Chapter 14

By the time Mary came with the car and the materials Ashcroft asked for, Rachel realized she was in a mess, not just physically. Her face had an abrasion from her fall to the road. Her nose was bleeding and she basically felt like shit. While Ashcroft held her, Mary tied her up. They dragged her over to Mary's car and threw her in the back seat. While she looked on, Mary and Ashcroft pushed the rental car into the ditch as well. When they were finished, they went to the car and got inside.

Ashcroft turned in his seat to look at Rachel. "We're taking you to the ER to make sure the baby is okay. And when that's finished, we're going back to Brandonvale. If you tell Frank anything, I will make sure he dies, Rachel. I promise you that. What you're going to do is tell him that you're marrying me. You end the relationship, babe. Now."

Rachel couldn't respond due to the gag in her mouth. How had she lived so long with a man without knowing what he really was? She was horrified. And she knew with everything in her heart that they had Lily. Where? She didn't know, but somehow they had to rescue her. Neither of them spoke while they drove along to the community hospital in Brandonvale. She was trying to think of a way to signal someone that she was in trouble. Jack would simply pick up on it and kill Frank as he promised. The thought of Frank dying made her want to die. There was no way she would allow them to kill Frank.

Just before they reached the hospital, Mary stopped the car. Jack took off his seat belt and leaned over his seat. "Behave, Rachel. Donovan's life depends on it. I'm taking off your gag and your bonds. Do you promise to behave?" Rachel said nothing. Jack laughed, got out of the car, and went to the backseat with her. "Okay, Rachel, just remember what stakes you're facing if you don't behave."

The moment he removed her gag, she spat in his face. He shook his head in disgust and wiped the spit off his face with this shirt. "You bitch. If you weren't pregnant, I'd take your head." He slammed the car door behind him. "Take us on, Holly."

They drove another short distance when she saw the community hospital ahead. Jack was sitting right next to her, so it might be hard to scream for help, but she had to do something. As soon as the car stopped, Rachel reached for the door handle. But what she didn't notice is that the back door had a child lock on it. And there was no way for her to escape.

Jack grasped her hand tightly. "Don't do that again, babe."

The three of them got out of the car and walked slowly toward the entrance. Jack was holding Rachel in a way that looked like he was supporting her. When they entered the lobby, Jack walked Rachel up to the front desk.

"She's my fiancé," Jack said breathlessly. "We were in an accident and she's pregnant. We want to make sure our little one is okay."

The receptionist behind the desk called for assistance, and within minutes, Rachel was placed into a wheelchair and carted away, with Jack on her heels. The nurses held him back, he fought all the way. This was her chance. This was her chance to tell them what was really going on. That Jack Ashcroft and Mary Gold were TSK.

Once they had her in the triage room, she opened her mouth immediately to the first person she saw. "Can I have you call someone for me?" She asked. "And please don't tell anyone I asked."

The nurse, who was very young and friendly, smiled reassuringly down at her. "What can I do for you, hun?"

Rachel saw a pad of paper on the bedside table. She grabbed it and a stub of pencil lying nearby. She scribbled heavily and handed it to her. "Call this number, his name is Frank Donovan. Tell him to get here as soon as possible."

She winked at Rachel. "No problem, hun."

When the nurse left the triage room, Jack Ashcroft was right on her. "Can I go in and see her yet? She's pregnant and needs my support."

The nurse, who was naïve, looked at the man with great sympathy. He appeared to be really concerned about his fiancé. "Yes, hun, in a minute." She handed the slip of paper to him. "She asked that I get a message to a friend of hers. Since you came with her, I'm sure you can take care of it."

Ashcroft took the slip of paper with a genuine smile of gratitude. He looked at what was written on it and his internal rage, his killing rage, hit him hard. He smiled down at the nurse. "Thanks, babe."

When the nurse was out of sight, Ashcroft trotted out to the waiting room up front. Mary sat demurely in one of the hard plastic waiting room chairs thumbing through a magazine that might have been thirty years old. When she saw him approaching, she threw down the magazine and rushed up to him.

