True Control 4.1: A Dark Romance (True Series) Page 2

  Chapter 3 HIM

  “What were you doing here, Jake?” My voice isn’t my own. I can’t be this calm and this angry. Is this what insanity sounds like? He only stares at me. I see to my side that Jeff has moved to stand slightly in between us, but is staring in disbelief at Jake too.

  Killaney interrupts, “Why didn’t you come forward with this information earlier?”

  Jake turns his attention from me to Killaney. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

  Now Killaney is staring in disbelief, with a little laugh, “You didn’t think it would matter?! Ok…” He takes a breath. “Have a seat.” He points to the other side of the table from me. Jeff moves in this direction following Jake, keeping between us still.

  Jake won’t make eye contact with me. Killaney starts a new sheet of notes. But I can tell that he’s taking notice of my slowly heating anger. I’ve wanted to hit something all night and Jake’s face is looking pretty good for it.

  “So…you arrived in this apartment about 10:30 a.m. yesterday?”

  “Yes.”

  “Lucy answered the door?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did she seem then?”

  Jake frowns, his mask of neutrality lost for a second. He blinks it back in place. My little brother, the emotional one. He’s calm?! “She seemed fine.”

  “Fine? What else?”

  He pauses again. “She was happy to see me.” He looks down at his clasped hands on the table to avoid seeing my reaction.

  “Do you see…” Killaney glances at me and shifts in his seat a little not finishing his question. “Was there anyone else here?”

  “No.”

  “Did she mention where she was going in the afternoon?”

  “Yes. Her doctor,” He glances briefly in my direction, “and errands.”

  “Her list of chores?” Killaney is sarcastic. I wish I could punch him too. I take a few deep silent breaths to get under control again.

  “Yes.” Jake’s voice takes on a little edge.

  “Were you just in the neighborhood…?”

  “No. I came here to see Lucy.” Damn. I put my hands under the table to hide my fists.

  “Was Lucy expecting you?”

  “Yes.” Jeff moves a little closer. I freeze with my fists clenched as much as my jaw. I can’t believe what I’m hearing!

  Chapter 3 HER

  I try to move my head and feel a cold, damp cloth against the right side of my face, scratching against my cheek. My head bounces a little and I vomit.

  “Fuck!” A man’s voice…a voice I don’t know. I’m thrown hard to dirt and gravel, unable to break my fall, my body still tied. My cry is weak. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

  I remember now. I’m bound. But I’m out of the car. I listen to the scream coming from my left cheek and leave my head against the dirt. I can’t move. I open my right eye just as something is thrown over my face.

  The smell of the damp cloth and my own vomit is overpowering. I vomit a little again, right onto the dirt not even lifting my head.

  “Stop that!” A kick to my thigh accompanies this. I try to curl up more, but can’t hardly bring my legs up.

  A hand rips off the cloth and grabs my head up, another grabs my shoulder and yanks me a foot; some hair pulls loose. I scream until I’m dropped again.

  I hear his footsteps crunch away from me. They clump up wooden steps. One two three four. They clump across more wood. One two.

  Keys rattle together, against wood. A door bangs open. I jump against the dirt. I’m hiccupping, trying to get control of my breathing. I turn my head. Breathe. Don’t you dare vomit! Breathe! Max’s voice helps.

  I open my eyes. No. I open my right eye. My left isn’t listening to me. A weak light is behind me. I see the front of the car I must’ve been in. I’m lying on a dirt and gravel drive. I can’t see beyond into the darkness.

  I’m lifted roughly up, my left cheek banging against damp skin. I cry out, squeezing my right eye shut. “You vomit on me again, bitch, and I’ll shove it down your throat.”

  I open my right eye, but can’t see his face. I wildly look around, can’t focus. Focus! I’m trying, Max…really I am. Why don’t you tell him to stop banging my head?! I almost laugh. You’re getting hysterical, baby.

  I open my right eye again just as I pass through the wood door I heard open. He spins around quickly and it takes all the strength I have not to throw up. I’m dropped onto something cushioned. I bounce but keep my stomach down. Good girl.

