Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

by Claire Adams

  I knew now that Dominic had gone completely mad. Up to this moment I wondered if it was just grief and ego that drove him to try and reclaim me, but now I knew for certain that he had descended into madness and that he really was going to kill Brian. I quickly worked to come up with an alternate plan that might give us a little time. If I could buy us time, Brian might be able to figure out a way to break free and disarm Dominic and Cheese. Cheese. Shoot. I’d forgotten about him and the fact that he was now holding Brian’s gun.

  “Wake him up,” Dominic ordered Cheese. “I want him awake. Now.”

  “But du- Dom, I don’t know how to bring a guy out of unconsciousness,” Cheese protested.

  “Throw some water on him! Slap his face! Yell in his ear!” Dominic shouted. “Why do I always have to do everything around here?”

  “Fine, fine,” Cheese grumbled as he went into the bathroom, filled a glass with cold water, then walked back out and dumped it on Brian’s head.

  “Are you a complete idiot?” Dominic yelled as he began to pace the room. “You have to throw it in his face! He’s not going to come to if you drip it on the top of his head!”

  “I’m not an idiot!” Cheese protested. “How in the hell am I supposed to know how to do this?”

  I stole a glance at Brian as Dominic insulted Cheese and restlessly paced the room. Brian seemed to be breathing alright, but I couldn’t figure out why he was still out cold. The knock to his head hadn’t been that hard, and he was someone who had been trained to take a lot of abuse before his body gave out. Something wasn’t adding up.

  And then I thought I saw him move. Or did I? I thought I saw the tiniest movement of Brian’s finger, but I wasn’t sure. Had he moved? Or was it simply my imagination playing tricks on me? It was agonizing to think that we were all going to die in this room, and I knew it was up to me to divert attention from Brian just in case he was conscious.

  And if he wasn’t, well, I’d think of that later.

  Dominic and Cheese were still fighting amongst themselves and as I looked over toward the door, I saw the poor room server still lying facedown on the floor. I’d forgotten about him.

  “Dom, baby?” I called in the sweetest voice I could muster. “Don’t you think that it would be wise to let the poor little room server go? He doesn’t have anything to do with this and he’s scared out of his mind. I think he might have even wet his pants.”

  “Jeez, what a baby!” Cheese laughed. “Pissed his pants like a little baby!”

  I had hoped that the room server would be smart enough to pick up on my cue and actually wet his pants, and by the sound of Cheese’s reaction, I’d played my cards right.

  “Shut up, Cheese,” Dominic ordered. “That little baby is going to go out with the meathead here. I want you to take care of him. Do you understand me?”

  “Wait, what?” Cheese looked at Dominic with a frown. “Hey, I didn’t sign on for hurting anyone. You told me it was just going to be getting the girl back and then leaving.”

  “Well, sometimes things don’t go as planned, now do they?” Dominic smiled. “And you have to adjust your plan to fit the circumstances.”

  “Dude, there is no way in hell I’m killing anyone!” Cheese declared. Dominic looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked over to me.

  “Ah yes, the big, bad frat boy turns pussy,” he laughed as he began to loosen my ties. “I had a feeling this was what would happen, so I made sure that I had a backup plan. Always have a backup plan, Christopher.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Cheese protested. “Seriously, you did not tell me that there was going to be real killing involved. I don’t want any part of that, Dominic.”

  “Then if you will not participate,” Dominic said in a low, sinister tone. “You have become part of my problem, as well.”

  He quickly untied my hands, pulled me to my feet, and then turned and punched Cheese so hard that he fell to the floor. Out cold. In an instant, Dominic was behind Brian with the gun pointed at his head as he smiled at me.

  “I know you have a soft heart, Kitten,” he said. “But you’re here to do some work for me before I finish up the show with a bang. Get it? A bang?” His maniacal laughter filled the room, and I stood trembling as I looked at the gun pressed against Brian’s temple. Now that Cheese was out cold on the floor, I knew that getting him to turn on Dominic wasn’t going to happen, but I didn’t know if Brian would regain consciousness or if he could escape the restraints if he did. I felt my heart sinking as I realized that saving us was entirely on my shoulders at the moment, and that I couldn’t rely on anyone but myself.

