Built to Last (12 page)

He reached for her hands and frowned at the marks on her wrists before cutting the tie there as well. “I hope you like eggs. I made us omelets.” He walked out of the room and into the next. Noelle cautiously followed him, her feet screaming as the feeling came back to them.

“Everything smells really good. Thank you Griffin.” She gave him a tentative smile and sat down in the chair he had pulled out for her.

Noelle looked around the room as she ate. It looked like there were two other rooms besides this one, and the one he was keeping her locked in. His back was to the door that led outside. Unlike the bedroom she was in, this room had several windows. It was bright outside and the wind she had heard the night before had stopped. She could see pale blue sky with a few clouds and the tops of trees, from where she sat. She quickly had finished the omelet he offered and wanted to drink the water but was afraid that he was going to drug her again. She left it sitting. Now that her body was moving, there were other bodily needs coming to her attention.

“Griffin I need to use the bathroom,” she said quietly.

He stood and walked around to her chair and pulled it out for her. She stood, her heart hammering in her chest with fear, as he was so close to her. He put his hand on her back and guided her toward one of the two other rooms she had seen. The cabin had plumbing in fact the bathroom was quite up to date. Her eyes darted around the room noting the window.

“Since we have nothing to hide from each other, the door stays open. You should also take a shower and change into clean clothes. I set them on the counter.”

Her eyes got wide. She was to shower with him standing right here watching her? Dear Lord, the man wasn’t going to leave her alone long enough to even try to escape. She wanted to scream at him, shove passed him, and make a run for it. However, she knew that she had to bide her time. She needed him to believe that she was coming around to him. That she could be trusted and then maybe he would give her the chance to get away. He did say it wouldn’t be forever just until he thought she wanted to be with him. She turned to him having an idea.

“I… I’m not shy Griffin, you can watch me shower, but I have to draw the line at watching me pee. A girl needs a little mystery. Please?” She lowered her lashes and put her hand on his chest over his heart, hoping that it affected him the same way the gesture had on Cade. She was rewarded with feeling his heart begin to race. It gave her hope to know that she had this little bit of power over him.

“Fine,” he replied, and she noted a little hitch in his voice. “But just so you know. I already nailed the bathroom window shut.”

Noelle closed the door behind him and started to undress. She noticed that there was blood on her shirt as she took it off, and frowned. Moving to the sink, she looked at herself in the mirror noting the bruises on her forehead, half hidden by the large bandage. She peeled it back and found an angry red gash underneath. It needed stitches, but apparently, Griffin knew to close it up, because it had been cleaned and little strips of tape held it closed in three places. It was still going to leave an ugly scar right at her hairline. As she looked down over her body, she noted several more bruises sustained in her fall and probably from Griffin as he had carried her out to his car and then into this cabin. She finished undressing and turned on the water for a shower waiting for it to warm up. She could hear Griffin moving around in the next room. So, she tried the window just in case Griffin was lying to her. It didn’t budge. She quickly stepped into the shower. She wasn’t sure but she thought she heard the door open. She couldn’t bring herself to turn and look through the glass of the door. She was grateful that it was frosted and steamy. Still, she would have to step out in front of him, so she took her time cleaning up. Her wrists and ankles stung where the zip ties had damaged them. She washed her hair next, seeing the water turn red with her own blood as she rinsed it out of her hair. As long as it took, she wondered just how much blood she had left on the kitchen tile of Whittaker Hall.

Noelle thought of Cade again, hoping that he would figure out that Griffin had been the one to kidnap her. She had to find a way out. Would Griffin leave her here while he went to work? It would be suspicious if he didn’t show up for work. Cade knew that Griffin was subletting her apartment as well. And Del, she had told her sister everything about Griffin. Between them, surely the truth of what was happening to her would come to light.

She finished cleaning herself up, and steeled her spine to step out of the shower in front of him. Only when she did open the door, she found a towel within reach and Griffin nowhere in sight. Taking the opportunity, she quickly dried herself and dressed in the clothing he’d left for her. It was the over-sized t-shirt and sweatpants Cade had leant her during the blizzard. She hugged them to her body and they gave her hope.

