Perfect Kisses

by Maine, Miley

  I smile at the thought of taking her right then and there. I could easily pull her pants down, then the panties, and enjoy some easy access to the goods. And what goods they were. We’d been making love almost every single night since I’d found her, and each night just got better and better. I wasn’t sure how either one of us was still standing.

  “So, you never talk much about your mother,” Julie said. “Is she still around?”

  I smiled. “Oh, she is around, but she spends most of her time travelling. Right now, I think she is in Paris. She’s been there at her villa for a few months now. She gets settled in somewhere for a while and then she is off again to check out something knew. She was like that when I was growing up, too.”

  “That doesn’t sound very stable. What did you do, then? Were you just a student?”

  “Yeah, I was in school and just staying home with dad, but he was gone all the time working. So mostly, I was raised by some of the staff. They basically took care of me and made sure I went to bed on time. It was a strange existence hardly ever seeing my parents, but I would see my dad sometimes when he was at home. And when we had parties and so forth, which were essentially events designed for butt kissing and for raising money.”

  “That’s a sad way to grow up,” she said.

  “It was just what it was,” I said. “So, I figured out at an early age that I had to do for myself. I didn’t want to be that kind of person who cried that the world was unfair. I saw that the world could be what I made it. This made me tough. It made me hard. And I think it is part of the reason why I’ve always dreamt of having my own family.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I know you will be a great father.”

  I rubbed her shoulder lightly and snuggled against her. “Thank you, baby. How many kids were you thinking? Maybe five? Ten?”

  She laughed. “No. I was thinking maybe two or three.”

  “Ok, we can start with that,” I said.

  “So, I find it so hard to believe that you haven’t been married before, or have been in any really serious relationships. I know you were engaged in the past, you talked to me briefly about it. Is that why you stayed single for so long?”

  I was quiet for a moment. I didn’t want to talk about this. I had mentioned it once in passing, and Julie had no doubt heard the rumors about this sort of thing. She was curious. And she wanted to know who I loved more. That was an impossible question to answer, but she did deserve some explanation.

  “Yes, it is why I stayed single. I never thought I could love again. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to. But then you came into my life. I know that sounds cheesy, but when I met you something clicked and I started to feel again, I started to want again. You took the hurt away and you replaced it with joy. The pain didn’t return until I lost you.”

  She kissed me and nuzzled her nose against mine as our lips touched. I felt her joy beaming through her sweet lips into mine. Oh, she felt so damn good. I held her there like that for several seconds kissing her, feeling her body against mine and wondering how I’d been so lucky as to find her.

  I heard a low rumbling noise just then.

  I pulled back slowly from the kiss and glanced to my right. What was that? It sounded like… a growl…?

  “Did you hear that?” Julie asked me. I could see the fear in her wide eyes as she followed my gaze to her left.

  “Yeah…” I spoke. “Listen.”

  We both listened for several seconds. We heard nothing. Julie was about to say something when I held my finger to her lips to keep her quiet. This was not nothing. There was something there.

  The growling came again. This time it was closer, louder. It sounded big. Some sort of a big animal. And it was right outside of our camp, just in the woods out of the light. It was hiding in the darkness, stalking us, waiting for us to make a move or a mistake. It wasn’t challenging us. No, it knew that it could beat us easily if it wanted to. It was toying with us, trying to scare us, and doing its best to keep us right where we were.

  “What is that?” Julie whispered, her mouth quivering.

  I felt the fear building up inside of my chest. The guns were in the bag about ten feet from us. I’d left them out there when we were putting the tent up. Shit. Why didn’t I bring them closer? Did I forget this was the wilderness? Bears, wolves, mountain lions, etc. were everywhere. I saw them regularly. This was just stupid for me to forget to grab a gun. I wondered if I could make it in time. The animal would surely strike at me and I would probably take a hit or more. And one hit could be enough to down me depending on what it was and what animal delivered it. Fuck.

  I tried to stay calm. The last thing I needed to do was freak out or cause Julie to freak out. We had to stay relaxed. The animal would feed on our fear. That would kick in the predatory instinct and blow it into high gear.

  “Ok,” I whispered. “I’m going to try to get to the bag and get a gun. Don’t move.”

  She nodded slowly. I took a deep breath, and I began to move slowly towards the bag. I had to move inch by inch so that the animal didn’t realize I was really moving that much. Animals perceived everything a bit differently.

  I just had to pretend to be very still, to move slowly and deliberately. The growling grew louder. I wasn’t sure if this was working, but I didn’t really have time to think about it. I couldn’t do anything, and I was almost there. I just had to go a bit farther… just a little bit farther… was almost there… almost.

  I reached the bag and I turned ever so slightly to reach into it. I had to fight the impulse to quickly grab the gun and fire it in air to scare the animal, which I still couldn’t see.

  Fuck… where was it…?

  I could almost feel the gun in my hand. That was when I felt the animal leaping out from its hiding place. It was a large, gray wolf. Its face was twisted in an evil snarl, it was growling like crazy, and I saw nothing but murder in its eyes. And it was on top of me before I could even react to it.

