Her back had been hurting her all morning but she had ignored the feeling. She could no longer ignore the fact she was in labor after her water had broken with that landing. She gritted her teeth as the first contraction hit. She didn't want to upset Kristin or alert their abductor.
Kristin continued the war in her head with her memories. Closing her eyes to the light, she tried to only think of the good. She did not want to have to deal with the sick memories of Timothy, a well respected surgeon, until she had to. It was some time before she lifted her head to look at Amber.
Too late she realized what her friend was going through. Kristin could tell by the glazed look in Amber's eyes and the strain in her face, she was in labor. She had been too busy wallowing in her own situation to notice Amber's pain.
"Can you please stop," Kristin asked.
"No," came the reply from the front seat.
"I have to use the bathroom," she tried again.
Timothy, realizing he was almost out of gas, decided to be accommodating. He searched for a station that had a bathroom outside of the store and went after the key while he filled up the van. He had already gotten rid of the girls' cell phones so he knew they would not be able to call for help. He allowed them both to go to the bathroom and wondered what was wrong that Kristin had to half carry the other into the bathroom.
Once inside, Kristin locked the door and turned to Amber.
"How bad is it," she questioned.
"I don't know. I can't time them," she half whimpered. "Kristin, she's too early. I don't know how to stop this."
"Listen to me very carefully," Kristin said quietly. She was trying to keep her voice down so the monster could not hear her. "I'm going to walk out that door and lock it. You are to stay here for about ten minutes."
Amber was already shaking her head. "I don't have time to argue with you Amber. You have to protect that baby. Can you imagine what he would do to hear you scream through your labor?"
"You are not leaving with him alone, Kristin."
"I am. Now listen. Wait ten minutes and then go inside and call Derek. He will send an ambulance and Matt will know which direction he's headed with me. You can save me and the baby by doing this."
Another contraction hit Amber and she moaned. Kristin slipped out the door and locked it before Amber had time to realize what she was doing.
"Where's the nurse," Timothy asked.
"She's in labor, hemorrhaging badly. By the time we got inside the bathroom, she collapsed from the blood loss. You will have to go get her."
"No, leaver her," he said. "Get back in the van."
Kristin hid her smile as she obediently climbed back inside. Her plan worked and she was sure Amber was strong enough to get herself some help. At least her friend and the baby would make it.
Timothy was not happy about leaving Amber behind. But if she was bleeding out as bad as Kristin said, she would die in that small bathroom and so would her unborn baby. She was no use to him dead. Besides, he had the one he was really after.
Squealing out of the parking lot, Timothy was oblivious to the locals watching him. He wanted to get to his destination. He could already feel his excitement mounting.
~
Derek jumped a foot when his phone rang. "Derek Stevenson," he answered. Barely able to understand the words on the other end of the line he did make out his wife's voice.
"Amber, Honey is that you? Oh, Thank God, where are you?"
"He still has Kristin," he barely understood her between the sobbing. Then another voice came on the phone.
"I'm not sure what's going on mister, but this young lady is hysterical and in labor, and her friend is still with the man in the white van."
"Tell me where you are," Derek barked in a tight voice.
The stranger told Derek what he needed to know while he and Matt loaded into Matt's SUV. Derek called for an ambulance and they sped down the highway.
Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Timothy had followed all posted speed limits and had not gotten very far outside of Atlanta. He had no way of knowing the FBI was already on his tail.
Matt and Derek were searching frantically for a reason he would take the country roads and why he was headed south.
"You don't think he is headed back to his hometown do you," asked Derek.
"I had thought of that, but he must know we would look there. I have the county police looking for him."
"Yes, but they will be searching the highways and interstates. There is no way to block all of these back roads."
Matt slammed his hand against the steering wheel cursing. "The bastard's pretty clever."
"We are more so," Derek soothed.
"We have to find him before he disappears. I have a bad feeling about this, Derek."
"We'll find him."
"No, I'll find him. You are getting in that ambulance with your pregnant wife," Matt said as he pulled into the gas station parking lot.
Derek jumped out of the vehicle almost before it had come to a complete stop. He ran to where his wife was laid out on a stretcher about to be loaded into the ambulance. She was sobbing still as she grabbed his hand.
"She's too early, Derek."
"Hush, Baby. Everything will be all right." He took his sobbing wife in his arms and rocked her until she settled down. As soon as she was calmer the paramedics loaded the ambulance and took off for the hospital. Derek asked Amber exactly what had happened then relayed the message to Matt who was busy questioning the locals.
The older gentlemen sitting inside the tiny store playing checkers were all too happy to explain exactly what they had seen. In less than five minutes, Matt was racing down the road in the direction of the white cargo van.
He radioed in his location and told the state and local police to be aware the suspect was traveling back country roads. It took almost an hour. One very long, excruciating hour in which Matt pleaded with his maker to allow him to find Kristin alive and unharmed. He made many promises in that fateful hour and he meant to keep every damn one of them, including the one to use less colorful words like damn.
