A/N Please heed the warnings I mentioned in the first few chapters, as they apply to this chapter as well.
...
"Daddy!"
Without even thinking about it, Elizabeth found herself on the move, her feet leading her out onto the street, down until she neared the stagecoach stop. She froze at the scene she found there.
Emma was in a man's arms, giggling. He looked up, meeting her eyes, and a chill ran down her spine from the coldness she saw in his gaze.
"Elizabeth."
"James."
William positioned himself between his parents, having run after his mother and sister, feeling the need to protect them. "You hurt mama," he announced to the few people who were around. There was a fire in his eyes.
James laughed. "William, my boy. What are you talking about? I came here to bring you and your sister and mom home, so we can all be together again."
"William," Elizabeth's voice cracked. "Come here."
"Oh, come on. Can't a boy come hug his father?"
A crowd had begun to gather, people stopping along the street to watch what was happening. Thankfully, the crowd had alerted Jack to the situation, and James straightened up when he saw the man approaching, looking proud in his red serge.
"Constable." James gave him a polite nod, acknowledging his presence.
Jack just glared at him and moved closer to Elizabeth. He placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on his gun. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.
"Yes, I'm fine." Her voice was even, almost devoid of emotion.
"Elizabeth, why don't you go pack your things?" James suggested. "My parents are expecting us in Toronto by the end of the week."
"She won't be going with you," Jack told him matter-of-factly.
"As I recall, I didn't ask you, Constable." He looked at him smugly. "Now, if you don't mind, my wife and I should be going. We have a long journey ahead of us, and she needs to prepare herself and our children."
Jack seethed at the words. James spoke of Elizabeth and the children as if they were his property, as if they had no free will.
"Go to the café," he whispered to her. "I'll deal with this."
"No. I need to deal with this myself." She took a step toward James. "Let's go somewhere and talk."
"Great." He gave her a smile that sent another shiver down her spine. "Why don't you show me where you've been living? We can talk there."
"No. I'll take you to the saloon so you can get a room, and then we can go to the café."
"Come on, Liz. I'm your husband. You aren't going to let me stay with you?"
"I've been staying with a friend," she told him, not bothering to mention that she'd just moved into her own place. "There's no room for you."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Show me where this saloon is."
"Follow me." She started toward the saloon, holding tightly to William's hand. Glancing back, she saw Jack watching her helplessly. She shook her head, silently telling him not to follow.
"He's here," Jack said as he stepped into the jail. He waved around the telegram he had received just minutes before, the one from William Thatcher that said James had discovered Elizabeth's whereabouts and that he was on his way to find her. "Apparently he left a few days before the Thatchers knew he did, because Sir James Spencer just arrived in Hope Valley."
Bill leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "So what's your plan?"
He shrugged. "I'd like to throw him in that cell over there, but I know I can't do that without a legitimate reason."
"Maybe he'll slip up. Where is he now?"
"Elizabeth was taking him to the saloon to get a room, and then she said they'd go to the café to talk."
"You know," Bill stood. "I could go for some coffee. You want to come along?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to be there. He's not going to do or say anything in front of me. He has no idea who you are, so he might let his guard down. Just keep your ears open, and maybe try to find someone else to sit with you. Two witnesses will hold up better than just one. Oh," he added, "please don't let him get her alone."
"Okay. I'll let you know what I find out."
"Thanks, Bill." He settled in behind the desk. "I'll keep looking to see if there's anything we missed. And maybe I'll clean out that cell." He smiled. "Just in case."
...
William stood at the front door, waiting for his wife to finish getting ready. "Grace, dear, we really should be going. The chauffeur is waiting."
"Oh, I know." She appeared in the entryway, a small suitcase in her hand. "I just wanted to pack a few things for the children, too. This is bound to be a difficult time for them."
"I just hope we aren't too late." He closed the front door behind them. "I can't believe he found her. I should've taken those crates to the train station myself. I could've stopped him from finding out where they were being sent."
"Don't blame yourself, William. How could we have known that he was there at the same time they were being shipped?" She handed him the suitcase so he could load it into the car. "But now he's on his way there, so we just need to do whatever we can to keep our daughter and her children safe."
He held the car door open for her. "I alerted the Mountie there, so hopefully he'll be able to keep an eye out, and keep James away from Elizabeth."
"From your lips to God's ears."
