The male officer checks his watch in a pointed kind of way. “We’ve got other calls coming in,” he says. “We can follow up with forensics if they have time.”
The police are stretched so thin they do not have the time to follow up on some alleged attacker. I have no idea where he is. I don’t know where Dave is. I kind of want the cops to leave now so I can get my head around this without sounding crazy. That stack of three hundred hundred-dollar bills is starting to feel like it is burning through my bag.
“We’ll send someone in the morning,” the female officer says. “If they have time.”
“Right,” I say. “If they have time. Okay. Thank you, bye now.”
I close the door behind them and breathe a sigh of relief that lasts exactly one breath before I get all tight again. I look around my kitchen, not really recognizing it. It’s mine, but it doesn’t feel like mine anymore.
“What the fuck?” I breathe the question to myself, not expecting to be answered.
“That could have been unpleasant,” a deep voice says, as the suit-clad man who is absolutely fucking up my life appears from the bedroom, where apparently the police missed him entirely. So much for a search of the location.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I squeal, jumping in place. “Where’s Dave?”
“Dave decided to leave. I tidied up a bit in his absence,” my stalker says. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“You made the cops think I was crazy.”
“So sorry. Do you want to call them back and try to turn me in?”
He’s mocking me. It’s gentle, but it’s there. He’s got so much nerve for a man who constantly wears a mask.
“Try to turn you in? You break into my house and have your way with me. You’re a…”
My voice trails off as he closes the distance between us in three confident strides.
“We have a few matters to continue with,” he says, his voice lowering and his tone softening. I feel my stomach drop and fill with butterflies. Surely he’s not going to…
The sound of the chair being pulled out next to the table tells me that yes, he’s planning on picking up right where he left off.
“No,” I say, stepping away. “I’m tired of this. You have to tell me who you are and why you’re doing all of this. It’s creepy and it’s wrong.”
“I’m doing this because I want to,” he says. “Because you’re mine, Laura.”
“If I’m yours, then you should be able to show me your face. What’s the deal, weirdo? Do I know you?”
“You’re getting feisty,” he says, his tone getting a little drier. “Let me teach you why that’s not a good idea.”
The world spins as I find myself over his broad and powerful lap again. He must have mopped the kitchen floor, because it’s cleaner than it was when I was last this close to it. It gleams and smells of lemon-scented sanitation. I have a brief flash of blood being all over the floor. How is it possible that two men had a full brawl here not an hour ago and the place looks spotless?
“How did you clean up this fast?”
“I do not work alone,” he says in a low tone that sends a shiver down my spine. I’ve seen TV shows about people whohave cleaning crews, people who do so much bloody crime that they pay specialists who can get blood and stuff up and destroy evidence.
He’s even managed to replace the chair he hit Dave with. What the actual fuck is going on. Who the hell is this man? Where does he get all this money? How has he got all these people just…
“Ow!” I yelp as he starts spanking me again with hard, firm slaps that make me twist and writhe in pain. He starts with an absolute barrage that feels designed to drive all thoughts from my head. It is absolutely successful. I can’t think about anything besides how much my ass hurts.
“I give you a car and you sell it?” His big hand spanks me again. “Very rude.”
He still doesn’t sound that angry about this whole thing. I think he’s enjoying what I did on some weird level.
“I don’t have any use for a car! Also, you’re a creepy fucking stalker rapist, so I don’t think you get to take offense.”
I feel him get tense for a moment, and I wonder if I haven’t gone too far. He’s obviously unhinged. A man like him might do anything if I make him mad. He’s willing to break into my home, to take me against my will.
He laughs.
