Surrendering (44 page)

I instantly think of the picture Finn gave me at Christmas. When Robbie and Finn returned from overseas injured, I was hysterical and my imagination went wild. All I could think of was their dog tags being returned to our families. I knew I was being dramatic, but I told them anyway. Both of them assured me that it was never going to happen because they were home safe now. So the picture at Christmas was sentimental.

My heart aches for them, knowing they are as worried about me right now as I was them. I try to flood my mind with good memories.

My brother and his friends crashing my prom

My first date with Max, Finn and Robbie following us

Dance competitions

Family Vacations

Graduations

My first house

My roommates

Meeting Declan for the first time

The Steamroom

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Our engagement

New Orleans

I think about Declan’s hands roaming my body and his green eyes piercing into me. I wonder if he knows how much I love him. I’m scared I won’t see him again. I need to be strong right now, but I feel so broken. I don’t know what Christie has planned for me, but I need to be ready when she comes back.

The pain in my head grows and I fall down onto the floor. I hit something along the way which stabs into my neck. I feel the liquid on my neck, but welcome the sleep. My head pounds in rhythm to my heart. There’s a shadow coming towards me and I recognize her immediately. “Anna?” Then darkness falls again.

*****

Declan

Raven has been gone for four fucking days. When Finn got the call about the emergency button being pushed at my sisters’ house, he went there immediately. He found the door wide open and Raven’s shit still on the table for her study group. She was gone. He called everyone we knew to see if she was with them. But when no one knew where she was, he called James.

James Hayes was quick like a hurricane. He set up a command center in his house to follow any leads we could find on Raven’s disappearance. He pulled all the information Finn had collected on her classes, school associates, and even the projects she was working on. The he tried to find any connection with his current jobs. James wanted her kidnapping kept quiet so he could negotiate himself for Raven if her kidnapping was about money. If the cops and FBI find out, they won’t allow him to use himself as a bargaining chip. We did tell my sisters, my dad, the band, the guys, and her friends from Atlanta.

Finn and I told James about most of the threats, but Finn held back on the sex video. When I questioned him about it, he told me it was best if we left it out because it wasn’t a direct threat to Raven. Why should he let Raven’s dad know what a piece of shit I used to be? I tried not take his insult seriously because I knew he was protecting her.

My sisters, my dad, and my band mates stayed at the Hayes’ as long as they could. I refused to leave so Abbi and Ella brought my clothes. On the third day, James suggested everyone go home and get back to a normal schedule in case the kidnappers were watching our houses. Again, I refused to leave.

At one point, Nate overheard a conversation that the first twenty-four hours was the most crucial and that we might be looking at a recovery effort. My body went into a rage thinking she could already be dead. I was so scared of what was happening to her.

I’ve been staying in Raven’s room at her parents. I haven’t been getting much sleep, but I’ve found comfort in being surrounded by her things. The sheets smell like her and there are pictures of her everywhere. Jenna and James are keeping me updated with every new detail. But so far, no one has contacted them looking for money. James has determined that this kidnapping is not instigated through his business. His theory is that it’s personal.

The doorbell rings and there’s a commotion at the door. I run downstairs to find James in his command room with a man I don’t recognize and Brent. Brent looks rugged and beat down. He hasn’t shaved and his clothes are wrinkled, like I can talk.

Finn and Robbie walk in and James looks directly at Brent. “Start from the beginning, son.”

Brent starts pacing the room. “We were supposed to get an email from Raven on Thursday night about the project. When I didn’t get it by Friday, I went to her house. Her roommates told me she wasn’t home. Then I got a text from Anna that said she had the research notes from Raven. At this point, Raven had already missed class and she still hadn’t replied to any of my messages. I got this funny feeling.