He alerted the chauffeur that they were ready to go, and he put his arm around Grace as they slowly pulled away from the house. "Now we just have to pray that we get there before anything happens."
...
James set down his mug, just watching Elizabeth. She squirmed under his gaze, wishing he would just speak already.
"Why did you leave?" he finally asked, his voice surprisingly calm.
"Why did you hit me?" she retorted, reaching for her own glass.
He grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers so tightly they started to turn purple. "You need to shut up," he said through gritted teeth. "Tell me why you left."
"You know why." She looked down at their hands, trying to get hers free.
"Do you know how this has looked for me? For the entire family?" He loosened his grip on her and leaned back in his chair. "Everyone's been asking about you. I keep having to lie, tellin' people you were sick, and then you were visiting family. I can't be makin' excuses for you forever. You have to come back."
"And if I don't?" she countered, massaging her hand to get the blood flowing again.
He let out a harsh laugh. "Funny that you think you have a choice here."
Elizabeth glanced around the room, noticing all the eyes darting her way. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw Bill Avery sitting at the nearest table. Maybe she could get James to admit to anything he did to her. Surely, if Bill overheard his confession, they could finally put him in jail.
"I can't believe you'd even want to stay here," James continued, oblivious to the thoughts running through her mind. "There's nothing to do here. Only two places to eat, one general store. The entire town only takes up a single street. You can't tell me you don't miss life in Toronto."
"I don't miss living in fear."
"I don't know what this fiction is that you've created, but you've really got to stop. You even have our son convinced that I'm some horrible monster. I've provided you with a beautiful home, a wardrobe full of clothes. Our children want for nothing. I just don't understand why you would leave all of that."
"Well," she pushed her chair back, starting to stand, "it's clear that you're just going to continue denying the pain you caused me. Or maybe the alcohol has made you forget. Either way, I don't think we should speak again unless you're going to admit to the truth. The children and I won't be returning to Toronto with you, so I suppose you'll have to come up with more lies to tell your friends. I'll even give you permission to make it seem like it's my fault. You can be the wonderful man you've convinced everyone you are. But I'll always know the real you."
He followed her out the door, grabbing her wrist. "Don't you dare walk away from me," he growled. "You know what I'm capable of."
"I do," she said calmly, eyeing Jack as he approached them. "Would you care to tell the Constable what that is?"
"You think you're so clever." He dropped her arm. "Hello, Constable," he greeted him, forcing a smile.
"Everything okay?"
"Maybe." James straightened up. "Say, Constable. If a wife were to take her children and run away from her husband, could she be charged with kidnapping?"
"Not if she was running for good reason." He held the man's gaze, not giving in to his clear attempt to intimidate. "I suggest you go back to your room before I find a reason to arrest you."
James narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."
Jack just shrugged. "Try me."
The two men stared each other down for what felt like hours before James finally relented. "This isn't over." He pointed at Elizabeth. "You're coming home with me, one way or another."
She stood frozen to the spot as she watched him saunter away. Once he was behind the door of the saloon, she finally allowed herself to breathe.
"What happened?" Jack put a hand near her arm, not quite touching her, and led her over to a bench.
She sank down onto it. "He keeps saying I'm lying. I told him that I won't talk to him again if he's just going to continue denying that he did anything, and he didn't like that."
"He'll slip up. He has to, and then we'll have him." He took a seat beside her. "Where are the children?"
"Still at Abigail's." She glanced toward the café. "I didn't want them to overhear anything, so I had them go in the back room to play with Allie."
"Why don't you go take them home? Bill and I will keep an eye on the saloon. We won't let him follow you."
She nodded. "Thank you, Jack. I'm just so sorry that I've brought all of this on you, on this town."
"Don't apologize for doing what you think is best for you and your children. We're going to figure out a way to keep him away from you forever. I promise."
...
Rosemary glanced at the clock, then out the window at the house next door. "I thought Elizabeth said she was just going to pick up a few things from her house. It's been fifteen minutes now. Do you think she's in trouble?"
Lee joined her at the window. "The house looks dark. I'll go check."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Rosemary fretted. "I should've gone with her. What if that man found her?"
"If she's not at the house, I'll let Jack know."
"Okay." She nodded. "Be careful, Lee."
"I will." He gave her a quick kiss before heading over to Elizabeth's house. A peek inside showed him that no one was home. It was completely dark, and the front door was still locked.
