Teaching My Bookworm Stepsister

Maverick's P.O.V.

**************

I drove to the coffee shop like a madman. I'm lucky that no cop tried to pull me over. When I got to the shop, I stormed inside. Brooke, Megan, and Molly are huddled near the women's restroom sobbing. "Do any of you know what happened?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

"She just went to the bathroom. She said she was going to call you to come get her after," Brooke said.

Brooke handed me Kapri's phone.

"It looks like she was just about to call you before..." She trailed off as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"There isn't a trace of her?" I asked.

Brooke shook her head.

"Damnit!" I shouted as I punched the bathroom door.

I pulled my phone out, and dialed Dad.

"Maverick, where did you go? Did you get Kapri?" He asked immediately.

"She's gone." I gritted out.

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" He asked.

"I think someone took her. Her phone is here, but she isn't," I said.

Dad went silent for a moment.

"Stay right there. See if someone will show you the cameras there. I'm going to call someone I trust at the police station." He said.

"Got it." I replied, and hung up.

I took one step towards the counter when Brooke grabbed my arm. I turned around to look at her.

"There's something I think you should know." She said. "The real reason why Kapri wanted to come here without you."

"What?" I asked.

Brooke reached into Kapri's bag, and pulled out something wrapped in paper towel. She handed it to me. I hesitantly took it, and unwrapped the item. "A.. pregnancy test?" I asked.

Brooke didn't say anything. I flipped the test over to see that it was positive. My eyes widened, and I almost dropped it.

"This.. is Kapri's?" I asked.

Brooke nodded.

"She was freaked out, but.. she was so excited to tell you," She said.

I looked back at the test. Kapri is pregnant? With my baby?

This is.. terrible. That evil fu.cker has his hands on my nerd. My pregnant nerd.

"I have to get Kapri back," I stated sternly.

I wrapped the test back up, and handed it back to Brooke.

"Keep that hidden for now." I told her.

Then I marched up to the counter.

"Oh hey, I recognize you. You're that kid that has the hots for Kapri, right?" The girl on the other side asked.

God, it was obvious to everyone except Kapri.

"Where is she, by the way? I thought she was here?" She asked.

"That's what I came up here for. It looks like Kapri is missing. She left her phone behind," I said.

"Oh my god! What?" The girl asked with wide panicked eyes.

"Can I please look at your cameras?" I asked.

The girl nodded.

"Yes, come this way with me." She said.

The girl led me to the back of the shop, to a small room. She sat down in front of a computer, and started clicking. "Do you know where she was last at?" She asked me.

"The bathroom. That's where her phone was found. I'm not sure how long ago. Maybe ten minutes, a little longer." I told her.

I moved behind the girl as she continued to click through. I kept my eyes in the screen waiting to catch a glimpse of Kapri.

"There," I said, pointing to the one in the top left corner. "Who is that?" I asked.

There is a woman that has her hand wrapped around Kapri's wrist. It looked like she was pulling Kapri to the back of the building. It didn't look like Kapri was putting up much of a fight. Does she know this woman? Wait.. Is this Kapri's sister?

"Have you seen this woman in here before?" I asked the girl.

"Yeah, a couple of times. I saw her and Kapri talking once before. She came in every day for three weeks after that. She would get a black coffee, and just sit here for a couple of hours. I thought it was kind of weird, but.. It was clear that she was trying to get a break from something. At least it seemed that way to me anyway." She told me.

That's suspicious.

"Do you have a camera out back?" I asked.

"We do. It was broken for a while. We just recently got it fixed. I can't guarantee that it's working properly though." She said.

"Pull up this time frame to that camera. Let's see." I said.

"You're surprisingly calm for someone who's girlfriend is missing." The girl muttered as she clicked the mouse.

"If I don't stay calm, I might not find her." I replied.

Honestly, that's just what I keep telling myself to keep a hold of myself. What I really want to do is scream. I want to beat the sh.it out of my grandfather until he tells me where Kapri is. I want to yell, hit, throw things, anything..

