Amy reached for the ignition, but keys were gone. She didn’t think the car was in driving condition anyway, but she couldn’t help cursing at her rotten luck. She began feeling around in the dark for her phone. Finally she found it on the floorboard of the car.
The phone still worked, but the screen was broken. Frantically, she tried dialing 911, but a huge crack ran through where the nine was located on the screen. The phone refused to dial.
A loud crash to her left startled Amy so badly she dropped the phone. The second man with Hunter was hitting the driver’s side window with a large flashlight.
Expecting the glass to shatter Amy covered her head. The glass however didn’t break into a million pieces like she thought. It was fractured, but remained whole.
The man raised the flashlight to hit the window again when a thought shot through Amy’s mind: Why doesn’t he just use the car keys to open the door? She had assumed the car keys were missing because either Hunter or his companion had removed them. Maybe, she hoped, they had actually fallen to the floorboard in the crash?
She began feeling around the soaked carpet. The man hit the window again. A couple more hits and the window would give. She searched frantically, but found nothing.
A loud boom suddenly shook the car. Amy, Hunter and the other man all stopped and looked at each other uncertainly. The sound came again, louder this time. It was coming from the back of the car.
She turned in time to see the trunk fly open. Hunter and the other man ran for the back of the car as a shadowy figure emerged.
Hunter rounded the back of the car and was promptly knocked down by what looked like a tire iron. The second man shied back away from the third, obviously afraid of being hit.
Amy looked on in shock. Why was there a man locked in her trunk? And why was this man attacking Hunter? The answers soon revealed themselves when the mysterious stranger stepped towards Amy. It was Patrick.
Amy wanted to run to him, but the second man lunged at Patrick, swinging his flashlight.
The man reached inside his coat, searching for what looked like a gun. Amy froze, unable to scream or move. Patrick acted quickly. He hit the man’s face, then the back of his legs, forcing him to his knees.
Patrick reached inside the man’s coat removed the gun, and hit the man in the face with the barrel, knocking him unconscious. Without hesitation he kicked the man to the side, pushing his body into the ditch.
Patrick threw open the car door and jumped inside. Amy wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He held her tight.
Amy began to shake, the shock of the crash was finally catching up to her. She wanted Patrick to hold her and never let go, but they needed to leave. He released her and pulled out the car keys from his pocket. Amy felt confused. Before she could ask any questions Patrick was starting the car and driving away from the scene.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m pretty far from okay,” she answered honestly.
He took her hand and held it as they sped through the night. Amy was unsure of their destination.
“What happened back there?” she asked.
“After the line went dead I got in the car and headed towards Jack’s. When I saw your car on the side of the road… I don’t know what came over me. I just reacted. Hunter and his pal were in the process of moving your body into the ditch. At first, I thought you were dead.”
Patrick swallowed hard. He suddenly turned down a side street and stopped the car.
“Like I said, I just reacted. I stopped my car and went after them. There was a third man who took me by surprise- cold-cocked me from behind. He took my car and left; Hunter and the other man locked me in your trunk.”
Amy took his hand. She was still confused about Hunter’s plans. Did he think he could kill the two of them and still pull off the merger?
“I think Hunter was planning on holding us hostage,” Patrick said, as if reading her mind. “Forcing, or forging, my signature on the contracts; waiting until the deal was finalized, then quietly disposing of the two of us.”
Amy wrapped her arms around Patrick and buried her face in his chest. He rested his head against hers and rubbed her back slowly. His touch was so soothing that for a moment Amy almost felt safe. Her shame however, kept her from getting too comfortable.
Hunter had threatened her in the past, but she now realized that deep down she didn’t take the situation seriously. A part of her thought of this as a game.
Her mind couldn’t handle the idea of Patrick dying. It was too much. She foolishly wanted to believe that they would win and Hunter would quietly disappear, chastened by defeat.
Now, for the first time, she understood the gravity of the situation. They had almost died and they may not make it through the night.
With the urgency of a condemned woman, Amy grabbed Patrick’s face and pulled it down to hers. She kissed him hard; he offered no resistance.
Their kisses were feverish and hungry. She felt as if they were drowning, but his warmth and strength could save them both.
The car was small and cramped, but Amy managed to climb on top of Patrick. She pulled at his zipper, freeing his cock. It slid inside her fast and hard. They fucked with a frenzied passion. They pushed and pulled at one another, looking more like fighters than lovers.
The windows steamed. Amy reached out to brace herself, leaving a blurred handprint on the fractured glass.
She fucked Patrick harder. Her hips grinding against him like they were possessed. She felt oddly detached from the moment. Even as pleasure rocketed through her body, she couldn’t escape the sense of a loss of control.
