The Art of Domination (36 page)

He quickly runs to the bathroom while Sawyer is busy calling 911. Murphy comes out with wet towel and I wipe away the blood from her face. It’s then that I see skin burns near her eyes and mouth where she was obviously taped and the tape was brutally torn away. I’m disgusted and angry at the cruelty that was inflicted on my kind and loving wife.

I put my hand over her heart and
let out a sobbing sigh when I feel her heart, slow and steady, beating against my hand.  I put my face near her, wanting to feel her breath on me but she’s breathing shallow and I can barely feel it on my mouth. I kiss her face and her lips, and taste her blood.

“
Baby girl, wake up. Please…wake up, love.” I whisper in her ear, but she remains unmoving.

Sawyer unties her ankles and I gently lift her with my one good hand onto my chest so he can cut the tape away from her hands.
I lay her back down on the bed and grab the covers pushed to the side and pull them over her.
We’re having a hard time breaking her.
The words come back to me and I feel more hatred than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

“Is he alive?” I ask Sawyer, without taking my eyes off of Isa.

“Barely. His breathing is uneven and his pulse is thready, but he’s alive.”

“Good,
” I say as I stand up and cock my gun. I step back to avoid backsplash and aim at Alex’s head.

“Fuck, Young, d
on’t!”

Sawyer leaps towards me and Murphy backs away. I keep my a
im steady, slow my breathing and gently press against the trigger.

“Dylan, please. I know how angry you are.
I get it. And I’m not saying Alex doesn’t deserve to die, but think about Isa. If you kill him now, this is not self-defense. Think about what you’ll put Isa through if you get sent away.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He’s right and I know it. “I want him dead, Sawyer,” I say in a controlled voice.

“Yes, but not right now. I c
an make that happen later, okay?” he says, trying to talk me down.

Sawyer
’s hand comes up to the gun. He pushes it down and takes it from and releases the cocking mechanism. He sighs loudly and walks towards the window. I can hear sirens in the distance as they get closer.

“What happened to him?” I a
sk Sawyer as I sit next to Isa and caress her face.

“It looks like he was strangled. I don’t see ligature marks around his neck, so his carotid artery must’ve been compressed somehow.”

Isa begins to stir and my heart starts racing. I kneel on the floor next to the bed and call her name.

“Isa?”

She mumbles something and her eyes slowly flutter open. One of her beautiful eyes is filled with blood and I can barely make out the amber color; the other can only open a small amount. Her mouth is painfully swollen and she runs her tongue over it and winces. I hold her head as she looks around in bewilderment. Her eyes focus on me and tears stream down her cheeks.

“Am I dead, too? Are you here to take me home, sugar?”

I don’t understand her question.

“You’re not dead, love, but I am here to take you home.”

“Are you an angel now?”

“Isa, I’m not an angel. I’m here, baby girl.”

She sits up and lunges herself at me and starts crying wildly.

“They told me that I’d
killed you!” she wails.

***

Thank you God
, Dylan is alive.
My body hurts, but I’m so overwhelmed with joy, I can’t contain myself. It’s difficult to see, but I hear sirens close by. I hug Dylan tightly and cry into his neck. He smells so good. My dear sweet husband is alive. He winces and moans and then I realize he has a sling on.

“Oh, Dylan, d
id I do that?” I feel disgusted with myself.

“
Shush, I’m fine. It was a clean shot. Your aim was superb.”

“That’s not funny,
” I weep into his neck. I look at his face and he looks as though he hasn’t slept and he looks pained. I run my fingers tips over his lips and he smiles.

“I love
you, Isabel Young,” he says softly.

“I thought you were dead,” I sniff.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m invincible. Don’t you know that?”

“Yes, I do.
My ring!” It hits me that my ring is gone. “That woman took my ring, Dylan. That beautiful ring you had made, it’s gone.”

“Isa, Isa,
shush. I can have another one made for you; an even prettier one. A bigger one if you want,” he coos in my ear.

“I don’t want another ring, Dylan. I want that one.
Oh God
, Alex. Is he dead?” I whisper and my body tenses up. I try to look past Dylan, but he guides my face to keep looking at him

“No,” he
says through clenched teeth. His eyes flare and dilate, and I see hatred in his heated eyes. “What did he do to you?”

I don’t want to tell him. “Dylan…” I no sooner get his name out of my mouth and p
aramedics and police come rushing through the door. The commotion is loud and there are hands all over me. I can only see clearly out of one eye so it’s near impossible to make out what everyone is doing. Dylan steps aside to answer questions and I see Alex being laid out on a gurney.

Holy blue puffer fish.
What the hell did I do to him? He has to be dead. No human can look like that and still be alive. I start giggling at the memory of Alex’s horrified appearance as he was being squeezed to death with my fuzzy mound in his face. That asshole thought he could touch me?
Fuck him.
I’ve never felt more alive. I feel proud of myself for having prevented my own rape and probable death. My giggling turns to laughter and one-by-one everyone in the room starts to quiet down and stare at me. The absurd looks on their faces makes me laugh even louder and before I can stop myself I blurt out, “Holy thunder thighs!”

Dylan comes over to me quickly and he doesn’t look amused at all, but I can’t stop laughing.

“Isa, what’s wrong?”

“I did that. I did that to him.
”

“
What?” Dylan asks with furrowed eyebrows.

I point towards Alex while
the paramedics continue to poke and prod me and try to put in an I.V.

“
What are you talking about?” he says impatiently.

