Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (34 page)

“No problem,” Christopher said. He led Judith toward
the bench. She saw what was on the side.

“You brought liquor? Mr. Holt, I’m underage! And
you’re trying to get me drunk.”

Christopher shook his head, chuckling.

“You know I’m not stupid enough to try. That’s bourbon
for me. I brought root beer for you.”

“Good.”

“I thought we’ll also take a walk around. The
weather’s still too cold to stay seated the whole time.”

Christopher and Judith sat down. He pulled a couple of
shot glasses from a small thermal pack he’d been carrying. After serving
himself bourbon, Chris poured a glass of root beer for Judith.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip. She tasted it,
licking her lips afterward.

“I look forward to you turning twenty-one, just so you
see how good bourbon is. It’s my favorite alcoholic drink. Not that I’m a heavy
drinker.”

“You don’t look like one.”

Judith took another sip, finishing her glass. When
Christopher finished his, he refilled the glasses. Then he held his own toward
Judith.

“Let’s make a toast.”

“Toast to what?”

Christopher thought for a moment.

“How about toasting to a good future? Unless that’s
too cheesy for you.”

“Honestly, I could use a little cheesy.”

Judith and Christopher clinked their glasses, saying
“To a good future.” They then downed their drinks.

“Another one,” Judith said. Once Christopher refilled
the glasses, she spoke. “To Amanda and Nathan’s happiness. They need good
luck.”

“Okay. Let’s toast to us too. To bring good luck into
the start of our relationship.”

Judith nodded. After clinking her glass again, she
drank the rest of the root beer. Christopher put away his bourbon bottle.

Christopher looked Judith up and down. He thought she
was so beautiful. He liked the tank-top blouse that Judith was wearing
underneath her dark lilac jacket. It showed enough skin to be tantalizing.

“Enjoying the view, Mr. Holt?”

Christopher’s eyes met Judith’s. He hadn’t realized
she was watching him.

“A guy can’t help admiring such a gorgeous lady.”

Reaching forward, Christopher pushed aside part of
Judith’s jacket, exposing her shoulder. He felt her skin, making Judith close
her eyes.

“I can’t believe how many times guys have hurt you. I
mean, were they blind or something? Now that I have you, there’s no way I’m
letting you go.”

“I’m flattered to hear that.”

Christopher began closing the distance between them.
He felt great when Judith didn’t try to avoid him. She watched him expectantly,
starting to breathe faster. Christopher met Judith’s lips, and she closed her
eyes. They kissed, going slowly at first. Christopher’s hands moved up her body
underneath the jacket.

Yes, she’s mine.

As he kissed Judith, Christopher thought he’d never
had a better kiss in his life. The one that he stole from Amanda came
very
close.
That was only because of her stunning beauty. Christopher didn’t feel for
Amanda what he felt for Judith. The latter was the girl of his life.

It’s funny how Judith stole my heart without me
expecting it,
Christopher thought.

After some time, the two broke the kiss. Judith looked
up at Christopher, seeming awed.

“Wow,” she said, biting her lip. “Now I know what
Emmy’s been going on about. She’s a sucker for romance.”

Christopher laughed, throwing his head back.

“You can get all lovey-dovey if you want, girl. I’ve
got no problem with that.”

“I know you wouldn’t!”

Judith bumped Christopher’s shoulder teasingly.

“See how love is so easy? You just have to let it in.
I promise I won’t hurt you.”

“You better, Christopher Holt. If you betray me, I’ll
throw you off a bridge.”

“No need. I’d throw myself off a skyscraper.”

Judith smiled, trying not to laugh.

“On second thought, there won’t be any need for that.
I trust you.”

“Thanks.”

Christopher kissed Judith again. He then started
laying kisses down her body, wanting her.

“Chris, we’re in public, you know. Not that I complain
about this. It feels good.”

Christopher looked up, scanning their surroundings.

“I think we should know more about each other. How
about we each ask questions to the other? Nothing too personal, though.”

