THE MILES CONTINUE to rack up on my rental car. I’ve combed every inch of this city looking for the white care that carried Vivi away. There were a couple of times I thought I had it, but when I tracked the car down, neither Tina nor Annabelle were driving it. I don’t even know really where to look, but I’m not giving up. I will find Vivi.
My cell rings and an unknown number pops up. Typically, I ignore those calls, but given it could be Vivi, I answer it. “Hello?”
“Hello, lover,” the female voice on the other end makes my skin crawl.
“Annabelle, I swear to God!” I shout.
“Shut up!” She screams at me, cutting me off and taking the control back of the conversation. When she sees I’m complying, she clears her throat. “Good boy. Now that you’re ready to listen, I’m going to text you an address. Come there. Alone. Or your sweet, Vivian dies,” Annabelle says. “No cops either, or she dies.”
She ends the call abruptly, and a text pops up. I pull the car over next to the curb so I can read the text. There’s an address, and the closest town is Mariposa, California. A place I’ve never heard of before. It’s not sane for me to go to this place alone, but I don’t want to take the risk of Annabelle hurting Vivi, so I’m going to do it.
I shoot Beckett a quick shot of the address Annabelle sent me, along with a shot of the number, and then set up the GPS and start driving. I dial Beckett’s number and he answers.
“What the hell is this address for?” he questions.
“Annabelle Rogers, just that to me. She has Vivi, and I’m going to get her,” I tell him.
“Wait,” he orders. “Slow down. What’s going on?”
I rehash the last two hours for him and then once I’m finished, he’s quiet for a moment before he says, “I know you love Vivi, Z, but you need to take the police out there with you. There’s a real chance this is a trap to get you out there, and she’s already…done something to Vivi.”
“There’s no time to wait for them. I’m going to go get my girl. If it’s a trap, it’s a trap. I can’t go on with my life if something happens to Vivi, and I knew I could’ve saved her. I would rather die with her if that’s what it comes down to.”
“Shit, Z. Don’t say shit like that.”
“I know you don’t understand it, but someday you will. You’d do anything for the person you love.”
“I get it. I do, but at least let me call the cops and give them the address.”
“Okay, yeah. Do that. I’ll call you back later.” I end the call while Beckett is asking me to wait.
I can’t listen to him try to talk me out of this anymore. I’m determined to get Vivi back.
After making the two and a half hour drive from Sacramento, I creep into the small town of Mariposa. It’s definitely more rural out here, and the GPS says I’m still ten minutes from my destination. The road leading out of town is curvy, and I drive it slowly because the only light I have is my headlights, taking mental notes in case I need to haul ass to get away. Finally, I arrive at the address, and turn onto a long, gravel driveway that leads up to a small, wooden cabin tucked into a thick patch of forest. They parked the white car from the video next to the cabin, so I know I’m in the right place.
I cut the engine and tuck the pocket knife I bought at the gas station along the way into my jeans before getting out. It’s quiet, except for the sound of the crickets and frogs singing in the darkness and the sound of soft jazz music playing. It’s isolated out here, so this was something Annabelle planned far in advance.
I step up onto the porch and find the front door ajar. I push it open slowly, and am surprised to find Tina lighting candles on a table that appears to be set up for some type of romantic dinner date.
“What the fuck is this?” I growl as I step just inside the door.
Tina grimaces as she takes a step back from me. “I’m not the best person to explain it. None of this was my idea.”
“Where is Vivi?” I demand.
“She’s—”
Tina’s words are cut off as Annabelle steps around the corner from the other room. “Don’t answer that.”
Annabelle is dressed in a tight black dress with her hair and makeup done to perfection. Her blonde hair is pulled up on the top of her head like she’s about to attend some sort of elegant affair. It’s all fucking odd considering this woman just kidnapped my girlfriend. The only thing that keeps me on high alert is the black handgun she’s holding.
She points a slender finger at one of the two chairs at the table. “Sit down, Zayn. We’re going to have a date so you can finally get to know me.”
“I don’t want to get to know you. Tell me where Vivi is!” I growl.
“No!” she roars back and her eyes turn wild. She takes a breath and then clothes her eyes for a moment, as if attempting to calm herself down. “If you want to know about fucking Vivienne, you’ll take a fucking seat and have dinner with me.”
As much as I don’t want to, I comply with her order and sit down at the table. My back is ramrod straight as I sit across from her.
“Tina!” she yells. “Bring the food and wine.” Anna turns to me and smiles, like we’re on an actual date. “Sorry about the tardiness of our meal. It’s so hard to find good help these days.”
Feeling the need to put Annabelle at ease, I decide to play along with her for a while and pretend to be the doting date she desires me to be. “Tell me about it. I thought Tina was working for me and here she is ditching me for you.”
“Oh, no, Zayn,” Annabelle corrects. “Tina didn’t leave you willingly. I forced her to come work for me. I threated to expose her extramarital affair to her husband and murder her children, so I really didn’t give her much choice in the matter.”
“Why would you do that?” I question. “Killing children is a bit much, don’t you think?”
She shrugs. “Maybe, but I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. I needed the codes to your house and since I knew I’d never get them out of Beckett, I went after Tina to give them to me.”
Tian brings out two steaks and sets them on the table before returning to the kitchen to fetch two glasses of red wine.
“Ribeyes. Your favorite,” Annabelle says proudly.
I stare at this insane woman from across the table. “Why me? You don’t even know me.”
