Taken, Kissed, and Loved [FREE and COMPLETED]

Chapter 10

Christina stared at the blank screen long after the video ended.

It’s fake. Her subconsciousness offered a plausible solution. Remember the video with Queen Elisabeth dancing during a speech? They have software now that can place your face anywhere and make it look realistic. Hmm, maybe, but… seriously this realistic? Her father would never say something like that, would he?

“Chrissie?” A soft knock on the door made her jerk. It was her dad, of all people in the world, knocking at her door at the worst possible moment. She quickly closed the laptop and hid the flash drive under her pillow before unlocking and opening the door. Peter Anderson was standing there with a warm smile. “Hey. I just came to check that you are alright.”

Yes, this was her father. Not the heartless psychopath from the video. “I’m fine, dad. Just tired.” Now she felt guilty about not telling him everything. But there was still this tiny part of her that couldn’t abandon the possibility of it all being true. It looked like the figure from the Scream painting, standing there in the back of her head, mouth opened in horror, but no sound coming out.

“Chrissie, I’m so sorry this happened to you.” He moved closer and hugged her. “I want you to know that I love you and would never let anything happen to you or your sister.”

But you did, dad. Something did happen to your two stupid girls and you did nothing to help us. You don’t seriously believe that. “It’s alright. We’re safe now. Sorry, I’m just…,” she sighed and shook her head, having no idea what to say or how to talk to him now.

“Exhausted. That’s understandable. In fact, the doctor gave me these for you, just in case you had trouble sleeping.” He handed her a small box with pills and Christina raised an eyebrow. Sedatives, and not very mild ones.

“Uhh, thanks dad, I’ll see how it goes. I’ll just check on Michelle and go to bed.”

Her brain kept replaying the video, not allowing her to fall asleep. Maybe she should just take the pills and forget about everything for a couple of hours? She contemplated it for a while but decided against it. Whatever was happening, she needed to face it with a clear head. She looked at the address from the drive again. Did he give her this because he knew she would want to talk to him after seeing the video?

‘He’ had a name now, she remembered. David Parker. Hmm, such an ordinary name for someone so… Violent? Heinous? … complicated. Are you seriously that stupid to consider running back to the man who kidnapped you? It seemed she was. It didn’t really matter though, there was no way she could get there unnoticed, especially now when the security around the entire family was heightened and she could barely visit the kitchen without running into an armed guard. If she was really going to go through with this, she needed a really good plan.

--

The car stopped in front of a small private wellness center downtown and one of her many new bodyguards jumped out to open the door for her. “I’m going there alone,” she repeated, “and you will not disturb me under any circumstances, is that clear?” They reluctantly agreed, mainly because her father gave them the same orders after she convinced him she really needed to spend some relaxing time alone, without someone constantly watching over her shoulder. She sighed in relief when the door closed behind her and a tiny Asian woman greeted her and started to describe all the procedures Christina had planned for the next two days. To be honest, the massages did sound tempting, but that was not why she was here.

The woman looked surprised when Christina pulled out several banknotes and laid them on the desk between them. “I need to get out of here, discreetly. These are all yours, plus the same amount when I return tomorrow if you manage to convince everyone that I’ve been here all the time, enjoying my chocolate baths and hot lava stone massages.” The woman stared at her for a few seconds before grabbing the money and nodding. “Good. Now is there some sort of a service entrance or something like that?”

Christina grabbed some cash, a smartphone with a brand new SIM card, both ordered online and delivered in discreet packaging, changed into a dark hoodie and worn-out jeans, and snuck out of the building, leaving everything else in the hotel room. She wandered the streets for a few minutes to make sure nobody was following her (not that she would know if someone did) and then called an UBER with a new fake account. That was all she could think of to cover her tracks. Who could have known that knowledge from action movies and criminal TV shows would come in handy one day?

Is this a joke to you? Do you realize what are you doing? That man HURT you and threatened to kill you. And you are sneaking out to go search for him? This is seriously way beyond stupid. It was. She had no idea what David Parker was going to do to her, which was terrifying (but also a little bit exciting and… arousing?), but she needed to know the truth.

The industrial zone was busy, trucks of various sizes and colors transporting goods, cars, and buses full of people heading to and from their shifts. Christina got out near the coordinates and took a minute to look around. This couldn’t have been the place where she was held. According to a GPS in her phone, the exact coordinates pointed to a small building with a worn sign that said Peter’s pastries. Having no idea what else to do, she entered the small bakery, greeted by a wide grin from the man behind the counter. “Oh, hello! What a beautiful day. What can I get you?”

Christina hesitated. “I’m looking for ehm…,” she paused, realizing that telling David’s name to random people probably wasn’t the best idea, “... Petrelli’s leather goods. I’ve been told this was their address.”

The man frowned for a second and shook his head. “I’m sorry, lady, but it’s just been me and my shop here since… well since forever. Someone must have misinformed you. How about a muffin to brighten your day?” The wide smile was back.

Christina sat down on a bench near the bakery, nibbling on a delicious blueberry muffin, unable to cover her disappointment. Of course he wouldn’t give her a way to find him, what a stupid idea that was. She got carried away because she wanted to forget about reality. Maybe she really was losing her mind? She had been through serious trauma, could it be some weird symptom of PTSD? Told you you were crazy. It was time to stop goofing around and head back. That lava stone massage actually didn’t sound like a bad idea.

The car stopped right in front of her and a woman looked out of the driver’s window. It was the redhead that brought food to her cell. Christina stared at her, suddenly scared. It was real. “Get in,” the woman snapped at her, carefully observing the people around.

Christina threw out the rest of the muffin and walked to the rear seat door. Are you seriously going to do this? The car door closed behind her and the vehicle started moving. “I…,” she started, but the woman interrupted her angrily.

“Just shut up.”

Christina rolled her eyes but kept quiet. They were only driving for a few minutes when the woman turned to a seemingly abandoned garage complex and stopped the engine. The woman got out and talked to someone Christina couldn’t see.

“Noone, as far as I can tell.” “...a stupid idea…” “We shall see.” She caught some snippets of the conversation before the door opened and the woman motioned her to get out. As soon as she left the car, she heard a loud CLICK and something cold pressed against the back of her head. Christina froze. She knew that sound, anyone who had ever seen any kind of action movie would. Somebody just put a gun to her head.

“Your phone.” The redhead extended her hand and Christina reached for her phone and handed it over, trying to move very slowly. The woman then pulled out some sort of a scanning device, similar to the thing they use when you beep coming through a security scan at the airport. She waved it around Christina’s body, her frown deepening even though it remained silent. “She’s clean,” she told the person holding the gun. “Turn around. Hands behind your back.” Christina did as instructed and felt a rope tying her wrists together. Seriously, again? How many times has it been this past week? A bag was pulled over her head, also nothing new, and rough hands pushed her into another car.

This time it took longer to reach their destination. Someone grabbed her again and led her through two or three doorways before pushing her down to her knees. As far as she could tell, there was a soft carpet underneath her, which was a huge improvement from last time.

“Don’t move,” a disgruntled male voice told her, an invisible hand removed the blindfold and she was left alone. In what appeared to be a living room combined with a bedroom. Do they live here? She couldn’t see any pictures from her position and was too afraid to move. Just now she began to realize this might not have been the best idea ever.

Too late to turn back now.