by Amy Cecil
I paused briefly and continued. “As I said, I woke up in a very dark room, naked and tied to a bed. Mark was there, and for the longest time, he would not speak to me. He only laughed. His laugh sounded as if it came from Satan himself. It terrified me, and I don’t think I will ever forget it. I was really scared and the only thing that kept me sane was the hope that Caden or the club would find me. But nobody ever came.”
“Emma, did Mark rape you?” Hawk asked hesitantly. I could see the concern in his eyes, and I could see why Caden trusted and respected this man so much. It was clear that he was genuine and real and it made me trust him as well.
I shook my head. “No, he didn’t. He tried, but when I refused to fight back it made him angry. So angry that he stopped and left the room.”
“Oh thank God!” Honey exclaimed.
Hawk reached over to me to place his hand on my shoulder. “I’m thankful that he didn’t rape you. You’re gonna have enough scars from this ordeal to handle, you don’t need any more on your plate.” He paused briefly then added, “I assume the bruises on your face are from him?” Hawk asked.
“Yes, he hit me in the face several times. I tried very hard to remain coherent, but it was difficult. I believe over the course of the time that I was there, which I am guessing was a little over 24 hours, that I went in and out of consciousness several times.”
“Did he give you any reasons as to why he was doing this?”
“Yes,” I replied. “He was very calculated in his reason, mentioning that he had Brianne worked over because she was threatening to tell me everything about him. He never went into details as to what that was, so I don’t know what he didn’t want me to know, but that he wanted to teach her a lesson.” I stopped to remember some of the things he said and then added; “He also said that when I ran to Caden for help it only moved his plan along faster. When I asked him what plan, he said that he wanted to take back from Caden all that Caden took from him. None of that made any sense to me. I didn’t have any clue what he was talking about—for all I knew, they had never met. I’m afraid that this was all my fault.”
“Did he say anything else?” Hawk asked.
I thought about it for a minute, then added, “He said that he was going to break me; that he was going to use me over and over again and then send me back to Caden and the club that rejected him. I didn’t get the impression from him that he’d had Brianne killed, so I think she is still alive. If this is all my fault Hawk, I’m so sorry.” I looked at them both in shame and started to cry. Hawk placed his hand on mine in an attempt to console me, but it didn’t help. I believed what I said to be true. It was all my fault.
Hawk asked, “Do you know what it was that he was trying to hide from you?”
I pulled myself together and shook my head. “No, I have no idea. He never said any more about it and when I asked he would just tell me to shut up.”
He then asked, “Can you remember anything else?”
I thought about it for a minute, then replied, “Yes, he said that he knew about my relationship with Caden longer than he had known me. I really didn’t think about it much then, but looking back now, I find that very odd. Caden and I grew up together. How would Mark know anything about my childhood?”
“Not so odd, Emma. Based on what you have said, I think there is more to this than just a jealous boyfriend who lost his girl to the big bad biker. I believe there is a past connection between Ice and Mark that we don’t know about. It could be the driving force for all of this. You and Brianne just got caught in the middle. So, please, stop blaming yourself. I believe we’ll find out more once we get to where you were being held.” He paused briefly then added, “Anything else?”
“He showed me a video that was recorded the other night.”
“A video?” he asked.
“Yes, it was a video of a party at your clubhouse. Caden was with another woman. Mark said that he wanted me to see what kind of man I was involved with.” I looked over to Honey and said, “I think it may have been you dressed up as me, but Mark never said anything to that effect. He just wanted me to think that Caden was cheating on me.”
Honey looked at me apologetically. “It was me, but I was just a decoy, Emma. The club wanted the Satans to think that you were at the clubhouse. They didn’t want them to know that Caden had sent you away. I promise, nothing happened.”
