Читать книгу Loving On the Edge 5-Book Collection: Crash Into You, Melt Into You, Fall Into You, Caught Up In You, Need You Tonight - Roni Loren, Roni Loren - Страница 29

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Sweat soaked through Brynn’s toga as Davis Ackerman continued down whatever road they were on. He’d wrapped bungee cords beneath her breasts and around her legs, securing her to the seat, then had cuffed her wrists and blindfolded her.

Brynn breathed through the panic. She was with her rapist. She’d known the minute he’d whispered to her in the voice from her nightmares. But why did he have her sister? Was he associated with the drug dealer who wanted Kelsey? It didn’t make sense. Davis was a respected councilman for God’s sake. She cleared her throat and tried to force calm into her voice. “Where are you taking me?”

He snorted. “Oh, so now you’re going to make conversation? Last night you didn’t even bother to say hi.”

She wet her lips. “I wasn’t allowed to speak. I was with a dom.”

“Yeah, I saw your little performance with your two old friends last night,” he said, disgust dripping from his tone. “I guess some things never change. You’re still going after the smarmy pretty boys and still willing to spread your legs at the drop of a hat.”

She recoiled as if she’d been slapped, and her response tumbled out before she could stop herself. “You don’t know shit about me.”

He laughed, the sound chilling her blood. “I know how easy it was to tie you up and fuck you before you even realized I wasn’t one of your lovers. Maybe I’ll make you say my name this time so you don’t forget who’s inside you.”

The world tilted beneath her feet. Nausea shuddered through her and fingers of panic squeezed around her windpipe as she sucked in sharp, quick breaths. She wouldn’t survive his touch again.

He chuckled. “Maybe we can do a three-way. I’ve always fantasized about sisters.”

Kelsey. Her sister’s name broke through the haze of spiraling fear in her brain. Kels needed her. Brynn couldn’t let herself slip into the anxiety attack or pass out from hyperventilation. Her sister would be left alone with the monster in the front seat.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and held it for a moment before breathing out through her mouth. In… one, two, three… Out… one, two, three. She focused on centering herself, clearing her head. The only chance she had of protecting her sister and herself was if she could wrangle in her emotions.

The SUV made a hard left turn, throwing her weight to the right, and then the sound of crunching gravel filled her ears. She’d lost track of how long they’d been riding, but she knew it hadn’t been long enough to reach the city yet. Shit. Where the hell was he taking her?

A few bumpy minutes later, the vehicle pulled to a halt, and Davis shut off the engine. “Things will go much easier for you if you cooperate, so I don’t suggest you try anything heroic. And don’t bother screaming when we get out. There’s no one around to hear you.”

“What do you want from us?” Brynn bit out.

“From Kelsey? A little information. From you?” He paused and she could almost hear the smile in his voice. “We’ll just have to see what mood strikes me.”

Doors opened and the car dipped twice. Then, the air shifted. Hot breath hit her cheek. “Mmm, you still smell the same. Like fear. You know all that adrenaline rushing through you right now can actually enhance a sexual experience. Add in a little pain and it will send you right over the edge.”

She reeled backward in her seat, bile rising to the back of her throat. “Get away from me, you fucking psycho.”

He laughed. “Now, no need to be crude. Although, I expect no less from you. I know from experience you’re no lady.”

His steel grip wrapped around her upper arm, and he jerked her to her feet. “And I expect from this point on, you call me master.”

Over my dead body. But she swallowed back the words before they slipped out. At this rate, that might be exactly what he had in mind.

He hauled her out of the car, and she fell forward, her knees and elbows landing hard on the pebbles. She clenched her teeth through the sting, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain.

He grabbed the chain between her cuffs and yanked. “Get up and walk.”

He led her from the humid night air into an air-conditioned space. Thick carpet silenced their footfalls as he shut a door behind him.

He guided her another few steps, then untied her blindfold. Brynn blinked as her eyes adjusted and was surprised to find herself in a brightly lit kitchen. A darkened flight of stairs stretched down through a door in front of her. Davis grasped the back of her neck. “Down the steps. Try to stay on your feet this time.”

