True Control 4.1: A Dark Romance (True Series)

by Madison, Willow

  Chapter 11 HER

  He pushes me back and I don’t resist. “All the fight gone out of you already?”

  I shake my head, but I don’t resist when he pulls my dress up and puts his hand between my legs. He stops and I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting to be hit again.

  Instead he stands and pulls my legs roughly apart to stand between them. He pulls my dress up and yanks it over my head, my arms trapped in it. I can’t hardly see through the film, but I stay still.

  I hear him spit and just make out that it’s into his hand. He puts this to my pussy. And drops both his hands to the sides of my head. The bed bounces and his face comes close to mine, the dress a welcome barrier now. He enters me hard. I’m still raw from before, but I don’t cry out. I’m oddly calm. Max’s voice keeps telling me I have to stay calm, think.

  He doesn’t take long, grunting into me again, calling bitch and whore. He makes me say I like it. When he stands, I start to move the dress down, but he growls at me to leave it. I don’t know where he is. Still in the room? I can’t really see between the dress and the low light.

  I hear his breathing above me and feel him pressed between my legs again. Oh, God. Not again. He can’t be hard again already!

  I hear the rip before I feel it. The dress is pulled and giving way in front of me. The shiny knife again. He pulls my arms away from my chest roughly and cuts the ropes.

  Stepping back. “Get that off.” I sit up, moving my arms and hands to get the ropes to fall. The skin burns in the air. I don’t stand, but push my dress and bra off my shoulders; he’d cut them in half already. I hiss at the belt marks and try to be gentle.

  I move my head, so my curls cover most of my chest.

  “Lay back down.” And I do.

  He’s right. I’m a well-trained puppy when it comes to taking orders. My eyes fill with tears. The left burns.

  I can’t believe I’m here. Like this. Naked before this man. Lost. Raped. I can hardly think the word. I hear Max’s voice. Hear him telling me to stay calm, to not cry. To hold on. But my body screams louder. The pain between my legs outshouts anything in my head.

  I press my knees together. I shake with unshed tears and unvoiced screams. My hands shake with unyielded anger. With unyielding fear.

  He’s hurt me so far. But he obviously intends to keep me…to keep doing this to me. I have to breathe hard to not throw up. I’ll be okay. Max will find me. I know he tracks my phone, my calls. He’ll know I’m missing long ago. He’s already looking for me. Max. I can’t help myself, I shake with silent tears at thinking of him.

  I can’t picture him finding me here…like this. I turn my head and try to hide under my hair, covering myself with my hands as best as I can.

  Chapter 12 HIM

  “I…I don’t know.” Jake shrugs and shakes his head. “Maybe. I don’t know where she would’ve gone though.”

  He may think he knows my wife. She may even have confided in him. She’s too trusting in people. But I know Lucy. I square my shoulders. “Lucy wouldn’t have left me. She had that choice once. She knows her place is here with me.”

  I can’t see his face, but Dad nods once. Jake just looks down.

  I know my wife. She may have felt that it’s okay to talk to Jake since he’s my brother. But she would never dare to leave me. She would never dream of stepping out that door without my knowledge. I gave her the choice once to leave or stay. With that first slap, I gave her the only choice she would ever have. And she made it then. She stayed. She does know that she belongs here, with me.

  It’s Dad who finally breaks the silence again. “Jake. Not a word to the police about Lucy’s fears. That won’t help to get her back.” He turns to me, “And I think you’ve given them enough information about how your marriage works. You want them to eliminate you as a suspect and concentrate on who really has her…then you need to swallow your pride.”

  I nod. He’s right.

  “Take a shower. I’m going to arrange a car for your Mom. She’ll want to be here when Lucy’s parents get in.” He turns to Jake. “Why don’t you get some sleep in the guest room for now.”

  And we both move to do what he says. No arguments.

  Chapter 12 HER

  I still my tears, breathing deeply, again listening to Max’s voice in my head. I have to turn my head to see what he’s doing. He has something metal in his hand when he returns to the bed, but I can’t figure out what it is. A small broken chain?

