by J J Harper
"Excuse me Lake, but can you tell me please how the fuck are we going to sort it? He's fucking taken Ginny because you Maddie…” I’m stabbing my finger at her. “You can't do what you’re fucking told! Lucas told you not to open the door, was that too fucking hard for you to understand?"
Lake puts a hand on my shoulder but I'm so angry I shove him away and pull out my cell. "Luc, he got her. Yeah, he got in and he's taken her. I know, but Maddie opened the door. You need to pull out all the stops now get the cops up here and help me get my girl back while she's still breathing." I lean against the wall and slide down and rest my head on my knees with my hands over me.
"Mason, I'm so so sorry I.."
"Just leave it Madeleine there is nothing you can say right now, so just shut it! You never really did have her back did you?" I can't help the venom in my voice and I see her recoil from me her hand pressed to her mouth.
"Mason. Leave it, you'll regret what you’re saying later." Lake stands next to Maddie and has her arm around her.
"I don't think it's my regrets you should be worried about right now, I think she might have done something just a bit worse than slinging a few words around. Just take her somewhere, anywhere away from me for now please Lake." Just then Lucas walks through the door and he looks as frantic as I feel, but at least he can be proactive and start the search for her.
"Maddie the cops are waiting to talk to you at Lake's so get yourself down there pronto. Lake I need you here, so leave her there and get back in here."
I look up and see that Lake is unhappy about this but he nods his head and walks away down the hall to his place. I try to pull myself up when Lucas reaches down and offers me his hand. "Thanks man. I don't know what to do, how can I help you find her?"
"You don't need to do anything yet, we are getting all the CCTV footage of every part of this building and we'll take it from there. He must have had a vehicle to get her away from here, which means there is a paper trail somewhere so we're looking for a registration of his car and we are checking every hotel and motel within a fifty mile radius, and we will widen the search if we need to, but I think he's not going to have moved her too far in case we could chase him.
I'm going to turn on all the laptops we have so I can run multiple teams all at once. Everyone is ready to go as soon as we have a vehicle and my observers are in place looking for him. I'm so sorry Mason, I feel I should have left someone with them but
he caught me out and that doesn't happen very often, but let me take the blame not Maddie."
"Easier said than done Luc, because she knew she shouldn't have opened it. Ginny told her not to so it's pretty damn easy for me to blame her right now." My hands rake through my hair and then lace together at the back of my head.
Lucas moves to the study and brings out my laptop and fires it up with his still on the table from earlier, shit was that only an hour ago? It feels like a life time. Lake walks back in and pats my back. "I'm sorry Mason and so is Maddie. Right Lucas, what's going on?"
Lucas looks up, a small smile on his face. "We've got a registration, a black SUV entered the basement, the cameras show Jake getting out and walking towards the service elevator. How did he get the code for that? We need to talk to the doormen and the security team, someone must have done this."
Detective Garcia walks in and heads straight to Lucas. "Mr. Davenport we've got all the cameras in the city searching for that car, it shouldn't take long to pick up his route. Mr. Reynolds, I've got to go back to the station and talk to the woman we've just taken in. Detective Mathews is still with Ms. Stevens but will be with you shortly.
I will keep in contact with you Lucas. Don't go for him without a police backup. This man is possible armed and is very dangerous. I have a hunch that he will make contact with us very soon, men like him like an audience."
Just then his voice dries up as he stares at my computer screen. Jake's face is filling the screen.
"Good morning Mason, I believe you have been fucking my property. Heidi is back with me now and I thought we would put on a little show for you. So sit back and enjoy… I know I'm going to." The camera pans round to Imogen is cuffed on the bed her ankles and wrist are bound by wire and I can see it's already cutting in to her skin, there are welts on her skin from what looks like a whip lying next to her.
I can see Jake walk towards her, he is naked and he starts to grope her body pinching and twisting her breasts and nipples. As he climbs up her body I can see her head thrashing from side to side as she cries out for him to stop.
