by J. E. Taylor
“Wow, no sappy romance novels.”
Jessica laughed. “I hate those things.”
Ty nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said and left the room.
“Thank you, Ty,” she said softly before the door closed.
Ty stood in the hallway with his hand on the doorknob fighting the internal need to go back in and wrap his arms around her. He wanted her so bad it hurt and today when she said his name, he had almost given in. Patience was not a virtue he possessed, but he forced himself to be patient this time.
He took a deep breath and headed out to get her what she had asked for.
That evening, he came back with her dinner tray and held up a finger to say just a minute. He left and returned with a stack of books for her. She lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Thank you.” Jessica smiled and took the stack from him.
Their hands touched and an electrical charge raced through his cells just like the first time their eyes met. He smiled, mumbling, “No problem, gotta go” and slipped out as fast as humanly possible. If he stayed, if he stayed he’d do something he would regret and it wasn’t time yet.
He went back to the control room and breathed deep. He looked at the plan he had devised over the last few weeks to obtain Jessica’s target. It would be a hell of a challenge and he would need the company’s contacts to pull strings to get them on the set. That wouldn’t be too hard considering the company supplied most of the wiring for sound and video equipment for the entertainment industry.
He placed two calls and waited. Frank and Chris arrived a few hours later and he mapped out the strategy. “What do you think?” he asked when he finished.
Chris nodded. “Sounds possible. But there are so many things that could go wrong…”
“It’s risky,” Frank said. He chewed on his lip and rubbed his hands together. “Well if anyone can do it, it’s you.” He nodded.
Frank set the wheels in motion and they waited for the call to come in.
Chapter 25
Jessica was engrossed in a scary Dean Koontz novel and when the door swung opened, she jumped, blushing at her reaction to the interruption.
Ty suppressed a laugh. “You really like that scary shit?” he asked setting the tray down near her.
“Yeah, don’t you?” she answered, folding the corner of the page over and setting the book on the mattress. She looked at the food on the tray and sighed. It was a salad again. She would kill for a good steak.
“Sure, but I’m twisted,” he answered with a smile.
Jessica laughed aloud and glanced up at him. Her eyes drifted back to the tray. “Not that I’m complaining, but don’t you know how to make anything other than salad?”
His smile faltered. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Something in the realm of protein would be nice for a change,” she said, keeping eye contact.
Ty nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said and went to leave. As always, Jessica said thank you.
He paused in the hallway leaning against the door fighting his desire. He wanted to feel her beneath him and hear her whisper his name as he made love to her. He took a deep breath and headed for the bathroom off the kitchen. He was in need of a shower to cool down.
* * * *
Jessica stood, approaching the door. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob, silently wishing for a miracle. “Open,” she whispered and turned the knob.
The latch unclasped and the door swung open. Holy shit, he forgot to lock it this time!
Warily, she stuck her head out in the hallway, looking in both directions before stepping out of the room. Her heart slammed in her chest, flitting like a Mexican jumping bean with every step she took.
She glanced to her left. She had been down that way before and swung her head in the opposite direction. The hallway took a sharp turn to the right where she envisioned her room ended. Tentatively, she started in that direction, her heart pounding so loud now it drowned out all other noise. She kept glancing behind her, making sure he didn’t come from that direction. Jessica leaned against the wall at the corner and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them and peaked around the corner. An elevator stood at the end of the hall and she took the turn, walking faster toward her escape.
Jessica’s eyes darted down the hallway behind her and then to her right as she stepped in front of the elevator and pressed the button. Her heart jumped into her throat, hammering, pulsing in her ears so loud she didn’t hear the computer voice requesting the retinal scan.
The doors slid open and she turned staring into his dark twisted eyes.
“Looking for a ride?” Frank asked and his fist connected with her eye.
Jessica stumbled back, hitting the wall, but didn’t fall down, the liquid fire of freedom freezing in her veins, turning to a fear that constricted her throat. Her internal alarms blazed at his murderously cool stare and he barreled down on her. She turned to flee.
Frank grabbed her and slammed her into the far wall face first, pushing himself against her back, ripping at her clothing. “You just made a big mistake,” he whispered in her ear.
Jessica panicked, she couldn’t move and bruising, tearing pain accompanied each of his violent thrusts. She closed her eyes and silently screamed.
Ty!
His name blasted through her conscious mind with the power of a freight train.
Chapter 26
Ty stood under the stream of water, his eyes closed and his hands rinsing the shampoo out of his hair when the sound drowned out all other thoughts. The terror in her voice shot him into action. He bolted from the shower, grabbing a towel as he ran by the rack and wrapping it around his waist, sprinting into the hallway and rounded the bend by the elevator, sliding to a stop less than ten feet from where Frank was raping her against the wall.
“Let her go,” he growled.
Frank glared his way. “You let her out of the room,” he shot back, but did not show signs of stopping what he started.
