Bad Behavior (9 page)

“Justin called off the wedding.” Her words were low, evenly spaced as if she feared that they would escape from her if she allowed them free reign. Rei was momentarily distracted by a jolt of joy, of surprise; the emotion brought a smile to her face before she could smother it completely.

“Why would he do that?” she asked, hoping to project sympathy rather than glee. Bethany simply shook her head, taking a step closer to Rei in the process. All of a sudden, the hallway that had seemed spacious enough a few moments before now felt stifling.

“I think you know why.”

“Sorry but I don’t.”

“I hate liars.” Bethany snapped at last. “Almost as much as I hate cheaters. I told Justin not to cheat on me. It was in our contract. I gave him a chance to stop. But he just couldn’t leave you alone could he?”

“Bethany-”

“I love him.” Bethany hissed, overriding whatever Rei had been about to say. “I love him. I always have. Why can’t he see that?” She asked, growing sad. “Why can’t he see how much I’ve gone through just to keep us together?”

That was around the time the alarm bells started going off in Rei’s brain. Her life didn’t flash in front of her eyes or anything. Instead it was every Lifetime movie she’d ever seen, replaying in her mind in high definition. There were usually three roles that had to be filled before a person’s life had the makings of a Thriller.

Sexy man.

Check.

Crazy, homicidal, white girl.

Double check.

Love interest that gets killed halfway through the movie?

Rei sighed. She should have kept her black ass at home after all.

♀♂

Stan liked to think that he was an adaptive man. The kind of man who could think on his feet. In some cases he was.
When it came to money, he was a veritable genius. Running from the law however? They didn’t exactly teach you how to do that at Yale. He couldn’t hide himself, so that meant letting someone else do it for him. Bethany was the only person he knew who had as big a stake in all of this as he himself did. After all, she’d found out about his activities years ago when she and Justin had first gotten together. At first he didn’t know why she hadn’t said anything. Then he'd realized it was so that she could have some sort of leverage to hold over his head.

Bethany had pumped him for every scrap of information he could give her about Justin Reese. His likes, his dislikes, his family history, all of it. She’d even gotten him to keep her updated on where Justin went, when, and with whom. Helping someone stalk Justin had made Stan feel worse than stealing money from the man. So when it seemed as if Bethany’s tactics for making Justin fall for her were actually working, Stan had been able to assuage his guilt.

Then Justin had broken off their engagement, and Bethany had come up with another plan entirely. She’d taught him what to say, what to take, where to hide it, and how to keep his activities under wraps. She’d helped him take a small operation to the next level and he had fallen all too willingly under her wing.

“Take it all.” She’d told him.

And he had.

He’d thought her driving need to see Justin lose everything had been a simple thirst for revenge. A woman scorned and all of that. It wasn’t until she pitched the idea of marriage that Stan had managed to see the big picture.

A woman who spent two years planning something so involved wouldn't want to see it all fall apart. Which is exactly what would happen if Stan was caught and decided to reveal what he knew. Bethany would lose her freedom, but most importantly to her, she would lose Justin. If that happened, Stan doubted she’d get a third chance at him.

So maybe he had more resources than he’d originally thought.

He was a weak link, a loose end, and as long as Bethany still planned on walking down that aisle with Reese, then she would do everything in her power to keep him from ending up in the back of a squad car.

  So he’d stay with Bethany until he could skip town. With her money and connections she’d even be able to set him up with a fake ID and passport. Stan nodded, smiling to himself as he worked through the details. He felt a lot better now that he’d come up with a plan. Staying in Bethany’s guest bedroom was much better than hiding out in some semen riddled motel room in a bad part of town.

Safer too.

♀♂

Bethany smiled at her, and after swallowing several times, Rei managed to smile in return.

“I can see why he likes you.” Bethany admitted, turning on her heel to continue down the hall. Rei hesitated, looking at the front door that seemed to shine like a beacon in the opposite direction. She took a step towards it.

