Cass's Capture Ch. 03

The road up the mountain was rocky, and Cass found herself being bounced around in the front seat of the Jeep. Luckily Colin had buckled the seat belt, however with her wrists still bound behind her back, it was impossible to stay in one place. They drove along in silence for about an hour, going straight up on the dirt road and taking a few random turns. Cass had the feeling that he was trying to confuse her by going in what seemed like a circle at times.

Colin was particularly glad the she was silent during the ride. He was kicking himself that he told her his real name. He may as well of given her is address while he was at it. There was something about Cass that got under his skin, and every time she called him "William" it was like nails on a chalkboard to hear it. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't a criminal, that he was doing this as a last resort. He wanted her to know that he had a real job, and even had a college degree. He could only imagine what she thought of him now. He tried to clear those kinds of thoughts from his head. What did it matter what she thought? Colin looked at her from the corner of his eye. She sat straight up, staring ahead, her lips in a scowl. He remembered how she had yelled at him, and had to fight back a slight smile.

Cass, on the other hand, was thinking about how she was about 5 seconds from nailing him in the eye with her stiletto if he didn't wipe that smirk off of his face. How dare he think this was funny, she thought to herself.

As they finally stopped sunlight was starting to creep up from the east, allowing Cass to get a view of where they were stopping at. In front of her there was a cabin, though ancient looking, even she could tell that it was well made. It was small, but had a look that at one time it was very well loved by its owners. It was made from what looked like local wood, and had a small porch in the front.

Colin rolled down the window a quarter of the way, and then got out of the Jeep. He locked the doors before he slammed the door shut. He then went to the front of the cabin and unlocked the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going," Cass shrieked, "You can't just leave me here."

"There is no way I am going to let you out until I finish unloading the Jeep," he retorted, as he went inside the cabin.

"What am I going to hop away? Or better yet roll down the mountain?" she yelled back at him.

He laughed. He knew she was partly right, but there was no way that he was going to give into her demands. He had already given her his name, and that was enough for now. He made several trips from the Jeep to the cabin, carefully avoiding her glare. He finished putting away all the supplies and then walked back out and unlocked the passenger door.

"How nice of you to remember me," she said snidely, refusing to look at him.

"Like any man would forget you, Princess. All they would need is to taste your sweetness and they'd be hooked for life," he said, looking at her lewdly, as she sat in the seat.

She gasped. "You son of—" He put his hand over her mouth.

"Yes, we know Princess. Son of a bitch! Already old news, and unless you have something to say worth listening to, I'd advise you to keep it to yourself," he said smoothly. "If you can't control your mouth, I'd be happy to gag you again."

Her blue eyes glittered with hatred, but when he took his hand away she said nothing. She gasped again when he pulled the knife from the sheath at his side. He taunted her by holding the knife near her face, and slowly sliding the cold metal down her side and then leg, until it met the tape that bound her ankles. He quickly sliced the tape and grabbed her arm, hauling her out of the Jeep. He put the knife back in its holder and reached down and grabbed her stilettos. He then flung them as hard as he could down the mountainside.

"Don't have much use for those up here, Princess, now do you?" he laughed at her as he dragged her into the cabin. She remained silent.

Right inside the cabin there was a small living room with a sofa, recliner and fireplace, which was already lit. To the left of the living room and the entrance there was a small kitchen with a hallway leading off of the back wall. Colin pulled Cass through the kitchen and down the hall, opening a door that led to a bedroom, passing another door that Cass hoped was the restroom.

He led her into the room, and proceeded to cut the tape that bound her wrists. Then without a word backed out of the door, shutting it and locking it from the outside. He then went into the living room and sat on the recliner, letting the weariness overtake him.

Cass couldn't believe that Colin had just left her locked in this room. Granted, it wasn't a prison cell. There was a large bed, a dresser, and a space heater. She went over to the dresser and started looking through the drawers and found blankets and towels. The room was small and windowless, and the bed took up most of the space. She couldn't help but notice that the bed looked extremely comfortable, and in her exhaustion, fell onto the soft quilt and into a deep sleep.

