Always For You (Books 1-3) (27 page)

“FIGHT BACK,” he shouted, “FIGHT
BACK YOU FUCKING COWARD.”

The words stung at me but I didn't
react, staying away from his swinging arms.

“Blame me all you want,” I said,
“but it was all John.”

He carried on at me, his breathing
turning heavy, his movement weakening. “You killed him,” he
repeated over and over, gradually breaking down to the floor,
kneeling on the soft grass. “You killed him.”

I stood over him, watching him fight
the truth. “I had to,” I said quietly, “I had to defend
myself.”

“But why,” he said, his words now
soft, drained, “why didn't you call the police? If it was self
defense? Why did you cover it up?”

I didn't know exactly how to answer
that question. It was instinct, a reaction that I had without
thinking. I didn't want to put Grace through that, go through it all
myself. I took the only route I knew, the route I'd always taken.

“I wasn't thinking straight,” I
said after a moment. “I should have, I know that now, but it just
happened like that.”

“And Grace,” he asked, his voice
almost a whisper, “she's an accessory. How could she be with me
knowing what had happened?”

“No,” I said, “she was
unconscious, drugged. I did it all, I burned down the house, she was
passed out the entire time, she had no part in it. Don't blame her,
she's been living in a nightmare dealing with this. I hope you can
see that.”

“I don't know what I can see right
now,” he said. “I need time.”

“Please,” I said, “don't blame
Grace for any of this. She didn't do anything wrong, she was there
for you. Talk to her, she'll help you understand. If you need someone
to blame, blame me.”

He looked up at me, looking me straight
in the eyes, but said nothing. He didn't need words, the hatred in
his eyes told me all I needed to know.

I stepped back slowly, keeping my eyes
on him, before turning and walking out of the park. I left him there,
kneeling on the grass under the dark shadows of the trees, a man with
the weight of the world crushing on his shoulders. I hoped he
wouldn't go to the police, I hoped I'd explained things well enough
for him to realize that neither of us were at fault, that it was John
who signed his own life away.

But there was nothing I could about it
now. The ball was in his court, and I just hoped that Grace could
explain it better, fill in the gaps that I left open, the parts of it
all that I didn't understand. My thoughts turned to Grace as I
stepped back on my bike.
So she wasn't with Chase. Where was she?

I dialed her number again, but once
more it went straight to voicemail. I left her a quick message
telling her what had happened and shut the phone off. I dialed
Emily's number and she picked up immediately. I asked whether Grace
had come back and she told me no.
She must have lost battery,
still out there looking for Chase. I'm sure she'll get home soon.

I offered Emily the option of a lift
home, but she said it was fine, that she'd get a taxi. I guess that
was probably best anyway, I had a lot on my mind right now and just
wanted to get home, get some rest.

My life was now not under my control.
If Chase chose to go to the police, I don't know what would happen. I
just hoped, beyond hope, that he wouldn't.

January 12
^th
2014

Grace

I slowly opened my eyes to blackness.
Was I dreaming? Was I awake? The back of my head was throbbing as I
remembered what had happened. That car, that man: he'd dragged me
onto the backseat and now, where was I?

I was sat in a chair and could feel
rope around my wrists. I tried to move my hands but they were stuck
fast, the tight knots sticking my hands to the arms of the chair. I
tried to move my feet but they were fixed too. My heart was racing as
I struggled, kicking out my legs and shaking my arms with all my
strength.

It was no use. I screamed out into the
silence, my cries echoing around the walls. It sounded like I was in
a warehouse: somewhere open and empty, somewhere isolated.

“CHASE,” I shouted, “CAIN! IS
ANYONE THERE!”

My words bounced around the walls,
reaching no ears but my own. I was breathing fast and hard, my lungs
threatening to explode, a panic spreading over me.
Where was I?
What was going on?

Then I heard it. Breathing, not far to
my right, slow and steady as if someone was there, sleeping near me.
The fear in me grew, the silence getting more intense, no sounds but
that of a person breathing quietly next to me.

