Chapter 10

"What the hell do you mean you can't file a missing person's report for another twenty-three hours!" Dave screamed forcefully at the cop in front of him, grabbing the man's shoulder in a very firm, nail digging grip. "My daughter was freaking kidnapped! I don't give a dn about procedure!" He turned tear clouded green eyes onto the other lady cop standing there. "How can you do this? Do you have a daughter?" When she nodded her head, he continued. "Would you be so cold and calm if your little girl was suddenly gone? Would you? Or would you be hollering till your hoarse at the unfeeling manners of the freaking police force!" Having said his peace, he let go of the cop and stepped back.

The lady cop studied her fingernails for several seconds before answering. She looked from her partner to the irate father and nodded as if agreeing with herself. "I'd be hysterical." Her gaze went to her partner and she put a hand on his arm. "David..just file it…"

The man stood stiffly in his cop uniform, holding his notepad and pen. He wouldn't look at the father. "I can't, Mal. It's against policy."

The woman sighed and looked back to the father. "We could get in major trouble.."

Dave nodded in understanding. But he still felt like shaking them into submission. Or at least the man cop. David. "What can you do?"

The lady cop, Mal..probably short for Mallory, he thought, was the one to respond. "We can put an APB out on your daughter and this odd van."

David nodded. "Yeah..that we can do."

Dave let a small smile curl his lips as he took Mallory's hand in a firm grip. "Thank you." It wasn't much. But it could be enough.

Mallory smiled back. "You're welcome, Mr. Connors. And I'm sorry."

David responded in kind and then turned to the teenager sitting on the front steps. The blond boy hadn't said a word since he'd interviewed him earlier that hour. He couldn't imagine what the kid was thinking. He walked over to him and looked the harried kid over. His shirt was dusty and had some blood across the sleeves as well as some rips in the fabric. The kid had said he'd come to and run after his girlfriend, the girl that was mising. He'd checked the brush on the sides of the road and some of the nearby forest area. No girlfriend. The boy must be in shock, the was the only thing he could figure out. "Hey..Ty..was it? You alright kid?"

Ty blinked for the first time in forty minutes and stared at the cop with a blank expression. "My girlfriend was just kidnapped. Are you seriously asking me that question? She could be hurt..or..in pain..or..gd, I don't even want to think about it.." He looked down to his sneakers. "After all she'd dealt with.."

David let it go. Obviously the kid was still unreachable. He turned back to the father and his partner, Mallory. "We'll go now. Put out the APB on your daughter. Hopefully someone will have seen something."

Mallory nodded. "We'll be back in the afternoon to file the official report."

Dave watched the cops walk away, get into their cruiser and drive off before he finally turned his attention to Ty. He took a seat on the steps next to the boy and sighed. "You're blaming yourself. I can see it in your eyes."

"I should have known something was wrong.." Ty slapped his thigh in aggitation with his uselessness. "We should have just gotten back in the car and drove off. But we froze..stupid..stupid.." He began hitting his head with his flat palms. "So stupid..idiot..moron.."

"Ty!.." Dave grabbed the boy's hands and forced them down away from his head. "Look at me." When Ty's eyes finally met his, he started speaking. "This was not your fault. Freezing in a dangerous situation is not uncommon ok. And don't think for one minute about what ifs. Focus on finding her. Bringing her home safe and God willing unharmed."

Ty just stared at this man. His demand for him not to blame himself was so strong. There was a story there. There had to be. " Mr. Connors.."

Dave looked back at him, his voice monotone. "Yes?"

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what, Ty?"

"What you still blame yourself for.." His voice trailed off as the sound of the grown man weeping like an injuried toddler echoed in his ears. Not knowing what else to do, he just sat there waiting for the man to talk.

"I repeat. This an emergency APB on a young woman. Caucasion. Long brown hair. Blue-green eyes. About 110 lbs. Last seen running away from the scene of an attempted car jacking. If found, report immediately. Possible kidnapping victim."

Kirk listened to the message as it played out inside the police car speakers. He just had this feeling that the girl in question was Charet. The description was on point. He leaned against the cop car, hands in his pockets and a cigarette dangling from his lips. The owner of the cruiser was still in the gas station store. He was easy to spot through the window what with that annoying uniform and pleasant smile. He really hated cops.

