by J. E. Taylor
Jessica pushed away, wiping the tears from her face. “This is unforgivable.” She turned and began her restless pacing again.
Tom sat back down in the corner, watching the two of them. “You killed my wife as a diversion?” he asked, openly glaring at Ty.
“Yes,” Ty answered and dropped his gaze. “I would have never gotten the chance to get her out without some kind of diversion.” And I would do anything for her. He looked back at Jessica.
Jessica stopped and turned back toward Ty.
“Anything,” Ty whispered as his eyes met hers.
* * * *
Jessica paced until her breath evened out and the pounding in her head subsided. With each step, her anger diminished and she focused on what they would need to survive. Sitting on their asses waiting for the inevitable wasn’t doing any of them any good. She stopped at the far side of the room and leveled a glare at the two men.
“Get your ass up,” she barked at Tom. “And both of you get over here.” She pointed at the floor in front of her.
Surprise registered on both their faces and neither one moved.
“If you want to walk out of this place, you’ll get your ass over here now,” she barked the command and waited while they slowly approach her. “When I’m through with you, you’re gonna wish you never met me,” she said to Ty.
Ty half smiled and stood before her, looking down at her angry features.
She glanced at the two of them. “We can sit on our asses and wait to die or we can build our resistance and possibly survive this place.” She looked between them again. “Tae Bo or Hip Hop?” she asked.
Ty laughed.
“Do I look like I’m laughing?” Jessica shot at him, shutting him up.
* * * *
Her bark of authority surprised him. This was a different side of Jessica Connor, one that he never would have guessed. It reminded him of his old karate instructor and he couldn’t help but smirk. “How about calisthenics?”
“No, we need aerobic exercise along with strength training and stretching. Calisthenics only increases muscle mass it won’t help with endurance,” she answered, shocking him. “I taught dance on the side before my son was born.”
“I gotta see this.” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in a silent dare. Jessica clenched her jaw, suppressing the words that leapt to mind but she might as well have said ‘Fuck You’ because it was written in her glare.
She looked at Tom.
Tom shrugged. “Whatever.”
Jessica nodded and waved them back a few steps. She pounded out a complicated hip-hop routine.
Ty dropped his arms along with his jaw. She was channeling again and he shook his head to clear the sound of London Bridge repeating over and over in his mind. The song that she was perfectly in sync with.
Jessica finished and looked at the two of them.
“Maybe Tae Bo would be better,” Tom commented bringing a smile to her lips.
Ty glanced at Tom and then returned his gaze to Jessica. “I can do that.”
“Prove it.” She stepped back, crossing her arms.
Ty closed his eyes and let the song flow back into his memory and then he repeated the moves Jessica had just done, finishing with his arms crossed staring down at her. “Good enough?”
“You screwed up a few times.”
“Bullshit.”
The tension between the two of them teetered on ignition and Tom cleared his throat, reminding them that he was in the room. “I can’t do that.”
“Sure you can,” Jessica answered but before she started the slow process of step-by-step instruction with Tom she glared at Ty. “Keep doing it,” she commanded.
Ty pointed at his chest.
“Yes, you,” Jessica snapped. “Until I say you can stop.” She gave him a mean grin, turning the tables on him. She turned her attention back to Tom as Ty began to repeat the routine. Patiently, she walked him through all the steps. A couple of hours went by before he finally was able to repeat the steps she instructed.
“Can I stop yet?” Ty asked out of breath. He had stopped to watch the last repetition of the steps with Tom.
“Keep moving,” Jessica ordered.
“Only if you do it with me.”
Jessica nodded.
* * * *
Tom stepped back willingly. Dancing did not come easy to him and his thighs were burning. Muscles he didn’t know he had hurt and he sat down on the cool concrete to watch. Her skin was lined with sweat as she pounded out the routine with Ty and he inhaled. Even though the routine was hip-hop, she still exuded a grace that stirred him, a grace that made the concrete prison disappear. And Ty, he mimicked the moves just as flawlessly as she did, in time with a beat he couldn’t hear. Flawless, as if they were connected in some bizarre manner, like their movements were two halves of the same person, like they were destined to be together. Tom broke out in goose bumps and blinked the train of thought away. He didn’t believe in destiny and as long as he still had a breath in him, he wasn’t going to let that happen. He wasn’t going to let the bastard win.
“Go again,” Jessica said to Ty when they finished.
Ty looked at her with wide eyes that said are you kidding? Sweat covered his body, making his shirt cling to his muscular form and he shook his head. “I didn’t think someone your age could do that,” he said and leaned over with his hands on his knees, out of breath.
“Fuck you,” she responded and walked into the bathroom to clean up.
“Gladly,” he said as she disappeared around the corner. Ty grabbed one of the bottles of water and downed it. “Goddamn. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to move for days.” He was still breathing heavily.
Tom didn’t say anything at first and then he looked at Ty. “How old is she?”
“Forty-two today.”
Tom’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open. No way! I thought she was my age or maybe a couple years older at best.