  The wolf’s mouth clamped tightly around my calf and bit hard. The sharp, rigid teeth cut through me so hard right then. I thought the bite was going straight to the bone. The pain was immense, and I could feel the flesh tearing as the wolf’s head twisted from side to side.

  “Tony!” Julie screamed.

  “Stay back!” I yelled. My voice felt weak under the onslaught of the pain coursing through my leg.

  The bag fell from my hand as the wolf jerked me powerfully closer to the woods. Was it trying to drag me off? Shit. I used my other foot to press against the animal, kicking it and pushing its face, but it was all futile. Being engaged in the fight seemed to do nothing but make it worse.

  Then my worst nightmare came true. The only thing that would make this situation worse.

  This wolf was not alone.

  I reached for the bag, this time leaping my body away from the wolf. The animal clamped its jaws down tighter and jerked my body back, but I had the bag, and I was reaching inside to get the gun.

  That was when another wolf ran and bit my forearm hard. My fingers opened up and the bag dropped from my hand. I was now being attacked by two of these vicious creatures. They were driven wild with hunger and an all-consuming rage that I couldn’t begin to understand. I was losing this fight. I was not able to win them over.

  “The bag!” I yelled. “Julie! The gun!”

  My screams awakened Julie. She instantly burst into action and picked up the bag off the ground. She jerked the pistol free and pointed it at the wolf attacking my arm. She was only about three feet away. She fired on the animal and it flew backwards going limp instantly.

  Then she turned on the other wolf. She didn’t hesitate. Julie fired a round right into its side. The animal sank down in front of me in pain. Within seconds, it was limping as well.

  Two majestic creatures gone in an instant. I hated to see that. I’ve always been an animal lover, but when you have no other choice to survive, then you have to do what makes it work. Survive or die. I just wished these animals
had not put us in this position.

  I tried to stand up, but my leg was too painful. I was bleeding profusely. Julie grabbed the first aid kit out of my bag and quickly applied some gauze to the areas I was bleeding tightly, putting pressure on them.

  After a few minutes of her expert first aid care, I was able to hobble to the four-wheeler and we drove back to the house. Once there, my driver Alex drove me to the hospital to get checked out.

  Julie was right by my side every step of the way.

  16

  Julie

  One Month Later

  The house was quiet.

  I hated it when it was this quiet. I should have been used to being alone and just enjoying my own company, and for the most part I was, but not now. Not when there was so much to fear. It had been a few months since I’d left my home and began this journey in fear, this trip away from the vilest human being I’d ever known, away from the man who wanted to hurt me so badly. And it had been hard, but I had started to get used to the struggle.

  Then Tony arrived to save me, to pull me from the deepest waters and carry me to shore. I was in a large mansion now, surrounded by staff and security on the grounds. It was equipped with the highest tech state of the art alarm system that would radio the police instantly. They were friends of Tony’s. They would be here responding within three minutes. Tony paid a portion of them enough that this was really their fulltime job.

  Even with all of this going on, I still didn’t feel safe. That was the nature of trauma. And if you’d never been through it you would never truly understand that everlasting fear. You couldn’t possibly understand the way it worked its way inside of you. You would never know that fear of waking up night after night as safe as could be in a cold sweat terrified to the bone that somehow this person could get to you. They could find you. They would destroy you.

  Tony was gone. He had to go out of town on business. He assured me he would be back soon. I hated that he was gone. I wanted to beg him to stay and just postpone the trip, but I said nothing. I just told him how much I loved him and that I would miss him. He promised to return as soon as possible. He had to fly to New York City to close a deal. It would mean a huge boost in business. It was very important, and I wasn’t about to let my problems stand in the way of his work.

  It was hard to deal with this alone, but I had to go through it. I was stronger than that. I kept getting so pissed at myself for allowing that fear to consume me that way. Saul couldn’t find me. It had been months. And if he was still looking for me (which I was starting to doubt) then he would have found me by now if he could. I was free. I had to know that.

  But I was locked in the prison of my mind. It was a prison that he controlled, and he would always be inside of there, kicking around trying to make me feel like dirt. I couldn’t let him do it anymore. I had to start healing.

  Yet, I knew that the only way I would ever heal would be to kill him or make sure he was put away behind bars for the rest of his days. And neither one of those seemed forthcoming anytime soon. And I wasn’t sure still if I had that in me to kill him. Did I have what it took to kill someone, no matter what they were doing to me? It was a stupid question that I already knew the answer to. But I kept hearing it repeating in my mind.

  I looked out the windows of the living room at the gently falling snow. It was peaceful looking, so serene. I loved it so much better than Los Angeles. It felt like winter. It was winter coming. It was still late September, but the first snowflakes of the year were falling already. I was happy to be there. I wondered about making Alaska my forever home. I didn’t really want to go back to Los Angeles. I didn’t like the traffic, the smog, the lack of seasons, and the fact that it felt like everything you did was put on display by such judgmental assholes. It was all a popularity contest, and I was sick of it.

  But I figured I’d go back one day. That was where the work was for now. But then again, that could be changed.

  I went into the kitchen and fixed a cup of coffee. I was just beginning to sip the hot liquid when my phone rang. It was my mom. “Hi, mom,” I answered.

