Chapter 27
Anna
“Come on. Come on.”
I turned at the end of the path, heading back toward the bridge half a mile down. No matter how many times I had passed my car, no one came. Back and forth, I ran, hoping Davis Knight would cross me, but he never did. Defeat was taking over, but my need to finish this wouldn’t allow me to face the fact that he probably wasn’t coming.
Slowing at my car, I let the deep breaths leave me. Maybe I’d wait in there for another half hour. Maybe I should drive the other way. He could have made it a short run. Of course, that would mean he was probably already finished.
“No.” My head shook angrily. “He’s coming. He has to come.”
The timing was just too perfect to miss. He was going on vacation. I was free of Braden and Boston. Of course, they’d know I wasn’t at work if Braden was to open investigation. I could just say—no, I would not use Dr. Patron.
I jerked open the door, sliding into my seat. Of all nights for Davis not to run, why this one? He was habitual. An addict, in truth. He had to run. Yet, he wasn’t coming.
My eyes shut as I took a deep breath. Vibrations brought them back open, and I reached over, grabbing my phone in agitation.
“You have got to be kidding me.” At the sight of Dr. Patron’s name, my head shook. This was going too far. What was he planning to do, call or text until I answered? I had left my vehicle over an hour ago, and he was still at it. I clicked the button, bringing the phone to my ear. “What do you think you’re doing? Can’t you take a hint? I’m not interested.”
“Help me! Oh God, h-help me!”
“W-Wh…hello? Who is this?”
Thudding exploded in my heart for reasons I couldn’t understand, and yet…could. The pure terror. I knew that tone. And the girl’s voice, it was broken up as if she could barely catch her breath to speak.
“Lucy! I’m Lucy Adams. Oh God. I…you’re with B-Boston? He said you were with Boston.”
“Oh my God.” I shoved the keys in my ignition, starting the car. “Lucy, where are you? Nothing else matters right now. You have to give me an address, now.”
“I don’t know. I’m…I’m running. I’m in a dark field. There’s nothing!”
“A field. Okay. It may look like nothing, but there has to be something you can give me to go off of. What do you see? Where were you?”
Sobs followed a deep groan. “A farm? I don’t know. It was a light color, I think? It’s dark, and I only saw it when we got here. It’s surrounded by trees. Like a…barrier or gate around it. High fucking hedge looking things. God, come get me! He’s g-going to find me. He’s going to kill me!”
“Daniel?”
More sobs. More of what sounded like running. “No! Dr. Patron! He took me. He hurt me! Where’s Boston?”
“Dr. Patron?” I could barely breathe. “Boston, he’s with…” I paused, pulling onto the road, not sure where I was going. “Lucy, please, I need you to help me. Every second matters. We’ll worry about Boston later. Tell me what else you can remember. If you were at a farmhouse, I’m guessing you left the town of Rockford. Was it far out of town? Did you head south, east? I need something, Lucy! The faster you can tell me, the faster I can help you.”
“I—I don’t know!” she sobbed. “He drugged me with something. I—s-south? I think we might have gone south. I think I remember a sign.”
“Great. That’s great.” I cut over to the far lane, flipping a U-turn as I sped up. “Are you still in the field, Lucy? Tell me anything you can see.”
“I see nothing. Maybe an outline of trees in the distance, b-but I’m not sure. I can’t…see straight. I c-can’t see,” she sobbed. “My eyes, he hit me. I haven’t been able to see out of one in a few days. I’m not sure—”
At the new round of heavy crying, I tried to hold in my own tears. This was bad. Really, really bad.
“Wounds heal, Lucy. You have to listen to me and do exactly as I say. I want you to keep your attention on those trees and run for them with every ounce of strength you have. You push yourself more than you ever have in your life. Do you hear me?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Good. Hold the phone down, but don’t hang up. I want you to run for it now. Focus only on safety. When you get there, I’ll be here for you.”
“Ok-kay.”
Even as she said it, more terror eased up my spine. Had Dr. Patron really done this? Where was he if she had managed to escape? Would he be coming for her? Would he get to her before I could? He couldn’t. If he found her, there was no doubt in my mind, she was dead.
I could barely swallow as I turned onto the freeway and headed out of town. So many questions kept coming as I listened to wind gush over the receiver. At one point, it sounded like she fell. Coughing was muffled with more cries, but the rustling whoosh of wind returned. Minutes stretched out. Then what felt like longer. The lights on either side of me faded until the only thing I was faced with was fellow cars and dark fields. I slowed, scanning for clusters of trees. With the emptiness, it was hard to tell.
“An-na? A-nna?”
“I’m here. Catch your breath. You did great.”
“I don’t,” a pause, “feel good. I—”
“Just take slow, deep breaths. You’re stronger than you know. Tell me what you see?”
Seconds passed.
“There’s a road. I’m hiding by some trees. I’m scared.”
“I know, but I’m coming for you. I’m going to find you. I just need your help. You said you were on a road. Lucy, do you see cars in the distance? Do you see the highway?”
“…No. There’s nothing.”
