Chapter One
Berger
The sound of footsteps.Distant voices.The sensation that my head had been split open.
I opened my eyes and realized I couldn't see a thing. Not until I brushed the dried blood away from my eyes. Then it was there in front of me; the chamber that looked like something from a sci-fi nightmare. All tubes, glass, and restraints in place to hold down a victim.
I must have been imagining it, must have still been out cold and dreaming. Touching a hand to my head, I felt a hot sticky mess and my fingers came away covered in red, clotted syrup.
"What the fuck?"
It came back to me; scrambling through the dirt looking up at Bosworth's house, the rain, and the wind, slipping in the mud, arriving at his front door, his face, his girlfriend. The vase that she raised to hit me with...
I tried to stand up but my balance was off and my head was still spinning. My vision was quickly going blurry but there was something else holding me back. My wrist burned as I struggled and I looked down to see a line of rope around it digging into my skin.
Angry, I yanked as hard as I could but all it did was cut further into my wrist that was now burned and bloody from the friction.
"Bastard!"
All I could do was slump back down to the floor and think. Where was I? I knew I was in Lincoln's house but what was this place? It was like a movie set, all instruments and beakers filled with bright colored liquid. I strained my eyes to see far across the room and saw what looked like more restraints against the wall.
Beneath it was a dark patch that splattered down onto the floor. It was blood. I knew it from the way it had splashed then dried. I'd been a cop long enough to know what blood looked like after it had been left to fester in the dark for long enough.
"Where the fuck am I?"
"You're in the lab," replied a soft voice.
Glancing up, I saw the girl in the doorway holding a tray of bandages and bottles.
"You..." was all I could say through my parched lips.
She sauntered over, her eyes boring down on the floor as though she was too embarrassed to look at me.
"I'm sorry," she said as she crouched down beside me and soaked some gauze in saline solution. "I thought I'd killed you."
"You mean you're sorry I'm not dead? Or you're sorry you tried to kill me?"
She reached up to clean my wound and for a second our eyes met. She was beautiful like an old Hollywood starlet with porcelain skin, dazzling eyes and rosebud lips framed by a veil of dark hair that glistened below the harsh stripped lighting. But she didn't seem to know it and shrunk away as I looked over her face, then down to her body that was held in place by a thin vest and leggings.
"I mean I'm sorry I hurt you," she said. "I've never hit anyone before."
"I guess I'm just a lucky guy."
She blushed and reached over the tray for bandages.
"It bled really bad but the cut's only about an inch long," she explained. "But you should have seen it up there. I thought you'd bled out. Lincoln was positive you were dead and he's usually pretty good at determining these things."
I looked back down at the blood spatter on the wall, at the chamber in front of me and the restraints. There were so many things I wanted to ask but I didn't know where to begin. Instead, I relaxed into the moment as she moved her deft fingers over my scalp. It was strangely nice to have someone take care of me even though earlier she'd tried to take me out.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"About ten minutes. I'll keep an eye on you for the rest of the night to make sure you're not concussed."
"I think I'm fine."
"Let me check."
She pulled a pen off the nearby counter and held it up in front of my face.
"Can you follow this with just your eyes?" she said as she waved it back and forth then up and down.
"Yeah, no problem."
"I think you'll be fine. It’s just a cut."
"But you'll keep an eye on me?"
I cringed at myself for sounding so keen but I was struck by the overwhelming feeling that I didn't want to be left alone in this room that smelled like antiseptic and death.
Looking up at the girl, I thought if she was anyone else, a man who tried to kill me, I would have done everything in my power to pull her head from her shoulders. But she didn't look like a killer. She looked like an angel.
"I'll keep an eye on you," she confirmed. "Promise."
"Promise?" came another voice.
Bosworth entered the room looking down at both of us with stormy eyes and crossed his arms. It was obvious we were in his lair and he didn't appreciate our little moment of shared softness.
"I was just saying I'd promise to keep an eye on him," explained the girl as she shrunk away and gathered up the bloody gauze and bandages onto the tray.
"Oh you did, did you?"
If it was possible, his eyes became darker. Beside me, the girl shivered.
"We shouldn't even be looking after this bastard!" he yelled and she jumped. "He was trespassing on my property. Tried to kill me, remember?"
She was trying to send a message with her eyes that were big and wide, gazing up at him with a silent beg.
"I'm a nurse," she said. "And you're a doctor. That means you took an oath to care for people no matter what."
"I'll make my exceptions," he said as he ushered her outside. “Besides, it was your idea to knock him out with that vase, which was original Ming Dynasty by the way! And why is that cop son of a bitch in my lab! Why there, Etta? Why take him there?”
“I-I don’t know,” she stuttered. “It seemed like the most hidden place. I thought that was where you’d want him.”
He slammed the door behind them both but I could still hear them as they argued out in the hall. For a house so big and luxurious, the walls were surprisingly thin. Or maybe his voice was just extra loud.
“Linx, I don’t know what to do. I panicked. I’m sorry! I thought he was dead, you know. Almost had a heart attack when I noticed he was breathing.”
