by Charli Webb
“Damn it.”
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard Wade swear. I lick my lips. “I still think we should call the cops. The first one to report a crime has more credibility, right?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Rowdy brushes a wisp of hair off my cheek. “They’ll haul both of you off to county lockup while they try to sort it out. It could take weeks.”
“As long as I’m not convicted—”
“No way.” Rowdy clips his climbing harness into the side of the litter. “I refuse to let you spend even one night in jail.”
I can’t help but wonder what horrors he endured four years ago when he was ‘detained’ after his mother’s death.
“I don’t see the advantage in waiting.” Wade clips in on the other side. “Sooner or later, Anna’s going to take her evidence to the cops.”
“I don’t think so. As soon as she does, she loses all her power over me. She needs that knife to keep me in line.” Rowdy keys his radio. “Patient secure. Down slow.”
He and Wade lift the litter. Due to the steep angle of the incline, they have to walk backwards, leaning against their harnesses. I know they’ve done everything possible to insure our safety—there are at least two people working the ropes above us using state of the art equipment—but it still freaks me out.
I’d rather free climb any wall in the park than be so helplessly dependent on others to get me down safely. I’m completely immobilized. I can’t even brush the tears off my face. If the rope breaks, if they drop me, I’ll log roll to the bottom of the canyon. But what really terrifies me is Rowdy’s decision to do whatever Anna wants.
“You know she’s going to demand that you break up with me.” My voice trembles. “I’d rather go to jail.”
“I’ll only pretend to go along with her terms while I figure out a way to get her to incriminate herself.” The litter shifts as we begin the long descent to the bottom. The beanbag does its job and keeps me stable. But it still hurts to breathe and I have to breathe more when I talk, so I decide to just be quiet and listen—even though it goes against my nature.
Rowdy says, “This isn’t the first time she’s blackmailed someone to get to me.”
“Who else has she blackmailed?” Wade stumbles, jarring the litter.
“Watch it.” Rowdy’s voice is unnecessarily harsh. He clears his throat then continues with a much softer tone. “Anna found out some personal shit about Boone and used the information to make him kick me out of his house.”
So that’s why Rowdy moved out.
“She’d been trying to talk me into moving in with you guys for months. It worked exactly the way she wanted it to. When Boone kicked me out, I went straight to Anna.”
“What reason did Boone give you when he evicted you?”
“He told me the truth, but I didn’t believe him. I got pissed off at him for using Anna as an excuse. I knew he didn’t approve of some of the choices I was making.” Rowdy glances at me.
“You mean drinking and screwing around?” Wade says out loud what I’m thinking.
Rowdy cringes. “I called him a pussy for not being man enough to just tell me.”
“I understand her logic for blackmailing Boone, but surely Anna knows that you can’t force someone to fall in love with you by blackmailing them.”
“You heard her. She thinks Skylar brainwashed me. Anna wants to ‘deprogram’ me.”
“That’s crazy, even for Anna.”
“I think I’m the only one that didn’t see through her from the beginning. What a fucking idiot.”
“Wanting to see the good in someone is not a bad thing.”
“It is when it hurts someone you love.”
I’m strapped down like a mummy with a concussion and possibly broken ribs. There’s a psycho on the loose that wants me dead or in jail. She also wants my man. I know my response is inappropriate, given the dire circumstances, but I can’t help it. My heart soars. “I love you, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rowdy
Anna wanders into the command post while Wade and I are in the process of transferring Skylar to the paramedics on the ambulance. I need to know what she’s telling everyone but I’m not leaving Skylar’s side.
“Wade.” I nod in Anna’s direction.
“I’m on it.” He trots across the parking lot and joins the group celebrating Anna’s safe return.
On the way down the trail, we decided that the best course of action for Skylar was to tell everyone that she can’t remember anything after she and Anna left the group to go to the bathroom. That way she won’t have to change her story when it’s time to go after Anna.
I’m alone in Skylar’s hospital room, waiting for her to come back from an MRI scan, when Wade calls.
“Anna’s obviously aiming for a post traumatic stress diagnosis with amnesia.”
“Shit.” I glance around to be sure no one can overhear me. “Did she mention Skylar?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Did you get the knife?”
“Anna refused to let go of her pack even while she was being checked out by the EMTs.”
“Stay on her ass. We have to get that knife.”
“She called a cab to supposedly take her home. I followed it to Denver, but lost them in traffic.”
“Fuck!” I know it’s not Wade’s fault, but until we get that knife, Anna holds all the power.
“How’s Skylar?”
“She’s getting an MRI right now. They’re going to X-ray her ribs after that.”
“Call me when you get the results.”
“Of course. Can you do me a huge favor and watch for Anna to come home? I know she probably won’t have the knife with her, but I don’t want to let an opportunity slip by just in case she’s crazy enough to try to hide it in the house.”
“Derek and I are going to take turns keeping watch. We’ll both confront her as soon as she walks through the door.”
“Thanks, man. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I’m choking up, so I end the call without saying good-bye.
