by Stella Moore
Melissa called Eric to give him an update. When he balked at her instructions to wait at the house, she wrapped authority around her like a cloak. “Eric, listen to me. She is going to need you, and she’s going to need home. Once we have her, we’ll bring her home as soon as we can. By the time you catch up to us, the bastard should be rotting in jail. Trust me. Yes, call me as often as you need. Of course.”
“You’re kinda bossy,” Meyers commented lightly.
She pinned him with a glare. “I am not bossy. Bossy is what men call women who know how to stand up for themselves. And yes, when it comes to protecting people I care about, I will always stand firm.”
“Well you don’t seem to mind ordering people around,” he argued, unsure of why he was even pressing the issue. It wasn’t like he had a thing for her. And this was hardly the time to be thinking about that anyway.
“Yes, well. You don’t really know me that well, either, now do you? People are very often not what they seem,” she quipped.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Now she smiled, a slow, knowing smile that simultaneously terrified and aroused him. “Oh, Detective Meyers. You wouldn’t know what to do if I told you,” she purred.
Unsure of how to answer that, Meyers stayed silent as they raced down the highway.
It was over an hour later before Franklin turned off the highway onto a back road, and another twenty minutes before they pulled onto the private drive.
“Franklin, it’s beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.” The lies nearly stuck in her throat, but Penny knew she needed to continue to play her part.
“I’m glad you like it. Though you won’t be thanking me once we start your punishment. Well, you will, but I doubt you’ll mean it.” Penny turned to face him, and what she saw in his eyes terrified her to the depths of her soul. Where before she had only seen coldness and disdain, now she saw madness. Please, someone, find me.
“May I use the bathroom, sir? It was a long drive,” she asked as they entered the house, keeping her eyes locked on the polished hardwood floor.
Franklin studied her as he considered her request. “All right. No use in making a bigger mess than necessary. Follow me,” he ordered as he walked down a short hallway. “I’ll be right here. You have three minutes. If I have to come in and get you, well, you don’t want me to do that.”
Nodding, Penny hurried into the small room. She quickly used the facilities and then began quietly searching for a place to hide her phone. In the end, she strapped it to the pipes under the sink, praying Franklin wouldn’t find it.
“Please, hurry,” she whispered, though she had no idea if anyone was even listening anymore.
Detective Meyers pushed the car to its limit as they listened to Penny’s whispered plea.
“Where is she?” he barked, not noticing the silent tears that tracked down the doctor’s face.
“What if we’re too late?” she whispered, looking up at him in horror. While they’d been moving, Penny was safe. Now that he had her alone, where nobody knew they even existed, anything was possible.
“Dr. French, I need you with me. I need you to tell me where they are,” he pleaded. “Now!” he ordered in a tone that made her jump, but seemed to snap her out of it.
“Yes, sir,” she replied automatically, fighting back a blush. “Now that they’ve stopped, I think the app can give us directions. Yes! Okay, in five miles, we’re turning off this highway onto a back road.” She gave him specifics as they raced down the highway.
When Penny finished in the bathroom, Franklin led her to the kitchen, where for the first time she noticed the restraints hanging from the ceiling. Almost as if she were in a trance, she allowed him to slip them over her wrists. Once they were secure, he yanked on the chain to pull her hands high over her head. When he stopped, her toes barely touched the floor, putting an immense strain on her arms.
“This is the first part of your punishment,” he informed her. “You’ll stay like this until you learn not to leave me hanging as you gallivant around with other men.”
A sense of relief washed over her. Maybe he would leave her like this long enough for someone to find her, before he could really hurt her.
When they turned off the highway, Meyers killed the lights and the sirens. A few miles from the private driveway, he slowed down and pulled off into the grass.
“What are we doing?” Melissa demanded.
“I need to update the teams. SWAT should be here soon and we can get her.”
“But he could be hurting her, right now! We need to go.”
“Look, doc. There’s protocol to follow. This has to be done right or we risk losing her or letting him walk on a technicality. I know it sucks, but this is how we have to do it.” Meyers reached for his phone, though he was loath to disconnect Penny’s call.
“Fine. I don’t have to follow protocol.” Melissa opened the door to jump out, but a strong hand closed around her upper arm. She turned and found herself face to face with one very pissed off male.
“You’re not going anywhere. I’ll tie you up in the backseat if I have to, but you’re staying right here. Understood?” He noticed the flash in her eyes when he threatened to tie her up, uncertain if it was fury or something more like lust. But he didn’t have time to be distracted by thoughts of tying up the pretty little doctor. He had a job to do, and a woman to save.
Penny’s arms burned with the strain of holding her weight. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Franklin came in to release her. She let herself go limp, so that he was forced to catch her. No gun, she noted, and she turned to face him, making sure to stumble a bit.
“Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson,” Franklin commented as he struggled to help her stand.
“I did,” she whispered, lifting her head to look him in the eye. “Your turn,” she said, right before she plowed a knee into his groin. When he doubled over in pain, she took off for the front door, wrenching it open and racing out into the fading sunlight. Grateful that she’d thought to change her sandals out for sneakers, she ran down the drive.
