Chapter 17

Alicia looked out the window every few seconds. They were leaving Salem. 'Where was Vito taking her?' Alicia looked over at Vito who was staring straight ahead. She looked back at the door and thought about jumping out. They were speeding down the highway. She reached out for the door handle.

"Don't even think about it." Vito aimed his gun into her gut. "You try to jump out and it'll be the last thing you do." Vito kept his eyes on the road holding the gun on Alicia as they drove on. "Stefano is going to be happy that you're back."

Alicia felt sick to her stomach. She wondered how she'd get out of this one. She saw her chance when Vito swerved to avoid an oncoming car driving erratically towards them. He waved his hand with the gun in it at the driver yelling obscenities at him. Alicia grabbed the wheel and swerved the car into an embankment crashing them into a tree. Vito's head hit the steering wheel, knocking him out temporarily. Alicia hopped out of the car and ran off as quickly as she could.

"Hey miss!" A man called out to her. He was running towards the crash scene. "Would you like me to call for some help? I saw the car crash. Is anyone hurt?" Alicia neared the man cautiously wondering whether or not to trust him. "I think the driver is, but I'm not sure. You can call my dad he's the Salem police commissioner. The man driving the vehicle …." Alicia felt the cold steel of a gun against her back.

Vito held her good arm and pulled her against him. "Ha ha, Alicia. You didn't think you'd get away from me that easily, now did you?" Vito hissed into her ear. Tell the nice man everything is okay."

"Look! He's fine. Don't bother calling my dad. He'll just worry for nothing." Alicia tried to cover.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" The man looked back and forth from Vito to Alicia. "I can still call your dad for you. Sir you might want to see a doctor. Looks like quite a bump on your head."

"No that won't be necessary." Vito leered at the man.

"Don't mind him. He's a tough guy. This is my good friend Vi..inny." Alicia stuttered when Vito pushed the gun hard into her back. "We're fine. Thanks." Alicia watched as the man turned around and walked back to his car leaving her to deal with Vito.

"Now that we got that settled, looks like you need to be punished. You've been a bad girl tonight." Vito pushed Alicia into the woods and shoved her to the ground. He straddled her pushing her back farther against the muddy ground. Her nightwear was thin; the mud soaking into her. She shivered from the cold. Vito crushed her lips with a kiss. He reached down and lifted her shirt feeling her skin with his hand.

Alicia cried out trying to get him to stop. She wished the man hadn't left so easily. Maybe he would still call her father and get her some help. She tried pushing at Vito, but he was too strong for her. He was suddenly lifted off her. She looked up to see her worst nightmare. "Stefano." Alicia froze. "NO!" Stefano towered over her as she still lay on the cold muddy ground.

"My dear sweet Alicia. You disappoint me. My prized pupil and you can't even defend yourself against this." Stefano shoved Vito away. "You imbecile! What the hell were you thinking?" Stefano rounded on Vito bringing his hand up swiftly to knock Vito in the head.

Alicia watched as Stefano hit Vito a second time. His back was turned to her. She rose up from the ground and ran as fast as she could trying to get as far away from them as she could.

……

"BO? Is there any news?" Hope asked him before he even had time to walk in the front door. "I've called the family. They're all out looking for Alicia too." Hope helped Bo with his jacket. "So?"

"We haven't found her yet. I've got all my men out looking for her. We'll find her." Bo pulled Hope close holding her tightly in his embrace. Her face was ashen with worry. He wished there was more he could do for her. "Did you find someone to watch Ciara?" he asked.

"Aunt Maggie's on her way now. Bo? Do you think Stefano is behind his?" She asked.

"No doubt in my mind. As soon as Maggie gets here we'll go look for her together." Bo held her close rubbing her back. Bo's cell rang. "Hello?" He asked. "Yes, this is Commissioner Brady. What can I do for you?"

"I just witnessed a crash on the highway. A young girl was in it. She said she's your daughter. She and the man she was with are doing fine… or at least that's what they said."

"Where.."

"She told me to call you at first, but when the guy came up behind her, she had a different story to tell. Said he was a tough guy named Vinny. I think that's what she called him." He didn't let Bo speak, just kept rattling on. "Anyway she told me not to bother you with a call that you'd be worried about her. Something didn't fit right with the picture though. He didn't seem like he was her friend at all. So I thought to myself, I should try and reach her father. Maybe she's alright and she'll be mad for me calling you, but maybe she isn't."

"Sir if I could just…" Bo tried to get some information from the guy.