  “You wish it was mom.”

  The voice. I knew instantly whose voice that was. It was gruff, low, rumbling, and very angry sounding. Saul. He was there. He’d found them.

  “W…what?” I stammered.

  “You know who this is,” he repeated. “And you know why I’m here. So, quit playing little games. I’ve had enough.”

  “If you touch them, I’ll kill you!” I screamed.

  He laughed heartily on the phone. “You and who else? Please, you always did have as much guts as a church mouse. I’m giving the orders here. You will do exactly what I say.”

  “What do you want?” I asked. My voice was trembling. My hands were shaking so badly that I could hardly hold the phone. I put it on speaker and set it down. I stood there trembling wishing that this was a nightmare. But I knew that I was wide awake. This was no dream. I wished Tony were there. He was so much stronger than I was. I had to be there for my parents though. I had to be brave. I could do it. I knew it. I just had to dig deep. I really didn’t have a choice. I kept thinking about everything that Tony had been teaching me. I’d been trained well. I knew that I could handle myself if need be. I didn’t have to be afraid of Saul anymore.

  “I want you,” Saul said. “That’s all I’ve always wanted. We have some unfinished business here. And it’s time to get it done. Now listen to me carefully. I want you to tell me exactly where you are and then you are going to stay put. I will be on my way to collect you promptly. If you don’t do what I say, then your dear mom and dad will be killed. I’m leaving some guys here with them until this is done. So, don’t try to outsmart me. It won’t work.”

  “I have to know they are ok,” I said.

  “Sure.”

  A moment later I heard my mother’s voice. “Baby, it’s ok. We are fine. Don’t you dare tell this piece of shit where you are—!”

  The phone was jerked away from her. I could hear her gasp and then the clicks and clangs of the device being jerked from her. I heard her and my father in the background murmuring.

  “There. Are you satisfied?” Saul asked. “Now. Your address?”

  I took a deep breath. Was I doing the right thing? If I told him where I was, I had no guarantee that my family would not be harmed. But if I didn’t tell him then I could be assured that they would be killed within minutes. I didn’t have a choice. I had to at least try to help them.

  I gave him the address. “Good,” he said. “Now you had better be there when I get there. So, I’ll see you soon. Until then you can dream about me and rest easy that your mom and dad will be just fine. It’s been a long time coming, honey. And you are about to get what you deserve, bitch.”

  He ended the call. The house was silent. I was shaking almost uncontrollably now. What was I going to do? He’d found me. It was happening. It was all happening just as I had feared it would. Oh, shit. Fuck! I was in so much trouble.

  “Stay calm,” I told myself out loud. “Stay calm. Tony did train me for this.”

  I had to call Tony. I dialed his phone. I thought he wasn’t going to answer at first, but he picked up on the fourth ring right before his voicemail did. “Julie? What’s wrong?”

  I could sense the urgency with which I was calling. I tried to keep calm and rational, but I was starting to freak out a bit. “Saul. He found my parents.”

  “What?”

  “He called me from there. He forced me to give him the address here. He is on his way. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Relax,” he said. His voice was so calm and reassuring. “You will be fine. I will alert Billy and his team. They will be on standby and we will wait for him to arrive. We have to pretend that none of this is happening. In fact, this is perfect. We’ve been waiting for something like this.”

  “We have? No! I haven’t!” I yelled.

  “Yes. This is perfect. He will fall right into a trap. We will have hi
m nailed the second he arrives. Don’t worry about a thing, honey. I’m on my way back. It will be ok. Just stay calm and try to keep your mind on something else. Whatever you do, don’t leave.”

  “What about my parents?”

  “I’ll have some guys take care of it. I’ll alert the cops. We will get a SWAT team in there to get them out safe and sound and without alerting Saul to let him make any change in his plans. He has to think he is succeeding. We can get him to Alaska. Then we will have him by the fucking balls.”

  “I just wish I was as confident as you are about things,” I said. “I’m so scared. I need you here.”

  “I’m on my way. I hope I can get there before he does. It depends on how soon he can get on a plane; I suppose. Or he may drive. So, hopefully I will get there. I’ve got my private jet. I don’t have to adhere to a time schedule.”

  “Ok, be safe,” I said. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I sat there holding the phone and drinking my coffee. I knew I should have felt better about things, but I didn’t. How did I know that my parents were even home? Saul could have been on the move with them. He might have taken them to some other random location. He was far too crafty to take lightly. I had to remember that. The man was an animal, but a very cunning animal.

  I took my coffee into the living room and sat down. I tried to think of good thoughts, happier thoughts, and I tried to put myself into Tony’s shoes. He was fully confident that this was a good thing. He was fully confident that this was the best thing to happen.

  I just didn’t think I could go through with it. But what would I do? What could I do? Besides just wait.

  I had never been more frightened than I was at that moment. It was just like being back in that world where I was married to Saul and I had to plot my own escape. It had been the fight from hell to escape his clutches and now I was having to go through it all over again. I had to put him away this time. He had kidnapped my parents. That alone was enough to send him to prison for many years. But we’d have to make it all stick.