Terrifying Love: A Halloween Anthology Read online

  “Willow,“ Evan starts, and I turn toward him.

  “No. I’m right. They know, otherwise they would have gone after her right away. They did the last time. So why wait now?” I look at Marcus, I stare at him.

  He sighs deeply. “Okay, if they know, then it’s time for you guys to leave. They won’t be doing anything with us here.” I feel the tight fist, that’s been holding my heart in its grip, relax as I make my way to the door. Ready to go back to Paula, get on the road and maybe get some sleep, if Evan drives first. Then tomorrow, we’ll get her home. I walk out the door without saying anything to the FBI. Evan follows me as I move toward the motel, which is on the other side of the street. We were lucky with the restaurant for being this small and having windows crowded with eighties memorabilia hiding us from view. I walk toward the motel, getting closer to our room. With every step I take, I feel my breathing even out more. We’ll be with Paula in a moment, and we’ll be safe and fine for tonight.

  “Willow!” Evan yells, and I turn around. At that moment, a car explodes in front of the diner. I see it happen as Evan runs toward me. Glass flies everywhere as a huge plume of smoke goes up in the air, followed by the fire. The loud crash of the car hurtling back down to the ground fills the air and I’m thrown to the ground by Evan. The sight of the burning car and wracked diner is replaced by the night sky, its stars, and the moon. I’m not sure if I hear people crying or yelling around me, or maybe I just hear the ringing of my own ears. Evan’s face appears in front of me, his mouth moving as I stare at him. “Willow,” his voice is far away, and I focus on his eyes that roam over my face, filled with worry.

  “Paula!” I cry out and he looks away from me, to something behind me. “Paula,” I say again, and mange to push him away from me. He gets it and rushes toward the motel. I groan as I inhale, slowly trying to get my bearings, find out if everything is still working. Sirens start to replace the ringing in my ears and I slowly get up. I see people running around, civilians and the FBI, as well as the firemen who rush out of their truck to quench the burning fire caused by the exploded car.

  “Willow,” I hear my name and I turn around on the ground I’m still sitting on. I see Evan running with Paula next to him, holding her hand. “Go,” he says. As if he kicked me in the ass, I get up quickly, a bit unsteady as I ran toward them.

  “You alright?” I ask Paula as I come to a stop in front of them. Her eyes wide and focused on the wreckage behind me. “Paula!” I shout to her and she focuses on me. I see her swallow before she nods.

  “I’m fine,” she stammers out and I glance at Evan.

  “We need to go now!” he yells at us, and I grab Paula’s other hand. I run toward my car, but Evan stops me. “Willow.” He tilts his head toward a car parked further away. I see his friend standing there and we rush over. It’s an SUV and Marcus throws open the door to the back. Paula and I slide in. The door closes with a loud bang behind us as Evan slides into the driver's seat. The car is already running as Evan quickly hits the gas and we speed away.

  “Marcus?” I ask him in surprise.

  “He’ll be fine,” Evan answers as he speeds toward the highway, getting as far away as we can get.

  I turn toward Paula. “Are you alright?” I ask her again, and she nods at me. “Is it alright if I move to the front, next to Evan?” I ask her, not wanting to leave her as she’s still holding my hand. Another nod follows. I lean forward and pull her into my arms. “I’m so sorry, honey. We’ll get you to your parents as fast as we can.”

  Paula grips me around my waist, and I try not to wince as she goes over a sore part on my back. I kiss the top of her head. “You’ve been a brave strong young woman, Paula.” I look her into the eyes and give her a quick smile. She returns a smile hesitantly and with that, I move to the front of the car. Climbing over the middle, I slide into the passenger seat next to Evan. “What now?” I ask him. I’m glad the ringing in my ears stopped, and that my back is the only place that seems to be hurt by the fall. I don’t feel anything sticking to my shirt, which makes me think that I’m not bleeding.

  “We’ll drive throughout the night and get her to her parents as fast as we can. And hopefully be there before they are.” A shiver runs down my spine at his words. His voice is empty of emotions as he speaks as a deadly calm descends over him. I take hold of his hand that rests on the gearstick. He glances at me and I squeeze his hand, giving him every bit of comfort I can.

