Tempestuous Taurus Read online

  Tara opened Cassie’s closet door to find the toys and screamed.

  Chapter 48

  A hand clamped over her mouth and a voice said, “I have Cassie. If you make one sound, she will die.”

  Oh, my God. He was in the closet.

  Tara pushed Kaitlyn hard, almost knocking her over. “Run away, Kaitlyn! Go and hide.” The hand smelled of smoke and its roughness rasped against her skin. He wore leather work gloves. The man’s face was covered with a black knitted ski-mask. Was he lying? Could he really have Cassie?

  “Come on.” He gripped her shoulder so hard she almost cried out from the pain. Kaitlyn was nowhere to be seen and Tara desperately hoped he would leave her alone, wherever she had gone.

  “I need my shoes,” she said when she got to the kitchen. “They’re over there.”

  “No.” He pushed her toward the stairs to the basement and made her climb down to where there was an open window facing the dark side of the house. She hadn’t left it open. She was sure of that. She couldn’t scream. He might be telling the truth when he said he had Cassie, and anyhow, Roberto was the only person on the property. He wouldn’t hear her over the storm.

  Kaitlyn. She couldn’t leave her alone here. But she had no choice. The storm still raged outside. He pushed Tara through the window into the driving rain and followed close behind her. The wind whipped up her hair and the rain stung her eyes. They slipped through the tall hedgerow and out onto the road. The stones cut into her feet, but she daren’t cry out.

  If anyone was around, the rain coming down in sheets would muffle any sound they might make.

  A few hundred feet down the road, a dark shape loomed. She recognized the truck.

  He opened the passenger side door. “Get in”

  “Tara!”

  “Cassie? Oh, my God, is that really you?” She spun around but couldn’t see her sister. She must be lying on the floor. “Oh, my God. It was you in this truck. I knew I saw you.”

  “Shut up.” He grabbed her wrists. She struggled and twisted as hard as she could but he was too strong. She tried to kick him. He slapped her face hard, and it hurt. While she was reeling from the pain, he pushed her forward and tied something around her wrists behind her back.

  She sat up. “Fuck you!” she spat in his face and tried to kick him again.

  “You’re gonna pay for that,” he said. He thrust a bag over her head with such force it hurt the top of her head. Everything went black and she couldn’t see anything. He grabbed her ankles and although she fought and kicked and screamed as hard as she could, he managed to hold them together long enough to tie something around them. She heard the door slam and felt the slight draft it made.

  “Cassie, are you okay?” Her voice was muffled from the bag and breathing was difficult. Her wet clothes clung to her.

  “Yes, but we have to escape. He’s a horrible man, Tara.”

  She heard him open the driver’s side door and the truck creaked as it took up his weight. He closed the door and the engine started, and they slid away.

  “Where are you taking me?” Tara said. “Will you let Cassie go? I’m the one you wanted all this time. Please let her go.”

  “Shuddup,” he said. “You don’t know what I want.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what it is? Maybe we can work it out.”

  He reached across and punched her in the face. Pain greater than anything she had ever experienced exploded all around her and she saw stars.

  “Now shut the fuck up.”

  Tara could feel her nose bleeding. Her face hurt, her arms ached, and it felt like the blood was being cut off in her ankles. But she was reunited with Cassie.

  Cassie.

  Questions flooded her mind as they drove in silence. How long had Cassie been under his control? Had he taken her right away, when she first left home? Or did he hunt her down and find her in LA? What had he done to her? Rape? Probably. What did he want from Tara? How could she get him to release Cassie? Where were Merrick and Shawn? Did he hurt them? Kill them? Kaitlyn was alone in the house and she must be terrified. She groaned. But he didn’t get her, thank goodness.

  They traveled for a long time. Tara tried to listen for anything out of the ordinary, but the rain and thunder made it impossible. After what seemed an age, the vehicle slowed and drove over a bumpy road for a while. Sand and gravel crunched under the tires and the truck growled as they bounced along. Now she knew they were on a dirt toad.

  Her nose had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt like hell, and the blood crusted around it was scratchy and it smelled bad.

  She felt the truck turn, negotiating more hilly terrain with curves and sharp bends. Every now and then, something scraped the underside of the vehicle. When she was least expecting it, the truck stopped and he turned off the engine.

  She could feel her heartbeat pulse on her temple.

  She wanted to cry out. Tightness in her chest made her breath come out in painful gasps. She tried to breathe slowly as her therapist had taught her, but she couldn’t stop the frantic heartbeats.

  He climbed out and slammed the door.

  “Tara, are you okay? I heard him hit you.”

  “It’s okay, Cassie.” She swallowed hard.

  The passenger side door opened and he ripped the bag off her head.

  She blinked. He had taken off the ski mask. “Jerry Lundgren.” She stared at the tattoo on his throat.

  “Shut up!” he said. He cut the ties on her ankles, bringing an agonizing rush of blood to her feet.

  They were out in the boondocks someplace. “Get out.” He jerked her arm.

  She slid down onto the wet, spiky grass. The storm had abated but dark clouds still swirled in the sky, blocking the sun and the light was fading. She swung around to see that Cassie had also been blindfolded.

