A Matter of Time 01 - 02 (Volume 1) (MM)

by Mary Calmes

  She forgave him and they're going to give it another chance."

  "But I thought Kurt loved Jen?"

  "Apparently he loves his social class more."

  "I don't understand."

  Jen pulled back to look up into my face. "Jory, Kurt was poor when he married Rita. He works at her father's company. He's the vice president, his father-in-law is the president. The cars and the boat and the membership at the goddamn country club are all through her. She owns him and I forgot about that. He likes traveling and expensive clothes and his gadgets and everything else that her money buys."

  "Oh, sweetie," I sympathized, kissing her forehead, easing her back into my arms. "I'm so sorry."

  "When push came to shove, he wanted to be rich more than he wanted to be in love."

  "He was probably thinking of his kids," I assured her. "If she's that rich, I'm sure she could afford to—"

  "Please, Jory," she sniffled. "His kids are away in boarding school. He doesn't even see them," she wheezed out, her tears nearly choking her. "No, it's just the money. He likes his status, he's not going back to being just like the rest of us."

  "I'm so sorry, honey."

  She clutched me tight.

  "Jennifer."

  We both looked up at Sam.

  "Fuck them all. You'll find the guy for you. Just focus on your kids right now and we'll all be here for you." He motioned for her to go to him. "C'mere."

  And I was so proud of him, watching him hug the life out of his sister. The sigh that came up out of her spoke to the importance of his words: for whatever reason, what he thought and said being the mirror that she saw her reflection through. That he loved her and believed in her helping more than any other comfort.

  "Thank you for coming, Jory," Rachel whispered, leaning across the small space that separated us. "It means so much."

  "It's Sam that she needed." I gestured to the brother and sister hugging tight.

  "Yeah," she nodded, looking me in the eye. "But when you're not around, he isn't this guy. My mom says that's what happens when you're in love; the other person brings out the very best in you."

  I stared back at her.

  "When you're with him, Sammy is amazing. I never had much use for him until you came with him that one Sunday. I finally got what the big deal was... and then you disappeared.

  Don't disappear again, Jory."

  "No, I won't."

  She nodded, leaning back. "Good."

  It was a nice couple of hours, Sam's family treating me like I belonged. He and Michael talked football and Thomas joined in, at ease with his sons. I promised Jen that on those weekends that the girls spent with their dad she could come and sleep over at my place. Rachel said that she had big plans for her sister, and I said we could go dancing. I wanted her to meet Dylan and Chris. She said she was looking forward to it.

  Sam took a call and afterward he said that we had to go.

  All the women hugged me and the men ignored me, which I took as a good sign since they were completely engrossed with what the Packers and the Broncos were doing. They grunted a good-bye to Sam and he promised his mother that we'd be there for Sunday dinner.

  "I'll bring my brother," I told her.

  "Oh!" She was thrilled. "I would love that, Jory. Please do bring him."

  I swore I would, even as I wondered how I would accomplish it.

  "Who was on the phone?" I asked Sam when we were back in the SUV.

  "Christ, we left those sandwiches in here," he grumbled, rolling down the window.

  "Sam, who—"

  "It smells like sauerkraut. How can you even—"

  "Who was on the phone?"

  He sighed heavily. "Maggie."

  "Okay. What does she want?"

  "She wants to talk to me."

  "And so you're going to go talk to her?"

  "I owe her that much, J."

  "Do you?"

  "I think so, yeah."

  I nodded, turning to look at the street.

  "Don't you think so?"

  "No."

  "Don't be an ass."

  "I'm not."

  "I'll drop you at home."

  "Fine."

  We didn't talk the entire way to his place, and I got out of the car the second he stopped it. I didn't even bother closing the door. I was moving as fast as I could to the front of the building when a heavy had clamped down on my shoulder.

  "Just go already."

  He turned me around to face him. "Listen, Maggie's just lookin' for some closure, and I'm sure an explanation. She deserves that, J."

  "Sure."

