Out of Oblivion (16 page)

Chapter
23

I hoped after the failed attempt, Alexis and Kurt would leave me alone. When she didn't contact me over the next couple of weeks, it was easier to put them behind me. So when my cell phone rang at work, I answered it automatically without checking the caller ID. I thought it was Dominic calling to see if I wanted to meet up for lunch. We tried to have lunch together at least a few times a week, but a lot of times meetings and other work related issues got in the way.

"Hey babe," I said.

"Master would be more appropriate." Kurt's voice was low, almost a growl.

I froze, and he took advantage of my moment of confusion and indecision.

"Don't hang up."

The crack of a whip made me jump, and then a scream made me pull the phone away from my ear for a moment. I glanced around to see if anyone else noticed, but no one seemed to pay attention.

"Alexis is being punished for her failure, and her refusal to continue helping me in my efforts to reclaim my property. I'll forward my address to you by text. This bitch will be whipped until you show up, and I have to warn you. She is already bleeding rather badly. If you don't want Alexis to die, you'd better be quick. If you show up with the police or that bastard you've been shacking up with, I will kill her."

Kurt hung up and moments later a text came through with an address. I sat there, frozen. This time I couldn't tell Dominic. He wouldn't let me go and Alexis would die. There was no doubt in my mind he would kill her. I had no choice, but I wouldn't make the same mistake I had before. Somehow I had to leave a message for Dominic so he would know how to find me. I wrote the address on a piece of paper. The street sounded familiar, so I should be able to find it easy enough. It wasn't far from the mall, which explains why they had chosen that spot for their first kidnap attempt. On the way out, I stopped by the receptionist's desk.

"Sharon, I need to go take care of an emergency," I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. "Will you hold on to my phone and give it to Dominic if he comes for it? Tell him to check the text messages, and he'll know where to find me."

Sharon took the phone and watched me walk off with a confused expression on her face. She probably wondered why I didn't call Dominic myself and tell him where I would be, but I didn't stick around to explain myself.

*****

Panic didn't set in until I pulled up to the house, and then I second guessed my decision. Maybe it would be better to go to the police and let them handle it. But no. I wouldn't let Alexis die. I wished I had a plan. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long before Dominic realized there was something wrong. The only thing that might save me, in the meantime, would be to act as remorseful as possible. It wouldn't save me from a beating, but there was the possibility it would keep him from killing me before Dominic could bring help.

I reached out to knock on the door, but it opened before my fist made contact. Kurt grabbed my arm, pulling me inside. After he closed the door, he bolted it then turned to face me. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked it so hard, it forced me onto my toes. Then he slapped me.

"You had no right to give yourself to another man when you're still my slave, little bitch."

"I know. I'm sorry," I said, tears filling my eyes. "Please, forgive me."

I suddenly realized if Dominic didn't call me for lunch, he might not know anything was wrong until I didn't turn up at home that evening. He wouldn't know until tomorrow where I had gone unless Sharon answered my phone. Maybe I should have told her to wait an hour before calling him to pick up my phone. That would have been the smarter idea, but it was too late now. I would have to survive until he got to me.

"Your attempts to placate me will not save you from the thrashing you're about to get," Kurt said, as he dragged me through the house by my hair.

He pushed my head down, so I was bent at the waist and couldn't see where he led me. After opening a door, Kurt dragged me down the stairs into his basement. When we got to the bottom step, he threw me to the floor. I knew better than to rise to my feet until he came for me. This basement was larger than his previous one, but he hadn't had a chance to "furnish" it yet. He did hang leather cuffs by chains from the ceiling as he'd done before, and he had a table, which had cuffs on it for hands and ankles as well.

Alexis was hanging from the ceiling, her feet barely touching the ground. Kurt hadn't been lying about the bleeding. Blood covered almost every inch of her, and it began pooling on the cement floor beneath her. If she hadn't been moaning softly, I might have thought she was already dead. I leaned to the side and threw up.

Kurt laughed. "Get used to the sight. This will be you soon, and it'll happen often where I'm sending you. You won't know your name by the time they're done with you."

