Fourteen


Violence ahead. Grab a nightlight for you have been warned.


When the Hardys finally arrived back in River Heights, Frank felt as if he was about to crawl out of his skin he was so antsy. He refused to allow himself to overreact after he had gotten Chief McGinnis's phone call. Sure, Wesley had been seen with Nancy's car, but that didn't necessarily mean he had her. He could have just stolen her car to scare them.

And if he did that, he had to admit that it was working.

Frank was truly and utterly terrified of the implications. Sure, there was a police officer dead and Frank felt horrible about that. He really did.

But if there was even a chance that Wesley had managed to get a hold of Nancy again, then someone might as well put a bullet in his brain and call it a day. He didn't know if he could deal with this again, not so soon. He prayed with everything in him that Nancy was tucked away in their apartment, safe in bed in such a deep sleep that she didn't hear the incessant ringing of her cell phone.

It wasn't difficult to find the empty parking lot where the cop had been murdered. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, red and blue lights cutting through the near complete darkness. Several generated-running spotlights were set up around the perimeter of the parking lot, illuminating it almost as bright as midday sunlight.

Joe pulled into an available spot in the parking lot. "I'm going to head over to the apartment and see if Nancy is there."

Frank barely gave a nod and didn't even wait until Joe had the car in park before he was jumping out and hurrying over to where Chief McGinnis stood with a few other cops. They barely even gave him a glance as he came to a stop.

"What happened?"

Chief McGinnis stepped away from the crowd, gripping Frank by the arm to steer him away from the crime scene. He didn't say anything to the older Hardy until they were out of earshot of everyone else. "Where's Joe?"

"He went back to my apartment to see if Nancy was there." Frank could already tell from the chief's expression that Joe wouldn't find her there, but he refused to believe it until his brother gave him conclusive confirmation. "What happened here?"

"From what we gathered from the video from Officer Walters's vehicle, he pulled up behind Nancy's car where Levine was standing outside. Levine claimed he was driving his wife's car because she had been hearing noises, so he pulled over to investigate."

"In a dark parking lot?" Frank asked in disbelief.

Chief McGinnis shrugged. "Anyway, Levine hands over his license and registration and Walters goes to check it out. He apparently finds out that its Nancy's car and asks Levine to step away so he can search the vehicle." He rubbed the back of his neck. "From what we can tell, Walters saw something in there that spooked him, but he never got the chance to look before Levine slit his throat."

"Son of a bitch," Frank muttered. "And there was no sign of Nancy on the video?"

"None."

"Do you think that was what spooked Walters when he looked inside the car?"

"It's possible that she was in the backseat."

Frank closed his eyes, not wanting to admit the possibility. He knew without a doubt that if she was in the backseat, she was either drugged or tied up or both. It's the only way she wouldn't have been able to warn the officer to stop Wesley from killing him. Nancy never would have let an innocent person die on her behalf.

"Let's just wait until we hear back from Joe before we jump to any conclusions about Nancy," Chief McGinnis said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why the hell wasn't anyone following her?" Frank asked, shrugging off the chief's grip. Anger coursed through his veins and it scared him a little with how sudden the feeling washed over him.

"We have limited resources at the moment, Frank. You know that as well as I do," Chief McGinnis said patiently, as if he was trying to placate an unruly child.

That only made Frank's anger rise. "That's complete bullshit and you know it! You knew that asshole was still out there and you did nothing!"

Even though it was dark, Frank didn't miss the way the chief's face flushed with anger. Chief McGinnis jabbed a finger into Frank's chest, making him stumble back. "We have been exhaustively checking every single lead that came across our desks! There hasn't been a single day that we haven't checked out some new dead-end lead."

"Then why hasn't there been a detail put on Nancy this entire time?"

"The mayor was breathing down my neck, Frank. There is no way in hell that he would have agreed to put surveillance on her without some new attempt on her life." Chief McGinnis held up a hand when Frank opened his mouth. "Yes, I know she received a couple of packages from the son of a bitch and he even entered your home. But that still wasn't enough to warrant twenty-four hour protection. But without him doing something to cause her physical harm, my hands were tied."

