by Dale Mayer
“Was that Paul’s attitude too?”
“Of course it was. Paul usually got the women. He made all the arrangements.”
“Well, Paul’s dead now. So he can’t defend himself anymore, which is a good thing because I’d probably punch him out if he tried. And now we’re looking for his father. Of course, Jeff, we’re also looking for the other three rapists. There were five, right?”
He sighed, then nodded. “Believe me, Randy and Lee didn’t want to do it.” He snorted. “Honestly I’m not sure they did it with her. They’re both gay. I know Randy couldn’t get a hard-on with Tamara.”
“How nice to be thankful for some things,” she said caustically.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if those two didn’t rat us out. They were here for a while, but then they disappeared. As for Lawrence, I have no idea where he is. He was here, shot the guy and disappeared. I haven’t had much to do with him since the shit hit the fan over Tamara’s suicide, and the group broke up.”
“Did the general save your ass in the military too?”
“He had to. If he didn’t protect me, I could’ve taken Paul down in a heartbeat.”
“And how many women did you do this to … what you did to Tamara?”
He shrugged. “You can’t compare them to Tamara. I don’t know what the hell that was all about. She was all over Paul at the beginning.”
“Because she may have wanted to date Paul didn’t mean she deserved to be raped by all of you.” She stared at him in disgust. “How many other women?”
“A couple. I don’t know—maybe four or five. Nobody made any stink about it like Tamara did.”
“Names.” In the distance, she heard sirens. She pressed, “I want the names of all the women.”
“You can ask all you want, bitch.”
Harrison grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pinched real hard.
Jeff gargled a funny noise, like the oxygen was cut off to his windpipe. When Harrison released him, he gasped.
In a conversational tone, Zoe said, “One way or the other you’re doing jail time. For all I know, you’re involved in my mother’s beating and in my father’s murder. And, as far as I can see, you likely had something to do with Paul’s murder too.”
He stared at her in horror. “I didn’t have anything to do with any of that shit.”
“The women’s names.” Her voice was hard.
He closed his eyes and recited them.
She’d heard of one, knew of another, but the others were new. She nodded. “You sure there are no others?”
He shook his head. “No, there were no others. Paul might’ve done a few on his own, but we didn’t do any more together.”
“What about the two of you without the gang?”
He shook his head. “No, we figured there was safety in numbers.”
“Thus proving you knew it was wrong from the beginning.”
“I’m not saying another fucking word to you, bitch.”
She shrugged, holding up her phone to him. “It doesn’t matter if you do or not. I already taped this conversation.” She raised her gaze to Harrison. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head. “We’ll make sure all of them go down.”
“I want justice,” she said. “Even though it’s too late for Tamara, it’s not for those other women to know they are not forsaken because they don’t have a penis.” She shot a hard glance at Jeff and said, “I’d sure like to nail some of the murders on you, making sure you do plenty of jail time and are somebody’s bitch. See how you like the showers after you’re gang-raped.” She turned and walked along the sidewalk, pacing back and forth again. She had to clear her head. It was one thing to pick up the three other men, but what the hell did all this have to do with her brother?
She returned with more questions for Jeff. “Do you know my brother?”
He shook his head, his face pale as the shock of his injury kicked in. He collapsed to his knees, his bloody hand gingerly against his chest. “I know of your brother. Paul knew him.”
“Did you know Paul was meeting him?”
“They met off and on for years.” He snorted. “Your brother is bad news.”
“I know.” She nodded. “I just don’t know how bad.”
He stared at her in surprise, sweat pouring off his forehead “He’s way worse than Paul.”
“You have any proof of that?”
“Proof? Paul sure as hell did,” he snapped. “He liked to have things on different people. I think that’s why his father was forced to protect him. Paul had stuff on his own father.”
“Nice family.”
“Almost as nice as yours,” he shot back.
She winced. “Good point.”
*
After the cops arrived, Harrison made a quick phone call, sharing updates with Levi. Harrison learned the ballistics on the senator’s gun confirmed he hadn’t been killed with it. When Harrison was done, he walked over to the same detective they’d spoken to earlier. “The other two men involved in this case took my injured man to the hospital. You need to grab them before they disappear.”
The detective gave him a hard look. “What are their names?”
Harrison gave him all five who had been involved in the rape case. “The dead man you found in Zoe’s brother’s bedroom was Paul, the instigator, the leader. His father is a general in the military. That guy here, Jeff, was another one of the five who raped Tamara Vettering. The two men who took my friend to the hospital—Randy and Lee—were the weaker links of the five rapists. Paul blackmailed Randy and Lee into doing the gang rapes, forcing them to comply. And the last rapist, Lawrence, shot my man, Dakota. Lawrence is a bit of a wild card. I highly doubt he can be taken alive. Not if this scenario is any indication.” The detective motioned to Saul and Zoe, standing off to the side.
Saul’s arms were crossed over his chest, a hard look on his face.
“Were you all here when the shooting went down?”
