by Terry Towers
The man looked on either side of him and then pulled a gun out from under his jacket. He pointed the gun directly at Vanessa’s chest. “Get in the room and don’t make a sound.”
Vanessa did make a sound, a low gurgled sound as she slowly backed into the room. “Are you the guy that… Oh god!” Vanessa’s hand went to her mouth, and she supressed her scream.
Adrenaline shot through me as I struggled to sit up on the bed.
“Who are you?”
The man entered the room and closed the door behind him. “This isn’t an ideal situation, but it’ll do for now. Time is of the essence.”
He waved the gun towards my bed. “Sit on the bed next to Rebecca.”
“Why are you doing this?” Vanessa asked, fear in her tone as she did as she was told, sitting at the foot of the bed.
He kept the gun trained on her as he pulled his phone from his outside jacket pocket and pressed a button. A moment later, he was connected to someone on the other end. “Yeah, I got her. She has a friend her too. So two for the price of one.” He chuckled.
I couldn’t make out the person on the other end of the phone, but the man listened intently.
“Yeah. The other girl is usable.”
I narrowed my eyes at the man as he listened to the person on the other end. I knew what he meant by usable. He intended on putting us both in the sex trade. Over my dead body. I’d kill myself before allowing someone to use me in any way.
“I’m going to have to wait until dark before transporting them. I’ve got them both in their dorm room.”
I had about ten hours before it got dark to figure a way out of this mess. If he turned his back long enough, I’d be able to get the gun and shoot him. Shoot to kill. I’d love to see a bullet going right between that piece of shit’s eyes.
At that moment, it hit me. What was happening to Kyle? Was he in trouble or had he just decided to move on, leaving us to the wolves? No, I was confident he didn’t abandon me. He was in trouble, and we were on our own.
Looking over at Vanessa, I noticed she was beginning to tremble, her entire body rocking. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. What is he going to do to us?” she whispered to me.
“We’ll be fine,” I replied without a hint of uncertainty. I’d figure a way out of this. If I wasn’t in such piss poor physical condition, I’d make a move right now. The gun was within reach. So was the clip. But my shoulder wouldn’t allow such rapid movement.
* TT *
Kyle
“Is that all you’ve got!” I snarled, glaring at Simon. Simon was one of our interrogators. I didn’t know how long he’d been working me, but my body felt like it had been hit by a tractor trailer. A couple of times, my body threatened to give out on me, but I refused to let it. I had no idea how long I’d been here, time seemed to stand still in my current situation.
The binds around my wrists were looser than they should have been, and I’d been working the knots between beatings. As soon as I was left alone. I was confident I could free myself. I just had to hope he wouldn’t switch techniques and reposition me somewhere else. Currently, my hands were secured on a hook above my head, my toes barely touching the floor as I dangled like a fucking piñata. If I released myself now, I knew for a fact my legs wouldn’t support my weight, and I’d go down. It would give Simon plenty of time to recapture me. I needed to wait until he was gone.
Simon smiled up at me. “You have no idea how much I’m enjoying this.”
“Considering you’re too ugly to get laid, I suppose this would be your only source of pleasure.”
His smile turned into a snarl. “Fuck you. I get plenty.”
“Sorry. I meant by women who were willing.”
Simon took a step back and swung the crowbar at my torso. I groaned through clenched teeth as the metal made contact with my hip. He was about to swing again when his phone began to ring.
Thank god, this might be my shot.
He looked annoyed as he tossed the crowbar to the floor and went over to the countertop that held his tools. They included a number of blades and other gadgets, some I knew what they were for, but others were a mystery. Grabbing his phone, he answered it with a gruff ‘yeah’ and listened.
“Fine. I’ll be right up.”
My worn and bruised body tensed back up. I thought my chance was about to arrive.
Ending the call, Simon looked over at me. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be missing you every second you’re gone, lover.”
Simon reached for a blade and then stopped himself. “We’ll see if you’re still cracking jokes when I get back, and we step this up a level or two.”
“Can’t wait.”
Without another word, he stormed from the room, securing the lock behind him when he exited. I wouldn’t be able to get out of the room, but at least I’d be free, and there were plenty of weapons to choose from once freed.
As soon as I heard his footsteps moving down the hallway, I set to work. It was harder than anticipated, because my fingers and hands were numb from being strung up for so long. But determination and the knowledge of what was in store for me when Simon returned won through. After lots of struggle, to the point several of my fingertips were bleeding, the knot gave way, and I fell to the floor.
I fell hard, and I screamed as I hit the floor. A couple ribs were broken, I had no doubt in my mind over that. My body was begging me to remain on the floor and give into the blackness threatening to overtake me. I couldn’t and wouldn’t allow it. The likes of Simon Burke wasn’t going to get the best of me.
And there was Rebecca.
Cain was sent to retrieve her. The thought of that disgusting man touching her, touching what I’d claimed was mine, was unthinkable. The room I was locked in was in my father’s basement. As soon as I got out of here, I was planning on taking care of the one thing I should have done years ago. Put a bullet in the old man, and end this shit once and for all.
