The Asset (26 page)

Chapter Nineteen

The sound reached me first, moans, groans and whimpers disrupting my mind’s darkness. I blinked. My lids rustled like sand over my eyes. The lights in the room were dimmed and for a moment, I couldn’t make out anything around me. My arms couldn’t move. My hands were fastened securely behind my back. My cheek peeled off a warm surface when I lifted my head.

I swung my legs around and managed to sit up groggily. My head throbbed with a dull ache, coupled by a sharp pain when I planted my foot on the plush carpeting. Then, the memories began to pour in. I recalled the attack, the escape, the trap snaring my ankle, those men catching up with me. I remembered my finger curling on the trigger and then...nothing.

My pulse drummed in my ears. I forced my eyes to work. I sat on a semicircular leather couch among a bed of embroidered pillows. Behind me, several similarly shaped sofas rose in four tiered levels. The ceiling arched into a softly illuminated cupola, decorated with frescoes copied from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

Flanked by elegant curtains, an enormous television screen dazzled my eyes. The screen was dark, showing only the pause button. Before I could make sense of where I was, I heard the sound of a throat clearing next to me. I turned around and died inside.

“Don’t look so surprised.”

Red shared the couch with me. For a moment I contemplated the idea that we had both died and this meeting was taking place in hell. But then he cupped the back of my head and forced his lips on my mouth.

Terror rattled me to the core. Was this a nightmare? A flashback? A hallucination? I struggled in his arms, testing the duct tape binding my hands. It didn’t budge. I tried to shake off Red’s hold, but the harder I fought the harder he clutched me. His fingers dug into my scalp. His mouth became more aggressive.

I gagged when he forced my jaw opened and pushed his tongue into my mouth. I tried to hold back, but I couldn’t. I croaked. I gagged. Then I threw up all over him.

He slapped me so hard that I flew off the couch and landed against the wall. The room flickered before my eyes. A trickle of warmth dripped from my nose. Blood. It was true. The monster that inhabited my nightmares had returned.

“See what you made me do?” He dropped the remote on the couch and, wrinkling his nose, wiped the vomit from his shirt. “Here I was, enjoying our sweet reunion and off you go, acting up like a shithead. You deserved that, wouldn’t you agree?”

Nobody deserved to be beaten, enslaved and abused. Nobody. But saying so would only provoke Red into more violence. I was trapped and bound and I didn’t expect to live very long. I huddled against the wall and I swallowed my rebuke.

Red called out. Someone scurried into the theater room and cleaned up the mess. My field of view narrowed on Red’s sleek loafers as he came to stand next to me. I expected his foot to crash against my face anytime now. Instead, he drew a monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket, knelt beside me and, tilting my head back, pressed it against my nose.

“
Querida
...” He blotted the blood from my nostrils. “You’re such a reckless bitch. You beg for violence. All those years trying to tame you seem like such a waste. I rescued you from the jungle. Remember? I protected you. I gave you the best of everything. Tell me, Rose, why did you betray me? Why did you run?”

Red’s skewed version of my story stung. I stared at him, unable to connect with his faulty reasoning. Was I stuck in
The Twilight Zone
? Did he really believe all of those lies?

He picked me up from the ground and settled me on the sofa. I hated the way he arranged me on the cushions, as if I was his rag doll and he could pose me in any way he wished. He took off his dirty shirt and loomed above me, the large, imposing, barrel-chested bear of a man I remembered. He scratched his belly, ruffling the dark line of hair dipping into his pants, inspecting me with his black eyes.

“You look good,” he said. “You must be eating at least occasionally these days.”

On second thought, since I’d last seen him in Las Vegas, his belly had expanded and so had his waist. A few platinum strands streaked his black hair and mixed with his chest’s dark, coarse curls. The years had deepened the lines on his face. He looked older.

“You’ve got a glow about you.” His nostrils quivered like a predator sniffing for game. “I’m going to enjoy getting reacquainted with this version of you.”

The chills that rattled my body shattered my composure. I pulled on the duct tape binding my hands in outright desperation. I truly wanted to die.

An attendant came into the room and offered him a clean shirt. He put his arms into the sleeves and pulled it over his shoulders.

