Chapter Four
One week later
Dwayne plunged his knife into the neck of the man who’d been selling Carson family secrets to their enemies. Beast and Caleb were both present as the interrogation had been going, but for some reason, they decided to stick around for what came next. He didn’t mind having an audience, but normally, they left him alone to deal with the kill and the clean-up.
When Dwayne pulled the blade out, the man’s head dropped to the side, and for a few seconds he stared, making sure he was dead.
With that done, he looked toward his two uncles.
“Anything else?”
“You’re leaving a trail of bodies everywhere you go,” Caleb said.
“No, I clean them up. It’s one of the reasons you guys love me.”
“William came to me,” Beast said, handing him a newspaper. “Out in the forest near your known dumping ground they’ve discovered a bunch of bodies. You’re either not burying them deep enough or with the flooding that has been going on, they’ve decided to pop up.”
Dwayne removed his rubber gloves and grabbed the paper. It had made headline news. That was a surprise, but as he glanced at the section of the woods, he shook his head. “This isn’t me.”
“Dwayne, we all know that’s where you go to bury a body.”
“Wrong. It’s not the only place I’ve buried bodies. I’ve not been to that forest in years. Whoever is doing this, it ain’t me.” He handed back the paper.
“Are you lying?” Caleb asked.
He took a deep breath and looked toward his uncle. Caleb had always been on his case to be better, training him at the early hours of the morning, putting him through hell, and he fucking loved him for it. He wouldn’t be who he was today without his uncles, or his father for that matter. “No, I don’t lie.”
“This is serious, Dwayne,” Beast said.
“I’ve not fucking lied. Have you ever thought about it being the two of you in your old age going fucking senile?” he asked, glaring at the two.
Caleb stared at him for a couple of seconds and shrugged. “It’s not him.”
“Nope, it’s not.”
“Are you two being serious right now?”
“You’re right. You don’t lie.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this. Do you two want to take over and do some actual work for a change?”
“Nope, you deal with it.” Beast patted his arm while Caleb winked at him. “It’s up to strapping young men like yourself to do this stuff. We know you didn’t do the body dumps, so we’re all good. There’s nothing that will come back to you.”
He watched them both leave, thankful they hadn’t lingered.
Putting his earbuds in, he got to work packaging the man. He had no intention of burning this body. This was a message to all their enemies.
Once it was perfectly wrapped, he lifted up the weight and carried it out to the bastard’s car. With gloves on his hands again, he drove the car to one of the other warehouses, got out, and left.
He whistled as he walked back to the warehouse where he’d been interrogating. Before he left for the day, he checked to make sure there was no evidence left lying around. Checking the time, he saw it was a little after eleven AM.
Charity would be waiting for him.
Just thinking about her made him smile.
Climbing into his own car, he drove the thirty minutes to see that the woman in question hadn’t left. She leaned against her vehicle, checking her watch.
“You’re late,” she said the moment he joined her.
“Or maybe you’re early.”
“It’s nearly lunchtime.”
“So. You got anywhere special to be?” he asked.
“I could. I have friends.”
“That are not hanging around with you anymore.”
“How do you even know they’re not hanging around with me anymore?”
“I was a schoolkid once. I knew someone who went through something like you did. Not on the same scale, but she was considered an outcast.” He chuckled. “She’s now my auntie.”
“Wait? What?”
“My tutor fell for my uncle. They’re married now, kids and all that. She’s my age. Had a rough time of it when she was younger, a little younger than you. Her father shot her, and she saw him kill her mother and then himself. For a long time, a lot of people gave her a wide berth. Clearly thought something was wrong with her. I know there was. There’s no way falling for my uncle is normal.”
He couldn’t believe he just admitted that to her.
When he discovered Hope and Beast were a thing, he hadn’t really cared. Yeah, it was a little weird, but again, he had his own life to live and he wasn’t about to tell two people not to be together.
Locking the door behind her, he made his way toward the workout mats. Pulling off his jacket, he removed his shirt and faced her wearing a vest and pants.
“Were you on business or something?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Your clothes.”
He glanced down at his clothes. There hadn’t been any blood on them. “What about them?”
“It’s nothing. Ignore me.”
Folding his arms, he watched as she removed her bag and then turned to face him. Her back was ramrod straight, and neither of them spoke a word. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and he waited.
“Do I need to order you to attack me?” he asked. “Want me to make it easier for you?”
“I don’t … can’t you just show me how to defend myself?”
“Part of defending yourself is knowing how to attack.” He advanced on her, and instead of staying strong, she didn’t. She kept backing up until she hit the wall. He was about to wrap his hands around her neck, but she moved, avoiding him. She ducked under his arm.
