Estella barely managed it, but she did keep up with him. It was not graceful. She was having trouble catching her breath, but she was sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV as Jonny teared out of the parking lot.
"How close are we?" she asked once reality set in.
"Only a few minutes away," he answered shortly. "Here," he handed her his computer. "If you're coming, you might as well help. Do you see that red dot blinking quickly?"
Estella pursed her lips. She did not appreciate his tone. "Yes."
"That's the signal from the GPS in her earrings. It's blinking quickly over a one mile radius right now because I have IRIS working to pinpoint the exact location. Once she finds it, the blinking will stop and we'll know exactly where she is. It won't take much longer for the scan to finish."
"How close is Race?" she asked.
"Not sure." Jonny could hear the nervousness in her voice, but did not address it. She did make him rethink his plan though and he turned left instead of right at the next light.
"I thought we needed to head east?" Estella pointed out.
"We do, but I need to make a stop first."
XXX
"Race," Phil started. "I feel the need to point out that we can't help Jessie if you kill us on the way there."
"You've been behind a desk too long," Race shot back.
"Fuck you, Bannon."
"You miss working with me," Race tried to lighten the mood, but did not take his attention from the road.
"You're a pain in my ass still."
"I do appreciate you coming out here," Race told him after a beat, but did not slow down the car. He was making great time.
"I came for my goddaughter," Phil told him. "The world needs more of her in it."
"On that we have always agreed," Race smiled. "You came for me too though."
"You're a pain in my ass," Phil repeated and then they were interrupted by a ringing phone. "At least put it on speaker this time," Phil requested.
Race obliged. "Jonny. Talk to me, kid."
"Roger?" It came out as a whisper.
"Stel?" Race was immediately worried. "Why do you have Jonny's phone? What the hell's going on?" he ordered.
"He left it in the car," she answered. "I knew you'd answer if you thought it was him."
Race could hear the fear in her voice and an overwhelming instinct to protect her and comfort her grabbed hold of him. He did not think that would ever go away. "Tell me what's going on?" he asked softly.
"I was with Jonny when he called you," she explained. "Checking in on him."
"He let you come with him?" Race was incredulous.
"LET is a generous term," she sighed. "You know me better than that." Estella turned her head to see if Jonny was on his way back before continuing. "He is JUST like you, Roger. When I told him I was coming, I saw that look you always used to give me. I watched him do the cost benefit analysis of letting me come in his head in like two seconds. I guess the time he would have lost fighting with me was too much. So here I am."
"Where are you?" Race tried to ask patiently.
"Parked outside a Hampton Inn. He just ran inside," she relayed quickly. "He said he'd be back in a minute."
"Why did he stop there?"
She laughed. "I can assure you that he's shared no part of his plan with me, Roger."
"Get out of the car," he told her. "Give him the phone when he comes back. I'll pick you up after we get Jess."
"No chance in hell."
"STEL…there is a place and time to be stubborn…"
"Let me," Phil interrupted.
"Be my guest," Race shook his head in annoyance.
"Estella, its Phil. You need to listen to me. You can't come."
"She's…
"Let me be blunt," he spoke over her. "You'll be in the way. A distraction. Let us focus on Jessie."
"I have to go," she said quickly.
"STEL…" Race screamed.
"And she hung up," Phil pointed out the obvious.
"That woman will be the death of me," Race complained. "What does she think she's accomplishing?"
"She's not thinking with her head," Phil justified. "None of you are."
"Why the fuck did she call me if she wasn't gonna listen?" Race continued.
"Because she's scared and you're such a teddy bear," Phil ran a hand over his face. "Can't you drive any faster?"
Race shot him an ironic smile and then pressed his foot down harder against the gas.
XXX
Jonny parked in front of the hotel and did not hesitate. He kept the car running and told Estella to hang tight. He had checked the tracker when they were stuck at a red light. Roth was still at the racetrack. He ran straight for Roth's room and pushed roughly through the heavy door. After taking a moment to assess, he went straight for the .38 special and spear point pocket knife in Roth's nightstand. He confirmed that the .38 was loaded before putting both weapons in his waistband. Then he pulled out the brown leather bag hidden under the bed and grabbed the 9mm Beretta and some extra ammo. Before heading back to the car, he also retrieved both of Race's bags from the other room in case he needed them.