Then, suddenly, a crack of light
appeared in front of me, away at the other end of the room. It was a
door opening, lighting up the room briefly before shutting fast. In
that brief moment I caught a glimpse of a man walking towards me, his
head covered in a hood, his face impossible to see.

I heard his footsteps slowly get closer
to me in the darkness, his pace slow and menacing.

“Who are you?” I called out in
panic, “what is this?”

He said nothing, his steps getting
closer and closer. Then, suddenly, he stopped short a few meters from
me, and spoke. His voice was raspy and cold, a voice stuck somewhere
in the back of my mind. I was sure I'd heard it before.

“Don't be afraid,” he said, “this
isn't about you.”

I couldn't breath, I couldn't think. I
was petrified with fear.

“This is about your brother,” he
continued. “I want to make him suffer, make him suffer like he's
made me suffer.”

He was breathing slowly, his voice full
of hatred. “You have nothing to fear from me. When he gets here,
I'll let you go. Until then, speak to your friend, keep each other
company.”

He suddenly shone out a light to the
person breathing to my right. I squinted at the brightness and turned
to see a figure strapped, like I was, to a chair. The blur of the
light began to fade, my eyes adjusting, and then I saw her face: her
pretty features and cute blonde hair. It was Emily, her head resting
on her shoulder, he eyes closed.

“What did you do to her,” I said
suddenly, looking back at the cloaked man.

“Nothing serious,” he said, “she
should wake soon.”

“Who are you,” I said, my words
trembling, seeing a mask beneath the cloak. “What do you want with
us?”

“No one you'd know, no one you'd
remember. Your brother though, he might, he might remember what he
did to me.”

“You're here,” he continued,
“because he loves you both. I've been watching him, I know what you
both mean to him. He took everything from me, everything I loved, so
now it's his turn.”

I flinched at his words. “Are you
going to kill us?” I asked, my voice shivering.

He laughed, a croaky laugh. “No, I'm
only going to kill him.”

With that he turned and walked away,
his path illuminated by the torch in his hand. He flicked it off as
he walked through the door, shutting it with a heavy thud and casting
the room back into darkness.

January 13
^th
2014

Cain

It had been two days since the party
and I hadn't heard anything from Grace. I'd tried calling her again
and again to find out what was happening but it went to voicemail
every time. After a couple of days it got to the point where I was
getting really worried about what had happened to her.

I went over to her apartment to see if
I could get hold of her. I had no idea what Chase might do in his
frame of mind and knew nothing of his past. For all I knew he might
be violent, especially when drinking. He'd been an alcoholic, and had
sobered up, but the revelation that came out the other night had
clearly sent him over the edge. If he'd kept drinking, maybe he'd
have got physical with Grace? The thought gnawed at me like a thorn
in my side. I had to find her.

I went to the house and hit the buzzer
for their flat. There was no reply. I tried several times, but no one
answered. I couldn't go to the police, I couldn't get them involved.
What could I do?

It was Monday evening when I went to
see Trevor. I hadn't seen him since I had left all those months ago,
but I had little time to worry about what we'd talk about, little
thought of our own difficulties right now.

I pulled up outside and knocked on the
door. He looked worried as he opened it, his face wrapped in a heavy
frown.

“Cain,” he said, his expression
turning to one of surprise, “you're back.” He pulled me in for a
hug, something he hadn't done before, something I hadn't let him do.
“It's so good to see you. Come in.”

I spoke as we walked in through the
door, getting straight to the point. “Have you seen or heard from
Grace recently?” I asked immediately, nothing else on my mind.

His face turned grave once more, the
heavy look of concern quickly reappearing. “No, she was meant to
come for lunch yesterday, but never showed up. I've tried calling
her, but it goes to voicemail. I'm getting worried, do you know
something?”

I couldn't tell him the whole truth,
but I was an honest as I could be. “I was with her at her flat
warming party on Saturday. I haven't seen or heard from her since.”

