Chained

by Jaimie Roberts

  I rubbed his arm. “Charlie, it’s fine. I can do it.”

  “Are you sure? I might be able to get Sue–”

  “Charlie, it’s okay. Besides, Sue’s only supposed to be part-time, as well. With me being ill these past few days, she’s probably been working non-stop.”

  Charlie looked at me for a moment. “Well, only if you’re sure…”

  I smiled. “I’m sure.” I made a move to get up and Charlie held his hand out to me. I took it and he lifted me with ease.

  “Are you sure you’re okay to go back out?”

  I nodded. “I’m sure, as long as I get to keep my cup of tea.” I winked at him and he smiled.

  “Shall I add a chocolate biscuit to that?”

  I made a face that I can only describe as heavenly. “Oh, Charlie. Now you’re just spoiling me.”

  Charlie laughed and we both left, me towards the bar and Charlie toward the kitchen. When I came out, I saw Ben serving someone.

  “Thanks, Ben. You’ve been great.”

  Ben took the guy’s money and took my elbow. “Are you feeling better?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, much better now that I’ve got my cup of tea.”

  “And don’t forget the chocolate biscuit.” Charlie’s hand appeared over my shoulder.

  I took the biscuit and turned to him. “Thank you.” I smiled.

  “You have a keeper there.” Ben winked at me and I almost rolled my eyes. Charlie being sweet was completely new to me.

  I turned to Charlie and, sure enough, he was beaming. “What can I get you, Ben?” Charlie winked across at me, making me laugh.

  I shook my head and got back to work, feeling much better now that I had a rest and a warm drink. It had actually made time pass a lot quicker than I thought. It was only when Sue walked in that I realised it was well after ten o’clock.

  She smiled up at me, her breath coming away in gasps. Poor girl must have practically ran here. “Thanks, Olivia.”

  I shook my head with a smile. “Don’t mention it. You’ve been doing a lot for me the last few days.”

  I watched her walk through the back and followed her. “How are you feeling now?” she shouted as she took her coat off and placed her bag down.

  “I’m fine now, thank you. Still feeling a little out of sorts, but much better than what I was.” It was then I remembered where she’s been. “Did your mother get to the airport okay?”

  She nodded and we walked back to the bar. “Yeah. She’ll be headed back to Spain by now. I must go and visit soon. I could do with a week of just relaxing by the pool and reading.”

  I sighed, thinking how heavenly that sounded. “Wow, I don’t know why you’re not there already.”

  We both giggled and that’s when Charlie appeared. “Everything go all right, Sue? Did your mother get off okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Charlie. Will you still be needing me tomorrow?”

  Charlie looked over at me and I shook my head. He smiled back at her. “No. I think Olivia and I are all set. You get some rest tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “Well, I better get started then.” We watched as Sue walked towards a lady at the bar.

  Charlie sighed and looked at me. “I suppose that’s your cue to go. Until tomorrow, of course.” We both chuckled. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He reached out his hand and gently pushed a lock of my auburn hair away from my face. He smiled tenderly towards me and I smiled back, but then the sound of the bar door opening and closing had me on high alert.

  Both Charlie and I looked over and found Kit standing there with the most heated look I’d ever seen on his face. I mean, I had seen those kinds of looks time and time again on him, but not like this. He was virtually throwing daggers at Charlie. I almost cowered on his behalf.

  I bit my lip and turned to Charlie. “Umm… I best get going. Thanks for everything tonight.”

  Charlie kept looking at Kit, then turned his head towards me with a smile. “Don’t mention it, sweetheart.” I noticed that Charlie had emphasised the word sweetheart a little too much. It was loud enough for practically the whole bar to hear.

  I walked to the back and grabbed my things, Charlie helping me with my coat. Once out in the bar area again, he kissed me on the cheek, probably for Kit’s sake, and smiled sweetly. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Olivia. Thanks for tonight.”

  I could have almost rolled my eyes. The pissing contest between Kit’s angered stares and Charlie’s not so subtle remarks would have been laughable if they both weren’t so bloody serious.

