Turn Back Time Page 15

  “You have? Nick hasn’t said anything.”

  “Maybe not here specifically, but statewide.” She took her food from the microwave and sat next to him. “I agree with Nick, though. You’d make a great officer. And you’d look so handsome in the uniform.”

  “Mom.”

  “You would. Zoey would love that.”

  Alex sighed. That was another thing to consider—not Zoey liking the way he would look in uniform, but having a stable and respectable career.

  Mom patted his arm. “You should think about it, honey. It would be a great opportunity, especially with the police captain backing you up.”

  “Maybe.”

  Alex’s phone rang. This time it was Dad’s publisher. He pressed ignore and put the phone in his pocket. He’d deal with it later.

  Mom gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s always hard when Dad’s so close to his deadline.”

  “I’ll be fine.” He got up and rinsed off his plate. “I’d better get back to work.”

  “Don’t worry about leaving Dad hanging if you quit to pursue a different career. He could easily hire a virtual assistant, and it would cost him half of what he pays you. Don’t let us hold you back. We want you to do what makes you happy. No hard feelings.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” He meandered back to his room with Clementine on his heels, meowing. Alex stopped in the rec room and sat on the couch, his head spinning. He pushed aside thoughts of Dad’s editor, publisher, publicist, and all the others.

  His mind filled with memories—a lifetime’s worth hid nestled in this room. Some of his earliest memories consisted of him and Macy playing with Zoey. They’d laughed, argued, and even fought. One of Alex’s first real groundings had been after he had punched Zoey and given her a black eye for something catty she’d said to Macy.

  Then there had been the magical and confusing—oh so confusing—moment he realized how deep his feelings were for the girl next door. The girl who was not only his sister’s best friend, but two years older than him. And at twelve or thirteen, those two years may as well have been decades.

  His heart sped up just thinking about it. He’d never forget that moment, staring at Zoey, filled with an array of emotions and realizing how beautiful and wonderful she was.

  Somehow, despite everything they’d been through and all the years that had passed, he still felt exactly the same for her. He wanted to be the one to take care of her, to love her, and to tell her how beautiful she is. He’d almost lost her to Kellen, but now he had a chance. How many people got a second chance after blowing it with their one true love?

  It had been six months since her engagement had broken off, and Alex hadn’t done anything to try and win her over. What if someone else did, and he lost the opportunity again? He would never be able to live with himself.

  Alex knew what he needed to do. He jumped up from the couch, startling Clementine, who scampered to a corner. Alex ran to the stairs and down to Dad’s office. He knocked on the closed door. “Dad, we need to talk!”

  Terror

  The smell of soup woke Lottie. She rubbed her eyes and then opened them. Her entire body ached from spending so much time on the floor. Her mouth watered when she saw a small piece of bread next to each bowl—again.

  She already felt stronger since her last bowl of soup and piece of bread at breakfast. Though she had a long way to go before feeling her normal amount of energy, she was already leaps and bounds ahead of where she’d been before being served any food.

  Lottie scooted herself to sitting and rested her head against the wall. The man with the piercing blue eyes squatted down in front of her. He held her gaze for a moment before holding out the small plate.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He gave a small nod and helped her balance the plate. His fingers brushed hers. The simple human contact startled her, and she nearly dropped the food.

  “Easy there.” He wrapped his hands around hers and looked back into her eyes. “You got it?”

  Swallowing, she nodded.

  “Hurry,” he whispered, gave her hands a slight squeeze, and rose.

  Lottie gasped for air, trying to understand what had just happened. The smell of the soup distracted her, and she brought the small bowl to her mouth and sipped. Delight ran through her when she saw several chunks of meat along with the typical vegetables. Even more sustenance.

  The guards were gathered in a circle, whispering to each other. Lottie hoped they would give her enough time to finish her meal. Last time, the one in charge had yanked her piece of bread from her hand before she could eat the last few bites.

  She ate as quickly as she could without choking on anything. Her stomach cried out for more, finally adjusting to having some food.

  Just as she ate the last bite of the bread, the guards broke their circle and gathered the plates. The man with the blue eyes returned to her. He squeezed her hands again as he took the plate and bowl from her, then gave a quick nod before moving onto the next captive.

  Lottie watched him, curious. He was just as big as the other guards, though older. Any of the other men could be his sons, not that they seemed to have an ounce of the caring that he did.

  After they had gathered everything, they left, locking the door behind them. Lottie wouldn’t give up hope that one day they would forget. She glanced around the room, trying to make eye contact with someone. But as usual, everyone kept their gazes averted.

  She sighed and thought about the women and children at the shelter. She missed talking with them and wondered how they were doing. A couple ladies were trying hard to find a job, and one woman was considering going back to an abusive boyfriend. Lottie wished she could do more for them—especially now. Without her being a voice of reason, would Andrea return home, only to end up with another concussion and black eye?

  There were so many people who needed her. Lottie had to find a way out. Now that she had more strength and her mind was less shaky, maybe she could find something she’d missed before.