Saul gave everyone a simple version of what happened. “This was the address Levi found for Paul. We wanted to talk to his father, find out if he knew anything about his son’s activities or who might be involved in the cover-up. But we haven’t located the general yet.” He shrugged. “As soon as we arrived, the door opened. I didn’t recognize Lawrence. I had seen his picture, but he certainly didn’t look military any longer. But he must have known he was in trouble as he slammed the door in my face, shooting right through the door. Dakota went down immediately. Two men raced out the rear door and around to the front and helped me move Dakota out of the way. They said the two men inside were crazy and always had been. I promised them I’d speak to the authorities on their behalf if they took Dakota to the hospital and cooperated with us by telling all. They agreed—which I’ve caught on video on my phone—saying they should have walked away a long time ago. They were scared enough I believed them.” He glared at the house. “Those two will talk. They’ll give up everything they know to save their hides, and they did help save Dakota. This guy”—Saul pointed at Jeff—“he’s angry he didn’t get away with Lawrence. Because now he’ll be charged.”
Jeff glared at him. “I’m not going down alone.”
Saul stared at him and gave a clipped nod. “I’m counting on that.”
Jeff dropped his gaze to the ground and shook his head. “Shit.”
“You shot at Dakota,” Harrison said. “That’s attempted murder. As far as I’m concerned, you’re also involved in the shooting and murder of a senator and beating up his wife. Quite possibly you’re involved in the other three related murders. And you have information on someone else we need.”
The cop looked at Harrison and asked, “Who?”
“Zoe’s brother, Alex. We haven’t found him.” As he said that, he felt a small hand slide into his. He glanced to see Zoe standing beside him, her fingers nestled inside his, but she stared straight at the cop. Harrison squeezed her fingers gently. “The only good thing rig
ht now is the fact that this is blown wide open. We need to find Alex and the last three members of the rape gang. But Lawrence Hitchcock is hot-headed and wild, and he’ll take out as many cops as he can before he goes down.”
The cop glanced at Jeff and asked, “Is that what you think?”
Jeff glared and then nodded. “Yeah, he would. He was recently kicked out of the military. He’s from a military family, and they aren’t happy. His father isn’t talking to him, neither is his grandfather. Lawrence is just plain angry.”
“Angry about what? That he got caught?”
Jeff nodded. “I got some immunity from the military because of the personal information I have on Paul and his father. Lawrence didn’t.”
“So he was in there to get back at you?” she cried out. “If Dakota and Saul hadn’t come along when they had, chances are he would have killed you.”
Jeff glared at her and said, “I’m not so easy to kill.”
“No, but I’m guessing the other two are.”
He winced. “What can I say? Only weak men buckle to Paul. Although he can be terrifying. Paul wanted an audience. He needed to be the leader of the group. Most people wanted to be close to Paul because of his father. But Paul’s true character came out fast. He was very sadistic. Even the girls we did go after, he’d haunt them afterward, sending text messages, saying he wanted to meet up again. Some of the pictures are on the Internet.” He shook his head. “I’m not even sure how my life came to this. It’s not what I had intended to do.”
“Did you know Paul before the military?”
He shook his head. “No. In the beginning I idolized him. I took a bunch of shit from a lot of guys. Typical military hazing. Paul stood up for me, got me out of a couple bad spots. He was always there, looking out for me. It happened so suddenly. Before I knew it, I was in way over my head, and there was no going back, no getting out. People like Paul don’t really care about anyone. They are tormented and twisted up inside. Lawrence, well, he really liked it. He was a mini-Paul. He has the capacity to be way worse. And now, if you don’t get him first, he’ll get you. He is on a rampage, and he doesn’t give a shit who he takes out. He’s got this list of people he hates.”
“Who’s first?”
Jeff snorted. “Zoe’s at the top.”
Harrison stiffened.
She laughed. “Let him come, the little piece of shit. I will take him apart limb by limb.”
Jeff nodded. “You know, I almost believe you. But he won’t come without firepower. And he never plays a fair game. He cheats at poker and will shoot you in the back.”
“Even if I do die,” she said, “the cops already know everything. It’ll be one more murder added to your legal case.”
“Not me. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I already told you so. If something happens to you, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Unless killing me was something you guys discussed.”
His gaze widened, and he shook his head. “Don’t … hell, no! No, no, no. I’m not going in that direction.”
“Too damn bad. You already did.”
Harrison glanced at her, surprised she wasn’t afraid. Instead she was smug. As if she knew something.
She smiled and said, “You can discuss all this with the prosecutor when you’re charged with the rest of the guys who are responsible.”
He shook his head. “No. No, that’s not fair.”
She laughed. “What’s fair about my mother? What the hell’s fair about my father?”
“You should be happy about your father,” Jeff snapped. “It’s one of the reasons you were on Paul’s list. He chose Tamara first though. Afterward he said it should have been you.”
Then he realized what he’d said.
Her face hardened as she turned way. She glanced at the cops and said, “Enough for you?”
The cop in charge gave a hard nod and assigned two men to escort the prisoner.