"You really should keep still precious or this is going to hurt even more." His hideous lascivious voice cuts through me like a knife.
I can see her right arm is at a strange angle. "Her shoulder is dislocated!" I'm shouting at the screen.
Lucas is still talking down his phone and shouts out "We've got a location! Garcia, get in here!" He's tapping in to his laptop again and a motel downtown comes up and they both move towards the door, the cop is giving the location to the station and Lucas is looking at me. "We know where she is Mase, hold it together just a bit longer and we'll get her back to you, I promise."
Then he's gone. I stare back at the screen, as his assault on her continues, he beats her face and body before thrusting inside her with his hand held tight around her throat, strangling her. The camera starts to wobble as its operator stands over Ginny's face and ejaculates over her. I have to look away, it's killing me.
It's less than ten minutes before there's a huge crash at the door. I look back and it looks like Ginny is still breathing, thank God! The door is flung open and then the camera falls to the floor and I can hear scuffling and shouts and then there are gunshots and the camera goes blank.
"Noooo! Lake, God no! What has happened who's been shot? Fuck! Imogen, God don't let it be her." I'm sitting on the floor rocking with my arms over my head. Then Lake's cell rings and my head shoots up. "What? Who is it? Fuck Lake tell me."
"She's alive Mason, come on stand-up we need to go to the hospital, she's hurt Mase and it's not good, come on let's go." He holds his hand out for me to pull myself up.
I'm clinging onto his shoulders and weeping in to his shirt. "Shit Lake I can't bear this. I've let her down. I promised to keep her safe. I failed her." Standing up straight I walk to the sink and wash my face. "Okay let's go and get my girl back." When I turn round Maddie is stood in the doorway. "C'mon Maddie, she's going to need you too."
"I can't Mason, I can't face her. This is all my fault."
"You are coming with us Maddie, you need to see this and find a way to apologize, I'm sure Ginny will eventually forgive you, it's not in her nature to turn you away. I, on the other hand am quite happy to walk away from you now, and it's going to take a damn sight more than 'I'm sorry' to convince me."
"That's enough Mason, let's just get there. Come on Maddie you need to see her too." Lake holds out his hand to her but she ignores it and walks out alone.
*
Lucas and Detective Garcia meet me at the entrance and the grave look on both of their faces panics me. "What's going on? Where is she?"
Lucas leans in and talks quietly. "She's doing okay, she needed to have surgery on her shoulder so they've taken her straight to theater, so we’ve just got to wait Mason. She's taken one hell of a beating Mason, make sure you cover your shock when you see her."
It seems like hours later before a man in scrubs walks towards us as a group, I'm surrounded by my family and we all stand in unison and watch him approach. "Which of you is Mason Reynolds?"
I take a deep breath and step forward. "I am, I'm Mason Reynolds." I can feel my mother step next to me and my father puts his hand on my shoulder.
"Mr. Reynolds, I'm Dr. Evanston. Ms. Banks has had surgery to repair the damage to her arm and shoulder as well as some other minor procedures, she is in recovery now, and a nurse will take you to her in about half an hour. She's very lucky to be alive."
It's just before half an hour when a kind-lo
oking older nurse approaches me. "You can see her now Mr. Reynolds."
I walk quietly through the door and sit and hold her hand, and for two days that’s all I do, I sit and wait for her to wake up. The doctor has explained that it's perfectly normal for her body to shut down to give itself time to repair itself. But then the tingle in my spine reacts to her and she straightens up and turns to face me and her eyes open slowly.
Thank God, Luc warned me because I would be on my knees if he hadn't. My beautiful girl has two black eyes, her lips have split as well as cuts and lacerations over her brow and cheek bones, the bruises to her neck show a hand print around it. I drop the side rail on the bed and kicking my shoes off climb up next to her and gentle cradle her in my arms. I feel her tremble but her muscles don't relax against me. "Oh Imogen sweetheart. It’s okay you're safe hear with me now. He's out of our lives Ginny."