Judith considered that.

“Okay. I’ll start.”

“Shoot.”

Classes were hectic lately. With the final exams
coming soon, teachers were starting to assign more work. Marissa happily
plopped down on the sofa when she got back to her apartment. She took off her
jacket, putting it beside her.

Even as tired as she was, Marissa had one thing to
look forward to. Jonathan was coming over for another exercise session with
her. Marissa enjoyed having him around. Their relationship was steadily
becoming serious. Marissa hoped Jonathan would kiss her soon.

Sighing, Marissa stood up. She went to the kitchen to
check that her fridge and pantry were stocked. After that, she walked to her
bedroom to change into workout clothes.

Jonathan wouldn’t be arriving for another hour, so
Marissa switched on her computer. She wanted to do some progress on her
homework.

About ten minutes later, Marissa was checking her
Twitter account. She already had hundreds of followers. While Marissa read some
new tweets, she got a pop-up window. It was a Skype notification. Marissa
checked it, and saw that Nathan was sending a videocall request. She accepted
the call, and then looked down at her clothes. A few seconds after looking back
at her screen, she saw Nathan’s face. He smiled.

“Good afternoon, Marissa.”

Marissa returned the smile.

“Afternoon, friend. I was wondering when I would hear
back from you.”

Nathan laughed.

“Things have been anything but boring over here. How
was your spring break, anyway?”

“It was pretty good. Some of my girlfriends invited me
to Puerto Rico. I couldn’t refuse, of course.”

“Wow! That must have been awesome. I’ve never been
outside the U.S.”

“Neither have I, until now. I enjoyed the break. It
was some much-needed rest from school.”

“I can imagine. Have they started giving you lots of
homework over there?”

“Definitely.”

Nathan gave Marissa a knowing look.

“At least we have a little over a year left before we
graduate.”

“Yeah, that’s something. You still have to go to law
school, though. Are you coming here after all?”

“Most likely. I don’t know what Amanda will say.”

Marissa sprung to attention.

“Amanda? Are you two back together?”

Nathan nodded, flashing a wide grin.

“That’s great news, Nathan! I
knew
things would
work out between the two of you. The kind of bond you have is too valuable to
throw away.”

“I know. My friends think the same. I’m glad that I
didn’t lose Amanda after all.”

“Tell me all that happened.”

“It was just a misunderstanding. I never did cheat on
Amanda. Not willingly, at least.”

“I understand you, Nathan. If a woman steals a kiss
from you and you didn’t want it, that’s
not
a betrayal.”

“The kiss wasn’t the only thing that condemned me.
Erika sent Amanda photos taken while I was asleep.”

“Sleazy bitch. Where is she now?”

“That doesn’t matter. I’ve uprooted her from my life.”

“Serves her right.”

“Yeah. Listen, there was another thing I wanted to
talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Give a call to your friend, Cameron. Tell him that he
will perform the song soon.”

Marissa beamed. She gave Nathan the thumbs-up.

“He’ll be glad to learn that his song didn’t go to
waste. I’ll let him know, Nathan.”

“Thanks. I’ll give you the details.”

Nathan told Marissa about his plans. When he finished,
Marissa nodded in approval.

“That will be perfect, Nathan! I think Amanda will be
happier than if you had proposed on Valentine’s Day.”

“That’s what I was counting on. I’m going to talk to
her parents to arrange the surprise.”

“You’re a genius, Nathan. If only I had a guy who
spoiled me that way.”

Nathan laughed.

“I just love Amanda so
much. I want to make her a very happy girl.”

Amanda was full of anticipation the next morning.
Neither she nor Nathan had classes. He would take advantage of it by taking
Amanda on a date. After having breakfast with Emmy, she took a good part of the
morning dressing up.

“You do have a magnificent body,” Emmy reckoned. She
watched Amanda, who was standing in front of the mirror in her underwear. “It’s
just the kind of figure that fashion designers worship.”

