BRIDGET GALLAGHER
24 Hours Ago
Autumn in New York City was one of my favourite things. So, naturally, when my father mentioned that one of us was needed at our Manhattan offices for the week, I all but elbowed Peter our of the way to volunteer. The crisp October air was a refreshing contrast from the stagnant California heat. Aside from the change in weather and the fall coloured trees all over Central Park, I got to see my friends from Yale. Most of them moved to the east coast after graduation. My trips there always left me with a warming boost of serotonin.
"Am I being selfish?" I asked Jacob as he took out my backpack from the backseat.
"Bridget, you are going because your dad needed a board member at the meetings. You are literally doing him a favour." He laughed.
"What if something happens with Megan?"
"You won't even be gone for a week. Everything will be fine. Peter or your mum will call you if anything happens."
"Okay." I said, still feeling anxious.
He unloaded my bag from the trunk of his car and adjusted the straps on the backpack on my shoulders. I watched as his back muscles flexed under his button down shirt. The past few days with him left me floating. I could not remember the last time I was so genuinely happy. Part of me was worried he would shut down again in the time I was gone. It was only a few days, but it wouldn't be the first time changed his mind.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked as I took in his features.
I loved and hated how quickly he picked up on when something was on my mind. No one ever asked or cared what I felt or if I was okay before him. If I was upset, I just dealt with it myself. The way he always seemed to know made me feel understood for the first time in my entire life.
"Nothing." I murmured, trapped against the car with his arms on either side of me.
"Tell me," he insisted as if he could read my mind.
"I'm worried it won't be like this when I get back. I feel like you will get scared again." I admitted, a little embarrassed. He shook his head.
"One, I don't get scared." He said before he closed the gap between our mouths again.
Your nightmares the other night beg to differ.
The sensation of his tongue against my lower lip ceased my snarky thoughts. The prudence in me remembered we were in public and pulled away.
"Two, I'm sorry. I'm not used to this, but I won't backtrack this time. I promise, love, no more disappearing acts."
You've broken that promise before. Ignoring my own doubting conscience, I nodded and accepted his apology.
"What are you not used to?" I wondered.
"Caring." He said with his head down and his hands in his pockets.
The confession swelled in my chest. I didn't say anymore because I knew admitting that was hard enough.
"You don't have to wait until I get through the line. I'll make you late for work. I will see you in a few days. Go."
"Have some fun while you're there. Text me when you land, alright?" He said with his hands still on my hips.
"Promise." I kissed him one more time, before gathering my things. He waited until I was inside to get in his car to leave.
As I stood in line in the crowded airport, I mentally went through my checklist of issues I had planned to address at Gallagher Investments Manhattan until I was interrupted by my phone ringing. The screen lit up with an unknown number. I answered in case it was for work.
"This is Bridget." I answered.
"Look outside and approach the black SUV to your right. Come alone." A bone chilling voice said. It was male, but it sounded altered.
Relax, it's a prank.
"Who is this?" I asked, trying to sound unfazed.
In a public place crawling with security and witnesses, I wasn't too threatened by the anonymous voice on the other end. I looked around me out of instinct. The passenger window to the tinted car described opened slightly.
"I see you're hesitating. Take another look at street. Still see Jacob's car in traffic?"
"Y-yes." I stuttered as my palms began to perspire.
"The white car behind him is following him to Payco International, where he will be murdered in the parking garage just as your father did to Kelsey Allen. That won't be necessary if you come without a fight."
It's not real. He's just trying to scare you. Stay where there's people. Don't move.
"You're lying." I said in the most confident voice I could muster as Jacob drove away, followed by the white sedan.
"Would you bet your boyfriend's life on it?"
Before I could answer, the phone vibrated against my ear. A text of a video appeared on the screen. It was the driver aiming a gun at Jacob's car, following him.
This is real. You need to fight. You are not helpless. Use your surroundings.
"Call my bluff. I dare you. He's dead in thirty seconds." He threatened.
My mouth went dry. The oxygen became scarce as I realised this wasn't a prank. It didn't matter that I was surrounded by people. My eyes searched for a police officer or even a TSA agent, hoping that at least my eye contact would communicate something was horribly wrong.
"I don't care who sees us, sweetheart. If you aren't walking in twenty-seconds, a bullet will be in his skull."
Stay calm, Bridget. You're okay. You're okay. You're okay.
"What do you want from me?" I asked just above a whisper because the fear had a choke hold on my throat.
"You, I want you walking over to my car in ten, nine, eight, seven—"
With my suitcase in hand, I left the security line to walk towards him. In the back of my mind, I knew what was about to happen to me. I kept it there to maintain some level of sanity as I handed myself over.