Chapter 29
Rebecca
I stared at the goon who was sitting across from us as my mind swirled ideas around on how to escape the situation. My mind had been working in overdrive for the past 5 hours, and I was running out of time. On the bright side - yup I was able to find a bright side in this situation - this was perfect in the sense that the shot to my shoulder could be blamed on him, and the case would be closed. He was the perfect scape goat.
But what was going on with Kyle? Did he double cross me? If he didn’t, then it’s possible he was in deep shit, just as deep as me. Well, I couldn’t do a thing about that, I had my own problems.
“Who are you?”
He hesitated a moment and then smiled. “Cain.”
“I see.” Kyle had mentioned the name Cain before. He was a trainer for the hard cases. I didn’t want to be the one who was on the receiving end of his training.
“I’m Rebecca, and this is Vanessa.” I looked over at Vanessa and saw silent tears streaming down her face. Shit, she was going to be no help to me at all. As usual, I was on my own.
“Yeah, I know who you are and,” his grinned widened as he focused his stare on Vanessa, “I’ll get to know her very well over the coming days and weeks.” Her entire body trembled.
My eyes narrowed as I glared at the behemoth of a man. “Don’t count on it.”
He focused his attention on me, his gaze locking onto mine. “Maybe I’ll start with you now and kill a few more hours before we get out of here.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs. “Should have done this when I got here, but got distracted. I need to piss so…” he stood and motioned for Vanessa to stand.
When she refused because she was literally frozen in fear, he advanced on her, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.
And she lost it.
“Noooooo! No! No! No!” She struggled to free her arm with no success, but she did put up enough of a struggle that she lost her footing and fell backwards onto the floor, Cain
losing his balance and falling with her. Vanessa became wild, clawing at his face as he attempted to restrain her.
I took the opportunity. Pulling open the night side table drawer, I reached for the clip and found something better considering the situation – a switchblade. Flipping open the blade, I lunged, stabbing him in the side of the neck when he looked up upon hearing me move. He’d finally secured Vanessa with her hands over her head and didn’t have a chance to react as the razor sharp blade pierced his skin, and I buried it to the hilt.
Cain attempted to scream out, but the sound was simply a gurgle as blood gushed from the wound, coating her face and upper body with blood. I turned my face, attempting keep from getting a mouthful of the red, sticky substance. Removing the knife, I made another stab, pushing the blade right under his Adam’s apple.
More blood, more gurgling. Cain grabbed my hand and dug his fingers hard into my wrist. Screaming as a jolt of pain rushed up my arm, I had no choice but to release the blade. His hand released my wrist and then grabbed at my neck and failed. He attempted to stand but stumbled forwards and fell face first onto the bed.
My white blankets quickly became saturated with blood, creating a large red stain. I watched as his breathing became erratic and then stopped. As soon as he took his last breath, I focused my attention on Vanessa. She was hyperventilating as her body trembled. She looked like Carrie in the horror movie right after the pig’s blood had been dumped onto her.
I carefully dropped to my knees at her side, grimacing as the action caused pain to vibrate through my body. “Calm down. It’s taken care of.”
“You… Did… Oh God!” Her eyes looked wild as she looked over at the limp body of Cain. “You killed him!” She shrieked, the sound piercing my ears, and I cringed.
“It’s safe. You just need to calm down and get up.”
“He was…. he wanted to…”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s over.”
Vanessa refused to look at me. She simply stared at him as I urged her to her feet. I could barely get up on my own, let alone assist her. I motioned her over to her bed. “Don’t look at him. Don’t.”
After she was seated, I hobbled over to Cain. He’d demanded our mobile phones and had stuffed them into his jacket pocket.
“Oh god, you’re going to touch him!” Vanessa squeaked. “Be careful.”
I placed my index and middle finger onto the side of his throat, but there was no pulse. “He’s dead, don’t worry.” After a few minutes of rummaging through his pockets, I came up with the phones. First, I tossed Vanessa hers. She didn’t catch it, and it dropped onto the floor at her feet. Whatever. I had mine, and that was what was important.
Quickly, I punched in 911 on the phone and placed the call.
The case of my shooting was about to be closed. As for the dead man whose blood was saturating my blankets… I huffed, I did the world a service.
* TT *
Kyle
So many weapons to choose from. I grabbed a sturdy six-inch knife and tested it in my hand. It fit nicely. I grabbed a second knife and closed my other hand around it. Considering I wasn’t in the best of physical condition at the moment, I needed to make the one hit count. Surprise was the only advantage I had when Simon returned, and if I screwed this up, I wouldn’t get a second chance.
Bracing myself behind the door, I waited. It seemed like an eternity. Blood trickled down my chin, so I swiped it away with the back of my hand. The longer I stood waiting, the worse I felt. The adrenaline was wearing off, and every hurt part of my body seemed to become amplified.
Finally, I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and I gave a sigh of relief. Five minutes and this would be over. The door unlocked and I braced myself – preparing to attack.
The door opened. “Sorry for the interruption - ”
I lunged, the knife plunging into his back. I jerked the blade upwards and twisted. Simon screamed out in pain as he dropped to his knees. My second hand slid around his neck, and in one swift motion, I sliced the front of his neck open. There was an ungodly gurgling sound, and as I removed both weapons, he fell to the floor, face first.
