Celtic Knot

by Shannon MacLeod

  “Go to hell, Ian.”

  “I’m already there,” he whispered, and the door shuddered in the frame as it slammed shut in her face.

  * * * *

  Between knowing how furious Ian was with her and missing him terribly, Lily had an awful week. The hole in her stomach doubled in size with every passing day and at night the niggling thoughts kept her distracted with their running commentary. He’s not like that, he really does love me, the still little voice said. It kept getting drowned out by the louder voice reminding her she was good enough to live with, but not good enough to marry.

  Lily agreed to help out at the gypsy tent Friday night. Seated at her familiar table, she wondered as if she’d see Ian. A fanfare of trumpets announced the approach of the king and queen on their way to hold court at the list field. As the park guests left the tent and lined the streets, Lily and Beth gravitated to the tent entrance to watch the parade too. Preceding the ornate carriage were the two familiar royal guards carrying the standards of Castle Wilde, and Lily’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of Ian astride his majestic Friesian stallion.

  Renaud’s reins draped loosely as he trotted his gray Arabian down the street, hooves clip clopping a steady beat on the asphalt. Ian stared stoically ahead, holding his reins in an iron grip in an effort to control the black horse dancing sideways in its agitation. Renaud gave Ian a curious glance before he saw the two women standing at the tent entrance. He favored them both with a big smile, but only Beth smiled back.

  Lily watched as Ian came abreast of the tent then jumped back in alarm when his mount suddenly reared and pawed the air, blowing loudly. Ian rose in the stirrups, murmuring to the powerful animal to calm him. The horse tossed his massive head but seemed to settle when Ian reined him in again and continued down the street.

  “He didn’t even look at me,” Lily whispered, her lower lip quivering.

  Beth directed a fierce glare in the direction of the riders. “Well, with any luck that overgrown plow nag will stomp him flat before the end of the night,” she said. “Look, you’re in serious need of some mall therapy. I’ll come by in the morning to pick you up, and I’m not taking no for an answer,” she insisted when Lily opened her mouth to protest. “You need to get out and have a little fun. Eleven sharp. Be ready.”

  With a resigned nod, Lily shrugged. “I’ll go.”

  * * * *

  When they reached the stables, the riders dismounted and Ian tossed his reins to the first of the two waiting stable hands. “Give him a good rubdown,” he ordered, “he’s got a right burr up his arse tonight.”

  As he handed his reins to the second groom, Renaud leaned his head toward Ian. “I do not think it is the horse so much as it is the rider, mon ami,” he whispered, directing a meaningful glance toward Ian’s now docile horse as it was led to a waiting stall. “He feels your anger.”

  “I. Am. Not. Angry. It’s just…I did…I’m not….oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m going home,” Ian growled, throwing his hands up in utter aggravation. Without another word, he turned and stomped toward the parking lot.

  Renaud watched his friend go then smiled at the groom holding the reins of the gray. “Ah, the path of true love. She is not always smooth, oui?”

  * * * *

  Lily was up early Saturday morning, making sure her gypsy outfit was laid out and ready to go for the evening. Maybe Ian will be there… “not that it matters,” she finished aloud, unshed tears burning her eyes. She threw on a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt, and was too depressed to do much more than brush her hair and pull it back into a ponytail.

  When the doorbell rang , she glanced at her clock. Ten forty-five. Beth’s running early. She ran to the door and peered through the peephole, but twirling in front of the lens was a beautiful red rosebud. Elation and relief coursed through her and she flung the door open to embrace Ian.

  Her elation turned to confusion when she saw who was standing there. As the stun gun jolted her with electricity, the confusion turned to blinding pain and when she hit her head on her way to the floor, the pain turned to complete darkness.

  * * * *

  Ian’s mood was forty shades of black. Around eleven thirty he sat on the ground lost in thought, absently painting tea roses and vines on a lower section of the new wall. Something had been eating away at him all morning, a general sense of foreboding he couldn’t shake and worse, he couldn’t pin down where it was coming from. He still wore Lily’s ring under his shirt and was angry with himself that he hadn’t been able to take it off. It seemed to be burning a hole in his chest, and he caught himself reaching up to touch it occasionally as if for reassurance it was still there.

