“Now what? Got your search warrant?”
“Diana, I want to apologize,” Gregg said.
She blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” Gregg continued, feeling the emotion pour through him as he let himself go. “I don’t know what I was thinking this morning. I was scared and angry and I’m still scared and...I don’t know how to explain this but...I just want to say I’m sorry for what happened this morning. I over-reacted. I feel like shit.”
“Well, you should,” Diana said. There was a hint that she was letting down her guard in her tone of voice, a sense of playfulness that bordered on seriousness.
“I am,” Gregg continued. He was embarrassed as he looked around, shivering on the porch. It was chilly outside, in the low forties. “I didn’t mean for what happened this morning to happen. I wasn’t thinking straight. Um...” He looked at her sheepishly. “Can I come in? Can we talk?”
Again there was that look on Diana’s face of having been caught off guard. For a moment it looked like she was going to reject his offer, that her face would twist into a grimace of hate and disgust and she would say, “No!” and slam the door in his face. Instead she did the opposite. She opened the door and stepped aside. “Sure, come on in.”
Gregg let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he said, pausing in the threshold. He reached out for an awkward hug and Diana allowed it, hugging him back. He could tell everything that was happening, this whole encounter, was taking her completely by surprise. “Thank you,” he said again. “I’m glad you’re home. I really need someone to talk to.”
“Then let’s talk,” Diana said and this time her voice was softer, had less of a threatening edge. She moved away from the door, and as Gregg stepped into the house he closed it behind him, quickly making sure it was unlocked, and then headed toward the couch where he sat down.
Gregg leaned forward on the sofa, put his head in his hands. “I’ve been going crazy thinking about what happened Thanksgiving Day,” he said. “And between losing Elizabeth and Jerry and Laura, and Mary turning up missing today I’m just going out of my mind! I can’t take it anymore!”
“I know,” Diana said. She sat down on the sofa next to him, and although Gregg wasn’t looking at her he could tell from the tone of her voice that she was relaxing more. “They say bad luck comes in threes and that’s certainly true in our case.”
“First Cindy, then you and I losing our mates and their parents, then Mary turning up missing,” Gregg said. He shook his head. “It’s like a fucking nightmare.”
Diana was silent. Gregg sighed, leaned back on the sofa. “God, I could use a drink.”
Diana stood up. “I’ve got beer.”
“A beer would be great.”
Diana brought back bottles of Coors Lite and they sat on the sofa drinking and talking. Gregg did most of the talking. He rattled on about how lost he felt since losing Elizabeth, how Eric was coping, then how things got jolted back into pure terror again early this morning when Brenda had called to report Mary missing. Diana nodded, saying she had been surprised by the disappearance too. Gregg apologized again for being so accusatory this morning. “It’s okay,” Diana said, and this time there was a genuine tone of friendliness in her voice. It was as if she was saying don’t worry about it, everything’s cool. “I would have freaked out too.”
“Did social services ever come back today?”
“Yeah. They came with the police.”
“What happened?”
“I let them look through the house again and they didn’t find anything.”
“God, I’m sorry. I wish I had been here that second time to tell them I had reacted so badly this morning and that they shouldn’t be picking on you.”
“It’s okay,” Diana said, her voice growing softer. “It’s over now.”
“I mean, I know you were trying to make what you had with Ronnie a family,” Gregg said, taking a swig of beer. “If this shit hadn’t happened to us, things might have turned out different. I know kids sometimes take a while to get used to each other and new situations, but—”
“Mary was adjusting very well,” Diana said. She was sitting closer to Gregg now.
“I think so,” Gregg said. He took another sip of beer and looked around the living room. “By the way, where are Rick and Lily?”
“They’re down the street at a friend’s,” Diana said quickly.
Gregg nodded and turned to her. He could tell she’d come up with the lie on the spot but he kept his expression neutral. “How are they taking everything?”