"Didn't look right. He's so much older than her, not that that matters nowadays. But he was bleeding from the head. Had a big bump, probably from the crash. Your daughter looked fine though. Hardly a scratch on her. She's a cutie that one. Might want to keep an eye on her. She wasn't really dressed for the outdoors neither if you know what I mean. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think they had a little something going on. As I was driving away, I noticed the two of them going at it down in the mud, if you catch my drift."

"Sir! Could you please stop talking long enough to answer some questions?" Bo yelled into the phone. "Where did you witness this crash? Did you call it in to the state troopers?"

"I called first thing so they could check it out. I'm not a dummy. How do you think I got your number?"

"Where was the crash?" Bo asked again. He was getting aggravated with the conversation and wanted to know where his daughter was.

"It was about a mile out of Salem, heading north on I-80."

"Thanks." Bo hung up on him without saying bye. "I have an idea where Alicia might be." Bo said looking at Hope's worried face. Maggie came in just in the nick of time. "Hey Maggie. Thanks for coming. We just got a lead on Alicia." Bo and Hope left to find their daughter.

……

Bo was speeding down the highway trying to get information from the state troopers on his cell. "Was there any sign of her? How about the guy? He's six-foot-one, goes about 220, hazel eyes, and black hair. Nothing fitting that description? Have you searched the whole area?" Bo glanced over at Hope trying to give her details of the phone conversation. "What about the car? Is there anything in it we can use to go on?"

"Bo? Did they find her?" Hope asked him.

"No. They're still combing the area for clues. They haven't found anything yet."

"Where could they have gone to? It's a highway surrounded by woods. There isn't a house around for miles." Hope looked frantically along the side of the road. She stared until her eyes watered trying to catch a glimpse of movement. What if Vito had hurt her again. Bo gave her the details of the conversation the witness to the crash had told him. Vito must have tried to rape Alicia again. When would he be caught and stopped for good?

"Yeah. I'm coming around the bend now. I see the cruisers." Bo interrupted Hope's thoughts. He pulled the car over to the side and jumped out to talk to the state trooper. "What do you have for me?" Bo asked him.

"Not much sir. We have a few shredded pieces of clothing, some footprints over here, and traces of blood on the steering wheel which we already knew the perp had hit his head."

"Damn. Let me see the pieces of clothing." Bo reached out to take the evidence bag from the trooper. "This is Alicia's. Where did you find it?" Bo asked.

"Some here by this tree. Looks like there was a struggle. The witness claimed they were fooling around here." The trooper could tell Bo wasn't pleased with the description. "I don't see that as the case. Not when we have ripped clothing found in several areas along the highway."

"What" Bo thought it was contained to the one area. If they found clothing along the highway, it means she was trying to escape. "Where else did you find the clothes? I want to see." The trooper led Bo to all the areas the pieces of clothing had been found. "Were there anymore signs of a struggle?" He asked him.

"We found two more areas that look as though a struggle took place. Over here as you can see; looks like someone was dragged." Bo's heart sunk. What the hell did that bastard do to his daughter? "We found most of the torn clothing here." He pointed to the ground where the dragging marks were.

"Bo? What is it?" Hope inquired when she caught up to him. "The officer over there seems to think Alicia got away." Hope could see by Bo's face that wasn't the case. "BO?" She said weakly. Her eyes starting to tear up knowing it wasn't good news.

"Sorry, Fancy Face. It doesn't look good." Bo stared at the evidence bag containing his daughters ripped clothing. He wanted to tear Vito apart limb from limb.

……

Alicia lay quietly on a high limb of a tall oak tree. She shivered in the cool winter air. She watched as Stefano and Vito ran around looking for her before getting into his car and leaving. Stefano clobbered Vito a few times calling him an idiot. How could he have let her get away? Alicia chuckled to herself. She enjoyed seeing Vito punished. After several minutes passed and Alicia was sure Stefano wasn't returning, she tried to climb back down from the tree. Her broken arm kept getting in the way. It had been much easier to climb up than to climb down. Alicia slipped several times tearing her shirt in the process. Just as she was about to reach the bottom, her bare foot slipped and she fell the last few feet to the ground. "OW!" Alicia cried out in pain.

Her leg was in pain from the fall. Alicia propped herself on her elbows and dragged her body along the ground trying to get closer to the tree so she could stand. Her pajama bottom caught on a tree root and tore off half the pant leg. Alicia cried as the root scratched her leg. She reached the tree and managed to pull herself to a sitting position. "OW!" She cried out again. Her ankle had taken the brunt of the fall. Alicia reached down to her torn pajamas and shredded some more off the bottom. She wrapped it around her ankle and picked up a broken tree branch to use for a crutch. Alicia hobbled along in the cold air. She kept along the side of the road, hoping to find someone to give her a ride. She kept her eyes peeled on the road for a passing car. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and tripped over a hole in the ground. She fell into a patch of thorn bushes, tearing off more of her pajamas. Her arms were scratched in the process leaving blood stains on the torn clothing.

