Tormented: A Bully Romance Anthology

by BBB Publishings

  A congealed pool of blood and brain matter soaked the ground under him, his clothes torn. That was one of the terrible things about the heat; it speeds up the process of decomposition. The air was filled with the smell; looking at his swollen face, I could feel the flies landing all over him.

  For months I had to watch as his life fell apart around him. Losing his life savings had completely destroyed him, sending him down a path of booze, drugs, and women. He lost his job; his wife finally having had enough left him but none of us could have possibly predicted he would take his own life.

  Another wail escaped me as I realized that when we had thought he was safe with his family, he was here dead and alone. He left on Friday, and none of us had heard from him since. Was this why?

  “Detective Jaxon, the crime scene unit is here. I think you should take a look at this before they get ahold of it. It’s addressed to you and some others,” a green in the face detective said, holding a piece of paper in his gloved hands.

  With one last look at Dan, I walked over to the car and grabbed the latex gloves from the passenger seat. As soon as the note was in my hands, I instantly knew something was wrong. Dan had decided years ago that children was never in the cards for him, it was the one thing he and Mary didn’t fight about. Just last year he had a vasectomy to make sure that it didn’t happen. Working homicide and seeing all the cruelness in the world, had been enough for him to decide against having any children. Mary, had been put off from ever bringing children into the world, when she lost her younger sister, who had practically raised, when she was killed in a drive-by shooting.

  A loud ringing noise snapped me out of my thoughts, dragging me back to the nightmare that lay before me. A young detective gingerly approached me with a cell phone in his hands.

  “Detective Price, it's the Commissioner's Office on the phone, they want to talk to you.” The guy before me looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. The fifty or so police surrounding the area all looked on. They all knew who it was laying there, and despite the circumstances leading to Dan’s release from the police, they were all here to show their respect to a fallen brother.

  “Detective Price,” I said into the phone waiting for the Commissioner's deep voice to come on the line.

  “Hello, Detective. I hate to have to pull you from where you are, but we have a witness that needs to be put in protection. The assistant and girlfriend to Neil at Raynor Corp got ahold of some of the important documents that link the company to the Mob. If they find out that she took anything, she will be killed. I am putting you in charge of her until we can hunt Neil down.”

  Blood boiled in my veins at the thought of Raynor Corp, the lives they have ruined is tremendous, the worst one at the bottom of the cliff.

  “Are we sure this woman didn’t know what was going on? If she was his assistant, there was no way she didn’t know.” I thought out loud.

  “We don’t care about that, she says she didn’t have a clue about any of it, but she is too important. If she did have anything to do with it, her testimony and the files she got ahold of will give her immunity,” the Commissioner replied, leaving me cold. “She is down at the station, you need to pick her up and take her somewhere safe off the grid. I am not trusting Witness Protection with this.”

  “Yes sir, I will go get her now.” I wasn’t in the frame of mind to deal with the woman, who probably had something to do with the whole Raynor thing. However, I would do whatever it took to avenge my brother's death. I just know that they are behind this and I will prove it. One way or another, they are all going to pay. Woman or not, if she is involved, she will pay too.

  Before I can even think about heading to the station, I know I have one stop to make first. No way will I allow anyone else to tell the others what had happened to Dan. He was our best friend, our brother, and I need to be the one to tell them.

  Pulling the phone out of my pocket, I call Maverick.

  “Hey Jax, I thought you got called in.” His gravelly voice spoke from the other end of the line.

  “I did, and it’s not good. Is everyone at the house?” I asked trying to keep the dread out of my voice.

  “Yeah everyone is here except Dan. But Cooper just got called in for a body and is just getting ready to leave. What’s going on?” He asked.

  “Keep everyone there, I will explain when I get there. It will only be about five minutes.” I said knowing that they will all know something is wrong and probably worry until I get there, but there is no way I am saying anything over the phone.

  “Alright, be careful. I’ll go catch Cooper. See you when you get here.” He replies before hanging up the phone.

  I slump against the car as another round of sadness hits me. This isn’t going to go well, my heart is slowly breaking again, but I have to be the one to tell them. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and get in. It is time to go ruin my best friends’ day, the only family I have.

  Chapter Two

  Cooper

  “So, he didn't say what was wrong? Just that we had to wait for him? I'm going to be late. Doesn’t he understand that my job is just as important as his? The dead guys family and the police are counting on me to give them answers, to tell them what happened. I can't do that if I'm late. How will that look?” I can barely keep the annoyance from my voice as I speak.

  Jax has always been the same, he gives orders and we follow; only now that is starting to get old. Having Dan around has shifted things a little, he doesn't take Jax’s bullshit. He argues back and challenges him. Well, he had until that company took the only thing he had left. Dan went from being the life of the party to the asshole drunk who didn't know when to give up.

  “He's here, so stop your whining and get down here.” Maverick’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I head to see what the hell is going on.

  Instantly, I know whatever he is about to tell us, is going to be bad. Jax’s usually bright blue eyes and tanned skin is abnormally dull and pale. I know Maverick and Dexter are thinking the same thing because instead of ribbing Jax, they all stand in silence, waiting to hear what is about to be said.

