Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  “I know this might come as a shock to you, but unlike my wife, some people can’t be bought.” And he meant it. He gave up his trust fund because it was important to him to be able to make a living on his own. No way in hell would he ever take this prick’s money.

  “Oh really? I beg to differ. That account she’s on. You can have it. And not just half like I said. All of it. Fifteen million.”

  “I don’t want your fucking money! The fact that you would even offer; you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

  “No? Well how about this then?” Carter pulled a thumb drive from his back pocket and tossed it on the desk. “That’s Chris’s confession. I got it this morning. No mentions of his or Jason’s sexual preferences. And he’ll confirm the statement in court. I promise you. How about that? Is that good enough? You leave her for good, tonight, and Jason walks. If not, I will do everything in my power to hang him out to dry. I don’t give two shits if an innocent man goes to prison. Happens every day, but you, you care, more than most people care. How’s that for knowing you?”

  “You’re a fucking asshole.”

  “I am. I’m whatever I need to be to get what I want. And just in case I wasn’t clear before. If you screw me over, if you so much as try and sweet talk her into having any form of longing feelings for you, I will murder you. You have no idea who I really am, what I’m capable of. I have eyes and ears everywhere. I’ll know if you’re fucking me. I like you Keith. I really do. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I’m done. Having her is the only thing that matters and I’ll do what I need to do to make sure that happens.”

  Something in his eyes made Keith think he wasn’t lying about killing him, and yet he wasn’t afraid. Although, out of habit he thought of Annabel. She was always his priority. He once thought he would do anything to keep her safe. Now he was going to hand her off to someone who was very likely capable of murder. He wanted to care, wanted to fight for her, save her, but he just didn’t have it in him. He’d probably regret this thought later, but he felt like she was getting what she deserved. They both were. “Wow. These are the lengths you have to go to to get the girl? You’re pathetic.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir buddy. Do we have a deal?”

  “A deal? This is extortion to a whole knew degree. I don’t think I have a choice.”

  “Glad you’re finally seeing things my way.”

  Carter let go of his hold on the door and Keith was quick to pull it open. He was done with this conversation. “She’ll leave you in the end,” he told him as he moved to exit. “You’re just a wealthy, pretty, toy she’s having fun playing with. You know it and I know it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

  Braxton walked away without responding. The entire office silent and standing as they watched him stride past. A walk of shame if you will, and only because Keith was right. On some level he did worry she would leave him. If she could lie to him, cheat on him, betray him; what else was she capable of? He had to put her in her place. Show her what a life without him would be like. Bring her so low he was the only one who could pull her back up.

  Twenty-Five

  A summer monsoon hit once again, the rain echoing loudly off the roof. Annie laid in bed listening, had barely moved all day from her spot amongst the wreckage; the mess that had become her life. The room damage the least of her worries except having to explain to Keith. Would he believe she did it herself? Not likely.

  Standing from the bed her legs wobbled as she made her way to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet. The second the urine dripped free she clenched in agony. The burn was brutal. Pushing through she let it out in slow bursts, holding on to the edge of the toilet seat for support. The pain only reminding her of what he’d done and playing the clichéd victim card, she felt like it’s what she deserved. She knew he was dangerous the moment she first saw him, and yet she continued to let him reel her in. She consciously started an affair with a man who battered and killed people for a living. Who did that? She was so stupid. Stupid for thinking it would never happen to her, stupid for believing Sara, stupid for sleeping with Keith and thinking she wouldn’t get caught. Of course he was listening. She should have expected nothing less.

  Walking back into her room, all she could feel was the tender pulse between her legs. It was his way of showing her who she belonged to. That he could do as he pleased and she had no say in the matter. Well fuck him.

  “Fuck you Brax!” she screamed. “If you’re listening, fuck you!”

  Annie felt tears begin to pool in her eyes once more and she squeezed them shut, pushing them down. She would not cry any more over this; didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. So what if he didn’t sleep with Sara, or so he said, he must have done something with her. She knew too much; too many accurate details to have just made them all up.

  Sleeping with Keith, while it hurt Brax in the process, it was also a means to an end. Quite literally. It was the most amicable way for them to end their marriage, which was what she always wanted. In all this, Keith was the victim, he did nothing wrong. He was perfect. He didn’t deserve to be cheated on and she would do anything to make sure he never found out. Now he never would.

  Annie didn’t know what she was going to do, where she would go, but it sure as hell wasn’t with Brax. A part of her wished she could stay with Keith, beg him to take her back. If she apologized, promised to be better, he would forgive her, hands down. But while she often had a seedy moral compass, this was not one of those times. If she chose to stay with Keith, Brax would kill him. Annie knew this in her gut. It didn’t matter how angry he was, he would eventually come back for her and she didn’t want Keith around when he finally did.

  Looking up at the clock she noticed it was ten past four. Keith would be home in less than an hour and she still needed to load her boxes into the car. She picked up the biggest one first, ignoring the pain as she trudged down stairs. One by one she loaded the boxes and the time sped by. It was nearly dark by the time she finished and Keith still wasn’t home. His late nights had become more frequent over the last few weeks, but she assumed for sure he would be home on time that night. She wanted to say goodbye before leaving.

