“Name and information on the owner,” Darrien was all business, he thought of the many times Gwen had scolded him for being rude so he tacked on “please”
The one word tacked on seemed to make the man on the other end of the phone less bristly towards Darrien; he heard more tapping and a heavy sigh before the man spoke again. “The couple is out of town, they probably don’t even know that their car has been stolen, it was reported by the parking garage. I can fax a copy of the report over if you like.”
“Yes please do, tell me the license plate information?”
The man recited three digits, a dash, and three numbers before he asked. “Anything else?”
“No, thanks.” Darrien sapped his phone closed just as the technology team arrived and walked in the room, he stood and acknowledged them one by one as they filled in the remaining space in the room.
“SWAT is downstairs, they closed the hotel down.” One of the technologists announce suddenly.
“Thanks, this case has become personal and I thank you for the help but why SWAT?” Darrien asks.
The female looks at Darrien giving him a look, as if she knew what happened in Gwen and his room last night. “Order came down from the powers that be, we had to bring them, to sweep, this guy that the Fed’s are chasing is mob funded, and he’s into them for a lot of money.”
Again Darrien felt his world crash down, he did not bother reading much of the file, he could kick himself for that, he was up against someone with these deep seeded connections, no wonder the agency still wanted him alive. They wanted to try and flip him, part of him wondered if the McNeil Island debacle was planned, if they put him there knowing somehow that they shared a past and this sick bastard now loose and on the run with Gwen was all a set up to get him to flip on his employers? Anger courses through him again, rocking his entire being, his soul. This was not good. Darrien excused himself from the room with gritted teeth. He went outside to catch a clean breath of air while he waited for the team to clean up the image and present him with a clearer picture of the Lincoln that Kody was driving around in.
Darrien’s mind was working fast; he was a smart guy but was smart enough to catch up to the ruthless nature of this man that now had Gwen? She had told Darrien stories, she mentioned things about Kody that made his hair stand on edge. He was thinking of last night in the hotel room, the passion they shared. That is when it hit him. Kody had been watching, he stole a local’s car, he had to have a place to lie low, a place he could hide, a place he could ditch the car if he needed, a place he could dispose of a body if things did not go his way. The last thought burned Darrien the most. Darrien went to the room, the chemical scent, and Gwen’s scent still lingered in the air, he fired up her Gwen’s Mac Book Pro and did a quick search for hotels. He copied the numbers and started calling the front desks of each hotel that came up.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Gwen’s body was screaming at her. Slowly her mind started to come back to consciousness. She was having a problem remembering where she was, and why she was in such pain. She inhaled deep, her ribs protested at the laborious job. She tries to pull her hands in but met resistance, her eyes snapped open. She was bound to the headboard of some bed. She pulled at her restraints, the duct tape and leather around her wrist twisted and dug into her skin, she cried out in hope someone would come to her aid. Her mind was still foggy, she finally started to remember; she had been in the shower she was washing herself when the curtain ripped open… Kody. Kody had been in her bathroom and he knocked her out somehow. Her entire body clenched.
“My love calm down.” Kody’s voice sounded from the dark corner of the room.
“Kody let me go.” She begged.
“No, you’ll run.”
“Kody please.” Her voice broke, she didn’t know what he had in store for her but she knew it wasn’t good.
“No you’re going to listen to me!” Kody stood and crossed the room, and sat on the bed next to Gwen, she recoiled but her legs were bound; she was spread eagle on the bed, only a thin blanket covered her.
“Kody…” Gwen was in agony.
“NO! LISTEN TO ME.” He screamed then back handed Gwen so hard her teeth rattled.
“Don’t hit me.” Gwen was wounded and tried to keep that from her voice but it was evident, tears welled in her eyes as her face throbbed.
“You’re mine I’ll do what ever the fuck I want with you.” He ran his fingers up her inner thigh for emphasis of his point.
“Why? Why after all this time did you still want me?” She blurted.
“I’ve always wanted you back Gwen. I watched you for a long time.” He said simply.
“Why?” She asked her tears spilling out.
“You left me.” His hatred showed
“Yes you cheated on me, why the hell would I stick around for that?”
Kody snarled at her again and punched her in the ribs. “You’re not doing as I want”
All the air Gwen had in her lungs left her body. She was gasping for air that wouldn’t come. She took the deepest breath she could manage and she screamed loudly. Kody’s hands shoved some sort of gag in her mouth. After he settled the gag and Gwen could no longer be heard his fist collided with her jaw for good measure.
“Shut the fuck up Gwen. Our fun isn’t going to be over for quite a while.” Kody mused; she struggled harder against all the restraints.
“You broke my heart Gwen,” he played with a strand of her hair then he put it behind her ear as a lover would, “you cheated on me Gwen, first with that Ford guy from the prison. He had to die for touching you. He touched what was mine. You knew you were mine yet you let him touch you, then that blonde bastard from last night. It’s your fault. You have always been mine Gwen. You did wrong and you have to be punished.”
Gwen’s eyes widened in fear as he lit a cigarette while he spoke, he took three drags and released the smoke. “You know I don’t want to mar your beautiful skin, but it is the only way you will learn your lesson my darling Gwen.”