She shot him a hateful glare and moved forward when he nudged her. Slowly, she descended the stairs, her heart sinking as the fluorescent light disappeared behind her and the contents of the basement came into view. No workout room or rec area for Davis Ackerman. Nope. Instead, a full-scale BDSM playground—his very own personal dungeon—spread out before her. A St. Andrew’s cross, benches, a wall full of hooks with various tools she couldn’t identify.

But the shock of that paled in comparison to the surprise that greeted her as she hit the bottom step.

They weren’t alone.

Roslyn Jamison gave her a disdainful look as she casually held a gun at her side. “Oh, hurray, the gang’s all here.”

Brynn stared at her, trying to connect the dots between the man behind her and the woman in front of her. But none of it lined up. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

She pursed her lips. “You couldn’t leave things alone, could you? I should’ve known. You’ve been a complication since the day you were born.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” She waved the gun dismissively.

But Brynn couldn’t draw her eyes away from her—her presence too unbelievable to process. The petite woman looked like she was dressed for a political convention instead of a kidnapping. A navy blue, perfectly tailored pantsuit with matching low heels. 1950s-style white gloves. Even a bun with nary a hair out of place. The contrast with the BDSM equipment in the background was almost laughable.

But Brynn’s attention was diverted when a light sniffling sound came from her right. She whirled around to find Kelsey, tied to a chair, face swollen from crying and ball gag in her mouth. Brynn lurched in that direction. “Kels!”

Davis grasped her arm. “Not so fast, sweetheart. We need to take care of business before we get to have happy reunion time.”

Kelsey’s gaze met hers, her terror palpable. Roslyn stalked over to the chair and unsnapped the gag, but when her sister tried to talk only wretched sobs escaped.

“Kels, shh, I’m here. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out. Shh…” Brynn knew the words were empty, but they tumbled out anyway.

Her sister shook her head frantically, her eyes wild. “No, it’s not okay. She’s the one.”

Brynn frowned. “Kels, I don’t understand.”

Roslyn’s tone turned sharp. “Stop the blabbering.”

Her sister inhaled a ragged breath and met Brynn’s gaze. “She killed Mom.”

Brynn’s knees went weak beneath her, and Davis began a slow, measured clap.

“You know it only took her three days to figure out the connection. And who said strippers were dumb?” He gave his winning, politician smile.

“Shut up, Davis.” Roslyn tucked the gun in her waistband.

“Wait, what?” Brynn asked, her thoughts whirling like her brain had been thrown into a blender. She shook her head vehemently, unable to believe what her sister had just said. “No, Hank killed Mom. All the evidence was there. The fingerprints, the stolen money.”

Tears freely dripped from Kelsey’s eyes. “No, B. I told you. He was messed up, but he wasn’t a killer. All the evidence was circumstantial. You knew that.”

Brynn squeezed her eyes shut, the news too shocking for her mind to assimilate.

Reid had been right?

“Yes,” Roslyn agreed, her tone smug. “Circumstantial evidence the idiot prosecutor had no idea how to present. I never thought it would be so difficult to throw a case. But luckily Hank didn’t have the best record. No jury has sympathy for a pathetic junkie.”

“Why?” Brynn asked, the question sounding more like a plea. “Why would you kill her?”

Roslyn pressed her lips together, impatience coloring her seemingly ageless features. “Because she didn’t know when to quit. My husband paid her fairly for years to keep quiet about you, but when he threw his hat in the governor’s race, she saw a bigger meal ticket. Patrick was going to give her whatever she wanted—he’s always been soft when it came to you and that bitch—but I wasn’t going to put up with her blackmail anymore. Getting knocked up by one of your customers doesn’t mean you get a salary for life.”

Brynn blinked, dumbfounded. She thought of the man who’d given her a job out of the blue all those years ago—when she’d needed it most. The way he’d always offered her overtime. “Patrick’s my dad?”

