OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (21 page)

Her breath became in short, as panic spread through her
body. “What do you want from me?”

He cornered her against the counter. “You are one hot ass
babe.  I see why you are menacing to other women,” he said tracing a finger
down the side of her face.

The callous on his finger scratch her skin. “What other
women are you talking about?”

The untamed hairy eyebrows over dark eyes, and pocks from
bad skin acne scarred the pink face of the man smiling and exposing off-white
teeth under a thick unkempt moustache.  His breath was raspy as he moved closer
to her face. “Seeing you in person, I would assume any woman is threatened by
you.”

Her mind sped faster than the second hand on a clock. 
She had to think fast if she wanted to survive.  Sabrina and Edward were apt to
walk in on them at any moment.  She had to get this maniac out of her house
before he killed them all on the spot.

She pleaded with him. “Please, let me get help for
Sebastian.”

“He’s probably dead.”  He lifted his weight off her. “We
are wasting time.  This is what we are going to do.  We are going outside, and
you aren’t going to make a scene.” He poked the gun in her side.  “Do you get
my drift?”

“I will go with you if you get help for him.  He is my
neighbor and never hurt anyone.”

Taylor closed her eyes as he lips moved dangerously near
her mouth. “Apparently you are confused.  I’m not giving you a choice of what
you want to do.”

“Do you want money?  I will give you money if you will
just go away.  I won’t even call the police,” she begged resisting his pulling
her.

The raucous laugh he released iced her veins.  “I don’t
want money.  I want something else.  I want to know what bedding you will be
like.”  His rough hand touched the side of her breast squeezing.  “Oh yeah, you
might live to see another day after all.”

Her dry mouth and thick tongue made it hard for her to
form words. “I’ll give you anything you want.  Just help Sebastian.”

“We’ll talk about him later.”

She choked on the vomit lining her throat when he put his
fat arm around her waist.   She was sweating profusely, and he got a mouth-full
of her sweat as his tongue trace the length her neck to dangle the gold loop
earring gracing her ear.

“Yeah, watching you had me hurtin’ bad, baby.”

The tip of his tongue found her lips and traced her top
lip. She folded her lips together turning her head away from him.  Her heart
raced as his body pressed against her.  She wanted to throw up from feeling his
disgusting penis pressing into her abdomen.

The man palmed her face between his hands. “You gotta be
wild in bed to have three men vying to do anything for you.  You chose the
Hispanic over the two white men that came to your house. Where they not good in
bed?”

Taylor’s eyes blinked uncontrollably letting the image of
Sebastian laying by the basement door slip her mind.  “Y-you put the cameras in
my house?”

He didn’t answer as his bushy face touched her smooth
skin sniffing her hair; her perfumed hair reminded him of fresh citrus and
flowers. “Damn, I should have done this sooner.”

Whom was she kidding?  He was going to kill her, and
Sebastian probably was already dead.  But, she refused to die without a fight. 
Taylor struggled to wiggle from his grip. “You are sick! If you are gonna kill
me, just do it, and get it over with!  I’d rather face death than have you
touch me,” she said infusing coldness into her voice.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, I would not kill a precious flower such
as you.  I’ve waited too long to have you.  Do you know how many men you tease
on a daily basis?  I wonder how many of ‘em are glued to the window or front
porch waiting every morning for you to run or walk by their neighborhood
dressed in those tight spandex shorts.” His leer roamed her body along with his
free hand.

Taylor cringed with each stroke of his hand on her body.
The doorbell rang followed by a hard knocking on the front door.  For a moment,
she suspected she was saved.  Regaining strength in her arms, she pushed
against the intruder’s chest with both hands.  Then she heard a voice.  It was
Sabrina.

“Taylor, are you in there?”

The intruder smothered Taylor’s mouth with his hand. 
“Don’t make a sound.”  He dragged her deadweight body through the living room.

The heavy drapes pulled together obstructed the view from
prying eyes witnessing activity inside the house. The knocking continued with
her sister discussing the situation on the other side of the door with Edward. 
Taylor’s nose stung from the heavy inhaling.  She had to get their attention,
but how without bringing harm to them?

