Beautiful Prey: The Storm Series (17 page)

VICTORIA

 Victoria sashayed over to the curbed black Escalade.
She was sure that she had seen the truck before. She already knew that the
driver wanted her. After all, she was wearing a tiny little pink tennis skirt
that barely landed over her ass cheeks and a white t-shirt that was cut to show
her impressive midsection.

The six-inch pink and blue stilettos
were going to seal the deal.

“Hey, baby,” Victoria whispered as
she leaned into the driver’s side window.

He’s cute
, she
thought to herself.

Actually, he was too good looking to
be trolling Madison Avenue for a street whore. Victoria took a closer look at
the handsome man. He had the most intense grey eyes, a strong jaw line, and
sandy blonde hair.

He actually looked familiar.

Leaning further into the window seal,
exposing her large breasts, she asked, “Do we know each other?”

“No.”

His response was too quick for
Victoria, so she narrowed her eyes in response. She wasn’t convinced. Yet, she
knew that Steve was nearby and he wouldn’t be happy if she had a long conversation
with a John without sealing the deal. So, she got on with it.

“
You
lookin
’
to party, Handsome?”

“Get in,” the John ordered. He was
cold and barely looked at her as he spoke.

“Hold on, baby. We haven’t made a
deal yet.”

His irate attitude was now
exasperating silence, so Victoria attempted to turn and walk away. Before she
could escape, the John reached out of the window and grabbed her by the arm.
She turned around, ready to unleash her wrath. Victoria didn’t like being
manhandled.

However, before she could get a word
out, he snatched half of her body through the driver’s side window and hit the
gas. Victoria was filled with terror as her body was dragged along the burning
hot asphalt.

She struggled to get free as her
feet hit the street so violently that her stilettos were knocked off. She
really didn’t care if she fell from the speeding vehicle because at that very
moment she realized that she was being abducted by the infamous prostitute
serial killer that the police had been hunting diligently.

She heard the screeching tires of a
vehicle in pursuit that was coming to her rescue. She became thankful that
Steve was nearby. Yet, as soon as the relief came, it left her body when she
felt a needle pierce her soft brown skin.

Instantly, everything went black.

Chapter 24

STORM

Jack
stood in front the window in his conference room and stared out onto Michigan
Avenue, while Amy was a few feet away heading a budget meeting with
all of the
department heads. Normally, Jack would lead the meetings,
but since he’d lost Victoria, he’d lost all interest in his business. He was
unable to concentrate. Amy stepped in and proved that she could efficiently
represent his interests. Even though Jack was getting another chance with
Victoria, he was still unable to concentrate. They were having a baby. Jack was
in love with her, and they would forever be connected. He’d never even thought
of being a father before he met her, but now he couldn’t wait to see Victoria
growing with his child. He couldn’t wait to hold his baby in his arms.

Jack had never had much faith in women, but now when he
thought of his mother and two wonderful sisters, he felt like a fool. He had
treated Victoria badly when she declared her love for him. It wasn’t because he
didn’t want or love her. Jack was simply afraid.

Since he’d become so rich, he’d never before encountered a
woman that he thought was capable of pure love. But Victoria was different. She
didn’t care about his money. Jack feared the vulnerability of love. He was just
too much of a fool to see that it was too late and he had already fallen -
hard
.

His cellular buzzing in his pocket drew him from thoughts of
Victoria. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. It was John. Jack
figured that he was calling with his daily reports on Victoria. He ignored the
call and turned his phone off so that he could at least attempt to show
interest in the meeting. Jack took his seat at the head of the table and did
his best to think about business instead of Victoria and their baby.

A few minutes later, Mary hustled into the conference room
and over to Jack. He was a little concerned because Mary normally didn’t
interrupt meetings.

She leaned in and whispered, “Jack, John has called several
times. And...” She hesitated. Jack looked up at Mary. Something was terribly
wrong. She had never, ever, even called him by his first name.

“What is it, Mary?”

“There’s a police officer here to see you. His name is
Steve…”

Jack didn’t even wait for Mary to finish. He jumped from the
table, flipping his chair, and ran to his office. Amy flung her reports onto
the conference table and ran after him. Jack busted through the doors of his
office with Amy on his heels.

