Lies Inside (19 page)

“I will do whatever I want. I’m in control here.” He punctuated his point by pushing harder against her tender flesh. As she winched from the pain, blood dripped from her nose, and it seemed to send a wave of sick pleasure through him.

Her shaking turned violent as the terror of what was about to happen sank in. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat as she felt one hand softly move down her spine. She knew he would take her virginity, something she would never get back. As terrified as she was, her anger at him taking it brought back her fighting instinct.

He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck just before Lucy heard him unzip his jeans. He adjusted himself behind her. She clenched her jaw and fisted her hands, ready to strike when she felt part of him enter her.

The kitchen door swung open so fast, neither Lucy nor Viktor had time to move.

When Chloe came running in, Lucy had never been so relieved to see the child in her entire life.

“Lucy?” Chloe looked at both her father and Lucy questioningly.

Both Lucy and Viktor’s lower bodies were hidden from Chloe by the island.

“Lucy hurt her back, and I was just trying to help her.” Viktor released his hold on the back of her neck and ran his hand down her spine as he pulled back and inconspicuously zipped his jeans back up.

“Why is your nose bleeding then?” Chloe questioned as she tipped her head to the side.

Lucy stood up as Viktor kicked her underwear over to her feet. She reached up and brushed away a few tears before she grabbed a towel to wipe the blood away from her nose “It just happens sometimes. Don’t worry about it.” Lucy felt her legs trembling.

“I guess you don’t want to play tag then. Daddy, will you come play?”

“Sure, angel.” Viktor walked over and took Chloe’s hand. Before going through the door, he turned back to Lucy. “We can finish this later.”

“Don’t count on it.” Lucy whispered in a shaky breath as she continued to put pressure on her nose.

When the door shut behind them, Lucy pulled on her underwear and ran up to her bedroom.

For hours, she lay curled in a ball on the bed and cried, racking her brain for answers. Eventually, exhaustion set in, and she let her body slip into the darkness.

She woke when a light flipped on. Finn was there, sitting on the edge of the bed. He was still wearing the same pajama pants he had on the last time Lucy had seen him. As she moved closer, she realized what Viktor had been doing to entertain himself.

“This is all he did.”

“All? Finn.” Lucy knelt down on the floor in front of him to see various stages of red, purple, and blue welts covering his back and torso. Her fingers gently made their way down his rib cage. All she wanted to do was take away his pain. Hers meant nothing at that moment.

She placed her lips to his chest, right above his heart. He brushed his fingers through her hair as she trailed kisses all over his torso. She laid him down on his stomach and went to work on his back. Before she could finish, he was fast asleep. She pulled the blankets over them and snuggled into his side.

The next morning, Lucy helped him out of his pants and into the shower.

“I’m not ready to let go of you yet.” Finn held Lucy’s wrist in his hand as he stepped in. “Come with me.”

She slipped off her clothes. She took his hand and stepped into the steaming hot shower. Lucy lathered him up, trying to wash away as much of the pain as she could. Finn would hold her, kiss her, but she knew whatever Viktor had done had left another scar on Finn’s soul.

The door to the bathroom opened and Camille stepped in. “The girls want to go swimming.”

Finn pulled Lucy into him under the running water. They could see Camille’s eyes ogling their naked bodies.

“I’ll leave you something to wear.” She placed their bathing suits on the counter. She sucked on her fingertip while taking a final look.

“We’ll be down in a few minutes,” Lucy said. That seemed to pull Camille out of her euphoric state. She left the bathroom, and Lucy traded Finn’s arms for a fluffy bath towel.

After their shower, Lucy looked at the swimsuit Camille had left for her. It was a bikini, if you could even call it that. The top looked like two green triangles attached with dental floss. The bottoms weren’t much better. A swatch of green fabric tied together at each side. In any other situation, Finn thought he might have found her incredibly sexy. Just knowing her assets were on display to their captors as they leered at her made every part of him burn.

Finn put on a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt. He assumed that Viktor didn’t want to show off his handiwork to the girls.

“Lucy dear, we wouldn’t want you to burn. Finn,” Viktor drawled as he threw him a bottle of sunscreen, “Why don’t you put some of this on Lucy. Make sure to cover every inch. We wouldn’t want to harm her flawless skin.”

Lucy stood, her limbs slightly shaking at Viktor’s lust filled words. Finn opened the bottle. He started on her legs, rubbing the lotion all the way up her thighs and across her exposed cheeks. He worked over her back and both her arms. She turned to him, and they started to forget that there was anyone watching. He traced little circles across her stomach as he rubbed the lotion in. Finn let his fingers trail between her breasts and across her collarbone. He brought his hand up to her cheek and pressed her slick body against his as he kissed her lips, getting lost in each breath.

