by Alex Tempera
“Wow, thank you. Mistress, I mean, Angelica, why are you doing this?”
“You’re finally being true to yourself. We all need to do that. I always had a hunch you and Richard were attracted to each other, but we never played at the same time so it was never known. Now, I’m glad that you and Richard are experimenting. If you two ever decide you don’t want to be my subs, then let me know.”
“We do. We really do but if something changes, we won’t hide it. Mistress, and I mean no disrespect being here in your office, but we, Richard and I, think that Lox is falling in love with you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, we think, and if it’s true and if you feel things for him, it’s OK to do that. You’re always giving us advice. Being in love doesn’t mean losing your control or power. It gives you both a kind of power.” He stood up. “Thank you for your time and money, Mistress.”
“Jerry, do you think you and Richard love each other?”
“In many ways, but being in love yet? Nah, that takes time.”
“You’re right about that. Dismissed, Jerry,” I smiled.
He bowed dramatically and then left the room.
I shook my head and laughed because my sub was giving me advice and hell, he was probably right. I realized he was right. So many different types of love and only one holy-shit-I’m-falling-in-love-with-you-and-never-want-to-be-without-you type of love.
The phone beeped and I picked it up. “Richard?”
“Yes, Ms. Ralston, it’s official business, well, kind of.”
“What can I do for you?”
“You asked me to tell you if we knew were Tim McCoy was.”
“Yes, did you arrest him?”
“No, ma’am, you see, we got word that he was staying at the Budget Inn on Route 1A, but he wasn’t there when we arrived to arrest him. The CSU team got forensics from the motel room where your friend, Ms. Robinson was held and they confirmed it was his. He is definitely the one who hurt her. I’m not sure where he would go, but is it possible he’d go after her again?”
“Not in the hospital. He’s a coward. Richard, he likes the Budget Inns, doesn’t he?”
“Looks that way. Mistress, um, Ms. Ralston, don’t do anything. Let the police handle it.”
“He likes the Budget Inns and he’s working his way back toward Boston. Richard, I have to go.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Richard, there’s a Budget Inn across from the hospital, right?”
“Yes, down the road.”
“I have to go.” I hung up. I opened my bottom drawer and pulled out my gun and bullwhip. I put them in my bag and then I noticed the old envelope. I picked it up out of the drawer and opened it. Stay away from my slut! Tim had written me and threatened me. I looked at the letter again. He wrote it on Motel 6 stationery. “Damn.” I stared at the phone, about to pick it up, but I shook my head. “This is my fight,” I whispered.
I headed out of the office. “Elaine, give this to Richard. Call him in 10 minutes and tell him I had something for him. Give this to him.” I dropped the letter from Tim on the desk and headed down the hall.
I knew he was a coward. I drove my car and parked in the parking lot of the Motel 6. It was just a few blocks from my building and very close to the interstate, but this bastard wasn’t going to escape. He wasn’t going to go after Mae again, yet, he wanted me. That wasn’t the first letter or the last one he sent me. I asked the manager for his room number and he was only all too happy to help me. He assumed I was Tim’s entertainment, he even gave me the room key.
I opened the door quietly and could hear the shower running. I looked around the room and could see the razor whip sticking out of one of his bags. Still had splashes of red on it, probably from Mae. I instantly was reminded of what he did to her. What she looked like when she was nude, the slashes, all the way to her bones. I pulled my gun out of my bag and walked into the bathroom. I saw his silhouette behind the curtain and then the water turned off.
I grabbed a towel and waited outside the open door. Tim stepped out and started to dry himself off. I put the gun back in my bag and stepped into the bathroom. Before he could do anything. I wrapped the towel around his head, covering his face, and twisted it, pulling him to the ground. I dragged him into the bedroom area by the towel and forced him on his stomach. I dug my stiletto deep into his back and pulled my gun out, aiming it at his towel covered head.
He screamed and begged. “What do you want?” he cried.
I so wanted to shoot the bastard, but I didn’t. He deserved worse than being shot, as he lay naked on a dirty motel room floor. Much worse.
I held the gun in one hand and searched my bag for my toy bag. I always carried a small bag of my special toys with me, something that I usually brought to the club with me. I pulled out the wrist cuffs and cuffed his hands behind his back. I used the towel and dragged him to his feet. “If you fucking move, I’ll blow your head off. Do you hear me?”
He nodded his head slightly. He was still crying but he didn’t fight. He obeyed. Fucker. Goddamn coward.
I had to bring him somewhere but where? Then I knew. I covered his nudeness with a blanket and we walked out to the parking lot. It wasn’t busy that time of day and he was smart enough to have a back room. I tossed him into the trunk of my car and pulled out into the road. He didn’t fight. I knew he was a coward. All abusers are cowards.
I drove out of the city and down Route 1. A few miles out of the city, there’s a section that was all woods on both sides of the road. Miles of woods. I knew there was a small clearing in one of the parking areas.
We used to hike here as kids and even made a fort once. One of my many foster homes, actually my favorite, used to be only a few blocks from here. Mae and I used to build forts and pretend that one day, we’d have our own fancy house. Mae, Alec, Natalia, and Dane were my only family. I had to repay her. This bastard hurt my family.
