Young, Allyson - Broken [Running to Love 2] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Allyson Young

  Kyle had widened her horizons, and she had come to love and trust him, and not just for insane pleasure through total submission. She trusted him with her very heart and soul, and he had let her down. In a spectacular fashion. He had taped her submission, used her as he had all those other women. To teach other men how to entrap and use gullible women. She was no different. It was all a lie. Everyone lied. Everything, all that she had worked out and dealt with because of Kyle, was back in her, poisoning her heart and soul. And she knew she could never get over it again, never take that chance. She was dying inside.

  Tabitha pushed the limo door open and nearly fell out onto the curb. She hung over the gutter and retched, despite her now empty stomach. Thomas rushed around to help her, but she motioned him away.

  Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand in a childlike motion that reflected her crushed spirit, Tabitha said, “I’m going to catch a cab, Thomas. Mr. Stone will be out shortly.”

  Thomas protested and tried to help her back into the car, but Tabitha pulled back and walked away from him. She stepped to the curb in front of the limo and waved at the line of cabs waiting in front of the nightclub across the street. One flashed its lights and pulled out to make a U-turn and stop in front of her. Tabitha climbed inside and asked the driver to take her to an address that popped into her head from a time that seemed far, far away.

  * * * *

  Kyle strode to the door, mulling over the images Andrew had shown him on the Club computer. It had clearly been hacked, but more disturbing was the amount of information imported from his home computer and that of Andrew’s. Even as they scrolled through the folders, items were being deleted by another, unseen hand. Kyle told Andrew he’d meet him the following morning after their tech support guy worked on this overnight. This was a serious breach of privacy and could cost them dearly if anyone sued, not to mention the impact on the confidentiality policy of Unleashed. It was a total clusterfuck, and Kyle’s instincts were on full alert.

  Thomas met him at the door, blustering about how Miss Tabitha had gotten sick and then taken herself off somewhere. The man’s face was white and his eyes full of anxiety. Kyle established that Tabitha had taken a cab and patted the man on the shoulder.

  “She probably just needed to get home, Thomas,” he reassured his driver who had been loyal and dependable for so many years. “She wasn’t feeling well.”

  He didn’t show the man how he was feeling. His gut told him that Tabi had run, and she really didn’t have anything to run to, so her impulsive action was both out of character and unsafe. His dominance swelled as he fought with both worry and the need to punish her for not waiting for him. This was not an insurmountable issue, he told himself, as he pulled his cell out and called home. There was no answer, but there really hadn’t been time for her to get there yet. He tried her cell, but it went to voicemail. Tabitha rarely carried her phone now or remembered to turn it on, so that was nothing new and an issue that until tonight wasn’t a big deal. Tabi saw phones as a luxury and not something she was a slave to, whereas Kyle wanted to be able to reach her anytime she wasn’t with him, as rare as that was.

  * * * *

  Tabitha paid the cabbie with most of the cash she had in her purse and exited the cab. As soon as she really looked at the house in the dim light from the street, she spoke back over her shoulder. “Wait.”

  She got back into the cab and directed the driver to the nearest bank ATM. Her house wasn’t a place she could return to, having finally fallen into a state of disrepair over the years. She had paid the taxes but didn’t do any maintenance, trusting to the high fence to keep children and vagrants from entering and getting hurt. She wouldn’t let Kyle pay for anything involving the house, and while she felt she couldn’t live there, Tabitha couldn’t bring herself to sell it, the place holding the few precious happy moments of her childhood when allowed to visit her grandmother. But that would have to change, now that she had no visible means of support, and while not insubstantial, her savings wouldn’t last forever. A job would be the answer, but Kyle would probably have a quiet chat with any prospective employers to block her from doing so. Tabitha was under no illusion that Kyle would expect her to return home where he would make this thing go away. If only he could. She had made her recent living on her back, on her knees, and in a variety of other positions, she supposed, and that made her little more than a whore when one took away the emotional connection. Because if he really cared for her, he wouldn’t have allowed anyone else see her let go of her pain, show something that was so intimate and personal. To be fair, he had never said he loved her, and there was no love without trust. Stupid her. Kyle could have replaced her, and she wouldn’t have seen that coming either. What did that say about her that she actually thought she had the wherewithal to know when to trust?

  When the cab pulled up to the ATM, Tabitha withdrew the daily maximum and was reassured when she saw her balance. She had never touched the account since being with Kyle, and it was a wonder her bank card still remained in her wallet along with her driver’s licence. She had sufficient funds for the interim and would have considerably more when she sold her house, and if that real estate agent who had hounded her in the past was correct, that could take a matter of days. Her grandmother’s home sat on prime ground coveted by some local building mogul. He was going to pay through the nose, Tabitha vowed. She needed the money in the worst way now, and her heart bled as she visualised the wrecking ball destroying the house to make way for yet another monstrosity of an apartment building for the up-and-coming generation. Through all of her clinical planning, Tabitha was aware of a bubble of hysteria straining to escape and renewed her efforts to suppress it.

