by A J Kent
I walk around the car and pull Henley into a bearhug before walking back around the car and jumping in the driver’s seat. I put the key into the ignition, the car roaring to life, sending vibrations through my whole body. I’m coming Rory. I will find you. I will get you back. I will get you home. Even if it’s the last thing I do, or the last breath I take. This does not end until you are by my side.
◆◆◆
We’ve been driving around for three hours and nothing. Absolute fucking nothing. The local police force has been checking in with us, providing us with any updates back from the station. They’ve come up empty as well. We are missing something. I am missing something. Think Theo, think. Put yourself in his shoes. Where would he take her. Where would he tak--.
Shit, I know where she is.
How did I miss this? How has it taken me this long to put the pieces together.
She’s not here. She’s in his favourite place.
The place they always talked about going together when Rory was younger.
He’s taken her back to Los Angeles.
LA is his end game.
He always wanted to finish her off there he just wasn’t able to get to her when we were there.
He was always going to take her there.
He has to take her there.
He needs to finish her off where it all started.
Where he started.
Rory is in the fucking City of Angels.
20
Rory
“What am I doing here?” I ask, swallowing down the vomit that is pooling in my throat.
I knew that my father wanted to see me again. I know he was after me. The words of him saying I will suffer the consequences have been a permanent feature in my mind when he walked out all those years ago, but a small part of me believed that it was all a lie. A small part of me believed that he was just angry, and he was just saying those things to hurt my Mom and to make it easier for him to walk away from me. He’s supposed to love me. He’s supposed to protect his daughter. Not abduct her and tie her up in an unknown location.
But here we fucking are. I was wrong and I think I always knew that he meant his words. I think I always knew that this day would come but I had hope. I had hope that he would change and come back to me, begging me for forgiveness. Begging for a second chance to be in my life, but I was wrong and Theodore was right, that my father wants to make me pay for being a perfect person in an imperfect world.
“I told you we would meet again, button,” my father pauses as he kneels down in front of me, “Didn’t you think I was telling the truth? You should know by now that I always keep my word.”
Ha, this man has never kept to this word in his whole life. He would always say things, he would make promises, but he never followed through on his word. He promised me that Mom and I were his world, he promised me that he would always be around. He promised me the world and as a young, naïve teenager, I lapped every word up. I lift my eyes up from the spot on the floor that I’ve been focusing on and look directly at him, my abductor, my father.
“I just thought that when we saw each other again I wouldn’t be tied up in a dark, dinky room with blood running down my hands,” I pause, “But hey, who am I to complain. This is one father, daughter reunion that I will never forget.”
I send me father a wink and I instantly regret it as a fist comes flying into the side of my jaw. The pain paralyzing my whole body as his knuckles crack against my cheek. I yelp out in anguish as droplets of blood start rushing down my face.
“Did you like my presents?”
“Why Dad, just tell me why. Why did you murder seven innocent women?”
My Dad steps forward, grabbing my long hair and twisting it through his fingers, “Innocent?” he laughs, “You think those women were innocent. Oh button, you have a lot to learn. Have those boys not been teaching you properly at the FBI?”
Have those boys not been teaching you properly.
The words echo through my body and send chills down my back.
He’s been watching me. He’s been watching us this whole time.
“Each of those women deserved to suffer. They did horrible things. Hurtful things. They walked around with a chip on their shoulders acting like they were perfect and better than anyone else. Instead they were adulterers, child abusers and thieves. They needed to be taught some manners. Besides it was all for you. It has always been for you.”
I close my eyes and suck in a breath. This man is so deranged, so neurotic.
“You know nothing. I’ve been trained by the best this country has to offer. If you’ve been watching, you would know that.”
He nods and let’s go off my hair from his grasp, “You’re right. I have been watching and I’ve been doing my homework.” He walks over to the side of the room, my eyes following every move he makes. He turns around and holds a yellow and white folder in his hands.
“Who should I start with first. Let me see, let me see…. Oh yes. I will start with the girl. Charlotte Tipton, also known as Lottie, you met here when you were studying in Cambridge and you both became instant friends when you found out you were both from Washington D.C.,” he turns the page and walks closer to me, “Next up we have Henley Jefferson, graduated from MIT, third in his class, originally from South Carolina and trying to get into Charlotte’s pants,” shit, now he’s standing in front of me, “And the best for last, Theodore Riley, Theo. Your childhood best friend, the love of your life. I never thought that boy would amount to anything and here is his, a top agent at the FBI at only twenty-seven. I really underestimated his talent. I should have groomed him, taken him under my wing. He was weak before, fragile, I could have indoctrinated him and made him a loyal solider to my cause.”
I cough and shake my head, “A loyal soldier to your cause. Are you out of your fucking mind? Theodore hated you, he would have never followed you. He was not the weak one, the owner of that trophy is you,” I spit.
I can’t get over how delusional he is. He has lost his mind. He used to be relatively sane and have a clear outlook on life but not anymore. That outlook on life is well and truly gone and has been replaced with loathing, disdain and despair. His vision is clouded. Clouded by the euphoria of misery and suffering. He gets off on it, he lives by it.
