Nineteen
Frank was sure this had to be the longest night of his life. He honestly couldn't remember when the day began, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't about to end any time soon. In fact, he knew it wouldn't really end until he had Nancy back in his arms. There would be no rest for him until she was back where she belonged.
Instead of being back at his apartment and getting some much needed rest, he was now sitting in the triage unit of the emergency room, waiting for the doctor to finish taping up his ribs. According to the doctor, he'd been lucky. He didn't have a broken rib—just a couple of cracked ribs that would heal with rest and time.
Too bad that Frank didn't have either of those options at the moment.
As much as he knew he needed to sit still and let the doctor finish with the bandaging, Frank couldn't help but feel antsy. The only thing he wanted to do was find where they'd put Ella and talk to her. He had a feeling she would be the best lead to finding Nancy.
He just prayed that she could tell him where Wesley had kept her.
Doubtful, but he would take any sliver of hope being thrown his way.
"Looks like that will do it," the physician said as he put on the last piece of tape. "How does that feel?"
Frank tried to take a deep breath, wincing as the wrapping tightened its grip around his torso. "If breathing's supposed to be a difficulty, then I say it feels great."
The doctor looked apologetic as the nurse came around to Frank's other side and helped him with his shirt. "It's going to hurt like hell, but when you do it at home, you need to make sure it' that tight each time. It's the only way they'll heal properly."
"Yeah, I know," Frank said, getting onto his feet. "Unfortunately, this isn't my first set of cracked ribs."
"Then I don't need to give you the usual spiel. That saves us both some time." The doctor smiled as he gave Frank a pat on the shoulder. "Seriously, just try to take it easy and get some rest."
Frank ignored him as he grabbed his jacket. "Do you know where they took the girl I came in with?"
"Last I heard, she was still in surgery."
"Which floor?"
"Third. I'll let the staff up there know you're coming up as soon as you're discharged."
Frank held out his hand and shook the doctor's. "Thanks, Doc."
Fifteen minutes later, Frank was taking the elevator up to the third floor. There was a bustle of activity as soon as the doors opened, but he paid it no mind as he walked to the nurse's station, letting them know that he would be sitting in the waiting room. Before going inside, he stopped at the vending machine and bought a cup of coffee, knowing that it would likely taste like crap. But if it managed to keep him awake, then he would drink the entire hospital supply.
He was relieved to see that the waiting room was relatively empty, save for a couple sitting by the door, holding hands. A pang of jealousy went through his body as he watched the way they stayed huddled together, heads touching. He couldn't help but wish it was him and Nancy sitting there together.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Frank took a seat in the far corner, letting out a heavy sigh. The television in the corner was playing a late-night infomercial, advertising the next greatest technology of non-stick cookware. He couldn't stop the grimace on his face as he took a sip of the strong brew, but merely shrugged and took another reluctant sip of it. He was just about to settle back in his chair and close his eyes when two men in suits seemed to appear in front of him out of thin air.
Frank knew immediately who they were even before they flashed their badges.
FBI.
"I was beginning to wonder when you would finally show up," Frank muttered as he sat up, running a hand across his face. A five o'clock shadow was starting to form, but he couldn't bother himself with caring. Shaving wasn't exactly on his list of priorities at the moment.
"I'm Agent Craig and this is my partner, Agent Whalen." The man who made the introductions was bald and a little heavy around the mid-section, with piercing gray eyes. His partner was the exact opposite—rail thin with thinning dark hair and brown eyes. Frank bit back a chuckle as he realized who they reminded him of—Laurel and Hardy.
Hardy…okay, Frank couldn't help but laugh at that. The agents only gave him a strange look as they reached into their pockets for their badges.
"Save yourself some time and don't bother with those," Frank said, regaining his stoic composure. "You'll have to forgive me for being slightly annoyed with the fact that it took the FBI long enough to get involved."
"What makes you think we haven't been involved?" Craig asked, crossing his arms over his chest, only to have them rest on his belly. Frank wondered how difficult it was for him to do field work in his shape, considering agents usually needed to be in tiptop shape.
"Considering you haven't been beating my door down before now tells me that you haven't been," Frank said. "If so, then I'm pretty damn sure that my fiancée wouldn't be missing right now."
"I can understand your frustration, Mr. Hardy," Whalen said, holding out a placating hand to him. "We have been working the case of former Agent Levine from the sidelines. We honestly didn't think he would be stupid enough to go after Miss Drew again, especially since we've been having her watched since the day she was released from the hospital."
"Why the hell wasn't I notified about this?"
"We thought it best to keep it to ourselves, not wanting to alert Levine to our presence," Craig explained. "The fewer people who knew about it, the less risk of tipping him off."
"And how did that work out for you?" Frank couldn't help the angry tone that had seeped into his voice. They had been watching Nancy for months, and yet the asshole still managed to take her right from underneath them.
"It was an oversight on our part," Whalen admitted. "He managed to apprehend her during a shift change. The agent assigned to her takes full responsibility for the unfortunate event."