  Tabitha let the cab go after paying the driver once again, and crossed the street at the first break in traffic. The hotel was pricey but handy, and she wanted to meet with the real estate agent from a position of strength. She’d be provided with necessities like a toothbrush and comb when she told them she’d decided to stay in the city overnight on a whim, and she could wear the clothes she had on for any meeting she held, knowing she looked rich and self-assured in them. The hotel robe would be suitable for the room, and room service would take care of meals, so she wouldn’t have to leave until her business was done. Battlefield planning didn’t allow for emotion or distractions.

  The reception desk staff welcomed her, accepting the lack of luggage without so much as a raised eyebrow, and showed her to a well-appointed suite after typing a memorized credit card into their system. She had prettily apologized for the lack of plastic, suggesting that her husband had not seen the need for her to carry her usual huge purse on a night out! The female clerk had rolled her eyes in commiseration.

  Tabitha carefully removed her clothing and hung up her dress and coat, stuffing the dry cleaning bags supplied by the hotel into her shoes. The lingerie went into the sink, to be rinsed with the complimentary shampoo then rolled in a towel and hung to dry. Tabitha slipped the terry robe on and went to the phone on the bedside table, pulling off her jewellery as she went. The diamond collar had to stay, locked as it was at the nape of her neck. Tabitha resolutely pulled her thoughts from that direction of travel and focused on placing the other jewellery in the top drawer of the nightstand. They were gifts from Kyle, and she decided to courier them to his office when she left. She called down to the front desk and asked for a care package to be sent up, waiting by the door for it to be delivered, which it was, in short order.

  Taking the hygiene items into the bathroom with her, Tabitha closed and locked the door, even though the door to the suite was double locked. She ran the shower and dropped the robe to the floor, stepping into the stream of hot water. She closed her eyes against the flow and sagged into the tile wall. Tears flowed, and she sobbed into her hands, the water washing away the salt and masking the sound. After a time, she shampooed and conditioned her hair and washed her body, taking comfort in the familiar motions. She shut her mind to the memory of Kyle perform
ing those very ablutions for her. Tabitha stepped out onto the bath mat and wrapped herself in a towel. She vigorously towel-dried her hair, leaving the mirror steamed over so she didn’t have to see herself. She hung the towels up and slipped back into the robe, pulling its folds tightly around her and tied the belt. Slow and steady, plan every step, don’t think. She searched through the care package and unearthed a small package of painkillers and took them into the living room of the suite. A fridge concealed under a granite counter in the corner produced a small bottle of vodka, and Tabitha washed four painkillers down with it.

  She returned to the bedroom, snapping off lights as she went, and turned back the covers on the bed, now moving with robotic intent, exhausted from not thinking. She called the front desk and asked for a wake-up call, instructing that no other calls were to be put through to her room until then. Shedding the robe, Tabitha crawled into bed and pulled the sheet and duvet up to her ears, closing her eyes and waiting for the booze and pain relievers to interact and drop her into oblivion, keeping her mind empty and blank. She felt so alone and so cold.

  Chapter Seven

  Kyle went over to the cab queue and found out the name of the company. No one noticed who had picked up the fare across the street, although several drivers had seen the tall, slender woman waving for pick up. Kyle called home again with no result and kept trying Tabi’s cell. He cursed and paced, then placed a call to the cab company. The dispatcher told him he wouldn’t release that kind of information unless it was at the request of the police. Kyle called a contact in the local detachment and had the name of the driver in an hour. Unfortunately, the man was off duty, and dispatch thought he had headed out to his favorite fishing spot to get an early start the following day. He wasn’t expected back until the day after next. Kyle wasn’t prepared to wait and ascertained that the cabbie had a few friends still working that night, and tracked them down. He got some vague directions to the famous fishing hole, with dire consequences implied if he divulged them to anyone else. Thomas got him on the road in the SUV after a quick change of clothes, and after some backtracking and requests of the locals for directions, Kyle found the cabbie’s car. The sun had just come up, and he could see a boat floating near the center of the lake, a lone figure silhouetted against the blaze of color in the east.

  Kyle waved and shouted, careless of decorum and his famed control. He had thought of nothing but frightening scenes and terrifying outcomes since he walked out the door of Unleashed and found Thomas agitated, his Tabi-cat missing. Only his will to find her kept his focus. The figure in the boat looked his way, and the outboard motor flared to life. It took an age for the boat to get to the dock where Kyle waited to grab the rope. The cabbie was suspicious but quickly lulled by Kyle’s obvious concern and the proffered cash. He told Kyle about the aborted drop-off and how Tabitha had gone to the ATM. He hadn’t seen where she went after he was paid as he had called in to book off.

  “I think that lady was mighty sad, fellow,” he offered. “Hope you wasn’t the cause of that.”

  Kyle controlled his face only by considerable effort. “I plan to make things right, my friend, I assure you.”

  And whip her fine ass, too. Christ, she had led him on a chase, and he still didn’t know if she was somewhere safe. Kyle knew her resources to the penny. He knew and controlled all aspects of her life. When he caught up with her, and he would…Action was the only alternative right now, and he bent his considerable will and energy to make it so.

