The Woman Trapped in the Dark

by J. D. Mason

  “What?” Abby asked, worried.

  Her tone unsettled both of them. They didn’t need this. Abby didn’t need this. Dread crept in, but Jordan could not let her sense it in him. All that time alone with that bastard, of course the stress had taken its toll. Abby had literally fought to save her own life, and at some point he could only conclude that it had been too much.

  “Well, Abby.” She stared intensely at Abby, who was already starting to tear up. “Well. It looks like there are two nuts in this pack.” She smiled at both of them. “You’re measuring a little big for nine weeks, Abby, but that’s because you’re having twins. See. Two amniotic fluid sacs.”

  “Twins?” Abby asked, stunned.

  Twins? That’s the last thing he thought she was going to say. “They’re good?” Jordan asked.

  “Two sturdy-looking fraternal twins,” the doctor reiterated. “With two very strong little beating hearts.”

  Pride filled his chest like helium and Jordan couldn’t help himself. “Yes!” he blurted out, unexpectedly and certainly uncharacteristically, pumping a strong fist in the air.

  His ass had knocked out a set! A good—what was the word she’d used? “Sturdy.” Hell, yeah! He had sired two sturdy kids at fifty!

  Jordan didn’t realize that he was practically dancing until he spun around and saw Abby glaring at him like he’d lost his mind. He laughed, walked over to her, leaned down, and kissed her.

  “Twins, baby.” He grinned. “We did the damn thing.”

  “You’re happy about this?” Abby asked, appalled.

  He was taken aback by her response. “You aren’t?”

  Abby’s eyes widened. “Jordan, I don’t know the first thing about taking care of one baby,” she explained. “Now there are two? How am I going to take care of two babies?” she asked in her exaggerated Texas drawl.

  It was the first time in days that he’d caught a glimpse of the real Abby, and he was so happy as hell to see her.

  “Oh, we’ve got this, sugah,” he assured her, gazing deeply into her eyes. “You shouldn’t even question it after what we’ve been through.” He kissed her.

  She swallowed and took several deep breaths to calm herself. “Twins,” she said, looking back at the doctor. “You’re sure that’s not just a shadow or something?”

  The doctor smiled. “Positive.”

  He laughed. “Two new Gatewoods.”

  Abby stared at him in disbelief. “We’ve got this?” she whispered with a cautious smile.

  “All day long, baby girl.”

  Self-Inflicted Pain

  BIANCA SAT IN HER OFFICE with the door closed, talking to her brother on the phone.

  “DJ Washington has been reported missing by his wife,” Bianca nervously explained.

  Weeks had passed, and it was as if that whole episode of kidnapping, blackmail, and murder had all played out in some cheesy pulp fiction novel she’d read.

  “I don’t know who DJ Washington is, Bianca,” Brandon calmly said. “And I don’t want to know.”

  Bianca immediately knew that Brandon was trying to distance himself from this whole fiasco. He was a fuckin’ coward. She’d learned about DJ going missing on the news a few nights ago.

  “Another man and woman, James Washington and Naomi Simpson, have also been reported missing,” she continued.

  Gatewood never returned the signed contracts. DJ never sent proof that he’d taken care of Abby Rhodes, and she’d never wired him any money. For nearly a month, Bianca’s imagination had been running wild, playing out all sorts of scenarios and half expecting the police to come knocking down her door.

  “For now,” Brandon began, “Congress has put the pipeline initiative on hold.”

  “Why? That doesn’t make sense. Gatewood’s money wasn’t needed to move forward with the project, Brandon. There were plenty of investors and more than enough money to begin development.”

  “It’s the money. It’s the politics,” he said. “Treaties still bear weight, Bianca. And protesters, these days, are quite noisy.”

  He was wrong, or he was lying. There was more behind halting this project than a damn treaty.

  “We’ve been dealing with treaties and protesters since the beginning, Brandon,” she argued. “Is it Addison? Does he have something to do with them halting this thing?”