"What happened?" Jonny asked as soon as he was back behind the wheel. He could tell she was more shaken up than when he left her. "Did Race call?" he grabbed for the phone.
There was no point in denying it. "I called him," she shrugged like it was not a big deal. "I wanted to get the argument out of the way upfront."
"Uh huh," Jonny put the car in drive. He did not buy it, but it did not matter. "Stay here," he offered and then produced a room key. "I can pick you up after."
"No."
"I can tell you're afraid," he sighed. "And there's nothing wrong with that. That's a normal reaction. Please stay here, Estella. Let me go get her without having to worry about your safety in the process."
"You don't have to worry about me."
"Of course I do," he insisted. "You're her mother. I won't let anything happen to you."
Estella crossed her arms and sat back. "Let's go."
"Fine," Jonny sighed and took his foot off the break. "I'll figure it out." As he sped off toward his destination, Jonny seriously considered tying Estella's hands to the steering wheel once they got there.
XXX
"Call Race," Hadji announced loudly.
Every head in the conference room shot up at the noise. They had all been working desperately in silence since Race's last phone call. Benton was doing background checks on the names Race had sent over from the police files. He was also trying to poke around in the FBI's system to uncover their interest. At the same time, Jack had been going through the new footage Benton pulled screen by screen. Benton knew that new footage was more likely to produce a lead than reviewing what they already had. He did not have any information about this fourth girl readily available, so he had to make some educated guesses and trust them. It was easy for Benton to track the movements of the local sheriff's department since it was so small. He could see that half the deputies were parked in front of a house at 245 Monroe Street and the other half were over by the Amelia Plaza shopping center. Jack was going through all the footage Benton could pull around the shopping center from the last two hours. Benton was convinced the shopping center was the location of the fourth abduction, especially after he pulled the DMV records for the residents of 245 Monroe Street. Keri Powell looked like she could be related to Jessie.
Hadji had gained access to the missing person reports about twenty minutes ago and had been going through them meticulously to summarize the details for everyone else.
"What is it?" Benton asked as he dialed Race's number on the polycom, but there was no time for Hadji to respond.
"What do you have?" It was Phil who answered.
"Race?" Hadji started.
"I'm here."
"I've got the reports from Atlanta," Hadji said quickly. "I'm sorry. I was busy summarizing them and just noticed that we got a hit on her…"
"Shit," Race growled. "Sorry…I already know. Jonny called me. I'm on my way there to meet him. I told him to tell you before leaving, Benton."
Benton sighed. "It's fine."
"It's not fine," Race responded.
"It is," Benton defended. "My son and I spoke. I don't approve of his actions, but we understand where the other is coming from now."
"Estella's with him," Race offered, but was not sure that provided Benton any comfort.
"WHAT?"
Race could not identify who said that, but knew they must all have been as surprised and confused to hear that news as him.
"Yeah," Race sighed. "No clue how that happened. I'll call you when it's done. Keep doing what you're doing please. Just in case."
XXX
Jonny parked a block away from where he found the van and took the computer back from Estella's lap.
Estella heard him mumbling to himself as he looked at the screen. It sounded like he was saying numbers.
"What's that?" she asked.
"That's where I find her," he responded distractedly and raised the phone to his ear. "Race," there was a breathy quality to his voice. "IRIS has the exact coordinates. I'm about half a mile away. From the map, it looks like a wooded area. Slightly elevated. Probably a hill. How close are you?"
"Twenty minutes, Jonny. Do not approach without me. That's an order."
"I'm gonna get closer and then I'll drop you a pin so you know exactly where I am," Jonny responded. "Can you please convince your ex-wife that waiting here is what's best for Jess? She won't listen to me."
