JINXED: (Karma Series, Book Two) (15 page)

“We have other matters to discuss.”

Now the real panic started. This went beyond embarrassment. We were heading into lethal territory.

I stared at him, silently asking what had happened to the unspoken truce I thought we’d had. The night at the house, I thought he’d realized. Then at the condo, again, he seemed to know not to ask, even as I let him survey my home. And yet here he was, pushing the issue.

As if in response, he raised his hand and brushed the hair back from the bruise I’d covered with makeup. It was such a gentle gesture that if I didn’t get away from him soon, I’d melt right in place. I forced myself to remember how he’d basically rejected me twice, now. I couldn’t let myself fall apart because of something so small.

“If you don’t get your hands off me, I’m going to kick the shit out of you.” I stared into his eyes; I had my own anger. I was doing the best I could by myself, and I didn’t need additional shit from him. I didn’t need someone messing my head up worse than it already was or walking in and out of my life whenever they felt like it.

“Try.”

It was a low blow, but I brought my knee up. The rage I felt was swallowing me up whole. Given any excuse, it flowed out of me. Having him stalk me and now manhandle me made it explode like a volcano a thousand years past its due date.

He blocked it with his knee and took a step between mine. His hands shifted down to my arms, pinning them to my sides. In that moment, I would’ve torn him apart if I could’ve.

“I can help you.” I was wrong. He wasn’t angry. He was frustrated. I saw the concern there, and it drained everything I had.

I stared at him, wishing I could speak. My body sagged against the wall.
I wish you could help. I don’t want to do this alone, but you can’t
. But I couldn’t say any of that to him. More than anything, I wanted to collapse into his arms and tell him everything.

He stood in front of me, not budging, our eyes locked in a nonverbal standoff. As we stood there, something started to change. The tension shifted from something combative into a different type of beast. My chest rose and fell a bit quicker as I wet my lips.

He seemed to get closer and closer, until his forearms were resting on the wall behind me, and his body pressed against mine.

“Karma…”

I wouldn’t find out what Fate was going to say, because a buzzing sound came from the purse I’d dropped by my feet. It was the throwaway phone. The work phone wasn’t muted. I’m not sure why vibrate is considered silent when it’s so goddamn loud, sometimes. The thing sounded like it was filling the whole stairwell with noise.

We both stared down at it intensely but for different reasons. My body went rigid again, blood was pounding in my ears as my heart thudded. I had to answer that call. Luke wasn’t the type to wait, and if he had to, either Kitty or I would pay for it later.

It stopped vibrating.

“That wasn’t your work phone.” Fate’s attention had returned to me completely.

“Yes, it was.” How could he possibly know?

“No, it wasn’t. I know the rate of vibration on your work phone.”

Who—even someone supernatural—knew the sound of a different rate of vibration? It was insane but completely believable if you considered this was Fate.

“So what? You’ve got a second phone.”

“Exactly,” he said.

How had that point gone so wrong? I was getting rusty. The stress of the situation was dulling my brain. I used to operate better under high-pressure conditions, like a well-tuned car opening up on the highway. Now I puttered and died, hoping to limp along the shoulder.

Maybe it was the Kitty element. Holding an innocent life in your hands was a whole different type of pressure compared to trying to beat a drug charge for a junkie.

The phone started vibrating again, and my breathing got rougher. If I didn’t answer it this time, there’d be hell to pay.

His eyes moved from my purse to nail me with a condemning stare. “Are you going to talk to me, or should I just answer it and introduce myself?”

“I’m done playing around with you. Let. Me. Go.” I licked my lips. With every burst of vibration, I felt more and more desperate.

“Who’s playing?” His hands slid down again, his grip just beneath my shoulders.

I tried to lift my arms from my side again but couldn’t.

Then his hands were gone.

He took the tiniest step back. “Answer it.”

“No.” I moved to grab my purse but he got to it first and pulled the phone out, while I fought to get it from him.

“Hello?” he said, his eyes on me the entire time. He took the phone from his ear. They must not have spoken, because Fate lowered it without another word.

He dropped the phone into my purse and handed it to me. I grasped it and turned my back to him, digging into my purse. But the phone wasn’t in there. He had taken it with him. I turned back quickly, but he’d already left the stairwell, the door shut behind him, my phone in his possession.

