CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (25 page)

A sad smile appeared on her
face. “That's nice. It's nice that he's got a friend like you. He
never had that many friends.”

“
Well, it would be nicer if I
could find him.”

She didn't seem overly concerned
by his absence. Their relationship must really have broken down.
Or...

“
Is there anywhere else he
might go. Maybe a favorite place he liked or somewhere he might want
to go to get away from things for a little while.”

I looked on at her, my hope
growing as she began nodding slowly, silently.

“
My mothers old farm,” she
said. “He used to love it there as a boy.”

I could feel an energy soar
inside me, banishing my weariness.

“
Your mothers house? Is it
far?”

She shook her head now, her eyes
growing deep with memory. I felt a pang of pity for this poor lady,
living alone in this house, her only son abandoning her in his
madness.

“
Out near Drewville, the Old
Manor Farm. It's where I grew up.”

An old farm, isolated and
secluded. He must be there. It must have been where he'd taken her.
Quite why it hadn't shown up during Brad's search I didn't know. It
didn't matter now, though. No, I knew where that freak was hiding.

“
Thanks Mrs Scott. I'm sure
Brad's out there. I'll see to him, don't worry.”

A smile spread across my face.
Yeah, I'd see to him all right. See him to a fucking jail cell.

Elle

I felt a hand on my leg, fingers
squeezing lightly on my thigh. There was breathing, close to me,
raising in intensity, lights groans of pleasure, of anticipation. My
thoughts were hazy, my vision blurred as I began to stir and wake.
Was I dreaming?

My dry eyes cracked open and I
saw Brad sitting on the bed beside me, his hand resting on my leg.
His eyes began growing in desire as his fingers slowly began to drag
my skirt up, my underwear slowly coming into his view.

I clenched my legs tight and
spoke lightly. “Brad, what are you doing?”

He turned to me suddenly, as if
shocked out of a trance.

“
Nothing,” he said, lifting
his hand from my leg. His voice remained calm. “I was
just....looking.”

The way he spoke made a chill
run up my spine. I knew it wouldn't be long before he wanted to do
more than look, before I woke up one day with him on top of me. He
wasn't the same man I knew, that sweet and kind man who'd do anything
for me. He'd changed over the last year, growing unhinged, reckless.
There was no telling what he was capable of now.

“
I've missed you a lot Elle,”
he said to me, still a lust in his words. “I haven't been with
anyone since you. I don't think I want to be with anyone ever again.
Do you feel the same?” He looked at me with this detached look of
hope.

I could only lie to him, tell
him what he wanted to hear.

“
Of course Brad.”

“
I'm glad,” he said. “I've
been thinking of having you in bed with me again for a long time now.
I'm so happy you're here with me.”

I shuddered inside as his eyes
again washed over my body. His hand began rising towards my neck,
stroking his fingers down under my chin and towards my chest.

I couldn't help but shake and
grimace at his touch, turning my head away slightly and shutting my
eyes.

“
You don't enjoy my touch any
more?” he asked, his voice oddly soft.

I was caught between telling him
what he wanted to hear and agreeing to his advances and saying the
opposite, not knowing what he'd do.

“
I just haven't had anyone
touch me in a long time. It still feels weird to me.”

“
But it's me Elle. It's only
me.”

His lips moved down towards me
neck. I was frozen, not knowing what to say or do. I kept my eyes
shut with my head turned to the side as his hand slid up my arm. His
kisses were soft but began growing in intensity, his breathing
beginning to increase as his hands started rubbing aggressively over
my body.

I twisted my body away from him,
turning my back up as high as I could. His busy hands stopped
immediately, his lips cast away from my neck and cheek.

I could hear him standing up
behind me, the room dropping into total silence.

“
You will give me what I want
Elle.” His words were now lost of their softness, any compassion or
understanding gone. They were violent, menacing, full of repressed
anger.

I stayed as closed up as I
could, my body arched away from him and my eyes shut tight, just
praying that he'd leave me alone.

But he didn't.

I heard him undo his zip, his
hands fiddling at buttons, and the sound of pants dropping.

“
I've wanted this for a year.
I won't be denied it.”

I was frozen in a state as I
felt his hand reach up my skirt and grip at my underwear, dragging
them down. I tried to struggle, wanted to struggle, but couldn't
move, my body locked in fear.

I felt his body press up against
me, his mouth bearing down on my ear. “Relax Elle. You used to
enjoy this. It will be just like before. I promise.”

I closed my eyes tight, trying
to call out. But there was no point, no one was going to save me.

BANG BANG BANG.

My eyes opened suddenly as I
heard a loud knock at the door downstairs.

I felt Brad's body stiffen at my
back, his breathing suddenly going still. A silence lay upon the
room, both of us holding our breaths.

The door knocked loudly again
and I heard a voice shouting outside. It was a man, but I couldn't
make it out.

“
Is anyone in?” the voice
boomed.

I thought about calling out,
screaming at the top of my lungs to alert the guy to my presence.
Maybe he'd call the police, maybe they'd come and save me.

I tried to shout but my voice
was caught, my scream coming out like a whimper. I felt Brad's hand
coming back down over my mouth as I struggled on the bed, my voice
growing louder. I managed to rip my head from his grasp just long
enough to release a piercing cry into the air, shrieking for help.

Brad's hand closed back over my
mouth and I bit hard, feeling my teeth sink into his flesh. He
stifled his own roar, his spare hand coming cracking down on my head,
loosening my jaw.

The world began to go fuzzy
around me, a haze filtering into my eyes. Another blow hit my head,
and then blackness engulfed me.

