Page 67 of Coming Home to You
I shake my head.“No, just be at home in case Kels’ calls.I’m gonna give you Ryan’s number too.”
Pop nods his head and after we exchange numbers, Finn and I head into his office to get ready.
“You got a gun?”he asks me.
I shake my head.“No, couldn’t bring mine.You got a spare I can use?”
Finn nods and opens his desk drawer.“It’s mine, not the force’s, so it’s clean; don’t worry.”
“Thanks,” I say, checking it’s loaded and the safety is on, before tucking it in the back of my jeans.“We ready to go?”
Finn exhales hard, his hands on his hips as he stares at me from the other side of his desk.
“What?”I ask him.
“We have to do this by the book, Beck,” he says, holding me with a hard stare.“I’m going out there as a Rockport cop, you’re a Boston detective.This shit is about to get real, but we gotta do it by the book.”
I stare at my brother for a few seconds knowing he’s right.“I know, okay.But just so you know, if that fucker threatens her or I think she’s in any kind of danger, then I’m not gonna hesitate to put a bullet in him.”
Finn nods once.“I know.”
We grab flashlights, extra ammo and a couple of other things before heading out to Finn’s police cruiser.Pop’s standing beside it and shakes both of our hands, only saying, “Bring her home.”
I nod once, knowing there’s absolutely no alternative to this.
“What’s the plan?”I ask as we both slide into our seats.
“I’ll call the chief over there on our way.Arrange to meet up at the station and go from there.”
“You know this Rachel woman probably, well…shit,” I murmur, staring out the window at the night sky as I try to face the reality of what’s happened to her.“I mean, she’s missing, and I don’t think it’s because she suddenly wanted to disappear.”
“I know, Beck,” Finn says, quietly.“But it’s only been two hours, okay?Let’s just go up there and get this done,” he adds, staring at the road as he radios the Gloucester chief of police.
I continue to stare out the window as Finn relays the details to their chief.The car is quiet and I tune out Finn’s voice, giving me plenty of space to think about Kelsey and the possibility of losing her.What that will do to me.Fuck, I thought walking away from her ten years ago was hard enough, but the idea of losing her permanently, of never being able to touch her, kiss her, see her laugh, fuck that kills me.
Whatever happens tonight, there is no other alternative but to get her back alive, and when I do, I’m gonna make damn sure she knows how much I love her.
How much I need her.
And how I’m never going to leave her, ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kelsey
I roll over and I realize I’m in a bed, dressed in someone else’s clothes.My limbs are weak and my mind cloudy as I feel like I’m trapped in a haze, caught between awake and asleep.I can’t seem to keep my eyes open as I try to focus on where I am.
Then it hits me like a freight train.The loose boat in the storm.Jason.The struggle on the dock.Being taken away while Sam and Bella stood by helplessly and watched.
I have to get out of here, I think as I pull my aching body from the bed, drag myself to the window and look out onto the water.Blinking rapidly, I try to clear my eyes.
As far as I can see, it’s rocky coastline and water.Not another house for miles, but that doesn’t stop me from pushing up on the window.Knowing Jason is far too smart to leave me unattended in a room where I could easily get away, the window won’t move.Nailed shut with a series of rusty nails, all driven into the wood so deeply there’s an impression from the hammer left around each one.
I scrub my hands over my face trying to figure out what to do.I could break the window, climb out and run to find someone to help me.But even in this hazy stupor, I know that’s impossible.My body is too weak to take me very far and from the looks of things, it might be nearly impossible to find civilization.
I notice the boat, the one Jason dragged me onto, floating at the dock just a few yards down from the house.I could get to the boat, but there’s no guarantee the keys will be in it or that I could even make it there.Turned over on the dock is a small rowboat, with the oars crossed over the top of it.That may be my only chance of escape.
I debate in my head just how to break the window and exactly how long it would take me to get to the dock and turn the rowboat over and get it into the water.But every thought is entirely pointless.In the state I’m in, I can barely lift my arm up over my head, let alone carry myself down to the water and row a boat for miles.