But none of that will get Kapri back to me. My grandfather is an evil bas.tard. I could cut off his fingers and toes, and he still wouldn't tell me what I wanted to know. Throwing a tantrum is just going to waste time. I need to stay focused.

The camera pulled up, and I could see a black car in the alleyway. I watched as Kapri finally pulled her arm free. She's staring at the car as realization starts to set in. Obviously, this was the moment she figured out something wasn't right. Kapri took a step back. Only for a man to grab her from behind. He threw her into the car as the woman got in the front seat. Then they drove away. That must be Kapri's s***m donor.

"Oh my god.." The girl breathed out. "Kapri was kidnapped."

"Does anyone know that you have a camera back there?" I asked.

"I mean.. it's clearly back there." She replied.

They must have staked the place out though. If that man was planning to kidnap Kapri he must have known that the camera out back was broken. I'm sure Grandpa helped him figure that out.

"When was this camera fixed?" I asked.

"Two days ago," the girl told me.

"Is there a way for you to get me copies of this? And rewind so that I can get the license plate number. Clearly, these people didn't know your camera got fixed." I ordered.

"I can't get copies. That's not something I knew how to do. But I wrote down the license plate already." She said as she handed me a small piece of paper.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

I turned around to head out of the room. The girls are still waiting in the shop. All of them are crying now.

"I want you three to wait here. Just in case my dad sends someone. Don't leave, and stay with each other." I ordered.

Brooke nodded to me, and I walked out of the shop. I pulled my phone out to call Dad.

"Did you find anything?" Dad asked.

"She was kidnapped. Looks like it was her.. father." I gritted out. "Grandpa must have helped them get information about the coffee shop. They had a car waiting out back. The girl that works here told me that the camera was broken until two days ago. I got the license plate number." I told him.

"Good. Come straight home. Text me the plate number before you leave. I'll send it in." Dad said.

"Okay," I said. "There was a woman with them too. I think it was the girl that Kapri said tried to talk to her the last time she was here." I said.

Dad sighed heavily.

"I'm not surprised," he mumbled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked as I got in my car.

Dad sighed again.

"Her name is Darby Willard. She is Dale's first daughter. That's that piece of sh.it's name if you were wondering. When Dale was arrested, there was a warrant to search his home. In the basement they found... a horrible scene. Apparently, his real MO was that he would kidnap women. I won't go into the details of what he did to those women, but.. The police found Darby when they searched the home. She was 8 years old, and was born there. After some investigating.. The police found out that Dale was using Darby to help him kidnap women." He told me.

"And she just helped him again? After all of this time?" I asked angrily.

"Manipulation is a very real thing, Maverick," Dad said. "Daby Willard was living a normal life up until a few months ago. Her job called for a wellfare check when she didn't show up for a few shifts. The police went to her apartment but couldn't find her. A few days later, they filed a missing person's report. No one has heard from her since. My guess is that she's a victim as well. Dale must be threatening her, or something."

I slammed my fist on my steering wheel.

"And what about Grandpa?" I asked.

Dad was silent for a moment.

"Henry has returned home. I couldn't keep him here. However, I've been having a PI look into a few things for me.. And he found something. Something that I sent over to a friend from the FBI. The moment he returned home, there were several police officers waiting. He is now in custody being questioned." Dad told me.

My jaw dropped.

"What did you find?" I asked.

"On top of imbessling money.. It seems your grandfather had made some dangerous investments. Including illegally bribing a judge to get Dale free. He screwed over one too many people. I reached out to them as well. Many men of power, including Antonio Greuvra, are testifying against him. Henry is not getting free anytime soon. None of his lawyers are willing to work with him now that I've hired them against him. He has nothing. Hopefully, that will encourage him to give us some information about Kapri's whereabouts. Although I doubt it," Dad said.

Yeah, no kidding. Grandpa isn't going to help us do anything. This will be his last way to get back at us.

"Does April know?" I asked.

Dad sighed.

"No, I was waiting to hear from you first," he said.

"I'll be home in a few minutes." I said. "We can tell her together. Everything."