* * *
As Jake drove his van to get closer, he kept his mind focused on the goal. Tara was so close to finally being his, he could taste it. And her ripe body told him everything he needed to know. She wanted him. Her tight, sweet pussy and firm breasts gave it all away. And soon she would see how much pleasure he could give a woman. He had an erection just thinking about it.
When he spotted the red camper van parked in the same place, he turned his lights off and parked a few feet away from where Reggie’s body lay in the snow. It was so close to the broken down camper too; it was perfect. He cautiously got out of his vehicle and approached it.
The closer he got, the more moaning he heard coming from them. He couldn’t waste time. Any more disruptions could ruin everything. Iron Horse park was mostly deserted, but it was still a place a few people—like this unlucky couple—would visit. He knocked on the driver side to draw them out. Their laughter and lovemaking sounds stopped, but no one came to answer. He knocked again, only this time a little harder.
Moments later, the man appeared. He popped his head between the driver and passenger seats to look out.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Hello sir. Do you have a car trouble? I might be able to assist you,” Jake said, hoping he sounded cool and casual, like he was only there to help.
“Yeah, but we’re fine. We’ll get a tow truck in the morning, kid. Thanks for the help, but we’re fine.”
The man disappeared in the back again. Jake was fuming, the way he dismissed him. He angrily knocked on the driver-side door again. The man returned, this time he passed between the front seats and glared at Jake.
“What the hell’s your problem, man?” he asked.
“I don’t think you want to turn down my generosity, Shane.” Jake pulled the gun out and pointed it at the man’s face.
The man’s eyes bulged as Jake pulled the door open.
“Get dressed and bring your woman out here.”
The woman peeped through the opening and shrieked when she saw the gun.
“Shut up! Both of you get dressed and come out now!”
He lean against the door as the pair nervously went to the back. Jake heard mumbling and only guessed they were planning their escape. It didn’t bother him, because he was ready for them if they tried anything. After several minutes, the door opened and the man and woman got out of the camper. He held her hand, keeping her close to him.
Jake didn’t need both of them…not now. He walked around them and stood behind them, gun to the man’s head.
“Walk…or I’ll shoot,” he whispered into his ear. “Then, I’ll turn the gun on your woman. Walk!”
The man and woman walked slowly forward, until they reached the back of his van.
“Stop!”
He kept the gun on them, as he moved around to the back of the van and opened up the back. He grabbed the duct tape from the back of the van and tossed it at the man. The man’s eyes looked down at it, but then he looked back at Jake.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked.
“Tie her up. Go on, wrap it around her wrists and ankles, and put some over her mouth,” he shouted, annoyance building.
“What? You’re crazy!” The man threw it down on the ground.
Jake put the gun to the woman’s head and glared at the man. “You don’t want to piss me off. Tie her up!” He reached down and grabbed the tape, tossing it back to the man.
The man hesitated, looking at Jake and then back to his wife. He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea.”
Tears were streaming down her face. “It’s okay, Shane.”
She held her wrists out. They shook as he wrapped them, her ankles and gingerly placed a piece over her mouth. He turned to Jake, handing the tape back. Jake ordered him to put her into the back of the van.
“I can’t…” he whispered.
“Do it!” Jake anxiously ordered.
They’d already wasted so much time. The woman was lifted into the van, with little struggle as Jake pointed the gun at her and waited for Shane to finish. He pulled him back from the van and slammed the door shut.
Shane fidgeted in that spot. “Why are you doing this? Is it for the money? You can have whatever I have. It’s not much, but−”
“Shut up!” Jake ordered. “This isn’t about money.”
He grabbed Shane’s arm and forced him to walk with him to the area where Reggie’s body was hidden. When they were close, he turned on the flashlight and Shane stopped. He glanced at Jake and his eyes widened as the glow of the flashlight illuminated his face.
“I know who you are. I saw your picture on the TV. You’re that guy! You’re from Forrest Hills. You’ve killed all those innocent people and now…” his voice faltered and his eyes scanned the gun. “We’re not going to get out of here alive. Are we?”
Jake stared him down. He had not thought past the task at hand. Chances were slim, but he couldn’t let his guard down. “You talk too damn much. Keep moving!”
Shane started to move, but then slowly turned around. “If we’re going to die anyway, why should I bother listening to you? I−”
Jake broke off his words, hitting him squarely in the jaw. It was enough to get his attention and still leave him alert enough to do what he needed done. “If you stop again, I’ll kill you and make your wife do what I need you to do.”
Shane stepped forward, remaining quiet as Jake directed him.
“I have a job for you to do and if you do everything I say, I’ll let you and your wife go.”
“Right,” Shane answered. “We’re as good as dead. I know how this works. I’ve watched enough movies. I do your dirty work and then you kill us, right? I’m not stupid.”
“Shut up.”
Jake laughed when he saw Shane’s reaction to Reggie’s dead, frozen body. The man’s leg’s buckled and he bent over and threw up. He held the gun on Shane, not wavering, in case it was an act to serve as some kind of distraction.
