“We never saw it,” Shelly said. Her voice sounded so tight, like she was fighting wanting to yell.
“Shelly, what are you talking about?”
“Daddy, he locked us in a room. He controls everything she does.”
Katie peeked up from her hiding spot. The color left their father’s face. He shook his head as tears swelled in his eyes. “Keith’s a nice boy.” He turned to look at his wife.
“He fooled us,” she said. She crossed her arms and sat down on the bed. The black and pink-checkered quilt bunched up around her. “He really did.”
Mr. Morris stood and placed a hand over his heart, squeezing his shirt. “He locked her in a room,” he whispered.
“All the time, Daddy. He even almost hit me,” Shelly said.
“He what?” Mr. Morris’s gaze snapped to her sister. He then sat back on the bed and grabbed Katie’s shoulders, making her look at him. A sharp look filled his eyes. “Did he hit you?”
Her lips trembled.
“Did he?”
She shook her head, trying to hold tears in. “He did shove me against a wall,” she whispered. And raised a hand to her. But she couldn’t tell him that or how he made her stand in the middle of the room naked.
Her father pulled her to his chest. “I’m going to kill him. I really am.”
Katie squeezed her father tight, trying to find some comfort, but there was none to be found. What would Keith do, if her father tried to protect her? Slice his throat. A shudder filled her. Please Lord, don’t let him be capable of that.
Keith sat at his desk, banging his phone up and down as he stared at the door in front of him. Every part of him wanted to jump from this seat and rush to Clayton and drag her back home. She was there. He just knew it, but he couldn’t prove where exactly she was. Patience. Just stay patient. He felt his phone vibrate, so he picked it up. “Found her?” he asked.
“She’s not in Clayton,” an agent said.
“Well, where is she?” he shouted.
“I don’t know, but give me a couple days. She doesn’t appear to be with any of her family members, except for Shelly, so I’m going to have to dig a little harder.”
“Find her.” Keith slammed his phone down. And find her quickly.
ELEVEN
Keith held the pen over the document. She was not in Clayton, but her parents were, so where could she be? It had been two weeks and his men hadn’t been able to find one clue of the girl. He shook his head and turned to the document in front of him. He needed to keep reading this briefing report, making sure every detail aligned with their case. He should go to Clayton and force the details from her parents, but his father said to wait until they knew where she was. Wait and catch her off guard. Keith looked up when his phone beeped. He pressed the intercom button.
“Yes, Jacky.”
“There is a Mr. Sullivan here to see you.”
“Send him in,” Keith said. He looked up as the door opened, and Jacky showed Sullivan in. Sullivan glared at her until she quickly slipped behind the door and shut it. He really could scare people with just a glance. Sullivan walked over to the desk, and dropped a brown envelope onto it. Keith picked it up. The only thing written on it was Mrs. Wilkerson.
“Took you long enough,” Keith said as he opened the envelope.
“I had better things to do.”
“You work for me, now.” Keith slammed his fist on the table.
Sullivan folded his hands in front of him, no emotions on his face.
Keith pulled out the documents and laid them on the table. He read the short note that explained where Katie was and what she was doing.
“She’s living with Jeff.” He squeezed the papers in his hands, wanting to shred them. If she let him touch her, he.... Keith shook his head. Jeff would never touch anything again.
Keith set the document down, and picked up the pictures of Katie, flipping through them. He ran his finger down a picture of her leaning on a counter, looking at a magazine.
Keith stood from the chair. “Thank you.” He grabbed his coat and walked out the door to the intern’s desk.
“Come, Marvin, we’re going on a trip.”
The intern looked up; his dark brown brows wrinkled.
“What are you doing, Marvin? Come on.” The intern nodded, grabbed his coat and followed Keith out the door.
In an hour, Keith was on a plane to North Carolina.
There was something happening between them. Though her feelings for Jeff were different than hers for Keith, he made her feel special and worth it. She giggled after he told her a joke and flipped through the pages of the magazine, since she couldn’t look at his eyes for long. For the last couple weeks, life had been wonderful. She had begun volunteering at the church’s Sunday school, renewing her dream of teaching. At home rested an application package for East Carolina University. If things continued to be calm she would take classes in the fall in pursuit of her teaching certificate. This was the life she wanted to live. A life to own herself instead of being someone else’s.
“You know,” he said. “If....”
The bell over the door rang. She looked up and smiled at the tall slender young man who wore a pair of blue jeans and a N.C. State t-shirt. His light brown hair was ruffled to the side, making him look like he’d just rolled out of bed. “Can I help you?” she asked.
The young man looked at the rows of books that lined the walls. “Man, I don’t know where to begin.”
Katie walked from behind the counter. “What are you looking for?”
“My mother’s birthday is coming up, and I thought since she loves to read I’d get her a book.” The boy chuckled as he shook his head. “But I have no idea what to get.”
The young man seemed out of his world as he stared at the bookcases full of books with wide-eyes that spoke of being lost. He must not be an avid reader or he would understand the workings of a bookstore.
Katie smiled. “What’s her favorite genre?”