There was no way I would get out of this alive if I let him put me up there, and the memories of everything I'd experienced before, the pain of being whipped, came back in a rush. I made a dash for the stairs, but Kurt caught my arm before I even reached the bottom step. After throwing me to the ground again, he kicked me until I stopped moving.

"If you try that again, I will tie you up, pin your eyelids open and force you to watch as I slowly kill Alexis. Now, get undressed and lean over the table in the back."

I did he told me as he released Alexis and let her drop to the floor. I was bent over the table and waiting by the time he finished with her and made his way toward me with a cane in his hands. He spread my butt cheeks and poked me with the cane.

"Did Dominic put his dick in this?" Kurt asked.

"No."

He hit me hard with the cane across my thighs, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. I forgot how much the cane hurt.

"It seems you've forgotten your manners in my absence."

"No, Master."

"Don't forget again," Kurt said, striking me as he spoke each word.

I took deep breaths, but a whimper slipped out. Kurt used his leg to force mine as far apart as he could get them, then reached between my legs, stroking my nether regions. Then I felt the cane strike me there a few times. This time I screamed and tried to close my legs, but his foot nudged me apart again, and he used a hand on my lower back to pin me to the table.

"Did I give you permission to remove those rings?"

"No, Master."

Kurt hit me there a few more times with the cane. "I'll have to get you re-pierced, and the cost will come out of your hide. And this?" He slapped the cane across my thigh where the tattoo covered his brand. "What the fuck is this?"

I said nothing.

"I'll need to burn that shit off and re-brand you too. I'm not putting up with your shit anymore, little bitch. You will learn your place. I'll spend the afternoon reclaiming you, and then Steve is picking you and this other bitch up this evening and taking you to one of our compounds. First, you'll go through intensive training and then you'll be used as breeding stock. Apparently, that's all you're good for. And don't get any thoughts in that head about running away or being rescued. You're going to be micro-chipped this time, and it won't matter where you go. One of our members will find you and bring you back where you belong. Now get on your knees."

Kurt held me by my hair again as he forced me to my knees. I let my mind drift off as he had his way with me. It made it easier pretending I was somewhere else. I went back to my recent weekend getaway with Dominic. We had intended to go scuba diving and sailing, but spent more time in our hotel room than anywhere else. I didn't allow myself to come back to reality until Kurt finished with me.

Kurt dragged Alexis to the back of the room and left her there. She still hadn't moved or said a word, and I worried she wouldn't survive. He was about to put me in the cuffs, where she was moments before, when there was a knock at the door. Kurt backhanded me so hard I fell back, my head hitting the floor.

"That better not be the police, little bitch, or you're dead. Don't you dare move and keep your mouth shut," he said, then disappeared up the steps.

I couldn't move at first, dazed from smacking my head on the cement, but I forced myself into a seated position while I waited for my head to stop spinning. Kurt's footsteps pounded the floor above as he headed toward the basement door, so I crawled under the steps to hide. The door opened.

"Kurt McCray. We know you're in there. Open the door now," A voice called from outside the house.

He didn't listen though. He slammed the basement door closed, and the wooden stairs creaked with every step he took. I shrunk back into the shadows as far as possible, hoping he couldn't see me.

"Damn it, bitch. Where the fuck are you? I will find you. If I can't have you, I'll make sure that prick can't have you either."

Kurt turned to the side a fraction, but it was enough for me to see he held a gun in his hands. He turned away again, facing Alexis.

"Either you come out or I'm going to kill her."

I wasn't even sure Alexis was still alive at this point. She hadn't moved or made a sound in a while.

"You have until the count of three. One… two…"

I charged out from my hiding place. My head still spun, but I forced myself forward as fast as I could, my shoulder aimed for the back of his knee. Kurt's leg buckled, and he fell forward, the gun sliding across the floor towards Alexis. I tried to get to the gun before he did, but he grabbed a hold of my leg. He held my leg firmly as he got to his feet, then pulled me up by my hair. I screamed, hoping the police would hear and break down the door, but Kurt silenced me with a punch to my gut. He let me fall to the floor again, knowing I would be too stunned to do anything for a moment.

