Chapter 34

He’d expected it to rain, but it didn’t. The sun blazed down on the forlorn graveside ceremony. There were exactly seven people in attendance including the priest. He had sent her out in style with the best casket he could find, a walnut with gold trim. Colt did his last rites and waited until the priest completed his ritual. He needed to get away. He felt suffocated although he’d already loosened his tie. He needed to get away from there.

After the priest completed the prayers, he turned and as he did, he saw Jason standing about fifty meters away. Someone moved up beside him and gripped his shoulder.

“Let it be,” Reid said. “She was his stepmother. He has a right to be here. I know you think he got Chelsea, but this …” Colt broke away from the manager’s grasp, striding towards his stepbrother. “Colt!” Reid called after him.

Jason did not move as he approached. Reid caught up to him, grabbing his arm, but he wriggled away. He reached within a foot of the other man and eyed him. They sized each other up for a minute before Colt folded his fist, bringing it to land on Jason’s jaw. The man reeled back but caught his balance. Colt advanced and landed another on the same jaw.

Jason’s eyes widened before he got a hold on what was happening. He doubled his fist and punched at Colt, who was expecting it and blocked it, then followed with a counter punch. His fist on Jason’s face felt good. He punched his face a number of times before several sets of hands grabbed him, pulling him away.

“You won’t get away with this,” Jason warned, gingerly fingering his jaw.

“Let me go,” Colt tried to break free, but all four band members were holding him while Reid stood in between.

“Jason, you’d better go,” Reid advised.

Jason moved his jaw around, perhaps checking to see if it was broken. “I’ll go, but this isn’t the last of me.”

“Piss off!” Tony spat. “Before we all join in.”

Jason eyeballed them with the evil eye before he slinked away. Colt shrugged off the hands and moved toward the car. Reid joined him while the others went in another car. As Reid pulled the car away, Colt noticed someone standing on the opposite side of the road across from the cemetery. He was holding a camera with a pleased smile on his face.

“Sonofabitch!”

Reid’s head jerked around to look at him. “What’s the matter?” he questioned.

“Jason wasn’t alone,” he said.

“What do you mean,” Reid asked, looking in the rearview mirror and slowing the vehicle. He narrowed his eyes, and then reversed a few meters. “Damn it! When will these bastards leave us alone?”

They watched via the rearview mirror as Jason and Carl Benson got into the same vehicle and moved off. Reid waited until they passed before continuing on his way. Colt closed his eyes, resting his head back on the seat. His knuckles that he used to pummel Jason throbbed. He ignored it. What he needed badly now was a drink. Something to take the edge off.

“I’ll drop you at the hotel and head to that meeting I told you about,” Reid said.

“Yeah, you do that. I need to be alone anyway,” he grunted.

The minute he stepped out of the car in front of the hotel was the moment he knew he wasn’t going to sit alone in his suite. He hailed a cab as soon as Reid disappeared around the corner.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“The nearest bar you can find.”

* * * *

She heard voices, a male and female. They seemed to be arguing, as their voices seemed modulated with some amount of anger. Chelsea strained her ears to listen. At least the ropes were not as tight as before, and they had removed her gag. However, something wasn’t right. She had a sore throat, and she felt quiet ill, which made her weak. Her mind went back to the voices.

“What have you done?” the female said. She sounded like she was about to cry.

“I thought that was what you wanted,” the man said. “I did it for you.” There was a hint of familiarity in the voice, but her hazy mind could not chronicle it.

“Are you crazy? Why would I want you to do something like this?”

Chelsea tried to focus on what they were saying, but she began to drift into a semi-conscious state. If only Colt were here, she thought. He would save me.

“Colt,” she formed the words with her mouth, but no words came, though in her mind, she was screaming.

She finally drifted off but only for a few seconds. The voices were still at it, but they sounded far away, and she could not make out the words. “Colt!” her silent scream was only evident to her. “Colt,” she whimpered. “I lo …” her mouth moved, but she’d drifted off once more.

When she next awoke, she could finally open her eyes. They’d removed the blindfold. Her body was in pain, and she could hardly move. Her eyes took a while to focus. When she finally made out the surroundings, her eyes settled on a small, high, broken window. She lowered her eyes to the wall beneath, and an excruciating pain shot through her sockets, lodging at the back of her head. Closing them, she allowed the pain to subside.

With a groan, she tried to turn. That was when she realized her bonds were loosed. With every ounce of strength, she tried to pull herself up. It wasn’t enough, as she was barely able to sit up before slumping back against the cold floor, her breathing labored.

After several tries, she managed to first sit and then wait a while and stand. She noticed in one corner there was a chair with an apple and a bottle of water upon it. Chelsea dragged her weak feet over and picked up the items. She had not eaten in days; the apple would give her strength. Though her body was weak, her mind was still sharp. The story of Snow White and the apple flashed in her mind, and she hesitated a moment before eating it.

“How much worse can it get?” she asked herself.

