She called AAA and texted her boss to let him know she’d be late. When she finally got to work, she sat down to a pile of work only to sense a shadow standing over her. She looked up, feeling the intensity of Jason’s gaze.
“Oh, hi, I didn’t hear you come in.” She’d offered him a strained smile before turning her attention back to her work. Last night’s sex, which revolved around Jason’s enjoyment, had left her feeling cheap and worthless. I have to break it off with him—I gave it a month and things are only getting worse.
“Where have you been?” Jason’s grey eyes looked angry and a muscle in his jaw twitched unpleasantly.
Bunny shrugged, figuring once she explained, he’d settle down. “My battery died. I had to wait for AAA to come.”
He raised his voice and pounded his fist down on her desk. “Why didn’t you call to let me know?”
Worry tugged at Bunny’s insides. Jason’s reaction struck her as more frightening than normal. “It just didn’t occur to me. I texted Rick and let him know I’d be late.”
Spit flew from Jason’s lips as he berated her. “From now on, if you’re not going to be somewhere on time, I expect you to let me know.”
She jumped up from her chair and ran to the door he’d shut behind him when he’d entered the room. “Jason, you’re acting crazy and I’m not going to listen to any more of your ranting.”
Jason grabbed her by the shoulder and steered her away from the door. “If you want to keep your job, you’ll go back to your chair and sit down.”
“What do you mean if I want to keep my job?” Panic rose inside Bunny’s chest. She had bills to pay and work was hard to find in a tough economy.
“I told Rick earlier, I thought he should replace you because you’re difficult to—”
“I’ve never been difficult at all.”
“I told him this morning you don’t seem to like me, that you’ve been intentionally not finishing my work. He agrees that’s completely unacceptable.”
She planted a hand on her hip. “But that’s simply not true.” Why is he doing this?
“I’ve always been able to convince people of anything I want them to. But you can keep your job if you cooperate with me. All I want is for us to be together. Now sit down.”
Bunny sat down in her desk chair, hoping he wouldn’t notice her trembling hands.
“Now do you promise to let me know from now on where you are?”
“Sure—that would be no problem at all.”
He placed a hand on top of hers, applying so much pressure, she gritted her teeth to block out the pain. She closed her eyes and held her breath, fearing he might strike her.
“That’s a very wise decision. I’ve made reservations for dinner at six. “
What will he do to me if I say no? “Okay, then.”
That was the last day she recalled making a decision on her own. From then on, she’d been Jason’s puppet.
Within a month, she’d moved out of her apartment and into his condominium. He hadn’t liked her furniture—the sofas and tables she’d inherited from her grandmother, the watercolors she’d purchased from local artists, the piano she’d bought at a garage sale, so she lied and said she sold all the items while secretly putting them into storage.
Everything changed once she moved in with Jason. She no longer played tennis with her friends on the weekends because he didn’t want her displaying herself in short skirts, which according to him made her look slutty. Since her piano was in storage, she no longer had that musical outlet to release the pain that ate away at her insides. Soon all her friends stopped calling. Jason always answered the phone and told callers she either wasn’t home or wasn’t available. She heard about people going to prison and thought, that’s what I feel like. She had to do everything Jason’s way or else.
She’d run into an old high school friend at the grocery store a week before she’d signed on for the Vietnam expedition. Michaela was happily married and had left her six-month-old son at home with her mom that day. Bunny studied Michaela’s dark disheveled hair and her pale make-up-free face and noticed the purplish rings under her eyes.
“I’m just glad to have a few minutes to myself.” Michaela masked a yawn. “Sorry, I don’t get much sleep these days.”
“I can imagine.” Bunny had once told herself she’d never stop paying attention to her appearance if she had kids. But when she glanced in the store mirror and saw her reflection beside Michaela’s, she realized all her daily primping wasn’t working anymore. Her waistline had broadened since she’d stopped exercising—she could barely even wiggle into her jeans. And her whole countenance had changed. I look miserable and pathetic.
