Tuesday, May 13
Janine woke up early, the soft light of morning peeking through the hotel window. She heard Kerri’s steady breathing and relished the sensation of being pressed against her body. Kerri snorted, put her arm across Janine’s waist, and pulled Janine closer to her. Kerri’s hand on her belly gave Janine shivers of pleasure, as she remembered their lovemaking last night. She wanted more.
Janine had been with a few people before she met Ryan. She’d always enjoyed herself in bed, but no one ever rocked her world like Kerri had. More than anything, Janine was attracted to Kerri’s kind heart.
Kerri rarely showed this side of herself, because she always had to be the calm leader at work, the fearless Captain Sullivan. Alone together, Janine saw how tender Kerri was to her during their lovemaking. She was an unhurried, considerate lover, who clearly enjoyed every moment, from the softest caresses to giving Janine powerful, mind-blowing orgasms. She had never felt so connected, both physically and spiritually, to another person. She was living in a beautiful dream.
Janine glanced at the clock radio. She had one hour before she had to get ready for class, and they had some important decisions to make. Kerri’s hand moved from her belly to the underside of her breast and started squeezing Janine’s fullness. She needed to discuss things with Kerri, but for now, only Kerri’s hot, powerful body was on her mind. She couldn’t stop herself from writhing against Kerri’s lap. Putting her hand on top of Kerri’s, she guided it to where she needed it most and whispered, “Harder.”
“Ummm,” Kerri replied. Then she moved her thigh between Janine’s legs and pressed into her center. Janine was very aroused as she rolled onto her stomach and spread her legs wide for Kerri. Janine hungered for her again. She wanted Kerri’s weight on her body, Kerri’s fingers inside her, and she didn’t hold back expressing her desire. She closed her eyes and let Kerri send her over a cliff with wave after wave of ecstasy until she was spent again.
“I don’t want to ever leave this room.” Kerri nuzzled her face into Janine’s silky blond hair.
Janine sighed. “Neither do I, but we have to talk about some things before I leave.”
Kerri climbed out of bed and made them two cups of coffee. “Here you go, babe.”
Janine liked hearing Kerri call her “babe.” “Thank you. We have to figure out a plan.”
“I agree. What do you want to do?”
“I want you to live with Molly and me, somewhere far away from Ryan.”
“How are we going to do that, if you’re still married to him? I thought you said he was your ex-husband. What do you want to do about him?”
Janine was quiet, then reached over to hold Kerri’s hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the full story. In my mind, he is an ex, even though we’re still legally married.”
“Why don’t you just divorce him?”
“Because I signed a prenup giving him control of everything. I was temporarily out of my mind because of my pregnancy hormones. I had to drop out of college, my parents didn’t want anything to do with me, and I had no money and no choices. It was the only way I could take care of Molly.”
Kerri squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry. But how can we be free together with you still married to him? Why don’t you hire an attorney and be done with him?”
Janine hesitated. She wanted to be truthful to Kerri, but her fear held her back. If Kerri knew the full truth about how sick and twisted her relationship with Ryan was, she wouldn’t want anything to do with her.
Kerri held both her hands and looked deep into her eyes.
Janine gazed back at the beautiful brown eyes filled with compassion and love. She trusted Kerri with her life, so maybe she could trust Kerri with her awful past.
She grabbed a box of tissues, leaned back against the headboard, and let her mind unlock the dungeon of secrets about Ryan Jackson.
Janine let out a big sigh. “He hid his true self from me until after Molly was born. By the time I fully understood the depths of his depravity, it was too late. He had control over all my finances and every aspect of my life.”
Janine struggled to get the words out. As she recounted her life with Ryan, the shame and humiliation returned like it was yesterday. She tried to suppress her memories, but she wanted Kerri to know her full story. She held Kerri’s hand, took a deep breath, and continued.
“He drugged me. I was never sure what it was, but I think it was some type of roofie. I’d wake up the next morning covered with bruises and no memory of how I got them. That went on for quite a while, and then he started including other people in his sick games.”
