Concealed Affliction (19 page)

“I recently got information that pretty much confirms there were two children she gave up, but it’s not concrete. I need you to look into that and figure out where the second child went and why the hell she didn’t keep them together.”

He continues scribbling before looking up at me.

“Alright, I got it. Anything else?”

“Yes. I need you to access border security and figure out if I’m going to be arrested when I use my real Canadian passport to get back into the country in a few days.”

Ryder’s head swings up, furious.

“Jesus fuck, Elle! You’re fucking pissed at me! I get it! Hell, I deserve it. But your answer is to just go running back to Canada? The one fucking place that might get you killed?”

I put my hands back down on the bar and lean forward, keeping eye contact with a soulless smirk on my face.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Callaghan. I may have left here once, but that was for fear of you blowing my cover. Now, I just don’t give a fuck.”

I turn my attention back to Cabe, noting Denny has been oddly silent throughout this whole exchange.

“Cabe, I already called my detective back home. He knows I’m coming but he doesn’t know when exactly. I need a few days on my own when I get there and I can’t do that if they know I’m in the country. Find out what you can for me please so I can get back there and tie up some loose ends. There are things I need to do, and people I need to see before I end up in an orange jumpsuit or six feet under.”

Ryder slams his hand down on the counter, running the other one through his hair.

“This is bullshit, Elle! I thought you were smart, but this is one of the dumbest fucking decisions you’ve ever made.”

I cock my head to the side. Studying him. He has no right to put his two cents in anymore.

“Well then
handsome
, I guess it’s a damn good thing I don’t give a fuck what other people think of me, or the decisions I make. I’m done running from the police, I’m done running from a killer and I’m pretty much done with you.”

I glance over at Denny and note the disappointment in his eyes. Oddly, it’s not at me, but directed toward Ryder. Cabe, being the only level-headed one here apparently at the moment breaks the tension a little.

“To state logic here, it’s possible that if you were to end up in jail, even for a short amount of time, you could be safe. However, I think we’d all agree it would be nicer just to sort all this shit out, prove your innocence, and be done with it. I know it’s easier said than done, but I need the facts Elle, whatever you can tell me that’s not in that file.”

I look to Cabe, appreciating his all business attitude. Perhaps the stack of twenty grand in cash helps. He’s a good man, I can tell. I also know exactly what he’s asking me in regards to what’s not in the file.

“You want to know if I killed that sick fuck in the basement?”

He nods his head, slightly caught off guard with my boldness. For once in my life I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks about my next statement. I don’t care what the outcome could be. I place my palms back on the counter and look him straight in the eyes, speaking low and firm.

“You bet your Latino ass I did, Rodriguez. But not before I made him suffer. Not before I tied him up and beat him the same way he beat me. Not before I cut his back open with the same knife he cut me with, and not before I stripped him of every last bit of dignity he had.

“Call it retribution for my mother, my father, my sweet little girl and
her
innocent father. And only then when he begged for his life, did I deliver the final blow for myself.”

Three sets of eyes stare back at me, and I peel my eyes from Cabe’s to take them all in, the shock evident on all of their faces.

I tip my head to the side and say, “that answer your question?”

Cabe is clearly caught off guard again, but he nods and replies, “sure does.”

“Good. Want to ask me if I’d do it again?”

I don’t wait for him to respond.

“The answer will always be yes.”

I reach across the island and pull his notepad closer to me. I scribble down my phone number and push it back across the counter.

“I leave in two days. If you could get the border security info to me first, and fast, I’d appreciate it.”

He wastes no time responding, “I’ll have it by tomorrow.”

I nod my head in thanks and look to Denny. He looks sad, though I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s guilt for not mentioning Ryder had another woman in Chicago. I don’t acknowledge him any further, or the look of despair he’s currently directing toward me. He’s smart enough to know he won’t change my mind.

I give a low whistle and Norm gets up from her dog bed. I try to see if there’s a sense of nostalgia left in me. From the first time I came over here and noticed that dog bed. The first night Ryder touched me—a first of many. I take stock of my emotions and realize there aren’t any. It’s just nothing.

Empty.

Gone.

Numb.

I walk out the door without emotion.

Miserable Jayne is back, and I’m grateful.

