by Debra Webb
“What’s the meaning of this?” He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
She probably had. “I’m not required to give you an explanation.” Jess turned for the door.
“This is unacceptable, Chief Harris.”
She hesitated at the door but didn’t look back.
“Whatever this is about,” Black resumed, “you will need to take it up with Chief Burnett. I will not accept your resignation.”
Jess walked out the door. She didn’t bother with the elevator. Waiting for someone to notice her leaving would just create a scene she did not need or want. By the time she was outside on the sidewalk, her heart was pounding and her nerves were frazzled. She looked around at the busy morning traffic.
Damn.
Her car was at Dan’s.
No problem. A taxi would work. As long as it got her out of here fast. There was just one other thing she needed to do first and for that she needed Gina Coleman.
19
10:28 a.m.
“She’s still alive.”
“I can see that.”
Matthew watched his mentor as he spoke. The way his lips moved mesmerized him. But it was the sound of his voice that truly, truly inspired him. Deep, soothing.
He would do anything for Eric. Anything at all.
But Eric was disappointed. Angry even. His voice, of course, did not reflect either of those emotions, but Matthew knew. He recognized that his work was not up to the expected standards.
“Have you been feeding her?”
“Of course. Ensure. When she would have it.” Which was only twice since he’d taken her. No need for Eric to learn that part.
“What methods have you used for self-gratification?”
Matthew shook his head. “None. I saved her for you and Jess.” It was a lie. . . he hoped Eric wouldn’t notice the subtle change in the timbre of his voice.
“Really? Then why the bruising?” He indicated her cheek and the swollen lip.
Fear trickled inside Matthew. “She’s rather a stupid little twat. No appreciation or respect for rules. So I taught her a lesson.” He lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “She’s terrified of drowning.” He laughed, relishing the memory of her screams and pleas. He’d gotten rock hard playing that game with her. “I gave her a few dunks for starters. Then I tried the water-boarding made famous by our esteemed military. It’s quite interesting to watch the subject’s reaction. Especially one as phobic as this one.”
The water-boarding had caused him to ejaculate twice but he wouldn’t share that with Eric either. Discipline was vital to his mentor. Matthew had shown little discipline the past few days.
But he would do better.
“You injected her every day?”
“It was the only way to keep her under control.”
Her body was completely relaxed now. He’d gotten rid of her slacks and under garments. Such nice breasts. Slim, narrow waist with nicely flared hips. He found it interesting that she had not removed her silky tuft of pubic hair. So many young women bared those thick lips, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“I think she might have cracked just a little with the water-boarding.” He smiled, ignored the pain that pierced his damaged lip. The bitch had come at him like a wildcat, more than once. “Exquisite, isn’t she?”
Eric surveyed Lori Wells’ nude body stretched out on the old wooden table. “Quite. Just like Eve in the Garden of Eden.” He sighed. “Her beauty brings out the worst in man and for that she must be punished.”
“Indeed.” Matthew had known he would approve.
When Eric lifted his gaze back to him, Matthew saw disapproval rather than the approval he had anticipated. A rush of apprehension tightened his body.
“You’ve made quite a mess, my friend.”
“Yes.” He bowed his head in humility. “In my eagerness to carry out your wishes, I may have overstepped.”
“Harris’ career with the Bureau was destroyed,” Eric noted. “All went exactly as planned. The message I left at her home added the perfect touch.”
Of course, Eric’s work was always flawless. Still, hope thrust aside the apprehension. Her career at the Bureau had been destroyed and that was Matthew’s work. “Pretty little bird flew against the wind. Got her wings broken.”
“But the damage was only temporary.”
“I watched her as you asked and she redeemed herself by finding those missing girls.” Matthew shook his head. Jess Harris was far too clever. “I knew Burnett would want to keep her, both at work and in his bed. Obviously her talents extend beyond her investigative skills.”
