Survival Games (23 page)

* *
* *

She gave him a
wide berth scooting around what she thought was his perimeter and ignoring his
cool stare, she sat on the mattress and waited for Tom to bring the tray that
Marian left by the door. She couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Ty and
was thankful Tom took a seat on the edge of the mattress closest to him,
blocking her view.

Tom sat next to
her, handing her a plate. Out of habit, Jessica tore the sandwich in half,
laying the larger of the two on the plate before digging in herself.

Looking at the second
half, she debated. She was still hungry and the spiteful half of her wanted to
eat it, but she couldn’t, not even now. Not even after his blatant disregard
for her. She hung her head and took a shaky breath before getting to her feet.

“You’ve got to be
kidding,” Tom said, stopping her from taking another step toward Ty.

She met his
bewildered eyes and exhaled. “I still can’t watch him starve.” She grabbed the
plate, crossed and handed it to Ty and finally met his hard stare.

* *
* *

His gaze bounced to
the plate and back and he slowly took the food, his mouth parting in disbelief.
He had intentionally done the one thing she swore to Mike he never had, the one
thing that separated him from Frank. He had taken her without consent, raped
her to drive a wedge the size of the Grand Canyon between them and it
backfired.

“Why?” she asked,
her eyes expressing her pain and tearing at his gut.

He shook his head
and shrugged. “Because...” he trailed off looking down at the ground. Rape
wasn’t enough to make her hate him, for her to wish he was dead and he needed
her to feel both those things. He mulled over his choice of words. How he
played this was important and he was silent for a few minutes contemplating the
lie. “Because I could.” He narrowed his eyes and gave her a small evil smile.

Jessica face
reddened with anger and she squatted in front of him. “You will never touch me
again,” she hissed. “Understand?” The colors swirled in her eyes.

Ty shrugged with
the same small smile on his lips. “I’ve heard that before.”

“You want to
what?” LeAnn asked.

“Elope, let’s
elope this weekend,” Daniel said. “The kids are at my in-laws for the next few
days, we can go out on a boat and have the captain marry us, or hop on a plane
to Vegas, either way, I don’t want to wait.”

“Danny, we haven’t
really talked about marriage. Why the rush?”

“I want you to be
my wife.” He grinned and took her in his arms.

LeAnn kissed him. “Are
you really sure?” she asked. “All of this happened so fast, I don’t want there
to be any regrets.”

“No regrets. I
loved Jessica very much, but she’s gone and she wouldn’t want me to be alone
and miserable. Her passing was hard but ended up being a blessing. I met my
soul mate and I don’t want to go another day without you by my side,” Daniel said,
his green eyes piercing hers.

LeAnn took a deep
breath. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Vegas or the
ocean?”

She looked out at
the sea through the window of the cottage in Maine. “The ocean.”

He smiled. “The
ocean it is!”

* *
* *

The ceremony was
simple and beautiful, and they even had a couple of whales in attendance, to
everyone’s delight.

Daniel kissed
LeAnn as the boat pulled back in the harbor, grinning like a schoolboy. He
thanked the captain and walked her to the car.

“Well, Mrs.
Connor, what next?”

LeAnn laughed and
leaned over, whispering in his ear. Daniel blushed and drove faster to their
cottage and carried his new wife over the threshold.

“Where is he,
Marian?” Ty asked, waking Jessica.

Ty stood as Marian
set down the breakfast tray.

“He’s healing
quite nicely. He should be back any day now.” She smiled. “And when he does, I
can’t wait to see what his plans are for you.” She went to close the door.

“I thought he
killed Anna,” Ty said.

She turned and
looked at him. “I don’t care. It just gives me a reason to hate you more.” The
door closed behind her.

“What did you do
to her?” Jessica asked, startling him.

Ty snapped his
head in her direction pressing his lips together and stepping back into
character.

“Well?”

Leave it alone.
He shook his head.

Jessica opened her
mouth to say something and Ty cut her off.

“Drop it,” he
warned and wandered into the bathroom as far as the chain would allow.

* *
* *

She heard him turn
on the sink and closed her eyes for a moment. Tom still had his arms around her
and she wrapped hers over his and nuzzled closer.

“Morning,” he
whispered and stretched. “I haven’t slept that good since I got here.” He
yawned and rolled on his back.

“It was the first
time I really felt safe.” She rolled toward him. “Thank you.”

“I try.” He looked
around. “I see the son of a bitch is already awake.”

Jessica’s smile
faded. She didn’t say anything but rolled on her stomach and propped herself up
on her elbows. He looked back at her with those impossibly blue eyes.