“Get a hold of yourself, Shane. Haven’t you seen a dead body before? I thought you’ve seen enough movies? Look. You’re going to help me dispose of this body.”
Shane looked away from the corpse to Jake’s face. “If I don’t?” he asked.
Jake glanced down at Reggie and then turned to the van. His eyes remained fixated on the van, as he said, “You know, for a man who talks so much, you’re fucking stupid. If you don’t, then this will go down as the ultimate worst winter camper trip, and neither you nor Chelsea will live to tell the story.”
Shane’s jaw dropped. “Okay man. I’ll do it. What do you need me to do?”
“Finally I get through that thick skull of yours. Because I really didn’t have all day to begin with.”
Jake waited anxiously, tapping his foot in urgency as Shane slung Reggie’s body over his shoulder. He wanted to get back to Tara, but this needed to be finished up first.
* * *
“We’re dumping the body here?” Shane asked him as they stared over the side of the mountain ledge.
It was so high up, Jake couldn’t see the bottom. No one would find Reggie until at least the spring. Jake nodded, glancing at him and then turning back to Reggie’s body.
“Do it now. You’ve wasted enough of my time.”
Shane quickly shook his head. “Once we do this…it’ll be over?”
It was originally the plan, but plans change. Jake shook his head. “I need you for one more job.”
The disgruntled look on Shane’s face didn’t surprise Jake. It’d been an hour since they’d put the woman in the back of the van.
“What job is that?” Shane asked in disgust.
“Shut up and finish this one.”
Jake walked back over to Reggie’s body. He picked up the arms, while Shane slowly approached and picked up the legs. He stared down at the body, like he was waiting for it to miraculously come back to life. Jake walked toward the edge of the mountain, with Shane lagging behind.
&nbs
p; “On the count of three.”
“Are you sure we can’t just bury it?” Shane asked.
Jake laughed. It was all he could do to get the job done without taking the gun and shooting Shane.
“I’ll count to three,” he said, again. “One…two…three…” with a rush, they swung the body and it fell down the side of the cliff.
Shane looked down, watching it fall.
“There…now that that’s finished.” He lifted the gun to Shane’s head. It was his security blanket. As long as he continued pointing it toward Shane, he wouldn’t do anything stupid, such as running for help. “Let’s go back to the van.”
They headed back to the van and stood at the back door.
“I’m here, Baby. Hang in there!” Shane said quietly.
Jake rolled his eyes and opened the back.
“What are you doing?”
“Get her out.”
“You’re leaving us here?”
“In a matter of speaking, yes I am.”
“It’s the middle of nowhere, man.”
“Get her out.”
Jake watched as Shane helped Chelsea out. He stood her up and held on as her ankles were still bound.
“Carry her over there.”
“Wait, I thought you said—”
“Carry her over there and I’ll have enough distance and time to make my getaway. Or do you want me to shoot you both right here where you stand?”
Shane did as he was told. He carried Chelsea to the edge of the cliff and placed her to sit on the ground.
“Now turn around. Count to a thousand and then you can start screaming for help.”
The man turned around. When he got to three, Jake had heard enough. He shot them both in the head and pushed their bodies over the ledge.
He shook his head. “Sorry lovebirds. I didn’t have much choice. I leave you two alone and the first chance you get, you’d run and tell the police what happened. Now I can finally get back to my Tara.”
* * *
Tara heard sounds coming from outside the cave and prayed it wasn’t Jake. She couldn’t believe her eyes when they appeared. They rushed up to her and one of the men peeled back the tape over her mouth.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this! You can’t know how happy I am that you guys found me. Please, untie me before he comes back and kills us all!”
“Are you alright?” It was Bruce and Brian, the twins who she and Kevin met when they had gone camping in the woods during the summer.
“I’m fine! Please, stop asking questions and just get me out of here! You have no idea who put me here, and he will be back anytime now. Come on, hurry! We can talk after we get away. Hurry!”
The men freed her from the ropes and tape. Before she left, she picked up her phone and hurried out the cave with them.
“We have to head north!” she said anxiously, still feeling the adrenalin pumping through her veins. She knew they weren’t safe until they got far away from there. “He’s gone the other way to hide Reggie. He shot Reggie when he tried to help me.”
“Calm down, Tara,” Brian said, rubbing her arms. “We have a faster way out than going north. Look. Trust me, okay. Follow us. We’ll get you to safety.”
As they led her east, Tara took out her phone and dialed 9-1-1 again.
“Hello this is 9-1-1 emergency. Police, fire, or ambulance?”
“Hello? This is Tara Matthews. I called before but couldn’t speak. Please send help...”
“Ma’am, yes I just pulled up your earlier call. Help is on the way. Are you still at the same location?”
“I just got help from some park scouts. They’re taking me to a safer place before Jake Crawford comes back.”
“Ma’am, I’ll need you to tell me the full names of the men who are taking you.”
“Brian, what’s your last name?”