  Brandon paused and audibly inhaled. “Do you think she’s safe with him now?”

  Bianca had been waiting for the news, but Abby Rhodes’s name hadn’t surfaced in any network or newspaper as being missing or dead.

  She swallowed before daring to beg the question. “How could he have found her?”

  Brandon surprised her and laughed. “I was going to ask you that. If it’s true that he has, then how do you think he did it?”

  His accusatory tone came through loud and clear.

  “Now what would make you think I’d know the answer to that?”

  “Maybe you underestimated him and the love that he has for her.”

  Brandon’s adoration for Gatewood’s girlfriend was painfully clear and nauseating. But it made her question her brother’s loyalty.

  “Who were you rooting for in all of this, Brandon? Or should I guess?”

  He laughed. “I thought the crush I had on her was obvious.”

  Was that all it was? A crush? Bianca suddenly wasn’t sure of what to make of her brother’s comments. “Why don’t you tell me how he found her?” she asked, suspecting that Brandon knew that answer better than anyone.

  Had he betrayed her and their father?

  “We’ll talk again soon, Sister,” he said calmly. “I have a visitor.” Brandon hung up and Bianca knew that her brother had done something terrible.

  Someone knocked on the door to her office. “Yes?” Bianca responded.

  A tall, impeccably dressed redhead walked into her office, followed by two security guards.

  “Ms. DuPaul?” She smiled.

  “What’s going on here?” Bianca stood up and asked.

  “My name is Phyl Mays. I’m Mr. Gatewood’s assistant.”

  Bianca froze.

  “I understand that before coming to work here you were recently employed at a company called Crown Distributors. Is that correct?”

  Bianca didn’t respond. Looking at this woman, she knew that there was no reason to.

  Before accepting the position of Director of Human Resources here at Gatewood Industries, she’d been Vice President of Human Services at Crown.

  The woman’s expression hardened. “He’s asked me to have you escorted from the premises. Please. Take only your personal belongings.”

  He knew? How the hell could he know? Bianca had used her ex-husband’s last name when she worked at Crown. And then it dawned on her. Brandon.

  * * *

  Brandon stood in front of his expansive office window recalling the magical moment when he, Bianca, and their father, Lars, suspected that something was wrong. It was after four in the afternoon and the contracts had not shown up in the return e-mail they’d expected from him by three. That squeamish expression on his sister’s face was telling. But the one on his father’s face was priceless.

  “I nearly missed it,” Jordan Gatewood said, standing behind him. “I came so close to deleting those e-mails.”

  Brandon sighed and turned to face the glorious Mr. Gatewood standing on the other side of his desk.

  “She’s all right?” Brandon asked with sincerity.

  Gatewood nodded slowly. “She will be.”

  Brandon’s knees felt weak all of a sudden and he sat down before he did something silly, like topple over. Jordan eventually sat down too, which made Brandon feel more at ease.

  “Why’d you do it?” Gatewood asked. “He’s your father.”

  Brandon nodded. “It took every bit of my courage to do what I did,” he admitted. “But I would’ve never forgiven myself if anything had happened to her and no one paid the price for it. Even him. Even me.”

  Brand
on hadn’t told Gatewood where to find Abby because honestly, he didn’t know where they had been keeping her. But he did know that what they had done to her was wrong.

  “I knew that I liked her the moment I met her.” He smiled.

  Gatewood looked confused. He had no idea that Brandon and Abby had spoken that night at the Governor’s Ball.

  “It’s rare in our social circles to meet genuine people,” he continued. “I’ll be honest, Jordan,” he cautiously continued, “she is better than you or me. Does she even know what kind of man you truly are?”

  Brandon expected him to get angry, but he seemed to consider Brandon’s question. Rumors followed Gatewood, rumors fueled, no doubt, by facts. He and Lars Degan weren’t so different deep down.

  “I like to think she makes me a better man than I have been,” he eventually admitted. “And I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure that she never knows more than she needs to.”

  “May I ask how you found out about Bianca’s involvement?”

