Yes, this is my fourth day in a row posting. I wrote bits and pieces for different things these past two months and I finally got around to either doing edits or just going for it and posting. I have another two things that are somewhat close to completion that should be ready to post sooner rather than later. (Since You've Been Gone, being one of them;)
In honor of October, I got this idea for something a bit spookier with multiple POVs. It's not the traditional monsters in the dark kinda spooky. It's something way scarier: a human.
Disclaimer: The Plum Universe belongs to JE.
"Get rid of her!" The order was hushed as I was yanked from my position under the bed and shoved towards the front door. He's never let me have contact with the outside world since I've been here. My hands shook as I worked on the locks of the front door after hearing another knock. Larry, at least that's what he's called himself, was huddled behind the couch. I could see him from the corner of my eye. He maybe had a weapon, but I couldn't be too sure.
"Uhmmm…" Was all I could say when I finally opened the door. My body shook as the sunlight and fresh air hit my face. It was such a surreal feeling. One of the things you take for granted when you're free.
"Bond enforcement." The woman standing before me was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She had shoulder length curly brown hair and very electric blue eyes. They were so blue, or maybe my senses have been so deprived, because they seemed bluer than the deep ocean. She was giving some spiel, a very practiced one, about being a bond enforcement agent that was here to take Larry to jail for missing his court appearance. Holy shit! This could end today. I could be free!
If I could only move or speak.
"So?" The woman had said her name was Stephanie Plum when she introduced herself. And although she wasn't a cop, I hoped she would help. "Is he here?" She asked, her demeanor changing in a second as possible recognition set in.
She knew!
'Help me' I mouthed as I shook my head no as a decoy. I really hope she gets the message.
She did.
It happened so fast. One moment I was standing inside the house and the next she'd yanked me outside, and slammed the door closed to buy us some time. She shoved her phone and car keys to me, meanwhile telling me to dial 1 for help.
"Umm…" I didn't even know where I was. The street name, or city or hell even the zip code. Her blue eyes narrowed and she shoved me towards the SUV parked at the curb.
I booked it without second thought. I got into the driver's seat and locked the doors as I dialed one.
"Babe." A deep male voice greeted on the first ring.
"Uhmm, Stephanie told me to call this number." I blurted out as I made the mistake to look outside the passenger's window. Larry was outside now, engaging in a scuffle with Stephanie. "Look I don't know where we are but we need help!" I cowardly turned away when his hands closed around her throat.
"Where is Stephanie?" I heard the man on the phone ask as I heard movement on his end.
"She's in a scuffle with Larry." I didn't dare chance another peek. "He's choking her!" Damn it! I looked again.
"We're five minutes away." He said as more movement on his end sounded. "What's your name?" He asked, probably to keep me on the line.
"Uhmm…" It hit me all at once that I haven't said my name in a long time. I put the phone on speaker and checked the date. Fuck! It's been almost a year. "My name's Melissa. Melissa Fulthrop." I blurted out as I chanced a final peak. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I gotta help her. You're not going to get here in time." I hung up the phone and dropped it on the driver's seat as I wrenched the door open.
"Hey, asshole!" I yelled to get his attention on me.
S&R
The ringing of my cell interrupted the silence that had settled in my office as I sifted through reports. On autopilot I grabbed the device off my desk once I saw it was her calling. "Babe." I smiled despite her not being able to see it.
"Uhmm, Stephanie told me to call this number." I was on instant alert once the unfamiliar female voice floated out of my device. "Look I don't know where we are but we need help!"
"Where is Stephanie?" I asked as I bolted out of my chair and hurried to the control room to get Stephanie's location. Cal and Lester where on monitors and clearly heard my inquiry since I'd switched over to speaker to cut down on time. They quickly checked the trackers to get a location.
"She's in a scuffle with Larry." I heard the female on the line say. "He's choking her!" Fuck! I felt like the air was sucked out my lungs when she said that.
"We're five minutes away." I assured as Lester got me her location. We had attracted quite the attention from those on desk duty. I waved to Tank and Bobby to follow before I thundered down the stairs. "What's your name?" I asked so I could keep her on the line. She sounded young. Really young.
"Uhmm…" There was a pause. The question obviously caught her off guard. "My name's Melissa. Melissa Fulthrop." All three of us sucked in air as we made it to the underground garage. That name sounded very familiar. Thinking quickly, I saw the moment it hit the other two men who she was. She was a teenager that went missing on her way home from school about a year ago. Taken without a trace. Made national headlines. "I'm sorry. I have to go. I gotta help her. You're not going to get here in time." She hung up before we even cleared the Rangeman gate.
Fuck!
I stepped on the gas and arrived on scene at the exact ETA given.
The control room was in charge of calling it in, so it wasn't out of place for us to arrive before the first responders.
I parked behind Steph's latest SUV, a red Ford Explorer that's seen better days, and was out of my truck before Tank and Bobby even pulled over behind me.