“Thanks.”

Amanda turned toward the bed. She had laid out clothes
against it, trying to decide what to put on.

“What do you suggest, Emmy?”

“Go with this yellow top,” she said, holding it up.
“Pair it with those brown pants. It’s got a touch of spring, but is still good
to wear when it’s not too cold.”

“Nice choice.”

Amanda put those clothes on. She then posed in front
of the mirror again. Emmy held two thumbs up.

“Now let me do your hair.”

Over half an hour later, Amanda and Emmy walked to the
living room. Nathan would be arriving soon, judging by the time he’d told the
girls he would be there.

“Where do you think he’s taking you?” Emmy asked.

“I don’t know. I’m up for whatever he likes. All I
want is to spend time with my love.”

The two stood next to the sofa. Amanda adjusted the
belt at her waist.

“You know, Amanda, I think you should play—”

The sound of Amanda’s phone ringing cut off Emmy’s
words. Amanda looked at the caller ID and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Amanda. I’m Patty, Judith’s roommate.”

“Oh. Good morning, Patty. Judging by the time, I assume
you’re not in class today.”

“No, I did go to class. It just ended right now. I was
just calling to ask if Judith’s with you.”

Amanda looked at Emmy, her eyebrows furrowing.

“No, she’s not here. What’s going on?”

“Judith didn’t come back to sleep last night. I
assumed she was with you, so I decided to wait until our first class, which we
happen to share. She never showed up.”

Slowly, Judith opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry
at first. She tried to move a hand and rub her eyes, but couldn’t. With a
start, Judith noticed that someone had tied her wrists. She looked around,
seeing that the room was dark.

Where on Earth am I?

Judith lay on her side on a bed. She felt that her
ankles were bound, too. At least her mouth wasn’t gagged. She slowly worked
herself into a sitting position. The room wasn’t familiar. It was rather
dilapidated. Judith guessed that she was in some three-star apartment. She
wondered who’d brought her there.

The last thing Judith remembered was going to a park.
It was the same one where she had her birthday party. Judith didn’t remember
much of what happened. She only knew that she had been with Christopher.

Christopher!

The name triggered more memories. Judith clearly
recalled that after they met, Christopher took her back to her dorm. That was
the limit of what she could remember. Judith assumed that was when someone took
her.

After looking around again, Judith confirmed that none
of her belongings were with her. Not even her purse, which was bad. Without it,
Judith had no phone she could use to contact anyone.

Judith needed to come
up with a plan to get away. She didn’t know what time it was. The only window
in the room was covered with the curtains. Some light came through, so Judith
guessed it was day outside.

“It’s probably nothing,” Amanda said to Patty, not
wanting to jump to conclusions. “She went on a date last night, did you know
that? Maybe Judith spent the night with her boyfriend.”

“That doesn’t explain why she didn’t go to class.”

Amanda took a deep breath. There was the loophole. The
unexplained question.

“Have you tried calling her?”

“Yes, that’s what I did before calling you. Judith
isn’t answering her phone.”

“That’s weird. I’ll try to get in touch with
Christopher. He may know where she is.”

“Give me a call if you find her. I’m worried.”

“Sure will. Thanks for letting me know, Patty.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you find her.”

“Me, too. Bye.”

“Have a good day. And good luck.”

Amanda hung up. She looked at Emmy.

“It was Patty, Judith’s roommate. Apparently, no one
can find her. She wasn’t in class today.”

“What? I thought…she must be with Christopher.”

“I hope so,” said Amanda, dialing him. The line kept
ringing. No one on the other end answered. Then a machine played a recording.

“His phone is off.”

Emmy looked confused.

“Where could Judith have gone to?”

“That’s what we need to find out. Let’s go. I’ll let
Nathan know we’re leaving.”

Amanda texted Nathan while she and Emmy left the
apartment. They walked over to Christopher’s door. Amanda knocked on it.

“He must be in class,” Emmy said.

