by Cindy Bell
“Wendy, I really wish that you had just cooperated,” Kyle said glumly from just behind her. When Wendy reluctantly turned to face him, she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.
There was nothing between her and the gun that he held, but empty space, very little empty space. Wendy drew a shallow breath and did her best not to move.
“Kyle, I don't want any trouble,” she said quietly.
“What I can't understand is why you had to be so prying,” Kyle said grimly as he continued to point the gun directly at Wendy. “I'm not a murderer,” he said incredulously. “Not without reason anyway,” he added with a mild shrug. “I had to kill in order to frame Mark for murder, it was the only way I could make that horrible judge pay for what he did to my brother. It was his decision that sent my brother to jail for murder, for life. I couldn't have done this without the motivation of knowing that I was getting revenge for my brother once and for all. Do you have any idea what it was like to see my brother have his life ripped away from him, all because one judge had a bad day?”
“I don't know what happened with your brother,” Wendy said quickly. “But whatever it was has nothing to do with me.”
“It had nothing to do with Vic either,” he pointed out with a sigh. “But he happened to be the perfect victim, the person I needed Mark to kill. With all of their arguing and the witnesses that had already seen Mark get nearly violent with Vic, I knew that no one would question him as the murderer. You see, since Mark's father is a judge I couldn't risk him using his influence to get Mark out of prison. How would that be fair?” he shook his head slowly. “My brother didn't have anyone to protect him with their influence. So, neither could Mark. Only way to make sure that happened was to make sure that there was enough evidence against him that no one would be willing to believe that Mark was not responsible for Vic's death.”
“But don't you see how absurd it is to think of swapping one life for another?” Wendy pressed, hoping that some semblance of the human being that Kyle might once have been would resurface.
“I guess Mark's father should have thought of that as well. How he could be so flippant with his decision, to sentence a man who had his entire life ahead of him, as if he was nothing more than a name to check off on his docket,” he growled with fury.
“It was wrong, if that's the truth, but you taking my life won't make it right,” Wendy pointed out.
“I never intended to hurt you, Wendy,” he said softly and swept his gaze over her with mild affection. “But now you're forcing my hand. I have no choice, yet again,” he moaned as if Wendy was the real problem in the situation.
“You do have a choice,” Wendy insisted as she tried to meet his eyes. “You can stop all of this now. So, you made a mistake when you killed Vic. But your blind anger over your brother's incarceration was enough to make you lose control. How are you going to explain my death?”
“It won't take much explanation,” he shrugged, “they’ll never find the body,” he smiled smugly. Wendy felt her stomach tie into knots. She couldn't even find words to speak as she struggled to find a way to convince him. “Let's take a little walk, Wendy,” he purred as he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her. Once her back was facing him she felt the gun pressed between her shoulder blades. She felt like it would only take one false move for him to pull the trigger. It was like he was looking for an excuse.
“Walk, Wendy,” Kyle commanded, his voice no longer attempting to be warm or friendly. He had made his choice and he had no interest in turning back now. Reluctantly Wendy took a step forward. She hoped these wouldn’t be her final steps. She swept her gaze across the painted sky as the sun faded, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time she would lay eyes on anything so beautiful. She took another step.
Wendy felt the certainty that Kyle would end up performing the wedding for Laura, who would believe that Wendy had abandoned her on a very important day in her life. Perhaps a few people would rally for Wendy, would believe that she hadn't just disappeared but that she was killed. Brian in particular, she was sure he would do his best to find her. But he wouldn't find her. No one would. She would become nothing in the grand scheme of things, just a memory that was fading as quickly as the sun from the sky.
“Maybe, your brother isn't a murderer, but it certainly is in your blood,” she said coolly as he gave her a slight push down a sandy path that led beneath the pier. As Wendy was jolted she lost her balance. Her body lurched forward and she fell to her knees. She braced herself as Kyle loomed over her.
“I'm no murderer,” he hissed. “My brother isn't either. We are both victims of circumstances. The difference is he has no way to get revenge for how he has been wronged. So, that now falls to me. It does not make me a killer. It makes the situation difficult, and I've done my best to make the best of it,” he paused and glared down at her. “Now, get up. The longer you drag this out the harder it is on you.”
“But it doesn't bother you at all, does it, Kyle?” Wendy asked as she forced herself to her feet. “It's as if you're taking out the trash. Doesn't that concern you?”
“The only thing that concerns me is getting to the wedding on time. It will be my cover story. No one will question the man who still came through despite the fact that the wedding planner failed to show up,” he chuckled a little. “In fact they'll probably honor me for my ability to hold the ceremony together.”
“I can't believe that this is who you truly are inside, Kyle. How can you see people as nothing more than pawns in your game?”
“No,” he said sharply and pushed the gun hard into her back. “I didn't start that. Mark's father started that. I used to have compassion, but he taught me that compassion is useless. It is only a false sense of security that we give ourselves. There is nothing compassionate about the way life works,” he sighed.
