Dark Passions

Chapter Fifteen

Black was sitting on the bed in Jessica's room, a dark and dangerous glare rolling over his eyes. Two men lay dead at his feet; the same men who were supposed to be guarding Jessica. Black's gun lay beside them, blood splatters covering the gun and the carpet. Jessica never returned from the park, and Black was beyond enraged. The day he came back to find her gone, he sent his men out to find her. But when they returned empty handed, saying they had searched the entire city, Black questioned the men guarding her room, and they reported saying she had left for the park. When Black heard she had a bag with her, he murdered the men on the spot, knowing full well Jessica had planned this all along. Ordering his men to search the state, Black returned to her room and waited. If he himself had gone looking for her, no doubt Garrison would jump on that opportunity, and try to frame him.

Black closed his eyes, anger rising up in him. Garrison. The history between Black and Garrison ran deep. Black hated that man to the ends of the earth, but Black wasn't a fool. If someone like Garrison turned up missing, Black would be the first suspect. Garrison, unfortunately, had made it clear to the public they hated each other. Garrison was no fool either. He knew who Black really was, what he did, and the businesses he ran, which meant he also knew why Black had Jessica. Black's first thought was that Garrison had taken Jessica. The idea was absurd, but Black made sure to look into it anyway, discreetly. His men reported nothing beyond the usual with Garrison, so he brushed the thought from his mind. Ever since entering the law business, Black and Garrison had been bitter rivals. Garrison was only a few years older than Black, and their records were nearly the same. However, every time Garrison went up against Black, Black would come out victorious. Garrison had only lost two cases, and that was against Black. Many times Garrison had reported foul play on Black, but seeing as Black was a loved figure in the public, the accusations never went through. Black didn't like the way Garrison had observed Jessica at the hearing, and he could tell by Jessica's facial expressions she was curious as to what he meant. He cursed Garrison silently for this, knowing he had planted a seed of curiosity in Jessica. Black knew he meant to do it. The only way to take down Black, as Garrison knows, is through Jessica. Black didn't want Jessica looking into it, so he regrettably placed Jessica down in the torture chambers in order to remove the thought from her mind. He hated causing her pain. He hated the way she looked at him with disgust. He hated that his feelings weren't conveyed as they properly should've been. He hated that he had to drag her best friend, Ally, into the mix. Above all, however, he hated that he knew it was his actions that drove Jessica to run away.

Black looked back down at his hands, staring at the picture he held in his hand. It was a picture of a little girl, about five years of age. She bore a dashing smile, and her pigtails were dancing in the wind the day this picture was taken. She wore a colorful spring dress, and her feet were bare, covered in dirt. Black closed his eyes, feeling his anger boil up inside of him. Over a week and a half has passed since Jessica disappeared, and even with Black's resources, he couldn't find her. Black couldn't help but to smirk, seeing that Jessica was learning. She truly was a genius when she calmed herself down. Indeed, she had left no evidence behind, not even a sign or a whisper of her whereabouts. Black was patiently waiting for his sources to get back to him, but he was running out of what patience he had left. He looked back down at the picture and smiled again. He stood up, walked out of Jessica's room, down the hallway and into his own chambers. He walked over to his large bookshelves, which were decorated with antiques and old dusty books, and reached behind one of the books and turned a knob. The bookshelf to the far left moved, revealing a hidden passage to another room. Black walked in, and the bookshelf slid back into its proper place. He walks over to a mantle, where a picture is missing from its place among the other photographs. He places the picture back on its stand, and his phone goes off. He clicks it and holds it up to his ear.

"Sir, we have a lead."

Black closed his eyes at the uneasiness in the voice of his men. "Where, might I ask, does this lead take us?"

"To New Zealand, sir. It would seem she planned this a long time ago." Black's eyes widened in disbelief at this, his facial expression of total shock but also of admiration. Then, his dark humorous smile appears on his face and he chuckles.

"Prepare a plane." Black hangs up, and starts to laugh. He couldn't help but to be impressed. "Little Jessica," whispered Black softly as he looked back at the picture of the little girl, "did you honestly believe going to another country would keep you from me? Although I have to say it was a brilliant plan, and it bought nearly two weeks of freedom. But I am not about to let you go. Not when I finally have you." Black turned and walked towards the exit, a dark twinkle in his eyes. Black wasn't about to let her fall out of his grasp. The room where he placed the picture back was well kept, and as Black left, the lights faded in the room.

The room was well-kept, spotless of any dust. For within the room were pictures of a girl as she grew up. The pictures decorated the entire room, from baby pictures to high school graduation. Pictures that normally parents take as they watch their children grow, but the parents were absent in this little girl's life. The parents abandoned her at a young age, leaving her with her grandparents. However, in one picture that hung higher above the rest, was a boy of fifteen years, holding the hand of a little seven-year-old girl as they walked in a park. His eyes were as black as an abyss, but the way he looked at the little girl was like how a lover would look at their significant other. The young boy was none other than Black himself, and the little girl he was watching, was Jessica Hollands.