“I know, Honey, but thanks for saying it. At first, I felt that Caden had abandoned me. I felt that I had nothing left and that if I got out alive, I still would have nothing ‘cause I had lost Cade to another woman. I was praying that Mark would just get it over with, ‘cause at that point, I was sure he was going to rape me and then kill me. I had given up. I think that is what saved me. I went completely still; I was lifeless and had stopped crying. I had no more fight in me. When I just laid there, silent, not even crying anymore, that’s when Mark got angry and stormed out of the room. He left that video on and I watched it over and over. After viewing it several times, I realized that it was you with Caden.” I glanced over to Honey, shrugged, and continued, “Eventually I fell asleep or lost consciousness, I am not really sure which. When I came to, I heard talking out in the hallway, but the only voice I heard was Mark’s. I realized he was talking to himself, but not just in the normal way people talk to themselves. No, Mark was actually arguing with himself. It was very creepy and I had never seen him do that before. He stormed into the room, still talking. He untied me and threw my clothes at me. He ordered me to get dressed and get out.”
“That’s it?” Honey asked, surprised.
“Yeah, he basically just threw me out. That’s why I had to find my way back home.”
A look of realization came upon Hawk’s face and he said, “So that is how you know where he kept you. Can you take us there?”
I nodded. “Sure, I can try. I walked for several blocks until I found a gas station and called a cab from there. The clerk at the gas station gave me the address for the cab company. Wait, I think I still have it.” I rummaged through my purse and found it. “Here it is!” I handed the paper to Hawk. “The lady at the gas station gave me money for a cab to get home. I saved the address so that I could go back and repay her.”
“Wattsburg? What in the hell was he doing there?” Hawk asked, surprised.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I remember when I left I looked back at the place that held so much horror for me and couldn’t believe that it was a quaint little house in a residential neighborhood. It was kinda eerie, knowing what lived behind that door.”
Hawk looked disgusted. I wasn’t sure if his disgust was directed at me or if it came from the story I had just told him. I couldn’t fully buy into Hawk’s theory that I had gotten caught in the middle of something bigger between Cade and Mark. I still felt to blame. But I couldn’t change what was done. I could only do my part to help fix what could be fixed.
Hawk asked, “Emma, are you up to going back to Wattsburg?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely!” I was sure that going back there would get us one step closer to finding Caden. I refused to believe he was dead.
Hawk called the waitress over, got our check, and paid our bill. We headed out to find Mark’s house.
Honey and I followed Hawk back to his house. He left his bike and we all continued in my car, but I let Hawk drive. About forty-five minutes later, we pulled up to the gas station in Wattsburg where the clerk had helped me. We all got out of the car and Hawk asked, “Do you remember how you got here?”
I stood in the parking lot for what seemed like several minutes looking around. Finally, I recognized the street that I’d walked down. “There!” I said. “I came from that direction.”
“Ok, let’s go,” Hawk said.
“Wait, let me do something first. I’ll be real quick.” I ran into the gas station and saw the lady that had helped me yesterday at the counter. She was just finishing up with a customer when she spotted me.
“You’re back!�
� she said, surprised.
I pulled a $50 out of my wallet and handed it to her. “Thank you so much for helping me yesterday. I really appreciate it.” The look on her face was one of total surprise. I don’t think she ever expected to see that money again.
She smiled at me and said, “Thank you.” She paused for a moment, then added, “Are you ok?”
“Yes, I am. Thank you again.”
I walked out of the door and headed back to my car. Hawk and Honey were inside waiting for me. I got in the car and we headed down the road that I’d pointed out before. Hawk drove until we got to the next intersection. He stopped and waited. I looked around again but didn’t see anything that caught my eye as familiar, and said, “Go straight.” At the next intersection, he stopped again. I looked and remembered the beautiful dogwood that rested in the yard of the house on the corner to my left. That was where I’d turned. I turned to Hawk and said, “Turn right.” This continued for about five more minutes and suddenly I realized I was on the street where Mark’s house was. “Drive slower, Hawk. We’re almost there.” Hawk slowed down and the house came into view. “That’s the one. Right there, on the left. The one with the front porch and rocking chairs.”