My father throws the folder back on the desk and walks over to the other side of the room. He pulls a brass key from his pocket and inserts it into the keyhole, turning it to the right three times and the left two times.
What a weird way to open a door.
“Where are you going?” I ask. As much as I hate being in such a small and confined space with him, I need answers, I want answers. I need to know why he killed those women and I need to know why he wants to kill me. Besides, the longer I keep him talking and engrossed in conversation the more time I allow Theodore, Lottie and Henley to find me.
They are going to find me.
Theodore promised that he would protect me.
That he would keep me safe.
They will find me.
They will find me.
My head snaps up and my attention is occupied by the slamming of the door. He’s gone. Where has he gone? What is he doing? What is the point of leaving me here if he doesn’t want to talk to me. Unless he doesn’t like to play with his food before he eats it.
I hang my head low, my neck and arms aching from the rope and cable ties restricting my every movement. I am so tired. I need to sleep. I need to rest. I need my energy. I close my eyes and I fall into a deep sleep thinking about Theodore. His face, his body, his mind, his hands on my body, his cock plunging inside of me like it’s the last day on earth.
◆◆◆
“Rory. I love you. I’m coming for you baby, I’m coming for you. Hold tight.”
A blow to my ribs jerks me awake, my whole body stiff and sore. My eyes shoot open, the light from the spotlight blinding me. How long was I out? My heart beats fast and my head buzzes with fear. What if he killed me when
I was asleep? I need to be stronger, more focused, more aware.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” a women’s voice screeches in my ear.
Chills run down my spine as I move my head to the side, trying to get a glimpse of the chill inducing women.
“I thought you would never wake up. I’ve been waiting hours to introduce myself but lovebug insisted I let you sleep. He said his little button needed rest as today is going to be a busy day.”
The woman walks from behind me and stops directly in front of me. It’s her. The same woman he brought into our home, hanging from his arm when he walked out on us. No doubt the woman who is my father’s accomplice, his sidekick, his righthand man. Or should I say woman?
“What do you want? I don’t want to talk to you. Where is my father? Where is the coward?”
The scrawny women leans forward and scratches my face with a long, bright orange acrylic nail, “Don’t you ever use that tone with me, bitch. I own you now. You’re my property,” she laughs as she twirls chewing gum with her index finger, how cliché, “You think your precious father was the mastermind behind this? Oh no buttercup, that privilege goes to me. You took something from me awhile back. Something I cherished, so now you are going to pay. You are going to hurt just like you hurt me.”
What the fuck is this stupid woman on about? I don’t know her; I’ve never interacted with her before. The first and last time I saw her was when my father walked out on me. Why is she saying I hurt her? Why does she think I took something from her?
“You’re out of your mind,” I shout, my lungs burning as the words leave my mouth.
She walks to the back of the room, her heels clicking across the floor as she swings her hips, I am not sure who she is trying to impress with her stripper outfit.
“The only one out of their mind princess is you. If you think little Theodore is going to barge in here like a knight in shining armour, you are very wrong. Very, very wrong. See I know Theodore and as soon as I get my hands on him you will cease to exist. You will be nothing more than a memory. A pigment of his imagination if you will.”
I know Theodore.
What does she mean that she knows Theodore? No way does this woman know him, at least not personally. Sure, she may think she knows him from basically stalking us but other than that it’s impossible.
I need answers.
I need answers right now or my mind is going to combust.
And I’m going to break.
I’m starting to lose faith. I am starting to lose hope.
“You want to know how I know Theodore don’t you, it is written all over that ugly little face of yours.”
I scoff, “Ugly. My face? Theodore doesn’t seem to think so.”
The bitch freezes before she walks closer to me, picking up a metal rod from the wall as she gets closer, “You mean nothing to Theodore missy. Why do you think it was so easy for him to let you run off? Why do you think it was so easy for him to let you go? I’ll give you a hint…me. I was the reason.”
I feel as if my lungs are filling with water, slowly suffocating me, slowly drowning me. The air around me disappearing with every breath I make. Devoid of oxygen. Devoid of life. My chest heaves up and down. What is happening?
What does she mean that she was the reason that Theodore didn’t chase me? What does she mean that she’s the reason that Theodore forgot about me? That’s impossible. There’s no way. There is no fucking way.
The crazy bitch comes closer and kneels down in front of me, he right hand resting on my left thigh, “See, the thing is buttercup. I came into your father’s life for a reason. In case you didn’t notice but I’m not too much older than you and well, unless you’re blind, you can clearly see I’m hot. Way too hot for your father, but not too hot for one Theodore Riley. At least that’s what he told me when he made love to me over and over. We were in love Theo and me. I had my eyes on him for years, I’ve always watched him from a far. You started high school when I was in my senior year. I’m not sure if you remember me but I was kind of a big deal. I remember the first day that I saw Theodore again after so many years. He was focused on something, or should I say someone. His eyes were locked on you and he was leering at you like a lovesick puppy. A lovesick puppy I just couldn’t resist getting my claws into. The only problem with Theodore, the only fault is that he had eyes for you and only you. I tried to seduce him. I tried to entice him, but he didn’t care. He brushed me off like I meant nothing to him. Like I was nobody. Like I didn’t mean something to him before.”