This cold-hearted bitch might just keep me alive.

Chapter Sixteen

“Open your eyes you dirty bitch. You want to avoid me? Maybe now you’ll learn to pay attention.”

Thump!

I crack open my left eye, the least swollen of the two, and stare down at the floor. Not because I want to, but because my neck and back are so fucking stiff I can barely lift my head.

“Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

A heaving sob leaves me as I stare at the lifeless body sprawled across the floor.

“THAT’S WHAT YOU GET JAYNE! THIS IS WHAT YOU FUCKING GET FOR NOT PAYING ATTENTION!”

He hauls his foot back and slams it into the back of the body on the floor.

The body doesn’t move—no grunt, no whimper.

Nothing.

He’s gone.

“W-wh-why? I-I ddddooon’t unnddeerstand?”

I shake my head, why why why??????

What the fuck did I do to deserve this? What did he do to deserve this?

Nothing!

Andrew walks slowly, circling the dead body on the floor. It seems to have given him a little more self-esteem to kill someone, because for once his head is held a little higher, he’s not quite as broken. He’s not so lost. He’s taken pleasure in what he did and he’s embracing the sick high he got from it.

“Love is a sacred thing Jayne. I loved you, and you threw it away. You threw it so fucking far that I had to do this, I had to do everything! Now you’ll know. Now, you’ll learn. You’re just as fucking selfish as that bitch you warned me of in school.”

He leaves the body and comes to stand directly in front of me. Evil eyes focus on mine, his chest heaves and hands fisted at his side. His face is inches from my own before he gives the final blow.

“He cared too much about you. Nobody should care about someone like you. So he deserved to die.”

I look down at Cory’s lifeless body, the father of my child. The man that literally gave one hundred and ten percent of his love to his child without once expecting anything in return. He didn’t need to be told he was a good dad. He knew it. So did our little girl.

He knew we weren’t compatible, but we both held a deep amount of respect for one another and gave our best as separated parents. We focused on what was important, who was most important.

Lilly.

My sweet little Lilly who’s no longer with us, but who has now gained a parent in heaven. That’s where Cory would go, he’s a good man.

Was a good man.

Fuck!

I swing my head forward as fast and as hard as my body will let me, slamming my forehead into his.

Fuck Him!

Andrew stumbles back and trips over Cory’s lifeless body before falling onto his ass.

I take advantage of the fallen man, gathering every last bit of strength I have left in me.

For Mom,

For Dad,

For Lilly,

For Cory.

I wrap my fingers around the frayed rope and pull my legs up as far as I can. The gashes on my back re-open. I can feel the sting of the wounds as well as the fresh blood beginning to pour down my back.

I don’t care, this is it.

I’m fucking done.

Andrew jumps to his feet, holding his right hip, which took most of the impact from the fall. I don't give him a chance to get close. I’m done letting him near me.

If I die, so be it.

I don't fucking care.

This is it.

This is the end.

I use my arms to lift the majority of my weight while swinging my right leg out in front of me when he get close. He quickly moves his hips back thinking I’m going to kick him between the legs.

Wrong move for you asshole, perfect move for me.

Moving his hips back moved his head forward. I continue with my right leg and swing it up onto his right shoulder. My left foot hits him in the back of the left shoulder, forcing him closer to me. He’s taller, and at this point it works to my advantage.

He turns his body away from the hit of my foot which gives me enough room to bring my leg completely around his neck and swing it back toward me. He’s not expecting my maneuver and before I know it the tall man has my weight suspended on his shoulders which in turn loosens up the slack on the ropes.

I reach my arms above my head to grab onto the beam while simultaneously pushing my left knee into his back, tightening the hold my right leg has around his neck.

“You fucking biiiittccccccccchh,” Andrew manages to choke out of his rotten mouth while I continue to crush his windpipe.

His filthy hands grasp my legs and his fingernails dig into my thighs. Not long enough to do serious damage but enough to make scratches that’ll take a few weeks to heal.

I want to let up on the pressure enough to move my leg higher, more toward his jaw. If I could do that then I could push my knee hard and quick into his back, while pulling hard enough right with my other to snap his neck.

I can sense what that would feel like, the quick pop, and right now in this moment I’d kill to hear that sound.