"And now it may be too late for her," Frank said, bitterly.

"How the hell were we supposed to know something like this was going to happen? Last time I checked, I wasn't psychic and neither were you."

"He was just waiting for an opening."

"And you left her."

Frank felt as if he'd just been hit in the face with a two-by-four. In fact, that would have felt ten times better than the impact of the truth of Chief McGinnis's words. Yes, he had left Nancy here alone, unprotected and vulnerable. That's not saying that Frank could have stopped Wesley if the killer really wanted her. But at least she would have had more of a fighting chance to get away from him.

It was Frank's fault that she was gone.

"Frank, I didn't mean…"

Frank shook his head, letting out an unsteady breath. "No, you're absolutely right. I left her…This is all my fault."

"Frank…"

The chief didn't get to say anything else as they were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Frank looked up to see Joe approaching them, a grim look on his face. He didn't need his brother to tell him what he found—or didn't find.

Frank knew.

"She wasn't at the apartment, Frank," Joe said, his tone almost apologetic. "In fact, there's no sign that she ever made it back home."


Nancy leaned back against the cage, shivering slightly as the cold metal sent a shock through her system. But she didn't dare close her eyes. Sure, she was exhausted and sleep was so inviting, but she couldn't afford to go to sleep now, not when she had no idea what Wesley was going to do next.

Instead, she kept a steady vigil over the other two women as they slept. Ella had finally given in to sleep half an hour ago, and the other girl still had yet to awake. Whatever Wesley had used to knock her out packed quite a punch. It made Nancy wonder why he would keep one girl drugged, yet not do the same to her or Ella.

She had a feeling it was an answer she didn't want to know.

As she sat there in the silence, she let her thoughts drift to Frank. He had to have realized she was missing by now, and she could only imagine the hell he was going through. She wasn't sure how much more stress he could take before he finally succumbed to it all. Frank had been her rock for the past three months, offering her strength when she had none.

Nancy would give anything to be back in his arms where she felt safe and at home. She only hoped that she got that chance again, but she couldn't help but have a very bad feeling that something awful was going to happen. Not that her situation with Wesley was exactly pleasant, but she just had a sinking suspicion that it was going to get so much worse than before.

There were only so many times her luck could hold out.

Her thoughts were broken as the door to the basement opened, and footsteps thudded down the stairs. Nancy instantly got to her feet, watching as Wesley came into the room, smiling. He was dressed differently now in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt, his hair wet as if he just stepped out of the shower. The smell of aftershave and spice permeated the air.

The other two girls remained oblivious and Nancy hoped that Wesley would just focus on her and leave them two of them alone.

"How was your dinner?" Wesley asked, coming to a stop outside of her cage.

"It was fine."

"Did you enjoy your time getting to know Ella?"

"What was the point of that?" Nancy asked, refusing to answer the question. The truth was, she found herself able to grow close to Ella—which was exactly what Wesley was going for. And as soon as he had his validation, he would use it against her.

"I thought Ella could use a friend," Wesley answered. "Lord knows, she's been incredibly lonesome down here."

"And whose fault is that?"

"I had another girl down here for Ella. She chose to misbehave and was a bad influence for our young friend."

"Do you mean Taylor?"

"Was that her name?" Wesley asked, nonchalant.

Nancy gripped the bars, giving them a firm shake. "You son of a bitch. You know exactly who she was. You've never grabbed anyone on a whim. You study them, get to know everything about them, and then you strike."

Wesley chuckled. "I am extremely flattered to hear you know me so well, Nancy. I wasn't too happy about it at first, but I'm ecstatic that you survived me the first time." He took a step closer to the cage, his voice dropping lower. "We have so much to learn about each other."

"I don't have a damn thing to learn about you," Nancy said, narrowing her eyes. "I know everything I need to know about you."

"How about we see if I can change your opinion?" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked her cage. Before she could take a step back, he took her arm in a bruising grip and pulled her out.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything at the moment," Wesley said as he tugged her towards Ella's cage. Putting the key into the lock, he opened the door to Ella's cage and pushed Nancy inside. "Bring Ella out here."