“As well as they could be, I guess.” Diana had lost a lot of the angry spark she’d had this morning, and when he’d first knocked on the door thirty minutes ago. She seemed downright friendly, the type of woman he would normally have enjoyed talking to and spending time with. “I’ve been letting them do what they want lately, just to get their minds off what’s been happening. The more they can get away, the better they can deal with it.”
“Yeah.” Gregg finished his beer and placed the empty bottle down on the floor. He leaned forward, head bowed, his eyes shut. “I wish it was as easy for me.”
The silence that followed was awkward and what came next was both genuine and planned. It was genuine because Gregg was tapping into his emotions, allowing himself to feel the pain of his loss, his fear of Mary being in mortal danger. He let the emotion run its course and he surprised himself when he started crying.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pausing briefly before burying his hands in his face and sobbing. He could feel Diana stiffen beside him, obviously embarrassed at another sudden turn of events. “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to hold his emotions in but failing to do so. “I can’t help it I...I just miss them so much! And...and I’m so lonely!”
“I know,” Diana said, and she laid a hand on his shoulder gently. “It’s going to be okay.”
Gregg nodded, his chest hitching. “Yeah.”
Diana rubbed his back, her touch comforting, soothing. He reached out and touched her leg. The gesture was intended as an acknowledgement of her support but it had the opposite effect. The hand that was rubbing his back in a friendly non-sexual manner now traced down to the hand that was on her leg. He felt her hand on his, her fingers caressing his arm. He took in a deep breath and looked at her. “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I’ve been getting carried away with myself lately.”
Diana smiled and, while he didn’t let it show, he saw the undercurrent of sexual desire in that smile. “Sometimes when things are just real fucked up we all need to escape for awhile. We need to let off steam. You coming here tonight is your way of letting off steam. We’re hanging out, talking about things, having a few drinks. It’s cathartic.”
Gregg nodded. “You’re right.” Her hand stayed on his arm, rubbing it, and he made no move to push it away.
“Want another drink?”
“Yeah. I could really use another.”
Diana got them both another beer. And they talked more, drinking, relaxing. Gregg let himself ease into the conversation, putting himself in the situation that he was hanging out with a friendly and extremely attractive woman, sharing a drink with her, getting comfy in her house. Diana relaxed more around him and her tone became jovial, a little flirting. Gregg kept the conversation on the past tragedies, telling Diana how stressed he’d been feeling since everything had happened and how he just needed to get away from it all, even if for the evening. Diana nodded, understanding on her features. “I’ve got some pot,” she said. “Maybe we can just kick back here tonight and get stoned.”
“That would be great!”
Diana smiled. “You do look tense. Turn around.” She motioned for him to turn his back to her and he complied.
A moment later he felt strong fingers kneading the back of his neck and he winced. “Ooh, you are tense,” she said, stopping her ministrations. “You need a massage.”
“You can say that again,” Gregg said, rolling his shou
lders. He placed his empty bottle down on the floor.
Diana stood up. “I’ve got some pot in the bedroom. Why don’t we go kick back on the bed and get stoned, relax a little bit, and then I can give you a massage.”
“Sounds good.” Gregg followed Diana into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the king-sized waterbed she had shared with Ronnie. The room was dark, the top spread on the bed red velvet. It looked comfortable. Diana struck a match and in its dim glow Gregg noticed several candelabras perched on the dresser. There were candles on the nightstand as well. He watched as she lit the candles and soon the room was bathed in a red glow. Once the candles were lit, she opened a dresser drawer and held up a plastic baggie containing a stick of weed and a small wooden pipe.
She filled the bowl of the pipe carefully and got it lit. She drew the smoke in, held it, then passed it to Gregg. It was the first time Gregg had smoked pot in over ten years and he coughed on his first drag, expelling smoke from his lungs. He coughed uncontrollably, doubled over. Diana took the pipe from him and took another hit as Gregg got his coughing under control. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I haven’t smoked pot in years.”
