Unwanted Fate (41 page)

T
he steady tap of Victor’s fingers on the wood table top is frazzling my nerves. He’s antsy and what nerves I have left are quickly zapping away with his unease. I have no idea what’s going to happen to me or the others that are being held captive in this shack. The soft cries of the girls break me more and more with each passing minute, I wish I could comfort them, but the bindings on my arms and legs prevent me from moving.

A silence takes over the room, like the calmness before a storm, and I refuse to let myself believe this is the end of my freedom, my life…our lives. I take a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as I can.

“Fuck this. Come on, little slut. Let me show you what you’ll need to get used to taking whenever your master requires it.”

All the air rushes out of my chest.

“No! She’s a child. Don’t take her, take me,” I breathlessly yell as he pulls a young girl lying by Tasha up by her ponytail.

“Trying to be their savior, Emily? I think it’s a little too late for that, but since you’re willing now—”

Splintering wood echoes through the room as pieces of the door come flying into the room, allowing sunlight to filter into the room, and I see Patrick rushing through the door with a baseball bat in his hand. Victor is stunned for a moment and scrambles for the gun on the table beside the candles. Before he can fully clutch the gun, Patrick knocks him to the floor with the bat under his jaw, choking him. The gun falls out of reach of Victor’s hands

Behind Patrick, my dad enters the door, carrying a crowbar, and looks around the room before he spots me. He rushes over me and tries to get the bindings off my hands and arms. He frees my hands; I look to Patrick and think everything is under control…until he screams out in agony.

Everything goes to slow motion; Victor is wielding a knife and he stabs Patrick repeatedly until the hold on the bat slips from his hands. The wooden bat falls to the ground with a reverberating thud. Dad turns around quickly, swings the crowbar, and hits Victor in the head with a sickening crunch as Patrick slumps down on him, leaving him incapacitated.

“Patrick?” I scream. “Patrick!” I yell as Dad rolls him onto his back. Using the bloody crowbar, he moves the knife from Victor’s reach and ties his hands together with the bindings that were on my wrists.

“Emily, put pressure on his wounds,” he says as he helps me with the ties on my legs.

“I can’t see where the bleeding is coming from,” I say as I frantically look for the wounds. The faint sounds of sirens are in the distance and I pray there’s an ambulance with the police that are on their way.

“Just press where you think they are.”

I nod and press down where I can. Patrick hasn’t moved since Victor stabbed him and I don’t even know if he’s alive. I watch his chest, watching for his breathing and I see the slow rise and fall. He’s still with me.

“Patrick, stay with me, babe. Help will be here shortly.” Tears run down my face, and everything around me starts to blur.

“Police! Hands up,” shouts a male officer as he enters the room. I refuse to move.

“Ma’am, I said hands up,” he yells at me.

“Sir, she was the one that was held captive and he was stabbed while trying to get her out. Please get multiple ambulances here. There are other girls here and I don’t know if they are hurt or not. This guy over here is the one that had them…” His words fade out and all I concentrate on is the slow rise and fall of Patrick’s chest, which gets slower and slower and stops.

“Nooo! Patrick, please don’t leave me.”

“Ma’am, can you please move. I’m a Medic,” a guy says as he comes in from nowhere. I look at him, not understanding. “Ma’am, you need to move.” Dad places his arms around me and picks me up, and pulls me away from Patrick.

“No, put me down. I need to cover his wounds,” I yell out, trying to kick out of my dad’s hold.”

“Emily, the medics are helping him now. You need to get looked at.”

“He’s coding,” the medic yells at the woman with him.

“What does that mean?” I run over to them after getting free of my dad.

“Ma’am, please get back so we can save him.” They rip his shirt off and one medic starts doing compressions while the other places pads on his chest and hooks him up to a machine.

“Clear!” The machine goes through all these prompts and I hear, “Shock is advisable.” The medic presses the button. “Shocking now.” His body jolts up, and the medics start doing CPR again.

“I got a pulse, let’s load him up.” I look at Patrick with a tube in his mouth and wires on his chest.

“I’m going with him,” I yell as they put him on a stretcher and wheel him.

“Ma’am, I have questions for you. We’ll get you to the hospital once we get things figured out here,” the officer says as he grabs my arm. My dad comes up beside me and puts his arms around me.

“Ems, we will get there as fast as we can. We would only be in the way right now and we need to help the girls that are here.”

I lean into him, as everything around me starts to spin… Dad gently places me on the floor. I hear a little voice call out my name.