Matthew glared at the man silenced and bound to one of the two steel support columns in the room. Burnett had ruined everything. If he hadn’t called Jess. . . she would still be in Virginia facing the demise of her career, floundering amid doubt and self-disgust. Right where Eric had wanted her.
“So you failed.” Eric inclined his head and studied Matthew. “Your marginal success could not be sustained.”
“That would seem to be the case.” Marginal? There was nothing marginal about his work in Virginia, but he knew better than to argue with Eric. “The damage was not sufficient to ruin her. But she has suffered another blow. That luscious reporter, Coleman, announced this morning that she had inside information that Jess Harris resigned under pressure from the department. My strategy is working still.”
“Is that what you believe?”
Matthew went rigid with renewed uncertainty at the mocking tone Eric used. “Is there reason to believe otherwise?”
“Whether she has resigned or not is no longer relevant. I was forced to terminate the federal agent assigned to my surveillance,” Eric admonished, “so I could come here straightaway. My patience for your chaotic and rudimentary tactics is at an end. You were to watch her after her arrival in Birmingham, nothing more. Instead, you have set in motion Armageddon for us both.”
Matthew swallowed the tiny whisper of pride he had allowed. “I’m prepared to properly finish the work. My lacking performance is inexcusable, but you are well aware that I’m far more talented than this. I have proven my worth numerous times. I will salvage this situation while you escape to safety.”
“But then you would only break more rules. Your lackluster performance allowed one to live. Did you give the other a fighting chance at survival before ending her useless existence?”
“There was no time.” Sweat dampened Matthew’s body. He had come here prepared, with the necessary tools and a plan. He had done everything to draw attention to himself. To protect Eric. Matthew knew nothing of this city. He could not have his prey running about in those final hours before her death. The risk had been far too great.
“You showed your face – our face – time and again, did you not?”
He was angry. “I. . .” Matthew steadied his voice. “I was forced to take desperate measures.”
“Measures for which I will pay the consequences.”
Matthew dared to meet his gaze. “That was not my intent. My goal was to increase her desperation in the interest of complete obedience to your wishes. Still, as you say, this is my failure. I will make the proper adjustments.”
“The only desperation you have increased is your own. Your actions were neither fully calculated nor well planned. You acted on impulse and that is a grave error under any circumstances.”
“Allow me to rectify my errors,” Matthew urged.
“You have left me no alternative but to start over elsewhere. There is no turning back. I’ve already made arrangements.”
“What about Jess?” Matthew wasn’t supposed to, but he wanted to touch her. She intrigued him more than any of the others. To feel the terror pulsing in her blood would transcend all other experiences. Outrage at the thought of missing that opportunity dared to kindle deep in his belly.
“I will attend to the rest personally.”
Envy jarred him. After all Matthew had done? He would finish the rest?
/>
“And Burnett?” Matthew had never punished a male before. . . his cock stirred at the challenge. . . at the remembered rush of the esteemed chief of police’s fist pounding into his flesh.
“Are you listening, Matthew?” Eric’s eyes mirrored the irritation in his voice. “I have answered that question already.”
“Of course.” Then it was finished. He offered his teacher a smile. There was nothing more to be said.
“There are rules, Matthew,” Eric reiterated. “Each rule has a purpose. The discipline required to master and maintain those rules has been my protection for more than a decade. You have destroyed that in a matter of days.”
Matthew nodded succinctly in acknowledgement of that pronouncement. Then he met his beloved mentor’s eyes. “My fate is of no consequence. Save yourself and allow me to do what must be done to finish this.”
Eric laughed at his sincere plea. “Perhaps my investment in you need not be a total loss.” He glanced around the room. “For every game there must be a final, impressive move. Allowing that finale to be trumped would be a travesty.”
Anticipation swept through Matthew. “A complete travesty,” he agreed.
“Time is short,” Eric warned, “you will need supplies for a thorough preparation.”
Matthew smiled. “I won’t fail you this time.”
“No,” Eric confirmed. “You will not.”