"She won't listen to me either, but you better. Promise me you will wait, Jonny." Race got nervous when he did not answer right away. "Jonny…you can and will wait the twenty minutes it'll take me to get there. You won't put yourself or Estella in unnecessary danger. Do you understand me?"
"I understand." Jonny's voice was hollow. "Please hurry."
Jonny hung up and turned the car on again. Then he turned to Estella. "Last chance to be reasonable," he told her and was met with silence. "Promise you'll listen to me. Everything that I say. You're not coming unless I have your word."
"How will you stop me?" she scoffed.
"I can easily get you out of this car without hurting you," he deadpanned. "Your word."
"You'd trust my word?"
"When her life is at stake? Yes. I think I have to." He was hoping to impress upon her the gravity of the situation in case she did not yet understand. "Say the words, Estella."
"Are we waiting until Roger gets here?" her voice shook.
"Yes," he told her in frustration, but could tell she was not convinced. "You are so…"
"What?" she asked through her teeth.
Jonny put the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. He was not willing to wait any longer. "It's really odd that you don't like me more," he smiled. "Jess is so much like you. Beautifully stubborn," he added quietly.
XXX
She barged into his room. Uninvited and slammed the door. She was pissed at him. She had been pissed at him for three days. There was a screaming match on day one. Their fathers were not pleased. Then he went quiet on day two, which he knew would drive her crazy. She hated it when he shut down and refused to yell back. When he refused to say reset. On principle, she would settle into her stubbornness further just to frustrate him and he would do his best to hide how much it got to him.
He had been lounging on his bed reading. She was now standing at the foot of his bed with her arms crossed. "I assume we have the house to ourselves since you're here," he grumbled. "Come to scream at me some more?"
"He speaks," she shook her head. "Come on, stop acting like a child. I'm sick of it."
Jonny took a deep breath and set the book aside calmly. "I'm not fighting about this again, Jess. I'd argue that my choice is the more adult one here. I'm not apologizing again either."
"You never apologized a first time," she scoffed. "Not really."
"You overreacted, Jess."
"No. YOU overreacted," she screamed.
Jonny swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood to square off with her. "I don't know what you want me to say," he admitted. "You know where I stand and no amount of you screaming at me will change that. I won't back down just because you refuse to. Not about this…but I don't want to argue anymore either. So where does that leave us?"
It took a long pause before he saw her defensive posture slip away and her body slump a little. She wrapped her arms around herself and then sat down on his desk. He sat on the edge of his bed and waited for her to say something.
"I miss you," she admitted and then flicked her eyes up to meet his gaze.
"I miss you too," he felt himself soften, but did not say more.
"I don't want you to say anything," she shrugged. "I don't even want you to apologize. I just want you to promise that you won't do it again."
"You know I can't agree to that," he told her. Confusion clear on his face. "He was disrespecting you. I won't stand for that, Jess. Not ever."
"Jonny," she sighed. He could tell she was trying to be patient. "I…"
"Don't say you can take care of yourself," he cut her off. "I know you can. That doesn't mean I don't get to take care of you too."
"I love that that's your instinct," she smiled. "…but it's not acceptable for you to put your hands on anyone. No matter how big of a jerk they are to me. That's why I got so mad, Quest."
"That wasn't my intention," Jonny sighed. "I just…reacted."
"You overreacted," she said again, but when she was not screaming it at him he could actually here it.
"Maybe I could have handled it differently," he admitted.
"I don't like it when people disrespect our relationship either," she stood and came to sit beside him. He shifted closer until they were touching. He really had missed her. "Don't you think I want to punch every girl that flirts with you? Trust me, I do. Right in their pretty little…"
"I always keep my cool when they flirt," he cut her off and then laced his fingers through hers slowly. "He put his hands on you, Jess. For me, that's not acceptable."
He saw her jaw tighten out of the corner of his eye and tightened his grip on her hand. When she stood and tried to walk away he held on tighter.
"What now?" he growled, standing too.
"I'm not your property," she growled back.
