by Vivien Sparx
His own arousal sparked by Renee’s overtly sexual display, it was only the faint chime of the living room clock that suddenly broke the spell. Stefan blinked, then recoiled away from the bed, a knowing smile on his face.
“Cunning,” Stefan conceded, “but not clever enough. I’ve got to go.” He checked his watch.
Renee sat up, the suggestive temptation of her performance forgotten in an instant, her face now even more dejected.
“It’s six o’clock. I should be home before nine,” Stefan said. He leaned over the bed and kissed Renee on the forehead. She made one last futile attempt, clutching shamelessly for his crotch, but he skipped out of her range like a boxer and headed out the door towards the garage.
Sixteen.
Larry Madden heard the car reverse out of the garage and then accelerate away into the night.
“Stefan bloody big-shot,” he snarled, his voice a little loud and his words a little slurred from the alcohol. “Mister high and bloody mighty!”
The bottle in his hand was empty. He dropped it onto the sofa beside him.
“Tink!” he shouted. “Get out here, you lazy bitch!” he roared. “I want another beer, y’hear me?”
The girl came from her room, her footsteps light and nervous. She went to the kitchen and brought a beer to Larry, cold from the refrigerator. She approached him like a gazelle approaching a water-hole; her senses heightened, fearful and on edge. Larry snatched the beer from her hand, spilling some of its content over himself.
“Ruck me!” he shouted. He looked at Tink’s small pale face and saw the terror in her eyes as he raised his hand to strike her.
Tink cringed, and closed her eyes… but the blow never came. “Get out of my sight,” Larry hissed drunkenly at the girl.
No. It wasn’t her. Tink wasn’t the one he was angry at. It was Stefan bloody wonderful he was angry at. Stefan the cock-sure bastard. Stefan – the bastard who owed Larry his goddamned life! Stefan and his bloody precious bloody slut. Him and her. Him… and her….
Him…. and her….
Larry looked around the empty living room with narrow malicious eyes. Then he chuckled and licked his lips with the quick-darting tip of his tongue.
“I think it’s time for the bloody big hero to learn a lesson about loyalty,” Larry muttered. “Reckon he needs to know you always gotta pay your debts.”
He hauled himself up off the sofa and ran his hands through his hair. His head felt itchy. He scratched at a lump on his neck and looked around the room.
“Tink!” he shouted suddenly.
The girl re-appeared in the hallway, standing meekly out of his reach. He crooked his finger and she took tiny reluctant paces towards him.
“Listen to me,” Larry grabbed her around her throat. “You go to the room and you stay there. Close the door. You hear me? You stay there until I come for you,” he shook her threateningly. “Don’t matter what you hear – you stay in that room till I fetch you.”
Tink nodded and backed away. Larry watched her all the way until she went back into the bedroom and pushed the door closed behind her.
Larry bared his teeth. He fingered the swollen lump on his jaw where Stefan had knocked him down, and suddenly his mood turned vengeful and ugly. “Time mister bloody wonderful learned how dangerous I can be,” he said grimly, “and time I collected my payment.”
Seventeen.
Renee stepped into the en suite and regarded her reflection with honest appraising eyes. Was she pretty? Should she really be worried about Stefan falling in love with another woman?
She leaned closer to the mirror, turned her head slightly to one side, and pulled a pouting face. She ran a finger down her cheek; her skin felt soft and flawlessly smooth – but still she wondered…
Her bathrobe was still open and she looked at her body’s reflection dispassionately. Were her breasts still firm? Was she putting on a little weight perhaps? Maybe she needed to exercise more.
She reached for the hairdryer and turned it on. Her hairbrushes were in the top drawer of the vanity. She pulled open the drawer and found a comb. And when she straightened and looked in the mirror again, Larry Madden was standing behind her.
