Sorry it's been awhile since I've worked on anything here. Hope everyone is ok.

Here is chapter 18.

The past few days have been rough for both John and Maria. Mostly Maria. She's barely slept at all, having nightmares about her daughter possibly being dead.

They haven't left the house. John stayed by Maria's side the entire time. "I'm really worried about Fredricka." she whispered. John held her close. "I know. Me too babe." he replied, stroking her head.

She got up off the couch. "This is all my fault." she said. "Don't say that. None of this was your fault." John said.

"But it is my fault!" Maria shouted. "I should've never left him! And now he has my daughter! And it's all my fault!"

John got up and pulled Maria close who started crying and sobbing in his chest.

"You've got to stop blaming yourself." he said softly, brushing her back.

After several minutes she calm down and they sat back down on the couch. "Remember at the hospital when you told me not to beat myself up when you got kidnapped?" he asked.

She simply nodded.

"We're going to get your daughter back." he added.

They relaxed for awhile before they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it." John said.

He opened the door and was happy to see it was Jeff and Trish who was on crutches.

"Hey John." "Jeff. Trish. Long time no see." John joked.

Maria got up and hugged both Jeff and Trish. "Oh my god! I'm so happy to see you guys!" she exclaimed.

"Of course. After what we heard what happened, we couldn't just stay at home and let you go through it alone." Trish said emotionally.

The ladies sat on the couch while John and Jeff went to the kitchen. "How's is she?" Jeff asked John, talking about Maria. "She's distraught." "So the police haven't said anything?" Jeff asked John. John sadly nodded.

John took out a couple of beers out of his fridge, handing one to Jeff. "I hope they find the son of a bitch that took her daughter." Jeff said as both took a sip. "Same."

The guys rejoined the ladies in the living room and watched some tv. After a couple of hours both Trish's and Maria's stomachs growled.

"I'm starving." Trish said. "Yeah. I've been so worried about my daughter that I've barely eaten anything." Maria said. "We're gonna go to the mall and grab some lunch." Trish said as she and Maria grabbed their purses.

"Could you bring us back a milkshake babe?" Jeff asked his wife. "No way! You're still on a diet." Trish reminded him. "Aw man! I was hoping you'd forget." Jeff complained.

"Since you can't drive, I'll drive." Maria replied. "You ladies be safe." John warned. "Don't worry. We'll be back in an hour. An hour and a half tops." Maria said to John before giving him a kiss.

"She seems to be feeling a little better." Jeff said. "You're right. It would seem so."

A few moments of silence went by before Jeff got up and went back to the kitchen. John followed. "Where do you keep the cookies and cupcakes?" Jeff asked.

"Um, didn't Trish said you were on a diet?" John asked. "Come on John! I haven't had any sweets the past four days. And it's killing me." "Still, I don't think it's a good idea to go behind your wife's back." John warned.

"Oh come on. I promise to pay for the entire meal on our next double date." Jeff pleaded. John lets out a sigh. "Alright. Fine."

Jeff began guzzling down some cookies. "Oh boy. Trish is going to kill me when she finds out I let you eat junk food."

They sat back down on the couch and started watching football.

A couple of hours went by and both Trish and Maria hadn't come back yet. "It's been two hours. They should've been back by now." John said. "Relax. Maybe the mall was crowded today. Or maybe they got stuck in traffic." Jeff said. "Yeah. You may be right."

Some more time went by as the sun was starting to set. John's been texting Maria, but no response. John started to get worried. "She's not answering my calls or my texts." "Same with Trish." "I don't like this Jeff."

Another hour went by before John's phone rang. "Finally!" "Hey babe. Where are you?" John asked. "John." he heard Maria said, in a panicky way. "Maria. What's wrong?" "John." she repeated. "Maria? Where are you and Trish?"

Before Maria could say anything else he heard a loud thud. "You'll never get her back." John's eyes went wide as he recognized the voice. "WHERE ARE YOU SON OF A BITCH?" John yelled.

"I'd watch the attitude if I were you." Mike warned. "Or what?" "Or I'll kill my ex wife and the barking slut." Mike threatened. He was referring Trish as the barking slut.

"If you call the police. I'll kill them both. YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Mike screamed. John looked down at the ground, hanging his head down in defeat. "Yes. I understand you."

"Good boy. Tell Jeff Matt says hello." Mike snickered before hanging up.

"Was that Mike? What did he do?" Jeff asked, sounding worried. "He's got both Trish and Maria."

"We need to call the police John." "NO!" "Well why not?" "Because he'll kill them both if we contact the authorities." John explained.

Jeff opened his mouth, but then stopped, knowing John was right. "Well what are we going to do?" Jeff asked. John sat down with his face in his hands, struggling not to cry. "I don't know man. I don't know."

Let me know what you thought of the chapter.