MasterMind: (An Anna Monroe and Never Far crossover) (The Anna Monroe Chronicles Book 2)

by A. A. Dark

  He paused. “Wait. You’re in Chicago?”

  “It was an unexpected trip. My client lives nearby. Tell me where you’re staying and I’ll come see you first thing in the morning.”

  A shuttering breath. “I need you now. You have to come to Rockford where I’m at. If you don’t, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t do this a minute longer. I can’t be without her.”

  “If you want my help, you have to try to get some sleep. You will be of no use to me or Lucy if you can’t function. And I need you to, Boston. I need you sharp. You know this. Think. Push away the obsession as best as you can and listen to me. You can’t change that she’s been taken. What you can do is be at your best to get her back. Do you understand me?”

  “You’ve never been kind.”

  My face was blank as I soothed my tone. “Sugarcoating is as useful as a knife in a gunfight. The bullet will strike before the blade. That only leaves you dead. Poor Lucy may be in that fight right now. Do you want her to have a knife or a gun? You can be that gun, Boston.”

  Deep breaths.

  “There we go. Now I’m making sense. Sleep,” I continued. “I need you at your best. I have to wrap up a few things with my client, but once I do, I’ll be on my way. We’ll figure this out. We’ll get her back.”

  “I’ll text you the address. You better be here by the time I wake up.”

  The line went dead, and I glared at the front door while easing from the car. The evil in me thrummed, growing as I headed back to the room. The house was quiet. When I opened the bedroom door, Lucy was limp, dangling in the cuffs. Blonde hair cascaded toward the bed, drawn up in slight curls from sweat. Her face was hidden from view because of her bowed head, but I knew from the light snores, she was sleeping.

  She wouldn’t be for long.

  Walking to the end table, I place down my cell. The silent connection to the oak did nothing to prepare her as I pushed my fingers through her hair and jerked her head back. A raspy cry exploded from her mouth, only to grow louder as my index finger traced around her back entrance. Wild jerks started, but she didn’t budge.

  “You weren’t sleeping, were you? Did you not care that I was on the phone with Boston? Could you not last the mere minutes it took to put him at ease?”

  “I hope he knows. I hope—”

  I shoved into her tight ass, igniting a scream. A sob didn’t come, surprising me once again. She was all anger, spiked with fear. Lucy was stronger than I gave her credit for. She was numbing out and getting used to my abuse. But only because the degree was maintained.

  “You said I was sick. Are you ready to see just how much?”

  “You plan to rape me? What’s the difference between your cock and finger? The v-violation is the same.”

  I laughed, stretching her with another digit. Chains clinked as she trembled. Tears streaked down her face, but the silence remained. “You’re wrong. This is nothing compared to the damage you’ll undergo from my cock. When my dick tears its way into your ass, you’re going to bleed in more ways than you can imagine. Not just physically,” I said, tugging against her hair. “I’m going to rip that innocence of yours to pieces. We’ll see just how similar you think it is then.”

  I withdrew, walking over to the adjoining door. High pitched squeaking filled the room as I began rolling out a mirror the length of the king-sized bed. Lucy’s eyes widened, and she sucked in a deep breath as she came face to face with her reflection.

  “Do you have any idea what is happening in that fragile mind of yours right now? I bet you don’t have a clue. Let me enlighten you. Those cuts on your face from where I hit you…they hurt worse now, don’t they? Can you feel the extent of your injuries? How your cheek bone is more than likely crushed from the impact? The pain is getting worse. You’re realizing how much trouble you’re truly in. How about your back? You can’t see what I’ve done, but you’re starting to feel each layer of broken skin…each nerve damaged and now numb from the vicious blows. The cuts are deep, Lucy. So deep, your body is getting weak from the sheer agony. You’re wondering how you’re ever going to survive what I have planned for you next.”

  I jerked at my belt and let my pants fall to the floor. Boston’s fear for Lucy, the terror she held as her eyes stayed glued to her battered face…I longed to know what she must have been thinking and feeling. The questions and lust collided inside me, hardening me so much, my cock ached more than it had in years.

