was dead—he didn't move, make a sound, or attempt to speak. That was the last thing I saw as the world went black around me.