“Why didn’t you get away from him?”
“I tried, Kerri. So many times. I was powerless. Whenever I started to leave, he would throw that prenup in my face. In the agreement I signed, if I ever divorced him, Ryan would have full custody of Molly. I decided to take whatever he did to me in order to protect Molly.”
Tears rolled down her face. All the awful feelings flooded over her again as if it were yesterday.
“Then there was that video.”
“What video?”
“He has a video of me.” She could barely choke out the words. “It shows me having sex with all these different men, one after another, when I was under the influence of his drugs.”
“Oh, my God, Janine.” Kerri held her hand tighter.
“Whenever I told him I wanted out, he would threaten to release that video. Then one day, he went too far, and I ended up in the emergency room. Apparently, he just dumped me off in front of the ER and drove away. I don’t remember much, but I do recall seeing the police at the hospital. Then Ryan’s parents showed up. They pretended to care about me, but they were really there to make sure there would be no official reports. They also reminded me of the prenup. I felt absolutely trapped.”
Kerri held Janine. With Kerri’s arms around her, the tears came out of her in wave after wave of regret.
“After all that, how did you get away from him?”
“I tolerated his abuse because I thought I was saving Molly from him. Then one day, when she was two years old, I heard Ryan giving Molly a bath, and he was talking to her in his creepy sex voice. I knew, without any doubt, that she would be next. I had to get her away from him before he hurt her. That’s when I put together my plan. I found a guy who could help me get a new identity. Then I waited until Ryan left to go on one of his overseas sex trips and raided his safe, took fifty grand in cash, and we escaped. I’ve been looking over my shoulder ever since, in dread of Ryan finding us. When he saw my picture on TV, he found Molly. Seeing him hold Molly when we got off that navy ship was the worst day of my life.”
“Does Ryan know about you and me?”
“No. If he did, he’d have one of his thugs threaten you to stay away from me.”
Kerri didn’t say anything. She wrapped her arms around Janine and held her. “So what do we do about him?”
“Kerri, I have to know something first. After all the awful stuff I just told you, you must think I’m a weak, helpless person. Why would you want to be with me?”
“Oh, Janine, how can you ask me that? A master manipulator tricked you. I’m guessing he’s done this to many other women for a long time. He slipped up when he got you pregnant, and his wealthy parents forced him to marry you to save their reputation.”
Kerri turned and held Janine’s face with both hands.
“Janine, you are not responsible for Ryan’s actions. He is. When you let him hurt you, in order to protect Molly from him, you were proving that you’re one of bravest women I’ve ever met. You showed me how strong you were when we were in that raft. You kept doing your job, you took care of our passengers, and you gave them encouragement and hope to hang on. I have nothing but respect, admiration, and love for you.”
Kerri pulled her close and gently kissed her tear-stained face.
“I think we just have to bide our time until the NTSB investigation ends. I’m stuck until then. I’m worried they’re going to blame me for the accident and I’ll never fly again.” She choked up as she said those last words.
“But it wasn’t your fault, Kerri. I was with you on the flight deck when we lost cabin pressure, and you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That doesn’t matter. Whenever a plane crashes, the pilots are always blamed first. They have to find evidence to prove what the cause was, and they haven’t found anything, so far. I can’t go anywhere with you and Molly until this mess is over.”
“I understand. I have to get ready for class.”
Janine quickly styled her hair, put on her makeup and uniform dress, and bent down and kissed Kerri on the cheek.
“I have to go. I will do whatever I have to do to protect Molly. I hope you can find a way to be with us.”
Janine zipped her roller-board suitcase closed, walked to the door, and turned to Kerri. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As Janine walked down the hotel hallway, sadness descended on her. After a beautiful night of lovemaking with Kerri, she had no idea when they could see each other again. She didn’t know if Kerri would be willing to run away from Ryan to live in a foreign country with her. She wasn’t even sure Kerri wanted to live with a special-needs child. For now, she would have to play along with Ryan to keep Molly safe. Maybe the only solution was one she’d thought about many times.
I’m going to have to kill him to be free.