Chapter 12
“Liz.” I can hear my name being called, and I know the voice, but don’t know why Kara would be calling my name when I’m on my honeymoon with Trevor.
“Hmm?” I answer from my groggy state.
“Liz.” I try to lift my head, but become dizzy from the sharp pain that slices through my head. Then I remember that today is my first day back at work. I was there with Kara when two guys came into the store and forced us at gunpoint out to their van. When I tried to prevent them from taking Kara, something slammed into the back of my head.
“Kara?” I ask, trying to open my eyes; but they seem too heavy, my body to tired. I try to fight against the feeling that is pulling me back under, knowing I need to make sure Kara’s okay.
“Liz, you need to wake up.” She shakes me and I’m finally able to open my eyes enough to see her standing over me. “Thank God,” she says, falling to her knees next to me.
“Are you okay?” I look her over, noticing her clothing intact, and no bruising or scratches are on her.
“Fine…fine.” She holds her face in her hands. “After they knocked you out, I didn’t try to fight them.” She lifts her face, looking at me. “I’m so sorry. They’re looking for Tim. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to, but I told them where he is,” she whispers, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“It’s okay, calm down.” I lift my hand, holding hers. After a few minutes, I’m finally able to sit up. When I look around, I notice that the only light we have is coming from a small battery operated lantern. When I take in our surroundings, I know exactly where we are; well, not exactly, because there are thousands of tornado shelters all over Tennessee, and this one looks like it’s been abandoned for a long time. The old cement block walls are disintegrating; the shelves that are supposed to hold supplies are rotten, the smell of mold is so strong that my stomach turns. “How long was I out?”
“I don’t know. A while. When they finally stopped, one of the guys took you out of the van, while the other one questioned me about Tim.” She starts to cry again, this time, holding her very large stomach.
“Kara, you need to calm down. I know you’re upset, but if you go into labor right now, this whole situation is going to go from bad to worse.”
“How can I be calm? I just handed over my fiancé to men who want to kill him.” She cries harder.
“Kara, I know that you’re scared for Tim; but right now, you need to think about you and the baby.” I rub her arm, trying to calm her down. “Tim is working with Trevor and his brothers. He is in a better situation than us right now.” I remind her of where Tim is at this moment, hoping that it will help to calm her down enough to help me get us out of this hellhole. After a few minutes, her crying stops, and she uncovers her face. “We need to try and get out of here.” I tell her, trying to stand. My legs wobble, and I stumble sideways into the wall.
“You’re bleeding.”
“What?” I ask, leaning against the wall. The back of my head pounds with every beat of my heart. I lift my hand to the back of my head; that’s when I feel the large wound and the wetness from my blood against my fingers. When I bring my hand near my face, it’s covered with blood. “Shit,” I breathe, closing my eyes.
“I’m going to be sick.” Kara goes to the corner, throwing up and making my already-queasy stomach lurch. I swallow against the feeling. We both don’t need to be sick at the same time; one of us needs to have it together.
“They say head wounds bleed a lot more than any other wound,” I say. I’m not sure if I’m saying this for me or for her. She lifts her head, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, looking at me. “We’re going to get out of here, Kara; I promise.”
“Okay,” she says. I can see how scared she is when she doesn’t look at me. Using the wall for balance, I make my way to the set of stairs that lead to the large double doors. Once there, I climb up on my hands and knees to the top, pushing against the doors. They don’t budge an inch not that I’m surprised. I scoot down the stairs, sitting at the bottom of the steps, trying to come up with a plan.
“What if we both try?” Kara asks. I lift my head, looking at her standing in front of me; her face is pale, her eyes red from crying.
“We can try.” I scoot over, give her room to get up the stairs with me, and once at the top, we both push against the doors, counting and pushing to no avail.
“It’s not working,” Kara says, making me laugh; the stress of the moment and her words break me down.
“We will get out of here,” I say, praying I’m right.
“They took pictures of us.”
“What?” I ask, looking over at her.
“When they finally brought me down here,” she looks over at me, “they took pictures of us.”
“Why?”
“I think they’re going to use them to get to Tim.”