“Yeah… That was quite a blow you dealt him. You should be proud of yourself.”
I heard them kiss. What kind of a couple was this?
“So, what are you going to do?” she asked.
He was silent for a moment but I could hear his shoe tapping against the floor as he thought before he began pacing. Up and down, up and down, each footstep repeating itself like the click of a metronome.
“We can’t let that son of a bitch go,” he said.
“So, what are we going to do? Hold him prisoner?”
Silence.More pacing.More footsteps and long sighs.
“Linx, he’s a cop. That means other cops will know he came out here. They’ll come looking for him!”
“Shit. Fuck! Doesn’t matter. They should know who I am. I could buy that station and everyone in it and do whatever I liked.”
He was right but she was wrong. No one knew I was out here. No one at all. Then came the depressing realization that there wouldn’t even be anyone at home to even miss me. It was now just an empty apartment filled with photographs of phantom relationships.
“Jesus Christ, Lincoln,” I heard her say. “What do we do?”
His footsteps stopped.
“We keep him. For now.”
Chapter Two
Etta
I needed outta that madhouse. I’d hit a guy. Thought I’d even killed him! But I had to or he would have killed Lincoln.
“Oh, my God. What a nightmare.”
I leaned against the steering wheel and glanced up at the red light. Looking around at the traffic and the car fumes, I felt grateful to be back in the city. Lincoln’s house was a paradise but it smothered me with its isolation. I wasn’t used to the sight of so many trees or the smell of the air. It was too clean, too alien.
Now, especially, I needed to get back on home territory to clear my head and I needed away from Lincoln. I couldn’t bear to think about what
he’d be doing in his lab while I was away but my brain was too fried to sort out my thoughts. I at least told myself that if he was going to kill the cop, he would have done it already. It wasn’t the most calming thought that ever crossed my mind but it was all I had.
The light turned green and I advanced into the center of the city where people bustled in and out of shops and bars. Finally, I could hear people’s voices. For the past few weeks, I’d spent every night falling asleep to the sound of owls screeching. Now there werehuman voices laughing, talking like normal. I was at last in a normal place.
Coffee, I need coffee I thought and sped into the first place I saw. Checking my reflection in the rearview mirror, I saw dark lines beneath my eyes that stretched out over the top of my cheekbones. I was never one of those girls that managed to stay looking glamorous without any sleep.
The line in the coffee shop was long, almost too long but I didn't care. I eyed up the menu and tried to find the most sugar laden thing available. In front of me, two girls chatted about what they'd done the night before behind their shades as they shielded their hungover faces.
I envied the ability to have such light-hearted chat and couldn't remember the last time I had such an ordinary conversation. I suddenly longed for the simplicity of being a nurse and caring for people. Since I met Lincoln everything was so dangerous and exciting, fun but terrifying.
Maybe all that would change when I went back to the hospital, but when was that going to be exactly? I kept telling myself I'd be back on the ward when I felt better.When the whiplash had healed.When I could recover from everything, but I was always putting it off another few days. Sooner or later I'd have to get back to work but not now. Today I just needed to think.
"Etta?"
There was a tap on my shoulder.
I spun round and for a moment I almost didn't recognize the face. When I did, my heart began to hammer. He looked so different, so... ill.
"Craig! Jesus, I almost didn't recognize you!"
You cheating asshole! I never wanted to see you again.
"I was thinking the same about you. You're looking great!" he smiled.
Once the surprise faded, he looked down at the floor. He'd lost weight since I'd seen him last and he looked older. There was a jaded look in his eyes and as he reached up to scratch at his stubble, I noticed his nails were bitten down to bloody stumps.
"Are you okay?" I asked then wondered why.
That bastard had cheated on me and stolen all my money. I hoped he was suffering.
"Not really," he replied with a faraway look in his eye. "Not at all."
I still hated him but there was something about the way he looked so fragile and pathetic that made me want to stick around just to make sure he didn't collapse.
"You wanna sit and grab a coffee?" I offered and gestured for him to take a seat by the window.
"Sure!" he beamed. "That'd be great."
He delved into his pocket and pulled out some loose change and began counting his way through it.
"Don't," I said. "Just sit down."
~
He was staring out the window like a lost kid. When I ordered our coffee I realized I felt sorrier for him than I first thought and ended up buying him a big, thick slice of carrot cake with an extra-large mocha with whipped cream and extra chocolate sprinkles.
As he watched people walk up and down the street, he wiped some frosting off his top lip with his tongue. I stared into his face for a long while trying to figure out if I felt something, but there was nothing but pity.
He looked like such a wreck of a person like he'd been hollowed out and left for dead. Clearly, losing me had ruined him but I couldn't feel any sympathy for him no matter how much I tried. He couldn't have believed for a second that I would have wanted to stay with him after all he did.
"You don't look well," I said.
"I'm not," he replied, turning back to me. "I've really missed you."