I yanked at the door but it didn’t open. Slamming a fist repeatedly, I screamed for someone to let me out but was ignored. My fist was sore when it finally opened a few minutes later.

The Jinxes stood in a line in front of me. They threw their hands into the air. “Hey, don’t bust our chops! He told us to do it.” Bobby, front and center, thumbed the air in the direction of the lobby.

I was furious at them but the only thing I could come up with was, “Don’t look for your scotch next week.”

I sprinted out of the building, ignoring how my knee burned in pain and their yells about how unfair that was. By time I got outside, Fate was gone, along with his car. He’d left and taken my phone with him. And I didn’t know Luke’s number by heart, I only recognized it from the three zeros in the area code. Why hadn’t I written it down? Sloppy. How could I be so careless?

The Honda sat ten feet away and I rushed to it. In my haste, my fingers fumbled and dropped the keys. My knuckles scraped on the pavement in my rush to retrieve them.

“Are you alright?”

I let out a small yelp, startled by the voice. It was Fred, the accountant and single human occupant. “What?”

“Are you okay?” The words
you don’t look it
didn’t come from his mouth, but his expression was screaming them.

“I’m fine. Just in a rush. I forgot about an appointment.” I smiled half-heartedly.

“Okay.” He nodded politely and moved away slowly, as if he doubted it was the right direction.

The door creaked open as I got in and I drove straight to Wal-Mart, while I tried to remember Luke’s full number. The last two digits were stubbornly evading my memory, but I’d try every combination until I got him.

By time I got to Wal-Mart, my knee refused to bend, but it also didn’t want to completely straighten out. It was clearly rebelling against the sprint. I grabbed a cart to lean my weight on and headed off toward the electronics section.

It didn’t matter what phone it was, I just needed it quickly. Dodging children and adults, I grabbed the first pay-as-you-go phone I saw and handed it to the teen behind the register, shoving bills at him before he had a chance to ask.

“No bag.” I grabbed the phone back and started trying to tear into that horrible hard plastic. It would have been easier to break out of handcuffs than to get this hard clear stuff off the phone. The young man behind the register took pity on me and handed me a pair of scissors.

“Thanks.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when it rang the second it was torn free. The area code to Nowhere, USA, displayed on the ID. I’d forgotten; as soon as I knew the new number, so did they.

I answered it while returning the scissors. I hobbled as quickly as I could to the front of the store, afraid I’d lose the signal.

It was time to do damage control, because Luke was going to be pissed. Losing connection now could be disastrous. “Hello?”

He rattled off an address. “Be there at eight o’clock.”

“Sure.” He didn’t say anything about Fate answering the phone. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Perhaps he wasn’t that mad.

“And don’t
ever
let that happen again.”

No, he wasn’t mad, he was furious, and either Kitty or I would be paying for it later. I just hoped I could afford the price.

Chapter 24

My own private horror show.

The address was a one-story cinder block building located at the end of a dirt road, in the middle of no man’s land, South Carolina. There was no one around to hear the screams but the birds.

Luke was smiling when I walked in. If I hadn’t known it was going to be bad, I would’ve known now. Luke wasn’t happy unless he was inflicting pain.

I kept a close guard on my expression, but that wouldn’t always be the way. One day, I’d be the one smiling as I ripped his head from his neck. It wouldn’t be a quick death, though. There was a debt that could only be repaid in pain.

That thought was one of the things that got me through this: Kitty, and imagining the pain I’d inflict. Today might have belonged to him, but tomorrow was wide open. It lurked just around the corner, and the opportunities were endless. Every morning I woke might be the day I’d get my revenge.

He tilted his head toward a back area, his smile never faltering. I didn’t want to follow but did anyway. No matter what was to come, in my mind there was no choice. Kitty was worth a beating, or worse.

I’d discovered I could handle the pain. A blow here and there wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was the day-to-day loss of control, and the eyes I knew were always on me, that kept me from sleeping. It was Kitty, imprisoned under the control of a sadist like him, that woke me in the middle of the night. When I did step into that room though, I’d thought whatever was going to happen would happen to me.