Ty laughed. “I was kind of surprised too. She is one hot ticket.” He looked at the bathroom where the shower was running and took a step toward the sound.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tom said and he stood, wincing as his muscles screamed at him.
Ty closed his eyes then looked at Tom. “C’mon, man, I am in love with the woman.”
Tom shook his head. “I don’t give a damn. You hurt her enough and I’m not letting you near her.” He positioned himself between Ty and the bathroom again.
Ty glared at him, his chest still rising and falling heavily from the workout. “You have no idea how much…” He began and stopped, frustrated.
Tom raised his eyebrows. “How much what? How much you want her?” He snapped. “I do know and I don’t care. She doesn’t want you and you are not touching her.”
“She does want me. She’s just pissed off because I brought you into this mess.”
Tom thought about that for a minute. “She may want you,” he conceded. “But she doesn’t love you.”
“You’re both wrong,” Jessica said, making them jump. She went back into the bathroom with no further explanation and came out a few minutes later in jeans and one of their button-up shirts.
Ty sighed, raking her with his eyes and then he headed to clean up.
While the shower was running, Marian came with their lunch.
“You were watching?” Jessica asked.
“I’m surprised he can move after the beating my brother gave him.” Marian nodded.
Jessica shrugged and stepped back as Marian put the tray on the floor.
Marian looked toward the bathroom. “I’ve never seen him so accommodating,” she said looking back at Jessica.
Jessica looked toward the bathroom as Marian closed the door. She reached down, picked up the tray and headed over to Tom, taking a seat next to him.
“What did you mean we were both wrong?”
Jessica took a deep breath. “I know this is so cliché, but there is a fine line between love and ha
te.” She took a bite of food. “No matter how I feel about Ty, I can’t give him what he wants. It isn’t right.” She paused. “If I were to admit to wanting him…” she hesitated and looked at Tom. “Then I would have no power over him.”
Tom leaned back and absorbed that but it did nothing to alleviate the feeling of being a third wheel around the two of them. “What about me?”
Jessica laughed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just that you’ve been my fantasy since I first saw you on TV. My kids teased me relentlessly because I once said you were my eye candy.” She blushed and looked over at him. “And you are just as sweet in person.”
Heat tingled in his cheeks and he smiled. “Eye candy, yeah, okay, thanks.” He rolled his eyes. Just what I wanted to hear.
A dimple appeared in her crimson cheek. “Sorry, but you are.”
“And that translates to what?” He took a bite of the sandwich enjoying seeing her squirm a little. He smiled in her direction.
“You already know what it means.”
He feigned innocence, raised his eyebrows, and cocked his head.
She waved her hand at him. “Even all sweaty and such, you are one fine looking man.”
He laughed. “And?”
“And any woman in her right mind would want you.” She took a sip of water, blushing and glancing away from him.
He chuckled, satisfied with the answer. His wife used to tease him about the way his fans stared at him, both female and male, but in his mind, he was just an average guy who happened to land a terrific role in a popular series. Eye candy, who would have thought.
* * * *
Jessica saved more than half the plate for Ty and handed it to him when he came limping out of the bathroom. “Thanks,” he said and inhaled the food. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall and studied her. “Aren’t you the least bit sore?”
Jessica shook her head. “Perhaps it was the three to four hour run you had me doing daily.” She tilted her head as if to say So There.
“Ha-ha,” Ty replied.
“Have to admit, you got rhythm,” she said.
“Nothing compared to your moves. I still can’t believe you can dance like that.” He pointed to where she taught him the routine.
“You’ve seen me dance before,” Jessica said.
Ty smiled. “Yes. That’s what started this whole mess.”
Anger flashed in her eyes. “No, Ty, this mess started when you yanked me out of my life in that parking lot.” She flopped onto the bed with her back to him.
Ty went to say something and closed his mouth.
Tom took advantage of the situation and moved next to where she lay and gently ran his hand through her hair. It was the kind of thing his wife used to like when she wasn’t feeling well. She always said it relaxed her and if anyone needed to relax, it was Jessica. Her hair was silky and damp on his fingers and his shower could wait.
Jessica looked over at him for a second then rolled back. “Don’t stop,” she said when he pulled his hand away.
He sent a smug smile in Ty’s direction and continued combing her hair with his fingers.
“Son of a…” Ty whispered and looked away, keeping his temper in check.
* * * *
Jessica felt the tension melt away under Tom’s gentle combing. For the first time since she woke in this hellhole, she felt safe. Like he was appointed her guardian angel and nothing could hurt her while he was here. She knew how false that sense of security was, especially in this place, but she was grateful just the same. And with the continued strokes of his fingers, she drifted off.
The next morning, Jessica continued the exercise regimen alternating between Tae Bo and the hip-hop routine she taught them the day before.
“Come on, I can’t move like this today,” Ty groaned
“Do it!” She pointed at the floor, unimpressed by his whining.
* * * *
Tom kept his mouth shut, his muscles and joints screamed with each and every move she asked of him. His personal trainer was demanding, but this was beyond anything he put him through. While he would like nothing more than to collapse on the concrete, he pushed harder, trying to get the rhythm, the same natural ease that Ty had, even though he knew it was impossible.