Ty launched himself at Frank, tearing him off her and tossing him onto the floor. He grabbed Jessica by the upper arm and led her back toward her room, holding onto the towel so it didn’t slip off. The water was still dripping from his body, leaving a trail of wet footprints all the way back to her room. He threw her into the room and shut the door behind him, staring at her.
Remnants of shampoo slid into his eye and he pressed his palm to it to stop the stinging. “Shit!”
“Why did you stop him?” She hitched her breath in.
Ty shrugged. “I heard you scream and I reacted,” he said and headed into the bathroom. What the fuck are you thinking? He glanced at his reflection and stepped into the shower, letting the water drown all thought for the moment. When he stepped out of the shower, he dried his body, toweled off his hair, and ran his hands through it to get some semblance of order before he wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped into the room again.
“How the hell did you get out of this room?” He stood as far from her as possible, not daring to get any closer.
“The door was unlocked,” she admitted as her eyes scanned him, painfully aware that all that stood between them was thirty feet and a towel.
“Bullshit!”
“It was.” Jessica’s eyes snapped back to his.
Ty took a threatening step toward her and thought better of it. He turned to leave.
“Why did you stop him?” she asked again.
He looked at her over his shoulder. “I told you, I reacted.”
“You said you heard me scream.”
He nodded.
“I never screamed out loud,” she stated, looking down at her hands and back to him.
Ty tilted his head and turned back toward her, the inquisitive look on his face would have been comical in any other time and place.
“I heard you scream my name,” he replied, his eyes going hard. What kind of game is this?
Jessica pressed her lips together, blinking the tears away.
She curled up on the mattress and brought the sheet up. “Thanks for stopping him,” she said, tightening her jaw and blinking the sheen from her eyes.
Ty gave a slight nod and left the room.
Frank was waiting for him in the hallway.
“You let her out,” Frank seethed.
“No I didn’t.” Ty glared at Frank and headed to the quarters off the kitchen where his clothes were. “I’ll check the program to make sure there isn’t a glitch.” He shot a glance over his shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to touch her Frank.” He slid behind the door and pulled on his clothes, coming out a few minutes later buttoning his shirt.
Frank leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “She was trying to get out of here,” he said. “She needed to be taught who’s in control and you haven’t been doing that lately.”
Ty shook his head. “You shouldn’t have touched her,” he repeated and stepped forward. “You’ve got the other two,” he added. “Fuck them any way you want and you even have Mike if that floats your boat, but Jessica is off limits.” He towered over him, his eyes boring smoking holes in his skin. “Understand?”
Frank clenched his teeth together. “I got it.” He stormed out and into the control room.
Ty followed and glanced at the monitors. Jessica had drifted to sleep and he reached over, dimming the lights for her. Angela was lying on the mattress with her hand between her legs pleasing herself. Lisa was pacing in her room muttering under her breath and Mike was lying on his mattress staring at the ceiling. “Looks like Angela needs a good fuck. Go pay her a visit,” he said to Frank.
Frank stared at Jessica’s monitor.
Ty reached out and wrapped his hand around Frank’s throat. “Don’t even think about it,” he whispered in Frank’s ear.
Frank tore his gaze away and glanced into Ty’s eyes, swallowing hard. “Okay,” he said.
Ty let him go. “You want me to set one of the girls up for you?”
Frank watched Angela and nodded. “Both of them this time,” he instructed. He looked over at Ty. “Don’t you want to see the three girls together?”
Ty looked at the monitor and slowly shook his head. “No.” He looked back at Frank. He didn’t want to share Jessica with anyone. “She is to be left completely alone. I’m the only contact she should have until we bring her target in,” he added slowly, smiling for Frank’s benefit.
Frank looked between the monitor and his stepbrother. “You’re playing her?”
Ty nodded. “She’s different,” he answered looking at Jessica, praying Frank bought his bullshit. “And it’s going to take a hell of a lot more to break her than what we normally do.” He glanced at Frank. “Or haven’t you figured that out yet?” He didn’t wait for an answer.
He strode down the hall opening Angela’s door. She jumped pulling her hand out from between her legs. Ty offered her a knowing smile. “Come with me,” he said and took hold of her arm as she approached him trembling. He brought her to the room with the couch and left her handcuffed to the wall where she couldn’t get into anything. He opened Lisa’s door and repeated the command and the short walk to the room, bringing her in and sitting her on the couch. Frank was already at it, running his hands over Angela. Ty tossed him the keys to unlock her and went to leave.
“Aren’t you staying?” Frank asked in surprise.
“No,” he said and closed the door behind him. He had more important things to do, like getting a look at the hallway footage.
Inspecting the tape over and over, with the sound cranked, repeating the crunching punch to her cheek through to when he slid onto the scene. He tapped the speakers shaking his head. He clearly heard the punch and Frank’s voice, but no sound emitted from her. In each pass, Jessica didn’t utter a sound. He took a deep breath and stared at the monitor for a minute before he got up and headed to her room. He stepped in and walked over to her sleeping form, kneeling beside her. He reached out, moving the hair from her face, gently tracing the bruise Frank left on her cheek.
