by J. E. Taylor
A huge door lined in white light stood at the far end of the corridor. The old-fashion key hole easy to spot even at this distance and Jessica dropped her gaze to the key clutched in her hand.
Eric smiled and pulled her forward, stopping before the door. “You have to unlock it, Mom.”
Her hand shook and it took a couple tries to get the skeleton key into place. Unlocking the labyrinth of her mind was not an easy task. The key barely budged at first, but with more pressure, she found it turned centimeter by centimeter until the telltale click filled the small space. She put her hand on the doorknob and hesitated, fear gripping her muscles, cutting off the command from her brain telling her hand to turn the damn knob.
“What’s behind the door, Eric?”
Dread etched into his features, furrowing his brow and pressing his lips into a tight thin line. “It’s the only way.” He swallowed hard. “The only way.”
“What’s behind the door?” She crouched on one knee to look into his tiny face.
He kissed her cheek and whispered, “The power of heaven... and hell.”
She experienced a fraction of the power tonight when she healed Ty, but it was the darker side of the equation that drove fear in her heart, the power to unleash hell. “I’m scared.”
“So am I, but it’s the only way.” His eyes widened and he spun away from her. “Mommy, he’s coming!”
Her eyes flew open and her head snapped toward the door, the terror in her son’s voice echoed in her heart and she shot to her feet, her hands curling into fists and her eyes narrowing to a defiant glare. When the door opened, she was ready for the fight of her life.
Frank laughed at her, slipping a Taser gun from the back of his waistband.
She couldn’t dodge fast enough and the talons hit her in the right shoulder. Pain seized her muscles, the debilitating shock crumpling her to the ground. A hiss of pain escaped her lips and she kept him in focus as he crossed the room. Spasms racked her body in concert with the electrical surges. “Son of a bitch!”
Frank crouched in front of her, staring at her, his dark eyes contemplating and then a slow smile formed. “We won’t get interrupted this time.” He reached out, clasping his hand around her throat and raised her up, dragging her to the electric chair in the center of the room. He threaded her legs through the side of the chair, leaving her spread eagle, the shackles painfully biting into her ankles. Once she was secure, he yanked the Taser out of her skin and stepped back, surveying his work.
“He’ll kill you,” Jessica said, her voice not as steady as she hoped.
The laughter that spun out of his mouth sent chills through her, icing her blood. “You just hold that thought.” He disappeared for a moment and when he returned, he set a pile of discs on the floor, opening the folding chair he carried and set it next to her. He grabbed the first DVD and popped it in the slot in the television, producing a remote from his pocket and taking the seat.
“I’ve got at least three days with you sweetheart.” He winked at her. “But before I settle that score, there are a few things I want to get off my chest.” He tapped the remote on his lips glaring at her sideways. “Like this for instance…” Pointing the remote, he hit play.
The screen transformed to another room with two women and Ty. When he set the knife on the bed and said choose, she gasped, and the next words out of his mouth hit her like a blow to the stomach. When one grabbed the knife and turned toward Ty, just for an instant, Jessica silently cheered for her. However, the complete transformation of his face from resignation to a mask of rage drew her breath from her lungs. The violence in which he took her life shook her to the core. She knew he was dangerous, but this, this confirmed she was right on the mark with her earlier label of monster.
Frank stopped the video on the full shot of Ty’s enraged expression. “Ty’s a cruel son of a bitch.”
She let out a laugh that bordered on hysterical. “Look who’s talking.”
The fist came out of nowhere; slamming into her cheek, pain flaring even before her head hit the wood behind her. The laugh caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes closed until her breath returned.
“As I was saying, Ty can be a cruel son of a bitch but I really didn’t think lover boy had it in him.” He stared at the screen before shooting a glance in her direction. “Don’t get me wrong, Ty has no issues blowing someone up or cleaning up after my adventures, but to actually kill someone with his bare hands?” He shook his head and then shrugged. “But then again, I didn’t have all the pertinent information when I gave the order.” He pressed the play button and the scene jumped from the first death to the second and the subsequent clean up.
When it was over, she trembled, knowing exactly where the cut she healed came from and exactly what Ty was capable of. Eric’s words echoed in her mind: ‘He will protect you.’ She swore under her breath, her vision warbling from unshed, unwanted tears. He had left anyway and now she was at the mercy of the madman sitting beside her.
He stood, switching DVDs and took a seat, pressing play to illustrate his point. Mike, staring at a screen in his room, his expression horrified, pained, devastated. He strained against the chains holding him in place, bellowing NO as the electricity flowed through her body on the screen before him.
“No,” she gasped. Not him, not here.
The video flickered to another scene and Frank leaned back, stretching in the chair with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. “I’m not as good an editor as Ty, but I think this pretty much captures the gist of what we do.”
Another violent death flashed across the screen along with Mike’s resulting catatonia and her stomach churned, the steak fermenting into a rotting boiling ball. She swallowed the bile lining her throat, stifling a sob as well. Even the echo of Eric’s words could not erase the humiliation.
