5
Olivia jolted and squeezed the vibrating and dinging device in her right palm, her eyes still closed. She opened them slowly, blinking a few times, and then looked down at the weight on top of her, the sheets completely off of her body. Theo was off to her right side, near the edge, on his back, mouth open, arms out, knees bent, feet together, and Grace was on her right side, huddled into her, little right leg hiked over her brunette mother's right thigh, while Isabel had somehow turned all the way upside down, her head resting on Olivia's ankles, on her left.
The brunette looked down at her white camisole and gray leggings as she yawned again, not realizing that her mind felt groggy, exhausted, and she knew she hadn't slept well. But at least she had slept.
Olivia smiled at her children, all breathing heavily, all in such a deep, contented sleep.
She yawned as she lifted her cell phone and looked at the screen, pressing the home button and seeing that she had a new text message from Fin saying GM. It was only 7:02 a.m. and she knew that if he was contacting her this early, they might have something.
She typed in a return message, simply saying GM. Anything? and then switched her phone to her left hand and set it on the empty space to the left of her head.
She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked back to her right and watched as Theo opened his eyes and stretched, eyes scrunched as he let out a high-pitched squeak and Olivia smiled again as his blue eyes looked at her, smiling,
"Hey, Baby. Good morning," Olivia said softly as she reached her hand out.
Theo moved closer before moving up near the brunette's upper chest and cuddling into her shoulder as best as he could, trying to take up any space that Grace wasn't occupying. She wrapped her arm around him and kissed his forehead.
"How are you, my boy?" Olivia began to stroke his hair.
Theo nodded against her and she could hear him beginning to breathe deeply once more, his warm breath on her upper bicep, realizing he was falling back to sleep. Her cell phone pinged and vibrated again and she reached over and lifted it, maneuvering it with one hand to read it.
Nothing yet. I'll keep you posted.
Olivia placed the phone on her mid belly and looked up at the ceiling, the fan on low. She wanted to get up. She wanted to be ready to go in to work. She needed to tell Jonathan and Casey something.
She needed to tell Cathy and Bill Cabot something. Eventually.
Olivia thought about having to share the current situation with Alex's family. She knew that Jonathan would be upset and Casey, as well. But they would be level-headed about it. Rational. Hopeful.
But the elder Cabots, on the other hand—especially Cathy—would be more than hysterical. When it came to overreacting, Mrs. Cabot was one of the best, and having to share the news that her only daughter was missing wasn't something she was looking forward to.
She lifted her upper body, Theo stirring and sitting up slightly before she encouraged him to lay back down.
"Go back to sleep, sweet boy," she whispered before leaning over and kissing his cheek. She easily lifted Grace from her body and their little girl returned to slumber, as well. Olivia climbed over Isabel and then stood, moving to grab her robe from the foot bench and placing it on and tying it.
She folded her arms and watched their children again, so peaceful, and she felt her eyes begin to water, hoping and praying that today would be the day that her wife came back home and all would be normal once more.
Alex's eyes fluttered against the golden glow of sunlight on her left, peeking in through the mini-blinds. Her eyelids flickered briefly before closing again.
Theo was crying. Harder than she had ever witnessed. His face was bright red, a vein in his forehead bulging, tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't say anything, just wailed a high-pitched, inconsolable cry as he looked at her.
His image began moving away then, in slow motion, and she saw that he was reaching out to her. She held her hands out to try and take his, but suddenly noticed that she had knives for hands, instead, and she pulled them back immediately.
Then, coming into view as her son's image continued to sail backward, her girls, their faces showing the same distress—terror and pain and upset like she had never seen in either of them. A warm, prickly heat ran along her body and filled her with dread as she felt her mentality break down and she began to sob.
She gasped and her eyes popped open as she felt a warmth below her now, seeping along her backside and she felt her face contort with humiliation and she cried once more—for Liv, whom she knew was going crazy trying to find her, for her children who were too young to comprehend any of this, and for the possibility that she wouldn't make it out of this apartment alive.
"Is Mommy coming back soon?" Isabel questioned, spooning toasted oat cereal and sliced bananas into her mouth.
