Survival Games

by J. E. Taylor

  Ty sighed and looked at Tom. “Don’t you ever stop?”

  Tom shook his head. “Afraid not.” He had a bigger reason to stop him now than he did in the beginning. Ever since the eye-candy conversation, he had taken notice of her more and more. Her funky sense of humor, her drive, her grace, her faith in people all combined with her raw sexuality was intoxicating. He asked her once about her husband and she said very little, just that they had been together for twenty years and that he was a good man and a great father. No admission of love, of missing him like she did her kids and he wondered if they got out of here, would she run back to the life she had? He hoped not because after seven weeks of being locked in the same room with her, he had fallen in love.

  Ty backed off. Instead, he stretched out on the floor again, and Tom joined him, waiting for Jessica to return.

  Ty spoke first. “She’s your miracle.”

  Tom’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  Ty looked at him. “Don’t fuck it up.”

  “Fuck what up?” His heart hammered in his chest. Did he know?

  Ty stared at him and tilted his head knowingly. He returned his gaze to the ceiling. “You know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen the way you look at her.” He turned back toward Tom. “Don’t try to bullshit me either.”

  Tom glanced toward the bathroom and then back offering a slight nod.

  “She’ll get you out of here,” he said quietly and took a deep breath. “She, she will be your miracle.”

  Tom was quiet digesting the babble Ty was feeding him. He couldn’t see how what he was saying was true but he knew one thing, if they got out of here, he would still protect her from Ty. Regardless of the way the bastard felt about her. “You really love her?”

  Ty nodded. “Enough to die for her. So you’d better damn well get her out of here while that happens. Understand?”

  Jesus. What melodramatic crap is that? “How? How is she going to get me out of here?”

  Ty looked toward the bathroom and shook his head. “I don’t know but you’ll know when it happens.”

  She walked out and both pairs of eyes drank her in, wanting her to be theirs.

  Ty hopped to his feet and went to clean up, leaving Tom alone with Jessica. She smiled at him and sat down. “What’s up?”

  Tom listened for the shower and looked down at his hands. “You’re amazing.”

  Jessica laughed.

  “I’m serious,” Tom said locking eyes with her. “Most people would have given up under the circumstances.”

  “I’ve got kids,” she pointed out. “The thought of seeing them again is what drives me.” She offered him a smile. “If I didn’t have my angels, I’m not sure I could do this day after day.”

  It was Tom’s turn to smile. “Sure you would and that’s why I love you.”

  * * * *

  His words left her speechless, along with the sincerity in his blue eyes. He meant it and a sweet sensation gripped her stomach, like butterfly wings riding along the lining and she reached over, caressing his face, his beard soft against her fingers.

  He closed the distance, his hands sliding into her hair and his palms holding her cheeks. His kiss melted her, and the butterflies became heated syrup, warming through to her soul. He kissed her slowly, seductively rolling his tongue with hers, exploring the depths of her mouth, his sweetness overpowering.

  Ty. Oh my god. Ty.

  She yanked away from Tom’s lips, her eyes darting toward the bathroom and her heart fluttered with panic. The shower was still running and she exhaled, glancing back at Tom.

  Tom rolled on his back, his eyes scrunched closed and his lips tight, like he knew what interrupted the kiss. He opened his impossibly blue eyes and stared at the ceiling.

  “I’m not sure it’s such a good thing for you to care about me.”

  “Why’s that?” Tom sat up again, his eyes a little cooler and his jaw tight.

  She looked toward the now quiet bathroom. “If Ty knew, he’d kill you,” she whispered.

  Tom laughed. “Ty knows.”

  Her eyes snapped back to Tom and he stood crossing to the bathroom just as Ty stepped out.

  * * * *

  “We need a break, Jess,” Ty said the following morning and for once Tom nodded in agreement. “You are more than welcome to work out, but I’m sitting this one out,” Ty called after her as she went to change.