  “So, the call I went on this morning was for a supposed suicide. When I got there …” His voice breaks then and the tears that you can tell he has been trying to hold in start to fall. “It was Dan.”

  “What was Dan? The suicide victim? Are you fucking kidding me? There is no way he would do that. If this is you assholes’ idea of a joke, so help me god I will kill you both,” Dexter screamed in Jax’s face, but we all know this is no joke.

  Dex has never been able to handle his emotions. He goes from anger to sheer devastation as he falls to his knees in front of Jax. I am numb, the body they wanted me to work on is my best friend. The thought shakes me to my core. How am I meant to cut open someone I love?

  “I need to call work, I can't do the autopsy they called me in for, not if it's Dan. I'm needed here and no, I just can't.” I mutter out, feeling like a robot.

  “No! You have to do it, Coop. I am telling you, he didn’t kill himself. He left clues in the letter and there’s no telling what is left on his body that can tell us what happened. Dan was a cop through and through; you know he would have hidden something if he thought he was in danger. We have to have someone we trust on this and that’s you.” Jax’s eyes flash with fire as he speaks.

  Unfortunately, he is right. If anyone else did it, they wouldn’t look for anything. Most would write it off as a suicide and be done, not caring to check for things that could easily be missed. The Medical Examiner's office has not had the best track record lately, it is why I am called in so much. Truth be told, I wouldn't want anyone else touching Dan anyway. Not really. He deserves the best and I won't let him down. It is just the thought of what all I would have to do to his body that bothers me, but I will try to get over that.

  “Has anyone told Mary? Maybe I should go do that. I don't have work today and I'm not going to be of any use anyway. Yeah, I will do
that.” Maverick blurts out before turning and practically running up the stairs. He is always the quietest of us. He prefers to watch and take things in. Standing up and wiping his eyes on his sleeve, Jax turns to look at us.

  “Keep an eye on him, Dex. Don't let him bottle things up. We all know he needs to let it out. Come on, Coop, let’s go to the office, we need to talk.” With a quick hug to Dex, he is gone.

  Jax marches out the door, not even looking to see if I am coming. Without a word, Dex heads up the stairs after Mav. Alone with my thoughts, the tears I have tried to keep at bay are threatening to fall but I can't break down now. I have to focus, I can break down and deal with everything after we solve this. Dan needs me at my best and I can't be my best if I am a wreck. Wiping my eyes, I go and grab my bag before catching up with Jax at the car.

  I’m not sure I will be able to do this, but for Dan, I will try. Jax is already sitting in the car waiting for me. Opening the door, I throw my bag in the back before sitting down and slamming the door. I wait for him to start the car and slowly head out of the drive before asking the questions I have been dying to ask.

  “What's the plan? Where do we start? What are you going to do? We know your boss won't allow you to be on the case, you're too close to it.” I ask, knowing there’s something else that’s bothering him.

  “The plan for you is to prove that it wasn’t a suicide. You just worry about that. The Police Commissioner took me off the case, but he gave me a new mission. I have to keep the woman who was Raynor’s girlfriend and assistant safe until the trial.” He said, disgust in his voice obvious.

  “You have to do what now?” My voice is raised, but I can’t help it. This is fucking ridiculous.

  “You know as well as I do that Witness Protection isn’t safe and the Commissioner said that the woman's knowledge and proof that she has is too important. So, he called while I was at the crime scene, and I have to go pick her up and take her somewhere safe. We will be going to the lake house. Nobody knows where that is except for us. I was thinking though maybe we can get something out of her. I have a feeling she knows more than she is letting on.” He stated as though he was trying to come up with a plan as he pulled into my work.

  “Just be careful, I will do everything I can here. I will let the guys know what's going on and we will meet you at the lake house,” I say before opening the door and letting myself out. I can only hope that whatever happens, we can figure out what's going on.

  Chapter Three

  Effy

  Sitting in the police station waiting room, I can feel my palms starting to sweat. This is just my luck, I come out of my shell to give a guy a chance and it turns out he’s a crook who almost drags me down with him. That isn’t Neil’s only flaw though, unfortunately. He is abusive as well. I have tried to leave him for over a year and I have ended up in the hospital twice for my actions. Or, so he said.

  I have been working at Raynor Corp as the assistant for two years before Neil Jr. had taken over for his father at the beginning of this year. He was a very handsome man and outgoing. It hadn’t taken long for him to talk me into going out with him.

  Things were perfect, but I became a pretend assistant, instead of what I had been when Neil Sr. was running the company. Sure, I was able to take calls, but I wasn’t able to look over the finances or help with billing. I had been demoted to a receptionist basically. I should have known then that something was wrong, but I was in love. At least that's what I thought anyway.

  Things started going downhill fast as I slowly got introduced to Neil’s temper. In the beginning, it was just words and I wrote it off as stress, but one day after a client had come in and complimented me, things went downhill quickly.

  The morning everything went to hell, I had shown up at work as always, but inside the office was pure chaos. There were employees running around shredding papers, on the computers doing god knows what. It was pure and utter mayhem.

