Chapter 1
Notes:
TW for this chapter: Referenced domestic abuse, referenced gaslighting, reader makes comments like she's blaming herself.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You approached the office door, trembling. It was time; you knew that. You had to get out. It wasn’t safe to stay any longer. Knowing all of that didn’t make this any easier. At least you’d get to see your best friend again. How long had it been? At least a few years. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind you showing up unannounced. You couldn’t exactly call ahead.
You raised your hand to knock, keeping your other arm wrapped protectively around your waist. Just before your fist hit the door, however, it swung inward. You jumped back, flinching unconsciously and holding your hands up and in front of you. You clenched your eyes shut and waited, though logically you knew he wasn’t here; he couldn’t get you. There was a long pause before a familiar voice hesitantly addressed you.
“(Y/N)?”
Cautiously, you peeked your eyes open and lowered your hands to your waist. You let out a relieved breath.
“Reenie?” you replied, though you knew it was her. You’d know her voice anywhere, not to mention her long, dark hair and sharp but warm eyes hadn’t changed a bit since undergrad.
“Oh my gosh, what happened to you?! Get in here, are you alright?” She snatched your hand and pulled you swiftly into her office, sitting you down in a chair across from her desk. Instead of taking a seat herself, she perched on the edge of her desk and framed your face with her hands. Tilting your head side to side, she frowned deeply at the bruising surrounding your left eye socket before dropping her gaze to inspect your still-healing split lip. At least the bruising in that area had mostly faded.
Normally, someone reaching for you so suddenly like this would have you recoiling back instinctively, but for some reason, you were too startled to move. Aside from a small flinch when she first reached for your face, you just sat there, dumbstruck, and let her finish her examination. You didn’t know why you were so surprised. Sure, it had been a few years since you’d last seen Reenie, but she’d always had that “take-charge” personality. It was part of what made her such a good lawyer. She was also very protective of the people she cared about. It stood to reason, you supposed, that a few years apart wouldn’t make her stop caring for you completely. Especially not with how long you’d been best friends.
“Sweetheart, what happened? What are you even doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, of course, but it’s been years, and then you show up like this?” She had finally retracted her hands from your face and was now just leaning against her desk, looking at you imploringly. It took you a few moments to say anything. Despite how many times you had imagined doing this, it was still hard to get the words out. Once you said what you needed to say, it would be real. There would be no going back. You didn’t want to go back, of course, but you couldn’t help but worry that what happened next would be even worse than if you had stayed. This was risky. People have died trying to get out of situations like yours. You didn’t want to die, but if you were being honest, would that really be that much worse than staying? Being stuck in this life forever sounded almost worse. Doing this was your only chance of getting your old life back. Finally, you swallowed hard and opened your mouth to speak.
“Reenie… I need your help.”
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You were still sitting in Reenie’s office, but you now had a mug of tea cupped between your hands and a blanket wrapped around your shoulders, things Reenie kept nearby for long worknights. Now, she settled herself in the chair on her side of the desk and leaned forward, hands folded on the desk in front of her. Her posture was all business, but her face held gentle concern and support.
“Okay, tell me what’s going on.” she said. She’d kindly decided to get you settled before diving into your story, seeing that you were a nervous wreck and needed some comfort. But now, she needed you to talk. There was nothing she could do to help you if you didn’t explain your situation.
“Um… alright. Yeah. Where to start…” You took a deep breath, trying to think back to how much Reenie would already know. “Okay, you remember Caspian?” Reenie’s brows furrowed as she nodded.
“Of course. I remember when you first met. Are you two still together?” Caspian was your husband. You had met him in your last year of undergrad, and you were instantly charmed. He asked you out, you said yes, and the rest was history. Together, you were the power couple of your friend group. After you graduated, Reenie went off to law school and you and Caspian moved in together in a little apartment in Phoenix, Arizona, where his family lived. The rest of your friend group went their separate ways, too. You kept in touch with Reenie over the phone for a while, always talking about making trips to visit one another, but with time, the contact faded. Reenie was busy with law school, and you were busy with your work and with Caspian. He didn’t take too well to your constant phone calls, claiming that you never wanted to spend time with him on your days off. So you started calling less and less, until eventually you weren’t talking at all. It had been a good 10 years or so since you and Reenie last spoke.
“Yes, um, technically. We’re married now. I’m sorry I didn’t invite you, Caspian wanted a really small ceremony, and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, and we hadn’t spoken in like 2 years, and –”
“(Y/N), it’s okay. Take a breath. Why are you bringing up Caspian?”
“Well. Um. Things… changed. Since undergrad. Since we got married, I guess.”
“Changed how?”
“Caspian, he… well,” How did you explain this? The whole story was so complicated. “Um… he just started getting irritated more easily. Stress from his job, maybe. I don’t know. But we started fighting more often, and sometimes he said not-so-nice things. I mean, I probably said things that weren’t too nice myself, it’s not like I can put all the blame on him. But, uh, yeah. So anyway, we were fighting a lot more, and then he was shouting, and then…” You paused, swallowing thickly. The memory of the first time he hit you was still as fresh in your mind as the day it happened. “Well, one day I guess I said something that pushed him over the edge. And he – he snapped. He slapped me.”
By this point, Reenie was starting to get an idea of why you’d come to her, what situation you’d found yourself wrapped up in. Dread was curling in her stomach.
“He hit you?!” She repeated, anger clear in her voice. “And then… he kept hitting you?”
“Not right away,” you rushed to clarify. “It was just that once, at first, and he was so sorry… I know if someone hits you at all you should end it with them… but we’d been together for about 5 years at that point. We had a solid relationship. I felt like leaving after just one accident like that was overreacting. But then he did it again, and again, and soon enough, it was every time we fought. Every time I messed something up. And I wanted to get out, I did, but I didn’t know where to go. I hadn’t spoken to you or any of our other friends in years, and my parents are gone, and I hadn’t really talked with my brother or sister much either. And they had their own lives. Everyone had their own lives. I just felt stuck, and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t working anymore at that point, either, Caspian said the job was taking up too much of our time for each other, and that I didn’t need it anyway. He could support us. And I hated that job. Research. I wanted to go back to school to get a job I actually wanted, but he always said there’d be time for that later…” You were rambling. You stopped yourself before you could go any further and tried to collect your thoughts. Reenie, across the desk, was processing everything you’d just told her.
“Did you ever go to the police?” she asked. You opened your mouth, paused, and shook your head.
“I thought about it. But Cas, he’s really good at talking his way out of things. A couple of times, a neighbor came by to check on us, because they heard shouting and banging. Cas just smiled at them, made up some story about kicking his buddies ass in video games, and became best buds with the guy. He faked it so well, anyone who was ever worried believed every word he said and practically worshiped the ground he walked on. I was afraid if I went to the police, they wouldn’t believe me.”
“So… why’d you come here? And why now?”
“I’ve been planning it for months, I just had to work everything out and find a way to get enough money to run. Caspian barely lets me leave the house. I didn’t want to risk calling you and having him find out… but I thought, if I could get to you, you could help me build a strong enough case for the police to believe me. I need proof, and I don’t think I can get it on my own, but you’re a lawyer. I thought, maybe… you could help. So I started taking a few bucks from his wallet whenever I could, and I looked up bus routes and found your office, and when he was out this weekend, getting drunk and passing out at his friend’s house like every weekend, I left. I came straight here.”
Reenie was near tears at this point, thinking about everything you’d been through. She wished she’d kept in contact with you while she was away at law school, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Fortunately, she knew building this case with you was something she could do. She was a damn good lawyer; she knew she could get you out of this situation and to safety.
“Of course I’ll help,” she said. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, and that you couldn’t call me for help sooner. Trust me, when I’m finished with that bastard, he’ll wish he’d never been born.”
You smiled shakily, stray tears running down your face.
“Thank you,” you whispered. What now, though? You had found your way here, but that was as far as your plan went. You realized all of a sudden that it would take time to build up the case against your husband. You didn’t have anywhere to stay while you did that. You were out of money, and… “he’ll be looking for me,” you whispered in horror. Reenie looked up from where she was taking notes, jotting down everything you’d told her.
“You don’t have anywhere to stay, do you?” she asked, eyes meeting yours. “You can stay with me. Of course. We’ll figure this out, (Y/N). It will be okay.”
You looked at her in awe, tears once again streaming from your eyes. Even after all these years, Reenie Greene was the best friend you could ever have.
“Thank you,” you said again. “Thank you so much, Reenie, just… thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do for my best friend,” she said, smiling sadly. “Now, let’s get to work on building this case.”
Notes:
You guys will notice that I make Arizona a big part of this story because it's where Caspian is supposed to have grown up and have family. Please note that I have nothing against AZ! I used it because that's where I grew up, so it's the state I know the most about, with regard to climate/terrain.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this! The story will be picking up more in later chapters.
Chapter 2
Notes:
TW: Brief references to domestic violence and its aftermath, and brief references to panic attacks, but I think that's all!
(N/N)= Your Nickname (if you have one)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been a few days since you’d found Reenie. You were settling in nicely at her home in Colorado, though you were a bit jumpy. Every stray noise you heard sent your heart racing and your head swimming. Reenie had gotten pretty good at calming you down, guiding you through breathing exercises when your panic got out of control, and frequently hugging you and telling you everything would be okay.