  “I used this on Bitch when she was small.” His eyes twinkle in the light. He’s so happy with himself again. His own biggest fan. He almost looks nice, like someone I’d see…where?

  I’m too drained to think anymore, Max. Just let me sleep. And despite my fear, despite my brain racing to figure out what is happening, who he is, where I am…I close my eye. I close off my brain from the pain and fear.

  I don’t even open it when I feel cold metal on my neck. I don’t open it when I feel him shove me further onto the bed. Or when he puts more rope around my wrists.

  I allow myself the one escape I can…I sleep.

  Chapter 13 HIM

  I open the door and Lucy’s Mom is immediately hugging me. I hug her back and look into her Dad’s eyes. They look as bloodshot as mine. No one’s slept.

  Her brother, PJ, brings in their bags and sets them in the hallway. I shake his hand. I haven’t seen him since the birth of his son. His wife, Cathy, stayed home with their kids.

  I lead them down the hall and into the dining area. Mom has a full spread of food out all ready. She’s been buzzing around here getting everything back in order and cleaned. She needs to stay busy to keep from crying more. Dad told her not to in front of me again.

  But the moment she hugs Liz, they’re both crying. I turn towards the kitchen. I can’t stand hearing it. It rips at my own tears, the ones I’ve kept bottled in the pit of my stomach so far.

  I hear Dad warn Mom, “That’s enough, Alex.”

  I get another cup of coffee and walk back in. Mom is sniffling. Liz is burying her face in Paul’s chest, but she stopped crying too.

  I fill them in with what’s happened since they landed. “The tech just left here. They’re monitoring all calls and messages to my phones – here, my offices, cell. So far, nothing. But they believe that this might be a ransom demand…” I’d pay anything to get Lucy back. Then I’d hunt down whoever had her and kill them. This thought calms me. “No one used her credit cards. They were tossed with her phone and purse. No prints on anything.” Dad has been pushing every contact he has to get everything sped up on the investigation.

  “So they think she was kidnapped on the street? In broad daylight?” Paul is choking this out. His face is red. So like my Lucy.

  “Yes. But they’re checking for any witnesses still. It’s Saturday now, so downtown is pretty quiet. They know the security guard in the lobby of her doctor’s building recognized her, but said he doesn’t remember seeing her yesterday. And no one from the doctor’s office saw her either.”

  I take a seat on my sofa. Paul moves to sit in a chair opposite me. “So what’s next? What can we be doing?”

  “I’m giving the police my full cooperation. I have a private investigator our firm uses too. He already has all the details. I won’t leave anything to chance, Paul.” He nods. “For now, the police have asked for a list of anyone who might’ve wanted to harm Lucy. If you can think of anyone, anything at all that will help…”

  Liz laughs sharply, an hysterical sound. “No one would want to harm Lucy! Everybody loved her!”

  Paul gets up and puts his arms around his wife again. “We know that, dear. But the police have to start looking somewhere.”

  Dad speaks up from his spot at the table. “Maybe she should lie down, Paul. Alex has the guest room ready.”

  Liz only shoots him a hard look. “I don’t need to lie down, Ron. I’m not a child!” She turns quickly though and walks down the hall to the bathroom, slamming the door behind herself.
<
br />   Paul gives an apologetic look and goes to follow her.

  PJ looks uncomfortable and takes a seat at the table finally. Mom hands him a plate. She needs to feel useful right now to someone. I know how she feels.

  Lucy’s Mom has been struggling with me since our wedding. She still likes me. But she doesn’t like that I’m in charge. Really she doesn’t like that she’s no longer in charge of her daughter.

  I let Lucy talk to her as much as she wants. Except when she’s grounded from using the phone. Three days after I beat Lucy that Wednesday night was the first time I had to tell Liz that Lucy couldn’t take her call. She yelled and threatened me. I stayed calm, but I eventually had to hang up on her.

  When Lucy was able to call her again, I listened while she explained that she was fine with me punishing her like this. I was very proud of Lucy that day. She stuck up for us to her Mom. We’ve had a neutral truce since then.