A car pulled over to the side of the road. A woman emerged to see if she was harmed in the fall. "Oh you poor thing. What happened to you?" The woman asked her as she helped Alicia to her feet.

"I was kidnapped and then I was in a car accident and now I'm trying to find my way home." Alicia told the woman. She had a kind face. Alicia thought she could trust her.

"We should go to the police station." The woman told her. She helped Alicia into the car.

"I'd really like to go home. My dad is the Commissioner. He can take care of everything." Alicia was exhausted from the whole ordeal. She just wanted to see her parents and hug them tight.

"Where do you live?" The woman asked.

"Salem."

"Really? I'm from Salem. Wait! Who are your parents? Isn't the commissioner Abe Carver?" She asked Alicia.

"No. He's the mayor. How long have you been away from Salem?" Alicia asked her.

"Too long. Far, far too long. So Abe is the mayor now. Good for him. I always thought he'd make a good Mayor." The woman turned her car on and headed it back towards Salem. "Who did you say your father is?"

"Bo Brady." Alicia answered.

The woman looked at her stunned. "Bo Brady is your father? And he's the commissioner? That's something I never saw coming." She laughed at the idea of Bo Brady wearing a suit and sitting behind a desk pushing papers.

……

"Has there been any news?" Julie and Doug asked as they entered Bo and Hope's house. Maggie was watching Ciara.

"I haven't heard anything." Maggie told them. "Bo got a call right before they left the house and said he had a lead on Alicia. I haven't heard anything since."

"I wonder what it could be." Julie heard the doorbell ring and went to answer the door. "Caroline. Here let me help you." She grabbed a pan of steaming hot clam chowder from Caroline. Her arms were loaded down with bags of food. "This smells delicious."

"I thought since everyone was out searching for my granddaughter, the least I could do was provide some food. There's another pan in the car. I made a vegetable stew for Alicia in case she's found." Caroline came in and brought the bags of food to the kitchen.

"Caroline, you know Bo will not rest until his daughter is found. I'm sure she'll be home soon." Doug reassured her. "I'll go grab the other pan for you."

"Thank you, Doug."

Doug returned with the stew and a few more people. Kayla and Steve were just pulling into the driveway when Doug went for the stew. "Look who I found outside."

"Maggie." Kayla hugged Maggie. "Has there been anymore news? Steve and I were out searching for Alicia, but we haven't had any luck."

"Doug and I searched the riverfront." Julie added. "There was no sign of her. But Maggie was just telling us Bo got a lead on her."

"Has he called?" Kayla asked.

"No. I haven't heard from him since he and Hope left an hour ago." Maggie answered.

"Hey everyone." Chelsea came in with Max. "Is there any news? Max and I have been all over looking for Alicia. We didn't have any luck."

"Bo got a lead and we're waiting to hear back from him." Julie told her.

"Where's Stephanie? I thought she and Philip were out looking with you two." Kayla asked Chelsea.

"She was. She and Philip are still looking. I was just hoping to come home and find Alicia here. I should call Stephanie and let her know that Dad got a lead on Alicia, so they can come here and wait with the rest of us." Chelsea reached into her purse for her cell when the front door opened and Alicia entered.

"Alicia!" Everyone was shouting at once. "Where have you been? Are you okay? Did Bo find you? What happened? Are you okay? What happened to your clothes?"

Alicia didn't know who to answer first. She looked around at all the faces; some familiar to her and others complete strangers to her. She searched for her mother's face and looked back at Chelsea. "Are Mom and Dad here?" She asked Chelsea avoiding all the questions that were still being fired in her direction. She wanted to feel her mother's arms around her and she needed her daddy to make her feel safe again.

"Aren't they with you? How did you get home? What happened to you?" Chelsea fired at her.

"I guess that means they're not here. Do you know where they are?" She asked her sister.

"They're out looking for you!" Chelsea yelled at her. "Where were you? We all thought something bad had happened to you. What did you do? Run off again?"

"Chelsea." Kayla nodded disapprovingly at her. "Come here sweetheart. Let me have a look at you." Kayla guided Alicia over to the couch. "What happened to your ankle?" She noticed Alicia was limping and saw the bandage wrapped around her ankle.

"I fell out of a tree and landed on it." Alicia answered.

"A tree, huh? Is that how you got all those scratches too?" She looked over Alicia's arm, legs, and face. "Steve? Would you get my bag for me out of the car?"

"Sure thing Sweetness."