“Sabrina, call her.  Maybe she got held up.”

“Edward, she sent a text saying she was home.  Go
around to the back.  She might be sitting in the back yard.”

Not releasing Taylor, he rushed through the living to the
kitchen to check the back door.  The glass of the door did not have a curtain
allowing anyone the ability to see inside the spacious open kitchen.  He pushed
Taylor around the kitchen island and down on the floor.

The pain from the car accident intensified when she fell
to the hard floor. “You are hurting,” she winched.

“Shut up! He whispered harshly in her ear.

She kicked her feet at the lower cabinets hoping to get
the attention of her sister and brother-in-law.  The overweight man inhibited
her movements by turning her on her stomach and lying on top of her trapping
her legs beneath his chubby tree log legs and deflating the breath from her
lungs as his big belly crushed her back and hips. 

He kept her mouth covered with his hand.  Taylor could
not open her mouth to bite his hand.  The pressure of his hand smashing her
lips against her teeth hurt.  His stubby fingers partially covering her nose
cut off the little air she could breathe.

He warned her again.  “Shut up or I will kill both of
them.  Do you want that on your conscious along with the death of your
neighbor?”

Taylor’s eyes widened with shear fear. She moved her head
in a negative motion scraping the bottom of her chin on the floor. She stopped
squirming, as his girth was too heavy for her to fight anymore.  Her legs were
numbing and her toes tingling.  The only limbs not going numb were her arms. 
They were pinned against her body, but her fingers and hands were able to
move.  Her fingertips touched something cold with a sharp tip, lying on the
floor.  It was her favorite paring knife. It was lying atop the headband she’d
been looking for.  Using her fingernail, she was able secure the 3-inch paring
knife under the palm of her hand.  She had to figure out a way to conceal it
without him finding it on her.

*****

Annoyed Edward asked again. “Sabrina, call her, please. 
She could be with Mario.”

“She isn’t with him.  They broke up.  But to please you,
I will call her since you can’t wait for her to get here.”

“Obviously she ain’t here.  The house is dark and
locked.  Just call her and ask where she is.  I got plans tonight.”

Taylor assigned an annoying ringtone for when Sabrina
called.  If it went off, it would be loud and definitely heard.

Sabrina dialed Taylor’s cell phone and waited for her to
answer.  Walking towards the house, she heard the phone ringing.  She moved
closer to the door.  “Edward, the phone is ringing from inside the house.”

Edward could hear the phone ringing before it stopped.
“Where did Taylor call you from, Sabrina?”

“She called me from work but sent me a text from her
phone.  Maybe she was here and left.”

“She called you from work telling us to meet her here and
her phone is in the house.  Baby, that don’t make any sense.  Where would she
go if she came home first?”

Sabrina shook her head twisting the doorknob on the
kitchen door magically waiting for it to open.  “Something is wrong, Edward. 
Taylor is always where she says she’s going to be; even if she’s not, she calls
to let someone know where she is.  Something is wrong.”

Edward attempted to comfort his wife.  He knew Taylor too
well also, and this was out of character for her. “Okay, baby, don’t panic
yet.  We have to retrace her tracks after she left work. She didn’t just
disappear into thin air.”

“We should talk to Mario. Maybe she went to visit him.”

“Yeah, she probably did since he is hurt.  Come let’s go
over to his place.”

                                                                                                                                                      
Chapter 19
           
 

Mario adjusted the heating pads.  One on his back and the
other on his chest. The perfect temperature radiated from both heating elements
soothing his aching muscles.  He clicked the remote to turn on the television. 
Crossing his feet at the ankle, he relaxed.  The leather recliner was not only
extremely comfortable, but his favorite chair.

As he reached over to the table to get his slice of
pizza, the doorbell rang.  He groaned. He wasn’t expecting company, and he
definitely was not dressed to receive company. 

Pushing forward to upright the recliner, he eased from
the chair to put on his robe bunched on the sofa.  He was only clad in black
Armani BoxerTrunks.  Sliding his feet in house slippers, he walked slowly to
the door.  “I’m coming,” he called, tenderly taking baby steps until he reached
the door.

“Hola, Sabrina,” he greeted. “What brings you to my
casa?”