The far wall was lined with black curtains. Luke pressed a button on the wall and they drew back automatically, to reveal a window to another area. Kitty sat tied to the chair, blindfolded. This wasn’t where they normally kept her. I was positive of that.

A man entered to her left. He stopped behind her and loomed. He was so large; he made her appear the size of a child in comparison. I might still be paying part of the bill today, but it was clear I wouldn’t be the only one picking up the tab for my earlier misstep.

There’s a huge difference between taking a beating and watching someone I cared about take it for me. I could handle the pain but not this.

“No. This isn’t the agreement.” I moved in front of Luke, my back to the window. “I work for Malokin and she remains safe. That’s what I was told.
That
was the agreement.”

Luke shrugged. “Unfortunately, you haven’t been working that well. I thought you needed a little inspiration.” He motioned to my hand, which was already digging out my phone. “You can call Malokin. I assure you, he knows.” He rocked back on his heels, waiting for me.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I knew he was right; I didn’t even doubt it.

“This isn’t fair. Whatever you plan on doing, do it to me.” There was desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care. This is what he wanted. Control. He had it.

He was still smiling, and that’s how I knew the answer was no without him having to speak. He knew what this was doing to me, and he reveled in it.

“Let’s see, we had the issue of him answering the phone.” He held up a single finger to the man.

I ran to the door that connected the two rooms, but there was no surprise it was locked. Even if I could break it down, I knew there were men behind the other door across the room. I could smell their rotting skin. I’d never get Kitty out. They’d kill her before I did.

“Stop. I’ll do whatever you need.” If I had to beg and grovel for her, I would.

“Too late. Come.” He pointed to the space next to him, like I was a dog he was bringing to heel. “You’ll need to witness this, so that I know you are fully aware of the ramifications of your actions. We don’t want to have to do this every day, now. I’ve got a busy schedule.”

“I’m not watching.” That’s what this was about. Inflicting pain upon me. If I didn’t watch, he wouldn’t care what happened with Kitty, and maybe I’d just catch the beating I now so desperately wanted.

“You’d deprive her of food and water on top of what’s coming? Would you condemn her to sit, tied to that chair, in her own filth?” He didn’t blink or budge from his spot. He meant every word. He’d do it. “I will leave her there, until she dies like that. Of course, I’ll move her to a new location you’ll have no hope of finding, but you’ll have this lovely last image to remember.”

My spine stiffened. “No, you won’t. Then you’ll have nothing to keep me in line.” This was not going to happen, I wouldn’t let it. Somehow, I had to stop this.

“If she dies, we’ll just get another one of your friends. That Murphy guy looked like an easy mark.” He looked up at the ceiling, as if he was pondering some great thought. “Or maybe Lady Luck? I bet she’d be a lot of fun to break. I know the guys would enjoy trying.” He smiled, as if he were picturing it in his mind.

I tried to keep my breathing calm and not attack him right where he stood.

“You think we can’t? We took her easy enough. We can take others. We know everything.” He gave up his physical position and walked over to me, and then let his fingers trail along my shoulder and down my arm. “Or maybe we should bring in Fate? How would that make you feel? Would that bother you? You act like you don’t care that much, but I think differently.”

He slowly walked back to his spot in front of the glass. The soles of his dress shoes hit heavy and rang in my ears like a death toll. He pointed to the spot next to him.

My first step toward him was the hardest. The short walk to stand by his side represented something I couldn’t wrap my brain around. There wasn’t a name for it; not yet, anyway. But it was dark, unnatural and made me feel like I’d walked a mile in a swamp and didn’t think I’d ever feel clean again.

One final step and I was standing beside him. I kept my eyes on the large man as he reached down to where Kitty’s hand was tied to the chair. He made jerking motion with her right hand. When he let go, her thumb was jutting at an unnatural angle.

She hunched over as much as the ropes tied around her chest would allow. Although her eyes were covered, I knew she was crying, because of the sobs coming from the speaker by the door. She might not be able to hear us, but I could hear everything.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?” she cried desperately.

My chin notched up even as my stomach clenched.

“Are you finished?”

Luke didn’t answer right away, just looked at the watch on his right hand. “No. That would’ve been it if he’d only answered the phone, but this little issue we had today cost me an hour.”

He held up another finger to the man inside the room.