This was it. I was going to die. I shouldn't have come. I should have told Dominic about the call and just left it to the police. It was so stupid of me to come here. "I'm so sorry, Dominic," I whispered.

"What the fuck?" Kurt cried out.

At first I thought it was in response to my apology to Dominic, but when Kurt didn't approach me I looked up. Alexis sat on the ground, holding the gun. It was pointed at Kurt.

"You won't kill me, you stupid bitch. You need me."

Kurt took a step forward, but before he reached Alexis, she fired several times. He fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. Alexis dropped the gun and sobbed. I crawled to her and stroked her hair. It was the only uninjured part of her body as far as I could tell.

"It's okay, now," I told her. "We'll be okay."

I wasn't sure who I was trying to reassure more, but Alexis didn't even appear to hear me. She just rocked back and forth mumbling to herself.

A loud crash came from upstairs, and I assumed the police had finally broken down the door. They must have heard the gun shots.

"The police are coming, Alexis. We're safe now… we're safe now."

Four officers made their way to the basement, guns in their hands, as they took in the scene.

"Go get a couple blankets," one of them told another. "My name is Detective Bryant. There is an ambulance on the way."

"Alexis is hurt bad. I think she needs it more than I do," I told him, just as I heard heavy thuds coming down the steps.

Dominic jumped the last few steps and pushed his way passed the officers.

"I told you to wait outside," one officer said.

"Fuck you, man," Dominic said as he got to his knees next to me, his face wet with tears. "I thought you were dead. I thought…"

I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm so sorry."

Dominic kissed the top of my head. "Hush. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Alexis shot Kurt," I told him, unsure of what else to say.

Dominic leaned back. He seemed to notice Alexis for the first time. The officer who had gone for the blankets returned. He handed one to Dominic and wrapped the other around Alexis, who still seemed oblivious to what was going on around her.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked.

"She's in shock, but the ambulance will be here soon. The paramedics will take care of her."

It didn't escape my attention he didn't answer my question, but looking at her, I supposed it would be hard for anyone to tell whether she would be okay. Even if she lived, the experience might have been too much for her. I buried my head in Dominic's chest and cried.

"That bastard will never hurt you again, Haleigh," Dominic said, holding me tight.

"I know." He couldn't hurt me physically, but it was an experience I would never forget, and worse, there were others out there like him. How many others were suffering what I had, and worse, at the hands of these sick and twisted men?

Epilogue

It had been a week since Dominic rescued me, a second time, from Kurt. My injuries were minor, and the doctor allowed me to leave the hospital that night. I had only minor bruising and a mild concussion. Of course, Dominic wouldn't let me out of bed for a few days, insisting when the doctor said I needed rest, it meant bed rest. At least it gave me some time to catch up with some reading, and my parents insisted we talk every day while I recovered. They were horrified Kurt had gotten hold of me again, and my mother couldn't bear to say goodbye when we talked. The only thing that would calm her was the reminder he wouldn't hurt me anymore. A little scabbing remained in a few spots where Kurt hit me with the cane, and my bruises left a yellow stain on my skin, but other than that I was fine. At least physically. The emotional wounds would take years to heal.

When I had time to consider it, I realized Dominic arrived there with the police a lot faster than I would have expected. It surprised me when he told me he'd been in a meeting that day and never called for lunch. Apparently Sharon was concerned after I left and called Dominic to tell him what happened. When he got to the office and checked my text messages and call history, he understood what happened right away. The police confirmed the address was Kurt's, so they headed there right away. I was so thankful Sharon thought to do that. If she hadn't, I would have been in intensive care alongside Alexis, or worse. I might have ended up at the compound Kurt mentioned. I shivered and then put it out of my head. It was over.

Dominic and I were on our way to the hospital, so I could visit with Alexis. They kept her in an induced coma while the swelling in her brain went down. When Kurt dropped her to the ground, it caused a skull fracture and a severe concussion. Now she was awake, and though there was a part of me that never wanted to see her again, I needed answers. I wanted to know why she tried to help lure me back into Kurt's clutches.

