Limitless (Journey Series) Read online

  She put the phone to my ear and I cradled it against my shoulder, taking a deep breath when I heard Roy’s voice come through the phone. “Leah, are you there? I’ve been worried; I haven’t been able to get through to you on your cell phone.”

  “Yes, I’m here. Roy, I need to tell you something. I really don’t know how to say this,” I paused, looking at Shelia who had a cruel smile pasted on her angelic looking face, but I knew the truth, she was truly the devil. “I just need to tell you that we…we were right about Shelia. She’s a crazy bitch and she’s here-”

  I was cut off by Shelia yanking the phone away from me and throwing it against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces when it made contact and my hope of getting out of this diminished just a little. I could only pray that Roy could tell something was wrong, especially when our call was cut off.

  “You just think you’re so smart, huh?” She hissed closely to my face, her perfect resolve slipping out of place quickly. “But you’re not. I’m the smart one here. Didn’t you think I have a plan b all set up? Of course, I knew there was a chance you wouldn’t cooperate, you’re so damn stubborn, and it’s pathetic. I feel bad for that husband of yours; lord knows he could do so much better.” She picked up the gun once again, waving it around in the air as her heels clicked on the hardwood floors, inching her way closer to me.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to believe this was the end for me, but I had a feeling it was. I was completely helpless in this moment. I pushed all of the thoughts of my impending death out of my mind, drawing up the picture of only good thoughts.

  Thoughts of Caleb and Chase and the fun times we had together, even after everything we had been through. Chase’s family came next, they really had become truly the only family I had ever known and Mary was like the mother I deserved to have. Ally’s blonde head flashed into my mind and I couldn’t help but smile. I knew she was truly happy with Teddy and she deserved to be.

  “What exactly are you smiling about?” Shelia’s icy voice interrupted my thoughts, but I tried to ignore her, instead remembering everything good in my life and feeling sort of sorry for Shelia. She obviously didn’t have as good of a life as I had, even though I had a bit of a rough start.

  “Trust me when I say you won’t be smiling shortly.” She let out a loud cackle, but I refused to give in to her. I knew in that twisted head of hers, she wanted to see me scared and begging for my life, but I had to be brave, I wasn’t going to give in.

  I tensed when I heard her feet finally come to a stop in front of me and I could feel her warm breath just inches from me. The room was silent for just a second, only filled with my light breathing, before my head exploded.

  Chapter 26

  Chase

  I had left the conference early after sneaking out the back, excusing myself for a bathroom break. I just had a feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right and I needed to get home. That feeling grew even deeper when I tried calling Leah, both at home and on her cell phone, and didn’t get an answer on either one.

  I was breaking just about every speeding and traffic law, but I didn’t care, I just needed to get home to make sure Leah and Caleb were safe. It was probably stupid. I could imagine it now, Leah would laugh at me about being paranoid and tease me about my hero complex. I could only hope that’s what would happen when I got home.

  My phone rang when I was about half way back and the tension in my shoulders released just a little, thinking that it might be Leah. When I glanced at the screen though, the tension immediately built back up, seeing that it was Roy.

  “Hey, man. What’s going on? Please tell me you’ve talked to Leah lately.”

  “Well, that’s the main reason why I was calling, Chase. I got a strange call from Leah about ten minutes ago. She sounded a little off. She started by saying that she had to tell me something and by the end of the conversation she was yelling about how I needed to know how crazy Shelia was.

  “Our call got cut off before she explained herself. I’ve been calling her back non-stop but I haven’t gotten an answer. I tried her cell phone too and it’s off. Truthfully, I’m a little worried. Are you on your way back from your conference yet?”

  I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, my gut feeling being confirmed by Roy that something definitely wasn’t right.

  “Yes, I’m on my way back. I’m about fifteen minutes away. I’m a little worried Roy, did Leah sound scared or what? Do you think we should call the police?” I could just imagine Leah’s reaction if the police showed up and nothing was wrong, but I wasn’t sure if I really cared if I had to deal with the wrath of Leah right now. I just needed to know that they were safe.

