A/N: Look at me, sticking to my schedule.... :') I should get an award. Or a crown. Or a wand. Or one of those fancy bejeweled cane/stick royalty carry around. Or was that the Pope? I don't know. Just carry on and read.

***

Kidnap My Heart

Chapter 32: Emma

Being questioned by the police was nothing compared to being questioned by the insatiable monstrosities that were my classmates. How did you escape? Why isn’t Taylor here? Why didn’t your bodyguard save you? Why do you even have a bodyguard if he can’t do his job? Did you want to get kidnapped? Why are you back at school so soon? What did they do to you? What happened over there? Are you still running for Prom Queen?

Yes, that last one was an actual question. Instead of asking me about the kidnapping or Taylor, they asked me about freaking Prom. Did I look like I was preoccupied with whether or not I’d be named Prom Queen this year? No. True, the girl who asked me was one who hated me for being crowned Prom Queen at Junior Prom, but still. It was so vapid. I had more important things to worry about.

Most of the questions were avoidable. All I had to do was look at Jack and he would step in. People tended not to push their limits when Jack was around, and when he walked closer and towered over them, they all but ran away. The questions I didn’t mind answering were the ones that were vague and general.  

“Do I need to kick anyone’s ass?” Aaron asked, slinging an arm around me. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. I loved Aaron, but we both knew he couldn’t beat up a goldfish, much less anyone who bothered me. I would do a better job of defending myself. Aaron was tall, lanky, and completely un-athletic. It was a wonder he’d managed to carry boxes for me when he was helping me plan Taylor’s party.

“Do you want to end up in the hospital with internal bleeding?”

He paused. “You know what? I think you and Jack are doing a great job with this.”

I stepped out of his grip and patted him on the arm. “That’s what I thought.”

He rolled his eyes and hooked his arm through mine, leading me to our English class. I was glad I had him, at least. School was boring and horrible without Taylor, but at least I had my best guy friend with me. We’d been friends since our parents became friends when we were in middle school, and I was lucky to have him. He made things a lot better, although nothing could make up for the fact that Taylor wasn’t there. I missed her.

The morning dragged on, and lunch wasn’t much better. Aaron and I sat with some of his friends, but a crowd surrounded our table the entire time, asking questions and gushing over my safe return. All I wanted was for them to shut the hell up, but I couldn’t even bother telling them to go away.

Study hall was the worst. Aaron wasn’t in that class with me, and all anyone did in that class was talk. Most people left me alone when Jack shot them a menacing glare, but there were a few brave souls who ventured down that dark path and tried to talk to me anyway. Most of those people left me alone when I gave them short answers and looked down at my new phone the entire time. I wasn’t sure what Will and Eric had done with my old one. They’d probably destroyed it, considering it hadn’t been tracked.

Halfway through study hall, I found myself on a search engine, my fingers hovering over the touch screen’s keyboard. Maybe Will had a Facebook or a Twitter. Or maybe he had an Instagram. He had a lot of selfies on his computer.

God, I was basically stalking him. I was being creepy, wasn’t I? I was being majorly creepy. Well, I was about to be.

I typed William Knight into the search engine, but that yielded too many results. I went on my Facebook app next and that worked much better. Facebook narrowed the list down by location and since Will lived in the same city as me, it was easy to find him. I looked around for Jack, making sure he was too far away to see my phone screen; he was.

Unfortunately for me, most of Will’s Facebook account was set to private. I could only see his cover photos, basic information, and profile pictures—all of which were surprisingly nice. Maybe he wasn’t as bad at taking pictures as I thought.

My thumb hovered over the friend request button. I wasn’t sure why the thought even occurred to me. He didn’t have internet over there. He wouldn’t see my request for a while. What was I even doing in the first place? I was being stupid.

With a quiet scoff, I logged off and shoved my phone aside. I needed to get my head out of my ass. This was stupid. So stupid.

***

The week dragged on as slowly as Monday had. It was the same old thing every day, and it was so unbelievably boring. You would’ve thought I would’ve been more entertained considering I was once again a part of normal civilization and had more entertainment sources than a TV and Will, but I wasn’t. I was starting to think I’d had a better time over there, maybe because I at least had Taylor.

After school on Friday, my parents, Jack, and I sat down at the dinner table to have an early dinner. My dad had some event to go to that night, but he wanted us to have a family dinner before he left. He was really trying. He wanted to make up for how things had been before. I didn’t know how long it would last; he’d tried it before. But he was busy, and things always got in the way. Still, I was grateful that he was trying in the first place, and I liked having our family together. Even if it wasn’t permanent, I was happy.

