Maddie didn’t say anything. She was beginning to feel a bit nauseous from the sound of his voice, but there was no way she was going to let him lock her away, she’d find a way to escape. Reminding herself how much she’d accomplished on her own, she took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. She had to focus, had to stay alert, needed to be ready when the chance to escape came.
Mistaking her silence for obedience, Thomas looked over and smiled. “We’re going to be great together, I’m so glad you’ve already learned who’s in control,” he said. “In my clan, women who behave themselves and give their men what they want are rewarded. Won’t that be nice, sweetheart? I’ll have to think ofsomething special for a wedding gift, it’s a very important day after all. You’ll have to give me some ideas.”
She didn’t say anything, and he looked over at her, “Not sure what you want?” he asked. “That’s okay, I’ll figure something out.”
They were approaching a little town and Thomas slowed down as they drove down Main Street, then began to accelerate again as the lights faded behind them. She felt like crying, seeing another chance to escape gone. But a second later, there was a big bang, the car swerved, almost going off the road. Thomas managed to get it under control and guide it to the side of the road, then began swearing and banging the steering wheel.
Justin woke with a start and began to wail, “Shut that brat up,” Thomas screamed. “I don’t want to hear him screaming, or I’ll give him something to scream about.”
She undid her seatbelt and leaned over into the backseat, “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she cooed, praying the baby would settle. “You’re fine, look, we’re on an adventure, see the stars up there, aren’t they pretty?”
“Keep him quiet,” Thomas barked, then opened his door. “I’m going to check the tires. I think we’ve got a flat.”
She watched through the window as he walked around the car, then kicked one of the back tires, before opening the trunk and rummaging around. A few minutes later, he stomped over to her door and pulled it open.
“Get out, we’re walking from here,” he said. “I’ll carry the baby so you don’t get any ideas about escaping.”
“Why are we walking?” she asked, getting out of the car.
“We have a flat tire and some idiot took the spare out,” Thomas said, giving her a shove. “Now get moving. I’ll get the baby, and the brat better not start crying again.”
“Wait, can I have my purse first?” she said, trying to think up a good reason she needed it. “There are things in there I need,women’s things and extra diapers for the baby, we’re going to need those.”
Thomas stared at her for a second, then went to the trunk with a huff and got her purse out, then slung it over one shoulder. “I’ll carry it until I can make sure there isn’t a weapon inside,” he said. “Now get moving, it’s a long way into town and I’m tired.”
“Do I look like someone who carries a weapon?” she asked, then turned and started walking when Thomas gave her a dirty look, but she was already searching her mind for what she could use for exactly that purpose. “Fine, that thing must weigh ten pounds, you carry it.”
CHAPTER 20
***WALKER***
The sun had been down for hours, and Walker was not only getting cold sitting in his car, but he was also getting really worried about Maddie and the baby. He’d spent most of the day trying to find them, then finally resorted to parking in front of the house, hoping to catch her when they got home. Staring up at the front door, he wondered if he should go up and knock again. It had been earlier that afternoon when he’d tried; she might have gotten home after that and gone to sleep or something.
The more he thought about how strange it was that she wasn’t home, the stronger the weird feeling he’d been fighting became, and he finally opened the door and got out, convinced that something was wrong. Maddie wouldn’t have taken off, it wasn’t like her, even if she was upset with him, she would never treat him the way he treated her, which made him feel worse about what he’d done back then as he crossed the street.
It was going to take a long time to make it up to her, years before he would be able to say that what he’d done was really and truly in the past, and even more important, he would never treat her that way again. He’d promised himself that no matter what was bothering him, he would always communicate, wouldalways talk things out instead of running away. Now he just hoped he’d have the chance to follow through with that promise.
Telling himself he was overreacting, he climbed the steps, then lifted his hand to knock, but before he could, he noticed that the door was already cracked open. The weird feeling instantly changed to suspicion, and he lowered his hand, then slowly pushed the door open and stepped into the entryway. He could tell instantly that the house was empty, but something still felt off; it was too quiet, too dark.
He started through the house, turning lights on as he went, looking for any clue to what was bothering him, but nothing jumped out at him until he saw the notebook on the table. Picking it up, he read through the note, then let it fall back to the table with a bang, sure that his heart was breaking. Maddie had left him, run away just like he did. He plopped down into a chair, telling himself it was exactly what he deserved, then picked up the note again and read it over, forcing himself to face the truth: he’d blown it again.
Grief swept through him, and he decided he needed to get out of there and started to throw the notebook back onto the table, then the last sentence caught his attention. At first it didn’t make sense, he didn’t have a teddy bear for Justin, he’d never mentioned bringing his son a toy. Perplexed, he sat back in the chair and looked around the room, trying to figure out why Maddie had written that when he saw it across the room on a high shelf--a teddy bear.
Jumping to his feet, he crossed the room and grabbed the bear, recognizing instantly that it was more than just a stuffed animal. It only took a second to find the little camera hidden in the bear’s stomach, and a few more to figure out there had to be a receiver somewhere in the house. Forcing himself not to panic, he took a deep breath and tried to think like a mother, then went racing up the stairs to find Maddie’s room.
The little white receiver was sitting right next to her bed, but it took him several agonizing minutes to figure out how it worked. Then he stood staring at the screen as his biggest nightmare unfolded before his eyes, the dragon inside him waking up as it sank in that Thomas had the woman he loved and his child. Battling the urge to start looking for them, he forced himself to stand still for just a few seconds to calm down. He needed to think logically, and he needed help.
Shoving the receiver in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and texted an SOS to his fraternity brothers on the special group chat they used only for emergencies. After telling them all to meet him at the house, he ran downstairs, grabbed the bear, and left the house, locking the door behind him. His friends were all waiting for him when he came running through the kitchen door, and just the sight of them all made him feel better.
“Thomas kidnapped Maddie and…my son…” he said, then paused for a second to let that sink in. “I don’t know how long they’ve been gone, but it’s been at least a few hours. I’m afraid that he’s going to take them into Marbury territory. We need to get to them as soon as we can.”
“Are you location sharing with her on your phones?” Malcolm asked. “That would be the fastest way to find her.”
“We were, but I think the time ran out,” he said, handing over his phone. “Do what you do best.”
He watched as his friend tapped away on his phone, a frown of concentration on his face, then it slowly turned to a smile. “Gotcha,” he said, then started tapping again. “You were right, they’re headed for Cedar Springs, but it looks like they’ve stopped for the night, they’ve been in the same location for over half an hour.”
“Let’s go then. They’ve got a jump on us, but if they stopped for the night, we can get there before they leave in the morning,” Jackson said. “Who’s going with us?”
