Obsession (Endurance) (16 page)

Adam’s
voice made my skin crawl but I had to see this through.  “Ellie! 
Wow, it is so
good
to hear your voice.  I can’t believe it’s only
been a few weeks since I saw you, it feels like a year.  Does it feel that
way for you?”

Closing
my eyes, I said brightly, “Hi, Adam.  Sorry, I’ve been too busy to call
before now.”

There
was a slightly resentful tone in his voice when he answered, “Yeah, well,
everyone wants too much of your time, Ellie.  Katie, your security people,
even your parents.  I wouldn’t let everyone take all your time like that,
Ellie.”

“That’s
so nice of you to say.  I think maybe I
am
spreading myself too thin. 
I should take a vacation…I bet that wouldn’t go over very well.”

A
sharp bark of laughter was followed by, “You’re one of the most powerful women
in the world, you can do whatever you want, Ellie.  A vacation would be
good for you.”  There was a long pause.  “You know, Ellie, I liked
you from the moment I met you.  When you gave me that beautiful smile that
first day, I knew you liked me, too.  It was an honor being able to care
for you.”

Swallowing
the bile in my throat, I answered, “Thank…thank you, Adam.  That’s kind of
you to say.”

“You
did, didn’t you, Ellie?  Like me?  From the start?” a pleading note
infused his words.

Glancing
at the monitor and remembering the things he’d said, I barely managed to grit
out, “Of course I did.  I…I always thought you were a great…comfort to
me.”  Padme gave a signal and the team other than the Hydes gathered
around her.  “I was, you know, sad to see you and Theresa go.”

“Theresa
shouldn’t have left you so soon.  That was wrong of her.  She should
have moved her work to you and made you her full-time concern.”

“She
had a life and a career to return to, Adam.  She took a long time away
from her family to devote to me and I was very grateful.”  I paused only a
moment before adding, “I bet I took you away from your life, too.  I’m
sorry about that.”

“I
would happily give up everything to devote myself to your care, Ellie.  No
one could take care of you like me.  Those, whatever you want to call
them, bodyguards are no good for you.  They smother you, so do your parents. 
But I know you’re lonely and I’d make it my life’s work to make sure you were
never alone again, Ellie.”

“I’m
not lonely.  I have Katie and my parents.  My team is like family, I
love them.  No one smothers me.”  I gripped the phone with white
knuckles.

“You
should have never had Katie, Ellie!”  His outburst was yelled into the
phone and I could hear him breathing rapidly.  I know the shock must have
shown on my face because Jonas and Jordan held me tighter.  “I…I didn’t
mean to say that.  I know you love Katie.  Still, to keep the child
of the men who’d raped you.  I did a DNA swab, Ellie.  I
know
which one is Katie’s father…”

“Adam! 
Do not…do not tell me that.  It isn’t important.”  I was shaking so
hard I didn’t know if I could keep holding the phone to my ear.

“It
is…don’t you see?  You should give her up for adoption.  Her father
was the
worst
of them.  I’ve seen the video of what they did to
you.  He was the one who…”

Icy
dread settled around my heart.  “What
video
?  What are you
talking about, Adam?”

There
was silence for so long I didn’t think he would answer.  Then he said, “I
shouldn’t have told you that, Ellie.  That is one thing I should not have
ever told you.  I have to think now.”  The call disconnected.

“I…I’m
going to be sick again,” I barely managed to get out before Jonas held me over
the trashcan again.  The two men,
my men
, were rubbing my back and
dealing with the others in the room.  They were speaking in tandem, I had
no idea which one said what.

“I
want him found.  Padme, lock him down, keep him in sight while we mobilize
the team.  You’re in charge of monitoring their progress and relaying comm
among the others.”

“Right
now, a motel six miles away.  Running a check on their computer
system.  He’s checked in under a fake ID.  Cross-check shows he has a
rental under the same name.”  A long pause.  “Traffic cam across the
street shows the rental still in the motel parking lot, sir.”