When they bring Skylar back to her room, it’s with good news. She’s got a minor traumatic brain injury but no hemorrhage or swelling. Her ribs are bruised, not broken. The rest of her injuries are minor.
She drifts off to sleep within minutes. I scoot the vinyl recliner next to her bed and hold her hand through the rails.
My phone vibrates, waking me up. I hope it’s Wade with good news. It’s not.
I try to keep the anger out of my voice as I answer the phone. “What do you want, Anna?”
“I want you.” Anna’s using her little girl voice.
I barely tolerated it before she attacked Skylar. I fucking hate it now. “Where are you?”
“Why aren’t you at home?”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“With her?” Anna’s voice shifts from whiny little girl to raging bitch in less than a second.
“Of course I’m with Skylar.”
“Meet me in your room in thirty minutes.”
“It’s six fucking o’clock in the morning. Can’t it wait until after breakfast?”
“No. It can’t.” Anna pauses, breathing heavily into the phone. “And I don’t appreciate being pinned down and searched like a common criminal in my own home.”
Shit. If Wade and Derek had found the knife, they’d be calling me instead of Anna. “If you don’t want to be treated like a criminal, don’t act like one.”
She gasps.
I know it’s a mistake to antagonize her, but I’m exhausted and stressed out beyond imagining.
“I want you to leave right now. That bitch is toxic. The longer you’re exposed to her poison, the harder it’ll be to get her out of your system.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Goddamnit, Anna. At least give me some allowance for traffic.”<
br />
“Call me when you’re in your truck.”
“I can’t.” I laugh, even though nothing about this situation is funny. “I rode in the ambulance with Skylar. Old Blue is still at last night’s staging area.”
Anna huffs. “Fine. I’ll pick you up.”
“I thought your car wasn’t running.”
“I fixed it.”
I’ll bet she did. “What’d you do, reattach the distributor cap?”
She sighs dramatically. “You better be waiting for me at patient pickup when I get there.”
“Or what? Are you going to burn your one ace just to punish me for being late?”
“I have more than one ace.”
Shit. “Oh, yeah? What are they?”
“I don’t like your attitude.”
“I don’t like being threatened.”
She’s panting now. “Just remember that you asked for it.”
“Asked for what?” A feeling of dread sweeps through my body. “What are you planning?”
“You’ll see.”
“Anna, don’t. Whatever it is, just don’t. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Too late.”
Fuck. I brace my hands on the bed rails and lean over to kiss Skylar’s forehead. “Hey, beautiful. I have to go.”
Her eyes flutter open. She starts to stretch then gasps and freezes. “Ugh. I can’t believe my ribs aren’t broken.”
“Bruised ribs can be just as painful, but they don’t take as long to heal.”
“Where are you going?”
“Anna called. She wants to talk.”
“She wants you to break up with me.”
“I know.” I swipe the tears off Skylar’s cheek with my thumb. “We won’t be able to see each other when she’s around, but she has to sleep and go to work. And I’m going to do everything in my power to be sure we aren’t working the same shifts.”
“I hate this.” Skylar wipes her other cheek.
“I don’t like it either, but this situation is temporary.” I lean over her and press a kiss to her lips. “You and I are forever.”
~***~
Anna is waiting for me in the patient pickup zone when I get there. I jerk open the passenger side door of her crappy little Ford Mustang and slide in.
She leans across the console and tries to kiss me.
“What the fuck?” I dodge it.
Anna’s mouth lands on my shoulder. Her eyes flash. “You need to kiss me.”
“You know I don’t do that.”
“You kiss your little whore all the time.”
“Skylar’s not a whore. I’m the only man she’s ever had sex with.”
“Use your phone and go to Youtube.” Anna glares at me then smiles as she puts the car in gear.
I prefer the glare. “Why?”
“Type in Rowdy Daletzki, all one word, capital R, capital D.”
My hands shake as I wait for the page to load. It’s a Youtube channel with a photo of me on the banner. There’s only one video. It’s titled My Girlfriend is a Whore. “What the fuck is this? I don’t have a Youtube channel.”
“You do now.” Anna’s smile creeps me out. “Play the video.”
I can tell by the thumbnail that it’s a video of me and Skylar in bed. I’m not visible, but Skylar is. She’s straddling me, wearing nothing but her lacy thong. Her birthmark is plainly visible. “How did you get this?”
“I have my ways.”
She must have planted a camera in my room. My stomach churns when I see the video’s already been played a hundred and eight times. I try to delete the file, but it doesn’t work. “Goddamnit, Anna. What’s the password?”
She laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”
I flag the video as inappropriate and hope that Youtube will take it down before Skylar or anyone else besides the one hundred and eight people that have already seen it… wait… there’s one hundred and seventy-six views now? This thing’s going viral.
“Anna, please. Take it down. I’ll do anything you want.”
“Will you kiss me?”
My throat squeezes shut. I feel like I’m going to pass out. “Yes. Now give me the fucking password.”
“I’ll take it down when we get home.”
She’s not going to give me the password. She’s going to hold this over my head, too. If I don’t do what she wants, all she has to do is repost the video.