All reason disappeared and I snapped. My hands went around Luke’s neck before another thought had a chance to take over.

Sometimes in life, you reach the limit of your tolerance, whether it’s physical pain, or worse, mental. At that moment, you snap. You revert to the most animalistic instincts that still dwell in your core, the basest part of you that always lingers deep inside. It lies dormant, waiting for opportunities just like these.

Logic ceases to matter. You become a creature without higher thinking. You attack because it’s all you have left.

We were falling to the ground and I had the best of him until a Taser gun hit me from behind. I’d known they were waiting in the shadows, from the moment I’d walked in the room. But the beast inside me—the one that had grown a little more every day since this ordeal had started—didn’t care. It had urged me forward, no matter the price.

My body stiffened and I couldn’t control my limbs as I fell. When it finally stopped, two sets of hands gripped both of my arms and his goons hauled me to my feet.

Luke, still prone on the ground where I’d knocked him, wasn’t smiling anymore. If I’d had half a second longer, I would’ve killed him. As it was, the damage was already apparent. Blood marked his nose where I’d gotten a good blow in, and there was a gouge where I’d almost taken out his eye. Once I had him on the ground, a few moments more and I would’ve been able to overpower him and snap his neck.

“Put her front and center,” he said as he regained his feet and picked up his cell phone, which must have slid during our tussle.

Since my legs weren’t working well, I was dragged to the middle of the glass and supported in place.

Luke dialed a number and said three words that crushed me worse than two goons ever could. “Break them all.” He slipped his phone into his pants pocket and crossed to where I was now, with one of his men on either side. I found little satisfaction in him keeping some distance.

“Now, let’s watch what
you’ve
done to your friend.”

By the third break, Kitty was crying in agony. The tears burned at my eyes but I wouldn’t let them fall. I moved my stare to a spot over her head but a hand yanked my hair and forced my gaze to her again. So instead, I forced my eyes to go out of focus.

At the beginning, each break was punctuated by a scream. I counted down, knowing there’d be an end and clinging to it in my mind. After the fourth, there was only a soft mewl marking the breaks. I told myself that it wasn’t Kitty in there. It was a stranger who meant nothing to me.

My spine stiffened as my eyes burned. If I wanted to get through this, I couldn’t feel. I had to be like them, cold and empty, a machine.

The noises finally stopped and the room went black, turning the window before me into a makeshift mirror. All the horror I felt turned toward the image reflected before me. My hair was tousled and my clothes were wrinkled and stained. It took most of the energy I had these days just to continue on. The girl in the mirror was weak.

Where was the strong attorney, the woman who could handle anything? Nothing had scared her. She’d never backed down from anyone, ever. She was her father’s daughter, a Marine with steel in his bones. Or she had been.

Luke walked forward to stand in front of me, but I held my ground, no matter how pathetic I felt. The disgust for the woman in front of me held this new person I’d become in her spot. I would not let them break me.

“Next time, it’ll be worse.” He stared at me and I could see him searching for something, a softness. He could look all night. It wouldn’t matter. It wasn’t there anymore. Any emotion that wouldn’t get me through this, or help Kitty, would be squashed as soon as it appeared.

He stood still in front of me, neither of us moving or saying a word. He stared into my eyes, a small smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

He took a couple of steps around me, but I remained staring straight ahead. “Shame, really. I thought you’d offer me a much better run for my money. You’d started out with such promise. Who knew how easy it would be to break you with the right tools.” His hand trailed over my back. “I didn’t even know our kind could lose weight. You look so bad lately, you aren’t even worth the effort of rape.” His fingers grazed across my hip. “But you never know. Maybe if I get bored enough.”

He was wrong. He wasn’t breaking me; he was honing me. His words didn’t matter anymore. His threat of rape didn’t faze me. Even if he did do it, it wouldn’t change anything. He couldn’t take something from me I’d already shed myself. If that meant giving up all I had been, so be it. I’d deal with what I was becoming after I got Kitty out of this. Or maybe I wouldn’t. Maybe I was better off like this, an animal like them.

I didn’t budge; just let him grope me as he pleased. Luke seemed to become more agitated the more I didn’t react. “I’ve got plans. Drop her off somewhere,” he said to the two men at my sides.

The Taser gun hit me again and I lost consciousness.