Code Name: Genesis

by Sawyer Bennett

  Chuckling, I pivot away from him, walking into the kitchen. “It’s become force of habit. I’m constantly on my girlfriend’s case to make sure it stays armed at all times.”

  The minute the word “girlfriend” rolls off my tongue, a warm feeling pulses through me. I realize how immediately accepting I am of the concept Joslyn is truly mine again.

  What other titles will I have for her? Fiancée? Wife? Best friend? Lover? Co-parent?

  None of that freaks me out. Instead, it all feels very, very right.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?” I ask as Saint follows me into the kitchen.

  “Sure. Black.”

  As I set about to make him a cup of java, I fill him in on Joslyn and her stalker. When I finish, I say, “That’s why I’m here in California. But I’ll be headed back to Pittsburgh as soon as this case is wrapped up.”

  “I’m interested to hear more about your company,” Saint remarks as he takes a seat at the kitchen island. “Jerico tells me you’re going in a new direction from what he originally envisioned.”

  I chuckle, leaning my forearms on the countertop opposite of where he sits. “No offense to Jerico. He’s my best friend. But let’s just say I was getting a little tired of installing security systems and providing bodyguard services to celebrities with big egos and low self-esteem.”

  Saint takes a sip of his coffee. After he sets the mug down, he asks point blank. “How exciting is the work you anticipate doing going to be?”

  I shrug. “Anything from rescuing a kidnap victim from a South American jungle to stealing shit from America’s known enemies. It’s totally off-the-books stuff our government doesn’t want to be associated with but will gladly pay to have done.”

  Saint nods in understanding at the same time my phone buzzes on the counter where I left it next to my laptop. I glance down, seeing a notification Joslyn has sent me a text.

  Granted, while this interview is pretty informal, I am still in the middle of a business dealing and would ordinarily ignore such a thing.

  But it’s Joslyn.

  And knowing her, she is probably sending me something silly and designed only to make me smile.

  I should ignore it.

  But it’s Joslyn.

  “Excuse me,” I say to Saint as I reach out to take my phone. After I tap on the text, I start to read, my body locking tight. In an instant, I feel like my entire life has just been shattered.

  I’m so sorry, Kynan. He has Lynn. He’s going to kill her if I don’t go with him. I had to make a quick decision. No matter what happens, I love you so very much. Please forgive me for what I’m getting ready to do.

  A wave of nausea hits me as I realize the kiss I gave Joslyn just before she walked out the door with Cruce may have been the last time I ever touch her. This text may be the last words she ever says to me.

  He could be killing her right this very moment.

  My phone rings in my hand. I’m so startled I almost drop it. Cruce’s name comes up on the screen, and I answer it by barking, “What the fuck is going on? I just got a text from Joslyn that sounds like she willingly went with the bastard.”

  Saint stands up from the stool opposite me, his body tight and hyper alert as he watches me with concern.

  “She ditched me at the Four Seasons,” Cruce grits out with anger and frustration. “Hopped out of the fucking car and said she had to use the bathroom. Ran off as I was trying to get out of the car. I swear to God, Kynan, I couldn’t have been more than ten seconds behind her, but she wasn’t in the bathrooms. She just disappeared.”

  “I don’t fucking understand,” I say as I snag the keys to the car I rented when I first arrived in Santa Barbara. Saint follows along behind me as I head to the door, but I pay him no mind. “I’m on my way to you now.”

  “I’ve already called the police. They should be arriving any moment. I’m in the employee parking lot off the service door from the lobby. I found her purse and phone. Saw a car pulling away pretty fast, and I managed to get a partial license plate on it, but I couldn’t see if she was in there or not.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter. I’m so angry with Joslyn right now for doing this… and at Cruce for letting her. My head is fogged up, and my ability to form rational thought is impaired.

  And then it hits me, just as I reach the front door.

