His Darkest Desires

by C. M. Allen

"Thanks man, I'm on it now." Hanging up my phone, I re-entered the conversation with the others. Everyone turned around as I walked up and address the Detective. "Wolfe found Jared’s car over on South York Street, but no Jared, Sloane, or Logan in or around it. He's checking further out. Can you send someone over to check the car for Sloane, and Logan’s prints on it?"

  "Yes, let me just make a call," the Detective said as he stepped away.

  I redirected my attention to Gage, who looked like someone just killed his dog. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I assured him. "I don't blame you man; it could have happened to the best of us. Hell, it has, so stop looking at me like your dog just died and help me get my woman back."

  "Thanks Archer, but this shit happened on my watch, so I still hold myself responsible. Should have gotten back in there faster. If I had then she'd still be here."

  "It's my fault, Archer." Following the direction of the voice, I saw McKenzie approaching us. "This is all my fault, I distracted Gage. I should have waited until he was done with his work to talk to him. Heck, I should have just stayed inside, then she would still be here." She finished, her eyes tearing up.

  Gage seeing her so upset, quickly took her in his arms to soothe her. "Not your fault babe, who knows, you could have gotten hurt, too. As much as of a selfish prick I sound like for saying this, I'm glad you weren't in there."

  "Gage!" She said, leaning back, looking at him with a frown on her face.

  "No. He's right McKenzie, you're lucky you were with him, and not hurt. And no, it doesn't make you a selfish prick," I said, looking at Gage. "Because I would be thinking the same fucking thing if I were you right now."

  "Okay, a unit is on its way to check out Jared’s' car for any prints." Detective Hamilton informed us, walking back over. "So how well do you know this Logan guy who came to see Sloane?"

  Taking in my surroundings, of whom all I wanted to hear this, I looked at Gage. "Why don't you take McKenzie home now, there's no use in her staying here, and then come back and help us."

  He gave me a stern look that he knew I was trying to remove him and McKenzie from our conversation, so I assured him. "I will fill you in on everything when you get back."

  He nodded. "You got it boss." Before taking McKenzie back inside the café to gather her things.

  Turning back to address the Detective and my partners, who all mostly know about my extracurricular activities, I began. "I know Logan from The Dark Playroom club we both belong to."

  The Detective continued to stare at me without an ounce of shock that I belonged to the club. "Well, can't say that I'm surprised by this information, but as far as Logan, how long and how well do you know this guy?"

  "We've known each other for about six months now. I don't really know him outside of the club. Most of our activities and time around each other has been within the club. But I've never known him to hurt any woman he took as his sub, nor has any women filed any complaints against him. But the two best people to be answering these kinds of questions would actually be Seth and Dom at the club. They would know more about him than me." Looking at my partners, I didn’t see any judgement in their eyes at my choice of lifestyle and it made me very thankful, especially right now with what was going on with Sloane. The last thing I needed was judgement being passed on me from the ones who meant the most in my life.

  "Okay, I say we head over to the club and speak with them, find out if they know anymore about him than what we already know. I have Detective Peterson checking his apartment now to see if there's anything there that can tell us what's really going on here, whether or not he's involved in this whole thing or is only a victim like Sloane."

  CHAPTER

  34

  Sloane

  Looking up in the direction I heard the female voice coming from, I saw Margo step into view, holding a knife. "He was talking to me, sweetie," she said before walking over and cutting the cable ties from his wrists and ankles. Getting up, Logan gives her a long passionate kiss, and I started to wonder how the hell she fit into this whole thing and what was really going on.

  "I don't understand. Are you the one who killed all those women, Margo? Or was it Logan?"

  Both of them laughed at me like I was some silly little girl who had absolutely no clue about the big bad world. "Boy, you really don't know what's going on, do you?" Margo commented in a snide tone.

  “No! And what did you do with Janessa? Is she still alive or did you kill her, too?"

  Letting out a chuckled breath, Margo lowered herself closer to my face, putting her finger to her temple in a mocking manner, like she was trying to think. "Well, I can tell you this much, the bitch ain't breathing no more, so yeah, I'm going to say she's dead."

  "You fucking, bitch! She never did anything to you! Why did you have to kill her?"

  Grabbing my face, her nails dug into my skin. "Because she was too fucking nosy for her own good, just like you." Turning back, she smiled at Logan. "One nosey bitch down, one to go." Looking back to me, she stood up and motioned to him. "Get her up and bring her with us, we’ll need her stupid ass at least for a while. And in the meantime, maybe we can have a little fun with her."

  Logan, stalked towards me, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder fireman style, and in that split second, I really looked at the pants that he was wearing, and realized it was him all along under the mask that took Janessa. "Why would you do this, Logan? Why would you go along with that bitch?"

  Bringing his hand down hard on my backside, he said in a stern voice. "That's the love of my life you're talking shit about. You had better watch that mouth of yours, or I will make your death a more painful one than necessary. You got me?"

  Carrying me into the next room, I saw Janessa, lifeless looking body, hanging on a St. Andrew’s Cross against the wall. She had handcuffs on her wrists that held her body up. Even though I knew she was probably dead, I couldn't help but call out her name in hopes that she would lift her head up and answer me. "Janessa! Janessa! Please wake up! What did you do to her?!" I shouted, beating on his back.