Her eyes are swimming with tears and she turns her head away from me. "I'm sorry Mason, I can't do this anymore."
"Do what, what are you talking about? I don't understand." The panic is rising inside my chest I don't want to hear what she's going to tell me. "Ginny, I know you are in pain and scared but just let me take care of you. I love you."
"I love you too Mason but I don't love me, hell I don't even like myself anymore. I need time to find me again. He took the last piece of me in that room! He forced the last piece of self-respect I had when I knew you were able to watch what he was doing to me. I've tried to move on from him, I reinvented myself and found you in the process, and shit Mason I love you so damn much, but I can't be with you right now." Looking up at me I can see that the fire has left her brilliant eyes and have turned them blank and empty.
"No! Imogen, please don't turn me away! I love you, I need you, you are part of me." Tears are streaming down my face as she turns back to look at me.
"How can I be a part of you when I can't even find any part of me? Let me have some time Mason, I need this please." She reaches down and holds my hand in her good hand and even that one is torn and bruised from the wires and kisses the back of it before closing her eyes on me.
I can feel my heart break in two. "I will never give up on us Imogen, you are it for me. I'll wait."
"Maybe Mason, but I have nothing good to offer you. Thank you for loving me so much, I almost believed my life would get better for a while. Goodbye Mason."
"This is not goodbye for us Imogen." I return her kiss and walk slowly out of the room and felt my life come crashing down on me and my knees give way and I collapse on the floor, my hands over my face as I try to contain the scream that is threatening to burst from my lungs.
Lake and my dad help me stand and lead me away from my reason to live.
END OF PART ONE
PART TWO
“You’ve got to find yourself first.
Everything else will follow” Charles de Lint -Dreams Underfoot
CHAPTER ONE
Imogen
It's been a month now and it's been the longest four weeks of my life.
Four weeks of heartache.
Four weeks of staring at myself in the mirror as I try to find the real me, the one who wouldn’t have sent her one true love away.
Four weeks of being unable to look forward and embrace the chance of a new and happy life, but choosing to wallow in self-pity and denial.
Four weeks of ignoring text message and voicemail messages.
Four weeks to realize that the ‘real’ me only existed when I was with him.
Four weeks to accept that I have thrown away the best thing I could ever have had in my life.
Four weeks of nothing, my skin hasn’t recognized him around me.
Four weeks since the air has shifted heavily around me.
Four weeks of emptiness.
But how do you even start to approach the man you sent away? You can’t just walk up and say ‘Hey do you fancy giving it another go?’ I don’t think that would work for even a fraction of a second.
The bruises have slowly disappeared, the scabs over my wrists and ankles have healed and have only left faint scars. But these superficial wounds are nothing compared to the scars on my heart, I sadly have realized that I have been the cause of Mason’s own scars and pain.
I went back to my apartment from the hospital and all of my belongings from Mason’s had been returned back to here before I left hospital. My new therapist has helped me enormously and I can see the pieces of me meshing back together.
The police have kept me informed of the progress and upcoming proceedings with Jake, I can't believe they didn't kill him, a bullet in the chest would normally do it but no, not that piece of shit, he got away with a punctured lung and a lot of surgery, and he is at least now locked up, I've had to ask the police to keep in touch with Lake from now on.
At least I have the satisfaction that the other bastard died. The pain inflicted on me by Jake is nothing compared to the way I felt when Mason walked away from me, I was stupid to think that I would be able to heal without him to hold me through the dark nights when all I did was cry. I feel empty. I can feel my resolve beginning to crumble, I don’t think I’m able to stay away from him for much longer.
Jake took my soul away from me by causing me to turn away from my one true love. In good moments I hope that he is over me and has been able to move on, but in the middle of the night when my finger is hovering over the call button on my phone I wish he would have fought me and not walked away, but had sat stubbornly by me while I raged and ranted at the bad choices I made, and held me tight when I crashed down in to ashes of my past life.
