Authors: Bethany Daniel
"So, boys, what are you doing after filming is done?" Aria asks us, curling up in her chair.
I shrug. "We're planning on staying around here for a few extra days to spend time with the girls. Find a way of just relaxing away from the cameras."
"Good luck with that one." She smiles over at us.
"Maybe once filming is done the paps won't be as on-their-toes looking for us." Scott says with a shrug. "We can have a life, too."
Aria nods and then Mr. Johnson's assistant runs over with a frown on his face. "Sir, Ms. Dalton is nowhere to be found."
Mr. Johnson draws his eyebrows together. "She can't have just left; we still have scenes to shoot!" He raises his voice. "Find her, or call her and find out where the hell she is. I won't have one of my stars being unprofessional."
The assistant looks down and nods. "Right away," He turns on his heel and starts dialing on his cell phone.
I frown, watching his retreating back. "Where did Alexia go?"
Scott shrugs. "I don't know, last I saw her was when you dropped her after that scene." He smirks.
"Same here," Aria says with a shrug and looks towards Mr. Johnson.
"Ok, since Ms. Dalton couldn't be bothered to be with us, the three of you can help me decide which take comes across the best."
We all circle around him and lean in to get a better view of the screen. We watch scene after scene play out and point out to him which one might be better than the other.
"Mrs. Warren?" I hear a deep voice say over in a far corner, and my head snaps in that direction. That's Nate. Why the hell is he still here when he's supposed to be with Katy and Krista at all times?
I glare and start moving towards him, listening to the conversation as I go. I notice Scott following me after a minute.
"We're at set. Aren't you and Ms. Quinn still standing by?"
Nate has a panicked look cross his face and looks behind him. "Track the GPS in the Warren vehicle, NOW! They're being chased!" He hangs up the phone and shoves it into his pocket. He takes off at a run and I chase him down.
"Nate! What's going on? Why do you need to track the car?" My breath is coming out in huffs. I'm beyond mad right now; if something happened, so help me... I don't care if this guy has at least a hundred pounds of muscle on me.
He gulps and takes a deep breath. "Mr. Warren, Mr. Adams." He addresses Scott standing behind me. "There seems to have been an incident."
"What kind of incident?" Scott asks, harshly pushing in front of me.
"Mrs. Warren said they were being chased. I...I could hear a scream when the line went dead."
Everything around me disappears. Katy is in danger. Someone is trying to run them off the road and I'm nowhere near her to help with this.
I step up toe to toe with Nate and glare at him. "You get us to where they are, right now," I grit out through clenched teeth. "Get that damn GPS working and drive us there right now or I will not be responsible for my actions."
Eric steps up looking between Scott and me and points to a dot on his phone screen. "They're heading east, but it looks like they've stopped." He presses his lips together. "That could be for any reason."
"I don't care the reason!" I yell at him. "Which car is yours?"
He points to a large black hummer and Scott and I run to get in the backseat.
Scott looks over at me with a determined look on his face. "They're ok, man. They probably lost whatever camera man and pulled off to recover."
I tap my fingers nervously and try dialing Katy's cell phone. Nate and Eric finally get in and start speeding out of the parking lot and down the road while the line continues to ring and ring.
"Come on, Katy," I whisper to myself and try to call her over and over every couple minutes. I finally give up and throw the phone onto the floor with frustration.
"Call Krista," I tell Scott, "Katy's not answering, call Krista, right now!"
"I have been." Scott shakes his head. "She isn't answering either."
I put both hands through my hair and squeeze. Something's wrong. I can just tell. One or the other would have answered the phone if everything was fine. At this moment, I actually wish I knew Lucas' number. I'd gladly take the reassurance from him that they're just driving back to campus and everything is fine.
We skid to a stop finally and I can't get out of the car fast enough. But as soon as I do, I'm frozen in place. I hear Scott run up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, God," is all he gets out, seeing what's in front of us.
There are ambulances all around and the police are looking down into the ditch as some paramedics are working on removing everyone from the car. This can't be happening. Katy can't possibly be gone, I would know. I would feel it. I just got her back; I can't lose her like this. That's just not fair.
Scott reaches over and grabs my arm and when I look over at him I notice his eyes are now red rimmed. "Come on, let's go find out what's happening."
I follow behind him numbly and gulp, seeing them pulling someone onto a stretcher. I hold my breath and have to keep myself standing.
I see brown hair draped over the side and nearly lose it. Please, God, don't take her from me. When Katy is finally pulled all the way up I try to run towards her but am blocked by a police officer.
"I'm sorry, sir. I can't allow you over there."
