by JJ Giles
Quickly, she hitched both wrists to the corresponding ankles. She removed the nipple nails and replaced them with electrodes. She removed and replaced the phalluses into each orifice, more electrodes to the ear lobes.
“What are you doing?” Cheryl shouted.
“This little gadget works just like a lie detector. Right now, you’re gonna tell me everything I want to know, baby.”
“Fuck you!”
Without hesitation, Morgan flipped a switch. A current rushed through Cheryl’s body and then dissipated. It left her panting.
“Now, I suggest you relax a little bit because every time your blood pressure elevates, you’re gonna get zapped.”
Cheryl’s glowering features twisted as Morgan hovered over her. Morgan hung in the air like a bat, steaming to have been played when she had been trying to help. No, Mrs. Cheryl Abernathy didn’t like the kind of pain that isn’t visible because it didn’t get her the attention she so craved.
Morgan raised away from her to let her breathe. “Now, I know this was a long time ago, but why in the world did you marry him?”
Cheryl drew in a deep breath conscious that at any moment she would be electrocuted. “His father made me marry him. I was pregnant...”
“What happened to the baby?”
“He’s my son.” She was concerned more with getting excited and subsequently zapped than hiding the truth.
“You told me your husband purchased that child from a prostitute. You are that prostitute, are you not?”
Cheryl snarled a little. “Just like you, honey.”
“And the father?”
“Alex...Jerry’s twin.”
“So a paternity test would match both Jerry and his brother.”
“Obviously.”
Very clever, Morgan thought. Keep the brothers divided against themselves, emotionally weakened. “What did his father have to do with it?”
“Jerry’s father didn’t have any control over either one of them until then. Only then would Jerry accept the position of CEO.”
“That’s not something he really wanted?”
“I don’t know. I don’t actually give a shit.” Another quick current coursed through her.
Morgan crossed the room and lit a cigarette only to nestle into an ornately carved chair reminiscent of a throne. “He beats you fairly regularly?”
“Yes.” The room filled with the buzz of unleashed electricity.
Morgan smiled. “He beats you fairly regularly?”
Cheryl lay as still as possibly she could. “Not any more.”
“When was the first time he beat you?”
Cheryl snarled out loud. “That was the most humiliating thing I’ve ever endured. I went to the nursery to see my son...and Jerry had some black bitch in there feeding him. Had her tit hanging out, feeding my son.”
“A wet nurse?” Morgan asked curiously.
“Obviously. It made me sick. My son.”
“Why didn’t you feed him?”
Cheryl hesitated. “A bottle was good enough for him. Good enough for every other kid in the world.”
Morgan nodded. Cheryl didn’t want her breasts sagging, but she didn’t want anyone else feeding her son, either. “And he beat you because you wouldn’t feed your son?”
“Yes.” Quickly, she was zapped again.
“And he beat you because you wouldn’t breast-feed your son?”
“Because I was gonna make damned sure no one else would, either.”
“What did you do?”
“I dismissed her.”
“How?”
“With a belt.”
Morgan nodded. Beating the hired help with a belt. “And then you got your ass whipped for it.”
“That was the most humiliating thing I ever lived through. And he still has that bitch working in the house. But now she’s cleaning my bathroom, at least.”
Apparently, Cheryl felt that was a humiliating task. It was obvious that relationship started out badly and never recovered. “Why haven’t you left him sometime in the last thirty five years?”
“What’s gonna happen to my kids if I leave him? I couldn’t take them out of there when they were children. He would have sent people after me. Now he’s gonna turn ‘em against me.”
Morgan hesitated. That was a precarious situation. How often do battered women fear death at the hands of an assassin so the children can be returned to the fathers? More than she even cared to think about. Obviously, men, Jerry in particular, feel the same way. “But your children are grown now.”
“He can still turn them against me!”
Curious. Cherry gave Morgan the impression she never cared for her mother. But sons and their mothers share an entirely different dynamic. Obviously Cheryl was speaking of her son. “And your son loves you?”
“Of course, he does. And Jerry’s gonna tell him some bullshit...his side of the story, and make me look like an asshole.”
“But if your son loves you, Cheryl, there’s nothing anyone can say that would turn him against you. Can’t you give your son a little credit for that? He’s a grown man and I’m sure he knows when he’s getting played, even if it’s by his father.”
“Yeah, but Jerry can tell him shit I wouldn’t want anyone to know.”
“I’m sure that’s true. I’m sure that’s a two way street. Why would you want to be in an emotional tug of war with each other and have your son be the rope? You’re just tearing your son up and for what purpose? In the end, he’ll hate you both.”
“I guess I never thought about it. I guess it doesn’t matter now, either. My lawyer said I should expect divorce papers any day now. He’s gonna throw me out of the Mansion. I don’t know where the hell I’m supposed to go.”
“Surely, you’re expecting some kind of a settlement.”
“One and a half billion dollars or Jerry Abernathy can go screw himself.”
Stunned, Morgan nearly choked. That was an incomprehensible number. “You think maybe you could find you a place for that?”