"Why aren't you with her?" She hissed.

"The bitch wrote a note for Frank Donovan. I'm lucky the dumb nurse trusted me with it. I need you to do something."

After he told her what she was to do for him, she left immediately and went in search of Heath Hurtz. He was their third, their helper. He would do anything they wanted him to, because they supplied his drugs and ensured that he never failed a drug test.

Ashcroft went back down the hall to the triage room. It was thankfully empty. He saw that Rachel had a poker face. She was good, but not that good. She watched with contempt as he grabbed a chair and dragged it over to her bedside. He sat down, noticing that they had put an IV in her arm. They intended to keep her, but that was a bad idea. They wouldn't, he would make up an excuse. He leaned toward her, watching as she eyed him with hatred, and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it hard, making her wince.

"Don't scream," he warned in a hushed voice. "I was given the note you wanted Frank Donovan to read." Her eyes grew large with disappointment, then they began to well with tears. "Do something like that again, and I won't hesitate to send an order to have him murdered, Rachel. I know people. I know bad people who would love to kill him. So, do it again, and I won't be so easy going about it. I'm staying here to watch you, if someone tells me to leave, you tell them I'm not going anywhere until I know my baby is okay."

Rachel said nothing. She was at complete utter despair. She had no other way to contact Frank. The thought of him being murdered sent shock waves throughout her body. Tears spilled out of her eyes now. She didn't bother to wipe them away. He still held onto her hand, but his grip loosened. She wanted to kill him herself. There were weapons in this room to kill him in ten different ways. What hit her more than anything was the continued thoughts that she had lived with this man and had no idea he was a killer. They had made a baby together, she was carrying the baby of a man who was clearly evil.

The hospital's ER department sent in their on call OBGYN. When she saw the couple together, she smiled. It warmed her heart to see them together. How in love they must be! "Hello, Ms. Sloane. My name is Leigh Anne Weiss. My nurse will soon bring in an ultrasound monitor so we can check out your baby." She glanced at Jack. "Do you want your husband in with you?"

Rachel looked up at the doctor, trying to convey alert with her eyes. It wasn't working. Of course, she thought Rachel was upset about the baby. She was, but she was more upset about the killer holding her hand. "He's not my husband," she said defiantly. "He's-"

Ashcroft interrupted her. "Baby, don't be crass because you're worried. I'm her fiancé, Jack Ashcroft."

She smiled reassuringly at him, conveying in her eyes that she understood pregnant mothers well. When their fetus was in trouble, most women became bitches. It was no big deal. "Nice to meet you, both." She approached Rachel and began prodding her abdomen. "Are you in any pain? Do you have cramping? Other symptoms?"

Rachel, in her panicked state of mind didn't know exactly what to say or do. She didn't notice anything strange going on other than the fact that she was sitting with an insane killer. She crazily wanted to ask why doctors always throw out multiple questions before a person could answer. "No. To all of it."

Dr. Weiss nodded. "Excellent."

They were interrupted by a nurse dragging in a portable ultrasound device. Rachel watched as they began to set it up to check her baby. If she was with anyone else [Frank], she would be happy, anxious to see her baby, but she wasn't. She simply wanted to scream until she couldn't that this man was a killer. He had abducted her. She felt the insane urge to jerk the IV line out of her vein and lunge for the scissors hanging off a lariat around the nurse's neck.

"Okay," Dr. Weiss said. "Here we go."

They pushed up Rachel's hospital gown past her abdomen. She felt horribly exposed. How many times had Jack seen her naked? How many times had she made love with the man? She felt sick. She heard the doctor mention that the gel they were about to put on her abdomen would feel cold, but she barely responded. She had gone off into her own zone. They smeared the gel on the wand and pressed down onto her lower abdomen. Although the gel was cold, she didn't react. She was in shock, it was as simple as that.

