Falling in Love Again: A Valentine's Day Proposal

“Right, and this has nothing to do with Raelyn Owens? The woman who you claimed was kidnapped?”

“I…” Shit, I forgot that police talked to one another about things.

“Do you want to take back that statement as well? Do you want us to stop looking?”

Oh, fucking hell, he has me there and he knows it. He damn well knows it. I do want them to keep looking for Raelyn, but they also need to take back my one statement to help with the other.

“Look, Carter, I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t believe a word you’re saying.” He folds his hands together. “I believe that this is all linked. The girl was kidnapped and now you need to take back the statement. To save her, probably. I can’t help you, unless I know the full story. Do you understand?”

I stare him down while he looks back at me just as intently. We both know what’s really going on here, the issue is what do we do about it? I need to tell him that he’s right without actually saying those words.

I reach into my pocket and grab the note. It doesn’t say much but I hope that it’s enough. I need him to just see it and to understand why I’m doing what I’m doing. I really fucking need his help.

He takes it from me and runs his eyes over the words, his expression shifting as he does. Recognition gets him while he reads and relief floods me. This is good, this is what I need.

“Okay, well I am going to look into this.” He waves the note at me. “And do what you say.”

“You will take back the statement? Because that’s what I need to have happen.”

“I will help you. You can be assured of that.”

“Okay.” I nod. I don’t like this. I can’t stand still being out of control, but there isn’t anything I can do. “So, what do I do now? Because I don’t feel like just waiting around is enough.”

“You will wait around until we contact you. I don’t want you getting involved. We don’t know how dangerous a situation this could be, so you need to be safe. You cannot put yourself in danger. We do not want to have to worry about you as well. Do you understand me?”

He cocks an eyebrow meaningfully at me and I nod. “Okay yes, I understand.”

“Right, because I don’t want to have added stress on my shoulders.”

“I will go home now and wait.”

“Great, and as soon as we have anything for you, we will be in touch.”

“I want to know if you find Raelyn, I am truly worried about her.”

“Trust me, after what we now know, so are we.”

He means the letter. I didn’t have this before, I didn’t really have any evidence, but it does seem like they took me quite seriously anyway, so I have to be grateful for that. Now, it’ll be interesting to see how quickly they can move and what they can sort, knowing that there’s trouble and the potential for more murder.

Not that there’s going to be more murder. I cannot think that!

I will do that, but I’ll only wait for Lee to call me. If he rings me, I will be out the door. Officer Brady can tell me all that he wants to keep away from Raelyn but I still need to be on the front line to protect her. I just hope that somehow the message gets through to the gang that the statement has been dropped and they let her go, making this a whole lot simpler for all of us.

All the way home, I keep an eye on my phone, but still nothing happens. I just

have to try and tell myself that I have personally done all that I can. For the time being anyway.

34

Raelyn

Grime covers me. Or maybe that’s sweat, I’m not too sure. It’s so dark in here that I don’t really have a clue how long I’ve been trapped and I’m starting to really lose my mind. This is dreadful, and the longer it goes on, the worse it becomes. The deeper I sink into the nightmare. The more I lose hope.

It might have only been hours, possibly minutes, I tell myself. It may not be as long as it seems.

I move my body up off the floor, trying to find a burst of energy or some inspiration. I don’t want to give up but I’m really struggling. I’ve tried everything, and I haven’t had any luck at all. The guys have got me trapped good. They might not be as experienced in the criminal world as other people, but they’ve done this well. I’m completely stuck where I am, and there’s nothing I can do to get out.

“Help me,” I plead to whatever spiritual being might be listening. I don’t know if that’s something I believe in, but right now I will believe in anything I can to escape. “Someone, please, help me.”