�I�m not sure,� Nickolas replied, as they heard a noise.
�What was that?� Jenai asked.
�It sounded like it came from outside,� Nickolas said.
�What the hell�s going on?� Jakob questioned shining a flashlight on them.
�Like we know,� Jenai said, as Dannika and Kevin joined them.
�Who�s playing games?� Kevin wanted to know.
�None of us,� Jakob replied.
�Is anyone going to check out that noise outside?� Jenai questioned. �Or do I have to?� They all looked at her.
�Jakob, you go out front and I�ll go out back,� Kevin said. �Nickolas, you watch the girls.� Nickolas nodded and Jakob and Kevin walked out.
�So we just sit here and wait?� Jenai questioned. �That sounds like fun.�
�Quit complaining,� Dannika said shining the flashlight on Jenai.
�I�m going to go help,� Jenai said going out the door.
�JJ!� Nickolas yelled going after her and Dannika followed. �JJ!�
�Ahh!�
�JJ!� Dannika yelled this time. �Nick, do something.�
�Take this and go back inside,� Nickolas ordered handing her a gun. �Stay there and don�t move.� She nodded taking the gun. �Now go. Lock yourself in your room.� She nodded again and Nickolas took the flashlight and pushed her inside. �Go.� He grabbed his radio off the stand and ran back outside. �Sarge, JJ�s gone.�
�What?� Kevin said.
�She came outside to help and someone grabbed her,� Nickolas said. �I�m going to look for her now.�
�Where�s Dani?� Jakob asked.
�I gave her a gun and made her lock herself in her room,� Nickolas replied.
�Jakob, you get Dannika,� Kevin ordered. �I�ll help Nickolas.�
�Help!� Jenai yelled and Nickolas followed her screams. �Someone help!�
�Carter, report,� Kevin said.
�Nothing yet, Sir,� Nickolas replied. �I�m following her screams.�
�So am I,� Kevin said.
�You better find her, Carter, or else,� Jakob warned.
�You just watch Dannika,� Kevin stated.
�I would if I could find her,� Jakob said.
�She�s supposed to be in her room,� Nickolas replied and then suddenly stopped.
�Ah, Detective, nice of you to join us.�
�Sergeant Stevens,� Nickolas said. �What a surprise.�
�I�m sure it is, but the name�s LaKeisha Miller; Jenai�s lovely mother.�
�You�re not my mother,� Jenai rebutted.
�Shut up,� LaKeisha warned pressing the gun harder against Jenai�s neck. �You don�t talk to your mother like that.�
�Why don�t you just leave her go,� Nickolas suggested. �We can all sit down and talk about this.�
�There�s nothing to talk about,� LaKeisha said. �I know what I�m doing and I�m not changing my mind.�
�You don�t have to do this,� Nickolas said.
�I have the power now,� LaKeisha rebutted and she looked at Jenai. �You and I are going to go for a little trip.� She looked at Nickolas. �And if you even think about following I�ll shoot her right now. I don�t care that she�s my daughter. Brianna was my daughter also, but I didn�t care then and I still don�t.�
�You�re psychotic,� Jenai said.
�I am focused,� LaKeisha said. �I know what I want and with you in the way I won�t get that. Now let�s go.� She pulled Jenai along and Nickolas just stood there and watched.
�Nick!� Jenai yelled. �Nick!� Nickolas sighed disgustedly and ran after her.
�JJ!� Nickolas called after her and there was a gunshot. He felt the bullet brush by him, but he kept running after Jenai. �Hang on, JJ.�
�Nick!� Jenai yelled again and Nickolas continued following her voice.
Nickolas kept running after her for a few minutes and continued even after he stopped hearing her voice. He just continued looking for her for another half hour then stopped to catch his breath. He stood there shining the flashlight around, but didn�t find anything; not even a wild animal. He didn�t even hear a sound. �JJ! Jenai!�
�Nickolas, report,� Kevin�s voice came over the radio.
Nickolas sighed and said, �I lost her, Sir. There�s no sign of her.�
�Did you even see her?� Jakob questioned.