“That’s okay,” she said, expelling a thin stream of smoke from her mouth and lungs. She held the pipe out to him. “More?”
“Yeah.” He took the pipe from her and managed to not only draw the smoke into his lungs, he actually held it in for a bit, coughing only slightly as he released it. He handed the pipe back to her. “That’s it for me. This’ll probably send me off to la-la land.”
Diana laughed and took another hit.
“Mind if I use the restroom?”
“Go for it. Want another beer?”
“Sure.”
When he returned from the restroom Diana had returned with two more beers. She handed him one and they lounged on the bed, drinking and talking. The pot was getting him nice and mellow and it was relaxing. He lay back, his head on the pillow, feeling nice and high. The flames from the candles flickered, casting wavery shadows on the heavy drapes that lined the windows. The candles were scented—jasmine maybe. It was a nice smell. He set his bottle down on a nightstand. “I feel better already.”
“Turn over,” Diana said, gently nudging his shoulder. “Lie down on your stomach. Take your shirt off first.”
Gregg unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, followed by the t-shirt he wore under it and laid on his stomach. Diana went into the bathroom and came back with a bottle of lotion. She straddled his mid-section, squirted a dollop of lotion on her hands and began rubbing it into his back and upper shoulders. Gregg sighed, his eyes closed. It really did feel good to have her massage him. Her fingers were working wonders on his sore muscles. They kneaded and prodded the tension away. “That feels good,” he said.
“Good,” Diana said.
Gregg let Diana give him a complete rub down. She spent ten minutes massaging the kinks out of his shoulders, his biceps and arms and down his lower back. Combined with the alcohol and pot, it sent him straight to sensory nirvana. When she reached the waistband of his jeans she paused. “I can do your legs if you want me to.”
“Sure,” he said, his voice dreamy.
“You want to pull down your pants?”
“Oh.” He turned himself over, sitting up and grinning at her, awkwardly fumbling to unsnap his jeans. Diana was watching him, a smile on her face, and in the red-tinged darkness she looked sexy and alluring. The pot was really influencing him now, tapping into his senses, and as he leaned over to unzip his pants she leaned closer to him. He could feel her heat, smell the freshness of her skin, and he managed to unsnap his jeans and push them halfway down his legs before he stopped, leaned forward, and kissed her.
It just happened. He could feel the tension between them building, could tell the past forty minutes had been leading up to this and he recognized the signs and subtle plays and went for it. She seemed a little taken aback but quickly responded, meeting his inquisitive tongue. His hands reached out and drew her closer so their bodies melted together. He felt her firm breasts press against his chest as her arms encircled him. And then she was leaning into him, being the aggressor, and he let her ease him down on his back, their lips still locked in a deep kiss.
They lay on the bed together with Diana on top of him, kissing passionately, their tongues dancing, darting in and out of each other’s mouths, exploring. Gregg ran his hands along Diana’s back, cupped her jean clad buttocks, then roamed back up her body, his thumbs brushing the sides of her full breasts. Diana’s hands darted down to the elastic of his briefs, slipped underneath them. He felt her fingers tickle his pubic hair. His penis, which had become hard at the moment they first kissed, was now throbbing. Diana seemed to sense this and stopped their kiss to push his jeans down past his knees and off to the floor. Gregg helped by slipping his briefs off and Diana pulled her blouse off, flinging it aside. She was wearing a white bra and it seemed to glow in the darkness, a sharp contrast with the blackness of the shadows and the flickering glow of the candles. She flung the bra away and Gregg reached out and cupped her breasts, his thumbs circling her areolas. She moaned and was on him again, kissing him.
Feeling her naked breasts against his chest made his need for physical companionship seem more real. For a brief moment he thought about Elizabeth, but then pushed her to the back of his mind and got back into the role.
He helped Diana slip out of her jeans.
He ran kisses down between her breasts, taking each erect nipple in his mouth. Diana moaned; Gregg let the lust that was building carry him through; his only desire, his only wish now was to wallow in Diana, to fuck her, to unleash his seed inside her.