“We need to find a way out of here,” I tell her, and this time my worry seeps into my tone.
“The door won’t budge.”
“If we can’t get out, then we need to find a way to protect ourselves against them when they come back.”
“There is nothing in here.”
“We can break the old shelves up and use the pieces as a weapon.”
“They have guns.”
“I know, but either we try to fight, or we wait for them to kill us, or whatever it is they want to do to us.” Kara gives me a nod and starts to rub her large belly. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, just some Braxton Hicks. I’ll be okay.” I watch her closely, praying that my nephew doesn’t decide to come into the world right now. “I’m okay; I promise.” Kara says, watching me.
“If you start to feel like you’re having real contractions, you need to tell me,” I tell her, going over to the shelf and using my weight to try and pull it apart. It doesn’t budge, so I kick it a few times, but still, nothing. “It’s not working,” I state the obvious, watching the light flicker and start to dim. “Shit.” I run over to the lamp and turn it out, hoping that we will have enough battery when we really need it. “I never even thought about turning the lamp off.
“I never thought of it either.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have started smoking and have a spare lighter, do you?” I ask Kara, making her laugh.
“No, sorry.”
“Figures.” We sit there in the dark, my brain running over hundreds of scenarios. I can’t believe that yesterday I spent the day driving back home from our honeymoon. After leaving the cabin, we drove to November and Asher’s and picked up Lolly; she was so happy to see us and we missed our girl. After we got her, we went home and unpacked, ordered a pizza, and complained about being home and having to go back to the real world. I hated watching Trevor getting ready for work this morning. I wanted so badly to cuddle into him and hide away from the world for a few more days. Now, I wish I would have spent a few more minutes looking at him, kissing him, and telling him how much I love him. When he realizes that Kara and I are missing, he is going to freak the hell out. I’m leaning against the wall when I hear what sounds like a car. I stand when I know it’s getting closer.
“Is that a car?” Kara asks, turning on the lamp. I can see the terror in her eyes.
“Kara, I want you to go into the corner, tuck yourself into a ball, and turn off the lamp.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. Just, please, listen to me. Get in the corner and tuck yourself into a ball.” Once I see that she is tucked away and turns off the light, I follow the wall to the opening of the stairs. Listening, I can hear the vehicle stop, then the sound of chain against metal, then the creaking of the door above opening. I see the beam of light from a flashlight shining down the stairs. My heart starts pounding so hard that I hear it in my ears. I hold my breath, waiting for when the person is at the bottom of the stairs, and then I wait patiently for them to notice me. I know it’s pointless to try and fight; there are two of them and one of me. They have already proven that they don’t mind hitting women. When the light shines around the room, it pauses on Kara for a second, before flying in my direction and shining right in my eyes.
“Liz?” I know that voice. I don’t know where from, but I know that voice.
“What do you want?” I ask, shielding my eyes from the bright light.
“I’m here to help.”
“Kai?” I ask, realizing who it is. “Do you mind lowering the flashlight?” The light immediately lowers, letting me lower my hands that were shielding my eyes. “What are you doing here? I mean, how did you find us?” I look over my shoulder at Kara, who is now sitting up in the corner.
“Tim helped me out, so I am returning the favor. You’re bleeding.”
“It has slowed down,” I say, touching the back of my head. “How did you find us?”
”Been watching for a while now.” He takes a step toward Kara, and I automatically step in front of him.
“I’m just gonna help her off the floor.”
“No, I’d rather you not.”
“You don’t want my help?”
“I never said that. I just need to make sure that you’re a good guy.”
“Ms. Hayes—”
“Mayson.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Mayson…I got married.”
“Jesus, you’re nuts.” He shakes his head, laughing. “As I was saying, Mrs. Mayson, I’m definitely not one of the good guys, but I’m here to help you.”
“Why?”
“Your brother gave me what I wanted in exchange for my help.”
“Not again.”
“No, Mrs. Mayson, you’re safe. Now, if you’re done, I would like to help Kara off the floor. That can’t be good for her or the baby.”
“How do you know Kara?”
