The Pearls (19 page)

Zoe was bouncing in place waiting for Kaiden to get out.
Impatience was running rampant through her.

“You know what I like to eat Zo
e. Just get me whatever. Baby you want anything special?” Justine asked Gabe

“I think when they are done we can go in and get the things we like. I need to learn what you like my love and I would really like to buy your things.” Gabe said with a smirk playing on his lips “Besides I need to readjust our fellow companion before we head out.”

“Put him in the middle of the seat” Zoe whispered so low Blake would not be able to hear. Gabe gave her a curios look but nodded his agreement. Kaiden just continued to look at her with questions in his eyes.

“I have a plan” she whispered to him “Hey Blake what kinds of music do you like?” She raised her voice on the last part so they all could hear her.

“Oh uh, I like everything but country and classical.” Blake responded now confused himself

“Great that gives me a good selection” Zoe beamed at him and turned to go in the store. Kaiden was quickly following behind her.

Once they got in the store Kaiden could not contain his curiosity anymore.

“Zoe what is going on? What do you have planned?

“I can’t talk to you with him right behind me listening to everything. I know Gabe and Justine can hear even the smallest whisper, but I trust them. Blake is creeping me out. He doesn’t talk, but he listens to everything we say. So I am fixing it.” And with that she heads straight for the electronic department.

She picks out
an Mp3 player and some wrap around the ear head phones. She also goes to the CD section and randomly grabs about thirty CDs. She then goes over to the laptops and gets an employee to get the one she picked out. Finally Kaiden understands what she has planned.

“I know what you are doing now
, and you don’t need the laptop I have one of those in my bag.” he tells her

Zoe just smiles at him and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek
, ignoring the fact that he has a laptop, she has always wanted on of her own, “Food now?”

“Yep then some pillows and blankets. I think we will just be stopping for gas. With three of us being able to drive we should make good time and be there tomorrow evening.
” Kaiden grabbed Zoe around the waist and pulled her in close and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Kaiden knew she was uneasy in the car
, he could feel that she was absorbed with it. He wasn’t quite sure what to do about it though. Right now he was glad that she had come up with a plan to ease her own mind.

They moved through the store quickly grabbing the items they wanted on the trip. Zoe knew the music was going to make Blake feel uneasy
, so she grabbed a couple different things for him to include two changes of clothes.

Once they were done with the shopping they went back out to the car and Gabe and Justine went inside. Zoe took this opportunity to load all the CDs into the laptop and then load them into the Mp3 player. Gabe and Justine came back just as she was done.

“Blake I am sorry but I am going to put these headphones on you. I don’t trust you yet and there are some things that I don’t want you to know. I don’t feel comfortable talking freely to my friends with you in the car, so I am going to put these on you and turn it up quite loud.” Zoe explained to Blake

“No problem Zoe. I am sorry you feel uneasy and thank you for being considerate and buying music instead of just getting ear plugs. At least now I can
relax with music. May I see what you got?” Blake asked her, he was shocked she was being so nice. He would have bound and gagged her.

She showed him the CDs she got and Blake was nodding his head. “Thank you Zoe you got some of my favorite bands” Blake told her and nodded his head for her to put the headphones in and start the music.

“Please don’t take these off Blake. We will be able to tell if you do and the trust will just go a lot farther for me if you follow our instructions.” Zoe told him giving him a stern look.

“I will not take them off. If you need me just take them off or gesture for me too. I will probably close my eyes a lot with the music so just tap me or something.”

“Ok I got these for you too” Zoe handed him the clothes she got. “And these” handing him a pillow and blanket this time. “And these” she handed him snacks she hoped he liked.

“You don’t really know how to have a hostage do you?” Blake looked at her amused and thankful

Zoe paled not expecting that question, “well what would you guys have done to me?

“You want blunt honesty or the nice version?” Blake asked. Now he was nervous because all of them had turned to look and stare at him.

