by Kenya Wright
I left Miami to go to DC, and then I came here because. . .of the attack in Miami.
Every time I thought about the past week, my mind ran back to that attack. I didn’t like where this was going.
“You’re in danger.”
Maybe all this deception had shoved me on edge. Perhaps, I’d delved into a pool of paranoia. Because there was no way that all Caden’s craziness had something to do with Miami. How could that even be? He would’ve had to know about the attack in the first place.
“You’re in danger.”
And if he knew about the attack, then he would want me out of Miami for sure.
I focused on breathing.
“You’re in danger.”
The whole time he twisted that damn Rubik’s cube as he twisted Freddy and me, had us both out of Miami and off to DC. My hands shook. If we were out of Miami, then that was where he wanted us. If not for the diary, Freddy and I would’ve never left Miami.
And Caden wanted us out of Miami.
“You’re in danger.”
I shook my head, my body trembling from the possible realization.
No.
I leaned against the wall near the window, barely able to keep standing. If I had any tears left to cry, they would’ve come. But I’d shed them all over the attack and the images blasting on the screen. And Caden couldn’t even look at the TV. He’d stiffened himself into a numb state and held onto me.
He wanted us out of Miami. Did he know about the attack?
There weren’t many reasons Caden would’ve gone to all that trouble. If he’d just wanted me back, why not continue just kidnapping and taking me straight to the island? Freddy wouldn’t have known Caden’s name or where he lived. He would’ve known nothing. Therefore, Caden wanted both Freddy and me out of Miami.
If I knew anything, Caden liked his games to be as difficult as possible. High stakes. Puzzles and diabolic planning. Strategy that tested the mind more than the physical. But my thoughts ventured onto a darker sort of puzzle, one that I thought even Caden wouldn’t play with.
My heart beat against my rib cage.
Okay. Let’s go down this crazy path and say that Caden knew about the Miami attack.
I gulped down a large amount of bubbling anxiety.
Well then, if he did. . . then I’m fucked and Freddy is fucked. And we’re all just fucked.
A bomb at an airport took cold, calculated power. Not to mention the fact that anyone involved didn’t have a problem with a whole bunch of people dying. I didn’t want a person like that within a mile of me. And if I were right about his possible involvement and I had it in me, I would kill Caden myself.
No. This is crazy. Everything has me going crazy. It can’t be true. But. . .what if he had something to do with the attack?
A knock sounded from my bedroom door. I jumped and turned around.
No. I can’t face him now.
Caden stepped inside. “Can we talk?”
I had to force everything in me to not scream and run. “I don’t want to talk right now.”
Those hazel eyes showed anger. “Did I do something wrong?”
Did you?
“No. I just don’t want to talk right now.” In that moment, I decided I would get a knife from the kitchen and keep it under my pillow. Whether I was right about Caden being involved with the Miami attack or not, he was dangerous. There was no doubt about that.
And thank God for Freddy and his cross-dressing craziness. Had he not shown up today, I might’ve warmed to Caden. I might’ve tried to escape my depression and turned to him for more comforting.
And then he would’ve started a new game.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“After I leave, I want you to stay away from me. No phone calls. No surveillance. No nothing.”
“You want to leave already?” he asked.
“This was only going to be for a few days.”
“I was hoping we could spend some time together.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“To my dad’s.”
He stuck his hand into his pants and pulled out a triangular shaped Rubik’s cube. “When?”
“Tonight.”
He twisted the top of the little puzzle. “There won’t be anything leaving the island today.”
“Then, I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“I’ll check on that for you.”
“No, I’m taking care of my own transportation.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he twisted and toyed with that stupid triangular object. Minutes passed. He remained in the doorway focused on that damn thing. And I remained by the window, ready to jump out, scream for Freddy, jump into the ocean, and swim all the way back to the States.
After another minute, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop that!”
He paused from the cube and looked at me. “Finally, you’re going to tell me what’s going on?”
“I have a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know how to get rid of you?”
“I gave you space. I only came back because I thought you were in danger.”
“In danger from what?”
“Max.”
“You never really explained that.”
“I didn’t need to. Max ended up being fine. I don’t know who was in his apartment or why, but that person died.”
“Poor guy. Now no one will ever know due to the terrorist attack.”
Caden kept that gaze on me as he turned the triangle in his hand. “You’re practically rid of me. You want to leave? That’s okay. It’ll just take some days to get you out of here. As far as us, give me some time to get over you. That was the deal.”
“It’s been a year.”
“Give me one more.”
“No.”
He shrugged.
Fear laced my voice. “What does that mean?”
“What do you want me to say, Dawn? I’m in love with you. When I’m not, I’ll leave you alone.”
Pushed into a mental corner, I couldn’t think of any other option. “So, I’m going to have to kill you?”
He laughed and returned to his cube. “You can’t kill me. You may not love me anymore, but you damn sure care for me. And you know that no matter what, I’ll take care of you.”
