Chapter Twenty-Three Emily rubbed the palm of her hand against the window pane, clearing what she suspected to be years of dust from the glass so she could look out. The sun was starting to fade in the sky and she could see clouds beginning to drift in. It looked as if they were in for a storm. She didn't need the situation to get anymore creepy and she was starting to believe that everything was against her, even the weather. She inhaled sharply when she felt Riley's presence behind her. For the most part, he had been calm towards her, only raising his voice a couple of times at her smart remarks that she kept coming. She knew that he found this whole situation to be comical, but she was not trying to add comedy to it...she was trying to add reality. Riley could not accept the fact that his once weak Emily had transformed herself into a strong, independent woman in the short period of time that she had been away from him.

"Are you going to say anything or are you going to stand behind me and watch my every move as if I were a child?" she asked him without turning around. The tone of her voice meant that she was serious and she needed no looks to accompany it. Her words were now enough for him.

He laughed causing chills to arise on her arms, but she showed no signs of being affected by his display of emotion. "I didn't know that it was illegal for me to watch you, Em...I've watched you many times before, why should this be any different?"

"You don't seem to understand that things are different, Riley," she said, turning to face him with bravery flaring in her eyes. "You don't love me..you love controlling me. But what you don't seem to understand is that I'm through being controlled...I'm not scared of you anymore."

He let out another laugh and turned his back to her, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it before he spoke. "I know you've became stronger, Emily...and for some odd reason, I find it sexy..I find it sexy that I can make your knees shake just by my presence..I have an addiction to it, Em...an addiction that I don't play on ending anytime soon. You might as well face it sweetheart, you're in it for the long haul."

She was over trying to state her point with him. There was no use in talking to a hard headed man...her words only went in one ear and out the other. She walked past him, keeping her head held high, and sat down on the brown leather couch that was in the center of the huge living room. She crossed her legs and clicked her teeth together, knowing that he would not be able to stand the sound that she was producing. She knew that he would try and hide the fact that she was bothering him, but there was only a point until which Riley could remain strong.

"Emily..stop it before I put a piece of tape on that smart mouth of yours."

She ignored him and kept clicking her teeth together, trying to hold back her laughter as he walked in front of her and frowned. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger and started moving her right foot up and down, fueling the fire that was igniting in his eyes. She jumped slightly when his wrist came down on hers and pulled her hand away from her hair. She immediately stopped clicking her teeth and watched him tremble with anger. "Is something wrong, Riley?"

"Damn you, Emily...I'm sick of you smarting off to me," he seethed as he pulled his hand back, setting up position to smack her across the face. "You've just used your last chance with me."

She knew that he was going to hit her, but she wasn't scared. She braced herself for the impact and only slightly winced when she felt his hand strike her cheek. She bit her lip to hold back the tears and looked at him with anger starting to flare in her own green eyes. "Its funny to me that you can only react in a physical manner...is something wrong with your verbal skills, baby?"

Instead of hitting her again, he grabbed a handful of her auburn hair and pulled her to her feet, bringing her face to face with him. "Shut it, Emily."

She nodded her head and rubbed the stinging spot on her cheek when he walked out of the room. She had survived the first night of being with him alone. She knew that he would do nothing more that night because he was trying to contemplate her actions and what they meant. This would give her some time to start thinking of a plan in order to try and escape. She knew she could not sit around and wait for someone to save her because Riley might decide to move her in a couple of days and she didn't want to have to start out in new surroundings. She knew that there was a way to beat Riley at his own game, her only problem was she didn't exactly know how. She did have one advantage to her...she was smart and she knew that she could figure it out in time. Her only problem was she didn't know how much time she had to figure it all out.

JC rolled over and closed his eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep but not being able to succeed. All he could think about was Emily and what she must be going through right then and there. He wished with all that he had that he could help her, but he couldn't. He didn't know where she was and he didn't know how to give her his strength. He never in his wildest dreams had believed that something like this could ever happen to anyone that he knew.

He opened his eyes and sighed. It was hopeless trying to get some sleep when all he could think about was her. He could picture her perfectly...her long auburn hair falling over her shoulders and her green eyes that gave him chills. She was so beautiful and he could not even begin to believe how fast he had fallen for her, only to have her taken away from him before he could tell her what she had done to him. He was in love with her on such a strong level that it amazed him. He NEEDED her beside him so he could wrap his arms around her and kiss her hair, just simple gestures to let her know that he cared for her. He needed to be able to look into her eyes and not whisper a word to let her know how beautiful and perfect that she was.

He wanted to curse at everyone for letting this happen, and even though he knew it wasn't their fault, he wanted to blame it on someone. If only she hadn't been so damn stubborn and persistent about working.. he thought to himself, stopping in mid thought when he realized there was no use in wondering about how things would be if the situation had been different. He had to analyze reality instead of silly notions that he had no control over.

"Emily," he whispered out into the darkened room, hearing his own voice echo in the emotion that he felt himself drowning in. He felt so helpless and knew that this was doing nothing to help Emily but he was losing control. He felt lost and alone...If only there was a way for him to figure out this cabin that Whitney had mentioned to the police...he might be able to try and locate her.

He pulled the sheet off his body and got out of bed, knowing that he would not be able to fall asleep for a long time. He walked over to the computer that was in Justin's spare bedroom and turned it on, watching as the start up process quickly ended and the desktop was presented to him. Clicking on the Internet icon, he drummed his fingers on the wood desk and waited for the sign-in screen to be presented to him. After typing in his screen name and password that only a few people knew, he hit connect and began to form a plan in his mind. The INTERNET was full of useful information and he knew that there had to be a site that had a listing of all the cabins in the Florida area. His gut told him that Emily was still in his state and he was determined to find her. After typing in his search request, his eyes widened at the results the he received.

Without hesitation, he moved the mouse to click on the first result he received and waited to be transported to the page location. 'Hang on, Emily,' he thought to himself as his eyes began skimming the article. 'I will find you.'

Chapter Twenty-Four