“I know everything about you, Zayn. I’ve studied you for years because I fell in love with you the first time I met you when I was in the children’s hospital nine years ago. You were there to grant the wish of one of kids dying of cancer. You stopped in the hallway and said hello to me and told me my yellow dress was pretty as one nurse willed me out of the psychiatric ward to be discharged. It was a sign. You became my reason to live and stop trying to kill myself all the time. You’re my destiny, Zayn North, and I tired of waiting for you to come to me, so I started going to you.”
My brow furrows as I try to remember this meeting, but I don’t recall it. I have gone to visit sick kids many times over the years, but it’s hard to remember every person you meet, especially if it were brief.
“Typical man. You don’t remember me. It’s okay. It was a long time ago and I forgive you for it, but now that you know, you can start getting to know me so we can build our life together.”
“Annabelle, we’ll never be together.”
“DON’T SAY THAT!” she screams and then again closes her eyes to calm down. “When you picked these other girls over me, you force me to kill them. I don’t want to do that, but if they are keeping you from me, I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
“What have you done with Vivi?” I will myself to be calm, because Annabelle is so irrational, I’m not sure what she’s capable of doing. I don’t want to set her off.
Annabelle shakes her head. “I will not tell you that yet until you agree to a few things I want.” She points to the food in front of me. “Eat. You need your strength after playing such a damn good game.”
When I don’t immediately do as she orders, she points the gun at me. Begrudgingly, I cut the steak and then take a few bites under her watchful eye. She smiles, pleased I’m complying.
“See, this isn’t so bad. All I want to do is take care of you, Zayn, and keep you happy.”
I stare up at her. “You can’t force someone to love you, Annabelle.”
“Yes, you can. It’s called Stockholm Syndrome. It takes time, but it can happen.”
My gaze locks on hers. “So you plan to keep me here? Captive?”
“Not forever. Eventually, we’ll be able to leave here together and travel the world on our honeymoon once you love me as much as I love you.”
This woman is not living in reality at all.
“Besides eating, what is the other thing you want from me?” I ask.
Annabelle’s ruby-red lips turn up into a sly grin. “I want you to take my virginity. I’ve been saving it for you, and it’s time you take it.”
I choke on the steak I was trying to swallow down. “I will not do that.”
Her eyes harden. “Yes, you will, or I’ll march upstairs and put a bullet in Vivienne’s head right now.”
My eyes trail up the wooden stairs to the open balcony above us, which shows three doors. Vivi is in one of them, so I have to get up there to get to her.
“Okay. So you want to fuck? Let’s fuck right now,” I tell her.
“Really?!” she squeals in delight. “I really thought you’d take more convincing, but I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses and realized we belong together. Once you’re inside me, I know you’ll feel our connection, too.” She glances around the room. “Where do you want to do it? Couch or here on this table?”
I shake my head. “Upstairs in bed. If I’m taking your virginity, then I want to do it the right way—in bed with candles all around where we can make love all night long.”
She bites her lip. “All right. Let’s do this.”
We both stand, and Annabelle keeps her gun pointed at me. She forces me up the stairs first and follows behind me. When I reach the top of the stairs, I turn to face her. “I just thought of the perfect way I can prove my love for you.”
She tilts her head and looks up at me. “How?”
“We should have sex in front of Vivi,” I tell her.
Her eyes light up like a kid at Christmas. “Yes. That’s a brilliant idea. Go to the second door and open it up.”
My hand trembles as I turn the knob and the second my eyes land on Vivi, my heart pauses for a beat.
Vivi looks us at me with her green eyes and mumbles something, but I can’t understand it because there’s duct tape over her mouth. She’s tied to a white chair with her hands behind her back, and her ankles tied to the legs. There’s dried blood under her nose like she was punched in the face and her hair is ratted like they have yanked it a few times. Annabelle has done a number on her and I’m enraged, but still need to keep in control in order to make my plan work and save us both.
“I’m so glad I didn’t kill her yet. Making her watch us have sex will be very satisfying after the number of times I watched you make her moan in your bedroom. I really hated watching that camera sometimes because I was so jealous, but I loved to touch myself when I watched you. It was the only way I could make myself come, but now you’re here and can do it for me.”
I turn to face Annabelle and smile at her. “I’ll totally do that for you. You’ll love it.” I take a step toward her and place my hands on her shoulders.
She sighs happily the moment I touch her, and I seize the moment to take control of the situation. I reach for the gun and she yanks it back, but I’m stronger than her, so I use my body to back her out of the room.
She holds the gun in the air and lunges back so hard she loses her footing and falls over the wooden railing of the balcony. Her body crashes onto the floor below and a gunshot goes off. Blood runs onto the floor as she lies on her stomach, unmoving.
Sirens sound in the background, and I know Beckett could got the police to get here.
I rush back into the room to Vivi. I peel the tape off of her mouth and then used the knife I brought to cut her free of the rope.
She throws her arms around my neck and cries. “Is she dead?”
I cup the back of her head in my hand and keep her tight against me. “I think so.”
I pull back to inspect Vivi’s face. “Are you hurt badly?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing a few days of recuperation won’t fix.” There are tears in her eyes. “I thought she was going to kill us both.”
“Shhh,” I soothe her. “I promised you I would let nothing happen to you. I’ve got you and we’re safe now. It’s over.”
We stay wrapped up in one another’s arms, both of us crying, overwhelmed with relief as the hell we’ve been through is finally over.
