by S C Jones
Lane sat with her while she rested her head on Lane’s shoulder, taking a sip then passing it to Lane who only touched the bottle to her lips. When it was finally empty and the tears had stopped, Lane took her inside and led her to bed quietly lying next to her. Ten seconds later the sobbing started up again. Lane held her close closing her eyes, and praying for sleep to take them both away.
Friday…
She got to work twenty minutes late because K.C didn’t have an alarm clock. She rushed in from the elevator to find Mr. Taylor brooding at her through his door. She went into the kitchen, and made his coffee before returning and knocking on his door. He gestured for her to enter and she did, pushing the door open and walking cautiously up to his desk placing his coffee in front of him. He scowled at her not saying a word, but watching her every move before she took a seat and opened her notebook ready for their morning ritual.
Garrett was pissed. She had disrespected him and he was pissed he couldn’t discipline her the way he wanted too. He was a sadist. A man who found pleasure in other people’s pain, and he wanted her to be his next victim, like she should have been all those years ago.
They sat staring at each other, him leaning back in his chair with one hand wrapped around his black coffee before moving it to his lips, and taking a sip.
“I’m sorry Mr. Taylor for being late this morning. My friend’s mother died and I had—”
“Miss. Bennett what was one of the first things I said on your first day?” He had said a lot of things that day, but she knew what he meant. He placed his cup down.
With her eyes downcast she mumbled. “You hate tardiness.”
“Exactly, worst of all I hate excuses. You were late, own up to it, I don’t need your apologies. Don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes…yes… I’m s—,” she said bleakly as her head fell into her chest. Taking a few calming deep breaths, she looked up. “What’s on the agenda today sir?” She spent the next twenty minutes going through his schedule feeling like a five year old that was scolded by their father. She was surprised to know he had a meeting across town at eleven and would be back in time for lunch at one. She had an hour maybe even an hour and a half tops to try and get into his computer, and this time she was going to get something solid to take the bastard down.
At 11:30 she watched him stroll toward her with his briefcase in hand. Once he left her a few directions he headed toward the elevator when his cell rang, causing him to pause while pulling it from his jacket pocket. “Castell… what…” His voice became hard and serious while he continued listening, and so was Lane as she pretended to stare at her computer screen. He waited for the elevator to arrive as it was on the fifteenth floor, but continued whisper yelling probably hoping she couldn’t hear. Good thing she had bionic hearing when it came to something she wanted to know. “How much…which one… Call Sylas he’ll find her... just call Sylas. This is the second time you’ve let this happen. You better hope he finds her before someone else does.” Who the hell was her? Lane thought. The elevator opened, and he stepped inside pressing the button aggressively while continuing his conversation.
Lane didn’t like to think of Castell being in on something that was probably illegal. And to think she idolized him and wanted to be like him when in actuality he was just like his father.
She waited a full fifteen minutes then called the front desk to make sure he had actually left the building. Once confirmed she went into his office and took a seat at his desk touching the mouse of his hibernating computer. The locked screen came up, and she started typing in passwords from his birthday, to his mother’s name even his son’s birthday, but nothing worked.
Determined not to let it defeat her she went to her desk and started researching every possible way to break someone’s password, but with the success rate of most free downloadable software not very high, she thought of another way.
Dialing his extension, she waited for him to pick up. “You got Elliot."
“Hey, Elliot, it's Lane.”
“Oh, hey Lane. How are you?”
“I’m alright. Just taking it day by day. And you?”
“Can’t complain, mostly busy these days. So, what can I do for you?”
“I need a favor?” she said while twisting the phone cord around her finger.
“Depends on what it is?”
“Well…I sorta need to get into Mr. Taylor’s computer. He needs me to get a…a…file that’s on his desktop, but because he left in such a rush, he forgot to print it and he asked me to get it.”
“So why didn’t he give you his password then?”
Shit, she didn’t think of that. “Oh, you know those bosses are just so busy they forget sometimes and now I’m trying to call him, but the meeting has already started. So, can you like get rid of the password or something?”
“Okay, but I can’t get rid of it, I can access it from where I am. Just give me the name of the file and I’ll send it to you.” That won’t work, she thought. She needed to see it herself to know what to look for, and she couldn’t come up with the name of a file quick enough to make this call seem legit.
“Can’t you just let me access it from here? I can’t exactly remember where to find it unless I see it.”
“That’s okay just give me the date it was created and I’ll go from there.”
She cursed under her breath, clenching her teeth so the words wouldn’t come out. Why was he making this so hard she thought? Realizing he was not going to give her what she wanted, she had to try another way. “You know what, I actually think I found it here in my email, which…yep found it. Sorry for all the trouble, I’m just a bit forgetful sometimes.”
“That’s okay, happens to the best of us… Plus it’s kinda my job. Are you sure everything’s okay now?” he asked with concern.
“Everything’s fine, I’m embarrassed I wasted your time. Guess I just panicked, you know my boss is not the easiest man to please.”
