Make Me (Bully Me #2) (12 page)

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Authors: C. E. Starkweather

BOOK: Make Me (Bully Me #2)
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"Your son is four years old," Colton retorted. "You could have easily told him what to say."

Shane shot up, knocking his chair over. "Maybe you don’t give a shit about my wife, but I do. If you’re not going to find her, let me go so that I can do your job for you."

Colton sat back. "Relax. We're doing everything we can. We’ve already paid Camden Lawson a visit."

Shane’s heart skipped a beat. "And?"

"He wasn’t home."

"Because he has her!" Shane shouted.

"Your EX wife’s coworker also told us that you went to Camden’s house and beat him up last month. Wanna tell me about that?"

Shane rubbed his hand down his face. This couldn’t be happening. "He tried to convince Kaine that I was cheating on her. I went there to talk to him and lost my cool when he bragged about being her shoulder to cry on. You’ve read his file. You know what he did to her and how she had a restraining order against him."

"I do," he agreed. "And we’re looking for him. It’s also possible that he’s just not home right now. Is there any reason your ex wife would have left town?"

Shane shook his head vehemently, trying hard to ignore the emphasis that Colton put on ‘ex’. "No. We made up. She took me back. You can ask anyone. Ask Steve Fillmore. Ask Kaine’s father. And she would never leave Adam. No way."

"Alright," Colton said, standing up. "We’re about done here. Try to get some sleep."

"What about Kaine? What are you doing to find her?"

"We're doing everything we can," Colton promised. Shane sighed, standing up. He didn’t believe that for a second. "Listen, I know you don’t like me. That’s fine. You don’t have to like me. But my wife was abducted by Camden Lawson. He’s dangerous, and the thought of what he’s doing to her...please, just find him."

Colton stood up. "Look, it's my job to explore all angles. It's nothing against you personally. I have guys trying to find Camden right now. Apparently, he was with Layla James when your ex wife texted her to say that you and her had reconciled. She said that he read the text message and ran out. So yes, despite what you think, he is our number one suspect. The best thing you can do is to let us do our job."

Shane nodded and shook Colton’s hand, praying that Kaine was ok.

 

 

Kaine woke up on Monday morning, remembering immediately what had happened and where she was. She sat up slowly, still groggy from whatever Camden had given her. Her heart broke when she thought about Shane and Adam. They must be so worried. She looked around the small, windowless room.

Camden slept next to her with his arm draped over her. She gently crawled out from underneath him and slid out of bed. She froze as he stirred and rolled over, breathing a sigh of relief when his breathing steadied. She tiptoed to the door and tried the knob. It moved, but the door wouldn’t open. There had to be a key around here somewhere. Where would he hide it? She quietly opened the dresser drawer and gasped. Neatly folded underwear and bras filled the small drawer. Was there a woman living here? Or had he gotten these for her? She knew the answer when she saw the red lacy piece that looked like the one she had gotten back in high school and ended up wearing for Shane. Camden had gone through her drawer and had seen it. She clenched her jaw in anger. If he thought she was wearing this for him, he had another thing coming. He had said he wouldn’t touch her unless she wanted him to, but he was unstable. Who knew what he planned to do with her? The thought of his hands on her made her nauseous. It was bad enough that he had held her while she slept.

"Good morning, beautiful."

She gasped and shut the drawer.

"What are you doing?" He asked, sitting up and stretching. She swallowed hard. "I was just looking around."

"Well come lay back down," he said, patting the side of the bed. She hesitated, then reluctantly walked back to the bed and sat down. He pulled her back and leaned over her, studying her face. She looked away. "Look at me," he said, gently moving her face towards his. She stared into his eyes. He looked at her lovingly. His striking blue eyes were gentle. "You don’t have to be scared of me, Kaine. I won’t hurt you. I’m not like him."

"He doesn’t..."

"Yes, he does," Camden said quietly. "Did you forget how horrible he was to you? Or are you with him because you’re scared of him?"

Kaine stared at him silently. She had no idea what the right answer was. She wanted to tell him that he had hurt her in more horrible ways than Shane ever did, but kept her mouth shut. "What do you want with me?" She asked quietly. He brushed her hair away from her face. "I want everything with you, Kaine. I want you to realize that you should have been with me. Not him. You should have married me. I would have made you so happy."