“Steve! What’s wrong?” Jack was out of breath with fear and
anxiety.

Steve looked at Jack and Amy with tear-filled eyes and said,
“I need your help.”

Jack stalked over to Steve. “Why do you need my help,
Steve?” Jack’s voice was calm but deadly.

Steve looked at Jack and, at that very moment, the huge
intimidating man looked small. Amy tugged at Jack’s arm and asked, “Jack, who
is this?”

Jack ignored Amy and stared at Steve.

“He took her,” Steve answered in a small voice.

“Who took who, Steve?” Jack narrowed his eyes and waited for
an answer. He tried to stay calm, but Amy wasn’t. She gripped his arm tighter.

“A killer.
The killer that we’ve been hunting.
He snatched her off the
street.”

Jack lunged at Steve with the arm that Amy was holding.

“Oh my God.
Vic,” Amy
said in a whisper before Jack punched Steve in his jaw. Amy fell to the floor
in tears as Steve fell back against Jack’s desk.

Jack grabbed Steve’s throat. “You were supposed to protect
her! That’s your fucking job!” Jack screamed in his face.

“I... I know,” Steve choked.

Jack could feel fingers attempting to peel his hands away
from Steve’s throat, and he heard Mary and Amy whispering calmly to him. Jack
also noticed that Steve wasn’t fighting back. He was a soldier, a big one. He
could’ve given Jack one hell of a workout. It was almost like Steve felt as if he
deserved death. Jack released his hold and fell to his knees. He cried silently
and rocked back and forth. Steve fell as well, struggling to catch his breath.
Mary ran out of the room, and Amy dropped to the floor and crawled over to
Jack. She put her arms around him and rocked with him as he sobbed.

“She’s pregnant, Amy. We’re having a baby,” Jack shared with
his baby sister.

One of Amy’s tears fell on Jack’s forehead and snapped him
into action. He stood and lifted his sister from the floor. There was no way
that he was going to let anyone hurt Victoria or his unborn child. Mary busted
into his office with three bottles of water. She sat them on the desk and
hurried out of the room. Amy walked over to Jack’s desk and opened a bottle of
water. She handed it to Steve.

Jack asked Steve, “You said that you needed my help. How can
I help?”

Steve drank from the water and sucked in a deep breath. “I
know that you had a tail on her. I’ve always known. I saw him the day that he
started. I ran his plate and Deon, our co-worker, started tailing him. We
traced him back to you.” Steve shook his head and looked at Jack. “I just
figured it was a courtesy of fucking with a rich dude. You know?
More protection.”

Jack tilted his head at the comment.
“And?”

“We lost her because the team was too far away. My
piece-of-shit vehicle died while in pursuit. Deon chased the truck until he
crashed. He’s at
Stroger
Hospital in a coma. All I
have left is your guy. He managed to stay with her.” Tears fell from Steve’s eyes
as he continued. “The department is talking that protocol shit! They’re going
to stand by and let her die. This man has killed over a dozen women.” Steve
paused to take a breath. “Jack, we’re not just co-workers. I love her, man.
She’s one of my best friends. I love her! I need your help!” The admission of
his vulnerability brought more tears to his eyes.

Amy ran over to Steve to comfort him, while Jack reached in
his pocket to retrieve his phone. He turned it on and called John. He didn’t
get an answer so Jack left a message instructing John to call him back ASAP.

“Did Victoria have her phone on her?” Jack had an idea. He
planned to have his tech department track her through her phone.

“No. It was in her purse. Her purse was in the car with me,”
Steve answered reluctantly.

Jack was livid. “Fuck!”

He dialed John again.

No answer.

He checked his text messages.

Nothing.

Jack walked around his desk and hit the intercom. Instead of
answering the intercom, Mary
came
running back into
his office. “Yes?”

“Get the entire tech team up here.
Now
,” he demanded.

“Yes, Mr. Storm,” Mary said and ran out of his office.

Not two minutes after Mary left, Tracy busted into Jack’s
office. She charged at Steve swinging. “You were supposed to protect her!”

