He was sure they were trying to figure out the significance of the girl. He wasn't sure himself if there was any significance; he had only done what he was told to do, and he had a hell of a time doing it. Yep, little Andrea Vincent put up quite a fight. She wasn't his best, but she sure wasn't his worst. If he had to rank her, he’d say she came in at a distant second to his best conquest ever. One he could still taste, one he still dreamed of every night. Andrea hadn’t broken as fast as some of the others, and none of them could hold a candle to Kara.
But all good things had to end; he had learned that the hard way in his life. And now he didn't wait for good things to happen, he took good things any way he could. Life was short, and he was damned sure he would live it the way he wanted, even if he had to play the game for a little while longer. And who said he couldn't have a little fun in the meantime? No one, because, in the end, he made the rules. They just didn't know it yet.
7
Kara wasn’t sure what she’d been thinking inviting her brother’s partner over for supper. At least she had made sure to invite her brother, too. It was completely out of character for her to be so forward. To be honest, she had never asked anyone other than Ethan over to her place in Baltimore. Her home was her sanctuary. But this was her brother’s partner, so it was expected for her to be cordial, right? Who was she kidding? If she were being honest with herself, she would admit that she didn’t invite him over to be cordial; she invited him over because she wanted to get to know him better, plain and simple. For a woman who didn’t trust easily, she found it incredibly easy to trust Detective Caleb Montgomery.
Obviously, his relationship with Ethan helped score him points in her mind. But there was something else, a kindness that was predominantly featured in his eyes. And what an amazing pair of crystal clear and honest eyes. Eyes that had showed, what? That he was interested in her?
Kara found herself dismissing the thought as foolish; a man that looked like him would not be interested in someone like her. Especially someone who had gone through what she had, someone who’d been tarnished. Even so, Kara thought she had seen something in his eyes when they’d locked with hers right before they left. Something completely foreign to her, but if she had to describe it with one word, the word would be what? Curious? Obviously, he was curious about her background only. Sighing, she decided she needed to clear her head, so she decided there was no time like the present to unpack.
The next several hours flew by as boxes were emptied one after another. Kara had made sure to have the movers come ahead so she wouldn't have to be alone with them in the house. It had taken a lot out of her to be alone with them at her old apartment, and the only reason she had managed was because it was an apartment building, and she had told herself people would hear if something went wrong.
Arranging for the realtor to meet the movers had been slightly irritating; Mr. Abfall had been hesitant to let them in until she had expressed her discontent at his attitude. Finally, he had relented but insisted on waiting for her to give her the keys. Kara had tried to convince him to let her meet him at his office, but he had insisted on meeting her at the house, his excuse being that he wanted to see her reaction to the house, but she suspected he had more nefarious reasons. Like wanting to meet the freak that had been abducted so he could tell his friends a good story. As the sun set, Kara quietly looked at the clock and counted the hours until the alarm company came to install her new state-of-the-art alarm system. That was the one thing she couldn’t get done ahead of her arriving.
At least she had Samsonite there to protect her. Even so, she would be on edge all night, and he would not leave her side for a second unless she instructed him to do so. The whole while she unpacked, he lay lazily in whatever room she was in. He was so incredibly well trained that the smallest of motions or the most innocuous of words, he was at her side ready to protect her. She would forever be grateful to the amazing Judy Trippilo for training Sam and her. Just having him there put her at ease and made this easier than she had expected. She was calm enough that she found herself enjoying unpacking and arranging everything just so.
As she unpacked the last item from the last box, she glanced at her clock again and was surprised at the time. Her intention had been to make an appearance at her work, but even if hospitals were open around the clock, it was far too late to visit now. It was just as well. She needed to regroup before she showed up. Prepare herself for the whispering that was sure to happen. Suddenly, she felt very weary and decided she might be tired enough to sleep, which would be out of character for her.
Kara climbed into bed with Samsonite right behind her to warm her feet, and it only took a few minutes before she fell asleep. And it only took a few minutes for the same nightmare to come. The nightmare that had haunted her for ten years. The details sometimes varied, but it always ensured that she never got more than a few hours of sleep a night.
Kara was bound, and the ropes were tight around her wrists and ankles as she bounced down the old dirt road. Sweat dripped into her eyes, and she blinked to clear them and suddenly she was in an old relic of a cabin. In the center of the room was a bed fit for a princess that had a table adjacent to it full of scalpels, flogs, whips, paddles, and other instruments of torture. She blinked again and found herself naked, bound to the bed in the center of the room. A shadow was in the corner. It was him. He was there; he was always there. She trembled with fear and pulled at her restraints. The shadow moved out of the corner toward her.
Slowly, the features of the shadow came into view, and he was smiling, walking toward her with a scalpel, eyes pinpoints of evil, teeth gleaming. Eyes that were dead, devoid of emotion. No lights on at home. She squirmed, trying to get away from those eyes. The eyes terrified her more than the scalpel. Suddenly, his teeth elongated, and his nails turned into razors. Another slow blink and he leapt at her. She screamed and screamed until his hands were around her throat and she couldn’t scream anymore.