She pauses and closes her eyes briefly before continuing with her shit storm of lies. “Anyway, I started watching you, and your family and I could see the fragments in your parent’s relationships so I thought I would use it my advantage. Luckily for me, your Dad was much weaker than our lovely Theo. He gave himself to me straight away. I didn’t need to manipulate him. I just needed to flash my assets in some sexy lingerie, and I had him exactly where I wanted him. So, I continued seducing your Dad, I made him fall in love with me even though I was in love with someone else. Anyways, I manipulated your Dad into leaving you and your mother for me. I promised him a better life in Los Angeles, and he jumped at the opportunity and well the rest is history. Your father and I got a thrill out of killing women who pretended to be perfect and I put the idea of killing you into his sweet little head. Either way you needed to pay for keeping Theo all to yourself. He was devoted to you and you led him on. You didn’t want him like I did. You didn’t love him like I did, yet he didn’t give me a chance because he thought he was in love with you.”
I can’t believe this woman. I can’t believe what she’s saying. How has she known Theo and I since high school? How did she manage to manipulate my Dad to leave my Mom and murder seven women? How did she manage to talk him into murdering me? I don’t get it. It just doesn’t add up.
“So what did you achieve in killing those women?”
“Well princess, Daddy dearest got a thrill out of it and I thought it was quite poetic. It was just a bit of fun for me really.”
This woman is out of her mind.
“So, who are you?” I still have no idea who she is.
She chuckles, “Oh darling, you are so oblivious. It’s hilarious. I used to watch you around school. I used to follow you around school, and not once did you notice I was there. It’s really quite funny that you want to be in the FBI as you are probably the most clueless person, I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” I growl, “Who are you are you and how did you manage to keep Theodore away from me?”
“My name is Jennifer. Jennifer Riley.”
Jennifer Riley. Jennifer Riley. Jennifer Ril---.
No, there’s no way.
What the actual fuck.
She’s Theodore’s stepsister. Or ex-stepsister should I say. Her mother and Theodore’s father were only married for a few months when we were five. I don’t remember Jennifer much. In fact, I never actually saw the girl before. How did I not realise that she went to our high school? Why did Theodore not tell me this?
Why did he keep this from me?
21
Theodore
It has been forty-two hours and there is still no sign of Rory. No clues indicating where she might be. As soon as we got back to LA, we checked out the address that Rory’s father registered under her name, but the apartment was empty. Apart from an old bedframe and empty takeout containers, there was nothing viable for us to use. For all we know they may not have even lived there, they could have just rented the apartment under Rory’s name to play games with us, to point us in the wrong direction. To throw us off course.
Charlotte and Henley have gone back to the hotel to get some sleep. If I refuse to sleep, I need to allow them to get some shut eye, so we at least have some focused brains when we are together. I’ve tried to sleep, I’ve tried to close my eyes but every time I do, all I see is Rory’s face, beaten and bruised, crying ou
t for me. Crying my name. Praise the lord for adrenaline and endless cups of coffee.
I walk into the coffee shop and order a black coffee, my fifteenth of the day. Like I said, endless amounts of coffee. I pay the barista before taking my coffee from his hand and walk outside, the warm breeze hitting my bare skin as I walk out.
Oomph.
My body collides with someone small and something soft.
“Wow watch where you’re going,” I say as I shake the spilled coffee from my hands.
“Oh my, excuse me.” The familiar voice stiffens my whole body.
I remove my sunglasses and look down at the woman in front of me. Jennifer.
What the fuck is she doing here?
“Jennifer,” I pause “What are you doing here?”
She laughs and points to the coffee shop behind me, “Umm, getting coffee?”
I roll my eyes. Of course, she is. Why else would she be here?
“I mean, I didn’t know you lived in LA now.” The last time I saw this woman was a year and a half ago.
“Better job opportunities here Theo. Besides, you didn’t want us to be in the same city, so here I am.”
I put my sunglasses back on my face and flop myself down in the seat outside the coffee shop, “It’s not that I didn’t want us in the same city Jen. I just didn’t want to be with you. It was fun whilst it lasted but that is what is was to me, fun. Nothing else. I told you that. No strings, remember.”
Her jaw clenches before she sits down in the chair opposite me, “I thought what we had was special Theo. You know how much I wanted you. I could have given you everything. But you didn’t care about me. All you wanted was her.”
Her. Rory. She’s right. Even though I spent many nights with women under me, I never wanted them, at least not permanently. They were enough to fill a void, to dull and ache but that was it. Relationships were not for me. I already had my heart broken before, I was not allowing myself to go through it again. My heart belonged to one person. Even if she broke it, she still owned it.