Reckless Mind (27 page)

The officer was radioing in to send someone to the restaurant and check the door by the bathrooms and the back lot for footprints, drag marks, any sign of a struggle. He turned back to me and asked me when I last saw her, if I remembered what she was wearing, any other details about her that may help.

I sat for a minute, but I knew it needed to be said. My dad and Becca had no idea of Kahlen's past, but if it would help her I would tell the officer. “I last saw her late this morning, around eleven, when Emma and Becca came and picked her up from my place, which is right here, above the shop. She had on faded shorts, one of my t-shirts...it was gray with our shop logo on the front, some black flip flops, and she had pulled her hair up. No jewelry, and she left her purse at my place after taking some cash and her phone out.”

“And who was this guy?” The officer directed his question to Emma and Becca. Emma was still sobbing, so Becca spoke. “At first he was sitting at the bar, then he came over to the table and asked if we were from around here, and I told him Emma and I were, but Kahlen moved here a few months ago from like Arizona or something.” She took in a deep breath trying not to cry. “He looked at Kahlen kinda weird and for longer than Em and I, but then he said he needed directions to one of the buildings on campus, so I gave him directions. He went to the bathroom, and then he left.”

“Well that would have been the perfect opportunity to tamper with that back door without y'all seeing anything. Did he look familiar to you two?” Becca shook her head in response but then added, “No, but Kahlen said he seemed familiar but it was impossible since she didn't know anyone out here.”

“She was in the foster system,” I started, but my voice was weak. Clearing my throat I tried again. “The last home she was placed in, from the time she was thirteen until she managed to get away the day after her graduation, was abusive...mentally, emotionally, and physically.” I thought I was going to be sick just thinking about it.

“Do you have any reason to believe this man may have something to do with her previous foster situation?” I nodded my head at the officer because there was no other logical explanation. “Give me one minute.” He got back on the radio asking them to run Kahlen's name through the system. We all waited, and then to the person on the other side of the radio he said, “No. You have to be kidding me. Write her up as missing immediately, put out an ABP on her and the guy, I just scanned their description in, you should be getting it now. Police need to be stationed at every damn entrance into this city, no one goes out or in without being stopped.”

Whatever was happening wasn't good. I got up and picked up a tire laying off to the side of the building and threw it hitting the brick of the shop. I was being torn up inside not knowing where she was or what was happening to her, but now I was pissed. Fuck the cops, fuck the dude that thought he could take her from me, fuck her old foster parents and their tie to all of this. I'd kill them, all of them.

A growl rumbled deep in my chest, tearing out of my throat as I ran my hands through my hair. I was going to find her. The cops could do what they wanted to, but I would find her. I grabbed my keys out of my pocket and ran. My dad yelled at me to come back, Emma's sobs grew louder again, and the officer kept yelling at me to not do this, to be smart and let them do their job.

Only thing was, it was my job to take care of her, love her, and keep her safe. The police could do what they needed to do, but I was going to find her. Jumping into my Mustang, I ripped through the gravel and out of the lot with only one thing on my mind.

Find Kahlen.

Chapter 24

Kahlen

The guy had been in the bathroom for at least thirty minutes. I figured he was shooting up, hoped he was pretty out of it right now, and so I kept at the knot on the rope. My skin around my wrists was rubbed raw from trying to maneuver my hands out of the restraint but I didn't care. I could tell it was later at night now from the little bit of outside I could see through the small break in the curtains. The sky was dark, well past twilight, and it was quiet.

The rope was stuck over the thickest part of my hands now, but I wasn't stopping. Even if I tore off layers of skin, I would heal. I just needed to get the fuck out of there. Fear and adrenaline coursed through my veins, making it difficult for me to breath, so every now and then I had to stop, close my eyes, and think of Cole.

I thought of how he might propose to me, what our wedding would be like, feeling him inside me for the first time, him telling me he wanted me pregnant with his child, actually being pregnant, building a life with him, holding our son...every single time I paused I saw another part of our life.