She let them stop for the day when Marian brought lunch. The food never tasted so good and he wolfed down his plate, watching Jessica split her lunch with Ty. A small pebble of guilt edged into his stomach and he looked at the crumbs on his plate. He was the only one in the room getting a decent meal. He set the plate aside and stretched on the cool floor, regulating his breathing and ignoring the cramping in his muscles.
Ty followed his lead and both their heads swiveled in her direction when she stood.
“Wus,” she aimed the comment toward Ty, but her eyes flicked to him for a moment and then she turned, disappearing into the bathroom.
Neither of them spoke and Tom sighed, his hatred toward Ty alive in his skin, but it didn’t seem as acute as that first day. He still had reservations every time he left Ty and Jessica in the room alone, but he learned quickly that she was serious about not giving in to his advances.
When she came out, Tom stood and headed to take a shower.
* * * *
“You still haven’t gotten up?” She laughed.
Ty slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing. His lower back and hips felt like Frank took the brass knuckles to them again and he met her amused gaze. “You’re gonna kill us, y’know.”
“It’s a matter of survival,” she said and leaned close. “He is going to come back, Ty. I want us all to be ready and maybe we can get out of this alive.” She lay back on the floor, keeping eye contact.
Ty felt the sudden rush of lust and had to resist the urge to take her right then and there. He wanted her so damn much and he took a deep breath. “I hope you’re right.” And while hope played a big part of his existence right now, it wasn’t placed on his life. That was something he planned on sacrificing.
No, his hope centered on her living, her surviving and getting out of this place.
He was still staring at her when Tom came out of the bathroom.
They exchanged a nod and Ty went to rinse the sweat off his aching body.
* * * *
Tom stretched out on his side next to Jessica, propping himself up on his elbow. He brushed the hair out of her face and smiled.
“You didn’t do that bad today,” Jessica said and he laughed. “Really.”
“I don’t have natural ability like he does.” He glanced up as the shower turned on and then slowly grazed her with his eyes. “Or like you do.”
“You’re not that bad.”
He chuckled and placed his hand on her stomach. Her warmth radiated through the shirt and he sighed, meeting her questioning stare. The crease between her eyes deepened and she shot her gaze to his hand and back.
He didn’t say anything but on impulse, he leaned in to kiss her.
She stopped him, putting her hand on his chest and shaking her head. “Tom, your wife just died.”
“But I didn’t.” Her hand dropped and he kissed her very softly on the cheek and pulled away. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
Her hand touched the spot his lips had and she stared at him with wide eyes. “For what?”
“For making me forget where I am even if it was only for a moment.”
“You shouldn’t be thanking me, Tom. You’re here because of me.”
He didn’t say anything right away thinking about the video Frank had played for them. “You didn’t know they would act on what you said,” he finally replied. “And besides, you referred to a character in a television show. Not me.”
“Don’t you wish…” she started and trailed off. She looked over at him with a silly smile.
He knew where she was headed, he played the infamous Clark Kent in the show Metropolis. Superman before the cape and tights, and now that she mentioned it, he did wish it were mor
e than fiction. “Wish I was Superman? Hell yeah.” He smiled back. “That would come in real handy right about now. We would be out of here so fast his head would spin.” He motioned toward the bathroom.
Her smile faded and she followed his gaze. “I wouldn’t let you leave him behind,” she said. “He thinks he has to die to save me.”
He didn’t want to discuss Ty Aris at the moment. He wanted this suspension of their situation to last a little longer. “What’s your favorite episode?” he asked, changing the subject completely.
Jessica chewed on her lower lip and the blush heightened in her cheeks. “I don’t know. I guess I like the episodes where Clark is exposed to red kryptonite the best.”
It figures. He grinned. “Ah, you like bad boys.” He teased and tickled her side.
She turned crimson and pulled away laughing.
Chapter 53
Jessica made them work just as hard every day for the next several weeks. Each day they lay on the floor, exhausted as she cleaned up and emerged revived by the workout.
“What is she, the fucking Energizer Bunny?” Ty mumbled after seven weeks of her boot camp.
“She’s a sadistic version of the Energizer Bunny.” Tom agreed. “Better than any personal trainer I’ve ever had.”
Ty chuckled and glanced at Tom. “I’m sure she’s a hell of a lot better to look at too.”
Tom smiled and nodded. Seven weeks had diminished his hatred to what he would categorize as dislike. Ty wasn’t all that bad, he was quiet most of the time and had a wicked sense of humor when he talked, which wasn’t much. He was more content to sit on the sidelines and watch Jessica rattle on about her family or let him babble about working on a television show. But every now and then, he interjected comments almost like he was reminding them he was in the room. But Tom knew damn well Jessica never forgot his presence. Even when they spoke, her eyes drifted to wherever he was like a magnet to steel.
Ty stood and started toward the bathroom.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tom said jumping to his feet. He had done this same routine for seven weeks at various times, putting himself between Ty and wherever Jessica was.