"Stop, stop! Please, I'm walking." I begged frantically, walking as fast as I knew how until I was in front of the black SUV.
"Attagirl," he said, "now, open the door to the backseat and join me."
"W-why can't we just talk out here?" I stammered in one last attempt to save myself. The laugh coming through the phone made my legs numb knowing my next step would be into his captivity.
"Do you like your boyfriend?" He said rhetorically, "Drop your phone and bags, now. Get in the car."
As my quivering hand opened the door, I debated screaming for help but the sound wouldn't come if Jacob's life was the consequence. I slid into the vehicle. A wall separated me from the driver.
"Welcome, sweetheart. Now, next to you is a cloth. Unfold it, bring to your mouth and nose, then inhale."
My eyes squeezed shut and opened again as I lifted the cloth to my face, desperate to wake myself up from this nightmare. As the fumes settled in my lungs and made my eyelids heavy, the adrenaline wore off. This wasn't a dream. It was real.
AIDEN SHEPARD
Kora had agreed to stay the night after I dropped Bridget off at the airport, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep with her. Instead, we spent the evening talking and laughing like we used to. I had hoped that this night with Kora would prove her wrong and confirm to myself that I didn't care about Bridget. However, this was not the case. All I could think about was Bridget. All I could feel with Kora was guilt.
In the morning, I woke up to an empty bed and Kora whispering to someone on the phone outside my bedroom with the door closed.
"Don't do this to him," she pleaded in a hushed tone, "What difference does it make? He will finish this either way. I know he will."
"What about her? She didn't do anything wrong. Think this through." She begged. I have heard Kora angry, disappointed, sad, but never desperate.
She said something else but the sound of my ringtone blocked her out. Peter Gallagher was calling me. I quickly put some shorts on and walked out to my balcony.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Hey, Jacob. I got a troubling call from our Manhattan office. They said Bridget never showed this morning." He said.
"What are you talking about?" I pressed as worry creased my eyebrows.
My instincts kicked in before the panic could. Panic was unproductive. I pictured what I saw while I dropped her off yesterday.
"Have you heard from her since you dropped her off at the airport?" He asked.
"No, she was supposed to text me when she landed, but I didn't hear from her. I just assumed she forgot. Did you call her?" I asked.
"About a hundred times and no answer. I called the police. They contacted her driver, who said he waited hours for her and she never came or answered her phone. They are contacting the airline to see if she even boarded the plane. Was she okay when you were with her?" Peter was frantic and worried. His words came out rushed.
"Yeah, she was great. She was actually excited to go. I saw her get in line for security. I should have waited. I didn't think—"
"Don't jump to any conclusions. She's probably fine, but I'm taking precautions because no one has heard from her since yesterday morning. Do you think you can come over and give your statement to the police?"
"Yeah, no problem. See you in a few." I said and hung up.
I didn't want Kora to see my concern for Bridget. I waited few minutes outside to compose myself, but she was gone when I went back inside. Even though I didn't expect her to answer, I decided to try to call Bridget on my way to her family's house. It went straight to voicemail.
"Hey, it's me. If you get this, call me or your brother, or just anyone. I'm worried about you. Please call someone or let me know you're okay." I said.
The Gallagher estate was chaos. Her mother was frantic. Bridget's younger siblings were running around oblivious to the situation. Peter and Alec were talking to the police. I recognized one of the policemen from when my house was broken into. I think his name was Chad.
This isn't the cop Alec typically pays off.
"Jacob, thanks for coming," Chad said, "What can you tell us about anything you saw yesterday? Has anything happened to make you think this is related to your home invasion a few months ago?"
Peter and Alec listened to me intently. They didn't know about the break-in until now. Alec seemed oddly at ease.
"No, I'm convinced that was a random burglary. As for yesterday, I drove Bridget to the airport. I helped her check a bag and get in line to go through security, and then, I left. She said she would call me when she landed, but she didn't." The officer took notes as I gave my statement.
"Has she told you anything recently to make you think she was in danger or feeling threatened? Was she stressed about anything? Is there any possibility she wanted to harm herself or run away?" The detective asked.
"She's been stressed about Megan's health problems, but outside of that, everything seemed fine. She would never just leave without warning. Can we track her phone or something to see if that tells us anything?" As I said that, something occurred to me that I couldn't say to the police with Alec breathing over my shoulder. Bridget was the only person who knew Alec killed Kelsey. If anyone had a motive to hurt Bridget, it was her father.
