The Psychopath's Prisoner

by Darla Lark

  “I have something for you.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “You should. It’s nice.”

  “You killed my brother-in-law. Was that necessary? Couldn’t you simply have made him leave without doing that?”

  “It was necessary. I wasn’t about to allow him to steal you away. He died because he was going to take you from me.” Daniel sighed resignedly and shook his head. “All that matters now is he didn’t. Anyway…”

  He handed her a large box. She looked at it, crossed her arms, and turned away. “How can you expect me to look at it when I can barely see through this swollen eye? Thanks a lot for that, by the way.” Cheyenne lifted her chin in defiance.

  He sighed. “I’m so sorry, Chey. It won’t happen again. You can open it when your wounds heal.” He caressed her face. “I love you so much. But you already know that, right?”

  She pondered how to respond and quickly came up with, “Of course I do, but you’ve got to prove to me how much.” The words revolted her but she loved the fact that he was buying the lie. It was part of the game.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes. Anything for you.” He placed his hands on her hips, leaned up and kissed her. When she kissed him back, he started to feel her up.

  She pulled back and forced a coy smile. “Whoa there, big boy. One step at a time. We don’t want to go too fast. Now do we?”

  “No.” He eased away. “We want this to work. Together we’ll make it work.”

  “Of course we will.” Cheyenne reached up to touch his face. “If you don’t mind, I would like to lie down. My head hurts.”

  He kissed her again. “Okay. Let’s get you to the bed.” Daniel helped her up and over to the sleeping bag. “Here you go. Easy. Easy. Take it easy.”

  With closed eyes, she eased down onto the sleeping bag and let out a cry of agony. “My ribs! I think they’re broken. It hurts so badly.”

  “I’m sorry, but you asked for it. If you hadn’t tried to run you wouldn’t be hurting like you are. With that said, you will heal in time. I promise that I’ll take care of you and nurse you back to health.”

  Yeah, I bet you will.

  ~

  Unable to sleep, Cheyenne lay there trying to come up with a plan of escape. For the time being, he seemed to be buying her act. Hopefully he would continue to believe it until she could get as far away from him as possible. She wanted no part of burying her brother-in-law’s body.

  “Hey Cheyenne. You awake?”

  Cheyenne pretended to be asleep and hoped he would go away. She did not want to talk to him. Survival was key here and she had to use her head. The last thing she needed was him interrupting her thoughts. She wanted out as quickly as she possibly could, but it wasn’t going to be easy. She knew she had to hang in there for a little longer. However long it took, she had to continue to give him what he wanted.

  “Cheyenne,” he said in a sing-songy voice while he kissed her neck. “Cheyenne. Wake up. It’s time to wake up. Come on, baby. Wakey, wakey. You need to eat.”

  She looked up at him through one eye and whispered, “I think I can eat something now.”

  “Good. Let me help you up.” She wrapped one of her arms around his neck as he gently helped her to stand. She moaned in pain. “Come on baby,” he whispered. “Work with me a little bit here.”

  Cheyenne cried out in pain and held on tightly as she slowly stood. Her body was in excruciating pain. The pain in her ribs was almost unbearable. In fact, the pain was excruciating everywhere. Her entire body hurt so bad she could hardly move without crying. Hopefully her body would heal soon, because she didn’t think she could take any more.

  Once she was seated, Cheyenne looked at Daniel. “I’m starving. What do you have to eat?”

  “Pizza. Is that all right?”

  “Yes. When did you leave to get pizza?”

  “While you were sleeping.” He placed a paper plate with a couple of slices on it. “I hope you like pepperoni and green peppers. Bon appetit.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Doing what?”

  “One minute you’re nice, the next you’re beating me. Why?”

  Enraged, he grabbed her by the throat. “None of your business! Don’t ever ask that again. You have no idea how easy it would be to snap your neck right now.” With his other hand, he grabbed her plate and threw it on the floor. “Forget about eating now. You’ve crossed a few lines. Don’t ever do it again.” He removed his hand from her throat when she nodded.