  Chapter 4 HIM

  “Do you see your sister-in-law alone often?” Killaney is keeping his eyes on me as he questions Jake now.

  “Not often.” Jake’s voice is still even. With the detective no longer watching him, he turns his eyes to me. I can’t read his face. Pain? Guilt? Anger?

  “What’s not often?”

  “Once a week.” I keep my expression unmoved, but my hands clench and unclench under the table. I didn’t know this. How did I not know this?!

  Killaney pauses to look between us. I don’t take my eyes off my brother. I don’t even move when Dad comes back in and stops behind Jake.

  “So…you come over here every time or…?” It’s a quiet question. He’s trying to keep everything calm with his tone.

  “Yes.”

  “Same day each week?”

  “Yes.” I see Dad’s eyes turning from questioning to stern above Jake’s head, but I still keep my stare on Jake.

  “Yesterday?” Jake only nods. “So, every Friday you come here to see Lucy?” Jake nods again. “Same time?”

  “Yes.”

  I know why before Killaney asks him. “Because Max has a set staff meeting.”

  The detective sits back. I don’t wait for him to ask anything else.

  I lean forward, only a little, my voice is edged glass. “How long was this going on?”

  Jake shakes his head in the slightest way and looks at Killaney quickly before meeting my eyes again. “Only a little while.”

  “So why were you seeing my wife every week, Jake, without my knowledge?”

  But Killaney breaks in with his own question, “What’s a little while? Weeks, months?”

  Jake tears his eyes from mine, but doesn’t meet Killaney’s. He looks at his hands instead. “It’s been a few months.”

  “How’d it start?”

  Jake again shakes his head and keeps his eyes lowered at Killaney’s question. He finally lifts his head and looks at me once more. “The first time was after we picked Lucy up from that Italian place near where she worked.”

  I get the looks now. Jake’s trying to warn me against pushing him to answer in front of the police. This is why he didn’t say he was here.

  Because that was the night I beat Lucy pretty badly with the belt. But that still doesn’t explain why Jake has been coming over when he knows I’m not here. To see my Lucy. And it’s been going on for months.

  Chapter 4 HER

  My right eye is pressed against a scratchy sofa. It’s covered in wet-dog smelling hair. My knees press into its back. I can’t open my left eye at all. Even trying to pushes the throbbing aside for shooting stars of head-ripping pain. I breathe, trying to listen. Focus, baby.

  And I’m chilled to hear something familiar.

  A leather belt being pulled slowly out of pants inches above me.

  The whoosh and strike together with my scream fill my head with a new pain. The belt doesn’t stop hitting me, everywhere. My legs, arms, feet, hands, butt, back. The belt licks at every inch of me. I bury my face in the cushion to try to protect the only thing I can. The belt hits my head, my ear. I scream in and out the nasty hair stuck to the cushion.

  He stops. I’m a bound ball of fire. I don’t hear him move. I don’t see him. I try to calm myself quickly. To swallow my cries, ignore the pain.

  He grabs around my waist with one arm. I catch a glimpse of dark hair, a white tank top, strong arms. That’s it. He carries me around the sofa and tosses me
over its high back.

  My arms are pinned painfully under me, still bound between my legs and attached to the rope around my ankles. I teeter over the edge of the sofa. I try to press my knees against the back of it to balance. I pull my head up despite the shooting pain to try to teeter back away from the cushion. I catch glimpses of a dark room, hardwood floor. A light on somewhere down a hall. I’m shocked. It’s a normal looking living room.

  His hand is rough on my back, but he keeps me from falling forward. He stands behind me and I scream when I hear his zipper. He rips off my thong and I don’t have a chance to try to move or kick. I don’t stop screaming when he enters me, slamming his hips against my ass, pushing the sofa. But I hear his grunts and moans anyway. I feel the tearing at my pussy lips.

  I try to scream louder.

  Chapter 5 HIM

  “So what was so special about that Friday that you came over to see Lucy when you knew your brother wouldn’t be here, Jake?” Killaney isn’t going to let this go.