  He was deliberating on that when Beth came striding up. “Hey, Prince, have you talked to Lily today?” she asked.

  He didn’t look up from his work. “No,” he growled, jabbing the paintbrush at the wall and trying to wish his unwelcome visitor away.

  She didn’t budge. “I don’t know where she is,” Beth snapped.

  Ian glared at the brush bristles, threw it down and picked up another. “Me neither. We’re not exactly keeping company these days.”

  “Listen, asshole. Something’s wrong,” she said, stepping closer and lowering her voice. “We’re supposed to be going to the mall. Her car’s there, but she’s not answering her phone or the door. I thought I heard movement inside the apartment, but it stopped as soon as I rang the–”

  By this time Ian was already dialing Lily’s cell, but there was no answer. A sudden scream rent the air overhead and Ian shaded his eyes to see a red shouldered hawk swoop low over the area, flying in the direction of… A terrifying rush of adrenaline tore through him. “I’m going over there,” he said, and was up and running between one heartbeat and the next.

  He arrived at her apartment within minutes, having taken the stairs two at a time, but paused at her door. Closing his eyes, he sensed the palpable maelstrom of emotions still lingering in the area. When he opened his eyes and looked down at the crushed remains of the rosebud, icy fear took root in his heart.

  * * * *

  Lily’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Her mouth was covered by a strip of duct tape, her wrists taped together and tied to the headboard of a large, familiar looking bed. They left my legs free, she observed and felt remote and detached like she were watching it on TV. Oh, God, my head hurts. She closed her eyes, sensed the lingering emotions in the darkened room and knew at once she had not been the only terrified woman tied to this bed. Voices in the next room caught her attention and she strained to listen.

  “I have a surprise for you,” a woman sang, her voice muffled.

  A man spoke. Lily couldn’t make out what he said but she began to struggle against her bonds in earnest. The door silently swung open and a man and woman stood in silhouette, her long pale hair flowing loosely over her shoulders. The lights flickered on and Lily went cold, chills coursing through her. It’s like looking in a mirror, she thought.

  Lucas’s blue eyes widened in delighted shock. “You brought me Lily? She’s my surprise? I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” he said, giving the blonde a long, deep kiss.

  Irena pulled off the pale wig and shook it before throwing it to the floor. “I am truly tired of having to wear this every night just so you can get it up. Now here’s what I want you to do for me, sweetie.” She walked her fingers down his chest to his belt buckle. “I want you to punish the little bitch for leaving you high and dry like she did.” Irena glared daggers at her with her catlike eyes. “I want you to end this, Lucas. Beat her, fuck her until her nose bleeds, whatever. I don’t care. Just do what you need to do to get her out of your system so we can get on with our lives.”

  Lucas gave Lily a feral look and when she sucked in a deep breath to scream through the tape, Irena gave a cruel bark of laughter. “Scream away, silly bitch–it gets him hot.” With a startled jerk, she fumbled for her jeans pocket before pulling out Lily’s vibrating ce
ll phone. “Hey, look, Ian’s calling. I’ll just tell him you’re busy. I know he likes pictures, maybe he’ll like this one.” She lifted the phone to her eye. “Say cheese.”

  Lucas lowered his voice and spoke into Irena’s ear, “You’re out of your fucking mind. This is kidnapping. She’ll go straight to the police.”

  Irena’s smile was chilling. “Don’t worry, baby,” she whispered, stroking his cheek, “don’t I take care of you?”

  At Lucas’s nod Irena left the room, closing the door behind her. Lily’s adrenalin spiked and she steeled herself to go down fighting.

  With a leer that made her gorge rise, Lucas crossed the room to her. As soon as he was in range she kicked out viciously. Her bare foot made contact with his chest and she heard a distinct crack as a rib gave way. “Fucking whore!” he screamed, and the room exploded when he punched her full in the face, slamming her head back against the headboard. The room was pitched into darkness again.

  The suffocating pain of Lucas playfully slapping her injured cheek jolted Lily awake. “Hi, my sweetheart,” he said, smiling. “I missed you. I’d like for you to stay awake now so we can enjoy our visit together.”