20
Dan squeezed his eyes shut. Tried to clear his vision. It was like seeing double. The lookalike and Spears.
As he watched, the two left the room. If not for the difference in the way they were dressed and the battered face one sported, it would be impossible to tell them apart. The guy who’d brought him here wore a tailored suit that suggested a man of means. The other one, Matthew, was dressed in jeans and a blood-splattered white shirt. But then, the wooziness in Dan’s head hampered his senses. At the moment he wasn’t sure of anything except that he had to get loose.
He worked harder at stretching the duct tape wrapped around his wrists. He had to stop these sick fucks before they hurt Wells and figured out a way to get to Jess. He hadn’t gotten the entire conversation but he fully grasped that there was a plan.
Estimating the length of time he’d been unconscious was impossible. There were no windows to determine if it was daylight yet. The man in the suit, who he suspected was Spears, had waited at Dan’s house for his and Jess’s return. Only Andrea had shown up instead. Spears had seized the opportunity and been lying in wait for Dan.
He’d been seriously pissed off when Dan had arrived alone. He’d demanded to know where Jess was as he disarmed Dan, then forced him into the trunk of the rented car he’d parked in the garage alongside Andrea’s and Jess’s. Dan should have killed him. But he’d been unprepared. There had been no reason to draw his weapon before entering the house and once he’d found Andrea unconscious on the sofa with a gun to her head, it had been too late.
He prayed Andrea was safe.
Spears had gotten behind the wheel and backed out of the garage immediately after closing the trunk on Dan. He hadn’t stopped for anything until they arrived here, giving Dan hope that Andrea had been left on the sofa safely sleeping off the drug Spears typically used on his victims. By now, maybe Annette or her husband had called 911. But, considering Dan had assured her everything was fine, he couldn’t hazard a guess as to how long she would wait before calling for help when she couldn’t reach him or Andrea.
And Jess. How many times would she have called before demanding that Harper take her to Annette’s?
At least Dan knew where Spears and his accomplice were at the moment.
The one called Matthew, the younger version, had been tasked with getting Dan out of the trunk. Readied for the opportunity when the trunk opened, Dan had beaten the hell out of the piece of shit before Spears tasered him.
Dan had a busted lip for his trouble but the other guy had a black eye and at least one tooth missing.
Gut twisting with renewed fury, Dan worked his wrists harder still, stretching the tape with all his might. His damaged knuckles protested but he ignored the nuisance. Wells was stretched out on a long wood table. Like Dan, the tape secured her and covered her mouth. Steel instruments, knives and scalpels, lay in a neat line next to her. She hadn’t made a sound since he arrived but she was alive.
Thank God.
Dan figured she had given Matthew some trouble, too, since his face had looked a little worse for the wear even before Dan lit into him. He tried not to look at Wells. Her clothes had been stripped off, leaving her naked and vulnerable. Seeing her that way pained Dan. After what had been done to Miller and Howard, it was a miracle Wells was still breathing.
Spears had taken Dan’s cell and left it in his garage, ensuring it couldn’t be used to trace them to wherever the hell they were, Dan’s one hope was to get loose and kill one or, preferably both, with his bare hands or with one of those shiny tools.
He surveyed the room which appeared to be separated from what he believed was a larger space, likely a defunct factory. He hadn’t gotten much of a look around outside. A brief glance of an extensive parking lot gone to seed. He hadn’t seen the street or highway or anything else.
The room that served as his and Wells’ prison was fair sized with pipes snaking overhead. Two steel posts, one of which he’d been strapped to after being tasered, supported the wide expanse. A commercial-sized sink to the left and two tubs or vats, like large round washing machines, to the right. Beyond the door Spears and his lookalike had exited Dan could see rows of some kind of machines. There were several industrial parks in the Birmingham area; this could be in any one of the older areas.
If he could get his hands loose, he could free his feet and then he would be the one doing the hunting.
Spears, suit guy, entered the room.
