Tainted Desire (Desire Series, #1) (25 page)

     The first three days of training fly by and Stephanie feels I have a good grasp on how to run things. She said I would pick up speed with experience, so not to worry. Cameron and I have gotten into a routine; he usually drops me off and picks me up. When I get home, I get supper started and he takes care of breakfast in the morning.

     The week has gone by too fast and on Friday, he’ll be leaving for Alabama for his race in Talladega on Saturday. Now I regret not agreeing to go with. He probably won’t be home until Sunday afternoon, and I need to find something to keep myself occupied for three days without the love of my life.

     Cameron left for the track early this morning. He will be in meetings until noon, then he will help his pit crew load the trailers full of items they will need for the race. He said loading the truck really isn’t his responsibility
, but he feels obligated to help the first time around. I decide to walk to work this morning since the weather is beautiful. I hope a nice morning walk will help lift the depression I’m feeling over Cameron leaving. 

     Walking to work only takes me about ten to fifteen minutes and by the time I get there, I’m feeling more like my normal self. The
workday goes by quickly now that I’m working the desk on my own. Stephanie was a great trainer but it gets quite boring just following someone around watching what they do all day. Yesterday went by somewhat quicker, because she let me run the desk and only intervened when there was a problem I couldn’t figure out. I found out little ‘miss gum snapper’, is really named Alyssa and she is my relief today. Looking at the clock, I see she’s already ten minutes late and I get a little frustrated. I want to spend a special night with Cameron before he leaves. Finally, she comes rushing in and her work outfit is about soaked through with water.

     “Sorry I’m late. I was sitting in the parking lot hoping the rain would let up long enough so I could run into the building. You know how Florida storms are
; they come out of nowhere and they are fierce.” 

     “Shit! It’s raining outside and I walked to work this morning. I didn’t even notice it was raining out. With the covered turn around and valet parking no one was coming in with an umbrella.” I reply.

     “You better start calling for a ride now or you will be floating home,” she jokes.

     I place a call to Cameron but he says it will be at least another hour before he can leave the track and to try to call his sister. When I call Courtney, she says she will be at an open house until five-thirty but she’ll call Blake to come and get me. After a minute or two, Courtney texts me to let me know Blake is on his way and I walk outside to wait for my ride. Alyssa was not kidding, it looks like a monsoon out here, and the roads are already flooding. Blake arrives within five minutes and I hurry to jump in his car.

     “Thanks for picking me up Blake; I was foolish to walk to work. I should know by now that we usually get afternoon showers.” 

     “No problem! I have been waiting for my chance to get you alone for a long time and the perfect opportunity just landed in my lap.” He says with an intimidating tone as I hear the click of the car doors locking.

     “What do you mean you have been waiting to get me alone? Do you need to talk to me about Courtney?” I ask, suddenly very leery of the man next to me.

     “I don’t want to talk about that bitch, she is fucking crazy. I came down here to come after you but you hooked up with Cameron the minute you stepped off the plane from Wisconsin. Dylan was right when he said you are just a whore.” 

     Bile rises in my throat at the mention of Dylan’s name. My voice starts to quiver with panic, “How do you know about Dylan? Why would you come down here after me? I thought you lived here.” 

     We’re now speeding down I-95 and there is no hope for me to get out of this car when he’s doing nearly seventy miles an hour. I feel panicked but I have to keep myself calm and figure out what’s going on. It makes no sense that Blake would know Dylan. Finally, my anger and fear get the best of me. “Well? I asked you a question.”

     While I wait for Blake to answer me, I spot my cell phone in the outside pocket of my purse. I slowly pull it out and keep it on my lap hidden by my purse. I look down just long enough to pull up Cameron’s number and hit the send button. I can see the line is open so Cameron must have answered. I need to get Blake talking so Cameron can hear what is happening.

     “Are you going to fucking answer me? How the hell do you know Dylan?” I practically scream, making sure Cameron can hear me.

