Damaged Amazon

by Kim Pritekel

  “You don’t think there’s someone else, do you?” Nora asked quietly, unable to look at Jill. She knew her sister’s past with infidelity and that she and Andrew were working things out.

  LJ shrugged. “I considered it a time or two. About how cold she could be, you know? But, I don’t think so. I think she’s anxious to move on. She’s wanted this Cherry Creek job for years, so I think she wants to get there and put all this behind her.”

  “What about you? Are you ready to move on?” Jill asked, shutting off the water and closing the dishwasher after the last dish went in.”

  He looked down at his left hand for a long moment, fingers spread before he balled his hand and looked up at her. “Yeah. I am.”

  With a reminder from Jill of the twins’ sweet sixteen coming up on the twentieth, Nora was left alone.

  ****

  “Larry, stop,” she hissed, followed by a giggle, her much smaller hand reaching down to where his larger one was inching beneath her short skirt.

  “You don’t want that and you know it,” he replied with an evil grin, never taking his eyes off the road. “Tickle, tickle, tickle,” he said in a much higher voice as his forefingers felt her satin-clad crotch.

  “You’re so bad.”

  “Yeah, and you like it.” He spared a glance at the little minx sitting in the passenger seat, all twenty-four years, red hair, and DD tits of her. He glanced up into the rearview mirror when he heard a siren and saw flashing lights behind him. “Shit,” he muttered.

  He slowed the Corvette down, hoping the black and white would pass on by. Instead, to his chagrin, the cop slowed as well.

  Snatching his hand away, he pulled the red sports car to the side of the road and slowed to a stop, the tires crunching on the gravel. He glanced over at Dana. “Shouldn’t take long,” he assured her, leaning over and stealing a quick but rough kiss. He glanced to the driver’s side window at the light tapping he heard there. Rolling down the window, he gave his most charming smile. “Well, good evening, Officer.”

  “Driver’s license and registration, please,” the man said, all business.

  “Yes, sir, no problem.” He grabbed his wallet from where it sat in the drink holder by the stick shift. He dug out the asked-for items and handed them over with a smile. “What did I do?”

  The policeman said nothing as he used his flashlight to read the information provided. He shone his beam from the license to the driver and back. “Lawrence Schaeffer, Sr.?”

  “Yes, sirree.”

  “One moment please, sir.”

  It was only when the officer walked away that he noticed the second officer posted right outside Dana’s door. He didn’t like this, didn’t like this one bit.

  “Mr. Schaeffer,” the first officer said, returning to the opened window. “I need you to step out of the car please, sir.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Colorado Springs, CO – Seven Weeks Ago

  Thirteen hours to go…

  “Bella! You have to hurry, sweetheart,” Shannon said, hurrying around the tiny galley-style kitchen to pour cereal into a bowl for her daughter and coffee into a travel mug for herself and not switch the two. You’re going to be late.”

  “I’m here, Mommy.”

  Shannon glanced at her to make sure she matched, which she did, essentially. Bella dressing herself and picking out her own outfits was a relatively new thing and she tried to give the child a little latitude with it.

  “Honey, your shirt is on backwards,” Shannon said, hiding her smile as she placed the bowl of Fruit Loops on the table where Bella’s booster seat was strapped to the chair.

  Bella looked down at herself. “Oh.” Giggling, she wiggled out of the shirt and turned it around before pulling it down over what Shannon always called her Buddha belly. “I forgot the picture goes in front.”

  “It’s okay, kiddo,” Shannon said, leaning over her daughter, who had climbed up into her booster. Leaving a kiss on the top of her head, she placed a spoon on the table next to the bowl. “You’ll get it.” She grabbed the brush she’d set on the table and began to brush out long, brown hair as her daughter ate her breakfast. “You have to hurry this morning, sweetheart. Mommy has to go to work early, so Miss Penny is going to take you to school, okay?”

  Bella nodded, wincing and crying owie when that motion caused Shannon to pull some hair. “Will you pick me up?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Shannon said, tying Bella’s hair back with a ribbon. “I’ll be there.” She glanced toward the tiny living room when there was a knock at the door. “Come on in, Penny” she called out.