  Cheyenne began to rub her throat. “I’m sorry.”

  “Now you get to watch me eat due to your stupidity.”

  Cheyenne’s stomach growled as she stared at the pizza on the floor through the only eye she could partially see out of. She decided not to grab it out of fear of another beating and sat there watching him eat. Cheyenne knew that she had to get away from him. She just needed the opportunity and was going to take it when it arose.

  ~

  “Do you think you’re up to disposing of Aiden’s body?”

  “No and before you ask why, take a look at me. I have one fairly useable eye and my body is in agony. Why would you even ask?”

  His eyes flashed with rage. “You will assist me,” he sneered. “It’s not like I’m giving you an option.” He snatched her up by the arm. “Do it.”

  Cheyenne stumbled to the door as he yanked on her arm. She fell a few times, scraping her knees as she went. He opened the door, dragged her out and shoved her to the ground. She looked up and noticed Aiden’s body. There was a hole in his forehead with dried blood caked on the side of his face. She looked away because the sight made her stomach churn.

  “You’re going to help me lift him into the oil drum.”

  Cheyenne couldn’t look at him. A lump formed in her throat. “What are you going to do to him once he’s in it?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He jeered. “You’re my accomplice now. That’s all you need to know.”

  “You are an arrogant son-of-a-bitch.”

  “I don’t care what you think. Now, let’s do this.”

  Not seeing any other option, she lifted Aiden’s feet. I’m so sorry, Raina.

  She kept dropping Aiden’s feet. Daniel screamed at her every time. It had taken longer than he had anticipated. When they were done, he was angry, but didn’t beat her. Cheyenne was grateful. She never realized how heavy a dead body was and hoped to never have to go through it again. Once they were done, her injuries were magnified ten-fold and he assisted her back inside onto the sleeping bag. She cried herself to sleep.

  Chapter 37

  Cheyenne was being shaken awake. “Chey, Chey. Wake up.”

  “Huh?”

  “Wake up.”

  She raised her head. “What?”

  “I wanted to let you know that I’m going out for a little while. All you need to know is that I’m leaving for a few hours.” His voice was soft and gentle as he stroked her hair. “Here, I brought you some ice for your eye. It’ll ease the pain.”

  Cheyenne gawked at him and wondered what he was up to. She wasn’t going to ask, for fear of another beating. Besides, she was grateful for the ice.

  “Thank you,” she said as she took the bag of ice and placed it on her eye.

  “I’ll see you later.” He kissed the top of her head before he left and locked the door behind him.

  After she was sure he was gone, she slowly stood and began to survey her surroundings. He had brought her to a warehouse. Cheyenne noticed the large windows, typical of old warehouses. They were broken and poorly boarded. There was one window that wasn’t boarded. She wondered how she was going to reach it since it was high above her head, even out of jumping distance—if she could have jumped. Something skittered across her feet. She screamed and fell back onto the sleeping bag.

  She lay on her back and cried, an arm across her ribs to hold them in place. “Oh God! Oh God! Help me please. Please.”

  ~

  She cried
herself to sleep. When she woke up, she gasped. She slowly pushed herself up from the sleeping bag and moaned. On her knees, she held her ribs with one hand and reached for the ice pack with the other hand. Though the ice was completely melted, she placed it on her eye to help the pain and throbbing. She put a lot of effort into standing and even more into maintaining her balance. When she finally got up, Cheyenne noticed a few crates in the corner opposite the unbarred window. Once she was healed enough, she would try to move them. Of course, she knew she had to have a backup plan in case this didn’t work out. But what? What else did she have available? Until she was healed, there was nothing she could do to find out. It hurt her to move. Too much pain. She fell to her knees, hoping there weren’t any more rats. The though sent a shiver down her body.

  A noise. The door was being unlocked. Her breathing increased and raced. The hope that it was someone coming to her rescue quickly subsided when she saw Daniel come through the door.

  “Hey.” He flashed a lopsided smile at her.