Another rough edit jump and there was Ty lounging next to Mike, watching the tape of his first seduction. The first time that bastard made her eat her words, the first time his hands created magic in her skin, the first time she feared for her soul. And Mike watched it all—-the anger in his eyes sparked a fury in her aimed at the man taunting him.
She would never forgive him for this.
Ever.
The video jumped and Mike was alone, staring at the screen. Even though Jessica had never seen the expression of betrayal first hand, she recognized it in his eyes when she kissed Ty in Technicolor. Another jumbled edit, again, Mike’s room but this scene, this one sent her over the edge. Ty had set up a camera of their dinner and smiled that sly ha-ha-she’s-mine smile into the camera, right before Mike smashed the monitor to pieces.
She bucked in the chair, the scream barreling from her mouth, no words, just a guttural cry of despair and fury, echoing off the concrete. The scream swan dived, leaving her chest heaving and her breath raspy and harsh. “You fucking bastard!”
This time when his fist shot out, she reacted, moving her head out of the way and sending a dagger of a glare in his direction. His hand plowed into the wood headrest and he yanked it back, shaking the sting from it. He wound up and sent a shot into her abdomen, folding her over in the chair.
Jessica fought for breath; her stomach throbbed, threatening again to dump its volatile contents on the floor. She closed her eyes willing both her body and her mind to ease up and relax, ignoring the pain for the time being. But her anger, her anger she reigned into a state of controlled fury.
“Did Ty ever tell you that I hate him?” Frank tapped his lips, glancing sideways toward her. “I always have.” He shifted in the seat. “Then again, I’m sure he never knew, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so easy to coerce into doing this gig.”
He chuckled. “Poor bastard didn’t really understand the scope of my vision until it was too late, and by that time, I already had him believing this was the best he could do, this is where he belonged.” He scoffed at her. “Gullible shit. Always following orders and trying to please me, like he had some debt to pay that
I didn’t know about.”
Frank’s jaw tightened and his eyes went a shade darker, the anger blistering through. When he turned the glare in her direction, Jessica sunk back in the seat. “Of course, all of that went straight to hell when he brought you through the door.”
“He obviously doesn’t know I have a back up recording system upstairs. I have my own collection. Not the edited versions but the raw deal, So any time a camera is live, I get a secondary recording upstairs that I can look at any time I please. He’s not the only one who’s been watching you.”
He shook his head and blew air out of his nose in disgust. “Your little games, he never really caught on, but I saw that satisfied smile every time he left your room. I saw you try the doorknob every day.”
Another shot spun out, catching her in the side of the face, dazing her and drawing a moan of pain. Her eye swelled from the punch and she shook her head, trying to focus on the blank screen in front of her. Jesus, oh Jesus! He’s going to kill me. In that brief thought, the last encounter with Ty flashed in her mind and her heart sunk, spiraling her down into an abyss of despair. I’m never going to see him again.
“At first I thought he was playing you too, but the look in his eyes when he threw me off you in the hallway, you can’t fake that.”
“Fake what?” her hoarse voice inquired, stalling the pain she knew was inevitable.
Frank turned, his hand flashing out and grasping her throat, he reached behind him and yanked out the Taser, roughly shoving it between her breasts and pulling the trigger.
Her body went rigid; spasms racked her and the scream wavered in time with the shock pulsing through her.
“Shut the fuck up!” he bellowed in her face and let the trigger go.
Pain like tiny stabs covered her skin, dissipating slowly, but the terror, the terror grew, creating a mist of tears over her wide eyes and uncontrollable tremors throughout her frame.
Frank changed DVDs again and the screen filled with them making love, her in control, riding him, holding his arms to the mattress. “In all my life, I’ve never seen him give up control like that.” He pointed the remote at the screen fast forwarding to the conversation afterwards. “I knew I was in trouble and had to get him out of the complex, but then he confessed.”
His hands curled into fists again and she cringed away from him. “The bastard killed my father.” The words hissed out between his clenched teeth. He turned his hateful gaze in her direction, tilting his head. “And you know the funniest part?”
Trembling, she shook her head and waited for his answer without looking at him.
He leaned in a fraction. “Ty killed the wrong person.”
Her head snapped toward Frank, her mind reeling with the insinuation.
“I killed his sister.” He let that hang in the air for a little while. “I’ve got plans for him now. The kind of plans this place was built for.” He turned his dark eyes toward her, reaching out and grasping a handful of hair, yanking her head back. “And you, you’re the pinnacle of my revenge.”
“You see, I’m going to destroy everything he cares about, which lucky for me is limited to his brother and you.” He slammed his fist full into her nose.
The snap of bone followed by the spray of blood filled her world. Debilitating pain caught her breath in her chest behind the river that flowed down her throat. She gagged, turning and leaning over the arm of the chair; both blood and vomit shot from her mouth between the harsh sobs.
“Three days.” An evil sadistic smile found his lips. “I’m betting he won’t recognize you when he gets back.” He let go of her hair and rewound the tape, watching her with him again. “I’m going to kill Chris and then I’m going to make Ty watch the things I’m going to do to you.” He slid his hand up her thigh and she shivered. “I’m toying with showing him exactly what I did to his sister.”
