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It didn’t take long for the minivan to roll up, and I climbed inside. The driver gave me a funny look through the rearview mirror, likely after seeing my bare feet and the bandage around my head.
“Are you alright, miss?”
“I’m fine. Just drive please.”
He stared at me for another moment before he sighed. “Alright. Where are you heading?”
That stopped me in my tracks. I had no plan, no clue, and not even my father’s cell phone number. I stammered over the first place I thought of, “The beach. Any beach.”
“You got it,” he mumbled, pulling back onto the road.
Releasing a discreet breath, I tried to pull myself together. I got away without anyone finding me, but now what?
Not long after, the driver pulled up to a familiar beach, and I scraped some bills out of the nurse’s wallet, handing them over. But he waved me off.
“It’s fine, keep it. Looks like you need it more than I do.”
Narrowing my eyes at him in question, I remembered just how haggard I likely looked, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. Without enough time to argue, I put the money back and thanked him.
The driver pulled away, leaving me on the beach. A warm breeze swept my hair back, soothing alongside the sun’s warmth. It wasn’t half as busy as I had expected.
Glancing around, I recognized the condo building and surrounding area. The last place I had seen Kat. Where dad knocked me unconscious.
Not knowing what else to do, I just walked onto the sand and looked down at the cell phone. Then, the recollection hit me as clear as day.
I didn’t know my father’s number, but my aunt’s was practically tattooed into my mind at that point.
Eagerly, I punched the number in and brought the phone up to my ear. I listened to each ring, heart hammering in my chest. It seized with hope until it faltered the moment it went to voicemail.
A tear ran down my cheek at the sound of my aunt Maria’s recorded voice talking back to me. Then, the anger replaced that sadness. The phone beeped for me to leave a message.
I released a shaky breath. “I know you’re listening to this dad, and I want you to know you will never get what you want without my help. If you want any chance of making that a reality, tell me where you are. I want my daughter back and unharmed.”
Finished with the message, I ended it and slipped it into the bag.
Disgusted by my father and the lengths he was willing to go to, I moved a few steps forward and dropped into the sand. I was out of options. All I could do was wait.
I thought about where Kat might have been, and I could only hope that she was safe. My anger towards my father was unfathomable, but above everything else, I only wanted her to be safe and out of harm’s way.
I needed her to be okay.
A moment passed before the cell phone dinged from within the bag. Curious, I reached in and grabbed it, noticing a text from an unknown number.
‘Meet here in an hour.’
Another message containing an address came through. That was the key I needed.
The pain left untreated in my head ravaged, and I winced against it. It was nearly blinding, and for a moment, I wished I had that pain medicine. Thinking through the pain was a struggle, but I could only focus on Kat’s face in my memory.
Regardless of what Nikolai wanted or how he planned to take care of the situation, I was going to get my daughter back.
My father may have been planning on finishing the job and killing me instead, but there was a chance I could kill him first. If I had my way, he’d be dead at my feet and unable to harm anyone else ever again.
It was a vague plan, but it would have to work.
Before I could lose momentum, I called the taxi company and ordered another ride. Ending the call, I slipped the phone back into the nurse’s bag and climbed back to my feet so the driver would be able to see me whenever they arrived.
But my heart shattered in my chest the moment I found Nikolai heading towards me with his hands out like he wanted to calm me. To slow me down.