“Don’t worry.” He reached out and caressed my face. “I’ll give you what you want, very soon,
querida
. You won’t have to wait long.” He buttoned his shirt. “But before we get to that, we’ve got a few things to talk about.”

Talk about
?

“Just kill me.” I lost it. “Just be done with it and kill me.”

His elegant eyebrows rose in surprise then curved in mock resignation. “My poor Rose.” He ran his knuckles over my cheek. “So soft you are, so pretty and delicate, inside and out. How could you possibly think that I’d want to kill you? I assure you, I want to work on our relationship. The judge will understand.”

“No judge in the world would ever believe anything you said,” I spat out in defiance.

“You’re mistaken,
querida
.” He flashed his bone-chilling smirk. “The federal judge who is expecting your testimony has been presented with extensive documentation detailing your lifelong mental health issues. Several experts will testify that you suffer from depression, paranoia and acute anxiety disorder. They’ll detail the severity of your eating disorder over the years, your propensity to hurt yourself and your suicidal behavior.”

I could barely get the words through my throat. “Suicidal behavior?”

“Just a little while ago one of my men had to sneak behind you and knock you unconscious to prevent you from shooting yourself,” he said. “What do you think the judge will say when all of that evidence is presented in court?”

Ice crusted over my spine. He was messing with my history and my mind. Red planned on taking me to that Brooklyn courthouse himself. He also planned to invalidate my testimony with a fabricated interpretation of the behaviors that his abuse had triggered in me. My story was so foul, so cruel, violent and vicious, that most people would find it hard to believe.

It was a brilliant strategy on his part, one I’d failed to anticipate, though it was exactly the kind of twisted scheme he favored. Worse, it could very well succeed. He’d use the force of his personality to charm both judge and jury. He’d conceal his vile nature behind his good looks and put on a show. He’d have tons of paid witnesses, whereas I’d have no one to corroborate my story. He’d expose all of my weaknesses while I’d have no way to show any of my strengths.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “The judge will dismiss the charges against me. I’ll be a free man. After that, we’ll pop over to family court, where my attorneys have already initiated the legal proceedings. Soon, you’ll be declared mentally impaired and legally incompetent. You’ll become my ward.”

Oh, my God. Was it possible? Was I still married to Red?

“So you see,
querida
,” he added, flashing his self-satisfying smirk. “I plan on taking care of you for the rest of your life.”

He meant it. He wasn’t going to kill me. He planned on keeping me for his use for as long as I lived. Steiner hadn’t delivered on his promise to annul the marriage and Red would be my caretaker for the rest of my life.

I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t find my breath.
Steady. Cope. Breathe. Okay, forget the rest, just breathe. Breathe.

I forced myself to wade through the panic
. You’re still alive.
Ash’s words echoed in my mind.
You’re still in the fight
. Focus. I had to get out of this place. But how could I escape Red in my present circumstances?

I recalled everything I knew about Red. He was smart, ruthless and violent, but he also loved the sound of his voice and enjoyed boasting and singing his own praises. After murder, gloating was his favorite hobby. He was a narcissist and stroking his ego always worked. He’d always craved my submission.

Did he still want it?

The attendant cleaning up opened the door as he left. I caught a glimpse of the balcony beyond the doors of the state-of-the-art theater room. I spotted mountains, a golf course and ski runs before the doors closed. I recognized those mountains. We were somewhere in the ski resort, not far from town, in one of the multimillion dollar homes that overlooked the resort’s best views. If I could manage to find my way out of the house, I might be able to run.

“Are you following what I’m saying?” Red plopped down next to me and perched his arm over my shoulder. “Do you understand how things will work from now on?”

I swallowed my pride and nodded.

“Good.” He drew me to him. “When this is done, we’ll have a second honeymoon at Hacienda Dorada. We haven’t been there in a long while. It’ll be good to rekindle our memories. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I forced the word through my lips. “Yes.”

Red prodded me with a look. “
Sí
, what?”

“
Sí, mi amor
.”

“Better.” He patted my head as if I was a child or a dog. “You’ll be back to normal in no time. But before we go on, there’s the small matter of the flash drive you stole from the Miami house.” His stare and his voice hardened. “Where is it?”

