Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  She tried her best to stop thinking of him, to push away all thoughts revolving around Brax, but the hurt between her legs made it near impossible. She could still feel it there, the metal, the cold, the savage way he plunged it into her, the fear it would go off, the way it all combined and made her feel. Fuck. He changed her and she didn’t know if she’d ever be the same again.

  “Annie? You okay?” Trevor asked. “You’ve been starring off into space for a while now. Do you want to talk about it yet?”

  “No.” She snapped back to reality. Out of all her friends, Trevor might be the one person who would come close to understanding, but she wasn’t ready to tell him.

  They finished packing and went next door. Sara and Mandy were just getting in. Annie didn’t bother to ask who Sara was with last night and she didn’t seem excited to tell her. Just went into the bathroom without a word and shut the door. Mandy wasn’t very talkative either; was still upset Annie left the party early and she wasn’t in the mood to defend herself.

  “Come on Trevor. Let’s go get some lunch. Call us when you guys are ready to go.”

  During lunch Annie opened up about her fight with Brax. “I broke it off with him. That’s what started it.”

  “That’s what I guessed. And…” he trailed off, hoping she would fill in the information he really wanted to hear. “What happened? What’d he do? Why’d you pull his own gun on him?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it. Brax is,” she stopped to think for the right word. “Intense. He’s used to getting what he wants, and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”

  “Okay, so what happened?” Trevor was starting to get annoyed at Annie’s delayed explanation.

  “I just don’t want you to think bad of him. Or me. We both made stupid decisions. It doesn’t change the fact that we care about each other.” Well Brax probably didn’t give two shits about her anymore. “He uh,” she put her hand on her forehead and glanced down at the table, not wanting to look Trevor in the eye while she lied. “He put his hand up my skirt and wouldn’t stop when I said no, so that’s when I reached for his gun. It was just instinct. You know? After everything that happened with Dillon. I just couldn’t let it happen again. I overreacted.” Unexpectedly tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t mean to cry, but it helped her story that much more. “Brax is nothing like Dillon. He was just trying to show me he could make me feel good, to talk me into staying, and being a crazy bitch I pulled his gun on him.”

  “Oh Annie bear, I’m so sorry,” he got up and walked around to her side of the booth. “I totally get it now. I shouldn’t have tried to make you explain this in front of John. Shit, babe. Come here.” He hugged her tight and even though he held her for the wrong reasons, it still felt good.

  “It wasn’t loaded, but what if it was? What would I have done?”

  “I don’t know. We would have figured it out though. You know I would have helped hide the body.” She smiled and it was the first time since she woke she thought things might turn out okay.

  “Why wasn’t the gun loaded? Who carries an empty gun around?”

  Annie just shrugged. She knew why it wasn’t loaded, it was missing the magazine. She assumed Brax took it out while he planned her assault. Wanting to scare her, but still keep her safe.

  Trevor and Annie continued on with lunch, moving on to the happier topic of John. They were going to try the whole long distance thing. Annie doubted it would work. By the time Trevor got back home, he’d be pouncing on the next hot male to cross his path, but Trevor insisted he would be good. Right. She’d believe it when she saw it, but it was nice to at least see him so happy.

  After paying the tab as a thank you for taking her home, they walked back up to the rooms and found the girls packed and ready to go. They left for the airport, not one of them sad to go. New York had run its course.

  Eleven

  Strolling into his father’s office, the middle-aged secretary asked him to have a seat and wait. Mike’s dad was always busy with something. After half an hour his dad appeared in the doorway, shaking hands with a well-dressed man in a suit. It was the scene he saw every time he came to visit.

  His dad gestured for him and he leisurely stood, entering the small but fashionable, wood paneled office decorated with patriotic photos and a flag standing proud in the corner. He took a seat on the leather couch, crossing an ankle at the knee.

  “What do you want Michael? I assume you’re here for something. I have a busy day so get on with it.”

  “I met someone last night. Thought she might be of interest to you.”

  His father said nothing, just gave him the look to continue.

  “I overheard you telling mom how the raid on Braxton Cage’s loft went south, and I think I found someone who might be able to help.”

  “That’s privileged information son. You shouldn’t even know about that.”

  “Oh? So mom’s privileged now? Didn’t realize she was on your payroll. Look, do you want to hear who I met or not?

  “Fine. Go on.”

  “Like I was saying, I met a girl. Her name’s Annabel Nichols and she has ties to Braxton Cage. From what I could tell, she was very important to him.”

  His father sat forward in his chair, openly more interested in what Mike was telling him.

  “They were at Dan’s party together last night. He basically raped her right in front of me. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t, and then afterward he threatened to kill me if I ever said anything. Too bad for him, I don’t take well to threats.”

  He loved his son, but sometimes he was a fucking idiot. “I’m glad you came to me with this, but you have no idea who you’re dealing with. You should take his threats very seriously. Shit. Does he know your name? Does she?” His son may have overheard him talking to his wife about Cage, but he had no idea the extent of things Cage was involved in. And this girl, Annabel, he wondered if she was the one Ax put out safety orders for. News travels fast and far when a ruthless mob leader suddenly has something he cares about.

