Tap Dancing with the Devil

by Faith Gibson

  Poor Ryan Cassidy. He’s so young and naïve, he’ll never know what happened. I can hear them now, laughing behind my back. God, I was so fucking stupid. So fucking trusting. Every last one of them. I always thought if I was good and did the right thing, life would pay me back with good things in return. I was wrong. I lost everything in one night, and now I’m going to take everything away from them. All of them.

  Dragging my ass off the cold floor, I brush my teeth before returning to my bedroom where I pull an unopened burner phone out of the duffle bag in the closet. The game just changed. I send a text to most everyone in the group. Not only do I need to move the plan in a different direction, I need to know who I can and can’t trust. I also need to tell Jared what’s going on. The more time I spend away from home, the more he has to wonder what the fuck I’m doing. I doubt he believes I’m spending all my time with Violet. I also think he has a right to know what went down that night. Grabbing my laptop, I make my way to the kitchen, grab a beer, and wait for my cousin to come in from the garage.

  I don’t have to wait more than thirty minutes, but it’s long enough that my stomach is churning again. When he sees my face, Jared says, “Cass? You okay?”

  “Not at all. I need you to look at something.” I turn the computer toward him, and I get up from the table and walk out the back door. I don’t want him to ask me where or how I obtained the information. I won’t lie to him if he asks, but I’d rather he not. Twenty long minutes later, a crash sounds in the kitchen. I take that to mean he’s read the file, and I return inside.

  Jared is leaning against the counter, his head hanging down. When I open the door, his head turns my way. His eyes are filled with the hatred I feel in my gut. “This changes everything,” he says, pushing against the counter to come to his full height. Not as tall as I am, Jared is still a big man. And now, he’s a pissed-off big man. Angry on my account. For the wrong done against me.

  “Fuck, Ryan. I can’t believe Jamie–”

  “Don’t say her fucking name,” I cut him off. I haven’t uttered my wife’s name in thirteen years because it hurt too bad. And now? I don’t want to hear that bitch’s name ever again. “This changes nothing, not as far as you’re concerned. I have set things in motion that will assure these motherfuckers get what’s coming to them. I just wanted you to know what went down. You’ve believed in my innocence from day one, and I wanted you to know the truth of it. All of it.”

  “I want in.”

  “You’re already in, Jared. You’re in without being in the thick of it. I have that covered.”

  He’s shaking his head, but I can’t get him any more involved. “No. You are doing enough by giving me a job and a place to live. That’s as involved as you need to be. I won’t have you getting caught up in something that could jeopardize your future.”

  “And what about your future? You just got your life back, for fuck’s sake, Cass. I don’t like visiting you through fucking plexiglass.”

  “And you won’t have to, ever again. I need you to trust me on this. I have people behind the scenes who are taking the chances so I don’t have to.”

  “How do you know you can trust them?”

  “Most of them helped keep me alive on the inside. The others… let’s just say they have a beef with Murdock and Perry, and they’re less worried about going back in.”

  “Repeat offenders?”

  “Something like that. Now, I need to go let off some steam. I’ll be back later.” I pick up the laptop and head toward my room.

  “Cass…” Jared’s voice stops me. When I turn around and look at him, he says, “I’m sorry.” I nod and continue on. He’s not nearly as sorry as I am. What a goddamn fool I was.

  I drive straight to Violet’s. As I pass by the other house, I glance over and am thankful there are no cars in the drive. I might have been tempted to turn around and sneak inside. When Violet opens the front door, I push her back inside and close it behind us. It’s late enough that her grandmother is already in bed. I don’t say anything. I grab Violet’s hand and drag her to her bedroom, where I roll on a condom while she’s taking off her shorts. I don’t give her time to get comfortable on the bed. I push her chest down and kick her legs apart before sinking into her cunt in one long thrust. I set up a fast pace and fuck her hard. I need the release more than I need human connection. A connection I won’t allow myself to get from this woman.

