by Iona Rose
I knew then that he was now completely insane. He had lost his mind. Being bullied in prison must have done that to him. My insides turned to water.
He sensed my stare and stared back. He smiled. A friendly smile. But it did not reach his eyes.
Dread came over me. I knew without a doubt that he intended to molest me first then probably kill me. I had to fight. I wasn't going to let him win. Whatever it took to survive, I would do it.
We were leaving the city and panic was mounting in my chest. I fought the urge to lash out, knowing it would just make him mad. It would be better to stay calm and wait for an opportunity to get away.
My blood went cold when Stan turned off the highway. I suddenly saw another car and sucked in a breath as it slowly went by, I mouthed, “Help me,” silently at the driver. I didn’t even know if the man behind the wheel saw it, but I had to try.
Stan drove down the sandy rutted road. I gripped the dashboard of the car and fought down a primal scream rising up my throat. When I saw the desolate area we were in, courage failed me. "Please let me go?" I begged.
"Shut up, Ella!" he said harshly.
The tires of the sedan screeched as Stan brought it to a stop in front of a dilapidated looking house. Weeds had overgrown and climbed onto the porch.
He killed the engine and grinned at me. "Welcome home!"
I looked around and shivered. No one would ever find me here. There were no neighbors and no one to hear me if I screamed.
His grin disappeared. “Get out and don’t think of doing anything stupid. I’m not averse to putting a bullet through your head.”
I didn’t doubt it. Besides, where would I run to? There seemed to be nothing for miles and Stan had a gun. I grew frantic.
“Walk,” he ordered.
I trudged up the wooden steps, afraid they would give way. I didn’t know what would be worse—to be stabbed by a piece of wood or to be shot by Stan.
Stan pushed the door open and I stepped into a dark interior. As my eyes got used to the dim light, as I made out two straight backed chairs and ropes on one of them. I took a step back at the realization that the rope was for me.
Stan placed a hand on the small of my back like a lover would and then shoved me across the room so hard, I lost my footing and fell. I inhaled dust and coughed hard.
“Get up!” Stan yelled.
I hurriedly scrambled to my feet, knowing he would kick me if I didn’t.
“Sit there.” Any pretense at friendliness was now gone.
When I sat down, he came behind me and proceeded to tie my hands behind the chair.
“Please don’t do this Stan,” I said to him.
“This is just the beginning,” Stan sneered. “I’m going to do things to you that are going to make you wish you were dead.”
The sound of my heartbeat thrashed in my ears. Fear coursed through my veins. I didn’t want to die. I thought about Luke. We had something special and I wanted to see what we could be together. I had never told him that I loved him. I would die and he wouldn’t know how much I had loved him.
“I’m going to cut away every stitch of clothing on you and then fuck you all night. In every fucking hole.” He emphasized the last part.
I shuddered.
He came around the chair and stared at me before striding off.
I had to free myself. He could shoot me in the back as I was running away. I didn’t care. I wished I’d tried to run when I got out of the car. I fought with the rope, twisting my hands this way and that way.
I must have moved too much because in the next moment, I toppled over.
The noise brought Stan hurrying back. “Were you trying to get away?” he said, and made a clicking noise with his mouth. “Now, I’m going to untie you, but you had better behave yourself. I’m going to fuck you just like I used to and I expect you to make appreciative noises. Tell me what a great lover I am. Can you do that?”
I bit my lower lip. I had to wait for the right moment when he was vulnerable. Then I would make my move. Meanwhile, I would play dumb.
I nodded.
He glared at me with that evil grin. “That’s the Ella, I know. Whore to her dying breath.”
Luke
My hands were shaking as I drove home. Paul had called me and said in a barely controlled panic that he’d found Molly alone with Bean and no sign of Ella. He had tried to ask Molly what had happened but she wouldn’t respond. She had just stared at him mutely. She had gone back into her shell, but the immediate problem was Ella.
In my gut, I knew something had happened to Ella. And that something—was Stan.
I called the police as I drove and when I got home, a police car was already parked outside. I brought the car to a screeching halt and jumped out. I sprinted up to the house and found Molly in the living room with Paul and two policemen. “I’m the one who called you,” I said by way of explanation, and went straight to Molly.
I knelt down in front of her and she threw her arms around my neck. I held her tight and listened to the rapid beat of her heart. “It’s okay sweetheart,” I crooned. “You’re safe now.”
We stayed that way for a while and then I gently pulled back. "Tell me what happened. Where's Ella?"
Tears filled her eyes and her lips trembled.
"Please tell us so that these good policemen can go and find her and bring her back to us," I said to her, keeping my voice low and soothing.
She glanced at the two policemen and then back at me. In halting sentences, my Molly told me everything from when they had been playing in the garden to the man with the gun, taking Ella with him.
Even before she finished speaking, one of the policemen was on his phone giving instructions about CCTV footage.
"You've done well sweetheart," I said to Molly when she finished and held her in my arms again.