  He picked up a lock of her hair and wound it around his fingers. “I know how much you love to pretend, so let’s pretend this is our wedding night. The one we were going to have before you started humping the migrant worker.” He yanked open the drawer on the nightstand and withdrew a crumpled piece of white netting. “Let’s make you all pretty now,” he said, shoving the sharp edged comb roughly through her hair to hold the toy bridal veil in place.

  Lily tried to speak but Lucas shook his head at the muffled attempt. “I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Now if I take the tape off and you scream, I’m going to hurt you really, really bad. Do you understand me?”

  When she nodded, he cheerfully ripped the tape from her mouth.

  She cried out from the sudden pain, then took a deep breath and spoke in a frantic whisper. “Lucas, if I ever meant anything to you, please listen. I swear I won’t tell a soul, I won’t go to the police, I promise. You’ve got to let me go, she’s going to kill me when you’re finished with me, don’t you know that?”

  “She’s going to kill me, Lucas.” Lucas mimicked her desperate plea. “You’re such a fucking drama queen. She knows I love you. Or I did, anyway,” he said thoughtfully then grinned. “So yeah–probably.”

  Realization dawned on Lily that her situation was even direr than she had first feared. “She’s killed other women for you, hasn’t she?” Even as she said the words, she knew it was true.

  He ignored her blunt question. “See, the way it works is, I go out and pick up one I like–I’m partial to little blond sluts like you…” His voice held no emotion as he described in chilling detail what had to have been a waking nightmare for those unlucky enough to have been trapped by his boyish, unassuming charm.

  “The trouble is, I like to get a little rough sometimes,” he said, giving her breast a cruel squeeze. “Irena always worries one of them is going to call the police, so when I’m done she tazes them and splash–into the river they go.” He gestured toward the riverfront back yard concealed in the lush undergrowth. “They just get swept away with all the other trash.”

  Lowering his other hand to his crotch, he began to rub himself. “She takes such good care of me,” he said, almost dreamily. “She was the one who cut the mick’s rope. Said you’d come back to me if he was out of the picture.”

  Her imminent death suddenly a very real possibility, Lily fought back a sickening wave of nausea. She gulped in a huge breath to steady her stomach. “You’ve got Irena. What do you want with me?” she cried, her voice catching on a sob.

  His eyes narrowed in anger. “You’ve got a hard lesson coming, bitch,” he said. “Nobody walks away from me before I say, especially not a little nobody slut like you. I think I’m going to miss you, though. Now, where were we?” He grabbed the neckline of her shirt and ripped it open, sending the buttons flying.

  Scared she was going to lose consciousness out of sheer terror, Lily focused all her energy on one thought–Ian, where are you?

  * * * *

  Just outside, Irena pressed her ear to the door to listen, but couldn’t hear anything except talking after the first scream and bang. “Time to get this party started,” she said, feeling around in her pocket for Lily’s phone.

  * * * *

  Ian’s head suddenly throbbed, but the staggering pain went away as quickly as it had come. He didn’t knock, but turned the door handle to find it unlocked. His blood froze at the scene inside. The entire apartment was in shambles–the furniture toppled, drawer contents emptied on the floor. There was a furtive noise from the bedroom and he took off in that direction. Turning the bed over, he found Bella, terrified and growling. Crooning to soothe the distraught cat, he cradled her against his chest. “Where is she, Bella cat?” he whispered. No sooner were the words out of his mouth and he knew three things for certain–one, who had her, two, where he had seen Lucas before, and three, Lucas wasn’t going to live to see nightfall.

  Ian had just pulled his phone out to dial 911 when the notification beep sounded. Video-Picture incoming, it said. It took several seconds to download, but when the picture appeared, Ian roared at the ceiling in a blind and consuming rage. The text followed behind it:

  814 coventry ct, the colony, come alone or…

  Ian punched the address into his phone’s GPS on the run down the stairs. His phone rang as he got into the car, and he answered it without looking at the ID.

  “What’s wrong?” Meg demanded.

