Broken: The sequel to THE PREACHER'S SON

by B. D. Anderson

  “This was about Max, Ma.” Matthew said dryly. “The subject did come up, but we didn’t talk about it.”

  “I see,” Rachel replied. “Let’s just let it be, I guess.”

  Matthew agreed with her. He didn’t want to get into another family squabble. Just then his father came into the kitchen and sat down after speaking to all of them. The conversation was lively, but all Matthew could think about was James Rogers and what he was going to do when he saw him face to face.

  He didn’t want to end up in jail, but he wanted to see for himself what type of man would do such a thing to a young innocent child. He hoped that he could control himself in the presence of such a pervert, but he wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp. He wanted to see the expression on his face when he told him that he would have him shipped to some other location. He knew that it would take all of his efforts not to punch the bastard in his face.

  “You’re mighty quiet,” Rachel said, interrupting his thoughts.

  “I’m fine,” Matthew said with conviction. “Just fine.”

  He stood up and picked up the bag with the chili. “I’m about to leave. I’ve got a date.”

  “Of course son.” Rachel said, nodding.

  Matthew walked out the door wondering if he would be able to keep his poker face while on his date with Max.

  Max was ready when Matthew pulled in front of the house to pick her up. She noticed that he was quieter than normal and asked if anything was wrong.

  “Nope,” he said with a smile at her. “I was just thinking about us and how I can help us to become closer. How was your visit with the doctor? You haven’t told me.”

  “It was good.” Max said. “She asked if I’d experienced any more episodes and I told her that I haven’t.”

  “Good,” Matthew said, kissing her cheek.

  Max was truly happy. Her relationship with Matthew was going better than she had hoped. He was very patient and attentive. The arrogant man with whom she had an altercation with when the twins were born seemed like a distant memory. She hoped that nothing would happen to cause a rift in their relationship.

  “To us,” Matthew said, holding up his glass of wine.

  “To us,” Max agreed touching her glass with his.

  “How’s the campaign going?” Max asked. “Are you getting any flack about your choice of a girlfriend?”

  “A little, but it’s not politically correct to publically be against it so the word on the street is that I’m just using you to get the black vote.” Matthew replied smirking at her.

  Max laughed. “Yeah, well you tell them that I’m not sure myself if you have my vote yet. You’re so conservative and I’m a diehard Dem.”

  “I’m sure that with my persuasive charm that I can convince you to give me a chance.” Matthew replied wiggling his eyebrows at her. “We have a lot in common and I think you’re more of a Blue Dog Democrat than you’d like to admit.”

  “Yeah, well we’ll see.” Max snickered.

  When they had finished their dinner, Matthew took her to the Hollywood Wax Museum since she’d never been before returning to his condo.

  “I have to open tomorrow so I can’t stay long.” Max said as they walked into the living room. Max knew that she was still a little nervous when she was with Matthew alone at his home. She’d caught him staring at her throughout the night not saying much and she wondered what he was thinking. Would he try to push the boundaries with her? Would she let him?

  “Why so quiet?” Matthew asked sitting beside her.

  “Just wondering what your plans are for me.” Max said, smiling nervously.

  “Plans?”

  “Yeah, I mean are you going to try to do more than kiss me, Matthew?” she asked, daring to meet his eyes.

  Max saw him smile and grabbed her hand. “Don’t be scared, Max. No, I will only kiss you and maybe my hands might wander some. Can you handle that?”

  “I…I guess,” she admitted. She wanted him to kiss her and to touch her, but could she touch him? Did she dare? She hadn’t crossed that line yet though she wanted to.

  “Max, we have to be completely honest with each other if we want this to work. You have to tell me what you’re comfortable with. If I’m doing something wrong, you have to tell me. If you have an episode, then we’ll deal with it so just relax, OK?”

  “OK,” Max sighed.

  He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. Max loved his kisses as she hungrily sucked on his tongue. He groaned into her mouth and knowing that she was affecting him was a real turn on for her. She fell back on the sofa pulling him on top of her. She felt him try to sit up, but she held onto him and broke the kiss.

  “No, don’t sit up. I have to get used to this,” she insisted.

  He pressed his body into hers and she could feel him hard against her stomach. He was looking down at her, concern on his face.

  “Are you all right, Max?”

  “Yeah,” she smiled. “I feel something hard against my belly.”

  Matthew laughed. “You see what you do to me, woman!”

  He kissed her again and took her hand and pressed it against his erection. Panic suddenly consumed Max as memories of Rogers putting his hand in hers and pressing it to his erection suddenly surfaced in her mind. She had forgotten that he’d done that when he first took her to that hot room; before he’d ripped off her clothes and now the scene came flooding back.

  Max pushed against Matthew’s chest trying to get him off of her.

  “Stop!’

  Matthew immediately sat up and Max jumped up facing him breathing hard. She resisted curling into a ball and wrapped her arms around herself instead. She knew that she was trembling and she tried to get herself together.

  “Max, what happened?” Matthew asked his voice calm. “Tell me.”

  Max concentrated on his voice while her eyes were closed. This was Matthew, not Rogers. He wouldn’t hurt her, he wouldn’t. She tried not to cry, but felt the tears fall from her eyes.