  “Ava, listen to me,” Dominic murmured softly. “We are going to dispose of all of these problems, and then you and I are going to go out for dinner and discuss our future.”

  “Yes,” I said in a weak voice as I nodded. “Okay, we’ll take care of the problems and then have dinner.”

  “Good girl,” he said smiling. “You are always so appealing when you say yes to me.”

  I stood rooted to the spot where he’d left me as I scanned the room. He wanted to kill three people and then go to dinner? It was a sure sign that he’d gone completely off the deep end, and I knew that I was our only hope, but I had no idea how to stop his evil plan. What did I have that he wanted? What could I offer that would keep him from killing Brian and the other two? Suddenly it came to me, and I knew exactly what I had to do. I only hoped that Brian would forgive me once we were free.

  “Dom?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes, Kitten?” he replied in a distracted voice as he scanned the room for the tools he’d need for properly disposing of the bodies. “What do you want?”

  “You,” I said with a giggle as I dropped my skirt and lifted the hem of my T-shirt. “It’s been so long!”

  Dominic turned and looked at me as I continued my striptease, and I smiled seductively as I nodded towards the bedroom and begged, “Just a quickie? Please? Please, Dom?”

  “Ava, you’re going to have to wait for that,” he lectured. “This is neither the time nor the place.”

  “But I’m so incredibly horny!” I cried as I undid the hooks on my bra and slipped the straps off my shoulders. “It’s been ages!”

  “I thought lover boy here was keeping you busy,” Dominic said in a bored tone.

  “Him? Oh no, he isn’t someone I could have sex with! He’s the help!” I laughed and silently begged for Brian’s forgiveness.

  “This is true,” Dominic chuckled. “You were definitely raised better than that!”

  “So? Please?” I begged as the bile rose in my throat. “You know how I love it when you take me hard and fast.”

  “Oh, do I,” he flashed the sinister smile and I could see that he was thinking about moving into the bedroom with me. “You like it rough, don’t you, Kitten?”

  “You know just how I like it, Dom,” I whispered as I fought to keep from screaming. The thought of his hands on my body made me want to vomit, but I knew that the only way we were going to get out of this was if I distracted Dominic well enough to take control of the situation. “Please? Just a little? Now?”

  Dominic quickly scanned the room and saw that the three problems were neutralized at the moment, and he smiled that awful, evil smile as he walked over to me. I was nearly naked and trembling, but he read my fear as desire and wrapped an arm around my waist as he walked me backwards toward the bed. In his other hand he held Brian’s gun, and I knew that I would have to find a way to make him put it down or else I’d be forced to go through with this awful act.

  “Dom, I need you touch me,” I whispered into his ear as he held me against his chest. “I like it when you hold me down and touch me, you remember, don’t you?”

  “Mmmmm,” he murmured. “Indeed I do. You like it when you have no control, don’t you, Kitten?”

  “Oh, yes,” I breathed into his ear. “Oh yes, you remember!”

  “Lie down,” he ordered in that soft, sinister voice. “I want
to see you spread out before me. I want to know that I own you, all of you.”

  I swallowed hard, nodded, and lay down on the bed on my back, trying hard not to expose the depth of my hatred as I looked up at him. I tried to recall Brian standing over me and the way his eyes shined when he saw me naked for the first time. I tried to remember the feeling of his hands on my body as Dominic lightly trailed his fingers down my torso. There was nothing sexy about this, but I was determined not to let Dominic hurt Brian - no matter what it took.

  “You always liked it when I stroked your skin,” he purred.

  “Oh yes, I love the way your fingers feel,” I sighed. I couldn’t close my eyes or look away because I was scared that he’d sense how much I hated him if I did. More than that, I was afraid that if I didn’t focus on him, my mind would realize what I was actually doing, and my body would rebel. I whispered, “Hold me, Dom? Please? I haven’t felt your arms around me in so long, and I’ve missed them.”