"Why?"

"Not to sound so terribly grown up, but how about because I said so?" At Nancy's hesitation, his eyes darkened to that frighteningly beautiful sapphire color. "Either you get her out of there, Nancy, or I will. And I will not be gentle about it."

There was no doubt that Wesley was telling her the truth. He would hurt Ella just to teach her some twisted little lesson. Nancy knew she couldn't let Ella get hurt because of her stubbornness. It would be best if she just did as Wesley instructed until an opportunity presented itself for her to strike back.

Ella stirred awake at the sound of their voices, jerking slightly when she noticed Nancy in the cage with her. "Nancy?"

"It's okay, Ella," Nancy said softly, offering her hand to help her up. "I need you to come out here with me, okay?"

"Why?"

"I'm waiting, Nancy," Wesley said, his tone hardening.

Nancy ignored him as she took Ella's hand. "Just listen to me, okay?" She leaned forward so she could whisper in her ear. "I told you I wouldn't let him hurt you. But you have to listen to me or he's going to get angry."

Ella nodded, letting Nancy pull her out of the cage. Wesley pointed to the wooden chairs he had placed in the middle of the room. Nancy noticed it was facing the medical table, giving them a perfect vantage point.

"Ella, why don't you have a seat?" Wesley asked, before handing a length of rope to Nancy. "Tie her up, Nancy."

Nancy took the rope in her hands, giving Ella an encouraging smile as the other girl's eyes widened in fear.

"Nancy, please don't do this," she begged.

"It's going to be okay, Ella. I told you to trust me, remember?"

Swallowing hard, Ella nodded her head before sitting back in the chair and putting her hands behind her. Nancy made quick work, looping the coarse ropes around her slender wrists, being careful not to make it too tight. She didn't miss the way that Wesley watched her every move, but she refused to acknowledge him.

Once she was finished, she stood up.

"Good," Wesley said, nodding his approval before grabbing Nancy's arm once again. "Now to make our other guest comfortable."

Unlocking the other girl's cage, he shoved Nancy inside, allowing her to have her first good look at her. She had blonde hair that was long and tangled, covering the majority of her face. Nancy could make out a couple of piercings in her eyebrow through a gap in the mass of curls. She was wearing a short black leather skirt that was riding up her thighs, along with a green camisole that revealed tattoos covering a vast majority of her upper back.

"Nancy, I would like for you to meet Kate. I'm sorry that she can't be a little more sociable, but it seems as if our friend has a problem with drugs," Wesley said with a regretful sigh. "Grab her shoulders and help me carry her to the table."

"What are you going to do?" Nancy asked, hoping to stall whatever horrible thing he had in mind.

"You'll find out soon enough." Wesley reached down to take Kate's legs. "I won't ask you again, Nancy."

Nancy swallowed hard, still refusing to grab Kate. She knew in her gut that Kate wasn't going to live past tonight. She couldn't, in good conscience, sit back and let that happen without doing something. She could never forgive herself if that happened. She needed to get Wesley to focus on her.

"Whatever you're going to do to her, do it to me instead."

Wesley actually smiled at that as he dropped Kate's feet, closing the distance between himself and Nancy. Taking her face in both of his hands, he tilted her head back where she had to look up at him. "Is that what you would like, Nancy?"

Nancy tried to swallow down the lump of fear in her throat, but it remained stuck. "Yes…" she whispered, not missing the way her voice wavered on the word.

Closing his eyes, Wesley pressed his lips against her forehead. He stayed still against her for a few moments before pulling away to stare down at her. "That's very admirable of you, Nancy. And that is exactly why I will not honor your request. Help me get her out to the table."

Dropping his hands from her face, Wesley stepped back from her.

"No," Nancy said softly.

"No?"

"I won't do it."

Letting out a deep, throaty chuckle, Wesley lashed out, backhanding Nancy across the face. A startled cry escaped from her lips, her hand going up to her throbbing face. Wesley grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her closer to him.

"The next time you defy me, it won't be you I hurt." He forced her head around to look at Ella. "It will be her. Are you ready to try this again, Nancy?"

