Chapter Nineteen: What has he done?

"You better find my daughter and bring her back Anthony, or so help me God!" my fingers are thrumming impatiently on the steering wheel, my eyes darting from left to right, watching the cars cruise past in disdain. The traffic light has been red for what feels like hours, grating whatever patience I had left to shreds of worthless filth.

"George, I'm on my way there myself. Timothy is keeping track of her phone. We'll find her. And I'll kill the bastard myself if I have to." I commend the calmness in my voice, the complete opposite of the turmoil that is burning my insides. Christ, I hope she's okay. I don't know how I'd live with myself if – no, cut it out. Focus.

"I'll never forgive you if anything happens to my little girl. I trusted you with her!" he's frustrated, I understand. He's three hours out of town, powerless and out of reach. I have to make this right. I owe him that much. I owe it to her.

"Tim, update." the bite in my tone startles him. I don't mean to be an ass; I just need to find her. "The phone's location is pinging on the same road from the SOS, sir." He's stressed, I can see it on his face when I avert my eyes to him for a few seconds. He was the last person my father hired before he kicked it. A loyal and efficient man. But that will mean bullocks to me if he can't locate her. I need to find her. SAPS is fucking useless and I won't be putting Nia's life in their hands. It's Azania, you fucking moron.

[Emergency SOS]

There's an emergency and I

need your help. You're being

notified because you are one of

my emergency contacts.

My current location is:

Sardinia Bay Rd, Lovemore,

Port Elizabeth, 6001, South Africa

(36053'50,88''S 25035'8,29''E).

My teeth grind violently as my eyes quickly skim the SOS. The text George forwarded me was still on display on the touch screen display of my car. She isn't far. I just need to get through these traffic stops and on the freeway. I will catch up to that asshole if it is the last thing I do. No one has ever outrun the Viper, and that fucking lunatic will not be the first.

George is talking to the police over the phone. He insisted on staying on the line with me, so we can keep each other updated immediately as the events happen. The cops are behind me; he tells me. I don't see them in my rear-view, but that does not surprise me, can't rely on them for anything but bribes. My hands are moist with sweat, and I have to constantly wipe them on my thighs. How did it get so fucked up? You had one job Anthony, one easy job.

I press my foot hard on the gas once I hit the freeway, weaving past slow motorists. The loud sirens startle me, the blue lights bright and blinding. The cops are behind me. Good. I won't have to murder him. The GPS says to take a left at the next available turn, and I know we're close. I hope I'm not too late.

"I would like to take him unawares. George, could you ask the police to hold off on the sirens until it's absolutely necessary?" he mutters in response, repeating my request to whoever was on his other line. A few moments later, the sirens stop. We're driving down a narrow road, with abrupt twists and turn. This is the road to Sardinia Bay. Is he taking her to the beach? Timothy is twitching next to me, typing furiously on his laptop. My head is pounding, my knuckles split from my assault on that asshole. Still, this can't be worse than what she must be going through. I clench the steering wheel at the thought, my heart racing.

"Right turn, sir." Tim chips, sounding firmer than before. My face settles in a frown. Okay, not the beach then. I rack my brain briefly, trying to remember what is on the road he is taking. I came up short. My heart is pounding loudly in my ears as I press on the gas, pushing my wagon farther. I should have been driving something else. The i8 is faster. I'm clocking 220kms when Tim claps his hands. He explains before I can ask.

"Sir, they seemed to have stopped. I didn't want to mention it earlier in case it was a connection issue, but the phone is still online. Unless it has been tossed, I think we've found her. Just one more kilo, sir." I hear George breath a small sigh of relief over the speakers of the car. I swallow. I'll only feel relieved once I have seen her with mine own eyes. The first thing I see is the car. The trunk is open, the rest of it seemingly still in good shape. That's a good sign, there hasn't been an accident.

And then, I see him. My blood starts to simmer once I have processed what I'm seeing. I'm going to kill him. Azania is lying motionless beneath him. Christ, what has he done? Am I too late?

Azania

I am not religious although I know that there is a God. None of this would be possible without one. But there are too many contradictions in the bible to make me religious. Yet as I was clutching my phone in the darkness of the trunk, I prayed to the only God I knew for certain, existed. I prayed for network, and a good enough signal to send my dad my location. To send him any indication of where I was, what was happening to me. And for a while, God wasn't listening. For a moment, I lost faith. But God lives, God hears, and God delivers. My phone started buzzing with incoming texts. I almost squealed in delight, but adrenaline told me I didn't have much time. I had to reach him. I dialled his number; his phone went unanswered. I don't have Jackass' number. The police, stupid. Call the police. What's their number? 112? 10111? Both numbers are engaged. Am I going to die at the hands of this man because the police aren't answering their phones?

I tried to blink away the tears, needing to stay calm enough to think. Ayanda. She'd know what to do. Her phone went unanswered too. She'd be in class, Kevin and Justin as well. I tried the police again, wanting to rip my hair out when I was answered by an automated voice telling me to please hold. The car had stopped moving. No, no, nooo. Remembering something I never knew I needed, I pressed my power button five times in succession, hoping my phone would do what it promised me to do if I was ever in trouble. I kept pressing the button, sending as many SOS's as I could, as a door was shut. I could hear the crunch of the gravel under his boots as he walked towards the trunk. My heart's in my throat again. You have to fight. He will not take you without one.

I stashed my phone in my Doc Martens, surprised it fit, and hoped the psycho would be stupid enough not to search me. I rummaged around the trunk trying to find something I could use as a weapon, my heart falling to my stomach when I came up empty. I mumbled a quick prayer again, trusting God to save me. The trunk opened, the daylight blinding me for a few moments. I let him get his arms around me, hauling me out of the small space. Once he put me on my feet, the adrenaline came surging through my veins and I raised my leg to and stepped hard on his toes. The grunt he screamed out satisfied me, and I immediately drove my elbow hard into his gut, earning myself another painful grunt. His arms slipped from around me, so I turned around to give him a sharp knee in the groin. While he was doubled over, I spun and ran, not knowing where I was. I just had to get away from him.

We were in the middle of nowhere. No buildings, no cars, and no one in sight. I ran in the direction we came from, on the only road in sight. I could hear him cussing behind me, promising to have my neck once he was done with my cunt. I couldn't see past the tears in my eyes, but I knew I had to keep going. I didn't want to imagine what would happen to me if he did. Tata, where are you? Run Azania, run and don't look back.

Instead, I fell. I cried out in agony at the pain coming from my knee where I had scraped it. Tears fell consistently. I yearned to sit there and curl into a foetal position. I yearned for the comfort of my father's arms. I wanted kisses from Kevin, laughs from Ayanda, to be irritated by Jackass. The thought of him breaks my heart. He left me, and I'm here because of him.