Kara woke up startled, struggling for breath. Block it out, she told herself, but it was too hard. Too hard to block out everything. There were times when she had prayed someone would find her and times when she had prayed for death. Dark times—times in which she had lost herself and was not sure she would ever find herself again. Evil, vengeful times where she knew, given the opportunity, she would kill. And most nights, all those memories would come flooding back, crushing her in her sleep.
Sometimes, the monster that had abducted her didn't want to rape her; sometimes, he just wanted to torture her. And torture her, he did. He would beat her, bring her outside in the dead of night when it was cold and dump buckets of ice cold water on her, or worse, bring her outside in the heat and cut her to attract bugs.
Then there was the strangle game; he liked to choke her while he had sex with her, and he would choke her until she passed out. She would fight it, which would get him more excited, and then, slowly, she would accept it, hoping that she would die this time, hoping she wouldn’t wake up, that it would be over this time for good. Only to come to again with him still on her, ready for round two.
And the choking game started all over again. She would fight again, while her lungs burned, kicking and bucking with all her strength until the black took over. Until he won, and he always won. And when she would come to, he was sometimes different.
Sometimes, he looked almost as if he cared, but he was distant and not there; other times, he was pure evil. When he was evil, he was so evil, it terrified her. When she would come to, she would find herself hoping for the distant version of her captor. When it was that version, she knew it would be another round of rape, but nothing more.
When she woke to find pure evil looking at her, it was a different story. The only question was which one he would be, and tonight, in this dream, he was the purest evil. Tonight, she dreamed of the strangle game.
Kara was trying to calm her ragged breathing, counting to ten repeatedly. Just when she had finally calmed down, she heard a noise th
at made her blood turn ice cold. A window had shattered downstairs. Quickly, she gave Samsonite the command to put him on alert and reached for her phone. She hit the number she had programmed into her speed dial that evening. The phone rang several times, and the whole time she repeated over and over in her mind, please pick up, please pick up. Finally, on the sixth ring, someone answered.
Caleb was sitting at his desk, waiting for Ethan to come out of their boss’s office. He had been in there longer than Caleb had expected it to take. They should have called Kara to explain that the situation had changed. Even though they’d told her only a few hours ago that they would keep her out of the investigation, they could no longer promise that.
Which fucking sucked. Caleb had no desire to involve Kara more than she already was. He had been beyond impressed with her, but, at the same time, he knew that she was still fighting the past. How could she not be? While he didn’t know the nitty gritty details, he knew what she went through was beyond horrific. Lost in his thoughts, he nearly jumped when his phone rang. Glancing at the readout, he recognized the number Ethan had given him to program into his phone. It was Kara.
“Montgomery, here.”
“Detective Montgomery, is my brother there?”
"He’s in a meeting, but I can get him."
"Can you just tell him that I think someone is in my house?”
“Are you sure?”
“Damn sure, please believe me. I-I heard a window break downstairs.” Her voice sounded desperate.
“I believe you. Ethan! It’s Kara; she thinks someone is in her house.”
Ethan tore out of their captain’s office, and without skipping a beat, grabbed his jacket as he flew past his desk.
“Please hurry.” Her anguished whisper tore at his heart.
“We’re coming.” He could hear her breath becoming labored, and it was clear she was beginning to panic. “Can you go to a safe place without being heard? Like a closet?”
“Sure.”
“Good, just stay very quiet. All right? Bring Sam with you wherever you decide to hide.”
“Please don’t hang up.”
“I won’t, just stay as quiet as possible. If someone is in the house, we don’t want them to know you called someone or your location in the house. Ethan and I are on our way; we should be there in less than five minutes.”
“Why did you answer?” she whispered. He could hear rustling and breathed a sigh of relief that she had listened to his advice and hidden, most likely in her closet. For some reason, he had been worried that she would try to take on the intruder. Hopefully, her big barrel of a dog was snuggled in next to her, on full alert if anyone should come near her.
“Shh, be very quiet. I answered because Ethan was having an important conversation with the captain, and you called my cell phone."
They were coming in hot with sirens and lights.
“You should be able to hear our sirens; we’re less than a block away. We can see your house. Stay on the phone with me, and do not move from your hiding place until I tell you otherwise.” They skidded to a stop in front of her house, and he was out and running before Ethan had put the car in park. “We’re walking up the sidewalk, all right? Are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“Stay where you are until we give you the all clear.”
Kara met them at the door. She reached for the door, startled to find it open and unlocked. When she pulled it open farther, she almost hit the floor when she met the two men with guns drawn. Samsonite was at her side on full alert; a low and menacing growl emanated from him and was aimed at the aggressive stance of the two men.
"What the hell, Kara? I told you to wait until we gave the all clear,” Caleb angrily spat out.
"I got antsy, and Samsonite was with me."
"She can take care of herself, but having said that, you should have waited like he said," Ethan stated. "Caleb, why don't you check the inside, and I’ll check the perimeter."
"The door was open when I came down here."
