The implication of what he meant turned Ryker’s stomach. He jerked his arms with all his might against the restraints so hard he felt the skin of his wrists tear as the plastic bit into his skin. “Don’t you dare hurt her!”
“Keith, no. This isn’t what you really want.” Jo Jo struggled against him but only managed to propel them faster down the hallway toward the bedroom.
When they reached the two awkward steps, he thought for sure Keith would stumble and give her the upper hand, but he didn’t. Their progression slowed, Keith taking each step carefully.
“I told Sam those damn things were dangerous,” Keith said. “She never did take me seriously, did she?”
Ryker mentally smacked himself, remembering how close the three had been growing up. Of course Keith would have visited Sam’s parents’ lake house. Hell, he probably even had a damn key. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Jo Jo tried to stomp on Keith’s foot and screamed as he twisted her arm behind her back. Then Ryker heard the eerie sound of the bedroom door close. His chest ached, the helplessness threatening his sanity. He had to do something.
Joanna’s head throbbed as she fought like a wild woman, refusing to be an easy victim. Keith had always been kind and gentle and concerned for her safety. This wasn’t even the same person. A gag strangled her as she caught sight of his facial features, the odd smell of his disfigurement like nothing she’d ever smelled.
Her gaze swept the room. She needed a weapon. Anything to use against him to aid in her escape. If she could get him in the right position, she might be able to use her Karate training against him, but with her lame leg it was a long shot. When she opened her mouth to reason with him again, his gloved hand covered the lowered portion of her face. Without hesitation, she bit down. Hard. But he didn’t budge. Like the fire had damaged all the nerve endings in his hands.
“Easy, girl. Save that spunk and energy for the bed.”
Oh no! He planned to rape her? She tried to wrap her mind around that. How could this man turn so twisted and she be completely oblivious? When had it started? What had set him off?
Then it hit her. It was true. This power play had been going on for years. It was all about control. It always had been. Keith’s subtle manipulation over the years. The way he followed her. Watched her.
A chill as cold and numbing as ice ran through her blood.
“Keith, stop this now.” She tried to twist out of his arms, but his grip only tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs.
“I’m only following your father’s orders.” He laughed, but it came out all wrong, sounding painful and satanic. “You know, protecting you.”
He’d said he’d done his little surveillance crap at the request of her father, but she knew now he’d influenced her dad, told him lies so her father would stick his nose into her business and make her life miserable. Always, Keith had stepped in afterward, offering his undivided attention, comfort, and support. God, she wanted to puke. Top that off with Sam confirming the fact he’d chased away any guys who were interested in her, and she barely kept the bile down. What had he done? Threatened them? Blackmailed them?
She tried hard not to look at his disfigured face as he leaned closer and whispered, “You can call me Rambo, if you like.”
Twisting her face away, she tried to hide her whimper.
This Keith was one she’d never seen. Ryker. It had to be Ryker—when he’d came back into the picture, the mere idea she might hook up with him must have pushed Keith over the edge.
Panic built. Once he had what he wanted, then what? Would he kill her? Kill them all?
“This can be as easy or as hard as you make it, Joanna.” He shoved her backward onto the bed and followed her down, her head bouncing off the mattress from the force.
She kept struggling, not sure why his injuries weren’t working in her favor. He seemed stronger somehow. Like something else drove him.
“I won’t let you rape me, Keith.” She kicked back, connecting with his groin, and pulled herself out from under him as he hunched over and groaned in pain.
As she inched to the side of the bed, he grabbed her weak leg, yanking so hard she felt it pop. Pain jarred her brain. Her body recoiled.
“Two can play this game.” He hauled her back toward the center of the bed, pausing to catch his breath. “You hurt me. I hurt you. See how this works?”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
Clenching her face between his fingers, he turned her head so they were eye-to-eye. “Look at me, Joanna. Look what you’ve done. I have nothing to live for now. Why can’t you grant a dying man his last wish?”
She tried to keep his distorted features from her mind. Keep the nausea from working its way upward. “Because this is crazy. You’re crazy.”
“If it weren’t for the asshole in the next room, you’d have come to your senses years ago. We’d be together, living happily ever after. But no. You had to go out that night and do God only knows what with that prick. And it ruined you for eternity. I see that now. But I’ll take care of him, I promise.”
An image of Ryker’s handsome face emerged and a rush of emotion filled her. For a split second, she felt the warmth of the love she’d experienced with him, and new strength surged.
She’d survive. She had to. She couldn’t let what they’d share die. Not now. Not after finding what she’d searched for all her life.
“I’m here to rescue you. I’m not going to let you make the same mistake your mother did by marrying a man you don’t love, who won’t respect you or take care of your needs.”
She wriggled beneath his weight, trying desperately to find a way out. “Keith. Please.”
“I watched you two right here. In this room. In this bed.” Crushing her body beneath his, he grabbed her arms, lifting them above her head and holding them there with one hand. Then he laid the gun by his side and started probing her flesh. “Did you like it? Did you like the way he touched you?”
“Stop!” She closed her eyes. Tried to make the nightmare go away.