  Removing my shoes, I stepped out of my pants, letting my tie and shirt follow. Lucy was beginning to thrash. The sobs were coming now, whether she wanted them to or not. I pulled the drawer open and withdrew a plastic bag and a condom. The impact of the wood closing had her head jerking to the side.

  “What’s that? W-What are you doing?”

  My shin sunk into the mattress, and it shifted under my weight as I climbed on and traced down the thick, black strap restraining her legs. From where she was position on her knees, it rested just at the tops of her calves, holding her down. The upper part of her body swayed forward in the hanging cuffs as she tried to move away from me.

  Opening the package, I slid on the condom, not giving her time to decipher my next move. I surged forward, slipping the bag over her head and squeezing tight as I jerked her back against my chest. Muffled screams drew the plastic tight against her open mouth. The fight was all too real and all too invigorating as I let her arms thrash vehemently.

  “Look, Lucy,” I said, shaking her head and tightening my grip to emphasize my control. “Do you see yourself dying? Do you see your life slipping away with every breath you can’t take?”

  Faster the suction came—a cadence of panicked, stifled breaths. In and out, the bag sunk into her mouth, only to be blown back to her lips. Eyes rolled as she tried to buck. And I let her, until I was sure she couldn’t wait a single second longer. Quickly, I jerked the bag up over her head, letting her gulp and cough in air. Her body went weak and she fell forward the smallest amount.

  “That’s it. Now search out your emotions. Do you feel that relief? Gratitude even? You’re thankful for the oxygen, even if it was me who allowed it. Do you see what your mind is doing?” At her reflected stare of horror, my head shook. “Perhaps not yet. Let’s try again and see if it comes to you.”

  “No! N—”

  I had her trapped in the bag again before she could prepare. My biceps flexed, and my fists drew in even tighter around her throat while I held her aggressive form against me. She was fighting so hard. Doing everything she could to try to break my hold. Time passed while I stared at us in the mirror.

  Me: muscled, tanned, good-looking…expressionless.

  Lucy: bulging eyes, open mouth with the bag suctioned in, dark red face…petrified.

  We were night and day. Killer and victim. Life and death.

  My cock twitched, and I pulled up the bag, letting her scrape the air for every ounce of oxygen her lungs could handle.

  No words—no warning.

  Hooking my arm around her waist, I grabbed my cock and breached the tight entrance of her ass. I didn’t slam forward. I didn’t bury myself in one swift, agonizing sting. I made her feel each inch as I kept a steady pace of ripping through already torn muscle.

  Rattling from the chains filled the room as she let out hoarse screams. The sounds only fed the monster within me. My eyes stayed on the reflection of her face. On every micro expression as I brought her ass even farther down with my forearm.

  “Please! God, please!”

  The red was long gone from her cheeks. A paleness was taking over as she stumbled through her words. Blood drained even more from her skin as her mind began to shut down from the trauma.

  “You won’t pass out,” I said, withdrawing, only to inch in deeper. “You won’t pass out, because if you do, the next thing that’s going to be fucking your ass is my knife. Watch us in the mirror, Lucy. See what I can do to you. Watch what you end up doing to yourself. You said I was sick. You acted so brave. But
it’s coming to an end, isn’t it? Already you plead. Your mind is betraying you, and you’re breaking under my power.”

  “Stop. I—”

  Lucy gagged, and only then did I slam my length into her. The shock of pain had her body locking and the sickness vanishing as her brain scrambled from all the different signals. When she seemed to adjust to one, I hugged my arms around her with enough force to screw up her thought process even more.

  “There we go,” I said, beginning to thrust. “You will not be sick. You will not miss a single moment of what I want to put you through. You’ll take it. Every inch.” My nose rubbed along the side of her neck, and she whimpered through the cries. Slickness had me sliding into her easier. Blood. There was so much.

  I moaned, rotating my hips and losing myself at what I saw and felt. I had Boston’s Lucy. She was here, and I was fucking what he’d spent his entire life wanting—killing for.