  I disconnect from Cruce without another word, pulling up the tracking app I installed. It’s connected to the devices in her purse, phone, and in the earrings I gave her. Christ, was she wearing the earrings today? I can’t remember. Her hair was loose and covered her ears, but I’d told her to always wear them. Surely, she had, right?

  “What is that?” Saint answers as he steps in to look closer at my app.

  “A tracking device.”

  “He’s got your woman?” he asks.

  “She apparently got in his car willingly because he said he’d taken her manager,” I grit out, furious still at Joslyn but also incredibly terrified at the same time.

  “Says a lot about your woman,” Saint remarks, and I glare at him. He just shrugs. “She must have a lot of love and loyalty to have done that.”

  Yeah… She sure as fuck does, but I’m furious at her for being that way.

  I tap on the icon that will connect to the signal in Joslyn’s earrings. The purse and phone are out of play, but with my breath caught in my throat, I wait for a red flashing circle to come up on the Google maps the app integrates. I get nothing in return.

  “Shit,” I mutter.

  “What’s the signal distance?” Saint asks.

  “Ten miles.” That was the problem when we had the earrings created on such short notice—we were only able to use readily available technology. The size of chip we put in the earrings has only so much strength in its signal.

  The lack of a signal tells me something particularly important, though.

  Which direction he is headed.

  If he was headed south toward Joslyn’s house from the Four Seasons, I would have picked up the signal. It’s proof he’s headed either north or west, which at least gives me a starting point.

  I spare Saint a glance to say, “Sorry, buddy. Interview’s over. We’ll have to pick this back up some other time.”

  “I’d like to help,” Saint says. “I can’t learn a damsel is in distress and just walk away.”

  I nod gratefully, quickly disarming the security panel so we can exit the house. “I’ll shoot you the link so you can download this app. Follow me in your car to the Four Seasons. Once there, you, Cruce and I will branch out to search for her.”

  In seconds, I’m in my car headed to the Four Seasons. I place a call to Bebe.

  I come to appreciate her efficiency even more when she answers my call by giving me an immediate update. “I’ve already talked to Cruce. Rachel and I have the map up. Once her signal comes online, I’ll sync it to the app so everyone can have access to it. In the meantime, I’m running the partial license plate Cruce was able to get. I had to hack the California’s Department of Motor Vehicles so if I get caught, you have to bail me out.”

  “I’ve got your back, Bebe. Thank you for jumping on this so fast.”

  I disconnect the call, driving like a bat out of hell… knowing the clock is ticking way too fast.

  CHAPTER 26

  Joslyn

  I come groggily awake for what feels like the third or fourth time, struggling to keep my eyes open. Wherever I am, it is almost pitch black around me. I can tell I’m in a chair with my hands tied behind the back. Moving my legs is impossible. It feels like my ankles are tied to each of the front legs of the chair with rope.

  I’m also really cold, and I think my clothes have been removed.

  In front of me is a thin, bright line running horizontally where I believe the floor meets the doorway. I’m feeling incredibly tired, my eyes wanting to drift shut again. The darkness presses heavily upon me, making me want to give back to sleep.

  But then I
hear something. Or perhaps I just feel a presence.

  Horrible wrenching sounds—like metal is being ripped apart—screech through my ears, then white light floods the darkness.

  It’s so bright that pain shoots through my head, and I have to snap my eyes shut against it. I can feel a thin veil of warmth hit my body, so it must be sunlight. When I manage to flutter my eyelids open, a person is silhouetted in the doorway.

  Without a doubt, it’s him.

  He stands there facing me. Even though I can’t see the details of his face, I can’t bear to look at him. My head drops and I take in my body, noticing I am indeed naked except for my bra and panties. My legs are spread slightly due to the fact they are tied to the front chair legs.

  No clue what he has done to me.

  I try for an internal evaluation to see if I’m feeling pain anywhere.

  I’m not, except for a dull headache. I don’t feel anything throughout my body as I try to flex muscles, but it doesn’t mean he didn’t rape me. Still, I have to believe if he had, he would have just left me naked. At least that’s my hope, but I can’t dwell on that now. I have more important things to worry about—like staying alive.

