“Is he coming back soon?” I whisper. My voice feels horse my throat aches.
Marco scoffs “Naw, he has about 3 girls lined up for the evening.”
I try and ignore the pang of sadness that creeps up.
“Oh.” I barely mumble
He looks at me confused “this is what you wanted, yes?”
“You mean to fall in love with a guy and have him kidnap me, of course! This is my wildest dreams come true.”
He frowns at my sarcasm “No, to get Dean to move on.”
“Are we really going to chat about Dean and me? He’s a hit man who is going to kill me. I didn’t do anything. Well I fell in love with him, but that was just a bonus feature to his little scene.” I laugh, but it’s not with humor. It is filled with an emotion that makes me fear I am going to crack on the spot.
“It’s funny to him right? I mean, he got what he wanted. I fell for him, he got close when is he going to just kill me and get it over with?”
Marco pulls me so that I am standing, I am slightly wobbly on my legs from the hours being strapped to the chair.
“If he wanted you really dead, he would have killed you the very second you let him into your house when he was nothing more than a stranger with a deceiving smile.” He explains.
I gasp.
“You mean he was supposed to kill me that day?” I ask
“Yup. He knew who you were Olivia.”
“None of it was real.” I murmur “can I take that shower now?”
“Sure.” His face brightens. This guy seems a little too nice to be someone who works for a man who kills people for a living.
He leads me to a huge remodeled bathroom with a giant bathtub and shower. He reaches into the duffle bag and pulls out a pile of clothing, which also includes a new pair of bra and panties. It’s sweat pants and a white t-shirt with a Abercrombie hoodie.
He also removes a large plastic bag that contains all of my hygiene products. My makeup, my shampoo and conditioner, razors and lotion. Everything is here, everything was thought of. I think of Marco going into my apartment. The idea at first should have made me uncomfortable, but now I realize that I prefer the idea of him being in my place rather than Dean.
My apartment is filled with things that make me happy, there are pieces of Joss, Jaxon and I. I feel a shatter of emotion when I think of my beautiful little niece and how much she loved Dean. She would be devastated. Then again, finding out that her aunt is dead will probably cause her more pain.
She wouldn’t remember me. She was only 2, I don’t remember anything from when I was two. I remember going to kindergarten when I was 5 and crying for my mom the whole time, but nothing before that. Maybe flashes, moments with Jaxon but nothing solid.
Jaxon will remind her. He’ll tell her how much I loved her. How much she changed my life, all of our lives.
Marco mutters something about unlimited hot water and telling me to take my time
I turn on the water, making it as hot as I can possibly stand it. Maybe even a little more. I pour in half a bottle of what was once my favorite coconut bubble bath
It makes me think of Dean again and how much he meant to me. Every time I took a bath using this bubble bath, he couldn’t keep his hands off me. He was always smelling me. If we were cooking, he would lift my hair off the back of my neck and nuzzle his nose between my neck and shoulders and tell me that I smelled like ‘tropical heaven’. Always claiming that he would never be able to forget how amazing I smelled.
I choke back a sob that starts to bubble. I can’t break down.
I climb into the bath. Wincing slighting at the scorching water against my skin.
I can hear music coming from the other side of the door. Some kind of Mexican music. I roll the one towel up so that I can use it sort of like a pillow and relax into the water.
I close my eyes and think about all that has happened.
I laugh, out loud “you are the dumbest girl in the world. You fall in love and he doesn’t love you back. Now he’s going to kill you. Score 1 on the biggest moron ever Liv.” A lone tear runs down my cheek.
I feel a rough finger wipe the tear away, realizing that I no longer hear the music.
I quickly open my eyes and see Marco standing there. “I need to get him to talk to you.” He mutters.
“What’s the point?” I ask “He’s going to kill me Marco, I never meant a damn thing and then he can collect his money from Ashley.”
Marco stands up and heads out of the bathroom. I watch him and notice the terrified look that suddenly captures his face.
I open my mouth to ask him what’s wrong, when I see Dean fly past the doorway and grab Marco by the throat, slamming him against the wall of the bathroom door.
Dean still holding onto Marco leans sideways to look into the bathroom. His eyes narrow when he sees me naked in the bath.
He leans back towards Marco and I hear the crunching sound of bone as I assume someone punches the other.
“Did you fucking touch her?” Dean seethes.
“No, I just went to make sure she was okay Dean. Chill out.”
“Don’t fucking tell me to chill out, I gave you one job get her shit and let her take a bath. I did not ask you to go in there with her.”
His voice lowers, I don’t think he believes I’ll be able to hear him “I told you that she is fucking mine, I don’t want you to ever put your hands on her again.”
Marco jerks free from Deans grasp, he mutters something about Dean’s date. He gives me a small sad smile, before leaving the area.
Dean storms into the bathroom “It’s not enough is it? None of this is enough for you, you are going to screw around with one of my associates? Why are you doing all of this?”