  My muscles tightened through my movements. My ass clenched as I plunged in, and I squeezed around her so tight, she was beginning to scream again. Maybe I was cracking her ribs. Maybe that’s exactly what I wanted. My own mind was spinning with more. More. I wanted to destroy everything that had destroyed him. Destroyed me. I lived through my patients. Killed through them by persuasion.

  Faster, I thrust, seeing him. Seeing us together. We were talking about his latest victim at the time. The details of the men he’d butchered came through so clearly. I watched his expressions. His perfect, handsome smile. His happiness at releasing what I longed to live in.

  “You should have seen him without his lower lip, Dr. Patron. That’s where he hit her,” Boston added. “Her lip. So, I took my time sawing off his. The blood in his exposed teeth as he begged me to spare his life…I’ve never felt such peace. It was almost beautiful, if that makes sense.”

  A moan rumbled through my throat. It had made sense to me. I’d seen it. Not with Boston, but from a woman I had taken a decade before. There wasn’t nothing I hadn’t done in the form of torture or dismemberment. The memories molded together, becoming one, becoming something so grand, my cock swelled. I became Boston, and he was standing over the girl’s nude body as I had done so long before. Her lip jiggled in my finger while I squeezed the plump flesh. But I wasn’t me—I was him. My brain soaked in the pressure I had added. Memorized the exact texture, and how it indented under the compression of my fingers.

  “Fuck. Fuck.” My hand squeezed into Lucy’s breast, and I pulled out, stroking down the bloody condom as my cum filled the latex around me. It was heaven…but not enough. Lucy didn’t have much time, and neither did I if I wanted my plan to work. Boston. He was the key to me getting away with this. And he’d help me without even knowing it.

  Chapter 8

  Detective Casey

  “Severe bruising on the face and neck.” My head tilted, taking in the girl’s battered body sprawled on its side. Her legs were spread, one raised toward her chest. I crouched, moving the glow from the flashlight along her back. “Severe lacerations. More bruising. She was struck with something…thin…and a lot. Some look old, others new.”

  Squinting my eyes, I moved in closer, bringing the light to her hips, and then lower.

  “Whatever he beat her with, he did it all the way down to the backs of her knees. There’s considerable damage.” My head shook as I twisted my lips. “I’m going to make a wild guess from the bruising, she was sexually assaulted. Jesus.”

  Diego crouched next to me.

  “She fits the description of Melanie Ways. The long, dark wavy hair, skin color, freckles, build. Her eyes are missing. All three girls had green eyes.”

  “I knew you’d catch that too.”

  “I don’t want to say it.”

  I raised one of my eyebrows. “You never do. Let’s not say it out loud just yet. Maybe she’ll be the only one.”

  Diego stood, groaning as he rubbed his hand over his bald head. “Ignoring facts isn’t going to help us out, Casey. We both know what we’re about to get into. Three girls. And the Adams’ girl was taken by force. She’s not just some runaway. Shit’s about to hit the fan. I can feel it. Dammit, I’m getting too old for this shit.”

  “What are you talking about? You have another good twenty years of this ahead of you.” He laughed sarcastically, and I rose, feeling my own age sinking in. Diego was a good ten years older than my thirty-seven, but after what I’d been through, I sure as hell felt older.

  “Anna arrived about five minutes ago.”

  “Oh yeah?” I glanced down the alley toward the cruiser and police tape. “How did you know that? You wouldn’t be able to see her from here.”

  Diego gestured with his head to a group of officers standing a few feet away. “One of them told me she’s asking for you. I thought I’d let you finish up before I said anything.”

  “Thanks.”

  I took off, heading down the dim alley. The sun would be rising soon. It had to be close to five by now. How long had I waited for her to return? Hours… Was she only just now leaving Boston Marks’ hotel room? The thought turned my stomach. I was never good at handling jealousy. Although I knew nothing probably happened between them, I couldn’t ignore the possessiveness or love I still felt for her.