“I make it my business to know everyone, but in this case, Tim told me. Now, if you would please move.” I swallowed; my gut is telling me that he is being honest, but his energy is so scary that I don’t know what to do.
“Liz!” Kara cries. I turn around to find her on her hands and knees.
“Oh God, what’s wrong?” I run over to her and kneel down.
“I don’t think these are Braxton Hicks; I think I’m going into labor.” Her breathing is choppy; she cries out again, holding her belly.
“Do you think your water broke?” I ask, rubbing her back.
“I don’t think so.” I look at Kai, who has knelt down next to us.
“I’m going to pick you up and carry you out of here.” Kai gently picks her up, and once we’re outside, I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air. I look around and see a large, black SUV, and a guy who looks like a sumo wrestler standing next to the open driver’s side door.
“Any word?” Kai asks the guy, who shakes his head.
“Where is Tim?” I ask, following Kara into the backseat, her face sweaty and pale.
“Don’t concern yourself with that right now.”
“He will want to be here for Kara.” I say softly, watching the sumo guy squash himself behind the wheel.
“We need to get to the hospital.”
“I thought you—”
“Remember what I told you, Mrs. Mayson; I’m not a good guy.” His voice is so low and gravelly that it sends a chill down my spine.
“Liz,” Kara whispers.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I think my water just broke.”
“Are you sure?”
“That, or I peed on myself.”
“Okay.” I look around, trying to see how far away we are from the hospital, but there is nothing around, just forest and fields. “Do you know how far from town we are?” I ask anyone who is listening.
“About an hour.”
“Oh God,” Kara moans, falling across the seat. “I think you should start timing my contractions.”
“Why?”
“They’re close—too close,” she says, breathing deeply.
“What does that mean?”
“IT MEANS I’M HAVING A BABY!” she screams, her face contorting. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it did a one-eighty like something from The Exorcist.
“Okay, breathe.” I do that crazy breathing thing that I have seen in a few movies. Kara looks ready to kill, but I have no idea how to help her.
“What time is it?” Kara growls. I look at the dash.
“Seven-oh-two,” I tell her, grabbing her hand.
“I feel like I need to push.”
“Don’t push,” I say, panicked. Pushing means the baby is coming.
“I have to.”
“If you need to push, then you push,” Kai says from the front seat. I think it’s awfully generous of him, seeing how he’s all the way in the front seat, while I’m back here with her. I know that I need to man–up, but I have no idea what to do; and the thought of a baby popping out is making me freak.
“Oh God! Here comes another one!” Kara screams, her head laying against the back door, one foot in the seat, and the other on the floor. “I need to take off my pants.”
“What?” I pinch myself to make sure this isn’t a very strange bad dream.
“I need to take off my pants. I feel like the baby is coming, so I need to take off my pants,” she repeats over and over, every time her voice rises a little bit.
“Okay, I’ll help you.” I swallow all my personal fears and help her to remove her pants. Kai is in the front seat on the phone. I have no idea who he is talking to, but hopefully it’s an ambulance. Mr. Sumo is speeding, but his facial expression hasn’t changed since we came out of the tornado shelter.
“Liz, I am really scared.”
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” I run my hand over her forehead, trying to comfort her.
“It’s not going to be ok. I’m going to have a baby in the backseat of a car. I think that might be the definition of not okay.”
“Just concentrate on breathing.”
“Here comes another one.” She shoves her foot into my stomach; my breath leaves me with the pressure. Her other foot is still on the floor. I have the perfect shot of her vag, and I don’t want to, but I look down. That’s when I see a round something coming out.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, looking up at Kara, whose face is bright red. “I can see the head.”
“What?” one of the guys from the front seat ask.
“I see the head!” I repeat.
Kara falls back against the door. I rub her knee; the interior lights come on, so I place her pants across her legs so no one else can see what I’m seeing.
