Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“Rich?” I asked groggily

“I told you I’d find you. I made you that promise and I am not the kind of guy to break promises. You, however, are pretty good with deceit. It took me a while to track you down Katrina” The voice sent shivers over my body and I felt the beginnings of panic coursing through my veins. My breath began coming in shorter and shorter bursts so I bit down hard on my tongue and used the pain to shock my body into some control. This was not the time to panic. I was still piecing together exactly what was going on but I knew the one thing that would make the situation worse would be if I lost my cool. I took a few minutes to steady myself and then took a deep breath.

“I didn’t know you were looking” I said with as much control as I could muster. What was I going to do? Immediately my brain switched into some sort of survival mode and I began to sort through my options. A quick look out the window showed that we weren’t far from the airport. Signs in the opposite direction for rental car places with shuttles to LAX were still plentiful and I used that good news to further push back my terror. We were in the middle lane of a three lane highway so we were passing cars close by. Maybe I could alert a passing car of my distress! I tried to glance nonchalantly around the car to see if I could find something I could use as a sign to any of the cars passing by that I was in trouble but because of how my hands were tied behind my back I looked pretty normal to the other cars on the highway. My heart sank.

“More lies? We’ll have to nip that new habit in the bud. Does your Backstreet Boy tolerate lies?” He asked viciously and his tone made my temper flare. Good. I was going to need that anger. It further sharpened my senses and I moved on to plan B. I needed more information about Rich’s plans so I could start to work out a way to escape before things got too serious

“Where are we going?” I asked shifting around in my seat to get a better view of the car. It was a station wagon, something Rich must have picked up for very little money since it was all but rusted through and the engine was loudly complaining at the speeds it was being pushed to.

“If I told you that it would ruin the surprise. Are you happy to see me?” He grinned with a sickening smile and my stomach muscles clenched. I was in a car with a person who had made it clear that his sole goal in life was to make me as miserable as possible. I couldn’t signal for help and I saw no way to escape. My breathing began to quicken as the anxiety I was holding back began to work its way to the front. Outside I was desperately trying to look calm but inside I was about to break apart. I felt like I was vibrating and my vision began to blacken around the edges. I shifted in my seat, trying anything to jolt my anxiety and bury it, when I felt a lump in my back pocket. I could have belted out a note that would make Aj proud as I identified the object to be my phone. My mood immediately changed as I focused on that small but wonderful bump. I can’t believe Rich didn’t check for my phone!

“It’s been a while” I said calmly trying to shift my hands so I could get the phone without Rich knowing what I was up to. Aj was speed dial 1 and Mollee was 2 but really if I could get a call out to anyone it would help. I maneuvered my hands to my back pocket and slowly slid the phone out. I managed to cradle it right in the arch of my back before Rich gave me a look to see why I was fidgeting. Time for a distraction “What have you been doing all this time?”

“Just searching for you” He said turning his eyes back to the road. If there was one thing you could count on from Rich it was that he would always take the bait to talk about himself

“And how did that go for you?” I asked orienting the phone behind my back

“It wasn’t easy. I started in New Hampshire” He started and by that time I was able to locate the call button. I realized that the last person I had called was Aj so if I could just press ‘send’ then he would get the call automatically. They must have realized something was wrong by now. I turned the ear piece volume as far down as it would go and pressed it to my back so no noise could get through from Aj’s end. The din from the engine would work in my favor for that part of the plan. I pressed send and felt a tiny vibration through my back as a voice came through from the other end of the line. Rich was finishing up his story by that point

“So how’d you know where to find me, Rich” I asked clearly so that whoever was on the phone might discern what was going on

“Well I was getting pretty discouraged but then, like some miracle, my sister called to say that she thought she saw something of you on a Backstreet Boys fan site. She thought I was trying to find you to apologize and reconcile and to be honest at first I didn’t believe her. That was very clever using the combination of your mom and dad’s last name for your own, by the way. I looked under Black and under Wells but Blackwell was really inspired. Anyway, there you were, locking lips with a celebrity. It didn’t take long to find the tour itinerary and the fans are so rabid, I just had to pretend to be in love with BSB for a few hours before some little girl provided me with an hourly update and flight number for you all. Really, with all the work I had put in up North it is astounding how easy it was once I found your trail” He was so proud and so smug that I felt it could have filled the entire car.

“Well aren’t you smart” I said to egg him on, hoping that someone was still on the other end of my call “So what now? Are we staying in LA for a reunion or are we driving across country”

“Oh it won’t be far now. We’ve got a flight booked for tonight so I’ve got a little place for us here close to the airport” Rich said

“Oh we’re going to a place close to the airport so it’ll be easy to get on our flight tonight that leaves from LAX?” I repeated loudly for the benefit of the phone call

“Yes” He said slowly. Shit. I’d gone too far. He pulled off to the side of the road and looked me over “What are you up to?”

