July 1, 2005
Angel Grove, CA
Nick carried me up the stairs over his shoulder, bringing me out of the basement. I screamed out Tommy's name, wanting him to respond so I knew he was alright. I heard nothing from down there though and the door closed as everyone came up the stairs. I could hear Lily screaming now, more than likely from the loud bangs of the gun shots. I did my best to claw at Nick to get him to drop me but he didn't until we were in the living room. I saw Lily in some strange woman's arms, a sour look on her face as she looked down at my daughter. She was a heavy set woman with stringy black hair and beady brown eyes. She resembled that of a bull dog in attack mode. Nick dropped me to the ground where I landed in a heap. I scurried to my knees, heading for the woman and Lily. From next to the woman, Andrew pointed a gun in my face.
"Please. Just let me hold my baby." I pleaded, tears filling my eyes. Andrew looked from me over to Nick who nodded. The woman nearly tossed Lily at me before getting up from the couch. It was awkward holding Lily with my wrists tied together but I did. I was relieved to see she looked unharmed. She had been changed from the dress she was in before into a white onesie. She was screaming loudly, her tongue white. She probably hadn't been fed and her diaper was soggy. She was safe though. I could see her and touch her, knowing that she was okay and not hurt from the accident. She was safe with me for now. I needed to get her out of here and away from Nick.
"We're loading up and leaving in twenty minutes." Nick said, looking over at me. "Get her ready to go. I'll have Gracie here pack her things for you. Just tell her what to bring. And don't play any games, Kimmy." He warned. "I'm sure your precious Tommy is still alive down there somewhat. I wouldn't mind making him suffer a little bit more before he bit the big one."
"I can't get her dressed with my hands tied." I said, shushing her. Tears slipped from her eyes but Lily calmed at my rocking. Nick rolled his eyes and walked over to me. Pulling a knife from his pocket, he cut the ties around my wrists.
"I mean it. No bullshit or I'll skin Tommy alive. Got it?" He asked, pointing the knife in my face. I nodded. Nick walked over and picked up a black duffel bag that was in the corner. He handed it to the woman. "Listen to what she tells you to pack." He said. The woman huffed.
"I'm not a maid." She sneered, glaring at me. Andrew glanced over at his wife.
"Just shut up and do it, Gracie." He said, giving her a stern look. She took the bag and unzipped it. Pete disappeared into the kitchen, Nick and Andrew following behind him. Gracie made a noise.
"Well? What does the little brat need?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip.
"Her things are upstairs in my room. It's the second door on the right. She's going to need everything in the top drawer of the dresser, all of the diapers and toiletries on the tops of it, and then some clothes from the second drawer." I said, hugging Lily to me.
"Terrific." She muttered under her breath before heading for the stairs. I heard her footsteps on them a couple seconds later. Once I heard her weight on the floorboards above my head, I sprang forward. Grabbing the house phone, I brought it to my ear. I was relieved to hear a dial tone still. Quickly, I dialed Trini's number. As it rang, I watched the doorway to the kitchen like a hawk. After the fourth ring, it went to voicemail. I swore, pacing slightly. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was after 1 am. Where was she? Was she sleeping? Did she know that Jason was missing? It beeped in my ear.
"Trini, it's Kim. Nick ran us off the road and he's taking Lily and I to Mexico. He shot Tommy and Jason in my basement. Please hurry. I don't have much time." I whispered. I hung up and dialed 911. It rang twice before a dispatcher picked up the line.
"What is the address of your emergency?" The woman asked.
"Help me. Please." I whispered. "My ex-husband escaped from prison and he's trying to kidnap my daughter and me."
"Maam, where are you now?" She asked. I heard movement on the stairs and I quickly set the phone on the back of the loveseat where no one would be able to see it. I grabbed a pair of pajamas from the pack and play next to the couch and sat down, quickly making it look like I had been changing her.
