Doing things differently with 3rd person pov, but for Boyce only.
Meanwhile... Back in Detroit.
Boyce-pov
He has been searching for his wife since that night she ran away, but he couldn't find her no matter how hard he tired. Every time he got close enough, the trail would run cold.
That night, the last time they fought, she stabbed him and ran. She fucking ran away! They were about to become intimate and she stabbed him! He was worried once they married, after she told him she was a virgin, that she wouldn't be experienced enough to please him, but he soon learned that wasn't true. She pleases him immensely. And she was about to please him that night before she stabbed him and ran.
He couldn't believe it. He warned her what would happen if she ever ran again, and he thought she learned her lesson the last time, but she ran again. So this time, he planned to make good on his promise when he finds her. She knows how much he hates to chase after her. He'll make sure she will never run away from him again.
But then he thought to himself; if she comes home on her own, I wont hit her again, I wont even yell. But in the next thought he knew it was a lie.
She made him angry when she ran, she knew that, it was her own fault he lost his temper so often, she did it on purpose. And this time she really fucked things up.
He missed his meeting in Seattle because he used the time off to search for her instead of going to Seattle Independent Publishing, the only publishing house who offered him anything for the book he had been writing since before he met her. It pissed him off that she took away his only opportunity to be published. If she never ran, he would've went to the meeting with her by his side, and he would have been published by now. He tried to reschedule, but they wouldn't accept him again, and it was all because of her.
But that's what she does. She knows exactly what to do to set him off, to push his buttons until he breaks, until he's forced to hit her as punishment. She does it because she wants the attention.
Since that night, he's been trying desperately to find her, but he couldn't devote all his time into it. He still had to work, still had to carry on the charade that Dakota was home and they were happy, but eventually people started asking questions when nobody would see her around. Not that they ever really saw her. But she did attend parties, barbeques and such, hosted by his co-workers when he was invited, however, per his orders, she mostly kept to herself and stayed at home. Just how he liked.
That night, he tried to chase after her immediately, but he had too much to drink. He ended up passing out from the alcohol after she stabbed him so by the time he woke she was long gone and he had a killer migraine with no one to tend to his needs. The front door was left wide open, as well as the bedroom windows, and the furnace was turned off, so it was beyond freezing in the house.
When he finally got up, he looked around the house for her, but he couldn't find his wife anywhere and he wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed when he finally woke.
Though he didn't know where, he knew she couldn't have went very far. It was freezing and snowing, and she had no car. His car was still in the garage where he left it.
Still, he looked for her.
It wasn't the first time she ran, the very first time she came back on her own, having no place to go. Another time she used his credit card to rent a motel room so it wasn't very difficult to find her there. The next time she was smart, she used cash. She caught a bus, but she didn't have enough cash to get very far, just the next town over, so it was simple enough to find her and bring her back again. This time, however, he couldn't find her as easy.
He stumbled outside but the freshly fallen snow covered any trace of her footprints. He drove to the bus station, since that's where she went last time, and flashed his badge asking the ticket takers if they've seen the woman in the photo he had in his wallet. No one did, though. He drove up and down the streets of Detroit, even stopping people who resembled her and checking shelters, but he couldn't find her. She was gone. She left him.
His next step was to ask the neighbors. Dakota borrowed sugar from one of them that evening before he came home, but she didn't specify who. So Boyce asked all of their closest neighbors if they had seen Dakota that day. Again, none admitted they had. He knew then that one of their neighbors were lying, because he had the sugar to prove it.
Boyce waited and watched, trying to think of where Dakota could have gone this time and who would help her. She had no one, no family to speak of, and he made sure she had no friends.
He got lucky a few weeks after she left when a buddy a few miles south was visiting his in-laws called to ask why Dakota was there. Boyce played along, explained that Dakota was visiting a sick friend, and then cautiously question him about Dakota's location. The buddy explained he ran into Dakota at a pawn shop. She was selling her jewelry.
Boyce later found out that it was her wedding band and engagement rings she was selling. But what really set him off, was after the snow had melted, he found the necklace he bought her on the ground. Just thrown out like it was worthless trash. Well fine, if she doesn't want these nice things, he just wont buy her anything anymore, not even necessities, and we'll see how much she likes that!
Pissed, Boyce hung up with his friend and then made the trip down there. He had to use vacation hours just to do so. He figured she'd go south since it was winter when she left, such a stupid time to run, but this just proved his thoughts right.
When he arrived, she was already gone. But this time, someone working at the bus station recognized her. He bought her rings back then followed where that bus went. But it was another dead end when that bus station lead to many locations around the US.
Boyce had to go home empty handed again.
He couldn't chase her around the world, as much as he wanted to, because he had to work and keep up the appearance that everything was fine in his marriage. But he could follow clues from home.