Olivia cradled her hands around her blue mug of steaming coffee as she looked at Isabel, then Theo, then Grace, and then back at Isabel. "She's coming home, my love. Soon."
"Did those men we met take her? Where did they go?" Theo asked, picking up a slice of banana from his bowl and taking a bite.
"I don't know, Theo," Olivia whispered, feeling her eyes fill with tears. "That's what Uncle Fin and Mama's squad are trying to figure out." Olivia took a sip of coffee.
"Mommy was scared, Mama," Grace added. "And I was scared, too. Her hand was all wet and it was shaking." Grace lifted her spoon, scooting a piece of banana onto it with her left forefinger.
"I know you were, Baby. I know you all were." Olivia felt a lump in her throat as she thought of Alex.
Her wife must have been overcome with fear, knowing that their kids might be in danger, and the things the two men said to her must have had her believing the worst.
And now, she had to tell the kids that she had to go back in to work and she knew they wouldn't be happy.
"Uh...guys…" She cleared her throat.
They all looked at her, chewing, milk dripping.
"Mama has to go into work for a little while today."
Immediately, whining, complaining, high-pitched disagreement was heard amongst the three of them.
"Why, Mama?" Grace's brow was furrowed.
"Yeah, Mama. Stay home today…" Isabel offered.
Theo only looked at her, tears filling his eyes.
Olivia immediately became emotional. His face said it all, and it killed her.
"I have to go in, babies, because I have to help them so we can bring your Mommy home."
"So they did take her?" Theo said softly, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Olivia nodded quickly, grabbing a paper napkin from her right and bringing it to her nose.
She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling before letting it out.
"Those were very bad men. I knew it!" Isabel scowled.
"And they have Mommy?" Grace's soft voice questioned. "Why?"
And Olivia didn't know what to say. Why did they have her? In a child's mind, that was a good question. In an adult's mind, the possibilities of the answers were endless.
Olivia only whispered, "I don't know, Baby." She then drew her lips inward and watched Theo stand slowly, his eyes on her as he walked up to her. He placed both hands on the brunette's forearm gently.
"Mama has to go fight the bad guys. Right, Mama?" He smiled.
Olivia swallowed, her eyes filling with even more tears. "That's right, Theo. That's what Mama does."
"So we have to let her, and she's gonna bring Mommy back…" Theo rested his cheek on Olivia's shoulder then, "…and then we'll have both our mommies." He looked up at her. "Right?"
Olivia felt her brow knit with emotion, her mouth twist. "Yes, Baby. I'm gonna bring Mommy back." She kissed his forehead gently, her mouth quavering.
And then the girls were next to her, giving her love, too.
And she closed her eyes and asked, once again, for help on this case, and to have her wife back in the house, back in her arms, and back in their lives once more.
"The bitch peed the bed!" Armando yelled from where he was standing to her left.
Heavy footsteps, Raul approaching. He leaned over and sniffed and then stood erect, beginning to laugh. He shook his head then. "Disgusting, bitch."
Alex felt the lump form in her throat, her tears beginning. The last thing she was going to do was show weakness and asking to use the restroom was one of them. And so she knew, eventually, this would happen. The nightmare she had just awoken from was what had most likely triggered it. She was almost certain that what she just expelled was probably the last of the liquid inside of her body, though. Almost positive she wouldn't have to go again before this whole thing was over—either rescued or taken out rolled in a rug and then thrown in the woods somewhere. Over the past hours she had been there, these were just two of the numerous scenarios that ran through her head constantly.
"Do we clean it?" Armando questioned.
Raul smiled. "Nah, she did it. She can sit in her own piss. I don't give a shit." He waved his hand as he walked away.
Armando headed to the door. "I'm out. Later."
"Later," Raul replied.
The shorter brother opened the door, exited, and closed it behind him.
Alex clenched her jaw as she looked back up at the ceiling, willing herself not to bawl. But at this point she felt hopeless, pathetic, and lost. There was someone constantly around and there was never any chance to try and be alone and work something out and, at this point, her entire backside had become numb. She had never been this still for this long before and she felt the atrophy. But now it was her entire back and neck that had become excruciating to the blonde.