  I heard a deep breath come through the phone and it didn’t help to calm me down at all. Roy was a pretty laid back guy and handled himself well in almost any situation. If he was worried, then I knew I definitely should be.

  “Yes, I’ve never heard Leah sound like that before. Tell you what, I’m on my way too but you are much closer. Let me call the police and explain the whole situation and see if they’ll go and check things out. You’ll most likely beat them there.”

  “Okay.” I tossed the phone on the seat next to me, relieved somewhat that there was a plan in place, but my foot pressed down a little harder on the pedal, needing to get there as quick as possible. I didn’t know what I would do if something happened to Leah and Caleb. My life would pretty much be over. They were the only reason for living.

  I pulled into the driveway, and immediately recognized the car that was parked in front of our house as Shelia’s. Yup, my gut was definitely right. If that bitch was crazy enough to lay a hand on Caleb, who knew what she was capable of? I jumped out of the truck, before barely pulling it into park and left my door hanging wide open as I sprinted to the front porch and crashed through the door.

  At first, I didn’t notice anything wrong, but then as I crept into the living room I saw things thrown everywhere. I pushed open each door slowly, bracing myself for whatever I was about to see. Caleb’s room looked like it had received the most damage; almost everything in there had been destroyed.

  When I came to our bedroom door, it wouldn’t budge, I pushed my shoulder against it, throwing all my weight into it, but it wasn’t working. I tapped on the door lightly and I finally heard a small voice come through it, I felt a rush of relief run through me. “Caleb, buddy open up the door. It’s me.”

  “But Mommy told me only to open it up if she came to get me.” I could hear the tears in his voice and I could tell how upset and scared he was.

  “Buddy, it’s okay. You know Mommy would want you to open the door for me too. I just got home early from my trip to surprise you; I missed you guys so much. Can you please open the door?” I heard a click and the doorknob slowly twisted open.

  Caleb’s face was streaked with tears and his arms were wrapped tightly around his little body. He stood there silently staring down at the floor until I scooped him up in my arms, crushing his body against mine, needing to know that he was all right. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I murmured into his soft curls. “Can you tell me what happened, buddy? Do you know where Mommy is?”

  He shook his head against me and murmured into my chest, “No, we came home and Mommy told me to go into the bedroom and lock the door. It seems like a really long time ago,” he added quietly.

  “I heard noises and yelling, but I stayed right here like Mommy said. Is she hurt?” His brown eyes stared back at me, but I really couldn’t answer him. “I think Shelia did something to Mommy too. It’s all my fault for telling.”

  “No, buddy, don’t say that. None of this is your fault,” I sat him down on the bed and crouched down to his level. “Now, I’m going to make sure Mommy is all right. I need you to stay in here again, okay?” He nodded his head silently and tried to put on a brave face even though I could see the fear in his eyes. He was just as brave as his mom. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

&nb
sp; I locked the door behind me and crept down the hallway. The house was silent but both Shelia and Leah’s cars remained, so I knew they had to be here somewhere. I pushed open the garage door when I heard a muffled sound and my heart stopped when I saw my wife lying on the cold, concrete floor.

  Her eyes were shut and her face was so pale, it almost looked deathly, but I could just make out the slow up rise of her chest, telling me she was still alive. There seemed to be so much blood running down her head, into her face, that if it weren’t for the fact, I would have instantly thought she was dead.

  Shelia had her back turned to me, hunched over Leah and apparently she hadn’t heard me come in. I felt a surge of adrenaline rush through me when I saw what was in her hand and she pointed it straight at Leah’s chest, trying to end the life of the woman I loved. I rushed towards her just as her finger squeezed around the trigger, the sound of the gunshot echoing off the walls, piercing my ears as I slammed into Shelia’s small body.