“Ms. E…”

I lift my head up and turn around.

“Tasha, come here sweet girl.”

“Ms. E., it is you. You’re okay,” she rasps out as she runs over to me as the police let her go. “I was so afraid, Ms. E. Somehow I knew you would save me. I love you.”

“I love you too, Tasha.” I hold the frightened child in my arms tightly as I pray that Patrick doesn’t leave me behind, too.

T
he rain gently taps against the window in my office, creating a haze over the mountains it falls upon. I start thinking about how much my life has changed in the past year, especially the past six months. I’ve taken so many things and people, for granted, and I ended up losing those things that meant the most to me. I have so many emotions rolling through my mind today. I go back and re-read what I wrote today.

Life without you is harder than I’d ever imagined. Our special moments together have helped me through the past few weeks without completely breaking down. I think you’d be proud of how I’m doing. There are so many things that I miss about you today. Our phone calls, our texts, our stupid jokes I’m sure no one got but us. I’m positive you are looking down on me and keeping me safe, as you always did.

The clouds seem to be crying along with me today, they miss your smiling face as well. What I’d do to hear your voice one more time…one more time to tell you how much I love you, how proud I am of you. I guess that day will come when it’s supposed to.

I never thought I would be here without you, to live life without you, but I’m trying to make the best of it I can.

I miss you today and every day.

Love—

“Ems?”

“Yeah, in here,” I holler out as I finish writing the last bit of my journal entry.

“Oh, sorry, gorgeous, I didn’t know you were writing.” He’s scent invades my space as he enters the room with the cup of coffee in the cup he bought me on our first date in his hand, and he places it on my desk.

“You’re fine. I was reflecting for a few moments before I start reading through the grant applications that we’ve received so far.” I take a sip of the rich dark roast he has perfected making. “I can’t believe it’s been six months since he’s been gone. It seems like yesterday,” I say as I look at the picture of Nate and me on my desk.

“Is writing to him still helping you through the process?” Patrick asks as he sits down in his office chair. I love that this office is big enough for both of us.

“Yes, very much and I think being part of the Nathan Jane’s Foundation will help too.” I smile as I turn my chair to face him.

“Sounds like you and your parents will do some amazing things for very deserving people.”

“You too, right,” I ask before I take a sip of my coffee, because I want him to be a part of the foundation too.

“Um…” Puzzlement fills his face.

“I need a numbers guy and I know of an extremely talented, well educated, hardworking CFO I would love to have my way with at this very moment,” I say, licking my lips.

“Oh, you do?” He smirks.

“Yes. Please, Patrick, please say yes,” I beg, slightly pouting.

He looks at me for a few moments, debating on his answer. Our eyes meet, and I know his answer.

“Yes.”

“I love you, Patrick,” I say as I jump out of my chair and sit on his lap, hugging him.

“I love you too, gorgeous.” He pulls my face down to his and kisses me with the same passion of our very first kiss, leaving me breathless. “As much as I don’t want to, I need to get ready to go into work and I guess put my notice in.” He slightly winces as he adjusts his still healing body in the chair.

“Are you sure you’ve had enough time to recuperate?” I ask as I get off his lap.

“Yes, I’m fine as long as I don’t overdo it, and I won’t. Kristin won’t let me.”

“You know her heart is going to break when you resign,” I say as he stands up.

“No, I think she’ll finally retire. She’s been there for thirty plus years,” he states as he walks out of the office, with me following closely behind him.

“She could always come to work for us if she doesn’t want to retire yet.”

“Now that’s an excellent idea. I’ll work on that while I’m there too.” He smiles.

“She would be a huge asset to the foundation. Thank you.”

“For what?” he questions me.

“Being amazing.” I put my arms around his neck, gently snuggling up to him.

“You’re the one that’s amazing,” he says as he lifts my chin, kissing me again. “I need to get going.” I pout.

“I know. I’ll drive you when you’re ready to leave.”

“Sounds good.” He kisses my forehead. “Want to join me in the shower?”

“I thought you’d never ask…”

“Funny. I’ll try to behave.” He winks.

“You have to, mister.”

“I know.” He pouts, knowing he has to restrain from sexual activity until his next doctor’s appointment, and he grabs my hand, leading me to the shower.

I turn the water on, brushing my teeth as it warms up. We both get in the shower; washing each other’s bodies, teasing each other as we do. Quickly, our time in the shower runs out and we rinse off so we can get out and dress.