I bring up what’s sure to be a short-lived conversation. “So, I think you should go on a date with Mark, the quarterback.”
She actually spews and chokes on her drink a little bit. Classic. I love getting one over on her because it happens so rarely.
“What did he say?”
Her green eyes are drilling me in my place. This is the most reaction I have ever gotten out of her regarding a guy.
My mouth drops open. “You like him. He is so sweet.”
“Damn it, Allison.”
I giggle.
“It’s not funny. His P was great, but it was just a way to relieve some tension—nothing more. I’m not seeing him again.”
Geez, of course she’s going to be reluctant to a good thing that’s right in front of her face. “Well, I think you should give it a try.”
Sam rolls her eyes as she emphatically reiterates, “It was good, nothing more.”
That means there’s more to it. There has to be.
“Sam, I think he’s a good guy. You shouldn’t fight your feelings for him.”
I wish everyone could have what I have with Damien.
“Humph…there’s no fighting going on. I’m quite happy with how my life is.”
She’s looking everywhere but at me. Apparently, Miss Matthews does not believe in love, or she thinks she doesn’t.
I cock my head to the side and give my sweetest little smile. “If you say so, but when it happens, just know you can call me, and I’ll be there.”
She actually looks scared to death at the prospect of falling in love. What could have happened to her?
“Allison, thanks, but don’t hold your breath because that is not happening. I prefer to keep my options open.”
I just shrug, letting her know I don’t think that’s going to be the case. It’s time for a subject change before she gets too worked up over this. “So, how are you liking the job?”
Absentmindedly, I notice that the security guard heads out back. I wonder where he is going.
“Oh, I love, love, love it. Some of these players though are total morons. I mean, did you know that kicker I just signed wants to officially change his name to Dyn-O-Mite? It’s supposedly easy to do. Who has a name like that? I should have had some kind of idiot clause added to the contract.”
Changing a name to something so ridiculous is absolutely insane. He’s either trying to hide something or is just delusional about how dynamite he really is. My scalp prickles as a thought forms. Realization starts to hit as the yearbook picture that has driven me crazy since the plane ride home flashes across my mind. That picture of David Powell.
I sit straight up. “What did you just say?”
“Dyn-O-Mite. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” She’s shaking her head, obviously amused at herself.
I start shaking my head. “No, after that.”
“Oh, changing his name will be easy for him to do.” She gives me a shrug, like it’s no big deal.
“Sam, I have to go. I’ll call you in a bit.” I pull out my phone and press the button to call Damien as I head straight for the door.
“Allison, wait! What’s going on?”
I call over my shoulder, “Sam, I’ll call you in a bit.”
I’m sprinting to the door as Damien picks up.
“Hey, Alli, I was about to leave—”
I cut off him off immediately, “Damien, I know who it is. You know that guy, David Powell, the one you said was killed in a car accident? He’s not dead. He’s the killer. He changed his name. I know why that picture looked so familiar in the yearbook.”
“Alli, slow down. What are you talking about? Where are you?” Something shuffles in the background.
“I’m headed your way with security. David Corben Powell is Ben Powers. C.P. was Corben Powell, not those other names. If you look at the picture, he’s had some work done, and he changed his hair color, but it’s Ben in that yearbook picture, Damien. It’s Ben. I can’t believe I didn’t see the resemblance.” My voice is climbing, and I’m nearly frantic as I get into the backseat of the car.
I pull the phone from my ear momentarily to give directions to the security driver. “Please take me to Damien’s office immediately.”
The car pulls away from the curb and squeals away.
“Baby, I’ll meet you at the front of the office. I’m headed there now. Hurry.”
This is bad on so many levels. “I’m on my way.” I say a silent prayer that I get there in record time.
“Is all your security with you?”
“I think—” I realize that the second security guard never returned from heading out the back of the spa. I turn around and notice no one is coming out of the building to get into the car that should be following me. More to myself than to anyone else, I ask, “Where are they?”