  My orgasm comes on faster than I anticipate, and I’m shooting my load into the rubber before I have a chance to pull out. I continue pumping into her from behind until the last tremor subsides. As soon as it does, I pull out, roll the condom off and toss it in the garbage. When Violet turns around, she crosses her arms over her chest and stares. I can understand her confusion. I backed off from the intimacy with her, and now I’m back fucking her because I’m pissed. She’ll just have to get over it.

  The marks across her thighs are still visible where Neil whipped her. I guess he doesn’t care that she has my handprints on her when he’s taking the belt to her. Or maybe that’s why he does it. He doesn’t want her fucking anyone else except him. I can’t worry about that right now.

  “Put your shorts back on. We need to talk.” I leave her to do as I say, and I go to the kitchen and grab a beer out of the fridge. I have half of it drank before she gets back to the living room where I’m waiting. She still hasn’t said one word, but that’s okay. She can be pissed at me later. “The timetable just got moved up. Here’s what I need you to do…”

  After I lay it all out for her, Violet is less than enthusiastic about how this could play out. I fill her in on some of the details of thirteen years ago, but I leave out the worst part. The part how she was killed. If Violet knows how that night ended, she won’t be willing to go through with it, and she’s the most important piece of this plan. Without her, it’s not going to work. I remind her of the money waiting for her once I get what I want. Granted, the amount I’ve offered her to play along isn’t worth her life, but she agreed to the plan with few questions, and I’m holding her to it. I’ll be right there listening should something go wrong.

  Neil has been making his visits to Jack’s Place a weekly occurrence, so we’re banking on him coming to see her Thursday night. That gives me a couple of nights to get everything lined up. I remind Violet as I’m walking out the door what’s at stake.

  “I won’t forget,” she says, looking down the hallway towards her grandmother’s room. Once I’m in the driver’s seat, I check my mirrors. A light is on across the street, but it’s too late for me to sneak in and see Lexie. Even if it wasn’t, I won’t go to her with another woman’s scent on me. She deserves better than that. Hell, she deserves better than me. Doesn’t keep me from wanting her.

  As I pull out of the neighborhood, a set of headlights flash in the rearview mirror. I don’t think anything about it until the car makes every turn I do. I don’t want to get a ticket, so I keep my speed within the posted limit, but as soon as I hit the onramp to the interstate, I open up all eight cylinders. The same car follows me, leaving enough room that they think I won’t see them, but I do. I take the exit ramp leading to The Hollows, and the car continues to follow. As soon as I get a clear shot, I pull over to an empty parking lot and wait as the car passes by. If I’m not mistaken, it’s Adam. He and Neil both drive dark Crown Vics, so it could be either one of them. Considering where the car began tailing me, my money’s on Adam.

  If I had pinned a murder on an innocent man, you bet your ass I would keep tabs on the man while he’s behind bars, and then I would want to know when he was released. It seems Adam did just that. I’ll need to be even more careful now that he knows I visit Violet. She and I have rehearsed what she would say should anyone ever question her about how we met, but that doesn’t mean I want Adam anywhere near the girl. She already has her hands full with Neil. It’s been fortunate for me that the two men don’t seem to be best of friends any longer. I need to keep Adam out of my hair long enough to
get to the other side of what’s going to go down with Neil. Then I’ll worry about Murdock. Charles is going to take more planning considering he’s no longer on the force. But that’s okay. I’ll get them one at a time.

  Chapter 24

  Cass

  I am sitting in the hotel room next to the one I’m supposed to meet Amanda in. The same room Violet and Neil are scheduled to meet in. My body is vibrating as adrenaline races through me. After thirteen long years of planning and plotting, my plan is coming to fruition. If things go according to that plan, one of the men responsible for putting me away will feel my wrath. After I have the confession I want, I am going to look Neil Perry in the eye and let him know who is responsible for sending him away.