I asked Anna to meet me because we had to turn in the work by five. When we met at the coffee shop, she was a wreck. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and she pushed the work on me. When we left, I followed her to the drugstore and heard her talking to the pharmacist about migraine medicine. She said her roommate was at home suffering from a migraine and had been vomiting. The pharmacist told her about a prescription medication she should take. Anna went crazy, begging this man to give her some of the pills. He turned her down and told her that her friend should see her doctor. I got suspicious when she kept begging. Then I remembered Anna doesn’t have a roommate. Raven once told me about having migraines and I started to wonder. I went to see my Uncle John and he thought we should come here.”

I want to kick his ass and kiss him at the same time. He’s had this information since Friday afternoon and it’s Sunday. At least he had the sense to tell someone. I learn the man with Brent is his Uncle John and works for James.

Finn is already on his computer doing god knows what. James confirms that Raven’s missing and that she was kidnapped. Jenna brings in fresh coffee and sits down, waiting for new information.

“FUUUUCCCKKK, how did we miss this?” Finn looks at us, but his eyes land on me.

“Anna Smith and Christie Smith are cousins.”

The room erupts in to questions, but it sounds like buzzing to me. My legs give out. Someone catches me and sits me on the sofa. The name rings in my head,
Christie, Christie, Christie
. I knew she was crazy, but this is beyond insane. If she’s behind Raven’s disappearance, it’s all my fault. Someone hands me water and I realize they’re all waiting for me to answer a question.

“Sorry, what?”

“We asked you who Christie Smith is.” Jenna asks softly.

“Christie was my sister’s roommate prior to Raven.”

“What does that have to do with Raven? Would she do something like this?” James asks.

“I don’t know. She and I had a little thing and she wanted more from me than I wanted to give. She went crazy when I rejected her advances. I finally did something drastic to make my point that I wasn’t interested. She moved out shortly after. I’m not sure if my sister’s asked her to leave, or if she did it on her own.”

“What do mean she went crazy?”

I can’t lie to them, not after all this. They are going to be my family too and they deserve the truth. So I tell them the whole story, even what I did to persuade her. When I finish, I’m physically ill. I stand there and wait for them to kick me out. But as I look around, no one is passing any judgment on me. After a silent moment, James starts barking out orders and Robbie, Finn, and John start moving.

Within the hour, we discover that Christie has a small house in East Nashville she’s been renting from an older couple. She’s still registered in school at Belmont. Finn pulls her credit card and banking history to see if there are any odd purchases over the last few months. James calls a friend on the police force and asks him to come over. John and Robbie had Brent call Anna and set up an emergency meeting this afternoon under the pretense something has gone wrong with the project. Once she’s agreed, they’ll put a trace on her cell phone. Brent was given a transmitter and small recorder to drop in her bag so we can hear if Anna says anything that relates to Raven.

Jenna sits next to me and covers my hand with hers. She’s comforting me even though my dumbass probably got her daughter kidnapped. I feel so ashamed.

I can’t take it so I get up and call my dad and sisters to let them know about our new lead. Dad’s staying at my house so he can be closer. As expected, they are all shocked to hear the connection to Christie. Even though we don’t have solid confirmation yet, my instincts tell me she’s involved with this.

The officer that comes over isn’t happy about our plan. He didn’t like that we hadn’t officially reported anything, but he calls backup and tells them to be ready in case we hear something. Our plan is to follow Anna when she leaves the coffee shop and see if she leads us to Raven. If we hear anything over the audio, the police can intervene.

I get into the back of James’s SUV and pray that this will work. Everyone is somber on the drive to the coffee shop. We watch Brent through the windows as he makes up some excuse about needing more information to turn in on Monday. She gives him some of her notes. When he asks her is she’s heard from Raven, she becomes agitated. She shoves the rest of her papers back in her bag and jumps up to leave, making an excuse of being late for a family dinner. Brent must have been able to plant the devices because the recorder picks up her phone ringing. She answers and tells whoever it is that she’s on her way.

We follow her to a house about ten minutes away. She goes in and the sound of someone walking stairs comes over the audio feed. A door squeaks and Anna screams. There’s footsteps running on stairs and she starts yelling at someone.