*****

Jack Connelly awoke in the morning and his first thought was wondering what time his daughter had come home. He got up and turned off the television he had fallen asleep in front of the night before and went down the hall to see if Cass was up yet. He saw that her door was open, and the bed had not appeared to be slept in. She must've stayed at Lana's house, he thought to himself as he went to the study to get his cell phone.

When he turned it on, he saw that he had two messages. The first one was from Cass telling him that she was staying over at her friends. He chuckled at how she sounded, thinking that maybe she had too much to drink. The second one was from an unknown number, and as he listened to the message his body started to tremble as his face turned white.

After the message he immediately called his friend, the Chief of Police at Riverdale P.D. When Chief Matthews finally picked up the phone, Jack was almost hysterical.

"Don," he gasped into the phone. "Someone's taken my daughter... someone has Cass."

The chief said that he would be right over and hung up. Jack then called Lorraine and she also said she would be on her way. After the calls he wearily sat down in his chair behind his desk, and put his head in his hands.

That was exactly how Lorraine found him thirty minutes later. He stood up as she came around the desk and put her arms around him, holding him as he sobbed in anguish.

"This is all my fault... I should've had more protection on her... I should have made her stay home," he sobbed.

Lorraine tried to comfort him as best as she could. She kept holding him until Chief Matthews strode into the room. Jack and Lorraine straightened up, and then Jack picked up the cell phone and played the message over the speaker.

"Greetings, Mr. Connelly" the voice said, "I have your daughter. She is currently being held in a distant location, and is safe... for now. To ensure her safety, and my consideration towards returning her, I will need five million dollars. I will be in touch."

******

Colin woke up a few hours later, noticing the late afternoon light filter in through the windows. At first he could not remember why he was at his grandfather's hunting cabin, but then the realization of what he had done dawned on him. Since the night before, he finally had a second to reflect on the situation. He thought of the events of the past day, and what had happened to bring him to this point... that terrible night three months ago...

Colin was on his way home from work when he received a phone call from his sister Lillian. Lillian was 5 years younger than his 32, shared his dark hair and grey eyes, though hers usually glittered with laughter. She had porcelain skin, and her dark hair was long and wavy. She always seemed vulnerable to him, and when their parents died when he was 21 and she 16, he swore to always take care of her.

Lily was a believer that the glass was always half full, she only saw the good in people, and often gave chance after chance to those that would hurt her. One of those types of people was her husband Richard. She had met Richard during her last year of college, and was dazzled by his relatively good looks and charming personality. Everything was great, until they said "I do". After that Rich turned into a control freak. He wouldn't let her go anywhere without him, even to visit her own brother. Colin was not sure about everything that was going on during their two year marriage. At first when Lily withdrew he made some jokes about it, but she always defended Rich, and asked him to let it go.

When Colin looked at his caller id he was surprised that it was her, knowing that Rich had a pretty tight leash on her.

"Hey sis," he answered cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"You have to help me, Colin," she said, brokenly. "I can't take it anymore. He... he hurt me really bad this time." She started to sob softly into his ear.

At that, Colin had to pull over to the side of the road. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew that things were bad, but he had no idea that it was that bad. He was so mad at himself, failing to protect his baby sister.

"What did he do to you, Lily?" he yelled. "I'm gonna kill him."

"No!," she screamed. "I just want out...promise me you wont do anything. I just have to pack a bag... can I stay with you?"

"Of course you can Lily. You don't even have to ask Just hurry up and get to my house will figure out what to do then."

After they hung up the phone, Colin decided that he had no choice but to confront Rich, so he drove to the high rise where Rich's office was and decided to pay him a visit. When they were face to face in Rich's office, Colin could not hold his cool any longer. He strode around the desk and pushed Rich into a wall, holding him there by his neck.