Steve drew into a ball and endured her strikes. “I know,
baby. I’m sorry.”

Jack actually felt sorry for him, and he did his best to
peel Tracy off Steve.

Jack held Tracy in his arms and spoke in a calm voice.
“Tracy, we’re going to get her back. I promise.”

She looked up at Jack with tears in her eyes. “You swear?”

“I swear,” Jack answered confidently.

Tracy nodded and pulled away from Jack. She ran into Steve’s
arms and sobbed. He held her tightly, as tears silently ran down his cheek.
There was a soft knock at the door before Mary entered with the entire tech
team. Jack and Amy switched to business mode, while Steve turned all cop. He
summoned what was left of his team to Jack’s office.

Victoria

Victoria
slowly opened her eyes and woke to darkness. Her head was pounding as if it was
going to explode in any minute. She tried to rise, but she was restrained to a
bed. Her hands were cuffed to a headboard. Her feet were spread apart and
cuffed to opposite ends of a footboard. She struggled to pull free, but her
restraints held her captive.

“What happened? What happened? What happened?” Victoria
repeated herself, trying to jog her memory. A face appeared over her, and it
all came back. Victoria recognized the man that stood over her. She had been
snatched off of the street. Victoria had a strong suspicion that this was the
serial killer that she’d been hunting for months. He had piercing gray eyes and
sandy blonde hair. He would’ve actually been a very attractive man if he wasn’t
a lunatic.

“We met at the Taste,” she said more to herself than her
captor.

“Yes,” he answered as he climbed into the bed and lay on top
of Victoria. She could feel his erection pressing against her. Victoria was
deathly afraid. If he had an erection, he’d want to satisfy it.

Her abductor seemed to have read her mind. “Don’t worry,” he
said. “I won’t take you until it’s time.”

Victoria didn’t know what he meant by that, but she was
reassured nonetheless. At least she had a little time before he tried to rape
her.

“I told you that you were mine and we’d be together soon,
but you wouldn’t listen and you took up with another man. Didn’t you get my
notes? Do you have any idea how hard it was getting past that nosy old bitch
that lives across from you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s your fault
those whores had to die so violently. I loved you and you chose another.” As he
whispered in her ear, he ground his penis into her. He tried to kiss her lips,
but she turned her face to avoid his kiss. This must have angered him, because
he punched Victoria’s face so hard that she almost blacked out. Luckily, she
stayed conscious. She replayed the last couple of months and realized that she
was in the custody of a man that brutally tortured and killed at least a dozen
women and he’d been stalking her for months.

As she cried at the thought, he wiped the tears from her
face.

Victoria cleared her throat and said, “I didn’t choose him.
He won me in a charity auction. I sponsor a charity.” Victoria wanted to show
the killer that she was a good person.

“I know about your charity. I was at the benefit. I was the
one that bid fifty thousand dollars for you!
Fifty thousand
fucking dollars!”
He screamed into Victoria’s face. She jumped with fear
and he rubbed her face to calm her and said, “That asshole rich boyfriend of
yours outbid me. I guess you’re just like the rest. You just go for the money.
I see you walking the streets dressed like those fucking whores. You think
you’re pretending, but you’re not. You’re a dirty whore, just like the rest.”
He
paused
his rant and looked at Victoria like she
disgusted him.

Victoria quickly shook her head and answered. “I don’t care
about the money. I heard your bid, and I looked around the room for you. I
couldn’t find you.” She raised her head toward him. “Do you remember when we
met at the Taste?” He nodded, so she attempted to console him. “I wanted your
phone number so that we could have dinner, but you were gone.”

Her captor smiled and leaned in to kiss Victoria again. This
time she returned his kiss with shaky lips.

“I imagined making love to you when I was in your bed.”

Victoria was disgusted, but she managed to smile. He seemed
satisfied because he stood and walked out of the room without harming Victoria.
She struggled to get her hands free, but she was tightly cuffed to an iron
bedrail. Victoria struggled to rip the bed frame apart until she exhausted
herself. She cried until her body fell unconscious from the exhaustion.