Her response was to move faster and harder.
She pulled her top off and pushed her breasts into Patrick’s face. He bit her nipple hard. His teeth sank into her sensitive flesh pinching her roughly. She cried out, half in pleasure, half in pain. The two sensations were quickly becoming one in the same for Amy.
She dug her nails into his back as he began to suck.
The pain and fear suddenly fled her body. Her movements slowed. A deep moan of satisfaction escaped her mouth. At first Amy didn’t recognize her voice as her own. The sound was rich and hearty, the cry of a woman indulging in forbidden carnal delights.
Amy closed her eyes and stopped moving her hips. Patrick’s cock was still hard inside her as his lips and tongue worked at her breast.
He released her and breathed deeply like a swimmer emerging from a dive. He licked his lips and moved onto her right breast. His soft, full lips cupped her nipple gently.
Her body sung with the sweet chill of the orgasm reverberating through her.
When Amy opened her eyes Patrick was finished. He watched her closely. She tried to divine what he was thinking from his eyes, but it felt as if his thoughts were just out of reach. She wondered if he was trying to figure out her own thoughts.
Headlights flashed across the windshield illuminating the interior of the car. Amy jumped for fear of Hunter’s return.
Patrick coolly slid her to the side and picked up the gun he’d taken off one of the assailants earlier.
Amy dressed quickly with shaky hands.
The car, however, moved on. Patrick waited for her to finish dressing then started their car. He pulled out onto the main street and headed North.
“Where are we going?” Amy asked.
“Home.”
“But that’s the first place they’ll look for us.”
“We don’t have a choice. All of the documents related to the merger are there. We have to get to them before Hunter does. Many of them are signed, but nothing’s final yet- unless he gets his hands on them first.”
“Jack told me they were planning on chopping up the company- leaving you broke.”
Patrick nodded. “They’ve lied to me every step of the way. I knew it was too good to be true, but I never thought they would destroy the company.”
“How does Anna Belle fit into all of this? Hunter want
ed you to marry her. Why would he leave his daughter married to a broke, ruined man?”
“Well, thanks.”
Amy sighed. “You know what I mean, he was planning on ruining you.”
“I think it was a kind of a contingency plan. We weren’t planning on finalizing the deal until after the wedding. If I found out about his plans early- well, his daughter would be my wife. He might have been planning on blackmailing me. ‘Do what I say and I’ll take care of both you and Anna Belle. Don’t do what I say and I ruin you,’ that sort of thing. Plus, Anna Belle could just divorce me, or have the marriage annulled at any time.”
“Hmm, maybe.“ Something else was bothering Amy though. “You didn’t tell me Hunter was waiting until after the marriage to finalize the deal. Were you going to marry her?”
Patrick had promised Amy that he wouldn’t go through with the wedding. Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time they’d misled each other.
“No. I promised you and I meant it. I would have figured out some other way of fixing things.”
“And now? Are things, ‘fixed?’”
Patrick regarded her seriously. Amy didn’t mean to be harsh with him. Things were fucked, to put it bluntly, but they were in this together.
“Patrick, I’m sorry. I-”
“Don’t. You don’t have to apologize. Much of what’s happened is my fault. I brought you into this and I’m sorry for that. You deserve better.” He took her hand and kissed it. “I promise you, I’m going to make this right. You and I will have a long vacation when this is over.”
Before Amy could respond, Patrick slowed the car and turned off the headlights. They were nearing his home.
“Let’s get out here,” he said.
Amy stepped out of the car cautiously. The night was dead silent; the streets were empty. Either Hunter and his men hadn’t arrived yet, or they were good at hiding. Both scenarios filled Amy with dread.
Patrick led her to a small opening in the hedge surrounding the estate. He pulled back the overgrowth and motioned for her to enter.
Amy slipped inside. Patrick followed close behind. They traveled quietly in the shadows until they reached the house. Patrick led her to a side entrance used by the house staff.
As they entered Amy held her breath. She listened closely for any hint that they weren’t alone, but the home was silent as a grave.
She followed Patrick down the hall to his office. The large room was cloaked in darkness except for a square of moonlight gently illuminating the desk.
Patrick moved quickly, but Amy lingered at the door. She remembered when Patrick had caught her snooping. She hadn’t even realized he was in the room it was so dark. The thought of Hunter or one of his men hiding in the shadows feet away from her gave her the chills.
Amy hugged the wall and waited for Patrick to find what he was looking for. It felt like ages passed before he finally found the contracts.
He began to walk away from the desk towards the door when he stopped in his tracks. The distinct sound of a round being chambered in a gun froze Amy’s blood. The sound came from somewhere to her right.
