Ok first of all I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed!! Especially the last chapter…I was getting kind of bummed about my story because it didn't seem like it was getting a lot of reviews, so I thought that no one liked it…but after the reviews I just read for the last chapter, I now know I was wrong. Thank you all sooo much!!
Like I mentioned in the last chapter, this chapter and the next one are dedicated to "Jim Clancy's Lollipop!!" Thank you again for all the inspiration you give me!! I hope you guys like it!!
*****Bold and italicized writing are memories that Jim is thrown into…He told Delia that he couldn't get the images out of his head, they are images of Mel getting hurt and memories of what she told him
Det. Marshal looked at Jim questioningly, "What?"
"This is the man who took my wife." Jim said again.
"How do you know this?" Det. Marshal asked while he took the paper out of Jim's hand and looked at the picture and the information on it.
"Because he pulled a gun on Melinda and I while we were at our favorite place…when he was taking her he talked t me on the phone and I thought it sounded like him but I wasn't sure, but I know now that it is him."
"Alright, let me give this to my men and they will find where he lives." Det. Marshal explained quickly before walking away.
Jim watched anxiously as he walked away, then began to pace back and forth.
Delia gently placed her hand on his arm to stop him, "Jim please you need to calm down, they will find her. You've done all you can. Here…" Delia said as she patted the seat next to her, "sit down."
"Delia I can't relax, not until she is back in my arms. I need to know that she is safe; I need to hold her and tell her that everything is alright now and that I have her. How can I relax when I know she is scared and alone, probably being hurt as we speak? Delia I just can't. I need her here with me." Jim said as a tear rolled down his cheek. He stopped talking and looked out the window to the street while he was thrown in to yet another memory…
"I want you to pay, I want you to feel the same pain I felt, the pain you caused, I'm going to do to your wife the same thing you did to mine…maybe even more…you're going to suffer like I've suffered!"
"JIM PLEASE HELP ME!!" Melinda screamed.
Jim pinched the rim of his nose…
"LIAR!! You F*#&ing Liar!! How dare you…Own up Jim you, know you did it!!" The man was becoming more and more angry. He pulled Mel closer to him and to the phone so Jim could hear her crying. "Your wife here is going to pay for what you did…maybe after losing her, you will finally understand my pain!!"
"It should have been me that he took…" Jim finally said, breaking the silence.
Delia looked up at him, "Jim, what do you mean?"
"This, this asshole thinks that I took his wife and is making me suffer by taking Mel and…and…hur-hurtin-g he-r-r…because o-o-f m-me…" Jim said as he pointed to his chest, "He should have taken me…no-not her."
Delia instantly stood up and wrapped Jim in a hug. "But you didn't hurt his wi-"
"But he thinks I did and that is why he took her!" Jim said as he pulled out of the hug. "Why not take me? Why not get his revenge on me…instead of her?" Jim wiped the tears that were now freely falling down his face. "Dee I can't get the images out of my head…I keep replaying over and over what she said to me…all the details."
"He told me that I shouldn't be awake yet and then he . . . he . . . he hit me across the face and knocked me out."
"I was in what seemed to be a basement because when I woke up the floor was made out of cement. My hands were tied behind my back with a chain that was bolted into the ground so there was absolutely no way for me to escape. Also when the man walked in he had to come down a flight of stairs."
"He got really mad and beat me then said that you were never coming to save me."
"I keep seeing her hurt and scared and…I'm not there. It's my job to protect her, not to get her into trouble. Dee I promised her nothing would happen." Jim sighed.
"Shhh, nothing's going to happen to you. Mel I promise you, nothing will happen."
"But Jim you do protect her…you're always there-"
"But I wasn't this time." Jim interjected.