  Sitting on the bed Annie surveyed the damaged room. She still had no idea how she would explain the newly scattered holes, and attempting to fix them was laughable. While lost in her thoughts she didn’t hear the front door close. Never heard the footfalls as they made their way up the stairs and down the hall. She only noticed him when it was too late. When he stood in the doorway and gripped the baseball, the one signed by all his old team mates that sat resting on a display shelf, and chucked it against the window. The excruciatingly loud sound of glass shattering caused her to jump as he yelled.

  “You whore!”

  Annie stood in shock while she took in the hatred etched on Keith’s face. His eyes watery, jaw firmly closed.

  “How could you? I knew something was going on. I fucking knew it. And every time I asked, you looked me in the eyes, and lied. I don’t know how I ever fell in love with you. You aren’t who I thought you were.”

  “Calm down. What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t you dare play dumb. He told me,” Keith’s voice cracked as he tried to pull him self together. “No. He showed me.”

  Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a handful of folded photos and tossed them in front of her, letting them scatter as they fell to the floor.

  Annie swallowed as she knelt and reached for one of the pictures. Her heart dropping to her stomach as she picked up the closest one. “Who took these?” she asked, finally finding her voice.

  “Really? That’s what you care about right now?”

  She looked up at him not knowing what to say. An apology didn’t seem like it would cut it and to be honest, that was what she cared about. She wanted to know who could have gotten close enough to take the pictures. Picking up another she cringed. The image graphic and obscene. “Did you hire someone
to look in on me?”

  Keith laughed. An uncontrollable, crazy laugh and then he snapped. “I trusted him! He was my friend. He was the only one getting me through the last couple weeks and it was all fucking bullshit.”

  “Who Keith?” she yelled back on instinct and then lowered her voice. “Who are you talking about?”

  Picking up a picture it crumpled in his hand as he pointed with the other. His finger shaking in anger. “Him. Right there. Your goddamn lover. You want to know who took the pictures, why don’t you ask him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I wanted to introduce you to him so many times. Turns out you already knew him.”

  “Oh my God,” she spoke out loud as her mind continued to process what he just told her.

  “Don’t pretend like you didn’t know.”

  “I didn’t know Keith, I swear.”

  “I don’t believe you! That’s what cheating on someone does. They stop trusting you.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you Keith. I tried to stop it.”

  “Oh I know. He told me all about it, but you didn’t try hard enough, did you Annabel?”

  “He. He told you?” That asshole. She was going to kill him.

  “At least one of you told me. It should have been you. No, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

  “You don’t understand. I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Bullshit Annabel! You had a choice. You just made the wrong one. Let me ask you something. Did you fuck him in New York? Were you that easy? Am I the only one you play hard to get with?”

  She didn’t answer. Didn’t want to tell him the truth.

  “Answer me goddamn it! I deserve the truth right about now don’t you think?”

  Annie’s eyes were glued to the floor. She didn’t want to look up while she watched his heart break. “Yes.”

  “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  His voice was cold. Devoid of emotion. There was nothing she could say. Couldn’t beg to stay with him. Couldn’t ask for his forgiveness; she didn’t deserve it.

  “I said get out!” he yelled again and she jumped in place, intimidated by his anger. She’d never seen this side of him before.

  With haste she stepped past him, hurrying down the stairs. Her purse sat on top of the kitchen counter and she quickly detoured for it.

  “You really won’t be needing that,” he said behind her. “I cleared out our bank account before I came home. If you’re going to let another man fuck you, he can front the bill for you too.”

  Annie didn’t respond. She simply nodded and continued for the front door. There was no reasoning with him now. She would have to figure things out on her own.

  “Not like you’re going to have a problem with that. Did he give you the fifteen million dollars before or after you slept with him? In my opinion he over paid!” he yelled out the last few words as she closed the door.

  Annie sat behind the wheel of her car for a good fifteen minutes before finally deciding it was safe to drive and even as she backed out the tears were still streaming down her face. He ruined everything. How could he have told him? She wanted to call him. Wanted to scream at him and let her anger loose. He was planning this from the beginning. He befriended Keith, took pictures of them together. It was his insurance policy. He told her she had a choice, but in reality she didn’t. This was his backup plan. To ensure she could never stay with Keith. She trusted him. She believed him when he said he’d let her go if it ever came to that. Well now he had no other option. She’d never be with him. He could go fuck himself.

  Continuing down the quiet neighborhood street without a clue in the world as to where she would go, her phone rang. She thought for sure it would be Brax, but when she checked the caller ID she was surprised to see it was her mother.

  Under normal circumstances Annie dreaded talking to her mother, always a political agenda attached to her calls, but at that point there was no one she wanted to talk to more. She felt like a little girl, hurt and sad and needed the type of consoling one could only get from their parent, even if said parent was cold and judgmental. She’d at least know what to do. Could offer advise, or at minimum a place for her to stay for the night while she collected her thoughts.