“So enough about me. What have you been up to? Hey, did you hear me?” Michaela waved a hand in front of her face.
Bunny shifted her gaze from her reflection back to Michaela. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just got a little distracted by the noise in here.” She briefly mentioned her work at the investment firm. She glanced at her watch and noticed the time she’d told Jason she’d be home had come and gone. She wrenched her lips into a smile, feigning calm, but her voice shook as she spoke. “You know I probably should finish up with my shopping. The ice cream’s going to melt.” It was either lie or confess a psychotic man waited for her at home.
Michaela briefly glanced at the items in her cart and frowned. “Well it was great seeing you.”
“Great to see you, too.” Bunny had considered asking Michaela for help. But admitting her uncertain circumstances felt even more embarrassing than being caught in her little lie.
When Bunny stepped through the front door laden with groceries, fast footfalls echoed across the tile. She raised an elbow to keep one of the bags from slipping. “I’m about to lose this bag—can you grab it from me?”
Instead of unburdening her load, Jason knocked the groceries from her hands. “Where the hell have you been?”
She lost her balance and stumbled into an end table. Produce, cans and jars bounced and rolled across the tile. A broken jar of spaghetti sauce spattered the white walls. “Jason, what’s the matter with you?”
He rushed toward her, his facial muscles tense, spit bubbling around the corners of his mouth.
Oh no. Bunny raised her hands to protect her face and cowered.
He shoved her against the wall. She cried out the instant her shoulder blades punched through the drywall. “Ouch. Stop that—you’re hurting me.”
“I don’t give a shit. I asked you a question and I want an answer.” He walked back toward her, his eyes flashing crazily.
“Isn’t it pretty obvious?” She bit back a laugh. For some reason whenever she was most afraid, she felt compelled to laugh. It was her mind’s way of denying the peril she was in.
“So you think its funny, you worthless whore? Well you better stop laughing. I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t tell me who you’ve been with.” Spit flew from his lips. His jaw clenched, he grabbed her around the throat and squeezed.
Bunny grabbed his hands and tried to loosen them from her neck. Her voice came out high-pitched as she gasped for breath. “I saw a high school friend at the store and stopped to talk with her.”
“Her? You really expect me to believe that? I bet you were out fucking someone, weren’t you, you little slut?” His hands still fastened around her neck, he shoved her head against the wall.
The room swam and Bunny struggled to bring her surroundings back into focus. Maybe I should just let him kill me, she thought. Then this suffering will end once and for all. But a tiny flicker of strength—the only strength she had left after four years of constant abuse—urged her to fight back. Masking her terror, she offered up her most convincing puppy dog eyes expression while thinking she’d never hated anyone more in her life. “Come on Jason, you know I wasn’t with another man. I would never want to be with anyone except you. I promise I won’t be late again.”
He released his vise grip hold and gave her one last shove. “You better h
ope for your sake, you keep that promise.”
An hour later, Kent’s email message had popped into her in box, luring her to do something crazy. She knew she shouldn’t have lied about every single one of her credentials, but the trip provided the quick out she desperately needed.
Two days later, plane tickets had arrived at her mom’s house, where Jason couldn’t intercept them. And four days later—after telling her mom she planned to tour Asia with friends—she’d boarded a flight to Vietnam. Her mom’s last words before she left had been, “I can’t believe you’re going without that nice young man of yours. You’re really lucky he puts up with you.”
Bunny sighed. The thought of returning to North Carolina filled her with dread. She wondered how she’d ever heal when Jason had managed to get everyone to see through his distorted lens. Back there, I’ll never be able to turn things around.
A muffled voice on the speaker system broke into her thoughts. Since she hadn’t heard the announcement, Bunny looked around to see what others were doing. People were standing up and reaching for their bags. A woman a row behind her said, “The flight’s been cancelled.”
Chapter Three
As they stepped out of the restroom, Rebecca saw a line of people deplaning from the flight they’d been slated to leave on. “What’s up with that?”
“Maybe the flight got cancelled. If it did, you know what that means.”
