Husband by Choice

by Tara Taylor Quinn

  As Steve’s face turned beet-red, his big brown shoe came one step closer. And then another. “I’ll deny every word. I’ll tell the truth about you. Your lack of social skills. Your jealous threats. I’ve got connections, Meredith, a lot of them. You have none, because you’re so antisocial. I’ll drag your reputation through the dirt and no one will believe a word you say about me.” The facial features that were relaxed mere moments before were twisting into a sneer she knew well.

  “You know how the human race works, Steve. Once I place doubts some will believe, others will start looking for proof. And I have a feeling that if they look hard enough they’ll find something. You’ve had a lot of people cover your ass who might not be so willing to do it anymore. Are you willing to take that chance?”

  One more move forward. Her back was against the wall. “Are you?”

  “I’ve got nothing left to lose, Steve. You do.”

  The menacing forward movement stopped.

  “I won’t live another day with the threat of you and your stalking and your violence. I can’t do it anymore, Steve. Either you let me go or kill me. Because if I’m alive after today, and not free from you, I will expose every dirty secret you ever had. Any way you look at it, you lose me. But if you let me go, I’ll be the friend who keeps your secrets safe.”

  Her words carried all of the weight of any threat he’d ever made. Because she meant every single word.

  And her truth rang in that pretty bedroom with the ocean so close, the horizon filled with possibilities only yards away.

  “You bitch!” With lightning fast reflexes, Steve lunged at her. He grabbed her wrist and wrenched her arm out of its socket. She could hear the cracking noise, just as she felt the sting to her hand as he broke her fingers.

  “You actually think you’re going to blackmail me?” he said. “You think you’re going to rob me of my wife?”

  She’d had to be free from the fear. And maybe she’d succeeded. Because she didn’t feel afraid. Or did she?

  She didn’t think so.

  A slap to the face, the spinning in her head, was making it hard to think. Steve’s heavy leather shoe swooped in, kicked her feet out from underneath her. The carpet wasn’t nearly so soft under her hip as she landed. She was going to have a bruise.

  The hard leather toe in her back hurt.

  One to her left shoulder, one to her ribs and she thought she was going to throw up.

  Curling into a ball, Meredith thought of her mother. Couldn’t picture her face. Lila’s was there. She was a fetus and the other woman would nurture her.

  “Get up, woman. Don’t you dare think you’re going to start this and not finish it.”

  Steve’s hands pulled her up, set her on her feet, and then dug into her arms as she swayed.

  Why didn’t he just do it and get it done?

  But she knew. He didn’t want to kill her. He just wanted to hurt her so bad he’d break her spirit, and then he’d be happy again.

  Nice again.

  For a while.

  She knew how this went.

  She started to laugh. Funny, he was going to half kill her because he was enraged over the fact that she’d told him he’d have to kill her.

  “What are you laughing at, bitch?” he asked. And she laughed again. She couldn’t help it. Life was funny.

  And she wasn’t afraid.

  She wasn’t afraid.

  “Shut up!” He slapped her mouth, and her lip split. Blood pooled in her mouth.

  She was glad Caleb would never see her like this. Such a good little boy. Who was going to grow up to be a man just like his daddy. A good man. There were so many of them out there....

  One more slap to the side of the head and Meredith swooned. Too dizzy to think, she just knew stars and ringing...and pain, too. A lot of it. Everywhere.

  She didn’t care. She was free of him.

  With a rough thrust, Steve let go of her.

  He always did when it got to this point. When there was no challenge left in her.

  “You disgust me,” he said.

  “No, Steve, you are disgusting.” How she got the words out, she didn’t know. And wasn’t sure he could understand them, but she didn’t care. They were for her.

  And for Max. And Caleb.

  “Either kill me or let me go,” she said. “Because I’m not playing your game anymore, Steve. I don’t care what you do to me. I’m not afraid. Don’t you see? You’ve lost your power over me.”

  She was standing up to him. Finally.

  She’d come here to finish this. To be free of the fear.

  “You’re kidding, right?” His sneer was nasty.

  And her head hurt so badly she was going to puke. Meredith tried to move, to stand. She got up on all fours, and started to gag.

  “You stupid bitch.” Arms grabbed her midsection, dragged her the few feet to the adjoining bathroom and hung her over the toilet.

  “You got to do something you do it there,” he said. “And don’t even think about turning this on me.”

  He stood in the doorway. She could see him out of the corner of her eye.

  Steve never touched her face above her mouth. And she’d always known why. He needed to be able to see her life shining out from her eyes.

  He’d never managed to snuff out that life. Another funny.

  Something sharp touched her hand, the blade of a knife. He wrapped her fingers around the handle and then it was gone.

  “You tried to kill me, Meredith. I have a knife here and when they find it, it will have only your fingerprints on it. So just remember this, my love, if you ever, ever think about disobeying me again, or turning me in, or telling any more of your ugly little lies about me, I will turn you in. I will tell everyone how you tried to kill me. It will be your word against mine and I know what to say and to whom and don’t you doubt for one second that I will do it.”

