Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3)

by Sarah Robinson

  She kissed the top of Annie’s head and Annie reached for her hand, sliding her stubby little fingers into her palm.

  The sisters held hands as they flew off to play with the birds.

  ~~~~~~

  “You know, you really fucked things up for me, Kate.” A sharp pain radiated up and down her side as a pointed boot collided with her ribs.

  Kate groaned and rolled over onto her side, trying to pull away from her attacker. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter as another kick spiked her hip, making a cracking sound that she couldn’t identify but knew wasn’t good. She shrieked in response, unable to keep the pain from bursting out of her.

  “So you said already, asshole.” She spat angrily at him as she glared at him through narrowed eyes after she got her breath back.

  “And yet you still haven’t put the pieces together. Not as smart as I thought apparently.” He chuckled as he grabbed her hair and pulled her up into a seated position.

  Kate screamed at the sharp pain in her skull as he yanked harshly on her now messy locks. Her sounds of agony only made Frank grin with pleasure as his eyes hooded over with desire.

  She felt her stomach threatening to heave again at the very idea of what he might be thinking. He lowered his head down to close the distance between them and she could smell cigarettes on his warm breath.

  “I’m going to make you scream a lot more before I’m done with you.” His voice was husky and his face was adorned with a huge smile.

  She grimaced and rolled her eyes at him as he let go of her and walked over to the wooden wall of the stable and grabbed a large coil of rope off a hook. She pushed back on her ankles as much as she could being bound, attempting to get as far away from him as possible. He glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled, then brought the rope over to her.

  “You’re not going to get away, Kate.” He laughed, standing over her.

  “Fuck you.” She said through clenched teeth, doing her best to hold on to her inner strength, refusing to let him have that too.

  “Oh don’t worry, you will.” Frank laughed, bending his knees to come down to her eye level again.

  His face suddenly went serious, his eyes darkened, and only the hint of a sickly smile appeared.

  “You’re going to die today, Kate.” He whispered to her in an ominous voice, full of hatred and bitterness.

  Kate felt the color drain from her face as she struggled to figure out why her lungs had suddenly stopped working. She felt her hands and feet tingle with a numbing sensation under their binding, and chills ran down her spine as her skin broke out in little bumps.

  Gulping, she forced herself to inhale, shuddering as she did so. Frank licked his lips at her reaction, clearly aroused and making no attempt to hide it. Just as quickly, he stood up and uncoiled the rope in his hand, smiling at her again.

  “But not in here. I’ve got a special place just for you.” He was laughing again and Kate was sure that she had never heard a more frightening sound in her life than that laugh.

  Grabbing the bindings on her hand, he deftly spun the rope around it and around both of her wrists. The restraint became tighter and Kate could feel her pulse through her fingertips.

  Giving it a yank, she launched forward and fell onto his feet, only to be quickly met with the muddy tip of his boot pushing her face into the stable floor. She squirmed, attempting to breathe, but felt dirt and hay entering her nose as she screamed into it.

  Suddenly, she was up and being pulled forward, across the dirt floor and out of the stall she had been imprisoned in. She attempted to get her feet up underneath her so she could stand, but Fran was dragging her so quickly that she couldn’t manage to do it.

  The smell of copper flooded her nose and Kate whipped her head up to find the origin. They were passing other stalls in the stable and each one had a more horrific scene than the next. Fear pulsed through her veins, thundering in her ears so loudly that she could actually hear how terrified she was.

  A young blonde woman was in one stall, dangling from a rope in the center, clearly dead. The next stall just had blood, a dark and congealed shine to it. Another had a stack of hay with flies swarming around it, something indistinguishable laying across the middle of the pile.

  That was it, she couldn’t hold it a second longer. Kate vomited right in the middle of the stable hall as she gave up all attempts to stand and just allowed herself to be dragged.

  “Damn it!” Frank grimaced, disgusted at her.

  She moaned in pain as he came to a stop to survey her, then grabbed her up by her hair and pulled her to her feet.

  “Come on, I’ve got something to show you, half wit.” He growled as he shoved her toward a door on the left at the very end of the long hall.