  As I walked towards Kit, I noticed he never took his eyes off Charlie. It was only when I got nearer to him that he finally settled his eyes on me. “Hi, Kit. Are you okay?” I already knew the answer to that, but I needed him to tell me himself. It would seem the man of very few words was still around.

  Kit’s lips thinned into a hard line as he nodded and took my arm to walk outside. I buttoned up my coat and we started walking.

  “How have you been tonight, Kit?”

  “Who is that man?”

  I was almost taken aback by his sudden question. “You mean the guy behind the bar with me?” Kit almost growled, but nodded with the same stern look on his face. “That’s Charlie. He’s my boss.”

  Kit suddenly turned to me. “Are you sure that’s all he is?”

  I stared at him, my eyes wide. “Yes,” I sighed. “Why are you so mad?”

  He grunted a little and looked everywhere but at me. “I don’t know.”

  That was the last of our conversation all the way to my door. Once there, I opened the gate, then put my key in the lock, and pushed my door open. I turned around, about to invite Kit inside, but all I saw was an empty footpath and the darkened street beyond it. I suppose that answered one question. He was mad as hell. But why? What had I done to make him so pissed off?

  I grumbled to myself, but went inside and shut the door. I was a little hurt by the way he just disregarded me tonight. I also worried about where he was going to stay. Now that he had stayed with me a few nights, I wanted him there. His presence somehow was a comfort. Hearing noises other than my own around the house filled me with such tranquillity, I didn’t want it to end.

  Sighing, I had just taken off my coat and placed my bag down when my doorbell rang. Jumping, I practically skipped to the door, assuming it was Kit coming to apologise to me. In my eagerness, I opened the door without looking. It wasn’t Kit at all.

  It was Freddy.

  Screaming, I tried to ram the door back onto his face, but he caught it and pushed it forward.

  “Bitch!” he growled.

  I tried to run into the front room, but he caught my hair and yanked me back. I screeched in pain, but elbowed him with such force, it knocked the wind out of him. Hunched over, he fell to his knees. I was desperate to get to a drawer about seven feet away from me. I tried running towards it, but he grabbed my ankle and I fell to the floor, hurting my arm in the process. I rolled over just in time to see Freddy get up from the floor.

  “You thought you saw the last of me, ha? I saw you with your fucking beardy boyfriend and knew he would have to leave you alone at some point. I must say, I was surprised when he just left abruptly like that. Did you have a lover’s tiff?”

  I rubbed my sore arm and looked up at him. “What do you want with me?”

  Freddy, or whatever the hell is name was, cocked his eyebrow. “I want you. I want that fine ass you’ve been fucking parading around the bar for the last three months. You never even fucking noticed me until I became your saviour that night. How ironic is that?”

  I edged further toward the drawer, Freddy slowly stalking his way towards me. He licked his lips in an evil, suggestive manner as he roamed his steely eyes over my body. By now, my tights were bunched up in two places and my arm and legs were sore from the landing.

  “Where are you going, darling? You can’t escape me now. There’s no fucking boyfriend to save you this time. It’s just you and me.”
>
  I quickly pushed myself up and tried to run the rest of the way. Freddy grabbed me by the wrist and spun me around. I acted quickly, kneeing him in the groin.

  “Fucking bitch,” he moaned.

  I tried to run again, but he grabbed me, spun me around, and slapped me across the face. It stung like hell and gave him just enough time to push me down onto the sofa. I felt his hard body pressed against me, then his hot breath in my ear as he squeezed my breast. “Do that to me again, and I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands. You got that?”

  I let out a strangled cry and desperately tried to reach a vase sitting on the coffee table. Freddy’s groping just made me want to throw up. I felt the bile rise up in my throat, but I quickly tried to swallow it down and concentrate on getting myself out from under him.

  Slowly, I managed to ease my hand across the table. Freddy, who was now too busy trying to pull my skirt up, didn’t seem to notice. I had to act now before it was too late.