She bit into the thing but found it was painful swallowing it. It took a while for her to eat one apple, but she got through it. Afterward, she drank the water. Her knees were wobbly, but she’d gained some amount of strength. Her stomach was weak and quivering, the way one felt when they had a fever. Touching her skin was of no use. It was as if she could not feel anything.

Finally getting a chance to see the room, it looked like an old warehouse. As she stepped out into the California sunshine, the glare of the setting sun blinded her. She had to reach up weak, painful arms to shield her equally painful eyes. She waited until the pain subsided before looking around. She’d seen the building on her way to the venue. In fact, it was close by.

What should she do? Police … hospital … where? She lumbered onto the main road, almost stumbling a few times. There she hailed a cab. The man looked at her strangely for a moment. He seemed reluctant to let her in.

“Please,” she tried to speak, but her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “Please!”

* * * *

He’d lost his tie somewhere between the door and the bar counter. Colt could not care less one way or the other. He’d had his umpteenth drink. The alcohol was taking too long to settle in, and he needed something more. He needed hot, warm flesh. The two women beside him seemed up for it, and he was slowly making up his mind. He needed to fuck, and they were there. What was the big deal?

He looked at the older one. She had long brown hair and soft brown eyes. Her friend was prettier with dark hair and pale blue eyes. He liked her, but Chelsea’s face was always there. They looked nothing like her. He closed his eyes as one of their hands caressed his chest; he pictured that it was Chelsea.

Heck, yeah! One of them grabbed his crutch, and his cock sprang to life. He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or him missing Chelsea, but he sure as hell was not actually attracted to them. Even so, they were women, and he needed the distraction. And he was horny as well.

“Fuck it, letsh go,” his said. His speech slurred, which surprised him. “What the fuck’s wrong with my voice?” It slurred some more. He looked at the bartender. “What the hell did you puth in my drink?”

Colt stood. His body rocked to the side so that he had to hold on to the counter. His mind seemed clear, but he was acting strangely. “What da fuck you gave me?” his voice rose a few notches, causing the patrons to look on with interest.

“Cool it man, you’ve had more than enough. I’ll get you some coffee,” the barman returned.

“Fuck that shiiiittttt. I’ma outta heerree!” He pushed from the counter and turned, stumbling a little. “Come on, mee beauteeeeeeeeees!” he said to the two girls.

“Can you call us a cab please?” one of the women requested of the bartender.

They flanked him on both sides, assisting him to the door. The cab pulled up at the entrance of the bar a minute after they stepped outside. Colt halted and looked around, not believing it was dark out already. He bundled in the back of the cab with the girls and leaned his head back on the seat. The one on the right nibbled his ear while the other was rubbing his pants crotch.

* * * *

She needed to see a doctor, but more than that, she needed Colt. He must be going out of his mind these last few days with everything he was going through. Did he go back to see his mother? She needed to see him to make sure he was okay. He would take her to the doctor, and she could talk to the police when ready.

The bellman knew her well and was happy to pay her cab fare. “Miss Chelsea, you’re okay? Where have you been? I heard you were missing,” the man questioned.

“Please have someone help me to the suite. I need to let them know I am fine. I lost my key,” she whispered in her hoarse voice.

“Okay,” he shook his head and beckoned to one of the floor supervisors who immediately walked over.

“Miss Chelsea, oh, my God,” the supervisor exclaimed. “You don’t look so well.” She touched her forehead. “You’re burning up. I am calling the hotel doctor.”

“No, I need to see Colt, now!” she managed to get out. “He’ll take me to the doctor.”

“I don’t know, Miss Chelsea, you look really ill,” the woman said with uncertainty.

Chelsea raised her painful eyes to the woman, pleading, “Please, take me to Colt’s suite. Please.”

The supervisor, whose name she failed to remember at that moment, acquiesced and personally helped her to the elevator. She accompanied her all the way to their floor. When they were in the passage, she asked Chelsea if she was sure she didn’t want to go to her room.

“No, take me to the suite. I’ll be fine,” she whispered. She was shaking by the time the woman opened the door with the keys she carried for emergency purposes. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“Okay, if you need anything just call me,” the woman said, showing concern.

She was inside the door before the supervisor moved off. The place seemed quiet. The living area was in darkness, but a thin streak of light came from Colt’s room. The door was ajar, and Chelsea headed towards it. She smiled as Colt’s snore reached her from inside the room. She wasn’t going wake him; she would just snuggle next to him until he awakened. With that plan in mind, she pushed the door and made a step in, only to come up short.

Her heart stopped at the sight of two naked women kneeling on the bed. Colt was sprawled in the center, clearly asleep.

“Who the fuck are you?” one of the women asked.

A wave of giddiness passed over her, and she closed her eyes. She was sinking. The women’s faces swam before her while the darkness slowly closed in. Her knees buckled, and she sank to the floor. She heard voices and tried to make sense of them, but too late, everything went black.