You’d been doing pretty well building your case against Caspian, too. Together, Reenie and you took photos of every bruise and wound that was currently on you, and you spent hours recounting everything he had done to you, in chronological order. Needless to say, you were exhausted. Your eyes held dark circles beneath them, and your hands shook constantly. Your sleep was filled mostly with nightmares of Caspian finding you and bringing you back, or of him brutally killing you for trying to leave him.
It was nice to catch up with Reenie, though. When she wasn’t at work or helping you with your case, the two of you were filling each other in on your lives in the past 10 years. Your connection with each other felt as strong as when you were back in school, and you were relieved to have your best friend back again. She told you about quitting the last office she worked at because her boss was a dick, and how she’d decided to go for it and open up her own office, the one you’d found her at. She also told you about her work with a man named Colter Shaw, who travelled the country finding missing people or things. You thought that sounded like a nice life, if a bit stressful. Seeing the country, saving and improving lives. It was wholesome work. And Reenie helped him in that work by keeping him out of jail when he broke the rules, building strong court cases for some of his clients, and using her work contacts to get information for him when he needed it. You could tell she was really happy to be making a difference, and that she’d found a good friend in this Colter guy.
“So, this Colter sounds like a pretty great guy; it seems like you admire him a lot,” you said, nudging Reenie and waggling your eyebrows. You two had a movie on and were lounging on her couch, but you’d gotten distracted talking.
“No, no, don’t get any ideas,” Reenie laughed. “It is not like that between us.”
“Oh, no?” you raised one eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
“I’m sure,” she said. “Okay, so there was one time. We, you know, hooked up. No, hey, stop that.” You were grinning with your mouth wide open, excitement in your eyes. She was trying not to laugh at you. “No, seriously, (N/N), stop. He bailed on me in the morning for a job, didn’t even say goodbye.”
At that, you frowned. With his kind of work, you couldn’t really blame him for leaving for a job, but to not even say goodbye? Yeah, that was a trashy move.
“Besides,” Reenie continued. “That was just a one-night stand. Because yeah, he’s pretty attractive. But he’s not relationship material, you know? At least not for me. He never settles down, is always on the go with his work.”
You could understand that. That wasn’t the kind of lifestyle most people wanted. And Reenie had her own law office to run; she couldn’t be running around the country all the time. Personally, you didn’t mind the idea of travelling around, living in a trailer and staying in new places all the time. You’d been stuck in your tiny apartment in Phoenix for so long, not even allowed to have a job anymore, that the idea of staying in one place all the time felt suffocating to you. You’d love to have the kind of freedom that Colter’s lifestyle would allow. Except for how jumpy you were now. The constant being on edge, not knowing the people around you, that would probably be hard. But it wasn’t like it mattered anyway. You couldn’t think too much of your future life when you were still afraid you wouldn’t live long enough to have one.
“Okay, yeah, that’s fair,” you conceded, returning to the conversation. “So not Colter. But is there anyone else you might be interested in?”
Reenie’s pause was just long enough to give you your answer.
“There is!” you cried, delighted. “Oooooh who is it, who is it?” You were like a child who’d just learned a juicy secret. Reenie groaned, her head hitting the back of her sofa.
“Okay, okay, but don’t judge.” she looked at you sternly, and you made a motion like you were crossing your heart. “His name is Russell. I met him on a job I was helping Colter with… he’s Colter’s brother.” Hearing this, your jaw dropped.
“His brother?! Oh my gosh, Reenie, really?” you cackled. “You want to try to pull off brothers?!” You found this absolutely hilarious, clutching a pillow to your chest and laughing.
“Hey, hey, I said no judging!” But Reenie was smiling, too. She knew how it looked. She and Colter had slept together, and now she had a crush (as childish as that sounded) on his brother. But she couldn’t help it, there was just something about Russell that caught her attention. And he was obviously interested in her. She didn’t know why she was playing hard-to-get.
The two of you continued to laugh and tease each other as Reenie told you more about Russell. It was a great night for the both of you, as if you were back in college gossiping about the hot guys in your classes. She also told you more about Colter, whom, you had to admit, you found very intriguing.
After a while, Reenie’s phone lit up, Colter’s name flashing across the screen.
“Speak of the devil,” she said, then picked up the phone and moved into her kitchen to have some privacy.
As you sat on her couch, grinning more than you had in a long time, you thought about how glad you were to have Reenie back in your life. Then, smile fading, you thought about Caspian, wondering what he was doing right now. How had he reacted when he came home and you weren’t there? You figured he was looking for you already, and you bit your lip as you wondered how close he was to finding you. You didn’t think he’d think to come here. After all, you hadn’t seen or spoken to Reenie in years; you hadn’t even mentioned her name. And you were extremely careful about covering your tracks when you were searching for bus routes and buying tickets. Still, Caspian was powerful and had even more powerful contacts in his line of work. You knew it was only a matter of time before he tracked you down. You just hoped you’d have enough of a case by then to put him away.
Notes:
So I totally ship Reenie and Colter, but obviously as this is a reader insert I didn't want to make that a thing-- I hate love triangles. So for the sake of this story, we're making Reenie and Russell a thing. Besides, Russell's also pretty cool. This chapter was mostly just more set up, but next chapter things really get moving! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 3
Notes:
To avoid spoilers, I'm listing the trigger warnings for this chapter in the end notes. Please check there first if you think there could be something that would trigger you. But most, if not all, of the trigger warnings are also in the tags for the work, fyi.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You were working with Reenie on your case some more. Today, you’d headed in to her office again, instead of working at her house like you’d been doing after you came to her a week ago. Reenie thought it would be good for you to get out of the house for a while, and you agreed, despite your frayed nerves causing you to scan your surroundings constantly for threats. She also wanted you to meet her friend Velma, another person she’d met through her work with Colter.
Velma was a sweet older lady who you instantly loved. She had a subtle but sharp sense of humor and was very kind and understanding of your situation. Immediately after meeting you, she hugged you gently and told you she would do anything she could to help. You figured she was a bit used to dealing with people in tough situations, seeing as she helped Colter with his jobs regularly. True, she wasn’t there in person with the clients most of the time, but she still had to communicate with them periodically when Colter was busy.
When lunch time came, you, Reenie, and Velma went to a little coffee shop that also made great paninis. You spent the time laughing and eating, and you were more relaxed than you’d been in a while. You were still on edge a lot lately, especially with the knowledge that Caspian was probably out there looking for you. But you found yourself relaxing a bit into the sense of security you felt when you were with Reenie, and now Velma. Your eyes scanned the restaurant occasionally, making sure there was no sign of your husband, but eventually you allowed yourself to lean back and just enjoy your time with your friends.
After a bit, Reenie’s phone rang and she picked it up, this time not bothering to leave the room. It was Colter again.
“Hey Colter, what’s up?” she asked, picking at the remaining potato chips on her plate. You heard a male voice on the other end but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Got it,” Reenie pulled a pad of paper and a pen from her purse and scribbled down a name. “Yeah, I’ll look into it and get back to you as soon as I can. It’s probably going to take the rest of the afternoon, though. No, don’t give me that. I’ve got a lot on my plate already and you’re asking me to do a deep dive on this guy. It’s gonna take time. I’ll get it to you as soon as I can, I promise. Alright, bye.” She hung up the phone and blew out a long breath.
“Everything alright?” Velma asked.
“Yeah, Colter just needs me to look into some lawsuits this guy was involved in. Related to a case,” she clarified for me. “I’m sorry, (Y/N), I know we were gonna work more on your case today, but this is pretty time sensitive. Will you be okay hanging out at my place for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Yeah, of course” you reassured her. You eyed the street nervously, though. You and Reenie had walked to her office that day to get some fresh air, since it’s only about a mile away. You didn’t mind staying at her place for the rest of the day, but you were a bit nervous about walking back alone. Velma noticed the look on your face and, fortunately, spoke up.
“Reenie, why don’t you give me the name, and I can start looking for anything I’m able to access. You should walk back with (Y/N). Besides, you’ll want to get your car to drive home if you’re going to be staying at the office after dark.” Reenie smiled and handed over the pad of paper.
“Good point. Thanks, Velma, you’re the best.” The three of you got up and paid, then parted ways at the front door. As you walked, Reenie asked again, “you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?”
“Yes, Reenie, I’ll be fine. I stayed at your place while you were working last week, remember? It’s not anything new.”
“I know,” she conceded. “I guess I just get more nervous the more time passes. I don’t like leaving you alone when we know Caspian will be looking for you.” That thought did scare you, but you couldn’t let it get to you, or you’d never be able to be alone.
“Yeah, I’ve thought about that too. But it’s only been a week. He can’t have found me yet, right? I’m states away, and I don’t think he’s thought about you in years. No offense.”
“No, you’re right,” Reenie said. “Just be careful, okay? Call me if you need anything, even if you’re just hungry or something. Lock all the doors and windows, and don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know. In fact, maybe don’t open the door to anyone period, unless it’s me. But I’ll have my key, of course.”
“Yes, Mom,” you joked, but her worry warmed your heart. It felt good to have someone care about you like this again.
“Ha, ha,” she elbowed you as you walked. When you got to her place, she made sure you got inside and locked the door before she headed to her car and drove back to the office.