He let go when she said that. "I don't think that," he told her. "If you want to stay mad at me, then stay mad," he turned away. "Do what you want, Jessie. You always do anyway." Then he started to laugh.
"What?" she insisted.
"If you're my property, than that was a terrible investment on my part because you NEVER listen and you piss me off on purpose all the time." He felt bad as soon as he said it, especially when he was met with silence. She did not dish it right back like he expected.
When he turned around, he could see that she was trying to compose herself.
"That was an incredibly mean thing to say," she whispered, holding back tears.
"Well your comment was bullshit and you know better," he defended. "I can't believe you would even think it let alone say it out loud. When have I ever treated you as anything less than my equal? You are my partner in everything. You've been my partner since I was six."
"Ever since…," she started and then cut herself off.
He was not sure he wanted to know, but asked anyway. "What?"
"You've always been overprotective," she pointed out and wrapped her arms around herself again. "But…"
Instead of prompting her, he took two steps forward and pulled her against his chest. She froze for a moment and then wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. They both relaxed into the embrace. Jonny rested his cheek on the top of her head. They were standing next to a mirror so he watched her face closely. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but her expression soften a fraction when he stroked her hair.
"I don't want to fight anymore, Jonny."
"What were you going to say," he eventually asked and kept his focus on her closed eyes.
"I'll say it wrong." A tear fell down her face and he wiped it away.
"Just say it."
"I feel overwhelmed," she whispered.
"By me?" he swallowed.
"By the way I feel about you," she responded. "By the way you feel about me. Ever since we started sleeping together…you've been different, Jonny."
"I have," he admitted quietly into her hair. He knew he had. "I FEEL different, baby. Don't you?"
She lifted her head at his admission to meet his eyes. He started to step back, but her hands gripped his shirt to keep him close so he just brought his hands up to frame her face instead.
"Yes," she told him.
"I don't know how to say this right," he repeated her words with a grin. "I'm not sure I can explain it. For me, it was like this seismic shift. Like your place in my life and the future I want with you became so clear. And…I don't know, we've been talking about the future for years. It's not like I didn't mean it before. I did. I meant all of it, but over the last few months it has just felt…"
"So real," she finished his sentence.
"Yes," he agreed. "I don't think you're my property, Jessie. But… you are mine and I'm yours. Does that make any sense?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Every word. That's why I feel so overwhelmed. It's real and it scares me. I don't want to lose it."
"I'm not going anywhere, Ace. I love you. You're the most important person in my life. You're not losing me any more than I'm losing you. I'll never let that happen."
Jessie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jonny could tell she was trying to absorb his words. "Do you understand now why I was mad?" she asked.
"No," he chuckled. "Not really."
"Because YOU are the most important person in my life. I don't like it when people disrespect our relationship," she told him again. "But at the end of the day, it's meaningless. It annoys me in that moment and then I walk away and I never think about it again. It has no impact on me, but when you step in and create a situation that could get you in trouble…that very much impacts me. Do you get that? How do you think I'd feel if you got in trouble over me? How dumb would it be to let yourself over a stupid insignificant boy that I'll never think twice about?"
"Okay…okay," he mumbled. "I get it. I'm sorry, Jess."
"I meant it when I said I didn't need an apology," she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. A peace offering. "Please don't do it again."
"I'll try," he answered. He knew that was not what she wanted to hear, but it was the best he could offer.
"I'm sorry for what I said," she apologized, moving her hands to frame his face too. "I'm sorry for pretty much everything I said to you the last few days. I love you and you don't make me feel like property. I may have…"
"What?" he smiled.
"Overreacted," she rolled her eyes. "A little."
"I'm sorry too," he kissed her nose. "And you and I both know you're the best damn investment a bum like me will ever make."
"I hate fighting with you," she told him passionately.
"I love making up with you," he flirted. Right against her lips and waited to see what she would do.
When she whimpered and swallowed at his words, he backed her up until she was pinned against the wall. Then he latched on to her neck. "I missed this. I missed you," he hummed.
"We have a few hours," she moaned.
