Chapter 8-Where Are They?

Sorry again for the delay in updating this-but inspiration has hit again, somewhat, at least.

Thanks to Jaelle17 for kind reviews & encouragement. :)

The brandy glass rattled on the countertop as Robert put it down with a shaking hand. Mickey wasn't sure if his hand was shaking due to anger or fear, or both. He knew McCall, perhaps against his better judgment, had developed an attachment to the kid.

And so, judging by his taut, pained expression, had Scott.

'It wasn't your fault.' It seemed to be the umpteenth time Jefferson, leaning against McCall's kitchen sink, had said that-and it seemed to offer Robert less comfort every time he did.

'Your habit of repeating yourself is becoming quite tiresome, Jefferson.' Robert snapped. 'And how can you possibly say this wasn't my fault? I let Nicole go off by herself, for God's sake!'

When Nicole hadn't returned, Robert and Jefferson had gone into Bobby's store to look for her, where he, wary at first, had told them that Nicole had left only minutes ago. Bobby had noticed quickly how distraught the older English guy had looked, and he figured out fairly quickly that this was the man who had helped Nicki out. So he'd taken his phone number, realizing that unlike the other guy, this well-spoken English dude wasn't a cop, and promised to keep his eyes and ears open, that if he heard anything, he'd let him know.

'I have connections.' Bobby had told him. 'I can help, long as you don't ask where my connections come from.'

That was over three hours ago-there had been neither sight nor sound of Nicole since.

'Come on, McCall.' It was Mickey's turn to try to appease his friend. 'You couldn't have known this would happen.'

'But I should have!' Robert rounded on Kostmayer, trembling with both pain and fury, Mickey could see now. 'I'm supposed to be prepared for any situation, and now, that poor child is God knows where, going through God knows what, and it is my fault. Mine.'

The last word was barely a whisper, as McCall seemed to visibly dwindle in front of their eyes, and he started when Mickey laid a hand on his shoulder.

'We'll find her, McCall.' He promised, his voice quiet, but firm. 'Whatever happens, we'll find her.'

Scott also wanted to comfort his father, though he was also feeling angry and helpless. He knew he was being selfish, thinking of his own feelings at a time like this, but he had, in all honesty, been affected by Nicole almost instantly, and he didn't care what his dad thought-he at least wanted a chance to ask her out...

/

'I met David about three years ago.' Amy was telling Nicole, meanwhile. 'He turned up at one of my local exhibitions, and just...swept me off my feet. He was handsome, sweet, charming-I couldn't believe my luck.'

'When did you figure out he was nuts?' Nicole asked bluntly, and Amy actually smiled slightly.

'About a year into our relationship.' She replied. 'We'd got engaged, and everything seemed okay, when all of a sudden, he just became so controlling. And wouldn't let me spend any money. Then I found out he knew about my inheritance, that he'd somehow always known. It was why he sought me out. So, not only was my so-called 'dream man' unhinged, he was only ever after my money.'

'What did you do?' Nicole enquired, and she answered, 'I dumped him. Of course, he was furious that I'd seen through him, finally, that I'd found him out. He threatened all kinds of terrible things, but the police got involved and he backed off. I thought after all this time, he was gone for good. But I was wrong.'

Tears welling up, she clasped Nicole's hand and added chokingly, 'Nicki, I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in my mess. I don't know how to get us out of this.' A pause, and then she asked, 'David mentioned a gentleman friend-has someone been helping you look for me?'

'You know the ad in the paper?' Nicole responded. The one that says, 'Got a problem? Odds against you?''

'The Equalizer!' He exclaimed. 'I've seen the ad-you hired him?'

'His name's Robert McCall.' Nicole told her. 'And he helped me once before, Amy-I know he's looking for us right now. Do you know where we are?'

'Right underneath The Gallery.' Was Amy's astonishing reply, and Nicole gaped at her. ' I don't know what this basement was used for, but David knew about it. The Gallery's been shut for the last couple days, as you probably know, because of my absence I presume, and now that you're missing, too As soon as the place closed, David brought me down here. When it was dark, of course-he didn't want to risk us being seen. The fact that he brought you here during the day proves his mind is slipping again.'

'Haven't you tried screaming for help?' Nicole asked, once she'd absorbed Amy's words, and her friend and mentor replied, 'Of course I did-but either there's nobody around to hear, or this room is soundproofed. I screamed until I was hoarse-it did no good.'

Nicole got to her feet, face set in determination. 'Well, I don't know about you,' she said firmly. 'But I've survived too much to let myself get killed by some maniac. We need to figure out how to get the Hell out of here.'...

Next: The penultimate chapter. Robert and Mickey show up at The Gallery-will they find Nicole and Amy, or will David get there first?