Crucified (4 page)

“
What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of the
night?” He eyed her suspiciously.

“
I, uh, I took a wrong turn.” She diverted her gaze from his
scrutiny.
You’re a pathetic
liar.

Taylor strolled
over to the front of her car and shut the hood. He put two fingers
to his temple in a wave of sorts and started back toward the
house.

“
Thanks,” she shouted out after him.

He turned and
smiled. “Maybe next time you can just knock on the door if you want
a look inside.” He winked and spun on his heel.

Her draw dropped. He hadn’t fallen for one bit of her story.
Heat rushed to her face and she put the car in gear. She drove off
without looking in his direction. She couldn’t shake the memory of
his warm breath on her face as he pinned her to the ground. Had she
been mistaken? If she hadn’t pushed him away, would he have kissed
her?
I guess I’ll never find out, I doubt
he’ll even want to look at me again, never mind kiss me.

Chapter
Four

Casey woke
curled up in a fetal position. Her teeth chattered, no matter what
she did, she was unable to generate any body heat. Her bindings
were gone, as were her clothes. Still, she barely had enough energy
to open her eyes let alone attempt to escape. If he didn’t kill
her, she’d surely die from starvation. Sharp pains in her stomach
kept her doubled over much of the time now.

Her nose
flared. She smelled something foreign in her surroundings. She
squinted, unable to make out the shapes. Survival fueled her
painful roll to the end of the mattress. Her stomach growled with
the realization he’d left her a slice of pizza and a small paper
cup filled with an unknown liquid.

Her blood caked
hands trembled as she lifted the cup to her lips. Casey welcomed
the tasteless, warm drink as it made its way past her parched lips,
and down her raw throat. She forced herself to eat the entire slice
of pizza. Despite the fact she hadn’t eaten in days, she fought to
keep the cardboard tasting slice down. She knew she had to eat if
there was any hope of surviving this nightmare.

The last drops
from the cup slid down her throat and the room started to spin. Hot
and cold flashes simultaneously ravaged her body. She fell back on
the mattress and drew her knees to her chest. Her vision blurred
and she struggled to stay conscious.

What is
happening to me?

Her eyes
fluttered open for the briefest of seconds.

Drugged… there
must have been something in…

****

Taylor dragged
his ass around the shop trying to focus on his first job of the
day. He’d tossed and turned for the remainder of the night after
his visitor left. There was no denying the attraction between them,
but he couldn’t help but be curious as to her real reason for
peeking in his window at the two in the morning. Up until then,
he’d hoped she believed him innocent. After last night, he wondered
if she believed all the garbage the townspeople were undoubtedly
feeding her.

Seth walked toward the bay doors of his shop with an entourage
of officers in tow.
What the hell do they
want?
He took a deep breath and exhaled
slowly, before he wiped his hands on a rag and rounded the front of
the car he’d been working on.

Taylor shielded
his eyes from the sun. “Good morning. What brings you boys by so
early?”

Seth waved a
piece of paper toward him. “We have a search warrant, Mr. Danson.
I’m really sorry for the inconvenience, but if you’d step out of
the shop, we’ll get this over with as fast as possible.”

Anger coursed
through his veins. Unable to trust himself, he opted to say
nothing. He waved his hand dramatically, ushering them into his
shop.

Unfuckingbelievable.

He crossed the
parking lot and sat on his bike. He folded his arms across his
chest and watched as the team of officers rifled through every inch
of his tool chests with little regard for the concerted effort he’d
made to keep things in order. They dumped out drawer after drawer.
He winced as each tool hit the concrete floor.

He had to wonder if his late night visitor had known about
this.
Was she trying to get a sneak peek
before they served him this morning? How could he have been so
wrong about her? Damn fool!

Seth’s polished
shoes clicked against the asphalt as he closed the distance between
them. The group of officers he’d come with stood huddled outside
the bay doors. “I hope you understand how important it is for us to
explore every avenue in this investigation, Mr. Danson.”

“
I could have saved you all a lot of time. “ Taylor snarled
through clenched teeth. “For the record, I want Casey found just as
much as the rest of the town does.”

“
We have a warrant for your house.” Agent Mann pulled back his
shoulders as if readying himself for an altercation. “We can do it
now while you stay here, or you can come along with me.”

“
You’ve got to be kidding!” Anger welled up inside him. “You
guys are going to feel pretty stupid for wasting valuable time on
me, when you could be out looking for the guy who actually has
Casey.”

Taylor stormed
over to the shop and closed the bay doors. He flipped the sign to
”CLOSED,” and got on his bike. He followed the two cruisers to his
house. Once there, he unlocked the front door and sat out in the
driveway while a team of strangers ransacked his home.

No wonder people have a bad taste in their mouths when it
comes to the feds. They can come into your house whenever they
want. With a wave of a piece of paper, they can turn your world
upside down, and leave you behind to pick up the pieces. Of course,
they’d extend their deepest apology for the disruption.
Who the fuck do they think they are?

He dug his foot into the gravel and sprayed the cruiser parked
alongside his bike.
Assholes
.

An hour later,
he stood face to face with an apologetic agent. He nodded at the
appropriate places, but didn’t utter a word. Without shifting his
gaze, he imagined his eyes boring a laser into Seth’s retinas. He
turned, walking decisively to his front door. Without so much as a
glance back, he ducked inside and slammed the door behind him.

Taylor took a
step back at the sight unfolding before him. Every drawer, every
cupboard’s contents lay strewn across his house. They’d even taken
the covers off the cushions on the couch. Anger gurgled in the pit
of his stomach and he clenched the hands hanging at his sides.

“
Bastards.”

****

Dianne thrummed
her fingers on the worn Formica tabletop. The waitress stopped
asking if she wanted to order food long ago. She refilled her
coffee cup at regular intervals, offering her a sympathetic smile
each time.