  A small crowd of people were gathered as I rounded the turn. Despite all of them, I only saw one person. And it was immediate. Blonde hair was pinned back, and she was wearing a pair of slacks and a white blouse. Natural makeup defined her beauty. There was no ponytail or jogging pants. She was working, plain and simple.

  “Detective.”

  Anna lowered the coffee from her lips, rushing toward the sidewalk as I headed closest to the building. One of the officers let her pass at my nod.

  “Braden,” she breathed out in a fearful tone. “Say it isn’t her. It’s not Lucy Adams, is it?”

  I scanned the crowd before staring into her brown depths. “You know I can’t tell you anything.”

  “This is for me. Not the news station. Please.”

  A deep exhale left me as I shook my head. “It’s not her, but it might be soon if we don’t find this person.”

  “A serial killer then?”

  “I didn’t say that. You need more than one body to call it that.”

  “You know what I mean. Braden, be honest with me. Was it one of the other girls? Were they…tortured?” She swallowed hard, wiping back the bangs escaping the pins. “How bad was it?”

  “Bad. Let’s just leave it at that. This wasn’t a random act of violence. He took his time.”

  “God. Boston. He’s already so upset over this. Once he hears about this girl, he’s not going to take it well. We have to find Lucy and the other girl.”

  Anna’s brows drew in at my silence, and I couldn’t control the pang of jealousy at his name. She eased the extra coffee forward, momentarily calming me. My frowned deepened as I took it. Instead, I put my focus on her. There was care concerning me. It was in the expression she held as she stared up. It took me a moment to force out the two words I knew I should be saying.

  “Thank you.”

  “No thanks required. I figured you were tired. And I know how often you camp out in front of my place. You need to get a good night’s sleep.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “I’m fine, Braden. Really. I can take care of myself.”

  That was debatable, but I didn’t want to argue. I took a sip of the coffee, changing the subject. “Being there, inside our home, it was nice. Looks the same. You still have our pictures up. I thought you might have taken them down.”

  Anna’s gaze dropped. “I thought about it. I just couldn’t. How’s Bullet?”

  More sadness came at the thought of the puppy we’d gotten together. He wasn’t much of a puppy anymore. The Labrador mix was half the size of her now.

  “He’s good. He’s with Joe, my neighbor. He watches him when I work or get called out.”

  “You know you could bring him to me. He’s mine too.”

/>   “Anna.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of Bullet when you’re not able to. I’m better than you think I am. And stronger.”

  “I’ve never doubted your strength. Not once.”

  “Then stop.” Her voice lightened at the end. “You’re burning yourself out. If you’re determined to watch out for me, do it from my couch. At least then I know you’ll be sleeping.” Her hand pushed into her pocket only to come to grasp mine as she held the key between our palms. “Those are my conditions if you plan to keep this up. And you should know, Boston will make a plea for Lucy today. I thought you should hear it from me first, if you haven’t from the captain already. Boston asked if it was okay last night, and I told him yes. He wants to do everything possible to help find her, and I can’t deny him this.”

  Again, words wouldn’t come, nor would warnings. All I could do was nod.

  “Detective Casey.”

  I glanced to the officer not a few feet away, then turned back to Anna while I put the key in my pocket. “I have to go. Be careful. Oh…and Bullet would love to see you. The door to the left of my apartment. Joe knows who you are. I’ll inform him to let Bullet go with you whenever you come by.”

  At my step back, Anna’s hand surged forward to settle on my arm. “I know how hard this is for you. It’s hard for both of us. Our past …” she trailed off, heading a different route. I knew how mad she got when talking about it. “We may never be back together, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

  Another step back on my part. “We were never really good friends, Anna. We didn’t have enough self-control for that. I don’t. I can’t. I want to be more than friends.”

  The buzz of voices from the growing crowd spun around in my head, but I heard nothing. Nothing but my own voice echoing deep within my mind. Why? Why? So many why’s. Why would you love someone you couldn’t have? Why couldn’t my heart let her go? She wanted me to. She wanted us to be over in that way, even if she was nice enough to offer me her couch. That wasn’t love, though. Not the kind I wanted. Not the kind I was hoping she was implying earlier.