“I... I don’t have it.”

“Now, Rose.” His fingers toyed with my neck’s fragile vertebrae. “Be reasonable. Don’t make me hurt you. Where is it?”

“I mean it,” I said. “I don’t have it.”

“It’s not at the cottage,” Red said. “The only reason why we didn’t destroy it outright was because we didn’t want to risk damaging the flash drive. But we tore the place apart. We looked, dear. We didn’t find it.”

His fingers tightened around my neck. My throat buckled beneath his grip. Dark spots flickered before my eyes. I couldn’t breathe.

“I need the flash drive back,” Red said. “You’ll give it to me or else—”

A buzzing interrupted his threats. In his pocket, his cell vibrated like an angry cricket. Red tore his glare away from my face. He looked at the number and took the call.

“Go ahead.”

I fixed my gaze to the floor, but I listened to the conversation while wrestling with the duct tape binding my hands.

“What do you mean, you haven’t found any stragglers?” Red barked into the cell. “Those sons of bitches scattered like frightened chickens. They have to be around. Bodies. You owe me some additional bodies. Are you sure you have control of the scene?”

Scattered
? Thank God. If the guys had scattered, then they’d survived. I prayed hard that all of them had escaped. Ash had to be alive. He was skillful. He was resourceful. I clung to that hope, because if he was dead, then my life had no meaning whatsoever.

“Correct,” Red said on the phone. “No, I don’t want police sniffing around. If they come by, tell them you’re Feds. You’ve got those IDs I paid good money for. And keep looking for the thumb drive.”

So I hadn’t been out for that long. Red’s men were still at the cottage.

“I want to get out of this fucking place too,” Red spat into the line. “Notify the pilot. We’re New York-bound as soon as we’re done. Yes, I know you advised against coming here, but I don’t give a fuck. We can’t leave without the thumb drive.” His eyes fell on me. “We’ll find it. I guarantee it. No matter who has to bleed.”

God help me. I was short on time and long on terror. I worked on the bindings.

“I’ll deal with it personally,” Red said testily. “I don’t care about your risk management assessment.” He paused to listen. “I told you, I have to do it myself and yes, you moron, it means we do it here.” He paused again. “No, I won’t wait. You’ve got twenty minutes to get back here.” He hung up and let out a weary breath. “Risk assessment is such a cliché.”

I forced the word out of my throat. “H-how?”

“You want to know how I found you?” His lips turned up in a smirk. “How about a kiss, a real kiss from my obliging wife, in exchange for the juicy details?”

He was eager to negotiate with me again. I didn’t want to fall into the old pattern, but I saw no way around it. I leaned over, closed my eyes and, holding my breath, pressed my lips to his. He mauled me in return, scratching my skin with his beard’s coarse stubble.

The scent of him invaded my lungs, sweet cologne and spicy breath mints. My body cringed. My muscles bunched up. My lips smarted, but with that kiss, I made an important discovery: he still wanted me. It was sickening, but at least I had something to bargain with.

“What is it about you?” He dipped his nose in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply. “Is it the way you smell? Is it the way you look at me with those huge Bambi eyes, as if daring me? Is it the way you move, like a thoroughbred filly, always in heat, craving the bit and the rider?”

He pushed my jacket over my shoulders and wrenched my shirt apart.
Pop, pop, pop
, the pearly snaps gave way one after the other. He perused me brazenly.

“What’s this?” He examined the obsidian charm at my throat. “Did I give you this?”

I gulped dryly. “No?”

With a brutal tug, he wrenched the pendant from my neck and threw it across the room, leaving me smarting with a bloody scrape on the side of my neck and a sense of total loss. I’d worn Wynona’s necklace for almost two years. It had always meant courage and freedom to me, but it had also come to mean love. It was Ash’s stone.

Red entwined his fingers into my hair and pulled my head back, until my neck was completely exposed. I flinched when his mouth landed on my body. His lips and tongue left a wet trail over my strained neck. His teeth nipped on my skin as he settled on a spot and suckled until it hurt.

I bit down on my lips. For all I knew, he could have been a vampire feeding on my terror. Horror quickened my breaths and left me panting at his mercy.