  She opened her eyes and stared at him, seeing his concern.

  “He made me touch him. He took his hand and grabbed mine and made me touch him. I’d forgotten about that until just now.” Max said as her voice cracked with emotion.

  “I’m sorry Max” Matthew replied pulling her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I’ll take you home.”

  “No!” she insisted, breaking away from him. “If I don’t face this, he wins. I won’t let him win. Kiss me again!”

  She turned back to him and pulled his face down to hers. A part of her was angry for putting this man through this hell that she was going through. It made her angry that Rogers still had a hold on her with the triggers she experienced.

  Without realizing what she was doing, she pushed Matthew back down on the sofa and climbed on top of him kissing him furiously. This was Matthew, not Rogers! She was so tired of being afraid. She ran her hands over his chest.

  “Make me forget him, Matthew! Make me forget.” She begged, tears still falling.

  “I will,” he said, palming her breasts. “I will!”

  She continued to shower him with kisses over his face and neck. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his naked chest and then sat back up and boldly palmed his erection causing Matthew to groan.

  “I want to be normal, Matthew,” she whispered, staring down at him.

  “I will do everything in my power to make that happen,” he vowed pulling her back on top of him. “He won’t win, I won’t let him.”

  Max prayed asking God to help end this nightmare and to make her a stronger woman. Rogers was out there somewhere and he needed to be stopped. He needed to be locked back up for the rest of his life. She touched her forehead to Matthew’s breathing hard as she asked God to bring an end to her nightmare.

  CHAPTER 22

  Be of good courage and let us be strong… 2Samuel 10:12

  Matthew was determined to confront Rogers and get him out of South Carolina. He knew that he had to face this
man and tell him that he was going to see to it that he left the area never to return again. He wasn’t worried about Roger’s response. After all Rogers was in a group home under surveillance and there would be plenty of witnesses if he tried anything funny. Matthew remembered the cameras he’d seen when he’d visited the day before.

  He’d taken Max home the night before and had made up his mind at that time to follow through on going back out to the group home. It was Sunday and he doubted if a man like Rogers was in church.

  He got up at eight that morning and drove to Aynor. He didn’t have a plan really. He just wanted to talk to Rogers and see where his head was at. He planned on telling the halfway house his plans to have Rogers shipped to another facility. He wanted to do this alone, without Eric.

  He pulled up in the driveway and quickly got out of the car. The woman at the desk looked up at him surprised when he walked in.

  “May I help you?” she asked staring at Matthew.

  Matt looked around and didn’t see anyone else. “I would like to see James Rogers.”

  The woman looked at him curiously and cleared her throat.

  “You need to sign in here,” she said, giving him a clipboard. “I need ID and I need you to state the nature of your business.”

  He signed in and showed her his driver’s license. “I just want to talk to him. It’s a personal matter,” Matthew said evasively. He decided not to say anything to her until he’d talked to Rogers, and then he’d return and tell the group home that he was calling the state and having him transferred.

  She led him to a room which looked like a common area. There were games all over the room and several overstuffed chairs and a television. No one was there at the moment and Matthew looked up to see the camera in the corner of the tall ceiling.

  “I’ll go and get him. Have a seat,” she said, pointing to one of the chairs.

  He sat there several minutes and then the woman returned not meeting his gaze.

  “Mr. Rogers isn’t here right now. Would you like to come back later?” she asked hopefully.

  The woman wouldn’t meet his eyes as she stood in the doorway and Matt tried to control his anger and frustration.

  “Look, I’m not coming back way out here,” he snapped. “Where is he?”

  “He’s out gathering some wood for our fireplace,” she replied calmly. “You didn’t call us ahead of time or we’d have had him here. If it’s that important, you can go out there where he is.”

  “Just tell me where!” Matt replied standing.

  The woman gave him directions and Matt jumped in his car. It was just down the road a bit and the woman who said that her name was Greta told him that he should hear him chopping wood before he even reached the shack.

  Matt turned on the dirt road and slowly inched ahead. He could hear someone chopping wood just as Greta had said, and stopped the car putting it into park.

  He got out of the car and saw a man in the distance. Matthew quickly got back into the car and drove slowly down the dirt road as far as he could go. By now the man had stopped chopping and was watching his approach.

  “Can I help you?” he asked looking at him.

  “I’m looking for James Rogers.” Matt said, walking over to him.

  “Why are you looking?” the man asked. By now he stood up straight with his hands in his pockets.

  “Are you James Rogers or not?” Matt snapped. He knew it was him because he recognized him from the photo from the album. He looked basically the same; his hair was now grayer than the picture.

  “Yeah, I’m him.” the man said. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Matthew Ferguson and I want to talk to you about Maxine James.”

  Rogers grinned lewdly. “What about her? You want to know what it was like to take her cherry?”

  Matt raised his hand to strike the man and Rogers surprised him by pulling out a gun.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” he said calmly, pointing the gun at Matthew.

  Matthew realized instantly the predicament he was in. He had not told anyone he was coming out here, but apparently Rogers had been expecting him or someone since he had a gun.

