The Braille Club Undone (The Braille Club #3) (29 page)

Nick

Nick, still stunned by the turn in events, found it hard to concentrate on his next move. He’d sped away from the woods, his mind in turmoil. He’d researched all access points and had driven Siena’s car via a different route, just in case he needed to escape in a hurry. As he distanced himself from the site, he congratulated his ingenuity. He couldn’t understand how Harrison had found the site so quickly. As he sped towards Katie’s, he tried to tell himself it wasn’t him; that it someone else. A stranger perhaps but Nick didn’t believe in coincidence. He went over his plans looking for errors. The only variable he could think of was Siena’s car. Did it have a tracking devise? He hadn’t thought of that. Had he inadvertently led them to this site? It was just the type of thing that bastard, Harrison, would do. Nick cursed his stupidity. He should have dumped Siena’s car and used another hire car for the remainder of the trip. He couldn’t believe something so simple had ruined months of meticulous planning.

His only comfort was they’d never find the twins in time. He worried the twins would wake up crying and alert Harrison until he remembered the second shot he’d given them. He’d smiled as he thought of Harrison standing above the site where his children lay. No, they would be out for hours. Unless Harrison hung about indefinitely, he would not hear a thing. Still, he wasn’t happy. He knew Harrison would not give up. Nick had been camouflaging the burial site when interrupted. Would Harrison find what Nick had failed to conceal? He hastily parked the Volvo and entered Katie’s flat bringing her muddy boots with him. He checked the sofa and could see Katie had not moved since he’d left her. He stripped out of the suit and removed the gloves and threw them into the metal sink. He stood in his underwear and took a match from a box in the kitchen and set them alight. The smell was pungent but the flames quickly receded as the suit and gloves quickly burned. Nick then turned on the tap and poured bleach down the sink. Using a pair of Katie’s rubber gloves he scrubbed it clean and ran the faucet for several minutes. He placed Katie’s muddy boots into her wardrobe.

His next task, however, was more difficult. Lifting an unconscious woman is not easy. He swung her legs off the sofa and put his arms under hers. Panting with exertion, he dragged her towards the bedroom. He had to stop several times to catch his breath. With a last effort, he finally managed to get her onto the bed. Sweat beaded on his forehead; his hand, already sore from digging, screamed in agony. He took the two sleeping pills and swallowed them down with water. It was essential he was asleep when the police arrived. The medication was strong and Nick realised he’d have to hurry. Stripping Katie was unpleasant but necessary. He stared at her small breasts. She wasn’t Siena, and never would be. He touched them but felt nothing. It was only when he imagined he was touching Siena that he felt his excitement grow. He averted his eyes as he removed her knickers, not wanting to spoil the fantasy and quickly pulled the duvet over her. He removed his underwear and climbed into bed beside her. His erection throbbed. In his mind it was no longer Katie who lay beside him but Siena.

He moved towards her and cupped her breasts. The pleasure from this small action was sublime and he groaned. God, he had missed this. He brought his mouth down and sucked on the nipple, thrilled as it slowly hardened. Her body was responding although she remained unconscious; he suddenly climaxed and groaned. It had been too long. However, he wasn’t finished. He would be hard again soon enough. He realised he could do anything he wanted, and the thought thrilled him. He closed his eyes and stroked himself trying to ignore his exhaustion. His eyes were leaden as his hand fell to the side and a heavy blanket of sleep crept over him.

He was brutally awakened by shouts and loud banging on Katie’s front door. Confused, it took him a moment to gather his senses. He heard the bellow of “Police” and then the door being forced. Katie was stirring beside him. He shrank back from her. He tried to clear his fuzzy thoughts and then the police were in the bedroom. They told him to get dressed. The sedative from the sleeping pills was still in his system. His movements were slow and uncoordinated. Katie had the duvet held up against her chin; terror and confusion etched clearly on her face. Ignoring Katie’s whimpers of distress, he was cuffed.

“Get dressed, Miss,” said another officer to Katie.