"Unfortunate event?" Frank repeated, rising out of his chair, trying not to wince in pain. Both agents took a step back, and Frank couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied at the way they tensed. "You call Nancy being kidnapped by a serial killer an unfortunate event."
The agents looked at each other, but neither dared to say anything.
"Did Chief McGinnis know you were watching Nancy?" If the chief knew anything about this, Frank was pretty sure he would end up going nuclear on the entire River Heights Police Department. There would simply be no end to his rage.
"Again, the fewer people who knew, the lesser the risk to Miss Drew," Craig said calmly. They were treating Frank as if he was some wild animal about to go on the attack.
And Frank was damn sure about to attack. The agents wanted a scene in the middle of the hospital, well he was about to give it to them.
"Why the hell weren't you following Wesley Levine this entire time?" Frank roared, taking another threatening step toward them. The agents' hands went to their guns, but Frank ignored them. He was pissed—extremely so. "Don't you think that would have been the more obvious of the two?"
"Mr. Hardy, we're going to have to ask you to calm down or we will have no choice but to take you in," Whalen warned.
"Oh, yeah…sure. Let's take me in but ignore the fact that there's a serial killer on the loose—who used to be one of your own—because I'm obviously the bigger threat."
"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be," Craig said. "We can work together—in fact, we're more than willing to at this point."
"You still haven't answered my question—why weren't you following Wesley Levine. And don't give me that bullshit that he fell off the grid," Frank practically growled. "You're the goddamned FBI, always going around claiming that you're better than everyone else. Finding someone, especially an ex-agent, should be a breeze in the park for you."
"If it were that simple, then we would have already apprehended ex-Agent Levine," Whalen said patiently. "Because he used to be the FBI, he knows how to cover his tracks and we're pretty sure he still has plenty of connections that would overlook the fact that he's a known felon. I assure you, Mr. Hardy, we are doing everything in our power to locate him and your fiancée. I know you're upset—and justifiably so—but we're not going to get anywhere if you insist on fighting up every step of the way. You keep that up and the only way we're going to find Miss Drew is lying in a ditch somewhere."
Frank felt as if he'd been sucker-punched. Wesley's kicks to his ribs hadn't nearly been as hurtful as Whalen's words. The fight slowly deflated from his body and he sank back down into the chair, holding his head in his hands.
"What do you need from me?" Frank asked quietly.
"We were told that you found Ella Jacobs this evening."
"Considering she was pretty much left gift-wrapped in the back of Nancy's car, I guess you could say that," Frank agreed. "He wanted me to find her. It was the whole point."
"Did she say anything to you?"
Frank shook his head. "She was a little too busy trying to stay alive. She didn't really say much, expect to tell me that Nancy wasn't okay."
"Was she more specific than that?" Craig asked.
"Again, she was trying her best not to die in my arms."
"She didn't tell you where she was being held?"
Frank sighed as he looked up at the two men in exasperation. "How many times and ways do I have to say it? She was dying in my arms—she didn't tell me a damn thing. And if she did, do you honestly think I would be sitting in an uncomfortable vinyl chair drinking shit coffee?"
The agents exchanged a look before Craig reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "We're on our way to check out Miss Drew's car for any evidence Levine may have left behind. Will you at least call us as soon as Miss Jacobs wakes up?"
"Why? So you can ask her the same pointless questions you're asking me?"
Craig looked like he wanted to say something else, but Whalen nudged him before leading him out of the waiting room. Frank was glad to see them leave because he was sure of one thing.
If they had stuck around much longer, he was pretty sure he would have been spending the rest of the night in a jail cell since he was certain he would have ended up punching one or both of them.
It was another three hours before Frank was allowed to see Ella. Walking into the private room, Frank could have sworn he was looking at a ghost, her red hair standing out in stark contrast to her pale features. The rings underneath her closed eyes were so dark, they were almost black. It made Frank wonder if this was the first time she'd slept since she'd been kidnapped a few days ago.
It really was a shame that it took nearly dying for her to get the rest she needed.
Frank grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it close to her bed. He'd been informed that Ella's family was flying in later that morning. Since she was in the ICU and usually immediate family was allowed to visit, they had made an exception for him since he was the one who had found her.
Frank was grateful for that for two reasons: one, he didn't want Ella to wake up alone and two, he wanted to be the first to speak with her about Nancy before the police had a chance to pounce on her. He had no doubts they would come rushing into her room as soon as they got word that she was awake. Frank wanted to keep her from that for as long as possible.
He had to admit that he felt a little awkward being in there, considering Ella was a virtual stranger to him. Sure, he knew all about her from what information he and Joe had gathered from digging into her past. The only real tie he had to her was that she happened to be with Nancy and he prayed with everything in him that she would be able to tell him where she was being held. Or at the very least, point him in the right direction.
Frank couldn't help but think that he was running out of time to find her.
