"The bitch ruined everything!" Madeline cried into her cell phone, and she weaved in and out of traffic.
"Madeline calm down," Stewart said.
"No I won't calm down, she has to pay! I thought if she didn't come then he would see that I was right."
"Madeline do you know where Gabrielle is?"
"Don't worry about her." She snapped.
"She has to pay. It's the only way to make things right; she has to pay." She muttered.
"Madeline the FBI is looking for her if you know where she is you have to tell me."
"No Stewart she has to pay!" Madeline screamed into the phone before ending the call. Madeline sped through the neighborhood until she got to the house she grew up in. She got out and unlocked the gate before speeding up the driveway.
"She has to pay, she took everything from me," Madeline muttered as she burst into the house knocking a mirror off of the wall causing it to shatter.
"Madeline, what's going on?" Penelope asked walking into the dining room."
"Nothing mother I just have something to take care of, and then we can go," Madeline said as she walked past her mother and headed towards the basement.
"Madeline why is that girl down there?"
"We're just playing a game," Madeline said as she pulled her gun from her bag.
"What are you going to do with that?" Penelope asked with a gasp.
"Nothing mother now stay put."
"Madeline you can't kill that girl, she's done nothing wrong to you."
"She's done everything wrong to me! She yelled.
"I don't care what you say I'm going to kill her" Madeline yelled before slamming the door shut in Penelope's face.
Madeline walked up to Gaby who was trying to figure out what was going on and pulled the blindfold from Gaby's eyes.
"I want to watch the life leave your eyes." She said as she aimed the gun at the center of Gabrielle's head, and pulled the trigger three times.
*****
Nick had been up for almost twenty-four hours, and he felt like they weren't any closer to finding Gaby. James and Isabelle had arrived an hour ago, and James immediately took charge. The surveillance footage had shown Gaby getting off of the 10:57 flight after switching her spot with someone else. The footage also showed her calling Nick on a pay phone and making her way to baggage claim, but after that, it was like she disappeared into thin air.
"Nick why don't you take Isabelle and head back to the hotel, you should try to get some sleep."
"There is no way I can sleep," Nick said with a sigh as James sat next to him. He had been sitting in the FBI Chicago division's break room for over four hours going over and over in his mind who would want to hurt Gaby.
Nick called Ian and told him what was going, and he also asked if he could go over to the house and help his parents with the twins.
"Nick who would take Gaby?"
"I don't know Ian, James thinks that it may be someone trying to come after him, but I don't know."
"What about Madeline? I know she and Gaby have a rivalry." Ian offered, and Nick thought about it for a moment.
"Madeline would never stoop so low."
"I know you like to see the good in people but think about it Nick; she couldn't stand Gaby from the moment you introduced them. What if she's trying to get rid of Gaby so she can get to you?"
"Madeline can be devious, but she wouldn't do something like this....would she?"
"I think so," Ian said. "Listen Nick that woman is diabolical everyone else can see it but you." As Ian spoke, Nick remembered the conversation he had with Madeline.
"Ian I have to go." Nick hung up the phone and walked out of the break room and into the conference room to talk to James. Nick told James about the fight he had with Madeline and the animosity between her and Gaby.
"I didn't think to mention it because I didn't think she would even bother with Gaby but after talking to Ian, I don't know. If Madeline did do something to Gaby, I will never forgive myself." Nick said as he slumped down into a chair burying his head in his hands.
"I will question her myself. I need you to stay strong for me Nick." James said pulling Nick out of his seat.
"Take Isabelle to the hotel, get her something to eat, and I will call you if anything changes."
"How can you be so calm?" Isabelle said causing the men to look at her.
"James how can you be so calm?" she sobbed, James kneeled down in front of his wife a wiped her tears away.
"Our baby is missing, how can you be so calm?" she said as he hit him on the shoulder. "Don't you care? What if someone is hurting her, what if she already dead-oh god, please let her be alive." She cried as James pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her and tried to sooth her.
"James you have to find our little girl," Isabelle said looking up at him her face swollen and red from her crying.