Nick was led out of the bedroom. That was the last he had saw of her. They’d kept them apart ever since. He’d been taken to an interview room where he immediately demanded his lawyer. He’d answered all their questions and fully cooperated. He even provided them with a DNA sample. They said they needed it for elimination purposes but Nick knew better. As the hours passed, Katie came through for him and confirmed he was with her all night like he hoped she would. He could see frustration in DI Clark’s face. Knew he suspected Nick was behind the abduction, but couldn’t prove it.

“Either charge my client or release him,” his lawyer demanded.

They released him. Nick was jubilant. He was not surprised when Katie remained in custody. With nowhere to stay and his things still at Katie’s flat, he had no alternative but to check into a hotel. He’d buy new clothes tomorrow. His remaining possessions were still in storage; all he had left of his life with Siena. He couldn’t bear to part with any of them. He decided to leave them where they were for the time being. He had however got his lawyer to purchase a new laptop for him. The influence of a credit card and money was a powerful ally. He searched the internet for the abduction story. When he read the twins had been found alive, he blanched. The details were short but he read that a GPS tracker in girl’s pocket had led police to finding them. It was her mother’s; a sophisticated medical ID bracelet which the child had been playing with. The story went on to say, without it the twins would surely have perished. A freak set of circumstances out of Nick’s control had saved them.

Nick was also at fault. His need to torture Siena, to inflict the most pain and anguish, had clouded his judgement. He wanted her to understand her children suffered. He wanted her to know they had slowly suffocated while being cold and frightened. How they would have felt hungry and thirsty. But he never considered the possibility they might be found alive. If he’d given them a fatal injection...that would have been irrelevant but he didn’t. His euphoria at outwitting the police evaporated. His failure led him to the mini bar and the alcohol helped to block out his disappointment. His hangover the next day did not improve his mood. He was angry with himself and the world in general. He gave himself a shake and decided to move on and learn from his mistakes.

So many things had gone wrong. He had been enraged Siena was not at the house, only the stupid nanny. Somehow his contact missed Siena leaving. He’d told Nick he had a call of nature, as he put it. His back turned for a moment, but that’s all it took for her to slip out of the house. He planned everything but there would always be outside factors. The only thing he’d done right was to frame Katie. The police would surely take the bait.

They’d find her coat in Siena’s car where he’d left it. While investigating Nick, they were bound to discover her muddy boots in the flat. If removed for analysis, Nick knew it was only a matter of time before they matched them with the crime scene. Once she was a suspect, they would take her computer too. It would reveal even more. Internet and Google map searches on the Harrison address, for example. Internet orders for the drugs used to sedate the twins and nanny. The DNA evidence he’d planted would put her at the scene and her cries of innocence would go unnoticed. Throughout his relationship with Katie he fed her insecurities. Her jealously when he mentioned Siena which he did often was obvious. Siena became an imaginary rival in Katie’s mind. If he could see it...the police would too.

The Harrisons might be safe for now but did they think it was over? Nick hoped so. That would make his job easier. He was out for revenge and had only just started. This time he would not be denied. He would make them all pay—o
ne
by
one
.

COMING SOON...

The Braille Club Reborn...the final book in the series.

The Braille Club Reborn

Benedict

Benedict sits in the dark. He senses it isn’t over, that Nick Waters isn’t finished. When released from custody, he’d checked into a hotel. That bastard’s alibi was shaky. Also he’d have to check in with his parole officer, but Benedict knew Waters was up to something.

When your home has been breached you never feel safe again. Nick Waters had by-passed all his elaborate security precautions. He’d simply walked into his home and taken his children. Benedict’s hands seemed to be permanently clenched into fists.
His babies
. He’d drugged them and buried them alive. The full horror of what Nick had done was sinking in. Benedict didn’t believe for a second it was Katie Burns. The CCTV footage confirmed someone wearing her jacket but nothing else.

The police were still gathering evidence, but preliminary finding pointed to Katie. She was still in custody while Waters was released. He was out there. He was
free
. Benedict had to do
something
. Modern day bounty hunters still existed. Guy had told him Evan Radley was the best. He came highly recommended and Benedict made enquiries.