  “Alright,” I say, and we stay silent for some time, my hand still holding his as he keeps driving. I glance to the car’s dashboard clock, and notice that it’s nearing eleven pm. I turn to Paula, finding her staring out of the window. “Paula…“ She looks at me. “Try to get some sleep.” She stares at me, then her eyes go down and back up again. “I know it will be hard, but please try. We’ll be here and we’re not going to leave you alone again, not until you’re home and safe with your parents.” I see her lips quiver slightly and then she nods, putting her head down against the window as she closes her eyes.

  We drive further. I would even say there is a comfortable silence between Evan and me, but nothing is comfortable about this drive. We drive as fast as we can without drawing attention to ourselves. I can only imagine how we must look like after three days on the road, not having showered or changed clothes. It’s a miracle that the car doesn’t smell like us.

  “Get some sleep, too,” Evan says from my left and I look at him.

  I finally shake my head. “I can’t, too much adrenaline.” He only nods in reply, focused on the road. “What do we do now?” I ask him, feeling comfort in hearing him talk.

  He stays silent for a long moment and I start to wiggle my fingers over each other as if I’m playing my nerves like a harp. “They probably know we’re going back to her home,” Evan finally says.

  “How did they know the FBI would be there?” I ask him, as I don’t want to think about what we’re driving into, and the question has been bugging me from the moment we got into the car.

  Evan shrugs. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.”

  I swivel in my chair toward him. “Doesn’t matter? They almost blew us all up and got Paula again.”

  “Sssh…” Evan says as he twists his head back. I look behind him finding Paula asleep. Relief floods me knowing that she still feels safe enough with us to fall asleep.

  “We need to figure something out Evan,” I sigh as I turn back, looking out the front window.

  “I know,” he answers.

  It’s silent again, as I think everything over. The kidnapping, what Paula told us, and everything that happened in the meantime. It’s so much in such a short time. Just a few days ago I was trying to get a loan for my own bar, and now I’m in a car being chased by the organization that wants this girl to blackmail her parents. How life could flip upside down and back over again this quickly, is beyond anything I expected. The car slows down, and I look around us. I've been inside my mind, thinking about everything that I haven't noticed, like Evan going off the main road and now stopping near a lake.

  “We need a break,” Evan says, and I nod as he gets out of the car. It’s four am, and the sun isn’t even starting it’s rise yet. The parking lot of the lake is deserted and I’m glad for that. We’re also covered by a row of trees from the main road situated a bit further. I glance toward Paula who is still asleep and I follow Evan out of the car, he’s standing at the driver side, the door still open, ready for him to jump in and drive away if need be. He’s looking out over the water as I stop next to him.

  “There has to be a way to get her home safely and get that… organization arrested,” I wanted to say dead, but I couldn’t. I’m not the person who can decide on someone else’s life. I value life to much for it. But what I do know is, that if I ever get in a situation like this — please not — I will always fight for my own survival and the survival of the ones I love. I glance at Evan from the corner of my eye. He’s looking at me, his expression solemn. “I know,
” I say to him. I've learned to read him better in the past few days. I know he’s been thinking the same thing. They might not be locked up, alive. It’s not even certain that we’ll get back home. I shiver at that thought and, without a word, Evan pulls me against him, eclipsing me in his strong arms, holding me tight against his body. I wish we could set a trap,” I say to him. “One that works,” I mumble as my head rests on his chest.

  “They know we’re coming,” he answers me. I could feel his voice rumbling through his chest.

  I maul over his words, and something ignites, a plan.

  I push away from him as I say, “What if that’s the trap.” He looks down at me, confused. “Look, we know that they know we’re coming, it’s the most logical step, right? Get her home…“ I shake my head as I say the next part, “I don’t even know why they haven’t decided to wait for us at her home.” Again, I shake my head as it doesn’t matter, not right now.

  “What are you saying?” Evan asks as I ramble on.

  I push him a little further, but still staying with his arms around me. “We can go in prepared.”

  He shakes his head. “We can’t go in with guns, Willow,” he says.

