Page 22 of Forbidden Flames

“TBC?”

“Yes, darling,” she replied and moved closer, still looking around. She could tell Gerald was hiding something, but wasn’t sure what it might be. She was sure that it wasn’t the horrible pictures she’d seen earlier. “How often do you visit that club?”

He shrugged and moved to the bar, pulling a bottle of white wine out of the fridge. “I don’t know. It’s a good place to…?”

Agnes wasn’t listening. She stood up and headed towards the bedrooms while Gerald poured some wine. Slowly, afraid of what she might find, Agnes walked down the hallway, ignoring her son’s calls for her to stop. Peeking through the bedroom door, she stopped. With a sigh of relief, Agnes let her shoulders drop. Everything was normal in here. It was exactly as she’d decorated it years ago.

Turning, she stopped in front of the second bedroom. She glanced back at Gerald, who blanched. Immediately, her heart began pounding in her chest. Gerald rushed forward, but came to a skidding halt at the end of the hallway, a glass of white wine forgotten in his hands. “Mother!” he gasped. “What are you doing?” He raced after her. “You can’t go back there!”

Agnes ignored him. She’d bought this place for her son and paid the monthly fees. As far as she was concerned, she could go anywhere she wanted!

“Mother!” Gerald bellowed.

Shaking her head, wondering if she’d been played, Agnes reached for the doorknob, chuckling to herself at how gullible she’d been about her precious son’s proclivities. Sure, he was a bit odd, maybe too easily distracted. But he was a good…!

Agnes gasped as she took in the scene in the second spare bedroom. A naked woman was tied up, gagged and struggling to free herself from the restraints on her wrists and ankles.

For an endless moment, Agnes wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t sure what to do, either. The woman…those overly made-up eyes begged for help, but Agnes couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything!

“Mother!” Gerald snapped, literally pushing her out of the way as he pulled the door closed. “You need to leave,” her son told her. “Now!”

Agnes stared up at her son, her precious baby boy, and was repulsed. Those images…they were true! The pictures, the police reports…all true! Her son was…demented!

She trembled, reaching out to hold on to the doorjamb as her knees turned to water. “Release the woman, Gerald, then meet me in the living room.” She turned away from the horriblescene, her heart sinking. When her son didn’t move, she spun around. “Now!”

The one word echoed in the silent apartment.

Gerald snapped to attention, then stepped into the bedroom. Agnes continued down the hallway. When she reached the living room, she sank into the soft cushions, feeling every one of her eighty years.

A minute later, Agnes watched as the woman, now dressed in a tight dress that barely covered her bottom, raced out through the door, muttering about “freak” and “call police”.

“You shouldn’t have come here, Mother,” Gerald snapped as he dropped onto the opposite sofa.

Agnes stared at her son, her precious baby boy and…knew what she had to do. Not just for herself, although self-preservation and maintaining the reputation of her family name was extremely important, but also for society. Her son…she hated to admit it, but her son was a predator. She pulled out her phone and made the call.

Chapter 21

“Thank you, ma’am,” Hendrix replied, then ended the phone call.

“Who was that?” Emily asked, stepping into Hendrix’s office. She set the wrapped sandwich in the middle of his desk.

He leaned back in his leather chair and grinned at Emily. She had her hair neatly pinned up again. Damn, he enjoyed the fact that he was the only person who knew how long and gorgeous her hair was when it was down.

Emily cocked a dark eyebrow questioningly and Hendrix chuckled. “That was Agnes Albright. She called to tell me that her son has been sent to an institution in Germany.” He looked down at the sandwich. “What kind is this?”

“Pastrami on rye with Swiss and two pickles.” Emily sat down in one of the chairs. “What institute?”

Hendrix groaned. “This is my favorite!”

“I know,” Emily replied with a grin. But then she turned serious again. “What institute?”

Hendrix unwrapped the sandwich and stared at it. “How did you know that I like pastrami and Swiss?”

She crossed her legs, watching him carefully. “You mentioned that you…noticed me…ever since you first started working here.”

“I didn’t just notice you, Em,” he replied, ignoring the sandwich as he watched her carefully. “I think I fell in love with you on the first day I met you.” He noticed her eyes widen and continued. “That feeling has only grown over the past couple of years.”

“You…love me?”

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