He walked away from the cruiser and into the store with heavy steps. He really needed a beer and a good foot long tootsie roll. Heading up the candy asile, he perused the merchandise while actually keeping one eye on the cop. The sooner the butterball left with his coffe and chocolate donut, the sooner he could buy the beer. Ok..steal the beer. He was only seventeen afterall. Here he was, one of the most dangerous psychopathic boys with an ignorant father, a dead mother, a sick sister, and a record of violence..and still..he was never caught. Well, they could never pin anything on him anyway.

The jingling of the over-the-door bell brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up just in time to see the cop get back into his car and pull out. He wasted no time in heading for the back section where the drinks were. With hardly no sound, he opened the suction closed door, picked out two beers and put one each into a pocket of his oversized sweatshirt. Then, just as quietly, he closed the door and headed by up the candy asile grabbing the foot long tootise roll, a pack of nerds- cherry flavored-, and some tictacs. He dropped the articles of food on the counter to pay and smiled that disarming grin at the petite little purple haired punk girl at the register. "Suger fanatic."

The girl smiled and rang up each purchase. "Totally know what you mean. It's like the best way to cram for an exam or to get over someone.." She bagged his stuff, took his money and handed him back his change. "You're the first guy I've met who likes Tootsie Rolls."

Kirk laughed amicably. "I'm a rareity all right. I also enjoy classical music, moonlight walks on the beach, and babysitting." He was lying of course.

The girl smiled. "You're teasing me huh.."

He nodded, taking the bag off the counter. "Big time…"

She nodded back. "Normally I'd have asked you to put the beers back, but since you're just so charming..keep em. But you do have to pay me."

He smiled back. "You're really observant." He'd actually gotten caught! And by a kid no older than him! On the other hand, she could prove a good amusement for a little while.

She laughed, tucking a strand of purple hair behind her ear. "You've no idea."

He couldn't help it. And he really couldn't explain it. But he was curious about this girl. "So tell me.." He set the bag back on the counter and leaned his arms against it, catching her brown eyes with his. "I'm Kirk."

She leaned forward, close enough for him to feel her breath on his lips as she spoke. "I have extra sensory hearing. They say it's a birth defect.. But hey..seems like an asset to me. And I'm Alegra."

He couldn't take it anymore. There was just this..magnetic pull..forcing him toward her. "I'll pay you but how about something in return?"

Alegra held his gaze. "Like?"

In response, he kissed her. It wasn't a chaste we-just-met-and-I'm-testing-your-comfort kiss. It was hard, raw, and passionately aggressive. He grabbed onto her arm, locking his hand around it as he kissed her.

Alegra took the kiss as a sign, she was hauling him over the counter in a millisecond, never breaking the kiss. She took him to the floor, her mind on one thing.

Kirk had never been more surprised by a girl in his life. She was raw..sexy..and just..not normal.. It was a hell of a turn-on. He pulled back from the kiss a second to speak. "Wouldn't you rather go in the back or something?"

Alegra laughed as she worked off his jacket. "I turned off the security camera while you were stealing the beers." Her mouth came to his neck with a pressurized sucking motion.

Wow..he was losing it. Over a girl. He felt powerless right now. And for the first time in years, he wanted it that way. This girl was his Achiles' heel. His Delilah. "Alright.." He kissed her then.

Caitlyn stood in front of her mirror and stared at her nearly naked form. The blue-purple bruises were all over her. Geez..Kirk was rough. But he was also amazing. She smiled remembering how their night together had felt. That unattainable high she'd longed to reach..he'd rocketed her past that.

She walked away from the mirror and sat down on the double bed. Her sister's bed. Her sister's room. She wiped a tear from her cheek and shook her head. She had to stop thinking about her. Enough was enough. Marissa was gone. Dead. Cold. Gone.

Rising on unsteady legs, she walked over to the closet and pulled out on of her sleeping outfits. It was plae pink with a corset top and boy shorts for bottoms. It had been Marissa's. She pulled on the shirt and choked on her tears. She needed to get out. Get away. Smoke. Drink. Lose herself somehow. She finished getting on her sleepwear, pulled on some sandals and her sister's huge, pink Berkley sweatshirt and slowly crept back out of her room.

Her mom and Dr. Roberts, she still couldn't think of him as her dad, were either getting it on or sleeping. She descended the stairs and carefully unlocked the door. Slipping out into the night, she started walking. She didn't really know where she'd end up. She just needed somewhere away from her sister's memory.

She walked, not thinking, for a couple miles till she came across a service station. Maybe they were still open. She walked up to the door and tried it. To her surprise, it did come open and she stepped into the area. "Hey…anyone.."

A frazzled, purple headed girl popped her head up from behind the counter. "We are not open."