  When I made my way to Neil’s office, he told me that they had been caught swindling people and the company was going under. My world had shattered, I guess I was just naive, but I thought we had really been making a difference in people's lives. He asked me to go with him when he ran, but I couldn’t. He had ruined so many lives with his schemes. I refused to be a part of it.

  There was a flash drive sitting on his desk that when he turned his back I slid into my pocket. I didn’t know then that it would be what turned my life upside down. Luckily, the helicopter arriving had taken enough attention off of me that I had been able to get the hell out of there, because I have no doubt that if I hadn’t he would have drug me kicking and screaming with him. Terrified, I returned home and looked through the file. What he had done was horrifying, but I had all the proof I needed to put him away.

  However, he somehow figured out that I had taken the drive and that’s when the threats started coming in. The police had put me in Witness Protection, but that hadn’t lasted long before one of Neil’s goons found me. Two cops had been killed trying to keep me safe.

  Now, I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for yet another cop to come and take me somewhere safe, but I really don’t think there is such a thing. It has becoming clearer and clearer that Neil will get his way and I will end up dead or worse. Neil was supposedly in love with me and it had gotten to the point of an obsession. He kept sending threatening love letters to the police station all addressed to me.

  I can’t believe that I had ever thought that I loved him. Then again, I can’t believe this is my life. The depression that I have been fighting since this all started threatens to drown me as I sat here thinking of all the things that I could have done differently to keep this from happening.

  “Miss Johnson.” Hearing my name spoken out loud snaps me from my thoughts and for a moment I am completely awestruck.

  The man standing in front of me is gorgeous, no man should look that good. His honey hair is swept to the side out of his face. His blue eyes are piercing me straight to my core. The way he is looking at me tells me that he definitely isn’t happy about having to talk to me.

  “Yes?” I asked after I am finally able to form words.

  “I’m Detective Price, I’m gonna be in charge of keeping you safe until the trial,” he states matter of factly. Which explains why his gorgeous face is so upset. Nobody would want to babysit me.

  “Thank you so much, I know most people wouldn’t want to take time out of their lives to watch a random person. I really appreciate it.” I say hoping to alleviate some of the irritation that is currently pinching his face.

  “It’s my job. Don’t really have much choice. Please come with me,” he spats at me with such venom in his voice that I physically flinch and decide to keep quiet and just follow him.

  Silently, he leads me to a blacked out police car and opens the trunk. Looking at me expectantly, it isn’t hard to figure out that he wants me to put my bags in there.

  “You can sit in the back.” He states matter of factly, and gets into the front seat.

  What a dick! I think slamming the trunk and making my way to the back slamming the door a little harder than necessary. There is absolutely no reason for him to be acting the way he is, but I am stuck. It is either stay with him until the trial or have Neil find me and I will do anything to keep the latter from happening.

  “Where are we going?” I ask trying to break the awkward silence that has descended into the car. This is going to be awful, I just know it.

  “I have a cabin on the lake a few cities over. You will be safe there. Now please be quiet, might as well take a nap. It's a long drive,” he says, effectively shutting down the conversation.

  Looking out the window, the only thing I can think is what the hell have I gotten myself into. Silence is something I could never handle. I have to fill every awkward pause with words. Closing my eyes, I let everything fall away, I can do this. It is just a few days— with a man who seems to hate me. What's the worst that could happen?

&
nbsp; Chapter Four

  Effy

  A loud bang rouses me from my sleep. I can't believe I slept. For the last few months, unless medicated, sleep has seemed to elude me. Whether it is guilt, fear or something else, I have no idea, but every time I close my eyes, I am plagued by nightmares. The door flies open as Detective ... Damn, what did he say his name is again? I had been struck dumb by how pretty he is and completely spaced out.

  “Come on princess, grab your shit and get out. I haven't got all day to wait on your stupid ass.” Detective Asshole as he will forever now be called, barked at me before turning and heading up the porch, disappearing through the large black door.

  Grabbing my bags, I take off after him. Clearly, he has never done protection detail before, because not leaving the witness would surely be the first freaking lesson. Ugh, this is going to be a long few days. Before I even reach the door, another car pulls into the drive, causing the detective to rush out the door he had just entered. Seeing the car, he instantly relaxes and turns back around, making me wonder what the hell is going on.

  “Where is she?” A gruff voice yells from the inside of the car as I practically run with my bags to the door. Whoever the owner of that voice is, is not happy at the fact that I am here. What other “she” could he be been talking about?

  Making it through the door, I take a second to catch my breath from my short sprint.

  “Follow me, I’ll show you where you are staying. You got lucky that we have an extra room now or you would be out in the shed,” he states, moving down the long hallway. “Where you belong.” He whispers under his breath, probably to keep me from hearing him, but I heard it loud and clear. What the fuck have I done to these people?

  Before I have a chance to think on it any longer, my arm is grabbed roughly and I am pulled backwards. Coming face to face with a giant of a man, I am frozen. All I can think about is all the times that Neil had grabbed me in the same manner only to slap me or worse.