“Nothing, you’re the one who kidnapped me” I said quickly with a nervous smile

“I know you Katrina, I know when you’re trying to hide something” He said and before I could do anything he had roughly pushed me towards the door causing the phone to fly out of my hands and land with a loud thud on the floor of the car

“Is that mine?” I asked pitifully as I watched the all too familiar rage flood Rich’s face

“You fucking bitch! What did you do!?” Rich yelled grabbing the phone

“Nothing, I swear, it must have been in my pocket”

“You’re such a lying whore. You fucking slut” He growled and threw the phone out of the window, smashing it into lots of tiny pieces on the side of the road. With those pieces went my hope and a sob escaped my lips as Rich took his anger out by smashing my head against door. Then the world went dark.

When I woke up again I was in the epitome of a sleazy LA hotel. As my vision came into focus I noticed the ceiling fan was missing half of one of its blades and there was a big stain in the shape of a fish directly above the head of the lumpy and sagging bed. I was in a chair with my hands still tied behind my back but my feet were free so I stood up quickly to get my bearings. My survival mode was in high gear and I began a sweep for escape routes and hiding places

“I feel like you didn’t always pass out this easily” I heard from behind me, causing me to jump about ten feet in the air “What, did they pamper you on tour?”

“I haven’t had any assholes beating me up in a while, maybe I’ve lost the hang of it” I said with venom. My anger was my best weapon in this kind of situation and if I was to get through this I knew I’d need a lot of it

“You’re such a little firecracker” Rich chuckled. I needed a plan. Rich was in front of the only door and I couldn’t see any windows. The only thing I could hope for was that my call had been enough to direct the police to me. That meant I had to keep Rich talking so I could stay conscious and in control until help arrived. So far I had a pretty good goose egg forming on the left side of my forehead but I was still intact. This could get much worse very quickly if I wasn’t on my game.

“So what was your plan here, Rich? Steal me away from my friends and family against my will and then woo me until I agreed to be your girlfriend again? Surly you can’t be so deranged as to think that might work” I said with a conversational air. Color flowed to his cheeks and I cursed inwardly. Maybe insulting your attacker isn’t the best way to maintain control, smart ass.

“You’ll fight it at first, I’m sure, but once we get on that plane you’ll be so far away from everything you know that you’ll have to rely on me. I’ll be your only connection to normalcy. Eventually you’ll remember the love we had” He said and I searched him for signs that he was joking. Nope. He was completely serious, serious and insane. Screw this. Anger and resentment boiled in me. He was so smug, so sure that he had finally found a way to best me. There was no remorse for almost killing me a short year ago. Clearly nothing had changed for him over time but that was not true for me. I was a new person, a better person, and I was not going to be manipulated and controlled by this jerk anymore. It might not be the smartest move but I’d spent too long letting Rich dictate the terms of this game. It was time to fight back. Out of nowhere Nick’s words from long ago drifted to the front of my mind and I almost smiled. I’m an Amazon. And no one messes with an Amazon.

“I never loved you” I spat and he casually lifted his hand and back handed me across the face. With my hands behind my back I couldn’t catch myself so I tried to angle my fall to save my head but the result was that my left arm made a horrible cracking noise and pain raced up from my wrist to my shoulder but I bit my lip to stifle the cry. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction of knowing how much he could hurt me.

“Do you want to try that answer again?” Rich asked kneeling down to my level on the floor so we were eye to eye. I blinked away the tears and gritted my teeth against the pain as I looked him square in the eyes

“You don’t know the first thing about love” I whispered and he got up so suddenly that I flinched but no blow came

“Maybe I don’t but I suppose you are the expert now? That boy band jerk and you are really and truly in love? How romantic. Tell me all about it” He said pacing frantically in front of me. I rolled to my side to alleviate some of the pressure on my throbbing arm before I answered him

“What you and I had was sick and wrong you asshole. You took advantage of a girl who had just suffered the loss of her parents and you abused her emotionally and physically. You’re such a big man, are you? So you can kick the shit out of a 110 pound girl. Good for you. You should be proud” I goaded for no other reason then I’d been waiting to say some of these things to Rich for over a year. I may die in this crappy hotel room but it will not be with these words left unsaid.

“Sick?” Rich asked and he pulled back his foot and unleashed a kick into my side. I gasped as intense pain momentarily took my breath away “Wrong?” Rich asked again placing a harder kick to my side which left me coughing “Yeah. I’m proud. Watch how proud I am” He landed a last kick to my side and I felt and heard what must have been a rib snap. Pain like I’d never felt before raced through my body and I retched, coughing up blood. He picked me up by my neck, stemming my already poor airflow, and I gagged as he lifted me until my feet were off of the floor and my eyes met his. Some mad desperation shone deep behind the anger “I promised that I’d kill you. I didn’t want to but you give me very little choice. Just say you love me Katrina. Say we can be together forever”

“Fuck. You” I gasped. This was the end. It had to be. I watched in slow motion as he pulled back his fist. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn’t. He could kill me right now but I’d go down staring at him like an equal. Perhaps that was why I didn’t hear or see the commotion until I was falling to floor. I had been a long way up and I landed right on the side that had received the hard kicks and the pain was so great that I was knocked out cold.