Already having been subjected to hereditary back issues and having experienced spasms and cramps at various points in her life largely due to stress, she knew what minor pain felt like now because this pain was not minor in the least.
And at this point, it was worse than labor.
And once one of those spasms would get a hold, she could actually feel it mini-vibrate as the pain ran along her muscle.
And that was when she would sob.
And remember.
And think about death.
And think about her wife and kids.
Alex clenched her eyes closed tightly then and moaned, jerking her body in her restraints as a shooting pain ran across her shoulder blades, taking the breath out of her.
It finally subsided and she gasped and opened her eyes, panting heavily from the intense sensation.
Then, Raul was standing there again, above her, bottle of water in hand. Alex eyed the bottle and then looked back at him.
He held it up. "You want this?"
Alex looked back up, steeling her jaw. "No. I don't."
"You don't?" He knelt down then, his face to her left.
"Why the hell should I say yes? I say yes, and then you don't give me any." She looked at him now. "Isn't that your plan?"
He smiled. "Damn! Lawyers are so smart!" He stood again. "Well, I'm gonna give you some, whether you like it or not…" He unscrewed the cap and held it over her mouth, about two feet above her, still smiling. "Ready?"
She only looked at him.
He tilted the bottle and then moved his hand about to inches upward, beginning to let it trickle out.
The water entered her nose, a little in her mouth, most of it on her eyes and forehead as Alex began to cough and sputter, the whole action a torture tactic strictly for his pleasure.
He crushed the empty bottle with his right hand then and tossed it aside before coming close. "I told you, Ms. Cabot. I want you to suffer…" he hissed, the dark anger on his face terrifying.
Rosa came into the room then from the bedroom.
"Watch her, huh? I'm going to run an errand." Raul grabbed his keys and cell phone off of the kitchen table before looking at Rosa. He smiled at her and walked up to her and wrapped his left arm around her before reaching down to her crotch with his right hand and squeezing hard, lifting upward.
Rosa gasped, her face full of fear, her chin raising in defiance.
"Maybe we'll do it in front of her next time."
Rosa's eyes began to water. "Please, Raul. You said you wouldn't—"
"Yeah, I know what I said. But damn, Baby…" he looked her breasts over then, "…my brother is right. You're a good lay."
Rosa's lower lip trembled then. "I'll tell him…I'll tell him what you did to me."
Raul grabbed her chin then, squeezing, Rosa crying harder. "Will you?" He squeezed harder and shook her face. "Then you can count yourself good and dead if you do, Rosa. A few good screws isn't worth your life, is it?"
"But I didn't…"
"You didn't want it?" he sneered. "Dressing like you do?" He smiled. "Looking at me like you do?"
"I never—"
"Shut up!" he shook her head violently again. "As long as you're my brother's girl, your mine, too. Whether you like it or not. Comprende?"
Rosa nodded quickly, tears streaming down her face then.
He let her go and smirked as he walked to the door and opened it. "Watch her." He pointed at Alex. "Don't let anything go wrong." He raised his eyebrows, turned and headed out the door.
Rosa released a breath then, beginning to cry harder, her face in her hands. Alex only watched as she moved into the kitchen and put her back to her, continuing to cry.
Alex cleared her throat and blinked away some of the water from her eyes. "Rosa?"
No answer.
Alex waited a few more seconds, still watching her, and then Rosa finally turned around and folded her arms.
"My wife is a detective with Special Victim's Unit, Rosa. She can help you. She can help you find a way out." Alex knew to tread lightly. In all of her experience and Olivia's experience, she knew that one wrong word could cause a situation to go either way.
Rosa walked closer, slowly, her expression morose, yet hesitant.
"She helps women all the time. And I've also represented women for so many years that have gone through what you're going through. My wife works with the NYPD and she has put countless rapists and abusers away…for life…"
Rosa sniffed and took two more steps closer, her eyes still on Alex.
"She can help you…" Alex offered.
Rosa smiled then. "And I'll call her and you'll be rescued? And I'll go to jail and so will Armando and Raul and Pedro?"