“If he is, maybe he doesn’t know about Judith.”

Amanda knocked again. While they waited, Caldwell and
Medina walked out of their apartment. Amanda had texted them as well.

When there was no answer from Christopher, Amanda and
Emmy decided to leave. At the top of the stairs, they saw Nathan walking up to
them.

“Oh, Nathan. You’re here!” Amanda said.

“I said I would be,” Nathan replied in confusion. “I
got your text. Where are you two going?”

“To see if we can find Judith. She went on a date with
Christopher last night and hasn’t got back. Her roommate says that Judith
wasn’t in class.”

“I haven’t seen her either,” said Nathan, following
the girls down the stairs.

“I think we should stop by Judith’s dorm first,” Emmy
suggested. Amanda agreed.

“I’ll follow you in my car,” Nathan told them.

“Wait!” Amanda said. “How about we split? Caldwell and
I go with Nathan to find Christopher. Emmy goes with Medina to Judith’s place.”

They all considered the plan. The bodyguards didn’t
seem to think it was a bad idea.

“Okay. Let’s move,” Nathan said. He led Amanda and
Caldwell to his car.

“Where could we find him?”

Amanda shook her head. She looked out the window as
Nathan drove. She pulled out her phone and tried to call Judith again. There
was still no answer.

“Christopher has classes today. Let’s go to Cornell. I
know which classroom he’s at right now.”

Once they were at Cornell, Amanda walked to one of the
buildings. Nathan and Caldwell followed her. When they got to the classroom,
Amanda peered through the small window in the door.

“Chris is there, all right. By the look on his face,
he’s oblivious to what’s going on.”

Nathan checked his watch.

“The class period ends in ten minutes. I think we
should wait.”

Around five minutes later, Emmy called Amanda.

“Did you find Judith?”

“She’s not here, Amanda. The interior is just the way
it was last night after we left.”

“What do you mean? Judith hasn’t been there at all?”

“It doesn’t look like it. Her backpack is here. Do you
think Christopher did something to Judith that could have made her go AWOL?”

“I strongly doubt it. We’re looking at Christopher in
class right now. He doesn’t look perturbed at all.”

“Weird. Should I go there?”

“That’s not necessary. We can handle it. This is most
likely nothing. Have Medina take you back to our place. Tell him to meet us at
Cornell.”

“All right. See you later.”

“I’ll keep you updated, friend,” Amanda said. She then
hung up.

“Look, they’re leaving,” Nathan said. Amanda looked to
the classroom. The students were all walking toward the door. When Christopher
stepped outside, Amanda and Nathan walked to him.

“Hi, Chris.”

Christopher looked surprised to see them both waiting
for him.

“Hi, Amanda. What’s up?”

“Do you know where Judith is?”

“I assume she’s in class. I haven’t seen her today.”

Nathan and Amanda exchanged glances.

“Where did she go after your date last night?”

“I followed Judith in my car all the way to her dorm,
to make sure she got there safely. When she waved at me, I drove back to my
apartment.”

“So you haven’t seen her since?”

Christopher shook his head.

“Did you notice whether Judith had a late-night
visitor when you escorted her back to the dorm?” Nathan asked.

“No. I left right after Judith got out of her car. Why
all these questions anyway? Is she missing?”

Amanda’s expression was enough of an answer for
Christopher. He took a deep breath.

“I got a call from her dorm mate, Patty, this morning.
She said Judith never showed up to sleep.”

Christopher looked baffled.

“How’s that possible? I followed Judith all the way to
the building. This is inconceivable.”

Amanda put a hand on Christopher’s shoulder.

“We need to find her.”

The three of them walked back outside. When they got
to the parking lot, they waited for Medina. In the meantime, Amanda continued
dialing Judith’s phone. Christopher did the same once, with no result.

Medina got back around five minutes later.

“I questioned the few tenants that I could find. None
of them have seen Judith since she left last night for her date,” he informed
them.

