Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter 28

When I woke up I was laying in the middle of the woods. Once the pain in my head diminished, I glanced around quickly before getting up fully.

I didn't see Officer Webber and I couldn't see the car or road at all. How far was I in the woods? How did I get here anyway?

There were rocks only on one side of me. I could hear movement in the surrounding area, but I couldn't tell if it was animal or human. I could only hope that it was animal. I'd rather be mauled by a bear than find out how Steve was planning to get rid of me.

I got up to see that the rocks had been arranged to spell out, 'two hours left Anna.' then written in the dirt was 'see you soon.' That's when I was able to connect the dots of what happened, Steve had caused the car crash and brought me out here for him to chase. I needed to start moving, but I couldn't decide where to go. I wasn't even sure how I got here, but I knew I would die if I stayed here. Where would I go? Could I risk going back to Charleston, or do I continue toward the next town where I was supposed to go? My choice was made for me as footsteps approached from the direction of Charleston. I took off running when the footsteps got closer to me. That's when I heard laughter, maniacal and crazed, coming from behind me.

I could feel the brush cutting into my legs. I was driven by fear.

Even when I hit pavement and saw buildings of the new town, I couldn't stop. I sprinted through the streets, ran into people and one time into a parked car. I was sent crashing to the ground, the pain seeping into my body as I caught my breath. 

"Excuse me, young lady," I heard a voice, causing my eyes to fly open from their moment of rest. "You have a lot of people worried. Are you okay?" 

I glanced up at the police officer with fear surging through my body. Forcing myself from the ground, I shot up and pressed myself against the car. While trying to think of an escape plan I couldn't help but wonder which side he was on. Would he call Steve, or would he take me to my parents? What would happen to me if I trusted him?

"You're Anna Cowles! We've been looking for you since we had the crash reported! Everyone's on their ear looking for you," he exclaimed with a thick southern accent.

"What?" I asked through a wheezy voice.

"Your parents are on their way here from Charleston. They'll be here tomorrow! Come on, let's get you cleaned up and back home. I can't imagine my little girl being as strong as you, you've become popular around the country," he said as he led me to his police cruiser. 

I glanced at the car and swallowed hard. I didn't know whether to trust this man, or not. He seemed nice, unlike those in the department with James who made it obvious they weren't pleased to see me, but that didn't mean I could trust him. Either this man hid his deception well, or he truly was a good man. I didn't have the urge to run from the car, but I wasn't going to walk willingly into a trap, only to wake up with Steve hovering over me a few hours later.

"What's wrong?" the officer asked.

"I don't trust you. I only trust James Sparks," I said truthfully as I stood five steps away from the vehicle. 

"I see. How can I ease your tension?"

"I don't know," I stated honestly. I hadn't thought of that, how was there a way to truly know if they were good or just a good actor? 

"How about we get in the car with the doors unlocked and head straight to the police office. It's the best I can do, Anna. We do need seat belts, though," he said, adding the technicality on to his proposition.

"Sure, but then I want all the police a fair distance away from me."

"Deal. Get in, and we will be there before you know it," he said, as he opened the back door for me so that we would be as far apart as the car would allow us to be. Once he shut the door he walked around to the driver's side door and slid into the front seat.

We drove in complete silence to the police station. He stayed on his side of the glass and I stayed on my side, but my guard wasn't going to fall. Even as we walked into the station, I glanced at each of the policemen and women to look at their expressions. The officers in James' department showed that they weren't pleased to see me, but everyone here started cheering when we walked in. They all seemed genuinely excited to have me be here, but could that really be the truth? I looked at all of their smiling and relieved facial expressions with intense analysis, but they didn't falter at my obvious scrutiny.

"It's good to see you're okay, Miss Cowles." I turned at the sound of my name and looked up at a tall, muscular young man, easily in his early twenties fresh from the academy. He reminded me of Garrett—I hope he made it through surgery, and that he was safe.

"Is that so?" I asked, feeling as if the man was waiting for me to say something.

"We've heard plenty about what has happened to you. I actually just got off the phone with James Sparks, who is the acting police chief over there. We have everything planned out to finally end this for you," the officer said with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked suddenly nervous of what they had planned for me.

"Come into my office, and I will explain everything there," he said as he gestured toward the open door behind him. I nodded slightly and followed him glancing back at the officers behind me. None of them had moved, and their expressions hadn't changed.

"My name is Officer Wright. Please don't make any puns from that, I'm aware of many of them," Officer Wright said passively as he shut the door behind me. I instantly tensed as I was sealed into the room with only him. 

"Please don't shut the door," I pleaded with a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry if this makes you nervous, Anna, but it's for your own good. We are limiting the number of people you come into contact with. You will be moved to a safe house, in an undisclosed location except to those taking and guarding you there. You will stay there all night, and this will be over in the morning. One of my men has been following Steve, and he will be in custody by tomorrow morning," he explained sitting down in his seat.