“I don’t think you have much to go,” I say, trying to be encouraging. Kara looks ready to kill me. Her foot goes back in my stomach, this time a little harder than the last, making me grunt in pain. Then she screams so loud that I think my eardrums burst. I look down just in time to see a little face. I look around for something to wrap the baby in. There is nothing, so I rip my shirt off over my head, and hold it out, ready to catch him. Everything happens so quickly after she pushes that I’m not even sure I remember how the baby got into my arms, just that he is there and crying. Kara is laying back against the door breathing heavily. The cord is still attached, and I know that I need to find a way to tie it off and cut it. That’s when I hear the most beautiful sound I have ever heard in my whole life. I look through the windshield and can see the lights of an ambulance racing towards us.
“Thank God,” I sigh, as we pull off the road. The ambulance is on the other side. When they open my door and take Kara and my nephew, I feel my first real sense of relief since this day started.
*~*~*
Trevor
“Where the f*ck is she?” I put my head between my knees, trying to breathe. Nothing is working. I can’t take a full breath. I don’t know what I will do if something has happened to her. I look up to see my dad coming down the hall towards me with his phone to his ear. I stand, walking towards him. “Have you heard anything?”
“Liz and Kara are on their way in. An ambulance intercepted a black SUV out on old Spring Place Road. One female gave birth before the ambulance was able to make it to them; the other has suffered a head wound, and is going to need stitches and possibly a transfusion when they arrive.” I rub my hands over my face a few times. Knowing that Liz is on her way here gives me a sense of relief; knowing she is hurt has me pacing back and forth in front of the emergency room doors. I need to hold her and see for myself that she is okay. As soon as I see the lights flashing, I run out the doors. The ambulance hasn’t even come to a complete stop before I’m pulling the door open. Liz is sitting on the bench; Kara is strapped down in the stretcher, holding a small bundle in her arms. The two EMTs look at me in shock when I climb into the back, pulling Liz into my arms. She is cold and pale, but awake.
“Hi.” She starts crying as soon as she speaks. I tuck her face into my neck and hop out of the ambulance.
“Hey, we need—” I turn around, daring him to finish, or to try and take her from me. It will be a long time before I ever let her out of my sight again.
I take a deep breath, the first breath I have taken since I found out that Liz was missing. “I’m just taking her in to the doctor,” I tell him, knowing that he’s just trying to do his job. As soon as I walk through the emergency room door, the nurse is there, ushering us into a room where she checks Liz over, explaining that her blood pressure is a little low due to blood loss; but everything else looks good. She gives me another blanket for Liz to help warm her up, and says that the doctor shouldn’t be too long. I wrap her up and sit in the chair next to the bed. Her hair, chest, and hands are covered in dried blood. I don’t know how much of it is hers; I know my dad said that Kara had the baby before the ambulance arrived. “Did they hurt you anywhere else, baby?” I don’t want to ask, but I notice that she isn’t wearing a shirt. I want to throw up. She shakes her head but doesn’t answer. I don’t want her to think that I would be upset with her. “You can tell me if they touched you.” I lay my forehead against her hand.
“They didn’t touch me.”
“Where’s your shirt?” I whisper, feeling bile crawling up the back of my throat.
“I had to use it to wrap the baby in,” she says, running her fingers through my hair. “The only time they touched me was when one of them hit me over the head with his gun because I was trying to make them let Kara go.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Mayson?”
“Yes.” I stand, wanting to get this over with. I want to take my girl home.
“How’s Kara and the baby?” Liz asks.
“They are both doing just fine. After I get you stitched up, you can see them if you want.”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright. I am going to have you sit on the side of the bed facing your husband.” I help her sit on the edge and stand between her legs, my hands under her jaw, and taking comfort in the feel of her skin under my hands and her body close to mine. “I’m going to numb the area. Then I am going to have to shave the area around the wound and clean it up before I start on the stiches.” Liz nods, but her eyes fill with tears. I hate seeing her in pain, knowing I can’t do anything about it.
“I’m right here.” I whisper softly in her ear, rubbing the underside of her jaw. I try to have her focus on me as the doctor turns on a pair of clippers, the sound filling the small room. The nurse comes in, followed by my dad and another officer, who start to ask Liz questions about what happened. The more she talks, the more my blood starts to heat, between what happened with Tim at the job site, and Kara and Liz being kidnapped, I was ready to hurt someone.
“How did Kai know how to find you guys?” Dad asks her.