Reaching over, Tom
pushed her hair out of her face, running his fingers behind her ear. She leaned
her head into his touch as her eyes closed.

“Do you know what
you do to me?” Tom whispered.

“Looks like the
same thing she thinks she does to me,” Ty answered. He was leaning against the
wall with his arms crossed.

Tom glared over at
him. “Drop dead,” he snapped.

Ty smiled
bitterly. “All in good time.”

Jessica shivered
and looked over at him; she didn’t want him to die. She just wanted him to
leave her alone. She stood and got the plates off the tray, handing one to Ty
as she walked by and brought the other one to Tom.

“You need to eat,”
Ty said.

“As much as I hate
to admit it, he’s right,” Tom said and handed her his plate.

“Enough!” She
shoved the plate away. “If I don’t feel like eating, I don’t have to.” She
stormed into the bathroom, sat on the floor and started rocking gently.

* *
* *

Tom got up to
follow and Ty scrambled to his feet, grabbing his arm. “She needs time to think.”

“You don’t know
what she needs!”

Ty grabbed Tom by
the throat and slammed him into the wall. He leaned his arm across Tom’s chest,
holding him in place. “She needs to think,” he growled and leaned closer. “She
needs to hate me, otherwise what my stepbrother will make her do will destroy
her,” Ty said softly in Tom’s ear. “Do you understand?” He clenched his teeth,
locking eyes with Tom, loosening his grip and stepping back. “Let her think.”

Jessica continued
rocking with her head on her knees.
How could he?
The thought kept
echoing in her mind as the events of the previous day caught up with her. She
wanted to hurt him, she wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t and the slow
realization of why made her stop rocking. She leaned her head back against the
wall.

“Oh God,” she
whispered. “Oh God.” Her breath hitched in and out of her chest and the tears
came as the terrible truth hit.

I love him, God
help me, I’m in love with a killer
.

The dream
resounded in her head, his beautiful blue bedroom eyes looking up at her as he
held the engagement ring waiting for her to answer in the cold snowy yard. The
impossibility of that ever happening brought a new bout of tears, blurring her
eyes, stinging her throat and it wasn’t because he raped her, it wasn’t because
he was a kidnapper, it wasn’t because he was a murderer.

The tears streamed
because she wanted that vision, despite everything, she still wanted that
vision and she knew they would never leave this place alive. She crawled over
to the toilet and threw up.

She pulled herself
up to the sink and rinsed her mouth, brushing the vile taste from her teeth,
still sobbing, still shaking and when she turned the water off, she dropped to
her knees, leaning her head against the cool ceramic of the sink.

Arms wrapped
around her and she stiffened, glancing over her shoulder. Tom’s concerned eyes
stared back and she turned away, feeling guilty for the sharp stab of
disappointment. He rested his chin on her shoulder and said nothing, just
squeezed a fraction tighter telling her he was there for her in his own way.

Jessica turned to
face him. She loved him for making her feel safe, but it wasn’t the same as the
impulsive, all-consuming emotions that Ty drove in her. Tom was a good man and
deserved so much better. The tears slid down her face pooling in the corner of
her lip, the saltiness there gone with a flick of her tongue as she raised her
eyes.

Tom reached up,
taking her face gently between his hands; he wiped her eyes with his thumbs and
leaned in, kissing her gently.

When his tongue
ran against her lips they parted, tasting him, melting into the sweetness of
his kiss. When his arms wrapped around her and the kiss progressed into the
urgent zone, Jessica pushed him away. “Tom, I can’t do this right now.” Tears
filled her eyes again and she put her hand on his cheek.

“Okay,” he said
and kissed her again, took a deep breath and slowly moved away from her. “I
need to cool down, so if you don’t mind.” He nodded toward the door and stood
turning the water on in the shower.

Walking out of the
room, she glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of his backside as he
stepped into the shower and out of sight. She ran smack into Ty.

He had been
standing just beyond the doorway and he grabbed her by the arms, swinging her
around and slammed her into the wall. His sharp eyes penetrated hers, making
her squirm under his blatant stare.

“Let me go,” she
said.

“No.” Those
bedroom eyes scanned her and he licked his lips, sliding his hands up her shirt
as he dropped to his knees before her.

She shifted,
trying to skirt out of the way and he pushed her back against the wall.

“Ty, please,” she
pleaded as she swiped his hands away from the buttons on her shirt.

“Please what?” His
hands grazed her thighs and he parted the shirt, leaning in and rolling his
tongue in her belly button.

