His dark eyes narrow. “I watched the house every chance I got. How many times did you fuck him?”
He tosses a picture into my lap of me of a very naked Kyle holding a very naked me. His lips are on my neck, and my head is tilted back to give him better access. I miss Kyle. As crude and as sick as this picture is, it’s a reminder of how much Kyle loves me.
I must have been lost in the memory because I didn’t see the hand coming down on me until it was too late. Vince smacks me again, and this time I can taste metal in my mouth. I whimper, and he hushes me. “Aww, baby. Look at what you made me do to you. I’m sorry. You just piss me off. Why did you need to be a fucking whore?”
I feel a hot tear glide down my skin, and I sniffle. My jaw and my left eye socket throbs. The plastic zip ties dig into my wrists as I struggle to break them again. I know there is no use. I mumble against the tape, “Fuck you.”
“What was that?” Vince asks. He traces a finger down my jaw and then grips my breasts. My stomach coils. If I vomit, I will choke on it.
“That’s what I thought. You want to moan, don’t you, dirty slut? You like this, don’t you?” He rips my shirt from my body. He’s going to rape me, then kill me.
He licks his lips and then he twists my right nipple. I cry against the pain flooding me, but the tape muffles it. He tries to kiss my cheek but I move my head. Vince fists his hands and one comes crashing down on against my thigh. I throw my head back and scream against the tape shielding my mouth.
His dark hair beads with sweat as he leans over me. “What’s wrong Emily? Do I disgust you now? You don’t want my lips on your skin. You want his? Well, too fucking bad because the last person to give you pleasure in this world will be me. Only me.”
I hate him. I hate him so much. I don’t want him touching me. Why is this happening to me? Please God, please do not let him have me. Kill me before that happens.
“I’ll release one leg if you’re a good girl Emily. Do you promise to be a good girl?”
I don’t answer quick enough because he strikes me again only this time his fist connects with my face.
I feel warm liquid oozing down my face as my skull aches. I can feel my contacts drying against my eyes. The tears aren’t helping.
“Look at what you made me fucking do! Just answer me. It’s not fucking hard.”
Vince’s phone rings. Saving me a bit from this horrible form of torture. He pulls it from his pocket and answers it. “Yeah.”
I start screaming as loud as I can against the tape. I know it’s muffled, but hopefully it’s loud enough for someone to hear.
“No. That’s just the radio.”
“Well … how about I meet you there?”
“Okay. Bye, baby.”
He slaps me hard across the face as soon as he hangs up the phone. “Don’t fucking make a goddamn sound! I’m going to leave and come right back here. If you’ve moved from your spot or anything is not as it is right now, I won’t take my fucking time. Got me?”
I slowly nod because I don’t think I can take much more of his abuse.
“Good, girl.” Then he walks out of the warehouse-like room.
I wait a few minutes to make sure he’s gone; then I look around the room. It’s hard because the lighting in here is dull. I need to find anything to help me get out of here. I spot something on the table in the middle of the room. I can’t make out its shape, but it looks like a box cutter.
Doesn’t matter it’s enough to make me use up all my energy and scoot the chair to the table. Pain blossoms in parts of me I never felt until now. I suck it up though. I need to get out of here.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kyle
I tell the officers that come to the house what’s going on. After all the questions and very little information I can provide, we’re told to sit tight and wait. That is an impossible task for me. I want to do anything but sit and wait. I need to be out there searching.
“It’s going to be okay,” Sarah says.
“It doesn’t feel like.”
She frowns. “I know. But you have to have some sort of faith.”
That’s my other problem. I have no faith that Emily will be found unharmed. Granger pulls up a chair beside me. “We can sit here with our dicks in our hands, or we can go do something to keep our minds off this. What do you want to do?”
“Get me out of this house,” I say.
“But what if—” Madison starts.
I cut her off. “Call me.”
Bryce gives me a half hug as I step toward the door. “We’ll do that if we hear anything.”
“Keep an eye on her,” I say, cocking my head toward my sister who looks like she’s about to have a complete and utter meltdown any second now.
He nods. “I always do.”
Granger and I step outside, and he puts his hand out. “What?” I ask.
“Keys. You aren’t driving.”
I toss them over to him and get into the passenger side. It’s weird being driven around in my own car. “Where are you taking us?”
“Totally not a bar. Although that sounds really good right now considering the circumstances.”
“Yeah, I’m not feeling bars right now.”
He nods. “I figured. I’m thinking we should find a place to get all your frustration out. Because you don’t need to go to jail.”
“I’m not going to jail,” I say.
“Not this minute. They haven’t caught the guy. I’d hate to see my best friend in some orange jumpsuit because he murdered some prick. Especially if they have a very promising future this year and can lead our team to the NCAA Final Four.”
I’m not thinking about basketball, the Final Four, or even the NBA. I couldn’t care less about all that shit. My mind is on Emily and getting her back alive, breathing and just in my arms where she’ll be safe.