  Dominic ignored my plea and continued caressing my skin. There was something about his touch that frightened me, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the past or the present. Either way, my mind was spinning as I watched him.

  Please wake up, Brian. Please. Please. Please.

  Dominic lay down next to me and continued stroking my skin as he slid his other arm under my neck. He still had the gun in his hand, but at least it wasn’t aimed at anyone. He looked down at me as he raised his free hand and brushed the hair away from my face.

  “You really should make an attempt to keep your hair out of your face, Kitten,” he scolded. “Your face is too pretty to be hidden.”

  I nodded and forced a smile as I said, “I will do that from now on, Dom. I promise.”

  “Ava, don’t you wonder why I went to all the trouble to get you back?” he asked in a tone that made my blood run cold in my veins. I knew that he had a plan, I just didn’t know what that plan was or why he was doing what he was doing.

  “I thought it was because you loved me and you wanted me back,” I replied as innocently as possible.

  “Oh my goodness,” he laughed as he grabbed one of my breasts and squeezed so tightly that I gasped. “Aren’t you absolutely darling! Naive, but darling.”

  “Then why are you doing this, Dom?” I asked in a trembling voice.

  “Because you humiliated me and I want that rectified,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You left me and you told lies about me and everyone thinks I’m a monster, and now I’m going to prove that I’m not only not a monster, but that you and I were actually meant to be together.”

  There was no way to hide the terror in my eyes now. He saw it and it made him stronger. The only possible way out now was to fight, and I was well aware that this choice might end badly for me—and the others—but it was my only choice left.

  “What…what do you want me to do?” I asked.

  “You and I are going to take care of these problems together, and then we are going to go tell our story to the police,” he explained. “Your father hired a crazy bodyguard who held you hostage and abused you. I tried to rescue you from him, but he’d brainwashed you and convinced you that I was the enemy based on false evidence and lies.”

  I stared at Dominic, wondering what had to happen in a person’s brain to make them believe the lies they told. He was living in a fantasy world of his own making and he had no intention of recognizing reality. All I could do was nod and listen to his grand plan for us.

  “It took me a long time to track you down because he was very adept at hiding, but when I received a cryptic email from you inviting me to come talk, I knew you were trying to let me know your whereabouts. I came to the hotel, enlisted the help of the room server, and broke in just as Brian was about to allow Cheese to have his way with you.”

  “What on earth?” I was truly perplexed by this.

  “You thought I didn’t know?” he smiled. “Cheese got kicked out of the Fijis because of your little friend’s antics at the party. He wanted to get even with you for that humiliation and to have a little fun while he was at it, so your bodyguard agreed to give him what he wanted in exchange for a little cash.”

  “You are twisted,” I couldn’t hide my disgust any longer and it seemed useless to even try. Dominic had planned everything and wasn’t going to deviate from his plan. Now all I could do was fight back.

  “Ah, the kitten has claws!” he laughed as he forced his hand between my legs and grabbed my crotch so hard I screamed. “I knew they’d show themselves sooner or later. You’re no shrinking violet, baby.”

  “Get your hands off of me!” I yelled in his face. “You are not allowed to do this!”

  “Allowed? Oh no, no, no, my dear,” he grinned. “I don’t need to be allowed to do anything. I’m going to take whatever I want and you will have no choice but to let me.”

  “You have always been a sick, sick man,” I spit as I twisted to try and escape. In an instant, Dominic had the gun pressed to my temple as he gripped my arm so hard I swore I could feel the bones beginning to crack.

  “I’m not sick,” he growled. “I’m perfectly normal, I’m just angry at you for embarrassing me the way you did last year. I treated you like a princess, and you treated me like dirt.”

  “Because you beat me,” I said in a flat voice. “You beat me until I couldn’t move. You are sick.”