Finally he let his emotions go. Tears streaked his face, his sobs muffled by the hand he clamped over his mouth. He was alone in the study that no longer felt like his; tainted like everything else in the house. Sometimes his mind replayed the horror of that day. If Reeva hadn’t been wearing Siena’s bracelet he’d have lost them...he bit his lip hard to stop the thought, but it was there. They would have died. Images of Leo’s pale, unmoving body crowded his thoughts. Reeva’s blonde curls covered in dirt.

Siena’s bracelet had been their saviour. She’d removed it before showering and forgotten about it as she rushed to meet him at the club. Reeva was fascinated by the charms and Siena had let her play with it. She must have taken it from the bathroom. The hospital staff found it in the top pocket of her pyjamas. He pulled himself back from the brink. They were okay, recovering, but as long as Nick Water was out there, they weren’t safe and neither was Siena.

The doctors were relieved the twins had bounced back so quickly with no memory of their ordeal. It was a blessing. Like all children, once they’d felt better they were back to their usual selves although they sensed their parents were deeply troubled. Reeva kept hugging Siena like the little mother hen she was.

“Why mummy sad?” she asked Siena seriously. Her face puckered in a frown. Leo had joined his sister in examining their mother.

Siena had laughed; a real laugh which reached her eyes. She scooped them into an embrace and tickled them. Their squeals of laughter bounced around the hospital room, her gaze found his and he plastered a smile into place. He saw her smile falter as she looked at him. He turned away. Benedict was prepared to do whatever it took to keep them safe. He was prepared to deal with the consequences. He had waited long enough for his moment with Waters. This time he would not leave him breathing.

The Braille Club Reborn.

Evan

Evan Radley had been in the care system since he was four years old; his collection of injuries had removed him from his mother. Despite her protests she had never harmed him, no one listened to her. She wasn’t allowed to see him and he cried himself to sleep night after night at the hospital. The kind voices of the nurses his earliest memory. They would often stroke his face to soothe him. His bones mended and he was placed with a foster family. He didn’t like them, he wanted to go home, and he wanted his mum. He was back in the hospital three days later, having bitten off three of his own fingers.

He remembered the blood and the screams of his foster mother as she packed his dismembered fingers in ice as instructed by the hospital. The surgeons had done their best but they couldn’t be saved. He was left with two stumps on his left hand where his index and middle finger had been. His right hand lost a pinkie. The doctors started a battery of tests and discovered he had “Congenital Insensitivity to Pain.” He literally could not feel pain. They told his foster mother, better he’d chewed off his fingers than his tongue. They took the drastic step of removing all his teeth until he could understand and manage his condition better. His previous injuries were now explained. His mother hadn’t hurt him she just hadn’t protected him. When he’d fallen off the swing at the play park he’d broken his arm. That fall had ultimately taken him to the hospital. His arm had swollen to almost twice its size. It was only when he was getting x-rayed that other injuries were discovered.

He’d a broken toe having stubbed it repeatedly against his bedroom door in a fit of temper. He had tantrums like any normal toddler but for Evan he didn’t feel a thing when he struck his head off the wall. A normal parent would have noticed his injuries but his mother, a hopeless addict, spent her life in a different existence, a drug fog, and he suffered neglect rather than physical abuse. She died when he was seven and all hope she would someday reclaim him was snuffed out for good. Evan had been called after his father. The worthless piece of shit had been his mother’s dealer but Evan had no desire to locate him, quite the reverse. His father was in prison doing time for dealing. He knew this because it was Evan who put him there. An anonymous tip off to the police was all that was required, and Evan had no hesitation in doing it.

Right from the beginning, other children sensed he was different no matter what Evan did to fit in. However, he didn’t fit in because he was
different
. Even the sexual predators that were prolific in the care home system stayed away from him. His finger stumps both fascinated and repulsed the staff and children around him. They knew he had bitten them off himself. This event would be superseded by others. The home was filled with angry and damaged children who grew into angry and damaged adults. Evan would suffer broken bones because of many of them, but in the end, they always left him alone. Unable to hurt or intimidate him they grew bored and moved on to someone else. He gradually accepted he would remain in the home as a long term case. The fostering was never repeated. Evan learned to use his affliction to his advantage. He became a protector of sorts. He was happy to stand up to the bullies to protect some of the younger children; absorbing vicious punches with a grin on his face. Yes, even then he was an enforcer of sorts.