He ran his tongue down her naked belly. When he got to her panties he pushed her down on her back and pulled them off and down her legs with his teeth.
When they came together again in the dark, meeting in the hushed passion of lovers, Gregg allowed himself a quick prayer that his son would be safe, that Mary would be rescued alive, and that Don, Ray, and Gary would be able to carry out the rest of the plan.
Then it was down to business.
And Diana went down on him.
And he let her take him.
His last coherent thought before she eased him inside her was my God it’s the best sex I’ve ever had, it’s the best ever, no wonder she ensnares them like that, no wonder, I could never—
He gave in to his lust for her.
“WHAT DO YOU think?”
They had just made their fifth drive by the house since embarking on their part of the plan, and the darkened bedroom windows were the first thing Don Grant noticed when they saw the house. Ray pulled the Mercury over to the curb and killed the lights and engine.
The neighborhood was still. The interior of the car was warmed by the heater, but Don felt a chill nonetheless. He glanced at Gary and the other man caught his gaze and held it. Gary rubbed his gloved hands together and shivered. This was it. The time had come for them to finally put their part of the plan into action. “It’s been at least forty minutes,” Gary said.
“I know,” Don replied.
“You think she’s doing it yet?” Ray asked, looking at the house.
“Oh yeah,” Don said. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the house. His heart raced and he felt sick with dread at what he and Gary were going to walk into.
They had dropped Gregg off at a little after five-thirty p.m. and headed back to the motel room to begin the wait, which had been torturous. The plan had been to give Gregg sufficient enough time to play his part, to let Diana seduce him and suck him in so she would be occupied for the remainder of the night. There had been some brief debate about how long the other guys should wait before the second part of the plan was put into motion, and Ray had let his bravado show when he’d boasted, “Well, shit man, I know she ain’t a real woman and all, but you should be able to get into her pants within thirty minutes, don’t you think?”
Gregg had shook his head and Don had dismissed
Ray’s boast as youthful machismo and countered it by suggesting they play it safe and start their return surveillance of the house at nine p.m. “She should be fully connected by then,” he had said, glancing at Gregg as if to give him another chance to back out of it. Gregg had remained stoical, committed to going through with it, and agreed.
They were to wait until the lights in the house were off, then they were to wait forty-five minutes after that. Then they were to put the meat of the plan into action. Ray would wait in the car with the engine running while Gary and Don, one of them bearing an axe, would enter through the front door, hoping Gregg had been able to unlock it; if it wasn’t, they would use the axe to smash the door in. Once inside the clock would start ticking: their first job was to find Mary by checking those spots that had been passed over in the quick search the police conducted that morning. “Start in the attic,” Gregg said that afternoon as they drew up the plans. “The attic in that house has a pull down ladder and you get to it from the hallway that leads to the master bedroom.”
Once Mary was rescued, one of them would carry her out to the car and the other would venture into the bedroom with the axe. Gregg braced them for what they would see. “Think of one of those morphing images you see as a special effects thing in a movie. It might just look like a shapeless lump and it’ll be merged with me. You might not be able to tell where I end and it begins. I’ll be unconscious and it’ll be in its most vulnerable state while it feeds on me.”
Don had agreed. “It should not only be vulnerable, it’ll be drunk.”
“Take the axe and just start chopping into that thing,” Gregg had said. “That should start loosening its hold on me. I don’t know what state I’ll be in, but—”
“He might not be able to wake up,” Don had cut in, looking Gary firmly in the eye. “Do whatever you can to wake him up. For God’s sakes, watch out when you swing that axe, too. That thing’ll be feeding on him, but do what you can to get Gregg to come out of it.”
Whoever dropped Mary off at the car was to then head back to the house and help rescue Gregg. “If it wakes up and comes after you, run,” Gregg said. “If you can’t save me, save yourselves and get Mary out of there. Just get the hell out.”
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