He kissed his way up to her ear. "Then I get to make up with you a few times."
"God…Jonny."
He moved back to her lips and lifted her up to wrap her legs around his waist. He walked slowly and kissed her the whole way. When he kneeled on the bed, she untangled herself from his waist and settled in the center against his pillows. He sat back between her legs and removed her shoes and socks. Then he ran his hands up her jean covered legs until he reached the waistband and skimmed his thumbs underneath, caressing her warm skin. Her breathing picked up. His eyes never left hers.
"Am I overwhelming you?" he teased.
She closed her eyes and arched into his touch. "In every conceivable way, baby. I need you."
Estella had been watching Jonny for twenty minutes. He had not said a word to her. He appeared very calm with his head leaning back against the driver's seat and his eyes peeled on the darkness in front of them. In fact, he appeared to relax more with each minute that passed. He would occasionally let his eyes drift to the side and rear view mirrors, the red dot on his computer screen or the clock on the dashboard. It was almost midnight.
She was feeling the exact opposite. With each minute that passed, her heart rate increased and she would look out the rear window and will Race to show up already.
They had driven into a state park and cut the engine at the edge of a path leading up. Estella could not tell how steep the incline. She could not see more than five feet in front of her face. It was pitch black all around them.
"Wait here." Estella jumped in her seat at the sound of his voice. She was not ready for whatever he had planned.
"Jonny, be reasonable. Roger…"
He turned and she froze at the look he gave her. "I told him I'd wait twenty minutes. It's been twenty one."
"Jon…"
He cut her off immediately. "Stop speaking and listen to me," he said firmly. "When Race gets here, tell him I went up that path. That I'm just scouting out the area and won't do anything else until he gets here. I'm putting my phone on silent so have him text me." She just stared at him with wide eyes. "Okay?" He wanted confirmation that she was listening. "Tell me you understand, Estella?"
"I understand."
"Keys are in the ignition. When I leave, slide over into the driver's seat. If anything comes down that path besides me, just drive and don't look back."
"Leave you?"
"Yes," he said simply.
"I'm not gonna leave you, Jonny."
"You will if anything comes down that path besides me," he repeated. "You promised to listen to me."
"No I didn't," she reminded him.
"You don't have to like me to trust me," he shot back. "I'll do anything to keep her safe. That extends to you because she loves you. You need to trust me."
"Okay," she whispered.
"I'll find my own way back, if needed. One more thing…" Estella watched as he reached into the back seat for a black bag and then produced a gun. "Do you know how to use this?"
She lifted her hands in front of her like a shield. "I don't want that."
"It's very straightforward," he told her and placed it in her lap. "Just aim and shoot."
"I…"
"Don't leave this car," he ordered and then he was gone. She saw him slip out the driver's side and around the front of the car. He paused at the edge of the path and pulled a second gun from under his shirt. She squinted and tried to keep her eyes on him, but it was not long before he was completely swallowed by the dark.
'Oh my god,' she thought. She was not sure what to do. So she did what Jonny told her and slid over into the driver's seat and waited. 'Come on, Roger.'
XXX
'Keep it together, Quest. She needs you. This is when it counts. You can do this. Trust your instincts. You know exactly what to do. Race taught you. You made him teach you so you could always protect her. Put your emotions aside. Man up. Do what he would do.'
Jonny climbed the path slowly as his mind ran enough laps to make him dizzy. Every five feet, he would stop and listen for anything out of the ordinary. The only thing he could hear was the wind whipping through the trees and his own heavy breathing. He could smell the after effects in the air of someone using a wood-burning fireplace, which always reminded him of his favorite thing to do in the winter. Most people close to him would assume his favorite winter activity was snowboarding and that is what he would tell anyone if asked, even Jessie. The truth was much simpler though. Jessie had always had a habit of sitting out on her balcony in the middle of winter whenever his dad started a fire in the den. She had been doing it as long as Jonny could remember. She would cuddle up under this thick wool blanket her grandmother had made for her. Jonny thought the blanket was hideous and uncomfortable, but Jessie loved sitting in the quiet and taking in the scent of burning wood with the blanket wrapped around her. Jonny used to think she was crazy. Funny how quick his opinion changed the first time she invited him to join her under that blanket.
