Rydin' the Storm Out (18 page)

“Please, Ryder. Take me. Please.”

Ryder groaned and began moving, pulling himself out to the head and pushed back in. Out and back in, over and over, slowly, allowing each of them the pleasure of feeling him slide in and out.

“Jesus. So fucking tight…so fucking amazing. Your little ass is squeezing the cum right out of me, Molly.”

Molly whimpered at his words. “Ryder…” Molly’s voice was barely a whisper. A tear slipped down her cheek in response to the pleasure he gave to her. She wanted to give him pleasure back, to make him feel as good as she did.

Ryder wanted to show Molly with his body what he felt his words just couldn’t say. He didn’t feel shy around her anymore; quite the opposite. She made him feel bold, strong, and so in control of himself. It had only been a few months, but Molly made him feel like the man he wanted to be.

“I love you, Molly. I love you with my heart, my soul, and my body.”

“Ryder. God, Ryder, I love you. So much, I’m afraid.”

Ryder nodded slightly as Molly smiled back. Silently they communicated their readiness and need to come together to complete this moment that neither would ever forget.

Molly’s cell phone rang and she stood to grab it off the counter. She didn’t recognize the number on the screen but answered anyway in her professional voice. “Memories by Molly, how may I help you?”

Molly walked to her office where she kept her calendar in case an appointment needed to be made. The voice on the other end of the line froze Molly in her tracks.

“Are you ready for me?”

Molly’s head was spinning, the color around her faded to gray and she was having trouble breathing.

“I’m not interested in seeing you.”

Molly sat at her desk, holding the phone to her ear with a shaking hand, struggling to continue holding it. She closed her eyes as she willed herself to calm down and think.

“You’re not that hard to find. Now that I’m out of jail I’m going to pay a visit to that slut of a mother of yours.”

“Leave her alone. She doesn’t even know where she is or who she’s talking to most of the time.”

“Well, well, well. Guess what, bitch? You don’t get to tell me what to do and when to do it. I’ll visit who I want and when I want. I served my time, there’s no restraining order.”

Molly sucked in a couple of breaths. This couldn’t be happening. Why? Why was he out of jail?

“I watched you last night. You stripped naked for some horny fucking man. You’re mine, Molly, do you understand me? I’ll kill that fucker if I see you with him again, got it?”

“You leave him alone. He’s done nothing wrong and neither have I.”

“Your whole life is wrong, you little bitch. I told you that first time, the least you could do was spread your legs for me since I was the one duped by your slut of a mother. She had me raise you as my own for nine fucking years. I paid for your clothes, your food, a roof over your head. Your pussy is mine, Molly. Get rid of that fucking bastard you’ve been letting sample what’s mine or I will kill him. The other one, too.”

“What are you talking about? There is no other one.”

“I saw him there, too. Walking out of the backyard the other day. Get rid of both of them, or you’ll find out what I’ll be willing to do. I’ll be watching. You have until this evening to get rid of them. Disobey me and find out what I’ll do to them and your crazy fucking mother.”

Molly hung up. She was numb. She didn’t know what he was talking about when he said ‘the other one too.’ He was a crazy bastard. But she had no doubt that, given the chance, Lancaster Elson would kill Ryder, or at the very least, hurt him badly. He was a vicious bastard, sneaky and conniving. She needed to break it off with Ryder so Lancaster would leave him alone. If he saw that she wasn’t with Ryder anymore, he’d be safe. The biggest problem was going to be living without her heart. Ryder was her heart and her soul, the very breath she depended on to live. How would she get through each day without him in her life?

Molly sat for what felt like hours trying to figure out another way. That was the problem; she couldn’t see one. Lancaster called her two more times throughout the day to remind her that she was his. He was right, there wasn’t a restraining order against him and how could she even get one? He hadn’t done anything wrong…yet.

Molly stood up and walked to the bedroom to start packing Ryder’s things into boxes. Good thing he hadn’t actually moved in yet. When he came over tonight, she would tell him they were over. She had to do it. She had no doubt that Lancaster would hurt him. She had always known that her past would tear them apart, but she was drawn in by Ryder. She’d been powerless to stop the pull he had on her. She had no idea how she would make herself tell him they were over, but she had to have the strength.

***

“Hey, what’s with all the boxes?”

Ryder walked into the kitchen from the garage and saw the boxes piled on the steps by the door. Maybe Molly had pulled the boxes of Christmas stuff out of the basement. He told her he would take care of it. Silly woman. He looked around the room and didn’t see her anywhere.

“Moll?”

Ryder walked into the living room and still no Molly. He continued his way through the house and didn’t see her anywhere. Walking back into the kitchen, he saw a note on the counter. The dread in his stomach started rising to the surface. He picked up the note and unfolded it.

