Essentialism (Bridgette & Troy's Story) (27 page)

I can’t bring myself to speak the words, so I pass my phone to them.
He better not have laid one goddamn finger on her or I swear to God, I’ll kill him.
Alexa tears up reading the words. Vincent holds her, handing me back my phone.

“Motherfucker, nothing on the credit cards,” Liam exclaims. “I’m going to try her bank account next. Cross your fingers.”

We are all silent as everything hangs on the man in front of us. I have no clue how Liam is doing any of this, but that’s not for me to worry about. I just need a hit. I need for something to connect so that I have a clue how to find Bridgette. I close my eyes and picture the pure innocence of her face. I can’t imagine David doing this to her and how scared she must be. I do my best to stay calm.

“I found something,” Liam declares.

“No shit.” I run around his desk and stare at the monitors.

“There was a charge at The Up-Country Motel.”

“Up-Country? I’ve never heard of it,” I say.

“I believe there’s only one in Denver.”

“Where is it?” I demand.

“In Denver off of Colfax. I’ll drive,” Liam says.

We bolt out of his office jogging towards the elevators. Vincent is talking to Alexa and I don’t want to be cold-hearted because I know how hard this is on her, but we have to go. Now. Liam and I press the call button and wait. Then Vincent runs after us and Alexa is right behind him, but he stops her. “I’ll make sure Abel is here in a few minutes, okay? He’ll take you to Cara’s. Just please wait, baby, we don’t have time to argue.”

She sobs, “Please, Vince, she’s my sister.”

“Alexa, you are not coming with us – end of story. Especially not being pregnant. Go to Cara’s with my brother,” he snaps, kissing her, and then the three of us get into the elevator. She stands frozen for a moment and then nods her head a few times, blinking through the tears.

Jesus, I had no idea she was pregnant. This stress is the last thing she needs. “I’m sorry, Alexa,” I say.

“Don’t be. Please just get my baby sister back safely.”

I nod my head before the doors close. As the elevator descends, I watch the numbers count down and it has to be the slowest thing I’ve ever seen. I pray that it doesn’t stop. But sure enough, it does on the eleventh floor.
Fuck, please don’t let this be a glimpse of what we’re in for. No more
. A woman enters and I press the close door button repeatedly, none of us speaking as we head to the ground floor. We all evacuate the elevator in a rush, leaving the lady feeling a little speechless I’m sure. As we race across the parking lot, Liam unlocks the doors to his white Yukon Denali. I get in the passenger seat and Vincent slips behind me.

“Vincent, get me alternate directions in case there’s traffic,” Liam says backing out of the parking spot. As we are about to exit the lot, he honks at a car taking their time turning, then he guns it and pulls onto the freeway. “I got the directions. I have to call my brother real quick.” He’s not on the phone but for two minutes and I know Abel is worried because as soon as they hang up, he texts me.
Hang in there. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.
There are no words I can respond with so I don’t text him back. Instead I focus on what’s ahead.

“So what’s the plan?” I ask.

“We’re going to need to find out which room they are in first. If he’s dumb enough to use her card, then I’m hoping he’ll make this easy on us. I swear I handled a murder case at this hotel, God, over ten years ago. It’s pretty run-down, so if we can find the room, we should be able to kick the door in.”

“Fuck! Don’t say shit like that.” His words make my world spin. My breathing escalates and I can’t imagine losing her. “Fuckkkk!” I scream.

“Just breathe, man. She’s all right or he wouldn’t have texted you back.”

I swear to fucking God, I’ll lose it!
It takes everything I have to calm myself. She’s my everything, my life, and my future. She is my happiness and I need her. Glancing at the clock, it’s 5:54. He’s had her for almost six hours. What a fucking nightmare. I’m sure she’s scared – so, so, scared. I can’t even picture what she’s had to endure. I don’t want to. I won’t let myself go there – not now.

Vincent rests his hand on my shoulder and I know now is not the time to break down. I have to be strong for her. Liam slams on the brakes and yells, “Vincent, I need another route.