Sobs I couldn't help broke free now, and I did my best to stay quiet, but it was no use. If I didn't make it out I'd never have any of that, and Cole would be left here alone. He'd be ruined. So even though my heart was breaking and I couldn't breathe, I kept going because I wouldn't leave him alone. I couldn't.

I heard movement, or water, or both in the bathroom. Sitting still, listening as close as I could, the bathroom door opened. He looked to be sure I was still there then walked out toward me. As he spoke he moved the tip of his knife from my temple down the side of my face, his words barely coherent because of the drugs “I'm getting in the shower. I don't give a shit what that bitch mom of yours said, when I get out I'm going to fuck you. So you can sit here and anticipate that until I get back out.” I wasn't sure if I was bleeding from the knife because I was numb everywhere.

The bathroom door shut. There was no way, even in his mental state, it would take him longer than twenty minutes in the shower. Hours had passed in this room now. It looked like a hotel room, a really shitty one, but that didn't help me to know specifically where I was, and it was well into the middle of the night. No one would find me before he had his way with me, I needed to get the hell out.

Tears falling out of frustration and anger, I pulled. My hands protested, but I pulled trying to free them from the rope. I knew my skin was being torn but it didn't matter. One hand. I needed one good hand to open the door and get the hell out. Taking a deep breath, I yanked as hard as I could on my left hand. A scream tried to rip my throat open to get out, but I held it down.

Broken or dislocated I didn't know, I just knew my hand was throbbing like someone just hit it with a hammer, but it was also out. Trying to move my left arm forward, a shooting pain lanced up my arm, it seemed to be a little dislocated too from the jarring yank to free my hand. Swelling quickly and bruising already, my left hand was useless to me now.

I went to try and get my right hand out of the rope completely, but I heard the shower shut off and I panicked. Standing too quickly, my foot hooked around the side of the chair knocking it over. It took five steps to reach the door. Then I was going as fast as I could to get all the locks undone.

Reaching for the dead bolt, the bathroom door opened and he walked out, thankfully not naked, spotting me and coming after me. I swung the door open finally, running out of the room going as fast as I could, but he was gaining on me. Just when I thought I would make it to the street where cars were passing by, he grabbed me by the hair, I fell backwards landing on my already injured hand, and screaming in pain.

“No, please don't do this,” I begged. “Whatever she paid you I'll give you double, or if you want something else I can get it, just don't do this. Please let me go.” Tears ran down my face. I kept telling myself to not give up. No matter what happened, no matter what I had to go through, being alive was better than dead and eventually I'd find my way back to Cole.

“I don't need you to give me what I want, you bitch. I'll take what I want when I want it and that happens to be right now.” He was dragging me, like full on, ass on the ground, arms and legs getting tore up from the gravel, pulling me by my hair backwards, dragging me back to the room.

I fought even with my broken hand; I dug my fingers into the gravel, the heels of my bare feet, anything to try to slow him down. I screamed in pain as he stopped for a minute and stomped on my hand that was now surely broken. Lying in the gravel right outside the room, which I now knew for sure was a motel room, while he was opening the door back up, I tried running for it again, but I was so weak.

He grabbed me and slammed me up against the side of the hotel so hard that when my head whipped forward and then back I saw spots. My breath got knocked out of me, and even though I was doing everything I could to keep myself conscious I knew darkness was coming. I knew I wouldn't ever see anyone again, I'd never get to have the life I wanted with Cole. This guy, this horrible rotten excuse for a human being was going to kill me and I wouldn't be able to stop him.

As my vision faded to black I thought about Cole. The last thing I would think about if I was dying tonight would be Cole. His lips and hands on my body, everything that could have been for us...the wedding we'd never have, my tummy never being swollen with his boy, chasing our baby around thinking he looked just like Cole. I'd never really have it, but in this moment I could die loving the life I would've had with him.

I'd love Cole forever, whether I was here on this earth or not, Cole would always be my eternity.