Renee yelped in fright and dropped the dryer. It smashed on the tiled floor.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” she demanded. She whirled to face Larry and backed away from him until she felt the edge of the basin against her legs. Her heart was racing, and her hands trembled as she tugged the bathrobe tight around her and fumbled with the corded belt.
Larry chuckled softly. He licked his lips and there was a dangerous look in his eyes. “I’ve come to collect from your boyfriend,” he said. “And you are the payment.”
Renee’s eyes widened. “No!”
“Yes!” Larry rasped forcefully, his anger and excitement making his breathing ragged. His hands were clenched into fists at his side. “I think it’s a fair price, especially since the way I’ve been teased.”
“Teased?” Renee gasped. “I haven’t –” she shook her head.
“The way Stefan’s been protecting you ain’t natural,” Larry shook his head slowly. “It ain’t right. You’re a piece of fluff. That’s all… so why ain’t he willing to give me a turn on you? What’s it matter to him, eh?”
As he spoke Larry very slowly closed the space between them. “Something wrong with me is there?” he asked. “It don’t make sense. I would have given him a ride on Tink… so what is it about you that’s so special?”
Renee kept her widening gaze on him as she edged away. She could smell his fetid breath and she cringed towards the corner of the room.
“You must be special for sure,” Larry grinned. “You must have something red hot. Reckon I’m gonna find out. See what all the fuss is about.”
He reached out for her and she swiped his hand away. He laughed. “I’m in no hurry,” he leered. “We’ve got time.” He rubbed his chin, the sound of his stubble crackling like static. His hand snapped out again, this time cobra-quick, and his fingers hooked into the knotted belt around her waist. He tugged and the loosely tied knot unraveled. Renee’s robe fell open and his eyes narrowed hungrily.
Renee’s breasts were everything he had imagined; full-sized and firm, with beautiful budded nipples. She gasped and tried to cover herself. Larry slapped her arm so hard that she felt the limb go numb from her elbow to her wrist.
Renee doubled over in pain and Larry lunged for her.
One hand went round her waist and the other smothered her mouth as he spun her off balance. “Make a noise…. any noise at all… and I will snap your neck.” He spoke hoarsely into her ear. The smell of his breath was warm and sour in her face. “Just stay still and pretend I’m Stefan.” And he chuckled.
Renee felt the hand around her midriff moving as he pushed her robe aside. Then she felt the hot clammy touch of his hand on the naked flesh of her hip, sliding quickly downwards, and the horrific jolt of it shocked her into desperate struggles.
Larry kept chuckling, holding Renee easily as her legs kicked and flailed and her body twisted against his grip. He lifted her off her feet and crushed his arm tight around her waist, driving the air from her lungs. “Don’t make me do this the hard way,” he hissed.
Renee felt a wave of sudden nausea overwhelm her and tiny pinwheels of light flashed behind her eyes. Then she was being hauled backwards out of the en suite.
Larry threw Renee onto the bed. She tumbled awkwardly. Her robe fell wide open but she didn’t notice. She felt the back of her head crack against the headboard of the bed, and then saw Larry’s big body hunting towards her. She opened her mouth to scream and as she did Madden clenched his fist and hit her in the face.
The warm coppery taste of blood filled Renee’s mouth as Madden crawled onto the bed. He clamped a hand around her throat and squeezed, pinning her helplessly. Renee’s hands scratched and clawed at his arm, gouging out tiny wounds. He ignored them
“Not a sound,” Madden growled.
He used his free hand to fumble for the zipper on his jeans.
Suddenly there was a scream behind him and Madden turned to see Tink standing in the bedroom doorway. She had a kitchen knife in her hand.
“Get back in the room, Tink!” Madden roared at the girl. “Do it! Right now, or I will beat you until you can’t stand up.”
“Let her go!” Tink cried.
Madden laughed at her. Tink edged closer. The knife wavered in her shaking hand. “I said let her go!”
He watched her come closer.
“Get back in the room!” Madden hissed, “or you’ll be next!”