“Me? Why am I doing all of this? You fucking kidnapped me you sick asshole, why would you have any right to who does and does not touch me?”
I stand up before he can answer. Grabbing the towel from the rack and wrap myself quickly. I step out of the tub and dart out the door, grabbing my clean clothes as I do.
He grips my arm and pulls me back to him
I slap him across the face. He doesn’t get to pull me around.
“Either fucking kill me and get it over with, or keep you damn hands to yourself.” I shout.
He doesn’t speak. He releases my arm and takes a step back
“I’m sorry.” His voice is low. “I just don’t know how to get over what you did to me. When everything since the moment I truly met you, has been for you.”
“I don’t understand Dean, you keep talking in vague circles. You say I have done something to you? The way I remember it, I fell in love with you. I had sex with you. I gave you everything I had, and you turned out to be married. Then you turn out to be the hit man the drug addict mother of my niece hired to kill me. Now you have kidnapped me and I have no idea what is going to happen to me. Please explain where in that situation I did you wrong?”
He doesn’t respond right away. I cross the bathroom and pick up the articles of clothing I dropped in our small shuffle. I start to get dressed. He still doesn’t look up to meet my eyes.
“You slept with someone else.” He barely whispers “I thought you said you loved me, but you were with someone else.”
I scoff “when the hell would I have had time to do that Dean? Between working 4 days a week, taking care of a 2 year old every other weekend and spending every moment waking moment with you until I found out you were married and using me? When did I have the time Dean?”
“I didn’t use you Olivia.”
“Well whatever you want to call it then.” I put the hoodie on and begin brushing my hair choosing to just put it in a bun
“Who was he?” Dean asks
“I am NOT having this conversation with you Dean. I fell in love with you the very day you walked into my apartment. You know the day when you really knocked on my door with the intention to kill me. I have been head over heels in love with you until last night when I fo
und out who you really were and what I was to you. There was no one else.”
I walk out of the bathroom, looking around the large opened basement not sure of where to go next. I didn’t want to go back to that chair that’s for sure.
“You’re pregnant.” Dean quietly mumbles behind me, his hand is on my lower back. I use to love when he would touch me there. So protective and loving.
No not loving.
I spin around, I nearly lose my footing as I do “What did you say?” I spit out.
“Last night, when I… took you. I took your cell phone. I had to disable the GPS so that no one could track you. Us…. Your gynecologist called, she said that your test results were back. I pretended to be your husband. I was worried about… You having something from that one night we didn’t have a condom. She said that everything came back negative. Except for one test. She said that you are 5 weeks pregnant.”
“I don’t understand.” I drift off. Taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs
“I don’t either Olivia, I can’t have children. 5 weeks ago we had sex for the first time, so you tell me what happened.” His anger is returning
I can’t think straight. How can I be pregnant when he can’t have children? “You are the only person I have been with Dean, so this makes no sense.”
“Why do you keep lying?” He screams “Just tell me.”
“I am telling you the truth.” I pause. Everything is spinning, it’s all too much. “I don’t feel very well. Can I lay down somewhere?”
Dean calms quickly, he looks a little worried. “Yeah, there is a backroom here. It’s finished like the bathroom. You can sleep.”
He leads me to the room. It’s decent sized. The walls are painted a light purple, which I find oddly calming considering I believe that this warehouse room has been used by Dean for many other purposes, none of them calming.
The bed is a queen sized bed. It has a large white down comforter that looks brand new
“I bought all this stuff a while ago, I knew that sooner or later I would have to bring you here. I just didn’t realize it would be this soon.”
“You mean you knew that you were going to kidnap me all along?” My voice breaks
“I did.” He nods. “There are a lot of things you don’t understand. I will try and explain them, but this baby. It kind of changes the way I saw things happening.”
“How did you see things happening Dean?” I ask
“I saw us being together, forever. When everything was said and done I wanted to be with you. But that can’t happen now can it?”
“I didn’t sleep with someone else. Just you. So why don’t you go and see a doctor before you say one more thing to me because every time you doubt me it hurts more than all of this.” I gesture around the room.
“I have an appointment later this afternoon actually. Marco talked me into it before you woke up today. But I already know what they are going to say. It’s not possible. I just wish things had happened differently.”
He reaches over to stroke my face with the back of his hand. I wanted to flinch at the contact, but my body still heats up at his touch. I still feel that connection
“I changed things for you. I changed all of this for you.” He says
I’m listening, but between his ministrations on my face and the exhaustion of everything I have experienced I fall asleep.
Chapter 6
I don’t wake up until much later.
Dean is gone, there is a note on the bedside table:
Olivia, I have a few things I need to take care of. Marco is outside, he has food for you. Please eat something and I will see you when I get back later tonight.
-Dean
I should eat something. I sit up and stretch and remember Dean telling me that I am pregnant. It’s so weird to hear something like that especially in a situation like this. Like I am being told I have a human being growing inside of me, one that was “impossible” to create, and on top of that I am being held against my will. It’s unreal, I had no signs. No symptoms, part of me wonders if there has not been some kind of mistake. I mean if Dean cannot have children, and he really is the only person I have ever been with, it just doesn’t make sense.