  “I beat you because you asked for it,” Dominic said in a casual tone. “You know you did. You misbehaved and I punished you. There was nothing wrong with what I did. In fact, you liked it.”

  “I what?” I gasped. “I never liked anything you did to me. You beat me so badly I couldn’t leave the house for days at a time. Have you forgotten that?”

  “Oh no, I’ve not forgotten anything at all,” Dominic grinned. “I’ve got it all on tape and I watch it whenever I’m in the mood for you.”

  This revelation knocked the wind out of me. He had my beatings on tape and he watched them for entertainment. What kind of monster was he? And then another thought struck me; he has the beatings on tape. Evidence. All I had to do was escape and I could tell the police about the tapes, and they would put Dominic away for good. But first I had to escape.

  “You’re so disgusting,” I said calmly. “Do your parents know that they’ve raised an absolute monster? If they don’t, they’re going to be sick when they find out.”

  “You bitch,” he spat. I’d hit a raw nerve and I knew it. “You really shouldn’t be talking about parents who are disappointed, now should you?”

  “My parents aren’t disappointed in me,” I said truthfully. “They just don’t care what I do. Unlike your parents who care about everything you do and every move you make. Man, this is going to suck when it comes out that you’re a woman-beater and a murderer. I’d be surprised if they didn’t totally disown you.”

  The sting of Dominic’s hand hitting my face surprised me only a little. It was the way my neck snapped to the side that shocked me. He’d hit me many times before, but he’d never hit me this hard or with this much rage. For a moment I was frightened that he would unload the gun in my head, but then I remembered how much he enjoyed watching me suffer and knew that he’d be far more likely to kill the others and make me watch. Dominic’s sickness was ego and attention, and when I was forced to pay attention, his ego swelled. I had a good idea of what was coming next, so I closed my eyes and came as close to praying as I ever have in my life. Just let us live. Just let us live. Just let us live. I didn’t ask for any favors, just the gift of life, and hoped that someone up there would hear me.

  The next thing I felt was Dominic yanking me up off of the bed and dragging me by my hair to the front room. The others were conscious now, but since they were tied up, they were also helpless. I bowed my head as Dominic pointed the gun at the room server and said, “Tell him you’re sorry, Ava. Tell him that it’s all your fault that he’s going to take a bullet to the brain. Tell him that you feel terrible about it, but that you appreciat
e his sacrifice so that you can live.”

  I looked down into the terrified eyes of the teenager and held my breath.

  I opened my mouth and found myself pitching forward toward the floor. I landed on top of the terrified room server who let out a loud “Oof!”

  “What the hell!” I yelled as I felt someone land on top of me, forcing an “Oof!” out of both me and the poor room server on the bottom of the pile.

  “I wouldn’t move if I were you,” said Dominic as he pressed the barrel of the gun to my head. “Are you going to attack me, Mr. SEAL, or are you going to let me get up?”

  “Get up, you coward,” Brian growled as he backed away from the pile.

  Dominic slowly lifted himself off of me as he kept the gun aimed at my head. He then yanked me off of the frightened teenager and pulled me against him so that my back was pressed against his chest and I could see Brian’s face. I could feel the cold metal of the gun against my temple, and I smiled weakly at Brian so that he wouldn’t know how scared I was. He looked right through me as he fixed his gaze on Dominic and the gun.

  “You see, SEAL, I win. I get the girl. You lose,” Dominic proclaimed. “You are nothing more than a hired hand.”

  “Oh, you have no idea what I am, you arrogant prick,” Brian shot back as he watched Dominic closely. “But the one thing I’m not is you, thank goodness. Who would want to be such a pathetic loser?”

  “You’re good at what you do, but you’re not going to get me worked up,” Dominic chuckled. “You see, I win. I will always win. I have money and money makes everything work. You don’t have money, so you are nobody. You can’t have girls like this because you have nothing.”

  “Is that what you think? That I want your girl?” Brian laughed loudly as he began circling us, forcing Dominic to turn on the spot where we were standing in order to follow him. “That’s just ridiculous. Why would I want used goods?”