Her right side exploded with pain and she saw stars when her head slammed against the grass.
“You bitch!” Franklin screamed, pinning her to the ground.
Penny bucked beneath his weight, fighting with everything she had. Desperate, she tried to remember the self-defense class she and Elisa had taken together in college. With a twist, she was able to free her arm and she raked her nails down his face, inwardly crowing when she drew blood. The back of his hand connected hard with her cheek and the world seemed to spin around her.
Then his hands were on her throat, and she was fighting to breathe.
At the same time, Detective Meyers said to Melissa, “Okay, we have a team close by. I’m going to drive up to the house and see if I can make contact with them, and keep him talking until the negotiator arrives.” He turned and fixed her with a serious stare. “No matter what happens, I need you to stay in the car. Promise me, doc,” he insisted when she simply glared at him.
“Fine. I promise.” Her stomach twisted with the lie, but she couldn’t risk him leaving her behind.
Penny’s vision began to blur as his hands pressed down on her throat. Suddenly remembering her training, she grabbed his thumb and bent it towards him, breaking his grip. They grappled until she was able to flip their positions. Straddling his chest, she dragged in deep breaths to steady herself.
Then she plowed a fist into his face, delighting in the crunch she both heard and felt when she connected with his nose. She hit him again for good measure, and then she was up and running again. When she checked over her shoulder, he was still on the ground. She turned the corner from the private drive onto the road, heading back towards civilization. She prayed she could find someone to help her, and quickly.
If not, she had a feeling she would be dead before the sun set.
“What’s that?” Melissa asked, pointing to the figure racing towards
them on the old back road. “Holy shit, that’s her! Penny!” she cried with relief as the figure became clearer. Meyers stopped the car and they both jumped out, racing to meet her.
Penny nearly collapsed with relief when she saw the detective and the doctor running to her. “He has a gun!” she screamed, pointing behind her. When she reached them, she wrapped her arms around Meyers’ neck, sobbing. “Oh God, you came! I thought I was dead. He has a gun, and he tried to kill me and oh, fuck. We need to go.”
Meyers opened the door to the back of his car and shoved both women in the back. “Stay here!” he ordered before slamming the door.
Suddenly, the area around them was alive with activity as the reinforcements showed up. Detective Meyers was barking out orders as he donned the gear his team had brought for him. They disappeared into the woods surrounding the house, leaving behind two officers to guard the car and the women inside.
Within minutes, the nightmare was over. There was Franklin screaming, handcuffed being dragged between Meyers and another officer. Penny buried her head in the doctor’s shoulder and wept.
Chapter 21
When they were on their way back, Melissa offered Penny her phone to call Eric. “Penny? Is that you?” he asked when he answered the phone, his voice raw with tears.
She thought she’d cried herself out already, but she felt more hot tears slipping down her cheeks. “It’s me, baby. I’m safe. I’m safe,” she repeated, as much to reassure herself as anyone else.
“Oh thank God. I love you so much. I was so fucking scared I was going to lose you.”
Guilt began to bloom through the relief. “I’m so sorry. I was so stupid.”
There was a long pause. “It’s okay. We can talk about it later. I’m just happy that you’re safe.”
When they finished the call, she handed the phone back to Melissa. “Thanks,” she mumbled. She felt the doctor studying her.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” she asked softly.
Penny shook her head, understanding and appreciating what was being offered. “No. I’m actually looking forward to putting this all behind me, and I don’t know that I can do that if he just lets it go. Is that weird?”
Melissa shook her head and smiled. “No. But I want you to call me after it’s over, so we can talk about it. And I’m going to want to go back to weekly sessions, at least for the next month while you process what happened today.” When Penny opened her mouth to protest, the doctor cut her off with a look. “You agree or I get Eric to agree for you. Those are your choices.”
“You’re the doctor,” Penny sighed, resting her head on the other woman’s shoulder.
After the interrogations were done, and Penny had been cleared by both the paramedics and Dr. French, Meyers dropped Penny back off at her apartment.
“Your man is going to be happy to see you,” he commented as they pulled into the parking lot. “He’s been blowing up my phone wanting to know when you’ll be home.”
Penny grinned. “Thank you for everything.”
Meyers shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Just part of the job, ma’am.”
Meyers insisted on escorting her to the apartment. Not that she minded, she was so bone tired she wasn’t sure she would have made it on her own. Before she could put her key in the lock, the door swung open, and Eric was there.
“Oh, God,” he said, before pulling her into his arms. She felt a shudder wrack his body and she realized he was fighting off tears.
“It’s okay. I’m safe. I’m okay. I love you,” she murmured, running her hands up and down his back.
Neither of them noticed when the detective slipped away, leaving them to each other.
The next morning, Penny woke alone again. Frowning, she slowly sat up, taking note of the various aches and pains. Though she had to move slowly, she was grateful to be alive. After a hot shower, she dressed and went in search of her man.
She found him in the living room, along with her parents, Elisa and Paul, and—to her surprise— Eric’s parents. “Um, morning,” she said, standing awkwardly at the edge of the living room. Eric rushed to her, running his fingers lightly over the bruise that had bloomed on her cheek.