“Is there any word on Taylor yet?” my mom asked, lightly dabbing at her mouth with a cloth napkin and placing it on her lap. Every single movement of hers was perfectly smooth and exuded good manners. I’d almost forgotten my own manners while living with Will and Eric, but it didn’t take long to get used to my old life again. The flawless mannerisms, the clothes, the dinners—they were what comprised my old life. To some extent, it felt normal. It was what I’d grown up with. To another extent, it felt foreign. I’d been away from all of this for a month, and it showed in my mindset. If only I could get out of this mindset…

My dad shook his head. “Nothing. There hasn’t been any suspicious activity, and they don’t have any leads.” He looked at me and I must have looked upset or something, because he quickly added, “Although I’m sure they’ll find something soon. They’ve been working on this case for weeks now.”

“And look at what a good job they’ve been doing,” I muttered. I was glad they weren’t doing so well on this case, though. I wasn’t worried about Taylor’s safety. She was with Eric. I was worried about what would happen if they found her.

My dad started giving me a motivational speech about not losing hope and having faith in the police and blah, blah, blah, but I wasn’t really paying attention. He meant well, but he had no idea what he was talking about. It wasn’t his fault; no one knew what was really going on.

After dinner, as my dad was getting ready to leave, we noticed a thin, white envelope by the door. Someone had slid it under the door.

I walked over to the door and was just about to grab the envelope when Jack pulled me back. “Wait,” he said. “I’ll get it.”

“It’s just an envelope. It’s not a bomb,” I said, wiggling out of his grip.

He ignored me and picked up the envelope. I stuck my head near his arm and looked down at the envelope. Emma van der Bilt was written on the front.

“Give me that,” I said, reaching for it, but he lifted it up, placing it out of my reach. “Jack. It’s addressed to me.”

“No. I have to make sure it’s nothing that will upset you or harm you in any way,” he insisted, blatantly turning away from me as he opened my letter.

Was he serious? I knew security was going to be tight when I came back, but this was ridiculous. I didn’t need this much protection.

“Jack, I’m not a child,” I said, walking around to look him in the face. “I can read the letter without you holding my hand.”

He looked up at me and stared at me for the longest time. Finally, he nodded and reluctantly handed the letter over. He’d already taken it out of its envelope. The letter was typed, not handwritten. With a shaky breath, I began to read.

Ms. van der Bilt,

Read carefully and follow every instruction as prompted. As you are already aware, at this time we have your best friend in our possession. She remains unharmed in the same conditions she was in before your untimely departure. If you want her to remain unharmed and live to see her next birthday, you will do as I say to the last dot.

You will instruct Ms. Williamson’s father to withdraw $250,000.00 from his account in $100 bills. You will then have him place the money in a large paper bag. You will tell him to hand you the money. You will deliver the money to me.

 My face went pale. No… I should’ve known. I should’ve known this was how things were going to end. I should’ve known this was just the calm before the storm. And what a storm this was going to be. But still, I kept reading.

The money must be delivered to a remote location that I will designate. Further instruction will be delivered to you soon. I advise you to dress comfortably as you will not be allowed to be transported there or transport yourself using any of your multiple vehicles of transportation. Any deviance from these instructions will end with the immediate execution of Taylor Williamson.

My hand flew over my mouth and I let out an unidentifiable sound, tears pooling in my eyes. This couldn’t be happening… I vaguely heard my parents and Jack talking to me, asking me questions, but I just shook my head and read on, slapping away any hands that tried to take the letter from me. I had to finish reading.

Do not alert the police of this. What has already been done is unalterable, but any further actions to include the police or F.B.I. in this case will result in the loss of your best friend.

Do not bring any electronic devices. Do not bring any bodyguards. Do not bring anything but yourself and the money. Any attempts to deceive me will likely end in the death of Ms. Williamson.

Simply follow my instructions and you will see your best friend again. She will be returned to her family and will never be bothered again. It is all up to you, Emma van der Bilt. She is in your hands. Make the right choice. Listen to my instructions.

Expect more news from me soon.

J.D.

J.D? His initials weren’t J.D. They were C.K. I had no doubt in my mind that this note had been written by Charles Knight, Will’s father. It was clear to me from the start. This couldn’t have been written by either one of his sons. They wouldn’t threaten Taylor’s life. They just wouldn’t. They also wouldn’t specifically request that I bring the money.

This was a trap. It was a very obvious one, but it was one that I would likely have to fall into if it meant coming to Taylor’s rescue.

“Emma, what does the letter say? You’re worrying us,” my mom said, her voice shaking as she took a step forward.

I just shook my head and wordlessly handed the letter to my dad. I couldn’t have spoken even if I wanted to. My mind was whirling as I tried to make sense of what I had just read. My best friend was in trouble, and I was the only one that could save her. I knew my parents would immediately go to the police or the F.B.I. to try to save her, but I couldn’t let them do it. What if Charles wasn’t bluffing? I knew Eric wouldn’t hurt her and I knew he would try to protect her, but to what extent? I had no idea. I didn’t know him well enough. I knew he wasn’t a bad guy, but if he had been dragged into this kidnapping thing by his dad, what else would he do?

