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Ivy began to panic. She had no idea whether or not Howie had heard anything she said. The battery on her phone had finally died; her only key to getting home was gone. The sudden pounding on the bathroom door startled her and she dropped the phone with a loud yelp. Before she knew what was happening, the door flew open and there stood Andrew and her “babysitter.” Ivy watched Andrew’s intent gaze travel from her face down to the many pieces of the phone at her feet.

“I-I can explain,” she tried lamely to reason with the two large, angry men.

“No need,” Andrew’s voice was laden with sarcasm as he roughly jerked Ivy from the small confines of the bathroom. “Looks to me like you were going to attempt a get-away. What do you think John?” he spoke the man’s name for the first time since they had kidnapped Ivy.

“I think you’re right,” John huffed in agreement.

“You know, Ivy, I thought you would be smarter than that,” Andrew’s face darkened. Suddenly, with no warning at all, he brought his large hand across Ivy’s cheek, sending her flying to the floor. “You know, you are really stupid, Ivy. That celebrity boyfriend of yours hasn’t helped you at all. Luckily, I have a great surprise for you.”

Ivy placed her hand on her already swollen cheek as tears began to sting her eyes. She watched as Andrew walked out of the room and then came back a few minutes later. She didn’t dare move; she was afraid Andrew would do much worse than slap her if she even looked at him the wrong way. In fact, she was terrified he was going to kill her. What a Christmas present that would be. She glanced up at Andrew when he loudly cleared his throat. Her attention was drawn to the door opening. As soon as she caught sight of the man entering the room, she wanted more desperately to find a way out. There’s no way; it’s not possible! “Daniel?” she choked out.

The man was tall and large with black hair and deep brown eyes. He greatly resembled his father; if it weren’t for Andrew’s salt and pepper hair to show his age, some might mistake them for brothers. Ivy watched, silently horrified, as the man came to a halt right in front of her. His broad shoulders and large frame cast an ominous shadow over Ivy and his eyes were cold as he stared down at her.

“Ivy,” his voice boomed. He was even more terrifying than Andrew. “What a pleasant surprise.”

Without thinking, Ivy gave him a disgusted glare and said, “For you, maybe. Too bad I can’t say the same.”

In the blink of an eye, Daniel had a firm grip on Ivy’s hair. As soon as he had her on her feet, he slammed her into the wall. “Look, if there’s one think that I don’t need right now, it’s your smartass mouth. I’ve been through a lot in the last year and why? All because of you. So, Ivy, if I were you, I’d think real hard before I say anything else.”

Ivy nodded in reply and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to break free. She had been scared before when it was just Andrew and John, but now she was horrified. Andrew she could deal with, but Daniel was a different story. He was much meaner than his father. In the three years Ivy had been married to him, she had been on the receiving end of his temper at least 90% of the time. Then, one day just a year earlier, she decided she cold handle no more, and when he began the normal yelling that started his tantrums, Ivy made sure they moved into the room where Daniel kept his gun. It may have been premeditated, but it was also self-defense. If Ivy had not shot him that day, she was sure he would have killed her without a second thought. He would have also made it look like a terrible accident. That may still be the plan, she thought with a shudder.



Howie drove down Highway 17 looking for any sign that could help him piece together the phone call from Ivy. So far, he had only been able to figure out that he needed to be driving on Highway 17, but he didn’t know whether to go north or south. Instead of wasting any more time than he had to, he just turned his car north and began driving. Ivy could be anywhere, he knew that, but he kept repeating the bits and pieces of the call in his head. Suddenly, he saw a road sign. Pierson 15 miles. “She’s in Pierson...”

Pressing the accelerator, Howie decided that he would take his chances with an officer if he passed one. It would be even better if someone did try and stop him. When he saw the exit he needed, he didn’t even brake as he sped across the right hand lane in front of another car. Howie ignored the blaring horn and rude gestures of the angry driver. All he knew was that he had to find Ivy soon.

Spotting a gas station as he came down the off ramp, Howie decided he would go in and show the clerk a picture of Ivy. He knew it was unlikely anyone had seen her, but he would take that chance. Once inside, he walked around before going over to question the woman behind the counter. As desperate as he was, he didn’t want to be mobbed because someone recognized him. As soon as the store cleared out, he cautiously made his way over to the check out counter.

“Excuse me?” he said politely.

“Yeah?” the clerk was uninterested in Howie as she filed her nails.

Glancing at her nametag Howie pulled the picture from his wallet. “Um, Teresa, have you seen this woman?”

Stopping long enough to take a quick glance at the photograph in Howie’s hand, the girl blew a bubble with her gum and shook her head. “Sorry, I haven’t.”