“I can send them home, if you want,” he said under his breath.
She sent him a shaky smile. “I’m okay. I’m alive. I’m okay.”
He stepped aside and they turned as one to face the people they loved the most. Then everyone was around her, crying and hugging her and telling her how worried they’d been. They spent the rest of the day in her living room, as she told the story of everything that happened. She felt Eric stiffen next to her on the couch, and watched Paul’s eyes flash when she told them that she’d gone with Franklin willingly, so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
“You’re an idiot,” Elisa commented, and Penny saw the same heat there she’d seen in Paul’s eyes. At the collective gasp, she rolled her eyes. “We’re all thinking it. You could have called the cops, or Eric, or anyone. No way he would’ve gotten to Eric, especially if he was two hours away in freaking Chattanooga.”
Penny shrugged and toyed with the hem of her top. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was terrified and it seemed best to play along until someone could find us. Then when I looked in his eyes the first time, I realized what a huge mistake I’d made. He’s crazy. And not in a satirical way, I don’t think. Something is honestly wrong with him.”
“Well, hopefully he’ll spend the rest of his life locked up in an institution,” Elisa said with a sniff, and Penny could tell she was holding back tears. Penny leaned over and wrapped her arms around her oldest and closest friend and held her while she sobbed. “Please don’t ever scare us like that again,” Elisa whispered as they clung to each other.
“I won’t.” And then, so only Elisa could hear, “Eric will make sure I don’t.” The pair dissolved into giggles, much to the surprise and confusion of the rest of the room.
Later, when everyone had left, Penny was suddenly nervous to be left alone with Eric. She knew she was safe with him, but she knew the conversation they needed to have wasn’t going to be pleasant.
They were stretched out on the couch, with her slightly on top of him when he finally broached the topic. “I talked to Melissa,” he began casually.
Penny’s heart began to race. “Oh? What did she say?”
“Well, for starters she wanted me to know about her recommendation that you go back to weekly sessions with her for a while, and I agreed. I assured her that you would be at each session, even if I have to drive you myself. I don’t think I need to explain what will happen if you try to skip a session, do I?”
Penny sighed and shook her head. “No, sir. I’ll go,” she confirmed sulkily.
“The other thing I wanted to talk to her about was how to handle everything that happened yesterday. She told me that you had asked her not to interfere, because you feel like you need to be punished to put this whole thing behind you. Do you still feel that way?”
Penny shrugged, but he wasn’t letting her off that easily. “Penny, one of the purposes of a punishment is to help you remember to not do something again. I think we can agree that, God willing, this will not be an issue we have to deal with ever again. So as far as that goes, I don’t feel like you need to be punished.”
“That’s true,” she murmured, her stomach twisting into knots. Where was he going with this?
“But the other part is wiping the slate clean so that we can move past something without dwelling on feelings of anger or guilt. Agreed?”
“Yes, sir,” she whispered.
He waited to see if she would elaborate. “I also don’t think it’s fair for me to punish you just so I can get over being upset. If you don’t need it, or don’t want it, I won’t punish you. This one has to be completely your decision. But I am warning you, if you decide you want to be punished, it’s not going to be a quick and easy one.”
“Do I have to decide right now?” she asked.
; “Of course not, baby. I wouldn’t punish you right now anyway, not while you’re still recovering. Let’s give it a week. If at any time during that week you come to a decision, you let me know. Then, once you’re recovered, if you want, I’ll punish you. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Chapter 22
Exactly a week later, Penny found herself staring at the empty corner of her bedroom, with her underwear around her knees. For the millionth time, she asked herself if she was crazy, or just stupid. She had the opportunity to get out of a painful spanking, but was she taking it? No. Maybe crazy and stupid, she thought grimly.
But she’d gone over it in her own head and with Melissa a dozen times. She knew that this was what she needed so she could put everything behind her and move forward with Eric.
Almost as if thinking about him conjured him, she heard Eric walk into the room behind her. Every nerve was on alert as she felt him studying her.
“Turn around.”
Eric watched as the love of his life slowly turned to face him. He motioned for her to come to him, and he studied her closely. He was relieved to not see any real fear, just the nerves that accompanied any punishment. Then she gave him a small smile and he also saw the immeasurable love and trust she had for him.
“You’re still sure about this? Once you’re over my knee, it’s too late to back out without your safewords,” he warned.
“I’m sure,” she replied.
“Okay then. Let’s get started.” With that, he sat in the dining room chair he’d brought into the bedroom with him and patted his left knee.
Taking a deep breath, Penny placed herself over his knee, her nerves shooting through her entire body when he locked his right leg over both of hers. Then his hand connected with her right cheek and all she was thinking about was how much it hurt.
With a steady pace, he spanked her. When he smacked the same spot on one cheek several times in a row she cried out and tried to wiggle away, but found herself well and truly pinned. He repeated the treatment on the other cheek, and she burst into tears, surprising both of them. She’d never cried from just a hand spanking in her life.