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You spent most of the afternoon reading books from Reenie’s shelves or binge-watching shows on Disney+. Reenie texted you on the burner phone she’d picked up for you, saying she wouldn’t be home until late. Colter had found his missing person, thanks to Reenie and Velma’s help, and Reenie was helping to wrap up the legalities of his case. You replied back that you were fine and would make something for dinner here and have some set aside for when she got back.
As you were rooting around in the refrigerator for something you could cook, you heard a random thump come from somewhere outside. You froze, straightening up and looking around you before taking a deep breath and relaxing your shoulders. Reenie lived in an older house, though it was fixed up fairly nice. Still, it sometimes made strange noises as it settled. You peeked out the kitchen window and saw that it was also quite windy outside. You were glad Reenie had come back for her car; this would not be nice weather to walk in, especially now that it was dark.
You continued pulling out ingredients for your dinner, but then you heard another noise. This one sounded like footsteps crunching on leaves, and it sounded like it was right outside the sliding glass door, which was located in the back of the house, by the dining area and kitchen. There was a curtain drawn across the door for privacy, but you didn’t want to move to check behind it for fear of something (or someone) jumping out at you. Goosebumps spread down your neck and through your arms. You wanted to back out of the room, but the entrance to the kitchen was right across from the back door. You were hesitant to get any closer to it. Cautiously, you pulled a steak knife from the knife block on the counter, clutching it in your dominant hand. With your other hand, you reached for the burner phone on the counter, still open to your conversation with Reenie.
The door rattled suddenly, making the curtain tremble slightly where it hung. Someone was trying to get in. Your thumb pressed the call button on the phone in your hand, dialing Reenie. You lifted the phone to your ear as you slid over toward the kitchen entrance as quickly and quietly as possible, keeping the knife held up in front of you. Just as you made it, you heard the lock snap and the door sliding open. The wind blew the curtain inward, and a figure dressed in all black pushed their way into the room. You screamed and turned to run into the living room, but a couple of steps in, you slipped in your socks on the hard floor. You managed to catch yourself on your hands, but the knife and phone had flown out of your grasp. You flipped onto your back, propped on your hands and knees, and backed away quickly from the approaching figure.
The figure pulled the mask up their face and onto their head, revealing your husband. His dark hair was smushed underneath the mask, and his face was red with sweat and rage. His deep grey eyes looked soulless as they stared you down in fury. You froze, looking up as he towered over you.
“What. The. Hell, did you think you were doing, running away from me?” he said in a low voice. His anger was palpable in the air. “You think you can just leave whenever you want?! How do you think it made me feel, huh, to come home expecting to see my loving wife, only to find you gone, your phone smashed, and your key on the counter? You can’t just leave. You belong to me; you’re MY WIFE.” He moved to punch the side of the entryway where he stood, and you flinched away, gasping.
“Cas, please—”
“DO NOT ‘CAS, PLEASE’ ME!” He roared. “YOU did this! Now get your ass over here so we can go home! When I’m done with you…” He trailed off, muttering things to himself that you couldn’t hear.
“N-n-no. No! I’m not going with you. I’m done, Cas, I can’t do this anymore!” you cried, half stern, half pleading. Your non-dominant hand was reaching, now, to where the knife had slid out of your grip. You had no idea where the phone had ended up, or if it was still working. If Reenie had picked up the call, maybe she was hearing this. She could send help.
“Excuse me?” His voice was back to being low and dangerous. “Did you just say ‘no’ to me? You know what happens when you say ‘no’ to me.”
You were shaking, tears rolling down your face. You did know. “No” was Caspian’s least favorite word. Or, you could say, your use of it was his favorite excuse to punish you. You couldn’t believe that word had slipped from your lips, but you stood by it. You couldn’t go back with him, not when you’d seen how much better your life already was without him.
“Cas, p-please,” you stuttered. You hated that you were begging, but you’d do whatever it took if it got you away from him.
“WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!” He yelled. “That’s it, (Y/N), get the fuck over here!” He took a couple steps forward and bent to grab you. You screamed and kicked his leg.
“NO!” You cried. “PLEASE!” You swung the knife up in front of you as you shuffled backwards, trying to put distance between you before scrambling to your feet. Caspian had bent to clutch his shin after you hit it, giving you a moment to gather yourself. He roared again and came flying at you, grabbing your dominant arm before you could pull away. You twisted and struggled as your other arm came up with the knife, trying to stab it into him anywhere you could. But, sadly, you didn’t have as much control with this hand, so you only managed a quick slash to his side before he knocked the knife clean out of your hand and twisted you so your back was against his chest. You squirmed and kicked and cried, but his hold was too strong. You felt him reach behind himself, and then a gun appeared at your temple. You froze.
“Let me make this perfectly clear,” your husband said darkly. “If you don’t quit it with this little tantrum you’re throwing, I’ll blow your head clean off. I’m done with this bullshit. When we get out of here, I’m gonna give you a piece of my mind, but if you don’t stop this right now, I’ll cut my losses. Understood?”
You just shook in his arms, not saying a word. The arm he had wrapped around your chest and upper arms was so tight you felt like you couldn’t breathe, and you could tell bruises would be forming later from your struggle.
“IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!” He shouted. You whimpered and nodded, trying not to move your head too much with the gun still pressed to your temple. He started dragging you backwards toward the broken sliding door, which was still wide open, letting the freezing September air blow through the house. As he reached the threshold, he shifted his grip on you, wrapping his left arm around your neck and turning so you were tucked into his side. You had to slouch slightly, but at least he’d pulled the gun away from your head. He dragged you out to a beat-up blue van and chucked you in the back, pausing to secure your wrists behind you with zip ties and then binding your ankles together for good measure. Then he hopped in the driver’s seat and drove off, you lying on your side in the back as your tears dripped onto the floor.
Notes:
TW: domestic violence/abuse, breaking and entering, kidnapping, knife wounds, reader is held at gunpoint
Chapter 4
Notes:
TW: implied/referenced domestic violence/abuse and gaslighting
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Reenie yawned as she finished up yet another phone call trying to keep Colter out of jail. He had done well, saved the life of a young man who’d been kidnapped. In the process, however, he’d killed the kidnapper. Typically, he tried not to cause any fatal injuries to anyone, but sometimes the situation made it unavoidable. This was one of those cases. Still, she had to work her ass off to keep him out of legal trouble. For now, she was satisfied that Colter wouldn’t be arrested. She still expected to be here for another couple hours though, tying up loose ends, so she’d texted (Y/N) to let her know she’d be home late. (Y/N) had responded offering to make dinner and set some aside for her, which Reenie was infinitely grateful for. The last thing she felt like doing after a long day of working was cooking.
She was so happy to have her best friend back, even though she wished it’d been under better circumstances. She hated what Caspian had done to her. (Y/N) had always been a little bit shy and non-confrontational, but she was also really smart, strong, and capable. She had strong core values and a heart of gold, and she never hesitated to do what she thought was right. It was funny, she was so much more willing to fight for someone else than to fight for herself. But she’d been getting better at that. She’d been trying harder to take care of herself first before diving in to help others. Then she met Caspian. Reenie had thought he was great, at first. He helped to bring (Y/N) out of her shell, to make her more confident. She smiled and laughed more and was practically glowing for the beginning of their relationship. As time went on, Reenie noticed that light inside her fading, but she had thought it was just the “honeymoon” phase wearing off. Overall, the two of them still seemed happy together.
Then graduation came, and their whole friend group parted ways. Being the two closest of the group, Reenie and (Y/N) had tried to stay in contact as much as possible, but with school getting harder and busier, and (Y/N) spending more and more time at work and with her boyfriend, their contact gradually faded. Reenie didn’t hold it against herself or (Y/N), but she did miss her best friend.
She and (Y/N) had met in their first year of undergrad. It was the first time Reenie had been able to settle down and make long-term friends, since she’d been hopping from one air force base to the next for all of her childhood, her dad being in the military. She and (Y/N) had some of their core classes together, like history and English, even though their majors were vastly different. She, of course, was pre-law, focusing on criminal justice, while (Y/N) was in a STEM major, hoping to enter some kind of medical profession in the future. Both of them were passionate about helping people but wanted to go about it in different ways. After having a couple of classes together, they started talking with one another and became fast friends.
When they graduated, Reenie went off to law school, and (Y/N) moved in with Caspian in an apartment in Phoenix. He had grown up there and loved it and wanted to be back near his family again. (Y/N), sadly, didn’t have much family. She had a brother and a sister whom she loved very much, but they both lived in opposite parts of the country, her sister being on the west coast, and her brother in New York. Her parents had passed away in their sophomore year of undergrad due to a work accident, a very difficult time for (Y/N) that Reenie had helped her get through. Reenie had been surprised that she wasn’t going to graduate school right away so she could get her doctorate and enter the field she wanted to. A bachelor’s in her major didn’t offer her many opportunities other than research, but that was not (Y/N)’s forte. When asked, (Y/N) had said she thought it would be good to take a break from school for a while, which also allowed her to focus on her relationship. In the couple of years after graduation when they were still talking, she always said they didn’t have the money or time to send her to graduate school right then.
Now, Reenie can see all the little ways that Caspian had been molding (Y/N)’s life. He moved her away from her group of friends, slowly pressured her into breaking contact with Reenie, kept her from talking to her siblings much, discouraged her from going to graduate school as she had planned, and even got her to quit the job she had and stay home all the time instead. It was subtle—Reenie herself probably would have fallen for it if she were in (Y/N)’s situation. By the time (Y/N) realized what was going on and wanted to get out, she was entirely reliant on Caspian and had been for years, and she’d been conditioned to respond to his demands in the way he wanted or else be punished severely for it. It was no wonder it had taken her so long to get away.