She tilted her
head back against the wall as his velvet hands slid over her body, his touch
leaving a trail of burning skin in its wake. “Please,” she whispered. She
wanted to say stop but she couldn’t, trembling under his touch. His mouth found
her breasts and his fingers slid to the spot that drove her wild, slowly
circling, easily setting her on fire. “Oh God, please.”

“Please what?” He
smiled up at her as he moved his hand expertly, arousing her to the point of no
return.

“Please Ty,” she
gasped and ran her hands through his hair.

He moved to kiss
her, running his hands up her body until they held her face. When his lips
grazed hers, she found the strength to push him away.

“Please what?” he
asked yet again.

Jessica’s voice
shook as she spoke, her hand firmly planted on his chest. “Let me go,” she
whispered. In the bathroom, the shower turned off.

“Not in a million
years.” The words growled from his chest and his eyes hardened. He flashed the
sadistic smile her way and she gasped. He hadn’t smiled like that since her
first encounter in the electric chair.

She slowly moved
away from him. Her heart banged against the walls of her chest cavity. The heat
he had created in her body rushed to her cheeks pooling there and resounding in
a bright crimson. The reference he used was not lost on her as he casually
leaned back against the wall crossing his arms.

He blew on his
fingers, shining them on his chest. “I still got it.”

Her mouth slowly
dropped. “You think this is a game?”

Ty laughed. “Babe,
I play games for a living, remember?” he answered.

She stepped back
and her eyes went wider. “But…”

“But what? You
actually thought I cared, that I loved you? That I would have let you out of
this place?” Ty shook his head. “That’s just priceless,” he said. “This is the
game I’ve played for years, babe, an elaborate ploy to tear you down to nothing,
and from the look on your face—I’ve just reached my goal.”

Jessica’s hands
flew to her mouth, his words slicing a hole in her chest and she couldn’t
breathe.

He leaned forward
a little. “As I told Mike, you’re just a really good fuck,” he added in
measured tones.

Jessica fled into
the bathroom, passing by Tom and into the shower. She blasted the water on,
turning it as hot as it would go. She wanted to burn the feeling of his hands off
her skin as she tore the wet shirt off. She didn’t realize she was screaming
until her breath hitched in her chest and turned to sobs. She slowly sat down
on the shower floor, the water scalding her skin, but she didn’t care. She
hated that bastard, hated him more than she hated Frank. He played her, took
her will and crushed it as callously as a child crushes an ant.

* *
* *

Ty slumped against
the wall, every muscle in his body trembled and his legs gave out as Tom
rounded the corner, her screams crushing him more than anything Frank could
ever dream up. Their eyes met.

“What did you do?”

“I played the
game.” His voice cracked and he put his head on his knees.

Jessica went
silent in the bathroom.

* *
* *

Tom spun on his
heels, bolting back into the bathroom and finding her on the floor of the
shower, the water creating red welts on her skin. When he reached in to turn it
off, he instinctively snatched his hand out of the scalding water and it turned
red where the water connected. “Jesus!” He gritted his teeth and reached beyond
the water, switching the handle to the off position.

Jessica stared
aimlessly into space, her face slack and her eyes distant.
Jesus, she’s
catatonic, what the fuck did he do to her?
He wiped her hair out of her
face and tilted her chin toward him. “Jessie?”

His heart hammered
in his chest and she looked right through him, not giving any indication that
she saw what was in front of her or not. He grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it
around her, scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the mattress,
setting her down and covering her with the sheet.

Only then did he
turn his attention to Ty. The transformation was incredible. Ty was leaning
against the wall with his legs crossed out in front of him, his arms across his
chest. He wore a small smile that sent a tremor of fear down Tom’s back. His
eyes were dark and had no indication of warmth or mercy.

He swallowed the
dryness in his mouth. “What the hell did you do to her?”

Ty nonchalantly
shrugged. “I just played my final hand in the game,” Ty said and his smile
widened. “It’s taken months but I finally got what I wanted. You know, it’s a
hell of a lot of fun to watch what happens to people when they’re pushed over
the edge.” His eyes sparkled. “It’s such a rush.” He hopped to his feet.

Tom roared and
launched himself at Ty. The next thing Tom knew, he was face down and Ty had
his arm bent at an alarming angle, pinning him to the ground.

“Don’t fuck with
me,” Ty growled and released his arm, stepping back.