“You’re in danger.”
Pain filled my chest. If he knew about Miami, then he came down there to save me. It was the only thing that made sense. Caden had plenty of opportunities to disrupt my world. But he was smart. He knew if he fucked with my freedom, it would have to be something going on where I’d forget about his violation.
He led me around with fear. Fear of Max’s death. Fear of how crazy life was due to the terrorist attack. He kept me scared and confused, not paying attention to what was going on around me.
That was exactly what he said they did. The government or people in power. Some horrible group that represented they to him.
He disrupted my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
I looked at him. “If you were me, what would you do? How would you get rid of you?”
“I would plan it out. Fake my death. Hide in a cave. Live off the land and stay off the grid. The usual.”
“The usual,” I muttered.
“But I’ve considered all those options for you and I’m ready for all that.” He twisted his stupid puzzle around. “I’ve already thought of that and more.”
I pointed to the door. “Goodnight, Caden.”
Frowning, he backed away and tossed the puzzle from hand to hand, over and over. “Don’t leave tomorrow. Stay for a week.”
“Do I have options?” I asked.
“Do you want to know the truth?”
“Yes.”
“I made sure there’s no transportation coming or going for the rest of the week.”
My heart sank. “I hate you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No,
you’re not. You’re a monster and monsters are never sorry when they eat people.”
That beautiful mask of his cracked. “I never said that I wasn’t a monster.”
My voice cracked. “What?”
“I’m just saying that I am sorry.”
“I don’t care about your fucking sorry.”
Grimacing, he turned around and walked out of the room.
Chapter 29
Freddy
The next day, the storm hadn’t come yet but it was on its way. The clouds darkened in the sky and blocked out the sun. Cold wind whipped the trees back and forth, dragging branches across the island and dropping them into the surrounding waters. The scent of incoming rain clung to the air. Off in the distance, lightning stabbed the ocean and thunder boomed.
Still wearing the same wig, sunglasses, slacks, and blouse, I headed toward the boutique.
Women had earned my greatest respect. I planned on starting a foundation for more comfortable and durable clothes. It wasn’t that the slacks weren’t comfortable. It was just that the fabric clung too much as the wind whipped around me. At least the pocketbook I’d found in Perry’s closet worked out fine. I enjoyed having a place to put my phone and considered having a man purse one day.
More wind whipped around me as the sky continued to darken.
I doubt the wig will stay on. What would Max say if he could see me?
That joker card flashed through my mind. I’d lost it in DC when I ran into the dress shop and changed out of my clothes.
Max would probably sadly admit that I was, in fact, the joker.
Dawn’s face played in my mind.
Those few moments in the store hit my head. I was so close but couldn’t touch her. Right next to Dawn but unable to run my fingers through her hair or tell her how much I’d fallen for her.
How was she able to do that? How did she get me so easily?
I increased my pace. Excited to see her and ready for this entire affair to be over with. She should’ve been in my bed, not on some private island trapped in a house like Rapunzel.
Damn you, Caden!
I checked my phone. Lotus never replied. Smoke hadn’t said anything else. The last text was from yesterday where he’d explained that he was boarding a plane. He was due to be here this morning. Once I gave him the island’s location and the boutique to meet at, somehow, he believed he could sneak on without my help and come to our rescue.
Could he?
The whole situation ran beyond insanity. Caden loved his games more than Max and me. He ranked high on a whole other level of depravity. He’d written a fake diary and lured Dawn and me around like puppets on his strings, making us dance and turn for his entertainment.
I bet he laughed when he realized I’d fallen into his trap and rushed to DC.
I still couldn’t figure out what Caden’s end game was. Was it all to get Dawn back and make me look like a fool in the process? Surely, there were easier ways. Not that I knew of any. I’d been baking ugly cakes to win back Dawn’s love, while he was masterminding reality plays.
Caden planted that diary in her apartment for me because he knew I had access to her place. How did he know? He’d been watching me.
It made sense. Had I known who and what he was, I would’ve had surveillance on him too.
But I wouldn’t have gone as far as he did. There are limits to this.
I looked down at my woman’s clothes and then sighed.
Maybe there aren’t limits. I am dressed like a woman.
My heart twisted with anxiety. Dawn appeared shocked, but had I convinced her enough to get off this damn island? And even more important, did she realize that we could have a real chance at happiness?
So close. I was so close to her.
Even in workout clothes, she took my breath away. The clothing hid nothing and formed around her curves. Thick thighs and a fat, supple ass. It was wrong to reduce a woman down to her body, but one couldn’t deny that God had designed women’s proportions to drive men wild. Gorgeous was an understatement. There were things that I was going to do to her once we had time to calm down from Caden’s mania.
My breath caught in my throat. My body hardened. Intense heat burned through every muscle as I walked forward. Desire. So much desire blazed through every inch of me. I wanted her bad and not just her body. I wanted that smart little mouth of hers, whispering naughty things in my ear. I wanted her conversation. Her attention. Her time. Her body next to mine as we did things that normal people did.