I drove until the woods were too thick and I couldn’t drive anymore. I pulled the bastard out of the trunk of the car. I looked around and we were only surrounded by trees, and maybe some wildlife, but the birds certainly didn’t care, and if the squirrels wanted to chomp down on his nuts, more power to them.
I handcuffed him to the grill of my car and removed the towel from around his head. He turned and looked at me, well as much as he could stretch by turning his head. “You?”
“Yes, you sonafabitch! It’s me.”
He snickered lightly. “What are you gonna do? Shoot me?”
“Nope, not yet,” I dropped my bag on the ground as I removed the whip. I was very adept with the bullwhip. I never used it on my subs, but I did train others on how to use it. I could slash it, or make it wrap around someone or something. It wasn’t my kind of play, more like fucking vengeance. Others used the whip as a play toy, not me. My subs got a crop or paddle. Not this. I could be very deadly with this. I flicked my wrist and the end slashed against his bare back. I flicked it again, slashing against his bare ass. “You fucker. You hurt Mae.”
I could feel the anger burning up inside me. Angry tears from the memory of Mae’s abused body. The memories of knowing he kept putting his hands on her. I wasn’t even flicking my wrist anymore. I just grabbed the handle and kept hitting him with the whip. When one hand got tired, I switched to the other. I couldn’t even hear him cry. I just kept hitting and hitting and hitting … until his arms wrapped around me and pulled me away.
Lox whispered in my ear. “It’s all right now,” he held me tightly.
I couldn’t catch my breath, I dropped to the ground, but he still held on to me and let me cry. He held me tight. So tight. He saw my fear. He saw my weakness. I was out of control. For the first time in my life, I was out of control, and yet, he just held me. My sub. My panther. My lover. Loxias just held me.
I don’t remember hearing Richard’s voice but he was there, too. Lox led me to my car as Richard did something, I’m not sure what, but he
removed the bastard from my car.
Richard looked at me; he was wearing his police uniform. “Ms. Ralston, are you all right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No,” I said. “I, um, I–I…” I couldn’t even say the words. They knew what happened. I was out of control.
“We got a report that he kidnapped you and brought you here in your car. I see you managed to turn the tables.”
“Um, you got a report? That’s not possible,” I stopped myself. “A report?”
“The manager at the Motel 6. He said that a man matching McCoy’s description was holding a woman against her will and led her to a car that wasn’t his,” Richard explained.
I had no idea if they were covering for me or if the report was true. I knew I should shut up. I needed to talk to Alec or Dane. I wanted to go home. I was surprised that Lox was still holding me. “I want to go home.”
“I’ll take her,” Lox said. “Richard, thank you for the ride.”
“Of course,” he said, turning around and heading toward his patrol car.
I have no idea what happened after that. I don’t know where Richard took McCoy. I barely remember the ride home, and all I kept thinking was that Lox saw me weak and I needed to get a car wash.
19
LOX SAT DOWN on the sofa and handed me a cup of coffee. “Ang, what the hell were you doing out there?”
“I don’t even know. Why are you still here?”
“Where else would I be?”
“You got to see the real fucking me. Lovely, huh? Totally out of control.”
“I saw a woman in pain. You’re beautiful. You and I are something special and I was worried about you.”
“How did you even know where I was?”
“I was on my way to meet with you when I saw Richard coming out of the building. We weren’t sure where you went after the motel but I called Mae at the hospital. She said you two used to have a fort when you lived down the road from the woods.”
“Yeah, one of my many foster homes,” I sighed. I knew what he was going to say next.
“I didn’t know you were in foster care.”
“Natalia is my older sister. There were four of us. I’m the youngest, she’s the oldest. She was 15 when I was born.” I sipped the hot coffee.
“I’m sorry to pry. I just didn’t know.”
“It’s OK. I don’t really talk about it much. No one really asks. Anyone who was with me from the beginning of the building the business already knows.”
“You tell me your story and I’ll tell you mine,” he smiled.
“Um, first things first. Am I going to get into trouble for what I did?”
“No,” he kissed my forehead. “You’re not. Richard will take care of it. I doubt that bastard will say anything.”
“Good. I was scared. I wanted him dead.”
He put his arm around me. “Being out of control doesn’t make you weak. I’d never think you were weak.”
“I was terrified. I didn’t care if I killed him. He hurt Mae. More than I ever knew about. All I saw when I was hitting him was her beaten and slashed body.”
“I completely understand.”
“Did the manager really make that report?”
“Yes, he did. I was there with Richard. Richard told him we were looking for McCoy who was a woman beater. He said he saw McCoy lead a woman out to her car and she looked like she was in trouble.”
“He said that? Really?”
“Yes,” he kissed my cheek. “Angelica, tell me your story.”
“Not much to tell.” I leaned into his arms and they felt good around me. I don’t know when the last time I was held. I usually hold not the other way around, but I wasn’t going to argue. This felt very good and after the day I had, I needed it. I needed Lox. He didn’t run away. He stayed. He actually stayed.
“You were in foster care? Why?”