  “The bastard’s got Lily at 814 Coventry Court, someplace called The Colony. I’m on my way there.”

  “No, Ian, you can’t…” Meg gasped. “You’ve got to call – “

  “I have to. He’s going to kill her, Meggie,” Ian said, disconnecting before she could protest further.

  A tense ten minutes later, Ian turned off the engine and coasted silently into the driveway of the stuccoed ranch house, blocking in a big SUV. Crouching low, he used the vehicles as cover and ran toward the porch. He jumped, landed lightly on the top step and when he tried the doorknob, the front door swung open easily. It opened into a sort of family room, full of expensive leather furniture and a large flat screen TV. Sports and porn magazines littered the coffee table and a faint odor of cigar smoke still lingered. Man cave. Ian wrinkled his nose in distaste. Hugging the walls, he moved quietly through the house, watching and listening for signs of life.

  A scream rang out but was immediately cut short. The hair on his neck prickling in answer, he followed the sound to what looked to be the master bedroom at the back of the house. Ian pressed his ear to the wall to listen but when the muffled female voice cried out again, he threw open the bedroom door. It hit the opposite wall with a bang, startling both of the room’s inhabitants. A snarl distorting his lips, Lucas whirled to face him. Lily’s eyes were wide with terror and she shook her head frantically, the blood streaming in rivulets from her nose across the duct tape covering her mouth. Ian realized what he had walked into a full second before the gun cocked behind him.

  The unhinged giggle made his skin crawl. “Hiya, Lucky, how about you keep those hands where I can see ’em,” Irena said, jabbing the semi-automatic into his back. “I’m so glad you could join us. I’ll take your phone now, thanks.” She searched the pockets of his painter’s pants until she located it then helped herself.

  Ian’s gaze was riveted on Lily, part of her face obscured by a ridiculous costume veil. “How bad are you hurt, baby?” he asked softly. She shook her head and blinked, tears coursing from the corner of her eyes. Ian forced himself to keep his expression neutral in spite of the consuming rage. Breathe. If you lose your temper you’ll get us both killed, he reminded himself.

  “She’s just peachy,” Irena said conversationally, keeping the gun at his back. “Let’s just see what else you’re packing.” She ran her other
hand all over him, lingering over his groin area. When she was satisfied he was unarmed, she said, “I thought you’d like to see how poor Lily’s going to have to pay for your interfering in hers and Lucas’s relationship. I blame you–she’s too much of an idiot for any of this to have been her idea.” She looked at Lucas and shrugged. “I don’t know what it is the two of you see in her, but whatever. Different strokes for different folks.”

  She tapped Ian’s back with the gun barrel. “Speaking of strokes, I believe Lily was keeping something safe for my Lucas here, something he was really looking forward to and you took it away from him. So he’s going to just help himself to what’s left and you get to watch.” She snickered. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. And just so you don’t get any bright ideas–if you try to stop him, I’m going to shoot her, not you. Do you understand?”

  Ian nodded slowly and closed his eyes…glamour…his grandmother’s voice echoed in the back of his mind.

  “I don’t like this,” Lucas whispered.

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do or don’t like,” Irena snapped in exasperation. “Do it, already. We’re kinda committed at this point, you know?”

  ….when the time comes…

  Lucas gave Irena a hesitant smile, turned his attention to Lily, unsnapped the button on her jeans and yanked on the zipper. She whimpered and tried to twist away from him.

  “Doubt you’ll be able to do much for her,” Ian said.

  Look at me, you son of a bitch.

  Lucas stopped. “What did you say?”

  Ian’s eyes fluttered open and he relaxed. “I said I don’t think you’ll be able to do much for her. She’s a very spoiled little girl,” he said, chuckling.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas demanded.

  Listen to me.

  “I’ve pretty much ruined her for other men, I’m afraid.” Ian tilted his mouth up in a slow smile, his unblinking gaze locked on Lucas. “I remembered where I’ve seen you before. It was at the Castle, the night I kissed Lily for the first time. Did you see it? She tasted so, so sweet. Did the woman with you taste sweet, Lucas? Must not have. Poor thing ended up in the river, didn’t she?”