She’d known they’d be waiting. A part of her couldn’t help being upset at Patrick. They should’ve waited until sunup, come up with a plan. Too late now, she thought bitterly.
“You just couldn’t let us get rid of the girl, could you?” Hunter’s voice echoed from the darkness like a ghost.
It took Amy a second to understand he was talking about her. When realization dawned on her, something inside her snapped. She was tired of being treated as a pawn. She was more than just, ‘the girl.’ The time to end this was now.
A small, but heavy statue of a stag rested on a pedestal to her left. She picked it up and began inching her way in the dark towards Hunter. She was working blind. The darkness was impenetrable.
Afraid of running straight into him she stopped short and waited for him to speak again. She needed his voice to guide her.
“No,” Patrick replied. “I don’t just dispose of people.”
She heard Hunter breathe in forcefully as if he was suppressing a laugh. She moved towards the sound.
“Did you know that your precious girl was fucking my son?” Hunter said.
It was all Amy needed. Before Patrick could respond or Hunter could move away, she raised the stag and swung as hard as she could in the direction of his voice. Her arm wrenched painfully as she made contact with Hunter’s body.
A shot rang out.
Suddenly Patrick was there, fighting Hunter. She couldn’t see them, but she could hear them wrestling in the dark. Amy ran back to the wall and began feeling along its surface for the light switch.
A second shot rang out. The room was silent. The men had finished fighting. With a unnatural degree of certainty Amy knew one of them was dead. Her shaking hands found the light switch. She closed her eyes and flicked the switch. Slowly, she turned and braced herself for the worst.
Patrick stood over Hunter’s lifeless body. It was a relief to know Patrick was alive, but a part of her couldn’t help feeling sad over Hunter’s wasted life. He was one of the smartest, most successful men she’d ever met, but greed and power had perverted him.
Amy ran to Patrick. He wrapped his trembling arms around her. She wasn’t sure if he was shaking from fear, or adrenaline, but his arms steadied as they closed in around her.
He led her out of his office and into the living room. Patrick deposited Amy on the couch and left to call the police from the kitchen phone.
She felt a sense of peace. As horrific as the situation was, it was over. Amy ran her hands through her hair and inhaled deeply.
She wondered what was taking Patrick so long, when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A man was watching her from the corner. Amy began to yell for help when she recognized the figure as Jack.
It startled her at first- she thought it was Hunter. But Jack moved towards her quickly, his hands out to show he meant no harm. His face was twisted with confusion and grief.
Amy could tell just by looking at him he’d seen his father’s body in Patrick’s office.
Jack sat down beside her and buried his face in her chest. Amy wasn’t sure how to respond. Her shirt was wet with his tears. She pitied him, but the situation was more than a little strange.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Amy tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible. She didn’t want to sound accusing or judgmental, but she really wished Jack wasn’t there.
For one thing, it would be hard for Patrick to see him, and for another it would look suspicious to the police.
Maybe he was involved, Amy thought, feeling suddenly alarmed. She assumed he was innocent, but she’d been wrong about so much…
“I followed you here,” Jack said. “I tried to call your cell and you didn’t answer. I got worried. When I drove out along the main road I saw my father fighting with Pat. I hung back first, unsure of what to do. Then Pat knocked dad out and jumped into the car with you. I couldn’t figure out what you were doing there. I followed the two of you to that alley…”
He paused as if struck by a painful memory. Amy shamefully realized that Jack had witnessed the intimate moment she shared with Patrick in the car.
“Anyway,” he continued, “then I followed you back here. Imagine my shock when I saw my father sneaking into Pat’s house. And now he’s…”
Jack swallowed hard.
“The police are on the way,” Amy blurted out. She wasn’t sure why she said it, other than to change the subject. Jack only nodded and stared off, a faraway look in his eyes.
When Patrick entered the room Amy felt immense relief. She didn’t think she could stand to be alone with Jack a second longer.
“What are you doing here?” Patrick asked, his voice severe.
“He followed us,” Amy answered for him.
She rose and moved to Patrick’s side. “He doesn’t know about his father,” she whispere
d. “Please, try to go easy on him, for me.”
Patrick regarded her from the corner of his eye. She could tell he was less than pleased with this turn of events, but he seemed to relax. He walked to the bar asked Jack if he wanted a drink.
Jack numbly nodded and took the drink that was pressed into his hand. He didn’t so much as look at it before downing the whole thing in one gulp.
“The police will be here shortly,” Patrick said. “Do you know what your father’s done?”
Jack looked at him, obviously confused.
“To Amy, to me, to my company and the people who work there?” Patrick added.
Billion Dollar Milkmaid: The Complete Series Page 9