“I know. Just know if you need anything, technology wise that is, I’m here.”
“Hmm, a quick question then. Can you see anyone’s computer here in the building from your computer? I heard there was some kind of new software that could do that and I wanted something that I could install on my laptop at home for when I forget things there because I tend to do that a lot and usually have to go home and get it. So, is there anything like that?” She couldn’t believe how easy she found herself lying. It was like every time she opened her mouth out popped a lie, and she found herself liking it because it got her what she wanted.
Elliot always wanted to talk about anything technical, so she knew he would be excited to talk about this. “There is actually,” his voice lit up. “It’s this new thing I installed on all the computers, that makes it easy for me to get in and get out without them noticing. Not much work either. It’s a simple install and navigation process. I could show you sometime if you want.”
She grinned. “That would be fantastic.”
“Great, just let me know when and I’ll see if I can accommodate you.” Finally, some progress she sighed. “Shit, sorry Lane but I gotta go, meeting in two. Just let me know when, okay?”
“Oh, I will.” She hung up praising herself on a job well done. Finally, she was getting somewhere, and hopefully this led to so much more.
Thirteen
Olivia stood in front of the old mirror in the bathroom staring at her reflection. Feeling like an escaped convict seeing daylight for the first time in weeks she felt angry and clutched the edge of the sink with white knuckles, trying to keep herself from breaking her hands on the mirror in front of her. She hated feeling this way, like she was in a losing battle with her body, but that was just it, she was losing. It had been almost weeks since she got out. Weeks of practically going crazy with anger and lost, until finally she clawed her way to the surface.
Usually emotion triggered the switch between the two. She remembered when they were seven and Tommy Matters from down the street m
ade fun of Lane’s hair after some girl stuck gum in it, forcing her dad to take a scissors to it. Lane got so mad that she wanted to hit him, but was afraid of getting in trouble, so Olivia stepped in and knocked his feet from right up under him causing him to hit his nose on the pavement. Of course, she got in trouble, but to her it was worth being grounded for a week. And when the week was up, Lane returned and the boy never made fun of her again.
Other times the switch would happen on its own almost in a blink of an eye. One minute she was Lane and the next she was Olivia. One Saturday morning when they were sixteen Lane woke up only to switch into Olivia less than five minutes later. It happened again the next morning and the next, for almost a month. Then came the time it happened in the middle of a dream. That was how it had been for years, two people sharing a body one unaware of the other. Olivia always wondered how it was possible for her to remember every single moment of their lives, and Lane only knew of what Lane experienced, of what Lane saw, tasted, felt or heard. Olivia felt it all, saw it all, knew it all from the very beginning. It had always pissed her off that Lane didn’t know about half of their fucked-up life while she had to bare knowing it all.
Moving into the bedroom, she sat on the floor in front of the small closet, and started digging under the folded clothes Lane refused to wear. Finding the box buried all the way to the bottom, she hauled it out, quickly standing and heading toward the bed where she dumped the contents out. On the bed lay a disposable phone, a business card, and a couple of thousands wrapped in two bundles held together by a rubber band.
Throwing the money back in the box, she sat on the edge of the bed holding the card up to review the number before dialing it into the phone. The morning she had snuck out on Castell, she had dug through his wallet finding one of his business cards, tucked into the folds. She didn't want to leave without a souvenir, and since she couldn't say goodbye, or leave her number, she figured this was the next best thing.
She didn’t want to admit that she desperately wanted him again, but she really had no choice but to, since her mind had been plagued with thoughts of him since the moment she got out. Even when she was in, she had been looking for him, hoping for a glimpse somewhere, but she was happy he hadn't met Lane. She couldn't explain as well as Olivia could and if he was at that office when Lane arrived that first day, things would not have gone well for either of them.
Olivia knew it was a risk sleeping with Castell while knowing Lane would be working for him a few days later, but what could she do? She couldn't keep hiding or denying herself the things she wanted so that Lane would be comfortable. She was tired. Tired of holding back, tired of being locked away, tired of it all.
She wanted Castell, wanted the things he did to her, wanted to feel wanted by him. He was like a fucking drug that ripped through her veins making it hard for her to not need another hit. And she needed one, badly.
***
Castell
In Hong Kong…
Castell sat in his hotel room trying to figure out how to move seven girls from one location to another without his father catching wind. He hoped the distraction he created by claiming one of the girls escaped, would be enough to keep the old man busy while he moved them to the safe house in Montana, and so far, it was proving to be working.
After searching for weeks he’d found one of the women from his list in a brothel here in Hong Kong. She was strung out, badly beaten, and mentally broken, and it was all his fault. He couldn’t think of a rational way to save her, so he reacted by throwing the cigarette he had been smoking at one of the thick red curtains, instantly setting the place ablaze.