"We noticed. The window pan in the door was broken, and they were able to get their arm in and unlock it. Don’t touch anything," Caleb said. "Stay here while I check all the rooms. And listen to me this time," Caleb reprimanded, his voice showing that he meant business if she disobeyed.
Well, he can stuff it. She had taken care of herself for ten long years. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure why she called them. Two days ago, she would have called a locksmith and dealt with the intrusion on her own. Home for one day and already she was relying heavily on two men that meant well and were ready to take care of business where she was concerned. She would deny it if someone asked, but she was secretly grateful for their overprotectiveness and for their proximity.
Of course, two days ago there wasn’t a murder weighing on her conscience. Not just a murder, but one that had scary similarities to her own abduction and narrow escape of death. The only difference—and it was a huge one—was this girl hadn’t been so lucky. The question was, what did it all mean? Was it a message to her, or was it a mere coincidence? She didn't believe in coincidences. She believed in well-thought-out plans.
"Everything is clear here. Unless whoever broke in unpacked all your boxes, it looks like everything is where it should be."
Kara jumped at the sound of Caleb behind her; clearly, she wasn’t as calm as she thought she had been. Slowly, she turned and looked at him, her face flushed from the male magnetism that he threw off. An unfamiliar sensation began to spread through her—a sensation she couldn’t exactly define at first, but then she suddenly realized what it was. Her body was reacting to the sight of Caleb, chest puffed out, gun drawn. But she wasn’t scared. She was attracted to him.
8
Kara couldn’t even be embarrassed at the mention of all the boxes being unpacked, even though she found it all too revealing because she was too busy being embarrassed by her reaction to him. It made her feel naked like he could see into her. Could he see the way she was reacting to him? Did he see that she was unpacked because everything had to be in order? Because she would rather stay up than sleep and have horrible nightmares. Unwilling to analyze her reaction to him, she opted to focus on his statement.
"About that; I was just too excited about the new house, found myself having a hard time falling asleep. First house and all, I wanted it to look just right. Not to mention I have to report to work soon, so I wanted to be settled in." She rambled on and on, wanting to stop, but not being able to.
Kara found her lie sounded transparent and knew he could see right through it, but she was infinitely grateful he didn’t let on. He merely nodded in quiet acceptance of her lie, signaling that he knew if she wanted to discuss anything further, she would on her own time.
She wasn’t sure why she had felt the need to lie. So what if she never got more than two hours sleep a night? There were a lot of people like her. Although, most people didn’t develop insomnia the way she had. Not many people found it hard to sleep because they were scared when they woke up they would be tied to a bed in a dilapidated cabin.
"Ethan come back yet?"
"No, not yet. Do you think I scared whoever it was off?"
"Not sure, maybe. Maybe they heard the sirens.”
"Kind of strange how I have been home for less than twenty-four hours, and this happens. I researched this area very closely and chose it due to its low crime rate.”
“And its proximity to the police station?” he asked knowingly.
“I am not embarrassed to say that was a factor in my choice, as well. And I may be a jumpy person, even a tad paranoid, but I find it awfully suspicious that this happened today."
"It could be a coincidence. The intruder might have been watching this house when it was vacant and knew you had moved in. Thought it would be an easy B&E since you showed up alone." Samsonite let out a small sigh. Caleb chuckled, and Kara found herself enveloped in the warmth of the sound. “I don’t think Samsonite agrees with that theory. At leas
t she had you with her. Feel better, tough guy?” he asked as he rubbed Samsonite’s head.
"You are lucky I released him from the attack command, he would have ripped off your arm otherwise," she said quietly, mesmerized by the man rubbing the head of her treasured dog.
Ethan walked through the door looking grim. Kara's heart sank a little when she saw him. Judging by the look on his face, there was more to this break-in than met the eye. Kara felt weary again and decided she needed to sit down before she heard whatever her brother had to say. She wandered into the living room and sat on the couch, drawing her legs up and pulling a blanket over her to try to warm her from the sudden chill that had seized her body. Both men stayed in the entryway for a moment. She could hear them whispering and knew they were trying to figure out if she could handle what Ethan had discovered. Kara wasn’t going to let them sugarcoat it for her.
"Would you two just get in here?" As she spoke the words, they had already made the short distance from her entryway to the living room. Samsonite climbed up on the couch next to her, successfully warming her and comforting her at the same time.
"I am not going to tiptoe around this," Ethan began.
"Well, that’s refreshing," she said sarcastically.
"There are footprints all around outside; I found some pretty disturbing things, especially by your bedroom window. It appears whoever broke in had been waiting quite some time, most likely for you to fall asleep."
"What else?" she asked, even if she didn’t want to hear the rest, she knew she had no choice but to hear it.
"It appears whoever was out there …” He paused, obviously rethinking telling her.
"For God’s sake, after everything I’ve been through, I’m sure I can handle it. Just tell me already."
"It appears that whoever was watching you made it a peep show. There is evidence of ejaculation on the side of your house."
In the Night (Darkness Falls Book 1) Page 6