Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 28: Brayden

I watched the ceiling fan spin aimlessly. Somehow that felt like it represented my life at the moment: forever going in circles with no hope of doing anything else. 

With a sigh, I made myself get up. That was a bit too philosophical for me, but true nonetheless. Charlie was gone out of my house, but I still had to see him at our family reunion coming up in a week. As it stood, he was probably going to do whatever he could to hurt Jenny. I was sure it wasn't a coincidence we were all meeting up in Boulder this year instead. 

My dad had just been told about it the night before and came to tell me when we all were getting up for the day. Now it was nearly lunch - nearly time for me to go to work - and I hadn't heard anything from Jenny.

I was tempted to call her, but we had spoken until late just last night, and I didn't want to be that boyfriend, the one that had to know his girlfriend's every move.

A loud, banging knock jarred me from my thoughts. I jumped up and ran for the door. With that kind of knock, it couldn't be good. My thoughts were confirmed when I opened the front door and found two officers standing there. "Can I help you?" I asked.

The officer closest to me held up a picture of Jenny's father. "Have you seen this man lurking around here anywhere?" she asked.

I tried to not let on my shock. "I haven't. Did he escape?"

She sighed and lowered the picture. "We have it on good authority that Jennifer Herrington is on the premises. Can we speak with her?"

My face hardened. "Why do you think she'd be here of all places?"

"She told us she was staying in your guesthouse. Would it be fine with you if we go check it out?"

I reached for the keys hanging by the door and stepped out. "Sure. I'll walk you around to it. She's not here, though. She's with her mother."

The man that was with the woman cleared his throat and said, "I spoke with her last night. She said absolutely that she was staying in that building."

My fingers holding my phone twitched, aching to call her. What happened? "Follow me." I led the officers around the main house and was met with something I half expected but was hoping I was wrong about. The door to the guest house was hanging off only one hinge, a large footprint in the middle of it suggesting someone in a blind rage had kicked it in. I stopped and tuned to the police behind me, who both already had their hands on their guns. "Can I report a break-in now or do I need to wait?"

They walked past me and drew their weapons. I stayed put as they entered the building and took a look. While they were distracted, I texted Jenny. What happened? The police are at my place and someone broke into the guest house. What's going on?

Right as I sent the text, the police came back out. "No one's here," the lady said. "The place has been ransacked, though. I'm going to tape it off for investigation. Do you happen to have any cameras or anything that covers the area?"

I pulled out my phone. "We do. It's all digital, though. Motion activated." The officer watched over my shoulder as I pulled up the app and navigated to the middle of the night. The camera was triggered around three in the morning. A man came into view, looking around. He kicked in the door and entered the residence. 

When the man came out, my blood ran cold the moment I recognized him. He was the same man I had shared a cell with: Jenny's father. He broke out of jail? When did this happen? Why did he-

I looked at the officer next to me. "When did Marvin get out?"

She glanced at me. "He broke out of his cell last night. We notified his daughter. She said she was staying here, so she may be in danger."