Sabrina did not return his enthusiasm and pounced.
“Mario, please tell me Taylor is with you.”

He opened the door for her to step inside into a small
hallway.  Edward joined her.  “Sabrina, I’m alone.”

“I’m not prying in your business, Mario.  I’m actually
championing for you and Taylor to patch your differences and get together
again.  So if she is upstairs waiting for you,” she said roaming her eyes over
his barely dressed form.  “I’m okay with that.  I just want to make sure she is
here.”

Mario looked at Edward, who held his wife steady by the
arms. Her hands and legs were shaking.  A feeling of fear overcame him. “I
swear she is not here.  I have not seen her since this morning.”

Sabrina buried her face in Edward’s chest.  Edward held
her close to him and spoke to Mario. “Man, Taylor called and asked us to meet
with her.  We got to her house, and she was not there.  We could hear her phone
ringing from the house, but the house is sealed tight.  We aren’t sure what’s
happened to her.”

Mario slicked his hands over his hair.  “I warned her not
to go home alone.  Ella es terca!”  His rant was angry and rightfully so.

Edward nodded.  “Taylor has always done her own thing. 
Both sisters are the same, so I know what you’re going through with Taylor.”

Mario rolled his eyes upward. “No comment, amigo.  Have
you called, Dillon?  She may be with him.”

Sabrina let the tears fall from her eyes. “She wouldn’t
go to him.  She made a point of telling me she was distancing herself from
Dillon and Kelly.  She is angry at what she did to you.  That is why I came
here first.  She wanted to apologize.”

Edward pleaded.  “Look, I don’t know the story that went
down with you two, but that ain’t important to me.  I could use your help in
finding her, Mario.  I really don’t want to involve her parents or the police
until we are sure there is a need to go that route.”

Mario folded his arms thinking what he could do to help. 
Sabrina’s worried face touched his heart and the vision of Taylor’s face full
of fear, begging her captor not to harm her, raised his blood pressure.

Mario took a deep breath and slowly blew it out his mouth
attempting to get his aching body to relax and to tell himself it was his duty
to help.  Although Taylor put him in the same position he’d been in years ago,
his love for her was insane.  “Give me a minute to change.  The first agenda is
getting inside the house.  Taylor is never separated from her cell phone,” he
said hobbling up the first step to go upstairs.

Sabrina took his elbow. “Thank you, Mario.”

He smiled. “Gracias,” he said grunting as he made his way
up the rest of the stairs.

*****

Kelly snuck away from Dillon’s family for privacy.  His
surgery was anticipated to last at least two or three hours.  She walked to an
area outside the hospital to assure she would not be overheard.  She put the
phone to her ear looking around to make sure no one saw her.  “Hey.  I don’t
have a lot of time but my plans have changed.”

“Too late.”

“What do you mean too late?  I ordered you not to do anything
until you heard from me….what have you done”

“You paid for a job.  I hired a person to take care of
it—your problem will be resolved tonight.”

Kelly covered her mouth. “No, no, no.  He has to release
her unharmed.”

“Impossible.  She will be able to identify him. He has
no choice but to carry out the job, or we’re both going down.”

She kept her voice low as a group of nurses passed her.
“There has to be a way to let her go.  Have him drug her, leave her at home, or
better yet, dump her in another part of town.  I don’t care how you do it as
long as she is alive when found.”

“This is not how this business is conducted—there is
no return policy.  If he has made contact, there is nothing I can do to stop
it.”

Her eyes watered. “I wasn’t in my right mind.  I cannot
go through with this. Please, do whatever you can to stop it.”

“I suggest you carry on as if you know nothing.  Be as
surprised as everyone else is when you get the news. I will be in touch.”

The phone on the other went end dead.  Kelly lifted her
head letting the hot sun beat on her forehead.  What had she done?  She let her
obsession of Taylor push her over the edge.  Why didn't she leave it alone? 
Taylor was dating Mario and that should have been good enough for her.  Dillon
was stressing harder than ever over Taylor being with him.  Taylor had to be
completely out of the picture in order to regain Dillon’s attention; so far,
out of the picture, she’d hired someone to dispose of her for good.