Cellar Door (28 page)

Madonna

Making the decision to come here alone hasn’t been an easy one, but as the old adage goes: desperate times… I know what I’m doing is crazy, but I really don’t have a choice.

Sitting alone in the visiting room, I feel like the walls of the tiny room are closing in on me. I know Liam would never agree to me coming to talk to his brother by myself but I really don’t know what else to do. I’ve even paid off the guard in an effort to have a shot at getting through to Lance without being overheard.

My mind drifts back to the words I wrote last night in desperation, trying to make sense of the madness that permeates my life lately:

I was born this way…

Born how, you say?

Born with the innate desire to root for the villain in the story.

Born with the need to understand the criminal mind and all the dark behavior that goes along with it.

Born with the desire to keep the things I write about real, even if it uncovers the hideous monsters obscured behind your white picket fences -- white picket fences you’ve so carefully constructed, hoping no one will see what goes on behind your suburban portals of perfection.

For you see…

I do not believe monsters exist only in haunted mansions and desolate graveyards; oh no…they walk among us.

So if I offend you with my words, written with a quill dipped in the bloodstained ink of truth, by all means turn your gaze of denial elsewhere…to that which you can withstand.

But know this…

I will never be silenced from writing about that which I know, that which I have lived.

I will always to my own self be true…

Because baby…I was born this way.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts as the heavy steel door opens. Its sinister sound of finality chases away any second thoughts I have about being here. The man who has the same face as my lover, and yet couldn’t be more different, sits down at the metal table. He eyes me with amusement. There’s no turning back now. I have no choice but to ask the man – the man who yearns to kill me -- for help.

“Well, well, what a surprise to see you here, and without my brother.” He leans across the table like he’s sharing a secret with me and continues, “Tell me, now… Are you scared?”

“To be honest with you, yes.”

Maybe I can outsmart this sociopath by getting him to trust me. A genuine smile touches his face. It’s obvious my fear pleases him. Maybe he’s more like his brother than I thought.

“It would seem you’re in quite the pickle, aren’t you, young lady?”

I don’t answer him right away, but focus on the fact that he has to be involved or he wouldn’t know
I’m in a pickle
.

“What have you done, Lance? What have you and this crazy stalker done?!?”

For a second he seems shocked by my frankness but quickly regains his composure. Had I not been watching him closely, I would have missed it. He continues talking as if I haven’t said a word.

“You’re going to have to kill him, you know. Now that my brother is in jail, my young protégé is going to come after you. Of course, I can tell you how to do it and get away with it if you’d like me to.”

He seems quite smug that he has the answer to all my problems—or so he thinks in his fucked up mind. Narcissistic doesn’t even begin to describe the ego on this guy.

“You had something to do with this! I know it!” I hiss through gritted teeth. Once again a smile spreads over his face and it irritates the shit out of me. How in the hell his brother deals with him is beyond me. No wonder Liam was reluctant about letting me accompany him here.

“Fine. Please do. Tell me how to get your puppet out of my life.” My voice drips with sarcasm. I’m through with being nice.

“Ooh, you
are
a little firecracker. It’s easy to see why my brother is so enamored with you.” He leans in and whispers like we’re besties sharing a secret, “You know…with his sexual issues and all. I can only speculate it’s more exciting to bring an
alpha sub
under control.” He cocks his head and narrows his eyes before murmuring, “Do you know what an alpha sub is, or has my brother not reached that stage of kink, er,
training,
with you yet?”

“I’m not his dog, Lance. I don’t need to be trained by Liam or anyone else, for that matter. I’m most certainly not here to talk about your brother’s sex life. If you care anything about your twin brother, you’ll tell me what the hell you’ve done!”