* * * *

Victoria
was suddenly snatched from the bed. She opened her eyes and remembered where
she was. She was instantly filled with terror all over again. Her captor was
dragging her by one cuff from the dark room where she was being held. Victoria
winced from the pain to her wrist.

“Do you know what I did for you?!”

Victoria frantically shook her head. “No, I don’t know!”

Her captor stopped dragging her and dropped something wet on
her stomach. Victoria looked down and screamed.

She was looking at the severed head of Dante.

“Oh God!
Oh God!
No! No. No!”

“He was stalking you!”

He resumed his task of dragging her out of the room.
Victoria wiggled Dante’s head from her stomach.

“I did this for you!
For you!”

She thought of fighting the maniac, but her motherly
instincts kicked in and she became concerned for the child that she carried.
She decided not to struggle and to let him lead her wherever he was taking her.
Her captor dragged her into a bathroom. Victoria looked around the filthy room.
There was dirt, rust, and dried blood everywhere. He lifted her body from the
floor and pulled her into a shower. He cuffed both of her wrists and attached
the handcuffs to a hook hanging from the shower. He turned the shower on and
walked out of the bathroom. Victoria shivered. The water was freezing.

After a few minutes, the water warmed and her captor
returned to the bathroom. He had a pair of scissors. He stripped out of his
clothes and stood totally naked in front of her. He stepped into the filthy
shower with Victoria and smiled. She was terrified that her captor was going to
violate her and brutally murder her when he was done. Tears ran down her face.
She thought of pleading with him, but she knew it wouldn’t do her any good.
Everything that she’d learned about this killer told her that he thrived on
weakness. She needed to stay strong, so she smiled back at him. Her captor
placed the scissors to her throat, and Victoria looked at him with pleading
eyes. He lowered the scissors and began to cut her clothes off of her body.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I have to prepare you. You
need to be washed.”

Victoria thought of the other women that he “prepared” in
this very shower before he killed them. Her captor went back to the task of
cutting Victoria’s clothes. When he was done, Victoria stood completely naked
in front of him. His eyes roamed her body before he grabbed a wash cloth and a
bar of soap. He began to slowly wash her body. He kneeled in front of her and
sniffed between her legs. Victoria cried uncontrollably when he washed her sex.

“You’re dirty. You all are so dirty,” he mumbled as he
roughly cleaned Victoria’s private parts.

Victoria’s entire body was shaking as she whimpered and
stuttered over her words. “Do... Do you... Are you
gonna
k... kill me?”

Her captor stood and Victoria noticed his erection. She
hoped that she could buy herself more time by cooperating, but there was no way
in hell he was going to rape and murder her without good fight.

She jumped when his hand touched her face.

“
Shh
,” he whispered as he gently
rubbed her cheek. He shook his head. “I’m going to cleanse you.” He lathered
the wash cloth and gently washed her breast. He reached for the removable
shower head and held it over Victoria’s head. She tried to blink the water from
her eyes. She needed to see everything that was going on. Her captor poured
shampoo on top of Victoria’s head. He sat the bottle down and scrubbed her
hair. Her eyes burned from the shampoo. When he was done, he sprayed water over
her hair and body until he’d removed all signs of soap.

He wiped her hair away from her face and whispered in her
ear, “Such a beauty.” He reached for a towel and dried her body.

“Now you’re ready to be branded,” he said gliding his finger
across Victoria’s chest.

Victoria’s eyes widened. She asked with quivering lips,
“Br... Branded?”

He nodded.

“But I’m not a whore,” she whispered through cries.

His eyes lit up and he smiled. “Your brand will read ‘mine’,
beautiful one.” His face showed pure joy. He stepped out of the shower and
dried his own body. He wrapped a towel around his waist and left the bathroom.
There was no way Victoria was about to let him carve into her chest. It was
time to fight. She attempted to wiggle the handcuffs off of the hook. She
struggled until her wrists bled.

Just then, Victoria’s captor appeared in the doorway holding
a carving knife.

He narrowed his eyes at her. He was seething at Victoria’s
attempt to escape. “I! Said! Mine!” He raised the knife and charged at
Victoria.