Page 48 of Forever His This Christmas

She parked the SUV and got out, heading to the back of the alley and waited, her key between her fingers as a weapon if necessary. She hoped it wouldn’t be, but she would fight unlike anything this time. A crunching sound had her turning around and she felt disgust course through her as she saw him.

“If it isn’t my little Lisa, have you decided it’s time to pay your debt?” Benton questioned and she tightened her hands into balls to stop from falling into the trap.

“I have no debt when it comes to you. I’m here for one reason, and one reason only,” she answered, and he chuckled.

“Don’t tell me, you and lover boy are getting married, and you don’t want me to ruin the wedding?”

“Shut the hell up Benton,” she stated taking a step closer to him as she lowered her voice. “I am done hiding. I am done being scared of you and your threats. So, I’m here to make a deal. You stay the hell away from me, from my family, and never threaten me or any of them again, or I go to the police with everything I have on you.”

“Honey, it’s too late. None of it matters to them any longer.”

“No? That’s where you’re wrong. Did you know there was a law that eradicated the statute of limitations if there’s DNA evidence of the crime?”

“What crime? You got what you wanted…”

“Don’t make me puke Benton.”

“You have nothing Lisa; I on the other hand have a lot of dirt that if it came out would ruin you and your little life. I’m sure the boyfriend and all of his colleagues would just love for the pictures I have to come out…yes that would hurt your career, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re forgetting something Benton—I was fifteen when you took those photos.”

“I didn’t forget. I know exactly how old you were—I waited until you were perfect, and you certainly were that. The scratches and your screams…they still live on in my memory.”

“God you are a disgusting, perverted old man…pathetic old man. But you’re certainly not smart; those photos are considered child pornography. That will get you jail time, no statute of limitations on it. Also, there is none on the rape kitthat has your DNA on file…and that along with this,” she said taking out a tape recorder and hitting play, letting him listen to the conversation from that night fourteen years ago. She saw the anger and rage appear in his eyes and strengthened her stance. “You thought you’d gotten rid of it, didn’t you? Whoever you sent after me might have found the copy, but I’ve had the original with me the entire time, it’s never been out of my grasp. Come near me, come after anyone in my family, and all of this comes out. Your teaching career will be over. You will be in jail, and they don’t take kindly to derelicts that have child porn and who raped a fifteen-year-old.”

“You think you’ve won, don’t you Lisa?” Benton questioned not losing his smile completely although it had dimmed slightly. “No one will believe you. They’ll claim that the tape was faked, that you pieced it together over the years, just to get back at the one teacher who tried to give you what you deserved. And I did give you what you deserved, didn’t I? The night I took your virginity, and you cried, screaming, scratching at me, begging me to stop—but you didn’t really want me to. You wanted it and more. I made you into a perfect little slut. I made you.”

“You tried to destroy me. You raped me over and over until I made you stop.”

“Yes, I did and if you hadn’t put me in this chair I would have continued to do so. Threaten all you like, I’m not going anywhere and you’re not going to stay with that man, are you? Not unless you want your face and naked body all over the internet.”

“Try it and this recording goes directly to the local sheriff and DA,” she stated taking out the digital recorder she’d put in her pocket. “It’s really difficult to fake one tape, let alone two. Stay away from my family, stay away from me. Do not threaten me again because I will bury you.”

“Well played—but what guarantee do I have that you won’t tell the boyfriend or anyone else?”

“None, but I don’t have any either, do I? It’s been fourteen years—let me go,” she said staring him down. “Stay away from my family and let me move on.”

“I see one cop coming near me and I will end you and everyone you love,” Benton replied.

“If one person I love gets hurt—you’ll have more than one cop coming after you and there’s one more thing you should remember,” she stated waiting until she had his full attention.

“What is that, Lisa?”

“I won the national science academia competition two years in a row—you’re not the only one who can make something seem like an accident,” she answered before moving back out of the alley and to the car, checking it over before going to her parents’ house. She managed to park the car back in the same spot and get into the house before anyone discovered she was missing. She was debating about going back upstairs to bed when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She put her coat away and took off her shoes, heading into the living room to grab a blanket and curl up in the chair beside the Christmas tree.

“Lisa…what are you doing down here?” Corey asked as he finished settling his shirt down around his waist.

“Hi, I’m sorry I couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d come down here and watch the lights.”

“You should have woken me up,” he said reaching for her hands. “God baby you’re like ice. Come on, it’s freezing down here.”

“The fire’s out,” she said nodding towards it. “I didn’t feel like going outside to get more wood.”

“You don’t have to explain I just don’t want you getting sick sitting down here in the cold.”

“I’m fine—I have you, don’t I?”

“You do,” he agreed giving her a lingering kiss before he pulled her up from the chair and slid his arm around her waist, walking her back up to the bedroom. He pushed her sweater over her head, followed by the tank top, and pulled her up against him after he shed his shirt, warming her with his body heat, skin-on-skin.

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