Caroline's Seduction (Montgomery Family and Friends) (19 page)

Caroline stared at the baby blanket and pregnancy test?  This wasn’t making any sense.  Caroline was positive she’d never given birth.  Surely if she had a child out there somewhere she’d know about it?  The last item in the box was a folder with papers.  She took out the top sheet and noted it was from a hospital in Atlanta.  Her name was listed on the line for patient name.  She looked for the date and found it was from over four years ago.  Why would she have kept all this stuff together in a box?  The nerves in her stomach were clenching and she broke out in a sweat.  She struggled to fight the feeling of utter desolation that threatened to overwhelm her.

Caroline closed her eyes and the flashbacks started almost immediately.  She saw herself standing in the bathroom of the dorm with a pregnancy test stick in her hand.  She saw herself standing in Kyle’s office, her heart breaking as he kicked her out of his life once and for all.  She saw herself slumped over in her car as the sharp pain of her miscarriage felt like it was tearing her insides apart.  In that split second Caroline’s memory completely returned. 

Now she knew what her subconscious had been trying to protect her from, the loss of a baby that was never to be and the cruel treatment of the only man she thought she’d ever loved.  She remembered how excited she’d been about the pregnancy and her stubborn insistence to keep the test to show to Kyle.  After the miscarriage she hadn’t been able to make herself throw it away.  It served as a physical reminder of all she’d lost. 

Oh God, she had to get out of there.  She couldn’t believe she’d been living with Kyle for the past several days.  She’d believed his lie when he’d told her they were reconciled.  What a joke.  He was just taking advantage of her momentary weakness to seduce her back into his bed.  Once his work here was done, he’d probably kick her to the curb again without a second thought.  Well she wasn’t going to let that happen!  She’d be the one to end it this time!

She jumped up from the bed and ran to the closet.  She crammed as many clothes as she could fit into her suitcase.  She would worry about the rest of her things later.  She grabbed her suitcase and ran down the stairs.  She’d call Abigail to let her know she’d gotten her memory back and have her friend check on her in the morning.   Right now she needed to get out of this house and back to her own apartment.  She knew Abigail had been keeping an eye on her apartment.  She just needed to get away and be on her own.  She would deal with everything else later if her memory was still intact when she woke in the morning. 

****

Kyle frowned when he and Sarah arrived home for the evening.  Caroline’s car was nowhere to be seen.  And he knew she knew better than to wonder out on her own.  It was just too dangerous.  His gut clenched at the thought of anything bad happening to Caroline.  Ever since she’d moved in with them she was always home waiting for them with dinner on the table.  He’d gotten use to it.  If he were truthful it had nothing to do with the food.  He enjoyed coming home to Caroline everyday.   

They walked into the house and the total silence was like a slap in the face.  Deep in his gut he knew Caroline was gone.  He rushed up the stairs and into the guest bedroom that Caroline had insisted on staying in because she wanted to set a good example for Sarah.  He saw the open hatbox and the scattered objects as soon as he walked into the room.  He knew the box had been bothering Caroline.  She must have finally opened it today while she was home alone.  Whatever had been inside must have spooked her and sent her running.

He righted the upside down hatbox and froze.  A pregnancy test?  That didn’t make any sense was Caroline pregnant and scared to tell him?  They’d made love for the first time three months before.  He’d used a condom at her insistence, but everyone knew condoms weren’t one hundred percent effective.  The folder caught his attention.  He opened it and noticed the date.  It was over four years old.  He recognized the name of the hospital.  It was the one nearest his Atlanta office.  He noted Caroline’s name as the patient being treated.  He scanned down the page and felt the blood drain from his face.  Caroline had suffered a miscarriage shortly after they had broken up. 

He thought back to the last time he’d seen her before they met again in Florida.  He remembered her persistence in trying to speak to him after he’d ruthlessly cut her from his life.  Then he remembered how pale she’d been when she’d ran out of his office.  He double-checked the date.  The miscarriage had occurred that same day.

“Damn it!  I should have listened to what she was trying to tell me.”  The guilt weighting down on him was oppressive and nearly crushed him.  He dropped to the bed and sightlessly stared at the papers in his hand.