Maybe Dean will let me call the doctor later and ask for confirmation.
The odds of me getting out of here are not looking to be in my favor however.
When I step into the pair of black flip flops that are resting on the floor at the end of the bed, I realize they were not there earlier.
Dean must have brought them in for me.
Marco is sitting at the little table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper that Dean had been reading earlier, when I first woke up in the chair.
“Hey.” Marco greets with a smile
“Hey. Can I have some coffee?” I ask
He frowns. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, given your condition and all that, but I have juice?” He offers
“So you know too?”
“I know too.” He answers
“I am glad everyone got to know before I did. What does this mean for the bigger picture?” I ask, sitting down and grabbing a bottle of juice beside him
“It means, that Dean has to figure out that he really is the father of your baby before we know.”
“So you believe me?” my voice raises a notch
“I believe you Olivia, I saw Dean the night that he met you, he was completely taken with you. I watched you for him. You were always with your niece or working. You had a way about you, while you were others. I can tell you are a good person. You don’t seem like the kind of girl who would be double timing. Plus… You know I watched you when he was away... With Stella.”
That comment makes me frown. I don’t want to remember those days when he came back from his work trip and was with his wife. Just remembering she existed causes pain, “yeah, well I don’t need reminders of her, Marco.” I try to say as nicely as possible
He laughs “Dean will have to explain that whole thing too. In the meantime, you eat and we can go upstairs and watch TV or something until Dean gets back.”
“What do you mean, upstairs?” I ask “Where are we?”
“Well, I will tell you. But before I do I need you to know that it is in your best interest to not take off. Not that you really could, there are armed guards on this half of the building. What Dean is doing with having you here? He will have to explain that… But just don’t try and take off, okay?”
I nod.
“ Okay.” He takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly “we are on the other side of Oasis. Ryan gave us access to this part. The walls cannot be penetrated, the windows are bullet proof and like I said, it’s guarded.”
So Ryan knew I was here? I thought he was trustworthy.
“Why would he want Dean to kidnap me?”
“Dean works for Ryan, he will have to explain to you how he got this all started, but more or less Ryan and Dean’s father was a really big mob boss years ago. When he died, Ryan took over as the oldest son. Dean works for him.”
“And you work for Dean?”
He laughs “and I work for Dean. He’s an amazing guy Olivia, what he does. It’s not what you think. Well I mean it is… Again all of this is going to have to come from him.”
I don’t say anything for several moments, letting the idea of Ryan knowing where I am sit in my head for a moment
“So you kill people too then?”
“No, I do more of the private investigator part of the job, but I am closest to Dean other than his brother. We have known each other for a long time.”
“So you don’t kill at all?”
“I didn’t say that.” He pauses “I just said that’s not my exact job title. I more or less make sure that shit adds up when Dean goes out on a job, and I am really quite good with computers. I take care of the money portion and anything else he needs.”
So basically he kills people when he has to.
“Are you going to kill me for
him?”
Marco looks sad “I told you earlier, that I watched you for a long time for Dean. At first it was to make sure that you were who we were hired to kill. Then it was because Dean knew there was something about you. Then other factors and then I watched you because he wanted you to be safe. I like you. I know everything there is to know about you, every shot you have ever had, every boyfriend or lack thereof I should say in your case. I don’t want to kill you and if things go the way boss thinks they are going to, he won’t either.”
“So even though I am pregnant and we both know this is Dean’s baby” I rub my stomach “he might still kill me?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead he stands up. “I’m going to run to the bathroom and then we can head upstairs.
I give him a small smile. Not sure why he dodges that question, but he lack of answer does very little to calm my racing nerves.
Chapter 7
The upstairs is warmer than where we were previously. I expect it to be as wide as Oasis is, but it’s really not. It feels like it was once a group of offices that were demolished to be an open area. There is a large big screen TV, a pool table, a hot tub in one corner of the room, which seemed a little tacky to me. There is five book shelves filled with DVD’s on one wall and the other has a large collection of books.
Marco leads me to the sofa towards the back of the room, there are three, all expensive looking and comfortable. He nudges me to take a seat on one and he walks towards the cases with the DVD’s.
“So what kind of movies do you like?” he asks
“I don’t know, anything but romance.” I sigh slightly
Marco laughs; “makes sense.” He grabs one and brings it over to me it’s some sports movie. I don’t even care at this point, I am finding it really odd that I am actually being held captive for whatever reason and being asked about movie selections.
Marco grabs some popcorn and hands me a bowl. He also brings me over a blanket so ‘I can lay down and watch if I want to’.
I do. I close my eyes and fall asleep.
I don’t know how long I am asleep for, before my body suddenly jerks awake. I hear yelling. A man yelling. A painful scream.
Sweetest Torture (Sweetest Kill Book 2) Page 2