  “Who says it needs to be guns?” I reply.

  Evan tilts his head as he stares at me. “What are you saying, Willow?” he asks me.

  “What if we go in prepared, we set up a trap of our own. I know we can,” I say to him as a smile starts to appear on my face.

  “Willow, it’s dangerous,” he counters, and I feel my smile waver.

  “I know, but just going in there is dangerous, too. Now we can go prepared. And I know this will work,” I say to him. “Call your friend,” I add.

  Evan doesn’t wait as he pulls out his phone. He hands me the phone as soon as he calls Marcus.

  I explain the plan to him, and Evan listens, adding his own ideas to my plan, as he hears it for the first time. And we end up coming up with one that should work, that sounds solid, and would even mean we all go home safely afterwards. Still there are too many factors we’re depending on, to have this work, but it’s the best thing we have. Now, at least, we don’t go in unprepared.

  “I know, Marcus, but we have to do this,” I say to him, as he repeats that this might be our death.

  “You are a special woman, Willow,” he tells me, and I grimace even if he can’t see it. “We’ll get everything ready as fast as we can,” and with that, he hangs up. I hand the phone back to Evan.

  “We’ll have to drive for about three hours to get to the city. We can sleep for a bit if you want?” Evan says, and I look at him.

  I shake my head. “I don’t think I can sleep,” I say to him, as adrenaline surges through me. Maybe it's still from the bomb or the idea what we’re driving into, or I don’t know what, and at the moment I don’t care. I stare into his face, his hazelnut eyes soft as he looks back at me. On an impulse get on my toes and kiss him, and his body freezes for a second, just a split second, before his arms come around my waist and he pulls me against him, deepening the kiss. His lips are soft as they move over mine. A deep sigh leaves him, and I open my lips slightly. He takes advantage of it as our tongues start to move around each other, dancing. His hands dig into my back as he pulls me harder against him, and I fold my arms around his neck, my hands in his hair as we kiss.

  I finally pull back, regretting it right away. But we still have to drive for some time. His lips turn up into a soft smile and he quickly kisses me before he lets me go.

  “We should get going,” he says, his voice slightly hoarse and I tilt my head as I give him a smile of my own. For a moment, I'm forgetting the shit we’re in and just think that we’re on a first date and almost too late for the reservation in some cheesy restaurant. I keep staring at him, wanting to keep this moment forever. Making sure it’s etched in my memory, because we don’t know what will happen in the next few hours. I finally manage to pull away from him, and we get into the car. Driving off into the unknown.

  Chapter Six

  “Paula,” I say softly. We stopped at a gas station since we have to fill up the car. She mumbles something and I smile. “Paula, it’s time.” This makes her wake up and she looks at me, my smile already disappearing.

  “We’re home?” she asks.

  I shake my head. “Almost.” I slide in the back seat to sit next to her. “We came up with a plan,” I start, not wanting to delay anything. Evan and I were convinced that we needed to tell Paula the plan as well, and that was what I was doing now, explaining everything, and the dangers that come with it. “Do you understand?” I ask her when I’m done.

  She is still for a moment, her eyes wide and scared. I stare into them, hoping that one day I’ll see them bright and filled with laughter. “I understand,” she finally answers, and her eyes fill with determination that shows on her face as well, as her jaw clenches and her hands ball into fists.

  I place my hand on hers. “Good.” I look down before I look up, suddenly nervous. “For what’s worth, I’m glad I got to know you. You are strong, Paula, and I know you’ll be amazing when you grow up.” I give her a squeeze and a smile. I feel tears burning in the back of my eyes, and I blink them away.

  Paula nods, before she leans in and hugs me hard. “You are amazing too, Willow. I hope to be like you,” she adds the last words on a whisper, and I hug her close as I feel a tear fall down.

  “You’ll be amazing, sweetie. This will all be over soon.” If my plan works. I don’t say that last part out loud as I pull back from her. The car door opens, and Evan gets in. I get out of the car and back in, at the passenger side.

  “Here,” Evan says, and he hands me a pocketknife. It’s not too big but still, it will be noticed. I look at him as I don’t know where to place it. “The best place is in your shoe,” he says and looks down at my ankle high boots. I lean toward my shoe and place it on the inside of my right shoe. When I’m done, I lean back and look at him.