“Yes, how do you think you landed that receptionist job? His stupid decision to hire you almost sent Reid down the exact same path he had gone. Men are so weak.” She shook her head, her tone full of disgust. “But I couldn’t stand by and watch my sister’s only son make the same mistakes. If I hadn’t had Davis fix that situation, I’m sure you’d have ruined Reid’s future before it even got started.”

Brynn swayed on her feet.

The rape had been planned?

Holy God. She and her sister weren’t getting out of here. These people had long fallen off the sanity train. She cut a look at Davis. “Why would you help her?”

Davis shrugged as if the question were unimportant.

Roslyn smiled, the effect chilling. “You weren’t the first of Davis’s problematic dalliances. Let’s just say if the world knew of all the girls he’d unleashed his little weakness on, he would’ve never made it to where he has. Lucky for him, I’m good at keeping secrets if the favor is returned.”

Brynn inhaled deep breaths through her nose, trying to fight off the urge to vomit on the shiny tiled floor.

Roslyn stalked around Kelsey’s chair, then laid her hands on the back of it. “Now, we were hoping not to involve you, but Kelsey here has been rather uncooperative. We know she has evidence incriminating a J. Kennedy as the murderer, and I can’t have anyone figuring out that your mother used to call Davis and I John and Jackie when we met with her, now can I?”

Her sister bit her lip. “I told you where I put the evidence.”

Roslyn grabbed a handful of Kelsey’s hair and yanked backward. Kelsey’s hands automatically flew up, but her bindings prevented her from being able to defend herself.

“And I told you that I went there and it’s not where you said,” Roslyn said, her voice smooth. “Which is why Davis brought Brynn over to inspire some honesty out of you.”

The loud crack of a whip echoed through the basement as Davis brought it down on Brynn’s back, the thin material of her toga doing little to soften the bite. She crumpled to the floor and groaned.

“Brynn!” her sister screamed and tried to launch forward, but Roslyn held fast to her hair.

Brynn clenched her jaw, trying to think through the haze of pain. “It’s okay, Kels. I appreciate you trying to protect me all this time, but we just need to tell them. The evidence is at my house. She sent it to me to keep safe.”

Kelsey’s lips parted, but Brynn sent her a warning glare.

“Is that true?” Roslyn asked, twisting Kelsey’s locks around her fist.

“Yes, yes,” Kelsey said, frantically. “I couldn’t figure out what the names in the logbook meant, and I thought Brynn might be able to help. But I didn’t tell you ’cause I didn’t want you to hurt her, too.”

“If you take us there, I’ll give it to you,” Brynn said, hoping she sounded convincing. She knew that Davis and Roslyn had no intention of letting them go, since they’d already revealed too much. But maybe if she could get on her own turf, she and her sister would have a shot. If nothing else, she could punch in the emergency code into her security system to activate the silent alarm feature. Maybe the cops could get there before Roslyn discovered there was no evidence to be had.

Roslyn smiled, the expression holding no warmth. “Yes, I’m sure you’d love to get to your own house where you know every nook and cranny. No, you’ll tell us where it is, and I’ll take Kelsey there with me. You can stay here with Davis until I have the evidence secured.”

Brynn’s stomach twisted into a pretzel for her own fate, but a little flame of hope flickered for her sister. She nodded. “It’s in the back of my closet in a box. But you’re going to need my alarm code to get in the house.”

Kelsey’s face was filled with question marks, but Brynn mustered up her therapist mask to hide her emotions. Roslyn evaluated her with shrewd eyes, no doubt searching for any chink in Brynn’s facade. After a few agonizing moments, the woman gave a curt nod and released her grip on her sister.

“I hope for both your sakes, you’re not lying to me. If I discover this is a wild-goose chase, your sister will pay the price. I have a hefty overdose of heroin with her name on it. They say relapse is a bitch—can kill you by accident so easily.”

No. Please, God. Let the alarm code work in time. If the plan failed, they were both dead.

Roslyn pointed a finger at Brynn, but looked at Davis. “Keep her restrained until I call you.”

Davis’s thin lips spread into a smile as he idly toyed with the whip, winding it around his fingers. “Gladly.”