She sat up. "But I didn’t, Cam. I married Shane. We have a son. What about Adam?"

"He has his father. Besides, that shouldn’t have happened. We can have our own kids."

She shot up. "Don’t you fucking ever tell me that my son shouldn’t have happened, you bastard." She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth, waiting for Camden to get mad. He didn’t. He sighed and sat up. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But Shane’s a good father, right? I know it hurts now, but after we have our own kids you won’t miss him as much."

"So what, are you going to keep me locked in this room forever until I pop out your rape children? Then what? We all live in this room together?"

He winced. "I’m not going to rape you, Kaine."

She shook her head. "How can I believe that? You keep telling me how Shane hurt me, but you were the one who hurt me. If he hadn’t gotten there in time, what would you have done, Camden? Do you know how many nightmares I had of your face telling me I was going to fuck you like I fucked him? And you know who was there to hold me and comfort me? Shane. I will NEVER love you. Because I fucking hate you."

Camden’s eyes turned cold, and she knew she had gone too far. She didn’t care. She refused to sit here and listen to Camden talk about her family like this. "Give me the key and let me out of here. If you think I’m going to fall in love with you and sleep with you, you’re wasting both of our time."

"We’ll see," he said, laying back down. "In the meantime, try to relax. You’re upsetting yourself. Come lay back down."

"Fuck you," she snapped.

His eyes narrowed. "You need to watch your mouth. I get that you’re upset right now, but this is still my house. You need to treat me with respect."

She clenched her jaw. Arguing with him was useless. "I have to pee. Can I at least do that?"

"Sure," he said. "Right in there." He motioned to the closet. Kaine frowned and pulled the door open. "What the...seriously?"

What she had thought was a closet was actually a bathroom with was a small toilet and a tiny sink. Kaine wondered if Camden had converted the closet into a bathroom himself. Her heart started to pound and she wondered how long Camden had been planning this. "Can you maybe leave the room?" She asked. Camden chuckled and sat up. "You don’t need to be shy around me, Kaine. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll go make us some breakfast."

Kaine was about to say that she wasn’t hungry, but kept her mouth shut. If it meant he would leave the room, he could make whatever he wanted. She quickly relieved herself as he closed and locked the door behind him. She looked for anything that she could use as a weapon, but there wasn’t much in the small room. Physically, she was no match for Camden. She needed something she could use as a weapon, but couldn’t find anything. She sighed in frustration and flopped back on the bed. She wondered if Adam was ok. The thought of her son watching Camden kidnap her brought tears to her eyes. Her sadness quickly gave way to anger, and she clenched her fists, waiting for Camden to come back. Maybe if she caught him off guard, she’d have a chance of escaping.

He opened the door to the room a few minutes later with a plate of pancakes. "I hope you’re hungry!" He said cheerfully. Kaine charged him as hard as she could, smashing the plate against his chest. He stumbled back in surprise. "Hey!" He shouted as she sprinted past him. She heard his footsteps pounding after her as she ran frantically through the house, trying to find an exit. Her heart soared as she ran through the kitchen and saw the door. She yanked it open and felt the fresh air hit her face. The knob flew out of her grasp as the door slammed shut and Camden grabbed her from behind. "Let me go!" She screamed. He held her tightly as she kicked her legs, trying to get free. She sobbed as he dragged her back to the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him. "I’m sorry," she gasped as he pushed her on the bed and climbed on top of her. "Please don’t. I’m sorry."

He grabbed her arm and turned her over roughly. "What are you sorry for?"

She was too scared to answer. The cold, hateful look in his eyes was terrifying.

"I asked you a question, Kaine," he said, running his hand down her stomach. "What are you sorry for?"

"For running," she choked out.

"Mm hmm," he said, lifting up her shirt. "What else?" He leaned down and kissed her stomach.

"For pushing you," she sobbed. "I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please."

He pulled her shirt back down. "Smart girl." He stood up and Kaine clutched at the covers.

"I meant what I said. I won’t touch you unless you want me to. But if you try anything like that again, I might not be so nice next time. Do you understand?"