He hadn't known Elizabeth for long, but he already considered her a friend, even thinking of her as something of a sister. He felt protective of her, and his heart was starting to pound as he realized Rosemary may have been correct.
He sped up his steps and was jogging by the time he reached Jack's house. He knocked, trying to catch his breath as he waited for the door to be answered.
Jack opened the door, confused as to why Lee was there so late in the evening. "Lee. What's going on?"
"It's Elizabeth," he said, still trying to catch his breath. "She was going to stay with us tonight, since James is in town, but she told us she was going to get some things from her house. That was fifteen minutes ago, and she's not there. Rosemary is worried that he took her."
"Are the children safe?" He immediately grabbed his boots, slipping them on.
"Yes." He nodded. "They're already asleep for the night."
"I'll wake Allie." He slid his gun into the holster. "Can you take her back to your place?"
"Of course."
A few minutes later, Jack was running toward town, while Lee carried a still sleepy Allie on his shoulder.
"Jack is looking for him," Lee told Rosemary as he entered the house. "I'm going to take Allie upstairs so she can go back to sleep."
Rosemary wrung her hands in front of herself. "I don't think I'll get any sleep tonight."
Lee sighed. "Me neither."
Quietly, he made his way up the stairs and pushed open the guest room door. Lowering Allie onto the bed, he realized that there were only two children there.
"Um, Rosie?" He poked his head out the door. "Where's William?"
"He should be asleep up there."
He stood at the top of the stairs. "He's not in there. Just Emma, and now Allie."
"Maybe he woke up and went looking for Elizabeth. Or maybe he's hiding." She climbed the steps. "I'll help you look."
Ten minutes later, they met up at the base of the stairs, afraid to admit what they had discovered. Little William was missing.
...
Elizabeth sat down in the chair beside the bed, trying to muster up all of her courage before she spoke. She had spent the day trying to figure out what to do, knowing that James wouldn't leave without a fight, knowing that he would drag her back if he had to. She had finally come to the conclusion that she had two choices: keep running from him forever, or agree to return with him in the hopes that maybe she could get him to admit what he had done in front of witnesses.
She took a deep breath. "James, I'll go back to Toronto with you, but I have some conditions."
He chuckled. "This should be good."
"You need to cut back on the drinking. No more of your stopping at the bar after work for a few drinks. You always come home drunk."
He slammed his glass down on the small table, making her flinch. "You're telling me how I can live my life? Oh, Elizabeth. You should know better than that."
"It used to be good with us. Do you remember? In the early days, we were actually happy. Or, at least I thought we were. We could have that again. But I can't go back into that house wondering when you're going to hit me again."
He waved her off. "You're just being dramatic. I barely touched you. Besides, if you would just do what I ask you to, I wouldn't have to hit you."
She stiffened up, shocked that he finally admitted to the abuse and wishing someone was there to hear his confession. "I've done everything you've wanted, James. I cook for you, keep the house clean, try to keep the children quiet so you won't be disturbed. I'm so sorry I ran away. I wasn't thinking. I know it looks bad for you and for the family, but I'll fix everything. I promise."
"Are you sleeping with the Mountie?" he suddenly accused her.
"What?" She narrowed her eyes. "Why would you even think that?"
"I saw how he looked at you. So are you?"
"No. Of course not. Regardless of what's happened between us, I've stayed faithful to you. I'm not you," she muttered.
"What was that?" He rose, sauntering toward her.
She didn't know what came over her, why she was suddenly feeling so bold. She just knew she wanted to be rid of James Spencer. "I know Emma's mother wasn't the only one," she admitted. "I don't know how many there were, but I know there were others."
Suddenly, her cheek was stinging. It took her a moment to register that he had slapped her. She brought her hands up to cup the burning skin.
"You're lucky to have me." He grabbed her by the wrist, hard enough that she knew she would have bruises.
"Where are you taking me?"
"We're going to keep talking, but I need another drink if I have to put up with your disrespect." He dragged her out of the room, stumbling toward the stairs.
"James, why don't you just go back to your room and sleep? We can talk more in the morning, when we're both in a better state of mind."
"No. We're going to talk now." He tightened his grip on her.
All of a sudden, his eyes widened, he let go of her, and then they were both tumbling down the steps. Elizabeth watched the room spin around her, and then everything went black.