Broken Soul

Chapter 71 (edited)

(Adrian's POV)

Webster's Dictionary defines pain as a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli but this pales in comparison to what my family and I were feeling since we'd found out that Casey had Chelsea; that son of a bitch had our girl.  

Finding out from her best friend, Monique and Detective Chance that she'd been kidnapped was surreal.  We knew it was true but we fought with everything in our minds and hearts trying to dispel that truth; but there was no way around it, he had her.  We rushed down to Sinclair Industries when we received the call; first Detective Chance's call and then Monique.  

We'd also been saddened to learn that Stella had been shot; she was in surgery and it was 50/50 whether she would pull through.  We were in our own private nightmare.  The police already had outside in front of the building taped off as a crime scene.  My heart clinched when we saw Chelsea's shoes on the pavement, her purse and contents everywhere and Stella's blood.  But what we didn't see was her cell phone.

  Chance finally reached us, lifted up the tape and bid us to enter the building.  "I don't see her cell phone out there" I told him.  "Have you tried tracing?" I asked.  He said that was the first thing he tried doing; they knew it was on but she was either out of the signal area or being held somewhere that was blocking the signal.

We walked with him into the Security office while another detective was watching the footage.  The time stamp was 12:52 when we watched Stella and Chelsea stop outside to talk to building security, then they turn to their left and that's when we see Casey walking towards them.  Chelsea obviously says something to Stella, she reaches in her purse and Casey shoots her.  People scatter and Chelsea starts running.  

We lose her off camera for a minute and then at 12:56 we seem him walking back the way he came with Chelsea, unconscious, draped over his shoulder.  He gets into a black Mercedes sedan and speeds away.  This is what they needed; they could pull up DMV records and hopefully get a GPS lock on his car.  New vehicles all have GPS systems these days.  I felt a slight chance for hope.

Detective Chance tried several times to get us to go home and wait but he's never dealt with the Silvano's before; we don't wait.  So he kindly told us that if we didn't get in the way we could stay, so we did just that.  I felt sorry for Aiden, he looked like he was in pain.  This was hard for all of us right now.  I couldn't imagine my life without Chelsea in it; she had completed both of us, given us what we needed at the right time in our lives.  

I won't lie, it's hard being in a relationship with three people and where Bella failed miserably Chelsea succeeded; she could tell which of us needed a certain touch, etc.  I vowed to myself that when we got her back, not if, I couldn't go there, but when, we would have a commitment/wedding ceremony and make her ours.  I hadn't talked with Aiden about it but I was fine with him being the husband on paper, as long as Chelsea carried the Silvano name.  

We'd already passed the twelve hour mark and I was on edge when Detective Chance said they caught a break.  

"We tracked his GPS on his car to a closed down portion of the warehouse district.  There are a lot of abandoned buildings there that are used for drug deals, drug addicts to cop their fixes but how many of them have a Mercedes outside?  We have a surface-to-air drone that we are going to use first, that way we don't tip him off."  

He sounded more hopeful than he had for the past twelve hours and that gave us hope.  He told me, dad and Aiden that we could ride along with him but the women had to stay back and Uncle Marco volunteered to stay with them.  

"Just call and let me know either way" he said quietly so Aunt Syl didn't hear.  I nodded and we jumped in a police unmarked and sped away.

They had set up a command post at the entrance to the warehouse road and their guy said he was ready to release the drone. 

 I squeezed Aiden's shoulder and said "She's okay.  I can feel it."  He tried to smile but he was scared and truth be known so was I.  Waiting had never been such agony.  We'd been told that the drone had covered four buildings already and nothing; but that was okay, there were a lot more to go.  They had cleared five more buildings and starting on the next group when we heard the radio voice coming over the microphone; they had found his car! 

 They moved SWAT into position and we followed Detective Chance up to the flurry of activity.  We listened as the SWAT commander gave his men the orders, warning them that there was one friendly and to watch their fire.  That almost made my heart stop hearing him say that.  They were in position about to move in when one of the men said they had movement up ahead.

"Hold your fire until I command" the team leader instructed.  What was going on?  About that time we saw a lone figure walking slowly towards all of us and the closer the figure got we could tell who it was...it was Chelsea!  She was barefoot, her jeans and shirt were torn, she was holding her right wrist against her and her wrists were bearing the handcuffs used to restrain her.  God she looked gorgeous but more than that she was alive.

  I couldn't stop the tears that had formed, neither could Aiden or my father.  She had almost reached us when she was grabbed by a SWAT member and hurried away from the scene and up to us.  She was crying, bruised and cut up and she kept saying she knew that we would find her. 

 We were about ready to put her in the ambulance when one of the SWAT members said he had movement on the roof; we all looked up to see Casey pointing a rifle in our direction as Aiden pulled Chelsea behind him and stepped in front of me, we heard a shot ring out.