“That’s okay,” he answered in disappointment. He knew it had been a long shot, but he had to give it a try. There couldn’t be that many gas stations in this town, maybe he would luck up at one of them and find someone who could tell him something about Ivy.

Suddenly, the bells on the door jingled and Howie looked to see a very familiar looking man walk to the back of the store. Thinking back to where he could have seen this man, Howie moved to the other side of the store and watched him. Then, it came rushing back to him. It was the “police officer” that had arrested Ivy; he couldn’t believe it. This was going to be his only chance to find Ivy and get her home safely. Whispering a silent thank you to God, he waited on the far side of the small store and hoped that the man wouldn’t see him.

When Howie was sure that it was safe for him to start trailing the man, he quickly made his way to his car and made sure to keep up with his only way to Ivy. “Please, let her be okay…”



Ivy braced herself as she prepared for another blow from Daniel’s heavy hand. She was sure her face was one large bruise, but he was nowhere near being done with her. As his hand made a fierce contact with her face, she managed to get a look at the twisted smile that Andrew was wearing. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying Ivy’s beating. It made her sick to her stomach to think about what they were going to do next.

Finally, Daniel stopped hitting her and looked down at her with an evil smile. “Oh, how I’ve missed you darling.” His voice was filled with as much hate as the punches his hands had been delivering for the past hour. If this was what they were going to keep doing to her, Ivy wished he would go ahead and kill her and get it over with. She knew that’s what all of this was leading up to, so why not do it now?

“Okay, Daniel, that’s enough for now.”

Andrew’s words echoed in Ivy’s ears. Enough for now…I wish they would just kill me. She watched through swollen eyelids as the two men exchanged glances and she could tell that Daniel was not happy about being ordered around by his father. Glancing at Andrew, Ivy thought they were going to leave her alone for a while, but apparently she was wrong.

“Ivy…Where do I begin to explain to you…” Andrew was pacing back and forth in front of her tapping his finger on his chin. “I suppose you already know that you’re not getting away from us again. You’re coming home. That is, if we decide to let you.”

Ivy tried her best to keep her cool and stay calm; she didn’t want them to see her cry. Why would it matter now? There’s nothing I can do, so why am I trying to stay strong? She had long given up on Howie, deciding that there had been too much static for him to hear anything she said. Now, she just had to deal with the torture that Daniel and Andrew were putting her through before they disposed of her.

“You, darling, are going to come home and things are going to be the way they were before. I don’t know why you thought you could get away with something like that, Ivy. Stupidity, I suppose. How on earth did you think you could hide from me?”

Avoiding his dark gaze, Ivy tried to find something to focus on. She used to do this when Daniel was having one of his fits. She would find a point in the room and focus all her attention to that one place and she wouldn’t take her mind off of it until Daniel had finished whatever he was doing. After a while, she became numb to his abuse and she didn’t have to worry about hiding the bruises; she wasn’t allowed to have friends or go anywhere without him. She was stuck inside their house all day every day. Some days though, she was able to sneak away for a few hours at a time and enjoy a day at the park. That’s how she met Howie. Thinking of him made her smile.

“What are you smiling about?” she heard Daniel question.

“I was just thinking about how I missed you,” she lied.

“You even changed your appearance to try and stay hidden,” Andrew said, his amusement obvious. “What did you think, Ivy? Cutting and straitening your hair would make you a new person?”

Looking into Andrew’s eyes, Ivy began to cry. “Please…I never meant for any of this to happen. You’re all fine. I swear, if you let me go, you’ll never see me or hear from me again.” She couldn’t pretend to be strong any longer; she decided that her only way out was begging.

Ivy heard Daniel snort from across the room. “We’re all okay, huh? Well, tell me something, Ives…does this look okay?” He ripped open his button down shirt to reveal a large scar over his heart. “That’s where they had to go in to repair the damage from the bullet YOU put in my heart. I’m lucky you didn’t kill me you stupid bitch.”

Ivy began to sob as he loomed over her, threatening to begin the abuse again. “I’m sorry, Daniel...I-I was scared…”

“And you think that makes me feel sorry for you? I almost died…but you’re sorry so we should let you go. Is that how it works? No, it’s not. So just sit back, Ivy. You’re in for a long night.”



Howie looked around the dark, wooded area he had followed the man to. They were on a dirt road now, and he was trying to make sure that it wasn’t obvious he was following the man. Somehow he hadn’t lost him, even through all the back roads of the small town. At one point, Howie thought maybe the man was trying to lose him.

“No chance,” he mumbled to himself.