The further he advanced up the hill, the more alive he felt. He was alert to everything around him and ready to act at a moment's notice. He had promised Jessie more than once that he would not follow in Race's footsteps. He intended to keep that promise, but could not ignore how much it appealed to him. How natural it felt.
'Want to join me under here, Hotshot?'
That felt more natural.
He stopped again when the hairs on the back of his neck stood. He listened. Still nothing, but he knew he was close.
'She's okay. She's okay,' he chanted to himself as he walked the last few feet. 'You would feel it if she wasn't. You would definitely know.'
The top of the hill opened into a small grassy clearing. About a quarter of a football field in size. Trees bordered the clearing on all sides. Jonny knew that walking into a space with no cover was dumb, especially when that space was surrounded by places to hide. But every instinct told him he was alone.
Jonny closed his eyes and immediately saw her face.
'I love you.'
He had not felt his phone vibrate, but double checked it anyway to see if he had missed a message from Race. He did not. Then he stepped into the clearing. His finger on the trigger. He decided to go right and circle around the edge of the clearing. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the moon gave off just enough light to see a few feet in front of him. The noise his shoes made as he trekked across the slightly overgrown grass sounded like alarm bells in his head.
He was halfway around the clearing when he saw it. About six feet in front of him. The sole of a bare foot covered by some brush. He stopped in his tracks like he had just hit an invisible wall.
"No. No," he could feel himself shaking his head. Trying to convince himself that he was seeing something else. Anything else. He made a distressed sound that he did not recognize. It took all the energy in his body to move another step forward.
When he saw red hair, he dropped the gun and fell to his knees. All the blood rushed out of his face. All the fight left his body. He did not feel in control of his limbs and his head felt like it weighed fifty pounds. Jonny stared at her for a moment. Then a cry erupted through his lips. A cry that for all the world signaled that his heart had just been ripped out of his chest.
XXX
"RACE," Phil yelled. He had just plowed through another red light.
"Don't tell me not to kill us again or I will kick you out of this moving car," Race seethed.
"Calm down," Phil tried. "Jonny said he'd wait."
"No he didn't, Phil."
"I heard him…"
"Trust me, he didn't. How close are we?"
"Make the next right on Heckscher Drive. Then you'll see the entrance to Fort George Park," Phil directed. "Call him back if you're worried."
"I don't know what situation he's in. I can't risk the noise."
"I think he knows enough to put his damn phone on silent."
"He's not thinking straight, Phil."
Less than a minute later, Race pulled up behind Jonny's car and saw Estella rushing toward him.
She was on him the moment he was out of the car. "Thank god," she mumbled into his chest.
Race pushed her back gently and took the gun she held nervously in her hand. He caressed her cheek so quickly she almost missed it. "Where is he, Stel?"
Estella pointed toward the path. "He went up…"
Jonny's heart wrenching scream froze them all in their tracks.
With just a look, Race told Phil what he wanted. Race took off at a sprint up the path and Phil had his arms around Estella, preventing her from following, before she could move.
XXX
Jonny managed to stumble, mostly crawl, to her side. Somehow. She was face down and covered by a brown blanket. Her hair was wet and matted and all over the place. "Baby," he choked out. "No, no, no," he ran his hands over her back frantically and tried to shake her awake, but she was unresponsive. "Don't…don't do this to me," he begged. "You can't leave me like this, baby …hmm. Please wake up," he turned her over desperately and pushed the hair from her face. "Oh my God." His heart contracted painfully. Then he pulled his hand back shakily and fell to the ground again beside her. His head between his knees, trying to catch a breath.
"JONNY."
Jonny lifted his head and saw Race barreling toward them. It took him a few tries to find his voice. "It's not her," he said quietly, but he could tell Race did not hear him. Race's attention was completely focused on the girl. "It's not her," Jonny said louder.