“He said that he had been watching for a while,” Liz answers.
“Did he say why?”
“No.” She shakes her head, and I can tell she’s lying. “Is my brother okay?”
The other police officer answers, “He’s fine. The guys who kidnapped you today went to your brother, showing him a picture of you and Kara. When your brother saw the photo, he attacked one of the guys, overpowering him. The next man pulled a gun and shot your brother at close range in the side. He’s awake, and with his wife and son.”
“What?” she gasps.
“It’s just a flesh wound, Mrs. Mayson.” Her body sags in relief when she hears he is all right. “What happened to the guys who took us?”
“Both of them are in custody. Seems they were trying to get your brother to go back with them willingly,” Dad says.
“Why?”
“They wanted him to tell the DA that the evidence that your brother had gathered against Max Tavero was all planted.”
When the doctor finishes the last of the stitches, I say, “If you don’t need anything else, I am going to take her to see her brother, then home.” I look at my dad, who nods his head. He hugs Liz, and promises that he and Mom will stop by tomorrow. The nurse comes back in with a top for Liz to wear. I take her into the bathroom and help her get cleaned up. When we make it to Kara’s room, Tim is standing outside her door, talking to someone I don’t recognize. Liz’s hand flexes in mine; her steps falter, putting me on guard.
“That’s Kai,” Liz whispers.
“Go in the room with Kara and close the door.”
“Trevor, he saved us.”
“I know, baby, but I’m not going to risk something else happening to you, so do what I say.” When we reach the door, I block her as she goes into the room and closes the door behind her. Once I know she is safe, I go in for the kill. I’m not going to have this shit go down again. I shove Kai into the wall, my forearm going into his throat. “What the f*ck is going on?” I’m done playing games. I have no idea what he wants from Tim, but I’m going to make it perfectly clear that he is never going to get the information by threatening Liz.
“I’m going to let you get away with touching me this one time because I understand that you’re upset about what happened to your wife. But in the future, if you think about touching me, I will end you.”
“Do you think I give a f*ck? I want to know that I’m not going to have to deal with this shit again.”
“I took care of it, Trevor,” Tim says, pulling my arm. I step back, shrugging off his touch.
“You took care of it, Tim?” I shove him against the wall. I don’t give a f*ck that he was shot. “My wife was kidnapped, along with your then-pregnant fiancée, Tim. She delivered your son in the back of an SUV while bleeding from a head wound. You told me that this shit wasn’t going to follow you to town. You said that the police were handling everything; so tell me, what the f*ck happened?”
“They were going to use Liz and Kara against me. They wanted me to go back with them so that I would agree to talk to the DA. They didn’t know that Kai had contacted me already, and informed me of what was going on. He didn’t know that the girls were going to be kidnapped, just that they were going to convince me however they had to, to do what they wanted.”
“As I was just telling Mr. Hayes, nothing like this will happen again, so he doesn’t need to concern himself.”
“How do you know that?” All I want to know is that Liz will never have to go through something like she did tonight ever again.
“You never bite the hand that feeds you. Now, I am sure you would like to get back to your families. Tim, thank you again; and congratulations to you and Kara.” And with that, he turned and walked off.
“Tim, I need to know that Liz is never going to be in danger again.” I run my hands down my face. I had been with Tim at the hospital when I found out that Liz had been taken. I never wanted to feel as helpless as I did in that moment again.
“She won’t be.” He opened up the door to the room. Kara was sitting up in bed; Liz was in the rocker holding her nephew.
“How’s he doing?” Tim asks, walking up to Liz. He runs his hand over her hair, before kissing her forehead.
“He’s sleeping,” she says, handing him over to Tim, who takes him carefully from her arms. He walks over to the bed where Kara is.
“Let’s go home,” Liz says softly, grabbing onto my hand.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I pull her into me, drop her hand, and kiss her. As soon as our tongues touch, I’m lost in the feeling and taste of her. This is what I could never live without; this is what I will always fight for. I pull my mouth from hers, kissing her bottom, then top lip. “Let’s go home,” I repeat. I kiss her forehead, wrap my hand around hers, and take us home, leaving the day behind us.