“So it’s foul play?” Amanda asked Caldwell. He
pondered over his answer.

“I gather the Vawer family isn’t particularly
affluent, right?” Caldwell said.

“Are you suggesting Judith was kidnapped? There’s no
way her family could come up with the kind of money they’re likely to ask for.”

Christopher looked alarmed.

“My family’s financially sound. If necessary, we could
gather any ransom money if we joined forces with your family.”

Amanda nodded.

“I guess the possible ransom money is the least of our
worries,” Nathan said. “On that subject, shouldn’t we call the police?”

“Even if the kidnappers didn’t mind us doing that, the
police won’t be much help. We’d have to wait at least forty-eight hours before
Judith is declared missing,” said Caldwell. Amanda didn’t look happy.

“Then let’s call Mr. Hayden. He’s not the police.”

Caldwell nodded in agreement. Amanda proceeded to call
Mr. Hayden. He picked up on the second ring.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Tilley. How may I help you?”

“Are you busy right now, Mr. Hayden?”

“No. I’m having lunch at a burger joint right now. Did
you need something?”

“Yes, we need your help. Judith’s missing.”

Amanda filled Hayden in on the details.

“Are you plain sure no one has seen her?”

“We’ve looked in her dorm and at Cornell, and Medina
has questioned some of the tenants. The last person to have seen her is
Christopher.”

“What does he have to say about it?”

“He’s just as befuddled as we are. Christopher assures
us he dropped Judith off at her building.”

“Did he see her go in?”

Amanda relayed Hayden’s question to Christopher. He
shook his head.

“No.”

Hayden paused for a few seconds.

“Where are you right now?”

“At a parking lot in campus. We’re waiting to see
where to go next.”

“We need to discuss a plan of action. Come meet me
over here and we’ll talk.”

Hayden told Amanda where he was.

“All right, Mr. Hayden. We’ll be there.”

Amanda hung up.

“We need to see Mr. Hayden. Who’s coming?”

“I must be there,” Christopher said. Amanda counted
heads.

“I’ll follow you in my car,” Nathan told her. She
nodded, and he walked away.

“Let’s go.”

Amanda and Christopher
sat in the back of her car. Caldwell and Medina got in the front. They headed
toward the restaurant where Hayden was waiting.

Emmy walked back up the stairs to her apartment after
Medina dropped her off. She felt restless, wanting to find out where Judith
was. Emmy hoped nothing had happened to her friend. She’d never done a
disappearing act before.

As she entered the apartment, Emmy sent a quick text to
Amanda. She’d already called Judith’s family to find out if an emergency might
have come up. Emmy found that it wasn’t the case.

In the kitchen, Emmy thought about fixing herself
lunch. Unfortunately, she felt too nervous to eat. Emmy settled for a bottle of
water. She went to her bedroom afterward. Maybe she could get started on
homework.

Emmy walked to her desk. She looked through her
textbooks and selected one of them, as well as one of her binders. Carrying
those, Emmy walked back to the living room, wanting to work on the sofa.

When Emmy got there, she immediately noticed that the
lights were off. She frowned. Emmy wasn’t distraught enough to not remember if
she had turned off the lights or not. She walked forward warily. After she took
a few steps, there was movement behind her. Emmy wasn’t able to turn around
before something hit her on the head. She dropped her textbooks, falling to the
floor.

“Aargh!” Emmy yelled. She touched her head, closing
her eyes in pain.

Emmy then felt someone grab her around the neck. Her
captor lifted Emmy up, and then placed an arm around her waist.

“Behave and I won’t hurt you,” a feminine voice said.
Emmy didn’t recognize it.

The woman placed a rag
against Emmy’s mouth. A potent smell assaulted her nostrils. She struggled.
Although the woman wasn’t much stronger, Emmy couldn’t get herself free. She
started to feel drowsy, her eyelids drooping. After a few seconds, Emmy’s body
went limp. The woman held on to her.