"We're looking at the CCTV footage of this street," one of them told me.
Whatever happened I needed to go with them to find Ella. I fished out my phone and called Ruby. I gave her a short explanation and before I could ask her to come be with Molly, she was already saying she was on the way.
I stayed with Molly until Ruby came and took over. Paul promised to stay in the house with them.
Outside, our house looked like a crime scene. There were policemen walking up and down the street, knocking on doors.
One of the policemen who had first responded came to me. “We have the car registration number," he said. "We just got a report from a man seeing a woman mouthing ‘help me’ to him from the passenger seat of a blue sedan. We have the location. He thought it was suspicious because the car turned off down a dirt track, leading to a derelict farmhouse."
"I’m going to come with you," I said to him.
"We'd rather you waited here," he said. “It could be dangerous."
"I'll stay out of your way."
He contemplated me, and then nodded.
Ten minutes later, we were on the way to a location outside the city. I was in the back seat of the third police car and kept my hands fisted, just praying we wouldn’t be too late.
I felt the kind of terror I had never experienced before as we drove down a rough road. Please. She has to be alive. She has to live. For us. For me.
I loved Ella with all of my heart. She had broken down all my barriers. Without her, my life would become empty and meaningless again.
“Please stay in the car,” one of the policemen said, parking the car a long way from the dilapidated house ahead.
When the two policemen started moving towards the house, I instantly got out of the car and ran along the tall grasses. I crept around the back and heard the sounds of scuffling. Then I heard Ella scream, and I burst into the house.
Stan was on top of Ella. He looked up in surprise then fired his gun wildly and missed me. I ran to him, grabbed him, and threw him off my baby. Then I was on him. Punching his head, his neck, his chest. I was like a mad man. I had lost control. I didn’t stop until I was rough
ly grabbed from the back and pulled away from him.
“Calm down,” one of the policemen yelled as he held my arms.
I was breathing so hard I was panting like an animal.
Stand had his hands twisted behind him and the other cop was handcuffing him.
I turned my head towards Ella.
She still laid on the floor half-naked in the same position I had found her when I came in. I took off my shirt and quickly wrapped her in it. Then I picked her up and carried her out of that stinking house.
Ella wrapped her hands around my neck and cried like her heart was breaking.
She was alive. That’s all that mattered.
“You’re okay now. You’re safe now. He’ll never hurt you again. I promise.”
Luke
I was haunted by thoughts of what would have happened if that driver hadn’t reported seeing Ella mouthing ‘help me’ just as they turned off onto the dirt road. What if Stan had succeeded in killing Ella?
Later that evening, I walked into Ella’s room, carrying a bowl of soup that Paul had made. I found both Ella and Molly curled together in bed asleep.
For a moment, I just leaned against the doorway staring at them both.
My heart swelled with gratitude. I hadn’t thought it possible to love a woman as much as I loved Ella. My gaze shifted to Molly. She lay in the crook of Ella’s arm, her face upturned to her. A stranger looking at them would think they were mother and daughter.
I wanted to stand here all night just looking at them while feeling this amazing love in my heart, but the soup would have gotten cold. So, I tiptoed into the room and placed the bowl on the bedside table. Then I went to Molly’s side and as gently as I could, I lifted her from the bed.
Ella’s eyes shot open, her head jerked up and she looked about her wildly.
It broke my heart to see her like this. I knew it would take a while to heal from the trauma she had been through, but I would be here to see her through it. “It’s okay,” I murmured. “It’s only me. I’m carrying Molly to her bedroom.”
She flopped back onto the bed as understanding dawned on her.
“I’ll be back. Start on your soup,” I said with a smile.
Then I carried Molly next door to her room. She didn’t wake up as I tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead. “My brave girl,” I murmured to myself while staring at her sweet, little face.
When Ella and I returned home, she had held on tight to Ella’s legs and wouldn’t let go. They’d both cried as Ella told her over and over again that she was fine and nothing bad had happened to her.
We’d gotten to Ella in time before Stan could do any real damage to her. I would make sure he wouldn’t be leaving prison in the next couple of decades. Besides, I intended to go all in with regards to security.
Suddenly, the world had become a more threatening place and I would not take any more chances where my girls’ safety was concerned. The first thing I intended to do was to consult a security company and get their recommendations on how to further secure the house.
When I returned to Ella’s room, she was propped up against the pillows eating her soup. “Thank you for this,” she said. “I was hungry.” She hadn’t been able to eat earlier, but the emergency room doctor had warned us that she was still in shock and would be for a few more hours.
“How do you feel now?” I asked her, sitting on her side of the bed.
She smiled. “Relieved to be alive.”
This was my opportunity to tell her how I really felt. I had allowed a bad marriage to come between me and happiness. I refused to allow it to rule my life anymore.
“What?” she asked. “You’re staring at me without speaking.”
“I’m trying to come up with the right words,” I explained. “I don’t want to mess this up.”
Ella’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “The right words for what?”
