On the Line (Out of Line Book 7) Page 14

  Twenty-Nine

  Sarah

  Vinnie was crazy.

  One hundred percent certifiably crazy.

  Sometime between me leaving him, and him finding me, he’d lost it. He had this crazy cold look in his eyes that sent chills up my spine. It was almost as if losing me had pushed him over the edge—not because he loved me or anything like that…but because he’d never lost before.

  Guys like Vinnie didn’t know how to lose.

  We sat in a dark motel room, with no lights or TV on. To be honest, I preferred it that way, because if I could see the condition of the bed he’d tied me up on, I think I’d rather he shoot me now and get it over with. This was the type of establishment that charged by the half hour, and I had no doubt if asked, they’d be all too ready to clean up an unwanted dead body or two…

  For a price, of course.

  Vinnie hadn’t spoken a word to me since we’d gotten here. That wasn’t unusual. When he was angry with me, he gave me the silent treatment as a punishment. That didn’t bother me. But what came next…yeah, that hurt. After he tired of ignoring me, the real punishment would begin.

  When he started talking to me, I’d be in trouble.

  “I don’t care, man. Just something that isn’t the one I have.” He paced back and forth, his burner phone on his ear. “I’d think a Jaguar could get me something nicer than a Jetta, though.”

  Clearly, then, he cared.

  “Yeah, all right. I need it now.”

  Guess they settled on a suitable trade. It was smart of him to change cars, but it would have been even smarter of him to put more distance between himself and Ben. He was counting on them assuming he’d do exactly that, but the thing is, he didn’t know Ben. Ben never assumed anything, and it was my hope that he continued that trend tonight, and found us before it was too late.

  I’d like to say I could be my own hero, and save the day, but with my hands and feet tied so tight that I had long ago lost feeling in them…

  There wasn’t much hope of that happening anytime soon.

  And my arm—my possibly broken one—was like an anchor weighing me down. At least without circulation in it, the throbbing had ceased. I wiggled a little bit, trying to free my feet, but it was useless.

  Vinnie knew how to tie a girl down.

  “Yeah, okay. If you shave a half hour off that estimate, I’ll throw in some cash.”

  He hung up, and I stiffened. If his attention was off his car issue, there would be nothing stopping it from swinging back toward me. He walked to the window, pulling the curtain back and peering out. As he stood there, silhouetted in the moonlight, it was hard to believe that the man I’d once loved, the one who had made me laugh so hard I’d almost peed myself once, had turned into this monster who thought nothing of beating me within an inch of my life, and laying claim on me.

  How could I have thought I loved him?

  What happened to make him become so cold?

  He dropped the curtain, eliminating any hint of light. Though I couldn’t see him, I could feel his eyes on me. My heart picked up speed, and I wriggled my feet more. Again, the ties didn’t budge. He was going to come for me while he had me trapped like a helpless animal in a snare.

  I hated this.

  The feeling of absolute powerlessness that he always brought out in me. It was a feeling I’d lost when I stood up to him and reported his abuse to the police, but unfortunately that feeling hadn’t lasted long enough because they hadn’t punished him for what he’d done.

  “Sarah…” he said, his tone quiet and slow, like he had all the time in the world when we both knew he didn’t. “Why did you do it?”

  I swallowed, not sure what it he was speaking of.

  Turning him in? Leaving him? Sleeping with Ben?

  Back in the house, I’d had to be complacent to save Ben and my mother, but now that we were alone, and I was only fighting for my life, it was a lot harder to play the role he expected.

  “Sarah.”

  “How did you get my number?” I asked, my throat swelling with an unnamed emotion.

  He laughed. “I know people.”

  “And my code?” I licked my lips. “My security system?”

  “I slipped in when your nurse left the door open to take the trash out.” He sighed. “She should really be more careful.”

  I closed my eyes.

  “Your turn to answer questions.” He advanced on me. “Why did you do it?”

  “Why are you wasting time?” I asked, my voice hollow. “You promised me months ago that the next time you saw me would be the last, so what are you waiting for?”

