Jack’s head was full of plans as he slunk towards Conway’s house. The sirens were blaring in the distance behind him, but he knew it was too late for them to save either Evie or his business. The loss of the stock gathered over twenty years left a slight twinge in his gut, but it could all be replaced, especially once he received his book advance from the publishers.
Two million dollars. Fuckety fuck me!
He had to still his beating heart and steady his pace. She wanted him there at midnight, and he’d be forty minutes early at this rate.
So what? I’m going to be in charge now.
But was he? Jack stopped at the bridge over the river, ensuring he was on his own, and then peered into his reflection in the water. She’d always been the dominant one and he the submissive, so how could he change that?
He’d remembered the first time he realised who she was, even with that full face mask she wore, noticing how she moved at that party in Texas, convinced she was the school principal from his home town of Eureka Falls. She’d seen him staring at her, and that’s when he’d guessed she knew that he knew. Conway had never interacted with him before then, but after that, they became inseparable for three months. Until she informed Jack it was over right at the point when he understood he couldn’t live without her.
So he’d skulked away with his tail between his legs, knowing full well he’d hit the bottle sooner rather than later. And that’s where he was when he decided to send Evie’s novel off as his own. He told himself it wouldn’t make any difference to her. She’d probably never leave Shady Acres anyway, plus, he didn’t expect agents or publishers to show any interest. They never had for his books, and he’d been writing for more than thirty years, so why should they for the first book from a young girl?
Imagine his surprise when he received that phone call and had to meet an agent who loved the book, who loved his book. And it was his book by then. He’d convinced himself of it every time he gazed at the bottles of alcohol in his house or when he dwelt upon his relationship with Conway.
My failed relationship and my failed books.
But they were all in the past, or so he thought until Evie turned up at the bookshop. And then Conway sent him that message.
He left the river behind and picked up the pace.
Yes, my new life begins tonight. There’s no more being submissive.
Conway’s house was in sight as the sirens faded in the distance. He gripped the key in his pocket, making his way through the shadows and a promise to himself.
If those cats get in the way, I’m going to wring their scrawny necks.
Jack slipped around the back and approached the door. He didn’t make any attempt to stay quiet, knowing she expected him. He was fifteen minutes early, but that didn’t matter as it was more time they could spend together.
He entered the house, striding through the kitchen and corridor before stepping into the living room. Conway sat on the sofa, drinking a glass of wine. Disappointment swept through him when he saw she wasn’t wearing her bondage gear. But then again, neither was he.
But this is the start of a new dynamic in our relationship, so I suppose it calls for an end to the old ways as well.
He moved into the centre and gazed at her. ‘Is there one of those for me?’ He pointed at the wine.
Her smile unnerved him. ‘You won’t need it, Jack.’
It was only as he narrowed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist that he realised someone was behind him. The scarf was around his neck before he could do anything, pulled tight as he struggled to snatch it away. His attacker dragged him back as his vision blurred. The breath struggled in his lungs as Jack’s legs buckled under him. The light was going out as his assailant drew the scarf away and he dropped to the floor. His face hit the carpet as Conway spoke.
‘He’ll be okay. You’ve always liked it rough, haven’t you, Jack?’
He wheezed and gasped as he rolled on to his back. Standing over him was a young woman with glistening eyes.
Conway invited someone else into our game.
He dug his fingers into the rug and tried to push up, only to be stopped by her foot on his chest.
‘Down, boy,’ she said. ‘So, what do we do with him now?’
‘Whatever you want, Beverly.’
Bev Shaw? When the pain vanished from his eyes, he saw her clearly. She grinned at him.
‘Whatever I want?’
Conway finished her drink and got out of the chair. ‘Let me get something first.’
She left the room as Jack found his voice. His throat croaked and burnt as if electricity surged through it.
‘Do your parents know about this, Beverly?’
She glowered at him. ‘What?’
Conway returned with a large piece of plastic. She unrolled it opposite him as he stared at her.
‘We know you stole Evie Church’s novel, Jack, and claimed it as your own.’
The pain in his throat shot through the rest of him. ‘Wha… what?’
‘Beverly is much cleverer than I ever knew.’ She glanced at Shaw. ‘And so devious. I guess you didn’t realise she put a virus on to your machine when she fixed your computer. She told me she only did it out of force of habit as well.’ Her face trembled with laughter. ‘She hadn’t used it until today, and then she found all your little criminal plans in your emails and files.’ She shook her head at him. ‘And I thought you were better than that, Jack. I think you deserve all the punishment my new partner is about to give you.’
Shaw kicked him on to the plastic before he could protest.
Then she plunged the kitchen knife into his chest.