  Daniel approached. Cheyenne tensed. God only knew what he was going to do now. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath. His mood could change at any moment. She looked up at him and shuddered.

  “Hey you,” he started as he kneeled in front of her. He raised her head with his finger under her chin so she could look him in the eye. “Do you need more ice?” She nodded and he kissed her forehead. “The cooler is in the car. Do you think you can behave for a few minutes?”

  Cheyenne nervously whispered, “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll be right back.” He looked down at her menacingly and shook his finger. “Don’t do anything stupid.” He walked away.

  She noticed he left the door open and hesitated. Should she risk it? With one swollen eye and what she was sure were broken ribs, there was no guarantee she would make it, but she had to try. The chances of her healing and recovering weren’t guaranteed if she remained with him. She slowly pushed herself up with one hand. Once she was up, her stomach tightened as she cautiously made her way to the door. It felt like an eternity to get there. She leaned against the door and glanced around the corner. Not seeing Daniel, she stepped outside. Oh, the fresh air. It was so nice. She quickly snapped out of her moment when she heard a noise behind her. She quickly went and hid around the corner. The footsteps sounded like Daniel’s. He was going to be enraged when he realized she was gone. All the more reason to run. She heard him go inside and ran around the building toward the street. Of course it was a dead end street with no cars in sight. When she heard Daniel screaming her name, she panicked and searched around for a place to hide. The only real hiding place was behind a dumpster.

  “Cheyenne! Cheyenne! Where are you”? He screamed in fury. “If you don’t show yourself, you will regret it.”

  Cheyenne’s body shook so badly she couldn’t move. There was no way she was going back—especially for another beating. No way! He was laughing. Her breathing got heavier, more labored. She covered her mouth with her hand and cried.

  “Cheyenne… come out, come out, wherever you are.” Daniel’s sing-songy voice was nauseating.

  She peaked around the corner of the dumpster. He moved toward her with his hands in in his pockets.

  “Come on, Chey. I won’t hurt you. I promise. But…,” He took his hands out of his pockets and held them out. “I will hurt your sister and those three kids of hers. What are their names? Michael, Laird, and the girl, Alaina. Then you really won’t have anyone left.” He laughed. Cheyenne felt goose bumps on her arms. “You know I’ll do it,” he added.

  She stepped from her hiding spot. “No! Leave them alone.”

  He saw her and charged her, sending them flying to the ground. He shoved his face in hers and said with gritted teeth, “You will never get away from me. You have no idea what you’ve done.” He dragged her back to the warehouse. After the beating, he handcuffed her to the pole. She wondered when this nightmare would be over. Probably when death came. Right now it would be more than welcome because she could endure no more.

  “God help me,” she whispered.

  Chapter 38

  Upon waking up the following morning, Cheyenne’s neck was hurting and she went to rub the kinks out. It was then she remembered that she was handcuffed. This wasn’t just a nightmare any more. This had turned into a living nightmare, one that she didn’t think she was going to make it out of.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Daniel leaned down to kiss her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “How do you think? You beat me up, cracked my ribs, and my eye is swollen shut. Tell me, what do you think?” He slapped her. “Yeah,” she scoffed, “you would do that when I’m tied up. You’re nothing more than a coward.”

  He wrapped both hands around her throat. “Be careful what you say, princess. Remember what happens when you piss me off. You don’t realize how lucky you are that I even chose you.”

  “Lucky? Really? You’re not the one I wanted. You were never the one I wanted. Michael, on the other hand, he was a good man and I love him.”

  “Don’t.” He tightened his grip. “Never mention his name again. He wasn’t worthy of you.”

  “And you are?”

  He loosened his grip and smirked. “In fact, I’m the only one worthy of you. One thing you need to realize is that you belong to me.”

  “What you think in that small brain of yours and what is fact, are two very different things.” Anger suddenly took her over. She suddenly felt braver. “I will never belong to you. I’m not a piece of property and that’s one of the many differences between you and Michael. He was a real man.”

