Ragan's Song (Fairfield Corners #2) (15 page)

Chapter 35

Adam sat in a chair in his studio with the lights off, his cell phone lying on the table in front of him. He stared at the phone as if he could get it to ring using sheer willpower. Waiting for it to turn on, he anxiously flipped through the pictures on it, stopping at one he had taken of Ragan at the zoo before she knew he was there. She had just snapped a shot of Skylar as he fed the giraffes, and they were both laughing and smiling. He wanted to smash the phone, the memory making the ache in his heart unbearable.

It had been five days since Ragan was kidnapped, and he hadn’t slept more than thirty minutes at a time since it happened. He rubbed his eyes, looking up in hope when he heard the door open.

“Adam?” Cassie asked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Please come and eat. Sky is crying for you; he knows his mama isn’t here, and he’s scared.” The kids were the only thing keeping him from tearing the room apart in anger.

He stood and slipped the phone back into his pocket, forcing himself to return to the house with the others and face his son.

Cassie grabbed his hand. “They’ll find her, Adam. You know Logan won’t stop until they do.”

“I know. I feel so helpless, sitting here and doing nothing. This waiting is killing me. I need to be out there searching.”

“You know that’s not a good idea. The last note specifically said that you will die.”

“I think I’m the one who has to find her. That damn song keeps playing in my head, over and over. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I’m going crazy.”

Cassie pulled him into a hug, willing her strength into him. “I know how you feel. That’s how I was when Logan was in a coma. I wanted to grab him and shake him and scream at him to wake up.” She pulled back and looked Adam in the eye, “You got me through that. Now it’s my turn to get you through this.” Taking his hand firmly, she led him into the kitchen where his children waited.

As soon as Adam stepped through the door, Skylar reached for him. “Daddy, where’s Mama?”

Jenna choked back a sob as she met Adam and hugged him.

He swallowed hard as he picked up Skylar and snuggled them both close. “Your Mama had to go away for a while, but she’ll be back soon.” Adam rubbed the boy’s back to quiet him as he carried the child out to the living room, away from the commotion in the crowded room. He turned on the stereo and stretched out on the couch with his son in his arms and his daughter curled up next to him.

Twenty minutes later, Cassie went to tell him that dinner was ready and found them all asleep. She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered them, smiling sadly at the three of them clinging to each other.

She still stood staring at them, lost in thought, when the front door opened. Her eyes shining with unshed tears, she hurried over to Logan to implore him to be quiet so Adam could sleep, then looked up at him and hissed quietly, “Anything?”

“No, darlin’,” he said sadly as he pulled off his hat. “There’s no trace of her or the blue Toyota.”

“I’m really worried about Adam. He sits in his studio with the lights off for hours. He doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep, but the worst is the lifeless look in his eyes.”

Logan set his hat and keys on the table by the door before pulling Cassie into a hug, informing her softly, “It’s been too long. I’m starting to worry that the stalker has taken her out of the area.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something soon; you have to.” She grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him toward the kitchen, frowning at his slight limp that showed just how exhausted he was. “Are you hungry? I made spaghetti.”

“Yeah, I guess I should eat.” He smiled as Violet ran and jumped into his arms as soon as he took a seat at the table. “How’s my favorite little flower?”

She chattered about her day as he leaned on his elbows and nodded to the bodyguards Adam had hired. “All quiet here?” he asked as he watched Cassie dish up some spaghetti. “I almost wish the guy would go after Adam so we could find him.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” Cassie asked as she set a plate in front of him.

“No, I don’t really want that. I’m just frustrated by our lack of leads. It’s as if he vanished off the face of the earth and took Ragan with him,” he grumbled.

“I’m sure you’ll find her soon.” She picked up Violet and kissed her forehead, “I need to get this little one home and into bed. I’ll see you later, Dudley.”

“I have some things I’m working on, but I should be home in a couple of hours.” He stood and kissed the top of Violet’s head and then kissed Cassie. “I’ll call if I’m going to be any later. Love you, darlin’.”

Logan had just finished his meal and was contemplating another helping when he heard the front door close. When Colt didn’t walk into the kitchen, Logan stood and frowned at the sound of a car starting.

He checked the living room and sent off an angry text when he discovered Adam was gone.

Logan—Where u going?

Adam—Ragan’s. B back later

“Dammit. He’s going to get himself killed.” Logan grabbed his hat and realized Adam had taken his cruiser. Logan snatched up Adam’s spare set of keys from the kitchen and told Will that Adam was at Ragan’s and he was going to keep an eye on him. “I’ll call when I need you to take over.”

“Sure thing, Logan,” Will replied.

Ten minutes later, Adam pulled into Ragan’s driveway, hoping that Logan would give him some time alone. When he opened the front door, the memories crashed down on him, the worry and fear almost bringing him to his knees.

