Paralysed By Choices ✔️

Chapter twenty nine: Did She Suddenly Fly To Neverland?

Detective Archer.

From the moment your child is born, you worry about them every minute of every day because if anything happened to them, you wouldn't forgive yourself. As a member of the police force, you worry that it was going to be the last time you walk out that front door, or to kiss your wife goodbye or to hug your daughter. It was the unpredictability that scared me and a lot of things could happen from the moment you walk out that front door to the moment you walk inside your home after another long shift.

Katherine, Alexis' mother, was beside herself in worry and part of her hated me for making her go through that. I knew my job was dangerous and the things that I did in the past were dangerous and that yes, the fact that Joe Lock wanted my daughter instead of me scared me more than anything in the world.

"If we lose Alexis," Catherine screamed, "I'll never forgive you!" I buried my hands in my face on my desk in my office at the police station. Everybody I knew was working this case except for me because I was too close to the it but did that mean I was going to stop searching? No, she was my fucking daughter!

She was my baby girl, of course I was going to look for her.

I felt a hint of guilt, thinking if there was more to be done. If I stopped looking into who was actually shooting up the campus and who was after my daughter, maybe we would have gotten there quicker. If we went in there straight away then maybe we would have gotten Alexis sooner or when I caught a glimpse of her determined eyes when she let Noah go, I should have ran past the mark and grabbed her before it was too late. I made those orders, it was my fault.

If I did everything the right way, if my mind wasn't clouded with the fact that these people were after my daughter because of me, maybe she would be safe.

"I'm doing my best, Kate," I told her, "I am just as scared as you are." I stared at my computer screen, looking at the mug shot of Joe Lock. It felt like he was smirking at me through the computer screen, laughing at me because he had my daughter in his possession. I knew Alexis and especially after Jess died, I knew that she could handle whatever they throw at her. "She's strong," I said to my scared wife, "I taught her everything I know."

She scoffed while wiping her tired eyes. "Yes and that's the only good you've done." She stood up, brushed dust off her skirt and headed out door and disappeared from my view. She's just angry, I reminded myself, she'll be fine when Alexis is safe at home.

I continued to stare at the man who currently had my daughter, they could be anywhere by now. On a boat, out in the mountains, in a cabin miles away from here and I was just sitting here staring at the man who was laughing in my face, he wanted me to find him, to see Alexis suffer like he did when his son died.

The only problem was, he was planning on putting her into the trafficking business and not seeing her again would be his way of making me suffer. My eyes glanced at his convictions. Assault, rape, attempted murder. I closed my eyes and turned away from the screen; Alexis could be going through that right now while I would be sitting here with my cold cup of coffee with no leads as to where the hell she was.

I needed to make myself useful. I got up from my chair and grabbed my keys from the top draw where I walked out of my office and headed downstairs to where my car was located. Maybe her friends could give me some more insight on what it was like in there, I needed another lead and fast.

"Archer!" I heard a voice say in the parking lot just as I unlocked my car. "Where are you headed?"

I looked at my partner, Ryan Booth, with a blank expression, trying to gather my thoughts together. "I need to clear my head."