Behind The Mask (Nurses Book 2) (18 page)

“Girl, you know nothing then. You need to open your eyes. That boy breathes all things you. You remind me of my CC, she was stubborn as all get out too, just like you. Cori, you don’t see yourself the way we see you. The way we see you is an incredible girl who could move mountains with a smile. A girl who radiates beauty, a girl who is so sweet she could give cavities.”

Now the blush is in full force, and the tears hang onto my lashes for dear life. This man is so sweet underneath the gruff, and I feel sorry that he has lost his love.

“Thank you, Allyn, I treasure you as a friend. But I save all my good smiles for you.”

“Your boy is probably sleeping, when you first get a limb it takes a lot out of a person. So I would check his room.”

I send him the best smile I can muster and walk towards Gage’s room. Normally when he is in he always has music going, but this time, nothing is playing. Knocking and knocking he still doesn’t answer. So I barge in only to be greeted by an empty bed. Odd.

Texting Damian to see if he has seen him, I get a feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something is off. I’m not seeing something that I should be seeing.

The beep on my phone brings me out of my thoughts. I reach for the phone and hope Damian says that Gage is with him. I’m hoping that maybe it's Gage saying sorry he forgot to text me, or a ‘please leave me alone’ text. Anything just letting me know that he is ok.

Odd, it’s a number I don’t recognize. Not many people have this number. I had to change it after the riot because the phone calls were never ending. From new people to people just trying to satisfy their own morbid curiosity, it was nerve wracking.

Opening my messages I am shocked to see that it is a picture of Gage. When I enlarge the pictures, I see that he is bound and gagged, but he appears to be sleeping. My insides turn cold. I am scared to death, but I know I need to do something.

First thing I do is look at the picture again, see if anything is in it that I can identify where he may be. Second thing I do is I call Damian and Martin. They both said they were on their way. I have been instructed to ‘sit tight and wait.’ But I don’t want to, I’m a nosy person by nature, and it’s something that I’ve pushed deep down inside of me. Now it’s coming back in raging full force.

“What is it, Cori? What’s wrong?” Allyn is standing in my way, blocking me from continuing to pace.

“Gage has been taken, and I dunno where he is. I got a picture from a number I don’t recognize. He’s tied up and gagged. I’m waiting for the cops to get here. Shit, why won’t they hurry?”

Inside I’m panicking, like full on my heart is shaking, my knees are shaking panicking. I don’t know what this is about, but Gage doesn’t strike me as the type to purposely let himself get kidnapped, so something else has to be going on.

Allyn looks worried. He moves out of my way but wheels himself up against the hallway so he can be near me. I don’t mind it, I know him and Gage have become friends.

“Cori, show me what you got.” Damian’s long legs let him get from the elevator to me in a matter of seconds, which is great because I need him right now. I leap into his arms because sometimes you just have to have a hug to make yourself better. I’m not fully better, but I feel a little bit more mentally stable now.

“I got this picture.”

Ugh, I feel drunk. But not the good kind of drunk, the kind of drunk that you know you did some stupid shit and now have to try to remember it so you can face the consequences.

My head hurts, and my tongue feels like sandpaper on the roof of my mouth. Cottonmouth like a motherfucker! Something is over my mouth, but when I go to move it my hands are tied. Literally. What the fuck is going on?

Last thing I remember is standing on my own two feet with Emily, then falling, and that’s it. So now I’m here in the dark, and I can’t call out and I can’t move my hands. My training comes back to me from when we did kidnap and ransom classes. I stay still and listen for any sounds. I’m trying to see if anyone is in the room with me. I don’t hear anyone, and I can’t really tell where I am. The one thing I do know is that I’m lying on a bed. I wore shorts to therapy, and I can feel the padding on my legs. No windows in this room, so I have no idea what time it is.

Cori. She has to be freaking right now, I know I would be if I were in her shoes. I have to get out of here for her. I have to get back to her. But where is here? Who has me?

A door opens behind my head, so I know the bed is facing away from the door. I add that to the list of things I do know. When the light enters the room I look down to take stock of anything I can see.

“Ah, up so soon. Was hoping you would stay out for awhile.” Wait, I know that voice, but my brain must be a little foggy still because I can’t quite place it. I stay still because there is no use in fighting.

“Won’t be much longer, Gage, and it will all be over.” That has my blood running cold.

I try to ask what will be over, but whatever is covering my mouth won’t let me say anything. Plus my tongue is thick feeling, must be the effects of whatever I was given.