  “She does. I told her my name, but I didn’t tell him. I’m not worried about him dad. He doesn’t know anything about me and she’ll never tell him. She hates him. I don’t think she cares for me either to be honest. Probably forgot about me entirely after I dropped her off at her hotel.”

  “What makes you think she was important? If she hates him? If he raped her?” Maybe she wasn’t the right girl after all.

  “Ah that’s the best part. She’s important because after he was finished with her, I watched him allow her to take his gun from him and shoot him in the chest.”

  “She shot him?”

  “Well no. Not technically, but she didn’t know that. You could just tell from her facial expression. She was shocked the gun didn’t go off.”

  “What did he do after she tried to shoot him?”

  “Nothing. I mean he was pissed. Yelled at her for trying to kill him, but nothing really. Oh, he did tell her and I quote, get the fuck out of my city. I’m not sure where she’s from, but she mentioned flying home today.”

  “And you’re positive this was Braxton Cage you saw?” It just didn’t sound like him. Not if he was who they thought he was. Ax did not let people go. He wouldn’t have let her get away with trying to shoot him.

  District Attorney Matthews had only been investigating Cage for a few weeks and he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced Cage was even their guy until a few days ago when he heard him put a bullet through his hired man’s head. Too bad the audio is inadmissible in court. They were only planting the bugs for confirmation. To make sure Cage was who they thought he was before building a case against him. In the New York business world, Braxton Cage was about as respectable as you get. He couldn’t accuse him of murder and espionage without being absolutely certain. Even now he couldn’t arrest him. They had to have something to go on and Cage was brilliant at never leaving a trail. Since it was pure chance his lead attorney Cyrus heard about Cage in the fir
st place, this new intel was making him question his intuition even more. He not only let the girl go, but let Michael go too, let him leave and take her home. Something just seemed off. There was no doubt in his mind Cage was involved in some shady shit, but maybe he wasn’t the Em Oh Three boss after all. He had to know for sure, and the only way to do that was to bring the girl in, but they’d be fucked if she didn’t say anything. Cage would know they were on to him.

  Braxton didn’t go into work. It was the first time in years he called out, if you could call it that since it was his company. If he didn’t want to go in, he didn’t have to. Wouldn’t have gotten much work done. He laid in bed trying to get more rest when the buzz of his intercom sounded. What the fuck. He didn’t want to see anyone. Wanted to hide out and forget about the world.

  With a groan he threw the comforter off and trudged to the small box. “Yes?” he asked, holding down the button.

  “Sir, a courier is here to drop off a package, would you like me to send him up?”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know sir. A manila envelope,” he paused to question the courier before continuing. “It’s from your office. A deed to a new building purchase. They thought you’d want it right away.”

  Ah, the hotel. The one he stupidly purchased. For her. “Just throw it out. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “Are you sure sir?”

  “Don’t fucking question me Ronald just do as I say.”

  “Yes sir.”

  He still sounded hesitant, but the intercom fell silent and Braxton huffed away, hoping to go back to bed.

  Picking up his phone from the end table he noticed a missed call from Stetson. Whatever. Fuck him. He wasn’t in the mood to hear anything he had to say. It would just be something about her and he didn’t want to hear it. She was on a plane back home by now, leaving him and never coming back, just like he told her.

  Opening a new text message, he flopped down on the bed and began typing, not knowing what to say.

  I fucked your friend last night. Came inside her and loved every minute. She was a better lay than you ever would have been.

  His thumb hovered over the send button. He could do it. It was his plan all along; to make sure she found out the intimate details. Sara would deny it, say it never happened, but it didn’t matter, it would hurt her all the same, whether she believed him or not. In the end he couldn’t go through with it though. Deleting the message he typed something new.

  Why B? I know you liked it. I didn’t hurt you. Not really. I’ve never hurt you. So why did you try and hurt me?

  He sounded like a fucking pansy. Why’d she hurt him? Jesus Christ. He deleted the words and started again and then again and again, coming up with nothing he wanted to say. Shit. What did he want to say? Did it matter she tried to shoot him? In the end, did it really matter? It wasn’t loaded. He’s alive and breathing and she regretted it, he knew she did. Maybe he over reacted? No, overreacting would have been to kill her on the spot. If it were anyone else he would have, but the light of day was making him see things different. He told her he’d never judge her; she was safe to be herself with him. He just didn’t think being herself would involve attempting to kill him, but there he was judging her, dismissing her, and sending her back to her husband. The thought of her going home to him made Braxton want to kill someone, and just like that, everything was clear, he knew what he needed to say, but before he had the chance, his phone was ringing, the picture of them at the bar displaying across the screen. Thank God. He sighed an immediate sense of relief. Her flight must have been delayed. “Don’t get on the plane B. Where are you? What airport? I’m coming to get you.”

  “This isn’t her Brax,” a man’s distressed voice broadcasted. “We have a problem. She needs your help.”

  “Trevor? What happened? Where are you?”

  Braxton’s heart pounded with the force of a thousand horses. If anyone so much as touched her, they would pay for it. His demand on the streets was clear. She was not to be messed with.

