A Bedtime Story (2 page)

She stopped right in her tracks and turned to Kayne abruptly. “What
is this? What’s happening?” she hissed through clenched teeth.

His expression was detached, his eyes cold and intense, just as
they had been the first time she noticed him. A shiver ran down her spine. He didn’t
answer her. Never breaking eye contact, he slowly shut the door. With his hands
behind him, he leaned back into it, effectively blocking the only exit. He simply
nudged his head in the stocky man’s direction, who was unsuccessfully trying to get
Laura’s attention.

“Miss Spencer, how lovely to finally meet you. Let me introduce
myself. I’m Maxwell Bane. Please, have a seat.”

Laura quickly turned her head to Maxwell at the mention of her
name, then right back to Kayne, bewilderment now in her eyes. “Kayne, what is this?
How does he know my name?” Her breath quickened, her voice barely above a
whisper.

“He just wants to talk, Laura. Have a seat.” His voice was
commanding, devoid of any sympathy.

Maxwell began again, this time, the gentleness in his tone more
forced, his words articulated. “Miss Spencer, please have a seat. All I am asking is
for a little friendly talk. Let’s keep things nice, shall we? I would hate to resort
to more… persuasive methods…” Laura finally turned to face him. “Please… Mr. Bane… I
am sure this is a complete misunderstanding…”

“Is it? Are you not Miss Laura Spencer?”

“Yes… but—”

“
Sister
of Peter Spencer?”

Her face instantly paled, her mouth opened then closed, without
releasing a sound. So
this
is what it was about.
Oh, Peter, Peter, what
have you done?
She knew he had gotten involved with bad things, bad people.
He had been doing drugs for as long as she
could remember, but it was
only in the last few years he had gotten seriously into the harsher stuff. He
completely changed, became paranoid, she barely saw him anymore. But she held on to
what she had, he was her only family. About eight months ago, he had come to see her
at her apartment. He was acting very weird, thought he was being followed. All he
said was that he had to disappear for a while,
until things blow over
. He had
told her how much he loved her and how sorry he was, that he would write to her so
she could know he was alive and well. He proceeded to explain to her a secret code
he’d constructed to ensure a
secure communication
. She started receiving his
postcards about two months after, every two weeks, sometimes three, never more than
that. She never believed anyone was after him. But she didn’t have it in her to
fight his drug-induced paranoia, and so she resigned herself to kiss every postcard
and burn it after reading, as instructed.

“What is this about? What do you want with him?” Her voice was
firmer, her tone defensive.

“Miss Spencer, please have a seat. We just want to ask you a few
questions about Peter.”

“I don’t know where he is. I haven’t spoken to him in almost a
year.”

“Oh, come now… We know that’s not true. We know
for a fact
that you know where he is. We just want to talk to him, that’s it.” “Bullshit,”
she mumbled to herself. “You’re wrong. I don’t know where he is. I’m sorry.”

Maxwell squeezed the top of his nose with two stubby fingers,
clearly starting to lose patience. “Miss Spencer, I was hoping we could be civil
about this. I don’t think you understand the severity of your situation. Maybe my
friends can help.” He waved his arm toward one of the men by the wall.

She shuddered with dread. She did understand, she understood too
well. What
they
didn’t understand was that she would never, under any
circumstance, betray her brother. Peter, her brother, her only friend, her only
family. Peter, who bandaged her wounds
when she was still a child and
held her at night when she had nightmares. Peter, who taught her how to lie so they
could stay together when they were minors, who skipped supper more than once so she
could get dessert to finish off her meals. Peter, who sacrificed everything, for
her. No, she understood. Tonight, she would not leave this room alive. A whimper
escaped her lips. She turned back to Kayne slowly, the familiar sadness back in her
glistening grey eyes.

Her voice was soft, wavering. “Please… please… I really don’t know…
You have to believe me.”

He remained unmoved, staring her straight in the eye. “I’m not the
one you have to convince. My job was just to get you here.”