“How about blunt honesty” Gabe said completely intrigued.

“We would have tied you up blindfolded you and let you hear everything so you would know what we were doing and going to do. You
r mind is your worst enemy. You would have thought a whole lot of things. But we would not have fed you or stopped to let you use the restroom. That would have made you humiliated and more scared at what was going to happen.” Blake said, he had his eyes closed as he talked.

Zoe once again paled at the answer and was in
shocked into silence.

“Is that what we should be doing
?” Justine asked with hate dripping off her words.

“I appreciate that you aren’t doing those things to me. I appreciate that you allow me to see and that you have fed me and let me bath
e. I do not want you to do that no, Vivi will love you guys.” And he hung his head in shame.

“Alright I am sorry I asked that. Now we are going to treat you like a normal human being who happens to be a hostage. You will remain tied up in the car and when we stop. If we go to a restaurant we will let you come inside too. If you
even once try to run I will have no problem letting Gabe here take care of you and then you will just make it that much harder for Vivi to be accepted by us.” Zoe told him. She was trying to stop the thoughts going through her head.

Kaiden took over applying the headphones to Blake’s ears Zoe was having a difficult time with shaking hands. Once Blake was settled Kaiden turned on the Mp3 player and turned it up really loud. He then set the player on their side of the seat so Blake could not touch it.

They all buckled up and got back on the highway. Zoe snuggled up into Kaiden and covered her legs with a blanket.

Mary has spent the last four years alone and worried. She has made the time pass by reading and quilting. The winters are harsh in Wyoming so during the spring and summer she busies herself with gardening and canning.

About a month ago one of Gabe’s instructors started calling for him. She has taken message after message and told Mr. Mateo that she doesn’t know when Gabe will be back. When Gabe left he did not say when he was going to be back and refused to let her get him a cell phone. They both knew the danger if anyone found out what he was. She has taken every precaution to keep the boy safe.

She has not heard from Gabe since the day he left. He promised that he would find Justine and bring her back home. Mary knew he would
, there was no way he would leave behind his heritage journals and his pictures. She also hoped he would not leave her behind.

She misses him dearly. She watches the news and reads on the internet for strange and unusual things. She is looking for signs of him or others. She knows there are more out there in the world and is just trying to keep an eye out.

It is summer now so she has the vegetable and fruit to keep her company. She has recently stocked up on canning jars and the pantry is full of filled jars. With only feeding herself she is able to stock quite a lot.

Mary has a pot of strawberry jam on the stove. She has about an hour until it is done then she will be canning tonight. There is a flea market tomorrow that she is going to sell some o
f the over stock that she has.

Mateo has been trying to get a hold of Gabe for a month. He has a couple that he want
s Gabe to meet. Mateo thinks that Gabe will understand them more than he does. Mateo is worried about this couple John and Tia. They came to him a month ago to train. They are natural fighters just like Gabe was and they move like he does too. But this couple, they are ruthless in their fighting. Mateo does not know if he can train them much longer he is quite worried about them. But he feels compelled to get them into contact with Gabe.

John leaves soon to go back to the oil rig and will be out of touch for months. Tia has decided to follow him so she will also be out of touch. Mateo has three week to get a hold of Gabe before he has to play a waiting game.
He hopes he will return home before they leave.

Night has fallen as they drive into Nevada. Justine has taken over to give Gabe a break although he protested a lot.

“Guys I am itching for a burger is it ok if I stop at a fast food place and grab me one?” Justine asked

“I could use one too Justine my vote is Yes!” Zoe said

Gabe shook his head and smiled. “Diner girls” he whispered

“Hey watch it babe this girl likes her grease and junk food” Justine shot him a glare

“My love you can have whatever you want. Besides your rich now so you’re paying.”

Justine’s mouth dropped open in shock. Then she remembered her bank statement and grinned. “I am almost as
rich as Zoe is.”

They all laughed as she drove on. She found a restaurant she wanted and pulled in.