Taken! Alphabet Series - 26 Original Taken! Tales (Donald Wells' Taken! Series Book 14) (7 page)

The occupant of the room in those days had no optimism, no enthusiasm for being alive, but rather endured life while fighting personal demons that, in the end, had overpowered him, had won out and taken him into their fold.

That adolescent was on a path towards hell, and it was only the grace of God and the intervention of a living angel that plucked him from the pit of despair and showed him that life could be good, that
he
could be good, and that forgiveness could lead to true love.

He heard footsteps approaching, and a moment later, his sister walked into the room and sat beside him.

Maggie smiled.

“I guess the room looks a lot different than when you lived in it, hmm?”

He kissed her on the cheek.

“Like night and day,”

(The events in
TAKEN!
L took place prior to and during the events in
TAKEN!
50)

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T
HREE YEARS AGO

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J
ack Dent stood before the windows in the mayor’s office and looked out onto Main Street as he waited for the mayor to return, after the man had been called away in the middle of his interview for Chief of Police.

He played with his ring finger, although there was no longer a wedding band there, but just a circle of white skin that proclaimed his failure as a husband.

Water under the bridge, Jack, concentrate on now, on building a new life,

He let out a sigh. He missed his old life, at least his old home life, what little there was of it. Climbing the ranks within the Chicago P.D. had been his focus and caused him to spend less time with his wife and two daughters, much less time than he should have.

When his wife told him that she was not only leaving him, but leaving him for someone else, it took him totally by surprise.

And as if the ending of his marriage wasn’t enough pain, the knife was twisted later on when his ex fought for full custody of their daughters, won, and moved his girls hundreds of miles away.

Jack Dent knew he would never be Father of the Year, but he loved his daughters, and the thought of barely seeing them was unthinkable.

Mere days after having been promoted to Captain, he resigned from the force and moved closer to his daughters, and thus began the search for a new job.

The mayor, Bob Greene, came back inside the office and gave Jack an apologetic smile.

“Sorry about that, but now we can finish the interview.”

“What else would you like to know?” Dent said, as he retook his seat in front of the desk.

The mayor shook his head.

“I think I know all I need to, which was mainly your reasons for leaving the Chicago Police Force, and by the way, everyone I talked to in Chicago had nothing but praise for you.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Do you have any questions, Jack?”

“Just how big is the force?”

“Counting the campus police, which you’ll also oversee, ninety-six,”

Dent raised an eyebrow at that.

“That’s more than I thought; I mean it’s a fairly large area, but a low population.”

“Our citizens are well-to-do, but as I said, there is the campus, which can get a little rowdy at times, and it’s better to be prepared than to be spread too thin, hmm?”

“Absolutely, and do you have a recent breakdown of crime statistics?”

The mayor hesitated, but then reached into a folder on his desk and took out a sheet of paper.

Jack studied the sheet, and when he read the violent crime figures, his head shot up.

“This seems like a lot of murders and assaults for a town like this.”

The mayor sighed.

“Yeah, this town... it has a way of attracting trouble. It’s been that way ever since I was a kid, hell, even before I was born.”

“Is it because of the college?”

“Oh, no, no, the college has had almost no violent incidents, but as I said, this town has a way of attracting... difficulty.”

“What happened to the last Chief?”

“He retired after years of service, lives in Florida now.”

“Well, Mayor, I’m interested in the job.”

The mayor reached across the desk and offered his hand.

“It’s yours, Jack, you’re far and away the best candidate we’ve had so far, and besides, I think you’ll be a good fit here.”

Jack shook the Mayor’s hand, while wondering if he’d made the right decision.

***

T
HE PRESENT

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A
lan Brewer sat in front of Chief Dent’s desk as Dent studied his academy records.

While he hadn’t been top of his Police Academy class, he had come in third out of a class of seventy-four.

“I’m impressed, young man, and welcome aboard, but tell me, do you have any questions?”

Alan cleared his throat. He felt as if he were deceiving the man by not telling him everything up front, but he promised Alexis, Dent’s oldest daughter, that he would let her tell him they were dating.

“Um, I just want to say that I’m glad to be joining the force. I’ve always wanted to be a cop.”

“Any questions about the town?”

“Not really, other than the occasional disturbance at the campus, I bet it’s a little quiet, hmm?”

Jack chuckled, and then laughed heartily.

“Let me tell you about this quiet little town, son. In the three years that I’ve been Chief, we’ve had to deal with a serial killer duo, a Canadian hit man, an exploding helicopter due to sabotage, an assassination attempt on a prominent citizen and her brother, which was ordered by the head of a drug cartel, and oh yeah, I was shot and nearly died. That’s your quiet little town.”

Alan smiled.

“I can’t wait to start.”

***

A
lexis was waiting for him in the car.

“Did you see, Daddy?”

“Yes, and I really wish you would let me tell him that we’re dating. He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

“I’ll tell him, tomorrow; he’s taking me to dinner, but what did you and Daddy talk about?”

“He was telling me about the town, and from what he said, this place is far from boring.”

Alexis shrugged.

“It’s not Chicago, and I still miss Chicago.”

“Why don’t we meet for breakfast?”

“Okay, pick me up at eight o’clock.”

“Where do you want to eat?”

“There’s a bagel shop that Daddy and I ate at once that has really good food, we’ll eat there.”

Alan put the car in gear and drove off, while wondering if Jack had been exaggerating about the town, and if not, he looked forward to the excitement.

As he drove past the bus station, he didn’t notice the young woman walking out the door, a young woman named Circe Doyle.

