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Emily
I’m watching the darkened screen, waiting for a reply. My phone beeps with the sound of a notification. My heart pounds as I swipe and unlock the illuminated display. Part of me was hoping it would be a message from Josh, telling me he’s on his way home to grovel for missing our appointment with the judge.
Hope’s a bitch that’s best kept buried though. It’s not Josh. It’s him. The detective. I sit up as I read the message.
Jones: Emily, it’s nice to finally hear from you. Meet me at 74 Bourke Street, Newtown. Come alone. Don’t lead anyone here. If you do, I’ll kill him before you get to say goodbye.
Shit, okay. You can do this, Emily. I’m not the damsel in distress, waiting around to be saved. I’m more than capable of saving Josh. If it means sacrificing myself to do it, then that’s a choice I’m more than willing to make. He’s going to be pissed as hell at me for doing this. I can hear his voice in my head now, telling me to stop. To go and get Sam or Dean and let them know of the plan.
I can’t risk anything happening to him though. If it were me, he wouldn’t hesitate to come to my rescue. I owe him that same kind of devotion. Besides, I need to get him back. It’s gone beyond a want. It’s definitely a need now. My heart is literally hurting without him. My chest is constricted and aching.
With my mind focused on saving Josh, I head into the wardrobe, since Josh has somehow filled it with clothing for me. I choose black leather pants and a long-sleeve black shirt, matching them with a pair of boots. I then chuck my hair up in a messy ponytail.
Now, I just need to figure out how I can get into the armoury and escape this house without anyone noticing. It’s the middle of the night; it shouldn’t be that hard. Walking down the hall, I stick close to the walls, trying to stay in the shadows, just like Josh had shown me the first night we snuck in here.
My heart hammers in my chest the whole time. I finally come to the door that leads downstairs to where Josh has his armoury stored. It dawns on me I never did get around to asking him why he has so many damn weapons. Although, right now, I’m not complaining.
The adrenaline that is currently running through me is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I briefly wonder if this is how my dad would feel when he was deployed. Did he keep going on deployments just to feel this rush?
I close the door behind me and run down the stairs. Punching in the code to the armoury, it opens and the light in the little room automatically springs to life.
I really am spoilt for choice here. There are so many weapons. I’m thankful for those hours spent at the range with Dad. I pick up two small knives, securing one in each of my boots. Next, I need to choose a handgun. Something small I can conceal, yet it has to still pack a punch. If I only get one shot at this asshole, I want to make sure it’s lethal.
I select a small, .22 calibre, semi-automatic pistol, tucking it into the waistband of my pants. Just as I’m shutting the door, something stops me. I pick up another small .22. Removing the knife in my left boot, I slip the gun in, making sure my pants sit over the top to conceal it.
I then shut the door, locking it behind me. As I’m climbing the stairs, I send up a little prayer that I can get out of this house without anyone seeing. Shit, what the hell do I do once I’m out? How do I even get to Newtown?
Do I try to take a car? Someone’s sure to hear and see that. And there’s the whole issue of the gates. I don’t know what the code is. There are also guards… As soon as they see me trying to leave, they’re bound to call Dean.
I remember the black credit card Josh gave me weeks ago. That will work. I can at least get a cab. Sneaking into Josh’s room, I close the door behind me. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise. I’m not alone in here.
Turning the light on, I gasp when I see the figure sitting on the sofa. I don’t know whether I should turn and run, scream, or see what he wants.
“What are you doing in here, Sam?” I ask as calmly as I can. The fact that I have a few weapons on me gives me more courage than I usually would have in this situation. I’m not helpless right now. I can protect myself. I will protect myself.
“Relax, Emily. I came to check on you. Imagine my surprise when you weren’t here,” he says, not making a move to get up, or get out.
“Well, you’ve seen I’m still here. In one piece. Now, you can leave,” I say as I walk over to the dresser. I’m sure I threw that card in one of these drawers.
“I was surprised that you weren’t here, but I was more surprised at what I read on this,” Sam says, holding up my phone.
Shit, I left that on the bed. My mind was so set on getting down to the armoury I left it behind. I’m not used to carrying a phone around yet. I mostly leave it in the bedroom all the time. How do I get out of this? I’m racking my brain, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for those messages. But I’ve got none.
“Have you completely lost your fucking mind, Emily? Because that’s the only reason I can think of that would have you trying to sneak out by yourself to meet a goddamn psychopath.” Sam stands up and throws the phone back on the bed.
I’m quick to swipe it up, tucking it into my back pocket. “Maybe I am crazy. But I’m not going to sit around here, twiddling my thumbs, when Josh is out there somewhere. He’s out there and he’s hurt, Sam. I can’t just sit back and wait for a miracle, because in my experience, those don’t bloody exist. I’m going to go and get him. Then I’m going to wring his damn neck for making me worry like this. I probably have grey hairs by now.”
“Emily, you are not going out there. I’ll go. I’ll find this asshole at the address and I’ll bring Josh back.”
“No, you can’t. You read the message. He’ll kill him, Sam. I can’t lose him. I only just got him back. You have to let me do this. Please, I can do this. I can.”
“What is your plan, exactly, Emily? Charm him with your sweet personality and get him to let both you and Josh go free? That’s not going to happen. You don’t know the things this sick fuck wants to do to you, Emily. You don’t know the risk you’re taking here.”
“I know. I’ve seen the pictures. I know what he wants with me. But the risk is worth it to keep Josh safe.”
“Just what do you think will happen to Josh if you ended up in one of those pictures, Emily? What do you think would happen to him if he knew the reason you died was because you were trying to save him?”
“He would be alive,” I say. I know he’d be a mess. But he’d be breathing, and his friends and family would help him get past it. I have to believe that he would be okay without me.