He laughed at the squeaky pitch of her voice. “I bet you knew I was there all along. You wanted to torture me further, didn’t you? Make me pay for hurting your father.”
“No. You’re wrong. I’ve only wanted to help you. You’re like family to me.”
He backhanded her so quickly and so hard she didn’t realize the sting until she tasted the blood on her lips. His face reddened. His breathing a low satanic growl.
“I’ll show you family.” His grip on her wrists loosened as he worked to get her yoga pants down with the other hand and that was all the momentum she needed.
Both hands free, she clasped them together, brought them down chest level, tightening them into a balled fist and then with all the force within her struck Keith right under the bridge of what used to be his nose.
He yelped in pain. Grabbed his face with both hands as he rolled off her and cursed her existence.
Without hesitation, she scooted to the edge of the bed, falling to the floor when her leg gave way beneath her. The excruciating pain ripped a scream of agony from her lips.
“Why? Why does it have to be this way?” His words slurred together as if he were drunk.
She scrambled to one knee, dragging her bad leg behind her as she half crawled for the door. If she could get to Ryker, free him, they might have a chance.
“Stop or I’ll shoot you right there.” Keith’s cry echoed off her eardrum. “We’re both going to die today, but I was hoping we could share one last special moment before that.”
Frozen with fear, she did as he demanded. She heard him get up from the bed, the click of the gun’s safety lever immobilizing her. Would he really shoot her?
“Come here,” he said.
As she crouched on the floor, inches from the closed door, she saw a shadow move beneath and flicker across the tile. The hairs on the back of her neck spiked. Someone stood on the other side.
“I said come here. Crawl to me.”
At Jo Jo’s second bloodcurdling scream, Ryker pushed himself up to a sitting position to get better leverage on the cord and pulled until he thought he’d pass out. Seconds later, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was free.
Hands trembling from the pain and efforts to escape, he made a mad dash for the gun on his hip. And then remembered Keith had it.
Damn it.
Scanning for another weapon, he tore through the living room on his way toward the bedroom. As he passed the roll top desk in the corner by the kitchen, an odd shaped box caught his attention. A gun case? Could he get that lucky?
His leg pounded from the overexertion, his shoulder in serious need of adjustment. Rolling his arm forward, he ground his teeth against the pain and heard a pop. Pain radiated down to his toes. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’ll pass.
Seconds later the pain subsided, and he turned his attention to the metal box. He picked it up. Shit. Locked. With a digital combination lock.
Taking a deep breath, he fumbled with the front of the box, spinning the numbered dial. He only had seconds. Figure out the combo and then move. On a whim, he punched in Jo Jo’s birthday. A date he’d remembered for some reason despite all the years that passed.
Well, son of a bitch. The lip popped open, exposing a 9mm Berretta. Wicked anxiety washed over him.
Yanking the gun from the case, he checked to make sure it was loaded. Then he headed down the hallway for some serious payback. What the hell was this Sam chick doing with a gun? He shook his head, making a silent promise to kiss her. And then make damn sure she knew how to use the weapon before giving it back.
Gun aimed and ready, he maneuvered his sore body down the two steps and prepared for what he’d find. Keith’s strained voice filtered through the door.
“Crawl to me.”
What the hell?
Reaching for the doorknob, he slowly twisted it, listening to the sounds on the opposite side.
“That’s better. Let’s do it the easy way.”
Ryker shoved the door open. Keith sat on the edge of the bed, his gun trained on Jo Jo as she crouched on the floor mere inches from him.
“Well, hello, lover boy. Come on in, join us.” Keith glared him down, pure hatred spiking the taut air. “Time for you to choose, Joanna. Me or him?” he asked, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her off the floor as he stood. He held her tight in front of him, the gun poking into her ribcage and killing any chance Ryker might get off a clean shot.
“Put the gun down, Keith. It’s over. You have nowhere to go.”
Keith walked backward toward the French doors behind them. He unlatched the lock, keeping Jo Jo’s body between him and Ryker. He then used his weight to shove them open, dragging her out with him as she fought to get free.
“Stop, Keith. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“Shut up and be still, Joanna.” He looked over his shoulder, adjusting his direction.
All Ryker could do was follow. Pray he found a way to distract him, get the upper hand. But it didn’t look promising. Keith was moving toward the edge of the deck Sam was having built. Toward the twenty-foot drop off.
Shit!
Joanna’s heart raced. Keith meant to kill them both. That was evident the minute he crossed through the yellow caution tape strung across the opening where the boards had yet to be laid.
“What kind of man uses a woman as a shield?” Ryker followed, his gun aimed and ready.
“What do you see in him, Joanna?” Keith stopped mere feet away from the uneven ledge. So close he sent tiny pebbles cascading down over the side.
She drew in a deep breath, her gaze locked on the short distance between them and the abyss, her irregular breaths increasing as the magnitude of the situation took hold.
His warped features pained, Keith took a few more steps back. “I never meant to hurt you, Joanna. I only wanted to love you.” With her next jerk, he wrenched her hard, and she yelped. Keith raised his weapon to Ryker. “Wrong choice, Joanna. But I forgive you.”
She fought to find a way out, a way to defuse the situation. “You say you love me. But how can you love someone and hurt them like this?”