Ashcroft squeezed her hand. "Look at that," he said wonderingly. "Is that our little squirrel?"

Dr. Weiss smiled. "It surely is. It looks fine." She found the fetal heartbeat, it was strong and hearty.

That was when Rachel finally took a look. She could see her tiny fetus nestled so snugly in her uterus. She heard the heartbeat. It was real to her then. More real than it had been since she knew she was pregnant. She did cry then, she couldn't help it. She loved the baby already. Its father was another story. She only wished Frank had given her this child, not some maniac killer who murdered her friend and countless other women.

The nurse, expecting leaking eyes, handed Rachel a small box of tissue. She quickly took one and wiped her eyes. She wished a thousand times she had never gotten involved with Jack Ashcroft. Now, she was carrying his child. It also seemed that after the baby was born, her purpose would be served, and she would be killed. His trophy was her child. She shook her head, wiped her eyes, and felt another thought kicking in. Fuck that. There was no way Jack would have her baby. She would do whatever it took to get away from them.

When the ultrasound was over, the nurse wiped off the gel on Rachel's abdomen and pulled down her hospital gown. Without comment, she rolled the ultrasound machine back down the hall.

"Could we get the sex of the baby?" Ashcroft asked. He wanted a son, one he could have the relationship he had always desired as a boy.

"Not this early, Mr. Ashcroft," she said. "As for your other injuries, the ER doctor will take care of those. As far as I'm concerned, you're fine. You should be out of here in a few hours."

Rachel wanted to be admitted, not released. If admitted, Jack couldn't sit in here all day and watch her. Dear God. What did they have in store for her? She then thought about Lily. What if they had Lily? Her heart pounded hard in her chest. When would this madness end?

"I'll send in Dr. Hershel to treat your other injuries."

As soon as the doctor left them alone, Rachel yanked her hand out of his. She took another tissue and covered her face. She bawled then, gut wrenching sobs. If she didn't lie as Jack wanted her to, he would kill Frank. She didn't want to face him, tell him a lie, or leave him. This was it for her. She hadn't ever wanted to leave him again. She loved him, more than she had ever loved him before. When her tears subsided, Jack was still beside her, watching her carefully.

"Did you see that baby?" He asked wonderingly. "I know it's a boy. We want to name him Bronson."

She glared at him, hating him more second by second. "You won't get away with this," she said sharply.

He laughed. "I won't? I have so far, haven't I?"

"I hate you," she spat. "I hate you, you motherfucker."

Lily was tied to a chair in the shed. She had managed to work the gag out of her mouth. The smell in here was overwhelming. Although they hadn't gagged her very well, they sure as shit had tied her up pretty damned good. The bonds were so tight, they were cutting off her circulation. Her hands were numb and her upper arms had started to ache. Lily was a problem solver, so she was certain that if she managed to knock herself over, she could then break out of her bonds. She began rocking her body back and forth, making each move more violent than the next. When she hit the floor minutes later, she tasted old cellar dirt in her mouth. She held back the urge to vomit. She had to get out of here, she had to warn the others.

After taking a minute to recover, she began wiggling her arms and attempting to kick her legs forward. This move might weaken the bonds enough where she could either free her legs or hands. She was making good progress until she heard a key snapping open the lock. She cursed out loud, not caring who it was. She didn't expect to be rescued until she saw who unlocked the door. It was Heath Hurtz. Oh God. Thank God.

She smiled. "Heath, I think I'm in love with you!"

He offered a retort she didn't expect. "Shut up, bitch," he growled right before he hit her cheek with the butt of his gun.

After that, the world went black once again for Lily Wells.

When Hurtz secured Lily once again, he locked up the shed, hopped into his SUV and drove back to town. He knew Donovan and Lockwood were at the pageant headquarters guarding the contestants. He parked the SUV as close to the pageant building as he could. He casually strolled up to the building, went inside, and searched for Donovan.