  His hand went to my chin, tipping it up so he could look down into my eyes. "I'm coming home to you."

  I nodded.

  "Knock it off, quit bein' a brat."

  I exhaled deeply as he smiled into my eyes.

  "Gimme kiss."

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss that I wanted him to remember while he was talking to his ex-girlfriend.

  "Maybe I should come up first," he said when I finally pulled back, his voice gravelly as he spoke into my hair. The way his fingers were digging into my back, the way his lips were sliding down the side of my neck let me know that I had the reaction I was looking for.

  "No," I said, looking up at him. "Go and see Maggie. Just get back as soon as you can."

  He nodded, staring at my mouth. "I'll be back soon. Don't go to sleep."

  I chuckled. "I won't."

  He gave me a final kiss on the forehead before he darted back to the car. I smiled when he peeled out. I was almost to the door when I heard my name called. Dominic Kairov was the last person I expected to see but there he was, stepping out of the shadows by the side of the building.

  "Dom? What are you doing here?" I asked as I walked over to him.

  He smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to talk to Sam and tell him I was sorry about everything. I wanna see if he can forgive me."

  "Of course he can," I assured him, gesturing for him to follow me inside. "C'mon, it's freezing out here. We can wait for him together."

  "What'd you do to your ankle?"

  I chuckled. "Racquetball with Dane."

  He grunted behind me. "I guess you're not so lucky after all huh, Jory?"

  "No, I think my luck only runs to out-running contract killers." I smiled.

  "Maybe not."

  And I had a sudden chill, as I understood that maybe being alone with Dominic Kairov was really stupid.

  "I think your luck's done, Jory."

  When I looked over my shoulder, he grabbed the back of my coat and his hand covered my face. I couldn't breathe and the smell was awful and then there was nothing but darkness as I felt my body turn liquid.

  Chapter Nine

  The rocking woke me. The room was light and then dark and the third time it illuminated I realized I was in a van. I had to work to get my mind to focus so I could figure out what was going on. The last thing I remembered was my boyfriend Sam's partner, Dominic Kairov, stepping out of the shadows next to my apartment to talk to me. He had started out by telling me that he wanted to apologize to Sam for the way he had acted. When Sam had told him that he loved me, Jory Harcourt, another man, Dominic had freaked out. So when Dominic appeared and told me that he wanted to fix things with Sam, I was so happy. I had invited him inside to wait for Sam, but when I turned my back, he grabbed me and knocked me out. Now I was his prisoner. Why I had been taken was a mystery. Sam Kage was a vice detective, and so was Dominic Kairov. As far as I knew, cops didn't kidnap people. So what the hell was going on?

  I could tell from the speed that I was on a freeway, but there was no way to gauge a direction. The fact that I was freezing didn't help my focus one bit. I realized the reason was that my coat was gone. All I was wearing were my corduroys and sweater from earlier in the evening. My hands and feet were tied behind me and I was bent backward in an arch. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. I was afraid of what my ankle would feel l
ike when I was released, since I had sprained it days earlier. Would I even be able to stand on it? And then I wondered if I would be released. How did kidnapping work? What could I expect? Having never been kidnapped before, I had no idea. For some reason I thought about my brother then; what would Dane say if he could see me now? It would be one more stupid mess that Jory had gotten himself into. And then I thought about Sam and how much I loved him. Funny all the things that swept through my brain.

  The van stopped and I could barely breathe. The door slammed open and I was faced with Dominic and a man who looked familiar but was not instantly recognizable. He was dressed well, in a three-piece suit, topcoat, and a long scarf.

  "See?" Dominic gestured at me. "You send me and the job gets done."

  The other man nodded. "I do see, very good. Now I want him shot and—"

  I gasped and he scowled before he turned sideways and saw what I did—Dominic holding a gun to his head. He reached for the gun at the same time it went off. There was blood everywhere, and I screamed.

  "Shut the fuck up," Dominic yelled at me as two other men came to stand with him. "Toss that asshole in the ravine, but don't forget to put Jory's coat next to him."