  Thinking about Lucy. Remembering her voice, her smile, her. I feel even calmer. She can’t be lost to me. I will find her. She belongs to me, with me. I have to keep faith in that.

  I’m jolted out of my thoughts by the phone. Everyone looks to me. Liz and Paul quickly come back into the room as I grab the phone. It’s only the lobby downstairs. Killaney’s back.

  Chapter 13 HER

  I wake with one thought. Max doesn’t snore.

  I lift my head and two pains fight for dominance. The left side of my head and my neck. My head wins, I stop moving. I swallow, but something metal pokes at my throat.

  I slowly open my eye. My left still won’t budge. Light is just starting to come through the window. I try to lift my hands to my throat, but this burns my wrists more.

  I’m tied again. I slowly move my head, not lifting it. I can see him next to me. Snoring. In bed.

  Don’t think about that. I was raped! He raped me, Max! How am I supposed to not think about that?! I’m losing it. I need to breathe. Whatever’s on my neck makes it difficult to get deep breaths, but I calm down. I close my eye for a moment. Breathe.

  I open my eye again and see that he has two ropes in his hand. One I can see leads to my wrists. The other trails across me body, up to my neck. A collar. I have a collar on?! Oh God.

  Don’t panic! I obey Max’s sharp tone. I always do. I swallow rapidly several times despite the strain on my throat.

  I slowly move my wrists towards him. Who is he, Lucy? I shake my head slightly. I don’t know. I gently pull the ropes from his loose fingers. Don’t wake him. He doesn’t move. More snores.

  I have the rope ends in my hand. I almost laugh, giddy with freedom. I feel lightheaded for a moment.

  I slowly. Oh so slowly. Move my legs towards the edge of the bed. I want to jump up. I want to run. But I go slow, just like Max is telling me to do. My head shakes with his commanding voice.

  I stop. I can’t see him anymore; I’ve turned away, but I can still hear him snoring. Good.

  Another inch. My left toes are on the floor and I push my upper body gently up with my burning wrists. My head swoons.

  But it’s the low growl that makes my stomach leap.

  I look down and a foot away. I can just make out what looks like a pile of black clothes on the dark carpet. But the pile is growling. And I can see white teeth. A lot of white teeth staring back at me.

  He stirs behind me and I’m trapped between him and this beast. I’m yanked back onto his body by his hand in my hair.

  “Morning.” His smile is full of the same white teeth. Too many of them. I hear a high scream. Mine. I strangle it, shaking, too afraid to give him anything. Even my scream.

  He laughs. “I see you met my other bitch.” At this the dog jumps up on the bed. I don’t turn my head.

  I can smell the same hair I choked down yesterday. I can smell its breath. I can hear its panting.

  He pets the dog and me at the same time. I can see the shine of the dog’s teeth, inches from me. Her ears are back and she still growls low while licking his hand.

  I cower against him for protection, keeping his arm between my face and the beast. He laughs and continues petting me the same way. I’d like to bite his hand; I’d like to have her teeth for weapons!

  Chapter 14 HIM

  Killaney introduces me to the media liaison, Eve. She’s young, pretty, a face you’d want to see on TV. She smiles a lot at me and puts her hand on my arm like we know each other already. I move away to sit on the sofa again. Killaney introduces himself to everybody else, taking names down on his notes again.

  Liz doesn’t wait for Killaney to finish writing, “What can you tell us?! Have you found anything that will help?” Her voice is unnaturally high and Paul squeezes her arms again. She pushes off him though and walks closer to the detective. I can see Paul’s patient and frustrated response. He’s never been in control in his marriage.

  “No, Ma’am. We’re still looking, though. We have a canine unit now on the street and we’re canvassing the area around where her purse was found.” He gently pats her arm and says slowly, “We’re doing everything we can.”

  She only nods and takes the seat next to PJ at the table.

  Killaney turns back to me. Dad walks to stand next to him. “So, Max. Do you have that list for us?”