“That’s not exactly the point, now, is it? I’m not gonna rest until Jerry Abernathy is dead.”
The meaning of the words, the tone of the voice sent a frisson of immeasurable strength through Morgan’s soul. That was, quite obviously, the point. Jerry Abernathy was way too wealthy, too well known, too powerful to cause murder to befall him. But she could drive him to madness until he committed suicide, couldn’t she? Keep him divided from every source of emotional support he ever had, including his children, until he just gave up. No wonder Cherry didn’t want anything to do with her.
Thoroughly aggravated, Morgan went to the table and turned off the machine. “Sweetie, you are out of here. You are formally dismissed. You don’t call me, you don’t come here, you don’t fuck with me at all, do you understand?” She began to remove devices that cause both pleasure and pain. “I will hunt you down and there will be no place for you to hide.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you? He gave you that ring. He’s only dumping me so he can marry you.”
“No, he didn’t give me this ring. This is an engagement ring and it didn’t come from your husband. It’s none of your business who gave it to me. But between you and me, it’s finished.”
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
“That’s not a concern to me, either.”
“Bullshit.” Cheryl rose off the table and grabbed at her clothes, her heartfelt anguish risen to the surface. “Who the hell wouldn’t want him?”
In that statement, everything was revealed. Cheryl truly did want him but could never get his attention. Could never balance her own comfort with his. Couldn’t stand the fact that someone else was feeding her baby, yet Jerry wanted them breast-fed. Sad, sad story, as she watched Cheryl dress.
“You let him rape me!” she said scowling.
“I let him express what he felt. And I’ve done the same for you. You really do love him but you don’t have a clue how to get his attention,
Cheryl. You’ve never looked at him and asked yourself what he needs. You’d be surprised how easy men are to get along with when they’re comfortable and feel loved.”
“I suppose you know all about it.”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“You lay down with every one of them, don’t you?”
“It’s not about sex, honey. It’s about making people feel safe. Protecting them from emotional hurt and upheaval. That includes your son. But until you figure that out, you’re gonna be alone.”
“You fucking whore!” Angrily, she grabbed her bag and left in a huff.
Quietly, Morgan returned to the chair and lit another cigarette. There was nothing she’d be able to do for Cheryl Abernathy. Cheryl needed desperately to draw lines in the sand and choose up sides. She needed her kids on her side. It was no wonder Jerry was frightened of her. She was capable of almost anything.
During her ruminations, the door opened and Kitty announced the next appointment. A rather comely young woman crawled in on her hands and knees straight toward Morgan. Quietly, she rose on her knees, grasped her nipples and laid her breasts in Morgan’s outstretched hands.
“How may I serve, Mistress?” she whispered. Tears sprouted in her eyes just to be allowed to look at Morgan.
Morgan smiled and gently rolled the nipples between her fingers. “I have a job for you today. You can clean the bathroom and then come to my bedchamber.”
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she peered at Morgan. She inched a little closer, silently begging for a little more. Quietly, Morgan raised her shirt and pulled a breast out of the bra to let it be adored.
Wantonly, the girl suckled as Morgan held to her. This one was gonna be alright, too, she thought. A submissive lesbian...as soon as she can stand to hear the words and revel in them.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After checking on JD’s place Wednesday afternoon, Brian parked in the driveway at the Mansion. He leapt up the stairs to his father’s suite and pulled out a few things from the closet.
He could feel the intensity of the anger behind him and turned to see Cheryl watching him, her arms folded across her middle, glaring. “I guess you’re leaving me, too.”
“Actually, I’m just staying with a friend for a few days while his wife is out of town.”
“I guess that friend would be your father.”
Brian paused as he studied her haughtiness. “If I rebuilt a relationship with my father that would definitely bother you, wouldn’t it?”
“Why would you want to do that? The man is an asshole. He beats me, he beats his kids.”
“One time...he got angry with me. He’s never laid a hand on Cherry. And you know what. I went to the Tower the other day to talk to Bryant. He was generous enough to answer a few questions. He tells me it wasn’t Dad who beat you up so badly a few months ago, but you let me believe it was him. And then you let me go to the Tower and make an ass out of myself.”
“Of course, that’s what Bryant would say. Do you really think any of them would defend me against your father?”
“He’s not my father...remember?” Brian scowled. “He only raised me. Loved me, protected me...came to all my games, Mom, when you were somewhere else.” He went to the bureau and pulled out a stack of copies. Without remorse, he handed the insurance documents to her.
For only a moment she looked them over and threw them back at him, unable to look upon him.
“There’s only one question I’ve got left. Why would my father go the trouble of leasing a hospital plane to return you from France because your boyfriend beat you up? Damn near killed you? Why the hell didn’t he just leave you there? That doesn’t make sense.”
Haughtily, she sniffed. “Because he wants to kill me himself.”
Brian smirked and turned back to the gym bag he was stuffing his clothes into. If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it long ago. He closed the zipper and pushed past her.
“Brian, you can’t leave!”