Donovan turned when Hurtz entered the room. "Frank, Lily and Rachel are together checking up on some leads. They will be delayed for a while."

He nodded his understanding, but something about the story did not ring true. Neither Lily nor Rachel told him that they were going anywhere. For now, he would accept Hurtz' story. "Thanks, Heath. We need them all to get back here. Where is Jack?"

"Back at the hotel, gathering his shit to do the interviews," he said. "Jack will be here shortly."

Before Donovan could speak to the man, he walked away to complete his assigned job of security detail. When he was sure he was alone, he took two hits of cocaine and stood still until it hit him. As soon as he felt the rush, he was ready to work. He knew Ashcroft wanted Nancy Beth and Belle. He went in search of them. They stood together, giggling and gossiping as teenaged girls often do. He approached them both. They looked up at him at the same time. He was one of the press guys. Both girls thought he was pretty hot.

"My colleague and I want to do photo shoots of each girl. I've gotten most of them done," Hurtz said, "but you two are the last. Care to accompany me?"

Of course they would. He smiled at them and led them out to his SUV. They climbed into the car with him without thinking twice. The folly of youth was to be their downfall.

Rachel was dismissed from the hospital after two hours. They treated her nose [which wasn't broken] and the abrasion on her face. They didn't question how that injury occurred, they simply figured it was from the accident. She had a few bumps and bruises, but otherwise was perfectly healthy. A hospital orderly pushed Rachel out to Mary's car. They bundled her carefully in the back with Jack right behind her.

As soon as the orderly was back in the hospital and they were on their way to pageant headquarters, Ashcroft turned to look at her. "When we get back, you're going to speak to Donovan alone. I will make you wear a wire so I can hear everything you say. One word out of line, one movement out of line, and I put a bullet in his brain. Do you understand?"

Rachel glared at him. "I'm not a fucking moron, Jack. How do you suppose you're going to tie up all your loose ends?"

Ashcroft laughed. "Simple. Holly and I have friends." He winked at Mary. "Don't we babe?"

She laughed right along with him. "We surely do, Jack."

Mary dropped them off about half a mile from the pageant building on the fairgrounds. She was going back to the car rental place in the neighboring town to secure another for Jack. Thank God they always got the extra insurance when renting vehicles. No one knew when it was needed. Today, it definitely was.

Before Mary dropped them off, Ashcroft taped a discreet wire onto her chest. It was what they often called a 'trip wire.' It was something they only used in small operations. Normally if used in serious confrontations, it would always be 'tripped up.' Therefore, the poor wire wearer would usually die. They used more sophisticated equipment now. For this mission, the wire was good enough. Ashcroft held onto Rachel's hand tightly, dragging her along behind him to the pageant quarters. It was rough going, because Rachel refused to keep step with him. He didn't care, he would drag her if that's what she wanted. Apparently, it was. They finally entered the building. Donovan was in the thick of his work. There were dozens of girls with him, signing up, filling out applications, and marking down what talent they had.

"Go up to him, Rachel. Do it," he demanded, giving her a push for good measure.

She turned around, looked at him, and literally gnashed her teeth at him. "Before this is through, I promise I will kill you."

He smiled. "I love you, baby."

Donovan looked up when he saw Rachel approaching. She looked like hell and had a large bandage covering her face. He immediately forgot the pageant girls and went to her. He caressed the back of her head with one hand while gently stroking her cheek with the index finger of the other.

"Rachel, what happened?" He asked. Concern tinged his voice.

She wanted to cry, tell him the truth, but she knew if she did, Jack would surely kill him. "I lost control of the SUV and wrecked. I'm not hurt, the baby is fine, but I must tell you something."

He watched her carefully. She was signaling to him by tucking her hair behind one ear. It was a code they used when she came to help him years ago. It meant she was lying to him on purpose, on cue. "That's wonderful," he said carefully.

She cocked her head to one side. Another signal. This meant she was in trouble. "We're over, Frank. I'm having Jack's baby, and we're getting married."