  “Shut up!” He gritted his teeth. “When are you going to learn? Huh? Why can’t you just keep your friggin’ mouth shut?”

  She began to laugh. “Because you’re an idiot and psychotic.”

  “Oh. I see.” Without warning, he back handed her. Face to face with her, he went on. “If you don’t stop with that pretty mouth of yours, I’ll…”

  “You’ll what? Kill me?” She leaned in. “Please do it. Do it! I welcome death.”

  His demeanor softened, which frightened her. He pulled back and whispered, “I like your feistiness. It kind of turns me on.” He began to kiss her neck as he fondled her. It revolted her when he touched her. She knew what he was going to do. When would it end? He stopped kissing her and began to unlock the handcuffs. Once she was freed, he yanked her up and dragged her over to the sleeping bag. He threw her down and fell on top of her. If she wasn’t in so much pain, she would’ve fought him off. Now, more than ever, I have to figure a way out of this. Or else I’m going to continuously be abused. And finally killed. I’ll see you again, Raina. I promise. Like you told me, I’m a fighter.

  ~

  He finished and rolled over onto his back, breathless. “Amazing! You are so perfect. So perfect.”

  Cheyenne lay there, catatonically, wishing she were dead. He was going to continue to torture her and, eventually kill her. Knowing this, she didn’t care. He was right. She would never get away from him, but she was sure as hell going to try.

  “Hey, I’m going to go get us some lunch,” Daniel said as he pulled on his pants. “I’ll be right back.” He unlocked the door. Before he stepped out, he gave a warning over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid.” He locked the door.

  She shot up and screamed. “I cannot do this any longer.” She pushed herself up and gazed at the window above and the crates in the corner. The crates would be easy enough to move. All she had to do was move one at a time over the next few weeks so that Daniel didn’t notice. She didn’t have much of an option. The only other thing she could do was find something to knock him out with. Hopefully she could climb out the window when the time arose. In the meantime, she had to get back to the sleeping bag since Daniel would be returning soon. God forbid if he left her alone for an extended amount of time.

  ~

  “I hope McDonalds is okay. It was up the road and I didn’t want to leave y
ou alone for too long.”

  She looked up at him with a grimace. “Do you have any ice or some pain meds, because I am in a lot of pain? Thank you for this.”

  He set the McDonalds bag on the table. “Blame it on me all you want, but you are the one who forced my hand. You have made a habit of doing that. Now, get over here and eat.”

  “I’m coming.” She moaned, got up, not sure if she wanted to eat, since he was sitting across from her. He nauseated her, but as soon as she looked at the food: two cheeseburgers, a small fry, and a small drink, her stomach growled.

  Daniel pushed the food toward her. She glanced up at him. “Go ahead. Eat.” She scarfed it all down.

  “I guess I was hungrier than what I thought.”

  “Good. I’m glad to see you eat. You deserve it. You’ve been a good girl for once.” She was done eating. Now he ate his meal as Cheyenne looked on. “Can I trust you?”

  “To do what?” she asked cautiously.

  “To not run again. Or…,” He paused and pointed his finger at the pole, “Do I have to handcuff you again?”

  She closed her eyes as she struggled to keep her cool. The last thing she needed was for him to suspect her of anything. She forced a feeble smile. “I won’t run. I promise.” The longer she was with him, the more she knew she had to get away. She knew that it was going to take time, but hoped it wasn’t too long?

  Chapter 39

  Cheyenne was moving crates around over the next few days. She picked the sturdier ones, because the last thing she needed was to step on a bad one and fall through and break her leg. It would screw her big time. She tried to make it appear the same as much as she could so it wouldn’t raise suspicion with Daniel. He would do everything to prevent her from leaving, even boarding up that window and beating her. Now she was biding her time for the perfect moment to take action. Once she was in better shape, she would make her escape. Her only hope was that there would be no beatings. All she wanted was to go home and see her sister again. God! How she missed Raina. She must be sick with worry.