Caitlyn studied her coldly. "Door is open. Neon is still on. And the Open sign is still turned that way."

"She said we're not.." A male voice began as a familiar boy popped up behind the counter, behind the girl. "open.." Kirk almost had a heart attack right then.

"Kirk.." Caitlyn smiled at him. "I was thinking about coming to see you."

The purple headed girl laughed, addressing Kirk with her words but looking at Caitlyn. "An ex?"

"No.." He grinned, wrapping an arm around Alegra. "A very good distraction." He looked up to Caitlyn and gave her that charmmer smile. "You wanna accompany me back to my place?"

Alegra shot him a look. "What about our.."

Kirk chuckled. "Both of you. Do some pot. Get drunk. Have some fun."

Caitlyn bit her lip and considered it a minute. Why not? She'd been looking for an escape. She'd found it. "Sure."

Alegra nodded her consent. "I know what you're thinking and yes…" She left the statement openended and pulled her shirt back on.

Kirk smiled. "Good." He turned his attention to Caitlyn. "You've been crying.." He walked around the counter and touched her face softly. "I'm listening."

Alegra watched the two interact and tried to supress the jealous feelings. What she couldn't figure out was why she was jealous. She never got jealous. Ever. Her dad had taught her well. Never cry. Never get jealous. Simply get even. She walked out of the conveinance store with Kirk and the new girl and sighed. She was Forrester Rork's daughter. Not getting what she wanted was not an option.

"It's been a long long time since I've seen your place." Jennifer said as she ran her hands across the counter top in the kitchen. A vague memory danced into her mind and she smiled. She and Steven had spent hours painting this room late one night as a surprise for his younger sister who was going through a hard time and was gonna be staying with him for a while. They'd scoured every open paint store for a color called Sandstone because according to Steven, Riley's favorite color was that. Well, he'd been way way off base. As it turned out, they had spent countless hours painting the kitchen Riley's most despised color. Remembering Riley's reaction, she laughed a loud.

Steven looked up from the cucumber he was slicing. "I know what you're thinking about." He chuckled and went back to slicing. "I'd never seen Riley so naustious. I felt so bad.." Riley had walked into the kitchen, seen the wall to floor paint job and gotten so sick. He remembered Jenny holding her hair back as she emptied her stomach onto the linolem floor. It had been nasty at the time, but now it was funny.

Jennifer sighed and sat down at the counter. "I'm really sorry..about Riley.." Riley had been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer two years ago and had only just lost her fight the past month. She knew how much his sister had meant to him. They were closer than two sticks rubbed together to generate a fire. And if you thought about it..that's kinda what they did. Riley and Steven set up the Radiant Sunset Cancer Center. And right after her death, its status climbed, spreading like a wildfire in a forest. Unstoppable.

Steven stayed silent and kept slicing. There was nothing to say about Riley. Well, there was everything to say about Riley but he'd said it all before. He missed her terribly. Missed her super early morning wake up calls with the electric guitar. Missed her obnoxious giggle when she was being teased. Her bright love everybody attitude. Her incessant chatter at the dinner table about anything and everything. Her surprise lunches of pizza and beer. Her innate ability to pinpoint his moods from the getgo. If she hadn't of been his sister, he could've married her.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." Jennifer exited the kitchen and stood on the stairs, waiting for what she knew was coming. Steven's emotional breakdown. He hated for people to see him cry and she respected that. She was halfway up the stairs when it came. She heard the clang of the dropped knife as it hit the stainless steel sink, the slap of his palm against the counter top, and then the heartbreaking muffled crying. She finished ascending the stairs and listened as the sound died away while she headed for the bathroom. All of a sudden, she really did want that shower.

Alone, and slumped against the kitchen sink, Steven continued to cry. Then a very annoying drumbeat assaulted the silence of the room. Jenny's cell. He pulled the phone out of her purse and checked the ID. Dave's number. Should he answer? Why not. "Hello.."

Ty held his breath a minute before speaking into the receiver. "I need to talk to Mrs. Connors."

Steven wasn't really sure what to do. The voice was definetly not Dave. "Who is this? And why should I let you."

Ty felt his heart thudding in hyper speed inside his ribcage. "It's Ty Harrison. Charet's boyfriend. I'm assuming this is Steven..look, I need to speak to Mrs. Connors immediately. It concerns her daughter." Maybe that would get through.

Steven steadied himself. " Is she ok? Was she attacked again?" Wait..was he seriously starting to feel responsible for the girl? Like an actual father?