No. No, I was being crazy. He would never. But Charles Knight… Charles Knight might. I didn’t know him at all. What if he was a psycho? The picture Will had painted of him wasn’t the best, and I was worried things were much worse than either he or his brother had imagined.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and I haphazardly wiped them away. My mom reached out to comfort me, and I settled my head in the crook of her neck, my chest heaving with sobs. “I shouldn’t have left,” I cried. I was scared I’d make an incriminating comment, but I was more upset than anything. “I shouldn’t have left her behind. I did this. I did this to her.”

“Honey, no,” she exclaimed, rubbing my back in an attempt to comfort me. “No, Emma, this is not your fault. This is their fault. They’re the ones who are doing this to you and to Taylor. You girls are the victims.”

“Not they. Him,” I choked out, sniffling loudly. “It’s him. It’s always been him. He’s the one behind this. He’s the one who wrote the note.”

“Who is ‘he’? Who are you talking about?” My mother pulled back and placed me at a distance so she could look at me. She was a mirror image of me—same long, dark hair, same eyes, same facial structure, same body type. I imagined the look in her green eyes was also similar to the look in mine.

I shook my head. I couldn’t say anything. I wasn’t going to make things worse. “I don’t know him. But I know there’s one mastermind. The other—the other is a pawn.”

“You’re not going.” The finality in my dad’s voice made me look over. “It’s too dangerous. One of our people will go. All this man wants is the money. We’ll give him the money. The money is nothing if it means saving your lives. We’ll handle this.”

“Dad, no,” I said, wiping away the tears. “He’ll hurt her.”

“I am not losing you again,” he insisted. “You’re not going, and that’s final.”

“Dad—”

“This is not up for discussion. I agree with your father,” Jack said. He was the one holding the ransom note now.

The anger started to seep in and I just wanted to throw a temper tantrum, but that wouldn’t make them listen to me. “You guys don’t understand. She’s only in this mess because of me. She was just trying to save me. That’s why she’s there. And then I left her behind. Don’t you see? I have to fix this.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Em,” my dad said. He placed his hands on my shoulders and managed to stop himself from shaking me in frustration. “This isn’t your responsibility. Don’t put this kind of pressure on yourself.”

“But…” I hated how tiny my voice sounded. This wasn’t the voice of someone who was capable of bringing a criminal the ransom that would save her best friend.

“I’m going to contact Tom right now and we’ll decide where to go from there,” he went on, scratching the back of his head. Tom was Taylor’s father. “Charlotte, call my assistant and let her know I’ll be late. Jack, take Emma upstairs.”

A look of disbelief must have crossed my face because that was the only emotion I was feeling all of a sudden. “I don’t want to go upstairs. I want to know what’s going to happen from here.” I looked to my mother for support, but she was already out of the room, trying to contact my dad’s assistant.

“The less you know, the better. It’s best if you stay out of this. It’s safer.”

“I don’t care about what’s safer for me. I care about what’s safer for Taylor.”

“Emma, I’m your father. You can’t expect me to let you throw yourself into such a dangerous situation. I won’t allow it.”

“Dad—”

“I have to contact her father,” he interrupted. “Jack, take her upstairs.”

I tried to protest some more, but the more I protested, the more insistent he and Jack both became. No one was siding with me. Finally, I decided to calm down, go with what they were saying, and go upstairs. But if they thought I was just going to sit back and risk Taylor’s life by letting them take the reins in this situation, they were sadly mistaken. That note had said not to involve the police and to deliver the ransom myself, and that was what I was going to do.

“I know it’s hard to sit here and do nothing, but believe us when we say it’s for the best,” Jack said once we got to my room. He was standing by the door, overtly debating whether or not he should stay in the room.

“Why?” I asked, unable to stop my snippy attitude from surfacing. “Let me guess. So that if he’s planning on killing her anyway once he gets the ransom, at least I won’t be killed, as well?”

Jack didn’t say anything. He didn’t even need to.

My jaw tightened, and I went on. “He said I had to go. What if he kills her?”

There was a part of me that thought Charles Knight was bluffing, but there was another part of me that doubted this. I couldn’t live with that doubt.

“We’re not risking it. Just go to bed, Em. I’ll be right outside all night if you need anything.” Translation: I’ll be right outside all night so you won’t try anything.

“Fine.”

He nodded and slowly left the room. I watched his retreating figure with a frown. I saw where my parents and Jack were coming from; I really did. I knew they just wanted to keep me safe, but if Taylor was in danger, I couldn’t just wait for somebody to do something. If not following those instructions resulted in the death of my best friend, I would never forgive myself. I had to go.

