This chapter is a bit dark. Some talk about rape and some violence. Only a few chapters left of this story. I'll update soon. Thanks for reading.
The family were set up in a new safe house by the next morning. Olivia and Amanda had demanded that the marshals get one set up as soon as possible. Al had come to their home and the kids were scared. The women wanted them to be able to feel safe again. Frannie had spent the morning getting a lot of extra attention and praise. The blonde was so thankful that her dog was so protective and alerted them that something was wrong.
Amanda hadn't felt this helpless since Lewis had kidnapped Liv. She had and still blames herself for that happening. If she didn't push the issue so much than Olivia would have been safe. Those days when they didn't know where she was, what was happening to her, or if she was even alive was one of the hardest things she had to go through. She had the same feeling now. Amanda was dealing with the fact that she is the one who brought Al into their lives. She had trusted him so blindly and all he's done is hurt her. The second he told her to get rid of the baby she should have cut him out for good because now all the people she loved the most were in danger and it was all her fault. She got them into this situation and she was going to fix it.
The first week or so that they're in the new house things are quiet. Too quiet and both women are on edge. Liv reaching for her gun anytime she hears a little noise from outside. This house is still in Colorado and temporary. They're here until a new place can be set up for them and it is deemed safe to move them. Jesse and Noah are fighting constantly. They've been cooped up in the house for too long and are getting on each other's nerves.
Liv had left the house. She wasn't going to be gone long, an hour at the most. They needed groceries and Amanda and Olivia needed a break from each other. They loved each other, but spending a week locked in the house together wasn't good for any relationship. Agent Perez had offered to let Liv go with him to the store. He had almost insisted. At the time it hadn't seemed that suspicious, but it turned out that they were very wrong.
10 minutes after Olivia left the house, Amanda noticed a man walking up their driveway. Al. Jesse and Noah are playing quietly on the floor in the living room. Asher is in his bouncer. The blonde knows that she has to work fast. To get them to safety. She scoops up the baby and Jesse and tells Noah to follow. She brings them into her and Liv's room since that has a lock on the door. The younger woman knows that she's scaring the kids, but she needs them to be safe.
"Noah, I know you're scared, but I need you to be very brave right now. Mama is going to go with the bad man, okay Al. I need you to look after your brother and call Mommy okay and lock the door when I leave the room and don't open for anyone but Mommy." She takes a second to give Asher one last cuddle before handing him to Noah. Amanda can hear Al banging on the door and she wants to know where the fuck the people who were supposed to be guarding their house are.
"But I'm not supposed to hold Asher if you and Mommy aren't in the room." Noah says, cradling his little brother close to his chest.
"I know buddy, but just this one time it's okay." She wraps her arms around Jesse and Noah. Giving them each a kiss on the forehead. "I love you three more than anything. Don't forget to lock the door." Frannie had followed them up and was sitting on the bed. She pauses in front of the dog placing her forehead against hers and says "Protect them." Knowing that her dog wouldn't let anyone get to them without a fight. Then she exits the room, knowing that there is a chance that she'll never see her kids again.
Amanda has a plan. It's not a very good plan, but she has one. She's not going to fight Al. If she tries to take him down and fails than he can get her children. Amanda was firm in her decision. He could do anything he wanted to her, but he was not going to touch her children. Her own fear and her own safety is secondary to that of her kids.
Al is standing in the hallway. Looking deranged and dirty. So different than the suave and put together doctor that Amanda had thought she had fallen in love with.
"Where's my son?" He says voice hoarse.
"He's innocent in this, Al. You're mad at me. I'm the one who ruined your life, not him. He's just a baby. If you want to punish someone than punish me. I'm not going to fight you. We can walk out of here right now and I'll go with you wherever you want me to go. But please don't hurt him."
Al stares at her. Like he's pondering what Amanda had offered. Then he smiles at her and walks across the room. His hand wraps around her arm, holding so tight its painful and Amanda feels a gun press into her back. "Walk."
They walk to his car and Al ducts tapes her wrists together and puts a piece over her mouth. Then forces her into the trunk and they drive off. '
Amanda pays attention on the drive. Attempting to track how long they were on the road, what kind of surface they drove on. It's not a long drive. She figures it was about 20 minutes, maybe a half an hour. They stop and Al opens the trunk and pulls her out of it. Grabbing her roughly and causing her to stumble into him.
There's a knife stashed her in her shoe. Al hadn't thought to search her. Amanda knows she just has to wait for the right moment to use it. Relying on her instincts as a police offer for when that is going to be. Al seems deranged and erratic. Like his mental state has deteriorated since she saw him last. He's weak. Probably from being on the run for so long and she knows that when the time comes, she can over power him without at a problem. If she picks the right moment to make her move.
They're in an abandoned cabin in the woods. Its secluded and appears to be where Al has been living. This sends a chill through her spine. How long had he been watching them without them knowing? He walks her over to the corner of the room and shoves her to the ground. Aiming a kick to her stomach and then he starts pace. He's quiet for a long time. It seems like he's trying to figure out what to do. Then he leaves for a while a few hours maybe and comes back with what looks like supplies. Things he's planning to use to hurt her and her family. Amanda uses the time he's gone to plan. Al is mentally unstable and if she can make him lose it, it would give her the perfect chance to overpower her.