It hurt Reenie’s heart to see the effects of Caspian’s treatment of her friend, the mental and physical scars left behind. She was just glad (Y/N) had gotten away, and that they had a lot of good evidence to build a case against him and send him to jail.
Reenie was pulled out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringing across the office. She stood and walked over to the phone, noting the number on the screen. It was the burner phone she’d bought for (Y/N). Pressing the answer button, she lifted it to her ear.
“Hey girl, you doing alright?” She asked. But she didn’t get a response. Instead, all she heard was a piercing scream that sounded like (Y/N), followed by a loud clatter and the call cutting out. “(Y/N)?! (Y/N)?!?”
Panicking, she rushed out of her office and ran all the way to the car. As she slid into her seat, she pulled up the dial screen on her phone to call 911. She pressed 9, but then her phone suddenly went black.
“What the hell?” She realized her phone had died; she’d forgotten to charge it the night before and didn’t realize the battery had already drained so much. “Damn it!”
She drove as fast as she could back to her house, seeing no signs of a break-in in the front. The front door opened into the living room, and she immediately noticed one of her steak knives on the floor with blood on the blade. She felt almost dizzy looking at it, praying the blood wasn’t from (Y/N). She spotted the burner phone underneath the entry table with the back popped off and the battery on the floor. Then she felt a cold breeze hit her, which was concerning since she’d shut the front door behind her. She moved forward into the kitchen and dining area and found the back door wide open, curtain billowing in the wind. Dead leaves were scattered and crunched on the floor. Random food items sat on the kitchen counters, likely ingredients (Y/N) had pulled out to make dinner.
By this point, Reenie’s heart was in her stomach. She could tell what had happened; she knew she wouldn’t find her friend here. She rushed to plug her phone in so she could actually call for help before checking the rest of the house, just in case. Nothing else was out of place.
As soon as her phone lit up with 1% charge, she dialed 911, keeping the phone on the charger. Once the police were on their way, she hung up and made another call.
“Yeah, what’s up?” said a male voice through the line.
“Colter. I need your help.”
Notes:
We're finally going to get some Colter! Wooo
Chapter 5
Notes:
TW: pretty much same as the last chapter. Kidnapping, domestic violence/abuse. Mild description of panic, if you squint. Guns and knives.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Colter Shaw had had a long day and was exhausted. But, he’d managed to save a young man’s life after he’d been kidnapped. That’s what matters, Colter reminded himself, but he still yearned for a beer and some sleep. He’d just gotten out of the shower when he saw Reenie was calling. Probably tying up some loose ends, he thought.
“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked as he picked up the call. He wasn’t prepared for the shaky voice that answered.
“Colter. I need your help.” Reenie said.
“What’s happened?” He said, immediately entering problem-solving mode.
“I—” Reenie choked, then started again. “I had a friend staying with me. (Y/N). I think Velma mentioned meeting her? Anyway, I was – I am helping her build a case against her husband. He’s an abusive dick. She wanted to have a solid case against him before going to the police, in case he talked his way out of the charges. She was staying at my place tonight while I finished up working, but I got a call from her, and all it was was her screaming and the line cutting off when the phone fell. She’s gone, Colter. I tried to call the police but my phone died and when I got home she was gone and the back door is busted and there’s a bloody knife on the floor, but no (Y/N),” she stopped and sucked in air. “I think he got her, Colter.”
Colter processed all of this with lightening speed, quickly realizing the gravity of the situation.
“Okay, take a deep breath, Reenie. I’ll be there as soon as I can. If her husband took her, he probably wants her alive. People like him thrive on controlling others; he won’t want to let that go unless he has no other choice. It’s sick, but it works to our advantage in this case. It buys us time. I’m a few hours away right now, but I can be there by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll do everything I can to find her, Reenie.”
Reenie was breathing deeply on the other side of the line. Colter could tell (Y/N) was a very good friend of hers and meant a lot to her. After reassuring her that he would be there to help as soon as he could, he told her to try and get some sleep, and they hung up. Colter quickly got ready and climbed into his bed. He hated that he was about to go to sleep, while Reenie was so distressed and her friend had been kidnapped by her psychopath husband, but he’d already been awake for over 24 hours, and he had a 6-hour drive to make the next day. He knew he wouldn’t be able to drive safely or be very helpful in finding Reenie’s friend if he didn’t get some shut-eye. Reluctantly, he drifted off, leaving at first light the next morning.
-------------
When Colter pulled up outside Reenie’s house, she was waiting for him on the front steps. He got out and gave her a big hug before telling her again that he would do whatever he could to help. Reenie didn’t look like she’d slept at all, but that wasn’t overly surprising. Her house had been broken into, and her best friend had been kidnapped. It wasn’t exactly easy to get rest after something like that happened.
“Walk me through what you found when you got home,” he said. She led him inside, where the police had photographed and marked everything before telling her they’d let her know if anything came up. Reenie had been careful not to touch anything. First, she gestured over to the entry table.
“I found her burner phone under the table. It had fallen apart, I’m guessing when she dropped it. There was a knife on the ground over here,” she said, showing Colter the blood stains on the floor underneath where the knife had been. “It had blood on it, but wasn’t coated in it. The cops took that and the phone as evidence. Then over here,” she walked to the kitchen entryway and pointed at the back door. She had closed it and stuck a stick in the track to keep it from being opened again, since the lock was broken. “Everything here is as it was, except the door was wide open. He broke the lock.”
Colter looked around the space, piecing together what had probably happened. There were groceries left out to spoil on the counter, so (Y/N) had probably been making dinner when the door was broken into. Inspecting the broken lock, he could tell that the person who broke in must be pretty strong, as they had used quite a bit of force and just broken the latch completely. Reenie had said the knife was one of her steak knives, so (Y/N) had probably grabbed it to defend herself when she heard the intruder breaking in. Colter hoped that meant the blood on the knife was the intruder’s, but he couldn’t know for sure until the cops got their blood test results back. She probably ran into the living room to get away, but the infiltrator caught up to her.
“You have security cameras, right?” Basically everyone he worked regularly with had security cameras; they knew the dangers that so many people faced in the world and did what they could to protect themselves against it.
“Of course,” Reenie replied. She led him to a home office, where they could see the feed for the cameras. Colter rewound the recording to the night before, just before the time Reenie said she’d received your call.
The cameras could just make out a dark van pulling up on the backroad behind Reenie’s house. A silhouette of a man got out and made its way to the side of the building. Once, the figure tripped and caught itself on the wall. The man froze and backed deep into the shadows. After a moment, the figure continued inching forward and reached the sliding back door. They couldn’t make out exactly what he had done to break the lock, but after a moment, the door slid open, and the man stepped inside. They heard a scream, which Reenie thought was the same one she’d heard on the phone. The cameras only covered the outside of the house, so they didn’t know precisely what happened after that point. There was muffled shouting and banging off-screen for a few minutes, and then the figure reemerged with an arm wrapped tightly around (Y/N)’s neck and a gun in the other hand. The man’s mask was pulled up, but the camera angle made it so only his profile could be seen. He bodily dragged (Y/N) back to his van and took off.
Colter quickly sent the footage to Bobby to analyze, hoping he could run facial recognition on the profile of the man to confirm it was (Y/N)’s husband, and to see if he could turn the blurry license plate from the footage into an actual license plate number and track that van.
Notes:
Hope you liked this chapter! It's back to the reader's POV in the next one.
Chapter 6
Notes:
TW: domestic violence, kidnapping (obviously), restraints (zip ties), blood, completely crazy abusive husband, mood swings
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
At one point, you had fallen asleep to the rhythmic bumps of the van moving. You guessed the adrenaline crash combined with the fear and exhaustion of the last week wore you out enough for you to get some sleep, which you were grateful for even if it meant waking up in this situation. You were still in the van, but light seeped in through the tinted windows now. It was at least morning, if not later. Caspian was whistling merrily as he drove. Man, you’d known he was abusive, but you hadn’t realized until now that he was probably bat-shit crazy too. The number of times his demeanor had swung from quiet danger to vicious anger in your last confrontation was proof enough of that, but now he was whistling after kidnapping you.
“You awake back there, babe? We’ll be there soon.” Caspian said, as if this was just a fun little road trip the two of you had planned. Yeah, he’s bat-shit crazy alright.
“Where are we going?” You asked hesitantly, afraid of setting him off again.
“Somewhere safe, don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. At least, you assume he was trying to be reassuring. You had no clue why he thought that would work after he literally dragged you out of Reenie’s house at gunpoint, zip-tied your wrists, and drove off with you. Nothing he said would be reassuring to you right now, and nowhere with him would be safe. “Somewhere no one will bother us anymore.” That didn’t sound like he was taking you back to your shared apartment. You looked out the window and saw light brown sand and cacti for miles. Well, it did look like you were back in the dessert, probably Arizona again since Caspian was so attached to it.