  "The same thing I'm going to do to you," he replied, slamming me down onto a table styled cot. "Fucking snuff the life right out of you. But don't worry beautiful, because you're going to be famous soon."

  Before I could get the question out about what he was talking about, Margo stuck another needle in my neck, making me dizzy once again as I listened to her say. "This bitch is going to be our best work yet. Kind of like the grand finale for the city of Chicago." As she laughed, the world seems to grow more-hazy by the minute. I continued to fade in and out of consciousness but was never out cold. I could still feel them moving me around as if I was some sort of a rag doll prop.

  The feeling of someone stroking my hair brought me back into myself once again. Then the sound of a man's voice telling me that everything was going to be okay, and that I was going to be safe now came into focus, making me feel safe and sound. "A-Archer, is that you? I-I was so scared that you wouldn't f-find me in time. T-they're t-the k-killers."

  When the same hand started stroking my cheek, lips covered mine, cutting my words off. "Shh, I've got you baby, you're safe with me."

  My eyes popped open when I realize that it was actually Jared talking to me, and not Archer. "W-what's going on? H-how d-did you find me? D-did you c-call for help?"

  "Why would I do that, Sloane? I'm here to save you. I'm all you need, baby. Not Archer. He's the reason you're in this mess in the first place. Had he not brought you to the club that night, you would have never witnessed me playing Margo and Logan’s sick little game they liked to play."

  "W-what game... are you talking about, Jared?" I asked, trying to move, but realized that I was still tied down to a table. "And why am I still t-tied up if you're here to save me? Untie me."

  Letting out a heavy breath, Jared, shook his head. "They made snuff films. They sexually abused their victims and then killed them. Margo usually liked to watch Logan, fuck them, and then strangle them,
though, I did participate a few times myself. She said it was the most beautiful moment; watching the life drain from their eyes. I met the two of them in college at a BDSM club, and we all hit it off." He looked to the floor behind him, before speaking again. "Four years of friendship Sloane, and I killed them, my friends, for you. I chose you over them. Just like you're going to choose me over Archer."

  As I listened to all the crazy things this man, I had been intimate with was telling me, I couldn't help but wonder how the hell I missed just how troubled he truly was. He was so gentle with me, and yet friends with the likes of Logan and Margo, cold hearted killers. "I don't understand, Jared. Why would you be friends with them and take part in killing all those women?"

  Looking up at the ceiling briefly, then back down at me, he stared at me through the eyes of a stranger now. This was no longer the playful, lighthearted man I once shared my bed with. "Well, this is the part of me that I've always been afraid to share with you. But now that I know you're into kinky sex, I thought that it was time I shared my dirty little secret with you, baby."

  CHAPTER

  35

  Archer

  We all piled into our cars and headed over to the club to see Seth and Dom. I called Seth before we left to ensure that they would both be there and to fill them in on what had happened. So of course, they were both more than ready to help us with any answers they could. As we drove along, Riker tried to figure out if he could tap into any of the traffic cams in the area, were Jared’s' car was found, so we could see if he were in fact alone or he had Sloane with him. And if he did take Logan as well, he would have needed help getting him out of the café and the car. But who? Who would be bold enough to take Sloane right out from under our noses when everyone knew she had been under heavy guard since that night at the club. My phone ringing brought me out of my thoughts. "Jennings here."

  "Archer, it's Nolan."

  “Did you find anything out?"

  "Yes I did, and you're not going to like it. I heard about Sloane, and you need to find her as soon as you can man, and I mean now."

  "What the hell do you think I'm trying to do? Just tell me what it is you found out, Nolan. What is so bad? You're fucking freaking me the hell out right now."

  "I tracked down Stacy Ingram and she told me how Jared tied her up and tried to strangle her when she turned him down to be his girlfriend. But she said that as she was about to lose consciousness, he let her go and told her he wanted to show her just how easily he could snuff her life out if he so chose to. He told her that she was to be friendly to him when she saw him, or he would kill her. Also told her that if she told anyone about that incident, he would kill her little sister, who was in second grade at the time.”

  I wiped a hand down my face, trying to calm myself. "What the fuck? I knew, I just knew he was fucked up in the head the first time I ever talked to him. What else? Did you speak to Rebecca Simmons from his college?"

  Staying silent for a moment, he finally said, "No. I wasn't able to because she's dead, Archer. She was killed the same way as the other woman you are investigating. She filed a stalking complaint with the campus police, but it seems someone brushed it under the carpet. I found out that the Dean of the school at the time was a close friend of his parents, which explains why the local police were never contacted regarding the complaint. She was killed about a year later. Her body was found in an alleyway.” Fear sliced right through me after Nolan informed me of his findings.

  "Shit! Why didn't they go after Jared since she died, and tell the campus police about him stalking her? And if the Dean knew, surely, he couldn't ignore a murder? I would think Jared would have been their prime suspect."