  I watched him wipe my thigh with the coat, and only then did I see that my pants were torn and I was bleeding.

  "Don't worry, J, it's only a flesh wound. You're not gonna bleed to death or nothing."

  So odd that he was talking to me like we were buddies. He tossed the coat to a guy wearing gloves and then slammed the door of the van shut after he got in with me. He sat down as the van started moving again.

  "You're wondering why the hell you're not in the ditch too, right?"

  I nodded.

  "Well, 'cause I still need you to show to Roman's old man.

  Once I tell him that you killed his son, he's gonna gut you, and I'm gonna get out from under all this bullshit."

  I just stared at him.

  "Do you have any idea how much Maggie hates Sam?"

  It was a weird segue, but I went with it and shook my head.

  "She hated him so much that she agreed to call him for me and get him over to her place."

  I was silent, just keeping my eyes on him.

  "You know, with you dead, J, Sammy's gonna go back to being the way he was. With Roman gone, all evidence of my involvement goes with him. So, see, I get my life back, my partner back—everything with just you and Roman turning up dead."

  I winced and he smiled.

  "Your ankle hurts, huh?"

  I nodded.

  "Sorry. I'll untie you when we get to the warehouse. I'll get you some blankets too. I don't want you to freeze before you see the old man." He studied me. "You know, just so you're prepared—the old man, he might not kill you fast. He's got some old-world ideas about revenge, and with you being the one that killed his kid an' all... you might be in for a long night."

  I felt my stomach heave.

  "I won't be around for that, J. It'll be weird though, to know for the rest of my life what happened to you and never tell Sam. He's gonna be so happy to get me back when all they find is pieces of you."

  Hard not to break down, but if I did, I was afraid of what would happen. It seemed like he got off on seeing others suffer. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction... at least not until I absolutely had to.

  "Sammy'll be all devastated and I'll be there to see him through it. I'll even find him a new girl."

  My eyes filled instantly. It hurt my heart just thinking of Sam ever loving anyone but me.

  "Faggot piece of shit," he snarled at me before he leaned forward and drew back his fist. I never even felt the punch.

  * * * *

  My whole body hurt. I felt cold even through two blankets because the wall I was lying beside was like a block of ice. I could hear things scuttling around in the darkness and knew it could only be rats. I tried to calm down so I wouldn't hyperventilate. I felt the rope between my hands and saw that it ran behind me to the wall. It was knotted over my head to a pulley. Looking at it, I realized I could be strung up by my wrists if someone wanted it that way. Moving my legs, I felt my ankle throb with renewed pain before I felt in my pockets for my phone. It wasn't surprising that it was missing. What kind of cop would Dominic be to miss my cell phone? I laid back down because my head was pounding and I was dizzy. I didn't want to throw up. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't faint. It didn't work.

  * * * *

  I was nudged awake, and when I looked up Dominic was standing over me. He had a gallon of water and a bucket.

  When I lifted my head up off the floor, he squatted down and put both close to me.

  "Drink this and use this to piss in." He smiled lazily. "Don't mix 'em up."

  I looked at him.

  "Are you hungry?"

  I shook my head.

  "You will be," he passed judgment. "And I have something to ask you... did Sammy meet with IAD?"

  "What's IOD?" I asked deliberately.

  "IAD," he corrected me. "Okay, guess not. IAD is internal affairs division, J."

  Again it was funny that he was calling me J, like we were buddies, like we were just sitting around talking, not at all like the life-and-death situation it was.

  "Did you hear me?"

  "Yeah."

  He chuckled. "You know, my buddy Marco says if you blow him, he'll get you some more blankets. I think ya should. It's like thirty degrees or so in here, J. I mean, we're sittin' in the office where it's warm. Down here in the warehouse, you're gonna fuckin' freeze your ass tonight."

  I shook my head.

  "Come on, J, think about it. You're not gonna see Sammy again anyway. He'd want ya to at least be warm." He said it like it was obvious. "And what's suckin' a little dick to a guy like you? I'm sure you've blown hundreds of guys."