Crash

I rolled gently up the dirt
track in my hire car. I needed a vehicle to get out here and didn't
want to take a cab. No, I didn't want anyone knowing where I was
going.

I drove as slowly as possible,
not wanting to make a sound, and parked some way up the drive. About
a hundred yards ahead of me I could see an old farmhouse, a large
barn off to the left, and wide open fields to the back.

It was truly isolated, not a
building in sight in any direction. The track towards the farm was
long, roughly half a mile from the nearest country road. It was a
perfect place to bring a kidnap victim.

I crept forward, my eyes firmly
on the house. It looked old and run down, like it hadn't been lived
in in years. A warm breeze swept across me, the sunshine beating down
on my face.

At any other time this place
would look quaint, almost idyllic. But not now. Now it felt sinister,
like the site of a horror movie, dark secrets lurking in the house
ahead of me.

I continued pressing forward,
turning my eyes towards the barn as I passed it. The large double
doors at the front were open, revealing disused machinery and
equipment inside, long sat gestating and gathering cobwebs.

I turned back to the house,
continuing towards it. It stood alone, built from stone and wood,
with a heavy wooden front door looking out up the track. There were a
couple of broken windows, curtains flowing lightly inside them as the
breeze passed them by. It all pointed to a place long abandoned.

I walked to the main door and
steadied my breath.
Please be here. Please.

I sent my closed fist flying at
it, hitting it loudly three times. I waited, listening closely for
movement inside. I could hear nothing but the buzzing of bees and
chirping of birds in the trees around me.

I knocked again, once more
waiting in silence. There didn't seem to be anyone in. I crept to the
side of the house, peering in through a window. Inside was a large
space, bereft of furniture. It looked to be deserted.

As I walked further round the
house I heard something. I stopped in my tracks, my ears pricking up.
A scream. The sound of a girl screaming. It gathered force and then,
suddenly, was cut short.

“
ELLE!”

My pulse began racing as I
quickly ran back to the front of the house, steadying my aim on the
door. I kicked at it hard, smashing my heavy boot at the lock. The
door was strong, but old. It cracked and splintered as I brought my
boot down upon it over and over.

Then, suddenly, the lock gave
way, the door swinging open with a heavy thud. I walked in quickly,
looking left and right. The scream had seemed to come from upstairs.

I walked forward, further into
the old farmhouse, spiders and cobwebs everywhere, bits of debris
littering the floor. The stairs creaked as I stepped up them, the
banister wobbly and unstable.

I marched on, seeing several
open rooms come into view on the landing at the top. But there was
one that was shut, one that had something to hide.

I grabbed the handle with a hand
shaking with fury and twisted, letting the door fall open. What I saw
made my heart drop and my fury rise.

I changed straight in to see
Elle lying tied to a bed, her arms and legs fastened to the corner
posts with bits of old ripped sheet. Her head lay to one side, a gash
staining her hair red with blood.

I inspected the cut. It was
shallow and didn't look serious. A sense of relief ran quickly
through my body as I looked down on her, her wrists and ankled red
and bleeding, her face lost of it's color and light.

Her eyes began to flicker as I
cradled her head in my hands, a terror inside them. She struggled
immediately, pushing her hands at me and twisting and turning with
all her strength.

“
Elle, Elle it's me. It's OK,
it's me, it's Crash,” I shouted.

Her movements began to relent as
my voice filtered into her head. She turned her eyes on me quickly
and blinked again, her face exploding with tears as she recognized
me.

She began crying uncontrollably
as I quickly untied her hands, her arms wrapping tight around me as
soon as they were free. I could feel her entire body shaking, her
eyes wetting my shoulder as she sobbed.

I leaned back, looking directly
in her eyes. “It's OK Elle, you're safe now.”

Her eyes were wet and blinking,
her breathing short. Then, suddenly, I saw them dart to the right
over my shoulder as her face once again grew in fear.

“
Look out,” she croaked as I
felt a heavy weight come cracking down against my back.

I slumped forward onto her as
she scrambled back, her legs still fastened to the bed. I saw her
hands reach quickly for her bounds as I turned back towards the door.

Brad stood there, his eyes wild,
a crowbar in his hand. He wasn't the cowering worm he was the last
time I'd seen him. This time he stood tall, his breathing heavy and
hand shaking in fury.

“
I remember what you said
before,” he said, his face completely manic. “I remember what you
said you'd do if I went near her again.”

He lifted the crowbar up.

“
Well, maybe it's you who
shouldn't go near Elle. Maybe it's YOU who should be threatened.”

He lifted the crowbar up again
and swung it down towards me. I rolled quickly to the side, my back
aching badly, as it came cracking down on the bed.

I darted my eyes to Alice who'd
released one leg and was working on the other. Her hands were working
furiously as she looked on in fear at the scene playing out in front
of her.

Brad swung the crowbar again,
swiping across at me. I managed to lift my arms to defend my face and
it clattered into the bone. I felt a crack, my forearm blazing in
pain, and roared.

I launched myself at him before
he could swing again, adrenaline now coursing through my body. I
grabbed him by the neck, squeezing tight as he wriggled like a fish,
his spare hand ripping at my face and trying to gouge my eyes.

I pulled my face back and threw
him to the ground, sending my entire weight crashing on top of him.
He swung wildly with the bar but got no momentum, tapping too lightly
at me to have an impact.

He dropped the bar and sent both
his hands flying at my face, twisting his body again and launching me
off him. He managed to rush to his feet at the top of the landing
outside the room, no weapon now protecting his miserable fucking self
from my wrath.