"Jim let me finish…You're always there to protect her. The only time that she feels completely safe is when she is with you. Jim you are her rock! It's not your fault that this creep took her…but it will be your fault when she makes it through this. You are the reason she will fight, just like you are always the reason she fights. She told me about the time that she fell down in the woods and was in a coma…she told me about how she saw the light and was about to go into it but then saw you by her side, just like you always are, and she fought for you! Just like she is fighting now! Jim she won't give up, she will do everything she can to get back to you. You are the reason she is strong enough to fight this and win…you have to stay strong for her." Delia explained to him.
Jim looked at Delia as another tear ran down his cheek, "Thank you Dee…"
Just then Det. Marshal and a group of men entered the lobby where Jim and Delia were. "We found his address and are going there now…wait here and we'll call you if we find her." He said quickly as he walked past Jim and Delia.
"I'm coming with you." Jim declared.
Det. Marshal stopped and looked back at Jim. "Jim, you can't, you need to stay here, we'll take care of it."
"No I need to come with you, I need to be there if you find her. Please I'm a paramedic, let me help you. You are going to need a medic on sight anyway." he looked at Det. Marshal pleadingly.
Det. Marshal shook his head, "Jim…I-"
"Please? I need to be there." Jim asked again.
"Alright come on..." Det. Marshal said, he knew there was no use arguing, Jim probably would have followed them if he said no.
"Dee I'll call you when we find her." Jim shouted back as he chased after Det. Marshal and his men.
"Please bring her home!" Delia shouted back.
It took them roughly 30 minutes to drive to Damon's house with sirens blaring…Jim and Det. Marshal were sitting in the back of the car…on the way Det. Marshal tried to prepare Jim for what he might see.
"Jim, you need to understand a couple of things."
"What?" Jim asked as he looked out the window.
"First, from what you've described to me, your wife may be beaten pretty badly…I need to know that you will be able to handle it?"
Jim looked up at him, "I know, I've dealt with a lot of bad things over the years working as a paramedic. I'm not going to lie to you, this will be by far the hardest thing I have ever done, but I will be able to handle it. She is my wife, I have to be able to handle it."
"Alright I just wanted to make sure that you were prepared for what you may see."
"What's the other thing I needed to understand?" Jim asked as he looked at the road ahead of them.
Det. Marshal sighed, "That she may not be there."
Jim focused his attention back to the detective, "I know." It was all he could manage to say, he knew that she may not be there, but he prayed she was. He didn't know what else to do or where else to turn if she wasn't.
"We're here…" the driver said as they approached the house.
Det. Marshal led the attack on the house. He was followed by a group of police officers with Jim in the back. Det. Marshal tried the door knob, it was locked. He knocked on the door and stated that they were the police and demanded that Damon let them in. After he received no answer he looked back to his men and gave them the signal to knock the door down. With one swift motion the door was knocked down and Det. Marshal entered the house.
He walked into a house that looked like a struggle had taken place. His men and him spread out and scanned the entire house, looking for any signs of Damon or Melinda. Jim stayed close to Det. Marshal, they slowly made their way into the kitchen where Jim stopped dead in his tracks, laying on the ground before them was Damon, dead…
"Everything is clear!" Jim and Det. Marshal heard the officers yell.
"What the hell happened here?" Det. Marshal asked as he slowly bent down next to Damon's body to check for a pulse. The detective turned to look at Jim but he was already walking away. "Jim, where are you going?" he asked.
"She has to be here somewhere, something isn't right." Jim said before yelling, "Mel!? Melinda!?"
The detective stood and followed Jim, he was just as confused as Jim was.
Jim walked through 3 of the rooms in the house looking for any sign that Melinda was there, when he passed a door. Jim opened it and discovered that it led to a basement.
"Mel!? Baby, please if you can hear me, make a noise!! Mel!?" Jim made his way down to the bottom of the stairs and froze where he was. On the ground were multiple spots of blood. He noticed the hook in the middle of the floor…
"I was in what seemed to be a basement because when I woke up the floor was made out of cement. My hands were tied behind my back with a chain that was bolted into the ground so there was absolutely no way for me to escape. Also when the man walked in he had to come down a flight of stairs."
