Chapter 42

As soon as Shane pulled into familiar territory, he let out a sigh of relief. Even with Jessica's attempted escape, they had still made good time. Everything had gone according to plan, well almost. He had always pictured that when he finally had Jess, they would spend their ride reminiscing and laughing about when they were kids. They would talk about the summers they shared and all the games and conversation they shared in the playhouse. Everything was always better in that playhouse.

That was what should have happened, but given Jess' current state that was not possible. For most of the ride Shane had to deal with her muffled sobs, and cries. Every time the car came to a stop she would attempt to scream or kick the door for help. Thankfully no one was able to hear and she was not visible from the windows so the only one bothered by this was him. He just kept driving, turning the radio up louder but being careful not to allow any more information about Jeff to come up.

He wondered himself of Hardy's condition but since he was using him to control Jessica; Shane had to watch what she heard. He knew that right now she felt hopeless, with no way of escaping, and that was what he wanted. As soon as she accepted her fate it would be much easier for both of them. After awhile, her crying has stopped and Shane turned off the radio. Still not wanting to waste any time and not sure if she could be trusted yet, he left her bound in the back, forcing her to listen to him talk incessantly about the past.

Jessica attempted to block put the sound of his voice, focusing her attention on the window and her limited view. She tried to figure out where he was taking her but all she could see were trees and the sky. The moving trees and clouds caused her stomach to turn so she had to turn away. It didn't matter anyway, she thought to herself. There was no way of knowing where they were anyway.

She turned her thoughts to Jeff, remembering what Shane had whispered to her. Was it really possible that Shane was telling the truth, that Jeff wasn't going to make it? She pushed that idea out of her mind. She was counting on him and she knew that Jeff would do whatever it took to find her. He'll pull through; he had to. She turned back toward the window, realizing the car was slowing to a stop again.

"There's no one here, so save your energy." He told her stepping out of the car. "Don't go anywhere." He joked taking the long walk to the rest stop building. When he got in he quickly headed to the men's room avoiding contact with anyone. As he was leaving the building he saw Jessica's face on the TV screen in the eating area. He went over to hear what was being said.

"Authorities still have no clue as to her whereabouts and stress that anyone who sees her should not confront them but contact the police immediately." The reporter switched to another story and Shane turned to walk away. He must have missed the part about Jeff's condition, he thought to himself as he exited the building. He pulled out his cell wanting to call Stephanie to see if anyone was onto him, but was afraid of being traced so he went to the pay phones and dialed her.

"Where are you?" She asked as soon as he identified himself.

"I don't know. I'm somewhere in Virginia, but I haven't seen any signs lately. Any news?"

"Nothing yet. Shane I think you should come back. You've been out forever and I could use some help here."

"I can't. She's out there somewhere and she's probably scared. I have to find her."

"I know but you also need your rest. It's not going to do you any good if you're too tired to see anything."

"I'm fine. Look, I'll just look a little longer and when I come up to a hotel or something I'll take a rest."

"All right, just make sure you're careful." She told him concerned.

"I will. How's Hardy?"

"Well he came out of surgery okay, now we just wait. I wish you were here, everything is bad."

"It will be okay. We'll catch this guy and find Jess. I know it. We just got to keep looking." He said to her. "Let me know if you get any info. I'm getting really bad service out here so if I don't pick up leave me a message."

"I will." Stephanie said and after he reassured her several more times he hung up the phone and went back to the car. So far he was still in the clear and he didn't have much further to go. Besides, Hardy was still out of it and there were no guarantees he would even pull through. He had made sure as he had talked to his sister not to make a mention of where they were. He even told her he was still in Virginia just in case. Shane couldn't help but to whistle to himself as he headed back to the car.

"We should be there in a little bit." He told Jessica as he started the car. "I know you're uncomfortable right now, but as soon as we get to our new home, everything will better. You'll see. We're going to be happy." He continued talking on, but Jessica tuned him out and tried to figure out what her next move would be.

She knew she didn't have many options. She was fairly sure based upon his ramblings that reasoning with him was not going to be an option. She could fight him, but that might only anger him and she was still reeling from when he had hit her earlier, not to mention she couldn't chance the fact that he might retaliate on Jeff. That left her with only one option, she would have to try to play along, and hope that eventually he would let his guard down.

"We're here." He said excitedly and Jessica was suddenly aware that the car had stopped again. Shane jumped out of the car and took a look around. Everything looked perfect just as he had arranged.

"It's almost over." He told her as he opened the door and pulled out a blindfold. "Now don't make this hard. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want this to be a surprise." She had to force herself not to struggle as he covered her eyes, then after lifting her up he carried her into the house. He laid her down on the couch and removed her blindfold with a flourish allowing her to look around.

She fought down her fear as she stared at her new surroundings. Now the entire conversation about when they were kids on the car ride made sense. Shane had recreated the playhouse from the McMahon's back yard. Every detail had been replicated but it was now on a much larger scale.

"Remember all the time you used to force me to play house?" Shane asked. "Almost every day. I couldn't stand it at first, but it always made you so happy. So of course, I did it, just to see you smile. Even when we were older, this was where we would always get together and just talk. You were relaxed here. When I was trying to plan our future, I wanted a place for you to feel safe. This was the first place that came to mind. Do you like it?"

Jessica nodded her head now fully aware of just how disturbed Shane's mind had become. She glanced around becoming more alarmed as she saw a picture of her and Shane on the end table. It was a press photo from before she left the WWE. The only problem was that the original picture was of her and Jeff.

"Isn't it great? Come on, I want to show you around." He reached down and removed the tape binding her legs. Grabbing her arm, Shane led Jessica around their 'home' pointing out any changes that he made. "Of course the kitchen is real, not like the old plastic one. I know how much you love to cook and over here is the bedroom." He opened the door, revealing the room. She glanced at the bed and froze. Shane pulled her arm to lead her into the room but she resisted.

"Don't worry," He said reading her mind. "I'm going to sleep on the couch. I can wait until you're ready." She nodded at him, relieved as he sat her on the bed. He caressed her face and then gently removed the tape from her mouth.

"So what do you think?" He asked her.

"I like it." She finally said, trying to fight the urge to scream. "Thank you." He smiled at her and reached to give her a hug but she moved away. His smile faded.

"I was only going for a hug." He told her.

"I'm sorry." Jessica said knowing that she had hurt him. She forced herself to grab his hand. "This is just all happening so fast. I'm just kind of tired."

"You're right, I'm sorry. It's been a long day. Why don't you rest for a little bit?" He forced her to lie down on the bed. "We can talk more in the morning."

"Thank you." She said to him. Shane nodded and was going to head to the door but he saw her eyes dart around the room. She was looking for a way out, he thought to himself. Walking back over to her, he reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Jessica's eyes widened alarmed, as he moved in closer to her. "Shane, please don't."

"I'm sorry, just for now." He grabbed her right arm and secured the cuff around it.

"I'm not gonna go anywhere. I promise, please." She begged with tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't take that chance." He secured the other cuff to the bedpost. Then he kissed her on the forehead, before leaving the room; shutting the door to drown out her pleading. Jessica looked around, despondent, giving in once again to her tears. I can't do this, she thought to herself as her anxiety rose.

"Please, someone help me." She cried out but there was no one who could hear her, at least no one who counted. She cried for what felt like hours, before finally succumbing to her slumber.