  Chapter 27

  Leah

  After my phone call with Roy, everything seemed to be a blur. I thought for sure Shelia was going to kill me when she raised the gun and pointed it at me. But when I braced myself for it, it never came. Instead, I felt something cool smash into my head.

  The next time I came to, I could hear Shelia’s panting breaths as she dragged my body through the house and roughly down the steps that led into the garage. She was smaller than me; I was sure she had to be struggling tugging my weight behind her.

  Every inch of my body was in agonizing pain as she treated it like I was some sort of rag doll. I almost wanted to give in and tell her just to get it over with, so I wouldn’t be in so much pain anymore. I had no idea what she had in store and I probably didn’t want to know what was running through that delusional mind of hers.

  Once my body was situated against the cool, concrete floor, she jabbed her pointy heel down, first into my stomach, and then into my chest. I felt the breath woosh out of my lungs as she kept her foot firmly planted there and I struggled to catch my breath.

  “You know, things could have gone much easier if you just would have cooperated. Now, I think you need to suffer a little bit more for how much trouble you have given me.” Her fist connected with my jaw, each of her glistening diamond rings digging into my sensitive skin, causing me to flinch each time she pulled her hand back.

  Now, that I was untied you would think that I would be able to fight back. In a normal situation I could surely kick this petite woman’s ass. Where was that surge of adrenaline people said they felt when put in to these type of situations? Oh yeah, that probably only happened when they hadn’t had the shit beat out of them and had control of their limbs.

  I couldn’t move my head because of the excruciating pain that was making me dizzy and when Shelia picked up a stray wrench that was lying on the tool bench that Chase had yet to use, the use of my wrist was quickly gone.

  I cringed when the pain radiated up my arm, I felt vomit rise in my throat at the intense pain and I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to last. It was almost like Shelia planned to break every bone in my body before she was done with me.

  “Is this your plan, Shelia?” I groaned out, squeezing my eyes shut so I wasn’t seeing three Shelias through my blurred vision. One Shelia would surely be enough to last me a lifetime. If I even made it that far.

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that, dear. You may be a pretty thing, but you definitely don’t have the brains to match. Do you seriously think I would tell you my plan this time?” She laughed loudly, bending over at the waist to grasp her stomach, like I was the funniest comedian in the world. I was glad my overwhelming pain was so hilarious to her. I saw an opportunity when she was distracted though and I went with it. I wasn’t going to go down with completely no fight. I just wasn’t that kind of girl.

  I kicked my foot up, hoping to make some kind of contact with her body, thinking I could come at her with an element of surprise. Instead, she caught my leg in mid-kick and twisted it around at an unnatural angle. I screamed out in agony at the immense pain radiating through my leg. This woman was truly torturous.

  “And what did you think you were going to do, huh? You can’t even lift your own head and you were going to attack a woman with a gun? Wow, I guess you’re a lot dumber than I first thought.” She let go of my leg and let it lifelessly flop against the hard floor.

  “Now, let’s make things a little more interesting. You might not want to be awake for this part.” The overhead lighting flashed off a different object in her hand and my body instantly went into protective mode, but I wasn’t fast enough. Something cold and metal like slammed against my head, and this time as I drifted off, I wasn’t sure if I really would wake up ever again.

  **********

  “Leah, baby, can you hear me? Are you okay? Please, baby.” I inhaled sharply as the scent of Chase filled my nose but my head was swimming, I couldn’t manage to form words to answer him back. I could hear him, but I knew I definitely wasn’t okay.

  I thought for a brief second that I was in heaven since Chase was here, but I quickly shook that thought away. First of all, Chase wouldn’t be there with me, he had Caleb to protect. And second of all, I was guessing if I was in heaven, I wouldn’t still feel like I was dying a slow death. “Caleb.” I was finally able to murmur without opening my eyes.