Before he could dwell on that any further, a soft gasp had him jerking out of his seat as Ella's eyes fluttered open. They landed on Frank and he didn't miss the look of panic crossing her features as she tried to take in her surroundings. Frank quickly grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, offering her comfort and strength through his touch.
"It's okay, Ella. You're safe now."
"Wh-where…?"
"You're in the hospital—River Heights General, to be specific," Frank explained quietly. "You just got out of surgery a couple of hours ago."
Ella blinked owlishly, confusion all over her face. "Surgery?"
Frank nodded. "Do you remember what happened to you?"
"No…"
"You were stabbed. I found you in the trunk of my fiancée's car."
All of a sudden, Ella's eyes widened as she looked around the room in fear. "Wes-Wesley. Is—where is he?"
Frank immediately stood up and gathered her into his arms, rocking her gently as she began sobbing in earnest. He bit back a groan of pain as pressure was applied to his cracked ribs. "Calm down, Ella. He's not here. I promise you that you're safe."
Ella continued to cry softy against his chest, clutching onto his shirt desperately. Frank couldn't really blame her, especially not knowing what she'd been through for the past few days. If it was anything like Nancy went through all those months ago, he knew it would take some time for her to recover. Not to mention, Ella had already been through something like this when she was taken a year ago.
After a few more minutes, Ella seemed to regain her composure as she pulled away from Frank. He helped her to lie back against the pillows and returned to his chair. "You're Frank…"
Frank nodded. "Frank Hardy."
"Nancy told me about you. She said that you could help her."
"I want to find her, Ella," Frank said softly. "But I'm going to need your help."
Tears welled up in her bright green eyes as she shook her head sadly. "I don't know where he kept me—where she's at. I was drugged when he brought me there and I was in the trunk when we left."
Frank tried not to let defeat show on his face. "It's okay if you don't know exactly where it is, Ella."
"But I tried to do what Nancy told me to do."
"What do you mean?"
Ella winced as she tried to sit up and Frank quickly got up and positioned the pillows behind her back. "She told me to concentrate on sounds and bumps and anything else that could probably help you. I don't know how much I'll be able to help because I was trying not to focus on the pain."
"It's okay, Ella. Any kind of directions you can give me will be helpful."
"I want to help," Ella said softly. "I didn't want to leave Nancy alone but she made me go."
"What are you talking about?"
"She said she convinced Wesley to let me go."
"Did she tell you how?"
Ella shook her head.
Frank bit back a sigh, trying not to be annoyed with Nancy. He should have known that she would do anything to put someone else's safety before her own. It was one of the things that he loved and admired about her—her selflessness. But God, if it didn't want to make him knock some sense into her sometimes.
"Ella, when I found you tonight, you told me that Nancy wasn't okay," Frank began, and part of him didn't want to know what she meant by that. But he knew he needed to know—no matter how bad it may be. "What did you mean by that? Did something bad happen to her?"
Ella's bottom lip began to quiver and a tear streamed down her left cheek. "She made me promise not to tell you…"
"I really need to know, Ella. You can't keep anything from me, especially if it concerns Nancy's well-being." Frank took a deep breath, grasping her hand once again. "Did Wesley hurt her?"
"I can't…"
"Ella, please…I am begging you to tell me. Is Nancy okay?"
"I'm sorry, Frank. If I knew he was going to do it, I would have tried my best to stop him." Ella broke down and began sobbing in earnest.
"Ella…"
"I am so sorry. I wish I could have stopped him." Ella pried her hand away from Frank's and covered her face with them as she continued to cry. "Wesley raped her, Frank."
A quicker update this time around. The great thing about being sick…it gives me plenty of time to write since I can't go to work. Good for you guys, but not so great for my paycheck…
Again, I want to thank everyone for their kind words and sympathy. I really appreciate each and every one of you.
Alicia Hardy (I missed Wesley, too…how bad is that, considering he has taken up semi-permanent residency in my head?), Cupcake (I didn't even remember that line from Tangled and I love that movie! I basically had him say he had a thing for brunettes because I happen to be one myself! Thank God, Wesley is fictional!), Caranath (Thank you so much—and it takes a lot to get on my bad side…believe me!), Guest (Thank you! I'm updating as fast as I can!), misslady92 (Nancy will never give up—it's why I love her so much), Angelvie S (Our girl isn't giving up!), max2013 (Thank you—a doctor's visit, two shots, and lots of meds later, I should be on my way to feeling much better!), VerityD (I never make things that easy for Nancy…or anyone, for that matter), Michelle Gallichio (Wesley has much more planned for Nancy—he's nowhere near finished with her yet), SC15 (Wesley is having a lot of fun bringing her down bit by bit, and he still has a lot more in store for her), catlover1033 (I'd be interested to know what you think Wesley has planned—PM me if you want!), Jabba1 (Ah, the missing knife…where could it possibly be?)
Much love to all of you and everyone who is adding me to their lists!
I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!