  She rose to her feet and shook her legs. They ached, and a cold feeling moved through them as the blood began to circulate after sitting so long. Her body sure wasn’t what it used to be, and that concerned her about escaping. Jonah had so many young spry men working for him. What made her think she could outrun them? She probably couldn’t, but she did stand a chance at outwitting them.

  Lottie walked around the room. Most of the other prisoners ignored her, but a couple shot glares her way. They could waste away if they chose, but she wasn’t going to let them bring her down. If there was a chance of escape, she wanted to find it.

  She walked along the wall, trailing her fingertips over the rough wood. None of the boards were loose as far as she could tell, nor had they built a hidden door. That surprised her. She’d noticed when living in the community before that Jonah built one into nearly every building. She’d been sure it was so he could sneak in and spy on the residents.

  Lottie paused near the door and shook her legs. The cold feeling grew stronger as blood flowed down toward her feet. A rhythmic noise sounded from outside. She pressed her ear against the edge of the door where just the tiniest space stood between the door and the wall.

  The noise thundered like hammering. Sawing also sounded in the distance beyond the pounding.

  Her chest constricted. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good news.

  Click.

  Click.

  Click.

  Click.

  Click.

  Lottie’s heart skipped a beat and her mouth went dry. They were back already?

  One of the other women cried out. Every prisoner had wide eyes and paled skin. Terror gripped Lottie.

  The two burliest guards entered, both holding black whips, separated into five parts with sharp pebbles tied along the leather. Dried blood covered both. The taller man whacked the handle of his whip against his palm and stared each prisoner in the eyes. Lottie’s insides turned to mush when he met her gaze and glared a
t her with a hatred so strong she could feel it. Finally, he turned away and stepped forward.

  “Jonah’s had another vision. The devil is in one of you waiting to unleash his evil. Who is it? Who’s housing him?”

  Nobody made a sound.

  “Going to make us beat it out of you?”

  “You’d better speak up now, or the torment will be all the worse when we figure out who it is.”

  Lottie trembled. Should she say it was her? Then everyone else would be spared. She was already weak. The others could save their strength and perhaps find a way out.

  “We’re going to hand out extra lashes in about fifteen seconds.” The guard struck the rocky whip against the wall, leaving deep grooves in the wood.

  Lottie opened her mouth to speak.

  One of the men jumped to his feet. “It’s me. I let him in when I allowed myself to entertain rebellious thoughts.”

  The guard furrowed his brows. “You know the punishment for that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, sir.” The prisoner nodded. Behind his back, his hands shook.

  “Turn around!”

  The prisoner obeyed. His expression tensed as he spun around. The other guard loosened the man’s robe and it fell loose around his waist.

  Lottie couldn’t bear to watch. She looked down at the ground.

  Someone grabbed her chin, squeezing hard enough to bruise, and yanked her head to face him. “You will watch the beating, woman!”

  Shaking, she obeyed.

  The other guard pulled his arm back and struck the bare-backed prisoner. His skin offered no resistance as the whip and rocks sliced through with greater force than on the wall. Blood dripped from the long wounds.

  After the third strike, the prisoner cried out. “The devil’s gone! He fled!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes!”

  “You’d better be right. Face me, prisoner.”

  The wounded man turned, flinching with each movement.

  “Will you entertain rebellious thoughts again?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Good. Now all of you—keep this in mind! When you think wrong thoughts, you invite evil in. Then it will have to be beaten from you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” everyone else replied.

  Lottie was frozen in fear, unable to speak.

  The guards left. Once the locks had clicked into place, the beaten man pulled his robe up in the front, leaving the back open, and took his place against the wall.

  Gasping for air, Lottie tried to forget the inhumane beating. Escaping was going to be a lot harder than she’d thought.

  Hopeless

  Luke rolled over in bed and pulled the pillow over his face to block the smells of bacon and coffee. He wanted neither. In fact, he didn’t want to get out of bed at all. It had been ten days since they’d discovered Mom’s disappearance. Ten days. Not only that, but it had been almost a week since anyone else had gone missing. No more clues at all had come in—they hadn’t even found her car.

  The news hadn’t even mentioned her in a couple days and fliers were falling off poles. Basically, life was returning to normal for everyone else. Even he and Macy had to return to work the next day. Not that there was anywhere new for them to hand out fliers. They’d exhausted everything over the last week—including themselves.

  The bed dipped down as Macy sat next to Luke. She pulled the pillow from his head. “Oh, you’re awake already.” She kissed his forehead. “Come and have some breakfast.”

  He shook his head. “I’m just going to stay here today.”

  “All day?” She frowned.

  “What else is there to do?”

  “You could eat.”

  He shook his head.

  “I made bacon, eggs, and French toast.”

  Luke’s traitorous stomach rumbled.

  Macy kissed him again. “See? You need food.”

  “What’s the point?”

  Her face fell. Luke felt bad, but couldn’t muster the energy to apologize. It was his last day off, and if he couldn’t be out searching, he wanted to mourn—and that meant not getting out of bed for anything.

  “Luke, talk to me.”