  Rogers pointed the gun directly at Matthew’s head.

  “Don’t move. I’ll blow your head off for sure! I’m not going back to prison. I know who you are. You’re that little piece’s boyfriend. I saw you at that dinner.” Rogers growled angrily. “What were you planning on doing coming out here, boy? Teach me a lesson?”

  He forced Matthew in to the shed and Matthew realized that Rogers must have been expecting someone or for someone to come looking for him. There was rope on the old wooden table his arrival and a knife. He quickly turned around only to have Rogers shove him hard to the ground. He felt Rogers strike him from behind and all went black.

  Rogers couldn’t believe his luck! First he’d obtained the gun from his contact since he wasn’t able to have the bracelet removed as he’d hoped. He had planned on trying to shoot it off of his leg. He knew that he was a pretty good shot and that if he angled it right, he might have been able to pull it off. He’d hid the gun in the shed until he could figure things out.

  He had informed Greta earlier that if anyone came looking for him to send them down to the shed. He had waited patiently until he heard the car coming down the dirt road.

  He had been prepared for the three men to return and couldn’t believe his luck when only the boyfriend showed up. Now his plan would be much easier to put into motion.

  He quickly tied up an unconscious Matthew and gagged him. He took his cell phone and opened it up and found that there was no code on it to lock it. He quickly went through the contacts and found Max’s number. He texted her and told her that he wanted her to meet him. He told her that it was important and romantic and to come alone.

  He waited for her response and after a few minutes the phone beeped and he chuckled to himself.

  He looked at the message and grinned at her response.

  “You are full of surprises! Tell me where and what time.”

  Rogers chuckled to himself. Yep! She would be in for a surprise, that’s for sure.

  He quickly sent her directions in his response and closed the phone.

  He grinned as he prepared the old cot in the corner of the shed. No one could see them from the road and the place hadn’t been used in years. The shed was dark because it had only one small window and the door so he had a lantern lit for light.

  He positioned the cot directly in Matthew’s view. That way he would see what he was going to do with his girlfriend!

  He called Greta from the cell phone he’d borrowed from her earlier and told her that he and Matthew were talking and not to come and pick him up from the shed until he called her back. She quickly agreed and told him that she would cover for him if anyone asked where he was.

  Greta was so stupid, useful, but stupid. He looked down at Matthew who began to stir.

  “Wake up, Ferguson!” he said. “You don’t want to miss out on the fun!”

  Matthew opened his eyes trying to focus. His head was killing him and he blinked trying to adjust to the dim room. The floor was dirty and the shed smelled musky. Light poured into the room from the small window, but it wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire shed. He glanced over at Rogers who was peeking out of the door at something.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked looking around as he sat up on the floor. He watched as Rogers turned from the doorway and pointed the gun at him.

  “I’m going to have a little fun with your girlfriend. She’s on her way out here,” Rogers said smugly.

  “What! I don’t believe you!” Matt snapped. “Max doesn’t even know that I’m here!”

  “Well, she does now. I sent her a text on your phone telling her to meet me here.” He laughed gleefully at Matthew’s shocked expression. “She immediately responded saying that she would come. My, my. You must have left a lasting impression on her. Tell me, is she as tight and swee
t now as she was at thirteen?”

  “You bastard! I’d kill you with my bare hands if I could!” Matthew spat out, standing up. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

  “Sit down,” Rogers said as he watched Matthew struggle against the ropes he’d tied him in while he was knocked out. He stood to his feet facing Rogers who quickly shoved him back to the floor.

  “You know,” Rogers said while fingering the gun. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think you must have had her yet. That little speech she gave on Thanksgiving indicated that she was and I quote ‘trying to get better.’ I’ve made a few inquiries. It seems that our little Maxine had a fear of men for a long time. Conway’s a small town you know. Some people are so eager to gossip!” He laughed again and waved the gun.

  Matthew struggled against the ropes and didn’t reply. Rogers laughed again. He quickly stuffed a rag in Matthew’s mouth.

  “Ah, I gather that you wanted to be the one to reintroduce her to the finer points of lovemaking. No matter. You still can perhaps, after I’m done.”

  He watched Matt’s face go red at his comment and laughed again.

  Matt looked over at the lantern he had lit for light in the shed. If he could just reach it, start a fire or something, maybe he could stop what Rogers was planning.

  He watched as Rogers peeped out of the door and Matthew looked around for something, but he couldn’t see anything useful; besides his hands were tied. He tried to think. Why had he come alone? He knew that his temper sometimes got the best of him and he didn’t always think logically. He had to remain calm. He closed his eyes and silently prayed for a miracle. His head hurt and he hoped that Max wouldn’t come.

  He opened his eyes as he heard Rogers laugh after having sat there for over an hour.

  “Here she comes!” he said, gleefully peeking out of the door. “I can’t wait for this reunion.”

  Matthew was filled with dread. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He knew that if Rogers had his way and raped Max again, she’d never recover. He closed his eyes and prayed another silent prayer. He wasn’t normally a praying man, but he hoped that somehow his prayer would work.