“What’s wrong dad?”  Sarah came rushing into the room when she heard her dad’s harsh exclamation.   “Where is Caroline?”

His daughter’s voice snapped him out of the trance.  “He looked at the open closet door and the remaining clothes hanging haphazardly on their hangers.  Her suitcase was gone.  He didn’t have to look any further to know she was gone as well.

His gut clenched as the reality of the cold bitter truth bore down on him.  She was out there alone without protection and it was his fault.  He had to find her and fix this fast, before it was too late.  “She’s not here, but I need to find her and fast!  I need you to stay here while I look for her.”  He gave her a hard glare that showed he meant business.  “I mean it Sarah!  As far as we know both of you are still in danger from the kidnappers and I can’t look for her the way I need to if I’m worried about you too.”

“Okay,” the teen answered in a quiet voice.  She didn’t have to be an adult to know that something was really wrong.  “Just find Caroline and bring her home.  Please.”

“I plan to,” Kyle promised.  He brushed past his daughter and ran down the stairs.  He stopped only long enough to make sure all the doors were locked and to rearm the alarm.  Then he briskly walked into the garage and to his car.  He started the engine and sat there staring blankly out the windshield.  He couldn’t believe he and Caroline had made a baby together and he’d never known about it.  He’d sworn after his divorce and bitter custody battle for Sarah that he’d never marry or have another child.  He should feel anger at the thought of an unplanned pregnancy instead all he felt was a deep and mind numbing loss.  He might not have been happy about the pregnancy at first, but deep down he knew he would have come to love the baby just as he loved Caroline.

That realization jolted him from his thoughts and back to reality.  He did love Caroline.  And he wasn’t about to lose her now!  She had feelings for him too, he knew she did.  When she couldn’t remember all the heartache he’d caused and the past wasn’t standing between them she had let herself feel again.  The past few weeks they’d spent together proved that.  She’d been warm and welcoming just like the Caroline he’d known in Georgia.  He had to make her see that their time together had been important to him too.  He wasn’t the same man he’d been four years ago.  He was ready to love again and he loved Caroline.  Now he just had to make sure she understood that!

****

Caroline thanked God for about the third time in as many minutes that she’d made Kyle have her car delivered to his house.  She fumbled around her purse until she felt her cell phone.  She knew it wasn’t the best idea to talk on her phone while she was driving, but she had to make this call.   She also needed to put as much space as fast as she could between her and Kyle.  That meant talking while driving. 

Caroline slowed to a crawl and then came to a complete stop at the intersection.  She had enough time to scroll down her contact list to find the cell phone number for Cole Duncan.  Lucky for her he was friends with Abigail.  Lucky for Caroline, Abigail had thought to program his number into her phone just in case she needed it!  She pushed the send button and waited.  A car beeped behind her and she realized she was holding up traffic.  She looked both ways and eased across the intersection.  The line on the other end was still ringing.  After the fifth ring Cole’s voice came over the line asking the caller to please leave a message at the beep.

“Hello Cole.  This is Caroline Johnson.  I thought it might be important to let you know that my memory has returned.  I remember that the guys that grabbed me were targeting Sarah to get back at Kyle.” She paused, “I don’t know anymore than that.  Also I’m not staying at the Wakefield’s house anymore.  I’ll be back at my apartment if you need me to answer any questions.”  She left both her contact numbers and finished just as the machine cut her off.  Satisfied that Cole would get back to her soon, Caroline closed her phone and continued the drive to her apartment.  

Somehow through all the tears she managed to see well enough to make it back to her apartment.  Luckily Abigail had been checking on it for her a couple of times a week, so it should be inhabitable.  She found the closest parking spot to her apartment and trudged across the parking lot, gravel crunching under her feet.   It was too late now, but she wished she’d gotten her memory back sooner.  It was already starting to turn dark.  And as much as she needed to be alone she was not looking forward to the isolation and darkness of her empty apartment.  She really needed to check into getting a pet.

