Okay, time to be honest. I’m not loving this story as much as I thought I would. There’s no real excitement in writing this story anymore. In fact, I’m contemplating not finishing it. Would I start another one? Not sure. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling discouraged with feeling like I’m failing as a blogger, but my blogs are not bringing me the joy that they usually do. But, that’s for another time. Let’s see what Chapter 20 brings and I’ll think about what to do with this story later.
Chapter 20
Davis collapsed on the floor as the men released him, blood spurting from his mouth as he coughed. Hearing the door close behind him he tried to stand up. His body rebelled and refused to move. Everything hurt, even breathing was painful. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. They had filmed his beating again. He knew they were sending the videos to his parents without a ransom note. The man just wanted his parents to suffer. The door opened and the man came in with a bottle of water.
“I told them to leave you on the bed. Can you stand?” Davis shook his head and the man came over. “Let me help you.”
“Don’t touch me.” Davis was surprised at the hate he was able to lace into his voice. The man didn’t listen and helped him up, the teen crying out in pain. Slowly the two made their way over to the bed and Davis sat with his back against the wall. The man offered him the water bottle. “Leave me alone.” Davis looked away from him.
“I’m trying to be nice here, Davis.” The boy turned angrily to him, dark eyes flashing with anger.
“Nice? You just beat the hell out of me and you’re trying to be nice? Go away!” The man’s eyes darken.
“Fine.” He leaves the water bottle next to Davis on the bed and walks out of the room. Tears sting at the back of his eyes. Why did this have to happen to him? If only he had told his parents, or called John after he had seen the other stranger at the diner. Were the two men connected?
What Would You Do
Adrian slammed the phone down. His sister had just called him and told him the news. The entire house had been shot up. Twenty of his best men were dead and the girl was missing. His contact at the hospital said that she had shown up a few days ago. There was no way to reclaim her though. Police and FBI were watching her. What a loss of money. And the Davis boy was still missing too. The one who had been pre-ordered. The buyer had offered him a million dollars for Davis. And now? Sighing he paged his secretary and told her he had a family emergency and would be leaving for a few days. He wanted her to cancel all his appointments. Grabbing his keys and cell phone, Adrian left the office and headed down to the garage.
Chapter 20
Detective Ryan and Agent Dawson left the hospital, still baffled. Tessa had given them a description of the boy the men had been looking for. He looked familiar, but they couldn’t place him. Getting into the Detective’s sedan, Agent Dawson pulled out a tablet and scanned the image.
“Let’s see if we have anything that comes up from facial recognition.” Ryan started the car and backed out of the parking spot.
“We need something. While you were in with Tessa I got a call from another detective in homicide. They found a house with a lot of dead guys in it. Weapons, drugs and cash were still laying around. Could be the house that Tessa was held in. I got the address and told him we would come check it out.” Dawson nodded, her eyes on the screen.
“Good idea. Maybe if we can identify the men we can figure out what’s going on. Maybe even find the missing boy. Wait! I just got a hit. Well, I’ll be. The boy is Davis Steel! His family is incredibly wealthy and influential. No criminal records, not even a speeding ticket. Why would they hire a hit squad?” Ryan frowned, stopping for a red light.
“Good question. We should go ask them.”
What Would You Do
William and Amanda looked up as Maria came in with two people. She looked nervous.
“Mr and Mrs. Steel. This is Detective Ryan and Agent Dawson. They wish to speak to you.” William stood up and shook their hands, motioning to the seats across from them.
“Of course. Can I offer you any coffee or tea?” Detective Ryan shook his head.
“No, thank you. I’m afraid we are here on official business.” William nodded, sitting back down on the sofa beside his wife and dismissing Maria.
“I’m not sure how we can help, but we will in any way we possibly can.” Ryan managed a smile before passing them a photo.
“Do you know this young lady?” The couple looked down at the photo of Tessa and shook their heads. “She was recently kidnapped.” He saw them shift uncomfortably. “However, a few days back she reappeared. Said she was saved by some men who came in and shot all her captors and brought her back.” Amanda looked startled.
“Oh my. I’m glad the girl is safe, but what does that have to do with us?” Dawson pulled out the sketch and placed it on the table, noting the way Mrs. Steel paled.
“She said they were looking for your son.”
Chapter 20
Amanda and William stared at the sketch, aware of the looks the detective and FBI agent were giving them. William sighed.
“They threatened to do more harm if we got the police involved.” Detective Ryan pulled out a notebook and pen.
“So, your son is missing?” The two nodded and William got up and left the room. Tears filled Amanda’s eyes.
“We were too scared to call in the authorities. But, then we received two emails. The first came three days ago. A second one came earlier today.” William returned with a laptop and turned it to them. Dawson saw two video files and reached over to play the first one. Amanda excused herself from the room as the sound of her son being beaten came over the laptop speakers. Ryan reached over and paused the video, horrified by what he had just witnessed. William stared at the table.
“The second video is worse. Detective Ryan, I don’t know anything about this other girl, or who the men who rescued her are. I wish I could help you out, but-” He cut himself off, his voice catching with emotion. Agent Dawson closed the laptop.
“I’m sorry that you and your wife are going through this. May we take this laptop as evidence?” He nodded. “Thank you. Was there a ransom note at all?” William looked up at her, fear in his eyes.
“No. Just a message that says now you will know how it feels to lose a son!”
That’s it For Now
Well, that’s the end of Chapter 20. I don’t think I’ll leave the story unfinished. Mainly because I have enough unfinished stories on my laptop and I don’t want another one. However, I’m not sure if Story Saturday will continue after this one. A lot of the story ideas that I have I want to save for novels that I’ll actually publish. But, I have time to think of that. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope you can spend some time outside in the sunshine.