Donovan used his own signal. He brought his index finger up to his lips for a brief moment. It meant he understood what she was trying to communicate. "I see," he said dejected. "How could you do this to me, Rachel? I thought you loved me."

She nodded and cocked her head to the side again. "I thought I loved you, but I didn't. I love Jack, I've always loved him, and now we're having a baby. It's over, Frank. For good."

He clenched his teeth, conveying anger that didn't actually exist. "If that is what you want."

She wiped tears out of her eyes. Although he understood what she was communicating, it still hurt to say the words. "I'll pack my things later and join Jack at the hotel."

Before she cracked, she turned away and walked over to where Ashcroft stood waiting for her. He took hold of her arm and walked away with her.

"You did a super job back there," he said with a smile.

"Fuck you," she sneered.

Ashcroft walked her back to Mary's car and they got inside. "We need to move our targets to another location. There is too much heat. I have Heath transporting the women to the room," he said.

"Targets," Rachel said with surprise. "What do you mean targets? What does Heath have to do with this?"

He smiled at her and caressed her hair. She jerked away from him. A long time ago, she loved it when he did it. Today, it was filthy, disgusting. "Heath is on our side. See, he has a bad cocaine habit, but if the agency pisses him, he comes up dirty. Holly here fixes that for him. We give him coke, he works for us. By targets I mean Lily, Nancy Beth Gooch, and Belle Steele."

The information was too much for Rachel's brain to comprehend. She had gone mad with it. Although she couldn't open the door, she had access to the window. She grabbed the handle and cranked it down as fast she could. Ashcroft was on her, but she was quick herself. Once the window was completely down, Rachel hurled her body forward, screaming at the top of her lungs. Passersby heard her, but they thought she was just an excited fair customer. They screamed back at her, the good ol' rebel yell. Ashcroft managed to grasp her on each side of her waist. He yanked her back in the car, slapped her injured cheek, and rolled up the window. Before she knew what was happening, Ashcroft retrieved his cuffs off his belt and slapped them on her wrists.

"Try that again, bitch, and I'll have my trained dog shoot Donovan. Hell, I may have him do it anyway," he growled.

"If you touch Frank, Jack, I'll induce an abortion." She didn't mean it, she wanted this baby, and would protect it. He was obsessed with it, so she knew it was her only bargaining chip.

That seemed to take the anger out of him. Even Mary gasped aloud in the front seat. She couldn't do that to their baby! "Lincoln," she gasped, "she can't do that."

"I'm a professional, Rachel. I fucking smell bluffs."

She jerked away from Ashcroft and spat in his face. "Try me, motherfucker. Just try me!"

He wiped her spit off his face. He grabbed her again. "Stop fucking spitting on me, Rachel. As long as you behave, your precious Frank will live. As for you, when you give me my baby, I'm going to finish you…nice and slow. Count on it."

Mary drove them to what looked like a vacated plantation mansion. It was old and in ill repair. Again, it was something that should have been in Louisiana, not Florida. Rachel had never seen anything like it. The property was overgrown, unkempt, and spooky. It looked like a haunted house.

"This is the plantation my grandfather once owned," Ashcroft explained. "When he died, he willed it to me. I was going to live here. Remember Holly?" She nodded with a smile. Continuing, he said, "But my folks wouldn't let me have it. I was too young to live in such a grand house. So, I burned theirs down, thinking we would move in here. I didn't figure my parents would die in the fire." He scratched his head. "They deserved to die anyway, but when I got put in the loony bin, the house went to ruins. A pity. It was beautiful."