  "No."

  "C'mon, J, I bet you give a great blow job."

  "Sounds like you wanna know," I said to antagonize him. I was afraid that the way we were going I would be forced.

  "Fuckin' cocksucker!" His voice went flat and cold before he stood and kicked me in the ribs.

  I rolled up into a ball and saw his boot coming for my face.

  I felt my head explode and then it was dark all over again.

  * * * *

  I was so cold. I couldn't remember ever being so cold. My teeth chattering woke me. Sitting up almost made me vomit, but I bit back the nausea, and when I moved my hand to touch my hair I realized that it was caught in something. I pulled and used my other hand to free it. Like a heavy, tight-fitting bracelet that slipped off painfully, chafing, but the recovery taking only seconds. I jerked suddenly and held up my hand in front of my face.

  "Oh shit," I gasped, realizing that the rope was off my right wrist. In the cold, my hands had shrunk and the rope that had been tight wasn't any longer. It took only seconds to get it off my other hand. This, then, one of the many benefits of being a small guy—ropes and handcuffs had to be constantly tightened.

  I found that I couldn't stand. Even sitting up almost made me swoon. So I crawled to the edge of the wall and moved through the darkness. The floor was covered in gravel and sand and smelled like manure. There were furry bodies moving just feet from me but I heaved silently, determined not to vomit. When I felt the blast of cold air on my face, I looked out and saw the moon-washed snow and the car. And I thought that running would be good at the same time I knew that I was already cold and outside would just be that much worse. Staying with Dominic would get me killed, but so would wading through snow in just my jeans and a sweater.

  When I brushed up against a rope, heavier than the one I had been tied with, I felt up the length and there was a knot.

  A foot above that, another... and then another. I couldn't follow it in the darkness, but it had to lead somewhere. It was dicey though. I could barely stand, let alone climb, and depending on how far up—I might fall.

  These were decisions that I had never evaluated even in my wildest dreams. Did
I climb the rope ladder or stay where I was? The decision was made, however, when I heard a heavy door slide open and a shaft of light cut through the darkness. When I looked, I saw no one in the doorway, so I rose to a hunched position and sprinted back to where the blankets were still piled next to the wall. I collapsed onto the floor hard and saw the lights in front of my eyes. My body felt heavy and the waves of nausea pounded through me.

  "Hey."

  I rolled my head and dimly saw the man looming over me.

  "I'm bored," he said before he grabbed me.

  I tried to move but I was useless. He outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds and his weight on my chest, his knees on my arms, pinned me easily. He thumbed open the button of my corduroys and flipped me over hard, winding me.

  I was shoved face down on the floor and my sweater was pushed up as my pants were yanked down. I squirmed, but the knee that was driven into my back stopped me. He grabbed a handful of the back of my hair and yanked my head up sharply before showing me the long, jagged hunting knife.

  "It goes in your ass or my dick does. You decide."

  I went completely still.

  "Yeah, I fuckin' thought so," he said, his hand sliding across my bare skin. I felt him shift and he yanked me to my hands and knees before I heard him spit. "Gonna tear up that sweet little ass of yours."

  I felt him there against me, ready and hard, felt the knife in his hand against my ribs, felt him nudge forward before he would lean back and then forward again to bury himself in me. In that instant was advantage. He was bigger, but even hurt I was sure I was faster. I dropped my left shoulder, which put him off balance, and with my left hand grabbed the blade of the knife and slipped it out of his hand. I rolled over on my back, and he couldn't stop his fall or slow his momentum. I was going to stab at him, catch him in the throat, but at the last second, I slid sideways out of the way.

  There was a crunch as his face hit the floor, and I saw the spreading pool of blood around his head. The whole ordeal had lasted only seconds but felt like a lifetime. It was so quiet, and in that stillness I decided not to sit there and wait.

  I pulled up my pants, grabbed one of the blankets, and bolted back across the room. Adrenaline is an amazing thing.