"Hope you don't mind that I helped myself to some of your things. I don't think you'll need them where we're going." Gracie said, coming around the corner. I saw she had a few of my necklaces in her hands as well as the camcorder I had gotten for Christmas.
"Where are we going?" I asked, buttoning up the pajamas between Lily's legs.
"Pátzcuaro, México." She said, rolling the R in the name of the city. She tossed the full bag on the floor in front of me. Picking up Lily, I casted a glance at the kitchen.
"She's going to need her formula and her bottles. They are in the cabinet by the stove." I said, nodding towards the kitchen. "And some water."
"There's water on the RV." Gracie said over her shoulder as she walked towards the kitchen. Once she was out of sight, I grabbed the phone again.
"Please hurry." I whispered.
"Ma'am, we have units heading to you. Just hold on." The woman on the phone said. I heard footsteps and I shoved the phone back to its place. Gracie returned. Nick and the other guys behind him. She shoved the canisters of formula and the bottles in her hands into the bag before zipping it up. In Nick's hand, I saw he was carrying a car seat that wasn't Lily's. He tossed it to the ground in front of me.
"Hers got damaged in the crash. Buckle her in and we will be good to go." He said. Slowly, I slid forward and set Lily inside of the seat. I needed to stall them. I needed them to wait until the police could get here and stop them from whisking us away to another country. Setting Lily in, I thought quickly. I didn't know what I could do to make it take any longer.
"Can I change my clothes?" I asked, glancing up at Nick. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Why? I think you look fine in that." He replied.
"I'm covered in blood, Nick." I said. "Please. It will take me two minutes."
"Fine. Get her something to wear." Nick snapped at Gracie. She rolled her eyes and headed back up to my room as I buckled Lily into the car seat. Gracie returned a few minutes later, a t-shirt and shorts in hand. She tossed them at me and I caught them.
"Boss, we got some problems heading our way." Pete said, looking out the front window. Looking over my shoulder, I saw flashing red and blue lights and could hear sirens. Help was on the way.
"Shit. Time to go." Nick grabbed my arm and Lily's car seat, dragging both of us out the front door. I pulled against him, trying to slow down but he gripped my sore arm harder. Pete and Andrew followed, carrying large bags in their arms. Gracie had Lily's things in her hand and our group headed towards an RV that was parked in front of my house. PEte ran ahead and opened the door for Nick who shoved me through the door first. I stumbled and landed on a bench seat. He set Lily's car seat in my lap before turning. Andrew handed him his bags before running to the front seat. Gracie climbed on and sat across from me. Pete climbed on last, taking all the bags that weren't Lily's into the back part of the RV. Nick shut the door and Andrew brought the RV to life. The tires squealed as Pete pulled away from the curb. I held on to Lily tightly, making sure we didn't fy forward. The sirens grew louder, telling me they were coming up the street. I looked out the window, hoping they would see us. Had they heard the part about the RV? Mexico? I hoped so.
"Just in time." Nick said, sitting next to me. Pete turned the corner, heading towards the highway. There was no cop insight, telling me that they hadn't seen us. Pete drove right out of the neighborhood and Angel Grove, heading to the highway that drove south. Nick sat back in his seat and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Smile, Kimmy. We're heading to Mexico! It'll be like the honeymoon we always wanted."
Nick shoved Lily and I into a back bedroom of the RV, locking the door. I fed and changed her, putting her down to sleep next to me in the bed. I didn't dare sleep, afraid of what might happen if I closed my eyes. It was dark outside and we were driving on back roads, signs telling me that we were crossing into Mexico soon. I was going to have to try to wave someone down while we crossed the border to save us. They would have to check everyone on board before letting us cross. I could inform someone there that we were being kidnaped. Hopefully, we could be home by lunch time.
