Page 18 of My Heart for Yours

“What do you mean that’s not her?” I can hear the hope in my voice and try to hold it back. The message seems pretty clear to me, but she also told me she loves me, so how can this be happening?

“That’s not Lisa. She didn’t send it.” His conviction battles my hope, and my heart decides to check in too.

“How can you be so sure?” Please be sure, Jay. I need you to be sure.

“It says my love is in Chicago. That’s an endearment or nickname if you will. She doesn’t do those. Take a look at your past messages and tell me I’m wrong.” He’s not wrong but as reasons go, this is paper thin. It doesn’t matter. I cling onto it like it’s the last life preserver on a sinking ship. Chief Reeves inserts himself back into the conversation.

“What does that mean for us? You think this city fella took her? Because I must say this all sounds like a bit of a stretch. Even if she alluded to trouble following her here, this guy could just be a coincidence.” I can’t think because the words took her are going around in a loop, drowning out everything else. Thank God for Jay, who once again seems to have all his faculties in good order.

“The night we met her, at your bar, Lisa was talking to someone on the phone. Did she ever tell you who that was?” The across-state-lines conversation, of course!

“Joe, his name is Joe.” I look up at Reeves. “Can you track him down, through her phone records or something?” He shrugs and lets out a frustrated sigh, then mumbles under his breath.

“Civilians. Watch too much damn TV. Let me see what I can find.”

It only takes a couple of lifetimes for Reeves to hand me the contact information for one Joseph Hardcastle from Chicago, Illinois and I don’t waste a second more before grabbing my phone and placing the call.

“Who is this?” That’s how he answers the phone and it’s a relief not to have to go through the usual formalities. “Mr. Hardcastle, my name is Shane Cahill and I’m calling because of Lisa Faraday. She …” That’s as far as I get because he swears so violently that I’m stunned silent for a moment.

“He found her, didn’t he? That bastard Starke has taken her. Goddammit I knew this would happen.” The emotion in his voice takes me aback for a moment, but it also affirms that this is another person in Lisa’s life who cares deeply for her and that is comforting.

“Sir, you need to tell me what you know. She disappeared this morning and we have no idea who we’re dealing with. I’m here with our chief of police, Simon Reeves. I’m going to put you on speaker phone.” With the introductions out the way, Joe gives us the rundown on Cole Starke, but my brain shuts off when he gets to the five dead women who somehow resemble Lisa.

I can’t … I can’t lose her. We only just found each other and she’s mine now. I will not let him take her from me. Joe and Reeves are talking while I pace like a caged animal. Words such as flight and manpower filter through the haze but I can’t focus on that now. They are trying to find solutions to the immediate problem when all I can see is a future with the woman I love, a future that might not happen. My mind fills with images of Lisa in a white dress, walking towards me in slow motion with her gorgeous smile firmly in place. Her eyes light up when she looks at me and all I see is my love reflected back at me. Then there we are together on my couch in front of a roaring fire, drinking hot chocolate, laughing and making out like teenagers. This is followed by my favorite and yet so unexpected vision; Lisa round with my child inside her, glowing and happy. She’s standing in a nursery, painted in soft yellow tones with sunlight streaming in and she looks like everything I haven’t thought to wish for yet. I can’t lose her.

Lisa

I have no idea how much time has passed, there is hardly any natural light coming into the room and it is quite dark now. Cole left me alone, as if my tears caused him distress, and all I can do is lie here and try not to have a complete freak out. I need to think, to come up with a plan to get away, but my thoughts keep returning to Shane. He loves me. I will hold onto this knowledge with all my strength and even though I know that text must have confused and hurt him, I have to believe that he will realize I didn’t send it. He will come for me, but until then I need to figure out a way to save myself because it might just end up being up to me how this plays out.

The room is suddenly flooded with light and Cole comes towards me holding a plate and bottle of water. The food smells delicious and I realize that I’m starving, even though the last thing to cross my mind over the last hours has been food. I eye Cole nervously, but he seems relaxed and perfectly at ease in this environment, as though he spends a lot of time here.