“I did that to him, Dylan. I saved my own life. Don’t you see that? I was strong enough to save my own life. I never thought I could do it, but I did…” I feel tears star
t rolling down my cheeks.

“Isa, of course you’re strong enough. You always were
, baby. Don’t you see that?” Dylan states incredulously.

“No,
I never thought I was strong enough. I did that to him. He tried to… but I wouldn’t let him. I started to float above myself like when I was a little girl, but I screamed at myself and made myself fight back. And I did it, Dylan. I really did it. I thought of you, sugar. I wanted to be with you and I saw your face in my mind.” I completely break down crying again.

Dylan hugs me tightly and I feel the prick of the needle and a coolness coursing through my hand
veins. I look up at Dylan and he’s crying too. I wipe his tears and then drift off to sleep.

When I awaken
, I’m comfortable in a hospital bed and calming music is being played on the television. Dylan is sleeping on the large couch in the room and Sawyer is sitting near me in a chair, reading something.  When he sees that I’m awake, he sets the magazine down and smiles kindly at me.

“Well hello
there, tough cookie.”

His words touch me. He’s like the big brother I never had. I smile at him and he stands to get
me some water.

“How are you feeling?”

“I hurt everywhere. Is Dylan okay?” I ask, looking over at him and guzzling the water. Dylan looks completely zonked, but peaceful.

“He’s much better now that we’ve found you.”

“What about Alex?”

Sawyer
’s eyes get wide and he looks away from me. He stands and walks to the other end of the room. “Oh, you know.”

“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Why are you asking? After what he did to you, why do you care?” he asks sternly.

“You
sound just like Dylan right now,” I tell him and then I’ll be damned if he doesn’t give me the same sarcastic look that Dylan gives me.  “You two have been working together for too long. Are you going to tell me or not?” I prod him.

“Not,” h
e says and walks out of the room.

What
ever, Sawyer.
I pull the covers off of me and swing my legs around to get out of bed and I wince from the pain. My ankles are bruised and have serious burns around them. I still have an I.V. in and I unplug the machine and walk with it into the restroom. I feel a draft on my backside and reach around to try and close the opening so my ass isn’t hanging out. I flip the light on and take one look in the mirror and gasp at the vision of my swollen hideous face.

My bottom lip starts to quiver as I fight back crying. I look disgusting.
That horrible man has scarred me for life.
Dylan will surely leave me. Who would want to be married to someone who looks like this? I sit on the toilet and try to put my face in my hands to sob, but it hurts too much. I sniff back the tears and when I look up, Dylan is standing in the doorway.

“Why the tears, Isa? You’re alive.”

I turn my face away from him. I don’t want him to see me like this.

“Please don’t look at me.”

He walks over and kneels in front of me.

“Why? You’re beautiful. And you’re
alive,” he says smiling at me.

“Beautiful? Look at me!” I yell at him and start crying louder.

“I am looking at you. This is all skin deep, Isa. It’ll heal. And even if it doesn’t, I’ll still love you.”

God, I love this man.
I wipe my tears away and look into his sparkling blue eyes. “What about my show? I can’t go looking like this.”

“I’ve already rescheduled it s
o stop your worrying and come and rest,” he orders and just like that, my Dom is back.

I crawl back into bed and Dylan
sits on the edge of the bed next to me. He runs his fingers over my wretched mouth, then over my swollen left eye. He runs his hand over my shoulder and down to my hip and squeezes.

“Did Alex…
rape
you?” he asks.

I feel sick that he would ask, but I can’t blame him for wanting to know.

“Would you still love me if he did?” I ask, not really wanting to know the answer.

Dylan looks
outraged at my question. “Of course I would. What kind of an asshole do you think I am? I’ll always love you, Isabel.”

“No, Dylan, h
e didn’t.”

Dylan lets out a sigh of relief and then kisses my forehead.

“But he tried to.”

Dylan looks shaken and his eyes dilate with hatred.

“He and that woman knew stuff about us
, really
personal stuff.
Oh my God,
the woman. Did you find her?”

Dylan shakes his head
no
.

“Dylan…
how did they know about the things we did together?”

“
I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but they had cameras all over the house.”

I feel my face flush from embarrassment thinkin
g about the things they’ve seen.

“Did they record that stuff?”

“I don’t know. Probably,” he says looking dismayed.

“Dylan…”

“We can’t think about that right now. We’ll find her eventually. For now, I’m sure she’s laying low after what happened to Alex.”

“
What did happen to him?” I ask fearful that I’ve killed him.

Dylan’s forehead creases and he looks irritated at my asking.

“Not enough.”

“Tell me. Did I kill him?”

“No, but you made it so he won’t hurt anyone else.”

“What does that mean?”

“Why are you asking? He deserves what he got,” Dylan huffs at me.

“Would someone please just tell me what I did?” I snort at him as I sit up on my elbow.

“He had an anoxic brain injury.  He’ll live, but his recovery will be slow and painful. He’ll most likely be okay in the long run, but he’ll have lasting effects.”

I feel sick.
“Death by bush,” I whisper.

“What did you say?” Dylan asks confused.

“The last thing that man saw before he almost died was my bush.”

“Don’t Isa. I know
that guilty look on your face and
don’t.
What you did was self-defense and that’s exactly what you’ll tell the police when they come to question you, do you understand? That fucker’s lucky that the last thing he saw was your beautiful bush and not my gun pointed at his face,” Dylan retorts angrily.