Dan stilled.
He paused at the table and surveyed Wells. When Spears reached for one of the torture instruments Dan started to struggle. He grunted, tried to speak, made as much noise as possible.
Spears turned to him. “So, you are paying attention.” He smiled. “All the better.” He turned the gleaming knife beneath the light and admired it. “Not to worry I’m saving both you and Detective Wells for Jess. I wouldn’t want her to miss any of the fun.”
Dan railed at the son of a bitch but the words were muffled by the tape over his mouth and rendered impotent by his bound hands. He jerked his arms, tried to twist his hands.
“Yes,” Spears said as if Dan had asked a question. “Jess is coming.”
Dan wanted to kill him now. All he had to do was get loose, dammit!
“No.” Spears shook his head, his attention still on Wells. “I’m not concerned at all that she might lead the police here. You see,” he turned to Dan then, “she won’t risk what I might do to one or both of you.”
Spears resumed his scrutiny of Wells. “Jess would be devastated if either of you were damaged beyond recovery.” A smile spread across his evil face. “That hardly precludes a little fun and games.”
Dan’s right hand came free. He stilled, kept his free hand behind him as if he were still fully restrained.
While Spears traced the blade along Wells’ ribcage, Dan worked on his feet, trying different moves, twisting, tugging to loosen the tape. Bending down to tear the tape loose from his ankles was not an option. If Spears left the room again, maybe then.
“Her skin is perfect.” Spears sighed. “I would love to open her and see inside but that would be a waste since she sleeps. What’s the point without the beauty of the pain? The hot, stinging temptation of the first slice into her skin. None are as potent as the first. The mind tricks the body into suppressing the sweet agony beyond a certain point. Such a pity.” He placed the knife back on the table. “Obviously, a flaw of nature.”
Dan dared a bolder move, tugging one leg away from the other as far as the tape would allow and pushing to stretch beyond that limit. It was only a few inches but if
he could stretch it enough, he might get one foot free. That was all he needed.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
Dan froze.
Wells started to struggle against her bindings.
Don’t move! Dan tried to shout but the words were nothing more than muffled grunts. Wells tried to lift her head but she collapsed against the table. He couldn’t be sure if she saw him or not. Her body shuddered and rocked.
Spears stood back and laughed at her struggle.
When she fell still, her labored breathing filling the room, Spears stepped forward once more. “Would you like to be my playmate, Detective Lori Wells?”
Like Dan’s, her rants were rendered indistinguishable by the tape.
Spears removed the tape from her mouth. She screamed in his face.
“Yes! Let it all out. I want you to scream until it hurts.”
Wells’ screams settled into soul-shattering sobs.
After enjoying her agony for a time, Spears ripped off another piece of tape from the roll on the table and attempted to recover her mouth. Wells tried to evade him but he eventually succeeded. Dan used the distraction to work at his bindings.
Then Spears rolled the table, its metal wheels squeaking across the concrete floor, until it stood in front of Dan. “You want to watch? It’s quite a miraculous thing to see. The blood blooms like the bud of a flower, swelling until it opens into wide beautiful petals.” He picked up the knife he’d been toying with. “This instrument holds the power. Shall we watch her flower bloom?”
Dan struggled against his bindings, ranted at the monster for the good it did.
Spears’ attention lingered on Lori for a time before he shoved the table aside and stepped closer to Dan. He ripped the tape from Dan’s mouth, smiled at the automatic grimace the move garnered.
“Let’s see how long it takes you to scream, Chief Burnett.”
Dan flinched when Spears sliced open his BPD tee-shirt.
Spears raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Very nice, chief.” He traced a line down the center of Dan’s chest with the tip of the blade. “Well-muscled. Not a centimeter of flab. Jess must love that.” He made a sound of approval. “And not the first scar. In all these years you’ve never been shot?” He hitched his head toward Wells. “Even the good detective has taken a bullet in the line of duty. She has the scar to prove it.”