Granger drives us around. While he drives, I stare at the many of faces we pass. I need to find her. He slows the car as we come up to a light near the shops we were at earlier today. I glance over at Granger and say, “This isn’t helping.”
“And nothing will until you see her I know. I haven’t been through this, man, but I know what it’s like to miss someone. You know freshman year I had a girl. Her name was Alyssa. She was back home, still in high school. We had a whole plan. She’d graduate and follow me.”
“Yeah, but I have a feeling that didn’t work out very well because I’ve never seen you with the same girl twice.”
He nods. The light turns green, and we’re cruising again. “You’d be right. It wasn’t for the lack of trying on my part. I went home the first two months every weekend to see Alyssa. Then one weekend, she said she didn’t want me to come down. I came anyway. Her parents were apparently out of town and she was throwing a big party.”
“Why do I feel like I’m not going to like where this story is going?” I ask.
“Because the ending to it is not a happy one for me. Anyway, she’s throwing this huge party. I’m looking for her through the loads of drunk asswads I went to high school with or played against. I make it through the living room which they turned into a club like scene. Search through the kitchen, and I still didn’t find her. My stomach was in knots. I head upstairs to her room.”
He makes a right turn and heads toward a section of town I vaguely remember from my daily runs. “In her room, the same place I took her virginity, she’s straddling the asshole point guard from our rival team. She is so busy riding him she has no idea I’m standing in the doorway watching her go at it.”
“Did you flip out?”
He shakes his head. “I realized right then and there she wasn’t worth jail time. I just left and didn’t say a word about being home. I just simply told her it wasn’t going to work. Alyssa called me an asshole for breaking up with her on the phone. Still never called her out on her cheating. I think I knew right there she was looking for future ride, and I’m not talking about sex or scholarships. I mean, she was looking to h
itch herself to me because she knew I was going places. That’s when I vowed to never let another in. Not until they pass my own little test.”
“The Granger test?” I remember some of the guys teasing him about this in the locker room. I never asked him about it though.
“Yep. Girl has to ask me personal questions daily. And not what kind of position I want her in, but that’s nice too. It’s not on my list. The girl has to have a strong belief in family. She doesn’t necessarily gotta like basketball, but she’s got to watch one game. She also has to at least like a few of my friends. Not all of them because I know some of the guys can be pricks.
“But none of this is getting you out of your head, so how about we talk about Emily. When did you realize you started to like her?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t really know the exact moment. She seems to be always over our house. Not as much the summer of my freshman year of college. But she was there enough. I think I started noticing her as a girl who could get me in a whole fuck load of trouble if I let her when I was a sophomore in high school.”
“Yeah,” he says as we pull into the grocery store Emily and I went to a few times.
“Yep. She would do these little things like touch my arm while she laughed at something. Why are we at the grocery store?”
“We’re going to pick up some things. Also I remember something you said earlier when we were talking to the cops.”
“What’s that?”
He smiles. “She had a panic attack in the store. First time you came here?”
“Granger, you’re brilliant man.” I hop out of the car, and we head into the store. “Wait, what are we looking for exactly?”
“We’re going to see if my hunch is correct. Now, try to be calm, and don’t go all Hulk on me. I kind of need you to stay normal for a minute.”
I feel like my sister is talking to me right now. He knows damn well I’m freaking out. He also knows if that fucking prick does work here, he’ll be one sorry son of a bitch. Possibly eating his next meal through a goddamn straw.
Granger goes to the customer service counter. Not sure what kind of help he’s going to get there. It’s not like they’re going to willingly hand out names and addresses. “Hey … Suzie,” he says reading off her name tag. “How are you?”
“I’m fantastic. How can I help you today?” Suzie asks. She’s a chipper cheerleader type. Broad smile, hair tied up and possibly full of hair spray, and has that way too excited voice.
“Well, my buddy and I were in here the other day and, um … one of your employees was a real asshole. All we did was ask him where something was, and he kind of went loco on us.”
“Oh my goodness. I’m really sorry about that. We here at Pack and Plus are always here to help our customers. Do you remember the employee’s name?”
Granger smiles. “I think his name was Vince?” He looks back at me. “Right?”
I nod. Although I’m not sure how any of this is going to help us. Unless that shithead does work here and she calls him up here. Then I’m not sure what I’m going to do.
“Vince Salvatoria?”
Granger nods. “Sounds about right.”
She frowns. “I’m sorry about that. He just started here.” She hands Granger a form to fill out, and I text Madison.
Me: I got a name.
Madison: What do you mean?
Me: Tell you when we get back.
Madison: Kyle, don’t do anything stupid!
Me: I’m not.
But that’s a lie. I’ve got a whole slew of possible stupid thoughts swarming around in my head. None better than the last. All of them ending up with me finding Emily and ending Vince’s life.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Emily
I got to the table. The box cutters are in my hand, but I’ve got another problem. I can’t exactly hack away at the zip ties.