  * * * *

  Tabitha woke prior to the wake-up call and called down to cancel it. Her sleep had been deep but hardly dreamless, and again she shut off those thoughts of Kyle and concentrated on her plan for the day. She took a quick trip to the bathroom, never looking in the mirror, washed her hands, and went back to the phone. She reached Karen Shust, the real estate agent, after a quick glance through the yellow pages. Karen nearly came through the phone in her excitement. Tabitha explained that she was moving out of the country and had decided that leaving the house to fall into decay wasn’t in anyone’s best interest so thought she would sell it. She added that it had been an afterthought, left to the last minute, and if Karen thought it wasn’t enough notice, she would call someone else or wait until she returned. Karen insisted she could meet that afternoon, and Tabitha told her she could see her at the hotel, the jumping off point for a flight in two days. They set a time.

  Tabitha disconnected and immediately dialed her bank, asking for the manager. Mr. Williams came on the line, bursting with pleasantries for the woman of the holder of one of his largest accounts. He was somewhat taken aback at her request but agreed to have her file pulled out for her and have the mortgage papers copied, certified, and couriered to the hotel. Tabitha cited pressing engagements and an impulsive, out-of-country shopping tour being planned with friends, banking on the chatter from the television she had turned up in the living room to convince him of the veracity of her tale. She warmly thanked him and, as she hung up to avoid further conversation, called out cheerfully to her “friends” as she did so.

  She lay on the bed, considering her next step, and searched for the number to the city and land titles offices. She was able to convince both departments of her identity by providing her social security and driver’s licence numbers as well as her date of birth and mother’s maiden name. The bureaucrats were only too happy to oblige a poor handicapped woman by couriering over the documents to the address she provided. Neither tumbled to the thought that the downtown address might not be residential. Tabitha then ordered room service, asking for a pot of coffee, fruit, and dry toast. She hoped her stomach would handle it because no matter how busy she kept her brain, her body was remembering Kyle and screaming for her to pay attention. She called back and asked for tea instead. While waiting for the food, Tabitha mentally worked out her agenda for the afternoon, using her detail-oriented self, the one that had kept her life and her under control in the past, before Kyle. God, she so wasn’t going there. She forced her thoughts back to the sale of the house, reviewing possible scenarios then getting up to cross to the desk and make a few notes.

  Room service interrupted her, so she nibbled and drank as she completed the task, only then retreating to the bathroom to shower again and prepare for the upcoming meeting.

  * * * *

  Kyle stared at the footage from the ATM in the company of his police contact. He knew he had abused the helpful nature of the man but was rewarded with his Tabi-cat’s face, intent on her transaction. She looked shell-shocked, and it tore at his heart. The picture lasted long enough for him to see her approach the cab and then move off. Cursing, he slammed his hand on the desk.

  “She could have gone anywhere!” he growled. “Anywhere.”

  The detective shrugged. “She didn’t have enough cash to stay just anywhere, Kyle, so let’s start a few blocks out with the mom-and-pop places. We’ll flash her picture and my shield and see what turns up.”

  Kyle stared at him. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Devon. I need to find her.”

  Devon grimaced. “I was in the same place just a few short months ago, buddy, and I don’t envy you. Jeff and I nearly went insane.”

  Kyle had a vague memory of Devon’s wife, well, Devon and Jeff’s wife going AWOL after an incident at a sister club of Unleashed’s. He thought it had taken months to find Alexandra, he thought that was her name, and couldn’t stand to think about that happening to him.

  “Just a thought, Kyle, but you might want to review your lifestyle a bit and be prepared to grovel and take ownership of some shit,” Devon cautioned. “We sure did, and I may sound pussy whipped, but we have a happy home. Nothing could be better. Until Alex has the baby next month that is.”

  “Congrats,” Kyle murmured, but he really wasn’t listening. He wanted action, and they filed out the door of the bank.

  * * * *

  Tabitha finally faced the mirror, using the blow dryer to finish off her hair before pulling the c
omb through it. She dug in her purse for a compact and touched up her skin, adding a hint of lipstick and mascara. She studied herself and thought she passed. Objectively, she studied her body. The breasts were still full and high, the dark red nipples prominent. The waist was trim, the abdomen taut. She twisted to look at the buttocks, which were smooth and rounded, free of any marks despite Kyle’s attentions a few nights before. Stop thinking! For some reason there hadn’t been a razor included in the package the hotel supplied, but her armpits and legs were still stubble free, and it didn’t matter about her mound. That would soon grow out, and she’d have the itching to remind her of her stupidity. Then her brain flirted with the memory of what had happened the night before, and Tabitha cursed quietly, moving away from her reflection to lift her dry lingerie from the rack. She donned them swiftly, smoothing the stockings up her legs, securing them with the garters, and then hooking her bra. Kyle preferred that she didn’t wear panties, so she had none to put on. She didn’t look in the mirror but went to the closet and withdrew her dress, carefully pulling it over her head, smoothing out the odd wrinkle. She added the jewellery and risked a glance in the hall mirror. She was ready. She sat in the chair nearest the door, a few dollars in her hand, her notes nearby, the television off, absorbing the silence and allowing her soul to shrivel and die. Resolutely not thinking, just drifting. A knock at the door startled her, and she crossed to it.

  “Yes?”