"You haven't done anything wrong, Rosa. You're a victim, too." Alex tried to remain calm but saw Rosa's demeanor begin to change. "But that's up to you…"
Rosa's nostrils flared then and she spat, "Damn right it's up to me. I hate it when rich white people try and help the minorities. Makes me sick! You have had it so easy all your life and then you wanna help people to make yourself feel better?" She raised her eyebrows.
This hadn't gone the way Alex had hoped. At all. She only wanted to try and connect with the young woman on a different level now that the men were gone. But it seemed she wouldn't be biting, at all.
She felt her eyes fill with tears again and she felt the frustration rise inside of her and she jerked her body once more, the sound of the metal-frame clanging from her movement. She felt her face contort then and her lips tremble as she stared back up.
"Please," she whispered, looking back at Rosa. "Please don't let me dehydrate to death…" Her voice was shaky, almost unrecognizable. "I can't die like that…" she begged.
Rosa's expression stilled, almost as if this might have affected her. Then she lifted her hand, bracelet bangles clinging, and brought it down with force, and Alex's vision became dark once more.
Olivia pressed her face to the softness and inhaled her wife's pillows, closing her eyes and smelling her shampoo, her perfume, her scent, feeling the love enter her as she did so. She placed them back on Alex's side against the headboard and fluffed them before spotting black and white squares out of the corner of her eye on the blonde's night stand.
She turned fully now and saw, beneath the lamp, half of it sticking out, a mostly completed New York Times Crossword puzzle, a pencil lying on top. She carefully lifted the base of the lamp and pulled it out, looking at it, her fingers trembling as she held it. There was Alex's brushy handwriting. Even on a crossword puzzle it was elaborate, feminine, and determined.
She brought the paper to her nose and inhaled, only smelling the ink from the newspaper, tears filling her eyes. Pulling it away, she looked at the only clue that hadn't been solved: Number 49 down: To save someone. Six letters.
Olivia felt her mouth twist then and she whispered, "Rescue."
And she had a sudden boost, a sudden renewing of hope, in that one sign, in that one clue. She fluffed the pillows on her own side, moved to the door and turned the light off, and headed down the hallway to make sure the kids were getting ready for the day.
"How long, Olivia?" Jonathan's voice was calm, yet frantic.
She knew she needed to call Alex's brother to let him know what was going on, and she also needed someone to watch the kids. She hadn't been looking forward to telling any of the Cabots, but it was now time to let, at least, Jonathan know.
"Uh…" Olivia took a deep breath then, "…since yesterday, around eleven…" She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, leaning forward with her elbows on the kitchen table.
She had already changed for the day into a pair of black jeans, a black silk blouse, and a gray blazer, and the kids were all on the sofa watching Tom and Jerry as she made some last minute arrangements at the kitchen table.
"Since eleven?" His voice level rose. "Yesterday morning?"
She had never heard him raise his tone before, but this was his sister they were talking about.
"Sorry," he offered. "Since eleven, so…about twenty-one and a half hours? How…what happened?"
"A previous case from thirteen years ago. Do you remember the name Zapata?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do, Olivia. I remember it really well, actually. Allie talked about it a lot."
"That's the one. We think it's a revenge abduction." Olivia placed her right hand on the back of her neck, trying to rub the tension away.
"I can't believe my sister is missing…" His voice shook.
Olivia nodded. "Yeah…so I need to go in to work and she's…she's not here…" Olivia felt that same intrusion in her throat again, causing the unsteadiness in her voice, her words to not come out right, "…so I need…"
"I'll be over to watch the kids. Give me ten minutes. I have to work at one, but Casey can watch them after that."
Olivia nodded again. "Thanks, Jonathan," she whispered.
"You got it. And Olivia…"
"Yeah, Jonathan?"
"Find my sister." A few seconds passed and he took a deep shaky breath. "Please…"
"We'll find her, Jonathan. We have to." Olivia's lower lip trembled as she ended the call.
And just as she set her phone down on the table, it rang again, she turned it and saw Fin's name.
She answered. "I'll be on my way as soon as Jonath—"
"We got the blood sample back, Liv…"
Olivia froze, her eyes focused on the shiny, green apples in the wire bowl in the center of the table.
"It's Alex's, Liv…"
