Damon (14 page)
Authors: Kathi S. Barton
He of course wouldn
’t tell them that she was his.
He wouldn’t want it to get around the Anthony Ormond had lost one so he told them the same story he’d told all the other departmen
ts along the stops of the bus.
The only one he h
adn’t stopped in was Columbus.
That bitch that had called him about Charlotte had told him tha
t she was going to Washington.
He wished n
ow that he’d gotten her name.
Something like that, a lie to
him, shouldn’t go unpunished.
They were most helpful, even going
s
o far as to pull up the cameras in that station over the past five days to see if the thief had gotten off in their fair city.
He was driving back to his hotel when
he remembered something else.
The boy, he’d not looked for the boy who could have been getting off the bus instead of his mother. Anthony had made sure the kid would remember his belt across his backside, but that did
n’t mean the lesson had taken.
When he got them back, he was going to have to buy an extra leather belt to adminis
ter their punishments to them.
One just would not be enough and if the boy died, then so much the better.
He hated that his Charlotte had be
en sullied.
Of course her mother had had no problem telling him all abo
ut the boy who had ruined her.
She went on and on about how she had begged Charlotte to get rid of it, b
ut she wouldn’t listen to her.
Now that Charlotte had a nice young man like him wanting her, maybe it wasn’t too lat
e to give him up for adoption.
Anthony thou
ght his idea was much simpler.
Just get rid of him and then there would be no lingering th
oughts about getting him back.
Killing kids, especially tainted ones like her boy, didn’t need to be messing with nice young girls when
he was old enough to fuck one.
Didn’t need his kind lowering the gene pool when men like Anthony worked so hard
to make the strongest survive
. Y
eah, the boy was jus
t a heartbeat away from death.
And for all that his Charlotte had put him though concerning the boy, then she needed to see him dead to believe that Anthony ha
d her best interest, at heart.
Of course this was a
fter he beat him and her both.
He got back to the hotel and pulled out his no
tebook.
The tabs along the outer edge were a little tattered,
but he could still read them.
At the front of
the book was a list of names.
Al
l but one had been marked out.
Charlotte’s name was the
only one there at the bottom.
The other ten names were of women who had failed the test
and had had to be eliminated.
The next tab had the list of things they’d do
ne to be crossed off the list.
He kept this one and used it to measure the other women that he thought might make
a good suitable wife for him.
Nothing but the best for the future commanding officer of the police department, so he was meticulous in keeping a record of wha
t that women would need to be.
The next two tabs were where he’d gotten rid of the
bodies and how he had done it.
These lists were important because he had to make sure that he didn’t use the same modus operandi, or MO, twice, and he didn’t want to accidentally dig up one body when
trying to dispose of another. That could be messy.
The last tab was new.
He’d never had to keep a running list of things
to punish a bitch for before.
No one had escaped him before so he’d simply given them their pun
ishments right then and there.
The top of this list was, Ru
nning away—twenty-five lashes.
He’d started out with five, but the longer she was missing, the more he’d add to it. When he found his Charlotte, she was going to have a lot of things to pay for, a lot of them.
~CHAPTER 11~
Damon knew that at least Byro
n knew what they’d been doing.
He couldn’t help but feel proud of the fact that Charlie looked like she’
d just been thoroughly fucked. He knew that he did as well. Not that he minded too much.
He was a little frightened by the idea of being Connor’s father and bei
ng a good husband for Charlie.
But he knew that he loved them and that was going to be enough.
Pi handed him a huge platter of
food and then one to Charlie.
She looked at the older woman with a slight dazed look
and Damon burst out laughing.
He’d been doing that a lot lately, just laughing.
“She makes us everything under the sun and then expects us to eat i
t all and give her an opinion. It’s all very good.
Just eat what you want and she’ll be happy.” Damon nodded to Charlie.
Tonight’s menu consisted of chuen guen, or spring rolls, jar choi liang poon mein, or spicy cold noodles, and Bl
ack Satin Chicken, or yau gai.
The Black Satin Chicken was an integral part of all Chinese dinners, almost li
ke a focal point of the table.
Where Americans might have a vase of flowers on the table, this was served in its place. Charlie loved everything.
“You were saying that Anthony came into your life at a hospital and that you
were just getting it together
. Y
ou mean you didn’t know him before that? That all these problems a
re something in his own mind?”
Nick asked as he blew on something for one of his children.
“He brought in this man…I can’t remember his—Jim Milford, he was Jim Milford,” Charlie said as
if she’d suddenly remembered.
“Anyway, Anthony brought him in because he claimed that he had resisted arrest and that
Anthony had had to subdue him.
Jim kept saying that Anthony had beaten him up after pulling him out of his car through the window t
hat he had broken with his gun.
I didn’t believe
or care what either man said.
My job was to put his arm back together.