Damien, of course, is right on my observation, breaking up my thoughts as I try to sort everything out.
“Alli, what is going on?” he asks.
A familiar voice comes from the front seat, and my body goes cold as ice at the sound.
“Allison, be a dear, and hang up with that asshole. There’s no reason to continue this charade. I’ve got you now.”
Damien yells into the phone, “Alli, is Ben driving the car?”
I whisper, “Yes. Please come get me.”
Damien is talking so fast that it’s hard to process it all. “Baby, we are tracking that car. I’m on the way. Listen to me—keep your sapphire ring on you. Okay, baby? Do not take it off. I will find you. He’s more than likely going to get another car and take you somewhere.”
“Okay,” I whisper, my voice barely audible as the shock of the situation starts to set in.
Ben yells from the front seat, “Allison, I’m not going to ask again! Get off the fucking phone!”
Damien starts talking to me, “Alli, try to get out of the backseat. Lay the phone down on the seat, so I can hear what’s going on.”
I lay the phone down.
Ben gives me an acknowledging glance. “Good job, sweetheart.”
I slowly slide over, and a second before I try to open the door, the locks engage. I start pulling hysterically at the handle, letting panic completely consume me. My heart is beating wildly.
“Ben, let me out of here! Let me out!”
“Allison, he’s brainwashed you. He’s trying to get you to leave me forever.” Ben is just staring forward as if having a girl thrashing about while locked in a car is a normal thing.
I look over at the phone and long to pick it up to hear Damien’s voice. I’m trying to find the rational side of my brain, but it’s lost.
Wait—Damien’s listening to me. I need to get Ben talking. Play along, Allison. “Where are we going?”
“My grandparents left me a place. You’re going to love it.”
All of a sudden, the car turns off on some dirt road and comes skidding to a stop next to a small little plane parked in a field.
“Are we getting into that plane? Why are we flying? Where is your grandparents’ place?” I’m trying to give Damien as many clues as possible.
Ben turns back to me. “We need to get away from here before that bastard tracks us in this car. Once we leave, we’ll be fine, and I’ll tell you.”
The thought of leaving Damien on a plane to an unknown destination is terrifying. I could end up anywhere and be lost forever.
“Ben, I don’t think it’s necessary to fly somewhere to escape Damien.”
My breathing is quick and shallow. I’m scared shitless as Ben savagely looks me over and smiles.
“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this to you, but you’re still caught up in the lies of your relationship. I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t have you trying to jump out of the plane.”
He looks at the seat and grabs something. He looks half-crazed as he raises his hand, and it looks like he’s holding some kind of gun. “Sleep tight, my love.”
I scream with all that I have, “DAMIEN! PLEASE
FIND ME! HE’S SHOOTING ME WITH SOMETHING! I LOVE YOU!”
At the click of the gun, my entire world immediately starts to dim. There’s no way I can hold on to the light this time. It’s slipping away too fast.
“Damien…”
I open my eyes, and everything is blurry. It’s as if there are two of everything. A haze over my mind is trying to lift as I move my lead-filled limbs. I’m lying down in a small room filled with all sorts of things that I can’t make out at the moment.
Where am I? What happened? I close my eyes, trying to focus while hoping it will bring some clarity as to what is going on. I know I’m in a blue room with dark-colored furniture.
I cannot place this room from anywhere that I’ve ever been. Part of me wants to go back to sleep, but my brain is telling me to wake up as it tries to burn through the residual haze.
What’s that smell? It smells like something was cooking but burned. Blurry images start to clear and take form.
I was with Sam at the spa, getting a pedicure. I left because I figured out who was behind all this.
With that thought, it all comes back—me getting in the car, Ben somehow being the driver, and then him shooting me with what must have been a tranquilizer gun.
Damien.
My eyes spring open, and I shoot up so quickly that the room spins. I have to put both hands out to the side of me, and then I feel something abrasive on my right wrist. I’m tied to the bed with only a couple of feet of rope.