“Maybe, it takes a strong person to act with compassion,” Wendy suggested. The barrel of the gun shoved hard into her back. She slowly took a step forward. She could hear the waves crashing against the pillars of the pier. She knew that it was a rough area for swimmers and sunbathers alike. This end of the pier had become desolate for a reason. People had fallen into the water and drowned from being crashed against the pillars.
“Stop here,” he commanded her, ignoring her previous comment. She was at the end of the path and now stood on the rocky shoreline. It wouldn't be long before she was submerged under the water for good, she was sure. Just when she was certain that Kyle was going to lodge a bullet into her back, she felt him seize her hands instead. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw a small length of rope in his hands.
“Walk under the pier,” he instructed and gave her another light shove.
“No,” she suddenly said. “I won't do it. What would your brother think of what you're doing here?”
“My brother can't think of what I'm doing here, because he will never know about it. He will never again have the freedom to stroll along the sand or feel the cool spray of the water. Don't you get it, Wendy? Stealing a man's freedom is just another form of murder,” he growled. He shoved her harder this time and she stumbled forward again. He caught her around her waist and straightened her up before she could fall. “Walk,” he instructed her sternly. Wendy's heart was pounding. Her throat was dry. But she could still hear the rush of the waves. She knew very well that the water would begin to rise beneath the pier. She knew that high tide was not far off.
“This is not going to work,” she pleaded. But he no longer spoke to her, he only shoved her forward. When she struggled to escape once more, he held her tightly.
“This is nothing personal, Wendy,” he reminded her. “I'm sure, that it won't take too long,” he added as if he was attempting to offer her some small sense of comfort.
“Let me go!” Wendy screamed at the top of her lungs. He didn't seem to care about her screaming. She knew the sound of the waves silenced her. But more than that, there was no one around to hear her. Kyle walked around behind
the pillar. He tugged her hands hard around it so that her shoulders were strained to the point of being painful.
“I'm going to need you to stay still, Wendy,” he said gravely as he began wrapping the rope around her wrists. Wendy did everything she could to prevent him from doing so. She strained her hands, she tried to scratch him with her fingernails, she even tried slapping at his hands, but his grasp on her was too strong. It was soon replaced by the forceful restraint of the unbreakable rope.
Wendy felt the ropes cinch tightly around her wrists. She struggled to pull them loose but they were too tight to even twist her wrists.
“Please, please,” she said as she leaned forward away from the pole. The motion only allowed her to shift about an inch, and that inch caused her shoulders to be consumed by pain. She settled back against the pillar, having learnt her lesson.
“Settle down, Wendy,” Kyle said as he walked around in front of her again. He smoothed some of her hair back away from her eyes. “The more you struggle the more it will hurt. If you think about it, this could be very peaceful. Just accept your fate, and allow it to happen.”
“You're going to pay for this,” she growled at him.
“No, no I won't,” he said softly as if he was talking to a child that was throwing a tantrum. “No one will ever know. Now, the tide will do my job for me,” he explained with a mild smile. “I’m very sorry it came to this, Wendy.”
“Wait, Kyle don't leave me here,” Wendy pleaded as she tried to look into his eyes. “I'm a person, Kyle, I'm a human being. I've done nothing wrong to you or your brother. If you do this, it will haunt you for the rest of your life, I promise you.”
“If I don't do this, I'll be spending the rest of my life rotting in prison, regretting ever giving in to you. You caused this, Wendy, by forcing your way into my life. You brought this upon yourself, really,” he shook his head slowly with disappointment.
“It doesn't have to be like that,” Wendy insisted. “We can both just walk away from this. I will never tell anyone. Let Mark take the fall, like you said, it was his father that made the decision to send your brother to jail, without so much as a blink of an eye. He was the one that was reckless. The family deserves to suffer, the way you have decided to make them suffer makes perfect sense to me. So just do it, but let me go first. I can't help you if I'm dead.”
“I don't need any help from you,” Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “The only help I ever needed was getting my brother out of jail.”
“Your brother, think of your brother,” Wendy insisted. “I have a friend, a private investigator. He could find out all kinds of information about your brother's case. He might even be able to prove his innocence. But you will never know whether that is possible if you don't let me go!”
“It's too late for all of that,” Kyle said with defeat. “My brother isn't even my brother any more. He was destroyed by that judge and the corrupt justice system. He is a shell of his former self. There is no one really, to save,” he tilted his head slightly to the side and glanced over at the waves that were beginning to draw closer to the pillar. “No, I'm afraid this is the only way, Wendy. Honestly, it wasn't what I had in mind.”
Wendy was trying to keep Kyle talking because once he left she had little chance of surviving. She decided to change tactics, hoping to shake him up slightly.
“What if your brother deserved to go to jail?” Wendy suggested hastily. She knew she was treading on dangerous ground. He still had the gun tucked in the back of his pants. She could see it. He might decide to use it instead of waiting for the water to do his job for him.