"I was in a strange place and was tied up. I couldn't get out no matter how hard I tried. Then a man came in and slapped me across the face and told me I had to love him. I told him that I loved you"
"Mel? Baby please where are you?" Jim yelled again as he slowly made his way around the basement. He stopped and slowly picked up a black robe, he collapsed to the floor when he realized it was Melinda's. "Detective!" he yelled.
The detective walked over to where Jim was, "Yeah?"
"Th-this be-lon-ngs to Me-e-el." Jim cried as he held her robe up so the detective could see it. The detective took the robe and knelt down next to Jim, "Jim, we will find her, I promise."
Jim looked at the detective, "How can you promise that? Where the hell is she? He took her but she isn't here? And who the fuck killed him? This makes no sense. Why is she not here? All I want is my wife back!" Jim yelled out in anger and frustration.
"Jim, you're right I can't promise you anything, but I will say this, I have my best men on this case. We will do our best to find her. Now I need you to look around for anything else that may belong to your wife." The detective said as he stood up, "I'm going to look around as well."
Jim simply nodded as he stood up and began making his way around the basement.
Det. Marshal was bent down over one of the spots of blood as was examining it when he noticed the poles set up in the corner. He stood up and made his way over to them. He noticed the different chains set up and sighed, he knew exactly what they were for.
"What's all this?" Jim asked as he walked up behind the detective.
"Jim, please, I don't think you need to see this."
"What do you mean I shouldn't see it, what is it?" Jim asked as he pushed past the detective and looked at the poles.
"Jim, please, its better if you didn't know."
"Det. Marshal, please I need to know everything." Jim declared.
"Jim, this is where I think he tied her up." The detective waited to see how Jim would respond.
"Tied her up for what?"
"Jim let me get all the facts before we assume the worst." The detective said as he placed a hand on Jim's shoulder, "Come on Jim we need to leave so the scene can be processed. If there is any chance of finding your wife it will be in here."
But Jim wouldn't budge, "Detective, what are you not telling me?"
"Jim I promise as soon as I get all the facts I will tell you everything, but I don't want to assume the worst and have you worry more then you already are." The detective sighed when he noticed Jim's worried look.
"Det. Marshal, please tell me."
"Jim, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Detective, if it involves my wife, then I want to know every detail. I need to know what she is going through, how much pain she is in…how….scared she is. Please…"
The detective looked over the basement one more time before answering, he knew that Melinda had been through a lot already and wasn't sure how much Jim would be able to listen to but he knew he needed to know. If it was his wife he would want to know as well. "Come on Jim, my men need to process this, we need to wait outside. It isn't ethical and I'm not supposed to do this but after they are done, you and I will come back in and I will walk you through everything I know. I promise you that I will tell you every detail that I know."
"Thank you detective," Jim said as he turned and made his way back up the stairs.
Det. Marshal followed behind him, once outside he informed his men that they could start processing the house and to inform him when they were through.
Jim walked over to where the car was, there was a boulder next to where they parked, Jim sat down on it and put his head in his hands and waited while the officers did their job. But he still couldn't get Melinda's words out of his head…
"Jim, th-there's someone here."
"Jim I'm scared, please help me"
God why wasn't I there? She needed me…
"JIM HELP ME PLEASE!! JIM HE'S GOT ME!!" Melinda desperately screamed as the man ripped the phone from her grasp.
"MEL!! MELINDA!! MELINDA!!"\
She was so scared….
"Jim I love you!!"
The last words she said to him echoed the loudest of them all….I'll find you baby…I promise you I won't stop until I do….I won't let you down again.
Just then Jim's phone rang…
Hey guys that was the big twist…I know you are probably confused about what is going on but the next chapter will explain what happened…I promise…I thought this way would be more of a shock…btw hope you guys liked the extra long chapter…I didn't plan on making it this long but it took a while to explain everything….anyways I hope you guys enjoyed it! Oh and sorry for the huge cliff hanger but you will have to wait until chapter 15 to figure that one out….
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!! I LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO SAY!! PLEASE REVIEW!!