Four Shades of Recovery: Boxed Set (30 page)

“You didn’t realize how dangerous this other party happened to be?” he probes.

“Father, I misjudged the situation previously. I didn’t listen to reason,” I admit.

“You couldn’t have known this person was so desperate as to murder another?”

“I suspected that he murdered another but I assumed he wouldn’t feel the need for any further violence afterwards. Now I have to bear the burden of another person’s, a woman’s, hideous death at the hands of a madman,” I cry out with real pain.

“You seem to feel deep remorse over your foolish actions, miss. Perhaps it’s punishment enough to carry this cross with you for the rest of your life.”

“That may be, father, but I’d like you to give me a penance as well.”

“Very well, miss. I’d like you to flog yourself ten times with this object and then undress,” Matt states while giving me a hand held leather device with four knotted cords attached to a small wooden handle. “Remain in a kneeling position before me while you flog yourself.”

I take the whip like toy from his hands and begin a crisscross pattern of self-flagellation while chanting repeatedly, “I promise to never again keep secrets from my fiancé and future husband.”

I’m on my knees before him. After five swats with the device, the cords are starting to sting my flesh even though I’m covered with burlap. At ten, my skin burns with pain. When I’m done, I return the device to him and then kneel for a moment with my head bowed nearly to the floor.

A few minutes pass before another word is spoken. “You may undress now,” Matt announces with a stern tone. I sit up and slowly pull the shift over my head and off of my body. I’m now sitting before him dressed only in my designer underwear.

Matt’s eyes dilate as he looks at me. I notice that he’s breathing heavily as he stares at me with an unmistakable look of desire written all over his face. “I want you to apologize to me, now,” he utters while licking his lips.

“I’m so sorry for making these arrangements with Roseanne behind your back,” I agree with true remorse. “I also fully regret lying to you about what I did and beg your forgiveness.”

“You’re forgiven,” he says with a deep look of disappointment on his face. Finally, he holds his arms out to me. “Come and sit in my lap, sinner. Now.”

I happily move into his arms and lap. Then I look into his heated gaze for further direction.

“Kiss me. Show me how sorry you are, miss.”

I pour everything about my feelings of sorrow and misery into my kiss. My arms are wrapped around his back and neck as my tongue probes his mouth with a passion that only deep angst can elicit. I can feel his toy harden beneath my thighs.

He picks me up then and carefully carries me to the bed. I help Matt remove his collar and clothing quickly. As soon as he’s naked, I undo my bra and push my panties off. He takes a minute to look me over before pushing me beneath him and kissing every inch of my flesh.

“Megan, you need a good fucking,” he utters before we connect. He pushes himself fully into me with a satisfied grunt.

“Yes, sir,” I agree with more than enthusiasm as we get lost in one another. I feel purified. We spend a very long time cleansing one another in the Spanking Room. Now I can put the ghost of Roseanne behind me I hope. Of course, it’s never going to be that simple.

MEGAN’S POV

I awaken in our Spanking Room and find Matt staring into my eyes with a probing and anxious expression on his gorgeous face.

“Last night was incredible,” I mumble as I awaken. “I’m sore in all the right places, my love.”

“Good to know, Megan. I want you to think about the risk you took with Roseanne every time you feel a twitch today. I feel terrible for her family and what they must be going through right now,” he admits.

“I’ll be having nightmares for months over the fact that I encouraged her to meet with Michael.”

“I like knowing that you have a strong conscience, Megan, and care so much about the fact that you had an indirect role in someone’s death. You’ve grown into an ethical young woman while we’ve healed our relationship.”

“That’s because I’ve learned to think of others before myself, at last,” I admit and kiss his amazing brow with affection.

That calms Matt down in a flash. “Thank goodness because I love you so damn much, Megan,” he gushes while we snuggle together.

“Would you like one of my famous omelets for breakfast?” I tempt with a flirty smile.

“Of course, but first I’d like to have you for breakfast.”

“I’ll be coming right up,” I promise with an exaggerated blink to my eyes.