She pulls into the driveway and cuts off the engine then reaches for me.
I fight the instinct to recoil and kiss her cheek.
She grabs a fistful of hair on the back of my head and pulls me closer. “Kiss me on the mouth or that video won’t be the only one on your channel.”
I keep my lips closed as I press them against her open, slobbery mouth. She tries to force her tongue past my lips. I tighten them even more.
Anna yanks my hair. “Kiss me like you mean it.”
I jerk my head back. “Unless you want me to throw up in your mouth, don’t push it.”
She sighs and tries to press her forehead against mine. I lean back and shove my phone under her nose. “Prove you can keep your word or I’ll have no reason to play along with your little blackmail scheme.”
“Fine.” She takes my phone then turns her back, hunching over so I can’t see her type in the password.
I check the fake Rowdy channel as soon as she returns my phone. The video is still there, but it’s marked ‘unlisted’ with an open lock icon next to it.
“No one can see it unless I send them the link.” She gets out of the car, but instead of going to the house, she heads towards the garage. And my room. She turns and looks over her shoulder, wiggling her fingers. “Hurry up. I have to work today.”
I have a sick feeling that Anna’s going to want a lot more than a kiss. Her Youtube video gives me an idea. “Go on up. It’s not locked. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I wait for her to start up the stairs then turn on my phone’s video camera and shove it in my pocket. It won’t capture any video, but all I need is sound.
I just hope it’ll work through my jeans. “Testing, one, two, three. Testing.”
I pull it out and hit play. But I can’t hear anything, even with the volume maxed out. Shit. I turn sideways so I can lean over and try it again, this time my mouth is as close to my pocket as I can get it. Which isn’t all that close. I’m not one of those freaks that can suck his own dick.
This time when I listen to the recording, I can hear it. It’s not the best sound quality, but it’s the best I can do. Now all I have to do is get Anna on her knees in front of me and make her confess. I have no idea how quickly video will eat up the limited storage on my phone, so I need to hurry.
Anna gasps when I storm into the room and slam the door. The little psycho is already in my bed. She has the sheet tucked under her arms. Thank god. The last thing I want to do is see her naked body. She bites her lip and pats the mattress. “Come here.”
I grab a screwdriver out of the toolkit next to my bike then stomp over to the bed. I don’t even bother removing my shoes before climbing on. There’s only one place where Anna could’ve hidden a camera to get an aerial view of my bed.
“What are you doing?”
I ignore Anna’s whiney voice and unscrew the cover of the smoke detector and find a tiny camera. The lens is poking through one of the vents. I toss the camera on the floor then jump on top of it. The crunching sound on impact makes me smile.
Anna gasps then glares at me.
I glare right back at her. “I don’t want any videos of me or this bed. What happens here is private. Understand?”
She nods. “I wouldn’t put us on the internet. It was only for my own enjoyment.”
I taste bile in the back of my throat.
She sighs. “I just wanted to record my first time.”
“What the fuck? Are you trying to tell me you’re a virgin?”
“I’ve been saving myself for you.”
&
nbsp; I don’t believe her, but if I pretend I do, maybe it can work to my advantage. I should at least be able to stall a little longer. “I had no idea.”
“It’s true.”
I want to roll my eyes but resist. “If you really want to record it, I’ll buy you a new camera.”
She leans over the side of the bed and grabs her discarded jeans. “That’s okay. We can use the camera on my phone.”
Shit. I pace at the foot of the bed. “You need to get me hard.”
Anna bites her lip then lets the sheet fall to her waist, revealing her breasts.
“Nope. Still soft.” I grab my junk and give it a jiggle. “Come here.”
She gets out of bed, buck naked, and walks towards me like a cat stalking a mouse. But I’m no fucking mouse. I put my hands on her shoulders and apply downward pressure. “On your knees.”
“Wh…what?” She blinks at me, as if she doesn’t know what I’m suggesting. But the way she’s staring at my crotch and licking her lips gives her away.
“Do it.”
“I love it when you take charge like this.” She sinks to her knees and kisses me through my jeans.
I need to get her to talk about her sick scheme. I grab her head and guide it closer to my pocket. “I may be a sick motherfucker for admitting this, but thinking about what you’re willing to do to steal me from Skylar is sort of turning me on. I get why girls like guys to fight over them.”
“I’d do anything for you, Rowdy.” Anna drags my zipper down. “I’d even die for you.”
The first word to pop into my head is, Promise? But I don’t say it out loud. “Would you kill for me?”
She nods.
Fuck. I need her to say it. I also need to give her some proof that talking about her attack is turning me on.
I close my eyes and think of Skylar. I try to imagine the fingers digging through my boxer briefs are Skylar’s, but Anna’s grappling is so different from Sky’s gentle touch. I try another tactic and ignore what’s going on below and focus on my memories of Skylar. I picture her hazel eyes gazing up at me with adoration and amazement after she came.
My dick swells to half-mast.
Anna’s breathing picks up.
No. Don’t think about her. Think about Skylar.
Anna whimpers then tugs my pants lower.