My features drew in at the silent cringe. “Okay, but you’re on a road. I’m going to need you to walk down until you see a street sign. I can use my GPS to try to find it.”
“He’ll find me! I can’t.”
“You can. You have to. Just stay on the edge of the road. If you see lights, you hide. You can do this.”
“I can’t. I’m so tired. I hurt everywhere.”
Pulling to the shoulder, I let my head rest on the steering wheel as I tried to think.
“Boston needs you Lucy. He loves you so much. Think of him. Get on the road and run. I can find you. I can get you back to him.”
“Back? Back? ...No. Wait. B…ack. He…he killed my mother. My brother. He k-killed them,” she sobbed. “I n-never want to see him again. I shouldn’t have even c-called. Why did I call? What…I…you. You kill too. Dr. Patron said so.”
The high pitch of her tone had my eyes shooting open. My mouth parted, but words wouldn’t follow. She was clearly in shock, but…she knew my secret. She knew.
“Lucy, calm down. No one killed anyone. Dr. Patron was lying to you.”
“No. I heard him. He was trying to help you. He d-doesn’t lie. He doesn’t lie. You lie. You all lie! God. I…can’t. I…”
“Lucy. Lucy?”
I pulled the phone back, yelling as the call ended. Hitting the number, I pulled back on the highway as it went to voicemail. I barely made it a quarter of a mile before a road appeared. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I had to do something. If I had to search every single road between here and the next town, I would.
Ring.
Ring.
Leave a quick message after the tone. Beep!
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Over and over, I called. The fields were bare on each side of me, and I scanned the vicinity as I hit redial.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Time passed. One road led to another. Deeper, I went into nowhere. Each minute that ticked by had my anxiety growing. Not just for me and Boston, but for Lucy. Did he find her? Was she worse off than I assumed?
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
“Gibson and Clairmont. I want to go home. I w-want to leave.”
“Lucy! Thank God. I’m coming. Just hold on. Let me pull this up.” I put her on speaker, bringing up the GPS on my phone.
Fourteen minutes.
“Lucy, I need you to go back to the trees. It’s going to take me about ten minutes to get to you.” I increased my speed, blasting down the road. Houses were non-existent. Did she even have a place to hide?
“Are you safe?”
“Not really. I…called 9-1-1.”
My heart sank, but I tried to remain calm. “What did you tell them? Are they sending help?”
Silence.
“Lucy?”
“I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I’m…Boston…I don’t know what I’m doing! I want to leave this place. I want to leave!”
The volume had me jumping as it filled the interior. “Shhh. Don’t yell. Shhh. You have to keep quiet. You have to hide. Tell me about Dr. Patron. What happened? Is he dead?”
Laughing. Mad laughter. It overpowered the crying, tightening my skin into goosebumps. Another similarity of where I had been. Mad. Mad. Yes, I had been exactly where she was. Lucy was lost right now, and not just in location. Her mind wasn’t thinking right. After whatever she’d been through, clarity might not return for quite some time.
“I hope he’s dead. I stabbed him in the face. I cut his wrist. I…don’t know. What if he’s not? What if he finds me? I don’t want to go back!”
“Shhh. You’re not going back. I’ll be there before you know it. Then we’ll call the police. You’ll be safe. Boston can even meet us at the hospital.”
“No-no-no. I told you, I c-can’t see him. I don’t want to see him.”
“Dr. Patron lied to you, Lucy. Listen to me when I tell you that. He lied. Boston loves you. He’s been devastated since you’ve been taken.”
“No,” she said, her voice cracking. “What Dr. Patron said is true. I…he doesn’t lie. He…no. Doesn’t…lie. Doesn’t…” A sniffle. A gasp for breath. “Jeff…my brother, he tried to tell me the truth. I didn’t listen.”
“You’re confused right now. Listen to me, Boston told me about your past. The doctor was just playing on your emotions. He wanted you to believe Boston was the bad guy. He’s not. It’s irrelevant,” I pushed. “None of that matters right now. The only thing that’s important is your safety.” I turned left, accelerating even more. “When this is all over, you can work through this, but I’m telling you, Boston did not do anything wrong. Nothing that the doctor told you is true.”
“So, you’re not a k-killer?”
“No. Of course not.”
“How do I know? I thought. I thought. Dr. Patron…he was our friend.”
I sighed, looking down at Braden’s call beeping in.
“He fooled you all, but he’s going to pay for that, Lucy. He’s sick. He needs help.”
“He…raped me. He did t-things. Sick. Things. He—” The deep sound that echoed through my car left me nauseous. Tears blinded me, and my throat nearly closed through the need to break at her pain. Again, Braden called.
“Shhh. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I promise he’s going to p—”
“Lights! Oh God, he’s coming. Anna! Anna, no! Don’t let him take me. Don’t let him take me!”
Wind was already rushing in the phone. I pushed my car faster, glancing at the GPS.
“Run! Run, Lucy! Lucy?” Silence registered, indicating our call had ended, and I dropped the phone. I may have been eight minutes away, but it was a straight shot. If Dr. Patron found her, he’d have to get past me to escape. That wasn’t going to happen.