Nancy tried to ignore the way Ella stared back at her in horror before nodding. "Yes. I understand."

"Good. Help me get Kate to the table."

As soon as he released his grip on her hair, Nancy let out a shaky breath before reaching down and gripping Kate by her shoulders while Wesley picked up her feet once again. Nancy couldn't help but feel sick with herself as she helped carry the unconscious woman to the table. Once there, they lifted her up and turned her over onto her stomach.

"Strap her down and make sure they're tight."

Nancy did as she was instructed, anger racing through her body at the helpless feeling enveloping her. She hated that she couldn't do anything right now, especially when it left Ella at risk to pay for her transgressions. She could only hope that Kate was drugged up enough not to feel whatever it was that Wesley was going to do to her.

As soon as she was finished, Wesley gripped her arm once again and shoved her back against a wooden support beam. Grabbing her hands, he jerked them behind her back and tied them tightly. Ella gave a slight gasp, but Nancy shook her head at her, letting her know she was okay.

Turning away from them, Wesley pulled on a pair of rubber gloves before picking up a scalpel, holding it up to inspect the blade. Nancy took his momentary distraction to work on her bonds, trying to get some slack.

"Oh, God…" Ella whimpered.

"Does this bring back some horrific memories, Ella?" Wesley asked, amused. "Do you think I should cut out Kate's tongue, just like I did to Taylor?"

"No!" Ella cried out. "Please, don't!"

"But you seemed to really enjoy it." Wesley turned to smile at Nancy and she instantly stopped her struggles. "Besides, I'm sure Nancy would love to see what she missed."

"No, I wouldn't," Nancy said, glaring at him.

Smiling, Wesley walked around the other side of Kate so he didn't obstruct their view of what he was doing. "I think it's time for Kate to wake up and join us, don't you agree?"

Without waiting for them to answer, Wesley brought the scalpel down and cut away Kate's shirt, leaving her back completely exposed. Then, he began cutting a slow, deliberate line along her skin. Kate's eyes suddenly popped open, a horrifying screech emitting from her mouth. Wesley didn't stop as he continued to cut deeply into her writhing girl's skin.

It took Nancy a moment to realize what he was doing and when she finally caught on, she had a difficult time keeping down the food she'd eaten earlier. Unfortunately, Ella didn't have the ability to control her gag reflex as she vomited all over the floor.

Wesley was cutting away Kate's tattoos.

Nancy was desperate to get out of her ropes now. No way in hell could she watch as Wesley slowly tortured the girl as he removed her tattoos. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain as the ropes bit into her wrists as she tried to wriggle out of them.

Kate continued to scream and scream to the point Nancy wasn't sure how she still had working vocal cords. It was a sound she would never be able to get out of her head.

Letting out a delighted whoop, Wesley held out a chunk of skin that was in the shape of a large butterfly. He turned it around so Nancy and Ella could see it. "Imagine what took her hours of sitting under a needle in an uncomfortable chair only took minutes for me to destroy."

"Stop it, Wesley," Nancy pleaded, noticing how Kate's screams had turned into steady whimpers. Blood oozed down her back only to drip on the concrete floor below her. There was now a gaping hole in the middle of her back and Nancy knew it wouldn't be long until the girl went into shock.

"Why would I want to do that when I'm having so much fun?" Putting the chunk of skin on the medical tray, Wesley began cutting another line into her back, eliciting another bloodcurdling scream from her lips. "Such a beautiful pair of angel wings you have here, Kate."

Nancy tried to tune out her screams as she focused on getting herself free from the ropes. In between Kate's screams and Ella's whimpers, she thought her head might explode. She had to concentrate on getting free. It was the only thing she could allow herself to think about.

Moving her hands around, Nancy tried to feel for any sharp protrusion she could use to fray the ropes.

"There's one half of a wing," Wesley said proudly, holding it up.

Nancy ignored him, her heart skipping a beat when her fingers brushed against the sharp point of a nail sticking out of the wood. Keeping the rest of her body still, Nancy rubbed the ropes against the nail.