Her reactions were so slow, but he’d show her in time. For now, he needed her to build her confidence.
“That makes no sense. Most of the time the people being attacked need to defend themselves because they’re vulnerable. They’re not prepared.”
“Everyone who is not used to being on guard will always get taken. Will always get hurt.”
“Have you taken classes in this before?” she asked, arms folded, looking rather stern. It was really cute.
“No.”
“What can you teach me that no one else can?” She gave him a pointed look.
Dwayne stepped up close to her. “I’m like every other person, but the difference is, I’m not going to teach you how to run away. I’m going to make sure you can take the man down and have plenty of time to get away.”
“How is that any different?”
“I’ve been doing this a long time. Unless you want to be taught how to kill, this is the next best option.”
“I don’t want to kill.”
“Are we going to have this conversation every time you come here? It’s taking up time, and I’ve got better things to do. If you just want to hang out, tell me. I’m not going to waste my time telling you this stuff if you’re not interested.”
“I am interested.”
“Good. Then stop moaning and either start fucking learning or go back home.”
She nodded, and he watched her square her shoulders. “I’m ready.”
“Today I’m going to attack you. It’s going to be random.” He moved toward his jacket and removed the blindfold he kept in the pocket. Holding it up, he gave her a wink.
“Kinky.”
“What do you know about kink?”
“That it involves handcuffs, whips, and blindfolds. You want to get down and dirty with me, Dwayne?”
He didn’t say a word, simply spun her around and placed the blindfold over her eyes. “Most people are surprised when they’re attacked. They cannot and will not be able to defend themselves.”
“Ah, I understand the blindfold, got it.”
“I want to see how you react, and then we’ll work from there.”
Once he tied the blindfold at the back he spun her around a few times. She lost her footing, and he didn’t help her. This was to knock her off balance.
Taking away her sight was the first step.
She turned in a circle, her hands coming out to steady herself as if she was unsure.
“I don’t like this,” she said.
He kept his footsteps light so she couldn’t hear him. It was strange seeing her blindfolded. It made him think of her completely naked, at his mercy, begging for him. Pushing aside the desire that suddenly hit him, he focused on her.
“This is really weird. Are you, like, making faces?” she asked.
She took a deep breath, and her nerves were so clear to see. Her hands clenched into fists, and she held herself quite tight now. She needed to relax, to keep her hands loose so that no one could go up behind her, and simply grab her.
Like he did, banding his arms around her, lifting her up with ease.
She struggled, but he won, drawing her down to the ground and having her hands locked.
“I’ve taken you now. There’s nowhere you can go.” He pressed his face against her ear. “You could be dead by now.”
With that, he pulled up, getting her to her feet. “Again.”
****
Charity lost count of the number of times he won. The ways he came at her. She didn’t even feel it until he either surrounded her, yanked, pulled, tugged, whichever seemed to take his fancy. Not that she’d ever admit it but she rather liked it when he held her hair. It wasn’t painful, but it made her think of a great deal of naughty things.
The blindfold started it all.
Just because she was eighteen didn’t for a second mean she wasn’t aware of men and sex.
Being with Dwayne, it seemed to enhance it all. He was always so quiet, holding himself back, being aloof, and she liked that.
By the end of the day, she was exhausted, and even though he hadn’t grabbed her hard she knew there would be bruises. His touch was always firm. He didn’t give her the chance to think that her attackers would be weak.
“That was tiring,” she said.
“You did good.”
“I did? You killed me each and every single time.”
He smiled. “Believe me, if I did that, you’d know about it.”
“My body feels it. Isn’t that enough?” She collapsed onto the mat. It was a little after four, and she didn’t want to go home. Not yet. Her parents constantly asked questions, and that was more exhausting than Dwayne’s attacks.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, standing over her.
“Nothing. Just family stuff. You know, parents.”
“Anything I can help you with?”
“Only if you turned up eighteen and were a potential boyfriend or a girl for me to hang out with, we’d be fine.”
His arms were folded, and he tilted his head to the side. It was like he was always assessing her, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Did it make her different from everyone else he knew? Special?
“What’s going on?” Dwayne asked.
“You want me to talk about my drama?”
“Why not? Clearly you don’t want to leave.”
“Is that wrong?”
“No. Believe it or not, there was a time when women liked spending time with me.”
“And now?”
“Oh, they still love spending time with me. I just don’t care to spend it with them unless I’m getting what I want.”
Jealousy sparked inside her, and she didn’t like it.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked.
“No.”
“Just someone you have casual sex with.”
“Now, Charity, that looks and sounds a little like jealousy to me.”
“It’s not.” She completely lied. “I’m not jealous of anyone.” That was partially true. She’d never been jealous until today, and it was all because of Dwayne. He didn’t even belong to her, and yet, she felt like he was.