“Romance, but not the kind with all the sex.”
Katie nodded and walked over to the Ss. “Does she like Nicolas Spark?”
The boy shrugged his shoulders. Katie grabbed the most recent Nicolas Spark book, and handed it to the boy. “If she has it already you can exchange it.”
His face lit up, a smile stretched across his face. “Thanks.” The boy bought the book and walked out the door.
Katie returned to her place behind the counter and she and Jeff began talking again. She could not subdue the smile on her face. Time passed and an elderly lady walked into the store. Shelly helped her, but as she got off the ladder and handed the book to the old lady, Shelly’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Katie, he’s here.”
Katie’s head snapped towards the window. Keith strolled to the bookstore, dressed as for work.
“I’m not.” Katie ducked behind the counter and crawled through the door that led to the back.
She sat in a chair, wrapping her arms around her waist, trying to calm her shaking body. Rows of boxes lined the walls around her making her feel trapped. What was he going to do? How did he find her? Tears brimmed in her eyes. Had Ashley been right? Foolish girl. She shook her head. She should have listened and went to some exotic place. Maybe she could have brought her family.
Keith’s voice broke the stillness. “I know she’s here.”
She stilled and leaned towards the door.
“She’s not here. I don’t know where she is.”
“Shelly, my intern just bought a book from her. I know she’s here.”
“What?”
Katie’s breath pushed from her.
“I want to talk to my wife.”
Katie buried her face into her hands. They had been tricked.
Shelly walked through the back door looking like she had seen a ghost - her face had ashen, but a steeliness filled her eyes.
“I knew he’d find me,” Katie said.
“I’m going to call the cops, and they’l
l make him leave.”
“No, I should talk to him.” Katie stood from the seat and made her way to the front counter, avoiding her sister’s wide eyes. Keith stood in front of her, lips pushed into a thin line – his eyes full of a tense, sharp look.
“Katie,” Jeff said, clutching his gun.
Keith chuckled and fixed his eyes on Katie. “Katie, I want to speak to you alone.”
She stepped back from the counter and motioned for Keith to follow her.
“Katie, I don’t know if...,” Jeff said.
“It’s fine, Jeff, he’s not going to hurt me.” She squeezed her hands together. At least she hoped he wouldn’t.
She walked through the back door with him at her heels. Planting her feet firmly on the floor, she focused on the wall as he walked around her. What would Keith say to her? It had been weeks and now he showed up. But why? Did it take him that long to find her, or had he been waiting until the right moment?
“What is going on?” He reached for her shoulders, but she stepped back from him and he let his hands fall to his side. “Katie?” He knit his brows.
“I left you, and I’m not going back.”
“Why?” The sharpness deepened in his eyes. Katie took a deep breath. She had been practicing what to say if he ever showed up, but now she lost the words. She took a couple more steps back, and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Look, I really don’t want to talk about this right now, so please just go back to New York, and I’ll call you in a month.”
“A month, a month,” he shouted. “You’re my wife and you’re going back with me.” He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her close.
“Keith,” she yelled.
His eyes widened. He let go of her arm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you.”
Katie stumbled back and leaned against a shelf. “Will you leave now?”
“I’m staying at a hotel in Greenville. Can I see you tonight?”
She rubbed her arm, trying to smooth out the feeling of his strong grip, yanking her to him as if he owned her. “I would rather you didn’t.”
“I want to talk to you after I have had a chance to calm down.”
“I….”
“I’ll see you tonight.” He walked out the door, slamming it.
Katie sat back on the stool and buried her face in her hands as tears poured from her. A couple seconds later, Shelly ran into the back and wrapped her arms around her sister.
“I called Dad,” she said. “He’ll be here soon.”
Katie laid her head against her sister’s shoulder. He had let her go and looked as if he knew what he did was wrong. Was there still a shred of humanity in him that could be reached before he crossed the line? Tonight, she would try to reason with him, making him see what he had done. Then he would leave her alone.
Her father showed up a couple hours later, right before the sun began to go down. He came with only one item; a fully loaded shotgun. She held up her hands. “Don’t, Daddy.”
Her father raised the gun. “Just let him touch you.”
Katie wrapped her arms around her father and buried her face into his shirt. “Please stay in the bedroom. It would be best if I explained things to him.”
Her father cocked the gun when car lights filled the driveway. “I’ll be ready.” He went into the bedroom.
Katie sat on the plaid couch, focusing on the floral pot filled with dried flowers in front of her. A weatherman on T.V. talked about how the temperatures would be rising. Just what she needed.
The door to the house opened. He didn’t even knock. She closed her eyes and focused on his steps. Had he always moved so quietly like a snake?
She glanced at him as he sat next to her. His hair was slicked back as if he just gotten out of the shower. He wore a long-sleeve black Yankee shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Must be trying to remind her of college. She turned to the TV as he reached to her and ran the back of his hand down her cheek, leaving Goosebumps. The TV turned off. Keith held the remote control, his eyes focused on her, peering through her.
