Page 76 of His Obsession
Jake got out, shutting his door, and came around to mine. Before he could reach my side, I closed it and locked the doors.
“Really? We are going to play these games?” Jake said, irritated.
“I’m not getting out, I don’t want to be here.” A tear slipped down my cheek again, and I wiped it away with agitation.
“So, you’ve said.”
Jake pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the car with a touch of a button. Stupid twenty-first-century technology. I locked the door again before he could open it, and he threw up his hands and leaned against the car.
“She won’t get out of my fucking car until you get here. I can’t exactly force her right now, can I?” Jake said to someone on the phone.
Alek’s black car flew into the car park and skid to a stop, tires squealing before he could say another word. My chest inflated with joy as I watched him step from his car and strode to my side. Jake stepped aside and unlocked the car again. This time, I opened the door.
Alek kneeled down and placed his hands gently on my knees, his face coated in fear and worry. “What are you doing, baby girl?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to be here, Alek. I told Jake, but he wouldn’t listen. I can’t stay here,” I said, trying to keep the emotion at bay.
“It’s only temporary. I thought you’d want to be back in your home.”
“No.” I shook my head. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t be in an empty home without him there. I could barely do it before, and I certainly couldn’t do it now. They broke me. I wasn’t the same person I was before, and how I felt now wasn’t for the better.
“Okay, come on.” Alek took me by the elbow and helped me up from the car, leading me to his. “Thanks, Jake.”
“Yeah,” he huffed.
“I’m okay, Alek.” I patted his arm. “The sun is good for me, I haven’t had a fever for three days,” I said, slowly taking my seat next to the pool. It was only my second time being out of the house since he brought me back here. The first time was only for a few minutes, and there was just too much busy work going on around the yard.
I was okay this time. I wanted to sit in the sun and soak it up—never taking it for granted again.
“I just don’t want you to overdo it, that’s all.” Alek had been fawning over me since he brought me home, and it was sweet and all but out of character. I wasn’t used to it.
“Sitting in the sun will not do anything but give me Vitamin D and a slight tan.” I gave a small smile, not wanting to open my healing split lip.
“Okay, I have some stuff to do in my office. Holler for me if you need anything.”
I held up the new phone that Alek gave me after Jimmy destroyed mine. “I’ll send you a text.”
Alek stood, nodding reluctantly, and walked into the house. I scrolled through my phone playing a game, then put Black Tiger Sex Machine on shuffle and closed my eyes. The sunlight shone through my lids, creating a crimson hue I bathed in. The familiar feeling of safety in the sun blanketed my skin and forced me to relax.
The songs changed, shuffling through an entire album. By the time Randall walked out of the pool house, his chiseled, tattooed chest had glistened with sweat. I had seen several people come in and out of the pool house and thought nothing of it until now. The few specks of blood clashed with his tanned skin.
“What the hell are you listening to?” he asked.
“Music.” It was hard to explain BTSM if you didn’t listen to that music. I wasn’t even sure what genre they fit into. I just knew I liked them—I was eclectic like that.
Randall huffed, never stopping for conversation, and continued on inside. My eyes followed him, and I waited a moment, curious to see if he’d come back out.
Satisfied, I let curiosity take me by the hand and quietly lead me into the pool house. A small set of cement stairs led down into the ground to a basement, and my skin became clammy, thinking of going down there.
It had only been a week or so since I was in Jimmy’s basement, and it wasn’t enough time to process the new fears that plagued me.
I took a slow, deep breath with every step down the stairs until I came to the hallway with metal doors on each side. It was freakishly similar to Jimmy’s basement. Next to a door was a worn leather case, full of tools that sat on top of a rolling tray in the hall. I rolled the case opened further to see the rest and wished I hadn’t.
Scissors, a scalpel, a saw, and a serrated knife, among others I didn’t know, sat perfectly inside their destined place—the case was straight out of an espionage movie. My heart hammered in my chest as I heard a groan coming from behind the door. My mind went wild, thinking of what could be going on in there.
My hand grabbed the knob and opened the door before I could talk myself out of it. The door swung open, and the scent of copper, that distinct metallic smell, billowed out of the room and assaulted my senses.
Jimmy laid naked before me, hands and feet strapped to the table, his blood turning the silver slab he laid on, scarlet. His eye swelled shut, and a large gash across his thighs was black and red as if crudely cauterized. It surprised me he was still alive with as many serious, jagged wounds as he had across his body.