Taking a step forward, I stumbled. The world around me began to spin. Dropping the weapons, I grabbed onto the open door for support, stumbled, and fell onto Simon’s bleeding out corpse. Fuck!
Giving myself a few minutes, I forced myself to my knees. Searching Simon’s body, I found a pistol. Bingo! Looking down at Simon’s watch, I wasn’t surprised to see it was 1am. This was actually good. The house would be deserted with the exception of my father and one or two of his goons.
I was right, so I went straight for my father’s bedroom. I’d take him out, dispose of his body, and then be on a plane back to the states. Hopefully, I could get to Rebecca before Cain did – unfortunately, I didn’t think I would. Being next in line to control the organization was an entirely different matter I’d deal with in the future. The organization was a machine that wouldn’t stop because of the disappearance of my father.
She’s a strong woman, she can handle herself, I told myself, entering the third floor and making my way to the master bedroom. I paused for a moment before opening the door. It opened effortlessly, without a sound. This was going to be like taking candy from a baby.
Moving to the bed, I raised the gun, leveling it so it would land dead center on his forehead. Slipping my finger on the trigger, I was just about to pull the trigger when the toilet flushed from their en-suite bath and out stepped my mother in an ankle length silk night gown.
FUCK!!! She was supposed to be away. Last I heard, she was on a shopping spree in Milan, and she wasn’t supposed to be due back for another week.
“Kyle? What are you?” She stared at the gun, and her eyes followed the line of sight to my father. Her gaze moved back to me, and her eyes narrowed. “What happened to you? What’s going on?”
What in the fuck was I going to do now?
She took a deep breath in and slowly released it. “Give me the gun.” It wasn’t a request. She was demanding it.
“Mother. This has to be done.”
“He did that to you.”
“One of his men, yes.”
“And what are you planning on doing once he’s dead? What’s your plan?”
“I’m going back to the states.”
“What about the business?” The way she said the word business, I knew that she knew. All these years, I’d thought she was in the dark about everything, as did my father.
“I’ll deal with it after I take care of loose ends in the USA.”
“The girl. The daughter of the serial killer. Is that the loose end?”
My mouth dropped open.
“Come on Kyle, do you think I’d stupid? Of course, I’ve known about my husband’s real endeavours. I’m not stupid.”
“But…”
As if reading my mind, she continued. “Give me the gun. I’ll take care of Flynn, and I’ll be taking over.”
“You can’t - ” My mother wasn’t a cut throat person. I stared at her, and for the first time in my life, I saw the coldness. She wasn’t some weak woman begging for her husband’s approval. She was waiting for her chance. Fuck me… I ran a shaky hand through my hair. It was hard to surprise me, but this really did throw me for a loop.
All these years… My entire life, she’d been living with the mask of who she truly was firmly in place.
Wow.
“I will be, and there will be big changes. You’ve got feelings for that girl, so go. This is the only chance you’ll get to leave this life. I’m giving you the gift of an exit, don’t waste it.”
“So all along…” She smiled, and it wasn’t the warm, loving smile I remembered from my youth. How in the hell had she kept up the act for so long?
Flynn stirred in the bed, and we both froze, staring at the bed, waiting to see if he’d wake up or not. He didn’t.
“I’ve done what I’ve had to in order to survive,” she said as
if reading my mind and answering my unasked question. “This is my time now, and since you’re my son, I’m giving you an out.”
I was getting an out.
“This is a one-time offer, Kyle.” She extended her hand, palm up. “Give me the gun and leave.”
“And what about Rebecca and Tanner and - ”
“This organization is going to be moving forward and not looking back. As long as they’re gone, they’ll stay gone.”
I nodded. “All right. Goodbye mother.” I passed the gun, saying goodbye to the life I’d known for the past 24 years. And the thing was, I didn’t feel the least bit of regret over it. Instead, all I felt was freedom.
It felt damned good.
Chapter 30
Rebecca
“I can’t go back to that room,” Vanessa said, sitting across from me at the Burger King, picking at her home-style breakfast but not really eating. Mine was pretty much gone already, because I was fucking famished. It had been a long night. Not long after the police arrived, the Detective Chapman showed up, and hence began an all-night interview or interrogation, whatever you’d like to call it.
“We couldn’t if we wanted to. It’s a crime scene, remember?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
I was too tired to coddle her, but what could I do? It was partially my fault she was put in this situation. “I have money saved. We’ll just find an apartment off campus. No big deal. Until that time, the Holiday Inn will work.”
“Yeah.” She sniffed and blew her nose on a napkin. “The whole thing – ”
“Is over,” I cut in. I was about to give her a little pep talk when my phone buzzed, notifying me of an incoming text message. Pulling my phone from my handbag, I looked down at the screen. It was Kyle, and I would be lying if I were to say I wasn’t relieved.
Kyle: I’m going to be on the next flight home. We board in a few hours. Are you all right? Someone was sent there for you.
Rebecca: It’s taken care of.
Kyle: What do you mean?
Rebecca: I mean he came for me, and now, he’s dead.