  He knew the police commissioner. Had saved his daughter. Steve had saved a lot of good people. And caught a lot of bad guys.

  He risked his life without thought of cost to himself, just to make the world a better place....

  Could she just go to sleep with her head on the toilet seat? For just a little while? Or did she have to puke first?

  Blood cleaned up off of toilet seats.

  And they weren’t that expensive....

  “I’m going to give you some time to think about what you’ve done.” Steve still stood in the doorway, so tall and strong. “And when I come back, I’ll expect an apology.”

  She always apologized. Why didn’t he ever have to apologize? Well, she wasn’t going to. Not until he did.

  “And you can expect more punishment. You’ve been a very, very bad girl....”

  The door closed. She heard a lock click.

  He’d installed a key lock from the outside. She hadn’t even noticed. Probably because it was just like the one on the bathroom at home.

  No, her home wasn’t in Las Vegas. And it didn’t have bathroom locks. It had child safety locks....

  That thought brought up the bile. And Meredith retched, splitting her ribs with burning pain every time a muscle moved.

  When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, lay down on the cool tile floor with her head on the plush rug in front of the sink and closed her eyes.

  Her day hadn’t gone quite as planned. She wasn’t dead and she wasn’t free.

  Steve was a highly skilled and trained detective. He’d won their little skirmish.

  But she’d won her war.

  She wasn’t afraid of him anymore.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  MAX HAD BEEN on the internet. And around the yard. He’d checked every baseboard in the house for nicks and made a list
of those he really should putty and dab with some touch-up paint. He put the list on his desk.

  And then went back and checked the walls for nicks.

  Made a similar list.

  Put it next to the one already on his desk.

  He looked at the insides of the toilet tanks, making sure the plastic fittings were in good working order. And lay on his back underneath each sink. He wasn’t a plumber, but a guy could tell if fittings were old and giving way. He could turn the shut-off valves and make certain they still worked.

  He looked at the tile grout. Made a list of places that needed a little help. Put the list on his desk.

  He emptied the trash.

  And looked over the furniture, making a list of pieces and parts that could do with a spot of the furniture varnish he kept out in the shed.

  The shed.

  Meri had been in there. Presumably the same day she’d cleaned. He’d have known if she’d been home twice since she’d left.

  Meri? Oh...please...Meri.

  He didn’t know what to ask. Didn’t know what she wanted. To come home to him?

  To be free?

  Dropping to the floor, pen and furniture list in one of the hands linked behind his head, he did a sit-up. And then another.

  He lost count somewhere in the fifties.

  But he didn’t stop doing sit-ups.

  Nope, he wasn’t going to stop sitting up.

  * * *

  MERI. MERI. MEERRRIII....

  She heard the voice. It was an angel. A man? A woman? Just an angel. She was being called home.

  Meredith wanted to go home. She was ready, wasn’t she?

  She couldn’t have Max, not with Steve still claiming ownership of her. And Steve wasn’t going to let her go. She was no longer afraid.

  Not afraid to die.

  Home.

  Bed.

  A big bed. With soft sheets.

  She liked the way it looked.

  So she floated some more and let herself go....

  * * *

  MAX WAS STILL doing sit-ups when the phone rang. Grabbing it out of the breast pocket of the purple scrub shirt he’d pulled on after getting home, he pushed the answer button without breaking his rhythm.

  Down. Up. He could do it one-handed.

  “We’ve got something, Max.”

  Down up. Down up.

  “One of the cars...they found the only one sold that didn’t match a name and address on the release forms. The company definitely has shady business practices, but they came through in the end. We have the VIN number and license plate.”

  Down up. Down up.

  “He paid cash, with the agreement that there’d be no paperwork other than the mandatory release form, which only requires an odometer reading. Fortunately for us, the other green car sales over the past months were legitimate, so...”

  “Address?” He pushed the word out as he sat up.

  “It’s bogus, unfortunately, but he bragged to that old buddy of his that he had a place on the beach, right? We’ve had someone watching months of tape of cams on the public beaches....”

  Up. “You know where he is?”

  “We have the vicinity. He’s been caught on camera several times at The Santa Raquel public beach. But there are hundreds of homes in the area....”

  “Then you need hundreds of people knocking on doors. I’m in.”

  Jumping up, he pulled on the jeans he’d exchanged for old sweat shorts sometime during the day. If she thought he was going to stay home when Meri needed him and there was something he could actually do....

  “I know you are, hon,” Chantel said, her tone laced with friendly affection. “I’m just around the corner from you. Bailey’s going to stay at your place and you’re coming with me.”

  “Okay. Good. I’m ready.”

  He said the words. He was tying up his purple high-tops—because purple was Meri’s favorite color—as they spoke.

  But he wasn’t sure if he was ready.

  Ready for what?