"What's to stop Steve from finding me? He has allies in the police department," I stated in a quiet voice to keep the confidentiality of the topic.

"I'm well aware, I was briefed by Chief Sparks. That is another reason the number of people who have knowledge about this plan is being kept minimal. We hope to avoid Steve finding you, or find the mole in our own department. There's just no way of knowing, but I promise you I've done everything I can and by the book. This should go over well," Officer Wright stated as a knock rasped on his door.

"We're ready to go," someone said through the door.

"Thank you. Now, Anna, don't speak, don't say anything, just go. There will be guards around the safe house, and I will see you tomorrow." 

"Do you know where I'm going?" I asked as we walked toward the front door of the building.

"No, sorry. Only five people know where you are going. This safe house idea wasn't mine, it was made from above me," he said as he waved me out the door into another police officer's protective arms.

"I'm down to a matter of minutes so I hope this works," I stated to Officer Wright as I walked down the stairs.

"I do too. I really do too,” I heard Officer Wright say just as I slammed the door shut behind me. It took an hour to get to the safe house because we took the long route in hopes of throwing off whoever may be following us. The last rays of lights were snuffed out as the officers took their positions around the house. There was one officer with me, but talking with him was like talking to a wall.

"May I take a shower?" I asked, ending the silence between us for a moment. All the officer did was nod as an answer before returning to his position. The house had a square layout to allow for easy access into all the rooms, there were two ways in and out of the room. I went from the living room to the bedroom, through the bathroom and finally into the kitchen. I glanced into the living room from the second entrance to the kitchen, and the officer was still standing there. I wanted to be sure that it was only the officer and me in the house before I took a shower.

I turned on the water and got in. I took a long shower, drowning out everything as the water ran down my body to clean the fresh mud and dirt off of me. Memories washed away from my mind for the moment, leaving me to remember the times with Garrett. 

After about ten months of being in the house with him, he admitted to having feelings for me and I could say I felt the same. I could feel the tingle on my lips just by remembering his soft gentle kiss or the way he wrapped his arms around me into a hug. He was my hope, my light and I couldn't wait to see him again. Then it took another two months for us to escape, and soon we would be together again.

The water turned cold, breaking me from my recollection. I stepped out and grabbed a towel to shroud myself from the cold. That's when the sound of something crashing to the floor caught my attention. I gripped my towel tighter as I quietly opened the door to the kitchen and glanced in.  

I saw the officer on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding him, the blood slowly expanded around the body itself. I shut the door quietly again, and then froze as I heard another sound come from the bedroom. I slowly walked toward the other door and opened it slowly. From the small slit I allowed myself to open the door I could see candles lighting the room, I could smell perfume and see flower petals lying on the bed. Then I saw Steve—he had found me and killed the officer to get to me. 

"This will be the last time I allow myself to do this. She can't live much longer, she's too much trouble. It's a pity really; we could have had a wonderful life if you had just accepted it, Anna," Steve said, turning toward the door and taking quick steps toward me.

I slammed the door and locked it as fast as I could. Steve started laughing as he pounded on the door trying to open it. Fear sprinted through me; I was stuck. I had nowhere to go and I didn't know where the other officers were. Why weren't they in here? Had Steve already killed them?

"You can't hide from me forever. I'll find you! You have nowhere to run!" He laughed as he attempted to break the door down. Without a second thought, I took off running out the other bathroom door. I raced through the kitchen, past the dead officer, and I squeezed through the tight hallway that led out the back of the house.

Chapter 29

The sun was starting to rise, making the pain in my legs and chest a very harsh reality. I had run almost all night, with only a few breaks to ease the tension that was growing in my chest.  I knew I had to keep running, but it was getting harder to breath with every step. I had no idea where I was going, only that I was running away from Steve. There were no paths, so I spent a lot of time and energy climbing over fallen trees and in between thorn bushes. The maniacal laughter from behind me was all the motivation I needed.

I could hear voices coming from around me. The brush started to diminish as I hit a dirt path, worn down by years of someone coming back and forth. I felt slightly relieved, running would at least be easier now, I thought as Steve caught up to me.

"Anna, when are you going to learn that I've been doing this for a while? I'm in good enough shape to catch up and toy with you while I wait for you to collapse with exhaustion."

"I'm not going to let you catch me," I yelled in the general direction of Steve's voice as I took off again.

“You can’t prevent the inevitable, Anna!”

The voices got louder, but I was too afraid to stop. I was afraid I would turn around and see his gray eyes, and then I would be trapped. I would be claimed as his one last time, filling the last few moments of my life with pain before he killed me.

