Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Elizabeth found herself sitting on the edge of the guest bed rocking back and forth sobbing, shivers running through her body. Her brain could barely process what was happening.

"Liz? What the fuck? What happened?"

She lifted her head to stare at Benji. She felt her hand lift the phone up by itself and gave it to him silently. She wiped the tears away only to find that they wouldn't stop. Benji gasped loudly and let out a noise that could only be attributed to shock. He fell to the bed next to Elizabeth. His hand was shaking as it reached out to grab hers.

"I have to go, Benji."

She felt him nod his head.

"I'm going to call Charlie. There wasn't a time limit?"

Liz inhaled deeply before standing up. She turned to him, her eyes hard and determined.

"I think they figure I'll get there as fast as possible. I will. You can't stop me. I love her, Benji."

He looked up at her and nodded his head.

"I know, Liz. We'll get her back. Whoever this sick man is we will get her back and-"

A knock on the door interrupted his sentence. They looked at each other and walked towards the door silently. Elizabeth walked over to the fireplace and picked up the metal poker before walking to stand behind Benji. He opened the door to a man in a suit.

"Benjamin Cartwright and Elizabeth I presume. My name is Detective Thomas and I'm here to talk to you about Jennifer Blake. You'd know her as Sarah."

Benji looked back at Liz and then opened the door wider to let him in. Liz stopped him before he walked in.

"I'll need to see your badge, sir. You'll understand of course."

Detective Thomas stopped and looked at Elizabeth before he nodded his head at her in agreement. His eyes showed more than his face. Liz could practically see the approval of her request. He showed them his badge and then they let him in. They moved to the living room and sat down on Benji's sofa and chair. It was silent for a moment before he talked.

"Sarah is part of the Witness Relocation Program. She has been since she was sixteen. This was the last placement that we could afford to give her. Recently she reported that she was being followed by a man. We had a protection detail on your apartment and last night our man was knocked out and when he came to Sarah was no longer there and it looked like there was a struggle. We know who did it and the question right now is where she's being kept."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and held her phone out to him wordlessly. She wanted to do anything she could to help Sarah. Even if it meant that she was going against whoever took Sarah's wishes.

Detective Thomas looked up and he looked concerned.

"Why would they message you?"

Benji spoke up, his arms crossed in front of his chest in a protective manner.

"They love each other, Detective. Surely that's enough for these psychos to want to blackmail Elizabeth."

Detective Thomas nodded his head.

"Elizabeth, did Sarah tell you about her time as Jennifer Blake?"

Liz shook her head no and sighed.

"She refused to tell me anything. I knew there must have been a reason why but I never would have guessed this. She always got sad when someone mentioned their family or asked her about hers. I figured her parents must've died."

"You're right. Jennifer got dragged into some nasty things when she was sixteen. It was not voluntary. In her hometown there were gangs that controlled everything. There was no person that the wars didn't touch. Jose Garcia took a liking to her and, with her by his side, he rose through the ranks and became leader. He threatened her to get her to go with him. Then after she did some things she wasn't proud of to keep her family safe, he started to blackmail her to stay with the group. The desperation she felt while with them got the best of her and at one point, she was tempted to just let go and stay with them. She didn't want to and went to the police with information.

"The police were just waiting for another informant to step forward. Someone who was brave enough to give them the things that would carry out their sting. At this point no one, not even Jennifer, knew that Jose had branched out into another kind of gang. He pledged his gangs loyalty to someone who was far worse than anyone could have ever imagined. That I'm not allowed to go into. What I can tell you is that the people he got in with have contacts in all the major cities and towns. Including this one. It was a risk to let her stay here but she was adamant that she would feel safer if she was nearer to one of the detectives on the case. She became even more cooperative after she met you.

"When Jennifer was testifying during the trial, Jose managed to get to her family. They were all killed. It became clear to all the detectives on the case that she wasn't safe anymore and that she needed to be protected to a large degree. She won't ever talk about her family to anyone. I don't blame her."

Elizabeth looked out the window nearest to the sofa and wiped more tears from her face and hiccupped. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Her hands buried themselves in her hair and she took shuddering breaths.

"What do I have to do to make sure she gets back home safe? I want her alive Detective. She need to-to come back home."

The detective nodded his head in agreement.

"We can't give you a wire when you go in. They'll check for that. We can't send anyone with you. Basically, it's all up to you and how you hand this situation, Elizabeth. I can tell you there isn't anyone Sarah trusts as much as you."

She nodded her head in agreement. There was a knock on the door and Benji got up to get it. The detective stood up, his hand on his gun holster. Three seconds later Benji was hugging Charlie tightly and shuddering into his shoulder.

"Mr. Cartwright, will you please step away from the man?"

Benji straightened and glared at the Detective.

"This is Charles. He's my boyfriend it's fine."

"Do what Detective Thomas says, Benji. It's fine."

Benji narrowed his eyes at Charlie and walked back over to Liz. Charles raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender.

"What are you doing here, Charlie?"

"I just wanted to make sure Jennifer was safe. I knew she would never remember me-"

"What's going on?"

They looked over at Liz and Benji. Liz looked mad and Benji looked betrayed. Charlie took a deep breath before speaking.

"My name is Charles Matthews."

Benji growled at that.

"Yes we know that Charlie. What is going on!"

Charlie had tears building up in his eyes.

"My wife and little boy were killed by Jose Garcia when I was 19."

"What the hell Charles?! What the actual fuck?"

Elizabeth looked at Charlie and nodded her head at that. She couldn't find it in her to be shocked by anything anymore. The numbness was creeping over her again.

"It was all a lie then Charlie? All of it? Are you even gay?"

Charles looked at Benji, his eyes pleading.

"No, Benji. I love you. That's real. I swear. It took me by surprise. I never lied about that. How could I?"

"I don't know. How could lie about Sarah? Hell, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I couldn't! I wasn't supposed to know about Jennifer or Sarah. How was I supposed to know all of this when they put me into protection? I was the first one to step forward! I wasn't allowed to know anything about what happened! I followed it of course. Wouldn't you want to know about what happened to the man who killed your family? When I learned that he escaped custody I was scared he'd come after me.

"I saw Sarah on the street and knew that he was going to come for her. Jose doesn't let people go. He'll always find them. Always. I wanted to make sure I could do something for her, even if it meant letting them kill me instead. I never knew that I would meet you, Benji. Or that I would love you. That wasn't in the plan."

Detective Thomas put his gun back in his holster and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well this just got more complicated."

*unedited*