"I ran into Kurt before I broke up with Jason," Alexis said, wincing as she tried to adjust herself in the bed. She had a few cracked ribs as well. "Kurt told me Jason was the one telling lies about him to Dominic. At first I blew it off. Jason seemed too nice to do something like that, but the idea was planted in my head. When Jason showed up late for our date, saying Brant needed help moving furniture and it took longer than expected, I didn't believe him. I assumed he lied, and instead of talking it out with him, I broke up with him."

Alexis snorted. "Of course, Kurt was right there to pick up the pieces, and I was stupid enough to let him. Then he confided in me about how you were cheating on him with Dominic. He said he saw the two of you together when you were supposed to be somewhere else. At first, I suggested maybe you guys were friends, but then Kurt said he saw you and Dominic kissing and he had his hands all over you."

I shook my head. Kurt had been good at manipulating people.

"I encouraged him to break up with you, but he said he didn't want to lose you. He said he loved you too much, which made me resentful because I had developed feelings for him by that point. Then I saw you and Dominic in that diner that day, and it reinforced everything Kurt had said about you."

"Dominic asked me to lunch that day. He heard I was planning to move in with Kurt because of how you'd been treating me. He wanted to tell me about another girl who was looking for a roommate as an alternative."

Alexis shook her head and buried her face in her hands. "I was so stupid to listen to him. I should have talked to you."

"Well, I made the same mistakes in trusting him. But as Dominic keeps telling me, we can't change the past."

"Well, that's something that hasn't changed," Alexis said, forcing a grin. "You still brush things off as though it's no big deal, but this was a big deal. After you moved in with Kurt, we met up on occasion. He said you were still seeing Dominic behind his back. When you pulled your disappearing act and left school, Kurt said it was because of Dominic. He said you were avoiding school and your other friends while lying to him, so you could be with Dominic. When Kurt was arrested, he said you lied to get him out of the way. Then you were living with Dominic."

"Yeah, I moved in with him because he rescued me from Kurt, and he stayed with me every moment I was in the hospital. I had no one else. I couldn't even contact my parents. There was nowhere else for me to go. Dominic offered me a place to stay while I got back on my feet, and well, we fell in love after that."

"I didn't believe you until the moment Kurt chained me up and whipped me. That's when I realized everything he said was a lie and what they said on the news about you was true. He might have killed me if you didn't show up."

"What he had planned for us was worse than death, Alexis," I said, then explained Kurt's plans and what I learned about the organization he was involved in.

Alexis was quiet for a while, and her face lost the little color it had. "I don't deserve your forgiveness or your friendship, but is there any chance we could ever be friends again?"

"I'm not sure. It would be a while before I felt like I could trust you again, and really, it's up to Dominic. He'll be a hard sell on this one, Alexis."

She nodded and gazed out the window, and in that moment, I realized she was as alone as I had been when Dominic rescued me seven years ago.

"I'll talk to him though and see what he says."

"Okay."

*****

During the drive home, and while Dominic cooked dinner, I filled him in on everything Alexis had told me.

"She wants to be friends again, Sir," I said, without meeting his gaze.

Dominic frowned, setting down the knife he was using to cut vegetables. "And what did you say to that?"

"I said I would have to talk to you, but after everything she's been through, I don't think she would hurt me again."

He sighed and went back to cutting. "We'll play it by ear. I still don't trust her."

"Me neither, but she seems so lost, and I understand what it's like to be left with no friends after Kurt. I don't feel good about leaving her like that."

Dominic nodded. "I have something important to talk you about," he said, setting the knife down again. Then he stood before me. "I've been doing a lot of thinking since the incident with Kurt. When that gun fired, I thought I lost you. I've never been that scared in my life. It made me realize how fragile life can be, and I don't want to waste any more time."

As Dominic got down on one knee, he pulled a small box out of his pocket. He held it toward me while lifting the lid. "Will you marry me, Haleigh Lucas?"

"Yes," I cried out as tears filled my eyes.

Dominic slipped the ring onto my shaky finger, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me deeply.

"Can we get married on the 6th of July?" I asked when he finally released me.

"The day I rescued you from Kurt," he said, then added. "The first time."

I nodded.

"Why that day?"

"You saved me and gave me my life back that day. Now, I want it to symbolize the beginning of our life together."

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