Hawk drove past it to the next block and parked the car. As he started to get out of the car, he turned to Honey and I and said, “You both stay here for now until I check things out. I mean it, ladies! I don’t need to be worrying about either of you right now. Stay put!” He reached into his cut and pulled out a gun, turned the safety off, and cocked it. He started walking toward the house.
After Hawk left, I turned to Honey and said, “This is driving me crazy. How in the hell does he expect us to just wait here?”
“I know, I agree, but he’s right, he doesn’t need to be worrying about us too. Let’s let him do what he needs to do and he’ll come back for us,” Honey replied.
I grunted in disapproval but didn’t say another word. We just sat there in agonizing silence.
About fifteen minutes later, Hawk returned to the car. He got in and said, “I don’t think anyone is there. I’m gonna call the boys for backup. We’re going to go in.” He got on the phone and began speaking to Ryder. He asked him to bring three or four brothers and gave him the address. After he hung up, he got back out of the car. Leaning in the window, he asked, “You ladies coming?”
Honey and I didn’t hesitate; we both proceeded to get out of the car. I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to go back in the house again, but if it would help Cade, then I would do it. We walked back down the block to the house. When we got there, Hawk walked up on the porch and rang the bell. I guessed that he was checking again, just to make sure that nobody was home. He waited a few seconds and when nobody answered, he tried the door. It was locked. He looked at both Honey and I and we could see the frustration on his face. He came down from the porch and walked around toward the back, where he found a side door. He walked up to it and tried to open it. It swung open.
He turned back to us and said, “Wait here.” Hesitantly, he walked into the house. He was gone for about five minutes. When he came back, he just said, “Come on.”
Honey and I walked up the steps to the door. When we walked in, the hair on the back of my neck started to prickle. The memories of what I had endured in this house were very fresh in my mind and a part of me wanted to turn around and run home. But I had to remember why we were here. Once I thought about Caden and got a clear picture of him in my head, I knew I could go on. We walked through the kitchen, a part of the house that I had not seen when I was here two nights ago. The kitchen looked perfectly normal; nobody would believe the evil that lives here. We got to a rather long hallway with several closed doors running down it. Hawk opened the first door on the left to reveal a bathroom. He went to the second door on the left and opened it. I was afraid that it was the room that I’d been held in, but looking in, it was fair to assume we had found Mark’s bedroom. His closet was open and clothes were hanging in it. There was a bed and a dresser and an open door that led to the bathroom that we’d just passed. Why didn’t I know that he had this house? I dated the man for four years and was engaged to him, but the only residence of his that I knew about was his penthouse in Erie.
Hawk started to check out the room, going through Mark’s things on the dresser, opening dresser drawers, and scoping out his closet. He didn’t react to anything he was seeing, so I assumed he hadn’t found anything that could help. We walked out of Mark’s room and looked at the three closed doors across the hall. I knew one of them had to be the room. The prickling started again, but I brushed it off. I had to get through this.
Hawk opened the first door. It was clear that Mark had used this room as an office. He had several file cabinets, a desk, and of course a chair. On the desk was a laptop. Hawk said, “I think we might find something here that will help us. When the boys get here, I will have Dbag check out the computer and the files.” He left the door open and moved on to the next.
When he opened the next door, the odor hit me first. This was the room. I followed Hawk into the room. It was dark and eerie, looking like it belonged in a dungeon. I’d never seen this room with a light on and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The walls were painted black. Even the window had black curtains drawn across it, which dimmed the only outside light entering the room. There was a bed in the center of the room with ropes and chains attached all around it. Hanging on the wall were various whips, canes, and belts. Oh God, what crazy shit is he involved with? In all the time that I’d known Mark, I’d never seen this side of him.
Honey followed me into the room and shrieked, “Holy fuck, Emma! Is this the room that he held you in?”