Griffin had taken the time to grab clothing from her dresser and closet. The sweatpants felt baggy around her waist but definitely more comfortable than the skirt she had been wearing. She noticed that the bloody clothes were gone from the room. So... Griffin had come in while she was showering. She shivered not liking the idea of his eyes on her. She ran a brush through her hair, taking care not to touch the gash on her forehead. It looked better now that she had cleaned her hair off and out of it. She pulled the t-shirt over her head, and pulled her hair out from the neckline. Looking in the mirror, she found herself looking quite a bit more appealing than she had before the shower. It was time to start setting her plan in motion. She had to convince Griffin that she believed him and was falling for him. If she made it happen too quickly, she didn’t think he’d believe her, so, she’d have to go slowly and do a little bit at a time. She re-opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out.

***

Cade sat in an interrogation room at the police station. No one had been in to talk to him yet, and he was getting more worried and more frustrated by the minute. They had pulled him into holding when they first arrived and then brought him to interrogation for the briefest of conversations. He’d been asked to give his version of the story again. They had asked him about Griffin and his relationship with the man. They hadn’t accused him of anything yet. He’d been left in the holding cell all night and most of the day. From what he could tell, it was afternoon again and they’d hauled him back to the interrogation room.

The detective that had spoken to him the day before, entered the room finally.

“Have they found Noelle?” he asked.

“I’ll be asking the questions, Mr. Harden. You claim to have been invited out to have dinner with Miss Fuchs at Whittaker Hall. And when you arrived, no one was at the residence. You say you found her cell phone on the counter in the kitchen and that you sat and waited for her to appear, is that correct?”

“Yes, just as I told both the officers when they showed up at the house. Could you please tell me if you have found Noelle?” Cade was beginning to think she was dead, and that they had found her body.

“No, Miss Fuchs is still missing. However, we have found what appears to be a crime scene in the kitchen of Whittaker Hall. So, let me tell you what I think happened. I think you went out to Whittaker Hall to confront Miss Fuchs about her relationship with Griffin Andersen and things got out of hand. When you found her making a romantic dinner for two, you lost it and attacked them both.”

“That is a total crock of shit! I would never hurt Noelle. You have no proof of any of that.” Cade slammed his fist into the interrogation table.

“Calm down Mr. Harden.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. My girlfriend is missing and you are accusing me of what? Murdering her and Griffin Andersen? What the hell? You should be out looking for her not sitting here throwing around accusations.”

“We are continuing to look for Miss Fuchs and Mr. Andersen. We found blood at the crime scene Mr. Harden. You had that same blood on your shoes.”

Cold fear ran through Cade’s heart. “Wait… what blood?”

“We found blood in the kitchen and evidence that someone had tried to clean it up. From the look of it
, there was quite a bit. Telling me the truth now, would be better for you Mr. Harden.”

Cade slammed his fist down on the table again. “I want my attorney. I am done talking to you.”

“Have it your way. But I will get to the truth,” the detective warned.

“I certainly hope so.”

***

Two hours had passed before Cade’s attorney arrived at the precinct. Cade had never had an occasion in his life to need his attorney for anything more than looking through and drawing up legal papers and contracts for Harden Construction. He wasn’t a good
y-two-shoes type by any means but he’d played on the side of the law. Now, it appeared to be turning on him.

“Cade.”

“I hope you can get me out of this Josh. My girlfriend is missing and they don’t seem to be interested in finding her.”

“They can hold you for twenty-four hours without making an arrest Cade. They have no solid evidence to keep you here. I took the liberty of stopping by and grabbing a pair of shoes for you. We will not be answering any more questions today, and you are free to go.”

Cade sighed with relief. A full day had passed and he didn’t have any idea where Noelle was. “Thank you Josh.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. There is more that you haven’t been told. But let’s get you out of here first.”

“Can you drive me back out to my SUV?”

“It’s in the police impound lot. It was considered possible evidence. It’ll take a while before it can be released to you.”

Cade swore under his breath. “Back to my house then, so I can pick up my truck.” He took his cell phone and keys from the policewoman behind the desk and turned the cell back on. Twelve missed calls, most of them from Del, a couple from his foreman and one from Griffin. He punched in the code to listen to his voicemail.

“Hey Boss, sorry to take so long getting back to you. I’ve had a family emergency, and was out of cell range for a while. I’ll need to take the next few days off. I promise I’ll be able to finish the job with time to spare.”