"I will Isa; I'm not going to stop until she's home. I need you to go back to the hotel, take a sleeping pill and get some rest-"
"-but I don't-"
"Isabelle just do as I say. You have to trust me to do my job, the both of you." James said looking at Nick.
"Promise me she'll be okay."
"I promise," James said before kissing her lips softly.
Nick and Isabelle were escorted back to the hotel. Isabelle was trying very hard to be strong, but she couldn't help but burst into tears. Nick tried his best to comfort Isabelle, but he didn't know what to say.
*****
Oh, my God, she has lost her mind.
Gaby stared at Madeline after she shot three bullets into the wall behind her as her ear rang and body shook from the shock of the gunshots being so close to her. Madeline pulled the gag from Gaby's mouth and said,
"You can scream if you want to but no one can hear you," Madeline said as she tucked her gun into her waistband.
"It took a lot of work getting you down here; I will never understand what Nick sees in a porker like you," Madeline said shaking her head. Gaby looked around the room and realized that she was in a basement. The basement was mostly empty minus a few boxes one of which had Gaby's bag on it if only she could get to it. Gaby's eyes shifted to the gun tucked in Madeline's waistband.
"Oh don't worry about this, I'm not going to let you die so easily, I just wanted to scare you. Plus all of the blood will be a pain to clean up." Madeline said as she dug into her back pocket and produced a small vile with a clear liquid inside.
"You know playing second fiddle to you when I was with Nick did have some perks, I got to know everything about you, including one interesting little detail....your bee allergy," Madeline said as she pulled out a syringe and filled it with a little bit of the liquid.
"This is pure apitoxin; otherwise known as bee venom, but you'll know it as the thing that is going to kill you." She said as she pushed the air bubble out of the syringe.
"I grew out of it," Gaby said hoping that the statement was very much true.
"We can test that theory right now. If this doesn't work there are other alternatives" Madeline said before she stuck the needle into Gaby's arm and emptied the contents into her system.
"That was about the same amount as a bee sting, let's see what that does shall we." She said with a wicked grin on her face as she pulled up a chair in front of Gaby.
"I don't know why you wouldn't listen to me; I told you Nick was mine and that I don't like to share."
"Do you think killing me is going to bring him back to you? My father is an FBI agent he will find me." Gaby said as her arm began to become inflamed, she could feel the injection sight throb and tingle.
"What makes you think that anybody is out looking for you, sweetie?" She said with a chuckle You're not as special as you think you are." Madeline said as she stroked the side of Gaby's face, and Gaby moved her face away.
This bitch better be glad she tied me up,
"Madeline, what are you doing?" Penelope asked as she came down the stairs.
"Mother I told you to stay upstairs."
"You need to let her go; you know what your doing is wrong," Penelope said as she rushed over to Gabrielle.
"Get away from her!" Madeline yelled as she shot out of her seat.
"Maddie you have to let her go, you can't kill her she didn't do anything to you."
"Yes she did, she took everything from me." Madeline cried "She took away the only man who ever loved me, who treated like I was more than just a pair of legs to open."
Gabrielle stared at Madeline as she broke down.
"Who-who are you talking to?" Gaby asked slowly, and Madeline looked at Gabrielle as if she was crazy.
"You shut the hell up." She snapped before turning her attention back to Penelope.
"Maddie I can't stay here if you do this."
"You're going to leave me too, just like daddy!"
She's talking to the freaking wall. I need to get out of here! Gaby thought as she tried to twist her hands from her restraints but the rope cut deeper into her skin.
"I'll kill her if I want to, go if you want. I don't need you, I didn't need you growing up, and I don't need you now!" Madeline yelled at Penelope. Penelope walked up to Madeline and touched her palm to her cheek and looked at her daughter lovingly.
"I love you, my darling girl."
"I love you too," Madeline said as tears fell down her face. Madeline reached out to touch her mother, but the apparition disappeared.
"No, you can't leave, come back. I'll be good; please come back! Mommy come back!" Madeline screamed as she collapsed to the floor.
"I'll be good; I'll be good, I'll be good." She muttered over and over again. Suddenly without any warning, Madeline stood up and glared at Gabrielle her eyes filled with rage.