“I highly suggest you double the security at the hospital as he heals,” Zoe said as Jeff stumbled past her. “Lawrence will try to take him out. Because, like the other two, he’s a liability now.”
Harrison wrapped an arm around her and drew her close. “It’s all good.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, squeezing as hard as she could. He let her. He knew she needed something to hang on to, dealing with this situation and getting rid of some of that stress. When she finally relaxed and snuggled in close against his heart, he dropped his chin on top of her head and held her tight.
“Sometimes good things do happen to people,” he whispered against her ear. “Even to you.”
She tilted her head back with a big smile. “Well, there is one good thing in all this. You. You’re my hero.”
He groaned. “Please don’t use that term.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like it?”
He shook his head. “It’s got a not-so-good connotation for me.”
She smirked. “In that case, I guess I’ll use it a lot.”
He glared at her. “I forgot about your mean streak.” He tilted her head back, leaned down and kissed her hard.
Instead of outrage, she threw her arms around his neck and returned his kiss.
When he raised his head, he could hardly breathe.
In a low voice she said, “I sure hope you have a hotel room or someplace private to continue this.”
His heart slammed against his chest, and he squeezed her tight against his body, feeling his painful erection in his jeans. He tried to catch his breath. They were in public, after all.
Saul glanced at them, and with a smirk, headed to the Jeep, whistling a tune.
Harrison recognized it—the theme song from The Love Boat. He wrapped an arm around Zoe and hurried her in the opposite direction to the car.
Once inside she asked, “Where to?”
He gave her an innocent look. “Back to Richard’s. Isn’t that where you want to go?”
She reached a hand over and placed it on his thigh, stroking slowly up to his groin. He sucked in his breath, turned on the engine and pulled into traffic.
She snickered and said, “I’m planning a trip to heaven soon. Do you want to come?”
He hit the gas.
Chapter 14
Who was this woman inside her? Zoe didn’t recognize the hot, sexy woman suddenly needing this man like she’d never needed a man before. Was it a culmination of all the events up until now that had woken up something she’d submerged since Tamara’s death? She hadn’t had a serious relationship since then. She’d certainly never had a one-night stand. She hadn’t been able to face men. She couldn’t look at them with anything other than distrust. The anger had festered. But now it was like something had been unlocked, and the anger had eased, and in its place was this fire, this burning need to cleanse from the inside out. Not with anybody but only with this man who had stood by her side, helping her. He had shaken her plenty, right to the core, repeatedly. Now all she wanted to do was jump his bones.
She eyed his white knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel. And smiled. Because she knew he was with her every step of the way. “How long?” she asked.
“Five minutes,” he said in a strangled voice.
She gave a sultry laugh. “Maybe I can wait that long.”
He gave her an outraged look. “Well, we’re not having sex in the car, that’s for sure.”
She chuckled. “Hell, no. I’m not into two-second sex acts. I heard you guys are supposed to have staying power. Endurance. The best of the best? Right?” She gently squeezed his rock-hard muscled thigh. When a half groan slipped from his throat, she laughed a boisterous, full-bodied, sensuous laugh. “That’s okay. I won’t hold you to any kind of test the first time around. It’s been a while for me. So fast would be fine.”
He glanced at her. “A while?”
She nodded and smiled at him. “Since Tamara.”
He nodded in understanding. “She’s lucky to have had you a
s a friend.”
She nodded. “Still wasn’t enough.”
“You couldn’t do anything about it.” He waited a second and said, “But I’m delighted to know you waited.”
She chuckled again. “Yeah. The guy always says that.”
“Hey, I haven’t been exactly sleeping around either.”
“Good,” she said. Her fingers went up higher, gently stroking the crease of his jeans.
“If you keep that up, I won’t make it to Richard’s.”
“I trust you,” she said with a warm smile. “I know how much you guys are into control.”
“Jesus, you’re killing me.”
“Nah.” She gently flexed her fingers again, letting her nails scrape atop the inside of his thigh. “I don’t want to kill you right away.”
“Glad I can be of service.”
At that she laughed out loud. “Well, considering we were both in the service and now are both out of the service, maybe we should be of service to each other.”
His voice softened as he said, “I can get behind that.”
She shot him a glance. “Behind, in front, or standing?”
He shook his head and whispered, “Jesus.”
She patted his leg and slowly withdrew her hand. They approached Richard’s gate. He rolled down the window, reached across to push the buttons and waited until the gate unlocked. He drove ahead and parked. “You ready for this?”
She studied the look in his eyes, caught the heat that would sear her bones, gently stroked his cheek and said, “Bring it on.”
They both hopped from the vehicle. And, giggling like teenagers, they ran to the front door. Checking that the house was empty, hoping Foster was at his own cottage, they raced upstairs to Harrison’s room. At the bedroom, he threw open the door to check it was clear, pulled her inside, slammed the door shut and locked it behind them. She didn’t wait for him to turn around. By the time he faced her, she stood before him in her panties and bra.