Mary got out of the car first, then Jack, and finally Rachel. He had cuffed her at the front so he could hold onto her and drag her in. He pulled her along into the house. Despite its obvious decay, there was electricity. There were lights on in the main room, which had probably once served as a living room. There were sleeping bags rolled up in the corner of the room. Upstairs, Rachel could hear muffled screams and occasionally a harsh male voice yelled at whomever was screaming. Ashcroft dragged Rachel to the staircase. It was one of those fancy jobs, with a set of stairs on each side. He began climbing the stairs on the left side. She stumbled along behind him. There were three bedrooms up here. As she was dragged past them, she could see inside. Her heart dropped. One room held Nancy Beth Gooch and Belle Steele. From what she could see, they were being raped by Heath Hurtz. In another room, Lily Wells was tied to a bed post, unconscious from the looks of it. They planned to put her in the last one.

A surge of energy entered her body. She jerked her cuffed hands out of his, bent slightly, and thrust up quickly, getting a good shot to Ashcroft's balls. She began pounding down the stairs, but Mary was on her heels. If she wasn't carrying a baby, Mary would have kicked her square on the back and she would have taken a life ending tumble.

Ashcroft groaned sickly and held onto his testicles. Oh that bitch. That dirty bitch. He couldn't concentrate on anything because of the pain. He heard Mary going after her, though. If Heath wasn't otherwise occupied, he would scream for him to help. Right now, Ashcroft couldn't scream. The pain was too intense.

Rachel was at the door, inches away from freedom, when Mary finally caught up to her. She tripped her, and Rachel took another fall. She twisted her body in such a way that she landed on her ass this time.

"HEATH," Mary bawled. "GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

Hurtz did as he was told. He ran out of the bedroom, halfway dressed, and headed straight for the two women. Mary couldn't lift Rachel, but Hurtz had no problem. He picked her up and threw her body over his shoulder. He carried her back inside. By that time, Ashcroft was recovering from the hickory nut crunch that Rachel had dealt him.

"What can I do to her?" Hurtz asked with a smile. "I always thought she was a hot piece of ass."

Ashcroft watched, fascinated, as Rachel continued to kick and struggle. Hurtz definitely had strength. "You do nothing, man. She's pregnant with my baby. Take her to the house and put her in the room with Lily."

Rachel didn't fight, she was exhausted. At least they would put her with Lily. She needed to find out if Lily was okay. Hurtz dropped her indifferently onto the bed. The motion didn't rouse Lily. Once Rachel saw her cheek, she knew why. There was a deep purple bruise covering half her face. Someone had pistol whipped her. When the door slammed shut and locked behind her, she maneuvered her body in such a way where she could partially lean upward.

"Lily," Rachel whispered. "Lily? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" She groaned out an answer that Rachel didn't understand. She obviously couldn't speak. Her cheekbone was probably fractured or even shattered. "Don't speak," she said. "It's Rachel. I'm here with you. Someone will help us. Frank will help us."

In the room with Nancy Beth Gooch and Belle Steele, Ashcroft gazed at the girls. Hurtz had raped them repeatedly, but that didn't matter to him. He saw that they had somehow managed to embrace each other despite their bonds. It touched him in a way that was wholeheartedly sick. Both were naked, bloody, and catatonic. That was okay as well. It would make his work easier. Nancy Beth had the eyes he wanted. Belle, on the other hand, had beautiful hands. He turned to Mary and nodded. She knew what he wanted. It was time for them to die. After that, their tokens would be taken to the shed, then they could leave here so Rachel could have their baby.

"What do we do with Lily?" Hurtz asked.

Ashcroft sighed, weighing the options. "You like her? You can fuck her," he said. "But if you touch Rachel, I'll kill you. Got me?"

Hurtz took out a little brown vial and dumped some white power onto his thumb. He sniffed deeply. "I got you. I'll play with her. Do I need to take her in with the numb twins?"

Ashcroft shrugged. "I don't care. Do her in the same room with Rachel, just don't touch her."

"No sweat, Lincoln. Now, what do we do about Donovan?"

"We have specific plans. Tell him that Rachel has been abducted right from the midway. He will go there, guns blaring, if you get my drift. You're a crack shot, no pun intended," he said, smiling at his own joke. "So as soon as you find a good target, shoot to kill."

Hurtz smiled. "I'm gonna love this."