  Jake sighs but manages to only give a hint of apology in his look to me. He turns his eyes to Killaney again, “I wanted to check on Lucy. See how she was doing.” Here he tries to sound a little stronger, but it comes across as defensive, “She’s family after all.”

  “That’s nice. Family is important.” I’m not going to be able to hold my temper much longer with this sarcastic fuck.

  Dad moves to stand so Killaney would have to turn his head to see him, but I have a clear view of his warning look to me.

  Killaney doesn’t stop staring at Jake. “But you were so specific.” He looks at his notes, like he needs to refresh his memory of what was said only moments ago. “What was so special about picking Lucy up? You and Max right? Was that the night before or earlier in the week?”

  Jake clenches his jaw, but I answer. I’ve had enough. I’m calm when I say, “It was Wednesday night.” Everyone looks at me with a warning to shut up, except Killaney. He’s leaning in. “That was the night I punished Lucy for letting another man touch her while she was out with her friends.”

  I know this is foolish. I shouldn’t give this information to the police. They’ll only keep me on a suspect list longer. But the more information I can provide, the more questions we can get through quickly…it’ll all come out anyway. I don’t care what the police think of me. I only care about finding Lucy.

  Killaney is again shocked at my admission. “So…you punished her how exactly?”

  “I spanked her with a belt.”

  He leans back. But he has a quick mind, he recovers from his shock and zip lines down another cable of questioning. “And you knew this? That’s why you were worried about Lucy?” He’s turned to Jake again.

  “Yes.” Jake shrugs. “Well…I didn’t know exactly what happened that night between them. Not until I saw Lucy that first Friday morning.”

  “And how was she then…that Friday?”

  He looks apologetically to me. But that just pisses me off more. “Answers his questions, Jake.” I use the tone I know he responds to, the same one everyone responds to. The same tone I respond to when Dad still uses it on me.

  He lowers his head though before answering, “She was hurt.” Killaney questions with his hand moving sarcastically in a circular motion on his wrist. “She could hardly walk without wincing. She couldn’t sit.”

  I think back to that day. Lucy had a hard time sitting even a week later. But my fists clench again. But she never mentioned my brother visiting. Neither of them did!

  “Did you see any bruises on her?”

  “No.” I know this is true. At least that time. Everything would’ve been covered.

  “Did she tell you that she was injured? Did you offer to take her to a doctor?”

  I interrupt. To keep this moving along. The lawyer in me. “Detective Killaney. Let me just clarify something for you. My wife never saw a doctor from any punishment I gave her, she didn’t need one. And she never filed any complaints with the police. You’re welcome to check both of those things. I will clear any forms you may need to speak freely with her doctors.”

  He reminds me of Lucy. Expressive facial features. God, Lucy, where are you?!

  Chapter 5 HER

  He finally stops pounding me against the sofa. He must’ve cum. I don’t know. I don’t want to know. Oh God… I start to cry, but this is abruptly turned to a yelp when he tips me down towards the floor and I crash against the hardwood. Hard on my back, my head snapping and cracking against the floor. I see stars, but don’t pass out again. The ceiling is murky, my vision tunnels for a moment. I roll slowly to my right side. I’m looking through the legs of the sofa at a coffee table, a brick fireplace opposite.

  I hear him walk away. I hear a drawer opened, a loud clanging of silverware? Metal against metal. I hear his footsteps return to stand behind me. Instinct. I keep my eyes averted. On the floor in front of me.

  He squats down and breathes heavily over me. “You are a nice piece of ass, bitch.” A shiny metal huge knife appears in his hand in front of my face. Oh God, this is it. I’m sorry, Max! I love you! It’ll be over soon, baby…

  He puts the knife to the rope between my hands and ankles and I grunt a sigh as my body is given some freedom. I steal one quick glance up as he moves away. Blue eyes? Dark hair, stubble. Dark pants, dark shiny shoes.