Closing my eyes again, I try to find my center, physiologically and psychologically.
How much time has passed since I was in the car and talking to Damien? Where am I now?
Slowly, I reopen my eyes and start to take everything in.
As long as I keep my movements steady and slow, everything seems to stay in focus overall. As I take in my surroundings, my eyes get more and more clear.
Ben is more messed-up than I ever could have imagined. Photographs of Ben and me are all over the room. He’s taken Damien out of the pictures and inserted himself. There are pictures of me by myself—getting out of Brad’s SUV at the bar the night Damien first met Sam, running from the hotel in Vegas when I was clearly upset, reading in the library at my home, eating lunch. The list goes on and on.
How the hell did he get all these?
My heart rate hits an all-time high when I look over at the closet and see my turquoise shirt, purple silk robe, various T-shirts, and random pairs of pants all hanging up neatly. My red scarf is draped over the door.
Is that my discarded dress from Vegas? Oh shit, this is so bad.
He’s collected an entire wardrobe of my things.
I’m trying to keep my breathing regulated by taking deep breaths, but I can feel my chest heaving as I try to get enough oxygen in my system. I go to get off the bed and am reminded of the rope as it digs into my skin.
What kind of rope is this? It scratches my skin at the smallest of movements. It’s only my right arm, but the trapped feeling instantly consumes me. I bite down hard on my lip to keep myself from completely breaking down into a sobbing mess. I don’t want Ben to hear that I’m awake until I have some kind of plan. I need to calm down and get back to the rational side of my brain.
Deep breaths, I focus on taking deep breaths. I focus on everything Damien said before I had to put the phone down. He said he was tracking me and not to take off my sapphire ring. I look at my right hand and breathe a sigh of relief that the ring is still in place. I look to my left hand and notice that my wedding ring is gone. My lip quivers, but I remind myself that Damien is on his way to find me.
I know he will. He loves me.
I just don’t know what’s going to happen to me until he gets here. Anything within reaching distance has been removed. It’s not even worth me trying to stand as my body continues to sway internally. My purse is lying on the chair across the room, and there is no way for me to get to it. I try to loosen the knot, but they only get tighter around my wrist every time I try to pull, causing my skin to start getting angry small welts.
I open up the nightstand drawer with my left hand, praying that something of use has been left in there by mistake. It’s the only thing I can reach within the two feet of rope I’ve been given. There are condoms, lubricants, handcuffs, alcohol pads, and some things that I’ve never seen before. I slam the drawer shut, feeling bile rise in my throat, and nausea starts to hit. It’s clear what he has in store for me, and I honestly think I’d rather die than have anyone in me besides Damien.
In a desperate attempt, I try to yank the wrought iron bar, where the rope is tied, out of the bed. Hearing the door creak open stops my attempt. I spin around to see Ben standing at the door. He’s in jeans and some sports T-shirt. I don’t recognize the team name. His hair is done differently. I’m used to his boring slicked over brown hairstyle, but it’s a mess now as if he’s trying to pull off that fresh tumbled look.
He gives me a wink. “Why, hello, sweetheart. You woke up faster than I thought you would. Can I get you anything?”
How do I even respond to this guy? My insides are shaking with terror after seeing what is inside that little drawer, and my skin is crawling at his term of endearment.
Maybe if I keep him talking I’ll be able to delay him enough until Damien comes to get me.
Taking a deep breath, I try to respond as calmly as possible, but my voice is shaking, “I’m okay, just a little confused.”
He leans off the doorframe and starts walking my way. Instinctively, I move as close to the wall as possible.
“I’m sorry about that, sweetheart. I know you’re a little confused, but you’re safe now.”
With his hands held up and sympathetic eyes, he’s acting as if he has saved me.
Is he delusional? I’m about as unsafe as I could possibly get right now. I say a silent prayer over and over again, hoping I make it through this mess. “I’m still trying to process it all.”
