Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(69)

The other men nodded at Cole and bent their heads back to the papers in front of them or their computer screens. They were missing something. The cops were too. Owen Montrone didn’t simply disappear into thin air. He was somewhere. He’d obviously taken Sarah’s car, or forced her to drive them somewhere. The BOLO hadn’t produced any hits, so they had to assume the car was either hidden or had been destroyed somehow. Owen might be only ten mentally, but he was also the sneakiest person ever, or the luckiest.

Neither thought made Cole feel any better.



Three days. It had been three days, and Sarah was still in this cabin with Owen.

The day after she’d set her ankle had been hell. Every time she’d woken up, she’d forced down an Oxy and passed back out.

Today had been better. Not good, but better. She hadn’t been eating or drinking much, but this morning, she knew she had to do what she could to get better. Meaning, she had to start eating and drinking to get her strength up. The last thing she wanted was to still be living in this cabin with Owen a year from now. And if she didn’t get off her ass and start trying to get stronger, that might be what would happen.

She knew the fact that Cole and the guys from Ace Security hadn’t found her yet wasn’t a good sign. After spending three days with Owen, she also knew he was very definitely mentally deficient, but he was crafty. She hadn’t been around many children in her life, but she’d met this one kid in the hospital. He was sneaky, and he did everything he could to manipulate those around him. He could cry on cue, and he threw tantrums when they served him best. She’d learned quickly that even though he was young, he knew exactly how to get what he wanted.

The same thing was obviously the case with Owen. He’d set his sights on her, and had somehow hidden his tracks well enough that it was difficult to find him.

But Cole wouldn’t give up. Sarah knew that without a doubt. He wouldn’t stop until he found her.

She put a hand on her belly. She didn’t know if she was pregnant yet, but the last thing she wanted was to have a child in this cabin in the middle of nowhere, with only Owen and his overeager wish to help for company.

Though she knew some women lived in captivity for years. Look at Amanda Berry and the other girls from Cleveland, who’d been kidnapped and abused for more than a decade. And Morgan Byrd. She’d been kidnapped and hidden in the Dominican Republic for a year.

But Ryder’s friends from Colorado Springs had found her, and she’d survived everything that had been done to her—so Sarah could too.

She’d already found she wasn’t as scared of Owen as she had been before he’d kidnapped her. Between naps, she’d gotten to know him a little better. She didn’t exactly trust him, but he hadn’t hurt her, and every time she’d woken up, he’d been concerned about her and wanted to know what he could do to help.

He played a lot with the toys strewn about the cabin. It looked like a toy store had exploded in the middle of the place. Legos were everywhere, along with picture books, a train set, puzzle pieces, and there was even a huge homemade dollhouse in the corner of the room. It looked similar to the one Owen had sent her, but it was obviously not the same one.

He’d also given her more presents.

Most were things she recognized from her own house. He’d obviously left the attic when she wasn’t there and pilfered things. He’d given her stuffed animals that she recognized as being hers from when she was young, and he’d even happily presented her with a few books he’d held out proudly.

Books that her dad had read. The very books of Jackson’s that she’d thought she’d given away.

She was glad to know she hadn’t accidentally gotten rid of them, but was horrified that Owen had been through her house and taken whatever he’d wanted.

But instead of yelling at Owen, because he certainly wouldn’t understand why she was so upset, she’d merely taken the presents and thanked him.

“What do you want to do today?” Owen asked eagerly when he saw that she was awake.

“What do you want to do?” Sarah asked, trying to ignore the way her ankle throbbed. After pushing the bone back into place—at least she hoped she’d put it back where it should be—she’d wrapped it with pieces of a thin blanket she’d managed to rip up. It was crude, and she knew if she didn’t get to a hospital soon, it probably wouldn’t heal right, but it was the best she could do under the circumstances.

Owen’s eyes lit up. Every time she’d woken up, he’d asked her the same thing, and she’d blown him off, taken another pain pill, and fallen asleep. It was time to start trying to do what she could to get Owen on her good side, once and for all. Besides, she was bored. Even though she’d slept a lot, there was absolutely nothing to do in this cabin. There was no television, and she hadn’t seen a radio either.

“Go fish!” Owen yelled, obviously thrilled she was going to play with him.

“Okay. But my ankle is still hurt, so we’ll have to play over here on the couch,” Sarah told him.

“Yay!” Owen said, and immediately started getting the room ready for their game.

Earlier, he’d brought her a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for breakfast. It actually tasted good, which was a little surprising, as the last time she’d had the kid’s meal was years and years ago. She hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as she did. Glancing over at the kitchen, Sarah saw that it, too, was a mess. Owen could obviously only handle the simplest of meals and didn’t bother trying to clean up after himself. Later, she’d see if she could convince him to try to tidy up both the living area and the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was more rodents and critters moving into the cabin.