Race heard him, but still pushed Jonny out of the way to verify it for himself.
"Jesus Christ," Race whispered as he surveyed the situation. He was still trying to catch his bearings when he heard Estella approaching.
"Roger…"
"It's not her, Sweetheart." Race rushed to intercept Estella before she could reach the body. He did not want her to see it. She was panicked and trying to push by him so he wrapped his hands around her face and forced her to meet his gaze. "Sweetheart, look at me. Listen to me. It's not her. She's fine. She'll be fine. It's okay."
The sound of Jonny heaving a few feet away distracted her. She tore away from Race's grasp and ran over to him. He was bent over trying to expel food from his stomach that was not there.
"Are you alright?" she whispered, rubbing his back. "You need to eat something."
Jonny stepped out of her reach. His mind was racing again. It was like someone clicked play after being on pause. He looked right at Race as if they were the only ones there. "Do you recognize her?"
"No."
"Do you think she's one of the girls from Georgia?"
"I don't know, but Hadj and your dad have the reports. Hold on."
"Put it on speaker," Jonny urged.
Estella walked up to them. "What are you doing? We need to call the police."
"Sweetheart, please give us a minute?" Race asked as the phone rang.
It was Benton's voice on the other end of the line. "Race, did you find her? Is she alright?"
"We didn't find her," Race cleared his throat.
"Jonny…"
"I'm here, Pop. Can you send us photos from the Atlanta reports?"
"Yes, of course. Hadji will send them now. Jonny, are you alright?"
Jonny could not bring himself to answer. He walked back over to the girl and crouched down beside her. He caught bits and pieces of the rest of the call. Race and Phil were sharing information and giving orders.
"There's definitely a connection…"
"They could be sisters…"
"She's wearing Jess' earrings…"
"Focus in on this area. See what you can pick up…"
"I need to contact the local police…"
Jonny listened half-heartedly, but he could not take his eyes off her face. He knew he should not touch her again, but he wanted so badly to pick her up off the cold ground. She was beautiful. She had a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. He had not noticed it before. He thought about her family. He wondered if there was someone out there that loved her the way he loved Jessie. He wanted to cry for her, but knew he needed to stay strong now more than ever.
"I'm so sorry I didn't get to you in time," he whispered to her. Then he grabbed her hand and held it firmly. "You're not alone. You didn't deserve this. I will find who did this to you. I'm so…"
"Jonny," Estella crouched down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your fault."
"Leave me alone," he rolled his shoulder until her hand dropped away.
"No," Estella smiled sadly. "And we've already established I'm too stubborn to listen when I'm told not to do something." Estella was confident that her daughter would not want him left alone. She kept that thought to herself.
Jonny closed his eyes. He needed to see her face and it was there right on cue. Warm and alive. That smile he knew was only for him. "I won't give up on you," he whispered to himself. "I won't give up on us. I can't lose you. You own my heart, Ace."
"Jonny…"
"It'll help me find you, baby. God…I love you. I love you."
Estella stared at him wide-eyed. It was like he just came into focus for the first time. She felt something inside her shift.
XXX
Jessie woke up with a start. She rolled over onto her side and her first thought was how sore she felt. All of her muscles were screaming. Her head was pounding and she was struggling to open her eyes or take a deep breath. She tried to sit up and felt pressure against her shoulder pushing her back down.
"Easy," she heard, but could not place the voice. "Take it easy."
"What's going on?" Jessie asked in a scratchy voice. Her throat hurt. She brought a hand up to rub her glands and then sat up anyway. "What's going on?" she asked again. More groggily this time. "Who are you?"
"I'm Brenda," the voice announced. It was very shaky. "I'm a nursing student. You really should take it easy. You're coming down from a lot of drugs."
"How do you know?" Jessie groaned.
"Because he did the same thing to me," Brenda cried.
The raw fear in Brenda's voice hurdled Jessie into the present. She whipped her head around to take in her surroundings.