He sits down at the end of the bed. “I’ve been told that the drug can cause some disorientation and confusion.”
I slowly nod my head. Hopefully, if I appear amenable, he’ll untie me, and then I am going to run like hell.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to wake up alone, sweetheart. I’m sorry that I was detained, making a phone call. I tried to make you dinner, but accidentally burned it.”
The sincerity of his voice is so odd. He’s holding me captive, and he thinks this is normal.
He continues on as he looks at my left hand, “I removed your wedding ring because I figured that’s what you would want. Before I took the sapphire ring, I wanted to see if it was from him or your mother.”
I look at my right hand. I have to keep this on me as Damien’s words echo yet again inside my head. Without even thinking, I respond, “It was my mother’s. I started wearing it again to keep her close to me.”
Please, please, please believe that lie.
He inches a little closer to me from the end of the bed. There’s nowhere for me to go.
He gives a smile small as he responds, “Very well. I’ll let you keep it because of how special she was. I know how much you loved her.”
I want to start screaming to tell him to stay the hell away as he continues to move closer to me.
As he closes the gap, he starts talking, “I’m so glad we can finally be together, Allison. I’ve been in love with you since I saw you for the first time in Miami. Do you remember that afternoon?”
Ben pauses, and my mind is chaotic. My body sways slightly.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I know your mind is still slow. In Miami, I left prior to the end of the fucker’s meeting in order to prepare for another meeting. I was walking out by the pool when I saw you sitting in a lounge chair. Our eyes connected, and we stared at each other for a few brief glorious moments. I knew right then and there that you loved me, and we were destined to be together.
“Then, that fucker came and thought he owned you when he saw you at the pool. I know
you had no choice but to do what he said. I had to wait until the right time to get you, so the same thing that had happened to my precious Rebecca wouldn’t happen to you. I made it as difficult for him as I possibly could. I hope you saw the messages in my actions, proving that I was working on coming for you. I love you, Allison.”
He loves me? He saw me at the pool in Miami? We stared at each other? I’m so confused.
“Messages?” What is he talking about?
He becomes visibly irritated at my question. I’m going to have to tread more carefully when I talk.
I try to salvage the situation. “I’m sorry. Everything is just very jumbled. I still feel the drugs in my system.”
That seems to placate him as he relaxes his shoulders. “I should have used a milder dose.”
Really? He’s now considering my dosage?
He continues on as if it’s no consequence to him that he probably used enough to bring down an elephant. “In the beginning, I did everything I could to keep him away from you. I stalled the planes and caused scheduling conflicts. I sent text messages and notes to you, trying to send you warnings. Then, that incident with that fucker Brad happened, and he increased security. I tried to let you know you weren’t safe with him when I let Brad’s parents through security. I almost had you, and then he tightened down security, so I couldn’t come to get you, and that only fed your delusion of him. I had to blackmail Cassandra for things she had on Damien, but I don’t think those messages made it to you. He kept changing your fucking number. Did you get any of my messages, notes, or warnings?”
Oh. My. Gosh. I shake my head. There is no way I’m admitting to knowing anything. This guy has been causing problems from the beginning. I swallow hard, trying to push down the bile that keeps rising. I need to say as little as possible and get as much information out of him as I can.
I must keep him talking. “Did you mention Rebecca? As in Damien’s sister, Rebecca?”
Ben closes his eyes for a second. “Yes, I loved her all through high school, but she was so controlled by who she could and couldn’t see. Rebecca and I were friends all those years, and I sat back and watched her date, waiting for my turn. One night at a party, she finally realized her feelings for me. She said she didn’t remember it the next morning, but I knew she was just trying to protect me from her family. I found out later she was pregnant. I wanted to marry her. Rebecca told me she had been drunk that night, and making love didn’t mean to her what it did to me. She said I could be involved in the baby’s life, but that was it. I know Damien was instructing her on what to do. He’s the only one she would have listened to. She loved me and wanted to marry me.”
Love Me (Trust Series #2) Page 25