  He’s watching me and I nod at him as I say, “I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” His lips pull tight and his gaze darkens.

  “I know,” he answers. The next two hours fly by in silence, only the radio fills the air with sound. We reach Zheamouth soon, to soon, I think. But we can’t delay this, and we don’t want to. Paula’s parents’ lives are in danger and hers as well. Paula gives the direction to her house. The city is big, and we drive through the streets with huge skyscrapers. It reminds me of New York, I've been there twice with my parents. An impressive city but too busy for my taste. Paula leads us to the outskirts of the city, and up the hill toward a massive gate.

  “Here it is,” she says on a breath. “Home.” The last word empty of emotion, just a simple word that could mean anything right now.

  Evan lets the window down and presses on the bell. The ringing sounds and my breath stops, because this is it, and I hope everyone is ready for what's to come.

  “Hello,” a female voice says hesitantly.

  “MOM!” Paula yells from the back seat.

  “Paula, baby, oh my baby,” the woman says through the intercom and the doors start to open. I glance at Evan. It sounds like the woman is okay, just worried about her child, but we all know better. A chill rushes down my spine as he gives me a grimace before he drives through the gates and toward the house. It’s an S shaped driveway, going up the hill. We stop in front of the house, at the roundabout in front of it.

  “We’ll stay with you until the end,” Evan says as he turns back to Paula. I do the same and see her nod at Evan, her face white and her eyes wide. They grow even larger as she surges out of the car.

  I look back at the house, just in time to see a woman rushing out. She’s a spitting image of Paula. I glance at Evan whose eyes scan the surroundings. They stop for a moment on me and I know what he’s thinking. Something is not right, and I mean, we expected to be greeted by the bad guys, not a crying happy mother. I look her over again, as she’s smiling at her daughter. I don’t know this woman well enough to see
if something’s wrong. I’ve only seen her on the news, and I know it’s Marie, but she looks the same now as on the news.

  I get out of the car as does Evan. I focus on them as I walk toward them, her hair long and wavy, the same brown as Paula’s. Her face is heart shaped. She hugs her daughter, and tears are running down her face. Evan and I stop near them, and the woman notices us. I see her tense as Paula says, “Mom. They helped me.” Her mother starts to push Paula behind her, but Paula moves around her mother, stepping next to her. “That’s Willow,“ I nod when I hear my name. “And that’s Evan.” He is still looking around and doesn’t acknowledge being introduced.

  “Did they give up?” I ask Evan softly.

  “Don’t know,” his answer is clipped.

  “Thank you so much,” Paula’s mother says, pulling my attention to her. “I’m sorry to ask, but could you please go?” And that has my eyes narrowing on her. Why would she ask us to go? Are they still here, do they have us under shot? What’s going on? Paula steps a little away from her mother.

  “I’m sorry ma’am,” Evan says as he steps closer to Paula.

  Marie looks behind her and I look at the open doors. There is nobody to see. There is just the massive villa, with its cream-colored paint on the walls, and gorgeous old arched windows, with a few balconies at the second floor. The house is surrounded by colorful plants and threes, and nothing looks like it’s out of place or wrong. “We’ve driven for a long time to get her back. Could we maybe use your toilet for a moment?” Evan steps closer and Marie looks back, her eyes widen slightly.

  “Please, mom, they…”

  “We really need to pee,” I interrupt Paula as I don’t want her telling anything about why we want to get inside, we can’t blow up the plan. It has to work.

  “I’m sorry, but…” Marie starts, and then people run out of the house.

  “Hands up,” a man yells and I recognize him as Oscar. He walks over to me as I lift my hands. He’s holding a gun, points it toward me, and for a moment all I can think about is – why isn’t my heart racing out of my chest? – as I stand there staring at Oscar, perfectly calm. There is a bandage on his nose, which is purple and blue. I can’t help but smile as I think about Evan breaking it. He uses his free hand to pat me down, in some places more than needed, and I hear Evan growl something, making Oscar laugh.