"Hey... what is your problem," Rich said, gasping as he had to fight for air.

"You are the problem, asshole," Colin growled, "If you come near my sister again I will make sure that you won't take another breath."

"Wh-what are you talking about... you're crazy," Rich stammered.

"You haven't even seen crazy, but you will if you try to follow her you will regret it."

Colin then let go of Rich's neck and left as the other man fell to the floor. Rich watched angrily as Colin left. Then he calmly stood up, grabbed his suitcase and left the office.

****

Colin had a slightly uneasy feeling as he drove home that night, and when he pulled into his driveway, he was shocked that he didn't see Lilly's car in the driveway. He entered the house, and after changing his clothes he decided to give Lilly a call on her cell phone. He started to get even more worried when the voicemail picked up right away. He left her a message, and then turned on the television to pass the time while he was waiting for her.

Colin turned it to the news, and was half watching it as he was trying to come up with a plan for Lilly. All of the sudden a news bulletin caught his attention:

"This just in..." the newscaster said. "There has been a serious accident in Riverdale at the intersection of First and Main Street, as a red Honda was, according to witnesses, run off the road by an unknown driver. The driver was taken to Riverdale General, and her condition is unknown at this time..."

****

Twenty minutes later Colin ran into the emergency room. He frantically ran to the nurse's desk.

"I'm looking for Lillian Malone—I mean Hatcher. She's my sister," he exclaimed, slightly out of breath.

"I am sorry, sir, she is in surgery right now. You can wait in the waiting room with her husband", said the grey haired nurse with the nasally voice.

Colin whirled around towards the waiting room. He couldn't believe that Rich would actually show his face here. In his gut he knew that Rich had done this to Lily, and this never would've happened if it were not for his going to threaten Rich at work earlier.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded of Rich quite loudly in the crowded waiting area.

"I am waiting for news of my wife, who was in an unfortunate accident," Rich said innocently, with a slight smirk as he stared at Colin as if daring him to make a scene.

Colin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He knew that he failed Lily, and a terrible weight of guilt settled over him. He had to fight very hard not to go after Rich, but he knew that they would throw him out of the hospital if he did anything. He cared more about his sister's well being at the moment.

After a few hours, the surgeons came out and gave them the news. There was a lot of damage to her ribs, and she had two broken legs. They were most worried about her head. She had suffered a pretty bad head injury, and was unconscious. The doctors felt strongly that she would regain consciousness, but it would probably be a few days.

Colin had stayed at the hospital for 3 days straight, and on the third night she had showed signs of awakening. Rich was also at the hospital most days, but he would only pop in for a few minutes to see if Lily improved, and leave. Upon delivering the news about Lily's current state, the nurse had convinced Colin to finally go home to rest and change, and come back in the morning..

When Colin got home he fixed himself a sandwich and took a quick shower, he then decided to watch some television. He started to doze off while watching a movie, and was surprised to be woken up by a pounding at the door. When he pulled open the front door, and was startled to see Rich there. He paled a little bit, thinking that something happened to Lilly.

"Lily's fine," Rich snapped, pushing his way into to house.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Colin replied. "I know what you did to her, and you almost killed her."

"I don't think so, besides if that were the case, how do you think I found out she was leaving. I even knew where she was going," Rich, laughed.

Colin shuddered at how maniacal the other man sounded. He stood near the front door and motioned that the other man should leave. He knew that Rich was right. There was no way to prove that he was the person that cut Lily off.

"Not so fast, Colin, don't you want to know why I'm here? I have a proposition for you."

Colin sighed, barely controlling his anger. He slammed the front door, and stood with his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

"You better make this quick, Hatcher," Colin snarled at Rich.

"Here's the deal: you probably don't want Lily to know that you caused her accident, as it was indirectly your fault. In fact there is probably nothing that you would want more that for me to disappear, right?" Rich asked.

Colin gave him a brief nod, still confused at why the other man was there.

