Three Years Ago

"Hi, I'm Josiah." I couldn't believe it! The hot guy with the British accent was speaking to us! Tianna and I had been perving on for the last 10 minutes while waiting in line for a cashier. We were at the Dunkin' Donuts around the corner from our jobs. Since he had entered every female in the shop had tried to get his attention.

Between his dark coffee-colored skin, caramel light eyes, dimpled smile, full lips, and muscled body, he was enthralling. At first, I thought he was going after Tianna. Even though she was married, guys often hit on her. After all, she was the prettier of the two of us. Long hair and big brown doe eyes had always made her a favorite amongst the opposite sex. Surprisingly, after a few minutes of mundane chatter, he asked for my number and wanted to know if he could see me later that night.

Although I was twenty-one, it was my first date and I didn't know what to expect. He had been incredible! We had gone to dinner and spent the evening laughing and talking about nothing and everything.

He asked a lot of questions! At one point, I felt a bud of unease in my stomach but I brushed it aside since he was so forthcoming with details about his own life. After that night, we only saw each other a few more times because of his job and mine, but we texted and called daily.

It occurred to me, once, that I had no idea how old he was or even what he did for work. As much as we talked, he never brought up either topic, and I never bothered to ask. I just knew that he held my attention and I felt safe when he was around. I didn't suspect anything until I saw him on the television about a month after we met.

I was flicking through channels searching for something to watch when his familiar face flashed across the screen. I flipped back to the channel excitedly only to have my worst nightmare come to life.

There he was; standing at a podium next to a man I could only assume was a police Captain. He was dressed in a dark formal jacket with silver buttons over a white collared shirt with a black tie, pleated pants, and white gloves. The caption on the bottom read, "Detective Walker awarded the Police Lifesaving Medal for tracking down a kidnapping victim who had been missing for 2 years."

I freaked out! Now I knew why he had never mentioned his job. He was working with my parents to retrieve me! There could be no other explanation. I felt betrayed, and stupid, but underneath those feelings was a bubbling rage. We might not have been a couple, or even dating officially, but he had lied to me.

To make matters worse, when I Googled him, I found out that his job was to work closely with families to find and bring home missing kids. He was known for being relentless in his search and had a high success rate.

I had been on the phone with Tianna trying to explain to her, through my tears, that I had to leave town when there was a knock at the door. A wave of fear crashed over me making me dizzy. My parents were here to take me! Josiah must have told them where I lived. Croaking a 'goodbye' to Tianna, I sprinted towards the back door praying I could escape.

I was almost through the door when I heard his booming voice. "Nikki! I know you're here. Let me in. I can explain." There was a pause, and then I heard a desperate plea; "Please." I wavered although I knew that I should run. My parents would kill me if they got their hands on me but I had built a life here, and I didn't want to leave.

I tip-toed to the front door and paused contemplating my options before fumbling with the locks. I cracked the door open just enough to peek out. I looked past him expecting to see my parents.

"Please Nik; I just want to explain. I would never do anything to hurt you." "You already have" I thought but I opened the door fully. His head was bowed and when he looked up his face was twisted with guilt and shame.

"May I come in? I won't be long. Please."

I watched him carefully, searching for a sign that would give away the real reason for his visit…to turn me over to my parents.

I couldn't detect anything other than regret, so I moved aside and let him in. Then I stepped out and looked up and down the hallway making sure there was no one else around. "It's just me, Nikki. I promise." I snorted at the word 'promise'.

As if that was supposed to mean something to me! I listened intently for a few seconds, while watching for any movement, before stepping back into my apartment and closing the door quickly. Fastening all three locks, I stepped back and checked to make sure they were all latched securely.

I wasn't taking any chances! If he had brought my parents, it would take them a few minutes to get through that door; giving me time to escape through the back.

Taking a deep breath, I turned toward Josiah and just looked at him. It was only three days ago that we had been curled up on the sofa watching "The Escape Plan," but right now, I didn't want to be within one foot of him.

The fact that my parents had convinced him to help them find me meant they must have told him some made up, horrible, heart-wrenching story. Although, knowing them, they probably stopped looking for me the day after I ran away.

There is no way they cared enough to go to the police. One of my teachers, or friends,

must have realized that I was gone and forced them to file a missing person's report.

Josiah watched me as I watched him. My mind was a whirlwind of questions but the loudest one was 'how much of the last month was true?'

"Nikki," he began...he paused to search my face, but it was blank. He ran his hand over his face, a nervous tic I had become familiar with over the last month. He took a step closer to me, but I stepped back. "Don't! Just tell me why you are here and then leave."

Hurt clouded his face for a moment. Then he nodded and began to speak.

"Your parents didn't hire me, not directly. On average, two thousand kids are reported missing every day. As one of the best trackers in the department, I get to choose my cases. I always follow my gut when choosing. The moment I saw your face something tugged at me and I took your case."

He had stopped to look at me again, probably to try to read my thoughts, but I had learned a long time ago how to control my facial expressions so that I showed no emotion. I could tell he was debating with himself. Several times, he looked as if he was going to say something or reach out to touch me but thought better of it.

"I approached your family, not the other way around. According to the case file, they believed someone had come in and kidnapped you in the middle of the night while they slept. The officers who got assigned to the case noted that there were some discrepancies in their report, but they could not figure out what had really happened.

By the time I got your file, you had been missing for about a year and were at the legal age to be on your own. The only reason you were still in our database is because your disappearance was reported as a kidnapping.

My job isn't necessarily to bring kids back to their parents. It's to find an answer and close the case. I tracked you to Chicago where I searched for months but there was no trace of you so I put your file in the cold cases archive. Finding you here in Phoenix was a complete fluke.

A few months ago, I had a rough case involving a girl who had been missing for five years. Her captor had kept her alive but when he realized I was closing in the bastard killed her.

To be that close and lose her...I wasn't the same after.

My Captain forced me to take a few weeks off. When I ran into you at Dunkin 'Donuts, I was shocked. Instead of re-opening the investigation, I decided to get to know you, Nikki."

I must have blinked because suddenly he was in front of me, holding my hands. He had moved so quickly I had no time to stop him or step away. He towered over me, using his height to his advantage as he stared down into my eyes. I couldn't deny the passion between us. I had begun to fall for him.

"I'm falling in love with you, Nikki."

I froze, my chaotic thoughts coming to a dead stop at his words. H-he was falling for me?! With a roar, my mind retaliated. Like hell!

Wrenching myself from his grasp, I shouted, "No! You don't get to say that! You don't get to have feelings. You lied to me. You could have just told me what you did for a living.

You could have told me that my family asked you to look for me, but you weren't really on the case. Now you want me to take your word for it?! I can't, Josiah." I shook my head vehemently, "There is just no way! I would always be wondering if you are lying to me or if you will change your mind one day and rat me out to my parents.

I'm sorry, Josiah, but I can't trust you ever again."

I could only imagine what I had looked like, my eyes wide with fear and disbelief as tears leaked from them. I don't remember much more about the rest of that evening. I do recall that I woke up the next morning on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. That was the last time I had seen Josiah Walker.