  Tara watched her climb out, and her heart broke to see how thin she was—just skin and bone, like a walking skeleton. And what was that stupid thin nightdress she was wearing? It was so demeaning. He cut Cassie’s bonds and her arms were free. She ripped off the blindfold and crossed the space between them in two long strides, and threw her arms around Tara. “Oh, Tara-Tay, I wish he didn’t get you,” she said through the tears. “I love you and it’s so amazing to be with you.”

  The man gripped Cassie’s arm and wrenched her away, sending her stumbling and almost falling to the ground.

  “Run!”Tara yelled. “Get away, Cassie!” She jumped up, swung around, and head-butted her captor as hard as she could under his chin. It hurt her, but it made a satisfying crunching sound. “Run, Cassie, run.”

  He punched her in her face again and she fell to the ground.

  Chapter 49

  Jared’s phone buzzed and he set down the wrench. “Yeah?”

  “Hey, Jared, we need you to come over to the Center. It looks like someone cut the wire again in the same place. We’ve told Roberto to check on all the horses and we’ve searched the barn but can’t find anything or anyone.” It was Merrick.

  “Tara? Is Tara okay? And Kaitlyn.”

  “They’re in the house. We had to go buy some supplies and her SUV was here when we got back about an hour ago. We were only gone twenty minutes. It’s been storming pretty bad until about ten minutes ago.”

  Jared finished tightening the pipe and then slammed his tools back into the toolbox. “Something’s come up,” he said to his customer as he rushed toward the exit. “You’ll be okay for now and I’ll come back to finish the job,” he yelled as he pushed the door open and jogged to his truck.

  He jammed the gear into first and hit the gas hard. As he was driving, he called Merrick again. “Hey, did you check up on Tara?”

  “Shawn’s doing that now, but the back door’s locked and Tara isn’t answering. He’s gone around the house t
o the front.”

  She wasn’t answering. Tara wasn’t answering. Please God, let her be okay.

  He skidded to a halt beside Tara’s SUV and charged to the back door. Merrick and Shawn were standing there and his heart sank when he saw the looks on their faces.

  “She’s gone. A window was open in the basement around the far side of the house.” Merrick, who had his phone to his ear, pointed to Shawn.

  “I was gonna tell her to close it, but . . .” Shawn sighed and shook his head. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault she’s gone.”

  “Where’s Kaitlyn?” Jared said, his heart beating so hard he could hardly breathe.

  “She’s in the closet in Tara’s bedroom and won’t come out, but she looks okay, just scared.”

  “Did you report it to the sheriff?”

  “Merrick’s doing that now. I’m so fucking sorry,” Shawn said. “I should’ve been watching that side of the house.”

  Jared walked into the house and jogged up the stairs to Tara’s bedroom. “Kaitlyn, it’s me, Jared. It’s okay now. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

  He slid the door open. No one was there. He opened the closet door and pushed the clothes aside. Nothing.

  Oh, fuck no. Fuck no.

  What was that? A cat meowing. Ol’ Slugbug. It was coming from Cassie’s room. He opened the door and flinched at the sight of the little girl huddled in a corner, clutching the orange cat, her eyes wide with fear.

  Jared crouched down and held out a hand. “Come, sweetie,” he said. “You’re safe now.”

  Kaitlyn sat there for a while, shaking so hard her teeth were chattering, but making no movement. The cat purred and snuggled close to her.

  Jared smiled despite his anguish over Tara. “I see you met Slugbug. He likes you. He used to belong to a little girl like you who didn’t speak.” He made a mental calculation. The cat must be fourteen or fifteen years old now. He held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll get you home to your mama.”

  Kaitlyn slowly stood up and took his hand. He wanted to crush her to him and smother her with kisses, but he knew she wouldn’t like it. “Can you tell me what happened to Tara?”

  At her silence, Jared led the child downstairs and gave her a glass of milk and some cookies, and called Lou.

  “Tara has a problem and she can’t take care of Kaitlyn any longer. How are you doing?”

  “I can’t have her. I’m still at the hearing.”

  “Okay, don’t worry. I’ll sort it out.” When he went out again, Jules had arrived and was chatting with Merrick, an anxious look on her face.

  “I have to find someone to take Kaitlyn,” Jared said. “I need to head out and start searching for Tara before whoever took her can get any further away. He knew the deputies would head out as soon as they got the news, but he couldn’t sit around and do nothing. That would drive him crazy.

  “I’m so sorry, Jared. I would take her but I’m giving a private session in a half-hour. An adult who signed an indemnity. I wouldn’t be able to watch her and she won’t listen to these guys.”

  They heard sirens and watched as Deputy Tim Bowen jammed on his brakes, pushed the door open and rushed over to them. “Anything new to tell me?” he asked.

  “Looks like the intruder entered through a window that wasn’t closed on the far side of the house,” Merrick said with a glance at Shawn. “We were both checking out the cut wire on the fence and making sure no one had tampered with the horses while the storm was going on, and as soon as it had finished, she had gone. He used the fence as a decoy and we fell for it.”