Finally, he saw a large cabin in the distance. It was surrounded by a number of trees and he noticed that there were two other cars parked in the front yard. He watched the man get out of his car and go inside, carrying the goodies he’d picked up from the station. Howie decided to wait before he got out of his car, and he also parked away from the house. He knew he was taking a chance by not parking near the cabin, but he didn’t want to risk anyone inside hearing his door shut. All I need is for one of them to find me.

Howie slowly made his way around the rear of the cabin and saw that it was dark. All the lights were coming from one room inside the cabin—where they were keeping Ivy. He knew that he wasn’t being smart by not telling someone where he was, especially the police, but he knew that no one would help him. They would all tell him to give them time to take care of the situation. Time was a luxury he didn’t have; what if they did something to Ivy? He couldn’t take that chance.

He tried to be as quiet as possible as he crept onto the back deck. Letting out a short sigh of relief, he saw that the back door was standing wide open. He had a perfect way in, but that was the easy part. As he got closer to the door, he could hear men talking and Ivy’s quiet sobbing. Thank God she’s still alive. Howie bit his bottom lip as he walked into the cabin, hoping that he wouldn’t make any noise that would let them know someone else was there.

“I need some fresh air,” he heard one of them say. “I’m going outside. Either of you coming?”

“Yeah,” another said.

“Sure, it’s not like she’s going anywhere,” a third voice spoke up. Then all that was left was the sound of Ivy crying.

Howie knew this was his only chance to get in to get Ivy. He quickly found the room she was in when he saw the light flooding through the crack at the bottom. He still tried to keep as quiet as he could as he opened the door. When he caught sight of Ivy, he felt his heart break.

They had beaten her to the point where he almost didn’t recognize her. Both of her eyes were swollen nearly shut and her lip was busted. She had bruises on her cheeks, as well as several long gashes. Her dark hair was tangled and it looked like they had been dragging her around buy it.

Howie dropped to his knees in front of her and took both her hands in his. “Ivy…baby…are you okay?” he whispered.

“Howie…” she sounded like a small child; fragile and scared. “Oh, God, Howie, I thought I would never see you again.”

“Shhh…don’t worry baby, I’m gonna get you out of here. We’re going home.”

“Oh, you are, are you?” Howie froze when he heard the man’s voice. He hadn’t even heard him come into the room.

Slowly turning to face the man, Howie saw that he was quite a bit taller than himself. He wasn’t scared for himself, but for what they might do to Ivy because of him. “Look,” he began to reason with the man. “Why don’t you just let us go, okay? We haven’t done anything to you, so we’ll just be on our way…”

“No, I don’t think you will,” the man countered. “See, Ivy hasn’t been a good girl, so she’s receiving her punishment for the past year, but since this is none of your business, I think you need to stay out of it.”

“Oh, but it is my business.”

“Really? How is it your business?”

“Daniel, I see we have company,” and older man exclaimed as he entered the room. He looked like an older version of the man Howie had been talking to and he figured it was the man’s father. “You must be the celebrity we’ve heard so much about. And it looks like Ivy DID make a get-away attempt. It’s a pity it didn’t work.”

“I was just telling him that--”

“I know what you were telling him,” Andrew snapped. “But see, it’s not going to work. Sorry.”

“I think we should at least hear him out…”

“You’re being an idiot, son…why don’t you keep you mouth shut?”

Howie watched as Andrew turned toward Daniel and began to lecture him on his stupidity. They may have both been large men, but Howie knew if he could catch them off guard, he would have an advantage. He knew that Andrew had a gun inside his jacket, but the chances that he would get his hands on it before Howie could stop him would be next to nothing.

Deciding this was his only opportunity, Howie lunged for Andrew. As soon as he made contact with him, Howie took him to the floor. It wasn’t long before Andrew was over the initial shock and fighting back. They were rolling around on the floor; Howie was trying to make sure Andrew didn’t get his hands on the gun.

Ivy watched in horror as the two men struggled for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, they were both back on their feet, but Ivy quickly noticed the gun they were both trying hard to get the hands on. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the cold steel, her blood ran cold. She knew that if Andrew got the chance, he would not only kill her, but he would make sure to get rid of Howie as well. She wanted to get up and run to Howie; to get him away from Andrew, but Daniel was making sure she stayed in her chair.

Suddenly, the sound of the gun exploded and then there was nothing but silence. Everything around seemed to stop and Ivy watched as Howie pulled back. Letting out a shriek, Ivy broke free of Daniel’s grasp and rushed over to Howie. She ignored all the pain she was feeling; the blood that was rapidly spreading across Howie’s shirt was enough to numb her all over. When she was standing in front of him, she grabbed his face in her hands.

“Howie, talk to me…are you okay?” She just wanted him to be alright, but he wouldn’t answer. Howie just kept staring at the blood that was soaking his entire shirt.