  “Stop stalling, and answer my question.”

  I still didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know.”

  “Not good enough.” His voice was even closer now. “Try again.”

  I licked my lips. They were so dry it hurt. “Go to hell—”

  He backhanded me. I hadn’t even seen it coming, which only made it hurt worse because I hadn’t had time to brace myself for the impact. Stars swam in the darkness, and I gasped for air. He didn’t usually start out with hits to the face. He saved those for last. This more volatile version of Vinnie was unknown to me. It wasn’t a good feeling. “I said, try again.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from crying out. He’d like that too much. “I’m sorry.”

  “Better.” He sat beside me and touched my cheek with the backs of his knuckles, tracing the point of impact as if he was proud of his work. “Keep going.”

  “I’m sorry that I forgot—”

  He ran his finger up my leg, sliding between my thighs. “You forgot what? That you were mine? That you belonged to me, no matter where you ran or who you fucked?” He slid his hand out of my skirt. “I can still smell him on you. I should have shot him for touching my property.”

  Something inside me snapped, and all those good intentions of trying to keep him calm, to buy myself some time so the cops could find us, flew out the window. Years of suppression and pain came flooding back, and I refused to do it. Refused to cower to him like nothing had changed. It had. I had. I wasn’t the same girl he used to terrify. More than that?

  I didn’t want to be.

  He was either going to kill me, or he wasn’t, but I’d be damned if I died under his terms. If I was going to die, then I wanted him to know he hadn’t won. He didn’t scare me.

  Not anymore.

  “No, I’m sorry that I forgot how much of a scared little pussy you were,” I said, slowly and clearly.

  “I’m not scared,” he said immediately. “Or a pussy.”

  I shrugged as best as I could while tied up. “If you say so.”

  He caught my chin, squeezing hard. “Admit it. Admit you’re mine, and we can move on from this after your punishment. I’ll even let you live.”

  “I’m not yours,” I said defiantly, spitting in his face.

  He laughed. Just laughed. He didn’t even bother to wipe the spit off. “Oh, Sarah…”

  “Just do it. Kill me,” I demanded.

  “If I kill you, I’ll do it on my own time.” He crawled on top of me, straddling me, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Not with my hands and legs tied. He skimmed his hand down my neck, and over my breast. “Before that, though, you need a reminder of just how mine you are. It appears you’ve forgotten how this works between us. I own you. You bow to me.”

  “No.”

  He stiffened. “Don’t tell me no. You know I don’t like it.”

  “Fuck you,” I said, breathing heavily.

  He froze. “Excuse me?”

  “I said,” I lifted my head, even though he couldn’t see me, and glowered at him. “Fuck you, asshole.”

  He grabbed my hair, wrapping it around his fist. “You’ve gotten mouthy since I lost you.”

  “I’ve gotten lots of things. Things you could never give me.”

  He yanked so hard my eyes watered, and I literally felt the strands snap out of my scalp. “Shut
up.”

  “What’s wrong?” I gasped, laughing. “Don’t like the truth? Can’t handle it?”

  “You’re the one who can’t handle the truth.”

  I laughed again, and it sounded maniacal. Not too surprising, considering the circumstances. “Oh, I know the truth. You’re a scared little boy who can’t keep a girl at his side without hurting her. It worked for you in the past. You terrified girls into staying until you tired of them, and told them they weren’t good enough anymore. But I’m the girl who left before you finished with her. I’m the one you couldn’t keep, and I’ve never been happier than I’ve been since leaving you, with Ben at my side. He doesn’t have to hit me to get me to stay.”

  He said nothing. I think I’d stunned him.

  After all, I didn’t usually talk back.

  I continued in a rush, taking advantage of his shock before he started hitting me. “You know, it’s funny. When you walked in on us, I was about to tell him I loved him. I’ve always loved him. Even when I was with you, I loved him. I never loved you like I loved him—”

  He closed his hands around my throat and squeezed, cutting off my words. “Shut up!”

