Dream Hunter

Chapter 13

Gladys hated tuna fish. Since she had been taken, her captor fed her tuna and apples for every meal. She hated it and told him so but he didn't seem to care. She was alone in a room that she guessed was upstairs because the window to her right didn't have a first-story view.

She tried moving her limbs against the ropes that held her captive but as usual, they didn't budge.

Her captor had left an hour ago. He came and went as he pleased. Each time he checked on her, he asked her about Roberto and Jax as though he were pumping her for information. He even asked her about Tristan.

She never gave him any information that he wanted which irritated him. Gladys figured that's why he continued to feed her tuna and apples. She hated both.

She thought of their last conversation.

"So your brother is a detective? You married a detective too. You think that's a coincidence?" he had asked her.

"That's none of your business," Gladys had told him.

"Why not? I have your life in my hands. Don't you get that? Or are you waiting for your precious husband to save you?"

"Roberto will save me," Gladys said firmly.

"Perhaps."

Gladys looked away. The smell of tuna fish was making her feel nauseous.

"Does your brother know you're pregnant?"

His question was answered with silence.

"Do you think he even cares about you? What am I saying? Of course he doesn't care about you. He probably doesn't give two craps about you. You think he even knows that you're missing?"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about," Gladys seethed. "Tristan loves me! He's probably with Roberto right now looking for me. If I were you, I'd watch your back because when they find you, they're going to tear you apart."

He threw his head back and laughed, holding his stomach, "Do you really believe that?"

"The bonds between siblings are strong. Don't you know that?"

"You really believe that? Do you believe in Santa Clause too? What about the Tooth Fairy?" Her captor snorted. "I have a brother. He's one of those perfect men type. A hero-type."

"The opposite of you?" Gladys muttered.

"Yes and no. On the outside he seems perfect. To strangers, he seems like a good guy. The kind of guy that would save a kitten stuck in a tree or help a little old lady cross the street."

"You sound jealous."

"Do I?" he asked. "I'm not. You see...he has to hide it. I don't."

"Hide what?" Gladys asked before she could stop herself.

"His dark side. We all have one. My dear brother has a secret. A secret only I know. He may act like he's a righteous man but he's not. Deep down he's done something that's probably eating at him. Now that I think about it...I'm actually stronger than him."

"How so?"

"Don't you get it? I've embraced my dark side. I own it. If I didn't, it would become a burden that slowly ate at me. Unlike me, my brother tries to hide his darkness and that will eventually be his downfall."

"You're wrong," Gladys whispered.

"How so?"

"You said embracing the darkness is freeing but that's what makes it so easy to do. Your brother chose a more difficult path. Despite stepping into that darkness you've mentioned, he's fighting the temptation to live there like you do. In case you've never read a comic before, that's exactly what makes him hero material. Between the two of you, you're the weak one. Not him."