“What have you done?”

“Nothing yet, why?” That was definitely Christie’s voice and I nod my head to James to confirm it.

“Nothing! Nothing! Have you been downstairs?”

“Not lately, it stinks down there.” Christie answers snidely.

“Have you seen all the blood? What happened to her? This has gone on long enough. You said you wanted to talk to her, not torture her. Raven is a good person. Why would you do this?”

No one hears her reply because Anna just gave us the confirmation we needed. Christie has Raven in this house. The police are already up the steps and in the house calling out to everyone to identify themselves. As soon as I get out of the truck, I run to the nearest bush and throw up as the word torture runs through my head over and over. My beautiful girl is in this house and she’s been tortured.

“We got her James, but we need an ambulance now!” Someone yells through the radio. He runs into the house and sirens are blaring in the distance. Robbie, Finn, and I stand there waiting as the cops hold us back from entering the house.

“Fuck it,” Finn says and runs in after James. I try to go too, but Robbie holds me back.

“Man, you need to stay out here. I heard some shit on the radio and this Christie bitch is whacked. We need to keep her from seeing you.”

“You’re not serious, are you? My fiancé is in that house! She needs me.” I yell at him.

“Well, she’s my sister and I want to get to her more than anything, but I need to keep you away from this psycho.”

“Christie is the least of my worries right now.”

“Bullshit! She’s still the biggest threat we have until we can get Raven out of that house. We need to know what has happened to her. So just stay the fuck back.”

The EMT’s run into the house and it seems like hours before they come back out. Raven is covered in a sheet on the stretcher with an IV attached to her arm. I run over to them, but they push me back and load her in the back of the ambulance. I scream her name, but they keep pushing me back. James jumps in the back with her and they take off. I stand there watching them go, listening to the sirens until Robbie calls for me. I run back to the truck and climb in. There’s blood all over the front of Finn’s shirt and his jaw is ticking.

“Finn, what did they do to her?”

“Don’t know yet, but she has a pulse.”

“What does that mean? Of course she has a pulse, she’s alive.”

He turns to look at me with fear in his eyes, “No, man, you don’t get it. When I first got to her, I couldn’t find it. When I did find it, it was weak. So that’s what I mean when I say she has a pulse. The rest doesn’t matter right now.”

All the breath leaves my body and I throw my head back trying to comprehend what he’s just said. He couldn’t find her pulse. He thought she was dead. The thought makes me woozy again. I feel his hand on my shoulder, but I concentrate on not breaking down.

When we get to the hospital, I jump out of the truck before it stops moving. I run through the doors to the emergency room and find Jenna in the sitting area with James.

“Where is she?”

“Declan, honey, she’s with a doctor right now. We don’t know anything yet.”

I crash into the nearest chair and text my dad to tell him we found her and what hospital we’re at. I hope he gets here soon before I completely lose it.

It seems like an eternity before a doctor comes out to us.

“Ravenel Hayes Family?”

“Yes,” we all respond. He looks at us and stops when he sees the blood on Finn’s shirt.

“I’m Dr. Harris, the attending ER physician. We are still running a few tests, but here’s what I can tell you so far. Her left hand and two fingers are broken. We’ve set them and we’ll put on the hard cast in a day or so. She has two cracked ribs from being kicked repeatedly. There’s bruising all over her torso and what looks like a Taser burn on her lower back. From what I was told from the EMT’s that brought her in here, she had probably passed out and knocked her head on the bathroom counter. It gave her a concussion and it caused a lot of bleeding. She’s severely dehydrated so we’ve started an IV. We also gave her some morphine for the pain. She’s asleep now and I suspect she’ll be out for several hours. I’m moving her up to ICU once the test results come back. If there’s no brain swelling, we’ll monitor her for several hours. If everything goes well, then we’ll move her to a regular room.”

“We think she may have suffered a migraine during the time she was held captive. She may not have eaten or drank anything for days.” James informs the doctor who takes notes.