“Come to bed, darling. I know you’re exhausted.” Claire motioned for her husband to come to her.

Claire was still the vigilant caretaker she’d always been. She worried about everyone else before giving her own needs a thought.

Murphy moved from the chair next to their bedroom window to stand with her at the foot of their bed. Her skin was pale, and the dark circles beneath her beautiful eyes matched his. He let his hands rest on her hips as hers lay on his chest.

“I could say the same for you.” He caressed the apple of her cheek. “You look like you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in months.”

“One month, two weeks, and four days,” she corrected him.

Finn and Lucy had gone missing two days before Finn’s eighteenth birthday, and it was already the middle of July.

“We can’t go on living like this. I just don’t think this family can take it.” Claire’s silent tears dampened Murphy’s chest.

He wrapped his arms around her as the sound of her cries filled the room.

Murphy knew she was right. Their family was breaking apart.

He turned off the lights and pulled his wife into their bed. He let his mind wander as they huddled next to each other, begging sleep to come.

Just like every other night, it didn’t come willingly. Murphy’s mind wandered to what Finn and Lucy were dreaming about, if they were even sleeping at all. He knew it wasn’t a coincidence when Viktor disappeared just days after Finn. Viktor was involved; of that, he was sure. Murphy also knew Camille had made a lot of money selling a patent on some computer chip she had designed, so their resources were endless. They could be anywhere in the world, and not one person Murphy had hired could find them.

Lane was doing his best, working with the authorities, and trying to keep everyone optimistic. Murphy knew the pain he was feeling. Between his two children, Finn had always been the more independent one. That had changed when he came home from Two Roads. He never wanted to leave. Murphy felt so guilty for making him stay at that school for so long. They’d lost so much time with him and unknowingly gave Viktor five years to do unspeakable things to him. He knew he would do anything to make it up to his son.
Anything.

Claire coped by keeping herself occupied. Her garden rivaled Martha Stewart’s. She worked on it whenever she wasn’t trying to keep the rest of them together. It seemed to be the only thing that distracted her.

Aiden had set up a website to get the word out, featuring Finn and Lucy’s story. It also had information on how to contact authorities with any information leading to their discovery. They could hardly tear Aiden away from the computer. His laptop was on even while he slept.

Jack and Aiden had moved into the guest room while Rylan wouldn’t come out of Finn’s room. Jack seemed to be the only thing keeping them all together. Murphy thought Jack was angry for not seeing what was going on with Finn in the first place. Then he was angry with Finn for taking his twin sister away from him. He channeled his anger into something positive. He went on TV, the radio, and the Internet, getting the story out to as many people as he could. Within the first week of their disappearance, he managed to appear on every major cable-news network and even a few international news channels. He diligently made sure that no one forgot about Finn and Lucy.

As for Rylan, she was barely functioning. At first, she locked herself in Finn’s room. Jack waited patiently, camped out at the door. She finally let him in only to park herself in Finn’s favorite chair. He spent hours holding her, trying to persuade her to come out. She seemed terrified to lose her connection with Finn. Being in his room made her feel closer to him. She said she could see him in Lucy’s arms there, sleeping on that chair. Jack got her to come out occasionally to take walks through the woods behind the house like she and Lucy use to.

Their first semester of college was quickly approaching. All of the kids adamantly refused to go. They all said college wasn’t going anywhere and they’d worry about it when Finn and Lucy came home. Murphy could hardly blame any of them. He had to force himself to go to work every day.

They wished they had something to hold onto. There was nothing. No witnesses. The authorities couldn’t find Finn’s car. It was as if they had vanished into thin air. All they could do now was pray every day that they were still alive. Murphy knew Viktor was no longer the man he had known, but he never thought he’d be capable of murder.

Murphy rolled over to find Claire asleep, finally. It was two o’clock in the morning. He wrapped his arm around her waist, let his eyes close, and sank back into the blackness.

“The site has received over a million hits this week alone,” Aiden said before took a drink of his coffee.

“What’s everyone in the mood for this morning? I can do pancakes or omelets, whatever.” Claire was pulling supplies out of the refrigerator.

“Nothing for me. I’ve got to go meet Dad. Sam’s coming down today,” Jack said as he sat down at the counter.

All ears perked up at the sound of their favorite FBI agent’s name. “Does he have something new?” Murphy asked.

Jack shrugged. “They’ve finished going through Viktor’s house again. I don’t know if he’s found anything, but he wanted to talk to Dad.” He stood up, restless. “Maybe you should come too.”

“If it’s alright with you?” Murphy asked.

Murphy looked at Jack, and as their eyes met, it was the first time in a long time that Murphy didn’t see hate clouding Jack’s expression. This time he saw something else. Fear.

“I think you should.”