Chapter Twenty-Five

Ryker lay listening to the wind outside the window from the cold front that blew in as he watched Jo Jo sleep peacefully beside him, her beautiful face cushioned against the pillow. He smiled. He’d give everything he had to be able to do this every morning. Gently removing his arm from beneath her head, he eased from the bed, careful not to disturb her slumber. He hated to leave her while she slept, but the dark circles under her eyes proved she wasn’t resting well at night. And after the exercise they’d just had, he expected her to sleep for a while.

Scribbling a note on the side table for her to join him in the kitchen when she awoke, he slipped out of the room and headed to retrieve his cell phone off the coffee table in the living room. He needed to know if there were any new developments, if they had leads on Keith and his accomplice.

“Hello, lover boy.”

There was a swoosh from the right as he cleared the big grandfather clock at the end of the hallway and pain radiated down Ryker’s entire left side.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?”

Before he could comprehend or recover, another blow hit him square in his bad shoulder. The agony exploded like a firecracker, ricocheted off his bones and splintering every nerve ending.

He went down hard.

“Why the hell can’t you just die?”

Ryker didn’t recognize the voice and tried to look up but was punished for the effort with another blow to the head. Then everything went black.

Unsure of how much time passed, he came to and tried to push himself up off the tiled floor, but his hands were tied behind his back with what felt like a strand of Christmas lights. His attacker sat on the couch in the living room with his back to him, an odd clicking sound repeating every so often from the man’s lap.

Noises of someone moving about at the other end of the house filtered down the hallway. Shit. Jo Jo was awake. Would be coming soon. He fought quietly against the restraints, wanting to get free unnoticed by his attacker. He still couldn’t figure out if this was Keith or Frank, or another accomplice they hadn’t yet identified.

“Ryker? You still in the kitchen?” The bedroom door closed at the end of the hallway, and adrenaline coursed thick and heavy through his veins at the sound of her sweet voice. He watched her shadowy image walk toward him, unaware of the danger, and started to call out some kind of warning.

But the man in dark clothing stood.

The gun in his hand fully visible now as it pointed in Jo Jo’s direction.

His gun.

Heart racing, he pulled hard on the wire cord tied to his wrists. First one way and then the other. So hard he didn’t know where the pain ended or started.

The sunlight from the big picture window hit her shapely form as she stepped upward into the living room, and Ryker’s breath caught. So beautiful. She’d already showered and dressed in a yoga outfit that had to be Sam’s, due to the outrageous color and style, her hair still damp, combed, and hanging loosely around her petite shoulders. Her eyes met his as he lay awkwardly on the floor against the far wall, confusion turning to terror as they drifted to the man on the couch.

“Enjoying yourself, Joanna?” A hacky cough erupted from the man.

The note Ryker had left for her dropped from her trembling hands, her face an ashen white.

“Yes, Joanna. It’s me. A broken, burned relic of who I used to be. But me nonetheless.” The man stopped and coughed again, pain appearing to course through his entire body.

From his position on the floor, Ryker tried to diffuse the situation. “Let us get you to a doctor, Keith.”

Keith turned toward him, the gun in his hand pointed directly at Ryker’s head. “Shut up, Rambo. Too late for that.”

Shit. This couldn’t be happening again. No way in hell he’d gotten past the officers parked outside this time. So how long had Keith been in the house? Had he overheard Jo Jo call him Rambo? Unease knotted his gut. Watched them make love?

Ryker focused on Keith’s face. He’d never seen anything like it. Pieces of charred skin on his cheeks curled out and back, stiff in relation to the smooth undamaged skin of his chin. As the burns moved upward to his scalp, the flesh turned white, soft and blistered well into his now non-existent hairline. Clearly, infection had set in. His stomach lurched at the thought of what the rest of Keith’s body looked like.

“Keith, please let me help you,” Jo Jo said as she stepped toward the phone in the kitchen. Ryker worried what she’d do in her panicked state.

“No. Stop!” Slowly, Keith maneuvered his body back around to face her. “Sweet Joanna. No one can help me now. How can you be so damn beautiful and yet so naive? The only thing I want, the only thing I’ve ever wanted, is you.”

“Okay. Let Ryker go, and I’ll go with you.”

Keith laughed, his head falling to his chest. “Does it look like I can go anywhere? This ends today. Right here. Right now.”

Her eyes darted toward the front door, and Keith shook his head.

“I don’t want to shoot you. But I will.”

She bit at her lip, her hands fisted by her side. “Well, you got all the way out here somehow.” Finding control, her fists eased to her hips, her tone tinged with anger.