  With one last lunge, I pushed myself to the side with as much force as I could, managing to grab the vase. I almost celebrated the fact, but Freddy was quick. He tried grabbing my arm, but I managed to swing it away from him and hit the back of his head with as much force as I could, immediately dropping the vase.

  All went deathly quiet. Freddy lay limp on top of me. At first, I couldn’t get him off. It took a few heaves and pushes to finally free myself. As soon as I was up, I staggered towards my drawer. I didn’t know how much of my fuzziness was due to my illness or what just happened.

  Shaking my head, I got to the drawer and pulled it open. I grabbed my 9mm Smith & Wesson, aiming it towards Freddy’s limp body. I had just one bullet. One bullet in this gun reserved for one person only. I didn’t want to have to use it on him, but I would if it came to it.

  I contemplated about what to do. I didn’t want to involve the police, but I didn’t want to involve another person, either. In the end, my head overruled everything. I picked up the phone and dialled his number. I knew it was wrong because my body always betrayed itself whenever he was near. I had to, though. I needed his help and I knew he would be there for me.

  “Olivia. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Have you got something for me now? Are you able to come home yet?”

  “I’m in trouble.” I only needed to say those three words.

  “I’ll be there in thirty.”

  He hung up and I sat on the other side of the room, aiming the gun at Freddy. I daren’t look away, just in case I missed him grabbing for me. With each minute, my breathing calmed, but whenever I thought Freddy moved, my heart rate would pick up again.

  An agonising twenty-eight minutes went by before I heard the knock on my door. I prayed this would be him and not Kit. That would be all I needed.

  When I moved to the door this time, I peeked outside first. It was Uncle.

  “Livy,” he purred when I answered the door. My body instantly reacted to his voice as the tingles ran through me. He smiled. He knew he only had to utter my name and I was his.

  Standing behind him was an army of about six men. All of them looked strong, but Uncle was definitely head of the show. He was in his late thirties, but looked a lot younger. Whenever you saw him, he would always look polished and finely-dressed. He was wearing his light brown long coat slightly open, revealing his grey suit and navy tie. He straightened it, showing off the thick rings he wore around his fingers. He was every bit the leader. His presence screamed it.

  Uncle looked at my gun, then back at me. “Must be serious if you got that out.” He gave me a knowing smile. He knew full well what it was reserved for.

  I tried to smile, but after what happened, I wasn’t in a smiling mood. “Come in.” I motioned to them all and, one by one, they passed me and walked into my living room.

  Uncle pointed to Freddy still lying face down on my sofa. “Is this the problem?” I nodded.

  He motioned to the men with just a flick of his fingers. They grouped around Freddy and picked him up. With one heave, they carried him outside. No doubt that would be the last I ever saw of him.

  Once all was quiet, Uncle turned to me. “Are you okay?”

  I sighed my relief, put the gun away, and turned to him. “I’m fine now. He’d obviously been following me and thought he could take what he wanted without asking.”

  Uncle straightened himself, but looked hard at me. “Did he hurt you?”

  I shook my head. “I managed to fight him off.”

  He looked around the room and saw the vase on the floor. “So I see. I taught you well.” He smiled at me.

  I smiled back. “So you did.” I motioned to the kitchen. “Do you fancy a drink?”

  He shook his head. “No, no. I won’t be staying long. Do you need me for anything else?”

  I shook my head, feeling confused. “No, but thanks.” He was obviously in a hurry to leave. Maybe I had disrupted something, or maybe he just wanted to deal with my little problem.

  Uncle sighed. “You haven’t got any information for me at all?”

  I bit my lip and shook my head. “I haven’t been very well.”

  He looked a little worried. “What’s been the matter?”

  I shrugged. “Just a virus, I guess, but I had been in bed for a few days. I’m getting better now, though, and will start again tomorrow morning. I’m sure I’ll have something for you soon.” I smiled as best I could and Uncle rewarded me with one. His smiles were great when you were on his good side. It was the other kind of smiles you needed to worry about. If Uncle smiled at you in the wrong way, you’d better start running.