He took one more drag then pressed the end of the cigarette into Gwen’s wrist first. Her eyes bulged and she bit into the gag screaming from the agony of her flesh being permanently seared. After a lifetime of pain he removed the cigarette from her wrist and took three more drags, he was silent as he contemplated where he would mark her next. “Since you broke my rules Gwen and you ripped my heart out by leaving and cheating on me, I am marking your heart next.”
The restraints on the bed creaked as she began to pull harder and more frantic. Her body recoiled from the male sitting next to her. She tried to move, she tried to scream again. Every sound she attempted to make was muffled. Kody’s sadistic smile scared her more than the burns to her flesh. Her head lolled to the side, she was beginning to black out from the pain hitting her. He took another inhale, the ash on the end was white hot, he removed the blanket revealing her chest. She cried, her sobs racking her body. Kody pressed the tip of the cigarette into her chest slowly. She could feel her flesh melt away from the heat, again agony coursed through her. After the pain became an intense throbbing he pulled the cigarette away and puffed on it again then right next to the burn on her chest he added another. Gwen finally let herself succumb to the blackness and her head fell to the side.
Kody put the cigarette out and walked away. His female had fallen asleep. He covered her body back up, the scent of burned flesh strong in the room. He walked from the bedroom to get himself something to eat from his stolen car. He would be going at Gwen until she begged him for forgiveness, and begged to be with him again, the way he tried to beg her all those years ago.
Darrien was on hold; most of the last three hours since he returned to the room had been waiting to see if Kody had checked into any of the local hotels. This was the bane of his existence. The receptionist of the fifteenth hotel he was calling had put him on hold. He was pacing. Gwen was in the hands of a psychopath he was obsessed with her and he was here on hold. Darrien knew Kody would be h
urting her. He was bat-shit crazy enough to kill, he was crazy enough to hurt the woman he loved. Darrien gripped the phone tighter waiting for any news.
The hotel clerk came back onto the line. “Hello sir, are you still on the line?”
“Yes.” Darrien was fast to answer.
“We have one car matching the description, but we do not have the license plate information, would you like me to go to the cabin and find the information for you?” She asked.
“No you don’t need to get near the cabin, you stay safe there just in case.” He warned the woman, she sounded too young to get into what would be going down.
“Do you need directions?” She asked, trying to be thorough.
“Yes, please.”
She rambled off directions fast; she was a pro at this part of the conversation. The directions were simple off of highway three-ten. Her accent was thick, Darrien hoped he wrote everything down right and didn’t miss any of the turns. These cabins were outside New Orleans; they were still close enough that he could drive there in a short amount of time. Darrien didn’t know if Kody was coherently thinking through this venture, but he had to hope he was. He needed to be the one to find them.
“Thank you, please stay in the office and tell NO ONE I am coming.”
“Yes sir, I will stay put.” She sounded bored.
“Thank you.” He hung up and looked around the room.
The computer specialists were intent on their job. They had to analyze every piece of footage; they were trying to find any traffic footage that may show Kody and his stolen car. Darrien called a younger man over and detailed his assignment. He wanted to get into the action; he was not one to sit around.
“I need an SUV.” He said flatly.
“There are seven outside right now, that’s what we came in.” The new man said almost smugly.
“Yeah, well here give me the keys and you can take the computer.”
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“Where?” Darrien stopped himself from grinding his jaw at the latest question.
“I need to go out, take over the computer crap, call me with any leads.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks.”
Without another word Torrian got up and took the keys from the younger guy.
He gave a curt nod and walked out of the destroyed hotel room. The crime scene unit guys were in there, they weren’t going to find anything to help. Darrien was tired of waiting. He got in the elevator and his thoughts tormented him as he rode. He had failed her. He failed to protect Gwen from the one person she feared the most. The many talks they had, she had recently been confiding in him so much more than any of his other clients had, of course he had started to show more of a heart with her than any of the others. He let her be taken by her worst fear. He killed everyone in her world; she had no one left. He exited the hotel swiftly; he didn’t want to catch anyone’s eyes. He decided that he had to make this right no matter what it cost him. Darrien got into the SUV and left heading out of the lively city towards the nearby Lake Pontchatrain.
Kody shook Gwen awake, she groaned as the pain started to register again. The bedpost creaked against her pulls.
“Calm down Gwen, it’s just me.” He said, his tongue caressed every syllable of the sentence and wrapped around her name like it tasted good just to say.
“Kody please just let me go.” She begged again, but her prayers fell upon deaf ears.
“No, you are mine.” He caressed her swollen cheek; “You forced me to do that to your beautiful face.”
Gwen could only cry as Kody touched her, he dragged his hand from her face, to her neck, between her bosoms, and he stopped at her waist. He inhaled sharply then stood from the bed. He paced talking to himself.