He pauses for a brief moment scrolling through his phone and then begins to give out new directions. My phone chimes and instantly everything within the car silences. “It’s him,” I say looking at the screen.

“What does it say?” Liam asks.

What time are you off?

“Don’t respond. We’ll be there soon enough.”

Sitting in silence I do my best not to text him back. I want to stay in touch, that way he’ll be preoccupied and won’t hurt her. Maybe this is my entire fault. I should’ve told her I saw him at Drain – not once, but twice. Had she known, maybe she would’ve been more cautious than to go to the place where I’d run into him. The guilt I’m experiencing for lying to her is too much. It’s so much to handle. Then there is the disappointment she’s going to feel when I tell her. However, none of that matters now. As long as she’s okay, I don’t even care if she hates me for the rest of my life. Did I fuck up? Yes! I never should’ve lied. I mean, I broke my
own
number one rule.

“Okay, we’re here,” Liam says, putting the car in park.

I go to get out and he stops me. “NO! Not yet. What does he drive?”

I grip the door handle squeezing so hard my hand hurts and survey the parking lot of cars around us. “There, that black 4-Runner.”

Both of the guys follow the direction of my hand and we all stare. Sitting here isn’t going to help me, so I ignore his command to stay put and get out and walk towards his car. What if she’s inside of it? I have to know. If she’s not, then I don’t give a shit what room he’s in. I’ll make sure he hears me and comes out!

“Troy!” Vincent yells, running after me and grabbing my arm. “Would you wait a minute? We don’t know what room they’re in.”

Anger boils my insides; every nerve ending is ready to snap. As I turn to him with my fists balled at my sides, I ask, “What would you do if this was Lex?” He shakes his head and lets go of my arm. I cup my hands around my eyes and look into the dark tint of the windows. It’s empty; she’s not in there. I begin to search the ground hunting for anything big enough I can use to throw at his car. I need to get this motherfucker out of his room.

Liam slams his door as I find a rock the size of a watermelon. I lift it with all of my strength. I can see Vincent and Liam staring at me. I know they agree with me or they would be stopping me. This is the fastest way to find out which room she’s in. Taking every ounce of force, I toss the boulder through his front windshield. It pops likes a firework on the Fourth of July and then caves in, a million little pieces around it, crumbling.

His alarm starts to go off and the three of us stand, staring at the motel. I’m looking for any signs of movement in the windows. There’s commotion in quite a few. Curious onlookers stare out to see what all the ruckus is – then I spot him. His black eyes lock with mine as he peeks through the fabric of the curtain. I’ll never forget the depth of despair in those eyes. He’s so fucking pathetic.

I race for the stairs, running as fast as I can, and the guys follow me up. Immediately I begin to bang on the door. “Bridge,” I scream.

“Move,” Liam orders and he begins to kick the door with all of his might. Each blow he makes causes the door to budge. He’s making progress – it’s slow, but progress. Then the manager comes running up the stairs yelling at us. I can’t focus on her right now, all I see is red. We need to get this door open before she stops us. Thankfully Vincent intercepts her, stopping her dead in her tracks. Then by the grace of God, it flies open.

“Troy!” is the next thing I hear. It’s the best noise I’ve ever heard and from the sweetest set of lungs. There’s a ring of panic to it, but that’s okay – I’m here and she’s alive. I don’t look for David or anyone else. My instincts move me right towards her; there is nothing in this moment that could stop me. Once our eyes connect, the sight of her hits me hard. She’s huddled on the top corner of the bed, tied to the headboard. Dried blood runs down her mouth, and her cheeks are tear-stained with mascara. Through it all, I can see the reassurance in her eyes.

“Where is he?” Liam asks.

She tips her head towards the bathroom door. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my keys and knife to begin cutting her free. I can hear Vincent fighting outside with the manager, and then he finally runs in.

“Where is he?” he asks.

I point in the direction of the bathroom and keep working on the ropes. Jesus, he used enough to tie down a grizzly bear. Finally I get the last piece off of her wrists.

“Does he have any weapons, baby?”

“A Taser.”