  They entered an office, maybe twice the size of the stall she had been in previously, but this room was lined with concrete on every surface. Industrial furniture filled the room, metal desks and chairs alongside metal cabinets.

  One side of the room clearly had a window, but a large cork board had been tacked up over it. Sun was shining on all sides of the board, attempting to creep in, but the board itself is what Kate’s eyes became stuck on.

  Photographs lined every inch of it. Instant photos of women, some completely unaware of their stolen image, others looking terrified, and some looking as if they had given up all hope.

  There had to be several dozen different women on there, yet all the woman had a similar look to them. He had a type.

  Every woman looked like a variation of Kate.

  She was his type.

  “Figured it out yet?” He tied her bindings around a metal pipe that went from the floor to ceiling on one wall as he watched her take in his trophies.

  A warm feeling of pride seemed to spread through him, satisfied at the horrified look on her face. She blinked as she turned back to look at him, trying to understand what was going on.

  “Here, maybe this will jog your memory.” Frank walked to the other side of the room and rummaged through one of the desk drawers, leaving her imprisoned against the pipe.

  “I’ve waited so many years for this. I’ve practiced over and over again. Each and every one of those pictures on the wall- that’s because of you. I’ve been preparing myself for you, but then the day comes and you just don’t fucking die. You’re here, alive, and he is dead. Because of you.” Frank spoke solemnly as he crossed the room again, carrying a photograph that she couldn’t yet see, over to her.

  “You’re sick.” She muttered , glaring at him.

  “And you are a murderer.” Frank told her, flipping the photograph around to face her and holding it up.

  Kate’s jaw dropped as she took in the grainy image, then glanced back up at Frank. The resemblance was uncanny, she couldn’t believe that she had ever missed it.

  Her stomach felt as if it had sunk straight to the floor and her body sagged against the wall as the bindings on her wrists became her only support, holding her up.

  “Now, do you understand?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kate was here.

  Annie knew it in her gut as she pulled up to the stable and turned her car to park, surveying the dilapidated structure and forgotten grounds. Trees were on their sides, leaves unraked, and random farming equipment sat rusting throughout the property.

  The sun was high over the field behind the stable, causing the yellow stalks of weeds and random crops to stand up taller and glisten as if they were beading with sweat. Nerves trembled through her as she wiped her own sweat from her brow with the back of her sleeve.

  Her small frame quietly slid out of the car, gently closing the door behind her in an attempt to keep attention off of her. She continued to scan the property as she walked to one edge of the tree line and approached the side of the stable.

  Glimpsing a pick-up truck behind the building, she realized it was the only thing around her that looked like it had come from this decade. She felt her face flush warm as she knew she was on t
he right track.

  Annie reached the edge of the structure quickly and slid along the side until she came to a large open door, big enough for horses to walk through. Peering around the door frame, she only saw a wide empty hallway with multiple stall entries lining the walls. Slowly, she stepped inside and found herself suddenly hit with a scent she was all too familiar with today.

  The source of the odor was quickly apparent as she came upon the first stall door and streaks of blood were sprayed across the walls. The tiny room was empty, but the smell of the memories it held almost knocked her over with a wave of nausea.

  Annie closed her eyes, swallowing her fear, as she continued down the hall. She passed several more stall doors, but refused to look inside, knowing she couldn’t handle whatever horror this place held.

  Kate wasn’t in there, she knew that. Kate was still alive and these halls only reeked of death. She could feel Kate’s heartbeat in her very core, felt it beating with hers, and knew that her sister was still breathing. Annie knew that she was close.

  Her pocket vibrated and Annie reached quickly to silence it, seeing Derrick’s name pop up on the screen. She glanced around, but couldn’t think of a way to answer the phone without someone hearing her so she hit the ignore button instead.

  She was halfway down the hallway at this point and she could hear slight movements and sounds she couldn’t place, coming from the end. Annie pressed forward, calming her nerves as she focused on her mission.

  Focused on finding Kate.

