Page 64 of Shattered Hope
“I’ll knock on the door. He won’t feel threatened by my presence, and he might let me in. If he doesn’t, you can still force your way in and take him by surprise.”
“He’s probably armed. What makes you think he won’t kill you too?” Josh pointed out.
“He’s not stupid. Killing me would ruin his life,” I assured him.
“Killing her will ruin his life,” the man pointed out. “And yet, you’re sure he’ll do it.”
“He’s already made people think she is dead. The bastard actually thinks he can get away with this. He doesn’t know we’re on to him,” I stated, keeping my tone as calm as possible when all I wanted to do was to barge into that cabin and take Ailani out of there.
“I’ll be right next to you, out of sight,” Josh finally agreed.
“I wouldn’t want it any different,” I assured him.
The officers took their places along the house, and a few seconds later, I was knocking at the door.
***
Ailani
The knocking on the door pulled me out of my fantasy world. The sound was so loud and unexpected that it startled me. Daniel was beyond frantic, and I couldn’t help but smile at his ordeal.
I wasn’t expecting to be saved. I had been in this position way too many times to believe anyone cared when they suspected something was wrong. A few calm words from Daniel were usually enough for them to turn around and forget about me and what they might have seen or heard.
Either way, I welcomed the interruption, even though Daniel shoved a small cloth into my mouth and dragged me to the furthest corner of the small room, before he picked up a gun from the table and shoved it under the back of his waistband.
“Don’t make a sound!” he threatened me, but he didn’t have too.
I knew how fruitless that was, and things were bad enough as they were. So, I closed my eyes and let my mind slide back to my safe place, shutting out the ugly world.
“Wells, right? What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?” I heard Daniel asking, but I was sure I was hallucinating.
What would Jayden be doing here? It’s not like he cared.
“I’m looking for Ailani. She stole something important from me,” Jayden explained, in a dark tone.
The words reached me, but they didn’t make any sense. I shook my head and tried to pay attention, curious to know if my mind was playing tricks with me.
“She stole from you? That’s a new one… but I can’t say I'm surprised,” Daniel said, in a scornful tone, lowering his guard.
Bastard!
“Have you seen her?” Jayden insisted.
“No… I haven’t seen her since the night of the gala,” Daniel assured him, sounding so truthful, so sincere, I closed my eyes and allowed a few tears to roll down my swollen face.
“Then, you won’t mind if we take a look inside,” Jayden said, in a firm tone.
Daniel had little time to react, as Jayden and another man I had never seen burst into the cabin. Three other men joined them, just seconds after, guns in hand.
Daniel was astounded and utterly furious holding his hands away from his body as he saw the police with their guns drawn.
“What the hell is going on? You have no right to enter my house like this,” he yelled at the armed men.
One of them holstered his gun and stepped behind Daniel. “Gun,” said the officer, lifting from his bastard’s waistband. He handed it off to another officer then proceeded to cuff Daniel while reciting his rights.
Jayden rushed to where I was, and the look of horror on his face told me more than I could handle. I closed my eyes as I heard him walking away from me, darkness finally giving me the oblivion I had been craving.
***