Ryder, I regret to tell you this, but, it just isn’t working out between us. If I look at the signs, it’s all there. Jepson didn’t sign the Offer, which means we weren’t meant to have this house. You put off moving in with me because of Gunnar and me, seems to be another sign. I’ve been feeling this way for a while now and decided to go ahead and make a break. Please take your things and leave. I have them all packed and in boxes on the steps in the garage. I will be with friends tonight. Please don’t make this difficult, it’s for the best. Molly.

What the fuck? Ryder’s head was swimming. Break up? No way in hell was she breaking up with him! Signs? Bullshit! Last night was the best night ever in his life, his beautiful woman under their first Christmas tree. No way, she had been feeling bad about their relationship. He was reeling. He couldn’t breathe and his heart was beating so fast he thought it would grow legs and leave his body. He grabbed the counter to steady himself.

Think Ryder, think. What the fuck happened between last night and today?

Nothing. He couldn’t come up with a thing. Bullshit! She wasn’t breaking up with him—not without an explanation, and certainly not by leaving him a fucking note!

Ryder got in his truck and left. He didn’t know where he was going, just driving without direction. An hour later, he found himself at Danny and Tammy’s. He knocked on their door and Danny opened the door to a disheveled and sad sight.

“Holy fuck! What’s going on with you?”

Ryder’s voice was barely a whisper. “Have you seen Molly? Is she here?”

Danny stepped aside and motioned for Ryder to come in. Danny looked to Tammy where she sat on the sofa with her legs curled up under her body. Tammy’s brows furrowed when she looked at Ryder.

“What’s happened? Is Molly okay? What’s going on?”

Ryder looked at Tammy with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. He shook his head and tears sprang to his eyes. “Have you seen her?”

Tammy jumped up and walked to Ryder. “No. I haven’t seen her all day. What happened?”

Tammy led Ryder to the sofa and both she and Danny sat on either side of him. Ryder swallowed a few times to get himself under control. “She broke up with me. In a fucking note!”

“What? She loves you. She’s told me so many times that she never dreamed she could be so happy. She wouldn’t break up with you. Certainly, not in a note.”

Ryder bent his head and grabbed both sides of it between his hands and rested his elbows on his knees. Tammy didn’t even know where Molly was? Tammy knew everything about Molly. Why wouldn’t Molly tell her about this? It made no sense at all.

“I came home today, my stuff was packed into boxes and there was a note on the counter telling me to take my stuff and leave. She said she was looking at the signs and they told her that it wasn’t working out between us. Her car is still at home, but she isn’t there.”

“What? That’s such bullshit! I’m calling her.”

Tammy grabbed her phone and hit Molly’s number and waited for her to answer. Her phone rang and rang, but Molly didn’t pick up. “What the fuck? She’s not going to answer MY call?”

When Molly’s voicemail picked up, Tammy left her a message. “Molly, what the fuck is going on? Call me right away when you get this.”

Danny’s voice was soft, but clear. “Where would she be, Tammy? Can you think of any place she might go?”

Tammy sat for a moment, thinking. Molly always came to her. Tammy knew everything about Molly’s awful life. From her parentage, to her stepfather’s abuse. All of it. Why wouldn’t Molly come to her with something like this?

“She always comes to me. I can’t imagine where she is or what she’s up to. Seriously, this is the weirdest thing.”

“Would she go and see her mom?”

“No. Her mom doesn’t even know who Molly is. On her best days, Tori calls Molly, Nancy. On her worst days, she just stares at Molly and doesn’t really say anything at all. No, I don’t think she’d go to see her mom.”

Molly had been sitting in this fucking hotel room for two damn days, and she hadn’t showered or washed her hair at all. She didn’t want to breathe, but she had no idea how to stop doing that. She’d spent most of her time lying in bed and had gone out only once for food and bottled water. She tried to make sense of all this and to come up with a way to change it. So far, she hadn’t come up with anything.

A knock on the door pulled Molly out of her sadness. She walked to the door, wiping her hands down her jeans thinking the maid had come to clean.

“I don’t need maid service,” she said through the door.

“Towels, Miss.”

Blowing out a breath, Molly cracked the door open. She screamed just as Lancaster Elson pushed his way into the room and closed the door behind him. He was gross looking and he smelled bad, like he hadn’t showered in days. The stale stench of cigarette smoke clung to him. His clothes were ratty and torn, and his greasy hair was matted to his head. His teeth were crooked and yellow. How could she have ever felt anything for this man? She’d thought of him as her father for so many years. Now all she saw was an abuser, rapist, and thug.