  Chapter 6 HIM

  “So assuming that checks out…that Lucy didn’t seek the help of a doctor or the police. That still leaves you, Jake…you saw her and you continued to see her weekly for the last several months…” Killaney keeps eyeing between Jake and me.

  “Yes.” Jake is still reluctant in his answers, but he keeps his eyes on Killaney.

  “Because you were worried about her?”

  “Because I wanted her to know that she could talk to me…”

  I have to close my eyes to get the color red to clear. I don’t care if this is my brother saying it…another man, seeing my wife on a regular basis, behind back! I want to scream and rampage. Instead, I breathe in and out and finally, unclench my fists. That won’t help find her. I need to stay calm, to help her.

  “And what did she talk about to you?”

  Jake shrugs. “Everything. Nothing.”

  “About her marriage?”

  “Sometimes.”

  Killaney shoots a look of warning at me and glances at Jeff, still standing close by.

  “So…were you screwing her?”

  Jake doesn’t hesitate in answering, “No.”

  “But you wanted to…?”

  And Jake hesitates. He fucking hesitates. I push back my chair and tower over him, my fists at my sides. Jeff grabs my shoulder and tries to yank me back. I pull out of his grip and turn towards the terrace, “I need some air.” Jake just sat there. Not moving.

  My own brother wanted to fuck my wife?! Everything is colored red.

  Chapter 6 HER

  He comes back and nudges my head with his socked foot. At least it doesn’t stink. I’m almost hysterical again with this thought. But his words cut into the ether.

  “You don’t remember me do you?”

  I know him? “I…I haven’t seen your face.” My head hurts with the effort to speak.

  He laughs. “Dumb bitch.” But he sounds amused, not angry anymore. “You think that matters to me?” I only shrink in response. He picks me up by my waist again and hauls me to the other side of the sofa, next to the coffee table before dropping me again. I manage to stop my head from bouncing this time.

  He sits behind me, putting his feet on me like I’m his ottoman. I start to cry and shake.

  “Stop that. Or I’ll give you something to cry about.”

  His voice isn’t as commanding as Max’s, but the effect is the same. I stop.

  He turns the TV on and I close my eye.

  It’s all I can do to block out the pain, the fear. To ignore the truth. I’m in a nightmare and I’ll never see Max again.

  Chapter 7 HIM

  I stand j
ust by the terrace doors, the cold spring air cooling the heat of my face. The other cops moved away, I don’t care where. Jeff comes to stand next to me. My watchdog.

  I can still hear Killaney and Jake though.

  Jake didn’t answer him, so Killaney backtracks. “So. Yesterday. Lucy answered the door. You said she was happy to see you. What did you talk about then?”

  “She was nervous about her doctor’s appointment. But hopeful.”

  Hearing him talk about how Lucy was feeling, what she was thinking… Fuck. This can’t be happening. None of this is real. It’s a fucking nightmare.

  “So she wanted a kid?”

  “Yes.”

  “And she thought she was pregnant?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Was it your idea to keep your meetings secret or hers?”

  “I…we didn’t really…decide to keep anything a secret.”

  “But your coming here. Her talking to you. It was a secret...”

  “I guess. Sure.”

  “So what other secrets did Lucy share with you?”

  Chapter 7 HER

  I wake when he grabs my waist again. I’m a rag doll lifted in the air by a giant child. He walks with me under one arm, against his hip. I watch the hardwood turn to tile and a bright light goes on above.

  This time I’m ready to be dropped, but I still fall hard and crack my elbow on the floor. I feel warm blood smear under my right elbow and knee as I move to try to sit up. His foot shoves me back down.

  “Stay down, cunt.”

  I watch as his feet move around the cabinets in the kitchen, but his back is to me. He has dark, almost black hair. Straight and short. And he’s tall. Strong.

  He opens a slow cooker and the smell of cooked meat makes my mouth water. I’m hungry. I’m beaten, tied, raped. And hungry. What insanity is the human body?!

  I watch as he puts something on a plate and brings it to where I am on the floor. Through my hair, I get a good look at his face. Blue eyes, yes. Slightly crooked nose. Needs a shave. Where do I know you from?!