  “That’s good.” He walked over to me and came in for a hug. “You take care of yourself, Livy. Remember, everything you’re doing… It’s all for you. You know that, don’t you? All this was the reason you went under in the first place. You needed purpose, and now that you’ve got it, you are a changed woman.” He pulled away and cupped my chin. “In fact, you’re turning into the most beautiful woman. It’s hard having to wait, Livy, and I’ve waited long enough. I can give you another week, then you’re coming home. My patience can only go so far.”

  The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine. Uncle was always nice to me, but to completely trust him with me was a different story. I never knew whether or not his passing remarks held an element of threat. It was hard to say no to him, though. For some reason, whenever he was near me, I wanted to be close to him. My body screamed to go to him.

  “Yes, Uncle. Of course.” I nodded, practically bowing down to him. He liked a strong woman, but he also liked them to be submissive when it came to him. I always did as I was told because the thought of going against him frightened me. He took good care of me, though. He was one of the reasons I pulled myself out of the hole I had wedged myself into. He was the one who brought me back to health, fed me, got me new clothes and, eventually, trained me to fight. He was my evil savour in my darkest hour. In fact, you could easily say my soul belonged to him. He had told me that often enough. He was like the devil himself and he owned me…and he made sure I knew it.

  Uncle smiled sweetly, pulling me in and gently placing a kiss on my forehead. He lingered there a moment, inhaled, then trailed a finger under my chin. I shuddered. It wasn’t deliberate. It always happened around him.

  “Good,” he sighed. “I’ll wait to hear from you. Don’t make it too long, though.”

  I nodded, wondering what the hell I was going to do now. I couldn’t hold him off much longer.

  “Yes, Uncle. And thank you for helping me tonight.”

  Uncle smiled wickedly, sending my heart fluttering. He trailed his finger along the back of my arm, towards my elbow. “Once this is all over, you can show me just how grateful you really are. It’s time, Livy. Time to finally make you mine.”

  He roamed his eyes across my body before meeting my eyes. Every part of me went rigid at his touch. I resisted the urge to shiver, rewarding him with one of my best smiles instead. “That would be lovely. Thank
you.”

  Uncle hummed a little, like the thought of it excited him. Soon, though, he snapped out of his trance and walked towards the door. “I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

  He shut the door behind him with such a heavy thud, it made me jump. With it came a huge relief from the pull he had over me. The moment he was gone, I felt it leave me. It was the strangest thing, and I could never quite put my finger on why there was this need to be close to him whenever he was around. I had been trying to fight it since it started, but it just got stronger every time.

  A few moments later, I realised I was on my own. I always welcomed it, but since Kit came into my life, I hated my own company. I craved his arms around me, needing that huge comfort he knew how to bring. I was obsessed with the way his very presence seemed to calm me. He was like the ice to my fire...the sun to my rain. He brought stability and peace to my aching heart. Something no one had ever done before.

  But he was gone, and I hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be too long before I saw him again.

  They say some wishes do come true. I just didn’t expect mine to turn out the way it did.

  Chapter 12

  Giggling, Charlotte and I stepped into my house. We had both just turned thirteen and were getting into boys. We had just passed one boy and he was gorgeous…hence our giggling.

  “Olivia, step into my office, please.”

  I looked at my father and all giggles immediately stopped. I fidgeted with my hands and timidly looked at Charlotte. She offered me a smile, but she could tell there was something wrong.

  I looked back at him with a nod. “Yes, Father.”

  I walked into his office. Uncle was there and I smiled brightly at him. He was the only one I could smile at like that. He always seemed kind to me. In fact, he was the only person involved with my father who was.

  When my father closed the door, I looked at him. “What have I told you about bringing strays back to the house?”

  I looked down and fidgeted with my hands. I was cringing at his use of the word “strays”. He never liked me mixing with children who weren’t from a position of power. “She’s a friend. I wanted to bring her home.”