(The events in
TAKEN!
M took place weeks after the events in
TAKEN!
25)

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T
he return address on the envelope read,

United States Penitentiary at Terre Haute

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H
e had picked up the mail from the box on his way out to the store. Jessica was craving white-chocolate, raspberry truffle cheesecake again, because of her pregnancy, and the only place that sold it the way she liked it was miles away.

He had called ahead to the restaurant as he drove, so that he could pick-up the order at curbside. Along with the cheesecake, he had ordered a sandwich for himself.

As he waited for his order to be brought out, he checked through the mail and found the letter from the prison, the letter from Robert Michael Rothman.

The FBI had asked if he wanted the letter forwarded or destroyed, and he instructed them to send it along, out of curiosity.

Rothman was a serial killer that he and Jessica had recently captured, and whose story was much like his own. Rothman too, had spared, and then married his first intended victim, but unlike himself, Rothman went on to murder dozens of young women while deceiving his wife, Claire.

He opened the envelope and read.

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D
ear Fellow Sufferer,

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I
call you a fellow sufferer because I know that you are plagued by the same demons that have vexed me all my life.

Have you given in to them yet? Or perhaps you’re stronger than I am? If you haven’t given in to your base desires, let me assure you that it is just a matter of time before you do, for although you may possess a stronger will than I, you are no match for the devils inside you.

You hear them whispering always, don’t you?

Whenever a lovely young thing passes by, you think of all the pleasure she could bring you, all the anger and frustration that could be released upon her supple skin and fair face.

Listen to the demons, give in to your desires, and then you’ll know the ecstasy that only comes from being yourself.

You are as much a predator as I am, and I can only marvel at the self-control it takes for you to keep yourself in check. However, it is inevitable that you will fail someday.

Prey is everywhere, the young pretty ones, and they stroll through this world in a dreamy ignorance of its true terrors, while thinking that men such as ourselves are anomalies and rare.

We are not rare, but ravenous, and without pity, and driven by cravings that would frighten them to weeping.

I gave in to such desires routinely and the pleasure it gave is indescribable to most, but easily imagined by a man such as yourself, and imagine it you do, oh yes, I know you do.

I know who and what you are, friend, and believe me when I tell you that becoming someone like me is your fate.

I am your future, my fellow sufferer, so just give in to your desires and ease your pain.

You cannot resist forever.

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W
ishing you good hunting,

Robert Michael Rothman

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H
e stuffed the letter back in its envelope and noticed that he had begun to sweat, even as his pulse quickened.

“I won’t give in, not ever,” he whispered.

His was the lone car parked on the side of the restaurant, and was hidden from view by a wall and shrubbery.

When the girl came out carrying his order, he studied her. She was no more than twenty, beautiful, and a brunette. She was chatting along on her phone as she came towards him, oblivious to her surroundings, and he thought about how easy it would be to steal a car some night, place an order, and lie in wait for her in the shadows.

When the girl came out with the order, simply come up from behind, render her unconscious, and toss her in the trunk.

He thought all this in the twelve seconds it took for the girl to reach him, without conscious effort. He thought this way all the time. Planning the capture of female prey was as natural to him as breathing.

The effort came, when he pushed such thoughts from his mind, when he refused to dwell on what would occur once the prey was at his mercy. 

“Here’s your cheesecake and sandwich.”

He paid, while telling her to keep the change, and when she saw how much he had given her, she smiled wide.

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome, and have a good night.”

He watched the girl disappear back inside while chattering away on her phone, and then he ripped Rothman’s letter to shreds, tossed it out the window, and drove off into the night.

(The events in
TAKEN!
N took place days after the events in
TAKEN!
24C – Hit Squad)

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S
titches the dog wagged his tale as the pack leader opened the door and let him outside.

Stitches ran down the steps, nose twitching for new scents as he hurried to his favorite tree and raised his hind leg.

Even before he finished urinating, he caught the scent of rabbit nearby, and soon he was off following the trail of his prey.

The scent took him south of his home and on an angle away from the stream that flowed past it, and soon the terrain became hilly, even as the scent grew stronger.

As he topped a rise, he saw the twitching tail of the rabbit as it darted into a clump of bushes, and he bared his teeth in feral anticipation of the meal to come, but just as he was about to charge at the bushes, he came to a skidding halt.

Turkey!

The scent of wild turkey was nearby, and the rabbit was immediately forgotten, as the desire for rarer and more elusive prey consumed the dog.

When he came across a feather from the bird, he sniffed at it frantically, angled his search to the east, and came across the freshest scent yet.

Two minutes later, he had the bird in sight, as he saw movement twenty yards away in a grassy field. Stitches sprinted towards the bird as it scooted off and weaved between the shrubs growing in the field. However, as he was closing in for the kill, the bird took to the air, for unlike its domesticated counterpart, wild turkeys are capable of flight.

Stitches let out a growl of frustration as he slowed his pace, while watching the bird glide away. The growl soon became a surprised yelp, as his front paws slid off a steep incline that was the beginning of a near-vertical drop off the hillside. With his belly scraping the ground, he fought frantically to stay his slide over the edge, and just managed to regain purchase with his front paws and scamper backwards.

Safe once more, he gave out a small
WOOF!
of triumph, but then startled when he heard a human voice nearby.

He followed the sound to its source, the backyard of a home, where four-year-old Sophia Carter played with her dolls atop a blanket.

Moments later, Stitches ran towards the child with his teeth showing, as a growl rose up from deep within the pit bull’s throat.

***

H
e walked beside Jessica as they followed Chief Dent to the rear of the home, where their dog was chained to a fence with an animal control officer standing nearby.

The chief spoke to the man.

“The dog belongs to them, Jay.”

The animal control officer freed the dog, and watched as he ran to receive praise from his owners, who petted him and scratched behind his ears.