“You’ve got that right, baby,” he asserts while running his tongue down my throat and settling his toy between my legs. It’s nearly an hour later, when we eat our omelets.

The weeks fly by quickly after we tell the police a bit more about Roseanne and Michael Kingsfield. He seems to have vanished from the face of the earth however.

I’m hard at work on blogs when I get a text from Matt. Cane’s been assigned to me for security protection.

“The condo construction has begun. Want to join me for the first shovel of dirt celebration?”

“Of course! What time and where?”

“Meet me near Elliott Bay at 5:30pm tonight. Directions to follow.”

“Yes, sir. Can’t wait to see it.”

I leave with Cane and head toward the location that I thought Matt gave me. When we arrive, the area’s filled with warehouses and looks deserted but that’s how new construction works. I’m not alarmed, at first.

We look around for a solid five minutes but Matt’s nowhere to be seen. I call him on his cell but his voice mail is all I get. Cane’s having no luck contacting either Rush or Matt. That’s strange.

Just as we turn from the site and head toward the SUV, a black Mercedes swings into view. It cuts us off before we can reach our vehicle. Cane goes into high alert and takes a defensive stand while pulling out his loaded weapon from a side holster under his armpit. The Mercedes guns its engine and starts moving slowly toward us.

“Get behind me, Megan, and stay close. I’m your shield,” Cane orders with utter confidence. My heart starts beating as though it’s about to explode. I suspect that Michael’s behind the wheel of the offending car. I worry that he’s tapped into my phone somehow and then start to panic when I consider what he might have done with Matt. Maybe Michael’s obtained Matt’s phone.

“What do you want?” I scream out in terror.

My phone buzzes and I check my texts. Sure enough there’s a message from “Matt”. Now I know for sure that Michael’s either got Matt’s phone or he’s forcing him to send the messages. Michael directed us to this location then. Maybe he’s taken Matt hostage as well.

The text message reads: “Get into the car.” I read the message to Cane and then let him know that someone’s gotten hold of Matt’s phone and maybe Matt himself.

“What should we do?”

“You’re not getting into that car,” Cane insists.

However, the Mercedes begins to inch its way toward us and moves us further from the protection of our own SUV.

Cane points his gun at the tires of the offending obstacle but before he can get a shot off, a bullet whips by his head and ricochets off a nearby metal drum. That’s when I notice that the front passenger window of the Mercedes is open just a crack. The blackened barrel of a Glock glistens in the fading light.

“Hit the ground, face down,” Cane yells at me as he crouches down in front of me with his weapon still drawn. All color has drained from Cane’s face as he assesses the situation. I flip myself down on the ground in a nanosecond and attempt to flatten out as much as possible.

In the very next instant, a second shot comes at Cane and hits him in the right hand. That’s when his gun flies from his grip and he winces with pain while grabbing his injured palm. I manage to retrieve the fallen weapon.

“Let go of the gun, Megan,” Michael commands from his car window. I do as I’m told.

“Where’s Matt?” I demand to know.

“He’s in the car with me. Come over and see for yourself.”

“Don’t believe him,” Cane tells me quietly. “It’s very likely a trap.”

“Let me see Matt and then I’ll come over,” I manage to blurt out.

My phone buzzes. The incoming text shows a picture of Matt, bound and gagged. He looks stunned. I shove the phone toward Cane so that he sees the evidence.

“It doesn’t mean that Matt’s in the car. He could be held elsewhere.”

“Nonetheless, if Michael’s got Matt, I must help him.”

“If you get into the Mercedes, he’ll have both of you. We’ve got to get you out of here.”

“Distract Michael somehow and I’ll grab the gun. Let me shoot one of the tires.”

“Megan’s going to slowly crawl over to your door, Kingsfield. She wants to see Matt for herself,” Cane lies.

“Get your ass over here now, Miss Pine,” Michael orders from the crack in the window.

That’s when Cane takes a handful of stones and dirt and hurls it toward the open window. He begins to roll on the ground toward our SUV. I roll as quickly as possible toward the grill of the Mercedes and fire the gun at the Benz’s right front tire two times. I hit my target on the second round.

