Lost and Found (Book 2 of the Broken series)

As soon as I had heard that Kurtis was spotted near Caroline’s old apartment on Appleton Crescent, I took the opportunity to go after him. I knew it would upset Caroline, but I had to. He had put her through so much pain and suffering, along with Jacob continuing that for him while he was in jail. I couldn’t let him slip through our fingers again. I knew that it would be a long shot to get him into custody, but I had to try. I walked down the front steps of my apartment building and gazed upon the patrol car outside. Thankfully, it was Steven, someone both Caroline and I knew.               “Steven.” I said approaching his driver’s side window. He looked stunned to see me outside. He began to roll down his window, “What are you doing out here?” He asked, “You should be inside with Caroline.” I couldn’t think about sitting inside with her while Kurtis still roamed around free it just wasn’t possible, “Kurtis Brooks has been spotted near Caroline’s old apartment on Appleton Crescent. We have to go.” Steven didn’t seem convinced, “Well I don’t think it’s good to just leave where I am stationed.” He said unwary.               “I need to be there Steven.” I replied, “Please.” He glanced at my apartment window before sighing, “Do you think she will be alright?” He asked. I nodded, “She will be fine, she’s safe inside the apartment. The door is locked, and he’s on his way to her old apartment.” Steven unlocked the car, “Alright get in, let’s go get this scumbag.” I smiled tapping the car a few times in excitement before running around to the other side and hopping in the passenger seat. Caroline was everything to me now, and I loved her with everything I had. I couldn’t let anything happen to her because I wasn’t there to properly apprehend the bastard. It took over fifteen minutes to reach Caroline’s old apartment and street. I looked around for anyone who looked like Kurtis, but no one seemed to appear.               “Are you sure this is where they said he was?” Steven asked.               “Yeah, I got the call from Grayson not to long ago about a guy calling in and saying they saw Kurtis around her old apartment. It wasn’t that long ago; he must still be in the area.” I stated. We drove up the street twice before turning around and parking in front of her old apartment building. I opened the door and grabbed my gun out of the holster. “I’m just going to go check if he’s in the building.” Steven looked at my gun now that I was armed, “Are you sure that’s the best idea?” He paused, “Dean I think you are too close to this. I’m afraid that you might kill him.” Steven said quietly.               “I want to make sure he pays for his crimes, that’s all.” I said encouragingly. Steven scanned the area once more, “Alright it couldn’t hurt, but I will be coming with you. If the chief saw that I let you go in by yourself, fully loaded, and off the clock, I’ll probably be fired.” He replied. I rolled my eyes as we walked into the building and reached Caroline’s old apartment. The door looked to be locked but I used an old key to make sure.               “You’re going in?” Steven asked. I shrugged, “Well yeah. I want to make sure he isn’t hiding in there.” I paused looking at him seriously, “I want to catch this bastard, Steven. I need to know that Caroline is going to be safe.” He nodded, “I know. I’m worried about her too you know.” He responded before giving me the go ahead to open the apartment door. I slowly turned the key and flung the door open. We both had our guns drawn just in case, and flashlights lighting up the kitchen and living room area. “Police! Come out with your hands up in the air.” I called out. No response. Steven looked around the apartment with me, “It’s clear.” He called out to me. We both withdrew our guns and placed them in our holsters. My hand went through my thick black curls, “I don’t know how we missed him already. As soon as I heard he was spotted here we came here. How could he have slipped through our fingers already?” I asked Steven, leaning my head against the wall. Steven placed his hand on my shoulder, “Don’t worry. He’s a stupid guy, I’m sure he will slip up sometime.” I wanted to believe him but at the same time, I couldn’t. He didn’t know Kurtis the way I had come to know him. He was malicious and had every intention on stealing my girl. It wasn’t going to happen. I sighed, “Let’s take another patrol around the area to be sure.” I suggested.               “Sure thing.” Steven added. It took a few minutes for both of us to patrol the surrounding areas, and making sure Kurtis was no where in sight. Nothing. I don’t understand how he couldn’t be in the area. I balled my fists in frustration and let out a small frustrated grunt. Steven gave a small smile and turned towards me, “Listen I know it’s hard right now. But think of this as a good thing.” I looked at him both confused and appalled, “What? How could this be a ‘good thing’ Steven?” I replied a little too harshly.               “Well you won’t have to tell Caroline that you saw him. She won’t have a testify again right now, and you won’t have to deliver any bad news that will cause more stress on her.” He paused, “Face it. You both have been under so much stress because of all the things that have happened lately.”               “I still have to deliver bad news.” I replied solemnly. Steven raised his brow, “Oh?”               “I have to tell her he’s still out there.” I said looking out the window. Steven became silent. He knew that I was right on that notion, and he didn’t like the fact Kurtis was still walking a free man either. But what can we do? It was like looking for a ghost. My phone began to vibrate on the dash. I instantly thought of the chief wanting to tell me that Kurtis had been spotted again, and we were finally going to be able to put him away.               “Hello?” A frail voice came through, “Hello, is this Dean Jameson?” A lady asked.               “Yes this is Officer Jameson, who am I speaking to?” I asked politely.               “Mrs. Danton. I live in an apartment below you and I have to say I am terribly upset with you right now Mr. Jameson.” She said angrily. I glanced at Steven confused, “Mrs. Danton I am sorry you are upset with me, but may I ask why?” I asked. She huffed, “As if you don’t know!” She paused, “It is almost 3:30 in the morning, don’t you have anything else better to do? Like sleep!” She snapped.               “Mrs. Danton I have no idea what you are talking about.” I responded. She scoffed, “You have been breaking things in your apartment, and moving furniture? Isn’t it a little late for that? Be more considerate of your neighbours we are trying to sleep! Keep the noise down, or I will file a complaint with the apartment board!” The confusion only grew more in my mind. Moving furniture? Breaking things? The only person in the apartment was Caroline, and I was sure she was sleeping when I left.               “Thank you for letting me know Mrs. Danton, I will be sure to keep it down for right now.”               “You’d better!” She snapped again before hanging up on me. I placed my phone back on the dashboard, “That was a neighbour of mine. She said I was being noisy in my apartment. Breaking things, and moving furniture?” I paused before my eyes became wide. “Caroline!” I cried out. Steven jumped at my outcry, “What?!” He exclaimed. “What is wrong with you?” He asked.               “Steven! It makes sense!” I yelled, “This…” I pointed around, “All of this!” Steven wasn’t following and grew more concerned, “I don’t follow.” He responded.               “Drive to my place now!” He responded immediately by stepping on the gas towards the other side of town towards my apartment. “Can you please tell me what’s going on?” He said trying to keep calm.               “Steven it was a set up!” “The phone call was fake, and he was trying to get me out of the house so he could get to Caroline!” I cried out trying to make my heart stop from leaping from my chest.               “Shit.” Steven responded, stepping on the gas even harder and flicking on the patrol lights. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Officer Grayson, “Officer Grayson!” I yelled into my phone. “Get patrols out to my apartment now!”               “What is going on?” Grayson exclaimed, “I thought you were tracking Brooks by Caroline’s old apartment?” he asked.               “It was a fake call to get me out of the house!” “Get patrols to my house now!”               “Jesus, he is going after Caroline.” Grayson stated shocked. Before I could answer him, he responded, “I sent three patrols your way, I hope we aren’t too late.” Steven sped through all the lights until we reached my apartment. He barely stopped the car before I whipped my seatbelt off and ran towards the building. She wasn’t gone. She couldn’t be. My heart raced all the way up the stairs. Once I saw the door to my apartment, I couldn’t breathe. What if she wasn’t there? What if he had gotten to her before I could have a chance to save and protect her? I would have failed her. I flung open the door to find broken glass all over the floor. The couch had been turned over, with the pillows and cushions scattered over the living room. I raced around to the bedroom in hopes to find a scared Caroline curled somewhere, but there was nothing. I opened the closet and violently grabbed all of the clothing out to make sure she wasn’t hiding in there. I franticly dropped to my knees and looked under the bed.               “Caroline!” I cried out. No response. I heard a noise come from the door of the apartment. I unhooked my gun from my holster and pointed it towards the door before Steven held his hands up. “Whoa Jameson it’s just me.” He responded. I instantly lowered the gun, “I was too late.” I said as tears ran down my face and dropped to my knees. How could I be so stupid as to leave her here alone? How could I have just walked away when she needed me the most. I could have stopped this, and I could have taken him. Why did I leave? My mind raced and tore through what if’s and why’s for minutes before I felt Steven hoist me up by the arm.               “We will find her.” Steven said firmly. How could he know we would? This is exactly what Kurtis wanted, and what he was planning to do. I just handed him Caroline on a silver platter. “How could you know that?” I paused wiping my eyes with the back of my sleeve. “I just gave him her.” I responded. Steven looked at me sympathetically, “You didn’t give him her. You did everything you could to protect her.” My face became red with rage, “I left her here without protection!” “I went off on a stupid fake call that I should have known was a fake call and left her without anyone here to protect her from that monster.”               “You know you can’t think that way. You thought it was a real call, and so did I.” Steven replied. My hands gripped each side of my head. I felt like I was going insane with worry. What was he going to do to her? What if she would never come back from something like this when I found her? How long could she be strong with that maniac?               “What if he kills her?” I said in a panic. Steven gripped both of my shoulders, holding me in place. “Don’t think that way. She will not die, because we are going to find her.” Officer Grayson came through the front door to see all the damages. “Goddamn it.” His eyes then met mine, “Caroline…” He said. I shook my head, “Gone when I got here.” I said trying not to break down once again. Grayson cursed under his breath, “I’m sorry. I know you wanted to protect her.”               “I wanted to make sure that nothing like this would happen to her, but it did. I couldn’t stop it.” Grayson walked over piles of the glass, and furniture to reach me. “I have been through a lot of these believe it or not. I was an expert in this type of field.” I looked up at his face, “Do you think you could find her?” I said hopeful. He was my last chance at getting her back, and I didn’t care how hopeless the situation seemed. He nodded, “I think I can.” He paused, “We have to do a full assessment of the apartment for information and evidence, but once we have all of that I can get started.” He turned around to look at the apartment, “It won’t be easy, and I can’t say that we will find her quickly, but I can promise I will do everything in my power to try.” I nodded, “Please.” I started, “I can’t live with myself if I couldn’t find her.” Grayson nodded in understanding. He walked over towards the door sliding on a glove before picking up a syringe. He held it up, “She was drugged.” I couldn’t stop my anger upon seeing the syringe in Grayson’s hand. The son of b***h drugged Caroline to get her to go with him. I stared at the syringe with a mighty fury burning in my stomach.               “From the looks of the furniture she put up quite a fight.” Steven chimed in. Grayson looked around the room before nodding, “Yes it seems she did. He probably wasn’t wearing a mask or anything, so she knew who it was.” I looked away from them both and tried to keep it together. I balled my fists as tight as they would go. “We don’t know what he will do to her.”               “We do know that he wants them to be together right?” Steven asked.               “That’s all he talked about. So, I’m assuming so.” I responded. Grayson suddenly looked hopeful, “Then he won’t kill her. At least not yet.” “He wants to be with her so he will do everything he can to make that so. But if he can’t and he sees no hope in making it happen, then he might kill her.” My face must have said it all, “Is that a good thing?” I asked sadly.               “It is. It means we still have a chance to get to her in time.” Grayson stated. He called one of the girls over and place the syringe in the bag. “Take this to the lab and see if you can get any prints off of it.” The woman nodded and walked away.               “Where do we start?” I asked. Steven and Grayson both looked at once another, “I don’t think you should be involved.” Grayson said simply. My eyes widened in shock, “You’re joking right?” I asked.               “He’s right Dean.” Steven said, “You are way too close to this. You won’t be able to think about strategy or even about morals. All you will be thinking about is getting her back, and you may hurt or even kill someone in the process. We can’t have that.”               “We want to get her back safely as well Jameson. But we can’t do that if we have to worry about what you will be doing or thinking when we are looking for her.” I couldn’t believe what these two were saying. My fiancé who I was madly in love with was now kidnapped by her psycho ex boyfriend and could possibly be tortured right now, and they won’t let me help? I needed to be there when she was found. I needed to tell her that everything was going to be alright, and he wasn’t going to hurt her anymore. I was going to take all the pain away. How could I do that if I weren’t apart of her own rescue? Wouldn’t I be the one she wants to see when she is found?               “Not an option. She needs me.” I stated.               “She does. But she has more a chance to be found if we do it without interruptions, or accidents. You are not in your right mind.” Grayson said. I shook my head, “She would want to see me walk into where she is being held and save her. I want to be there when she is found.” I paused looking at their unsure faces, “Please. She is everything to me. I can’t…” I paused as my voice broke, “I can’t lose her.” Grayson looked at Steven once again and whispered something to each other. “I will make you a deal. You may accompany us on this rescue and help as much as you can. But one slip Jameson I swear I will get chief to take you off this.”               “That’s fine. I won’t make it a problem.” I said confidently.               “Are you sure you can do this?” Steven asked.               “I have to. There is no choice. She needs me.” Steven nodded before talking to Grayson about the damages and pictures they would need to take. It suddenly hit me. There is one person who worked close to Kurtis, and we had him in the station. Maybe he would know the location of where they were.               “We still have Price in custody, don’t we?” I asked.               “Yeah. He will be transferred soon though.” Steven said. Grayson’s eyebrow raised, “Why worry about him?” He asked.               “He worked closely with Kurtis. Maybe he knows where they are hiding.” “It’s worth a shot. He may have information we need.”               “Looks like we have a potential witness we need to talk to.” Grayson agreed.