"This is all your fault." She roared as slapped Gaby in the face. Gaby bit her tongue as she tried to keep herself from cursing Madeline out for hitting her.
"Forget about watching you die slowly," Madeline said as she prepared another syringe of bee venom this time she filled it up to the max the syringe could hold and injected it into Gaby. Gaby's body reacted immediately she broke out into a sweat, and her breathing became labored.
Oh god, I'm going to die Gaby thought as she fought to get air into her lungs.
*****
"Fuck this I can't just sit here, all of this waiting is killing me," Nick muttered as he got up from the hotel bar. Nick checked around for the agent that was watching over him and saw that he was nowhere to be found. As he walked out of the hotel Nick's cell phone rang, he rolled his eyes when he saw that it was Stewart calling him, but he decided to pick up the phone.
"This better not have anything to do with work," Nick grumbled as he tried to flag down a taxi.
"I think Madeline has your wife."
"What! How?"
"Madeline just called me, she wasn't making any sense, but she kept saying that she had to pay.
I'm a minute away from your hotel."
"I'm waiting outside," Nick said before hanging up.
A minute later Stewart pulled up to the curb, Stewart was the last person he would expect to help him, but he was going complain. As Nick got into the car one of the agents assigned to his to be his escort ran out to stop him. Stewart sped off down the street they didn't make it three full blocks before Nick's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell are you going? I thought I told you to stay at the hotel." James scolded.
"James I can't just sit and do nothing, Madeline has Gaby."
"I know that I need you to stay at the hotel. If she is doing all of this to be with you, I can't risk her seeing you and getting upset."
"I'm sorry James I can't just sit around and wait for something to happen." Nick hung up the phone.
As they drove up to the house, Stewart came to a stop at the corner. The front of Madeline's house was filled with police and FBI agents, and they were busy taking things out of the house.
"She's not there," Stewart said.
"Damn it he knew she wasn't there," Nick said punching the dashboard out of frustration.
"Where the hell else could she have taken my wife?"
"This may be a long shot, but she does have a lakefront property her family owns it's about thirty minutes out of Chicago, we can check there."
"We can check the whole damn world I don't care, as long as I find Gaby."
****
Okay Gaby try not to panic, panicking will not help, just focus on breathing. Gaby wheezed as Madeline hovered over her.
"You better be glad I'm such a nice person, I'm going to take you out back and put you out of your misery, like the dog you are," Madeline said as she untied Gaby's leg and hand restraints.
"Now stand up." She commanded as Gaby started to fall out of consciousness.
"Oh no stay with me Gabrielle, I want you awake when I put that bullet in the back of your head," Madeline said smacking her face, waking her up.
"You know if you had just stayed out of my way, we could have been the best of friends." She said as pushed Gaby out of the chair.
"Let's go I'm done playing with you."
Tears stung Gabrielle's eyes as she struggled to keep breathing, each breath was getting harder to make, her whole body was throbbing. Madeline grabbed a handful of Gaby's hair as she pulled her up. Gaby clawed at her arm with no results; she was too weak to fight. Madeline's cell phone rang and Madeline let go of Gaby's hair and pushed her towards the stairs. Gaby collapsed at the bottom step as Madeline answered her phone.
"Stewart this is a bad time, I'm taking out the trash." She said eyeballing a half-conscious Gabrielle.
While Madeline talked on the phone, Gaby scanned the room through blurry eyes to see if her bag was around. She saw a bag on top of the desk, and she dashed for it once Madeline turned her back on it. Gaby leaned against the desk as she dug into the bag and pulled out her cell phone which was dead and her keys.
"Looking for this?" Madeline asked holding up Gaby's EpiPen. "I told you I thought everything out including your little friend here." She said as she dangled the pen in the air. Gaby narrowed her eyes, and Madeline shivered.
"You're oh so scary." She said with a laugh. "Get away from the bag and let's go I told you I'm tired of playing." She said pulling Gaby away from the desk. Gaby flipped the safety lock off of her keychain mace and sprayed wildly into Madeline's face.