Get over yourself.
“Let’s move away from your denial. Tell me your troubles, honey,” he said, taking a seat.
“Don’t call me honey.”
Her dad called her that, and she didn’t like that word coming from Dwayne’s lips, especially as she didn’t think about him in any way that would ever be considered fatherly.
He held his hands up. “You’re the boss.”
“There’s no troubles, really. It’s my parents. They’re worried, like, all the time.” She tucked some of her stray hair behind her ear.
“They don’t want your kidnapping to take over your whole life. They do have a point.”
“And I get that, but being here with you, I have to make up lies, and I hate that. They’re talking about college, and prom, and how I’m going to be moving out soon. It’s all just too much. Now I have to tell them about my day at the mall with either a friend or they want to know what guy is interested in me.”
“Do you have a guy interested in you?”
“No. At least, I don’t know. No one has approached me at school, and it sucks. It all just sucks, and I like spending time with you. I know you’re, like, an old man now, but I do. You’re a lot of fun.”
“You didn’t insult me at all.”
“My parents said you were old. I kept asking about you. How they contacted you in the beginning. They wouldn’t tell me a thing and told me I needed to stop thinking about you. You have your own life and don’t need a teenage girl bugging you. Am I bugging you?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Do I strike you as the kind of man that would lie?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed. “I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t lie about this.”
“But you would lie about everything else?”
“Of course. I’m not a saint. I never claimed to be one either. So, you’re tired of all the lies?”
“Yes.”
“You can either keep on lying, tell them your day was fun, but you’re tired, or stop coming here.”
“I’ll keep on lying. I don’t want to stop coming here.” She hated how desperate she sounded. “I find this fun. You know.”
“I wouldn’t describe this as fun.”
“Oh.”
“Not that it’s a bad thing thinking about it either. You’re a little sensitive today.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just stressed.” She smiled at him.
“I enjoy coming here. It relaxes me.”
“Do you work out often?”
“Yes. A lot. I need to. I need to keep in shape.”
“Do you rescue other girls like me?” she asked.
“No.”
“How come?”
“Your parents paid a lot of money to make sure you returned home safely. You do realize that the chances of finding you alive were slim.”
“Yes. Thank you for not giving up.”
“I had no intention of giving up. I got paid to do a job.”
He glanced down at his watch, and she knew it was now time to leave. “I better start heading back.”
“All right.”
As she grabbed her bag, they made their way out of the building. He typed in whatever the code was, and then he walked her to her car. She didn’t want to leave and would have happily stayed with him, talking.
“Next week?”
“Yes. Drive safely.”
“I will.”
She smiled at him and climbed behind the wheel. This time she didn’t linger. She didn’t watch him get into his car.
“You need to put some distance on this.”
Tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, she drove home. All the time she kept thinking about the past day. When he’d not turned up on time she’d been worried. What if he was late? What if he forgot?
The thought of not seeing him for another week filled her with a great deal of sadness that she didn’t want to talk about.
Arriving home, she pulled up into the large driveway. Her parents’ cars were already there, and she took a deep breath before heading inside. Keeping her bag on her shoulder, she entered her home.
Seeing no one around, she was about to make a run up to her room when her mother caught her.
“Hey, honey,” she said.
“Hey, Mom.” She turned to see her mother in the doorway.
“How was your trip?”
“It was good.”
“Buy anything special?”
“Nah. I had a milkshake and a burger, walked a little.”
“Who was there?” she asked.
“A couple of friends from school. I kind of broke away from the crowd though. Needed time to think.”
“Makes sense. Dad ordered Chinese food.”
“I’ll take my bag upstairs.”
“All right.”
This was how every single Saturday evening went. Her father loved Chinese food, and it was his night where he got to order whatever he wanted. Otherwise it was always healthy stuff or something her mother liked.
Putting her bag on the floor, she moved toward her window and looked out over her yard. Since she’d been back nothing had changed. Everything was always in the same position. The swing she used to spend hours on as a little kid in the back yard. The half-built tree house that her father promised her but never finished. All of it used to mean something to her, and now she saw how fragile it all was.
She wasn’t the same person that had come back after being taken.
There were times she felt guilty though. She’d not been taken for a long time or been raped. They’d toyed with her, beaten her, pissed on her, and she’d gotten away. The men who dared to take her were dead, rotting somewhere right now, whereas she was alive. Should she be allowed to be different? To feel it? To look at something and see the ugly not just the pretty?
It didn’t really matter though anymore.
She couldn’t go back to the way things once were.
Even if her parents kept trying to change her, they couldn’t take away what had happened to her. She wasn’t their little girl anymore.