You rode the rest of the way in silence, trying to ignore your growling stomach and dry mouth. You figured it was probably early morning, based on how low the sun was, and that it appeared to be rising higher rather than setting. You seemed to have been driving all night. Now, it was already getting hot in the van. Caspian didn’t seem to have turned the back air conditioning on very high, and you were nervous that asking him to turn it up would just upset him. You didn’t want to say any more to him than you absolutely had to. You passed through a few more metropolitan areas but didn’t stop in any of them, not even for gas. You supposed you must have stopped at some point during the night after all, or else you wouldn’t have made it this far. It was a shame; you’d hoped that if you stopped for gas, you could make a run for it in a more populated area, where Caspian would be more careful about making a scene or shooting.
You looked around for something to cut your zip ties on, just in case, but found nothing. The entire van was empty in the back aside from you. Finally, after what you guessed was a half-hour of hunting around every nook and crevice, you found a hinge on the back door where the metal had peeled up some, creating a sharp edge. You had to sit in an awkward position to get your wrists against it – half sitting, half kneeling – but after a while, you managed it. You began scraping the zip tie against the metal as best as you could without being able to see behind your back. It was a very slow process, and honestly, you had no idea if it was working. There was no way to check without being able to feel the zip tie give way or being able to see where your wrists were bound. You kept it up anyway, just in case.
When the van hit a particularly rough bump, you lost your balance, and the metal of the hinge sliced painfully along your right forearm. You hissed as you felt blood begin to trickle from the wound, but you continued on despite the pain.
Eventually, you thought you were making progress on your zip tie. But shortly after that, Caspian slowed the van to a stop and spoke.
“Alright, babe, we’re here! I had wanted this to be a surprise. I was hoping to use it as an anniversary present; but, given the circumstances,” his voice pitched lower briefly as he said that, “I guess I have to show you now. I’ve been saving up for a while now so we could get ourselves a better place. A bigger one. I found this little beauty and have been working on fixing it up for us. It’s on a 10000-acre parcel, and there are miles of undeveloped land beyond it. This way, we can really be on our own, have our own privacy. I’ll come around and let you out so you can check it out.”
Your mind was racing; you didn’t even know where to start. He’d bought how much land? Where? He wanted you to live in the middle of nowhere, completely isolated from the world around you. You’d be completely trapped here, no chance at a happy life ever again. You’d be his slave. There’d be no one around to hear you scream when he hit you, and if he ever took it further than that… if he ever killed you, no one would ever know. There’d be no one to notice you missing, and even if, by some miracle, someone did notice, he’d have acres of land he owned and miles of land beyond that that he could use to bury your body. This was your death sentence.
How did he even get the money for this? He’d always claimed part of the reason you couldn’t go back to school was because you didn’t have the money for it. That was also why you lived in a tiny apartment. Then it hit you. His work. Caspian worked in investments, and he was damn good at it. He made a lot of his clients very wealthy by playing the stock market with their money. It’s why he had so many powerful connections. He knew wealthy people because everyone who was anyone wanted him to run their investments, and those kind of people knew other people. People who could track you down, people who could cover up any evidence of wrongdoing on his part, probably people who could kill and get rid of a body if necessary.
You didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to you that Caspian would invest your money, but of course he would. He’d probably been doing it for years now, building up a fortune he could use to build you your own personal prison. You suddenly felt nauseous thinking about it.
You jolted out of your thoughts as your husband reached the back door of the van. Suddenly you remembered the partially sawed-off zip tie and your bleeding arm. Crap, you thought. He’s gonna notice I was trying to escape, and he’ll be pissed. You were panicking, breathing hard.
Caspian opened the back of the van and peered in at you with a smile that would be charming, in another circumstance. That was the smile you had fallen for when you first met, the smile he used to convince you to stay after he’d beaten you senseless, the smile he used to persuade nosy neighbors that everything was alright.
“Well, come on, let’s see our new home!” He grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the vehicle, turning you to face the house he had parked in front of. It was a simple two-story home, definitely a lot bigger than your apartment. It was actually in pretty decent shape. It had a fresh coat of cream paint on it and dark brown trim. The roof had those clay-red shingles that every house in Arizona had, and the portion of the yard around the driveway had red-ish pink rocks laid out like a lawn. There were some desert bushes planted at the front and sides of the house, just under the windows, with slightly dried flowers hanging off the branches. Beyond the house was just plain desert landscape, with rocks, half-dead bushes, and cacti littering the land. It was like someone just picked up a nice suburban house and plunked it in the middle of nowhere. There were no fences or anything that you could see that would mark the edge of the property, aside from the dirt road you’d driven in on, perhaps.
“What do you think? I tried to make it feel homey and comfortable. I know you thought I was working 6 days a week, but I’ve actually been here twice a week to work on it. I just wanted to make it really special for you, for us.”
You were speechless, but not for the reason he was hoping. Sure, the house looked nice enough, but this whole thing was a horror show. Here was your maniac abusive husband, kidnapping you and driving you all the way to who-knows-where, showing you this house and land he had bought and fixed up that would keep you completely isolated from the world. He was literally holding you buy your zip-tied arms, somehow expecting a positive reaction from you.
You had the uncanny feeling Caspian was like a landmine—very delicate, because if you didn’t do or say the exact right thing at the exact right time, he would blow, and you could end up losing a limb or even your life from the explosion.
“I, uh—” you started to respond, still not sure what to say, but you were cut off by him noticing the blood dripping down your arm.
“What—baby, you’re bleeding! I’m so sorry, I was so careful putting the zip ties on, I didn’t think it would hurt—” he paused, and you held your breath, hoping he hadn’t seen what you thought he had. “Why is your zip tie breaking?” His voice was suddenly low and deadly. You knew one wrong answer could get you killed. “The blood drips straight down onto it. Were you trying to escape?”
“Wh-I-no! No, I wa—” you broke off as Caspian shoved you roughly to the ground. You landed on your knees on the hard concrete but couldn’t catch yourself with your hands stuck behind your back. You turned your body just in time to break the fall with your left shoulder, feeling pain shoot through it. Tiny little rocks were digging into you, and the concrete burned your bare arm.
“IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!” Your husband shouted. “I go to all this effort, spend all this money to get you a nice, peaceful home to raise a family in, and you do this? You ungrateful little bitch!” He kicked you hard in your right side, making you gasp for breath. You curled up as well as you could on your side, wishing you could bring your hands up to protect your head. He punched you solidly on the right half of your jaw, which was facing up to the sky. Your teeth slipped as you felt the impact and sliced the inside of your mouth, causing a copper taste to hit your tongue.
Caspian picked up a rock and chucked it off in the distance, screaming in frustration. Then he gripped his hair, pulling tightly, and took deep breaths. With his arms raised like that you could just make out a bandage on his side, underneath his black sweatshirt. That was where you’d gotten him with the knife the night before. Crap, you thought. You’d been hoping he’d forgotten about it in his psychopath mentality and was letting himself bleed out enough to weaken himself. He must have stopped and patched it up while you were passed out.
After a few minutes, in which you stayed as still and silent as you possibly could, in hopes of not angering him any further, he turned back to you. It was clear he still wasn’t happy, but it seemed his rage had died down. He gripped your right arm and hauled you back to your feet, shoving you in front of him and walking you to the front door. Once you were inside, he pulled you up the stairs and to a bedroom in the back. Once again, under different circumstances, it could have been nice. The bedroom was furnished with high-end Amish furniture, which was always high quality and made to last. It had gray carpeting and pale blue walls, and lots of natural light flooded into the room. The curtains and bedding were a darker blue that accented the walls and floor nicely. There was even a vase with some gorgeous blue false orchids on a nightstand by the bed.
Caspian pulled you over to a cast iron radiator under the window, on the far side of the bed. He pulled a new zip tie from his pocket and quickly laced it through the one around your wrists, then wrapped it around one bar of the radiator and pulled it tight. He stood and walked to the door, pausing to face you before he left.
“Now, young lady, I want you to sit and think about what you’ve done,” he said, as if he were scolding a small child. There was no trace of humor in his voice. He simply turned and left, shutting the door and locking it from the outside, which was apparently something he had planned for since the doorknobs had no lock on the inside. With that, you were left alone with your thoughts.
Notes:
All my italicized words from my original document are losing their italicization when I transfer the story over here. Anyone know how to format that in AO3?
Chapter 7
Notes:
TW: none I can think of, really. Mentions of kidnapping (obviously), mentions of blood (non-graphic).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Colter had Velma looking into everything she could find out about (Y/N)’s husband, hoping to come up with some sort of lead on where he’d taken her. Bobby confirmed that the man who kidnapped her was her husband, Caspian Price. He worked for an investment company called Gold Dollar, which Reenie was now looking for dirt on.
Bobby had also been able to get a full license plate number off the van using the security footage. It was a rental vehicle, and he was now checking if the rental agency’s system could give him access to any more useful information about the vehicle’s location, or about Price.
Colter, meanwhile, was checking out the area where the vehicle was last seen on CCTV cameras – a small gas station on the border of the state. There were entrances to two major highways from here, as well as several other city roads. Most likely, Price had taken one of the highways after getting gas, which is why he stopped showing up on CCTV recordings. Colter just had to find out for sure which way he had gone.
Walking into the convenience store, Colter noticed a few drops of blood leading inside. He headed to the register and spoke to the cashier, a tired-looking teenage boy who gave him an annoyed groan as he approached.
“How can I help you, sir?” the boy said in the most monotone voice Colter had ever heard.