“You’re pretty. You’re smart. You’re determined. But I’m all of those things too.”

Bethany stopped walking and Rei watched as her shoulders began to shake.

“Why would he choose you over me?”

‘
Probably because I’m not fucking crazy.
’ Rei thought caustically.

Turning abruptly, smile plastered to her face, Bethany walked over to link her arm through Rei's. She led them down the hall and they turned to step into a monochrome kitchen. Everything was gleaming metal and high tech electronics. Rei glanced over the spotless surfaces and decided that either Bethany had one hell of a maid or nothing had ever been cooked in this kitchen before. Both were completely plausible though Rei suspected that the truth had more to do with Bethany than her cleaning woman's skill.

There was a tray of cookies on one counter and Bethany drug Rei closer to it so that she could indicate them with a broad sweep of her hand.

“I made these for you. Well, bought them, but they're still for you.”

“Thanks.” Rei said cautiously, picking up a cookie and nibbling on the edge while she eyed her. Bethany had finally released her and no sooner had she moved over to the fridge to bring out a carton of milk, than Rei began to work her way towards the entrance of the kitchen.

“What's the occasion?” Rei asked politely, hoping conversation would distract Bethany as she edged further and further away.

“I was actually going to have a bridal party tonight.”

“You move fast don't you?”

“Well I don't have much time between now and the wedding. Or I didn't. I wanted to get an early start on things, have all my bridesmaids meet my Maid of Honor.”

The mention of other people was a temporary reprieve.

“Where are they?”

“Who?” Bethany asked, setting out a jug of milk and going to the cabinet to pull out glasses.

“Your bridesmaids.”

“They had other plans. It's a good thing no one else showed up, otherwise I’d have to explain what happened.” She leaned back against the kitchen counter and cocked her head to one side.  “So.” She continued, “How long have you been fucking him?”

Involuntarily, Rei's eyes widened.

“I-um. I really don't think we should be talking about this.”

“Why not?”

“Justin and I? Whatever we are, it's not a big deal. I'm sure that whatever reason he had for breaking off the engagement, it had nothing to do with me.”

“You're very...naive aren't you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You've known him for how long? A week now? I've known Justin for years and I’ve never seen him so focused. So sure of himself. That's because of you.” She shook her head and her eyes lowered. “Not me.”

“Bethany-”

“Shut up.” She growled. “You did this to me. To us. Remember that. You brought all of this on yourself.”

Then she saw it, the barrel of the gun Bethany was palming, the gun she'd pulled from beneath the kitchen island after setting down the milk. Deciding it was long past time she escaped this house, Rei stopped inching backwards and ran from the kitchen. Her momentum pushed her into the wall when she turned into the main hallway and hands sliding over the cream
colored paint, she propelled herself forward. Always forward, heading to the front door that represented freedom. She was moving quickly now, practically flying across the gleaming hardwood. Her hand had barely brushed the doorknob when Bethany, following behind her, brought up the gun and pulled the trigger.

♀♂

Justin had said he would be patient.

And he was.

Or at least he was trying to be.

But she wasn’t answering his phone calls. He called her cell phone three times, voicemails becoming increasingly urgent as dread began to build. With any other woman he would have left things alone. But he'd learned a few things about Rei Donovan in the admittedly short time he'd known her.

She wasn't like some women. With Rei there was no room for game playing. It was a relief to be able to tell where he stood with someone at any given time. So he knew that if she could have, she would have answered his calls. If only to tell him to go and fuck himself.

Rei had a temper but he’d noticed early on that she couldn’t stay mad for long. Oftentimes he could see her wincing as soon as she’d snapped at him, sometimes even while she was in the middle of doing so. He probably didn’t deserve to be forgiven so easily, but this was different.

It felt off.

The same inner voice that had made him rich told him that something was wrong. He would listen to that voice. If it was wrong, then no harm no foul. But if it was right…

She’d barely escaped with her life the other day and Justin knew that he wouldn’t find any peace until he at least heard her voice. He had to know that she was alright, even if that meant pushing her boundaries a little. He’d rather have her alive and angry at him than dead and feeling nothing at all.