  I’d done it. I’d made him lose his cool.

  He never did that when he was “punishing” me, so I guess it was a victory in my column. I laughed, but no sound came out, because he was literally cutting off my oxygen. Last time he’d done this, he almost killed me. This time, he just might succeed. At least my words would echo in his head for the rest of his life, and he’d know he failed to own me like he wanted. That failure would haunt him in his jail cell.

  “You’re mine,” he spat, his saliva spraying my face.

  Ben’s face flashed before me, and I knew without a doubt that if I was sad of losing anything in this fight, it was him. I’d lost him all those years ago, and now we wouldn’t get a chance to do it right this time. I thought about my mother, and what would happen to her, but Ben would take care of her, and so would his father. He might hate me, but he and my mother had always been close. They’d see to her care. I had to believe that.

  I only wished that Ben and I had more time together. That I could have told him I loved him, and that I’d always loved him.

  I wished…I wished so much.

  I love you, Ben.

  Vinnie squeezed even harder. “You’ve always been mine. You’ll always be mine.”

  I shook my head, defying him even when I started to fade into blessed blackness.

  The world faded away, and I stopped fighting unconsciousness. I tried to be happy with the small victory I’d claimed. Tried to tell myself I’d won, even though I was about to die. I wasn’t his. I wasn’t anyone’s but my own—and if I was going to have to go, at least I went out fighting him the only way I could. With my words. They were all I had left…

  Though, he’d even managed to take those from me in the end.

  Thirty

  Ben

  I gestured to Hernandez with my left hand, nodding my head toward the closed door in front of me. We’d crept up on it as quickly as we dared, and so far, there seemed to be no sign of detection, but we couldn’t afford to act too quickly and make mistakes.

  Too much was on the line.

  He nodded back, adjusting his grip on his pistol. I did the same, took a deep breath, and quietly checked the knob. It was, of course, locked.

  I backed up, Glock pointed at the door, and nodded at Hernandez again. He holstered his gun, picked up his battering ram, and positioned himself at the door. Heart pounding, I took my spot to the right of him, ready to breach the doorway as soon as the coast was clear.

  Hernandez mouthed: Three, two, one—bam.

  What I saw when that door opened was something that would haunt me for the rest of my goddamned life. Vinnie had bound Sarah to the bed, and he was on top of her, straddling her, squeezing the life out of her as we watched. Rage, pure fucking rage, took over me, and almost made me forget years of police training and protocol.

  But if I lost sight of the rules, if I broke them, that made me no better than him. I pointed my gun at him, locking eyes with the man who was trying to kill the woman I loved. She wasn’t moving beneath him and all I could think was I’m too late. “Get off her, right now.”

  He didn’t move.

  I scanned the room for a weapon, any fucking excuse to take him out, but he appeared to be unarmed. Slowly, he turned his head toward me, anger burning in his eyes and his muscles bulging with pent up rage. “I should have killed you.”

  “Yeah, you should have.” I kept my eyes on him, not letting myself worry about whether Sarah was conscious. One slip up, one mistake, and we could lose the chance we had at saving her. “Get off her, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

  His hands didn’t leave her neck. “No.”

  My finger twitched on the trigger.

  “I’d listen to him if I were you,” Hernandez warned from behind me.

  He laughed. He sounded crazy. “Why bother? We both know you’re going to have to shoot me. If you put me behind bars, I’ll be out in hours, just like the last time.”

  My finger twitched again. “Get. Off. Her.”

  “Why bother?” He let go of her throat and caressed her cheek as he stared down at her, ignoring the guns pointed at him. “She wouldn’t admit she was mine, so I reminded her.”

  “She’s not yours,” I growled.

  “Yeah, well, she’s not yours anymore, either.” He cocked his head. “She’s not anyone’s, because she’s dead. I kept my promise to her.”