The house was never the same without Dakota. It was in a constant state of disaster, looking like an aftermath of an EF4 tornado, with no one to clean it how he liked. And with no one to cook his meals for him, he was forced to eat take-out. She knew how much he hated that. She would have a lot to make up for when she came home.
He was always a drinker, but with Dakota gone he drank more and more, and everyday he became angrier and angrier at Dakota for leaving him. He wanted to hit her, kick her, punch her, and it made him angry that he felt this way. He knew she ran because of him hitting her, and he tried to stop so many times, but then she would do something incredibly stupid and he would just lash out.
It wasn't always like that. When they were dating, everything was great. Of course when he discovered that she didn't see it as dating, that she saw him as just a friend, it's what tipped the iceberg. Here he was, crushing hard on this beautiful, young girl, wanting to give her a chance at a better life, and she didn't even like him more than a friend. He gave her everything and she only saw him as a friend?! She had to take time to think about his fucking marriage proposal for fuck's sake! Who the fuck did that?! He felt like she was using him, so he figured he'd use her in return.
Boyce continued to search for his 'missing' wife, even though he knew she didn't want to be found. He could only search for her on his days off since he had to leave Detroit to look for her. He couldn't stop working and already took off so many sick days, vacation days, and any other emergency days he had built up. He had no more available days off.
There were so many times were he was close to finding her, only to just miss her. He knew without a doubt that he would eventually find his wife. She was his, she belonged to him. He wanted to kill her for leaving him and if she was fucking another man, he would kill him too. It didn't matter that Boyce has been fucking since she left, he wouldn't have been if she was home and doing her wifely duties, attending to his wants and needs like she is supposed to.
Four months after Dakota had been gone, the old woman next door became ill and had to be treated at the hospital. He didn't know why or what happened to her, he could give a shit. He suspected she and her husband were the ones that helped Dakota that night because they looked at him like he was a piece of shit. Then again, they always looked at him like that even before Dakota ran away. But they were the only neighbors to turn their noses up at him like they were too good for him. And he hated that shit.
While he was tending to his yard, trying to start the damn lawnmower, he noticed a rental car pull up and park in front of his lying neighbor's home.
It wasn't long after that that he heard a car door open and shut.
Boyce had been minding his own business, he preferred it that way, so he didn't notice when the driver had walked over to him before knocking or entering the house they intended on visiting.
"Excuse me," A woman with kind eyes called his attention.
He was about to finally start the mower, but stopped to give her his full attention.
Perhaps she was lost? Perhaps she knew Dakota? No. No, that was impossible.
"May I help you?" He asked politely but what he really wanted to say was, mind your own damn business and leave me the fuck alone!
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but does Dakota Fox live here?" She asked, pointing to his house.
Dakota? This woman is asking about Dakota?
He didn't think anyone around here knew her name. She wasn't allowed to talk to anyone and he didn't like her being outside when he wasn't home. Only his co-workers asked about his wife, they never officially met their neighbors to learn names and he's never seen this woman before.
But he knew someone was lying when he asked if any of the neighbors knew his wife. He suspected many knew of her and knew her name. Some more than others.
Dakota was very sweet, kind, lovable, and she was also very attractive. Men noticed her, more so than they should a married woman. And Dakota wouldn't deflect their flirting banter either. It pissed him off. She would always be punished for the way men looked at her, because she wore something 'revealing' on purpose to gain their attention, unintentional or not. He never liked her talking to other men, not even his co-workers, because she was too 'friendly' towards them. The truth was, he was afraid she would eventually leave him for someone else. But she knew he didn't like her being friendly or flirting with men and she did it anyway. It was the reason they moved the last time and why she's not allowed to leave the house without him, so there is no risk of her running off with another man.
Not many women asked about Dakota, though. So why is this woman asking about her?
And then it hit him like a brick. She knows Dakota!
"Yes," He told the woman asking about his wife, now giving her his full undivided attention. "Why?"
"It's just that my mother and father always spoke fondly of her. I've tried countless times to get them to move closer to my family and I, but they wouldn't hear of it. They said Detroit is their home," At this point, he was starting to lose interest in the conversation and regretting answering her in the first place. But then she continued and it peeked his interest. "but I suspected it was because they adored this girl they raved about over the phone, Dakota Fox, and I wanted to thank her for everything she's done for them."
"Your parents knew Dakota?" He continued to question, he was good at interrogating.
"Yes, they live right there," She pointed to the house she parked in front of. It was the neighbors he suspected all along. "They said she helped cook meals and clean for them."
What the fuck?! This is the first he's hearing of this shit!
"I'm sorry, Dakota isn't home right now." He replied politely with a fake smile. "I'm her husband, Boyce, I'll give her the message."
"You're her husband?" She sounded disgusted. What the fuck did she think he was, the fucking gardener?!
