Page 103 of Fractured
Elizabeth Brander. Fargo, North Dakota.
Age 23.
Apartment 2B, Fairford Drive South.
“Did you hear me, Alexander? It was the money?”
I look at him and shake my head. “What? I’m sorry?”
Carlos takes the paper out of my hands and smiles at me, looks at it, and then pats me on the back.
“I told you, brother. Don’t give up yet. Sebastian’s a genius. I knew he’d find her.”
Sebastian is beaming at the both of us.
“I told you it was the money. Once Isabella disappeared and we took care of Robert, everything was at a standstill. None of the bank accounts were moving, none of the money was being transferred. Until three weeks ago, one account was emptied completely. Move to a different account in Chicago. Then that account was closed, they then transferred the funds to a bank in Fargo. One of my guys hacked it and found the information. He brought me the picture of her driver’s license.”
He points at my bunny, and I smile. “That’s the owner of the bank account. She’s in Fargo. She’s 9 hours away, brother. Two if you take the plane.”
I hug him, and I have to admit, a tear of joy leaks out.
“I fucking love you, Sebastian. You’re brilliant. I knew you could do it. I’ll take the fucking plane and I’m bringing her home.”
We landed in Fargo two hours later, and I’m heading to the car with Carlos. He types in her address in the GPS, and we are on our way. It’s past eight and she should be home. She works at a library, or so her check deposit says. She would like that; quiet, with lots of books to read.
We arrive in front of her apartment building, and I can see her lights are on. It’s cold as fuck here and I can’t imagine why she would want to live here. It’s freezing. I get out, and Carlos follows me.
“Go get her brother. Good luck.”
I pull my gloves on tighter. As I approached the steps going up to her apartment door, I can almost say that I’m nervous. She doesn’t know that I found her, but I’m not letting this opportunity go. She needs to know that I love her and that I’ll do anything to make it right. But I have to start slow. I don’tknow if I can get on that plane without her tonight. I’ll fucking move here and stalk her ass if I have to prove my love. But right now, I’ll just knock on her door and start there.
I breathe deep and knock. I can hear shuffling and then her sweet voice says something in what I think is German and she opens the door. She’s there, right there, and I can’t speak. All I get out is bunny.
She’s wrapped in a patchwork quilt. Her blond hair is curled all over her head, flat on one side. She’s coughing and her nose is red. I think she has a cold, my chest constricts. My little bunny is sick. I reach out for her and suddenly she whips my arm out of the way and she punches me in the throat, and I lose my breath, grabbing my throat as I go down, she hauls me over and knees me in the stomach and pushes me down.Holy hell!
Scrambling up on my knees and she is gone, the quilt flying behind her, and she is out the door to the street. I grab the handrail and drag myself up. I go down the stairs, pushing open the half-open door, and Carlos is climbing up out of the snow. Turning to the flash of my vision, I look, and she is running down the sidewalk in her slippers.
I call out to her, and both Carlos and I start to run, but she is coughing so hard now that she stops. She’s bent over coughing, and I go to put my hand on her back and the blanket drops to the snow. She turns around, holding her stomach, and the tears are falling so hard down her cheeks.
She screams at me, pain and agony twisting her beautiful face.
“She’s mine! You can’t have her. She is my everything, you fucken bastard, and you will not take her away from me. She’s mine!”
I see what she’s holding so carefully, and I fall to my knees. She is pregnant with our baby. She is alone, sick and having our baby. My heart breaks in half that she hates me that much. Shethinks she would need to do this on her own.
I fall to my knees in the snow. I plead with her.
“Bunny, please.”
She’s screaming and coughing but my eyes are glued to her little bump. A baby? Our baby.
Carlos moves to her, holding his hand out, but she yells at him.
“Fuck you to, Carlos! Fuck all of you!”
She hates us all, and I can’t blame her. She looks at me, and I can see the hatred in her eyes as she tries to scream. Her voice is getting weaker in the cold, and I can see her body visibly shaking now.
“You’ll never have her. I finally have someone to love me. ME!”