  "He was one of ten men that were, but he alibied out. He had two witnesses to his whereabouts that night at the time of the murder. Also, the Dean suffered a massive stroke four months prior to the murder, he was basically a vegetable and unable to communicate anything about the incident to anyone. And with the turnover rate with the campus police, anyone who was there at the time the complaint was filed had moved on, so it went unnoticed."

  "Who were the two witnesses that gave him the alibi? Do you have a copy of the police report with you?"

  "Yeah, I do. Let me take look here, I know I saw their names, give me just a second." Waiting for what felt like forever, he finally said, "The names I have here are a Margo Stewart and a Logan Mathews."

  When he said their names, my blood ran cold. "Mother fucker! Logan was the last one to see Sloane before she disappeared! I'm going to kill him! Call me if you find anything else out." I told him before hanging up.

  "What the hell was that all about?" Dalton asked. I explained to everyone everything that Nolan had just told me about Jared, Margo, and Logan, leaving the same expression on their faces that was on mine. "We need to really look into any and all locations that Jared, Margo, and Logan would have either hung out at or stayed in." Looking over at Riker, Dalton asked. “Can you tap into their recent credit card and bank activity? Maybe they made a mistake somewhere along the line and purchased a hotel to hole up in, or just anything that can give us any clue as to where they might have taken her."

  “Absolutely, I'll get started on it now.” Riker told him as he began tapping away on his laptop.

  “I'm going to call Hamilton and let him know what we found out about Logan, and Margo.” Slade announced before getting on his phone.

  And then an idea hit me. “Slade. How well did Reyna know Jared? Had she ever hung out with Jared and Sloane anywhere? Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

  “Great idea. I'll call her right now before I call the Detective and ask her. After Slade finished up talking with Reyna, he filled us in. “So, the only two places they ever hung out together was Sloane's place, or his place. But she did say that Sloane talked about some beach that he took her to awhile back and talked about going there again before they broke things off. It was called Whihala Beach. It has a few homes that surround it. Think they might take her there and hide?”

  “Don't know, but we’re going to check it out first and let the Detectives talk with Seth and Dom.” As we changed directions to head out to the beach to search for her, I prayed with everything inside of me that Jared loved her enough to protect her from Logan, and Margo, and more importantly, from himself.

  CHAPTER

  36

  Sloane

  After Jared told me that he was going to share his secret with me, I felt panic begin to rise-up inside of me about what it was he would to do to me. If Margo, and Logan were into snuff films and he knew about it, even participated in them sometimes, then I had to ask myself if he wasn’t going to kill me just like they killed the others.

  I know what I had to do now.

  I needed to make him see me as someone he loved again.

  Hopefully enough not to hurt me.

  Then another thought pushed its way to the forefront of my mind, and it could very well become my reality. Would he force me to have sex with him? Is he really going to rape me if I say no to him? “Where's that head of yours at, Sloane?” I heard him ask, snapping me out of my panicked thoughts and back to this nightmare that had come to life.

  “Jared?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Are you going to hurt me?”

  Walking closer to me, he started to run his hand down the side of my cheek, cupping it. “I guess that all depends on you, now doesn't it.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “It means, I want you to tell me all the kinky things that bastard made you do with him, and don't lie to me, baby. Not if you want me to forgive you for leaving me for him. You need to confess all of your sins to me. Then I'll decide if I'm able to forgive you and keep you as mine.”

  “H-he hasn't done anything really kinky with me yet. H-he’s been trying to go slow with me because I'm new to all of this.” I lied to him, hoping that he would still see me as an innocent in his eyes. “The only thing he's tried is tying my arms
to the bed.”

  “Well then you should feel right at home tied down on my little cot here.” Taking a deep breath, he asked. “Did he fuck you, Sloane? Did he fuck what you told me was mine to have?”

  “Jared, I don’t think...”

  “Did he fuck you?!” He shouted, getting so close to my face when he did that it startled me. “It's a simple fucking question!”

  “Y-yes.” I replied in a shaky whisper.

  Pacing around the room like a caged animal, he rammed his hand through his hair, becoming very agitated from my answer, the answer I was hoping I wouldn't have to give, knowing that this would be his reaction. “I treated you like gold! I treated you better than any of the others, Sloane. Do you know how many times I could have killed you like Logan, and Margo wanted me to?!” Kicking Logan’s lifeless body on the ground, he turned back to face me. “What you don't know is, I’m the one who saved you! You were supposed to be next! It was my job to gain your trust so they could get you and Janessa into the club and make their snuff films! You were the one they wanted the most, but I fell in love with you! It was me that told them they couldn't have you, that you were mine! But then you just had to go crawling back to him! Saying you were still in love with him! Ripping my heart right out of my fucking chest and destroying it like it meant nothing to you!”

  “Jared, I-I'm so sorry.”

  Chuckling, he said, “I even gave you another chance. Begged you to come back to me, but you still chose him! You left me no choice other than to let them have you. But then I still couldn't do it, I couldn't let them take your life because I loved you so much. No, I thought to myself, if anyone is going to end you, it has to be me. It has to be me to share that final moment with you in this life and watch the way you look when you take your final breath with those beautiful lips. The look in your eyes as I watch the life fade out of them and into mine, making you mine for eternity.”