 After the experience she’d been through with the attempted kidnapping being alone in a dark parking lot filled her with dread.  She clenched her keys in her right hand and walked a little faster to the stairwell leading up to her apartment.  She let out a big sigh of relief when she was safely inside with the door closed and locked behind her.  She felt a shiver work its way down her body and she couldn’t decide if it was from the chilly January air or the ordeal of remembering everything including the attempted kidnapping, her breakup with Kyle, and the subsequent miscarriage.

She needed a long hot bubble bath.  Not only would it warm her up, but it might also help sooth her fraught nerves.  She double-checked the front door one more time to make sure it was locked.  Then even though it was a second story apartment, she checked the windows too.  Everything was still locked up tight.  Satisfied that she wasn’t in any danger from the two maniacs still on the loose, she started the water running in the tub.  While it was filling she took off her clothes and pulled her hair back into a lopsided ponytail.  She didn’t really care what the impromptu hairstyle looked like.  She just wanted to keep it dry.  

It was completely dark by the time she was finished with her soak.  She was no more relaxed then before she got into the tub, but at least she was warm.  She wrapped her body in the thick and comfortable terrycloth bathrobe she’d treated herself to this past Christmas.  She went into the living room and turned on the television.  Not because she really wanted to watch it, but because she just needed the background noise.  After living with Kyle and Sarah for a couple of weeks, her too quiet apartment was making her nervous.  She flipped through the channels and gave up.  Maybe she would have better luck with music.

She found the remote for her CD player and soon the sounds of classic rock filled her apartment.  The noise made her feel less alone and calmed her jagged nerves.  She was in the kitchen about to fix a nice warm cup of hot chocolate when a loud banging on the front door caused the mug she was holding to slip through her fingers and shatter on the floor.  Her heart was hammering so hard it must have been doing triple time.  She began to run to her bedroom at the same time she heard the wood of the doorjamb start to splinter. 

She reached the relative safety of her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her.  She turned the lock, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough to keep out whoever was literally busting down her front door.  She knew it wasn’t Kyle.  He might do a lot of things, but he would never intentionally scare her like that.  She tapped her forehead.  She had to think and she didn’t have time to waste.  Her solid oak dresser grabbed her attention.  Luckily it was along the wall right next to her door.  She only had to slide it about five feet and it would be directly in front of the door.  It might not keep out whoever wanted in her apartment enough to break down the door, but it would slow them down.  In the meantime hopefully help would arrive. 

She shoved and pushed with all her might until the dresser was blocking the opening to her bedroom.  She heard a tremendous crash at about the same time and figured her front door was now hanging by its hinges.  Her landlord was going to be angry and it would probably cost her a fortune to replace, but right now she had more important things to worry about.  She ran to her purse and fumbled for her cell phone.  She ran to the bedside phone and dialed 911.  The emergency dispatcher picked up right away. 

“911. State your emergency please.”

“Someone just broke down the door to my apartment and I’m trapped in my bedroom!”  Caroline gave the 911 operator her address and apartment number.   The lady asked her to stay on the line and Caroline agreed.  Something heavy flung itself at her bedroom door.  “They’re trying to get into my bedroom now!”  Caroline screamed into the phone.  There was no need to keep her voice down.  She was sure whoever it was already knew she was in the apartment.  The dispatcher told her to remain calm and to stay on the line, but Caroline was scared.  The dresser started to wobble. 

Caroline dropped the bedroom extension and picked up her cell phone.  She hit send and her phone redialed the last called number.  This time the sheriff picked up on the first ring.  “Oh thank God!  Cole, this is Caroline.  I’m back at my apartment and somebody already broke down my front door and now they are trying to get into my bedroom!”

“Call 911,” Cole calmly instructed her.  I’m on my way.” 

“I already did that.  The operator is on the other phone.”

“Good girl.  Hang in there.  I’ll be there with backup soon.” 

It had better be soon Caroline thought as the dresser moved another inch away from the door.  Suddenly the movement at her door stopped.  She heard angry voices.  She knew it might be a ploy to draw her out, but she couldn’t resist moving closer to the door to try and hear what was being said.