He walked through the house, feeling closer to her there with her things. He sat at the computer, remembering the day she showed him the pictures she had taken for his album cover. He replayed the kiss in his mind as
the song
played louder, as if it were trying to tell him something. As he reached over to turn on the laptop, the song changed. Accessing the images she had snapped, he felt drawn to the pictures they had discussed that day.

Scrolling through the photos, he remembered how excited he was that she had captured what he wanted for the cover. When he reached the pictures of the abandoned house, the song changed again. He jumped up and raced out to the car, stomping on the gas and speeding toward the quarry. The song urged him on, telling him he needed to be at that house right now.

Ragan pretended to be asleep when Billy came into the room, muttering about killing Adam. She knew she needed to escape so she could warn him. The thought of Adam and the kids made her want to scream at Billy to let her go, but she had learned that her responses and words sometimes brought out the rage in him. She needed to avoid being the trigger if she could help it.

She imagined Skylar’s hair under her hand, the feel of his curls wrapping around her fingers. Knowing they were safe was the only thing keeping her from going crazy. She thought about the bobby pin she had found the day before in a crack in the floor, hoping she could use it to unlock the manacle from her ankle. All she needed was the opportunity to try.

After Billy wandered out of the room and closed the door, she pulled the bobby pin out of her sock and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed as she sat up. She must be silent, and sudden movements weren’t conducive to that. The condition of her ribs had improved, so she could move fairly easily without stabs of pain shooting through her chest. She put her foot up on the bed and started working on the manacle lock with the bobby pin, listening for Billy’s footsteps that warned her of his return.

After several minutes of struggling with the clasp, Ragan paused and wiped the sweat out of her eyes. Listening to the silence, she glanced around when she heard a vehicle pull up in front of the house. A car door slammed, and in that instant, she knew it was Adam. A floorboard creaked, alerting her to Billy’s presence, but too late to hide the bobby pin before the door opened, and she stared at her abductor through wide, fear-frozen eyes when he entered.

Springing on her as soon as he saw the small piece of metal, he snatched it away after a brief struggle and threw it across the room before putting his hand over her mouth as he pulled a rag out of his pocket. After gagging her, he threw her on the bed and tied her hands behind her back, putting pressure on her cracked ribs. She screamed, but the gag muffled the sound.

“I knew he’d come for you. Now it’s time for him to find you so I can kill you in front of him. Only after he has suffered from watching you die will I kill him.”

Adam searched throughout the first floor, calling her name. Glaring at Billy, she tried to stomp her feet on the floor, but she couldn’t get loud enough without shoes.

Billy grabbed her hair and yanked her up, his eyes seeming to look right through her as Adam called her name. “Answer him, bitch. Get him up here,” Billy hissed as he pulled the gag out of her mouth.

“Adam,” she screamed. “Run, it’s a trap!” She could hear Adam stomping up the stairs, yelling her name as Billy shoved the rag back in her mouth.

He pushed her onto the bed and pulled a handgun out from behind his back. The metallic click of the hammer froze her in fear. “No, please don’t hurt him,” she tried to say around the gag, her eyes watering as she attempted to beg for his life.

Ragan closed her eyes as the doorknob turned, praying that Billy wouldn’t shoot Adam through the door.

The door creaked as it opened slowly; Adam stood in the doorway, his eyes riveted on Ragan before they shifted to her captor. “You okay, Baby?” Adam asked as he stared at Billy and the gun. “Why don’t you let her go? It’s me you want to kill, right?”

“I want to kill you for taking her away from me, but not until you have suffered as I have suffered all these years.” Billy grabbed Ragan by the arm and pulled her off the bed and onto her feet, putting the gun against her temple.

Adam swallowed hard. “Now, let’s talk about this. Just let her go and we can walk out of this room together.”

Billy’s eyes changed, becoming harder and darker. “You think I want to hear what you have to say?” he said with a sneer. “You stole her from me and now you expect me to just let her go?” He pushed the muzzle of the gun into Ragan’s temple, his grip tightening as a smile crept across his features. “You’re going to suffer as I have suffered; my love was trampled on and thrown into the street with no regard for my feelings.”

Ragan watched the blue of Adam’s eyes pulling her in, soothing her soul in a way nothing else could.

A floorboard out in the hall creaked. Someone else was in the house, down the hall. The door flew open and a cold breeze overtook the room, swirling around them as a black mass began to materialize in the center of the room between Billy and Adam. The mass slowly solidified into a human form dressed in turn of the century clothing and staring Billy down.

Adam stood motionless, his eyes never leaving Ragan’s. His breath an eerie calm, he waited.

Billy moved the gun from Ragan’s head and dropped it on the floor before pushing her onto the bed.

Ragan curled into a ball to protect the life within her as she watched Billy back away from the entity until his back hit the wall. His face frozen in horror, he slid down it and sat with his arms wrapped around his knees. He rocked back and forth, mumbling to himself.

The entity materialized into something more human than spirit; it turned towards Adam and tipped its hat before fading away.