Whoever is behind me puts something white over my head, instantly cutting off any vision I have. But my kidnapper stops moving about when we hear a sound outside of the room. I try to flail myself around to cause whatever ruckus I can because someone needs to notice me.

“Tsk, tsk, Gage, now we wouldn’t want to give ourselves away would we?” Wait, that voice. I know that voice.

Damian and Martin are both here and have relaid everything I told them to uniformed officers. They have even interviewed Allyn because he is the last person to see him besides the people in therapy. They are calling them all in now. I’m in the day room while everyone mills about around me. They’re performing a door to door search of the building and have Gage’s room cordoned off with uniformed men standing outside his door. Martin explained that they brought in military police because this is a government property, but they have also brought in the local police as well. I’m having a hard time concentrating on what anyone says to me because I am terrified. This is like the riot all over again.

I feel like I’m becoming a magnet for the bad. Is that even possible? Can a person attract so much bad in their life that they actually turn into a magnet?

“Cori, earth to Cori.” Olivia snaps her fingers in my face.

“What the hell are you doing here? Where is my boy?” She didn’t need to come, but I appreciate her being here.

“He’s at home with the neighbor, and where else would I be? You need me and I come running. You’re family.”

I collapse into her, crying because I just have no idea what to do. I’m so scared that something bad is going to happen to him, and I don’t want to lose him when I just got him.

“I’m so scared. What if, what if he, what if?” I can’t even get the words out. If I get them out then it will be so real.

“Shhh, you can’t think like that, babe. He’s a big guy, and he’s very powerful. He will get out of this or Damian will find him. Simple as that. Don’t think the negative until we get to the negative.”

I just nod my head to her, because the tears are coming too hard to speak. Allyn comes wheeling in and sits in front of me, but he too says nothing. I’m grateful for his presence because if anything it shows he cares. He looks visibly upset as well, and I know that this must be hard on him since he is the last person to see him.

A thought pops into my head which has me tracking Martin and Damian down. Looking for them in a sea of black uniforms and armed men leaves me trembling. Nobody was coming into the day room when I was sitting in there. But now being out in the open with the uniforms and their guns leaves me weak. I feel like I’m back in the prison.

Seeing Damian’s giant self, I break out into a sprint because I need to get to him. I need to get this information out then go back to my little corner in the day room. Damian turns around when he hears my shoes slapping the floor, then he walks toward me with his arms outstretched.

“Sam, it’s Sam, it has to be her!” I’m out of breath, cursing myself for taking the elevator all this time and not the stairs.

“Cori, shhh, Cori it’s okay. No, it’s not Sam, she’s on her way here, but as far as we know, she didn’t do it.”

“She had to have, she has been harassing him. You know that, you were there when Gage reported it. It has to be her!”

I hear people running around, and it sounds like a herd of buffalo coming through so I know we must be some place public. I wonder if we’re still at the rehab, but that doesn’t make sense. Someone would have found me by now, and I still have no idea who took me. She hasn’t said anything since. But I hear her breathing, or maybe that’s my breathing. I dunno, but I’m trying to keep my breathing under control. The time for planning is now, because whoever this is, is off their rocker.

“Stop moving around, asshole. If you make any more noise I will slit your throat right here! You don’t want that now do ya?” the girl whispers. Things sound so much more sinister when they are whispered.

Now comes the time that I weigh my options. Do I think this girl is crazy and will hurt me? Yes, I do, but do I think she will actually go through with what she says? No, not really. I keep thrashing my body around in the hopes that someone hears me moving around. But it could be whoever she is working with moving around. This could be the proverbial double-edged sword.

I decide that my chances are better with whoever is out there. That and if I wiggle around enough I might get this hood off of me or loosen my bindings at least. She didn’t tie my legs together, I guess because of the missing parts and all, so I kick them around with all of my might, hoping that someone will hear me.

“That’s fucking it. I told you to stop moving around.” A heavy weight is put on my legs, and I try to buck it off but it doesn’t work. Her laugh echoes in my ears.

Trying to buck it off seems to be useless, but fuck it I’m gonna keep trying. I didn’t fight in the war to come back and die from this bullshit. No way, not today!

“Shut the fuck up now!” I feel something at my throat. My insides seize up because I’m pretty sure it’s a knife the crazy bitch is holding onto me.

I still have this hood over me, my mouth is covered, my hands are bound together, and this heavy frickin’ weight on my legs. Now I have a knife at my throat. I feel as if I will never get out of here. Defeated is an understatement right now.