"You stupid bitch. You ruined my life and now I'm going to ruin yours." He sneers at her. "I lost everything because of you. My wife, my family and then I find out that you got to run off with that bitch of a boss of yours. Build a life and a family. I should've shot her in head when I had the chance, not the leg. Don't worry, when I'm done with you, she'll get hers. Or maybe I'll keep you around long enough to watch. I can't wait to get my hand on that bastard son of mine. His name is Asher isn't it?"
He can see that Amanda is starting to get angry. Her face is getting red and she's giving him a look of pure hatred. So, he walks over, slapping her across the face and then ripping the tape from her mouth. Loving the way, she calls out in pain.
"Asher isn't your son. He's mine and he's Liv's. You're never going to meet him and he's going to know that his dad was weak piece of shit who got off on beating women." Al's back is to her and Amanda takes the opportunity to reach for the pocket knife, grabbing it from her shoe and working on cutting the tape from her wrists.
Al turns to her. "You know. My dad used to beat my mom. Maybe it's in the genes and he'll grow up to be just like his daddy."
"You grew up like your father because you're weak. Not because its genetic. You're a weak, scared little boy in the body of a man. You use your genes as an excuse. Asher is going to grow up and he's going to be a great man. Because Olivia is 10 times the parent you will ever be."
Al loses it. He moves over, ready to beat her landing a few blows to her head and body. Amanda takes the knife and thrusts it into Al's chest 3, 4 times. Until he stops hitting her and his body goes still and falls on top of her. Amanda's bleeding from a cut to her head and her nose. Her ribs are sore and she thinks one might be broken or at least cracked. But she's alive and Al's dead and that means she'll take the injuries she has.
Olivia's shopping in the grocery store when her phone rings. Its Amanda so she answers right away. In her gut, she can tell that something is wrong. "Amanda, baby is everything okay? What's going on?"
"Mommy!" Liv heart drops. If Noah's calling it means that either Al is there or he's got Amanda. He sounds like he's crying and Olivia can't tell what he's trying to tell her."
"Noah, take a deep breath. I can't understand what you're saying."
"The bad man took Mama." Liv abandons the cart she had been pushing and starts to run for the exit.
"When did they leave?"
"I heard the door shut 5 minutes ago."
"Where are and you, Noah? Are Jesse and Asher with you?" Liv asks. Perez had given her a bad feeling today. When he had insisted that she come to store with him. They'd been set up and she hadn't seen it.
"We're in your room. Mama said it was okay to hold Asher when you weren't home."
"I'm on my way Noah. I need you to hang up the phone so I can call the police. Noah, I love you and everything is going to okay. I promise."
Olivia races home, calling the police on the way. She makes it home and then flies up the steps, knocking on her bedroom calling for the kids. Noah, open the door. It's okay its Mommy."
The door opens revealing 2 tear stained faces. Asher is in his bassinet, fussing. Jesse and Noah flying to her side. Olivia kneels down and wraps both kids into her arms. Letting her own tears fall freely. She whispers words of comfort to them and then pulls away and walking over to the baby. The brunette picks up the baby and nuzzles her nose against his cheek.
The police arrive and everyone is interviewed. Noah and Jesse doing their best to tell them what had happened and Olivia providing the background information about what had occurred in New York.
"Al Pollack. My wife and him were in a romantic relationship. He was married and using her the whole time. They ended things when she caught him using her credit cards to pay for prostitutes. They broke up and then Amanda found out she was pregnant with our son Asher. Al got abusive and one night she called me to come over. He was beating her and when I got there to stop it. Al shot him and ran and we moved here to get away and he followed. Al Pollack abducted my wife. I know he did."
Olivia feels helpless. Her wife is out there and God knows what is happening to her and there's not a single thing she can do about it. She's not a cop in Colorado. Which means Liv has to sit at home and wait. Hoping she'll get the call that Amanda was found and that she's okay. But fearing the absolute worse. There's a pit in her stomach, but the brunette isn't allowed to show how terrified she is. She has to stay positive for Jesse and Noah. It's her job to reassure them. Every hour that past feels like a day. Time is moving so slowly. With every hour that passes Liv's hopes of finding Amanda unharmed decrease.
This is also bringing up some horrible memories of Lewis and that whole experience. Overall, Liv had been doing a good job of managing her PTSD. It rarely bothered her these days. Unless, she was triggered. And this whole situation was triggering as hell.
The kids are asleep in her bed, Asher in his bassinet. He had been hard to settle tonight. Amanda was nursing Asher pretty much exclusively at this point. The baby had had the occasional bottle over the last couple of months, but other than he always nursed. Especially before bed. It soothed him and helped him to fall asleep. Tonight, he'd been almost impossible to settle.
It's 1 am and Olivia gets the calls she's been dreading and hoping for. The detective working Amanda's case is on the line. What he says is like music to her ears.
"We've got her, she's a little roughed up, but she's okay?"
"And Al?"
"He's dead. Stabbed multiple times. We're taking her to the hospital. You can come see her when you're ready."
Olivia has to ask the question that's been on her mind. Talking through her tears "Was she raped?"
"We can't be sure until she's fully examined, but she was fully clothed when we found her. So, chances are she wasn't"
Liv lets out the breath she's been holding and hangs up the phone after being told what hospital they're taking Amanda to. The older woman doesn't know what she would have done if Amanda had been raped again. The blonde hadn't handled it well the first time. She spent years pretending it never happened. A second time might have broken her. But she didn't need to worry about that. Her girl was safe and she couldn't wait to see her.