  I hand him a piece of paper. It’s not long, a few employees I’ve had to fire recently. A disgruntled client or two. A few more defendants. No one I can think of who would do something like this though. He glances at it. “We’ll go through these today. Anyone else…anyone who might have been jealous of you or your wife? Of your money?” He looks around the apartment. It’s not opulent, but I obviously have money. “Anyone who would be jealous of your fame?” I’m not famous, but I’m well known in certain social circles. It’s the price of being involved with popular bars and restaurants. Everyone’s asking favors. But no one would do this.

  “No.” I shake my head, putting my head in my hands, rubbing my hair back again. I’ve given this same list to my investigator.

  “Any ex-girlfriends or boyfriends on here?”

  “No.” I clench my jaw thinking about Lucy’s ex-boyfriends. There weren’t many, but I have my investigator looking into any in the area too.

  Killaney turns to Jake. He’s been staying out of my sight, standing near the wall of windows. “Anyone you can think of?”

  Liz looks surprised that Killaney would ask my brother this. So, she didn’t know about their friendship either…Lucy really kept it a secret from everyone. I look at my brother. His face is neutral again.

  “No. I…I don’t think anyone who ever met Lucy would want to hurt her.” Jake doesn’t meet my glare.

  Liz nods and starts to cry into a napkin. Mom turns to walk out the room with a nod from Dad.

  Killaney gestures to Eve and she moves to stand in front of me. “I’d like to get you ready for an announcement for the press, Max.” I know they’ve been mobbing downstairs. “We’ll keep it short, no questions.” I nod at her.

  She appraises me. “This message is very important, Max. This could be what brings your wife home.” I nod again and don’t shake off her hand on my shoulder. I’ve always hated when women get too familiar too quickly. She’s probably easy to get in bed too.

  “What am I supposed to say?” I know what I want to say. I want to promise whoever has my Lucy that I’ll kill them when I find them.

  “We’ll run the photos and details we have before and after your announcement. But I’d like you to hold this one up.” She hands me a glossy enlarged image of Lucy. It’s one I took on our honeymoon. She’s smiling and a breeze has her curls floating on the air. Rome is blurred in the background. I remember her laughter with that picture.

  Seeing her smile now, I have to stop from crying by clenching my fist against my leg. I can’t lose it.

  “You’ll need to say that she’s been missing since yesterday. That…” She pauses and looks at Killaney who nods at her, “That she may be pregnant and in need of medical care. Say a few things
about her, what you love about her. The more you can say to make her real for anyone watching, the better.” Her voice is annoying. Too friendly, too happy, too fake concerned and trying for consoling.

  She waits until I nod to continue, “This part is very important, Max.” I look up at her. She smiles at me again. I want to hit her. To knock the smile off her face. I want to hit something anyway. I smile back. “You need to stay calm on camera if you can. Tears are fine. But no anger.” I could choke her. I only nod.

  “We’ll go downstairs to meet the press in ten minutes. Why don’t you wash up a little? No shaving though…it’ll look better on camera.” She turns to where Liz and Paul are sitting. She doesn’t see the clenching of my jaw or the shaking of my fist on my leg. “And I think we’ll have her parents stand just to your side.” Liz frowns angrily at the appraising look Eve gives her. “But you won’t say anything…not this time anyway.”

  I groan thinking that there will be more of this. Being on camera. Begging someone to give me my wife back. Begging someone to call with information. Begging.

  Dad squeezes my shoulder. The barely hidden anger on his face echoes my own.

  Chapter 14 HER

  “Get down, Bitch.” And for a second, I’m confused if he means me. But he doesn’t let go of my head.

  The large black dog gets off the bed immediately. Well-trained too, huh?

  I try to stay calm as his hand moves from my hair to my neck, just below the collar. He twists my head around to his. I can see his hard on. I press my legs together again. I’m still hurting from yesterday. I fight back the tears.

  “I…I need the bathroom…please?” He grins at this. He likes being in control. My mind runs from this thought. I always liked Max in control. I can’t compare being here, under this man’s control now. I stop anymore thoughts of Max.

  He gets up, but keeps his hand squeezing the back of my neck, pulling me with him. He pushes me towards a door and shoves me in, turning on the light. I stand facing him, trying to hide behind my hair.