She just stared at him, hurt and betrayal in her eyes. “How could
you do this to me?” It was so silly, and yet she couldn’t help herself. “So… that
was your plan… the entire evening?”

The faintest smile crossed his lips as he reached into his back
pocket and pulled out her missing wallet.

“You’re a monster…” She wasn’t saying it out of spite, just
acknowledging it quietly to herself, amazed at the realization.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped forward and grabbed her
firmly by the arm, though not unkindly, and pulled her toward the chair. She didn’t
resist, simply allowing her limbs to be dragged. As he sat her in the chair, she
looked up, her eyes reflecting a mix of pleading and panic.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave me here with them?”

If only for an instant his eyes softened, his tone remained
impassive. “Do you want me to stay?”

She realized the perverse irony. He had brought her here. He was
the reason for all of this. But right now,
yes
, she wanted him to stay.
Somehow, she felt safer with him around. Her voice broke into a little sob, and she
nodded shamefully, letting out the faintest “yes.”

He nodded his head slowly, then with the tip of his
fingers, he lifted her head ever so gently to force her to look him in the eye.
“Okay. I will.”

He walked to the back of the room and took a seat facing her,
backing the chair against the wall. The two men in black closed in on her,
proceeding to handcuff her hands and feet to each side of the chair. Her breathing
quickened. Maxwell was grinning perversely, waiting for her to be settled. He looked
back at Kayne, with a casualness reserved for old buddies.

“So you’ll be joining us? Ah, just like good old times.” He winked.
“Nostalgic, are we?” He let out a sickening chuckle to which Kayne responded with a
cold smile. Maxwell then turned all his attention back to the helpless girl tied up
in front of him. “It saddens me, Miss Spencer, to have to resort to such measures.
This could have been easily avoided. I do not wish you harm, but let me make myself
clear: I will get my answers. You will talk, one way or another.”

“But I swear… I don’t know…” She sobbed quietly.

“Very well then. If that’s how you want to play, have it your way.”
His voice was stern as he motioned to the man identified as Carlo to bring some sort
of medieval-looking iron instrument seemingly straight out of the Spanish
Inquisition. Removing her left shoe, Carlo then proceeded to insert her foot in the
contraption.

He began twisting one of the dials. A sharp pain shot through her
entire body. She screamed in agony as her sobs intensified, repeating over and over
again the same few words: “Please, I don’t know, I swear.” But the dial kept
twisting, intensifying the pain. She thought she might pass out. She could barely
make sense of what Maxwell was shouting. She threw a look in Kayne’s direction, her
vision blurred with tears. He was sitting calmly, his legs spread wide open on the
chair, leaning forward, with his elbows resting on his knees. He was slowly inhaling
a freshly lit cigarette. He returned her stare, emotionless.

He truly was a monster. How naïve she was to think his presence
would benefit her condition. Despair began to invade
her thoughts,
and she prayed she would pass out soon. Without warning, the pain stopped. Maxwell
kept repeating her name, seeking her attention. He insisted on calling her Miss
Spencer, with his eloquent speech and gentleman mannerisms. It was all a farce, a
cruel joke she had walked into of her own accord. And why? Because a handsome
stranger had also played the gentleman. Just as she was starting to catch her
breath, she felt the sting of cold metal on each side of her little finger. Carlo
was holding garden shears, trapping her left pinky in between the blades. Awaiting
Maxwell’s instructions, he applied just enough pressure that she made no attempt to
move. With cold terror in her eyes, she looked around frantically, resembling a
cornered wild animal. She repeated the same words, even screaming, her vocabulary
dwindling to
please
and
no
. Maxwell’s smile was full-on sadistic.
There would be no mercy there.
Was there ever?
No, he was taking pleasure in
this. It was more than a means to an end. She instinctively fell back to Kayne,
pleading with all she had, her words, her tears, her eyes, her uncontrollable
heaving.

“Enough.” His voice echoed in the room. In response to Maxwell’s
inquisitive look, he finally broke eye contact with Laura long enough to tell him to
leave them. He wasn’t asking. Maxwell seemed displeased with the turn of events but
also seemed to know better than to defy a direct order. He gestured to his men, and
they all left the room quietly.