  She came out in a little red dress with a flare skirt. It reminded Ty of the dress she wore the first time she danced. Jessica began to move gracefully around the room showcasing her ability to execute a perfect ballet pirouette. He sat up straighter, riveted, and the time bomb in his head exploded.

  He stood and felt the grip on his wrist. Tearing his eyes from her, he met Tom’s glare. The Boy Scout was shaking his head no.

  Seven weeks had passed since Frank left him on the floor for dead. Seven weeks was long enough to heal and he knew it. He was running out of time and he had to do something. He glanced at the monitor remembering the videos Frank played that first day back from Vancouver. When he returned his gaze to her, he knew what he had to do. Acting quickly before he lost his nerve, Ty balled his fist and slammed it into Tom’s temple, knocking him out cold.

  Jessica’s eyes went wide and she froze mid-twirl. “What are you doing?”

  He said nothing and swept her off her feet bringing her to the mattress and ripping her underwear off. She struggled under his weight and he unzipped his pants, pushing her legs apart even as she cried “No!” And it wasn’t the same seductive protest she insisted on in the beginning, this was a cry for help, a cry that blasted his heart to a thousand tiny pieces.

  He grasped her wrists and pinned them to the mattress and with one thrust, he buried his hips to hers, regardless of her wishes. Feeling both the passion that burned any time he was near her mixed with a level of self-loathing he never thought he’d experience, he ignored her pleas. Instead, he lined her neck with kisses and closed his eyes, remembering her the night he left for Vancouver. The night she broke down every defense he had. It didn’t take long, playing the memory instead of this brutality and he released with the force of a volcano, her name rolling off his tongue, and her sweet smiling face still lining the back of his eyelids.

  He collapsed on her, burying his face in the nook of her neck, her sobs breaking through his fantasy and he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, hating himself for what he just did. He deserved whatever painful death awaited.

  He rolled off her, stood and zipped up his pants, crossing to the other side of the room and taking a seat on the concrete floor. He kept his face neutral under the flurry of feelings assaulting him.

  Jessica pushed the dress down around her, silently sobbing. She rolled on her side, wrapped the sheet around herself and curled into a ball.

  He didn’t want to see her cry. He didn’t want to see what his brilliant plan did to her. Ty put his head on his knees.

  * * * *

  Tom stirred on the floor, his eyes fluttering open and falling on Jessica curled in a ball on the mattress. He scanned the room, the scan stopped abruptly a few feet from the mattress. Her torn underwear lay crumpled on the concrete. His eye was swollen almost shut where Ty had hit him but he was coherent enough to understand what happened while he was unconscious. Fury filled him and he shot into a sitting position, his sight became hazy and he swayed, dizzy and nauseous from more than just the concussion.

  “Son of a bitch.” He crawled to Jessica and put his shaking arms around her, pulling her into the safety of his lap. Sobs ripped from her, muffled against his chest and her entire frame trembled fueling his rage.

  This time he could do something about it.

  “Son of a bitch,” he growled louder glaring at Ty and peeling Jessica from his arms. He stood, ignoring the small plea of don’t coming from her lips and stormed across the room.

  Ty stood up and he swung, his punch connecting with Ty’s nose, the feel of it satisfying and he
drew back a second time. The second punch hit him doubling him over. Tom grabbed Ty in a headlock and dragged him across the room, throwing him to the floor when he got to his destination. He reached down, grabbed one of the shackles on the floor, and clamped it around Ty’s ankle before he could react. Ty was on his feet moments after and threw a punch, but Tom ducked and sent an upper cut into Ty’s jaw, sending him back against the wall.

  Tom glowered and stepped out of Ty’s reach. In a rare display of crudeness, he growled, “Mother fucker” at Ty and spun back toward Jessica. He sat down and wrapped his arms around her. “He won’t hurt you again,” he stated, watching as Ty sat slowly on the ground looking at the chain around his ankle.

  “I need to feel clean,” Jessica whispered. “Can he reach in there?”

  “Yes,” Tom answered. He thought Ty would be able to reach at least the sink, maybe not the shower.