“As I was cleaning up the woun
d, Anthony kept talking to me.
I didn’t want to b
e rude, but I didn’t like him.
It had nothing to do with what he was saying. It was the itchy feeling he
gave me when he got too close.
I had to ask him several times to s
tep away from me.
Later that night, I guess
after his shift, he came back.
He offered to t
ake me home and I refused him.
He kept showing up, even on my days off. Then one day, he came by with Connor.”
“He took your son?
How on earth did he manage that
?
And I’d sue that daycare center for even letting him go with a stranger.” Devin had jumped up so quic
kly that Charlie had flinched.
Damon glared at his brother and then took Charlie’s hand. She smiled at him and he thought he wouldn’t have to murder
his brother.
Not yet at any rate.
“He had a badge.
He’s a cop. Anthony is a state trooper and he told them that I’d been hurt at work and he was there to get Co
nnor and bring him to my work.
When he got there, I threatened him. I told him if he came near us agai
n, I’d have to go to his boss.
The next n
ight, I got a speeding ticket.
My car had been in the
shop for several days by then.
I didn’t have the money to get it fixed yet and the owner of the shop was
letting me make him payments.
He’d work on it until the money
ran out then I’d pay him more.
When I mentioned this to the officer, he took back the ticket and changed the date to the previous week.
This went on for several days.
I went to the police station and was advised by the guy at the desk to just give Anthony what he w
anted. It was easier that way. I should have run then.
Four days later, he kidnapped Connor and told me that I was to pack my stuff and move in
with him or he’d kill my son.
I tried to get help from the police and they si
mply turned their backs on me. I moved in.
When he left for work two days later, that was the first time we ran.”
“How many tim
es have you left him, Charlie?
I’m assuming that this
isn’t the second time, is it?
And how far did you get?” Cait asked before Damon could.
“Not far the first time.
We
got as far as the bus station.
H
e’d only slapped me that time.
Then at night, or when he went to
work, he’d tie me to the wall.
Connor would be close enough for me
to care for, but little else.
He hated Conn
or right from the beginning.
The second time we got on the bus a
nd I paid dearly for that one.
The third and fourth times, we ne
arly made it across the state.
The beatings got progressively worse with each failure until he started threatening to hurt Co
nnor.
When I figured that out, we got away for ten days.”
“That’s when I met Anthony,” Dane interrupted here. “He was the man I told you all about tha
t Markus had kidnapped me for.
Markus was terrified of Anthony and he
wanted me to find this woman.
When Cait brought me the clothing to read, I felt the same signature on them that had been from where he h
ad touched me in the basement.
I didn’t help him then and wouldn’t have ei
ther, but I can track him now.
He’s insane to say the least and…well, Charlie isn’t the f
irst woman he’s done this too.
I don’t know what happened to them, but I have the feeling that they didn’t ‘m
easure up’ and he killed them.
He feels that he is doing the world a favor by
ridding it of the weaker sex.
By eliminating them, he is going to breed a stronger male populatio
n that will be just like him.”
Dane moved to sit on James’ lap as she spoke.
When Jamie started rubbing her be
lly, Damon watched Dane relax.
It was a birthing technique and he was glad to see that his baby brother
was paying attention in class.
Then he realized what was being said.
“Wait! You all knew about this?
You all knew that this man was coming here
and you never told any of us?”
He started to move toward Charlie and Connor was suddenly there.
“You
stay back
. Y
ou stay away f
rom my momma or I’ll hurt you. I won’t let you hurt her.”
Damon took a step back. “I woul
dn’t hurt your mother, Connor. This is between her and me.
Please l
et the adults talk about this
. Y
ou need to—”
He was suddenly on the floor, the
coffee table lying on his lap. He didn’t move.
He had seen Connor drop his shoulder and charge him, but he didn’t think Conn
or would be able to budge him.
He’d underestimated the kid in both his strength and his anger.
“Connor Joshua Kirkpa
trick!
You will te
ll him you’re sorry right now.
We do not use
violence to get what we want
. Y
ou’ll—”
“It’s all right Charlie. This is between him and me.
Connor, I’d
like a word with you, please.
In private.”
Hi
s brother Jamie helped him up.
None of them said anything, though Damon
noticed that Nicky was pissed.
He wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or Connor
, but he would stay out of it.
Damon looked down at Connor who stood looking for all the world l
ike he was going to the chair.
Damon pointed to where Jam
ie had told him the study was. Connor led the way.
When Charlie started to follow, Damon stopped her.
“We’ll be fine. This is between us. He’ll be fine with me.” He hoped.
Damon had never had to deal w
ith a child on his own before.
Unless they were hurt or sick. This was an angry child, someone who trusted little and di
dn’t have a father of his own.
When the door closed behind them, he told Connor to take a seat.