  He couldn’t take the hurt in her eyes, so he turned away. “I just need to rest. We have to go back to life tomorrow and pretend like everything is hunky-dory.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “Do you want me to bring the food in here, babe?”

  He turned to her. “Do you think they’re feeding her?”

  Macy swallowed. “You mean the community?”

  “Of course I mean them,” he snapped. “They’re clearly the ones who took her, and they could be anywhere. Who knows what they’re doing to her? Jonah’s been locked away in prison all these years, and he’s probably decided to take out his frustrations on her—a kindhearted old woman!”

  They sat in silence.

  “I think I need to be bait.”

  Macy’s eyes widened. “Not this again. Please, Luke. Don’t.”

  Luke sat up and glared at her. “The police would be there and—”

  “No. Do you think your mom would want you doing that?”

  They stared each other down. Deep down, he didn’t want either of them going as bait. The moment Jonah felt it was a trap, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill whoever played the bait. They had to find another way to locate the commune.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. Tears stung his eyes, and before he knew it, the floodgates broke. Together they sobbed, clinging to each other. He ran his fingers through her hair and breathed in the fruity scent of her shampoo. She clung to him so tightly it nearly constricted his breathing.

  Finally, she pulled away and they stared at each other. He pulled some hair away from her eyes.

  She ran her fingertips along the stubble of his jawline. “I’ll bring the breakfast in here for you.”

  “No, I’ll get it.”

  Macy shook her head. “No, you’re right. You need to rest today. Let me just take care of you.”

  He didn’t have the energy to argue. “Thanks.”

  She brushed her lips across his and left the room. He leaned back against the pillow and rubbed his eyes. How were they ever going to get through this? What if they never found Mom?

  Goodbye

  Hanna clung to Nick. “I don’t wanna go, Daddy!”

  The little girl knew how to gut him like no other. He cleared his throat, trying to dissolve the lump growing there. “I don’t want you to, either, but your mom misses you.”

  “She gets to see me all the time. Can’t I stay longer?”

  “I wish you could, but you have school tomorrow.”

  “When can I come back?”

  “You guys will be back for a month in the summer.”

  “The summer?” Hanna exclaimed.

  “Come on, Hanna,” Ava said. “The lady’s waiting for us.”

  Nick turned to the flight attendant who was going to walk the kids to the plane. “Can we have a minute?”

  She smiled. “Take your time.”

  He knelt down and put Hanna on the floor. “How about we have a group hug? We haven’t done that in a while.”

  Parker groaned. “In public? Come on, Dad.”

  Father and son stared at each other. They’d made some headway over the week, but as soon as they climbed into the Mustang to go to the airport, his defenses had shot back up.

  “For your little sister?” Nick asked.

  “Please, Parker,” she begged.

  Parker threw his head back. “Fine.”

  Ava groaned, but the four of them hugged. Nick wanted to hold onto them forever, and even though he knew that was impossible, the older two pulled away too quickly.

  “See ya in a few months, Dad,” Parker said.

  “Yeah,” Ava agreed.

  “I’m going to call more—video calls—so we’ll ‘see’ each other more. Also, I think I might fly out halfway through to vis
it you guys. Maybe when you have a long weekend or half-days or something. We’ll make it count.”

  Hanna threw herself against him again.

  The flight attendant stepped forward. “You guys are so sweet that I hate to break this up, but we really should head over to the plane.”

  Nick hugged each of the kids individually and told them how much he loved them. Even Ava and Parker whispered I love yous back.

  As his kids walked away with the flight attendant, tears stung his eyes. It seemed like they’d just arrived, and really, he’d only just started making progress with the older ones. Hanna turned around and waved every few feet. Nick blinked back the tears, forced a smile, and waved back each time. Then they rounded a corner out of sight.

  He waited after they disappeared from sight just in case they turned around and needed something. They didn’t return. After about five minutes, he sighed and headed back to the parking garage. He picked up a strong black coffee on the way. He’d need it to get through the day at the station. The night before, he and the kids had stayed up late playing board games. It was the most they’d all laughed since they’d arrived.

  Once he arrived at the station, everyone greeted him heartily. He forced cheerful greetings and then locked himself in his office, hoping to be left alone for a while. As expected, a large stack of papers waited for him. Luckily, he’d already worked through much of the email from home.

  Nick sat and stared at his desk, his mind reeling from the week. Part of him wanted to pack up and move across the country to see them more, but what would stop Corrine from moving them away again? It would be a perpetual game of cat-and-mouse. And besides, his aging parents were in town, and he couldn’t leave them.

  No, he would do like he told the kids. Call them more often to stay involved with their lives as much as possible and then he’d fly out and visit them when he could. He’d been avoiding that, not wanting to see Corrine, but that was a poor excuse. The kids needed their dad more than just a few times a year. Doubling that still wasn’t enough, but it was better at least.

  He finished off the coffee, threw the cup into the trash, and dug into the paperwork. It kept him busy for hours until his legs ached from sitting so long. He walked around the station, finally in the mood to catch up with people. Someone had brought in donuts, and though Nick usually avoided them, he took the biggest one—a cream-filled one with sprinkles. Hanna would’ve liked it.