Page 94 of Searching for Bristol
Once, Lance came back after being gone for an inordinately long period of time, telling her with obvious delight how he’d joined one of the searches for her. How inside, he was laughing at everyone’s useless efforts the whole time.
Her captor was evil, and the small twinges of pity she’d experienced for this obviously lonely and sick man had long since disappeared.
Her days were endless and boring, since the only thing Lance allowed her to do was make earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. He didn’t let her watch TV, read books, or do anything other than sleep, eat, and make jewelry. He’d brought in a laptop once, and Bristol had gotten excited, thinking she could somehow send a message to Rocky or anyone else, but he’d quickly quashed that hope by not letting her get anywhere near the keyboard.
He’d wanted the password to her website. Wanted her to teach him how to upload pictures and update the descriptions of her wares. When she’d tried to put him off, saying she wasn’t sure she remembered her password, he’d grabbed the hammer from the table across the room and slammed it down on the mattress—right next to her leg.
She’d immediately given him the information he wanted.
Now, every day she made jewelry. Lance put up each listing on her website. And she had to listen to him talk about how great their life was going to be together, how much she was going to love the room he’d set up for her back in Kingsport.
The first time one of the new pieces sold, Lance was ecstatic. He’d gone on and on for at least an hour about how happy her customer was going to be, then went into detail about every single thing he’d bought from her. Bristol hadn’t remembered any of the items…and shecertainlyhadn’t included “love notes” with the purchases, as Lance claimed she had.
Knowing that he’d been out there, watching and idolizing her for so long, made Bristol sick. If only she’d paid more attention to her customers—and their addresses. But she hadn’t. There were simply too many. She just packaged things and sent them off without a second thought.
As the long hours of an untold number of days went by, depression and despair began to set in. She had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but with each day, it was likely the search for her would die down. Eventually, people would assume she was dead and stop looking. The missing posters would come down and everyone would go back to their normal lives.
The thought of Rocky doing the same made the carefully constructed mental wall she’d put up for her own sanity start to crumble. She loved him so much, and the thought of him suffering, wondering what had happened to her, almost tore her apart.
But it was the thought of him eventually moving on that had the power to break her.
She wanted to yell, “I’m here! I’m right here!” over and over until someone heard her. Surely the blankets on the wall weren’tthatgood at soundproofing the room. But of course, that was why Lance always gagged her before he left the apartment. She could try screaming when he was there, but the hammer on the table across the room always made her think twice.
Taking a deep breath, Bristol forced her mind to blank. She had to hold on. Just a little longer. Lance would mess up sooner or later. He had to. He was so unbalanced, it wasn’t even funny. Someone would notice and start asking questions. He spent most of his time in the apartment with her, but he had to leave to buy food. To mail the jewelry she sold.
The people of Fallport were nosy. They’d figure out there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing in their midst. She was counting on it.
* * *
Two weeks. Rocky couldn’t believe it had been so long.
He wasn’t eating. Wasn’t sleeping. Couldn’t do much of anything but think of Bristol.
Was she all right?
Was she in pain?
Did she think he’d stopped looking?
Because he wouldn’t. Not even if it took years, he’d find her.
She was alive. He knew it.
He saw the pitying looks people gave him. He was well aware many had given up. That they thought Bristol was dead and buried in the forest somewhere. But just as he knew anytime his brother was hurt, he knew Bristol was still alive.
Yet, with every day that passed, he couldfeelher resolve faltering. The spark that had always flared bright between them was dimming. His window to find her was narrowing, and he knew it.
He was missing something. But Rocky couldn’t figure out what.
It didn’t help that less than a week after she’d disappeared, a large box was delivered to the apartment. Seven brand-new, top-of-the-line satellite phones. Bristol had obviously ordered them, probably wanting to surprise him. She would’ve been so excited. As much as he appreciated the gift, opening the box made him so fucking sad, it just about killed him.
Thinking about her was bittersweet and frustrating. There were no leads as to where she might be or who could’ve taken her. Mike, the douche who’d tried to get Bristol to have an orgy in the woods, had an iron-tight alibi. The child-molesting asshole they’d helped put away had also been cleared. He’d laughed when he’d been questioned, after hearing Bristol was missing, but there was absolutely no evidence he’d been talking to someone to organize a kidnapping.
Rocky and his team had searched every inch of the neighborhoods around the apartment complex, with no luck. The townspeople had taken turns hiking the trails around Fallport and hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. Every day, people gathered in the square to get their assignments on where to search next.
Ethan had been working nonstop, organizing and coordinating the search for Bristol. Rocky could never repay him for his unwavering support, but the truth was…he knew they weren’t going to find the woman he loved sitting in the middle of the woods. He might’ve found her that way once, but deep in his gut, he knew someone was hiding her. The only question was—where? Here in Fallport? In a cabin in the woods? Had she been taken out of town, out of the state? There was no telling.
It was time to change things up. No longer was this a physical search. He knew it in his heart. It was now a search for information. Someone knewsomething. Had seen or heard something.