I can't do this, I thought. I shouldn't be here with him, talking about this. There's nothing between us anymore but history. I need to walk away and forget about him.
"You wouldn't believe how much I've missed you," he said. "It's been terrible."
"Well, you should have been thinking about that when you were doing some other girl doggy style in our bed."
He gulped as though he was trying to stop himself crying.
"Etta, you gotta believe me. I regret it so much. So much. If I could turn back time..."
"But you can't."
His bottom lip began to tremble.
"Look, Craig. Stop, just please, stop. I've moved on."
I expected him to take it badly and make a scene. I expected him to throw a tantrum but instead, he just nodded, defeated.
"I'd heard about that. You're with that bigshot doctor now, the one who's a billionaire."
He clamped his eyelids shut as though he was trying to block out the thought.
"How do you know that?"
"Word gets around," he shrugged. "The hospital, it's like a village. Everyone talks. I’ve heard things from people."
He pushed his top lip into his coffee and sucked on the whipped cream.
"You must be real happy to have lucked out like that. Sure is a step up from me anyway."
"That wouldn't be hard, Craig."
He slammed his cup down and dragged his sleeve across his mouth.
"Why you gotta be so cold?"
"Look, I'm sorry. Forgive me if I'm still angry with you. You seem to have forgotten just how much you hurt me."
"Yeah, well I'm paying for it now ain't I? I can't eat. Can't sleep. My boss says if I take anymore sick days he's gonna fire me. All I do is lie awake at night and think about you. It was always you. Still is. And now I have to know that you're living with him, some guy who can take you anywhere, give you everything I couldn't."
"I don't wanna hear it," I said and raised a hand. "I don't know why I'm even talking to you it's just that... just that you fucking awful, Craig. What happened to you?"
Crestfallen, he slumped down in his seat and looked out the window.
"It's all over for me," he said. "Without you there's nothing here for me."
"What are you talking about?"
He blinked away tears.
"Speak to me. What are you talking about?"
He didn't answer, just began rubbing at his forehead.
"I don't wanna be here anymore," he sighed and pressed the side of his head against the window.
"You don't wanna be... here?"
"On this Earth," he explained with his eyes still fixed far into the distance. "I don't wanna live anymore without you."
"You don't mean that."
But I knew he did. There was such a deep despair in his eyes, an absolute darkness that told me how much he was suffering.
"But... You're the one who cheated on me!" I said. "You must have known I would leave. Why would you cheat on me if you loved me so much?"
He flung up his hands in frustration.
"I don't fucking know! I ask myself that every single day. Maybe it's because we'd been together so long, since we were kids, that I was just eager to know what someone else felt like. Other guys have had that opportunity, you know. They slept around before they settled down. Knew what it was like to... you know, be with someone else. I only had you and I had to learn the hard way that was all I needed."
How long had he been practicing that line?
"Craig, you do know that women aren't, like, used cars. You can't just try them out. I had no problem knowing you were the only man who'd ever touched me. I felt honored, felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world because I didn't have to work my way through the quagmire of the dating scene because I'd already got what I wanted. Now I know how stupid that was... Seems like we both learned ourlesson."
It was time to get away from him. As awkward as it was, I'd needed to see him one last time to know that I never had to see him again. I was over him and now I had to just g
o, leave, get as far away from his as possible.
"You're leaving me?" he asked as I stood up.
"Well, what do you expect me to do?"
"Can't you just stay a little while longer?"
“Sorry. I can’t.”
“Please.”
He tugged at my shirt sleeve and, overcome by how miserable he looked, I sat back down.
He knows I can’t leave if he looks at me like that. He knows I’m too nice for my own good.
“Look, tell me what you want from me?”
“Just give me another chance!” he begged.
“You’re out of your mind.”
He wiped at his eyes and hung his head in his hands.
“Can we at least be friends?”
I didn’t want that at all but in the moment I just wanted to say anything to make him stop clinging onto me.
“Okay. We can be friends,” I relented.
“Really?”
“Sure but right now I gotta go.”
He didthe face again, the one he knew would make me hang on a second longer.
“I’m just walking to my car,” I said. “Where are you going?”
He shrugged.
“Don’t know. Anywhere, I guess.”
“You mean you don’t have somewhere to go?”
He kicked at the ground and thrust his hands into his pockets.
“Don’t you have work today?”
“Sick day,” he said.
We reached my car and I climbed in expecting him to take the hint and take off, but he hovered outside the window as I pushed the key into the ignition.
“You catching the train home?” I asked, hoping it would spur him into leaving me alone.
“Nope. Just gonna walk.”
“Walk! The house is miles away from here.”
“I’ve got used to walking,” he replied. “Ever since I ran outta money.”
He scratched at his face again and glanced up and down the street.
“Hey, you couldn’t lend me some cash for the train home, could you?”
“Son of a bitch,” I said and shook my head.
“Or you could give me a ride?” he suggested.
“I’ll give you the cash,” I said and opened my purse. “Here, take this.”
Jewels and Panties (Book, Four): Twisted Love Page 6