That a girl. A different approach might do the trick. Buy some time. The strand of Christmas lights Keith used to tie him up with wasn’t the best choice nor was the knot. Ryker felt it slip with each attempt.

“You have Sam to thank for that,” Keith sneered.

The slight twitch above her right eye was the only visible sign this shook her composure. “Sam’s in town,” she said, calling his bluff.

Keith pushed himself forward a step. “Was.” He then moved around the coffee table toward her. “Sam was in town. Now she’s here. After she dropped Andrew off at work, she stopped at the market near your house. Frank helped hide me in the backseat under all the stuff she collected from your place while she shopped. She didn’t know I was there, ‘til we got back here.” He stretched his neck, twisting it from side to side.

“I don’t believe you. She had a cop following her. So how’d you avoid being seen?”

“Stupid cop must have taken a lunch break with his buddy back at the hospital when Sam stopped there. You know how she drives. He probably got sick of trying to keep up.” He sounded irritated by her line of questions.

“Where is she now?”

“I put her body in the trunk.”

Jo Jo gasped. And Ryker gulped back the possibilities.

“Don’t worry. She’s still alive. For now.” He drew in a jagged breath. “I never wanted to hurt either of you. I hope you can believe that. This isn’t how it was supposed to go down. Denise is the one who screwed this shit up. She’s the one who got involved with your father. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for that stupid bitch.” Pure evil coated every single word.

“So you killed her.” Her bitter tone echoed off the walls.

Ryker froze in mid tug. Not sure how far Keith would let her push before losing it.

“I had to.” Keith took a step forward and staggered.

Ryker watched her brow furrow, realized she’d taken special note of Keith’s feeble condition. “No one has to kill anyone, Keith. That’s a copout and you know it.”

“Okay, so I killed Denise because it made me feel better. Is that what you want to hear? Do you really want to know what kind of monster I truly am? Is that it?”

She didn’t answer.

“’Cause I can show you. Make you understand how painful my life has been. Make you feel the frustration, the anger, and bitterness needing release. Make you just like me.” With each statement Keith inched closer, his strength gaining ground as the anger festered inside him.

“Run, Jo Jo. Get out!”

But it was too late. Keith lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her against him. “Lover boy doesn’t want to share. But I took notes. Know exactly what you like now.”

The implication of what he meant turned Ryker’s stomach. He jerked his arms with all his might against the restraints so hard he felt the skin of his wrists tear as the plastic bit into his skin. “Don’t you dare hurt her!”

“Keith, no. This isn’t what you really want.” Jo Jo struggled against him but only managed to propel them faster down the hallway toward the bedroom.

When they reached the two awkward steps, he thought for sure Keith would stumble and give her the upper hand, but he didn’t. Their progression slowed, Keith taking each step carefully.

“I told Sam those damn things were dangerous,” Keith said. “She never did take me seriously, did she?”

Ryker mentally smacked himself, remembering how close the three had been growing up. Of course Keith would have visited Sam’s parents’ lake house. Hell, he probably even had a damn key. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Jo Jo tried to stomp on Keith’s foot and screamed as he twisted her arm behind her back. Then Ryker heard the eerie sound of the bedroom door close. His chest ached, the helplessness threatening his sanity. He had to do something.

Joanna’s head throbbed as she fought like a wild woman, refusing to be an easy victim. Keith had always been kind and gentle and concerned for her safety. This wasn’t even the same person. A gag strangled her as she caught sight of his facial features, the odd smell of his disfigurement like nothing she’d ever smelled.

Her gaze swept the room. She needed a weapon. Anything to use against him to aid in her escape. If she could get him in the right position, she might be able to use her Karate training against him, but with her lame leg it was a long shot. When she opened her mouth to reason with him again, his gloved hand covered the lowered portion of her face. Without hesitation, she bit down. Hard. But he didn’t budge. Like the fire had damaged all the nerve endings in his hands.

“Easy, girl. Save that spunk and energy for the bed.”

Oh no! He planned to rape her? She tried to wrap her mind around that. How could this man turn so twisted and she be completely oblivious? When had it started? What had set him off?

Then it hit her. It was true. This power play had been going on for years. It was all about control. It always had been. Keith’s subtle manipulation over the years. The way he followed her. Watched her.

A chill as cold and numbing as ice ran through her blood.

“Keith, stop this now.” She tried to twist out of his arms, but his grip only tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs.