“Cade?” his attorney asked, seeing the look on his face.

“It’s Griffin. I know it is. He has to have her. He called to tell me he was going to be out of town. And he was downright friendly about it. I’ve got to get over to that apartment.”

“As your legal advisor Cade, I’m advising against it. Let the police handle this.”

They climbed into Josh’s car and headed for Cade’s house. “I can’t just sit back and wait Josh. I love her. I’m not going to let anything else happen to her.” He said it aloud without thought and as the words settled into his brain, he realized that he had meant them. He didn’t know when it had happened but he had fallen in love with Noelle and he wasn’t about to lose her just when he’d figured it out.

“I still say you need to let the police do their job. If you get in the way, you could end up making it more of a mess. If this Griffin guy has her, then, you have already told them about him and they will follow the leads. But I can see from that look on your face Cade that nothing I am going to say is going to change your mind, so give me a call when you need me again.”

Cade closed the car door and strode up his driveway to the garage where his truck was parked. He was going to find Noelle if it was the last thing he ever did.

CHAPTER TWELEVE

Noelle had spent three days doing everything Griffin asked of her. He wanted to play house and so she would play house to a point. She steeled herself against his caresses, smiling at him instead of slapping his hand away like she wanted to do. She tried to think of him as the Griffin with whom she had gone to college, but it was difficult as now she questioned every moment of time they had spent together, looking for some clue that she had led him on. They watched movies and played board games. He fed her three times a day and again she refused to drink anything he gave her, instead drinking from the bathroom sink whenever she asked to go to the bathroom. If it were not for being locked in a cabin in the middle of the mountains, the situation would almost be romantic.

Yesterday had been the most difficult day so far. Griffin was getting very handsy. He wanted her to sit with him; he had an arm around her shoulders or waist almost every moment of the day. She had taken every minute of it and tucked the revulsion and hatred away into a small pocket of her mind. She’d been affectionate back, smiling at him, and holding his hand when he wanted her to. Then last night, he’d told her she would sleep in his bed. Cold fear had run through her body. Sleeping in his bed would be the last thing she would be doing. Sex was not going to be part of the plan, but if it meant her freedom from
this obsessed lunatic then she would have to live with herself. However, he told her he would just hold her. She deliberately snuggled into his shoulder pretending that she was okay with the arrangement but ready to bolt the minute he was sound asleep. Griffin had her pinned to the wall side of the bed. If that weren’t bad enough, he had zip tied her to the bedframe. Her heart sunk as he tightened it. At least this time he put a cuff of material around her wrist first so it wouldn’t chaff as much.

“Are you thinking about him again?” Griffin asked his voice holding disdain and anger.

“No,” she answered honestly, “I was thinking that I’d like to go on a walk with you.”

Griffin looked surprised. “I suppose that’s not out of the question. It’s a nice day outside. You can wear my extra coat.” He stood and moved to what was serving as his bedroom. He came back with his own on and helped her into the other coat.

Noelle became very alert as the door opened. She was going to escape; maybe not right this minute, but when she did, this walk could give her useful information. She had grown up in the Wasatch Mountains having lived in the city for her entire life. When she was a kid, they had gone camping several times with her dad. There were cabins and campgrounds all over the place, but not all of them would be accessible this time of year, especially with the amount of snow they had gotten recently. She blinked in the bright sunlight. It felt warm on her face, even as the air around them was still cool. She knew from their talking that she had only been out through the first night. She had been gone less than seventy-two hours at this point. In the distance, she noted smoke high enough up that it was probably another cabin. It wasn’t more than a couple of miles away either. To distract Griffin, she kept him talking about himself. What he wanted to do with his future. What he had planned for them. She kept one ear to him and the other listening for traffic, some sign of a road. She could see trees everywhere. Then the sound of a semi-truck using its airbrakes sounded. It took everything in her, not to flip her head toward the distant sound. She now knew which direction to head. She just needed an opportunity to get away from Griffin and run. If she could make it to the highway, then she could make it to help.

They walked down a path and back around to the cabin. The entire time he kept his hand around her back in a possessive gesture. She shivered a little.

“Cold?” he asked.

“A little,” she lied.

“It’s time were we heading back anyway. I have plans for us tonight.”