“My, my, no need to get testy. The first thing you need to do is sleep with a gun under your pillow—oh, and you should probably sleep with one eye open.” He chuckles at his little joke but I simply arch an eyebrow and nod for him to continue. He grimaces and rolls his eyes before getting into specifics, “He’ll come for you at night. He always kills at night—the darkness is a part of him. You must allow him to get into your house. If you hear him trying to get in, call the police and have the dispatcher stay on the line with you. Point the gun in his direction and tell him you have a gun and that you’ve called the police. Warning him with the police dispatcher as a witness will ensure it’s seen as self-defense when you kill him. It won’t stop him, of course, but it will cover your ass if you manage to survive. As a woman, you’ll receive more compassion from the cops. And, truly, this is a case of kill or be killed. It’s him or you; that simple. You don’t have my brother to protect you anymore, you only have yourself.

“Go home, find my brother’s gun and do what you and I both know you must do. Look in his closet, that’s where most people keep their firearms and I’m sure Liam is just as predictable as he could possibly get.”

“Right, Lance…I’d be doing you a favor, wouldn’t I? You can’t control him anymore so you want him dead.”

I want to smack the overly innocent look off his face as he replies, “I’m only trying to be helpful.”

“We wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if it wasn’t for you! This is nothing more than some elaborate mind fuck you’ve cooked up to keep your brother in your life.”

With no warning he jerks toward me and his eyes go ice cold. “Let’s not forget you’re in the equation.”

My hackles rise. He not only wants to control his brother, but me as well. He doesn’t give me time to answer, he just gets up and makes his way over to the large steel door.

“Guard…I’m ready.” He looks at me over his right shoulder and says to me, “This conversation is over. Don’t come back here until you do what you’re told.”

His Vigilance

Everything is working out perfectly. I watched her leave the house this morning and once again I have her looking over her shoulder in fear. She won’t have that hero of hers to rescue her this time. Did they actually believe I’d give up on my pursuit of her that easily? They’ve made the mistake of underestimating a madman—nothing could make me give up on killing the woman who has been the center of three men’s obsessions. It’s hard to believe one woman could cause this many problems, but she has and now she’ll pay.

While there’s no one here, I walk around the perimeter of the house. Large windows reveal the décor of a man who has done quite well for himself. Antiques and handwoven rugs are placed throughout the house. Though I have to admit I’m impressed with what I see, that isn’t why I’m here. Not at all. I’m doing a little research, assessing Liam’s security system and searching for points of entry.

Time for the grand finale.

Liam

“Your bail hearing isn’t until tomorrow morning. It’s the best I could do, Liam.”

“I can’t leave her in that house alone, not even for one night.”

“You’ve got no choice. I can’t guarantee you’ll get out by then. They’ve got you dead to rights with this DNA evidence. How in the hell did that happen, Liam?”

“I have no idea.”

“This woman you’re seeing, is there any way she could have set you up?”

“No!” My reaction is immediate. Not only is there no way she could concoct a plan that intricate, up until now she hasn’t been out of my sight. I’d like to say I trust her and I know she wouldn’t do anything like that, but how well do we really know anyone? I kidnapped the woman, so it isn’t like we have some conventional relationship with hearts and flowers. For all I know, she could be waiting for something like this to happen so she can double cross me. Setting me up would be the perfect way for Madonna to free herself from my grip, but I’m not about to share that information with my lawyer. I can barely stand the thought of it myself.

“Call Anthony Johnson.”

“Governor Anthony Johnson?!? You know him?”

“Long story, but, yes. He can get me out of here on bail so she isn’t left at the mercy of a serial killer. I’ll never forgive myself if that bastard kills her.”

“Let’s stay positive about this, Liam. I don’t even want to think about an innocent woman dying because you’ve been framed. Let me get on this and you just sit tight until I can get you out of this hellhole.”

He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I’m well aware of how easily someone can arrive in jail with one charge and leave with three more. I’ve already got a fucking target on my back because I don’t fit in here. I can only hope the governor can pull some strings and get me out tonight so Madonna isn’t left at the mercy of a killer.
Like he’d have any fucking mercy anyway.

The only way I can find out if my brother’s in on this and, if so, how far he’s taken his deranged mind fucks this time, is to get out of here.

Governor Anthony Johnson is my only hope.