"I scratched my leg trying to get up off the ground and I also fell in some thorn bushes. I hit my head when I crashed the car too." Alicia rattled off the many mishaps she'd had since being kidnapped early that morning. "I hope that doesn't mean you're going to take me back to the hospital again." She looked worriedly at her aunt.

"You were in a car crash? Did you lose consciousness?" She asked her.

"I grabbed the wheel of the car to crash it so I could get away from Vito. I didn't lose consciousness."

"So Vito was the one who kidnapped you. Did he hurt you?" Alicia avoided looking in her aunts eyes and didn't answer her.

Steve returned with Kayla's bag. "Why don't we go upstairs so I can look you over." Kayla led Alicia up to her room.

"Was I this much of a problem when I first came into the family?" Chelsea mumbled to herself.

"Worse." Julie said walking past her to go call Bo. She grabbed the phone and dialed Bo's cell. "Darling, Alicia is safe at home."

"Is she alright? Did she say what happened?" Bo questioned her.

"We don't have the whole story just yet. Kayla is here and she's examining her right now."

"Hope and I will be home soon. We're not that far from Salem. Will you tell Alicia we love her?" Bo asked.

"Of course I will." Julie hung up with Bo.

……

Bo and Hope returned to a house full of people. "Where is she?" Hope asked glancing around the room. "Is she okay."

"She's still upstairs with Kayla." Caroline told her.

Hope raced up the stairs. "Kay, is she alright?" Hope went over to Alicia and hugged her.

"I'm okay, now that I'm back home." Alicia held onto her mother not wanting to ever let go.

"What happened? Who took you? Your dad and I were at the crash site. We saw evidence of a struggle. Was it Vito? Did he hurt you?" Hope badgered her with questions. She was so happy to see her daughter safe at home, but she wanted to know what had happened to her. "How did you get away?"

"Should we wait until I can tell both you and Dad, so I don't have to repeat myself?" Alicia asked her.

"I'm right here." Bo said poking his head around the door. "You okay?" He walked over to Alicia and kissed the top of her head. "I was really worried about you."

Alicia held out her arms to Bo. He hugged her tight. "I was scared I would never see either of you again." Alicia said.

"Why don't I give the three of you some privacy." Kayla left them sitting together in a family hug.

"Kay?" Hope said. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She has a sprained ankle. I've wrapped it, so she should be fine. She has some scratches that will heal in no time. She'll be just fine, Hope. Don't worry." Kayla closed the door and returned to the living room.

"What happened?" Bo asked Alicia.

"Vito was in the house the whole time. He never left after he broke in. He must have had someone with him to make it look like he got away." Alicia explained. "He tried to rape me again." Alicia started crying. Bo and Hope both held onto her. "He had a gun and he said if I screamed he would kill me. I kicked the planter over hoping it would wake you."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. We didn't hear anything." Hope told her.

"I knew I had to get away from him. I saw my chance when he looked away. I pulled on the steering wheel to crash the car so I could get away."

"But we found signs of a struggle. And there was a witness who saw you with Vito." Hope was wondering if Vito had attacked her more than once.

"There was a man who saw the crash and asked if I was okay. I tried to get him to help me, but then Vito must have regained consciousness and pushed his gun into my back. He made me say things to make the guy go away." Alicia explained. "And then he attacked me again."

"Did he rape you?" Hope asked her.

"He tried to, but Stefano stopped him."

"Stefano? What the hell? What was Stefano doing there?" Bo asked her.

"I don't know, but he kept Vito from raping me. He reprimanded him too, which was when I made my escape." Alicia smiled at the memory of Vito getting clobbered in the head.

"How did you manage to get away from them? The state trooper found your ripped clothes all over. There was even a spot further away from the crash that looked like someone had been dragged." Bo was trying to figure it out in his head.

"When Stefano and Vito were distracted, I ran off and found a tree I could climb up. I hid there until I saw them leave. Then when I tried to climb back down, I fell on my ankle and sprained it. I had to drag myself to the tree so I could wrap my ankle. And then I tried to find someone to give me a ride back home. I was watching the road and didn't notice a whole in the ground and I tripped and fell into some thorn bushes. I ripped my clothes several times during the whole ordeal. Some woman saw me fall and stopped to help me. She's the one who drove me here."

"Who was she?" Bo asked her.

"I don't know. I never got her name. But, she seems to know you. She thought it was funny that you're the commissioner."

"I wish I knew who she was, so I could thank her for getting you back home." Bo hugged Alicia. "I'm glad you're going to be okay."

"You look a little tired, sweetie. I think you should get some sleep." Hope told her.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Hope crawled into bed beside Alicia and held her close until she drifted off to sleep.

"I wonder who this woman is?" Bo stated.