Tink lunged at Madden with the knife, stabbing at the broad of his back. Madden waited until the girl was close enough, then he twisted and caught her by the wrist with his free hand. He squeezed. The knife fell from Tink’s nerveless grip and she fell to her knees beside the bed moaning in pain. Madden rolled onto his side and kicked the girl in the face. She fell backwards and didn’t move.
“Now we can be alone,” Madden licked his lips. He released his grip around Renee’s throat and she gulped in painful lungsful of air. Madden bunched his fist and punched her in the face again.
Renee went still. She felt the fight ooze from her body as roiling waves of darkness threatened to overwhelm her. She felt her arms falling loose by her side. She felt rough hands tugging her legs apart. Her vision blurred as she felt Madden’s weight crushing down on her.
His flat, ugly features filled her vision. He was grunting. She could feel the putrid smell of stale beer on his breath as it gusted over her face. Sweat dripped off his brow into her hair and trickled down her cheeks.
But there was no pain. No pain at all. Just the feel of his body crushing down on her and a sense of helpless revulsion as he continued to fumble between her legs.
She thought it ended quickly, but she wasn’t sure whether she had passed out and it had gone on and on. She heard him growl in her ear; a raw sound of strangled frustration.
She blinked her eyes and realized he was standing beside the bed. With the weight of him off her she felt like she might be floating.
Her vision swam out of focus for a second and then cleared again. Madden was fumbling with his clothing, staring down at her with a dull, remote expression on his face. He dragged the back of his hand across his mouth and she saw he was trembling.
“I should have known you wouldn’t be worth it,” he said.
He slapped her hard across the face and finally – blissfully – the darkness of unconsciousness overwhelmed her.
Eighteen.
Stefan knew instantly that something was wrong.
“Renee!”
He came through the side door at a run, stalking through the house. His heart was racing. His blood pounded loud in his ears. “Renee! Where are you?”
He burst into the bedroom and felt the strength go from his legs so that he had to clutch desperately for the doorframe.
Renee was lying on the bed. There was blood on her chin and spattered across the pillows. Her robe was open – her naked body spread out – her legs bent awkwardly and tangled in the bed sheets. Beside the bed lay the crumpled body of Tink. She was slumped half-sitting against the bedroom wall.
“Jesus!” Stefan hissed. “Sweet Jesus, no.”
He walked slowly to the bed. He felt cold and numb.
Please, God. I beg you. Not again! Please let her be alive. Please don’t take her away from me – I couldn’t live with the pain of losing her too.
“Renee,” he said softly. “Renee.” He knelt beside her and touched her face. There were ugly purple bruises around her throat and the side of her face was swollen and grazed. Her skin felt cold. He wrenched his hand away and felt icy dread cramp in his stomach.
Renee’s eyes fluttered and he sobbed his relief. He ran his eye quickly down her body and then back to her face. He saw her take a shallow breath and an enormous rush of emotion washed over him.
“Oh, thank God,” the words choked in his throat. “Thank God!”
He went to her, pulling her close to him, his touch gentle and achingly tender. He could feel the soft even beat of her heart against his chest.
He held her for a long time, rocking her gently. Gradually, as if waking reluctantly from a dream, Renee stirred and looked up at him through hollow, vacant eyes.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re okay.” He was crying. For the first time in years, Stefan was crying. He brushed a stray strand of damp hair from her face as she lay quietly in his arms. Then he stooped to kiss her, his lips lightly brushing over hers. “I love you, Renee,” he whispered hoarsely.
He felt such an eternity of affection for her then – as he had never felt for any other person – and he was astounded by the strength of it.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. He touched her lip softly with his finger. “I know,” he said. “You don’t have to say it.”
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye Stefan saw a flicker of movement and he turned his head to see Tink. Her eyes were dull and dazed and she was feeling the back of her head and wincing.
“Are you alright?” Stefan called to her. The girl used the wall to get slowly to her feet. She nodded and then winced again.