Tom stood and
faced Ty. His anger raged through every fiber of his being. His hands clenched
and unclenched. He turned as if he was going to walk away but instead threw a
right hook. Ty moved back and he caught nothing but air, tilting off balance
enough so that Ty was able to get an arm lock around his neck.

“Stop,” Ty
commanded and Tom threw his elbow into his side. He tightened his hold. “I told
you not to fuck with me,” he growled. “I could snap your neck as easily as
snapping a wishbone. So just cut the shit and leave me alone.” He shoved Tom
away.

Tom stood in the
middle of the room glaring, his chest heaving with the fury. “You really are a
sick son of a bitch.”

“You have no
idea,” Ty smiled.

Tom shivered. He
felt like he was looking at the Angel of Death himself. He moved closer to
Jessica as a protective reflex.

Ty disappeared
into the bathroom and Tom let out a shaky breath. Still furious, but at least
it was in control now. He knelt next to Jessica and wiped the hair out of her
face. Fear gripped him, turning his stomach to ice.
God I need her. What if
she never snaps out of this?
Her eyes closed, and she turned her head away.
“Please Jessie,” he whispered in her ear. “I need you.” He pressed his lips to
her cheek and she didn’t stir.

Tom stood and
started pacing like a caged animal, trying to reign in the fear and anger into
something manageable. He didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what would snap
her out of it and that terrified him. Time was running out, he knew it as well
as Ty. Six to eight weeks was the normal healing period so Frank was due back
any day now. That’s why the bastard did this to her. He glared over at Ty,
sitting against the wall watching him like he was an exhibit.

“Stop looking at
me,” he finally burst.

Ty laughed.
“You’re the entertainment.”

“Fuck you.”

“Nah, I’d rather
fuck her.” He pointed at Jessica.

Tom made a motion
to go toward Ty and thought better of it. If he gave in to that urge, he
wouldn’t stop until the man was dead. Turning everything over in his head, he
couldn’t decipher which was the game and which was reality.

Which was the act?

He glanced at Ty
and continued pacing.

Marian opened the
door and pointed the gun at Tom as he approached her. He stopped, watching as
she put the tray down, her eyes never leaving him.

“Mar,” Ty said,
coolly acknowledging her presence from where he sat.

“Shit for brains,”
she said and closed the door.

Tom stared at the
door. If it were a game, they would have let him loose the second Jessica
broke. His anger diffused a notch; the sick bastard must really love her.

Tom picked up the
tray and brought it over to Jessica. Putting it down on the floor, he gently
shook her. Her eyes blinked open for a second and then closed again. “Come on
Jessie, you’ve got to eat something,” he said.

She opened her
eyes and looked at him without moving. “Why? What’s the point?”

Alarm drowned his
hammering heartbeat and he leaned close. “Because I need you,” he said soft
enough so Ty couldn’t hear him.

Tears filled her
eyes. She blinked them back and slowly sat up, holding the towel to her. She
meekly took the plate and broke the sandwich in half. She ate slowly and didn’t
look at either Tom or Ty.

Jessica finished
her part of the sandwich and looked at the remaining half. She reached down and
picked up the plate, and then to the surprise of both men, she heaved the plate
across the room like a Frisbee at Ty. It smashed against the wall where his
head had been moments before. She took a sip of water, lay back down and closed
her eyes.

* *
* *

The silence in the
room was deafening. Ty stared at the sandwich that was strewn on the floor
amidst the broken glass. He wasn’t very hungry anyway. He brushed the glass and
the sandwich into a pile with the back of his hand and left it there,
retreating into the bathroom to get a drink of water from the sink.

He glanced at the
mirror as he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. Eric stared back at him.

“He’s coming,”
Eric said and faded away.

Ty felt the weight
of those two words crash down on his chest and he gripped the sink to keep
steady. “I’m not ready,” he whispered at his reflection. Steel blue eyes stared
back. He studied his face. He didn’t look that bad with a beard, it made the
scar seem less severe. He wondered what he would be apt to look like if by some
miracle he survived this. His eyes traveled down to the sink and then back up. “Game
on,” he whispered and headed back into the room.

The door opened
and Frank stepped into the room.

Tom was on his
feet and charging within seconds of registering who was standing there. He
didn’t make it too far. The Taser hit him and he went down mid-step. Frank
hauled him into the chair, strapping his wrists in. He looked over at Ty and
then at Jessica. She still had her eyes closed.

Frank crossed and
grabbed her by her hair, lifting her to her knees. “I have been waiting for
this for eight weeks,” he purred and unzipped his pants. She looked up at him
as if drugged, but kept her mouth clamped shut.