Page 19 of Darling Boss

Hillary Beck

“Thank you for walking me back, Jack,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.

He smiled at me, and I walked into my apartment, my heart uneasy. I really liked Jack. He was kind and sweet and gentle. But it was Gale I thought off. It was Gale I compared him to. It was Gale I wanted. The harder I tried to fight my feelings for him, the stronger they seemed to get.

“Erica?” I called out, walking into the apartment. “You there?”

Receiving no reply, I shrugged. She had been working two jobs lately, and she probably just hadn’t come home yet. I peeked into her room to check and froze at the sight in front of me.

On her wall was a message, written in blood.

“I have her. Come and find me.”

With trembling hands and filled with fear, I reached for my phone, ready to call the police. Suddenly my phone started to ring, and I looked down to see the ID.

‘ID withheld’ flashed on my screen, and I just stared at it for a minute,

“Hello?” I said, picking up the call. My heart was racing in my chest, fear and panic running through my veins.

“I have your friend,” a muffled voice whispered. “You know what you have to do to get her back.”

“What?” I whispered, frozen with horror.

“I need you to do something for me,” the voice said. “And then, I will set your friend free.”

“What is it?” I asked, tears flowing down my cheeks.

He told me what he wanted me to do, and as he spoke, horror filled me.

“No,” I said. “I can’t do that! No!”

“You will,” he hissed. “Or you can say goodbye to your friend!”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you making me do this to Gale?” I whispered.

“Do as you are told,” the voice said, “and your friend will be free. All will be well. But if you tell anyone – and I mean anyone – I will kill her. And believe me, I will know. If you tell the police or even Gale, I will know.”

With that, he ended the call, and I fell onto the ground.

What was I going to do now?