“Hey man,” Colter started, hoping a friendly approach would be effective enough for getting information out of the kid. “I’m looking for a guy who might’ve been in here last night.” Colter pulled out his phone and showed the kid a photo of Price that Bobby had sent him.
“See a lotta people here, man.” The kid shrugged dismissively, turning back to his own phone.
“Were you working last night?” Colter prompted. “I think you would’ve remembered him. He was hurt, bleeding. Probably came in here looking for a first aid kit.” The boy eyed him suspiciously, not saying anything. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep. Colter put on the face he used when appealing to people’s better nature. “Look man, I’m looking for a woman who went missing last night. (Y/N) Price. This is her husband, Caspian. He took her against her will, and I’m just trying to find her. I just want to get her to safety.”
The boy stared at him for a long moment before sighing.
“I wasn’t s’posed to be here last night, but my coworker got sick in the middle of her shift. I came in partway through. I didn’t see no woman, but some guy came in with a cut on his side. Said he had an accident trying to fix a tire, his tool slipped or somethin’. He just wanted to borrow our first aid kit, so I gave it to him. He slipped me ten bucks as a thank you.”
“Was this him?” Colter asked, gesturing to the photo again.
“Coulda been. He was wearin’ all black, with a beanie or somethin’ on his head. I didn’t look that closely at him, but it mighta been him.” The kid sounded bored with this conversation already.
“Alright,” Colter said, trying to move it along. “Did he say where he was going? Or did you see him drive off?”
“Didn’t talk much, but I saw him out the window when I was restocking. He drove off in some blue van. He was headed down the 285.”
“Got it, thanks kid.” Colter turned to leave, but the kid stopped him by clearing his throat.
“Ya know, he paid me for my help.” The kid looked at him meaningfully. Colter sighed, pulled out a ten, and slid it across the counter. The kid pocketed it smugly before turning back to his phone. Colter got back to his truck and started down the highway, hoping he was getting closer to finding you.
♦
As he was driving down highway 285, Colter got a call from Bobby.
“Hey Bobby, what’ve you got for me.”
“You know, C, I love how much faith you have in me,” Bobby started smugly. “I was able to get Price’s bank card info from when he used it to rent that van. Got access to his bank statements. Get this, he’s been paying large sums of money for months now to a property management group. He’s also been spending a lot of money at home-improvement stores.”
“I thought he and (Y/N) lived in an apartment.”
“Exactly. Looks like he was working on a house on the side. I don’t know if she was aware of it or not, but they weren’t living there yet. So, I looked into it, and guess where this house is?”
“Can’t you just tell me instead of making me guess?” Colter groaned.
“You are no fun, C. It’s on the far outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Far enough out from the city that it’s basically isolated in the middle of nowhere. Fuckin’ huge package of land, too. 10,000 acres.”
“Sounds like a good place to lay low, and it follows with what I’ve found so far. I’m already headed that way. Send me the address, and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“Already done.”
“Thanks, Bobby.”
Colter called Reenie and Velma to give them updates, then drove the rest of the way in silence. This was a good lead. He was closing in on (Y/N)’s location, he could feel it. He just hoped he got there in time.
Notes:
Sorry for being gone so long! Life is hard lol. I'll try to crank the rest of the chapters out as quickly as possible. They're all written already, but I'm doing some brief editing and rereading to find any trigger warnings before posting them. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into how Colter and the others are making progress!
Chapter 8
Notes:
TW: blood, domestic violence/abuse, near panic attack. Hints at threats of rap/non-con, if you squint. No actual attempts or verbal threats, but it's implied if you look closely enough. I think that's all!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You spent the rest of the day crying and trying to come up with a plan. Your first step was to find a way out of these zip ties, but then what? Then you were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no place to run. Maybe you should just stay here and play along with Caspian’s little game…live as his servant for the rest of your life. ~NO.~ You shuddered just thinking about it. You had to get out. But someone would be looking for you, right? Even if she hadn’t been able to pick up the phone and hear your altercation with your husband, Reenie would have gone home and figured out that something had happened to you. She’d have called the police, or at least someone. Maybe you just had to buy time until help arrived. Then again, shouldn’t you do everything you could to help yourself out of this situation? You couldn’t always rely on others to get you out of your messes.
Caspian hadn’t come back into your room – or perhaps you should call it your cell – since he’d left earlier. He’d looked pretty worn out. You doubted he’d slept at all since dragging you out of Reenie’s place, and he had to be in pain from that knife wound you’d given him. He was also angry and upset when he’d left, and you knew his routine whenever that happened. After he finished taking his anger out on you, he’d grab a pack of beer or a bottle of whiskey and drink until he passed out on the couch. That was probably what he’d done this time, too. You wouldn’t be surprised at all if he had a booze stash here, even if you weren’t living here yet. Since it was getting late, he was probably in the passed-out stage by now. That could give you an advantage, as it took a lot to wake him up when he was in an alcohol coma.
You eyed the vase on the nightstand nearest to you. If you could break that vase without waking him up, you could use one of the pieces to cut the rest of your zip tie off. In his anger earlier, he’d gotten sloppy and forgotten to replace the partially cut tie that was already around your wrists. He’d simply looped the new zip tie through that one and attached it to the radiator. It wasn’t quite torn enough for you to snap it, at least not without better leverage, but it would make cutting through it with glass faster and easier.
Carefully, you shifted on your butt until your bound legs were pointed toward the nightstand, then bent your knees in preparation. Bracing yourself, you kicked out quickly at the table, causing both the lamp and the vase to come tumbling down. The lamp was made of thick glass and stayed largely intact, the shade simply bending at an odd angle. The vase, however, was much more fragile and shattered upon hitting the hard floor. You tensed, listening to hear if the loud crash you’d made had woken your husband. After a couple minutes of silence, you relaxed some and cheered internally.
Now you just had to get the glass over to you. You reached out with your feet, still in your socks from when you were lounging on Reenie’s couch. Trying not to put too much weight on them, you rested your heels lightly on a large shard of glass and bent your knees to pull it toward you. Sadly, you didn’t have much core strength, especially with how exhausted and in pain you were, so you put a little too much pressure on your heels and caused the glass to cut into your left foot. You grit your teeth and kept going, not willing to give up. Finally, you were able to nudge the glass close enough to twist and pick it up with your bound hands.
Slowly, you worked on cutting the zip tie that held your hands together, using a sawing motion in the same spot you’d been cutting into before. The glass cut into your hands slightly from your grip, and small scratches littered your wrists where it had slipped in the cutting process, but overall, you weren’t doing too bad. The cut from earlier had crusted over with blood, so at least you knew you weren’t bleeding too much.
Finally, you felt the zip tie give way. You pulled your hands out from behind your back, rolling your shoulders and rubbing your wrists where the tie had dug into them. Your legs were still bound though, and you knew using the glass to cut that one would take a long time, seeing as you didn’t have the head start from the hinge in the van for that one.
You decided to stand and try to find something that could cut your zip tie faster. As carefully and quietly as possible, you managed to lift yourself from the floor. You hopped cautiously over to the nightstand, cringing at the thumps you made on the floor and doing your best to avoid the shattered glass. You pulled open the nightstand drawer but didn’t find anything useful. ~Maybe in the bathroom.~ You made yourself hop over to the attached bathroom across from the bed before rummaging through drawers. There wasn’t much. A comb, some hair gel, toothpaste, dental floss. You figured Caspian must have been staying here some of the nights when you thought he was passed out at his friend’s house. At last, you pulled open a drawer that had something useful: nail clippers. You grabbed them and turned back to the door, hopping toward the bed to stabilize yourself while you cut off the zip tie.
As you neared the bed, you noticed something you hadn’t seen when you were first brought in here. On the opposite side of the bed from where you been tied, there was a bassinet. A simple, 1950s-style bassinet. You looked more around that corner of the room and saw a diaper bag, baby bottles, plushies, and countless other baby supplies. All brand new, unused. Caspian had said he’d been fixing the place up for you. For you to… ‘raise a family’. Those were his words earlier, weren’t they? You hadn’t quite processed them before.
Now, you processed them all. He wanted a baby. He wanted a baby with you. Your stomach churned. You could not let that happen. It was bad enough that you suffered all the pain and fear that living with him entailed. If you had a baby, they would be subject to his abusive nature too, and it would make escaping that much more difficult. ~No, no, no. This can’t happen, not with him. Not with him!~ You were panicking, breathing fast and shaking your head involuntarily. You tried to take a step back to get away from the horrendous idea, but you forgot your legs were still bound. You fell unceremoniously onto your back, your head bashing into the ground behind you. You took a minute to blink the stars out of your vision and recenter yourself. Fortunately, you didn’t think you’d hit it too terribly hard.
Then you heard footsteps on the stairs and sucked in a breath. Your husband might be a heavy sleeper when he’s drunk, but your fall had been much louder than when you knocked the vase down or hopped around the room. He was awake and, judging by the heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, he wasn’t happy. Breathing hard, you hurried to cut off the zip tie with the nail clippers. It took a few tries, but eventually it snapped, and your legs were free – just in time for Caspian to unlock the door and slam it open. You jumped and yelped, fear clearly displayed in your eyes.
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” He bellowed. You leapt up from the ground and backed away toward the wall with the window and radiator – the one you’d been tied to just a few minutes ago.