Straining to see over my shoulders so I don’t slit my wrists in the process, I slowly inch the blade up. Five nicks into the plastic that’s biting into my flesh, and I can’t take it anymore. Clenching my hands into tight fists, I growl against the tape covering my mouth and break the plastic bindings around my wrists. I tear off the tape and belt out a strangled cry.
Tears of joy flood my eyes, but I blink them back. I’m not free all the way. My heart drums against my ribcage, and beads of sweat drips off my forehead. The box cutters are slipping through my clammy hands and clatters to the floor. “Shit.”
I try to bend down and get them. The chair is heavier and my body is exhausted. I need food, I’m running on empty, and my damn stomach keeps growling at me. I can’t die here though. He will not have me ever again. He will NOT be the last face I see before my life ends.
Tipping the chair enough, I stretch, and my fingertips barely touch the metal handle to the blue box cutters. “Come on, Emily! He’s going to kill you! Then he’s probably going after Kyle,” I scold.
I rake the handle and pull it to me, then grab it. Quickly I cut through the ties on my legs and then I stumble to the door. I keep the box cutters for protection. They probably won’t do much, but it’s better than nothing.
As I’m pulling on the handle of the door leading me to my exit, I hear tires crunching over grovel. Beams of light dance through the dirty windows, and I glance around the dirty room. I spot a worn-out couch in the corner near the door and dive behind it. It’s not the best hiding place. I know, but I can see him enter from here.
If I’m lucky, I can hop on his back and slash his throat open. The thought of blood spraying all over the place and possibly killing him creeps me out. But it’s a do-or-die-situation, and I’m willing to do a dark deed like that if it saves me.
The door doesn’t open.
My entire body is trembling with fear. The only thing I have a handle on is my grip on the box cutters. I need to slow my breathing. He’ll hear it. If not that, he’ll hear the terror in my beating heart.
“What? I was … I’ll be right over,” Vince says as the door pops open a crack.
Is this how an animal who is being hunted feels? Waiting for the hunter to discover them hiding in the brush, not knowing if this is the moment they should flee? That’s how I feel behind this ugly plaid couch.
The door closes. I listen closely and can only hear something pulling away from the place. Beams of lights flicker and then it’s dim lighting all over again. Can it be possible? Is he really gone?
I wait a few more seconds; then I break for the door again. I pull it open and blindly run away from the building. After I pass three buildings, I decide to check my surroundings.
A road. Where is a road?
A few yards ahead, I spot a shack-like house and I head to it. It’s probably a bad idea, but it’s a start. Please have a phone. Please don’t be a crazy killer.
Pounding my fist against a white chipped painted door, I cry out, “HELP! PLEASE!”
“Hold on, missy!” An older man growls as he pries open the door. “What do you want? I’m not buying any damn cookies!”
“I need a phone. Please. Someone is after me.”
The old man eyes me up then grumbles. “This better not be some kind of prank.”
“It’s not,” I say. “I need to …” I sway a bit, and I slam into the side of his house. “Sorry. I …” My mind spins and suddenly my eyelids droop and everything is dark.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kyle
“Kyle! I think Emily is on the news!” Madison shouts in my ear through the phone.
“What?”
“There is a news report that a strange girl showed up at some resident’s house. Bloody, bruised, and her clothes torn. They’re taking her to the hospital. We’re all going there.”
Granger looks at me. “What is it?”
“They might have found her.”
He elbows me. “That’s great news.”
We slide into my car and head to the hospital. I’m anxious to see her. The world doesn’t seem to give a da
mn though because we literally hit every freaking red light from here to the hospital.
“Dude! Wait a second, I can …” Granger starts to say, but I’m already making a break for it and hop out of a moving vehicle. I sprint up to the emergency entrance and barrel my way to the check-in desk.
“H-H-Hi. I-I’m looking … for … a girl … who was brought here. Possibly has … no … ID,” I pant out.
The woman studies me. Then turns to the guy next to her. “Pete, that Jane Doe brought here? What floor was she moved to?”
“ICU.”
“Only immediate family can see ICU patients, but since she was brought in with no identification, we’ll let you go up there. I need your ID and how you may possibly know the patient.”
“She might be my girlfriend Emily, Emerson.”
She nods and gives me not only my ID back but also a visitor badge. “Fifth Floor. Dana can direct you from there.”
I head to the elevators she points to and push the fifth floor. My heart races in my chest. I should have probably waited for the others, but if it’s not her, I don’t want anyone seeing how I’ll feel. No one is going to see me broken if that’s not her.
Monitors beep off in a corner. Emily lays practically motionless with a couple of blankets covering most of her body. An IV is secure to her hand. Clear liquid drips from a bag and trickles down the tube feeding into her vein.
Bruises cover her beautiful face. Her eyes are swollen shut and her lower lip is split. Deadly rage races through my body each time I look at her. Lying in this hospital bed looking like someone used her as a punching bag. That prick is going to die.
I hold her other hand and brush some of the matted down dark strands of hair from her face. “Beautiful. It’s okay. You’re safe. Just rest. No one is going to hurt you ever again.”
Kyle (Scandalous Boys Book 3) Page 16