  A moment later Penny Garcia opened the door and stepped inside. “Hey, mija.”

  “Hey, Penny. She’s almost ready. Thanks so much for doing this.”

  “No worries. Hey,” the older woman said, stepping up to the table. “Don’t forget Sam this time, mija.”

  “Sam! I can’t forget Sam, Mommy,” Bella gushed, whipping her hand out and catching her cereal bowl, sending leftover Fruit Loops and milk flying.

  “Damn it, Bella.” Shannon sighed. She glanced over at Penny. “Penny, would you mind grabbing Sam while I clean this and Bella up? I think he’s on my bed.” Left alone, Shannon grabbed a wet dish towel. “Bella, you have to watch what you’re doing, okay?” she said, trying to minimize the irritation in her voice so as not to upset the girl. After all, she hadn’t meant to do it, but Shannon still had to get her point across.

  “I’m sorry, Mommy,” she said, a finger hooked in her mouth.

  “Got Sam,” the neighbor said, the stuffed bear in her hand.

  “Thanks, Penny. I don’t have time to change her shirt. Am I a horrible mother for sending her to school like this?” Shannon asked, gathering Bella’s lunch and small backpack.

  Penny laughed. “Honey, she’s in kindergarten. Half those kids go to school wearing at least some of their breakfast and most come home wearing their lunch.”

  Shannon smiled and squatted down to give her daughter a tight hug, which was heartily returned. “I love you, Princess. And remember, we’re going to the zoo this weekend!”

  “Yay!” Bella exclaimed, grabbing her lunch as she shrugged into the My Little Pony backpack her mom held for her.

  “Okay. See you guys later.”

  Shannon watched them go, and with a tired sigh, she placed breakfast dishes in the sink to be washed when she got home. Hurrying to her bedroom, she threw off her robe and turned to the clothes she’d picked out the night before after taking her evening shower, which always saved her time. As she tugged panties up shapely legs, she noticed something a bit unusual. The box she kept tucked in the corner was pulled out a bit from the wall, the lid slightly askew. That box held everything that meant anything to her.

  “Bella,” she said, snapping her panties into place before making sure the lid was secured and pushing the box back into its place.

  ****

  Eight hours and thirty-three minutes to go…

  “Yes, Mr. Tannon, I spoke with Robert Caffey this morning and he’s put in for the permits, so he said he should be back to you in a week once he gets an answer from the city… Yes, sir, I’ll let him know. Thank you, and you, too.” Shannon hung up the phone and grabbed the tablet of paper to scribble out a quick note to her boss before she headed to lunch.

  “Hey, Shannon, want me to drive today?”

  “Nah, I got it,” Shannon said.

  Ten minutes later, she and her coworker, Ally, sat at Taco Bell.

  “So, you want to leave, huh?” Ally asked,

  “Yeah. Robert just,” Shannon screwed up her face as she considered her words. She hadn’t worked there all that long so wasn’t entirely sure who she could trust. “I feel like he’s always watching me, you know? Kind of makes me nervous.”

  “That’s because he probably is watching you, Shannon. I mean, come on,” the pregnant woman said, sitting back in the hard plastic seat. “You’re young, you’re gorgeous. Totally his type.”


  Shannon eyed her. “He’s not…dangerous, right?”

  “No, but he’s good at manipulation. How’d you get hired, anyway?”

  “Robert knows my sister, Jill. I guess he did some work for her in Pueblo.”

  “Is she rich?”

  “Definitely. Total rich bitch.”

  Ally nodded, chewing the bite she’d taken thoughtfully. “There ya go. Robert only hires women he’s either screwed or women he wants to screw or women based on suggestions from other women he’s screwed.”

  Shannon’s gaze fell to her nachos, suddenly not so appealing. She’d heard the rumors for years about Jill, the humiliation behind Andrew’s back. Without question she did not want to pursue this conversation. “When are you due?”

