Treacherous (Andy Barber)

Chapter 26

The next day, a search started for Aurora. They had rangers looking everywhere for her along with dogs. She had to be somewhere close. The car he was in didn't have that much gas in it. But then again, they found him at a gas station... so maybe he had come from burying her somewhere far away...

No. I can't think like that. I shook my head again and looked at my phone. There was still no update from Detective Blake, but after Nate's admission of practically leaving her for dead after attempting to keep her alive... time was limited. Of course, if it was true.

I tried to make myself busy by watching the tv and talking to Jake, but my mind was just elsewhere. Finally, my phone dinged with a message from Detective Blake.

Detective Blake
Nate's parents are here for questioning.
I'll keep you updated.

It wasn't exactly the text I was hoping for. The better text would have been, 'we found her', but hopefully this would bring some new information. And hopefully Nate's parents weren't assholes like him... but the apple might not fall far from the tree. "They're going to question Nate's parents in a little." I said out loud. "That's good, right?" Jake asked me. "Could be. Unless they're assholes like him or are going to protect him."

"Let's hope they're good people then." Jake said, smiling over at me. I'm glad he was being optimistic, because I was anything but.

"I'm going to head over there. Are you okay here?" I asked him. "Yea. I'll be fine, go." I nodded and left him with some money to order a pizza if he got hungry and made my way to the station. But once I got there, it was chaos. "Detective Bishops!" I said, grabbing the older man's arm as he went to run by. "What's going on??" I asked. "We think we know where she is." He said, quickly, "I've got to go."

I let him go and he ran out to his cop car along with various other officers. My heart raced as Detective Blake walked quickly towards me. "The parents?" I asked her. She nodded. "The dad didn't want to say anything but the mom... she spoke to me privately and told me they own a vacation home up here in the mountains. We think she's there. Come on, I'll take you. Where's Jake?" She asked. "At the hotel. He'll be okay." I said and we ran out to the car.

It was about an hour drive before we turned down a dirt road that took us up a bit before we approached a nice sized cabin with cop cars and an ambulance surrounding it. I bolted out of the car and ran up towards the house, praying the she was okay. And then I saw her. She was being carried out of the house, covered in a blanket, by an officer.

"AURORA?!" I yelled, running over to her as she was being set down on a stretcher. "She's alive. She's severely dehydrated and a bit malnourished but she'll be okay." The officer assured me as paramedics surrounded her. A wave of relief shot through my body as I looked at her. "Aurora?? Sweetheart??" I said, grabbing her hand and placing a hand on her cheek. "Andy?" She said softly, her eyes welling with tears. "It's me, sweetheart." "Andy? I thought you were dead?" She cried. "I'm right here, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." I wiped some tears off of her cheeks with my thumb and gave her a kiss on the head. "Are you real?" She asked. "I'm real, baby. I'm here." I mumbled, pressing my forehead to her's. She cried some more and I kept a hold of her hand tightly as they put her in an ambulance. I would ride with her and Detective Blake would go get Jacob and bring him by the hospital.

The paramedics got her started with an IV of fluids as they drove to the hospital. She was only severely dehydrated and malnourished, as the police officer said but the paramedics confirmed it seemed like she hadn't eaten in days...but overall she was unharmed. There were a couple of bruises littered across her body but that was all. No broken bones or ribs which was all good. I held her hand the whole way to the hospital until they had her in a room with another IV of fluids.

"Dad???" I heard Jacob's voice outside of the room before he and Detective Blake walked in. "Jacob?" Aurora's voice was quiet as she looked over at him. He was quickly by my side and leaned over to give her a hug, "You're okay!" "I'm okay." She said quietly. Her eyes shifted over towards Detective Blake who gave her a warm smile. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Aurora."

"Nate?" She asked. "It's being handled, sweetheart...don't worry about it." I said, but Aurora shook her head. "Where is he?"

"He's going to be going to jail for a long time, Aurora. Don't worry." Aurora gave a weak smile and nodded before relaxing onto the bed. "I'll let you get some rest and we'll gather statements from you in a little, okay?" Detective Blake said, grabbing Aurora's other hand. Aurora only nodded before Detective Blake left us alone.

"I missed you so much, Rory. I was so worried."

"How long was I gone?" She asked, weakly.

I took a deep breath, unsure if I should tell her, but decided it was best not to keep it from her. "A little over a month." Her breathing quickened and her eyes widened. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now." I said, squeezing her hand and trying to calm her down a little. She squeezed my hand back and I felt her relaxing once again. "Try to get some rest." I said, kissing her forehead and remaining in the chair next to her bed while Jake sat on the couch.

"Can I watch some TV?" He asked me.

"Quietly." I said back with a nod. He nodded, understanding that Aurora needed to rest and turned on the TV at a low volume. I watched Aurora carefully, like she could disappear at any moment, as she slept. The doctor and nurses came in and checked on her periodically, letting me know that they would wake her up soon and try to get her to eat something.

"AURORA?! WHERE IS SHE?!" Someone yelled from outside the room. My brows furrowed and before I had a chance to see what was going on, a man stormed into the room with some officers following. I stood up quickly and glanced at him. "Who the hell are you?!" He snapped, glaring at me. "Daddy? Is that you?" Aurora's eyes fluttered open and she looked over at the man in question. "Aurora... sweetheart..." His voice immediately softened and he approached the bed, taking her other hand in his. I stepped back, letting go of her hand to be closer to Jake who had stood up as well.

"The hospital called me and told me you were in an accident." He said. Accident? She wasn't in an accident...she was kidnapped. "It was that good for nothing Nate Jacobs kid, wasn't it!" His voice raised with anger, "where is he?! I'll kill him."

"SIR! Calm down!" One of the officers yelled. "Daddy." Aurora said, reaching out to him. "I'm okay. Nate's been arrested." She said. "Who the hell is this?" He said, pointing at Jake and I. "My boyfriend, Andy and his son Jacob." Aurora said, smiling over at me. Her father's brows furrowed as he looked between Jacob and I. I could tell he was trying to figure out how old I was to have a teenage son, but he didn't say anything. I cleared my throat, "nice to meet you sir."

His eyes narrowed at me for a moment but he held out his hand for me to shake, "Drake." "Andy."

His handshake was firm before his attention went back to Aurora. "Where's Candy?" She asked. Who the hell was Candy? "She took all my money a year into our marriage and left." He replied. That must been the 20 year old he started dating that made him choose between herself and his relationship with his daughter. "I should never have let her come between us, Rory. I've been trying to find a way to contact you but Lydia refused to give me any of your contact information." He said, a bit of disdain in his voice when he said her mother's name. "You tried to contact me?" She asked. "I did but you had changed your number. You've always been my princess, Rory." Aurora started crying slightly and pulled her dad down into a hug.

I put my hand on Jake's shoulder and went to lead him out of the room. "Aurora, we're going to go grab some food and give you both a moment." I said. "No!" She said, reaching her hand out. "Please don't go." I walked over to her and kissed her forehead, "I'll be right back, okay? Talk to your dad."

I rested my forehead against hers as she nodded. "I love you." I whispered for the first time in a month, longing to hear it leave her lips as well. "I love you too." I carefully pressed my lips to hers in a short kiss before grabbing Jake and heading out of the room.