Oh no. A moment later she spotted Bunny walking across the tarmac. Rebecca bit back her frustration. The woman had cried and complained constantly during their jungle adventure. As much as Rebecca pitied the desperate woman who had signed on as an assistant to escape her abusive boyfriend, she’d been ecstatic to see her go.
“Maybe we should hide.” Amanda laughed and stepped behind a potted tree.
“Believe me, I’d love to pretend I didn’t see her and make a run for it, but I’m not that heartless. Kent mentioned there was only one flight to Hanoi today, since it’s a national holiday, and she won’t last a day on her own.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We better tell her we’re here before she loses it.”
The two women strode toward Bunny, who hadn’t yet spotted her companions. “Hey, don’t look so worried, we’re still here,” said Rebecca.
“Oh, that’s a relief.” Bunny’s brown eyes brightened. “They cancelled the flight. Apparently there are some severe storms north of here and they don’t think it’s safe to fly.”
“Why don’t you come with us until Kent can schedule you on another flight?”
“Thanks, Rebecca. I’ll do that.”
“Off we go to the hotel from hell,” said Amanda.
After changing some U.S. dollars into Vietnamese dongs, the women hurried outside to hail a taxi. It was a typical early monsoon morning. Rain clouds hung low in the sky and the air was stiflingly humid and hot. “Jungle Oasis Lodge, please,” Rebecca said. The dark-skinned driver nodded and said, “ya,ya.”
An hour later, the car bumped over numerous potholes in a neighborhood of crumbling cement buildings. The sharp odor of urine tinged Rebecca’s nostrils. She sniffled and reached into her pocket for a tissue.
“Where the hell are we? This neighborhood smells worse than the sewage plant off of I-10.” Amanda pinched her nose between her fingers.
“Oh, no, this isn’t the right place. We’re lost,” Bunny whined.
Rebecca struggled to recall what she’d seen during the previous car trip to the hotel. She’d felt out-of-control attraction for Kent the instant they’d met. Since they’d argued through most of the drive, Rebecca had barely noticed their surroundings. When heated verbal conflict wasn’t underway, temperatures soared off the charts in the carnal department.
Remembering how he’d penetrated her in a variety of positions—in the cave, in the middle of the jungle, in his tent at night—sent a wet rush between her thighs. She tried to block out the erotic imagery long enough to search for words in her dictionary. She had to direct the driver to the right location and fast. She rolled her eyes when the Vietnamese word for cunnilingus caught her eye.
Rebecca shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Why can’t I find any useful words in this damn thing? Every other word has something to do with sex.”
“I think it’s a dictionary written for men seeking prostitutes.” Amanda continued pinching her nose to block the foul odor, making her voice project as a nasal whine. “If you stop thinking about doing him now, you’ll get laid sooner and if you don’t stay on task, we’re going to be screwed in a whole different way.”
“Do you know how ridiculous you sound talking like that? Anyway, you were in the car with me then—what do you remember?”
“I was so tired after that overseas flight, I kept drifting off to sleep. The only thing that woke me up was you two fighting,” said Amanda, still holding her nose. “I know for sure I didn’t smell anything this disgusting before.”
“At least our noses have good memories.” Rebecca shook her head and flipped through the dictionary. Then she recalled Kent’s annoyance when she’d commented about people bathing in a dirty river. The hotel’s near the river.
She flipped through her travel book to find the name. She leaned over the seat to make sure the driver could hear her. “Wrong place,” she said in Vietnamese. “Need hotel near Nhat Le River.”
“Ah, Nhat Le.” The driver nodded and smiled, showing off an uneven row of tobacco stained teeth. He swerved off the road and did a sudden U-turn.
Rebecca’s head swirled from the sudden movement. “I wonder where we’ll end up now.”
A few minutes later, the car bounced onto the riverside road she remembered. She recognized the pastel colored buildings on the hillsides. “I think we’re headed the right way now.”
“Let’s hope so.” Bunny sighed loudly, as if they’d just survived a near-death experience.
“So what’s your plan after we get there?” Amanda let go of her nose mid-sentence.
