Page 57 of Ox

Watching them talk and touch through the front window of the restaurant caused my stomach to rebel. Each time it happened, I had to fight the urge to go inside and unload an entire clip into the giant’s head. The only thing that soothed me was the knowledge that Kayla would be with me soon. And Ox would be six feet under just shortly after that.

Smiling to myself, a calm settled over me and I realized this was meant to be. Kayla was wearing red, after all. My favorite color. The color I’d first seen her wear in her swimsuit when I’d spotted her on her lifeguard tower that fateful day three months back. Red. The color of fire. My first love.

And when I saw her get up from the booth and run outside to grab something from Ox’s truck while he took a phone call, I knew this divine intervention was my opportunity to teach my girl a lesson she’d never forget. Getting ready, I gripped the door handle and waited for my moment to strike

Kayla

As we were waitingfor our meals to come, Ox’s phone rang. “It’s Pipe,” he told me before picking up.

While Ox informed his Brother of our ETA, I rummaged through my bag to find my phone and check my messages. I needed to touch base with my parents and a few friends before they called the cops for a wellness check!

Realizing my cell was still in the truck charging, I whispered to Ox, “I’m going to go get my phone. Can I have the keys?”

Reaching into his pocket, Ox extracted the fob and handed it over. Leaving my coat behind, I ran out to the parking lot. Unlocking the door, I leaned into the passenger side door and reached for my cell which was resting in the cup holder where I’d left it charging. Just as I stretched forward, a hand wrapped around my mouth and I felt a sharp sting jab into my neck.

The last thing I remembered before passing out was a voice close to my ear whispering, “Just relax, Babe. Daddy’s come to take you home.”

FOURTEEN

Kayla

When I awoke,there was a weird taste in my mouth, I was dizzy, and everything was pitch dark. It took a few seconds for my brain to come back online, but when it did, my heart began to pound frantically. Where was I? Where had Ghost taken me? Where was Ghost?

My heart began to thud in my chest. Taking a deep breath, I fidgeted against what felt like ropes against my wrists and ankles. Ghost had clearly bound me. And I could only imagine the worst possible reason for why that was.

Too late I realized my mistake. I should have pretended to be asleep to buy myself a few precious moments to think. However, my jerky movements and sped up breathing had alerted my captor immediately to my newly conscious status.

A cold hand stroked my cheek and I startled like a panicked mare. “Easy, Babe,” Ghost soothed, as though anything he said could comfort me. “It’s just me. You’re safe.”

“Safe” was the last thing I was when I was with Ghost. The man was insane if he believed I thought him anything other than a disgusting creep.

“If you’re a good girl,” Ghost persisted, his hand moving from my cheek and sliding down my throat and along my collarbone, “I’ll take your blindfold off.”

Desperate to get some control back, I nodded. My captor stripped my scarf from my eyes and I blinked to compensate for the sudden rush of light.

“There you are,” Ghost said, as though he were speaking to a child. “I missed those pretty brown eyes of yours. You’ve kept them from me for far too long.”

His tone and words made me ill, but I hid my disgust the best I could under the circumstances. “Where are we?”

Glancing around, I gorged on the details of my surroundings to squirrel them away for later. The room we were in was small. So small, I doubted it had ever been meant for a living space at all. It was more like a storage room than anything. Nothing was on the concrete walls or floor but a shabby rug that had definitely seen better days. The spartan furniture in the room was a mismatched nightstand and plastic drawer set marketed for dorm rooms at places like Walmart or Target in late summer for college students. And of course, in the center of the room, which I suspected was in someone’s musty basement, was a queen sized mattress resting directly on the floor.

I knew I’d been on something soft when I awoke. Now I knew it was a bed. Ghost’s bed. A crippling level of terror seized my chest when I realized there was nothing stopping him from enacting whatever twisted fantasy he had in this concrete closet in the basement of some stranger’s house.

“It doesn’t matter where we are,” Ghost told me then, his fingertips tracing the outline of my breasts through my sweater. “As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters.”

Not to me, I thought bitterly. “What are you going to do with me?” I hated to ask, but needed to know.

Ghost smiled, revealing even, white teeth. “Anything I want, Babe. Anything I want.”

FIFTEEN

Ox

I saidgoodbye to my Brother Pipe and hung up the phone. Kayla hadn’t returned from the parking lot yet and a seedling of concern was starting to bloom to life in my chest. I couldn’t see the truck from the window we were sitting near, so I rose and walked to the other side of the room where it should be visible and scanned the sea of cars. When I saw no sign of my girl, my skin began to prick with fear.

Stalking over to my vehicle, I prayed she’d be inside. My heart began to beat with an ominous tattoo. As soon as I arrived at our truck, my worst fears were confirmed. No Kayla. Only her phone. It was on the ground, like she’d dropped it during a struggle.

“Fuck!” I roared, dragging out my cell to call Pipe back. As soon as the man answered, I shouted, “He took her! That cocksucker, Ghost, took Kayla!”

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