Maddie has thankfully, been staying with Lake. I can't deal with her now. Her stupid mistake nearly cost me my life and she even though she is aware of that it's not enough.
I’m returning to work Monday, but this Saturday night stretches long and empty in front of me as I feel my anger at my stupidity bubble up to the surface. But before I let it boil over and I start to scream, there’s a knock on the door and when I look through I see Tamsin and Amber stood there waving a jug of margarita at me.
I don't think I would have survived this dark time without these two friends, they have never pushed me or pried for information, they have just been here for me, happy to let me talk about everything and nothing and lately now that all the pain meds have stopped they have let me have a few drinks too.
"Come on Imogen let us in." Amber is giggling as I open the door.
"How many of these have you had already?" I grab the jug off them and they follow me inside. They have been my lifesavers since I got out of the hospital and have refused to let me mope around, they have fed me when I couldn't be bothered to eat.
They have sent me to shower when I couldn't be bothered to wash. They have never judged me. They are a very important part of my life now.
"This is our second jug so you've got a lot of catching up to do!" Tamsin pours the pale green iced delight into a tall glass and even tops it with a straw. "Ta Da!" she offers me the drink with a flourish.
"Well if you fail your degree because you've been wasting your time with me I'm sure your cocktail skills will keep you from starving." I laugh and happily accept the glass.
"Don't be a bitch Imogen it doesn't suit you. I am, I'll let you know, the top of my class and will graduate with honors." She smirks and pours herself and Amber a drink too.
"Tamsin has an admirer." Amber tries to whisper to me but is too drunk to be quiet.
"Shut it Red!" Tamsin turns to me. "It's not true."
"Yes it is!
And you are very well acquainted with him."
My face drops as I think she means Mason. "Well, I'm sure he's able to move on and find a new girlfriend." I stand up and start to move away from them. Amber stares at me with her mouth open.
"It's not Mason Ginny, nobody has seen him out since you ended it. I promise. It's Lucas who's got the hots for our Tammy-girl, but she's playing really hard to get, I don't know why? I think he's yummy."
<
br /> I relax and sit back down again. "You should give him a chance Tams he's a really good guy." I lean back against the base of the sofa my legs stretched out on the floor in front of me. "He has been good to me." I think back to him knocking on my door the day after I got home, he just hugged me as hard as he could without hurting my ribs and shoulder and spoke quietly to me 'don't give up on what you two have, please promise me not to give up.'
He hasn't visited me much since then but he sends me silly messages sometimes and they always manage to make me smile, even if it's only for a few minutes, it's enough to take some of the pain away from my heart.
"Yeah well whatever, I'm not interested." She shrugs.
So after four hours the pizza has been demolished, the tequila bottle is empty and the world has been put to rights, they stumble out of my door and giggle their way back to their own apartment, and I stagger drunkenly to my bed, and only just manage to throw my clothes off me before passing out on my bed.
*
I’m woken up the next morning by someone knocking hard on my door, clutching my head I stumble to the door. "Unless the building is on fire go away!"
The voice on the other side of the door surprises me and I jerk the door open quickly. Nancy Reynolds is stood in front of me and all five foot nothing of her is bristling with tension. "Well I see you must be feeling better."
Walking past me and heading for the coffee pot, but when she turns her face softens as she notices the tears on my face. "Go and get showered Imogen dear, we need to have a little chat. I'll get some breakfast on for you, you've lost a lot of weight since I last saw you."
Rushing through my shower I roughly dry my hair and sling it up in a top knot and throw on a pair of baggy sweats and a T-shirt before joining her in the kitchen.
"Isn't that one of Mason's shirts Imogen? I'm sure I've seen him wearing it." Her eyebrows rise up and a small smile lifts the corner of her mouth.