  Rage colored my vision red, and I roared as I threw myself at him. Hernandez cursed behind me, and I hit the fucker full force. We hit the ground, and struggled for dominance. As we rolled on the ground, Hernandez crept closer, his gun aimed at us as he watched with a furrowed brow. I tried to keep him down so he could get a clear shot, but Vinnie was bigger than me, and he fought with a madness that outweighed my own. In our scuffle, he got to his feet, kicked me in the ribs, and I tried to get to my own before he got to Hernandez, too.

  I almost didn’t see it until too late.

  Vinnie found a gun and aimed it at me.

  I rolled to the left as he squeezed the trigger. The boom echoed in the small room, as did the answering one from Hernandez’s gun. I froze, breathing heavily, and slowly looked at Vinnie. He still stood, despite the spray of blood behind his head on the wall. He opened his mouth, blood spurting out, and then he hit the floor.

  I wasted no time. Lurching to my feet, I rushed toward Sarah as Hernandez advanced on Vinnie to insure the threat had been neutralized. Sirens sounded in the background.

  Our backup was here.

  Too little, too late.

  Crawling onto the bed, I reached for her, my hands trembling. I hesitated before touching her. She looked so…so…lifeless. “Sarah.”

  Her skin was pale, already bruising around her eye. Her lip was bloody and split. Her eyes were shut, her mouth parted, and she held a deathly stillness to her that struck me to my very soul. I touched her skin, terrified it would feel cold to the touch, but it retained a warmth that spurred me into action. I touched her throat, searching for a pulse.

  Nothing.

  “No, Sar, no.” I cradled her face, tears blurring my vision as pain twisted in my chest so sharp that for a second I thought I had been hit by that bullet after all. “I love you, Sarah. Don’t leave me. I can’t lose you again.”

  “Ben…” Hernandez said, his voice cracking.

  All these images flashed before me. Sarah the night of our senior prom, wearing a purple dress that made her look like a princess. The tears on her face when she told me she was leaving for college, and that we weren’t together anymore. The way she’d stared at me when she came back to town and found out we’d been assigned as partners. Her face after I kissed her. The tears on her cheeks as I sang to her mother. All of it was there, for me to see.

  She couldn’t be gone.

  Couldn’t be dead.


  Not my Sarah.

  We had too much to do together, her and I. Hell, I hadn’t even gotten to tell her I loved her. Choking on an unshed sob, I pressed my mouth to hers, kissing her.

  “I love you,” I whispered against her lips.

  As my mouth was on hers, she gasped for air, coughing.

  I’d never been so happy to have someone cough in my face. I pulled back, eyes wide, and searched for a pulse again. It was there. Faint, but there. People rushed into the room, and chaos erupted.

  I didn’t pay it any mind.

  My eyes were on the woman I loved. “Sarah? Can you hear me?”

  Her lashes fluttered open, and she stared up at me. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth, trying to speak, but nothing came out.

  “Shh.” I cupped her cheeks. “It’s okay. He’s gone. He’ll never hurt you again, I swear it.”

  “Let’s untie her,” someone said from behind me. It took me a second to realize who it was. My father. We were out of our jurisdiction, so I hadn’t expected him to come personally. “I’ll get her legs.”

  I nodded and climbed off her. Gently, we rolled her to her side as the lights flicked on. She blinked and moaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the onslaught of light. As I reached for her ties, I noticed the misshapen bend to her arm. The bruising and slight bulge hinted at a break.

  My throat ached, but I swallowed past the pain. “Careful. Her arm’s broken—something might be injured on her leg, too.”

  Dad hesitated, then touched her legs, searching for any signs of further injury. “I…I don’t think so.” He locked eyes with me. “Ben…”

  I focused on her wrists, undoing the knots.

  My hands shook too much to grip them, so it took me longer than it should have, but I finally succeeded. She gasped for air as she scanned the room. As her gaze fell on Vinnie's lifeless body, she started trembling. I quickly undid her wrists the rest of the way, and looked at the door.

  Paramedics approached.

  “They’re almost here. They’ll help you feel better.”

  She breathed heavily, trying to speak again. Nothing came out. I leaned closer, sensing she had something she had to say. “What?”