Then Liam opens the door. Both Bridge and I watch him; he looks like a machine as his chest puffs out breathing heavily. I prepare for God only knows what. Then he stands back and says, “It’s empty.”

Both he and Vincent run out of the room. As much as I want to catch David too, I can’t leave her, not now that I finally have her back. I breathe her scent in, enjoying being right next to her. Then I make the mistake of looking down at her wrists. Bile rises to the back of my throat at the sight of her poor, mangled arms. I place my hands gently over them. They have been rubbed almost raw and are completely black and blue. “Fuck, baby. He hurt you.” I say, embracing her in my arms, pulling her to me as tightly as I can.

She shakes her head and I hold her close. She clings to me, sobbing into my neck without answering. “Dammit, baby, what did he do?”

“Just get me out of here, please.”

Faintly, I hear the sirens in the distance and it’s such a reassuring feeling to know that help is on the way. Pulling away from Bridgette, I look into her eyes and hold her face in my hands. “Are you okay?” I ask, needing some form of reassurance from her. She nods her head, I help her up, and we head out to meet the ambulance together.

For the first time all day I feel calm. My breathing has come back to me; I’m no longer grasping at it like it’s lost in the dark. What was once stark terror is nothing but a distant memory. I know we will forever be haunted by today’s events, but it’s nothing we can’t fight through together.

I put my Jeep in park in front of the cabin and look at my sleeping girl. I hate to wake her; I know this is the only time she will feel at peace. But I want to get her inside. The moment we were done with the cops and all the crazy shit of the day, I knew this was where we needed to be. Quickly, I walk around the car and lift her out, cradling her in my arms against my chest. She looks so comfortable in her soft sweats. I’m happy she talked me into stopping by and packing a bag for us. On the way inside, the stairs below my feet creak, but she doesn’t move. Gently, I lay her on the couch and cover her up with a soft blanket from the back. I bring in our bags and the cooler of food I emptied from her fridge. As I set everything down, I lock the door and run downstairs to make sure the other doors are still locked. Call me paranoid, but I will not risk her safety
ever
again.

Once I have her in my line of sight again, I cannot help but stare at her. It takes everything inside of me to not lie on top of her and crush our bodies together. I yearn for her, like nothing I’ve ever known. Pulling my eyes away I decide to start a fire to keep busy; I know how much she loves the sound of crackle. I figure it will also help her stay asleep.

Quietly I place a fire starter log on the bottom and then stack a few pieces of dry wood on top of it. I strike the match, lighting the paper of the log and watch the amber colors slowly come to life. It doesn’t take long until all of the wood is engulfed. Sitting down in front of it, I watch the flames so wild and precious all at the same time.

I can’t even begin to imagine what she went through. However, when she’s ready to tell me, I’ll listen and be there for her. I’m sure it’ll hurt worse than any experience in my life, but for her, I’ll endure it. Then I’m going to need to learn how to put all of this shit behind me – it’s done.
But it’s not.
David’s still out there somewhere and who knows what he is thinking and plotting. It’s not really over with until he’s behind bars.

Resting my head on my knees, I close my eyes and images of the police officer snapping photos of her wrists flash before my eyes. They jerk open and I blink a few times, checking my reality. She’s still asleep and peaceful. I don’t know why he had to hurt her arms. Had it been any other part of her body, I probably could have handled it better. But fuck, her sweet and delicate wrists. I know I’ll never be able to tie her up or hold her down. Not again.

My body is so tense, I decide to sprawl out on the plush bearskin rug and watch her sleep. It’s brown and soft; I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid. Resting my head in the crook of my arm, I stare at Bridge. I don’t dare close my eyes. It’s too daunting, and the images of what I might see…frighten me. She stirs a little and makes a small noise. I can’t help but smile at how adorable she is. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out checking the few missed text messages. They are from everyone wanting to know how Bridgette is. Thankfully, Alexa and Cara met us at Bridgette’s place so the girls got to see her and know for themselves that she is all right. Well, as good as can be expected. All in all, everyone agreed this was the best plan and the best place for Bridgette.