She pleaded with him. “Please, let me get help for Sebastian.”
“He’s probably dead.” He lifted his weight off her. “We are wasting time. This is what we are going to do. We are going outside, and you aren’t going to make a scene.” He poked the gun in her side. “Do you get my drift?”
“I will go with you if you get help for him. He is my neighbor and never hurt anyone.”
Taylor closed her eyes as he lips moved dangerously near her mouth. “Apparently you are confused. I’m not giving you a choice of what you want to do.”
“Do you want money? I will give you money if you will just go away. I won’t even call the police,” she begged resisting his pulling her.
The raucous laugh he released iced her veins. “I don’t want money. I want something else. I want to know what bedding you will be like.” His rough hand touched the side of her breast squeezing. “Oh yeah, you might live to see another day after all.”
Her dry mouth and thick tongue made it hard for her to form words. “I’ll give you anything you want. Just help Sebastian.”
“We’ll talk about him later.”
She choked on the vomit lining her throat when he put his fat arm around her waist. She was sweating profusely, and he got a mouth-full of her sweat as his tongue trace the length her neck to dangle the gold loop earring gracing her ear.
“Yeah, watching you had me hurtin’ bad, baby.”
The tip of his tongue found her lips and traced her top lip. She folded her lips together turning her head away from him. Her heart raced as his body pressed against her. She wanted to throw up from feeling his disgusting penis pressing into her abdomen.
The man palmed her face between his hands. “You gotta be wild in bed to have three men vying to do anything for you. You chose the Hispanic over the two white men that came to your house. Where they not good in bed?”
Taylor’s eyes blinked uncontrollably letting the image of Sebastian laying by the basement door slip her mind. “Y-you put the cameras in my house?”
He didn’t answer as his bushy face touched her smooth skin sniffing her hair; her perfumed hair reminded him of fresh citrus and flowers. “Damn, I should have done this sooner.”
Whom was she kidding? He was going to kill her, and Sebastian probably was already dead. But, she refused to die without a fight. Taylor struggled to wiggle from his grip. “You are sick! If you are gonna kill me, just do it, and get it over with! I’d rather face death than have you touch me,” she said infusing coldness into her voice.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, I would not kill a precious flower such as you. I’ve waited too long to have you. Do you know how many men you tease on a daily basis? I wonder how many of ‘em are glued to the window or front porch waiting every morning for you to run or walk by their neighborhood dressed in those tight spandex shorts.” His leer roamed her body along with his free hand.
Taylor cringed with each stroke of his hand on her body. The doorbell rang followed by a hard knocking on the front door. For a moment, she suspected she was saved. Regaining strength in her arms, she pushed against the intruder’s chest with both hands. Then she heard a voice. It was Sabrina.
“Taylor, are you in there?”
The intruder smothered Taylor’s mouth with his hand. “Don’t make a sound.” He dragged her deadweight body through the living room.
The heavy drapes pulled together obstructed the view from prying eyes witnessing activity inside the house. The knocking continued with her sister discussing the situation on the other side of the door with Edward. Taylor’s nose stung from the heavy inhaling. She had to get their attention, but how without bringing harm to them?
“Sabrina, call her. Maybe she got held up.”
“Edward, she sent a text saying she was home. Go around to the back. She might be sitting in the back yard.”
Not releasing Taylor, he rushed through the living to the kitchen to check the back door. The glass of the door did not have a curtain allowing anyone the ability to see inside the spacious open kitchen. He pushed Taylor around the kitchen island and down on the floor.
The pain from the car accident intensified when she fell to the hard floor. “You are hurting,” she winched.
“Shut up! He whispered harshly in her ear.
She kicked her feet at the lower cabinets hoping to get the attention of her sister and brother-in-law. The overweight man inhibited her movements by turning her on her stomach and lying on top of her trapping her legs beneath his chubby tree log legs and deflating the breath from her lungs as his big belly crushed her back and hips.
He kept her mouth covered with his hand. Taylor could not open her mouth to bite his hand. The pressure of his hand smashing her lips against her teeth hurt. His stubby fingers partially covering her nose cut off the little air she could breathe.
He warned her again. “Shut up or I will kill both of them. Do you want that on your conscious along with the death of your neighbor?”
Taylor’s eyes widened with shear fear. She moved her head in a negative motion scraping the bottom of her chin on the floor. She stopped squirming, as his girth was too heavy for her to fight anymore. Her legs were numbing and her toes tingling. The only limbs not going numb were her arms. They were pinned against her body, but her fingers and hands were able to move. Her fingertips touched something cold with a sharp tip, lying on the floor. It was her favorite paring knife. It was lying atop the headband she’d been looking for. Using her fingernail, she was able secure the 3-inch paring knife under the palm of her hand. She had to figure out a way to conceal it without him finding it on her.
*****
Annoyed Edward asked again. “Sabrina, call her, please. She could be with Mario.”
“She isn’t with him. They broke up. But to please you, I will call her since you can’t wait for her to get here.”
“Obviously she ain’t here. The house is dark and locked. Just call her and ask where she is. I got plans tonight.”
Taylor assigned an annoying ringtone for when Sabrina called. If it went off, it would be loud and definitely heard.