  To find Meri? Bring her home?

  Or to find another pool of blood?

  Either way, he had to go.

  * * *

  MAX’S HAND SMOOTHED its way up her side, over a scar, lingering there to kiss the silken line.

  “No,” she murmured sleepily, wanting so much more than a simple touch from him. “It represents pain,” she told him her secret. “It reminds me.”

  “Which scar is it, Meri?” His whisper covered the scar and it vanished.

  “You are so hot,” he said. “And I can’t get enough....”

  She knew the feeling. Oh, God she knew the feeling. Arching her back, Meredith met him, body to body, strength to strength, partner to partner, as his naked body entered hers.

  She took him into her.

  “And the two become one,” he said.

  The words were beautiful. But it was the catch in his voice that stole her heart....

  Oh...God...her heart....

  She hurt so much and didn’t want to hurt anymore. The elephant was back. He was big and mad. He’d been on the table but now he was on the floor.

  And so was she.

  He was going to trample her.

  * * *

  FOUR DIFFERENT, LARGE neighborhoods were located directly across Highway One from the Santa Raquel beach. The two-lane highway that ran up and down the entire coast of California was the access point to some of the nicest homes in that part of the state.

  Max was out of Chantel’s car and off up the street before she’d pulled to a stop at the entrance of the first neighborhood. Going door to door with others who were searching and asking neighbors to help with the search. He ran into her again when she hunted him down at the end of the next street.

  “Max!” She was on foot, running toward him at full speed, like a linebacker, grabbing at him as she reached him.

  “What?” He pulled his arm out of her grasp. She wasn’t slowing him down.

  “Max.” She touched his arm again, getting his attention. And when he looked at her, she said, “They’ve got him, Max. Wayne just called. They’ve got him.” She was panting as she spoke. Out of breath. “He walked over to a cop guarding the entrance to the neighborhood and turned himself in.”

  He understood every glorious word. He just couldn’t believe it.

  “So Meri’s okay?” She’d said they had him. She hadn’t said anything about Meri.

  “We don’t know.” She was catching her breath. “Now listen,” she said when he was about to head off up the road, continuing knocking on doors, searching yards....

  “They were together,” she said. “We know that much. He had some crazy story about Meredith trying to kill him, but he was crying and just kept saying he was sorry. Over and over. He had blood on his hands, Max.”

  The word that spewed out of his mouth wasn’t one he’d ever heard growing up.

  “Max...hold on. We have to stay calm,” Chantel said, giving his arm another squeeze. “We have to find her, Max.”

  “Doesn’t he know where she is?”

  “He isn’t saying, Max. Says that if he can’t have her then he sure as hell isn’t serving her up to you. He said that his life is over, and it’s fitting that hers is, too. He said she wanted to die, and now she’ll get her wish. She needs us, Max. But it’s pretty clear we don’t have much time. We’ve got extra patrols out. And the volunteer group that is already forming. We’re going to find her.”

  He heard the words. All of them. But his head was roaring. Like he was at the ocean. With Meri. Just the two of them.

  “We have to assume she’s hurt pretty bad.” Chantel didn’t spare him. “There’s an ambulance on the way.” Whatever else
Chantel had been about to say was lost as Max ran up to the next house. And the next.

  He already knew the plan. Had his orders.

  Knock on doors. Ask the appropriate questions and apologize for the intrusion.

  Somewhere along the way, he forgot about the apology.

  His wife needed a doctor. And he was one.

  He just had to get to her.

  * * *

  “NO! NO! NO! NO!”

  “Get up Meri! Get up! You are not going to die. Not going to die. Not going to die....”

  “Not going to die. Not going to die....”

  Meredith choked as her dry, clogged throat worked its way around the words. “Not going to die.”

  She heard a voice. Didn’t recognize it as her own. But knew that it was. Repeating what the white figure in her dream had been telling her. “No. No. No. Get up. You are not going to die.” Trying to move, to figure out where she was, all she knew was that she had to get up. Something was telling her to get up.

  She opened her eyes, and cringed as the light brought flashing pain to the top of her head. She was in a small room. Alone.

  The pain was familiar. One she knew.

  She had to get up.

  And it all came flooding back to her. Steve. Her ultimatum. The beating.

  She had to get up.

  She was supposed to be free or dead.

  Instead she was on the bathroom floor of the home Steve had bought for them. The home he’d been coming to for four years, spying on her and her family. Stalking her.

  She had to get up.

  He’d locked her in. He always locked her in. There was a window. Up high. Could she get to it?

  She had to get up.

  Meredith tried to move her tongue. Touched the tip of it to her lips. Her neck hurt. She tasted blood. And salt.

  But didn’t think she’d cried.

  She had to get up.

  There was moisture on her face. And her neck. Beneath her, everywhere. A pool of her own blood.

  She had to get up.

  And so she did.

  All at once. Moving her arms and legs at the same time, she almost vomited again as the agonizing pain took over her entire body.