  My jaw was so swollen that I could barely move my lips but luckily Chase understood me. I felt his fingers lightly run over my cheekbone and the sharp intake of breath as he examined my body. “Don’t worry, just be quiet for now, baby. Caleb’s all right. You’re both safe, I made sure of that. The police are handling the situation now. An ambulance should be here soon, just hold tight.”

  As soon as I heard Caleb was fine, I was able to relax and shut off my mind from the worry that had been racing through it. Caleb was okay, Chase was here to watch over him, and that was all I needed to know before I let go.

  Chapter 28

  Chase

  Leah went unconscious again as soon as I told her Caleb was okay. I think that was the only reason she fought to respond to me. She had to be in so much pain. It looked like Shelia had been trying to destroy her whole body. Her head had been bashed in, what looked like repeatedly. Her left wrist was hanging limply at her side and I was no doctor, but I could instantly tell it was broken just by looking at it.

  When I had seen Shelia aiming a gun right at Leah’s chest, I had instantly reacted, not even stopping to think. I jumped her from behind, taking her by surprise since she hadn’t heard me come in and somehow she landed right on top of the gun right as it went off.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t kill her. I knew that was wrong of me to think, but after everything she had put my family through, I couldn’t help it. I heard the approaching sounds of sirens and knew help was coming. Two police officers busted through the door, yelling at me to put my hands in the air.

  Luckily, Roy was right behind him and explained the situation quickly. Someone looked up the information that Roy had taken into the station about Shelia’s abuse of Caleb, and if she hadn’t been lying there with a bullet in her shoulder they would have immediately taken her into custody.

  I quickly told Roy where Caleb was and he rushed to get him. I knew he had to be scared and upset right now, but I needed to be with Leah. Caleb was in capable hands when it came to Roy. I couldn’t blame him for anything that had happened here. I knew he just wanted what was best for Caleb and that was all that mattered.

  The ambulance ride to the hospital was intense. Leah hadn’t woken up again since she had asked me about Caleb. I could understand why she fought through the pain with the need to know that Caleb was all right. After all that Shelia had put our family through, I think we finally deserved some happiness. Hopefully, Leah would pull through this easily and we could get on with our lives.

  I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a small squeeze on my hand where I had it tightly wound with Leah’s sm
all one, and I looked down to see her eye lids slightly flicker.

  “Chase,” she moaned out.

  “I’m right here, baby. We’re on our way to the hospital. You shouldn’t be feeling too much pain now.” I watched as she winced and I knew that my words weren’t completely true. I was sure that no amount of medicine in the world could truly cover all of the pain that she was in right now.

  I looked up at the EMT, who was checking her vitals and he glanced over at me with a remorseful look. “We’re giving her as much as we can right now. Once the doctor takes a look at her, he’ll be able to figure out what plan needs to be put into place to lessen the pain.”

  I nodded in response and looked down at Leah. I hated that she was in so much pain; she looked so fragile and broken, pale against the stretcher. She looked like she was struggling to open her eyes, but her body wasn’t responding. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, smoothing back her matted hair as much as I could. “Shh, baby. Just relax, try to go to sleep. You need rest right now.”

  “I can’t…I just keep. Will you sing to me?” I kissed her forehead, lightly laughing at the request. Of course, Leah was asking me to sing to her in the middle of an ambulance. It was such a random request.

  I glanced back up at the EMT, who just shrugged his shoulders at me. “Go for it, bud. It might help, even if you have a horrible voice. I’ll just tune you out.”

  My lips curved into a small smirk as I crouched down lower to Leah. If she was with it right now, she would be telling this guy off for even questioning if I had a good voice. My lips moved against her ear as I hummed a song that I had recently been working on in my free time.

  “My beautiful girl…wide eyes…sweet lips…givin’ me one more reason to breathe…day after day…My beautiful girl,” I hummed the rest of the chorus, not having completed the song but I could tell it had the effect she had been looking for. Her upper lip had curved into a smile and by the rise of her chest, I could tell she had finally drifted back into a somewhat peaceful sleep.