  “Three months. Thank God Alec owns half the company, and Robert knows he’d kill him if he came near me. I get to do my job in peace.”

  “That would be nice,” Shannon said, dipping a cheese-covered chip into sour cream. She’d had to deal with unwanted advances her entire life, starting back to a time she didn’t want to think about. “My lease is up in five months.” She changed the subject. “I’m considering moving Bella and me back to Pueblo.”

  “Good God, why on earth would you go there?” Ally asked, sipping her Coke.

  Shannon shrugged. “It’s so much cheaper, for one. “I know more people there, for two. I still have a lot of friends there from my theater days.”

  “Theater days?” Ally asked with raised eyebrows. “Do tell.”

  “Nothing major.” Shannon laughed nervously. “I did some stuff up in Denver after high school, some stuff here in the Springs and was part of the Impossible Players in Pueblo. That’s where I did most of my work. Loved it.”

  “What, like a local community theater-type thing?”

  “Exactly.” Shannon looked down at her purse, which sat next to her in the plastic booth, her phone alarming a text message. Digging the phone out, she saw a number she didn’t recognize but read the message, anyway.

  Unknown: Hey, Shannon. Been a long time.

  Shannon: Who is this?

  Unknown: Rick

  Shannon gasped. There was only one Rick she knew unless this was a wrong number or a sick joke.

  “You okay?” Ally asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Shannon spared her a glance before returning her attention to her phone. “Kind of have.”

  Shannon: Rick who?

  Unknown: Bella’s dad. I want to see her. And I want to see u.

  Shannon: Is this a joke?

  Unknown: I be in town tonight. Can I come over?

  “Shannon, sorry, but we have to get back.”

  Shannon glanced up then at her watch. “Crap, sorry.”

  Shannon: Have to go. Text later.

  ****

  Two hours to go…

  “Look, Mommy. I have whipped cream on my head.”

  Shannon was amused, suds piled on Bella’s head. The girl had always referred to soapsuds as whipped cream, and Shannon had no idea why. “Come on, sweetie,” she said. “Let’s get you all rinsed off so I can get you tucked in for sleepy time.”

  “And a story?” Bella asked, eyebrows raised in hope.

  “Of course, you silly goose.” She leaned forward and nuzzled noses with her daughter.

  ****

  Five minutes to go…

  Standing back from the mirror, ignoring how shadows from two of the five burnt-out light bulbs made her look, she saw herself in the mirror surrounded by bulbs, ready to head out on that stage. She grinned, admiring the red slash of her lipstick. She used to love her smile, but she hadn’t had a lot to be truly happy about in a while. As she closed her lips, she also closed the door on the questionable choices she’d made from time to time. She hoped he wouldn’t notice or mind. She hoped he still saw what he did on that stage seven years before.

  “You’ve got this,” she murmured, a smoky-eyed wink backing her claim.

  Looking in on Bella once more, she stepped into her stilettos and grabbed her handbag, keys, and cell phone then headed out.

  Standing on the front walkway of the floor of her apartment, she looked out over the parking lot, searching for his car. All day long, she’d been reading and rereading the texts she’d swapped with Rick. She hadn’t seen him in a few years, and he’d never asked to see Bella. She was nervous, her stomach in knots.

  She started when her phone signaled a text. Reaching into her bag, she saw another text from Rick.

  Unknown: This sucks. My truck broke down at the gas station at 10th and Avery. Red truck. Can u come get me? Can’t wait to see you.

  Shannon smiled, knowing exactly where the gas station was. It wasn’t far, and she knew Bella would be okay. She was asleep and would be alone for maybe five or six minutes.

  Shannon: Okay. Be right there.

  Shannon’s high heels clicked across the parking lot until she reached her Subaru. She smiled at the little clay heart Bella had painted for her in daycare earlier that year for Mother’s Day before she pressed the button on her key fob to unlock the door. Climbing in, she tugged her seatbelt across her chest before starting the car and pulling out of the dark parking lot.