"She's missing. Kidnapped a couple hours ago." Hearing the words had been tough, believing them had been a nightmare, but actually saying them..well that just made his already raw throat dry.

"I..I'll tell Jennifer.." Steven dropped the cell on the counter and ran upstairs.

Ty clicked off and handed the phone to Dave. "So that was Steven.."

Dave nodded, taking the phone. "She'll call.." He looked at the boy for comfirmation. "Won't she?"

"I really don't know Mr. Connors." Ty sighed and cast a glance toward the stairs. "Can I.."

Dave smiled. "She'll get mad if you misplace anything…"

Ty grinned. "Maybe I'll misplace everything.." He headed upstairs as Charet's father laughed through his tears.

4am. Kevin stared at the clock, counting the little red dashes that made up each number on display. Four had four dashes. And each zero had six dashes. Together that was 4 and 6 and 6. Which came out to 16. Marissa had been 18.. Stop it! He shook his head and chugged some Vodka from the little bottle he held.

All he'd thought about the last six hours was Marissa. Well, specifically, missing Marissa. Feeling like a cowardly murderer. Wanting her here.

He glanced back at the clock. 4:02am. That was 4 and 6 and 5. 15. Enough of this feeling sorry crap..he needed a joint.

Ty stood in the middle of Charet's empty room trying really hard not to cry. Where was she? Was she ok? Who had done it? He sat down on her bed and stared at the weird purple bear like stuffed animal resting on the pillow. Was that a? He picked up the toy and hugged it to him. A Care Bear. He wasn't sure which one, but the concept alone was comforting.

He remembered growing up and watching the Care Bears on Saturday morning cartoons. Care A Lot. Even back then, the world had been lucky enough to have it's few shinning moments..it's gems of kindness that stood out amoung the bad. But for the life of him, right now, all he could think about was the bad.

Silently, he laid down on her bed clutching the medium sized Care Bear in his arms and letting the tears come. Then Ryan was talking to him. OK..NOW THE COINCEDENCES ARE JUST GETTING WEIRD. What are you talking about? CHARET HAVING A SHARE BEAR. Huh? MARISSA HAD A SHARE BEAR, IT'S THE PURPLE CARE BEAR. Wait. She seriously had this stuffed animal? YEAH.. You're right. The coincidences are getting too weird. Way too weird. OH YEAH.

Ty sat bolt upright, still clutching the stuffed animal. Ryan! You can find Charet! WHAT NOW? You can match thoughts with her or Marissa or whatever it is you do and you can find out where she is. YOU THINK? Worth a try. OK.

There was very little light in the room when Charet came to. Her head felt like it was made of stone and was bearing down on her shoulders compressing them to the floor. The..very..soft, moving..floor. She sat up slowly and pressed her palms into what she was laying on. The fluxuation of the mattress made it move under her body. A water bed. She was lying on a water bed.

As her eyes adjusted to the room's blackness, she could make out a few other things. A dresser to her left, two doors to her right. One probably the closet, the other..leading out of the room.. She gently got to her feet and took a step toward the doors. Her knees gave out and she slammed into the lush carpeted floor, her legs curled under her. Freaking ow. She bit her lip a little to hard and tasted her own blood.

Where was she?

"Whoa.." The voice echoed off the walls as the light came on. A man in all black stood in the doorway, staring at her. "Looks like you could use some help.." Then he was walking toward her, the hood of the sweatshirt slipping off and revealing who it was. Tr.. Ryan's voice finished her thought. EY. TREY..

Charet said nothing as he kneeled down, slid his arms around her waist and hauled her back to her feet. This was the janitor of her school. The guy who was Ryan's brother..THE GUY WHO TRIED TO RAPE MARISSA. She looked up at the same time he did and they held each other's gaze.

Trey kept his hands on her waist. "Lip is bleeding.." Before she could respond, he moved his thumb across her mouth to wipe away the blood.

Finding her voice, she tried to keep the terror out of her tone. "Please..let me go.."

Trey acted like he hadn't heard her plea. "Hungry?" But he had heard it, and it was killing him. He moved away from her, giving her a half smile. "Got Thai.."

Charet knew what he meant, but hearing the abbreviation's pronounciation made her think of her own Ty. Was he ok? She'd left him and ran. Coward. Had he been hurt? Was he here maybe? Ty… She looked up to see Trey staring at her, almost….and she hoped she wasn't right..undressing her with his eyes. "Not hungry.."

"Eating is good for you." Trey grabbed her wrist and began pulling her out into the hall. He pushed her onto the couch and pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans. "I don't really like guns…" He sat down next to her, resting the cold barrel of the gun on her forearm. "Getting shot will do that to you.."