“Robson is the English last name we go by. Brian and Bruce Robson. Here let me give her details on where we’re going.”
He took the phone and provided their full names, address, the phone number of each of their cell phones, so the police could track them, and even their driver license numbers to authenticate who they were. Tara let out a sigh of relief. She felt she was closer to escaping the nightmare.
Chapter 12
Tara couldn’t believe it was over. She sat in the back of a police van, covered in blankets as the officers talked to Brian and Bruce. She thanked heavens for Brian and Bruce. If it weren’t for them, she’d still be in the cave, or worse.
They had been on their way to pick up two park visitors for a winter hike, but the couple never showed up, so they went looking through the park trails. That’s how they found the cave, and Tara.
After a few minutes, one of the officers got into the driver seat to speak to her.
“How are you feeling, Ma’am?”
“Better,” she answered softly. “Have you caught him yet?”
“Our men are doing a grid search of the area. Not to worry, we’ll find him.”
“When can you take me home?”
“Officer Green and I will take you to the hospital first, to have you checked out. After that we’ll get your statement and take you home, alright?”
“Thank you. My phone died after I called 9-1-1. Can I use a phone to call my fiancé or my mother?”
“Yes use—” The officer was cut off mid-sentence, but the sound of a hail of gunfire in the distance. “Use this phone. Stay here. I’ll be back.”
Tara watched as he hurried out of the car to the other officer, and both men pulled out their radios to call and find out what was happened. As she was in the patrol car, she heard the car’s radio dispatch communications.
Shots fired! Shots fired, control, over.
Ten-four. Please confirm the officers’ status, seventy-two, over.
Control, perp is down, I repeat the perpetrator Crawford is down, over.
Seventy-two, please repeat your status, over.
Control, the perpetrator Crawford is down, vital signs absent, over.
Ten-four, seventy-two. Please report if your status changes over.
Tara wasn’t sure if she understood what they were saying, but she heard Crawford and felt they were talking about Jake. Brian came over to the car and leaned in from the driver side door.
“They got him, Tara,” he said. “He’s dead.”
Her body was so tense, it shook from the news. She could laugh and cry and scream at the same time. She let the waves of relief and grief wash over her as she tried to key in Kevin’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Kevin.”
“Tara! Where are you? Are you okay?”
She could barely speak. “I’m fine. Kevin?”
“Yes?”
“It’s over, honey. I’m so sorry. Jake is gone.”
“Baby, Jake was gone for a long time. I’m hurting like crazy, and I miss him. But now we have closure. Now we can all move on. Montana is waiting for us. I love you, Tara.”
“God, I love you so much, Kevin. I can’t wait to hold you again.”
“I’ll be right here waiting for you, baby. See you soon.”
The END
ROCKED – The Complete Series
(Billionaire’s Obsession)
Parts One to Six
Bella Wild and Bella Love-Wins
Rocked Part One
Prologue
“It’s a TKO!” The announcement boomed over the sound system, and the arena echoed with roars and boos from the audience.
The crowd went ape-shit. Fans of both fighters were on their feet in the stands, people clambering over one another to keep their eyes fixated on what had happened in the octagon.
“And Roxy Punisher is down!”
Somewhere in the nosebleed section, a fight broke out, fan against fan. The chaos forced part of the security team to head up there to break it up.
Back in the cage, the referee dropped to his knees beside Roxy�
�s limp body. He paused, his fingers clocking a weak pulse on her neck.
One second passed…then two…
The roar of the crowd began to die down. Their excitement quickly turned to horror as Roxy’s coach ripped the door off the cage and ran to her side. Another three seconds passed. He waved frantically to signal someone from the sidelines. A cluster of medical crew and staff entered the fray, armed with a stretcher and paramedic equipment.
The time wound down. The winner of the match was confirmed with a raise of her arm. It was Jessie Rage. Once Roxy went down, Jessie was escorted out of the cage. Her victory lap was cut short by the group of emergency staff and people from Roxy’s camp swarming around her body. She was unconscious, just lying there on the ground. The crowd was silent as the medics worked to get her seemingly lifeless body onto the stretcher. Roxy Punisher, rising MMA star, was carried away and out of the spotlight. She had unknowingly just had the last fight of her career.
There was another truth she didn’t yet know—the man in the second row, hidden by a baseball cap, could one day be her savior.
Chapter 1 - Amanda
“What a long, shitty day,” I said to no one in particular.
I sank down onto my favorite spot on the couch. I eased my shoulders back against the cushions, finally allowing myself to relax. I turned on the TV and listened, letting the chatter fill the room. For a moment, I closed my eyes and let my head rest on the back of the sofa. My neck was a mess. I turned left and right, gently stretching out the tension that had been building up over the course of the day.
The job hadn’t necessarily been difficult, just long. I had been one of fifteen other security guards at a fundraising luncheon for some senator I never heard of before. With this many guards, all I had to think about was my zone. No decision-making, no leading a team, no risk assessment. Today was just about putting my head down, keeping my game face on, and staying in do-my-job mode.
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