  My stalker steps forward, then reaches out and flips a switch. An overhead light comes on directly above me, illuminating a bare bulb hanging from a socket. The man pulls the door shut behind himself, the hinges sounding like groaning steel. All of a sudden, I realize I’m in a metal shipping container about the size of a standard bedroom.

  “Where am I?” I ask, my tongue thick and heavy in my mouth. It’s an effort to form words.

  The man is standing just beyond the scope of light. I have to admit, he’s more terrifying standing in the shadows than if he were right in my face. He gives a dark chuckle. “Why, you’re at my home.”

  “You live in a steel box?” I snap.

  He laughs again, totally amused by my defiance. “Of course not, my beautiful girl. I live in a house. But you are on land that encompasses my home, so that might be the better way to say it.”

  “What did you do to me?” I ask, concerned at how much of an effort it is to talk. My words are heavy and slurred, and I struggle to make sure they sound coherent.

  My kidnapper takes a step forward, then another. I shrink back as far as I can. When he comes into the scope of light, I realize he is more terrifying close up than when he was in the shadows. It all comes back to me—the normalcy of this man. How common he appears. He could be anybody. The fact he does not resemble a monster makes him all the more frightening.

  He squats before me, placing his hands on my thighs just above my kneecaps. Bile rises in my throat from his touch. “I gave you Midazolam. It’s a short-acting sedative that should wear off soon.”

  “Why? I got in the car as you asked. Why did you have to drug me?”

  Snorting, the bastard shakes his head. “I really couldn’t have you struggling against me. You put up a hell of a fight the last time we met, so it’s with my deepest apologies I had to do that.”

  A sharp, hysterical laugh bubbles up. “Apologize? You’ve tried to kill me once already. You’ve kidnapped me. And now you’re apologizing?”

  His expression goes horrified at my accusation. Shaking his head, he says, “No, no, no. I didn’t try to kill you that first time, sweet girl. I just wanted you unconscious so I could… do things to you. I didn’t want to hit you on the head—maybe risk brain damage. And let me remind you that you willingly got in my car. I didn’t kidnap you.”

  That’s just semantics, but then it hits me what he said. I did get in the car with him willingly, but that was because he has Lynn.

  Terror jolts through my body. I jerk hard against my bindings, scanning wildly around the interior of the shipping container. I scream, “Lynn. Lynn, are you here?”

  The man squeezes my legs reassuringly before he stands. “Calm down, Joslyn. She’s not here.”

  I snap my head around, glaring with disbelief. “Where is she? What have you done to her? You promised you would let her go.”

  “I didn’t need to let her go,” he drawls with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Because I never had her in the first place.”

  My brain turns fuzzy again, trying to understand the meaning behind his words. “What? I don’t understand.”

  The asshole bends and puts his face near mine. The smell of stale coffee hits me hard. His grin is leering. “Of course you don’t understand. Because you’re stupid, Joslyn. I never had Lynn. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I sent you a fake photo? That I had doctored it up? Did you not once consider that if I was good enough to hack into city cameras so you and your merry band of fake detectives couldn’t find me, that I could doctor up a single fucking photo? You’re so goddamn gullible, Joslyn, and you made this so easy. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted me to take you.”

  My entire body sags into the chair as I realize I probably just destroyed my life, and probably Kynan’s as well, because I didn’t trust in him. I didn’t trust in the process of him protecting me. I fell for this asshole’s lie so damn easily and it also occurs to me that I will probably deserve everything I’m in for.

  Head drooping, I stare at my pale thighs under the glaring light. My voice is tired and raspy. “Why me?”

  The man straightens, then starts a slow walk around my chair. “Now that is a good question. Why you?”

  He moves from my line of vision. When he comes up behind me, I brace for him to do something as sinister as slitting my throat or as creepy as just touching me. Instead, all I hear is his voice coming from the darkness.