  Brandon never gave Gatewood any indication that anyone was involved in this except for his father. But Bianca had become a victim of her own circumstance, and he was truly sorry for that.

  “My assistant found the connection between Crown and Gatewood Industries,” he explained. “It happened to be your sister. I didn’t connect her right away, of course.”

  “She has her mother’s last name,” Brandon clarified.

  “She used another name,” was all that Jordan offered.

  “What will happen to my sister?” he asked with regret.

  He loved Bianca. Brandon hoped she knew that.

  Gatewood sat there for a moment. All of a sudden, Brandon regretted asking the question. Jordan Gatewood, the one his father had created, semed to awaken from his slumber as he stood up and abruptly left.

  * * *

  On his way home from the office, he decided to stop by unannounced. “I brought you your favorite ice cream, Dad,” Brandon said, handing the package to the housekeeper.

  Deep lines darkened on his father’s face. Sullen eyes sank into half-moon circles. Even his hair seemed to become dull and brittle right before Brandon’s eyes. It was as if the light of his revenge had been blotted out and he recognized that he had once again been bested by that sonofabitch Gatewood.

  Lars Degan’s familiar shoulder slump had returned. His father looked every single one of his years, with a few more thrown in for good measure. Brandon hadn’t seen him for several weeks. He’d called a few times and was told by his housekeeper that he was sleeping or not accepting calls.

  Lars sat motionless, staring at the news on the television, with the remote in his hand and the volume turned off. Brandon knew what he was looking for. His father was looking for signs that Jordan Gatewood was no longer the cock of the roost that he’d been since Lars had been fired by him so many years ago.

  Senator Sam Addison had made the evening news again. Brandon’s father immediately turned up the volume.

  “Some of Senator Addison’s business dealings have come to the attention of the oversight committee, which has launched an investigation into the connection the senator appears to have with one of the pipeline’s investors, Variant Alternative Fuel Resources,” a dark-haired reporter explained. “If there is indeed a connection, it could pose a serious conflict of interest that could cost Addison his seat in the Senate, depending on how critical the committee deems the infraction to be.”

  Brandon had betrayed his father, but he was certain that the old man had no idea how. Brandon had been tasked with the final review of the contracts before ensuring that they were e-mailed to Gatewood. He’d made one addition before approving them for disposition and he’d made it at the last possible moment, giving no one else time to catch it. Gatewood would’ve surely missed it had he not read through the contract, but Brandon had placed it there, right on the face of the document, as a footnote.

  “I’m your Frankenstein monster.”

  Even if they’d killed Abby, taken Jordan’s money, and ruined his reputation, unless his memory had failed him, when he saw that line, Brandon had hoped he’d remember when he had said it and to who.

  “Do you think that Gatewood even remembers why you hate him so much?” Brandon asked the very old man sitting across from him.

  Jordan was coming for Lars Degan. Brandon didn’t know when or how, but he knew that his father would be humiliated once more, unless of course, God mercifully took him first.

  “Some things you can’t recover, Dad. Not even your dignity. You are nothing to Gatewood, except some petrified relic who’d tried once and failed to take advantage of his weaknesses.”

  This time, his father blinked glassy eyes briefly in his direction.

  “Is this how you want to go to your grave? A black kicked your ass, your lily white ass. Not once but twice.” Brandon laughed.

  “Get the hell out of my house,” Lars demanded.

  Brandon stood up to leave. “Enjoy the ice cream.”

  I’m Holding On

  NEARLY TWO MONTHS HAD PASSED since Abby had been kidnapped. She was going to start therapy when they got back home. She’d learned that there were just some things she couldn’t fix on her own and that was fine. Jordan had been amazing and patient and loving. He’d insisted on the two of them getting away for a while and Abby didn’t argue. Anyplace with an ocean and beaches was fine by her.

  * * *

  They’d been on the island for two days when Abby had begged him to pack up his office and move the two of them here.