Steel
laced the voices of the men holding me so gently, carefully.  “I want him
brought to the main house, to the storage rooms beneath the manor.  All
systems are on high alert.  We need to get Ellie and Katie to the main
house immediately.  Robyn comes with us.  Si, you’re in charge of
retrieval.  I expect reports every fifteen minutes.”

With
that, one of the brothers lifted me and carried me through the house to my
bedroom.  Clothes were found for me by Jonas while Jordan supported me at
the sink so I could brush my teeth and wash my face.  I was relieved of my
sundress and a t-shirt and jeans were pulled over my body.  A hip-length,
bulletproof jacket followed as well as my boots. 

The
entire time they murmured to me; kept me calm without being condescending.

When
I was fully dressed I was walked between them to the armored SUV in the garage and
gently pushed into the backseat beside Katie in her car seat.  Robyn sat
on her other side.  We drove to the main house and into the garage where
there was complete chaos. 

Up
the back stairs and into my old apartments, where my parents were waiting with
frantic expressions.  The instant I entered the room with Katie in my arms
my mother ran for us, hugging us in relief.  My father laid his hands on
our heads and said, “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this again, Ellie.  No
one is going to hurt you this time.”

Jonas
and Jordan pulled me between them as Mom took Katie in her arms.  “We need
to check the other rooms on this floor.  Don’t leave.  We’ll be back
in ten minutes.” 

I
nodded and watched them leave, flipping an all-armed button on the way
out.  Everything in this suite would be monitored by voice and video until
they keyed the re-entry code.  I heard them relaying messages to Padme and
the rest of the team as they moved away. 

I
turned to my parents, preparing to walk toward them, when the closet door
behind me opened.  A gun was pressed to my temple as Adam pulled me back
to his chest.    

“Don’t
move.” 

Robyn
moved in front of my mother and Katie for which I was grateful.  My father
edged to the side until his shoulder touched Robyn’s.  “Ah.  You
understand I’ll take what means most to dear Ellie if you don’t do exactly as I
say.” 

He
looked at me, inhaling the scent of my hair at my temples.  “Do you want
Katie to live, sweetheart?”  I nodded.  “Then you’re going to come
with me into your bedroom.  We’re going to talk and make some decisions
about our future.  I hope once you hear what I have to say, you’ll agree
that you belong with me.” 

A
hard light entered his eyes, “If you don’t, that won’t make me happy, Ellie.”

He
pulled me backward into the bedroom, making me close and lock the door. 
Only then did he step away.  Gesturing with the gun, he said, “Sit,
Ellie.” 

I
did so and as calmly as I could I asked, “How did you get in here?”

“That
was the easiest part, darling.  Living here over several months really
gave me an inside track on the workings of this estate.  I came in with
the laundry service.  I left the motel I’ve been staying in and the car
I’ve been driving.  I knew it was only a matter of time before they traced
your
stalker
.”  He imbued the word with a hint of disbelief, as if
his actions were above all that. 

I
wasn’t going to let him rattle me.  Not this time.  “What do you
want, Adam?  If it’s me, this isn’t the way to go about getting me.”

The
skin around his eyes and mouth tightened.  “I wouldn’t have had to do this
if those assholes had followed the fucking plan years ago.”

Years
ago…
college
?

Everything
inside me went cold and I wasn’t sure I could keep the hysteria from bleeding
into my voice.  Inhaling deeply, I said, “I didn’t go to school with you,
Adam.  I…I would have remembered
you
.”  I had to keep him
talking.  Padme would have already reported his presence.

He
smiled and my skin
crawled
.  “Thank you, Ellie.  That means a
lot.  It really does.”  Adam put one hand on his hip and used his gun
hand to gesture.  “I was doing my post-graduate studies.  I had no
choice but to supplement my income by tutoring the school jocks three nights a
week.”  He shook his head as if I should empathize with what he’d had to
go through. 