I went to bed, but I didn’t fall asleep. The time slowly went by as I waited. Once the house went completely silent, I sat up in my bed. My guess was that they had formulated a plan and were waiting for daylight to hit to put it into place. I had until then to get downstairs and try to figure out what they were doing.

My plans to sneak past Jack were interrupted by the vibrating of my phone. I fished around in my covers for it and found it right around the middle of my bed. There was a text message from an unknown number.

8900 Elmwood St. Meet around back. Lose the police, the parents, and the bodyguard or Taylor will suffer the consequences. You have three hours.

My heart started beating faster as I read and reread the message. I didn’t know how Charles had gotten my number, but that was the least of my worries. I was the only one with this message. The smart thing would have been to show this to someone and have them handle it. The reckless thing would have been to go to this location. It wasn’t hard to guess which one I went with.

There was only one real problem left: there was no way anyone was going to give me $250,000.00. That was out of the question. My best shot was going and using myself as ransom. At least that way, I would know exactly what was going on over there, and this time, I wasn’t leaving without my best friend. I’d managed to escape once. Hell, I’d hidden in the walls and avoided Will and Eric for a week. I could find a way to escape again—a way that saved both of us.

Besides, I had Will, and Taylor had Eric. It wasn’t much to rely on, but it was something. There was something going on between us, and there was obviously something going on between Taylor and Eric. Maybe that would be enough to protect us from Charles once I got over there. Just maybe.

I got up as quietly as I could and changed out of my pajamas. I didn’t really have an outfit designated for something like this, but I figured tennis shoes, athletic leggings, a tank top, and a black athletic jacket would work. Charles had said to dress comfortably, and this was the most comfortable I could dress without going in pajamas. I tied my hair into a ponytail, figuring I’d be doing a good amount of moving.

I made sure to quickly scribble a note before I left. I needed to stop running away and leaving notes; it was going to become a habit if I didn’t stop it.

The note read: I wish I could follow your orders, but I can’t risk it. He just wants the money. Once he has both of us, he’ll contact you to get the ransom and we’ll be able to come home. If I can find a way to escape again, I will, and I won’t leave without Taylor this time. We’ll make it home. I promise.

I knew they’d be mad, but this was important to me. After the note was written, I made a break for it. Opening the window without alerting anyone was harder than I thought. That thing liked to creak every time you touched it. Somehow, I managed to prop it open enough to wiggle my way out. I failed to realize just how far up my room was and almost fell to my impending doom.

“Oh, God,” I muttered, taking a shaky breath. “I can do this. This is for Taylor.” She would’ve done the same for me. Hell, she had done the same for me, basically. She’d put herself in the line of fire for me, all in a misguided attempt to save me. It was time to repay my dues.

I managed to make it down without accidentally killing myself, which was an achievement in and of itself. There were several moments where I really thought I was going to lose my footing and fall, but I managed to push through.

Once I was on the ground, I stumbled backwards and looked back at the house. “I’ll be back soon.” I wished I could have said goodbye, but they would never have let me go. This was how things had to go.

Afraid someone would see me and follow me, I started running. I didn’t stop running for a while, but like I’d said before, I wasn’t athletic and running wasn’t my forte. I had to stop and catch my breath after a while, but I still made sure to speed walk. Once I got into town, I took a bus to the end of town, making sure to use my hood to conceal myself from the driver and the other passengers. I didn’t need anyone magically recognizing me as the girl from the news. I got out of the bus when I was a few blocks away from Elmwood St.

I jogged the first block there, but a cramp stopped me from continuing. That wasn’t going to happen. I slowed down to a walk, my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to fly out of my chest. I’d never been this nervous in my life. I didn’t know what to do or say all of a sudden. What had I been thinking? I couldn’t show up empty handed. It was foolish to think I would serve as a better ransom than $250,000.00.

But then again, my dad had a lot of money. I could tell Charles that my dad would be willing to pay much more than $250,000.00 for me. I didn’t like putting a price over my own head, but if I had to do it, I would. I knew my dad would pay whatever it took to get me back. I hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said it was true.

Despite my fears, I kept going. I didn’t stop until I reached 8900 Elmwood St. It was an old, abandoned car lot that looked like it had once been part of a strip mall or something. I could see why Charles had picked it. There was a tall building on the side that hid the lot, and there was no one around but me. No risk of unwanted traffic passing through here in case things got ugly. How comforting…

With my entire body shaking, I walked to the back as instructed and glanced around. There was a car in the lot, but there was no one in sight. Where was he?

And then I heard it. A deep, unknown voice behind me. I’d never heard it before, but I knew exactly who it belonged to. “Emma van der Bilt. Nice of you to make it.”