There was so much wrong he had to correct, that he was practically drowning in shame for sitting by and watching it happen in the first place. All those years spent hurting innocent people, he now had to atone for. His list had fifty names on it. Fifty names of young girls who had gone missing because of him and his father. They had been sold. Scattered all over the world, some probably dead, others like the one he found last night, empty, broken, gone. He was a monster, living in a world built on dead bodies and greed.
He took a deep breath and got out of bed. It was frustrating pretending to be two people, especially when one of them was the worst kind of person. It was a constant battle remembering the line between right and wrong when you were expected to be on the wrong side all the time.
Grabbing his phone off the bedside table he found a message from his father, practically highlighting what a fuck up he was for losing the girl, and that Sylas was on it. He was glad his distraction had worked, as well as having the old man preoccupied running his company while he looked for the rest of his list.
About to head for the bathroom when the phone started ringing in his hands, he glanced at the unknown number. Three rings later he answered, “Castell.”
“Well, if it isn’t the guy who drives a girl crazy with his dick and then disappears.”
He chuckled, loving that even in his piss poor mood she could find a way to make him laugh. “Olivia, what a nice surprise. I thought you were the one with the crazy disappearing skills.” He admitted to being pissed that morning after waking up and finding her gone. She left nothing behind and he had no way of finding her. Even searching her name had left him empty handed, because he didn't know her last name.
“I do have skills don't I.”
“Just full of surprises. Speaking of which, how did you get my number?"
“Another trusty trick of mine, but I can't reveal my secrets. And I'm pretty sure if you wanted to find me, you could find a way.”
“I could, but I've been too distracted to place all my efforts into searching for my mystery woman.” He had been too busy with running his actual business, and then with his extracurricular activities, there just wasn't enough hours in the day. "But I'm glad that you found me."
"Really, and why is that?"
He smirked into the phone. "We have unfinished business."
“So, you were staring at your phone like a little bitch waiting for my call then?”
He barked out a laugh. “Anyone ever tell you that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble?”
“Like it hasn’t already, or did you forget how hard you fucked and refused to let me come the last time I mouthed off to you.”
“Looks like I’m going to have to do it again since you didn’t learn your lesson the first time,” he said glowering into the phone. She knew that word would get on his nerves, yet she bated him, and he liked nothing more than dishing out punishments.
“Oh, don’t pop a blood vessel hot shot it’s just a word.”
“One you’re going to regret saying when I get back. So, what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I thought you ought to know I’m alive and well and since I did use my superhuman skills to acquire your number, figured I’d put it to good use and give you a call.”
He stood in front of the large window gazing out at the vast city of Hong Kong. “So, in other words you were thinking about me and wanted to know if I was thinking about you?”
Her voice went an octave higher. “What? I never said that…so stop twisting my words.” He could see through her tough girl facade, and he wanted to break her.
“You know…you don’t have to be so tough all the time, granted it turns me on a lot I don’t mind you having a soft side.”
“I don’t,” she said adamantly.
He chuckled again. “Okay… And I have thought about you by the way.”
He could tell she was smiling before she caught herself and cleared her throat. “Good for you.”
It was then his phone beeped with an incoming message from Chrissy, as she was on her way over. “Listen, I have to go, I have a breakfast meeting in ten minutes and if I stay on the phone with you any longer this bulge in my pants is going to become awfully hard to explain to a room full of Japanese men.”
She let out a small laugh. “What time is it wherever you are right now?”
“I�
��m in Hong Kong and it’s seven AM. I’m coming back into town next week for one night, can we meet up?” He desperately wanted to see her again and hoped she’d say yes.
“I don’t know if I can. I might be busy on that night,” she lied, which made him smile.
“You don’t even know what night it is?”
“I’m busy every night.”
“Okay. Well if you become un-busy on Thursday at eleven meet me at the hotel, same room. The number for the elevator is 2690 let yourself in. I’ll be waiting. Just in case.”
“Okay, but there’s no promises I might not be busy.”
“Like I said, none what so ever. Talk to you later, Sweetheart.”
Fourteen
Lane’s screams could be heard a mile away as she ran down the empty beach with Cole not too far behind. Finally grabbing her waist, he plummeted her to the sand in a fit of laughter while she twisted and turned, trying to escape the relentless movements of his hands when they moved over her most ticklish spots. Lane couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much, and by the hands of another no less. It was strange how comfortably happy Cole made her feel, and he didn’t have to try very hard.
He held her arms above her head with one arm and said, “say I’m amazing and you love me, Lanie?”
She laughed unable to control it, because he continued tickling her side near her hip bone. She tried pushing up, but he was much heavier and held on tighter willing her to stay in place. “Stop…I …I cave.”
“Say it…come on.”
“No.”
“No? I guess you like this torture,” he said playfully grinning from ear to ear.
“Okay…okay you’re amazing…and I love you.”
His hands stopped as he pushed himself up on his knees. “See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?”
“For you maybe,” she said trying to catch her breath. She pushed up on her elbows and looked at his beatific face. “Just wait till I get a hold of you.”