“Well. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Molly shook her head slightly to make her head catch up to this horrific turn of events. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I mean, you little slut, that right in your living room, in front of the tree, you let some son-of-a-bitch touch you. Fuck you. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Nothing.” Molly’s voice was small and weak. She knew he wanted her to argue with him so he could hit her. He probably would anyway. It didn’t matter anymore. If she didn’t have Ryder, she didn’t want to live anyway.

“Nothing? You stupid little cunt! Nothing? Did you think because I was in jail that you could run around fucking anything with a cock? I was the first one in that pussy, you bitch, and I’ll be the last one in it. Do you understand me?”

Lancaster raised his hand and slapped her, hard, across the face. Molly reeled back a few steps, her hand holding her face where he had connected. Nausea rolled through her body. She leaned forward and threw up on the floor at Lancaster’s feet. The thought of him ever touching her again was simply the most disgusting thing she could think of.

Lancaster laughed at her. “Do I disgust you? Tough shit, get over it.”

Molly wiped at her mouth and wiped her hands on her jeans. She didn’t know what to do. She just couldn’t let him touch her again. She just couldn’t.

“How did you find me?”

“I’ll always find you. Lucky for me, I learned how to find people. I followed you here and watched to make sure that fucker didn’t come here. It took me a day to find out which room you were in. Good thing I’m patient. Just for good measure, I visited your mother. Fucking crazy bitch, that one.”

Molly sucked in a breath. Good God, he was with her mother? She was horrified.

“I asked you to leave her alone. I’ve done what you wanted and broke up with Ryder. Why did you bother her?”

“I didn’t fucking bother her. She doesn’t even know what fucking day it is. What about the other bastard that you’ve been fucking?”

“There isn’t anyone else. I don’t know what you mean.”

Lancaster smirked. “That fat bastard that’s been hanging around the house. He’s been there almost every day. Don’t play stupid with me, Molly.”

Molly shook her head. There hadn’t been anyone else at the house besides Ryder. Lancaster must really be cracking up. Now she was in this room alone with him, and there was no way she was going to let him touch her again. No way!

Molly took a step back. Lancaster followed. Molly froze, not wanting him to follow her and get any closer. “I need to use the bathroom. Brush my teeth.”

Lancaster nodded his head toward the bathroom. “Don’t close the door. I’ll break it down if you do.”

Molly closed her eyes. She needed to calm down and think. She needed to get out of here. Maybe if she just explained everything to Ryder he could think of some way for them to get out of this. His uncle is a cop, so maybe his uncle could keep him safe while they figured out how to stop Lancaster from doing anything to Ryder. Shit! To think she’d handled this all wrong was an understatement. She should have been straight with Ryder from the beginning. He probably didn’t want to have anything to do with her now.

Slowly, Molly walked to the bathroom and pulled her toothbrush and toothpaste out of her toiletry bag. She turned the water on and began brushing her teeth. She peeked out the door and Lancaster was making himself comfortable on her bed. Controlling her urge to vomit again, Molly slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled her cell phone out. She hadn’t turned it on in a while but turned it on now. Hopefully, she’d get a chance to call 911, telling them Lancaster was holding her against her will. Once she had him arrested, she would be able to get a restraining order against him, but she had to get out of here first.

Molly finished brushing her teeth and methodically put her toiletries in the bag. She slipped her phone into her pocket as she walked from the bathroom toward the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out. I don’t have any food in here and I need some aspirin. I have a headache.”

“You’re not going anywhere. Sit your ass down, now!”

“Are you holding me hostage?”

“Don’t you think you have the upper hand with me, Molly. You try and walk out of this room, I’m paying that boyfriend of yours a visit at work. Rolling Thunder, right?”

Shit! Molly hoped she could call Ryder and warn him about Lancaster right away, but what if he wouldn’t take her calls? He probably didn’t ever want to see her again. If she couldn’t get to him before Lancaster, he could be hurt, maybe killed.

“Why would you risk going to jail again by trying to hurt Ryder?”

“Because he has been tasting what’s mine. No man does that.”

“I’m not yours. I never have been.”

“Oh, yes you are, Molly. You are mine.”

“No, I’m not. You raped me when I was eleven years old. Rape. That doesn’t make me yours. That makes you a rapist! And you will not do it again. Never again will you touch me.”

Molly ran to the door and flung it open. She burst into the hallway, almost running into the maid service cart. She ran past the cart, giving it a little pull behind her, in case Lancaster decided to follow her. She ran down the flight of stairs and out to the parking lot to her rental car.

***

Ryder sat at the table, surrounded by his family—Joci, Jeremiah, Gunnar, JT, his Uncle Tommy, even Tammy and Danny were there. They were at Molly’s house, trying to figure out how to find her. Ryder had looked everywhere. They’d been calling her phone to no avail. Tommy had traced her credit card and found no activity. Nothing.