Keith’s composure wavered. His deformed features softened and he stilled, thinking. Blinking. As if trying to make a decision.
He then leaned down and kissed her cheek, the feel and thick, putrid smell of his burned skin so strong she could almost taste it, stirring up another bout of nausea. “My dad said he loved my mom. Look what he did. Had an affair with the first slut that crossed his path.”
She ignored the vulgar quip about her mother. “He made a mistake. We all make mistakes. Truly loving someone means having the courage to admit you’re wrong.”
Keith’s fingers twitched on the gun.
“Don’t you see? You can’t make someone love you. It doesn’t work that way.” Her entire body shook as she spoke, her scattered emotions getting the best of her.
Keith shifted his weight, the painful ordeal and her constant struggling obviously getting to him. Several bigger rocks broke free behind them and crashed against the narrow bank then splashed into the water.
Eyeing the work area, the numerous holes dug for the corner posts to support the decking and the cleared brush beyond, she realized the weakened ground wasn’t going to hold their weight much longer.
Ryker worked his way around the decking, getting closer to them. “If you love her, put the damn gun down. Get away from the cliff. Let her go.”
“I never meant to hurt you. Honest. Or your father.” Keith’s voice wavered.
Death danced dangerously within Keith’s wicked soul.
Ryker yelled, “Jo Jo, don’t move!”
The eerie sound of cracking and shifting earth froze them all to the spot.
Her right foot slipped on the now rutted ground. Keith caught her just before the earth fell out beneath her, pulling her up beside him.
More cracking, a visible line forming on the ground mere inches in front of where Keith and Joanna stood. She needed to make a decision.
“Damn it! The whole thing’s gonna go. Get her out of there!” Ryker took a step forward, reaching out his hand.
But it was too late. The ground shook, a loud sound echoing through the trees and cool air—a warning of the violence to come.
“I’m sorry, Joanna,” Keith said, the gun dropping to the unstable dirt.
Joanna didn’t hesitate. Both hands on his upper torso, she shoved hard, the momentum sending Keith backward over the ledge and helping push her in the opposite direction toward Ryker’s outstretched hand. Seconds later the entire ledge gave way.
“Ryker!” Her high-pitched scream mingled with the crashing of rock and debris as it pummeled to the huge jagged sandstone rocks and lake below. “Oh, God, no!” She’d almost made it, but only managed to hit the stable part of the ground at waist level.
“Grab my hand!” The panic in Ryker’s tone said it all.
She was going to die.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The dirt kicked up around them.
Jo Jo screamed.
One minute the ground was stable; the next it wailed.
Ryker lost his balance as the dirt shifted beneath his feet. He went down hard. Pain ricocheted through his muscles and bones from the impact, and he scrambled to recover.
He looked up just as Jo Jo’s beautiful face dipped beneath the ledge.
“Fuck No! Hang on!” He leaped forward onto his stomach, grabbing Jo Jo’s right forearm before the small grouping of rocks she landed on dropped out from underneath her feet. The ground moaned and crumbled under the weight of her body as she dangled over the cliff, fighting for another foothold. “Jo Jo! I will not let you fall.”
It was like damn quicksand, the way the earth swallowed up everything. The sound deafening. Dirt, rocks, trees sliding, the unmerciful soil pitching it all together and sending the clustered masses over the bluff in a cloud of suffocating
dust.
He turned his head and coughed the dust particles from his burning lungs. His eyes watered, stung.
“Please don’t let me go,” she pleaded, trying desperately to grasp his arm with her other hand, every move causing the grip he had to slip.
“Be still.” His heart hammered in his ears. “Look around you, find a root, something to cling to.”
“Ryker, I…” Her words were lost in the sound of another break in the weakened ledge. Inches from where they fought against gravity, another huge hunk of earth cracked, broke free, and tumbled to the uneven rocks below.
“Damn it!” Keith had gone down with the first collapse, but Ryker had no intentions of letting Jo Jo follow.
Panicked as hell, she managed to stop her body from wildly swinging side to side, giving him time to maneuver himself around to his butt where he dug in with his heels, pulling, tugging, inching her upward toward him and stable ground. But the earth kept giving beneath her weight in a domino effect.
He darted a glance over his shoulder.
Shit. He was running out of room behind him where the new decking piled up high against the boards already nailed in place. Once there, they’d both go down.
“Don’t let go,” she begged again. The terror on her beautiful face tore at his soul as her fingers burrowed deep into his forearm, where she clung to him with all her strength. With each forceful jerk, his injured shoulder threatened to give out, the painful shaking causing beads of sweat on his forehead to trickle down into his eyes and mix with the dirt dusting his lashes.
Damn it, he couldn’t see. Everything blurred. And wiping his face on his shirt only made his hazy vision worse.
“I won’t take you down with me,” Jo Jo whimpered, sneaking a peek over her shoulder, her strong grip slacking off.
“Don’t you dare give up.” With his last bit of strength, he swiped at her other hand and caught it in midair. If she went over, he was going, too. There was no other option. But damn it to hell, he wasn’t ready to die. They had too much to live for.
Sinful Secrets Page 27