  She noted the gas station was pretty quiet. A white minivan was getting gas but that was about it. She drove around the side where the doors to the bathrooms were, which was a bit darker, no lights back there other than what shone from the bright lights out front over the pumps. Her stomach knotted up again when she noticed the red pickup truck parked there over by the curb.

  Steering the little car in that direction, she pulled to a stop. Seeing no movement near the truck, which seemed to be abandoned, she pulled out her phone.

  Shannon: Is that your truck? I’m here.

  Shannon gasped as the driver’s side door was yanked open and a large hand was instantly put over her mouth before she was even able to get a scream or cry out. She was pulled out of the car so roughly that it snapped the seatbelt, the vinyl end flapping uselessly against the doorjamb of the car.

  She tried desperately to fight against her assailant but couldn’t seem to get any footing as she was basically carried to the back of her own car.

  “Get it open,” she heard a voice growl before hearing the pop of her trunk.

  Fighting twice as hard, kicking at anything she could, she landed hard into her own trunk, hitting her head against the tool kit she kept back there in case of an emergency. She couldn’t think of much worse of an emergency.

  The hand was removed and, as she was about to scream, she looked up into the most evil gray eyes she’d ever seen right before a fist came down and smashed into her jaw and the side of her head. Everything went dark.

  ****

  Her screams were shrill and panicked, eyes flying open but seeing nothing but the horrors that were locked inside her mind. She kicked her legs, arms flailing until she heard a thud then the cry of a child.

  “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” she yelled, tears running down her cheeks as she hit and pushed at the person who had hold of her. “Let me go!” she sobbed.

  “Shannon!”

  Chest heaving and mouth gone dry from near-hyperventilation, Shannon’s eyes focused on the figure leaning above her, her vision slowly making out the terrified face looking down at her. “Nora?” The cries of her daughter pulled her fully out of her nightmare. “Bella? What’s wrong with Bella?” She sat up, desperately looking for her.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Nora said, picking a crying Bella up off the floor. “You okay?”

  “God,” Shannon whimpered, burying her face in her hands for a long moment, the fragments of the memory beginning to drift away like smoke. “Is she okay?” she asked softly, hands falling to the bed. “Come here, baby.”

  Nora set Bella on the bed, wide, tear-filled eyes looking cautiously at her mother.

  “Come here,” Shannon said again, reaching for her daughter. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” She gathered the sni
ffling child into her arms. She must have kicked her off the bed in her panic. “You okay?”

  Bella nodded, her thumb going to her mouth as she cuddled up against her mother’s chest.

  “The question is,” Nora said, climbing onto the bed and scooting over to Shannon, “are you okay?”

  Shannon contemplated the question as she held Bella close. The smell of her strawberry-scented hair was so comforting to her. “I…I think so.”

  “Bad dream?”

  “Dream, memory.” She glanced over at Nora. “I can never go back to that apartment again, Nora. I mean”—she snorted—“Mr. Greenleaf was such a jerk, I’m sure all my stuff was sold, anyway.” She felt Nora’s gaze on her. “What?”

  “Honey,” Nora said softly, reaching out a hand to rest on Shannon’s ankle. “The apartment doesn’t exist anymore.”

  Shannon looked at her, utterly confused. “Wait, what?” She gave her a confused smile. “How long was I out?”

  “No, the guys who did this to you,” Nora said, indicating Shannon’s scars and peach fuzz that was beginning to come in. “Sarah thinks they were trying to destroy evidence.”

  “They…the ones who…”

  Nora nodded. “Yeah.”

  Shannon had no words as she looked away, her gaze falling to the window across from the bed. She could see the tree outside the house dancing in the wind. “I…”

  “Sweetie—”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? Why the hell didn’t you tell me we’re homeless, Nora? Bella and I have nowhere to go, we have no home, no furniture, no dishes, nothing. Why didn’t you tell me? God!” The tears came fast and hard, falling on top of Bella’s hair. She rested her cheek against her baby’s crown and held her even tighter, rocking them both. “We have nothing,” she whispered.