�Yes I did,� Nickolas replied. �Sergeant Stevens�or LaKeisha Miller, or whatever the hell her name is, has her.�
�What?� Jakob snapped. �Why the hell didn�t you say anything? What the hell were you doing?�
�I stopped for a burger, fries, and a soft drink,� Nickolas rebutted. �What the hell do you think I was doing? I was looking for JJ.�
�Will you two stop,� Kevin ordered. �Jakob, did you find Dannika?�
�Yeah,� Jakob replied. �She was hiding in the basement.�
�We�ll rendezvous back at the cabin,� Kevin said. �Jakob, call the local police and tell them you need a map of the mountain and explain the situation.�
�Yes, Sir,� Jakob said.
�What about JJ?� Nickolas asked.
�We�ll find her,� Kevin replied. �I�m not letting Jenai die.�
�Me either,� Nickolas said to no one showing his flashlight around again. He put the light on the ground and saw a necklace. He picked it up and saw that it was the fairy Jenai always wore. The one she got for Brianna; ten years ago. He looked at his watch; 12:03 a.m., ten years to the day. He sighed and said into his radio, �Do you guys have any idea what today is?�
There was silence and then Kevin said, �October 10th.�
�Brianna�s birthday,� Jakob replied. �And the tenth anniversary of her death.�
�Yeah,� Nickolas said.
�No wonder they waited to take her,� Kevin said. �They were waiting for the right moment.�
�And tonight�s perfect,� Jakob said.
�I�m going to find her, Sarge,� Nickolas said.
�Just get back to the cabin,� Kevin ordered.
�I�m not leaving her so her psycho family can finish what they started,� Nickolas rebutted. �I�m not leaving her to die.�
�Nickolas, don�t make this personal,� Kevin said.
�It already is,� Nickolas said. �I�m not stopping until I find her.�
�Get back to the cabin, Detective,� Kevin ordered again.
�Sorry, Kev, but I can�t,� Nickolas said.
�Carter, don�t even think about disobeying that order!� Kevin yelled through the radio, but Nickolas ignored him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�Anybody find anything, Captain?� Kevin asked.
�Nothing yet, Sergeant,� the Captain said. �My men are still looking and we have two helicopters up.�
�Just keep me posted,� Kevin said walking away and he joined Jakob and Dannika in the tent.
�Anything?� Dannika asked and Kevin just shook his head and looked at the map. �Not even from Nick?�
�No,� Kevin said.
�What if ya don�t find anything?� Dannika asked.
�It�s only been an hour,� Kevin answered. �We�re going to find her.� Dannika nodded and poured some coffee. She handed Kevin a cup and gave one to Jakob also.
�She can be anywhere,� Jakob said. �She might not even be on this damn mountain.�
�We don�t know that,� Kevin stated.
�And we should�ve heard from Carter by now too,� Jakob replied.
�He�ll update when he finds something,� Kevin said.
�What the hell�s going on?� Justin questioned and they looked.
�What the hell are you doing here?� Kevin questioned in return. �You�re supposed to be in the hospital.�
�Dani called,� Justin replied.
�I didn�t tell you to come,� Dannika stated.
�I know,� Justin began, �but I�m sick of just lying around in that hospital. I had to get out of there.�
�Then sit your ass down,� Kevin ordered.
�C�mon,� Dannika said helping him to a seat.
�You�re going to do more damage to yourself and end up in a wheelchair permanently,� Kevin pointed out.
�I wasn�t staying in that place a minute longer,� Justin rebutted. �JJ�s missing and I can help more by being here than I can laid up in the hospital.�
�You don�t know this area,� Kevin stated.
�And neither does Nick, but he�s still out there looking for her,� Justin reminded him.
�Because he disobeyed orders,� Jakob said.
�At least he�s doing something instead of waiting around,� Dannika pointed out. �We�re just standing here waiting to hear something.�
�We have every area covered, Dannika,� Kevin said. �We will find her. I ain�t resting until we do.� Dannika nodded and looked at Jakob.
�Are you all right, Jake?� Dannika asked.