  “Hi mom,” she answered, trying to hold back the crack in her voice.

  “Where are you Annie?” Her mom’s voice was sharp, angry, not what she was expecting.

  “What do you mean? I’m not anywhere. I’m just. Driving. Can I come over mom? I need to talk to you.”

  “There isn’t anything you can say to me Annie. We already know. What I didn’t know was how I could have raised such a selfish daughter. Do you care so little about your father and his career?”

  Annie’s heart practically stopped beating. They knew. Of course they knew. If Keith wanted to hurt her it would have been the first call he made. He knew her parents were her weak spot and he always hated playing along. “I know mom. I messed up. But I’ll make it right. I promise. I’ll talk to Keith. Maybe he’ll hold off on filing the divorce until after Daddy’s election.”

  “Why would that matter?” she snapped, her usual soft voice coming out raspy. “There’s not going to be an election without the money Annie. With your dad’s position in the polls, we needed that money. It was the first time I was truly proud of you. You finally stepped up to bring something valuable to the family and now you threw it all away, and for what, so you could live life alone. Now you’re not staying with Keith either? For Christ’s sake!”

  Annie was dumbfounded. “What money mom? What are you talking about?”

  “Can you really be that dense? Mr. Cage’s money of course. The man you’ve been sleeping with behind Keith’s back. He offered to fully back your father’s campaign in exchange for our support of your relationship.”

  “He what?”

  “Stop it Annie. Don’t pretend like you didn’t put him up to this. You sent him over here yesterday knowing it was the only way you would get our support and of course we were more than supportive. Ecstatic even. And then he called your father a few minutes ago and took it all back. We made plans for that money and we’re not changing those plans just because you messed up. Like always. Fix it Annie. I don’t care what you do, but fix it.”

  Annie was beyond livid. He spoke with her parents. Went behind her back and told them everything and this was before she slept with Keith. “I can’t fix it mom. I’m not going to be with him. You don’t know who he is.”

  “I know exactly who he is. He’s a billionaire who is going to take care of you and look out for your best interests.”

  “Don’t you mean your best interests?”

  “I am your mother Annie. Your father and I are your interests, or at least we should be. You will make this right or so help me god.”

  “So help you what? What are you going to do?” It was the first time she flat out showed defiance to her mother and while it felt good, it didn’t sit well.

  “You spoiled little brat. We gave you everything. You can’t give us this? This one little thing. I’m not asking you to go live in a trailer park with some half-wit bum. I’m asking you to go be with a man who obviously loves you. Beg him to take you back. Do whatever it takes. You owe us. If you don’t do this, you are dead to us. Don’t ever ask us for another thing again.”

  “Please mom. I can’t,” she choked out and then played the one card she had left. “He raped me mom.”

  “Oh god. This again? You can not cry rape every time something doesn’t go your way. We let you get away with it once. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would have been if they found out you were lying. Your father and I only went along with it because it was for the greater good. But now you’re only hurting us by lying.”

  “You knew?”

  “Of course we knew. You’re not that good of a liar.”

  Annie tried to stop her tears, but they were flowing like a faucet. She had to pull over. Could barely see the road
. “I’m not lying. Not this time.”

  “I don’t care. Maybe you deserved it. Consider it penance for making that boy spend all those years in prison for something he never did.”

  Annie had thought the same thing earlier. She deserved it. But hearing it from her mother hurt worse than thinking it herself. “How can you say that to me? I’m your daughter. You should be supporting me.”

  “I am supporting you. You might not like what I’m telling you to do, but that’s parenting. You’re not being sensible. You’re letting your emotions take control of your life and you’re going to end up losing everything, and when you do, your father and I won’t be there to help you put back the pieces. You’ve always been spoiled. Maybe that was our fault for letting you have whatever you want, but that’s not what’s going to happen now. Mr. Cage told your father he was going back to New York. Take tonight to recoup. Bottle up your weak feelings and then first thing tomorrow you are going to quit your job, get on a plane to go find him, and beg him to take you back. I don’t want to talk to you again until it’s done.”

  Annie’s mother hung up on her before she had a chance to tell her she’d lost her job and it almost made it an easy out. If she went back to Brax she’d never have to tell her. Wouldn’t have to worry about their judgment and embarrassment of her home wrecking behavior. For once she’d actually be doing something to make her parents happy. She considered it for a moment. What a smooth transition it would be. She no longer had a husband, no house, no job, no money. Going back to Brax would be the easiest way out of this mess, but then she realized that was exactly what he wanted, what he planned, and she was nowhere near forgiving him, letting him win. He needed to pay for what he did and she knew the perfect way.

  If you talk to murderers across the country and ask their opinion on the best way to kill someone, they’ll likely all give you a different answer. Everyone has their favorite; bullet to the back of the head, a slit throat, arson. They all work, but nothing’s as good as making it look like an accident, or better yet, like it was self inflicted. Those were Braxton’s favorites.