♀♂

Rei screamed, her hand jerking away from the knob as the door frame shattered in an explosion of wood. She found herself moving, body flying to one side as Rei fired twice more, bullets biting deep into the body of the door right where she’d been standing. She could hear the other woman coming closer, heels striking the hardwood in a brutal cacophony of sound.

She rolled onto her back just as Bethany came upon her. She tried to scramble back but the other woman straddled her. Rei’s fist shot out and she punched Bethany solidly in the face. Bethany’s head flew back and she leaned to one side, balance lost. Rei lifted her upper body, prepared to hit her again, but Bethany recovered quickly. In the blink of an eye she was bringing the gun up and swinging it around. Then the butt of it connected with the side of Rei’s head, and her brain, already shaky after her encounter with Oscar Kennedy, gave up the ghost.

“Would you like something to drink? I have coffee?”

Rei looked at the other woman in blatant disbelief. Finally she shook her head.

“No thank you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

Rei was proud of herself for how calm she managed to sound. Especially since Bethany currently had her tied to a chair in front of the fireplace in her living room. The gun the other woman was pointing at her had given Rei pause at first, but she thought she was handling that little shocker pretty well too. Especially since Bethany didn’t seem at all inclined to hit her with it again. Rei wouldn’t go so far to say that she was a pro at being kidnapped and assaulted, but she was doing a damn good job of it so far.

Put out now that her offer for refreshments had been denied, Bethany sighed.

“You’re not going to make this any easier are you?”

Rei shrugged in her bonds.

“I’m not sure how I could possibly make it any harder.” She indicated Bethany’s black eye with a nod of her head and a tight smile. “I would love to try though.”

“Funny.” Bethany said, deadpan and Rei was reminded eerily of the lunch they’d had together. Had it really only been that morning? Her life had been normal a week ago. Rei missed normal. Normal had been safe. Normal had been good. Justin's face flashed through her mind, and she admitted grudgingly that normal had also been lonely.

However, considering the pounding in her head, lonely seemed like a pretty good alternative to her current company. Why had she come here again? Morbid curiosity. Boredom. Lack of common sense. Obviously God hadn’t been listening to her if the last explanation was the one to blame.

She watched, tense and sick as Bethany came to stand directly in front of her. The barrel of the gun was like ice against Rei's skin as Bethany pressed the nozzle against her cheek. Panic had black spots dancing before her eyes but she refused to turn away as, oh so slowly, Bethany drug the gun across her face, down her throat and across her breasts. Her nipples were as hard as rocks and gooseflesh decorated her arms and legs.

The gun circled her breasts, first one, and then the other, the smooth edge of the nozzle scraping across her nipple. Bethany placed the gun pint blank in the center of Rei's chest, right over her heart, and smirked.

“Bang.” Bethany said suddenly, and the force of Rei's trembling was a silent representation of the cry of terror that she refused to give voice to. Bethany leaned over her and to Rei's disgust, ran her tongue up Rei's neck. The woman’s tongue caressed the lobe of Rei's ear. Then, with a suddenness that shouldn't have been surprising, Bethany bit down into the tender flesh. Rei jerked her head away, bucking in her seat until Bethany backed away with a laugh.

Her breathing was coming hard and heavy and her underarms and beneath her breasts grew moist in a cold sweat.

“What are you going to do to me?” She asked finally.

Bethany shrugged. “Kill you.” She said simply.

Rei struggled to keep breathing normally, but couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing with continued nerves. Adrenaline coursed directly beneath her skin, making the restlessness even
worse. “Not that I’m complaining, but why haven’t you done it already?”

“I like you. I don’t think I ever said that before. I figured we could talk before he got here.”

“Who? Who's coming?”

Bethany’s grin was wide and hungry.