�Yeah,� Jakob sighed. �No I�m not.� He leaned against the table and looked at the map. �I really haven�t thought about what happened for the past few years. I guess I didn�t want to remember just like Jenai didn�t. The whole thing was just too painful. I lost two of my best friends that night.� He sighed. �Ten years ago today was Brianna�s 20th birthday. She wanted to celebrate, but she wanted to wait until 12:07 a.m. to start.�
�Why?� Dannika asked.
�Because that was the time she was born,� Jakob replied. �She was always weird like that. A mutual friend of ours found this club and she wanted to celebrate there. Brianna and Alexis talked the owner into letting Jenai in so we got ready and headed to this club.� He stayed silent for a few minutes and they just looked at him. �I don�t even think we were halfway there when these thugs stopped us and blindfolded me.� He sighed. �Then for, only God knows how long, they tortured all of us. After that they made me watch as they raped the girls one by one over and over. After they were done Jenai and I watched as they killed Brianna and Alexis. I told Jenai to run, but they were too fast for her. They got her, shot her, and then shot me and took off. I don�t know how long it was before the cops came, but Brianna and Alexis were dead by then and Jenai was dying.�
�She spent five months in ICU and then another three months in recovery,� Kevin added. �I think it was that night that her hatred for cops started.�
�She blames them for not getting there fast enough and saving her sister and her friend,� Justin said. �It makes sense.�
�Yeah it does,� Dannika agreed.
�I blamed myself the first couple years for not doing something to protect them,� Jakob said.
�What could you do?� Kevin asked. �You had a gun to your head and cuffed.�
�Don�t remind me,� Jakob stated. �I was in charge of those girls that night and I couldn�t keep them safe. Hell I couldn�t even keep Jenai safe tonight.�
�There wasn�t much we could do,� Kevin said. �But now we focus on finding her.�
�Where?� Justin asked.
�Here on the mountain,� Kevin replied looking at the map again.
�No one�s found anything yet,� Jakob stated. �They�re not on this mountain, Kevin. They took her someplace.�
�Don�t tell me they took her someplace else!� Kevin yelled at him.
�You�re letting your emotions get in the way, Sarge,� Jakob stated.
�She�s my sister, Detective!� Kevin snapped.
�And my best friend!� Jakob yelled in return.
�I almost lost her once and I�m not going to go through that again! I refuse to!�
�Then you better hope Carter finds her!�
�You guys aren�t getting anywhere standing here yelling at each other!� Dannika shouted at them and they looked at her. �Nick�s the only one out there showing her cares by looking for her. You two are standing here doing nothing. I think you two should get your fingers out of your asses and start searching this mountain. JJ�s depending on you and she needs you just as much as she needs Nick.�
�Then let�s go,� Kevin said grabbing a vest. �Get geared up, Underwood.�
�Nice job,� Jakob said and Dannika smirked. �Should I call Marty?�
�I tried calling him since she was taken, but I couldn�t reach him,� Kevin stated. �Keep trying though and my parents are on their way up.�
�Alright,� Justin said.
�Anything I can do?� Dannika asked.
�Keep this coffee coming,� Kevin replied taking a drink. �This is good stuff. And also make sure no one falls asleep.�
�I can do that,� Dannika asked.
�Sarge,� Nickolas� voice came through the radio.
�What�s going on, Carter?� Kevin questioned.
�I found JJ,� Nickolas said.
�Where is she?� Jakob questioned.
�I�m at the top of the mountain,� Nickolas answered. �There�s a mine shaft near the cliff and they�re down in a pit. I�m trying to find a way down.�
�What do you mean �they�re down in a pit�?� Kevin asked.
�JJ, Marty, and�� Nickolas began, but didn�t finish.
�Nick,� Kevin said. �Nickolas!� There wasn�t an answer. �Son of a bitch. Let�s go!� Kevin and Jakob ran from the tent and Dannika looked at Justin.
�At least we know where Marty is now,� Justin said.
�Yeah,� Dannika agreed and just looked at him.
CHAPTER 25
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