  Jessica put her head against his chest. “I don’t want to be alone where he can reach me,” she whispered and then looked up at him, the tears still sparkling in her eyes.

  He nodded and helped her up, leading her past Ty and into the bathroom. He stood in the doorway with his back to her as she undressed and showered. He could hear her sob from time to time, but remained standing guard until she said okay.

  He turned to look at her; she had one of their shirts on.

  “There was nothing else to wear,” she said, wiping the continuous stream of tears with the sleeves.

  “No problem,” Tom said even though it was anything but. The blue button down shirt reached her mid-thigh and she looked sexy as hell without trying. He put the toilet lid down and took a seat while she brushed her hair.

  “I can’t seem to stop crying,” she said.

  He reached for her, pulling her into a strong hug. “I’m sorry.” His strong voice quivered and he blinked back the sudden mist that blurred his vision.

  “Why are you sorry?” she sniffled and pulled away.

  He met her gaze. “I wasn’t… I couldn’t…” He hung his head, unable to articulate his failure.

  Jessica tilted his head back up so she could see his eyes. “That was not your fault.”

  Tom uttered a soft laugh, looking away from her. “If…”

  Her hand stopped the rest of the words, covering his lips while she adamantly shook her head. “Please don’t.” She shifted her gaze and moved her fingers to the bruise capturing his right eye.

  He winced.

  Jessica grabbed a washcloth and rinsed it with cool water, folding it and placing it on the swelling purple skin.

  Cool relief flooded the hot burn of the bruise and he covered her hand with his, closing his eyes and sighing. Only when she removed the cloth did he open his eyes, meeting her concerned gaze. She leaned forward, tenderly kissing the sore flesh. Instantly, a tingling sensation overtook him, localized to the bruise and the surrounding skin, like he had a shot of Novocain and it was just now wearing off.

  She took a shaky step back, swaying just before her eyes rolled back in her head. He caught her as she collapsed in a dead faint.

  “Shit!”

  Tom laid her down gently on the hard floor, tapping her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him, blinking rapidly.

  “You okay?” He swallowed, staring at her open eyes. Eyes that had drastically changed in the last few minutes—taking on the qualities of a stormy sky instead of the blue-lavender they had been. Now swirling patterns of lavender, blue, green and gray swirled in her irises, a brewing storm, beautiful but dangerous and a chill caught him off guard, rattling through the bones in his spine.

  “Yeah.” She studied his face, reaching up and stroking where she had just a few minutes before and this time he didn’t wince.

  He raised his eyebrows and helped her into a sitting position before turning to the mirror. “No way,” he whispered. The bruise was completely gone. His eyes swiveled back to her and his mouth dropped.

  Tom reached out and put his hand on her face, her stormy eyes looking back at him. “How?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Tom looked back in the mirror and took a deep breath. Ty’s words came back to him. ‘She’s your miracle.’ He looked back at her. “Fair enough,” he said and led her back into the other room.

  * * * *

  She gave him a wide berth scooting around what she thought was his perimeter and ignoring his cool stare, she sat on the mattress and waited for Tom to bring the tray that Marian left by the door. She couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Ty and was thankful Tom took a seat on the edge of the mattress closest to him, blocking her view.

  Tom sat next to her, handing her a plate. Out of habit, Jessica tore the sandwich in half, laying the larger of the two on the plate before digging in herself.

  Looking at the second half, she debated. She was still hungry and the spiteful half of her wanted to eat it, but she couldn’t, not even now. Not even after his blatant disregard for her. She hung her head and took a shaky breath before getting to her feet.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Tom said, stopping her from taking another step toward Ty.

  She met his bewildered eyes and exhaled. “I still can’t watch him starve.” She grabbed the plate, crossed and handed it to Ty and finally met his hard stare.

  * * * *

  His gaze bounced to the plate and back and he slowly took the food, his mouth parting in disbelief. He had intentionally done the one thing she swore to Mike he never had, the one thing that separated him from Frank. He had taken her without consent, raped her to drive a wedge the size of the Grand Canyon between them and it backfired.