  ~~~~~~

  “Shit, Annie! Answer the phone!” Derrick groaned as he threw his cell phone onto the dashboard of Frank’s car and pressed harder on the gas pedal.

  It was already flush against the car floor, but he needed to do something to convince himself that he was moving faster.

  His heart was in his throat and all he could think about was losing them both. He wouldn’t survive it, he knew it in every fiber of his being. Kate was his other half, his soul mate, his reason for breathing.

  Then Annie was his sister now and his love for her was just as much, in a different way. Both girls meant the world to him and if something happened to either of them, he knew it would be his fault.

  He was the man of the family now that Lenny was dead and he had to protect Kate and Annie just like Lenny had tried to do.

  He wouldn’t fail Kate again.

  ~~~~~~

  The door at the end of the hallway to one side was open, casting a light into the shadowy hallway of the stable. Sunshine slipped in through the cracks of all the walls, but didn’t do much to lighten the building’s insides.

  Annie could hear shuffling, but was unable to distinguish what was causing the sound. She crept closer and closer toward the lit entry, keeping her back flush against the wall as she sidestepped the rest of the way.

  Finally, reaching the door post, Annie closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep, but silent, breath. She gritted her teeth as she opened her eyes again and forced courage to help her peer into the room.

  Her eyes instantly cringed at the very bright light that was aimed directly at the door, throwing off her focus. She placed her hand over her eyes, like the brim of a hat, to refocus and take in her surroundings as she stepped inside the room, still hugging her back to the wall.

  Within seconds, everything came to view and Annie felt her heart leap into her throat as she rushed forward toward her sister. Kate was slumped against the wall, restrained to a pipe running the length from the floor to ceiling, next to a large lamp that had been turned to aim at the door.

  She had thick, gray tape over her mouth and her eyes were wide with terror. Everything about her look exhausted, there were bruises already forming on her pale skin, after only being missing a few hours. Kate was scuffling her feet against the ground, trying to stand up and pull away from her ties, while frantically looking at Annie and shaking her head.

  “Kate!” Annie reached her sister and instantly went for the ties that bound her to the pipe, trying to loosen them enough to free Kate.

  “I’m so glad I found you! Kate, we were so worried that-” Annie fiddled quickly with the restraints, but Kate was groaning loudly through the tape on her mouth and shaking her head furiously.

  Annie tilted her head as she glanced up at her, confusion etched on her face.

  “Oh sorry, the tape!” Annie said, realizing Kate probably wanted the tape on her face removed first before the bindings on her hand.

  She gently pulled at one corner and Kate held still, but continued to make unidentifiable sounds as she looked past Annie.

  “Hold on, I’ve almost got it. This is going to hurt, but I will make it fast.” Annie assured her and then with one quick tug, yanked the tape from Kate’s mouth.

  “Run!” Kate screamed the moment she was able to talk again.

  Annie startled, taking a step backward and looking confused. Her confusion only lasted a quick second as her eyes suddenly glazed over and a loud, dull thud resonated through the room. Annie’s mouth fell open and her knees crumpled as she met the ground, while Kate screamed for her.

  “She is right, this is going to hurt. But I’m not going to make it fast.” Frank grinned up at Kate as he placed up against the wall the baseball bat he had just slammed into the back of Annie’s head.

  “No!” Her sister’s screams and sobs didn’t wake Annie as she lay only inches out of Kate’s grasp.

  “I told you to shut up, do you want to be next?” Frank shouted at her, but she wasn’t listening as she cried.

  Tears flowed down her cheeks faster than she knew was possible, as she choked on her own sobs. Kate didn’t even bother trying to stand anymore, but just sagged against the wall and allowed the ropes around her wrists to dangle her inches from the ground. She couldn’t even feel the pain of the restraints cutting into her wrists over the aching in her heart.

  “Why are you doing this?” She moaned through tears as he pulled a duffel bag out from an industrial cabinet against the far wall and sat it on the desk.

  “You already know.” He glared at her, then went back to his task.

  “He was your father, he hurt me! Why the hell would you want to carry on his legacy? You’re just as bad as he was!” She screamed at him, anger seeping through every pore in her body as she tried to reach out to her unconscious sister.

  “Shut your lying mouth, whore!” Frank was suddenly in front of her, a knife she hadn’t seen before pressed against her throat as her head was slammed backward into the wall.

  She went silent, but only because the wind had been knocked out of her and the room was spinning from the smack to her head. He removed the knife and took a step back, his eyes fiery. The same fiery look that they had been when she first met him in her bedroom those few, short weeks ago.

  “This is where it happened. Right in the middle of the hallway, in front of this office door. I came in through the side one day, just minding my business. I was a teenager and he was all the family I had. We had our fights, sure. But he was there for me.” Frank started talking, reminiscing and becoming lost in thought as he paced the room.

  “It was the first time I ever saw a dead body. Although definitely not the last.” Frank chuckled at his joke and Kate was sure that she was going to vomit again.

  “But there he was, hanging from a rope a few feet above the ground. His neck completely snapped. Fucking dead.” Frank mused, seemingly emotionless, as he walked back over to Kate.

  His eyes never left hers, he didn’t even blink as he recanted his tale.

  “That’s why I saved that fucking rope. Just for you. It’s quite fitting that the rope that killed my father is now around your wrists. You’re going to die the same way he did. An eye for an eye, isn’t that how it goes?” He closed the gap between their faces and placed a warm, dry kiss on her mouth as she recoiled as much as possible.

  “Get off me!” She shouted, spitting on the ground, disgusted at the feeling of his lips on hers again.

 
; Even more disgusted at the idea that she was bound with a rope that had been in contact with a man she hated even more than Frank.

  “What did he do, huh? Did he start off just telling you that you looked sexy? Did he tell you that he liked your flat chest? Did your hairless body turn him on?” Frank ignored her as he pressed her body against the wall and his hands roamed across her breasts and down her sides.

  “You sick bastard.” She whispered coldly, a lone tear slipping down her stained cheek.

  “That’s what you told the fucking cops, isn’t it? That he touched you in your ‘private parts’?” Frank grinned, an evil glint in his eye as he licked his lips.

  “Your father was a pedophile. A fucking child molester. He did a lot fucking more than just touch me and you’re just like him.” Kate seethed through gritted teeth.

  Frank’s hand slammed loudly against the wall directly next to Kate’s head.

  “Shut up! You are a lying whore! You’re lying now and you were lying back then too!” He screamed so close to her face that his breath oozed into her nostrils and drops of spit spattered onto her.

  “I was six years old, Frank! And I wasn’t the only girl who came forward, did he ever tell you that?” She shouted back, refusing to be afraid.

  “Oh, I know. Because people love to play the victim. You were the first and everyone just jumped on your fucking bandwagon,” Frank stepped back, eying her.

  “But you, you started it. You ended his job, our family, you ended his fucking life. I was only a teenager, Kate, when I walked in on him hanging there, fucking dead. Because of you!” Frank was coming at her again, shouting angrily.

  His fist made contact with her cheek and her head hit the wall again. Kate tasted blood in her mouth, but swallowed it quickly. She savored the taste, mixing it with her hatred as she felt her every muscle contract with fury.

  She didn’t fight back, not that she really could in her tight restraints. Her eyes stayed fixed on Annie’s still form on the ground as Frank continued his assault with a few more hits.