Bound and Freed Boxed Set (28 page)

John stared at Kelly, smiling.

He knew, that she knew, that he was going to have her on
her knees in front of his bedroom mirror - right after dinner. The sense of
connection he had with Kelly was continuing to grow, and seemed more powerful
with every passing minute.

John's cell phone rang - something it never did. Kelly
had his number, but she was right here. Brenda Lopez had his number, but she
was dead. Colin Wilkins had his number, but had been told not to call. That
left André Chevalier but this number was unlisted, so it couldn’t be him.

Was it Kelly's dad calling perhaps? Alert and prepared
for anything, John went ahead and answered his phone.

"Mr. John Taylor," a familiar tenor voice said.
"Nice video you gave me. Christ, I haven’t slept since I saw the damn
thing."

"Detective Lorenzo Martin," John said with a
low chuckle. "Sorry about that. It isn’t funny, but in a strange way, it
kind of is. Welcome to my world. I lived that video, and I haven’t been
sleeping well for years."

A long, loud sigh came through the phone. "We need
to talk. I know it's late, but can I see you? I'm thinking of the coffee shop
just north of Holladay Park, called
Café Olé.
My cruiser will be parked outside."

"Right now?" John asked, looking at Kelly with
an upraised eyebrow. Kelly gave a 'sure' kind of shrug.

"Yes."

"I'll be there in fifteen," John said and
disconnected.

John had explained earlier to Kelly how he had given the
video to Detective Martin with the hope of enlisting some help on the case. As
his father had broken the truce already by putting false information into his
police records, John thought a little bit of tit for tat couldn't hurt.

John called the security guard into the house from the
man's car outside. The guard was all muscle, an ex Marine and was doing the two
to ten shift. John asked the guard to stay inside with Kelly while he was gone.

When John was sure all was well, he kissed Kelly, and
whispered in her ear to be ready for him because when he got back he fully
intended to have her in a number of different ways. John got into his car,
waved good bye to his blushingly aroused sub, and left for his rendezvous with
Detective Martin.

Why now?
John thought as he
backed out of his driveway and on to the road.
Why is my father creating
trouble now? It's been thirteen years since I suffered under his hands, and the
truce has held all that time.

John's father represented what John despised most in a
badly trained or malicious Dom. The man's inconsistency and unpredictability
had been relentless. He punished John if he climaxed, he punished him if he
didn’t. The safest option was to remain emotionless, and this had become a
survival mechanism and a habit.

John had felt nothing - except for anger and hate. As
time went on John had become as André had said, 'cut off,' from people,
incapable of feeling, or climaxing in front of others. He had only been capable
of connecting during a scene.

Without Kelly,
John thought, pulling up to a stoplight,
I would still be living that dark,
loveless life.

The familiar grief hit him, as he remembered what he had
confessed to Kelly so recently. Other than once with André, a moment he could
hardly remember, the last time John had cried was when he was eight years old.
Kelly now knew the worst of his sins, and she loved him anyway.

John easily found parking
on the street and
walked into Café Olé.

The cafe was set out in the
reds and gold's of a Spanish theme, and there was a mix of small tables, bar
seating, comfortable couches and chairs and a restful atmosphere. Wi-fi was
available, and a few people, judging by the number of plates and cups around
them, looked like they had camped out and spent most of the day here already.
The noise level was a pleasant buzz, with seventies background music.

It seemed a busy place for a Thursday night. When John
walked in, Lorenzo raised a hand, and John told the wait staff that he already
had a seat. Lorenzo had nabbed a quiet little corner out of earshot of other
patrons. Lorenzo must have gotten here awhile ago as he already had eaten what
looked and smelled like might have been pancakes and bacon.

Detective Martin was on the
job, and wore a light blue uniform shirt and a Portland Police jacket. Even
without the wave John would have picked him out quickly. The alert eyes of a
cop, combined with his dominating persona were hard to miss.
John
sat across from Lorenzo in his booth, and for a full minute, they simply looked
at each other.

"So, John," Lorenzo said after taking a sip of
his black coffee. "Maria Lopez saw that video?"

"Yes. Four years ago."

"I owe you an apology," Lorenzo said. "I'm
thinking that we may have been chasing the wrong psychopath, but ya see, here's
the problem. Unless this video comes out, no one will believe that Judge Taylor
is bent."

John shrugged. "It sucks."

"Why did you give that to me?" Lorenzo said.
"What do you want me to do? I've got some ideas, but I dunno. A whole lot
of shit is going to hit the fan and blow back in all our faces. And you know
what? I'm pretty sure it’s the sticking kind that don't wash off."

"Do you believe Kelly's statement now, that she was
with me at the time of the murder?"

"Yes."

"All that evidence against me had to have been
planted by the real killer," John said. "It would have been easily
done. My garage isn't secure."

A waiter came and took John's order. John asked for a
double shot espresso, because he planned to be up for awhile tonight. Kelly was
waiting for him at home and they were going to exhaust themselves. He had an
entire scene planned out already. John's cock twitched, and these days when it
twitched it actually felt good. John never knew what living was until he and
Kelly found each other again.

"Maria Lopez helped me so much," John said.
"I owe her. You have no idea, or perhaps you do now, of how screwed up
I've been all my life."

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and John laughed.

It was strange how easy it was for John to laugh now.
Kelly did this to him. She brought out the joy of life that he had known for a
short space of time when he was an innocent child, living with his Aunt Brenda.
John had thought that he had lost that joyfulness forever.

Would he ever be worthy of Kelly? Probably not. But if
the woman had one flaw, it was her attraction to a damaged person like himself.
John hoped that Kelly would never come to her senses and leave him.