He looked so worried, like there was
more to it than I knew. He gestured to come into the kitchen, where I
saw Penny sitting, her face as worried as his.

“Cain, have you seen Emily?” It was
the first thing she said, no time for pleasantries. Her words were
shaky,

Trevor spoke first. “He says he was
at the party as well Penny, the one Emily went to.”

Her eyes lit up slightly. “Did you
see anything happen to her Cain? Was she OK? Did she get drunk?”

I looked at them both, slightly
confused by what they were saying. “Has something happened to
Emily?” I asked, a concern settling in my gut.

“She never came home that night
Cain,” Penny gushed, “she hasn't come home since. I've spoken to
Scott, and she wasn't there either. I can't get through to her phone,
I have no idea where she is.”

My heart was pacing now.
Not Emily
as well. Not her.

“Have you been to the police,” I
said quickly.

Trevor was shaking his head. “Not
yet, we just thought that they're busy girls, busy with their own
lives. But then Scott called asking about Emily, and now you're here
asking about Grace. I think we should go now, tell the police.” He
looked down at Penny, who whimpered at the thought that her daughter
was in trouble.

Trevor turned back to me, still
talking. “I've been trying to call Chase as well, but he doesn't
answer. I suppose you met him at their party?” he asked me. “Did
anything seem off to you, was anything wrong?”

I thought about telling him, about
telling them both what had happened, but it was only fleeting.
Instead I lied, simply saying that they'd had an argument, but it was
nothing.

“I think wait for the morning,” I
said, “to go to the police. If they don't show up, if neither one
shows up, then go.”
I want time to figure this one out on my
own. Emily, Grace, I'd do anything for either of them. I have to find
them.

“But why wait,” asked Trevor. “If
something's wrong, the police need to know now.”

Penny spoke her agreement. “We need
to go now. My baby. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to
her.”

I couldn't get the idea out of my head
that having the police involved would only cause more problems. I'd
never liked them, never trusted them, and didn't want myself being
put under the microscope. But Emily, Grace, they were the two most
important people in the world to me. I'd do anything to make sure
they were safe, anything.

“OK,” I said after a few moments,
“go to the police, tell them they're missing. I'm going to try to
find them myself.”

“Please Cain,” Penny said as I
turned to leave, “find her, find my girl.”

“I'll do my best,” I said, looking
at her and then to Trevor. “I'll find them both.”

Grace

“It's OK Emily, it's me, it's Grace.
Listen to my voice, and calm down. Slow your breathing. That's it,
breath.”

Emily had just woken into the blackness
as I did, thrashing in her chair and crying out in fear. I felt her
terror, felt her panic, but someone needed to stay calm, someone need
to keep it together.

“Emily, listen to me, it's Grace,”
I spoke louder over her screams. “Please, it's OK.”

She continued to scream, shouting out
for help. I had no idea what time it was, I couldn't even be sure
what day it was. I might have been out for days before I woke up in
this chair, or it might have only been hours. I didn't know, but I
knew that people would be getting worried, that people would be
looking for us.

“Where are we,” Emily was crying in
the blackness, “what's going on?”

“I don't know babe, we're in a small
warehouse somewhere, or just a large room, I'm not sure.”

She was breathing heavily, and fast, a
panic setting in. “What's going on?” she repeated. “Who took
me, someone took me.”

I pulled once more at my ropes, but
knew it was futile. I wanted to go over to her, to comfort her, calm
her down. She might have a heart attack for all I knew the way she
was going.

“Emily, calm down, you have to calm
down. Listen to my voice, talk to me Emily.”

Then suddenly, the crack of light
reappeared at the end of the hallway and the man walked through. He
stormed forwards towards us with a torch, Emily screaming as he
approached her. I saw a needle in his hand, which he plunged straight
into Emily's neck. Her cries immediately ceased as her head slowly
drooped down to her shoulders.

“What did you do,” I shouted, “what
did you give her.”

“Just something to calm her down,”
he said in his raspy tones, walking off back towards the door.