     “It only took Dylan a short time to figure out you left Wisconsin when you weren’t home or at your parent’s house. He figured Courtney was your only close friend, so he confirmed with the airport that you took a flight into Orlando. I live in Georgia so he called me to come down here and try to hook up with you. He wanted me to drag your ass back to him. What neither of us knew was that you had a history with pretty boy Cameron and would jump in the sack with him immediately. I had to appear interested in the bimbo Courtney in order to keep an eye on you.” 

     “Why would you be helping that asshole out? You seem like a decent person. Is he paying you to bring me back to his torture chamber he calls an apartment?” I ask fuming.

     “The asshole happens to be my cousin. My given name is Blake McCain. I used Blake Donovan because it made me sound like a rich boy. My dad and Dylan’s dad are brothers.”

     I repeat what he says in a loud voice, almost yelling for Cameron’s sake. Please let him still be on the line. “You are Dylan’s fucking cousin? He sent you here after me. You don’t seriously think you can take me all the way back to Wisconsin without stopping or me creating a scene. I will scream my head off the minute this car stops.” I threaten.

     “Don’t worry darling, we aren’t going back to Wisconsin. Dylan has found himself a new piece of ass. He doesn’t want you anymore; he told me I can do whatever I want with you.” 

     “Where the hell are you taking me? Can’t you just let me go? I won’t tell anyone about this, you can let me go and disappear. What about your career? I thought you were training for the Olympics? Is kidnapping me worth losing everything?”

     “I’m taking you back to my apartment in Savannah, Georgia. I was never an Olympic hopeful. I paid some random guy on the beach who was decent at playing volleyball to pose as my partner. I learned to play when I was incarcerated at the Coastal State Prison outside of Savannah.” 

     Prison? Oh, fuck!
“What were you in prison for?” I ask trying to seem interested.

     “I went to prison for six years for raping a coworker and aggravated assault. I nearly beat the girl to death after having my way with her. Now I’m going to take you back to my place for a few days and have my way with you before getting rid of you for good. Dylan doesn’t want you back but he doesn’t want Cameron to have you either. He said you are a good lay and it would be a waste if I didn’t have some fun with you before killing you,” Blake explains, nonchalantly as if it was nothing.

     “So the smell of cologne, the phone call, and my room being ransacked was all done by you?”

     “Dylan told me what kind of cologne to buy so I sprayed it around while Courtney was in the shower. The phone call was actually Dylan. I found your number in Courtney’s phone and gave it to him. The bedroom was easy, nobody ever goes in your room so I trashed it real quick while Courtney was getting ready for our dinner date and used your lipstick to write on the mirror. We wanted you to freak out thinking Dylan was coming for you.”

     The fear builds inside of me, listening to him talk about all that he has done to torture me, the rape, and the attempted murder of a coworker. He speaks as if it these events are an everyday occurrence. I know I need to do something to try to save myself. If he plans to rape and kill me, then I have nothing to lose by trying to escape. I take in my surroundings and highway signs before screaming, “Cameron we are on I-95 heading north towards Jacksonville on our way to Savannah. I love you.”

    Blake’s head snaps in my direction. He knocks my purse to the floor and sees my cell phone in my hand. “You fucking bitch!” He yells while grabbing my cell phone and throwing it in the backseat of his car. “You’re going to pay for that little stunt,” then he punches me in the jaw.

     I involuntarily scream out in pain as the skin along my jaw line splits open and my head snaps to the right slamming into the passenger window. I suddenly feel nauseous and dizzy from the impact of hitting my head. I can feel blood trickling down my neck from where the skin has split. Panic takes over and I begin to cry. 

     “Shut the fuck up.” He yells.