Quietly, I replied, “Yes, I believe it is.”
She walked over to me and hugged me, whispering, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s over now. We need to concentrate on finding Caden.” Both Honey and Hawk looked at each other, worried. I knew they thought he was dead, that we were going to find his body. But I refused to believe it. I would know if he was dead. I would feel it.
“What is that God-awful smell?” Hawk asked.
“Hell if I know,” said Honey, “but it smells like piss.” She was right. It did smell like piss. It was disgusting and made my stomach turn.
Hawk added, “I need to get out of this room. I’ll have the boys go through shit in here when they get here.”
After we all left the room, Hawk closed the door behind us. He approached the last door and opened it. From what I could see, it opened to a stairway that led to the basement. “What the fuck!” Hawk yelled.
I didn’t understand why he was yelling, but then suddenly the odor hit me. It was bad enough that it overpowered the lingering smell from the last room. With both smells combined, I thought I was going to vomit. The odor that came from this room was one hundred times worse than the room we’d just left. Hawk walked back to the kitchen and rummaged around in the drawers. I didn’t know what he was doing, but when he pulled out three towels it became clear. He handed Honey and me one apiece, covered his nose with the third one, and proceeded to descend down the stairs with Honey and me close behind. When we got to the bottom, Hawk flipped the light switch. We all stood there in horror. What we saw before us was more blood and gore than I could imagine from the worst murder scene.
We were indeed in the basement of the house. It wasn’t a very big area at all; it was only a partial basement. In the center of the room was a metal table. There were all types of surgical instruments scattered on the table, all of which were drenched in blood. Blood dripped off the table into a puddle below. Some of it had dried, but there was so much of it that it all had not dried. But it was definitely fresh … as in the last 48 hours fresh. For the first time since Hawk told me that Caden was dead, I actually feared for his life.
Hanging from a hook on the rafters was a body. It was in the shadows and we could not make out who it was until we got closer. Oh dear God, please let that not be Caden
, I prayed to myself. Hawk approached the body, examined it as best he could and then asked, “Emma, please. I need you to come here.”
Hesitantly, I approached the body. I was terrified that it was Caden, but as I got closer, I could see that it wasn’t. When I was standing next to Hawk, he asked, “Is this Mark Grayson?”
At first, relief washed over me like a tidal wave, and I nodded. “Yes.” Thank you, God. I knew it; Caden is still alive. I was relieved that it was not Caden. But then, I took another look at Mark’s mutilated body and thought, who could have done this to him? Could another human being be that savage? Of course they could, but who? And then, the worst possible feeling filled my heart. This was my fault! Mark died this way because of me.
Hawk shook his head in disbelief, glanced back at Honey, and said, “Ice is back.”
“Hawk, no, please say that Ice didn’t do this,” Honey pleaded. I didn’t understand what they were talking about. As far as I was concerned, this proved that Cade was alive. Caden wouldn’t do this to another person, I was sure of that. So why would they think that? And more importantly, why weren’t they happy?
“It’s his signature work. Grayson has been tortured, and flames have been carved into his chest. Ice did this, I’m sure of it,” Hawk confirmed.
“Fuck!” Honey replied.
I said, “What’s going on? He’s alive! Why aren’t you both happy about this? Mark is dead and Cade is alive!” Waiting for them to respond, I thought, but why didn’t he come back to his club or me? Something wasn’t adding up. When neither Honey nor Hawk responded, I added, “What’s going on, you two? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Emma, let’s go back upstairs away from this mess and wait for the boys. Then I’ll try to explain,” Hawk replied. I turned to go back up the steps, Honey and Hawk following me. Now that there was no worry of Mark returning, we all proceeded to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Hawk grabbed my hand and said, “Emma, there are things about Ice that you don’t know. I don’t believe he is the same person that you grew up with.” He hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Things have happened in his past that I believe have changed him.”