  “We’re at the Department of Corrections. They picked her up while we were waiting for our flight.”

  “What? Why? Did they say what for?”

  “No. They didn’t say anything. Four men in suits showed up right before we boarded and just said she needed to go with them. Didn’t give her much of a choice. They walked her through the airport and put her in the back of an unmarked car. I’m fucking freaking out. I thought about calling Keith, but even if he is a lawyer it would take him hours to get here.”

  Braxton assumed the Keith in reference was B’s husband, although this was the first time he was hearing his name. And finding out he’s a lawyer.

  “I know you guys aren’t on the best terms, but I just thought, maybe you can help?”

  “Fuck yes I can help. I’ll call my lawyer right now, but tell me first, was she handcuffed?”

  “No. They just made her leave, but she wasn’t cuffed.”

  “Okay, good. That means she’s not being arrested. They probably want her for questioning.”

  “Questioning about what?”

  “I don’t know.” Except he had a sinking feeling he did know. They were questioning her about him, and she knew everything, all his secrets. Had the power to destroy him. It was like last night all over again and Braxton prayed she would stay true to him. “Look, don’t worry, my lawyer will be there soon and he’ll have her out of there within an hour. I’m on my way too.”

  Braxton hung up the phone just as Stetson called again. He beat the decline button harder than necessary and then dialed David, the best fucking lawyer in the state. You could kill someone in the middle of a crowded stadium with a dozen eyewitnesses and cameras for days and he’d still be able to get you off.

  Annie sat at the small metal table alone, waiting to find out what this was all about. Two men in suits entered the room, different from the men who collected her from the airport. Sitting across from her with a cup of coffee one introduced himself as Detective Stevens and his partner, Detective Mak.

  “I want to apologize for the way we brought you in. You’re not in any trouble. I want you to know that up front. We’re just hoping to talk to you and we’ll get you and your friend back on a flight to Phoenix tomorrow morning,” said the balding Detective Stevens.

  The men seemed nice enough, but that was their job and she didn’t trust them. She knew how the system worked. Knew they were going to ask her about Brax and pick apart her every answer just to have something to run with. They didn’t care what Brax would do to her if she let his secrets slip.

  “We want to talk to you about your relationship with Braxton Cage.”

  “My relationship? What about it? I don’t have a relationship with Braxton Cage.”

  “We have several eye witnesses from a party last night who say different. Did you attend the party with Mr. Cage?”

  “No. He was there, but we didn’t go together if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “What? No. Why would he hurt me?”

  “You know you can tell us Annabel. We aren’t the bad guys here. Your information will never leave this room. It’s not even being recorded. He’ll never know it was you who told and even if he figured it out, we can keep you safe.”

  Annie wanted to laugh. They could keep her safe? She highly doubted that. If Brax wanted to hurt her, he would. These tools wouldn’t be able to stop him. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who gave you this information, but I think you have the wrong guy. Brax has never tried to hurt me. He’s always been the perfect gentleman.”

  “Is that so? One of the party goers claimed he raped you.”

  “Excuse me? That’s a lie. He did no such thing.”

  “We have photos Mrs. Nichols. Photos your husband wouldn’t be too happy to see. I’m going to ask you again, did he rape you? There is no shame in admitting it. We know it happened before, and maybe you’re too embarrassed to say it happened again,
but you don’t need to be. You did nothing wrong.”

  Photos? Who would have taken photos? Mike was the only one in the room and Brax sure as hell wouldn’t have let him get away with taking photos. They were bluffing; trying to use her husband to get her to roll over on Brax. “Why don’t you let me see these pictures? I would love to know how you got photos of something that didn’t happen. Braxton is a good man. I would never say something as horrific and untrue as that.” She made sure to refer to rape as that, not wanting them to be able to take her words out of context. “And as you mentioned, I have been through that before. It’s a terrible ordeal and not something you lie about.”

  “You say that Braxton Cage is a good man?” Detective Mak interjected. “You want to see pictures?” Opening a manila folder he began slamming photo after photo down on the counter. Each photo bloodier than the last. “Braxton Cage is believed to be the leader of a mob, responsible for over fifty percent of the crime in this city. He is a murderer, a drug dealer, a thief, and yes honey, a rapist. This is who you are protecting right now. Look at them! Look at the fucking pictures!” he pushed them closer to her.

  She didn’t want to look down, but curiosity got the best of her. The first photo was of a woman, not surprising they showed her that photo first. She had been terribly beaten. Propped against a brick wall, deep purple bruises covered her eyes, cheeks, arms, and neck. “MO3” was carved into her chest right between her bare breasts, and her plaid skirt was pushed up around her waist.

  “That’s Cynthia Wells, eighteen years old. Good girl from what neighbors told us. A senior in high school with a 4.0 too. She had everything going for her and this is what they did to her. She was walking home from school one day and was jumped by five of them, or at least forensics found traces of five. Do you know what they do to girls they jump in? They beat them, rape them, and some of them like Cynthia, don’t make it through. And when that happens, this is how we find them. Ten cases so far.”