“Why Stan of course. He called while you were knocked out. Said he needed a place to stay.” She angled her head and her eyes twinkled with mischief. Even now she was strangely charming. “I thought it might be a good chance to take care of two birds with one stone.” Her nose crinkled and she finished with a giggle. “Or rather, one bullet.”

Rei wasn’t ashamed to say that it was around then that she started hyperventilating.

♀♂

The uniform that had been assigned to watch over Rei Donovan had a weakness for radio talk shows. They kept Joseph Andrews busy while he waited for Rei to leave her friend’s house. He’d been following the Donovan woman ever since she left the dressmakers with Justin Reese’s fiancé earlier that day. It didn’t really surprise him that the two women had met up again, but what could they possibly have to talk about for so long? It had been two hours already, and if Joseph hadn’t been busy laughing uproariously at the antics of his two favorite hosts, he probably would have died of boredom a long time ago.

He may have even picked up on the faint sound of gunfire.

Fortunately for Joseph, and unfortunately for Rei, Kurt and Ellie were having a special. It promised at least another hour’s worth of entertainment for Joseph Andrews as he sat in his unmarked police car, but that was the only upside about it. 

♀♂

The thing about Justin was that once he set his mind to something it was hard to shake it. He got it in his head to check on Rei and that was all he could think of. He worried at the idea like a dog with a bone, and seeing no other option, he finally called the police department.

“Hello.” He had been connected to a Detective Richards and for a moment he wasn’t sure where to start. “Are you the Detective handling the Donovan’ case?”

“One of them. What can I do for you?”

“This is going to sound strange.”

“I’ll humor you.”

“I need you to check on Rei.”

Silence on the other end of the line. When the Detective spoke again he sounded more serious than he had originally. “Did something happen?”

“Not…exactly.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Justin winced. “I don’t know.”

“…”

“I told you it was going to sound strange.”

“Mr. Reese.” Richards began, sounding exasperated. “What exactly do you expect me to do?”

“Just check on her. That’s it. She isn’t picking up her phone and she…” he exhaled sharply. “You said you’d humor me.” He finished finally.

“Yeah I guess I did.” Detective Richards thought for a moment, then grunted in agreement. “Alright. My partner assigned someone to keep an eye on her until we can get Williams in custody. I’ll call him up, ask for an update.”

“Thank you.” Justin breathed, some of the worry lifting from him. Not all, but some. “Will you let me know what you find out?”

“I’ll call you as soon as I get some news. But honestly Mr. Reese, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

♀♂

Stan arrived without a sound to announce his presence. He walked into the living room where Bethany and Rei waited and at the sight of Rei tied to the chair, he stopped cold. Rei met his eyes and was surprised at the shock she found there. She looked over at Bethany and shook her head in disgust.

“You’re not big on communication are you?”

Both of them ignored her.

“What the hell is going on?”

“You’re here.” Bethany said, clearly pleased. “Now we can get started.”

“With what?” Stan snapped, stepping cautiously into the room and trying to keep an eye on them both. Though why Rei was included in his shifty eyes was a mystery.

“I’m going to kill Rei.” Bethany told him calmly, “You’re going to take the blame for it. And I’m going to be the traumatized heiress.”

“Actually I just came to crash on your couch for a couple of days.”

The doorbell rang and all three of them whipped around to look towards the front entrance. The way they turned to one another for clarification would have been funny if it hadn't been so stressful. When no one answered the door immediately, a knock came.

Then, a voice.

“Hello? Ms. Donovan? Ms. Marcus?”

He waited for an answer and when none was forthcoming, the man said.

“I'm Officer Andrews. I'm with Boston PD. I'm going to need one of you to come to the door.” he sighed, loudly. “I know you're home, Ms. Marcus. I watched you let Ms. Donovan into the house.”

Putting on her socialite face, Bethany stalked towards the front door, the gun hidden in the flared folds of her day dress. She opened the door only wide enough to be polite but not wide enough to appear inviting.