“My father was a professor at Harvard and my mother was a high school English teacher. My parents and my sister, Laura, and brother, James, were driving home from one of my brother’s baseball games. I was only three so I was with my grandmother. Natalia was scoping out her new college. She was accepted to Harvard. On the way home, the car was hit by a drunk driver. My parents died on impact and my brother and sister lingered on for a few weeks but then died.” I stood up and walked over to my shelf in the corner of the room. I picked up a silver frame. “This was our last photo taken before they all died.”
He stood up and joined me. “Looks like a very happy family.”
“We were. Well, I remember being happy and feeling loved. My grandmother took care of me until she passed away, and Natalia went to medical school. Harvard. She’s very smart. After Gram died, I lived with a cousin for a little while and then was put in a foster care center. You know, a group home. I hated it but I endured. I learned quickly how to take care of myself. I also learned self-control. I was an angry child. Then, I met Alec and Dane. They were best friends. They took me under their wing at school. They got me into Tae Kwon Do, you know, martial arts. I learned self-defense but I also learned self-control and how to take control of situations. I was eventually put with the Wilson’s. They lived on a farm down the road from the woods. That’s when I met Mae. She lived across the street, but her family was really, really rich. Her mother is some big cosmetics queen in Europe. She lived in the big house on the hill. She was raised by nannies. Me, I kind of raised myself.”
I set the photo back on the shelf and walked over to the sofa. I watched Lox, and he was listening intently to my story. “When Natalia finished school, she stayed here in Boston and we got to know each other all over again. I stayed with the Wilson’s until I turned 18. Mae and I went to college. I got several scholarships to go. I majored in business administration and graphic design. In college, Dane and Alec opened their club and brought me into the lifestyle.”
“How did you build your business? It’s so successful. You did it all yourself, right?”
“I worked as a copy clerk at a local newspaper to earn a living, while I went to school. Mae and I were sharing a loft in the art district and since she was paying for everything with her trust fund, I was able to save my money. Mae gave me the startup costs for the business and building, in exchange for me giving her a job. After the first year, I was able to pay her back and we just kept going. It was six of us that first year. Elaine and Mae have been with me ever since. The other three are Ted, John, and Edmund. They work in the printing area. Now, we employ over 1000 employees and yes, we’re successful. My employees are very loyal and I’m loyal to them.”
“I see that. That’s why I wanted to join this. I thought my resources could help you expand, but I think even if you didn’t partner with us, you’d be International in another five years or so.”
“Maybe,” I sighed. “I love what I do. It started out to be a fashion or trend magazine, but it grew into more. I want women to feel empowered. To trust who they are inside and to let no one tear them down. Alec and Dane helped me realize who I was. If it weren’t for them, I could’ve been down a totally different path.”
“Well, you have some really good friends,” he smiled.
“Yes, I do,” I smiled. I knew I was very lucky. I wish I had remembered my family but they’re still in my heart. Dane and Alec saved my life in so many ways. They were like brothers to me. I looked in Lox’s eyes. “Tell me your story.”
“It’s not as interesting as yours,” he laughed slightly. “Um, how about some more coffee?”
“Sounds good, but you better not be trying to change the subject,” I followed him into the kitchen area.
“Of course not,” he poured us both another cup.
I sat on the stool at the island and sipped my coffee. He sat down on the stool next to me. “So, your parents?”
“My parents are both alive. My patéras, um, father started Hercules Publications in Greece. It started small. Kind of like you did. I grew up in the company. Hell, at age five, I acted as
gopher, running memos to the different offices. It was great. My father retired a few years ago. Well, he says he’s retired, but that just means instead of working 80 hours a week he’s only working 50.” He snickered. “I don’t remember when it went international, but since I had dual citizenship, my father made me the designated traveler.”
“Can I ask when did you first notice my small company?” I sipped my coffee but then stood up and pulled the cookie jar closer to us. I pulled out two cookies. “Sorry, but I’m starving.”
“Would you like me to cook something?”
“Nah, cookies are fine,” I smiled.
“Yeah, sure, you need some sustenance.” He stood up and walked behind the counter. “How about just a couple sandwiches?”
“Sounds good. But you’re still telling me about your family.”
“No problem,” he started to pull the deli meat, mayo, mustard, veggies and bread out of the refrigerator. “Um, I don’t see you as a grocery shopping kind of person, but your cabinets and icebox are always full.”
“Icebox?” I raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“Icebox,” he smirked.
“I do shop but I have a cleaning lady who comes in and shops. That’s all. I buy stuff when I need it. Edna comes in every other weekday at nine and leaves by noon.”
“Oh, but you’re not really a slob, are you?” he laughed as he set the sandwiches on the plates.
“No, but she straightens up and dusts, does my laundry, things like that.” I took a bite of the sandwich as he cleaned up. He sat down and began to eat. “So you have dual citizenship? You were born here?”
“Well, in New York City. My parents were on vacation and then I came a little early. Mi̱téra, um, Mother said I was always in a hurry.”
“Are you?”
“Always in a hurry? I guess, more like a little impatient, but only when there are things that I really want.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”