     As soon as I heard what was happening to Kylie, I grabbed an extra cell phone from one of my pit crew and started running for my car. Once I was on the road, I put my phone down long enough to call the police and get them looking for Blake’s car. I tried talking to Kylie but realize she probably has her phone hidden and its best not to say anything so Blake doesn’t hear me. I’m in total shock, the person I took in is Dylan’s cousin and he is an ex-con who currently has the only woman I’ve ever loved in his car, threatening rape, and murder. I think of Courtney and the danger I had inadvertently put her in, she’s going to be devastated that the man she is falling in love with, was sent here to murder her best friend. How could I have been so stupid? 

     My only thoughts now are trying to save Kylie. I’m speeding down I-95 at ninety miles an
hour, hoping I can catch up to them before it’s too late. I hope he’s adhering to the speed limit in an effort to avoid attracting attention or being pulled over, giving me enough time to catch up to them. I suddenly hear Kylie scream and my heart stops beating for a few seconds. I don’t hear her talking for a couple minutes, but then I hear her soft whimpering, at least that means I’m not too late. If she is crying, she is still alive.

     I have to find a way to escape from this mad man. We have now entered Jacksonville and will soon be at the Florida/Georgia state line. Up ahead I can see a long bridge over what appears to be a river, maybe I can try to jump out of the car. No, that’s crazy, we are going sixty-five miles an hour and if I jump out, I’m sure to be run over by the cars behind us. I have to think of something quick. I can’t stand the thought of being in this car with Blake much longer. I would rather die trying to escape than to be raped and killed by him. I roll my window down half way and let the warm air hit my face.

     “What the fuck do you think you are doing? Roll that window back up.” 

     “I just need a few minutes of fresh air. Please!” I plead.

     I lean in towards Blake and plant a soft kiss to his stubbly neck while running my hand up his chest. He looks down at me, smiling; he catches my hand, and pushes it lower towards the bulge in his pants. The bile rises in my throat once again but I force myself to stay calm and distract him. I rub the bulge of his pants with my right hand, feeling him harden from my touch while leaning my left elbow on his seat belt clasp releasing the metal clip. He’s so focused on my hand rubbing his dick that he doesn’t realize his seat belt is loose.

     I look up and see the end of the bridge approaching, time to make my move. I grab the steering wheel and yank as hard as I can to the right, catching Blake off guard. The car swerves sharply to the right and sparks fly in my window as the passenger side of the car scraps along the bridge at such a high speed. He’s fighting me, trying to regain control of the steering wheel. I slam my left elbow into the side of his head, which stuns him long enough for one final yank of the steering wheel. The car hits the bridge wall hard enough that the car flips, we are airborne for what seems like eternity, and then we start falling.

      I’m thrown back against my seat as my seatbelt tightens. It occurs to me that we’re falling towards the water. I hope that by opening my window, I’ll have an escape route. What I didn’t account for, was how hard the impact of the car hitting the water would be. My head flies forward and my forehead hits the dash. I’m momentarily dazed, then I feel the cold rush of water pouring in through the window. Cameron’s handsome face comes to my mind, and then everything suddenly goes black.

     I hear the unmistakable sound of metal against concrete; I’m quite familiar with that sound from the racetrack. The car in which Kylie is in sounds as if it’s being ripped apart. My heart is hammering in my chest at the thought of losing my love. For a few moments, I don’t hear anything, and then it sounds like the car crashes into water before my connection with Kylie is lost.

     I’m speeding down the highway lost in thought when suddenly traffic has stopped on a bridge ahead. This is not what I need right now I think while pounding my fists on the steering wheel. I can see emergency vehicles up ahead and then it dawns on me, the screeching of metal and sound of the car crashing into water. I jump from the vehicle and sprint the entire length of the bridge, hoping to find Kylie alive and well.

     The first thing I see as I look over the side of the bridge is emergency workers zipping someone into a yellow body bag. I half run and half stumble down the bank trying to get near the body. I collapse to my knees completely in shock. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to find out who is zipped inside this
bag; my heart can’t handle the thought of losing her.