Sabrina dialed Taylor’s cell phone and waited for her to answer. Walking towards the house, she heard the phone ringing. She moved closer to the door. “Edward, the phone is ringing from inside the house.”
Edward could hear the phone ringing before it stopped. “Where did Taylor call you from, Sabrina?”
“She called me from work but sent me a text from her phone. Maybe she was here and left.”
“She called you from work telling us to meet her here and her phone is in the house. Baby, that don’t make any sense. Where would she go if she came home first?”
Sabrina shook her head twisting the doorknob on the kitchen door magically waiting for it to open. “Something is wrong, Edward. Taylor is always where she says she’s going to be; even if she’s not, she calls to let someone know where she is. Something is wrong.”
Edward attempted to comfort his wife. He knew Taylor too well also, and this was out of character for her. “Okay, baby, don’t panic yet. We have to retrace her tracks after she left work. She didn’t just disappear into thin air.”
“We should talk to Mario. Maybe she went to visit him.”
“Yeah, she probably did since he is hurt. Come let’s go over to his place.”
Chapter 19
Mario adjusted the heating pads. One on his back and the other on his chest. The perfect temperature radiated from both heating elements soothing his aching muscles. He clicked the remote to turn on the television. Crossing his feet at the ankle, he relaxed. The leather recliner was not only extremely comfortable, but his favorite chair.
As he reached over to the table to get his slice of pizza, the doorbell rang. He groaned. He wasn’t expecting company, and he definitely was not dressed to receive company.
Pushing forward to upright the recliner, he eased from the chair to put on his robe bunched on the sofa. He was only clad in black Armani BoxerTrunks. Slidi
ng his feet in house slippers, he walked slowly to the door. “I’m coming,” he called, tenderly taking baby steps until he reached the door.
“Hola, Sabrina,” he greeted. “What brings you to my casa?”
Sabrina did not return his enthusiasm and pounced. “Mario, please tell me Taylor is with you.”
He opened the door for her to step inside into a small hallway. Edward joined her. “Sabrina, I’m alone.”
“I’m not prying in your business, Mario. I’m actually championing for you and Taylor to patch your differences and get together again. So if she is upstairs waiting for you,” she said roaming her eyes over his barely dressed form. “I’m okay with that. I just want to make sure she is here.”
Mario looked at Edward, who held his wife steady by the arms. Her hands and legs were shaking. A feeling of fear overcame him. “I swear she is not here. I have not seen her since this morning.”
Sabrina buried her face in Edward’s chest. Edward held her close to him and spoke to Mario. “Man, Taylor called and asked us to meet with her. We got to her house, and she was not there. We could hear her phone ringing from the house, but the house is sealed tight. We aren’t sure what’s happened to her.”
Mario slicked his hands over his hair. “I warned her not to go home alone. Ella es terca!” His rant was angry and rightfully so.
Edward nodded. “Taylor has always done her own thing. Both sisters are the same, so I know what you’re going through with Taylor.”
Mario rolled his eyes upward. “No comment, amigo. Have you called, Dillon? She may be with him.”
Sabrina let the tears fall from her eyes. “She wouldn’t go to him. She made a point of telling me she was distancing herself from Dillon and Kelly. She is angry at what she did to you. That is why I came here first. She wanted to apologize.”
Edward pleaded. “Look, I don’t know the story that went down with you two, but that ain’t important to me. I could use your help in finding her, Mario. I really don’t want to involve her parents or the police until we are sure there is a need to go that route.”
Mario folded his arms thinking what he could do to help. Sabrina’s worried face touched his heart and the vision of Taylor’s face full of fear, begging her captor not to harm her, raised his blood pressure.
Mario took a deep breath and slowly blew it out his mouth attempting to get his aching body to relax and to tell himself it was his duty to help. Although Taylor put him in the same position he’d been in years ago, his love for her was insane. “Give me a minute to change. The first agenda is getting inside the house. Taylor is never separated from her cell phone,” he said hobbling up the first step to go upstairs.
Sabrina took his elbow. “Thank you, Mario.”
He smiled. “Gracias,” he said grunting as he made his way up the rest of the stairs.
*****
Kelly snuck away from Dillon’s family for privacy. His surgery was anticipated to last at least two or three hours. She walked to an area outside the hospital to assure she would not be overheard. She put the phone to her ear looking around to make sure no one saw her. “Hey. I don’t have a lot of time but my plans have changed.”
“Too late.”
“What do you mean too late? I ordered you not to do anything until you heard from me….what have you done”
“You paid for a job. I hired a person to take care of it—your problem will be resolved tonight.”
Kelly covered her mouth. “No, no, no. He has to release her unharmed.”
“Impossible. She will be able to identify him. He has no choice but to carry out the job, or we’re both going down.”
She kept her voice low as a group of nurses passed her. “There has to be a way to let her go. Have him drug her, leave her at home, or better yet, dump her in another part of town. I don’t care how you do it as long as she is alive when found.”
“This is not how this business is conducted—there is no return policy. If he has made contact, there is nothing I can do to stop it.”