  My laptop is open, and the program that will video everything in that room is ready. The cameras are motion censored, so they will start recording as soon as the first person enters the room, and that should be Violet. I arrived at the hotel an hour before the others are set to show up. I checked and rechecked that everything is where it should be, and the equipment is working properly. It’s amazing what you can get away with if you toss enough money around. I wonder how many other people have been taped having affairs and didn’t know it?

  Right on time, at ten forty-five, Violet lets herself into the room, and the video begins taping on my laptop. There are two separate cameras. This was more for back-up in case one stopped functioning properly, but it won’t hurt to have video from both angles. As Violet removes her clothes, she looks around. I told her about the cameras, but maybe I shouldn’t have. She’s going to ruin things if she’s too distracted once Neil shows up. If I knew I had more time, I would go in there and remind her of that, but I don’t want to chance it. Five minutes later, Neil is knocking on the door. He’s early, but that doesn’t surprise me. As soon as Violet opens the door, he’s stunned. She looks like something out of a BDSM catalogue with the outfit she has on.

  “What the fuck is all this?” Neil asks. The volume on the equipment in the room is top notch, and I can hear every word as if I were sitting next to them.

  “I thought if you wanted to dominate me again, I should wear the appropriate costume.” Violet places her hand on Neil’s dick and rubs. “Don’t you like it?”

  “It looks great, but I prefer you naked.”

  If Violet doesn’t stall, things aren’t going to play out as they should. She lowers his zipper and pulls his cock out of his dress slacks. “I’ll get naked, but first, I want to suck you off. Is that okay?”

  “Fuck yeah. On your knees, bitch,” he growls, getting into character. Hell, that may be the way he talks to her all the time. Violet lowers herself in front of him, and instead of sucking him down like I know she can, she takes her time licking and teasing. If this wasn’t Neil, I might be turned on by watching Violet at work. My cock hasn’t so much as twitched since he walked into the room. I know how good she is at sucking dick, and even if he has the stamina of a horse, he’s not going to last long. He finally gets impatient with her teasing, and he grabs her hair and shoves his cock down her throat. She tries to keep the tempo slow, but Neil’s having none of it. He takes over, fucking her face in earnest, and she takes it like she always does – with gusto.

  Glancing down at the clock on the laptop, it’s almost time for Amanda. If she’s early, it won’t matter now, but it won’t be as good as her showing up when Neil has his dick balls deep in Violet. Neil grunts and lets out a string of curse words as he shoots his load into Violet’s mouth. I almost regret fucking her knowing that bastard’s been with her, too. I do regret it more from a standpoint of I feel like I am being disrespectful to Lexie. I know that shit’s fucked up, but I’m falling for her, and there’s nothing I can do about it but walk away.

  As soon as Neil pulls out, Violet slowly stands and begins removing the latex suit. Neil doesn’t waste any time by enjoying the show she is putting on for his sake. He is naked by the time she’s pulled the latex off. She tosses the suit in one direction and a pair of panties in the other. Violet walks over and lies down on the bed, spreading her arms and legs in an X. “You wanna tie me up?” she asks.

  “You are ready for me, aren’t you? You want this cock, and you want me to whip you again.”

  “Yes, I want it. I want you to fuck me before you whip me. Then I want you to fuck me again after you put your marks on me.” The previous welts have faded to a barely visible pink.

  Neil picks up the bag he dropped at the door and sets it on the table. Pulling out several items, I search Violet’s face to see if she’s scared. The look she gives Neil lets me know she’s anything but scared. She’s ready for this shit. That, or she’s one hell of an actress. Neil tosses the whip on the bed and begins to stroke his dick that’s already getting hard again. I avert my eyes. I don’t care anything about seeing his cock more than I already have. He stops jacking himself long enough to tie Violet’s hands to the headboard. As soon as she’s snug, he rolls a condom on his dick and knee-crawls to the middle of the bed, stopping between her open thighs.