“First, we need to convince Kent to take us along on this mission with him.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you let him talk you out of it?” said Bunny. “Then he’ll know you love him and you guys can live happily ever after when he gets back.”
The woman always sought the easy way out. Irritation leaked into Rebecca’s voice. “You mean if he gets back. I’m not going to sit around and wait. I love Kent even though he’s been a ridiculous jerk lately. I have to prove to him that I can weather the worst of situations—not give him the idea that I’ll stay away whenever there’s trouble. But you’re not personally involved the way we are, Bunny. You should stay at the hotel until Kent books you another flight—that way you’ll be safe from the men who took you. Amanda, I’ll understand if you don’t want to go, either.”
Bunny shivered and wrapped her arms across her chest. “Don’t worry, you won’t see me stepping out in that jungle again. Those kidnappers kept joking about how they planned to rape and murder me. That Grant guy was the worst. The way he leered at me really gave me the creeps. And his breath smelled like a dead rat.”
“I’m sure as hell not going to sit around in that dumpy hotel.” Amanda scrunched up her nose. “Tom could be killed while I watch mildew growing on the carpet. And as for you,”—Amanda punched Rebecca on the arm—”I know from experience, I can’t let you out of my sight.”
Rebecca laughed. Her friend really was the best—and she knew they’d stick like glue together through it all. “You’re pretty adventurous for someone who never even camped overnight until we came here.”
“Hey, we camped out waiting in line for concert tickets once. Remember that?” Amanda burst out laughing.
A smile broke over Rebecca’s face. “How could I ever forget?” In many ways, sleeping on pavement beside wound up people had been worse than sleeping in the jungle. “I still remember that woman who was high as a kite walking along slapping sleeping people in the face with a magazine. And how I told her you often had violent dreams and inadve
rtently hurt people. I’ll never forget the look on her face. She ran off so quick, I’m sure she never bothered anyone after that.”
Amanda leaned in and nudged her, laughing. “Yeah, I remember lying there, pretending to be asleep and going nuts listening. I could barely keep from laughing.”
“I could tell by the way your nose was twitching, you were about to lose it.”
Amanda laughed. “Well, this camping thing is growing on me. I’d be thrilled if we could do more excursions with Kent and Tom. I’d rather they weren’t so hair-raising, though.” Her joyous expression melted away. “But what if I’m making more of what’s happened between Tom and me than is really there? Maybe he’ll be mad to learn I’m still here.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. The man’s crazy for you. He’s just a little shy, that’s all.”
Amanda’s eyes brightened. “I hope you’re right, because I really enjoy his company. And this change of scenery has sparked some book ideas, too. I’ll be the author who always sets her stories in some exotic jungle. And of course there’ll be bad guys and plenty of hot men.”
Rebecca laughed. “Hot men who look like Tom I’d wager.”
Amanda laughed. “That’s a possibility.”
“You never cease to amaze me, my friend.”
Amanda’s GPA at Flowing Wells High School hadn’t been high enough to earn her a scholarship and her parents couldn’t afford college, so she’d accepted her lot in life without complaint, working in a department store. But still, she stayed up until midnight most nights writing novels she hoped to eventually publish. Rebecca admired her friend’s perseverance. “Not only will you become a world traveler, you’ll hit the Bestseller list one of these days.”
Amanda leaned in and hugged Rebecca, patting her on the back. “You’re the best, Bec. I love that you believe in me so much. And even though I don’t know what we’re getting into, I’m excited because we’ve always gotten through tough times together.”
“That’s for sure.” Rebecca remembered some of the hardships they’d endured together. Life had been especially tough after Rebecca had lost her dream job as outdoor adventure director at a Tucson resort after a VIP hiker died of a heart attack, despite the fact that she’d made every effort to resuscitate him. She’d been laid off in November 2007 and after months of unsuccessful searching for similar employment, she’d secured a department store job with Amanda’s help. Being holed up inside all day had been awful, but at least the bills got paid.
The Unseen Page 2