Kayne got up, unhurriedly making his way over to face Laura.
Resting slightly on the edge of the desk with his arms crossed, he patiently stared
at her, waiting for her to regain some kind of composure. He only spoke to her when
her heaving stopped and she finally lifted her head to meet his eyes.

“You love your brother very much.” He waited for her to nod in
agreement before continuing. “And you are very loyal to him, I can respect that. You
think there’s nothing we can do that will make you talk, that you’d die for him if
you had to. But that’s not how it goes. Trust me, Laura,
I know
. Everyone has
a breaking point. Everyone talks. The only thing that ever changes is the state
they’re in when they do.”

She broke down again. “What do you want with him?”
she sniffled, her nose running.

“Information. Information he stole.” His voice remained calm.

“You’re going to kill him… and you’ll kill me regardless of what I
say…” she whispered softly, still gasping for breath.

“Cooperate, and I give you my word. You will leave this room
alive.”

She laughed sardonically. “You give me your word? Oh, what a
relief!”

“Think about it, Laura, I haven’t lied to you once. I don’t
lie.”

“Seriously? You’re gonna pull that—” Before she could utter the
word
shit
, he raised his brow at her.
He apparently didn’t like
cursing
.

“You said you had to drop something off.”

“I did.” He grinned wickedly.

Of course, she was the
thing
. She felt her Long Island Iced
Tea coming back up. “I followed you here… You didn’t even have to drug me or force
me…” Her disbelief and bitterness bled through her words. “Why go through this
charade?”

He actually smiled at that. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I
would have brought you here one way or another. I thought you’d prefer my way,” he
taunted.

“You really are a monster.” This time, she was saying it to his
benefit, her soft voice cracking. She broke down again, muttering to herself, “Oh
god, oh god, please help me.”

“You think God can help you? No, Laura, God can’t help you. I may
be a monster, but I’m the only one who can help you right now.”

She didn’t respond, didn’t know how to respond. So she lowered her
eyes to the ground and repeated the same words, caught in a hellish loop. “I don’t
know where he is.”

He approached, kneeling down on one knee so he was at eye level
with her. He lifted her head, in the same gentle way he had done
earlier. “Look at me.” He waited until she did. “I’m offering you help. I
understand you want to protect him, but don’t
ever
lie to me,” he spat, his
stare cold and ruthless, making her shiver.

“Here is what I am offering you, Laura, I don’t want you to tell me
where he is.”

She remained quiet, opting for the safety of silence. She held his
gaze as he stood back up, a lingering hope flickering into her eyes. “What I want is
for you to tell me something, anything, to lead us in his direction. I don’t want
his specific location. Just the city he’s in.”

“So you can find him and kill him.”

“Or not. It could take us over a week to track him. He might even
be gone by then. Don’t you see what I’m offering you? I’m offering you a chance to
get out of this alive while still being able to live with yourself.” He could see
her thinking it over, hundred thoughts racing in her mind.

“But—”

“No buts, Laura. It’s a good offer. It’s a
very
generous
offer. And it will expire soon. I’m going to count to five. If I don’t have the name
of a city by then, I’m walking out of here. And no one, not God, not anyone, will
stop what’s to come. Do you understand?” She nodded nervously. As he began to count,
she stopped him at one, anything to bide her time. “I could lie, how would you
know?”

By the way his eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed, she instantly
regretted the words that had just left her mouth. She cringed as he approached,
leaning into her ear, his voice deceptively soft. “You could. But I would
strongly
advise against it. I
will
find out. And when I do, I will
personally
continue what they have started. Not for answers, not for the
truth, but for the sheer joy of it. I will make a masterpiece out of you. Do you
understand me, Laura?” She nodded her head frantically, terrified.

He grabbed her chin tightly and forced eye contact as he uttered
his warning. His voice was harsh, as he emphasized each word.
“Whatever you do. Never. Lie. To me.” And then he resumed his count. “Two, three,
four—”