"I want money, and I wouldn't mind my freedom. You can see that married life isn't agreeing with me. Apart from the life insurance policy over Lillian, I don't have anything to give me an incentive for me to leave. Besides, it looks like she might be sticking around a bit longer," Rich laughed.

Colin lunge towards him, but the other man stepped away just in time.

"Wait just a minute, no need to get testy," Rich continued. "I have a little idea that I could use your help with. I have found a way to make a lot of money. It's not legal and if I do it alone I may end up killing someone, so you'd have their death on your conscience."

****

That was three months ago, and now Colin was sitting in his grandfather's hunting lodge with a woman locked in the bedroom. He thought about what had made him agree. Was it that he thought Rich would actually leave after he got the money? Was it that when he saw the girl that he was supposed to kidnap he couldn't just back out and let Rich do it? He knew that Cass probably would've been killed, had he not played this part. This was like a typical moral dilemma. Let people die, and make his sister suffer more, or commit a federal offense that he hoped he wouldn't get caught for. Of course Cass knew his name, and that probably wouldn't help his case.

He relaxed in the chair for a few more minutes before he started to hear yelling coming from the back room. With a groan he got up to go see what Cass wanted. As he opened the door she was ready for him.

"Well are you going to let me use the restroom, or do you want to clean the accident off the floor if I have to wait any longer? If there is even a bathroom in this dump?" she sneered at him.

"If you would have had an accident it would be you that cleaned it up, Princess," he said mildly, as he grabbed her arm and led her to the small restroom. He was fuming at her remark, but of course he knew that she was used to nothing less than luxury. Before he let her in the bathroom, he pushed her against the wall and pinned her there with his body. Her breath started to quicken as he positioned his lips an inch away from hers.

"I must apologize if the accommodations are not up to your standards, perhaps I could give you something to make your stay more enjoyable," he said softly as his hard lips crushed into her soft ones. Relentlessly his lips punished hers until he unleashed his tongue into her mouth, and found her to be a willing participant. He ran his hands down her arms, relishing in the goose bumps that his touch caused. When he brought them up again, he let his thumbs graze her hardened nipples through the material of her dress and bra. Cass shivered and deepened the kiss, pulling his tongue further into her mouth as she started to rub her hands over his back and then up and down his arms, finally settling behind his neck.

Colin had to fight to keep control over his raging arousal. He pulled her closer, crushing her lower body against his male hardness, as her hands continued back down his body stopping at his waist. She moaned slightly in his ear as he rubbed his hands over her breasts again. He grabbed one of her hands and pulled down to feel how hard she had made him.

"You want this very badly, don't you princess?" he whispered huskily. She stiffened, and then tore her lips from his as she pushed him away. His blood was still raging with desire, and he did not notice that she had taken the keys that hung on his belt.

"I need some privacy," she said coldly, putting her arms around her back.

The tone of her voice cut through the haze of desire around him, and he quickly backed out of the bathroom as she slammed the door behind him. When he left Cass felt the keys in her hand and felt relieved. She was again feeling warm desire from this person that had taken her, though it was not entirely unwanted. She calmed down her ragged breathing and quickly used the restroom. Cass started to run the sink water, and then opened the window that was just small enough for her to fit through. She removed the screen, and crawled through the window, wincing as her bare feet hit the rocky ground. She then made a run for the Jeep.

As Colin waited in the hall he felt foolish that she could get him so hot. In his mind he pictured what it would be like under different circumstances with her. He could picture her naked on his bed, legs spread with a welcoming smile.

He would then --

At that moment the sound of the Jeep starting broke through his fantasy.

****

*I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I know it didn't have a lot of "romance" in it, but seemed necessary to develop the characters and make the situation more understandable before moving forward.

Also, I appreciate the wonderful feedback on the story thus far! It has given me the confidence to continue (quickly, which should please some), and has given me ideas on other stories that would branch off this one.

Ch. 4 is in the works, and there will be a couple more twists and turns before we reach the end.