  Without preamble, Neil shoves Violet’s knees to her chest and impales her in one quick thrust. She grunts and pulls on her restraints but settles in when he begins pumping. I look at the clock again and sit up a little straighter. It’s time for Amanda to show up. She is to pick up a key at the front desk and let herself into the room. I told her I’d be waiting for her in the jetted tub. Right on time, the door opens, and Amanda strolls into the room. “Theod…” The bag in her arms falls to the floor, and she yells, “Neil?”

  Violet bucks, and yells, “What the hell?”

  It takes Neil a few seconds to register what’s happening. “Amanda? Are you following me? What the fuck?” he asks pulling out of Violet and sliding off the side of the bed.

  Amanda returns to the dropped bag and pulls out a bottle of what appears to be wine. Screaming, she rushes Neil and hits him over the head with it while he is scrambling to put his pants on. The bottle knocks him down but doesn’t crash open. With him out of the way, Amanda turns her attention to Violet. With Violet tied to the bed, she’s completely helpless to defend herself. “Do you have any idea what kind of man you’re whoring around with? Did he tell you what happened to the last woman he fucked?” Amanda’s screams. Her eyes are wild. Neil’s stumbling to get to his feet.

  “Are those my panties?” Amanda screeches as she kicks the underwear Violet dropped to the floor. “You’re gonna pay for this!” I’m not sure if she’s yelling at Violet or Neil.

  “Amanda, shut your fucking mouth,” Neil warns.

  I’m glued to the computer.

  “No! You have to pay. We all have to pay. I’m going to kill you like I killed her,” Amanda tells Violet, whose eyes are filled with fear and something else. Rage? She’s pulling hard at the restraints, and I am pretty sure if she could get loose, she would attack Amanda. But why, other than self-defense?

  “He fucked his little mistress and got the bitch pregnant, so I killed her. And I’m going to do the same thing to you, you fucking homewrecker!”

  I can’t breathe. There’s no way she’s talking about… I have to know. I have to know if Amanda killed my wife. I throw open the door to my room and stop short. Clayton Hughes, the man who bought the Cuda, is storming toward me. “Leave, now!” he growls as he uses a key card to get into the room next to mine. I try to push in behind him, but he’s already closed the door. I use my own key card, but Clayton flipped the security bar in place, and I can’t get in.

  “Let me in!” I yell as I bang on the door. When he ignores me, I return to the other room to see what the fuck is happening. Why is this man getting in the middle of my shit, and how the fuck did he get a key?

  When I’m back in front of the computer, it dawns on me that I’ve seen him before. Not from the shop, but before that. He was the man I ran into at the restaurant the first time I was with Amanda. Clayton is holding a gun. “Untie Violet,” he instructs Neil. Clayton calls her by her name. Instead
of being surprised by the newcomer, Violet looks relieved. While Neil’s untying the bindings, Clayton asks Amanda, “You admit you killed Jamie Cassidy and her unborn baby?”

  Now I really can’t breathe. How does this man know my wife? He keeps the gun trained on Amanda but instructs Neil to stand next to her. Violet rushes past Clayton to where she left her bag and puts her clothes on. Clayton pays no attention to her. His focus is on the Perrys. Amanda backs up against the wall, still holding the bottle in her hand. “I asked you a fucking question,” Clayton growls.

  Neil doesn’t look like a seasoned police detective. His face is pale, and he is visibly shaking. Clayton shoots the bottle in Amanda’s hand, sending shards of glass and liquid all over the couple. Amanda screams, dropping the neck of the bottle still in her hand. Small traces of blood stream down her face, mixing with the tears she is crying. Neil holds his hands up and begs, “Stop. Just… we’ll tell you what you want to know, just don’t shoot us.”

  “I want that bitch to admit to killing Jamie.” Clayton points the gun at Amanda’s head. “Admit it!”

  Without a word to anyone, Violet exits the room, leaving Clayton to deal with the Perrys. I go to the door and drag it open just as she’s getting ready to knock. I pull her inside, hauling her to the desk where I can keep an eye on her and the laptop. “What the ever loving fuck?” I ask her.

  Violet crosses her arms over her chest. “Shh,” she chastises me and points at the computer screen.