“Oh?” she asked trying desperately to ignore the knot of fear twisting in her gut. So far, he had been kind toward her, but she had a feeling that was not going to last.

“I have something special for dinner and I’ve made dessert as well. It’ll be our first official date.”

“That sounds nice Griffin. Can I do anything to help?”

“I bought some things in town. There is an outfit that I’d like you to wear.” He smiled down at her and she could see the heat in his eyes. She shivered again.

“Let’s get you back inside where it’s warm.”

Noelle walked back into the cabin feeling the weight of her imprisonment close down around her. Keep it together, she thought to herself and moved to sit back down on the couch.

“There are a couple of bags on my bed. You may go in and look if you like. Would you like a beer? I’m going to start dinner.”

Noelle jumped up again. “I’ll get it. Would you like one too?”

Griffin smiled at her, “Sure. Would you like to make dinner with me?”

“I think I want to use the time to get myself ready for you.” She knew what the statement insinuated, and heard his breath quicken behind her as he thought about it. She pulled two bottles of beer from the refrigerator and turned to hand him one, finding him right behind her. The desire blazing in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He fully intended the night to end in sex, whether she wanted it or not.

“Do you know how sexy your eyes are?” he asked closing the distance between them. “I feel like I am falling into them when you look at me. It’s like you can see into the very core of me.” He brushed a strand of curling hair off her forehead. His fingers gently grazed her skin and trailed down the side of her face. He was close enough that his body now pinned hers to the counter. Every inch of her screamed in revulsion at being forced into something that should come naturally, but she just stayed quiet and looked up into his eyes. He wanted to kiss her, he was going to kiss her, and she was going to have to let him.

She could feel his arousal against her thigh, as he leaned in, and took her lips with his own. She closed her eyes fighting the fear that was making her heart race. What would he do to her if he didn’t believe that she had feelings for him? Would he hurt her, or worse? She forced herself to touch him, sliding her hands up around his neck and opening her mouth to his assault. She heard him moan and his kissing turned much more frantic as his need for her grew. He pressed himself against her until she was bending over backward on the counter. She pushed her hands into his chest trying to make him stop. She pulled her head away.

“Griffin, slow down please. I want to enjoy this. We have all night. Come on honey. You said you wanted this to be an official date. Let’s do this right,” she cajoled, doing her best to sound as wound up as he was.

With obvious reluctance, he pushed away from her. He watched her for a long moment as he caught his breath. “You’re right. There is plenty of time.” He twisted open his beer and took a long drink. “I’m sorry. You just drive me crazy. Go on then, go get ready for me. I’ll get dinner put together and on the table.”

Noelle’s mind was racing from the experience. This Griffin was so different from the man she thought she knew. She closed herself in his bedroom, looking around for anything that might be of use when she escaped him. She took off the coat he’d given her to use and searched the pockets. She found a lighter and a receipt from a gas station. She looked at it. It was dated for the day before, in Logan. She must have been out a long time for him to drive her all the way up to Logan. She knew or at least had a good idea where she was now. Hope soared through her heart. She carefully pulled open each of his dresser drawers, finding most of them empty, and then searched the closet. She found a bag with more of the zip ties he’d used to tie her up, some duct tape, and a handgun. She shivered, had he meant to use it on her if she didn’t cooperate? She pulled it from the bag the weight of it feeling strange in her hand. Could she use it on him? Right now, she could open the door and leave. What would he do? What could he do, if she held him at gunpoint? But was it loaded? She’d never held one of these things before, let alone used one. No, if she couldn’t use it on him, then it was a weapon he could use on her. She decided that she needed to get rid of it instead. If he didn’t know where it was, he couldn’t use it against her. But where?

A tap at the door made her jump, “How’s everything in there?” he asked through the door and then started to open it.

“Fine. No! Don’t come in. I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” she said, jumping up and pushing gently against the door. She pulled the gun up behind her back and peeked out of the room to look at him. She smiled her brightest smile. “Please? How long do I have until dinner is ready?”

“About twenty minutes Elle.” He was looking at her suspiciously.

“I just want to get everything right for you, okay?”

He seemed to relax, “Okay, I’ll let you be then. You want another beer? Or a glass of wine? I got wine to go with dinner.”