When his car took a nasty curve and slid sideways he almost cursed again. He wouldn't find Kristin at all if he killed himself first. As the car straightened back out, he noticed the back of a white cargo van just ahead.
Deciding not to spook the driver, Matt raced passed him as if he were on his way to another call. He again radioed in his location and waited for a response to see if any other law enforcement were in the area. It was the longest wait of his life. He saw a small country road and turned.
Matt turned around in the road and waited. Just as the van passed him, dispatch radioed in with the information he had been waiting for. County deputies were setting up a road block a couple of miles down the road. Matt waited half a minute then pulled back onto the road behind the van.
~
Kristin jerked her head up when Tim started cursing. "No, no, no," he screamed like a caged animal. Handcuffed to the back of the van, she couldn't see what had him riled so, but she hoped it was Matt. If Amber had called Derek right away, Matt could have caught up to them by now.
Timothy saw the road block and though he didn't believe it had anything to do with him, decided not to stop. He couldn't risk someone noticing the handcuffed girl in his van. He was not ready to get caught. He would be taking a huge risk to try to run through the checkpoint though, so he pulled into a driveway and was about to turn around when he saw flashing lights behind him.
Cursing again, Timothy panicked and did the only thing he thought possible. He ran. He stepped on the gas, did a doughnut in the yard and pulled back onto the road going the opposite direction.
Matt came to a screeching halt and did a u-turn in the middle of the road. The deputies jumped into their vehicles and gave chase. By now, Timothy was oblivious to the cries coming from the back of the van as Kristin was thrown around.
He sped faster and
faster down that country road, not realizing the irony of his situation. For so long he was the one doing the chasing. Now, he knew what it felt like to be chased. Sweat was building on his forehead. His hands had a white knuckle death grip on the steering wheel. Too late, he noticed the sharp curve Matt had nearly missed a few minutes earlier.
Kristin gave a sharp cry as the van began to roll. He arms were almost jerked out of their sockets as she was tossed around. It happened so fast, she was unable to brace for the impact as the van rolled over itself three times before finally coming to a stop upside down.
Matt slammed on his brakes and was out of the car, gun drawn, before the van came to a stop. He once again threw up a prayer that Kristin was still alive and unharmed. Three patrol cars came to a screaming stop behind him and stood behind their car doors with their weapons also drawn.
Matt approached the van cautiously. His first instinct was to jerk the back door open and find Kristin, but his training kicked in. He knew he must first eliminate the threat. He steadily walked to the front of the van.
"Put your hands out the window where I can see them," he yelled. Timothy was not a stupid man. He decided to cooperate. He was certain his many attorneys would be more than willing to drain the old lady dry while working on his defense. Yes, he could beat this, he decided. And so Timothy put both hands out of the window and did not resist when Matt dragged him out of the van through the crushed window.
One of the deputies ran over and read him his Miranda rights while Matt searched for Kristin. She was battered and bleeding from her forced captivity while the van was rolling, but she was smiling when Matt opened the door. She had never looked more beautiful to him.
"Hey, let me get those handcuffs off of you," Matt said reaching for his key. As soon as she was released, Kristin hurled herself into his arms. Matt held her as if his life depended on it. And, he decided, it really did.
"I'm so sorry, Matt. I had no idea he would be at the convention. It never crossed my mind."
"No, Kristin, you have nothing to be sorry about, Baby. Let's just get you cleaned up. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Everywhere," she laughed. "But I'll live. Matt, I got my memory back, all of it. I can tell you exactly what he did to me and the others."
Matt shuddered when he heard that statement. They would need her testimony to get a conviction but he wished she would never have to relive those moments of torture she had suffered.
Matt continued to hold her as they waited for an ambulance. He completely blocked her view of her captor as they hauled him away. She clung to him as if she would never let go, and he hoped to God she didn't. He needed her. He just wasn't sure yet how to tell her.
When the ambulance arrived, she was cleaned up and doctored. Most of the blood had come from a nose bleed. She had a few cuts and bruises but she was definitely in much better shape than she had been after her first encounter with the monster.
Matt loaded her into his SUV and the headed back to Atlanta. It wasn't until Kristin asked about Amber that he remembered his sister-in-law was in labor. He immediately called his brother to get an update.
Kristin and Matt made it to the hospital just in time to greet the new arrival into the world. Amber was beaming as she presented Matt's niece to him. "I named her Kristin Olivia after the two strongest women I know," Amber said smiling.
"Oh, Amber. She is beautiful," Kristin breathed. She watched as Matt held the tiny life in his arms and hoped that one day she would see him holding her child in his arms.
Amber reached for Kristin's hand. "Are you okay?"
"I am. Matt found me just in time. The monster is locked up now and hopefully will not see the light of day for a very long time."
"I'm so glad you're okay. You don't know how worried I was. I was so afraid for the baby and you and I wasn't sure which I should worry about more. Thank you, Kristin for saving my baby. I'm not sure she would have made it if I hadn't gotten to the hospital when I did."