“Good, you’re feeling better I see. Ready to have your dinner?” I nod at him because I’m suddenly overtaken with emotion again and I don’t think he’s going to tolerate it for a second time. He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment before sitting down next to me on the edge of the bed. “Angel, you know I want to untie you, but we haven’t had much time together recently and I think some trust needs to be earned, don’t you? For both of us, because I’ve done some things that would disappoint you too, but we will make this right and you will love me again and we will have the life together we always dreamed of.” I think I’m going to hyperventilate again. Was that him referring to the women he killed? He sounds completely delusional, as if there was a relationship before and we just took a break, Ross-and-Rachel style, and now we can resume that relationship like nothing happened. Hysterical laughter threatens to burst from my lips at the sitcom reference, but now really isn’t the time and I purse my lips to stop the impulse. Cole must read this as disapproval because he rushes on.

“I won’t keep you like this for long, I promise. I’m going to loosen the ropes a little now so that you can sit up and have some food, okay?” With that he puts down the plate and bottle and proceeds to adjust the knots around my wrists. If the red marks that formed from my struggles bother him, he doesn’t show it. He helps me into a seated position and then begins to spoon food into my mouth. This is so humiliating and just adds to the reasons why I’m going to get out of here, no matter what I have to do. The conviction builds inside me with each spoonful and I actually have to avoid making eye contact with Cole because there is no way he’s going to mistake it for affection. I’m going to have to convince him that I care for him, win his trust, and bide my time until the perfect opportunity presents itself to escape.

We don’t talk while I eat, which suits me but also feels incredibly awkward. Once I finish the water, I clear my throat.

“That was delicious, Cole, Thank you.” He gives me a pleased smile and then gets up off the bed.

“I’ll be right back.” I just sit there, because … what else can I do? He returns a moment later with a piece of black material in his hands. Is that a blindfold? As if reading my thoughts, he says, “You must need to use the bathroom, yes? I will take you but as I mentioned before, we are still building trust, so you will put this on for now and, once we are back to the way we were, you will be able to move around without any restraint.” The way we were? Before I can even begin to wrap my brain around this, he slips the material around my head and ties it firmly at the back. Do not panic, Lisa. This is still an opportunity, no matter how small. Next, I feel the knots being loosened at my ankles and then at my wrists. “I’m going to help you up and then lead you to the bathroom. It’s on another level of the house so you will need to lean on me, and I will guide you. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.” I suppose that is meant to be reassuring but in this moment, I can’t think of anything more absurd. However, seeing as I have no choice, I allow him to pull me up and lead me out of the basement.

The house is very quiet, so I’m pretty sure there is no one else here, which makes sense. No witnesses. Cole leads me out of the basement room down a narrow passage before guiding me up a small flight of stairs which must lead into the main living areas. After a few more short turns he pulls me to a stop, and I hear a door close. Then he turns me around. “Okay, the toilet is right behind you and toilet paper is on your left. Go ahead.” I’m sorry, what?

“Are you going to stand there and watch?” I can’t hide my shock, but he just chuckles at that.

“Come now Lisa, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Get on with it so I can take you back to your room.” Oh my God, does that mean he’d been in my apartment, watching me? Don’t freak out, Lisa. Just keep it together until you’re alone again. I take a deep breath, undo and push down my jeans and underwear, and do my business. I’m going to kill him!

Once we’re back in the basement, he situates me on the bed and ties me down again. Only after this is done does he remove the blindfold and I almost scream at how close his face is to mine as he is practically lying over me on the bed. Up to now none of our interactions have been sexual or intimate, but there is no mistaking the look of lust on his face. I freeze and wait to see what his next move will be, while trying to keep my mind from spiraling into panic. He leans closer to me and skims his lips over my cheek, less of a kiss and more a caress that fills me with such revulsion that I have to close my eyes and start counting backwards in my head to stop from saying something. It only lasts a few seconds but when he shifts again, I can feel how hard he is and now panic has me firmly in its grip. How far is this going to go? Will he rape me? I need to put a stop to this. With all the control I can muster I whisper into his ear.

“Cole, you mentioned trust earlier. That goes both ways, right?” He pulls his head back and looks me in the eye and for a moment I think he understands.

“Of course, my angel, you will earn my trust and I will prove myself trustworthy and it will be perfect between us. Until then I can be patient.” He seems so sincere but all I can see is the delusional man that has taken me against my will and all I can feel is the lust emanating from his body that is still covering mine. Shane, I need you. Please hurry?

Chapter 9

Shane

I feel like I’m losing my mind. I couldn’t sleep, my mind torturing me with worst-case scenarios of what was happening to my world in the hands of a madman. I have never felt this helpless in my entire life.

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