Chapter 24

Four Years Later

"Come on Ali! Come on girl!" I yelled as I raced my black Labrador up the dirt road to my house. She ran alongside me happy as a bird, eventually passing me up when we reached the gate. I laughed as she jumped up and placed her front paws on the white fence.

"You win again I suppose." I told her as I reached into my brown satchel and gave her a treat. While she ate it, I looked around at the wooded area that surrounded my house. There was no one there and there hadn't been for four years. I sighed with relief and punched in the code to open the gate.

Things had been a little tough living out here, well…at least for me. I couldn't call my friends, I couldn't go into the city…I couldn't really do anything. By now my friends had graduated high school and were now in college. I wished I could tell them how boring my life was right now but I couldn't even pick up a phone without John thinking I was being traced. Taker was a smart man but honestly if he was that smart…wouldn't he of found me by now?

Nikki came to visit us from time to time, updating me on Taker's current whereabouts. Apparently he had been to my house in Massachusetts several times to see if I had reappeared and was frustrated as hell when he realized I was really gone. What was strange to me was that he never once suspected Nikki of helping me at all. She was either a great actress, or he was literally clueless.

John and I took our time alone to catch up on a few things. I told him about my experiences with Taker's gang and how possessive he was when it came to me being around the guys. It surprised him at first but then he remembered I was really young and innocent. Most men wanted a woman with the purity that I had.

Anyways, I had gone back to my natural light brown hair color with the honey highlights and I had grown another inch taller. My body was maturing in ways John never thought he would see and it only made him want to keep me in the house more. However, today wasn't one of those days. It was just hitting summer time and I couldn't stand to be in the house all the time. So, John let me take Ali on walks but we were only allowed to go through the nature trail that led to the sight of Niagara Falls. That's where I was coming from today when I walked into the house and saw Nikki in the kitchen making out with John.

"Ew…"

They gasped and stepped away from each other, "Oh, hey kiddo."

I shook my hands and headed for the living room, "No please, carry on…"

They laughed as I walked away with my dog right behind me. "Wait Kat, I've got to tell you something,"

I turned around in the entrance and looked at her, "What? You two are getting married?"

She giggled, "No…actually I wanted to tell you that Taker's been arrested."

"What!" I gasped.

"No way!" John said.

She nodded, "Yeah….he was out at the bar and one of his victim's sisters recognized him from the most wanted list. The police were there in seconds…he had no time to react."

I sighed, "Well good. Maybe now I can return to my normal life."

John sighed, "I wouldn't be so sure Kat. His gang is still around you know."

Nikki laughed, "Oh as soon as he was arrested the gang split up."

"Really?" I nearly screamed. "Oh John please tell me we can go back to Massachusetts."

He shook his head, "No Kat, I still don't feel safe going back there. Besides I really like the place we're living in."

I sighed, "But John…"

"We have to be sure his gang is really done." He said.

Nikki glanced at him, "What you don't trust my word?"

"I didn't say that babe," he said. "All I'm saying is that we've got to be certain that they have no intentions of coming after her again…."

I folded my arms, "Ok I'll make you a deal, if we don't hear anything about them for a month, I get to move out."

His eyes widened, "Are you crazy?"

"No…I'm 20 and very capable of taking care of myself." I told him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed deeply. "Nikki…please help me out here…"

She shrugged, "I think it's safe for her to move out. After all she's a grown woman now and we've kept her out of harm's way long enough for Taker to go to Jail."

He glanced at me and then back at her, "Alright fine…if I don't hear anything for a month I'll free you from this place."

I smiled, "Thank you."

Without another word I turned and walked towards the stairwell, ready to take my afternoon nap with Ali. I had a nice queen sized bed that fit us both comfortably. We normally slept for an hour or two at this time of day but it was also when I had the most nightmares. I kept seeing myself being dragged towards that basement with Taker's emotionless eyes looking down at me as I struggled. Other times I had dreams of him chaining me to his motorcycle and dragging me down the road until I was dead. Something still didn't make sense though…why did he seem as though one minute he had gentle qualities…and then the next he was extremely angry and ruthless. Maybe what my friends told me was true, perhaps he was on some drugs or something…