  “I called those two detectives from Groover, Moore and Garcia, since they were investigating the other stuff that’s been going on here.” He looked at his watch. “They’ll be here in about a half-hour. They said the Feds are gonna get involved in the search now, but they have to come from Austin, so it’ll take them a while to mobilize.”

  “Can you two handle them?” Jared said. “I have to find someone who can take care of Kaitlyn.”

  Chapter 50

  Cassie scrambled to her feet.

  She should help Tara. He would hurt her. But she couldn’t stop him. Tara told her to run. Oh, God. What if he catches me? I’m gonna go anyway. I have to.

  She sprinted as fast as she could down the driveway.

  “Cassie! Get back here right now!”

  Her heart pounded and her breath came in whimpering gulps. A part of her almost obeyed him. To go against his orders meant certain punishment and pain.

  She hadn’t been free to go anywhere on her own for a long time. She didn’t know where she was, or where to go. It was scary. The road had to lead someplace where other people would be. Oh, God, oh, God. She was breathing heavily now.

  “You bitch! You’ll pay for this!”

  His cursing made her run faster. She couldn’t go back now. He would certainly kill her. What was that? Oh no, he was starting the truck. She didn’t want to leave the road. She would get lost. But she had to. She had no choice. She charged into the thick brush.

  “You’re gonna regret this, Cassie!”

  Thorns and branches clawed at her face and arms and her bare feet, and her lungs felt like they would burst. Her legs hurt really badly and they were tired, but she had to keep running and running until she couldn’t run anymore.

  She stopped in a thicket of brush and collapsed onto the ground, fighting to catch her breath. She listened. Nothing. She couldn’t hear him calling anymore.

  She lay down in the wet grass and hunched herself up into a fetal position, shivering with fear and shaking with exhaustion. She knew she was weak and out of shape. She hadn’t been able to exercise and now . . . she couldn’t let Tara down. He would hurt her. She knew this was about the worst situation any autistic person could ever be in—a strange place out in the woods, not knowing where she was or how to get to safety. And it was getting dark. But she had to save Tara. He said he was going to kill her.

  She shivered. Her hair hung limp and her nightgown, damp from the early evening fog, clung to her. Her feet hurt. She knew they were bleeding, but she couldn’t see them in the darkness. Where could she go? He’d come looking for her as soon as it was light—maybe even before that.

  She awoke with a start to pitch darkness and sat up. Where am I? What am I doing here? She looked up at the sky. A few stars peeped out from behind the thick clouds and the moon glowed yellow. She must have passed out with exhaustion. How long had she been there? She stood up and looked around. It was so dark. Something rustled in the brush and she stifled a scream.

  A clap of thunder made her yelp out loud. Clouds swirled in the dark sky. I hope it doesn’t rain again. I don’t know where to go. What if I go the wrong way and end up back where he’s waiting for me?

  She started to walk.

  Chapter 51

  Jerry threw Tara back into the truck. “Hands behind your back,” he demanded.

  She thought about resisting but he grabbed her hands and tied them up before she had a chance. He used another cable tie to tie her feet together once more.

  He jumped into the truck and skidded out of the driveway. “You fucking bitch!” he growled. “You’re gonna regret this. I will find her, and when I have her back, you will watch me kill her slowly and listen to her screams.”

  Tara prayed for Cassie’s safety as they bumped, bounced, and crunched around a network of dirt roads. She had to get away. She had to. Tara couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be for her to find herself alone in the bushes, but she must not come back.

  After what seemed like hours of driving around in the dark, the truck stopped and he turned off the engine. She could see the dark outline of the cabin in the headlights

  “Get out, bitch,” he growled after cutting the tie off her legs. She hauled herself up off the
back seat and climbed out of the truck. She staggered a little, feeling dizzy. Her feet burned and her hands were numb. He pushed her in front of him into the cabin and down a set of stairs into a small basement room. Was this where he had held Cassie all these years? What awful things had he done to her here?

  He shoved her onto a narrow metal cot with a thin mattress. When he closed the door and the lock clicked, the darkness completely hid her surroundings. Her hands were still tied behind her back. They were so numb she almost couldn’t feel them, and her shoulders ached. She willed the tears not to come.

  Cassie was free. That was what she focused on. She didn’t know how Cassie would find her way to safety—or even if she would—but she had to hope.

  Chapter 52

  Jared slammed on his brakes and turned to look back at Kaitlyn. She was pointing at the Center’s entrance sign above them.

  “Kaitlyn. Did you say something?” Am I imagining it or did I hear her speak?

  She pointed again at the sign—or maybe at the bull effigy. “Man,” she said again. Jared’s heartbeat raced. “What about the man?” She’s speaking. This is unbelievable.

  “Man.” She pointed again and then touched her throat.

  “Oh, yeah. Did the man have a bull on his throat, Kaitlyn?”

  She nodded. “Bad man,” she said in a quavering voice and tapped her throat.

  “Did the man hurt you? Did he?”

  “The man hurt Tara.” Her words came out slowly, which was understandable, since she hadn’t used her voice for so long.

  “And he had a bull on his throat? A picture of a bull like that one overhead?”

  Kaitlyn nodded. “A bull there,” she said, tapping her throat.