He glared into her hateful eyes. “You know what, Mom, I can do any fucking thing I want to do. Whatever responsibility I felt for you is gone. I’ve believed every fucking line of shit you’ve told me through the years. And you know...since I’ve been back here, I remember things I’ve tried to forget. You tell me right now how you can stand and watch a man rape a nine-year-old boy.”
“That wasn’t my fault!”
“That man was my grandfather...and he raped me...and you stood there and watched.” With his body clenched with rage, he glared into her defiant countenance. “But I guess that was Dad’s fault, too?”
“He knew what was happening.”
“I’m sure you told him when he got home that my grandfather raped me while he was at work.”
“It’s not my fault.”
Her reply was met only by the thudding footfall on the grand staircase.
Quietly, she fumed. She needed just a little more time. To wrench another half billion dollars out of Jerry’s wallet in the settlement. Just a few more weeks would be enough and she turned toward her apartment. But how?
She picked up a bottle of sleeping pills. How would her children feel if she committed suicide? Bullshit, she thought and tossed them aside. Her big play was going down very soon. That would be reward in itself.
* * * *
Jerry sat at the table in the penthouse dining room, having swelled himself on another of Alex’s finest creations. Throughout the meal, Jerry watched intently but refused to remember the ecstasies and agonies of their life together.
“I spoke to Bryant today,” Alex said softly. “Thinking about divorce again.”
“I know. I wonder how long it’s going to take the Abernathy boys to figure out it’s not the women we marry, but us that has a problem?”
“Don’t tell me you’re staying with your wife?”
“Hell no. But I do know I’m not quite prepared for her reaction when she realizes I’m not playing with her anymore. Do you have a clue where Brian is on the subject?”
“He’s asking some very detailed questions. Bryant gave him some insurance documents of her last hospital stay in France.”
“So he knows?” He wanted Alex’s opinion on the subject.
Alex nodded eagerly. “He is definitely suspicious.”
Jerry seemed to settle back in the chair as if he heard his beloved was taken off the critical list and upgraded to serious. “I guess moving into the Mansion for awhile has been educational.”
“I would describe it more as an epiphany, Jerry. That’s not to say he’s not distraught over it.”
“Right. But he has support if he wants it.”
“I’m glad to hear it. This thing between you and Brian these last ten years has been hard on all of us.”
Sadly, Jerry nodded. He knew he had been a prick. Knew that he could get away with it because he was the boss. “So how goes it with you?”
Alex hesitated as he lit a cigarette. “I’m sorry.” He knew that Jerry would be afflicted by the attentions of the press. “Charles filed a palimony suit.”
But Jerry didn’t appear afflicted. The twist of the smile was anything but evil. “You want me to beat him up for you?”
For a moment Alex stared remembering a day in eighth grade when Jerry got suspended for that very thing. Punched a kid in the face for mocking Alex’s less than masculine carriage. With a seductive grin and a little shiver induced by a sense of chivalrous behavior, he mewed, “Yeah.”
“I’ll take care of it. When I get done with his credit report he won’t be able to buy dog food.”
Alex’s lips pinched together to retain the amusement of that. “That should keep him occupied. To find out all of his credit cards are worthless.”
“That’s just where we’ll start.”
“And we’ll end with...?”
“Jumping off the balcony of my brother’s condo, unless he wants to cede victory...to me.”
For a long moment, Alex stared conspicuously. Vict
ory, he thought. If only my name were Victory.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Hey.” The voice on Brian’s phone was decadent and alluring, something that had him stiff as soon as he heard it. “You coming tonight?” Dan asked, hoping to spend this Friday with Brian.
“As a matter of fact I’m just a few minutes away.”
“Caroline is coming home tonight.”
“Then I shouldn’t be there.”
“I told her you’ve been staying with me. She wants you to be here.”
Instantly, Brian deflated. “See you in a few minutes.”
He shouldn’t be playing with Caroline, although Caroline was one very well put together woman. He should be playing with Morgan. But Caroline and Dan would see Morgan tomorrow, and he parked and walked around back to see Dan stretched long on a chaise.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Brian confessed. “You haven’t seen her all week.”
“But you see, you can do something for me here. She’s gonna come home in a shitty mood about her sisters and expect me to listen to the same shit that’s gone on for years, ad nauseum. But you will distract her. And with the excitement of going to Morgan’s tomorrow, she may be able to forget about her sisters.”
“She’s coming home tonight so you can keep your appointment with Morgan?’
“I think so.” Dan grinned.
“So her and Morgan get along pretty good?”
Dan’s eyebrows raised in a leer. “At least in the dungeon they get along very well.”
Brian drew in a heavy breath, hesitating.
“I want something from you,” Dan commanded.
“What’s that?”
“I want to watch you discipline her.”
Brian smiled a little. If Morgan knew he was a switch, she’d run for the hills. “You won’t tell Morgan?”
“Of course not. Morgan wouldn’t approve?”
Brian shook his head. “She gets a little out of joint around aggressive men.”
“She’s never seemed jerked around me.”
“But you’re not fuckin’ her, either.” Brian scowled.