Lorenzo was looking at him, and the poor fellow had
nothing to say. John imagined the man's shock at seeing that recording. What
could anyone say to the victim after seeing something like that?

"Double shot espresso?" A waiter asked looking
between John and Lorenzo as he brought a mug of coffee over.

John raised his hand and the man put it down in front of
him. Yes, that video. That was a real face tightening conversation stopper
right there. John decided to give Lorenzo a break and change the subject.

"Unfortunately," John said, "I do think
that somehow I got Maria Lopez killed. But the thing is I just can't figure out
why."

John detailed the truce he had made with his father at
age thirteen, and how he had a police record check four years ago and had
passed with flying colors. John pulled a copy of the police report out of his
pocket, and gave it to Lorenzo. He had his lawyers fax him a copy as the
original had been lodged with them. A duplicate had been left in his Basement records.

"Ha," Lorenzo, said his eyes brightening as he
read the certified results of John's police record of four years ago. "So
you're not a violent, drug dealing, animal torturer? Glad to hear it. Holy
fuck, the guy has real clout to create this kind of misinformation and manage
to put it in your police records. How did he do it? That's a trail that maybe I
can trace down. I'll let you know what I find."

"Okay, but the thing is, Lorenzo," John said.
"The balance of power has changed somehow. Why now? Maria saw that video
years ago. How does it serve my father to suddenly cause this trouble? And why
would he kill Maria? Maybe he wanted to frame me and put me in jail? He should
be killing me, really, except that I have instructed my lawyers to release that
video upon my sudden demise. Is Judge Taylor about to be investigated or
something?"

"Nope," Lorenzo said. "I've checked into
that. Status quo as far as I can see. What about your mother?"

John frowned. "What about her? She's a complete
puppet, and will do anything, and I mean
anything
my father says."

"Oh yeah?" Lorenzo raised his eyebrows, but
kept his gaze unflinchingly upon John. "You don't say. Well, I noticed
that, too."

Feeling unexpectedly ashamed and humiliated, John shook
his head. The video had him on the St. Andrew's cross as a child, getting a
caning that left a pool of blood on the floor. What he had neglected to
remember was what his mother's actions were at the time.

"I'd forgotten what was on that video," John
said in a quiet voice. "It was a strange way to grow up. My good friend,
André Chevalier, you remember him?"

"Sure. I interviewed the Frenchman. Likable
guy."

John smiled. "Yeah, he's the best. André said that
in time I would find myself and
become who I was meant to
be, but it would take a little longer to do so because of my parents. Do you
know, Lorenzo, it's finally happening. My whole life is coming together right
now. I'm completely in love, Kelly and I are going to marry, and I have never
been so happy. But I can't move forward until this murder is solved. How can I
be content when I have to worry that someone is going to go after Kelly
next?"

Lorenzo shifted and leaned back in his seat. "I see
you got security in. That was a good move. The company they work for is the
best so you shouldn’t have any trouble there."

"What can we do?" John asked, taking a sip of
his espresso. The coffee was hot and strong. Just what he needed.

Lorenzo shrugged.

"I could have the video given in confidence to the
courts," John said. "But you know that wouldn’t work, and it would
never prove he killed Maria anyway. My father would suppress it as evidence. I
am telling you, Lorenzo, my father is the scariest man I know. He is really
smart, charms everyone, and is super manipulative. I think he would just get
even, and probably kill me and Kelly anyway. Right now the only thing holding
him back is that video."

"Yeah, and even if that video anonymously ended up
on the internet, the resultant bullshit would change your life, John,"
Lorenzo said. "I've been around, and seen some fucked up shit."
Lorenzo shifted restlessly in his chair, and frowned. "But of all the
fucked up shit I've seen, yours is right at the top of the pile for child
abuse, sexual perversity and gratuitous violence. You must have a shit load of
scars."

"Yes," John said. "I never did get a
chance to learn to swim, and I've always wanted to. I couldn't take my shirt
off, and had to wear long pants to hide the scars. And as for u-tubing that
video? I just can't do it. Kelly's parents couldn't look me in the eye again.
The whole world would treat me like a freak. I'd have to change my name and
move away, but I can't do that. Kelly is really close to her family."

John frowned at Lorenzo and had another sip of coffee.
"Now that I think of it, until your partner interfered, Kelly's parent's
liked me too."

"Sorry about that," Lorenzo said and his manner
was sincerely apologetic. "My new partner, Lucille Irwin, is a stupid,
fucking bitch. I'm virtually not talking to her since that happened, I've been
so pissed off. I haven't reported her however. Reporting one's partner goes
against the unspoken code."

"Ah well, you should probably cut her
some slack," John said. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do," John quoted from the bible verse he had been studying on his
course. It was the line Jesus said when the Romans were crucifying him, and
just now as part of his assignment, John was supposed to analyze what the
ramifications and practical applications of that quote were in real life.

"Cut her some slack?" Lorenzo
demanded, sitting up straight, with wide eyes and self righteous ire. "No
way. Talk about not knowing what she is doing! That is Lucille all over. She
has no clue, but the bitch of it is, that woman already thinks she knows it
all."

"Lucille Irwin certainly had no clue
in my case," John said, "but the evidence against me was pretty
compelling. No doubt she thought she was doing the right thing. You have to
admit, Lorenzo, that what she did took courage. Who would have the guts to do
something like that? The woman broke the law, because she wanted to save Kelly
from me. I have to say, I actually like her for that."

Lorenzo, who was drinking a sip of coffee,
almost choked and he began to laugh. "You should try working with her. You
won’t like her then. You and your bat shit crazy religious studies degree and
bible quotes, John!"