Kate let out another scream before it slowly died in her throat. Wesley continued to cut into her skin, pulling piece by piece off only to deposit them on the surgical tray. Nancy glanced over at Ella to see her slumped in the chair, passed out.

Good, she thought. She doesn't need to see anymore of this.

Nancy turned all of her focus on moving the ropes up and down, feeling them fray from the friction she was causing. Wesley didn't even glance her way as he hummed to himself, working on tearing Kate's back apart, even as she grew silent. While a small part of her hoped that Kate wasn't dead, she knew death would be a welcome blessing for her now. She couldn't begin to imagine the amount of pain she was in.

The ropes snapped apart after a few more minutes, causing Nancy to wince, hoping Wesley didn't hear it. He was so focused on his work, he didn't even look up. Nancy kept her hands behind her back, watching for her moment to attack.

"Beautiful," Wesley murmured, holding up another piece of skin shaped like a flower. He turned his head to smile at Nancy, sauntering towards her. Nancy tried to hide her disgust, but knew she failed horribly when he came to a stop in front of her, holding up the skin for her to see. "Look at it, Nancy."

"No."

"Look at it!" Wesley screamed, shoving it into her face.

Nancy struck out before it could touch her face, kneeing him in the groin. Wesley cried out in shock, bending down to grab himself and Nancy took the opportunity to smash her knee into his face. Wesley fell down to his knees, one hand at his groin and the other holding his nose as blood ran in rivulets down his face.

"You stupid bitch!"

Nancy quickly ran to Ella's side, digging into the knots while keeping an eye on Wesley. She knew he wouldn't stay down for long and when he did get up, payback would be horrible. Ella didn't make it any easier by squirming in her chair.

"Ella, be still!" Nancy snapped, instantly regretting it as she let out a whimper. "I almost have it, but you need to stay still."

"I'm sorry," Ella said before letting out a gasp. "Nancy!"

All of a sudden, she was tackled from the side, crashing to the floor with Wesley on top of her. He let out a growl before punching her in the jaw, making her see stars. Nancy fought against him, managing to push him off of her. Turning around, she tried to get back up to return to Ella, but Wesley grabbed her ankle and jerked her back to the ground, her head bouncing off of the concrete.

Nancy let out a moan, unable to pull herself up again. It was the second time that night that her head had taken a hard hit. She was lucky that she hadn't managed to lose consciousness yet.

Moving away from her, Wesley cut the ropes around Ella's wrists before grabbing her by the neck and throwing her back into her cage. Nancy tried to protest the brutal treatment, but no sound came from her lips, only another pitiful moan.

Wesley returned to Nancy's side, jerking her up by her hair before wrapping his arms around her body. "Remember when I told you that tonight was going to be filled with regrets, Nancy?"

Nancy let out a gasp as she struggled against his grip.

"I think it's time we take our little game upstairs."


I know a good bit of you was expecting Frank to really lose it and break down, but when I thought it over, it just totally went against his character. Frank has always been the rational and level-headed one, so it wouldn't be right for him to turn into a blubbering mess. That's not to say there won't be a lot of anger and angst on his part, because there definitely will.

Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed: Alicia Hardy (Wesley makes me freak out with noises…it's hard living with him in my head), Guest (Thank you so much! I love bringing my characters to life!), NoMoreUsernames (Welcome! I love creating suspense!), SarahE7191 (Thank you!), Michelle Gallichio (I'm so happy you love it!), Caranath (I do enjoy inflicting torture, so there's no reason to hang your head in shame for sharing in it. Come over to the darkside with me!), MinecraftDanny (There will be more creepiness…promise!), FreshKicks (As I keep writing Ella, I love her even more. It's only natural for her and Nancy to get closer), max2013 (I will definitely give you warnings! No worries about that!), SC15 (The owner of the house if definitely twisted and sadistic…looks can be deceiving, especially with Wesley), VerityD (Welcome! And thank you so much for your compliment…it means a lot to me!), Cupcake (I had nothing to do with that spider! I promise! Now, Wesley on the other hand…), and Jabba1 (I love that you hate Wesley…just the way it should be!)

I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!