  “Our babies can be born here,” she explained. “You can work from the beach. We never need to wear shoes. It’ll be perfect.”

  He just laughed. But he didn’t say no.

  So who, in their right mind, steps away from the lap of luxury and beauty in Saint Lucia to take a business meeting? Jordan Gatewood, that’s who. And he didn’t think anything of it.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours, sugah,” he told her, kissing her on the cheek before leaving.

  Abby glowered at him and shook her head. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” she told him before he left. “How come you can’t just tell them people you’re on vacation?”

  He left without saying another word.

  An hour later a knock came at the door. Abby jumped at the sound of it. Her heart raced and a wave of unexpected fear washed over her. She was alone and she hadn’t been expecting anyone, not room service or housekeeping. Whoever was at the door knocked again.

  She was being paranoid and she knew it. But the panic attacks showed up over unexpected things.

  She hesitantly walked over to the door. “Who is it?” she cautiously asked.

  But it wasn’t like a kidnapper was really going to answer her and say something like, It’s me. I’m here to snatch you and hold you for ransom.

  “It’s your daddy, Peanut.”

  Her dad? She hesitated before opening the door. “Daddy?”

  “It’s me.”

  Abby cautiously opened the door and as soon as she did, her whole face lit up. “Walter? Walter Rhodes?” she asked in disbelief.

  “You got another daddy that I should know about, Peanut?” he asked, incredulous.

  Abby stared stunned at the man. “What are you doing here?”

  He laughed, walked in, and gathered her up in a warm embrace. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  Her father was in Saint Lucia? Abby had to pause and collect her thoughts on that. “No, seriously, Daddy,” she said, pulling away, “what are you doing here?”

  He cradled her face in his hands, and looked her in the eyes. “I am here to give you away,” he said tearfully. “Your groom is waiting, sweetheart.”

  Her groom?

  “Hey, girl,” Skye said, sweeping into the room, followed by two of Sky’s cousins, Jordan’s assistant, Phyl, and someone else, carrying a dress and some flowers. Skye hugged a stunned Abby and giggled. “Surprise!”

  Phyl brushed past everyon
e. “Okay. Okay. We’ve got to get this party started. Dad, I’m going to need you to go find a bar, have a drink, and wait for my call to come get her.”

  He saluted and left.

  Phyl stood and assessed Abby. “Cute sundress, but not for a wedding.”

  “Wh … wha … what?”

  “Told you she’d be speechless,” Skye said, shrugging.

  “We did the best we could on size,” Phyl explained.

  “Got a little lycra in this,” Skye added. “Can’t go wrong with lycra. Especially in your condition.”

  Her mind was reeling and trying to put all of this together. What in the hell was happening? What had Jordan done?

  Those women buzzed around her like bees, doing her hair, makeup, stripping her naked, pouring her into a real pretty dress. Abby was seriously dizzy from all the activity, and absolutely speechless for the first time in her life

  He wasn’t at a meeting. And her family was here. And—this was happening.

  * * *

  It was as if she blinked and all of a sudden Abby found herself standing behind two tall, dark wooden doors. Abby’s legs wouldn’t stop shaking. Hell, all of her was shaking. She did her best though to compose herself and steady herself, with one arm looped with her father’s, and the other holding a pretty bouquet.

  “You okay, baby?” he leaned close and asked her.

  She didn’t know if she was okay. She was in shock. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t okay. Then again, it didn’t mean she wasn’t. Abby was about to get married. First a kidnapping, then twins, and now a wedding. Good Lord. Could she just stop and catch her breath for a minute?

  “I need to just … process,” she said nervously.

  “I understand,” he said, placing a comforting hand on top of hers. “Take your time.”

  Walter meant that. He’d wait all day and night if that’s what she needed him to do.

  “I’m scared, Daddy,” Abby finally admitted.

  She loved Jordan, but he had a tendency to be overwhelming. Abby had been through so very much lately. Most days, she wasn’t even sure if she would ever come back to herself again. And now this?

  “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Peanut.”