Chapter 25

Cole

I was beating on Jax's door, “Open the fuck up Jax!” I had already driven around campus. When I got to the restaurant the cops had everything sectioned off and I'd almost gotten arrested trying to get a better look at what they saw, trying to see something that would help me find Kahlen. It had been hours now, and nothing. I didn't know a fucking thing more now than I did before. “Motherfucking hell! Jax!” My fist was sore, but then the outside light flipped on.

“Cole?” Jax said as he opened the door. I moved inside, frantically running my hand through my hair as my mind raced.

“He fucking took her, Jax. Some guy came up to the girls when they were out to dinner asking directions or some shit, and she never came back after she got up to use the bathroom. She's fucking gone man.” I wanted to punch something just as much as I felt the lump in my throat and the sting in my eyes taking me over.

“You guys alright out here?” Brandon was standing closer to the kitchen than where we were in the living room, he looked leery to get too close to me.

Jax was already throwing on the shoes he had at the front door and said, “Someone took Ka
hlen.” He reached for a shirt lying on the couch, and moved stuff around on the table looking for his keys.

“What?” Brandon seemed stunned. “Who?” He started to put his stuff on to, and had his keys ready to go before Jax found his.

“I don't know. The girls were at lunch, she went to the bathroom and never came back. They said he looked like he was on something, taller, skinny, messed up teeth and sores on his face.” My phone rang as I tried to tell Jax and Brandon what the girls remembered. It was Emma. “Yeah?”

“Cole, it's Becca. I just remembered something, and I called the cops and told them too. When the guy was asking for directions I tried telling him where to park his car on campus, but he said it didn't matter because he had a bike. You need to be looking for a motorcycle, but I doubt it's a regular one. I mean I don't know Kahlen as well as all of you, but even I know she'd throw herself off a regular motorcycle in the middle of traffic just to get away from that pervert. Maybe one with one of those little side cars or something?”

Saying thanks I hung up not waiting for a response, not wanting to say anything else. I needed to get back out there, I needed to find Kahlen. “You guys coming to help?” They both nodded, then Jax spoke up.

“Look man, we need to stop, just for thirty seconds and think about this. From what it seems the guy is into drugs and who knows what else. None of us knows why he has her,” but Brandon and I cut him off at the same time.

“Her foster parents.” We both exchanged a knowing glance, both looking like we wanted to rip someone's head off.

“Oh. Wow. Well, I clearly don't have all the details, but say this guy is working for the foster parents, and into hard drugs...it's not like he's going to take her to one of the nice hotels in the city. He's going to either be getting on a bus or train with her, getting to the airport, or he'll be holed up somewhere here still in some nasty run down area of the city.”

“Jax check the airport, ask them to pull security footage, I'll send you a pic of Kahlen so you can show it to them. Brandon I'll send you the exact same picture of her, you hit up the train and bus station asking to look at the footage. If anyone tells you no call the police station and tell them you need someone sent where you are to help you. It was an Officer Ryan who I talked to earlier, use his name if you have to. I'm going to the motels on the west side of town where it's the cheapest and most run into the ground. Call if anyone hears anything?” They both nodded yes, and then we all left, getting in our own cars, trying our best to find Kahlen before she was hurt.

I drove from motel to motel at a frantic pace. Whenever I saw a house that seemed to have people doing sketchy things I stopped, showed them her picture and asked if they'd seen her. Everyone said no. It was safe to say I was probably wasting my time with the houses because if this guy was connected to her foster parents then he didn't know anyone out here and was probably using a motel.

It was well past midnight now, and Kahlen had been missing for over eight hours. Just the thought had me screaming in my car and punching my steering wheel repeatedly. Every place I drove by I went in asking if anyone had checked in recently with a girl, and then I showed Kahlen's picture, but not a single one said yes. I was as far out of town as I could get almost, and I pulled into another run down piece of shit motel. The office said the same thing, no one new, no one that looked like Kahlen.