Her eyes watered. “I wasn’t in my right mind. I cannot go through with this. Please, do whatever you can to stop it.”
“I suggest you carry on as if you know nothing. Be as surprised as everyone else is when you get the news. I will be in touch.”
The phone on the other went end dead. Kelly lifted her head letting the hot sun beat on her forehead. What had she done? She let her obsession of Taylor push her over the edge. Why didn't she leave it alone? Taylor was dating Mario and that should have been good enough for her. Dillon was stressing harder than ever over Taylor being with him. Taylor had to be completely out of the picture in order to regain Dillon’s attention; so far, out of the picture, she’d hired someone to dispose of her for good.
Chapter 20
The sun was setting over the western sky as Edward parked his car across the street from Taylor’s house. Mario shifted to face Sabrina in the backseat. “Sabrina, stay low and keep an eye on the house. If you notice anything suspicious, don’t hesitate to call 911 immediately.”
She nodded fiddling with the screen on her phone. “Hurry up, please.” She fastened her hand on Edward’s shoulder. “Hey, you’d better be careful…both of you.”
They exited the car and went across the street. The dog barking from the house behind them caught Mario’s attention. He slowed. “Edward, wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“Do you hear that dog barking?”
Edward shrugged his shoulders. “So?”
“That’s Taylor’s neighbor’s dog.”
“And, he’s barking, so what.”
“That guy has his dog trained. He sits quietly at his feet, and sneaks up on people without making a sound. The dog would not be barking unless something is wrong,” Mario said running at a speed reduced by his sore body would only allow.
They reached the garage and lifted up the door. Edward supported the door letting Mario slip underneath. Mario checked the doorknob leading to the house. It was locked. Using his shoulder, he attempted to break in the door. “Cabron!” he bitched as pain engulfed his shoulder to spread through his arm.
Edward helped him lean on the car. “Dude, you okay?”
“Yeah,” he said swaying his forearm to rid the pain. “I’m not trained to knock down doors. I’m a mild-mannered attorney.”
“Well, you’re banged up from the car accident. Let me put these size thirteen’s to use,” Edward said reeling his leg back to kick in the door with his foot.
“Hold up, Edward. Taylor’s purse is on the ground by the door. She has been here.”
“Ah, that son of a bitch is gon’ be sorry he messed with us!” He kicked the door in with two hard foot jabs. Edward stepped aside saying, “After you.”
Mario retrieved the purse from the ground throwing the strap around his neck to carry it. Entering the house, he flipped the light switch with no illumination following. “We need a light source.”
“I got a laser. It won’t give off much light but enough to see what’s in front of us.” Edward flipped on the penlight making sure it worked.
“It will have to do until I get the power on. I’ll go to the basement and restore that while you look around the living room.”
Edward cleared his throat reconsidering. “Yo, man, we should stick together and not split up. We don’t know what or who is in here waiting on us. I mean; I’m sure the door smashing in tipped off anyone inside.”
Mario procured the small laser from Edward’s hand and whispered, “Calm down, Edward. This is not a movie. There won’t be any bad guys jumping out of closets.”
“Oh yeah, then why are we whispering? Dang it, Mario, I’m a postal employee and not disgruntled. I ain’t count on this shit getting my ass killed.”
Mario frowned. “Nobody is going to get killed. The less talking we do, the quicker we can get this over with. First, we get the power on then search the house. If Taylor isn’t here we move on to the next phase.”
&nb
sp; “I got a bad feeling about this, Mario.”
Mario sucked in a breath to psych himself, “Man up, Edward; we’re losing time with petty bickering. If we want to find Taylor alive, we gotta do this.”
Creeping through the kitchen, they readied to enter the basement. A mumbled moan halted both of them. Mario lowered the slivered beam of light to see a body on the floor. “Who the hell is this?”
Edward nervously swiped at his nose. “Hell if I know! Man, we’d better book.”
Mario kneeled down to get a better assessment of the man’s condition. “He’s barely alive,” he said feeling the victim’s blood squish between his fingers.
Edward scooted over to the kitchen door unlatching the chain and releasing the deadbolt. “Man, we gotta raise our non-gun toting asses the hell up outta this joint!”
Mario shifted his weight to one knee. “Edward, it’s two of us. We already have this person out-numbered. Freaking relax! You’re making me nervous.”
“You should be nervous. Dude could be a hired gunslinger who prefers using bullets instead of his fists. If you look at it from his perspective, we’re out-numbered four fists to his one gun.”
Mario wished Edward would shut up and help him with the victim. “Can you shush it and help me, please? We are not leaving him to die. We’re going to help this man.”
“Screw that! I’ll call the cops from the car. Hell from around the corner! Do you realize how much trouble we are in?”
“What are you talking about? We didn’t do anything.”
“Wanna bet? We got three strikes already and haven’t ever got to bat.” Edward counted on his fingers. “Strike one—I’m a Black man. Strike two—you are Hispanic. Strike three—we are in a dark house that we don’t own! Who in the hell else you think the cops are gonna suspect did this to a WHITE man?”
“Chill, Edward, we won’t be considered suspects.” Mario said flashing the light around the man’s chest looking for the gunshot wound.
OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES Page 21