It made me wonder what would become of Garrett if I was caught. Would Steve go back to the hospital to get him, or would he leave Garrett alone since he had me? There was no doubt in my mind that he would go right back to taking girls and this time there would be no one there to help them. Garrett wouldn't go back, he swore he'd kill himself before he went back if he ever got out.

It had to end here and now. There had been too many girls affected by this, it wasn't fair to them or their families. Their families never had any clue what happened to them, and they needed to. They needed to see what certain individuals were capable of doing, but they also needed it for closure. I couldn't let those girls be labeled as runaways and missing. Someone needed to be told, which meant I needed to live. 

"Anna! Oh, Anna! I think it's time we went home. We have to check on our son and daughter," I heard Steve call from behind me.

I stiffened at how close his voice sounded. As quickly as I could, I hid behind a tree as footsteps raced past me. If he hadn’t spoken I would have been captured and under his control again. Why hadn't I been paying more attention?

When I didn't answer he continued to call for me.

"We can go home and enjoy alone time together. I have a few new ideas for what to do. I think you'll like them, we can enjoy each other just like our honeymoon." 

I turned and ran in the opposite direction. I didn't even look back when I saw two runners coming my way, a man and a woman, to see if Steve was following me. Both looked exhausted, but when I popped out in front of them they stopped for a few moments.  I sighed in relief as they took tentative steps toward me on the converging paths before they ran faster toward me.

"You're that girl!" the man yelled.

"Anna! Anna Cowles! Do you remember us, we live in your neighborhood?" the woman said as she gave me a once over to look for injuries or scars.

"We have to get out of here! He's behind me!" I yelled in panic, trying to pull the woman along with me.

"Who's behind you, Anna?" the lady asked me.

"Steve! He's behind us!"

"Who's that? I've never heard of him," she asked, giving me a look of disbelief. She didn’t believe me that there was a man following me. I thought James had told me my whole town was looking for me, but this didn't make any sense. Did they all think I had run away or something? Why else would I be breathing so hard from running in the woods all night?

"We have to go to the police station! The hospital! Anywhere but here!" I yelled in frustration, raking my fingers through my wildly matted hair.

"We have to get you home. Your parents have been worried sick!" The man took my hand and started walking me down the path. I didn't recognize the people, but they sounded familiar, like a voice from my past.

I wobbled with them as they walked me down the path. I felt as if I had aged drastically from my captivity, both mentally and physically. As we walked down a hill I saw the three dirt paths combine and then take a fork on the road. At the intersection of all three paths is where Andy had asked me to be his girlfriend, and where I had said yes.

I let one tear fall for my fallen friend, but I had little emotion to show for him. He was gone, just like I was, and the only person I felt any connection to anymore was Garrett. From him it expanded to Jessi then to James, the few that saved me. Would I be able to feel anything for my family after this? I glanced up just in time from my reverie to see a tall figure running out of sight. His hair was a dark curly brown, with a bald spot just on top of his head. His reminded me of someone I knew. 

"Dad? Dad! Dad!" I called, breaking from the man's hand and running toward my dad. 

"Anna, wait!" I heard the man yell after me.

I ran down the dirt path, ignoring the couple behind me as they called for me to come back. I followed the man up the hill and out of the park. I was just about to touch him when I heard a blood-curdling scream from behind me. I turned around to see the woman running toward me with fear chiseled across her face. There was a significant air current created as she ran past me, leaving me there staring at the man that had once been attempting to help me.

He was lying on the ground with a knife in his back, his position contorted. He was lying as if he was thrown sideways, like he had leapt in front of his wife to save her life. I looked up to see Steve slinking from the body and coming toward me. I was frozen with fear as he continued to advance. I couldn't get my body to cooperate with me, I needed to run, but couldn't.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Anna, Anna, Anna. Did you really think those people would do you any good? Have you learned nothing? It's a pity, really. Do you have any idea what a wonderful life we could have had?”

I started to walk backwards, away from him, but he followed and continued to talk to me as we got closer out of the woods. Steve would kill anyone that got in his way—that much was clear. How many people would I put in danger if I left this park? Was it worth risking my life over?

“That wouldn’t have happened. I was faking the whole time!”

“Don’t say that, Anna! Don’t say that!”

“I just did! By the way, that honeymoon was horrible!” I spat, knowing it would hurt him.

“Don’t say that, Anna!”

“What are you going to about it?” I yelled angrily, unsure of what I was trying to accomplish. I was ready for this all to be over, maybe this was the only way to do that.

"You were the one, Anna, but if you think I'll let you go and tell people what happened, you're sadly mistaken," Steve stated, pulling a gun to my head.

"No, Mr. Bennett, I'm afraid you’re the one that's mistaken," a voice stated from behind me as a gunshot went off.