She looked away, and placed a hand to her chilled cheek. “No one knew where I was, so how did you locate me?” she asked.
“You’re not a hard girl to find.”
Ashley’s words came back to haunt her. You have to disappear. But would it have mattered? Probably not. Surely he could have found her in some backwards country as easily as he’d found her now.
“I want you to come back,” he said.
She stiffened. For the last couple weeks, she had been so free, loving the fact that she could make her own decisions, no longer walking on tiptoes because she was afraid to spark his anger. Everything had been so peaceful. She thought of Jeff. He still didn’t seem like a man compared to Keith, but she didn’t care. His boyish charm, his simple life pulled her towards him. “I’m not.”
“Why?” He demanded, making her flinch.
“I hate being with you.” Please God let him understand. Please
Keith nodded. “Is that how you feel? I have given you everything you could need or want. But you hate being with me.”
“Yes.” She bit on the top of her fingers. Her body trembled. He just didn’t see it. None of it. He wasn’t raised to see it. Just power and control. To have everything he wanted laid at his feet.
“Why?”
“I want a divorce.” I want freedom.
He tapped the remote control against the couch, bouncing it as if he was keeping time with it. “I’ll let you teach. So come back with me.”
Katie sprang to her feet. “You’ll let me. That’s the problem. You think you own me.”
“Come back!”
“I’m not coming back!”
Keith stood and glared down into her eyes. “I will fight any attempts for a divorce.”
His eyes were tense, fierce, but she held her ground. “You’ll not win,” she said, pointing to the door. “Now leave.”
He chuckled, taking her chin in his hand. One finger ran along her bottom lip. “Little girl, you should know who you’re married to.”
“I know,” she whispered, as a tear fell down her cheek. “Please leave.”
He bent to her cheek, kissed it and then released her. “Don’t push this, pretty thing, you’ll lose.”
She gazed into his sharp eyes; eyes that could slice through her. No lightness filled them. He patted her cheek and then turned for the door, leaving her feeling cold.
He gripped the door handle and glanced back at her. A lock of bangs fell over his forehead. “By the way, I think the clerks lost those divorce papers you filed.” He walked out the door, slamming it behind him.
She took a quick intake of breath. What did he just say?
The door to the bedroom flew open and slammed against the wall. Her father fled past her and out the front door. She ran to the window and threw it open.
“William,” her father shouted.
Keith stopped in his tracks and turned around. He didn’t even flinch when her father raised the gun to his head.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
“Or what?” Keith took a step closer so the gun rested against his forehead. “You’ll shoot?”
He was scared of nothing.
Her father stood just as strong. “Don’t test me boy. If you touch her again, I’ll kill you.”
“I never touched your daughter.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Keith looked at her, making her squeeze the top of the window.
“What lie did you tell him?” he shouted.
Katie slammed the window shut.
Keith shook his head, and turned around, but her father kept the gun in the air until Keith got into his car and drove off. She crumpled to the floor, letting the tears finally pour forth. They had been so close, almost like father and son, and now? She balled her hands into fists, pushing them into her eyes. Why did he have to be so controlling? Everything had been so wonderful and now the glass illusion had fu
lly shattered. Her father came into the house and wrapped her into his arms.
“My baby, he’s not going to hurt you anymore.”
She clung to her father. If she could just be his little girl, and not one more woman running from a controlling husband. A husband who had no intention of letting her go. How far would he go to once again have her under his control?
Katie and Jeff sat on the porch of the house; everyone else was asleep. Her tears had dried hours ago, but she couldn’t rest. She could still see that glare in his eyes. The glare that reminded her so much of his father. She squeezed her hands together. He was his father. She took a deep breath. “He’s so manipulative, I don’t know if this is really him, or who his father made him to be.” She bit her bottom lip, as tears built in her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder if I could get him away, he’d be the Keith I knew at Yale, but I don’t know.”
Jeff stared into the distance; his eyes blank as if he contemplated some far off thought. “I should have asked you out when I had the chance.”
Katie’s mouth fell open, but her heart leapt. Jeff had never spoken words of affection. She had often wondered what he felt.
“If I had, then maybe we would have gotten together and you would have never married him.” He looked at her and smiled. “But maybe we can date now. Can I take you to dinner?”
A smile crossed her face. She looked down the road, hoping not to see Keith’s BMW. “I don’t know. I have so many questions and thoughts.” She wanted to, badly, but she had promised to follow the Bible more strictly, and she had no idea what it said about remarriage. What if it forbade it? A deep sense of loss settled in her gut. What if she had given away her one chance at true happiness?
Jeff took her hand. His eyes were light and misty, speaking of a deep longing. “Katie, I will wait as long as it takes.”
Katie licked her lips. Something pulled her towards him. She bent down, touching his lips gently with her own. The kiss was sweet and pure, sending a small thrill through her and making her toes tingle. “I can’t wait.”
He opened his eyes and half smiled. “It will be amazing.” Jeff put an arm around her shoulders as she rested her head on his chest, and listened to the smooth rhythm of his heart. For the first time she loved the smell of cheap cologne.