I felt the pressure on my chest intensify as I ran towards the two sprawled figures on the lawn. The third figure, the missing teen, knelt over Stephanie as she tried to shake her awake.
S&R
"What happened?" I asked as I watched Bobby rush forward and Ranger stand momentarily still.
"Uhmm, Larry choked her." The missing teen, Melissa, said as she moved aside for Bobby to take over. "She had this thing." The girl gave a quick jabbing motion in the air as demonstration. "I think it was a stun gun. But he was still choking her despite my best efforts, so I guess she zapped herself in the process." I admired the bravery of this girl. It couldn't have been easy to stay and try to help instead of running as far away as possible.
I opened the door to Stephanie's latest POS and rummaged in her shoulder bag for the FTA's file. Lawrence McBride was wanted for a financial crime. Despite being worth a decent fee, nothing in his file indicated to him being aggressive or dangerous. My eyes flicked quickly between Bomber's unmoving form and the man that was starting to come to opposite her. I guess having his kidnapped victim potentially freed really liberated the freak he really is.
I quickly got cuffs on the FTA just as police and an ambulance arrived on scene.
S&R
I came to slowly. I felt tired, like a heavy weight was pressing me into the bed.
Wait. A bed? Why am I in a bed?
My eyes flew open once everything came rushing back.
I had to momentarily close my eyes in order to allow myself to adjust to the bright hospital lights. Ugh! I hate hospitals.
When I opened my eyes again, I realized I couldn't move freely. Reaching up, my fingers slid against the plastic neck brace. Oh boy!
"Babe." Hearing Ranger's voice caused a warm feeling to spread across my chest.
I opened my mouth when I saw his gorgeous face fill my line of sight, but before I could form my first word Ranger cut me off.
"No talking." His large hand motioned to his own throat as he explained that I had a lot of swelling, especially in my vocal cords. Oh, right, the choking. "Don't talk." He ordered, using his best commanding tone. "Don't even think about trying it." His stern glare was his final silent warning.
Fine.
I gestured with my hands, wordlessly asking for him to spill the beans. I need to know what happened. Well, I hoped my hand movement conveyed what I wanted to know.
As proof that he can read me well, Ranger told me what I wanted to know. My FTA was behind bars and not coming out anytime soon. I made a jabbing motion with my right hand to let Ranger know I'd stunned him. Well, he was choking me and since I couldn't get him off me I had to act. The black dots swimming in my vision where growing to full blown darkness by the time I pressed the prongs of the stun gun to his arm. Probably not my brightest moment, but oh well. I couldn't just go down without a fight.
The moment it dawned on me I was standing in front of Melissa, I acted on impulse. I heard about her story when she first went missing thanks to Ram. We were on our way to a distraction job as we listened to some reports about the missing Oregon teen. It baffled me that she'd disappeared without a trace. A girl that went from her home to school and back. She wasn't rebellious. She didn't get in trouble, like ever. A model kid in every aspect of her life. Hell, I'd been a handful as a teen. And this good girl just poof! went missing on a random Tuesday afternoon.
I blinked back the tears that welled in my eyes as Ranger informed me that Melissa had been reunited with her parents. Good.
Once I got the moisture in my eyes under control, I decided there was one thing I still needed to know that Ranger hadn't touched on. Making a scribbling motion with my hand, I promoted Ranger to get me something to write on.
He moved away slightly before presenting me with a small handheld whiteboard and a dry erase marker. I gave him my best Burg glare. He's had that at my disposal all along?!
"Babe." Babe can mean a lot of things in Ranger speak. This one meant 'don't start'. Guess I better not rock the boat too much. He isn't a fan of me getting hurt. Neither am I, but it be like that sometimes. At least in my life. Oh well.
Getting back to the one thing that I still needed to know. I scribbled quickly, not caring about neatness. I flipped the whiteboard so he could read my 'why?' question.
Why did he do it? Why Melissa of all people? Why this seemingly sweet, innocent girl?
Ranger blew out a breath. I realized in that moment that this whole thing probably brought up bad memories for Ranger. Julie was a lot younger than Melissa when Scrog kidnapped her.
I waved the whiteboard to get Ranger to come back to the present.
"No real reason." Ranger's blank face was in place. "He saw her walking home from school and thought why not." A muscle in his jaw ticked as he finished.
So senseless and for what?
Ranger continued, telling me Melissa and her parents wanted to meet with me once I felt up for it. Probably when I could talk again. Also, the irony wasn't lost on me. For once Ranger was the chatty one and me the silent one. I'd let out a full belly laugh if I could.
After several beats of silence I decided there was one last thing I needed to know. I wiped the whiteboard with my fingers before I wrote my next inquiry.
I flipped the board once more so he could read my question: you mad?
"Babe." Ranger leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. He wasn't mad. At least not anymore. Not right now. Right now he was just glad I'd still be a lovely pain in his ass.