“The right words to tell you how much I love you and what happiness you’ve brought into my life. You’ve turned me from a man who was cynical about love and happiness into one who now knows that love exists.”
She placed the bowl on the side table.
“My sweet Ella, I love you more than life itself. If I’d lost you…” I choked on my words.
She leaned forward and cupped my cheeks. “You didn’t and I’m here now. I love you too, Luke.” She laughed softly. “I don’t know how it happened. But I love you with all my heart. You and Molly.”
I slipped into bed where Molly had lain and gathered Ella into my arms. I must have held her too tightly because she started wriggling like an eel.
“You’ll squeeze the life out of me,” she said with a laugh.
I laughed too, and loosened my hold.
She tilted her gorgeous face to mine. “Kiss me Luke. Make love to me.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said and lowered my head to kiss my woman and soon to be wife, even if she didn’t know it yet.
Epilogue
Two years later
Ella
"That’s it. I’m done. I'm not speaking to Michelle anymore, she’s not my friend," Molly announced as Luke and I tucked her into bed.
I hid a smile. Recently, every day was a big drama with Molly and her friends, although they did have weeks when everything went smoothly.
"Can’t you all just get along?" Luke asked her.
I’d told him countless times that this was part of a girl growing up, but he always shook his head in bafflement.
Surprisingly, Penelope had gotten married to her boy toy and they came to see Molly when they were around and then disappeared for months at a time. The good thing was that she kept in touch with Molly via email and sent her countless pictures.
Molly seemed pleased with that arrangement and never seemed sad when her mom went off again.
"Maybe she's sorry she refused to give you a pencil," I said to Molly and smoothed her hair back. She was becoming so big so fast. It was easy to forget how she was when I first arrived at this house. Now she was a regular chatterbox, surpassing all the hopes we’d had for her.
She looked at me, her eyes wide with wonder. "Mommy, how did you know?" She’d taken to calling me Mommy and Penelope was mom.
I never tired of hearing her say the name. I chuckled mysteriously. No point in spoiling her awe by telling her it was always one of two. A pencil or an eraser. I’d just taken a lucky guess.
We tucked her in and said goodnight.
“I don’t understand little girls,” Luke said as we went downstairs. “But thankfully, I understand women. My woman… to be clear.”
“Yes, you do,” I said with a laugh.
The last two years had been full of wonder and joy. Luke had insisted on us getting married immediately. As he’d said it, he didn’t want to risk losing me and being married ensured that I would be bound to him for life.
Like there had been a chance of that happening.
I’d gone to college and finished faster than I had anticipated by doing the crash program. I was now working as an apprentice for a well-known designer and I loved it.
Luke as a husband was everything I dreamed of and never thought I’d ever find. He was thoughtful and kind as he showered me with more love than I deserved.
With his love, I’d been able to forget that awful day two years ago when Stan kidnapped me with the intention of raping me and then killing me. He’d been sentenced to thirty years in jail after the police found evidence that he had killed another woman before me and hidden her body on that same property he’d taken me to.
I trembled every time I thought of how close I’d come to losing my life. Luke had ensured that I felt safe by making the house super secure. A person would have to be superman to enter our house.
I’d found no real way to repay him for the life he had given me and the love he showered on me every day, but I knew my news would please him. Soon, Molly would have a little brother or sister. Luke thought he’d kept it from me, but every so often, I saw him st
aring at my belly with a wistful look on his face.
Now, I was about to gift him with another little human to love. I’d been bursting to tell him my news, but I waited until we were comfortable on the couch. We lay facing each other with Luke massaging my legs.
“Do you know how much I love you?” he asked while staring at me intently. “Sometimes, I think I love you so much my chest feels like it might just burst.”
“Oh, dear. Does that mean there’s no more space to love another little person besides Molly?” I asked with a look of fake horror.
Luke’s eyes widened. He glanced down to my flat belly then back up to my face. “Are you…?” he faltered, his voice full of hope.
I grinned. “Indeed, I am.”
He sat up, scooped me into his lap, and kissed me. “Oh my God, Ella! You’re the gift that just keeps giving.”
My grin got wider. “I am a bit of that, aren’t I?”
“Another little girl, I hope?”
“Or a little boy who looks just like you,” I said.
He cupped my cheeks and kissed me deeply. “You made me the happiest man on earth when you loved me back and agreed to marry me. Now, there’s no way to describe how I feel.”
I kissed him gently on the lips. “Then describe it with your body.”
THE END
Coming soon… sample chapters
CEO’S SECRET BABY
Chapter One
Leah
“Leah…” Anne groaned. “Shut that thing off!”
I came to from my light doze. The crowing from my phone’s alarm finally pierced my subconscious. My eyelids lazily fluttered open.
“Leah!” She groaned again.
It took me a few more seconds to process what her complaint was about. I reached for the phone on the stool by my side and cut the ringing.
“We’ll burn, Leah,” Anne complained. “Set it for another half hour.”