He was distracted; Gwen tried pulling at the restraints again. Kody was babbling to no one about her “indiscretions” against him. He had a complete break from sanity. He was in a manic state; Gwen had to tread lightly who knew when his break would take a turn for something even worse. Not that this could get much worse in her mind, suddenly she saw what could be happening and her body chilled to the bone. She shivered. She heard the creak of the bed frame, Kody must have too because he stopped. Gwen froze immediately. His eyes bore into hers; she could see his mania written clearly across his face. She gulped but remained silent.
“What are you doing?” He snapped at her.
“I am in pain Kody please can you untie me.”
“No you’ll run.” His tone was cold and words were clipped.
“Please just let me lower my arm Kody it hurts so bad.” She tried to keep the sob from her voice but she failed.
“No.”
Gwen was trying everything, she wished she had never worked at McNeil, her entire mind was fading and she was scared of what was coming to her. She looked for a way to get Kody to release her wrists. He was still watching her, his brown eyes shrewd as a hawk, she was going to attempt to manipulate him, she closed her eyes then opened them staring right into his. “Kody, please, I swear to you, on our past and future that I will not run. I am losing feeling in my arms I just want to have them lower, I am getting so cold.”
“You swear?” He asked incredulously, he wasn’t convinced yet perhaps if she said something she knew he longed to hear he would be convinced.
“Please lover, I am so cold it hurts, I need to have my body be able to move in and I need to be covered up more. Please. For me.” She didn’t drop her gaze once, and she kept her voice even.
He groaned. Kody was confused on what to do it seemed two parts of him were at war. Gwen stared at him; she put all of her emotion into her stare. He seemed to crumble under her gaze. She blinked once then repeated her plea, “Please Kody, it hurts so bad.”
Again he groaned but this time he came to the side of the bed. He unstrapped Gwen’s burned wrist first, he kissed over the burn mark. The instant Kody’s lip touched the raw flesh, she cried out she didn’t know if it was the relief from being able to finally pull her arm down, or the severe pain that came from anything touching her wrist. Kody dropped her wrist and Gwen pulled it to her body. She whimpered, he pulled her arm back up, she panicked thinking it was going back to the same spot, and he kissed around the burn mark that would now forever mar her skin. Kody moved the restraint down the headboard; he fixed it again and connected Gwen to it again. She moved to try to get comfortable but he punched her hip down.
“Stop moving.” He growled.
“I…I just wanted to get comfortable, please Kody.”
He sat next to Gwen and started punching the side of his head fast. He was freaking out on himself; he dragged his nails down the sides of his face and groaned again loudly. Gwen could easily tell that Kody had been off his medicine, she began to wonder if he ever took them at the prison. He was having a complete break from reality. He believed what he thought.
“Gwen I want you to love me again.” He whined.
“I do, Kody please I need to move more, and I am in pain. Don’t let the woman you love be in pain, please.”
She was on the verge of tears, her muscles protested and quivered. Kody began to pace again. Gwen was losing him again. She was not going to be able to talk to him much longer if his psychosis got any worse. She had to work fast, or start praying that Darrien would find her before the worst-case scenario happened.
Darrien had hit a wall with the first hotel. When he arrived he went to the front office and got the spare key for the cabin the Lincoln was registered to. The pale blue cabin was nothing remarkable. He parked the car at a different cabin and walked silent but swift to the door, he listened and heard a man’s pleasure. Darrien saw red, he kicked the door in with his service gun drawn, aimed right at the bed. He was stunned when he saw an older graying male with a buxom blonde.
“What the fuck?” The man yelled.
“Oh shit.” Darrien was mortified at his mistake.
“Get the fuck out.” The soprano voice
peroxide blonde yelled at him.
“Sorry.” Darrien closed the door and almost ran back to the car.
His phone chirped with notification of the text message. The newbie agent he left at the hotel had followed through. The troops had been mobilized starting on the other side of the lake. Darrien had gotten away with his plan for long enough. The next set of cabins was seven miles away. He could be there quickly. Darrien texted the kid for the address, he input the information, and started driving towards the next set of cabins.
Darrien’s skin felt too tight. His heavily muscled arm rolled with power while he drove. He was more than ready to take this pathetic asshole on. He pulled onto a dirt road when the GPS instructed him. The road was extremely bumpy, years of abandonment and subpar care caused the large divots. He cursed the shocks in the car. Darrien pulled up at the front office and went inside.
“The Lincoln.” He snapped at the front desk clerk.
“I’m sorry.” The red head stammered when she took in his hulking figure.
“You have a Lincoln registered here, what cabin, how do I get to it?” His tone was clipped and ice cold the girl shrank back.
“If you think you’re getting our records you’re high.” She decided to act affronted.
Darrien flashed his badge in her face. “You are obstructing justice, now give me the fucking information or I will arrest you for obstruction of a federal investigation.”
His barked direction and mention of jail seemed to shock the girl into action. She began to type; she hit a few buttons and brought up the profile of the cabin. She printed it and handed the paperwork to Darrien. Her voice was sarcastic when she spoke next. “Do you need a map or shall I show you?”
“Just point me in the direction, I’ll manage fine.” He countered.
“Out the door, to the left it’s the sixth cabin, the last in the row.”
The Deadliest Secret (The Deadliest Series) Page 29