That’s when Michael lowers the window of the passenger seat all the way and starts firing at Cane’s rolling body. He misses. That gives Cane enough time to wedge himself behind a large metal barrel at the construction site.

Michael curses and then opens the car door to get a better angle. As he steps out to take aim at either me or Cane, I sit up and adjust my own weapon. There’s at least four more bullets in my gun and I know how to use them to the best advantage.

“Put the gun down, Megan. I don’t want to shoot you. I have plans for you,” he assures me.

“Like what? Raping and strangling me as you did to Roseanne?” I ask to distract him.

“She deserved it, the little tramp. All she wanted to do was use me for my money…Your boyfriend slept with her, you know,” he divulges in a feeble attempt to enrage me.

“That was long before we even met, Kingsfield, so don’t go there,” I assure him. I notice that Cane’s been slowly inching toward the driver’s side of the SUV as I engage Michael in a heated conversation. Cane’s moving the barrel in front of himself like a shield.

“Don’t believe him for an instant, Megan. Your beloved Matt banged Marissa, Jillian and Roseanne among many others. Did you know that, you little fool?”

“How did you discover that?” I ask with feigned horror. I’ve known Matt’s backstory about the BDSM sex for a long while and I’m not threatened. That was all part of his distant past and related to his psychological trauma during childhood when he was kidnapped and held for ransom. Of course, Michael doesn’t need to know that I know.

“Roseanne and Jillian fessed up before I choked the living breath out of each of those whores,” he conveys with satisfaction.

“Why are you telling me the story, Michael?”

“So that you’ll never trust that son of a bitch again. If you’d only stayed with me, I could have given you the world, Megan. Now, you’ll forever wonder if your Matt is out banging and beating someone else when he’s working late some night.”

“Thanks for bursting my bubble, Michael. If I’d married you, I’d be wondering when and if you were about to strangle me, however. I guess it’s a matter of choosing my poison.”

“It would never have come down to violence with you. I cherished you Megan, and you ran from me. You’re as fickle as your mother.”

“I ran from Matt too, and it had nothing to do with being fickle,” I confess as I watch Cane carefully moving himself and his shield toward the SUV.

“Why did you run away from both of us, then? Afraid of men?” Michael asks with real interest.

“I ran because I didn’t trust the meaning of love. I thought the phrase “I love you” was just empty; used to manipulate me.”

“You’re wrong, Megan. I loved you with a purity and intensity that would have assured you of my unwavering loyalty and care for the rest of your life. That’s a lot more than Frazier will ever be able to give you. He’s a sick and twisted puppy.”

“That may be, but why should you care?”

“Because I’m going to make you mine and show you what you’re missing. You’ve never even had sex with me. I’d bet once you’ve had a taste of my bad boy, you’d never want that pathetic, psychologically scarred creep near you again.”

I chuckle at the ego that Michael displays. He’s clearly disturbed if he thinks I’m going to fall for him once he rapes me. Since I’m dealing with a madman though, I might as well go along with his game.

“Maybe I should join a nunnery and forget about men entirely,” I taunt.

“Megan, just put the gun down and come to me,” he commands with exasperation.

Michael’s so focused upon me and my unwavering hold on the gun that he doesn’t notice Cane sprint to the SUV until it’s too late. When Michael finally looks in that direction, I carefully aim and fire at his head.

Unfortunately, my shot goes wide and merely glances off the metal frame of the Mercedes’ window. Now however, Michael’s really pissed at me. Nevertheless, he’s getting distracted by the fact that Cane’s entered the bullet proof SUV and has started the engine.

Michael fires his gun at the vehicle twice but then quickly realizes that the bullets can’t penetrate the exterior of our SUV. Cane proceeds to drive it straight at Michael’s Mercedes. Before Michael can do much of anything, Cane’s managed to smash into the driver’s side of the car door such that it’s impossible to open. Michael moves away from the car and stands unprotected to its side now.

He threatens me one more time. “If you don’t call off your security man, I’ll kill your boyfriend, Megan.”