“Officer Andrews was it?” Bethany purred. “What can I do for you?”

“I'd like to have a word with Ms. Donovan.”

Bethany hesitated and Rei hoped the cop heard the pause as clearly as she did.

“Rei is a little...indisposed right now. Can you tell me what this is about?”

“I'm afraid not. Can I come in?”

Rei could see Bethany's problem. If she refused the officer entrance she would look suspicious and if she allowed him to come in, she would prove her own guilt. She looked around to see what Stan thought of this whole thing, only to catch a glimpse of his coat as he disappeared around a corner. Realizing that her second captor had flown the proverbial coop, Rei opened her mouth and screamed.

The police officer responded immediately. He pushed past the front door with such force that Bethany was knocked off her feet, the gun flying out of her hands to clatter across the floor. Officer Andrews had pulled out his own weapon and he scanned the room with it, body tense. Cataloging Bethany as a threat he kept one eye on her as he glanced over the immediate area. There was a two way radio on his shoulder that crackled with static, and raising one hand he spoke into it, gun trained on Bethany the entire time. Rei heard him call for backup as well as an ambulance but the details were lost in a haze of relief as she sagged against her bonds and closed her eyes.

♀♂

To Stanly, it seemed as if he ran forever before the police cruiser whipped in front of him and blocked his escape. In reality it had only been five minutes. One of the perks of living in a wealthy neighborhood, he supposed.

The police showed up quickly.

When the two uniformed officers came out of their cars and pointed their weapons, he held his hands up over his head and turned around. Maybe this was karma, he thought as one man pushed him to the ground and slapped cuffs around his wrists. Whether that was karma for taking off in the middle of Bethany's mad scheme or because of his earlier transgressions was unclear to Stan. All he knew was that he hoped to God that he had enough in savings to afford a good lawyer because he didn't feel as if he would do well in prison.

♀♂

Justin couldn't stop pacing. It had only been an hour since he'd spoken to Detective Richards but it felt as if an eternity had passed. Justin had never been the type of man to dwell on things. He liked going with the flow. Sometimes however, circumstances forced him to go against his nature. Waiting to hear back from Richards about whether or not Rei was alright qualified.

He wished he could do something. Make phone calls, search the city, and leap a tall building in a single bound. Anything to find her faster. To see her face for himself and know that he still had a chance to make up for their last calamitous encounter. He was haunted by the thought that the last image he'd ever have of her was of her back as she stormed out of his office. If it had been anyone else, if it had been Bethany, he would have regretted his behavior, he would have worried for their safety, but it wouldn't have eaten at him like this. It wouldn't have torn him up on the inside.

A shrill ring filled the room. The noise was unrecognizable for a moment until he realized with a start that the source of it was his cell phone. He fumbled to get the tiny device out of his pocket and answer it. When he finally heard the voice on the other end, his fingers tightened almost painfully around his cell and he shut his eyes in a relief so sharp it was almost painful.

♀♂

What Rei liked about civil servants was that they were efficient.

It didn't take long to subdue Bethany, despite the fact that she was struggling and hissing like an alley cat. Backup arrived soon after and she was even checked out by a nice paramedic who gave her some lovely pain meds. It dulled the roaring in her head and subdued the nausea.

It had been a relief to finally get out of the bonds, to finally leave that house with its expensive knick knacks and pristine furniture. Everything was so clean and neat it was making her skin crawl. It was almost as if no one lived there at all. They dragged Bethany out of the door ranting, and it was only when they had her safely secured in the backseat of a squad car that Rei felt safe enough to step outside after her.

The paramedics didn't want her walking around, but she compromised by gripping the arm of the Officer who had originally saved her life. Laying on a stretcher made her feel all too helpless and she'd had enough of the feeling to last a lifetime. It was a few hours after midnight when she finally looked up to see Justin standing in the entryway of her hospital room. There were lines of strain around his eyes and mouth and stubble on his chin that bespoke of restlessness and worry.