How the hell did you do that?
Jessica’s eyes fluttered but didn’t open.
Ty stood and left the room before he woke her.
* * * *
Jessica heard his silent question and opened her eyes as the door closed.
I have no clue.
Chapter 27
Ty added some variation to the salads he brought her including chicken Caesar or cob salad, giving in to her request for protein. He watched and waited as Jessica tore through the remaining stack of books he brought her. Each time she finished one, she would hand it to him with a small smile and a ‘Thank You Ty’, as he put down her tray and he would nod, take the book and leave the room.
Neither Ty nor Jessica spoke about what happened in the hallway.
Jessica handed him the last book and looked up at him. “Do you have a deck of cards?”
“Yes,” he said and left the room. He came back a few minutes later with a deck of cards, handed them to her and went to leave.
“Do you know how to play rummy 500?” she asked as he reached for the doorknob. He slowly turned back toward her.
“Why?”
“Want to play?” she asked innocently. She had no idea what that question did to him inside.
Ty hesitated. He wasn’t sure he could be in the room with her for any length of time without doing something he would regret.
“Come on,” Jessica said and shuffled the cards from her position on the mattress.
“Give me a minute,” he said. There was no way he was going to sit on the mattress with her, that would be way too tempting. He slipped out of the room and a few minutes later came in with a card table and two chairs. Jessica’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
He set up the card table and took a seat in the chair closest to the door, pulling a pad and pencil out of his back pocket. He waved at the opposite chair with a small smile.
Jessica stood and walked to the table and continued to shuffle, looking at him thoughtfully. She dealt the cards and they began to play in silence.
“Why do you do this?” she asked, picking up a card from the deck.
Ty glanced at her and shook his head. The rationale of his participation in Frank’s venture wasn’t something he was going to discuss with her, especially when he constantly questioned it himself. He looked back down at his cards without saying a word. She discarded and he smiled a little, the card she dumped was the one he needed. He picked it up and laid his entire hand down, placing a discard face down on the pile.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
“Not a whole lot to say,” he said dealing the cards.
“What’s your favorite color?” she asked, picking up her cards.
Ty laughed and raised his eyes to her. “Now why do you want to know that?” He organized the cards in his hand.
“Work with me,” she said furrowing her brow at the cards in her hand. “What’s your favorite color?”
Ty smiled and Jessica’s cheeks flushed. “All right,” he said, picking a card from the deck and discarded it. “Blue.”
“What color blue?” She picked up most of the cards he had discarded and laid an ace, king, queen and jack of hearts down as well as three 4s.
“Blue,” he repeated looking at her curiously.
“There are a lot of shades of blue, which one.” She bit her lower lip studying her cards.
Ty took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on his cards, he glanced back up at her as he discarded. “Late afternoon sky when you have sunglasses on,” he finally said.
Jessica slowly looked up at him, the color draining from her face.
“What?” he asked, observing the slow bleed of color from her cheeks.
“That’s word for word the way I described my favorite color,” she whispered.
Ty smiled and shrugged, seeing the irony in the fact they described it the same way. “It is what it is,” he said and laid his cards out again with the familiar discard face down.
“Damn it,” she said. “I hate losing.”
“I never lose,” Ty said, making her look up sharply at him. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“That so?” she retorted.
Ty didn’t respond, he just leaned back and grinned, trying to loosen the knot in the back of his neck with his fingers.
“Sore neck?” She changed the subject and shuffled the cards.
“A little,” he said.
“What happened?”
He blushed. “I fell asleep in a chair watching you.”
“Ah,” Jessica replied and shuffled the cards. “Am I that boring?”
He laughed and tilted his head. “No, you are anything but boring.” He rolled his head back still working at his stiff neck.
She continued to shuffle. “I’ll tell you what. Since you never lose, why don’t we play a hand of poker? If you win, I’ll fix your neck; if I win, you let me go,” she said astonishing him.
He raised his eyebrows and laughed. “That’s hardly a fair bet.”
“For someone who is so sure he always wins, that sounds a little like waffling to me.”
“Make it sweeter,” he said, “and I’ll consider it.” Ty leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. Check, he thought.
“I’ll give you a massage,” she said. “If you win.” Checkmate.
He smiled. The thought of her hands on his body sent a shiver down his spine. “Still, a massage versus your freedom?” He held his hands out like a balance, moving them slightly up and down as he tilted his head. “Mmm, I don’t know. Still seems a little unbalanced to me.”
“I give a killer massage.” Jessica slowly smiled. “Someone once said I had magic hands.”
That intrigued him and he took a deep breath, nodding. “Deal the cards.”
“Five card stud,” Jessica said and dealt five cards to both of them. She picked up her cards.
Ty looked at his cards, pulled two out, putting them on the table face down, and held up two fingers. He kept his expression neutral, unreadable.