“Do you believe him, Uncle Tommy? Do you believe that son-of-a-bitch, Jepson?”

“Yeah, I do. We’ve questioned him over and over. He was stalking her, and he’d recorded the two of you having sex. He got off on that. He stole her panties and some of her pictures, but I don’t think he has her. If he did, he wouldn’t have come back here in the first place to sit and listen. He would be with her. Plus, we saw the rental car company come here and give Molly keys to the rental in one of the trail cams he had installed.”

Fuck! Ryder’s mind was reeling. Right after Molly took off, his Uncle Tommy and another off-duty officer had gone through the house looking for clues that might lead them to where Molly might have gone. They’d found Jeffrey Jepson, sitting in the basement, surrounded by boxes and Molly’s things. He’d installed a microphone and pushed it up through the vent and into the bedroom. While he listened to them have sex, he would masturbate as he fondled the panties he’d stolen from Molly’s dresser drawer. It was creepy knowing he’d been in the house, listening to them, for God only knows how long.

Jepson said it had only been since he first met Molly. He had keys to the house because his dad was Molly’s landlord. He let himself in the first time and then opened the window in the basement that led to the backyard. He would shimmy through each day to let himself in the house. He set up a little area in the back of the basement, below the bedroom, which is where he would sit and masturbate.

They found trail cameras installed in the trees around the house so Jepson could take pictures of them coming and going. Once he’d figured out their pattern, he would let himself in and wait for them to come home. What a sick fuck!

“I have an idea,” Tammy said, looking at Gunnar.

“Molly told me you look like your father. Her mom called you Keith when she saw you. Maybe, you could go with us and see if Tori has seen Molly or would tell you something that would give us an idea of where she might be. I know it’s a long shot, but if Molly went there to say good-bye or something, maybe it would trigger Tori’s memory. ”

Everyone turned and looked at Gunnar. He knew something bad must have happened to make her run like this. She and Ryder were happy; everyone could see it. They’d all been blindsided by her uncharacteristic actions.

“I’ll do anything to find her. Let’s give it a try.”

Ryder ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time today. What the hell happened to her? His emotions were all over the place. First, his heart was broken, and then he feared something terrible had happened to her. He went from his heart breaking to fear that something terrible happened to her. Then he was angry that she had dumped him before he returned to feeling heartbroken again. If she
was
dumping him, she owed him an explanation. She owed Tammy an explanation too. Hell, she owed everyone an explanation.

They all stood to go when Tammy’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw Molly’s name.

“It’s Molly. Oh, thank God.” Tammy hit the button to answer her phone. Everyone stood completely still, waiting to hear the conversation.

“Put it on speaker,” Ryder said.

“Molly—thank God you called! Where the
hell
are you?”

“Tammy. I need help. He’s after me and Ryder. He said he’s going to kill Ryder. I was going to call Ryder and warn him, but I was afraid he wouldn’t take my call. You need to warn Ryder that he’s in danger.”

“Molly. Who? Who’s after you and where are you?”

They were all listening. They could tell she was running. She was out of breath.

“Lancaster. Lancaster’s after me. He said if I didn’t break up with Ryder he would kill him. He found me today and…” Molly was crying.

“I couldn’t let him touch me again, Tam. I just couldn’t. He’s chasing me now. Please warn Ryder.”

“Molly!” Ryder was yelling at her now. “Where are you? Tommy’s here, he’ll send the police.”

They heard a car door slam - then, they heard a loud bang and glass breaking. Molly screamed and dropped her phone. They could hear someone yelling in the distance.

“You fucking little cunt. Get your ass out of that car.”

Tommy immediately called the station asking for a trace on Molly’s phone and that officers be immediately dispatched to her location.

They heard another crash and Molly screamed. Then the engine of her vehicle rev up. They could hear tires squealing and the sound of her phone bouncing around the floor of the car. Ryder’s stomach was rolling. It was painful to hear Molly cry; she was in danger and needed help. They stared at Tammy’s phone like it was their only lifeline to Molly. Ryder looked at Tommy and he nodded; he was able to get someone on it.

Molly yelled toward her phone. “I think I got away. I don’t know if he has a car or what it looks like. I don’t know where to go.”

Ryder yelled at the phone, hoping Molly could hear him. “Molly. Come home. We’re all here, you’ll be safe. Come home.”

Molly heard Ryder tell her to come home. God, he wanted her to come home. She started bawling her head off. He wanted her to come home!

“Molly! Tell me you heard me. Come home!”

She was crying so hard, and it was hard to talk. Molly opened her mouth and nothing came out. She swallowed and tried again. “I heard you. I’m coming home.”

Tammy ran to the window in the living room waiting to see Molly’s car. It felt like hours. After about ten minutes, they could hear sirens through the phone. The police must have found her through the trace.