"Let's not dwell on the past anymore. This precious new life deserves a whole lot of happiness and joy in her life. Let's forget the darkness and fear. Your fear is dead and mine is in jail. We have only a bright future to look to."
Amber had tears streaming down her eyes when Matt handed his niece back to her mother. He gathered Kristin in his arms and kissed her thoroughly.
"I couldn't agree with you more. We do have a bright future ahead and I hope you will be spending yours with me." Now it was Kristin's turn to cry. Matt gently wiped her tears with his thumb as he kissed her again.
After the many hugs, tears, and cries of congratulations, Matt drove Kristin to her home. Her parents had been staying in her apartment after that first night at the hotel. She was anxious to see them again and tell them how much she loved and appreciated all they had done for her.
When she knocked on the door, her mother opened it. "Kristin," she exclaimed. "How's my baby?"
"Not a baby anymore, Mother."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her mother burst into tears. The women hugged and cried. Paul came into the foyer to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw his daughter wrapped in his wife's arms, he knew she had regained her memory. He broke down and sobbed like a baby when Kristin turned to him.
Matt, Kristin, and her parents spent the next few hours talking. He took them all out to dinner and as soon as he was able, he pulled Paul aside and told him just how he felt about the man's daughter. Paul shook Matt's hand.
"I would be honored to call you son." With her parents blessing, Matt didn't wait to tell Kristin just exactly how he felt. He didn't need a few years to know if they were right for each other. He had found his heart when he found her on the side of the road that day, and he would never be letting her go.
♥ Epilogue ♥
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" The call rang out in the silent courtroom.
"We have your Honor."
"In the case of the death of Amanda Johnson, how do you find?"
"We the jury find the defendant, Timothy Parker, guilty of murder in the first degree."
Kristin let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. The courtroom erupted with shouts and cries of joy as the victims' families listened to the first verdict.
"Silence in the courtroom," the judge cried. Kristin continued to listen as the jury answered each verdict. Eleven guilty verdicts of murder in the first degree and one guilty verdict of kidnapping and attempted murder were handed down. Timothy Parker would spend the rest of his life in a tiny prison cell.
It had taken five long years to hear those words. Timothy's lawyers had managed to drag out the inevitable as long as they possibly could. In the end, his grandmother's money couldn't save him as he had hoped.
And in the true form of justice, Timothy ended up with a cell mate who liked to hear people scream as much as Timothy did. He was bigger, stronger, and meaner than Timothy. In the darkness of night, Timothy got a true taste of the terror his victims suffered before he finally put them out of their misery. Only his misery would last for much longer than any of his victims.
#####
♥ Tantalizing Desire ♥
Book Three
"I know the pain you're suffering. I will help you end it. In a few minutes you will meet your maker and all will be well again. You will be well and whole. No more suffering. No more pain. God's angels will carry you to the other side. Your family will miss you, but you, my friend, will no longer be suffering."
The old lady in the bed watched as the needle slipped into her IV. She felt the numbing affect of the drug almost immediately. She drifted to sleep slowly listening to the sound of her Angel of Mercy telling her she would be pain free soon.
Pamela McDowell had lived to the ripe old age of eighty-one. She had slowly been losing strength for four months when the doctor diagnosed her with stomach cancer. In a few short weeks, Pamela had be
en hospitalized and hooked up to tubes and IV's trying to keep her alive.
Her children visited her everyday but were never there long enough to see the real pain she endured daily. She had lived a full life. She wanted to be finished. She didn't like lying in that hospital bed day after day, knowing she was dying, continuously in pain.
Unable now to upon her eyes she sensed her angle leaving the room. Pamela McDowell took her last breath thankful for the end.
~
Olivia Carnes made her rounds checking on her patients one last time before going to the cafeteria to eat her lunch. It was practically deserted since she now worked third shift, but they kept the room opened and the lights on so hospital personnel had a place to sit while on lunch break.
She didn't always work this shift but since her best friend, Amber Stevenson, had taken a new position with Doctor Kristin Young, Olivia had agreed to fill in on the night shift which had been short staffed for some time. She enjoyed her job and since she lived alone, didn't really care what time her shift was.
Most of her patients encountered a smiling, caring nurse who showed real concern for their care. Only close friends and coworkers noticed the smile so readily available did not reach her eyes. There was an emptiness there that would probably never heal.
Olivia had not always been lonely. She had been married, joyously happy, and expecting a child. A disturbing turn of events left Olivia childless and husbandless with a deep fear of ever trusting a man again. She was determined never to repeat the mistakes of her past.
When she had moved to Atlanta to be closer to Amber, Olivia had legally changed from her married name back to her maiden name. She wanted no reminders of the hell she had endured when she learned the full truth of her husband's duplicity. Many of her coworkers would be surprised to know she had even been married.
Only Amber, her husband Derek, and Kristin knew the truth of Olivia's past. She never spoke of it and often refused to dwell on it. So it was a little disconcerting that all of those old memories seemed to want to surface tonight while she was eating her lunch in the solitude of the cafeteria.