“What happened?” Stefan asked.
“Larry.”
“Did…? Did he…?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” Stefan had to know.
Tink nodded slowly. “He kicked me in the face and I fell against the wall. Then… then he tried…to….but he couldn’t get it up. He couldn’t get himself hard,” she said. “He was too drunk.”
Stefan’s relief lasted just a moment, and then, as he held Renee in his arms, it became something darker. Something terrible and black as the rage began to burn in him.
He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, letting the anger come, letting it fill him until it blazed through his body like a forest fire.
Stefan touched the livid swelling around Renee’s throat. “I have to get her to a hospital,” he said at last. “Do you need a doctor?”
Tink shook her head. She tottered unsteadily to the bed.
“Why not call an ambulance?”
Stefan shook his head. “It will be faster if I drive.”
He picked Renee up in his arms, cradling her close to him. Tink pulled her robe tight around her body. “I’ll help you get her to the car,” she said.
“Grab a blanket,” Stefan nodded back at the bed. “She’s in shock. I need to keep her warm.”
Tink draped one of the blankets over Stefan’s shoulder. “Wrap it around her when she’s in the car.”
The sensation of movement roused Renee and she came alert. She struggled feebly and tried to speak again. Stefan lowered his face close to hers. “I’m okay,” she said softly and licked dry lips. “I want you to go after him.”
Stefan shook his head. “No,” he said. “You are all that matters to me. I’ve only loved two women in my life,” he said softly. “The first I lost, and I was helpless to do anything. I won’t lose you.”
Nineteen.
It was a fifteen minute drive from the estate where they lived through to Bishop’s Bridge, and then a further ten minutes to the local hospital.
Stefan drove carefully on the narrow winding roads, accelerating at every opportunity along the straightened sections of carriageway and then taking the treacherous corners with elaborate care as they leaped out of the darkness. His eyes constantly diverted from the darkened view through the windscreen to Renee who sat quietly beside him.
She was huddled in the blanket, slumped in the corner, her face ghostly pale in the reflected lights from the car’s dashboard.
Her breathing was shallow and steady, but Stefan could see the labored pain in her expression each time she exhaled through her damaged throat.
He pulled the car to the side of the road and flicked on the overhead cabin light.
“Are you okay?” Stefan asked gently, taking a mom
ent to tuck the blanket tightly around her.
She turned her face to him, and he was grateful for that at least; she could hear him and she was alert. But it was her eyes that shocked Stefan the most. They seemed to have expanded to an enormous size, and under each was a darkening bruise-like smear. The pupils of her eyes were enlarged and dulled, lacking the intelligent glitter he was so accustomed to.
“I’m alright,” she said. Her voice was a reedy, rasping whisper and she winced and tried to swallow. Her cheeks were streaked with tear tracks, and the swelling around her jaw made her face seem distorted. He reached underneath the blanket and when his hand found hers he squeezed.
Stefan got the car back on the road, and stabbed his foot on the accelerator. A long tree-lined straight section of tarmac stretched before him. He flicked the car’s headlights onto high-beam and heard the engine under the bonnet growl.
Then suddenly red tail-lights appeared on the road ahead. Stefan cursed under his breath and came down through the gears.
As he drew closer, he frowned. The car ahead wasn’t where the road was…
He stomped on the brakes, bleeding off speed quickly, and then realized the vehicle had gone off the road.
The road to Bishop’s Bridge cut through dense woodland, winding its way along the contours of the hills that surrounded the town. The driver of the car had lost control and smashed through a guardrail, crashing head-on into the barrel-like trunk of a redwood tree.
Under the glare of headlights, Stefan saw a man standing in the middle of the road. He was waving his arms.
It was Larry Madden.
The rage returned to Stefan, boiling up, fizzing in his blood. For a moment his foot hovered over the accelerator – and then he slammed on the brakes, tyres squealing as he slewed the car to a halt in a billowing cloud of blue smoke.