I
nodded and tried to appear sympathetic.

“One
night, the subject of
you
came up.  They all wanted you, Ellie and
I
knew
they weren’t good enough.  You needed a man of brilliance
and cunning; someone who could appreciate your beauty and make the most of
being married to the wealthiest woman in the world.” 

Adam
smiled and I couldn’t think what good I should have taken away from that
statement but I gave him a weak imitation smile of my own.  “They were
only supposed to
take
you.  I didn’t want you hurt.  I would
never
have hurt you, Ellie.  The plan was so simple but they were just too
stupid.”

“Wh…what
was the plan?”

“They
were supposed to take you to an abandoned building I’d scoped out.  They
were
not
to touch you, Ellie.  Just keep you confined.  I told
them we’d share you and your money but it was a lie.  My
real
plan
was for you to know me as the man who’d saved you.” 

Adam
glanced just over my shoulder.  “In your gratitude we would have been
married.  The first time I saw you, I knew I had to fuck you, Ellie. 
I knew that you were
mine
.”  He ran his hand over his groin and I
realized he was hard. 

Sick
fuck.

He
began to pace.  “Watching you and that bodyguard bring down all seven of
them…I don’t believe I’d ever
been
so angry.”  The look he gave me
was one of
disappointment
.  “You infuriated me!”  He screamed
in my direction then calmed instantly and continued.  “Then I realized you
thought you were defending yourself.  You didn’t know the
plan
.”

“Of
course.  I’m glad you see that.”

The
smugness he felt was obvious.  “I got rid of two of them before they went
to prison.  They were the two stupidest ones; they didn’t see the future
you and I were destined to have.  They wanted to bring up my name, tell
the police about my plan.  I had no choice.” 

Adam
laughed and I flinched.  “The two who died in prison were threatening to
tell their lawyers about me and appeal their conviction.  They were
halfway through their sentence!”  He gestured wildly with his gun
hand.  “If they’d been
patient
they might still be alive. 
It’s easy to bribe prisoners to do away with another inmate.  Prison is a
dismal place.”

“So
you
killed four of the seven.  Wow.” 
You are one shit-bag
crazy squirrel.

My
stalker smiled with such superiority I was glad I’d already thrown up. 
“Thank you, Ellie.  You’re so good for my ego.”  He resumed
pacing.  “My original plan was still sound.  The remaining three were
supposed to shoot your bodyguard and take you down with a tranquilizer
dart.”  He shook his head and sighed as if what they’d done was no worse
than teenagers caught drinking. 

“They
fucked up
as usual
and ended up hitting you with a brick.  With all
the blood, they didn’t think they could get you out of the park without being
noticed.  While they tried to figure it out, they dragged you and the…
twin
…bodyguard
into that shed.  I couldn’t believe I’d never figured out Hyde was a
twin.  That made me
so
angry.”

“I
didn’t know either until I was released from the hospital.  Does that make
you feel better?”

Adam
immediately brightened, “Good.  Yes, it
does
, Ellie.  Thank
you.  I mean, if you didn’t know, it doesn’t seem a lack of intelligence
was the issue at all.  Wonderful to hear.”  He crouched in front of
me and took my hand.  I fought my body’s reaction with everything I had
and let him touch me. 

“Ellie,
my sweet darling, they were
not
supposed to touch you.  Their
excuse was they’d been without a woman for years in prison and they were
desperate.  That you were just lying there.  One of them recorded
everything once you were on the path.  I saw what they meant about you
being so tempting.  Even with the blood, you were stunning.”

“They
brutalized me, Adam.”  There was no emotion in my words. 

“I
know.  I know they did and I
am
sorry about that.  They said
they were just going to try a little but when Leon realized you really were a
virgin, they wanted you even more.  I was angry they took what belonged to
me but, well, nothing could be done about it by the time I found out.” 

I
schooled my expression carefully as my blood boiled.