Manhunt (Sequel to Bechloe - Chicago was a mistake)

Chapter 19 - A Lost Love's Final Tear

Trigger Warning

Chloe's POV

"Damnit, I really didn't want it to come to this." I turned towards the new voice, making sure to put myself between Beca and it.

When I turned around I saw she was still stood next to the door. Jesse had moved towards Beca and so had everyone else. She turned to the door at her back, pulled out a key from her pocket, locked the door and threw the key amongst the pile of plastic bags. Nobody else moved, we didn't know what to expect. Next she dove into her handbag and pulled out something. I felt my stomach drop when I caught sight of a gun. I went to get closer to Beca, when we were all ordered to,
"Stop moving!" I was just an arms width away from her. I was going to take the risk to get to her. She looked up at me with wide eyes but shook her head. Mouthing,
'Don't.'

When I did as I was told and faced her again I saw the muzzle of the gun pointed at Jesse. "You really weren't supposed to find her you know. You didn't last time." I knew it. I knew she was here when we checked for her last time. God damnit we were so close. "Emily would you be a dear and grab the rope and duck tape." It was such a sickly sweet smile I wanted to punch Tiffany in the face for doing this to my family. Little Em did as she was told and Jesse tied all of us up one by one. Finally Tiffany tied him up too. We were in such a mess. I couldn't stop thinking about Beca in the closet still. Bleeding and in pain. I was supposed to save her, not make everything worse.

Every one of us was terrified. I heard a few people crying but I couldn't do the same. Beca was just trying to protect us from all of this and we just messed it all up. I felt so stupid. We failed her. I failed her. I didn't know if we were going to make it out, if we were going to get her out. How it came to this was beyond me.

Once upon a time I met little Beca when Aubrey and I were trying to recruit new Bellas. She was alone and pretty nervous I'd say. She made fun of us a little but I knew she didn't mean anything bad. Later when I heard someone singing in the showers I was so glad it was her. I really should've pushed Tom out and just taken a chance but I didn't. Missed chances is what led us here. Beca might not have dated Jesse if I kissed her after finals. I was so close but I didn't do anything. I passed over every chance I had to admit how I felt to her. All those years I could've called her mine were just gone. Several of them wasted because I didn't do anything important or even get to see her.

I hadn't really been paying attention to what had been going on but I did know a few things. She never let go of the gun. She never gave us a chance to be free. She never even gave us a minute alone. Emily had called the police when we were outside, they should've been close and arrive soon. But everything that happened felt like it happened so fast yet in slow motion at the same time.

Jesse's POV

How could any of this be happening? My fiancée changed in just a few moments. We were having a moment of sorts when she turned cruel. I tried to get away to check on my ex and that's when she had her chance. She trapped us and there was no other way out. She forced me to restrict their movements before she did the same to me.
"Please Tiff, you don't have to do this. We can all walk away."
"Nah, the cops would find me anyway. I'd still go to prison because of what I did to the little girl. Once you go to prison in this country you're screwed. There'd be nothing left me for. So if I'm going to go down I may as well go out with a bang." I could see absolutely no remorse in her. She wasn't the woman I'd been with all these years but the one I'd sort of suspected her to be.

Her enthralment in horror stories, books and films creeped me out a little at first. When I finally pegged her as a sort of adrenaline junky she changed again. She was obsessed with documentaries, just knowing people. Then it turned to the Bellas. John and Gale had made a terrible Aca-mentary. It was a terrible name but I had to say the girls were getting a following, maybe because of Beca's fame but who knows? I thought Tiff was just becoming a fan or something. She'd ask me their addresses but I didn't know and wouldn't tell her anyway. When there was a whisper about Emily spending one of her birthdays at some club, she made sure she was there. Well she wasn't home, I knew that. When she finally came home, to our joint place, it was a few days later and she uploaded a lot of photos to her computer. Apparently whatever story she was working on was more important than date night and so classified I wasn't allowed to know what it was about.