"You stupid bitch!" she screamed as she covered her eyes. Madeline screamed as the pepper spray attack her eyes and skin turning her face red immediately. Gaby pushed Madeline out of the way and grabbed her EpiPen before struggling to make it up the stairs. Madeline ran blindly around the room trying to find Gabrielle. Gaby, only it made it up three stairs before her eyesight started to fade. Gaby quickly removed the pen from its case and removed the safety cap before slamming the pen into her thigh. Gaby felt her airway relaxing making it a little bit better to breath as her heart rate climbed. Madeline collapsed to the floor and began to rub her eyes with her shirt. Gaby took the opportunity to make her escape and forced herself up the rest of the stairs. Gaby wandered into the kitchen in search of a weapon, but the kitchen was empty.
"I'm going to chop you up into pieces for that bitch" Madeline growled coming out of the basement. The room began to spin, Gaby, clung to the counter as she tried to push herself to make it out of the kitchen and to the front door which was wide open. When she reached the door, she could see Madeline stumbling out of the basement, and Gaby tossed herself out of the door and closed it behind her trying to give herself a little more time before Madeline caught up with her.
Gaby took off running as fast as her body could carry her. Gaby made it a few feet when she heard a loud popping sound. Gaby realized that Madeline was shooting at her as bullets whizzed past her and burrowed into the ground. Gaby kept running; she knew that if she stopped that she would die when hot metal seared the flesh on her arm. The only thing she could think about was never seeing her family again.
*****
"I hope I'm going the right way," Stewart said thinking aloud, and he immediately regretted saying it.
"What the fuck do you mean that you hope you're going the right way?" Nick asked trying hard not to strangle the man.
"I've only been there twice, but I'm sure we're going the right way," Stewart said as he exited the parkway.
"Stewart for your sake you better be going the right way," Nick said coldly. Stewart dug out his cell phone and called Madeline.
"Stewart this is a bad time, I'm taking out the trash." She answered.
"Madeline I'm worried about you, the police are looking for you."
"Did you tell them anything?"
"I don't know anything to tell them. Where are you?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Madeline come on it's me, who am I going to tell?"
"Promise me you won't say a word to anyone."
"I promise."
"I'm at daddy's old house; you know the one I brought you to. Do you remember?"
"Yeah, I remember. I'm coming to get you."
"Okay see you soon." She said before ending the call. Nick look at Stewart and frowned.
"Why do I have a feeling that you know more that you're letting on?"
Stewart looked at Nick and then back on the road as he let out a long sigh.
"Madeline wanted me to give you the promotion so you would move to Chicago and win you back. I didn't know about you and Gaby I even tried to talk her out of it, I tried to explain that you had moved on, but she wouldn't hear it. I swear if I had known she would do something like this I would have said something. I wouldn't be able to bear it if something happened to my wife."
"Why?"
"Because I love my wife,"
"Not that you fucking bastard, why would you do something like that for Madeline, what did she do for you?" Nick asked through gritted teeth trying real hard not to punch Stewart in the face. He needed to be alive to get to Gaby.
"Madeline made a deal with me that she would get me Donald and Cruz and in exchange, I had to give you the job."
"And what if I didn't take the offer,"
"It was my part of the deal to do whatever it took to get you to take the job. I am sorry Nick; I didn't know she would do this I swear." Nick didn't say anything he quietly fumed as he looked out the window. If Gaby was hurt in any way, Stewart was going to have hell to pay.
*****
Gaby couldn't push her body any further. Her lungs burned for oxygen; she could hear the blood rushing in her head as she collapsed to the ground. The smell of her blood mixing with the earth producing a coppery smell with a hint of fresh cut grass filled her nostrils. A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought about it being the last thing she would ever smell, not Nick's masculine scent, or that soft baby scent she would smell whenever she would snuggle her children.
I'm so tired...God, please protect my family, keep them safe. Let my children grow up to be healthy and happy. Thank you for sending me Nick and letting me experience real love even if it was for a little while. Thank you for blessing me with my children and my entire family, they are such wonderful people.....I hope mom won't be too upset with me. Gaby thought as she exhaled.