He released my mouth from his tight grip.
“You’re going to cancel your appointments for a month AND you’re going to leave town. Go to Europe or something. You hear me?”
I braved enough to turn my head to glance at him. He rewarded me with firm pressure on my temple, which pushed my head until I was facing the steering wheel again.
“Look straight ahead. Don’t look at me. You hear?” His sudden anger was apparent.
“What if I don’t do as you say?” His anger triggered my own. Scarlet blackmailing my husband to fight for custody of my kids. The way she seemed to treat Dirk. The SUV chasing me through my neighborhood. Now a gun at my head. Would this guy really kill me, or was he just trying to scare me?
He reached into a pocket in his black gear and revealed his cell phone. He tapped the screen with his thumb and held the screen in front of me. A picture of Monica at Richard’s pool displayed. He advanced through more pictures, showing each one, to my horror.
Trey at baseball practice. Monica being picked up at school. Trey with friends at a park in Burbank. The two of them getting into a vehicle at Richard’s house.
With each picture, my anger went from simmering to boiling.
“You leave my children out of this, asshole.”
His hand went to my throat like a rattlesnake striking its prey. He slammed my head against the headrest.
“You do as you're told and your children will be safe. Got it?”
“You fucking asshole. Leave them out of this…”
His hand gripped my throat tighter. “Cancel your appointments. Leave town. And you won’t have anything to worry about.” His voice was low and gravely. His tone was even more menacing, and he emphasized the last sentence by pressing the gun to my jaw.
“You tell Scarlet to go fuck herself.”
My assailant froze at the mention of her name. He only stopped his assault for a second before he slammed my head back against the headrest.
He cut off my next protest by striking the side of my head with the butt of his gun. I reeled. I could hear what he said after that, but my vision blurred and I felt like I was underwater hearing his words.
“Do as you're fucking told, bitch, or I’ll kill them both right in front of you. Do as you're told or watch them…”
Everything went dark.
When I finally came to, I was leaning to the right with the seatbelt keeping me from falling over the console. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I was in the dark.
As I gained focus, I realized I was still in my car. I was in the dark. Had the sun gone down? Was I out that long? My head pounded as I glanced in the rear-view mirror. I could just make out the garage door behind me.
I struggled to get out of the car, and the ground spun around me as I stood up. The pulsing in my temples and the nausea that assaulted me forced me to lean on the Lexus. I reached back into the car to get my purse and cell phone and nearly fell over as the pressure on my skull increased.
Glass was everywhere. Inside my car. On the ground beside the driver's side door. My heels crunched on the broken shards as I walked through it towards my condo.
I made it into the house, unlocked my phone, and sat down in a dining room chair. It was near dusk and the last rays of sunlight lit the dining room, which had a splendid view of the mountains to the east. My hands still shook and could barely scroll through and tap my phone to call someone.
I considered calling the police. Should I call Richard and the kids? I wanted to call Dirk. With my contacts finally displayed, I couldn’t type enough to get to Richard or Dirk’s number. I scrolled instead, but had to fight nausea the entire time.
The man-in-black’s last words echoed in my brain along with images of my two children being tortured by him.Do as you're told or watch them…
I hadn’t heard that last word, but it was easier than the New York Time’s crossword puzzle to fill in the blank.Die!
I understood why Richard had been so scared. Had they threatened him in the same way? I didn’t have any evidence that Scarlet sent the asshole who attacked me, but with everything else that had happened and everything else that I knew, it had to be her. More importantly, my intuition, which seldom failed me, screamed.It’s fucking Scarlet.
There was no way that bitch would get that close to my kids. No way she or her asshole minion were taking or hurting my kids.
There was also no way I was canceling my appointments. I just had to figure out a way to do so safely.
Scenarios of putting Penny and Chastity in danger though played through my head. My anger said to fuck them all and do exactly the opposite of what they wanted me to do. My desire to keep my children and my friends safe though battled with my anger.Calm down, Reggie.