"We did. It's at the airport. We have an officer over there now speaking with security to get the phone and see security tapes."
"When can we see the security tapes?"
"As soon as one of our officers gets ahold of them, they will bring them back here. Until then, don't panic. Go to work and distract yourselves. We will call you as soon as we know anything. It is possible she lost her phone."
This wasn't a possibility. Bridget was vigilant about everything. She was organised. She knew where all her necessities were at all times. If she lost her phone, it was because someone wanted her to.
"My dad and I are going into the office too. It's better than sitting around imagining the worst. There isn't anything else we can do right now." Peter said.
"Okay, please call me the minute we have anything on her." I agreed, only so I could get to the office to do my own investigating.
"I promise."
I didn't want to go to work to face Nick and Kora. Even if I tried to hide my worry and fear, they would sense it from a mile away. I wasn't used to feeling so helpless. Once I turned on my computer, I opened Bridget's file, the one I made months before I moved to California. Just as I opened it, my secretary walked it.
"Good morning, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Payne needs to see you in his office. He says it's urgent." She said politely.
"Okay, thanks."
Nick was sitting at his desk looking disheveled and reading though some documents.
"What is the 'urgent matter' you needed to see me about?" I asked. He looked up at me with fear in his eyes, but he didn't look afraid for himself.
"Shut the door behind you."
"Are you firing me or something?" I chuckled trying to break the ice.
The last time Nick had this look on his face was when he told my father was innocent and showed me all the evidence he had gathered. He didn't know how I would take it. The aura is the room gave me déjà vu.
"I'm going to tell you something, and you need to promise to keep calm because if you get angry and act on it, the situation will become one hundred times worse. I'm with you on this. I'm going to help you, but you need to listen to me. Can you promise me you will stay calm?"
"Yes," I nodded in agreement with his terms. I didn't know what to expect. By the look on his face, he was about to tell me someone died.
Trust has been something I gave out the same way I gave my social security number, only when necessary and to very few people, if any at all. I trusted Kora to an extent. Two people on this earth had my complete, unwavering trust. That was Nick and Kai until today.
"Kora mentioned to Kai that she was worried you lost focus of the mission. She told him you refused to leak those pictures of Bridget. He said he wanted to get you back on track." Nick began explaining. I focused on his face, hoping to read the source of the nervousness in his eyes.
"What did he do?" Part of me knew what Nick was about to say. I needed him to say it. The seconds without an answer felt like hours.
"Nick, what the hell did he do?" I asked again. He inhaled a deep breath to work himself up to say it.
"Kai took Bridget."
The ground beneath me shattered as my blood boiled beneath my skin, feeling like burning venom rather than blood. If Kai were in front of me right, I would have snapped his neck.
"Where is she?" I said through my clenched teeth. The anger in me was growing beyond my control.
"You have to calm down before I tell you anything. I am going to help you, but I can't do that if you don't plan on acting rationally."
"Why the fuck would he do that?" I snapped.
"Because he knows you care about her, and it pissed him off."
"I don't care ab—"
"Aiden, don't. Stop fucking lying to yourself. You care about her. If I'm being honest, you probably love her. Relax, it happens. We will deal with that later. Right now, we need to focus on finding her. I don't want anything to happen to her either. We have been friends since we were born."
The possibility that I love her had never crossed my mind. I can't love her, or anyone else for that matter. The idea of it made my head spin. I swallowed the bitter retaliation ready to spill out my mouth.
"Why is he doing this?" I asked.
"He's convinced you are failing. This is his version of 'correcting the problem.' After Kora spoke with him, she called to tell me what he is doing." Nick explained.
"Tell me where she is." I said calmly as I unclenched my jaw, "I'm going to get her. Then, I'm going to snap his spine in half."
"No, you need to make Kai think you're on board with this and that you are grateful he went to such lengths to help you." Nick said.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. If he sees you ready to kill him and save her, you will play right into his hands. You know he is counting on you doing just that. Take a breath and get yourself together." Nick was right. Kai was waiting for me come in and save Bridget.
However, for her own sake, I had to keep calm and play Kai's game. What Kai missed was that I don't need to love her to be furious about this. Everything I'm doing is honour my father. Hurting an innocent person undermines my entire purpose.
"You're right," I agreed, "I promise I will cooperate. Please, just help me. Where is she? Where did he take her?"man
"I don't know."
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Hope you enjoyed it! Comment/vote please!Buckle up for the next few chapters.. things are about to get rough
side note.. has anyone else seen that tiktok of liam saying that it was a misconception that they were "massive mates" and that they were more like office coworkers??? IM BITTER BYE