He said nothing for a few minutes. “I want to see his face when the last thing he loves on earth dies.”
She braved a glance in his direction. “What makes you so sure he loves me?”
Frank fast-forwarded the tape, increasing the volume and stopped just as he rolled her over. His husky, sex-laden voice rang through the room. “I love you, Jess.” She closed her eyes and despite the betrayal and humiliation she felt, her heart ached for him and she couldn’t stop the tears.
Frank stood and retrieved the last DVD and tossed it on the small stack before turning his attention back to her.
She stiffened, aware that he stopped in front of her. She raised her eyes, daring to meet his angry gaze. “Is Mike still alive?”
The smile that formed chilled her as if she stepped outside naked in the middle of a Siberian winter day. “Oh yes, but you’re going to kill him.” He backhanded her across the face.
“No!”
“Ty is also bringing back a surprise for you. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do for him, but first...”
He hit her again and her head snapped back hitting the chair hard enough for blackness to drown her senses.
Chapter 37
Ty watched the clouds pass by the window in silence. He hadn’t said much since they left and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, very wrong. He sighed and glanced at Chris.
“What’s eating you, bro?”
“Leaving her there with Frank,” Ty said.
Chris raised an eyebrow, studying his older brother. “Why?”
Ty didn’t answer right away. He chewed on his bottom lip, returning his gaze to the clouds, debating on how to broach the subject and decided head-on was the best route. “I love her,” his cheeks warmed and he glanced sideways at Chris, his lips forming a slight grin.
Chris’s perfect posture slumped, his eyebrows shot high on his forehead and his jaw hung open on its hinges, his body clearly registering the shock. A moment later, he recomposed but his eyes never left Ty. “You on drugs?”
Ty laughed. “No, no I’m not.”
“How’s that going to work?”
“I have no fucking clue.”
Chris shifted in his seat. “You think grabbing this guy is going to give you a shot?”
He shook his head. “She’ll never know about him. He’s a diversion for Frank.”
“Frank wants him in videos with her.”
Ty studied his hands before meeting Chris’s gaze. “Frank’s gonna have to find someone else for that. I’m disappearing after this, Chris, and I’m taking her with me.”
“You know I love you, bro, and I’ll do what I can to help, but are you sure you can just walk away?”
“Chris, I haven’t felt anything since Anna died. How do you think I could possibly do all this shit? Sex is one thing, but Chris, I swear, if you ever saw the things Frank did…” He made a point to keep Chris out of the violent videos. He didn’t want his brother implicated if everything went to shit. “I purposely kept you out of that side of the business.”
Chris’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Where the hell do you think all those people went?”
Chris shrugged.
Ty laughed. “Did you think we just let them loose?”
“I don’t know. I never really thought about it.”
“No one we ever brought in left there alive.”
Chris blinked, leaning back in the seat digesting the information, his face paled. “I, I thought those were digitally enhanced or you did some fancy work with computer graphics.”
“No, every single video produced was real. Frank killed all those people and I filmed it and cleaned up after him.” He inhaled. “I still can’t figure out if grabbing Jessica was a good thing or a bad thing, but before her, kindness, happiness and love were things that did not exist in my world; I didn’t think they were possible.”
“You watched over me.”
Ty nodded. “You’re all I had, I needed to protect you,” he said and took a deep breath. “And speaking of that, you’ll need to disappear too.”
“Why?”
&
nbsp; “Frank will take you down when I go. He’ll do it just to spite me and you know that.” He stared hard at his brother and watched the reality of the situation set in.
“Then why are we doing this? Why don’t we just take her and run?”
“I’ve got to have something to distract him.”
“People are going to die.” Chris said.
Ty lowered his head and nodded. “I know. I put the plan together.”
Chris glanced out the window, wringing his hands. “Is she worth it?”
He waited until Chris swung his gaze back in his direction. “Yes, she is worth it.” I’d walk through a roaring inferno for her. A slow smile spread over his lips, touching his eyes.
“Is it mutual or will we be running from the law the rest of our lives?”
Ty leaned back in his seat, pulling his blackberry out of his pocket and flipping to the still he captured of them dancing in the room. “You tell me.”
Chris whistled. “God damn, Ty, she is beautiful, but does she feel the same?”
“I think so.” He stared at her picture, betting his entire future on her. “She certainly kissed me like she did.” He raised his gaze.
“Okay, when we get back, I’ll help you get her out and we’ll disappear.”
“If Frank or Marian is around, we’ll have to play it cool and wait for an opening.”
“Okay.” He inhaled and looked out the window with a troubled expression.
The plane landed in Vancouver and as Frank promised, there was a utility truck waiting for them. Ty inspected the truck, making sure everything he needed was there, including the sub floor holding area. Frank hadn’t disappointed him.
They headed off toward the taping site and arrived late in the day, delivering the cables and equipment to the crew just in time for sunset. They were scheduled to stay on through the following day and transport the equipment back to New York.
The site director brought them to their accommodations, one of the less luxurious travel trailers was dwarfed by the utility truck they drove and Ty noted the luxury lines were just on the opposite side of the lot. His target slept less than fifty yards from where he stood.