“I—” you started, then thought better of it and closed your mouth. You looked frantically around for anything you could use as a weapon. The vase had already been broken. Maybe you could grab a shard and use it like a blade, like you had used Reenie’s steak knife, but you weren’t sure there were any pieces large enough to do any damage. Caspian rushed toward you, and you pushed yourself desperately against the wall. He grabbed your shoulders, pulled you forward slightly, and slammed you back against the wall, your head bouncing off the plaster and your brain rattling painfully inside your skull. “Stop!” You pleaded. “Stop, let me go!” You were crying again, though how you had any tears left to cry, you didn’t know. You felt so dehydrated. You didn’t know what to do, how to get out of this. You could feel yourself shutting down, giving in to protect yourself from further harm.
Then, something shiny caught your eye. You turned your head slightly to the right, toward the bathroom. On the wall next to you, in the corner, was a tall piece of furniture with multiple shelves, meant for displaying knickknacks or placing stand-up picture frames. And on that shelf was a little metal statue that you recognized – a trophy. It had been awarded to Caspian by his work for his exceptional investment skills that brought in so many wealthy clients. Earning that award had been a great day for the both of you. Caspian was so thrilled, he took you out to eat at a proper restaurant and treated you like a princess for the rest of the night. It reminded you of when you were first dating, before he’d turned into the monster he was now.
Snapping back to the present moment, you reached for that statue while Caspian was yelling at you for your “complete lack of respect” and “ungrateful attitude.” You grabbed a hold of the metal base and, before you could talk yourself out of it, slammed it into the side of your husband’s head. He cried out and stumbled back, releasing you from his hold. You hadn’t used enough force to knock him out, it seemed. You were probably too weakened from the events of the past day. But he was stunned and distracted, trying to recover, so you quickly dropped the statue and ran as fast as you could for the door. He’d be furious after a stunt like that, and this time he might just kill you if he caught you. So you raced down the stairs and started for the front door. Before you ran out, you noticed a couple pairs of his shoes on the little bench he’d set up in the entryway. There were none of your shoes there. Your feet were still bare aside from your socks, and you knew you wouldn’t get very far in the rocky desert, with cacti, thorns, and dangerous insects, if you didn’t have some sort of protection on your feet. You grabbed the first pair you could reach and ran out the door without putting them on. You had to create some distance between you before you took the time for something like that.
You searched hurriedly for a good direction to run in, but it was flat most of the way around you. It would be all too easy for him to follow you. You turned toward the back of the house and saw the landscape started to form some slight hills that way, building into small mountains the further out they went. That was your best hope; it was the only way you could find a place to hide that he might not find you. You took off in that direction, pushing your legs to go faster and trying your best to avoid any dangerous debris on the desert floor. You cringed at the rocks and thorns you felt digging into your feet, but at least you avoided any cactus spines.
When you felt you’d put some distance between yourself and your crazed up husband, you ducked behind a bush and ripped off your now bloody socks, choosing the quickest way to get the thorns out of your body. You dropped your socks and shoved your feet into Caspian’s shoes. They were way too big for you, which made running even more difficult, but you pushed on anyway. You could hear him shouting after you from back by the house and knew he’d be following you in a matter of moments. You pushed yourself to keep running and not look back. You ducked behind every bush you passed on your way to the low hills, hoping they would provide some cover for you to get away from him. You tripped more than a few times in Caspian’s clunky shoes, scraping yourself up even farther, but still you kept moving. At least it was dark and cool out, probably in the 60s tonight since it was still September in Arizona. Thank goodness you weren’t closer to Phoenix, or the heat island would be keeping the temperature in the 80s even at night.
Your stamina was running out. You didn’t know how much longer you could run. You hadn’t eaten or drank anything in over 24 hours, you were injured and in pain, and the stress of the past day had left you completely exhausted. Exercise was not your brightest idea right now, but it was too late to turn back. If you went back, Caspian would kill you. Or worse, he’d use you to have a child who he would treat just as horribly as you, if not worse, and then kill you. As awful as this was, it was your only chance at survival.
When you felt on the verge of collapse, you blessedly noticed a little alcove in the rock of the hill you were on. You were getting into more mountainous territory, which you were sure was working to your advantage. It was easier to stay out of your assailant’s sight, and while you could still hear Caspian shouting after you in the distance, you were fairly certain he didn’t know where you were. Without much other choice, you took your chances and ducked into the alcove, tucking yourself as far back as you could go. You panted to try and catch your breath but grew quiet as Caspian’s hurried footsteps grew closer. You clenched your eyes shut and hugged your knees, praying over and over that he wouldn’t find your tiny hideout. That you could be safe.
Notes:
DUN DUN DUUUUN! You have escaped! Or have you? Are you really in the clear? How much longer can you go on?
P.S. Trying a new thing for showing ~thoughts~ because I can't figure out how to italicize things on this site. Please let me know if this works well or is too confusing. Thanks!
Chapter 9
Notes:
TW: References to domestic violence and the aftermath, blood/injury, emotional distress.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Colter was driving practically the whole night. Quite frankly, he was beat, but he kept going because he knew time was of the essence. (Y/N) was out there with her abusive psychopath of a husband. Being near that guy on any day put her in great danger, but that danger had increased exponentially when he went off the rails after she ran away to Reenie’s. Colter had to find her before her husband snapped completely and killed her.
By the time he had driven through the bulk of Tucson and to the outer edges where the house Price had bought stood, it was about 4am. The sun would be coming up in a couple of hours. He grabbed his phone to call Reenie and give her an update, knowing she wouldn’t be sleeping much until (Y/N) was found anyway. He had no signal. ~ Figures. ~ He groaned and continued on to his destination.
Finally, he saw the house coming up in the distance. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he parked a little ways down the road, grabbed his gun, and approached the house. The front door was ajar. He raised his gun and entered the house silently, checking every room. When he got upstairs, he found the door to what appeared to be the master bedroom wide open, drops of blood forming a trail on the vinyl floor. He crept into the room, checking all potential hiding spots before determining the house clear of any people.
As he tucked his gun back into his jeans, he took better stock of his surroundings. There were shards of a broken vase on the floor on the far side of the bed, along with a lamp lying on its side. The fake flowers that must have been in the vase lay in the middle of the debris. There was a zip tie looped around the radiator and another zip tie, broken, on the floor in front of it. This one had blood stains on it, and so did one large shard of glass from the vase that sat nearby. A strange metal trophy lay in the middle of the floor on its side. A couple feet in front of that, there was another broken zip tie, next to a set of nail clippers.
Colter couldn’t determine the exact events that went down here, but he gathered that (Y/N) had managed to escape from her restraints, though not without injuring herself, and probably had another confrontation with her husband. Since there didn’t seem to be an excessive amount of blood, Colter suspected that she had gotten away before her husband did anything too damaging to her, and he had probably chased after her. Which meant she was out in the desert wilderness, injured and probably completely unprepared, with a madman chasing after her.
Though he knew he needed to move quickly, Colter stopped downstairs to rummage through the kitchen for some basic supplies. He found several water bottles in the fridge, but the cupboards were practically empty, aside from various types of liquor and beer. He found nothing of use there, so he just grabbed a couple of water bottles and slid them into the deep pockets of his jeans. Unfortunately, that was all he could carry with him without having a backpack or something else to store them in. He needed his hands free to use his gun or fight.
He slipped back out the front door and set to work hunting for footprints or anything else that might tell him which direction (Y/N) had gone. He noticed two sets of tracks in the sand, one the imprint of large shoes and the other a pair shaped like bare feet, but with the toes smudged. Socks. In the midst of all the desert debris, the tracks were barely noticeable, but tracking was Colter’s specialty, after all. He followed in the direction the two sets went, noticing they broke off from one another slightly. Price probably hadn’t noticed the footprints and had just run in the direction he’d seen (Y/N) run in. Colter stuck mainly by the set of socked-feet footprints, figuring those had to belong to (Y/N). They were smaller, like a woman’s foot. Colter couldn’t help but notice there were also small spots of blood in the prints. She had probably cut her feet on the rocks and other stuff in the sand.
At one point, the prints moved behind a bush, where Colter found the socks that marked the path – torn, bloody, and discarded. The footprints that continued from there were of large imprints of shoes, though their weight was distributed unevenly in the sand. The heel of the shoe dug deeper into the dirt than the toe, like the shoe was too long for the person wearing them. He didn’t know how, but he guessed (Y/N) must have gotten her hands on a set of shoes at some point. He continued on following the tracks. The day was getting hotter, and Colter could feel sweat dripping down the back of his neck. He hoped (Y/N) was doing okay. If she’d been out here very long, she was probably getting dehydrated, and who knew how much she’d managed to eat or drink before she ran?
♦
You moved as quickly as you could, but you could feel your pace slowing considerably. You were panting. Sweat lined your skin, ridding your body of the precious remains of water it still had. Your head felt floaty now, and every so often the world would shift on its axis before righting itself. You felt perpetually nauseous, but you couldn’t tell if that was from hunger, heat, or anxiety. Probably all of the above.