  “I attended a concert of yours a few years ago. Sprang for front-row seats. You were singing right to me, Joslyn. You stared me right in the eyes, and you sang only for me. And I felt the connection between us.”

  I start shaking my head. “I don’t remember you at all. I perform. I act. It’s what I do. There’s no connection.”

  The man slides around to my front. His eyes are hard and cold. “Careful, Joslyn. Else I won’t have any use for you if you stop being nice.”

  His threat is clear, and a smarter woman might become subdued. But I’ve about reached my limit of his torment, which is exactly what he’s doing to me. He is terrorizing me with his singsong tone and teasing words.

  Straightening in my chair, I lean my head and torso as far forward as I can, lifting my chin in defiance. “You are sick. Demented. What type of man has to tie up a woman to get what he wants? I’ll tell you… it’s a psychopathic creep who probably has a little dick and—”

  His hand cocks back quickly and he lets it fly, catching me with his palm across my left cheek. The blow is so forceful my head snaps to the right, the chair actually leaning onto two legs before it corrects itself. There’s an immediate ringing in my ears, and my vision starts to dim.

  And then, he strikes me again. In the same exact way, an open palm to my left cheek.

  This blow is harder. My teeth slice into my cheek, causing blood to flood my mouth. I gag against the taste, tilting to the side to spit it out. When I look back up, my insides turn to ice. He has a switchblade open, and he’s holding it up for me to see.

  “If you want me to get nasty with you, Joslyn, I will. Or you can be a good, quiet little bitch. If you are, I won’t hurt you too much.”

  I am effectively put my place.

  “Okay, okay, okay.” I make my voice as meek and subservient as I can muster. It’s not too hard, since I am genuinely terrified now. “I’m sorry. I’m just scared and disoriented, and I don’t feel good. I’m sorry.”

  He stares, his cold beady eyes calculating the weight of my words. Finally, and ever so slowly, he closes the knife and puts it away. A huge rush of air forcefully exhales from my lungs when it disappears.

  I muster up the courage, asking the one question I’m terrified to know the answer to. “What are you going to do to me?”

  He bends again, putting his face in front of mine. Blood continues
to fill my mouth. I can’t lean over and spit it out without most likely offending him. Instead, I swallow the vileness, hoping to God I don’t wretch it back up.

  He reaches a hand out, then runs a finger tenderly over my left cheekbone, which is burning like unholy fire from where he hit me. He murmurs, “I’m going to make you my pet. I’ll keep you for as long as you amuse and please me. And when I’m sick of you, I’ll get rid of you. My advice is to be good and make me happy. If you can manage that, maybe I’ll keep you for a while.”

  Sickening awareness overtakes me. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you? You told me that I would be your favorite.”

  The man grins before standing. He punches both of his hands into his front pockets. “Well, you have made it interesting. I’ve definitely enjoyed the challenge. And you’ve been a bad girl by making time with another man. I don’t forgive you for that, you know. I’m going to hurt you because of it. But eventually, you’ll come to love me, Joslyn.”

  Self-preservation be damned. “You’re delusional. You might as well kill me now because I will never submit to you. I’ll never give you what you want without a fight every step of the way.”

  “Oh, contraire,” he teases. “You’ll beg me eventually.”

  “Never,” I hiss.

  This amuses him, which pisses me off because I seem to do that a lot. Turning his back on me, he laughs dismissively as he retreats to the door. “That’s the drugs talking. Giving you false courage. I’m going to wait for it to get out of your system before we begin. In the meantime, I’m just going to leave you here in the dark and let you think about things.”

  He reaches out for the light switch.

  “Wait,” I cry.

  He turns to regard me.

  I plead with him. “Don’t turn the lights out.”

  I’m ashamed I’m already begging him for something.

  It’s made even worse by the fact he doesn’t give me what I asked for. Instead, he flips the switch. He opens the door, giving me one last burst of light, then he leaves and closes it behind him.