The RV slowed down a short time later and I could see that we were at the border. Relief filled my chest as I looked through the window. We pulled to a stop and I heard movement coming from the other part of the RV. I tucked Lily into the corner of the bed and waited for the door to open. I could hear voices outside of the RV and could just make out shadows. I could see the lights for the border crossing, MEXICO lit up in red, white and green letters. Walking over to the door, I pressed my ear to it. I could hear people talking in Spanish now and more footsteps in the RV. Soon, laughter followed and it sounded like someone was walking towards the room. I stepped back just as the door opened. Andrew was standing there and he looked down at me.
"Sit down." He said, nodding at the bed. I took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the bed. Bending over, he grabbed one of the large bags they had carried on and put it over his shoulder. He walked out, locking the door again. There was more talking and the RV wobbled like someone was climbing off of it. Leaning by the window, I saw that there were two border officials standing next to the RV. They had rifles on their backs and one was holding the back. He called something out to the front of the RV, waving his hand. The RV pulled forward and we went right through the border crossing without being stopped. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the other bags were still here. I went to the top one and unzipped it. Inside, I saw there were packages wrapped in plastic wrap. Under those, I saw stacks of money and magazine clips. Drugs, money, and weapons. I felt tears well in my eyes. Of course. They probably just bought their way into the country with any of these things.
I sat back down on the bed and the door opened again. This time, it was Nick. He came in and shut the door quietly. "I see she's sleeping. Good. It's been a long day for her. You too. You should get some sleep. We'll be there in about five hours."
"I'm fine." I said, turning away from him. "Leave me alone."
"Kimmy, I know you're upset." He said, kneeling on the floor in front of me. "But we will get adjusted to living here. It's warm. It's sunny. We'll have a huge house with a pool. I can give you anything you or Lily want here. You can have expensive jewelry, fancy cars. Anything your heart could want!"
"I don't want any of that!" I said. "I only wanted a husband who treated me like a person. You couldn't do that."
"It was the drugs. I promise that we can make this work. Tommy's out of the picture now and there's nothing between us."
"He is Lily's father, not you! He deserves to be in her life."
"Well, he can't do that now that he's dead. I can be her father. I can give her more than Tommy ever could. Why can't you see that he was just a nobody that was doing nothing with his life? That's why you dumped him in the first place. You left him for me, remember? I am the better person."
"Nick, can we please leave Lily here?" I asked, shifting to look at him. "The border control can send her back to Angel Grove! She can live with my mom. She moved back to California. Let Lily stay in America and have a life with my mom. Then you and I can go to Mexico. We can be together and have nothing to worry about with raising a baby." He smiled, shaking his head.
"Kimberly, I know before that I said I was happy she wasn't my kid. But after sitting in jail for some time, I realized that I had been wrong. Having a kid could be fun. It's my chance to have a legacy. I mean, obviously she's not really mine but there's no reason she needs to know that. We can raise her together and have that family you always wanted. Let me try again to be that husband you want."
"I don't want a husband, Nick." I said, giving him a pleading look. Could I get him to actually understand what I was saying? Maybe now that he was sober, he could see that we weren't right for each other. There could possibly be a small part of him that wasn't this angry and evil person. "You could find someone else who could make you happier than me. I'm sure there's plenty of girls out there that would want to be with you. You'll be rich and living in Mexico. I bet Andrew has people here that could help you find someone who can help you run all of this better than me." He shook his head, leaning forward. Reaching up, he put a hand around my throat and pulled me closer to him. His thumb pressed into my pulse, making it slightly difficult to breathe. He put his mouth close to my ear, his hot breath on my cheek.
"Listen to me. We made a vow together. We stood up together and made a commitment to be together forever. I don't care that you think some piece of paper is going to change that. You spent the last year acting like a whore and treating me like shit on your shoe. That stops today. I promise you that you will never speak to me like you did in court. I made a vow to you that day as well. You are fucking mine whether you want to be or not. That baby came from you, making her mine as well. I will drag you to the ends of Earth if I have to to make sure you're in my possession. You will be mine until the day you die, whether that be from old age or from pissing me off. I'll end you if that's what it takes. You are mine. Lily is mine. I won, Kimberly. Face it. I won."