“I’m only following your father’s orders.” He laughed, but it came out all wrong, sounding painful and satanic. “You know, protecting you.”

He’d said he’d done his little surveillance crap at the request of her father, but she knew now he’d influenced her dad, told him lies so her father would stick his nose into her business and make her life miserable. Always, Keith had stepped in afterward, offering his undivided attention, comfort, and support. God, she wanted to puke. Top that off with Sam confirming the fact he’d chased away any guys who were interested in her, and she barely kept the bile down. What had he done? Threatened them? Blackmailed them?

She tried hard not to look at his disfigured face as he leaned closer and whispered, “You can call me Rambo, if you like.”

Twisting her face away, she tried to hide her whimper.

This Keith was one she’d never seen. Ryker. It had to be Ryker—when he’d came back into the picture, the mere idea she might hook up with him must have pushed Keith over the edge.

Panic built. Once he had what he wanted, then what? Would he kill her? Kill them all?

“This can be as easy or as hard as you make it, Joanna.” He shoved her backward onto the bed and followed her down, her head bouncing off the mattress from the force.

She kept struggling, not sure why his injuries weren’t working in her favor. He seemed stronger somehow. Like something else drove him.

“I won’t let you rape me, Keith.” She kicked back, connecting with his groin, and pulled herself out from under him as he hunched over and groaned in pain.

As she inched to the side of the bed, he grabbed her weak leg, yanking so hard she felt it pop. Pain jarred her brain. Her body recoiled.

“Two can play this game.” He hauled her back toward the center of the bed, pausing to catch his breath. “You hurt me. I hurt you. See how this works?”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

Clenching her face between his fingers, he turned her head so they were eye-to-eye. “Look at me, Joanna. Look what you’ve done. I have nothing to live for now. Why can’t you grant a dying man his last wish?”

She tried to keep his distorted features from her mind. Keep the nausea from working its way upward. “Because this is crazy. You’re crazy.”

“If it weren’t for the asshole in the next room, you’d have come to your senses years ago. We’d be together, living happily ever after. But no. You had to go out that night and do God only knows what with that prick. And it ruined you for eternity. I see that now. But I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

An image of Ryker’s handsome face emerged and a rush of emotion filled her. For a split second, she felt the warmth of the love she’d experienced with him, and new strength surged.

She’d survive. She had to. She couldn’t let what they’d share die. Not now. Not after finding what she’d searched for all her life.

“I’m here to rescue you. I’m not going to let you make the same mistake your mother did by marrying a man you don’t love, who won’t respect you or take care of your needs.”

She wriggled beneath his weight, trying desperately to find a way out. “Keith. Please.”

“I watched you two right here. In this room. In this bed.” Crushing her body beneath his, he grabbed her arms, lifting them above her head and holding them there with one hand. Then he laid the gun by his side and started probing her flesh. “Did you like it? Did you like the way he touched you?”

“Stop!” She closed her eyes. Tried to make the nightmare go away.

He laughed at the squeaky pitch of her voice. “I bet you knew I was there all along. You wanted to torture me further, didn’t you? Make me pay for hurting your father.”

“No. You’re wrong. I’ve only wanted to help you. You’re like family to me.”

He backhanded her so quickly and so hard she didn’t realize the sting until she tasted the blood on her lips. His face reddened. His breathing a low satanic growl.

“I’ll show you family.” His grip on her wrists loosened as he worked to get her yoga pants down with the other hand and that was all the momentum she needed.

Both hands free, she clasped them together, brought them down chest level, tightening them into a balled fist and then with all the force within her struck Keith right under the bridge of what used to be his nose.

He yelped in pain. Grabbed his face with both hands as he rolled off her and cursed her existence.

Without hesitation, she scooted to the edge of the bed, falling to the floor when her leg gave way beneath her. The excruciating pain ripped a scream of agony from her lips.

“Why? Why does it have to be this way?” His words slurred together as if he were drunk.

She scrambled to one knee, dragging her bad leg behind her as she half crawled for the door. If she could get to Ryker, free him, they might have a chance.

“Stop or I’ll shoot you right there.” Keith’s cry echoed off her eardrum. “We’re both going to die today, but I was hoping we could share one last special moment before that.”

Frozen with fear, she did as he demanded. She heard him get up from the bed, the click of the gun’s safety lever immobilizing her. Would he really shoot her?

“Come here,” he said.

As she crouched on the floor, inches from the closed door, she saw a shadow move beneath and flicker across the tile. The hairs on the back of her neck spiked. Someone stood on the other side.

“I said come here. Crawl to me.”