“Another beer would be great. I want to shower first and then I’ll be out in a little bit.” She quickly closed the door again and dashed across the room stuffing the gun under the pillow for the moment. She pulled the bags on the bed toward her, dumping their contents out before her. He’d bought everything. There was make-up and jewelry in one bag and the other held clothing. Well, technically, it was clothing but when she sifted through it, there didn’t seem to be enough fabric to cover even half of her body. Panties and a bra made of white lace jumped out at her. How did he even know her sizes? Just how long had he been planning something like this?

The image of him pawing through her most delicate things ran through her head. She grabbed them and tossed them to the side. The heels were something she imaged belonged in a sex video, and were patent leather black with peek-a-boo toes and Malibu spotted fluff across the front. The dress looked like it was meant for a Barbie doll and made of some stretchy Lycra type fabric. It had a diagonal stripe leaving the upper left shoulder from neck to hip white and the bottom half black. She tossed it all back on the bed and sighed. Had she really been this oblivious to his feelings? She wondered if she was the first woman he’d stalked. The story about his previous girlfriend came to mind. He had seemed genuinely upset by the breakup. Was it possible he’d lied?

Opening the bottle and then taking a long drink off her previously untouched beer to steady her nerves, she pulled the gun from its hiding place. She looked around the room for a better place to put it. The closet was virtually empty but maybe the shelf on top was deep enough. As she set it up there, and pushed it back as far as she could reach, she vowed that she was going to learn something about loading and unloading guns when she got out of this.

Returning to the bed and its contents, she quickly stripped off the t-shirt and sweats she was wearing. She walked to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The water felt good and for the moment, she could ignore the horrors of her situation at least until she heard the door open. He was watching her again.

Let him watch, she thought, Tonight I am going to get out of here.

She was startled when the shower door opened, and Griffin slipped in behind her.

“Hello Baby, I was feeling a bit dirty myself. I hope you don’t mind.”

She stiffened, as she had not anticipated this. Fear shot through her making her breaths quicken.

“Excited for me Baby?” he asked, mistaking her fear for excitement. He slid his hands around her to cup her bare breasts. She screamed silently in her head and squeezed her eyes closed to keep from slapping him away and running. She nodded keeping her back to him.

He kneaded her breast and nipped at her ear, “Your skin is so soft, Elle, just like I imagined it would be. One hand slid down to her belly and pulled her to him. She put her hands up to brace herself against the wall of the shower. Tears rolled down her cheeks that she just couldn’t hold back, but the water hid them. He nuzzled and kissed her neck and back. She did her best not to fight him off, letting him believe that she wanted him to touch her. She could feel that he was ready to take her and knew that if it happened she would fight him. Then, he reached for the soap and began to wash her. When he was done, there wasn’t an inch of her body that didn’t feel grotesquely dirty. As quickly as he had joined her, he stepped out, wrapping a towel around himself.

“Hurry up baby. Dinner will be done soon.”

With both the door to the shower and the door to the bathroom closed, Noelle sobbed. She scrubbed herself roughly trying to wash away the sensation of his hands on her, turning up the hot water so it would sting. When she finally turned off the water, she was ready to do what needed to be done, to escape. She returned to his bedroom and began to prepare herself.

She slipped into the undergarments and pulled the dress over her head. There was a full-length mirror in one corner of the room that let her see what image of herself Griffin was creating. With her hair loose and flowing down her back in unruly wavelets, she slipped on the impossibly tall heels. The dress left nothing to the imagination dipping well into her cleavage in the front and barely stretching below the junction of thigh and buttocks. It made her feel self-conscious something she rarely felt when she picked out her own clothing. What she felt like was sex personified.

Since he had picked out earrings that hung from her ears in long strands, she pulled back the top half of her hair and braided it to sit on top of the rest. The make-up was the cheap drugstore kind, and she knew that her skin would not thank her for using it so she used as little as possible, sticking to her eyes and lips. The lipstick he chose was a horrendous (or should she say Whore-endous) red that she thought had probably been sitting on the shelf for several years before he found it. It would have to do. Looking in the mirror one last time, she decided it was time for the show to begin. The woman staring back at her was practically unrecognizable. Well, that would work because it wouldn’t be Noelle walking into that room to seduce her kidnapper, it would be an entirely different woman. She opened the door and stepped out in the living space.