"Yes!" He snapped, now glaring at the woman. Had the whole world gone mad?!
The woman turned up her nose, just like her parents do, and looked like she wanted to slap him.
Oh, they knew alright. And they were the ones to help Dakota get away from him, of this he was sure of now more than ever.
After she went inside her parents' house, he went inside his, where he watched and waited for the woman to leave.
He changed his clothes, now wearing all black, and grabbed a pair of latex gloves while he was waiting.
After she left, her parents in tow, he jumped over the fence in the backyard that separated their houses.
He picked the lock easily enough and entered the home undetected. The only life around was their old, fat cat who stayed asleep on the old man's chair.
Useless fucking animal.
Boyce made sure not to touch anything or move anything without putting it back in the exact same spot he found it. Years of experience. He looked in the most obvious places, making sure to look in their office first. The main thing he found was bills and checkbooks, nothing useful to him. He decided to check their house phone messages since it said they had three.
The first message was useless.
The next message was from their daughter, the woman who bothered him earlier, saying she was at the airport and on her way to their house.
Do these people never answer their fucking phone, for fuck's sake! He knew they were home when she called, so why didn't they answer?!
The last message, which was the most recent, was like hitting the jackpot. It was her. It was Dakota.
"Hey, it's me." Her beautiful voice flew through the speaker.
"Dakota." I whispered her name like a prayer. He hadn't heard her sweet voice in months.
"I just wanted to say, I'm safe. I'm sorry it took this long to call, but I could never find a place that I felt safe. But, I think I finally found a safe haven, thanks to you."
It sounded as if she was crying, or about to. He hated when she cried, she knew that.
"Thank you again, I'll never be able to repay you for what the two of you did for me. I miss you. I'll try to call back another time but I don't have a phone so-"
"Ana!" A child can be heard in the background.
She ended the call before saying anything more.
Did the kid say Ana? Who was this kid? Why was she with a child? How did this child know his Dakota and who the fuck was Ana?
He looked at the caller ID seeing that the message was recent, only a few minutes old, so she must've called right after they left and before he entered their home.
He wrote down the name and number of the place where it said she called from.
What he didn't understand was, if these people helped Dakota get away from him, why was their daughter asking about Dakota? Did her parents not tell her that Dakota has been gone for over four months? From her reaction to him being Dakota's husband, it's obvious they told their daughter something about him. Maybe her parents didn't mention that Dakota left him or that they helped her escape an abusive husband. Or maybe they aren't telling anyone anything, keeping it to themselves like the selfish people they are.
He knew these people were no good liars, they even lie to their own daughter.
And then, as luck would have it, before he left the room the phone rang.
He quickly checked the caller ID and saw it was showing a Washington area code. The place the call was coming from; Mama Mia's, the same place Dakota's call came from.
It was her. It had to be her! She was calling back already.
He planned to listen to the message because he knew he couldn't talk to her, not wanting her to know that he knew where she was, not wanting her to run again before he had the chance to get there and bring her back home where she belonged, but the damn cat jumped on the desk and knocked the phone loose.
Damn cat, and damn old people for having a corded phone.
He had no choice but to answer. He would play it off that it was the wrong number if it wasn't her. He had no plan of what to do if it was her.
"Hello?" He asked the caller, disguising his voice a bit.
It was quiet, but he knew they were still on the line because he heard background noise and breathing.
He didn't know what to think. Maybe she recognized his voice, that's why she wasn't speaking. Maybe it was a miss dial, like someone redialed the last number called.
"Are you okay?" A man finally asks.
Boyce was confused at first. Why would a man call to ask if the old couple were okay? But then he heard that familiar feminine tone, so soft and sweet, sounding every bit of the angel she was.
"Yes. Fine." Dakota answered and then seconds later the line clicks off.
It was all the proof he needed that she was at this Mama Mia's place in Washington. And it had Boyce seeing red. She's with another man?! Another fucking man?! Fucking Bitch!
He hung up the phone, slamming it down, and went back to his house.
On his way home, he called his boss and told him that he had a family emergency so he couldn't come in to work for the next few days. But, to his dismay, his boss said he used up all his days off; it was from when he first started looking for Dakota. He has no choice but to wait until he has his next days off. Hopefully Dakota will stay where she is until then and he can find her.
Maybe he can do something that will force her to stay there until he can get to her.
Back inside his own home, he went straight to the computer and looked up Mama Mia's in Washington.
Mama Mia's was a restaurant in a small town just outside of Seattle, Washington.
He quickly wrote down the address and packed a bag, adding duct tape, rope, handcuffs and his spare gun for when he was able to make the trip.
He finally found her, and he wasn't going to let her slip away again. She was his and he was going to get her back.
"I'm coming for you, Dakota. You can run but you can't hide from me."