by Kylie Walker
“Perfect,” Derek told him. “Meet me at the yacht. And Dad...”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” Derek had gained something from all Chloe had been through and that was a new appreciation for just how lucky he’d gotten in the parental department. That gave him another thought too...he needed to broach the subject of meeting the Whitemore’s again with Chloe.
*******
Chloe was sitting in Roxi’s office. Roxi was sitting behind her desk looking at her and Chloe was waiting for her to speak. When she finally did, she said, “Are you quitting?”
“No. I mean, I don’t know. I’m not ready to quit this instant, but I need some time to prepare before he shows up.”
“Jake wouldn’t let him in here, you know. And Brock is watching the condo and Lexi...”
“I know, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for us...but you don’t understand Roxi...”
“I understand more than you know,” she said. “I’ve had an experience or two.” She said it casually, but for a brief second, Chloe saw something in her eyes and she was sure that Roxi really did know what she’d been through. Chloe hated knowing that and felt comforted by it at the same time. “Take what time you need. Will you be staying at the condo?”
“Yeah, if Brock will still be around?”
Roxi laughed and said, “Even if I fired him, I think you’d still see him. He’s hooked on Lexi.”
“He’s a good guy?” Chloe asked her.
“He is,” Roxi said. “I’ve known him a long time. He wouldn’t ever hurt her, but I guarantee you that if anyone ever tried to, he’d have no problem fucking them up. Badly.”
“Good,” Chloe said with a smile. Sometimes the propensity for violence she’d become so acclimated to surprised her. She rationalized it by telling herself it was necessary...both because of the atmosphere they worked in and in her case, the man who wanted her dead.
“You’ll let me know if you need anything?” Roxi asked her.
“I will. Thanks again for everything, Rox.”
Chloe sat with Lexi and Jake until Derek arrived to pick her up. He was disappointed that she wanted to go home to the Condo instead of staying with him on the yacht...but he seemed to know that pressuring her right now wasn’t going to help her along with trusting him. She let him come in to make sure that the house was all clear when they got there, to ease his mind and she also introduced him to Brock. He left Brock with his number and instructions to call him if there was any sign of anything suspicious.
As he was getting ready to go he told her, “If you need anything at all...I mean anything, please call me.”
“I will,” she told him, truly appreciative of him and all he was willing to do for her.
“There’s one more thing,” he said. Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t sure she was ready for “one more thing.”
“What’s that?” she said.
“We still have some unfinished business with the Whitemore’s.”
“Which is?”
“Chloe,” he said, taking her hands in his. “These are good people. You need all the good people in your corner that you can get. I’m absolutely convinced that they’re your parents. Please tell me that you’ll meet with them at least. Once that is done, you’ll be free to decide what if any kind of contact or relationship you want to have with them.”
“I’ll give it some thought,” she said. She was exhausted. She didn’t have energy left to argue...or to commit.
He pressed his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes. “You are so beautiful and so amazing. Don’t ever forget that, okay?”
She felt her breath catch in her throat. It was something she was getting used to when Derek was around. She nodded, fighting back the tears again. If this man was for real, they definitely broke the mold. He gave her a sweet kiss before he finally left and as soon as he was gone...she felt lonely.
Chloe went into her room and took out her journal. She wrote:
July 2,
So much has happened over the past few days. I went to the fundraiser and came face to face with Vince Donovan. It was almost comparable to feeling the edge of Jesse’s knife slicing my skin open all over again. I know that by now he’s told Jesse where I am and each minute of the day now, I have to remind myself to breathe. The one bright light in all of this has been Derek. I finally broke down and told him everything.
He knows about my father...Tom Ward. He knows about Jesse and he knows about Kelly Ward. Do I trust him? Almost. I’m still working on it, but I’m really almost there. He’s been so sweet and kind and supportive. He makes me feel strong and capable and he makes me remember that I’ve spent every waking hour for the past two years preparing for the day that Jesse walked out of those prison gates. I haven’t checked my messages yet, but I expect there to be one from Chantelle that says he’s out. I’ve been putting it off because reading those words will make it real for me. I have to believe that this time I’m going to beat him. I told myself that night, “Never again,” and I meant it. Jesse will never hurt me again; if I have to kill him to prevent that from happening...then that’s what I’m prepared to do.
Chapter 10
“Thank you for coming, Dad.” Derek welcomed his father onto the yacht. He fixed them both a drink and his dad said, “Of course. It sounded urgent. Does this have anything to do with your girl running out of the party the other night?”
“Yeah, it does,” he said. “Dad, did Vince Donovan say anything after we left about Chloe?”
“Not to me, why? What does Vince have to do with it?”
“Dad, tell me what you know about Jesse.”
His father made a face then. It was one of blatant distaste. “That boy is nothing but trouble. He’s nearly thirty years old and he’s still causing heart ache to his mother and father.”
“You know that he’s been in prison?”
“Yes, Vince just picked him up a couple of days ago.”
“Is he staying with his parents?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Why all the interest in Jesse?”