You had stayed in the alcove as long as you’d dared, waiting for the sounds of Caspian’s footsteps to fade out of earshot. You had lost him, by some miracle, and accidentally fallen asleep from exhaustion, waking up later in the night. You knew it would only be a matter of time before he doubled back and checked for you again. You had to keep moving. So, you did. You trekked through the night until the darkness became a muted gray, growing lighter by the minute. Light would make it easier to find you. You found yourself close to the base of a mountain, and, hoping there would be more hiding spots along the large rock formation, started hiking. Eventually you felt so sick you doubled over, dry heaved onto the rocks and dirt, and nearly passed out.
You forced yourself to stand back up and keep moving, to at least find a place to hide. You weren’t sure how much longer you could go now. Suddenly, as you stepped with your left foot at the edge of a slight slope, the ground gave way. You lost your balance, and the world tilted dramatically as you skidded down the slope. It was a rather quick trip – fortunately you just slid instead of rolling. You shut your eyes for a moment to let the world right itself, then took in your surroundings. The slope had only been about 10 feet high and was gradual enough that you didn’t really fall down it so much as skid.
You tried to stand, but a searing pain shot through your right leg. You looked down and saw a harsh gash on the outer side of your calf. The cut was jagged and bled quite a bit. Somehow you hadn’t noticed when you got it. You glanced up and saw the corner of a sharp rock jutting out of the slope you’d just slipped down. It had fresh red blood coating it. ~ Great, just what I need.~
You tried once again to lift yourself, barely managing, and limped up another raised edge of the earth. On the other side, you collapsed. You couldn’t make it any further. This was it; it was too much. You laid your head down on the hot rocks and closed your eyes.
♦
It could have been minutes or hours later when you were jerked awake by the crunch of footsteps in the dirt. Your heart leapt into your throat. You couldn’t run away this time, you were too injured. He would find you, and he would kill you. In a last-ditch effort to hide, you dragged yourself into the small gap between two bushes. You breathed as quietly as you could, but you still made a ragged panting sound. Your eyes clenched shut on instinct, you wrapped your arms around your knees, and you waited.
“(Y/N).”
Notes:
Sorry again for the wait! I have no excuse... Hope you enjoyed this next chapter :).
Chapter 10
Notes:
TW: blood/injury, emotional distress, vomiting, gunshots.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Colter had been following footprints and other signs of (Y/N)’s presence for most of the day, now. The sun shone high in the sky above him, and he’d run through about half of his water bottle already, trying to save the rest for later and leave the unopened one for (Y/N). He’d found a little nook in the rocks near a mini hill where she seemed to have stopped for the night. The dirt there was disturbed, like she’d been sitting in it, but she wasn’t there when he got to it. The second set of tracks had also made a reappearance, coming right up to the little alcove before moving away. He hoped that didn’t mean (Y/N)’s husband had found her, but the prints split again after a while.
He continued following her trail, noting how the prints he found in the sand were heavier in some spots and lighter in others, the direction of the feet pointing at odd angles. There were more breaks in the branches of the bushes he passed, too, like she was putting more of her weight on them. She was getting weaker. Colter had to find her fast, or else the heat and dehydration would kill her even before her husband could.
Up ahead, as he walked along the edge of a mountain trail, the tracks stopped suddenly. Colter looked around, puzzled, before he noticed a spot at the edge of the path where the dirt seemed to have caved in. There were long vertical streaks in the sand along the slope below, indicative of something – or someone – sliding down it. Partway down, a sharp rock was shining with bright red blood, and at the bottom, the blood spread out to form a bigger patch.
Colter made his way down the slope, careful not to slip, and inspected the blood at the bottom. It was still fresh. The blood trail continued over another small slope, along with the return of footprints. Colter raised his gun, just in case, and cautiously followed along the trail. As he got closer to the slope, he heard strained breathing. He crested the top of the slope and found a thick pool of blood soaking into the dirt. A long streak stretched out to a set of two bushes. As Colter moved steadily closer, he could make out tangled (h/c) hair and (s/t) arms wrapped around a trembling form. He quickly tucked his gun back into his jeans.
“(Y/N),” he said. The woman’s breath hitched, and she looked up with fear in her eyes. “It’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Colter Shaw; Reenie sent me to come find you.”
He could see the information processing in her mind.
“R-Reenie… you’re THAT ‘Colter’,” she said, realization dawning. Reenie must have told her about her work with him. (Y/N)’s shoulders relaxed dramatically, her head falling backwards in relief.
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s okay now; I’m gonna get you out of this. Can I see where you’re hurt?”
“Try everywhere,” (Y/N) scoffed, but she moved to stick out her right leg, groaning as she did so. “That’s the worst of it, though.”
Her leg had a deep gash on the side of her calf that was steadily leaking blood. Definitely the worst of it. Colter pulled his shirt over his head and ripped it two, creating a long strip of cloth. He bent down to her leg.
“Alright, this is gonna hurt, I’m not gonna lie to you, but you can get through this. I just need you to breathe, okay? Can you do that?” He moved to wrap the cloth around her calf. She gulped and nodded, taking a deep breath. He pulled the cloth tightly around her leg, internally wincing when he heard her cry of pain. “You’re okay, just keep breathing.”
(Y/N) gulped in air until she caught her breath. Colter took that time to look her over for other injuries. She had prominent bruising around her face and arms, and dried blood was smeared over her limbs from countless little cuts. Her skin looked burnt, and her face was heavily flushed from the heat of the sun and exertion. He could see trails of salt where sweat had run and dried. All in all, she was pretty beat up, and Colter was sure she was severely dehydrated and probably very hungry. He pulled out the unopened water bottle from his left pants pocket and quickly uncapped it. Unfortunately, it had gotten warm since he’d left the house.
“Here, I’ve got some water for you. Slow sips, okay? If you drink it too fast, you’ll just throw it up.” She nodded; he moved closer and helped her tip the bottle gently toward her lips, cupping the back of her head with his left hand. She drank greedily at first, forcing herself to slow down before he pulled the bottle away. She groaned and placed a hand on her stomach.
“Wh-what now?” she panted.
“Now we get out of here. I know you’ve had a long couple of days and probably just want to lie down in your own bed, but we can’t quit now, okay. You’re almost there. I’m gonna help you, but we have to keep moving. Alright?” He was trying his best to motivate her and give her some reassurance; he could see she felt ready to give up. She looked at him like she wanted to cry but had no tears left, then nodded. “Okay, good. I’m gonna help you up, okay? Just lean on me. Do you know where your husband is?” He slipped his left arm under her right shoulder and hauled her to her feet. She leaned heavily into his side, her leg hovering above the dirt.
“No, b-but he’s out here s-somewhere. He was ch-chasing m-me.” (Y/N) stuttered out.
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for him as we go. Chances are he’s armed, since he had a gun when he first grabbed you. I just want you to focus on walking, okay? Keep leaning into me and keep your weight off that right leg, got it? That’s it. Keep it moving.” Together, they started hobbling down the way they’d come. They had to find a different path around the slope (Y/N) had fallen down, because there was no way Colter would be able to get her back up it in her condition.
Once they’d reached the bottom of the mountain they were on, they stopped for a second to catch their breath. Colter was doing alright, all things considered. He was tired and hot, definitely a bit dehydrated himself, but overall, not too bad. (Y/N), on the other hand, was getting weaker by the minute. More and more of her weight ended up on him, and she was breathing hard. Suddenly, she pulled away from him, shoving at him as he tried to catch her, and fell to her knees, wincing. On all fours, she gagged and proceeded to expel the little bit of water she’d managed to choke down.
“Woah, hey, okay. It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He held her hair back for a minute as she finished and sat back on her knees.
“Sorry,” she whispered. He shook his head.
“Don’t apologize. You’re severely dehydrated and you’re heat sick. Here,” he pulled out the water bottle again. “I know you probably don’t want to drink any more, but you need to try and keep a little of it down. Just a couple sips, okay?” She whimpered but nodded, and he helped her tip the water into her mouth. She shoved it away after just a second, clearly unable to drink any more. Colter used a little of the water to pour over her head, neck, and wrists – spots that had blood vessels closer to the surface, which would help cool the body down. “Alright, I think you’ve done enough walking. I’m gonna pick you up now and carry you, is that alright?”
She looked down in embarrassment but nodded. He picked her up bridal style, her back resting in his right arm and her legs laying over his left. Immediately, she tilted her head to rest on his chest and closed her eyes.
“Hey, hey, stay awake for me. I know it’s hard, but I can’t have you going to sleep right now.” Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes.
He had to shake her awake a few more times as he walked, but she managed to open her eyes each time. He could tell they were getting closer to the flat land that spread out around the house, which meant they were also getting closer to his truck and to safety. Just as his shoulders peaked over the low hill he was climbing, though, a loud BANG! reverberated through the air. (Y/N) flinched in his arms and clutched his shoulder tightly. He backed down the hill quickly and peered out over the edge. Heading toward them from about 50 feet away was a man with a pistol in his right hand.
“Is it him?” (Y/N) whimpered in fear. Colter nodded. Price had found them. He’d probably backtracked a ways to see if (Y/N) had returned to the house, then seen Colter approaching over the hill. Quickly, Colter set (Y/N) down behind a large rock.
“Stay here, don’t move. I’ll take care of this.” Then he stood and inched toward the approaching threat, one hand on his gun behind him.
Notes:
And another chapter because I was on a roll tonight! It's also the middle of the night which is not great but mehhhhh its fine. Hope you enjoyed! Only three chapters left!
Ebitch on Chapter 6 Sat 29 Mar 2025 09:57PM UTC
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