'Oh. Bad idea.' She closed her eyes tightly and applied pressure to her temples to manage the pain. 'Just breathe,' she told herself and then opened her eyes slowly to scan the room again. She did not know where she was, but it looked like some kind of cellar. Brenda was in front of her, tears rolling down her face in a steady stream. To her right, there was another girl out cold on the ground.
"Who's that?" Jessie asked.
"I'm not sure," Brenda shook her head. "She hasn't woken up yet."
The three of them were trapped behind steel bars. Jessie estimated the cell was about twelve by six feet. Then she looked to her left. There was a fourth girl outside of the cell. She was laid out, completely bare and strapped down to what looked like a hospital bed in the middle of the room. She was sobbing loudly.
"That's Lisa," Brenda offered.
Jessie struggled to her knees and checked her pockets to see if she had anything in her pockets they could use.
Brenda grabbed Jessie's shoulders when she saw her struggling. "I was serious about going slow."
"I don't think…we have that luxury," Jessie said slowly. "Why can't…I catch my breath."
"Side effect of the drugs."
"Fuck the drugs," Jessie growled. "Is there anything in your pockets?" she asked and at the same time crawled over to the unconscious girl next to them and checked her pockets too. "Damnit." She felt like she was in a dream, moving three times slower than intended.
"No. I have nothing," Brenda swallowed.
"We have to try and pick this lock," Jessie said to herself. She could tell that Brenda was scared and would not be much help, but she was having so much trouble focusing herself. "Do you have anything I can use? Belt, hair pin, jewelry…my earrings," she suddenly realized and her fingers reached up to pinch her ears. "Where are my earrings?"
"Lena…I saw him put earrings on Lena a few hours ago," Brenda choked out. "They could have been yours. He put all of our jewelry on that table over there and then went through it and put some of it on Lena."
"Who's Lena?" Jessie panted and then rested her eyes while waiting for an answer.
They both started crying harder when she asked.
"Shit," Jessie sighed. "You need to tell me."
"He killed her…HE KILLED HER," Brenda screamed.
"Calm down," Jessie told her.
"Don't tell me to calm down," Brenda shot back. "I just watched him…"
"What?" Jessie insisted. "Never mind…it doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter?" Brenda asked in disbelief.
"It matters," Jessie apologized. "Just not right now. Please stop crying. I need to think so I can get us out of here."
"You can get us out of here?" Lisa sobbed. It was the first time Jessie had heard her talk. "He's gonna kill me when he comes back. Please," she begged.
"I'm…hmm." Jessie had to close her eyes again. She felt like she was going to throw up. "Who is he?"
"I don't know," Brenda shook her head.
"How long has he been gone?" Jessie asked.
"Only a few minutes."
"Did he give any indication of how long he'd be gone?"
"No. At least an hour the other two times he left, but…"
"But what?" Jessie pushed her.
"He didn't leave with a body before," she choked out. "He killed her right in front of us. She was screaming and…"
"How long have I been here?" Jessie cut her off.
"At least twelve hours, but there's no clock down here," Brenda told her in a hollow voice.
"We'll be fine," Jessie told them. It was getting harder to talk. Her breathing was labored, but she had to get this out. "We'll be fine. All of us. My earrings have GPS. The concrete down here must have blocked the signal, but now those earrings are above ground." Jessie tried not to think about the fact that they were on a dead girl. A dead girl that looked just like her if these other girls were any indication. "They will find it…Jesus."
"What?" Brenda sniffed.
"Nothing," Jessie forced a smile, but suddenly all she could imagine was Jonny or her father finding that body and thinking it was her. "They will find that signal and it'll lead them right to us," she assured.
"Who is they? The cops?"
"No," Jessie licked her lips. Her mouth was incredibly dry. "My father and my boyfriend. They will find us. Trust me. One or both of them is going to walk through that door and get us out of here unless I can find another way out first. I promise you guys."
"How do you know?" Brenda asked. "This guy…I think he's been doing this awhile," she cried.
"This asshole hasn't met my family," Jessie said firmly.