Derek took a deep breath. There was no one on earth he trusted more than his own father, but he had to say it, “I have to have you promise me, Dad that you won’t say anything about what I’m going to tell you to Vince, okay?”
His father furrowed his brow and said, “I won’t say anything. You’re making me a little nervous here.”
“I’m sorry,” Derek told him. “I don’t mean to be cloak and dagger about this, but once I tell you, you’ll understand.”
“Okay, tell me.”
“Jesse was in prison because he tried to kill his girlfriend. That girl...was Chloe.”
“Your girl, Chloe?” Derek smiled at the way his father called her “Your girl.”
“Yes. She told me about just a portion of her time with Jesse. He’s a monster Dad and I’m afraid of what I might do if I ever come face to face with him.”
“Vince said it was a heated argument that got out of control and Jesse was drinking and things got out of hand. I offered to defend him but...son of a bitch!”
“Vince didn’t want you to know the truth.”
“Which is?”
“Jesse used a knife on her. She has a scar down her side and across her abdomen to prove it. That was far from his first attack on her, but he intended for it to be the last. He told her he was going to kill her that night and if her friend hadn’t called 911, he would have succeeded.”
“Oh my God. Vince downplayed it so much...and the papers even reported it sort of like you “average” domestic violence case. That poor girl.”
“Yes,” Derek said, “And Dad, you don’t even know the half of it. I need a really big favor.”
“Sure, anything.”
“I need you to keep an eye on Jesse and Vince. I need to know where Jesse is living, what he’s up to during the day and at night. Who he sees, where he goes...”
His father was nodding. He finally said,
“You think he’ll come after her.”
“He told her that he would and she believes him. That’s good enough for me.”
“Okay. I’ll find out where Jesse is and we’ll put someone on him. Dear God, it’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? I mean, I see this sort of thing every day in my work...but you don’t expect your best friend’s son to be...”
“Satan’s spawn?” Derek finished.
“Yeah, something like that,” his father said. “I just feel so bad for that poor girl.”
“Me too, but you know what Dad?”
“What’s that, son?”
“Jesse thinks he’s going to show up and find that scared young woman he used to know. He’s got another thing coming, I think. If he finds her, he’s going to find a woman who is strong enough to fight him this time. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
*******
Jessie sat in the dark, watching her. He’d spent the last week, doing the same thing every night. He found out that she took a walk along the jogging path. She lived in what New York real estate had dubbed a “walking” neighborhood. The people that chose to live here mostly did so because of the ample opportunities to be able to walk almost everywhere they wanted to go. When you added in the walking path it was a fitness addict’s paradise.
They had a neighborhood patrol that patrolled the streets, but Jessie found a spot along the path near a school where the trees and the brush were so thick a man could probably pitch a tent and no one would notice. They weren’t quite smart enough to have a foot patrol. Jesse wondered if they would implement one after they found her. He smiled. The knowledge that it would be because of him was strangely thrilling. He dressed in black from head to toe and armed with his Bowie knife and a small black flashlight. He would sit amongst the trees and watch.
He loved watching her glide by, all arms and legs and content in what she thought was her safe neighborhood. The fact that her surroundings seemed to relax her rather than put her on guard amused him. She was so trusting. A woman without a man to guide her and tell her how truly pathetic she was for flaunting herself out here in the open like she did, without even a thought of danger or her own, personal well-being.
Some nights he could see the moon reflect off of her eyes like those of an animal in the headlights of a car just before it became road kill. The animal was too stupid to get out of the way. Just like Chantelle. The correlation amused him because when he was finished with her, road kill was what she would be reduced to. Tonight would be the night. He’d been patient, but the scene was set tonight. There was no one else out and the moon was partially hidden by the clouds and offered only a sliver of light...not enough to illuminate him when he took her. He waited, controlling the tempo of his breaths as he watched her come closer. She thought she was headed home and he hoped that she was enjoying the way the fresh air felt in her lungs because it was the last that she would ever breathe.
The first blow as he came up behind her sent her to her knees. The second was mostly for fun and the cracking sound of her pretty white teeth a bonus. He used his foot to kick her off the path quickly. She rolled into the brush and with two more healthy kicks off the end of his heavy black boots she was behind the trees. He could hear her sobbing and gasping for breath. She probably wanted to scream, but he doubted she could get enough air into her lungs to form one.
“Wh—Who—?” She was trying to talk. Jesse watched her for a minute. She would push up onto her knees, but the rocks and the dry brush would cut and dig their way into her delicate skin and send her hurling back down violently to the dirt, the second time flat on her face. He wished he had more time. It would be fun to watch and see if she ever managed to get back up and then knock her down just as she did. Unfortunately, he couldn’t risk being here too long and he knew it would only be foolish of him to try and take her with him. He ran a hand over the front of his pants as his tongue shot out and licked along his bottom lip. If he only had just a little bit more time...
“Who are you?” she breathed out at last. That was what he was waiting for. He wanted to make damned sure that his name was the last one in her head before she closed her eyes for the last time.