What do normal people do? Look at TV, maybe. That’s what I want. I want her next to me on a couch, lying in my arms as we look at. . .TV. Yes. That’s going on my list.
I’d been writing a long list in my head, making plans for our future. Television watching would go on it and many other things.
First, I’ll taste her body. Then I’ll taste her soul.
My cock tormented me in my boxer briefs. It was another annoying thing about the slacks. It was hard to hide my erection. And the damn length wouldn’t go down for a second. Upon seeing Dawn, my cock hadn’t softened yet. It was like I’d taken five bottles of Viagra.
All night, I lay in bed with him throbbing between my thighs. Stroking it wasn’t enough. Beating him into submission twice until I exploded all over the bed, wasn’t enough.
It needed to be Dawn’s pussy hugging him. I needed to be deep inside of her. Balls deep. Slamming-them-to-the-rim-of-her-wet-opening deep. I wanted tears to fall from her eyes as she slid up and down on it. I wanted my name ripping from her throat as she moaned.
In my briefs, precum spilled from the tip.
I groaned and made myself not touch my cock. I was already this huge odd thing in a blonde wig. If I started rubbing myself while I walked, I’d be in somebody’s jail by the afternoon.
Nevertheless, my cock remained rock-hard, begging for Dawn’s lips and sweet cunt. Practically urging me to seek out any moment in this crazy day and fuck her.
Damn, she looked so good when I saw her. No. Don’t think about it. That’s not going to help things.
My cock jumped. The material rubbed against the tip. It was a torturous relief that did no more than trigger a deeper ache inside of me.
I’m fucking her as soon as I can. I don’t care what’s going on. If I get a few minutes, I’m taking her. I need a clear head and I can’t think with my other head hungry and hard for her.
I pushed thoughts of her away. I had to get back into the game before I lost. Now was not the time to fantasize about that sexy body and all the things I could do to it. Now was the moment to push myself ahead of the game.
Think. So, he wrote the diary. Why?
Even though I discovered that Caden was the author, I still hadn’t stopped reading it. He’d gone through a lot to move me around. Now was the moment to study his tactics. Figure out a way to beat him at his own game.
Last night, I’d scanned through several pages. The rest of the excerpts were all about how Dawn loved Caden so much as well as pages upon pages of their sexual escapades.
I’ll never know if they were real or fake.
I wanted those moments with Dawn. I didn’t enjoy the fact that she’d shared them with him.
Or, did those things happen at all? Ah ha! Maybe they didn’t. Everything seemed so perfect and sweet. That’s what he wants me to think.
I fingered the book and considered my dilemma some more.
These are things that he wanted me to know. Why?
Once I arrived at the boutique, the Closed sign hung on the door. In my anticipation, I’d come too early. Between my hard cock and the hysteria of Caden’s fake diary, I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Once the sun hit the sky, I showered, finger combed my wig, and dressed.
I let out a long breath.
Great. Now I’ll have to stand out here looking ridiculous.
I adjusted my wig and leaned against the store, ready to get out of the whole get-up immediately. The book remained in my hand. Knowing that C
aden had written it, made the book the most valuable item of the day. I considered it a rulebook of sorts.
This is the game.
I opened it and flipped through more pages, scanning more of this sick man’s words on every line.
How do I beat him at his game? What did he want me to know and why?
Someone cleared their throat in front of me.
I looked up and dropped the book. Dawn stood there in a beautiful white dress. A big bag hung on her shoulders. Sometime in between my reading of Caden’s fake book, the owner had opened the store.
“What are you reading?” She glanced at the book.
“Your diary.”
“You mean Caden’s diary?”
“Yes.” I tucked the book in my purse and followed Dawn into the shop.
Dawn’s voice held concern. “Why would you continue to read it if you know that it’s not real?”
“But is it all fake?” I asked.
“I have no idea.”
“You both met at the museum?”
“Yes.”
“You bumped into him?”
She nodded. “Yes, but now that I know him. I’m sure he intentionally bumped into me.”
“Interesting. You think he planned the meet?”
“Yes. Months later I found pictures of me in a file in his office. There were photographs taken a year before I’d even met him.”
“So how did he find you in the first place?”
“I don’t know. Probably face recognition or something.” She grabbed a couple of dresses and headed to the back. “None of that’s important. We have to get off the island.”
“Facial recognition?” I stayed where I was. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a long story. I look like his ex-girlfriend that accidentally killed herself several years ago but then I’m not even sure if that is real.”
“His ex-girlfriend? I can’t keep up.”
“You’re not supposed to keep up. You’re supposed to focus on getting the hell off this island.” She grabbed more dresses and shoved them into my hands. “Come on. Let’s try these things on.”
I looked at the items. “I hate pink and none of these are going to be my size.”
