So, thanks for reviewing! I had so many last chapter, so I won't keep you waiting any longer.

Chapter 18

"Did she have any enemies?"

"She's fourteen," Elaine hissed at the detective.

"Elaine," Jack said. "Let the man do his job."

"Oh, it's okay, anyway I've asked all the questions I need to. Good luck," the man said, taking his hat off and putting it over his chest before placing it back on his head and walking toward his coworkers. They compared notes and were starting to figure out what they needed to do to search for the missing Bolton.

"Any word," Troy asked coming over. Ever since Keisha's call earlier that day, his hand seemed to be glued to Gabriella's.

"No," Jack answered.

Troy groaned and led Gabriella away from his parents. He walked over to the tree in the Bolton's backyard and sat down, leaning against the trunk. Gabriella sat down next to him and looked up. "Are you okay?"

"What if she doesn't come back, Gabriella? I've heard those sick stories about girls getting abducted, raped, killed and then...thrown in some river. What did she do to deserve this?"

Gabriella looked at him. "You never know, maybe its some joke?"

"My sister wouldn't be gone this long if it was a joke." He shook his head. "She's not in Albuquerque, I can feel it."

The sound of Roundball Rock (the NBA theme song) filled the air. Troy grimaced, it was his ring tone but it was also a cruel reminder that he could never be able to play the sport he loved ever again. He grabbed it and didn't even look at the number. "No news Chad."

"It's not Chad," came a whisper from the other end.

"Mack!" Troy's shout caught the attention of every ear in the backyard. "Where are you?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because he locked me in a room and I don't know how thick the walls are or where he is."

"Who is 'he?'"

"Mr. Boucher."

Troy shut his eyes, but kept talking. "Are you okay?"

"He hasn't touched me, except to tie me down." There was a pause. "I'm scared. He has a gun."

"We'll find you. Do you have any idea where you are," Troy asked.

"No, I don't know, but hurry and find me. I've got to go, I hear footsteps. Hurry!" And then she hung up. Troy kept the phone to his ear, as if he was still hearing her voice.

"She's alive," he whispered.

"We have an idea where she is," one of the detectives said. "We used the signals from the cellphone." He faced Jack and Elaine, "are you ready to find your daughter?"

"What kind of question is that," Elaine asked, outraged.

"Yes," Jack said answering for both of them.

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

"Well," Daniel said, walking into the room. "Who were you talking to?"

"Myself. I do that sometimes. Picked it up from Troy," she lied.

He studied her. "I don't believe you." He walked to the other side of her. "Your hands are untied and your cellphones out."

"Hey, that's mine," she said as he pick up her phone. He pressed some buttons and she knew he was going to recent calls.

"Oh, you called big brother Troy." He placed the phone on the window sill. "How is he anyway."

"Fine," she said quick and harsh.

"I heard about his heart, it was all over the news. He's just so popular, and pulled Cam right into it. I always knew that boy was weak." He shook his head. "But about Troy, defibrillator right, no contact sports. Do you know why?"

Mack just stared at him. "I see, you don't. It's not that serious, you see if he got hit...a bump right...the battery might break or it could knock the lead wire out. He'd have to go in for another surgery or else the thing wouldn't work right." Mack's eyes widened. "Maybe it is serious, I wouldn't know, I never had this problem."

"Why do you care?"

"Actually Mack, I was getting to that. You see, I should be thanking you for calling home. Now I can do what I've wanted to do forever." He leaned against the wall. "Did you see the metal pole downstairs? I think I could do a little more damage than just breaking Troy's defibrillator if the pole made contact with his chest, do you agree?"

She gasped. "You wouldn't."

He thought about it. "No, I wouldn't. I have a better idea. How about I bring the pole upstairs, get Troy and hit him up here. But then, what would I do with you, drop you out the window. Maybe..." He opened the door to the room's closet and pulled out a thick piece of rope. "Troy can die watching you die, how about that?"

Mack gulped.

"What did you think I was just going to shoot you," he asked. "Wheres the fun in that?"

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Troy looked out the window in the back seat of his parent's car. His hand was holding Gabriella's as if he would die if their hands parted. Gabriella studied him. She had never seen him so concerned, so scared.

She'd seen him upset and she'd seen him angry, but she had never had to witness him so concerned for the wellbeing of his sister.

He turned his head and leaned back into the seat. He stared at the ceiling of the car and let out a long breath. His eyes were brimming with tears and Gabriella could tell he was using every bit of energy to keep them from falling. She squeezed his hand, giving him a silent reminder that she was there.

Troy turned to her. "How come my family is so unlucky," he whispered seriously.

"I don't know," she whispered back.

"You mean there's no scientific equation for luckiness," he joked.

She smiled. "No, there isn't. But if you figured one out, you'd probably be rich."

"I don't need riches, I've got a treasure right in front of me."

Gabriella looked away, knowing her face was red. She still blushed around Troy, it didn't matter how long they had been going out. She looked back at him when she knew her face was back to normal. He just looked at her, grinning.

The car started to slow down and eventually stopped in front of a normal looking house. The house wasn't too small or too big, too fancy or what not. The police had started to invade the house and Troy stepped out of the car. He noticed that on the second floor, in one room all the blinds were shut- except one.

"She's in there," he whispered. He looked at Gabriella before letting go of her hand and sprinting into the house.

"Troy," she yelled, but it was too late. Troy had blocked out every sound in the world, every voice telling him not to enter.

He ran passed the police and up the stairs, right to the room with the blinds. He kicked the door open and saw what he was afraid to see. Daniel Boucher.

"Where's my sister?"

Daniel looked to Troy, "she's right behind me." Troy stepped forward. "You might not want to do that."

He stepped to the side and Troy's eyes widened. Mack was standing on the chair, her mouth duct taped shut and rope tied around her neck. The rope was attached to the ceiling, Troy wasn't about to waste time figuring out how Mr. Boucher got it up there.

"You take another step and I kick the chair out from beneath her," he warned.

Troy didn't know what to do. If he tried to save Mack, Daniel would fight him after kicking Mack's chair to keep Troy away. If he didn't try, anything could happen.

"Freeze! You're under arrest!"

Daniel saw the guns in the police officers hands and grabbed his own, pointing it at Troy's chest. "You shoot me, I shoot him."

The police lowered their guns, but Mr. Boucher did not. Mack saw this and lifted her leg to kick it away. Daniel saw this out of the corner of his eye and kicked her chair. Mack tried to use her upper body strength to hold onto the rope, to loosen the pull it had on her neck, but she kept swinging. She tried to kick the gun, since he had yet to put it down, when he fired and the bullet sailed through the air, making it's home in Troy's arm.

A shot in the arm isn't as bad as the chest, I guess...although, I wouldn't want either. (I know some of you are not going to be happy that Troy got shot, but I needed him back in the hospital for a little while for something that I need for a future chapter.)

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