She nodded, unable to look at him.

"Clean this shit up," he snapped as he slammed the door behind him. Kaine curled up into a ball and sobbed.

 

 

Jessica opened the door to the two policemen and immediately burst into tears. "Oh God. He killed her, didn’t he?"

The officer raised his eyebrows at her. "I think we need to talk. Can we come in?"

She nodded, sniffing. "Is she ok?"

"Is who ok?" The other officer asked.

"Kaine," she said. "That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?"

"It is," he agreed. "We’re not sure if she’s ok. She’s missing. And you might be able to help us. Tell us how you know Camden Lawson."

Jessica was silent for a minute. Finally, she sighed. "I met him at a bar about a month ago. I was drunk, and he was hot, and my husband is away on business all the time…anyway, I slept with him. I regretted it right away and thought I would never see him again, but he found me and showed me a bunch of pictures that he had of us having sex." She swallowed hard, feeling sick. "He threatened to show my husband the pictures unless I told Kaine that I slept with her husband and he got me pregnant. I felt awful about it, but...I couldn’t lose everything. So I did it. And I didn’t hear from him again. I thought it was over with until today, he showed up at my door and told me Kaine was on her way here. He waited in the hallway and listened to me the whole time. He told me to say that some guy named Bryce gave me money to say her husband got me pregnant. I didn’t want to. I almost told him no. But he looked...desperate. I was afraid to say no to him. So she came over and I told her what he wanted me to say."

"And then what?"

"He gave me the pictures and left."

"So when you meet him at the bar and went home with him, did he take you to his house?"

"Yeah, it was an apartment I think. But I was so drunk that I don’t really remember."

"Can you give us the general area?"

Jessica closed her eyes. "We were at Hoff’s, and it wasn’t more than a few minutes away. I think he lived on the first floor. I’m sorry I can’t be more help."

"That’s fine, Miss Lancaster. We’ll call you if we have any more questions."

She sniffed and nodded, putting her head in her hands. What had she done?

 

 

Kaine laid in bed, staring at the wall. She didn’t know how long it had been since Camden left, but it seemed like hours. It was hard to tell what time of day it was in the windowless room. She was terrified for him to come back.

The door clicked and she squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. "Kaine?" Camden whispered, flicking on the light. She kept her breathing steady, hoping that he would go away. She heard him walk toward the bed and felt it shift under his weight. She felt his front press against her back and his arm wrap around her and struggled to keep her panic under control. "I know you’re awake," he whispered. She opened her eyes and rolled over to look at him. He looked at her with kind, gentle eyes. The way his mood changed so rapidly was unsettling. "Can we talk?" He asked softly, sitting up. She nodded nervously.

"How's Shane?"

"He's fine," she said cautiously. "He probably misses me and is upset right now, but he's been ok."

"What‘s wrong with his face, anyway?"

Kaine gave him a disgusted look. "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with his face."

Camden snorted. "Yes there is. His nose is all fucked up."

"His nose isn't 'all fucked up.' It's just a little crooked. I love his nose."

"Of course you do," Camden muttered. "How did it get that way? From fighting?"

"None of your business," she snapped.

"How many times do you have to break your nose before it looks like that? Do you love that about him too? That he's angry and violent?"

"You know what? I don't have to explain anything to you. You're going to believe what you want anyway so what's the point?"

"Forget it," he said, shaking his head. "Tell me about prom."

"What?"

"Prom. I’m assuming you went with Shane."

She nodded. "I did. Why do you want to know about prom?"

He shrugged. "I just want to know more about what you did after I left. Did you have fun?"

Kaine thought back to her prom night. She had taken a limo with Shane, Greg and Kelsey, and Lucy and her date, Brandon. She had an amazing time dancing with Shane, and they cut out early to have sex in Greg and Kelsey’s hotel room. "It was nice," she finally said. "We went with Greg and Kelsey and Lucy and Brandon Weaver. Remember him?"

Camden smiled. "Yeah. Nice guy. Not too smart if I remember though."

Kaine actually laughed. "No, he wasn’t. But he was nice enough. Anyway, it didn’t last. They were just friends who went to prom together. Lucy met her husband in college. She has a little boy now."

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