“What?” Kyle snapped and turned his full attention on Wendy, as she had hoped he might. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean all of this time you have been seeking revenge for your brother, but what if he actually did the crime? What if a guilty man is sitting in jail, not an innocent one? Perhaps his own guilt is what changed him so drastically inside. After all, there had to have been some kind of proof for a judge to sentence him to life,” Wendy reasoned, though she knew that Kyle was behaving in an unreasonable manner.
“There was no proof,” Kyle insisted passionately as he scowled at her. “My brother is a good man, and he deserved to have a fair trial, not be ignored and dismissed by a judge that just wanted to go on vacation.”
“Kyle, I don't know what happened in that court room, but I do know that what you're doing right now is something that can never be forgiven or explained away. What do you think is going to happen if someone finds my body?” Wendy demanded.
“Don't worry, no one is going to be looking for you, are they?” he laughed a little and shook his head. “I did a little research on you. You don't have anyone to miss you. Just accept your fate. If you fight it, it will be much harder,” he advised her.
Wendy was silenced by his words, she wasn't sure what she could say to convince him. He was cold and determined. Wendy could only hope that somehow she would get free. But as the water washed up against her legs, and she heard Kyle walking away, she was fairly certain that these would be her last moments.
Chapter Nine
With each new wave the cold water rose higher along Wendy’s body. She jumped at every subtle slap of the water.
“Help!” she screamed up at the wooden slats above her. “Help me please!” she screamed again. The crash of the water against the pillars likely drowned out her attempts to be heard. Wendy's voice was shuddering with the icy water splashing against her chest and neck. She knew that she wouldn't be able to call out much longer. Though, she could no longer feel her hands, the pressure of the rope was still there. It hadn't loosened in the slightest despite the water surrounding it.
Wendy closed her eyes as she felt the spray from the next wave splatter across her face. Somewhere above her, somewhere back in the real world, a murderer was completely free. He would never pay for his crimes. But that wasn't what Wendy thought of as she felt the next rush of water splash against her chin. It was Brian she imagined was standing right before her.
“I'm sorry,” she said through shivering lips. “I'm sorry I never kissed you.”
In her mind Brian's beautiful hazel eyes, filled with warmth that overcame the temperature of the water, met hers. Then his lips began pressing lightly against hers. Sensation blossomed within them, awakening them from the frozen state they had been forced into. She shuddered with pleasure rather than fear and closed her eyes. The pressure of the kiss increased, and oddly Wendy felt as if Brian was blowing into her mouth. She'd never been kissed like that before. Her mind swirled, the water rushed up against her cheeks and Brian's lips left hers. It was all a dream, she assumed as her eyes remained shut. Then she felt his lips again, this time under the water. She felt him blow into her mouth again. Suddenly her eyes popped open. She looked into his panicked expression.
“Wendy,” she heard his voice over the roar of the waves. “Look at me, Wendy,” he demanded rather harshly. Wendy was still feeling such a strange disconnection, as if she wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep. Everything seemed a little fuzzy around the edges to the point that she wondered if she would ever be able to make sense of anything again. She became aware of Brian's arms around her, one encircling her back, the other under the backs of her knees. Her head settled comfortably against his chest and her eyes closed again. Despite his cold, wet clothes, he felt like pure warmth to her.
“Stay with me, Wendy,” she heard him murmur as her mind drifted away. She was lost in the comfort of his warmth.
***
When Wendy opened her eyes again she felt a rough sensation against her cheeks. Someone was rubbing the skin of her face vigorously.
“Stop,” she mumbled with annoyance and tried to turn her head away.
“Wendy, thank goodness,” Brian breathed out. She looked up at him and all of the annoyance left her as those beautiful, hazel eyes gazed into her own.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she studied him with a small
, silly smile. Only then did she realize she was not at home in her bed as she expected to be. She hadn't woken up in the morning to find Brian beside her. She was sprawled out on the sandy shore beside the pier with medics around her.
“Let us take a look,” one of the men in a bright red and white uniform requested as he stepped closer to her.
“What happened?” Wendy asked with confusion. The last thing she could recall was texting Kyle to meet her at the pier. Suddenly, everything began rushing back to her. As the medics examined her, she grabbed onto Brian's hand and clung to it. It was so very warm. “Brian, what did I do? Where is Kyle?” she asked. “Did you see him?”
“I'm not going anywhere,” he promised her as he noticed the panic in her eyes. “I'm here, Wendy, I'm right here. Just take deep breaths, we'll get this all sorted out.”
Wendy's heart was racing as she began to piece together what had happened. She must have passed out at some point. Brian must have rescued her. But how could he have? How much of what she remembered was a dream? How much was real?
“Kyle,” she said breathlessly as she was being lifted onto a gurney. “Kyle is the killer,” she looked straight into Brian's eyes. “He's the one who killed Vic. You can't let the wedding go on. You have to make sure that Kyle is arrested before Laura ends up married by a murderer.”
“Okay, I'll take care of it,” Brian promised as he held tightly to her hand. “Don't worry about any of that, just think about getting better. I'll come with you…”
“No,” Wendy said firmly. “I don't want you with me. I want you to contact Polson, I want you to find Kyle and make sure that he's in handcuffs before he can hurt anyone else.”