What’s taking
them so long?

Seth accepted
her excuse for not accompanying the team this morning. If she
didn’t stop acting so strange, he’d end up carting her off to the
hospital for a checkup. Who could blame him? She hardly recognized
herself lately. Last night had been a wake up call of sorts.

What was I
thinking?

She knew better
than to stake out a suspect without backup. If the higher-ups knew
what she did, she’d probably be on indefinite leave.

Seth pulled up
out front of the diner, as he got out of the car his blank
expression told her nothing of what went down. Her heart jumped to
her throat and she swallowed hard. Taylor wasn’t in the back of
either cruiser. She let out a long breath and tucked her hair
behind her ear. The bell above the door tinkled and her partner
crossed the distance between them, seemingly in slow motion.

“
Well?” asked Dianne before he had the chance to sit
down.

He raised his
hands, and shrugged. “Nothing. Zilch. Nada.” He sat down and rubbed
his face in his hands. “We wasted an entire morning, and came up
empty-handed. Looks like we’re back to square one.”

Sleep
deprivation was taking its toll on her partner. Dark circles under
his eyes, and he hadn’t shaved in days. Maybe she wasn’t the only
one having an identity crisis.

“
Well, look at it this way, Seth.” She covered his hands and
squeezed. “You can cross Taylor Danson off the list of possible
suspects. Why don’t you go next door and grab a shower. You look
like hell.”

“
Gee, thanks a lot.” He smirked, rubbing the stubble on his
chin. “I can’t leave you to man the ship when you’re not feeling
well.” He held up an empty coffee cup to the waitress.

“
I’m fine, Seth. I just needed to get some food in me. I guess
I kind of forgot to eat yesterday with everything going on around
here.”

He planted his
hands on the edge of the table, and pushed himself upright. He
motioned to the waitress who stopped next to him with a coffee pot
in her hand. “Sorry, change of plans.” He stifled a yawn.

“
No problem.” The efficient waitress topped off her coffee
without asking and plopped a handful of creamers down on the
table.

“
Thanks.”

“
Okay, I’m going to take you up on your offer, but I’m only
going to take a power nap.” He yawned. “You got to promise to wake
me up in two hours.” He held up two fingers. “No more than
that.”

“
I promise.” Dianne smiled. “I’m going to pay Preacher Adams a
visit. Maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure out who
this guy is.”

“
I hope you do.” Seth walked to the door and stopped before
opening it. He gave her a curt nod before he left.

She watched Seth through the window as he jogged over to the
car to check if the doors were locked before strolling over to the
bed and breakfast.
I really lucked out
when I got him as a partner.
He always
seemed genuinely concerned about her, and never once made her feel
inferior because of her gender
.

The corners of her mouth twitched, elation rose up from her
belly.
They didn’t find
anything.

Her first instincts were right about the Taylor. He wasn’t
your typical biker. Her hand flew to her mouth to try and stifle
the sharp intake of breath. A vision of Taylor on top of her
yielding a baseball bat squashed her elation.
I’ll be lucky if the guy ever speaks to me
again
. Sadly enough, she didn’t blame him
one bit.

Her emotions began to spiral out of control.
Get a hold of yourself, woman
.
You’re going to blotch up this case
if you don’t give your head a shake.

She needed to
get over this mysterious infatuation with the man. Her focus needed
to be on Casey. With a decisive nod, she drained her cup and stood.
She gave the very appreciative waitress a twenty dollar bill for
taking such good care of her. She snatched her blazer from the
bench and left the diner. Out front, she lifted her chin and rolled
back her shoulders.

Agent Dianne Parker, reporting for duty
.

Chapter
Five

Insurmountable
fear paralyzed her. Casey awoke to find her arms outstretched and
tied to a post. Her legs were crossed and tied the same way. Sour
bile rose up in her mouth and she choked. Her battered body
shuddered as she coughed.

He’s going to
crucify me!

Every ounce of
energy she had left erupted in a scream. She didn’t recognize the
pathetic cry coming from her parched lips. Scream after scream
resounded in the small room, halted by the door swinging open. Her
captor, dressed in black from head to toe, an oversized hood
concealed his face, not unlike the grim reaper.

Casey sobbed
uncontrollably. “Please! You can’t do this! I don’t want to die!”
She choked out the words between sobs.

For the first
time since coming to this hell, her captor spoke. “If I hear one
more sound out of you, I will put the tape back on.”

Icy tendrils of
fear squeezed her heart. His deep gravelly baritone pierced her
very soul. Nothing seemed real, like she was watching a really bad
movie.

His gloved hand
disappeared in a pocket on his trench coat. The shiny metal blade
glinted as it came to sight. “Or maybe you would rather I cut out
your tongue?”

Her body went
rigid. Tears ran down her face. It took every ounce of control not
to allow the screams free reign. The sickening laugh that erupted
from his shadowed hood was almost her undoing, but she summoned up
strength from a hidden resource and stayed perfectly still.

“
I need another picture for your daddy. You just stay still
while I make sure it looks just right.”

Her entire body
convulsed as he stood mere inches from her face. The material from
his hood hung down over his face. He turned the knife from side to
side before her eyes and lowered himself to his knees, leaving a
trail of sickening warmth from his stank breath.

Hysteria threatened to erupt the countless seconds he kneeled
before her. The cold metal blade pressed against the flesh of her
stomach. He sunk the tip of the blade in her skin and dragged the
blade, repeating the process, over and over again.
The sicko is actually carving something on my
stomach
.
Why can’t
I feel anything?

Something deep
inside of her gave way. Her entire stomach felt on fire. The room
swirled around her, and she pleaded with the darkness to take her
away.