A chill went up her spine as the firearm touched her skin. Ryan.. I'M HERE. IT'S OK. She looked to Trey. "Who shot you?" Maybe if she could keep his mind on something else, she could stay safe. Marissa's voice answered her thoughts. I DID. You shot him? HE WAS GONNA KILL RYAN…THE GUN WAS ON THE FLOOR.. Why was he gonna kill Ryan? RYAN WAS BEATING HIM UP BECAUSE OF ME..

Trey studied the far away look in the girl's eyes for a few minutes. Her mannerisms even seemed like Marissa. And when she looked at him with those eyes… He hadn't meant to hold her like that when he'd helped her up. But he wasn't sorry for it. That small..kinda innocent..touch had messed with him. He shook his head and ignored her question. The less he said to her the better.

TREY HAS HER. Ryan's scared tone broke into Ty's head as he laid on Charet's bed still clutching the purple Care Bear. What! I DON'T KNOW WHY YET. And where? NO. He sighed, sitting up. Ryan, please watch out for her. I WILL. Thanks.. I KNOW, MAN. I KNOW. There was suddenly an overwhelming sense of warmth enveloping him. Like the feeling one gets from a hug. Dude.. I DON'T REALLY HUG A LOT EITHER.. Ok.. I'M GONNA GET BACK NOW. Yeah..

Dave picked up the phone on the first ring thinking it was Jennifer. He was wrong. "What do you want?"

Forrester leaned back in his leather desk chair and spoke with a calm tone into the receiver. "The question, Dear Dave, is what do I not want. The answer to that is to hurt your beautiful daughter."

Dave froze, a white-knuckled grip on the phone. "You son of a.."

Forrester cut him off. "You're in no position to insult me, Dave. Now..here's what I want. My ten grand. By next week or I send her back in pieces." He hung up.

Dave put the phone back on the hook and turned around to see a very shocked Ty standing just inside the room. "Ty…."

"You ok, Mr. Connors?" Ty walked closer, searching the man's face for a sign.

Dave shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "You uh. Remember earlier, when you asked me if I wanted to talk about what I regretted?"

Ty nodded.

"Well…sit down, Son." He motioned toward the kitchen table as he sat down himself.

Worried now, Ty sat down and looked at the man. "It's got something to do with Charet, doesn't it?"

Dave gave a brief nod. "I made a bad mistake earlier this year. I owe a lot of money to a very angry man…"

"And he kidnapped Charet to force your hand." Ty added shaking his head.

"Yeah."

"How much do you owe, Mr. Connors?" Ty held his gaze as he waited for the answer.

"Ten grand. By next week or.." Dave couldn't finish.

So Ty did it for him, his voice shaking. "They hurt her.."

Trey sat on the couch hunched over the coffee table and snorting. The girl had gone back to bed after eating hardly anything. His bed. And he was fighting a losing battle to keep his mind off of her. They'd asked the wrong guy to do this. He couldn't keep her here for a week and not touch her. There was no way.

And what about that outfit? She hardly had anything on. A pair of boy shorts and a dark blue t-shirt. A shirt that fit close to her skin and showed off her body. Yeah.. He could avoid her..right..

He snorted some more and sat back into the cushions. He got up from the couch and walked across the room to his bedroom door. Quietly, he turned the knob and stepped into the room. Her outline was a bit visible in the dark as she laid asleep in the bed. He walked closer and looked down at her.

She had turned onto her side during her sleep and moved one arm under the pillow, tilting her chin more toward her chest and letting her hair fall across her face. Her other arm was tucked close to her body and her legs were bent at the knees. He noticed that she was sleeping on top of the comforter and that her shirt had twisted around her frame and rode a little up her stomach. She was breathtaking right now. And he could feel the desire to touch her overpower his mind.

He moved closer and leaned over her, putting his hand on her stomach just above her sleep shorts. Her skin was cold and smooth. Like Marble. His hand took on a mind of its own and moved up her stomach, sliding under the shirt.

Charet's eyes fluttered open as she realized what had woken her up. Trey. And he was touching her. She cringed as his hand made its way to her chest and reached for the bedside lamp flicking it on. He stared at her a second and she opened her mouth to scream.

Trey immediately covered her mouth with his hand. "Shhh.." He was sitting on the bed now.

Charet shoved his hand away from her body and moved to roll away, but his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist yanking her back toward him. She looked up in terror. "Don't…Trey.."