“I’m sorry. Did I forget to introduce myself?” He got close to her and held out his hand as if to shake hers. “I’m Jesse. Jesse Donovan...Kelly’s boyfriend.”
“Fuck...”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I’m sorry baby, but we don’t have time for that...not that I didn’t consider it.” He grabbed his crotch a little harder this time, making sure she was looking at him when he did. Her brown eyes were wide with terror now and he wondered if she knew that rape would have been a Godsend compared to what he had in mind for her.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered. Her voice was so shaky it was difficult to understand and she had a slight lisp from the missing teeth. She was still crying, sobbing in fact. Jesse couldn’t resist having just a little bit more fun with her before he put an end to her sniveling once and for all. He leaned down close and as she tried to struggle, he put his hand over her mouth tightly and with the serrated blade of his knife, he sliced down the back of her shirt.
He watched her eyes as it fell away. There was a mixture of horror and pain in them and when he glanced at her back he realized the knife had nicked her in a few places. She was bleeding in a straight line along her spine and the crimson blood glinted off the silver of the moon. It was kind of a pretty sight, he thought, especially against the light mocha of her skin. Looking back at her face and smiling, he let the edge of the knife run along underneath her bra. He pulled it taut and when the elastic wouldn’t stretch any further, the knife sliced through that as well. He surveyed his work that time. He’d sliced that off without even touching her skin...sort of. The straps that had been attached across her shoulders had cut into her when he stretched it and left bloody ruts in their wake. That was her fault for being so damned thin that her skin had nothing to cushion it but bone.
“Sit up,” he whispered in her ear through the mass of dark, curly hair that had fallen loose from the clip she had it in. She struggled, really trying to do as he told her, which pleased him. He could see her face better now and the snot that was pouring out of her nose was as red as the line of blood down her back. Her top lip was so swollen that it looked like she’d gotten a bad overdose of collagen. As soon as she was up on her butt, the stupid bitch decided to try and scream. But the edge of the silver blade cut off the sound as it pressed into the delicate skin of her throat.
“Do you really want to do that?”
Her hysteria further served to excite him as she shook her head in a back and forth motion. Her bare breasts dangled in front of him and being only human, he had to reach out and touch one as they did. A gasp escaped from her swollen lips and he smiled at her and said, “Like that slut?” She wasn’t quit stupid enough to answer. “Where is Kelly?” he said, suddenly turning serious. She didn’t answer right away so he let the blade trace a path down her side and watched her shiver in fear.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she said again. Her voice was strangled with the sobs that wouldn’t stop and she was shivering so what was left of her teeth chattered as she tried to speak. He could still hear the desperation there. She knew that her life was in his hands and the power of that excited him more than anything.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he lied. “I just want you to tell me where to find Kelly. It’s not that I can’t sniff out the skank on my own...I just think this way would be quicker and more efficient, don’t you?”
“I-I swear, Jesse. I have no idea. I send her messages through the computer...she never told me where she went and I never asked. P-P-Please, Jesse. Please don’t hurt me.”
Jesse put an arm around her and sat down next to her in the dirt. “You’re a good friend, Chantelle. Kelly’s a worthless slut and she doesn’t deserve a good friend like you. So...you know what I’m going to do?”
He could feel her body shakin
g so hard against him that it was practically convulsive. He reached around under her arm and let his hand cup and fondle her breast as they talked...this didn’t have to be all work. She didn’t answer his question, but just this once he gave her a pass. He put his lips back to her ear and said, “I asked you a question. It would behoove you to answer it.” He laughed then. That was the only time in his life the word, “behoove” had passed through his lips and for some reason, he found it funny.
“I-I-don’t know, Jesse.” She kept using his name. Probably something she learned in one of her domestic violence courses with the state. It was supposed to “personalize” the attack and make it harder for the attacker to kill you. He almost laughed again.
“Since Kelly doesn’t deserve you. I’m going to save you the trouble of having to be friends with such an insignificant little parasite. Just remember though, Chantelle...when you close those pretty brown eyes remember that Kelly did this to you. The second that she called you and told you to call the police. The second that she begged you to get in on my business....she killed you.”
Chantelle began to try and struggle again and he pushed her down onto her back. He stood up quickly and pressed his boot to her throat. As he pressed down, her hands came up and grasped at his calves, trying desperately, but not succeeding, to knock him off of her. He pushed down until it looked like she was just about to pass out and then he pulled back.
He stood looking down at her, watching how relieved she looked to be able to breathe for a few seconds before drawing his foot back and letting it connect with her diaphragm. He heard the crack of her ribs and when she tried to scream, nothing came out. One of them had likely sliced through her lung and would be taking her life away before he had the chance. He kicked her a few more times just in case, leaving the last strike for the center of her face. As he connected, her head snapped back and actually bounced up once as it hit the dirt. It was kind of cool.
Jesse rolled her a little further into the brush before leaving her there. He felt almost satisfied. His only regret was that he didn’t have more time with her. Kelly would be a different story. He would find a place to take care of her where they would have nothing but time.