  “Why?” she asked, her eyes expressing her pain and tearing at his gut.

  He shook his head and shrugged. “Because...” he trailed off looking down at the ground. Rape wasn’t enough to make her hate him, for her to wish he was dead and he needed her to feel both those things. He mulled over his choice of words. How he played this was important and he was silent for a few minutes contemplating the lie. “Because I could.” He narrowed his eyes and gave her a small evil smile.

  Jessica face reddened with anger and she squatted in front of him. “You will never touch me again,” she hissed. “Understand?” The colors swirled in her eyes.

  Ty shrugged with the same small smile on his lips. “I’ve heard that before.”

  Chapter 54

  “You want to what?” LeAnn asked.

  “Elope, let’s elope this weekend,” Daniel said. “The kids are at my in-laws for the next few days, we can go out on a boat and have the captain marry us, or hop on a plane to Vegas, either way, I don’t want to wait.”

  “Danny, we haven’t really talked about marriage. Why the rush?”

  “I want you to be my wife.” He grinned and took her in his arms.

  LeAnn kissed him. “Are you really sure?” she asked. “All of this happened so fast, I don’t want there to be any regrets.”

  “No regrets. I loved Jessica very much, but she’s gone and she wouldn’t want me to be alone and miserable. Her passing was hard but ended up being a blessing. I met my soul mate and I don’t want to go another day without you by my side,” Daniel said, his green eyes piercing hers.

  LeAnn took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  “Vegas or the ocean?”

  She looked out at the sea through the window of the cottage in Maine. “The ocean.”

  He smiled. “The ocean it is!”

  * * * *

  The ceremony was simple and beautiful, and they even had a couple of whales in attendance, to everyone’s delight.

  Daniel kissed LeAnn as the boat pulled back in the harbor, grinning like a schoolboy. He thanked the captain and walked her to the car.

  “Well, Mrs. Connor, what next?”

  LeAnn laughed and leaned over, whispering in his ear. Daniel blushed and drove faster to their cottage and carried his new wife over the threshold.

  Chapter 55

  “Wher
e is he, Marian?” Ty asked, waking Jessica.

  Ty stood as Marian set down the breakfast tray.

  “He’s healing quite nicely. He should be back any day now.” She smiled. “And when he does, I can’t wait to see what his plans are for you.” She went to close the door.

  “I thought he killed Anna,” Ty said.

  She turned and looked at him. “I don’t care. It just gives me a reason to hate you more.” The door closed behind her.

  “What did you do to her?” Jessica asked, startling him.

  Ty snapped his head in her direction pressing his lips together and stepping back into character.

  “Well?”

  Leave it alone. He shook his head.

  Jessica opened her mouth to say something and Ty cut her off.

  “Drop it,” he warned and wandered into the bathroom as far as the chain would allow.

  * * * *

  She heard him turn on the sink and closed her eyes for a moment. Tom still had his arms around her and she wrapped hers over his and nuzzled closer.

  “Morning,” he whispered and stretched. “I haven’t slept that good since I got here.” He yawned and rolled on his back.

  “It was the first time I really felt safe.” She rolled toward him. “Thank you.”

  “I try.” He looked around. “I see the son of a bitch is already awake.”

  Jessica’s smile faded. She didn’t say anything but rolled on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. He looked back at her with those impossibly blue eyes.

  Reaching over, Tom pushed her hair out of her face, running his fingers behind her ear. She leaned her head into his touch as her eyes closed.

  “Do you know what you do to me?” Tom whispered.

  “Looks like the same thing she thinks she does to me,” Ty answered. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

  Tom glared over at him. “Drop dead,” he snapped.

  Ty smiled bitterly. “All in good time.”

  Jessica shivered and looked over at him; she didn’t want him to die. She just wanted him to leave her alone. She stood and got the plates off the tray, handing one to Ty as she walked by and brought the other one to Tom.