"That is my wife!" I point to where they are getting further away with her. "I need to be with her. I need to see that she's ok."
"With all due respect, she's in really good hands right now, sir. They're going to take care of her."
I yell out in frustration and turn to find Scott, who I see watching someone else being pulled out and strapped onto a stretcher looking battered and broken. Before even seeing the blonde hair, I know its Krista. Scott rushes forward and yells. "No! Bring her back here! I need to see her…please." He squats down and puts his face in his hands.
I go over to comfort him as Eric and Nate make their way towards us. This is their fault. They were supposed to be with the girls at all times. If they did their job correctly, this never would have happened. My hands ball into fists and I rush forward.
"You...this is all your doing!" I yell into the air at them. "Consider yourselves fired, and I will call every damn connection I have in L.A. and everywhere else in the world to let them know you are not to be trusted with anyone’s well-being!" I get closer, and before I can make a move to send my angry fists flying I feel Scott grab hold of me from behind.
"Don't," he whispers. "That won't help the girls."
Eric steps forward and clears his throat. "Sir, I apologize for us not being at the top of our game. We thought Mrs. Warren and Ms. Quinn were still watching you film and we took a short break. It was careless, and we accept full responsibility."
"You should," Scott speaks up. He watches as Krista is loaded into a waiting ambulance and drives away.
"Give us the keys to the car; we're driving to the hospital. You're done."
Chapter 12
The drive to the hospital is tense and unnerving. All kinds of thoughts are running through my mind, every "what if” situation possible. I don't even talk to Scott as I drive; I think his mind is running just as fast as mine.
One thing is nagging me, though. We saw Katy and Krista being pulled out of the wreckage, but we didn't see Lucas. I assume he could have been pulled out first and already be at the hospital... I hope all the pieces of this puzzle will be put together when we get there.
Once I finally pull into the parking lot, I feel like I'm on auto pilot. Scott and I rush in through the Emergency Room entrance and immediately go to the nurse’s station.
"How may I help you?" the nurse on duty asks us.
"We need to know where Katelyn Warren, Krista Quinn, and Lucas Austin are. They were just brought in because of a car wreck," I answer, and anxiously tap my fingers on the desk.
"Are you family?"
"I'm Katy's husband."
She turns to Scott, who looks like he's ready to bust down some doors. "And you sir?"
"I'm Krista's boyfriend."
"May I see both your IDs?"
I sigh, frustrated that this much time is being wasted. Doesn't she know this is important?
Once she looks them over she turns to her computer and types some things in. "I'm sorry, it looks like they are in surgery. Well, Katelyn and Krista are. I have no record of a Lucas Austin."
I frown before punching my hand on the desk. "Where do we wait for some kind of information?"
"The waiting area is right down the hall."
We walk down and I take a seat while Scott stands and paces. I'm not sure how long passes before two police officers walk into the room.
"Mr. Warren, Mr. Adams. Your security men informed us of where you were and of bringing you to the scene of the accident. We have some questions for you, and we'll fill you in on what we know. Your director has informed us that your co-star, Alexia Dalton, was missing from the set, correct?"
I nod. "Yeah...yeah, Mr. Johnson’s assistant couldn't find her. What does that have to do with all of this?"
"Upon initial investigation of the vehicle, silver paint was observed in the damage along the driver's side of Mr. Austin's SUV. We searched Alexia's trailer on the movie set and believe we have evidence that she wanted to harm Mrs. Warren. Alexia owns an silver 2012 Tahoe. We believe she is the one who ran them off the road."
"Alexia did this?" Scott asks in shock.
I lean back in my chair, shaking my head. I knew Alexia wanted me, but not this bad. Not enough to try and kill Katy. And where is Alexia now? Could she go after someone else now?
I scrub my hands over my face. "This is insane! I can't believe that she did this." I stand and walk around to Scott. "Do you have any idea where she is now? Are we in danger now?"
"No. We have an APB out on her car and her picture is being circulated. She is well known; it’s likely she will be spotted sooner rather than later unless she drastically changes her looks."
The more this plays out, the angrier I feel. I should have seen this coming. If I wasn't so determined to make Katy love me again, Alexia would never have been in her life at all.
I turn around and punch the wall, then lean my head against it. "I can't believe this," I whisper. "How did it get like this?" I close my eyes and take a deep breath before turning back towards the officers. "What do we do now? She has to be caught. I won't feel safe at all as long as she's out there somewhere."
"We are going to use all our abilities to find her, Mr. Warren. That, I can promise you." He nods at both Scott and I. "We'll be in touch."
"Wait!" I shout out as they turn to go.