Chained (13 page)

Kit’s lips thinned into a hard line as he nodded and took my arm to walk outside. I buttoned up my coat and we started walking.

“How have you been tonight, Kit?”

“Who is that man?”

I was almost taken aback by his sudden question. “You mean the guy behind the bar with me?” Kit almost growled, but nodded with the same stern look on his face. “That’s Charlie. He’s my boss.”

Kit suddenly turned to me. “Are you sure that’s all he is?”

I stared at him, my eyes wide. “Yes,” I sighed. “Why are you so mad?”

He grunted a little and looked everywhere but at me. “I don’t know.”

That was the last of our conversation all the way to my door. Once there, I opened the gate, then put my key in the lock, and pushed my door open. I turned around, about to invite Kit inside, but all I saw was an empty footpath and the darkened street beyond it. I suppose that answered one question. He was mad as hell. But why? What had I done to make him so pissed off?

I grumbled to myself, but went inside and shut the door. I was a little hurt by the way he just disregarded me tonight. I also worried about where he was going to stay. Now that he had stayed with me a few nights, I wanted him there. His presence somehow was a comfort. Hearing noises other than my own around the house filled me with such tranquillity, I didn’t want it to end.

Sighing, I had just taken off my coat and placed my bag down when my doorbell rang. Jumping, I practically skipped to the door, assuming it was Kit coming to apologise to me. In my eagerness, I opened the door without looking. It wasn’t Kit at all.

It was Freddy.

Screaming, I tried to ram the door back onto his face, but he caught it and pushed it forward.

“Bitch!” he growled.

I tried to run into the front room, but he caught my hair and yanked me back. I screeched in pain, but elbowed him with such force, it knocked the wind out of him. Hunched over, he fell to his knees. I was desperate to get to a drawer about seven feet away from me. I tried running towards it, but he grabbed my ankle and I fell to the floor, hurting my arm in the process. I rolled over just in time to see Freddy get up from the floor.

“You thought you saw the last of me, ha? I saw you with your fucking beardy boyfriend and knew he would have to leave you alone at some point. I must say, I was surprised when he just left abruptly like that. Did you have a lover’s tiff?”

I rubbed my sore arm and looked up at him. “What do you want with me?”

Freddy, or whatever the hell is name was, cocked his eyebrow. “I want you. I want that fine ass you’ve been fucking parading around the bar for the last three months. You never even fucking noticed me until I became your saviour that night. How ironic is that?”

I edged further toward the drawer, Freddy slowly stalking his way towards me. He licked his lips in an evil, suggestive manner as he roamed his steely eyes over my body. By now, my tights were bunched up in two places and my arm and legs were sore from the landing.

“Where are you going, darling? You can’t escape me now. There’s no fucking boyfriend to save you this time. It’s just you and me.”

I quickly pushed myself up and tried to run the rest of the way. Freddy grabbed me by the wrist and spun me around. I acted quickly, kneeing him in the groin.

“Fucking bitch,” he moaned.

I tried to run again, but he grabbed me, spun me around, and slapped me across the face. It stung like hell and gave him just enough time to push me down onto the sofa. I felt his hard body pressed against me, then his hot breath in my ear as he squeezed my breast. “Do that to me again, and I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands. You got that?”

I let out a strangled cry and desperately tried to reach a vase sitting on the coffee table. Freddy’s groping just made me want to throw up. I felt the bile rise up in my throat, but I quickly tried to swallow it down and concentrate on getting myself out from under him.

Slowly, I managed to ease my hand across the table. Freddy, who was now too busy trying to pull my skirt up, didn’t seem to notice. I had to act now before it was too late.

With one last lunge, I pushed myself to the side with as much force as I could, managing to grab the vase. I almost celebrated the fact, but Freddy was quick. He tried grabbing my arm, but I managed to swing it away from him and hit the back of his head with as much force as I could, immediately dropping the vase.

All went deathly quiet. Freddy lay limp on top of me. At first, I couldn’t get him off. It took a few heaves and pushes to finally free myself. As soon as I was up, I staggered towards my drawer. I didn’t know how much of my fuzziness was due to my illness or what just happened.

Shaking my head, I got to the drawer and pulled it open. I grabbed my 9mm Smith & Wesson, aiming it towards Freddy’s limp body. I had just one bullet. One bullet in this gun reserved for one person only. I didn’t want to have to use it on him, but I would if it came to it.

I contemplated about what to do. I didn’t want to involve the police, but I didn’t want to involve another person, either. In the end, my head overruled everything. I picked up the phone and dialled his number. I knew it was wrong because my body always betrayed itself whenever he was near. I had to, though. I needed his help and I knew he would be there for me.

“Olivia. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Have you got something for me now? Are you able to come home yet?”

“I’m in trouble.” I only needed to say those three words.

“I’ll be there in thirty.”

He hung up and I sat on the other side of the room, aiming the gun at Freddy. I daren’t look away, just in case I missed him grabbing for me. With each minute, my breathing calmed, but whenever I thought Freddy moved, my heart rate would pick up again.

An agonising twenty-eight minutes went by before I heard the knock on my door. I prayed this would be him and not Kit. That would be all I needed.

When I moved to the door this time, I peeked outside first. It was Uncle.

“Livy,” he purred when I answered the door. My body instantly reacted to his voice as the tingles ran through me. He smiled. He knew he only had to utter my name and I was his.

Standing behind him was an army of about six men. All of them looked strong, but Uncle was definitely head of the show. He was in his late thirties, but looked a lot younger. Whenever you saw him, he would always look polished and finely-dressed. He was wearing his light brown long coat slightly open, revealing his grey suit and navy tie. He straightened it, showing off the thick rings he wore around his fingers. He was every bit the leader. His presence screamed it.

Uncle looked at my gun, then back at me. “Must be serious if you got that out.” He gave me a knowing smile. He knew full well what it was reserved for.

I tried to smile, but after what happened, I wasn’t in a smiling mood. “Come in.” I motioned to them all and, one by one, they passed me and walked into my living room.

Uncle pointed to Freddy still lying face down on my sofa. “Is this the problem?” I nodded.

He motioned to the men with just a flick of his fingers. They grouped around Freddy and picked him up. With one heave, they carried him outside. No doubt that would be the last I ever saw of him.

Once all was quiet, Uncle turned to me. “Are you okay?”

I sighed my relief, put the gun away, and turned to him. “I’m fine now. He’d obviously been following me and thought he could take what he wanted without asking.”

Uncle straightened himself, but looked hard at me. “Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head. “I managed to fight him off.”

He looked around the room and saw the vase on the floor. “So I see. I taught you well.” He smiled at me.

I smiled back. “So you did.” I motioned to the kitchen. “Do you fancy a drink?”

He shook his head. “No, no. I won’t be staying long. Do you need me for anything else?”

I shook my head, feeling confused. “No, but thanks.” He was obviously in a hurry to leave. Maybe I had disrupted something, or maybe he just wanted to deal with my little problem.

Uncle sighed. “You haven’t got any information for me at all?”

I bit my lip and shook my head. “I haven’t been very well.”

He looked a little worried. “What’s been the matter?”

I shrugged. “Just a virus, I guess, but I had been in bed for a few days. I’m getting better now, though, and will start again tomorrow morning. I’m sure I’ll have something for you soon.” I smiled as best I could and Uncle rewarded me with one. His smiles were great when you were on his good side. It was the other kind of smiles you needed to worry about. If Uncle smiled at you in the wrong way, you’d better start running.

“That’s good.” He walked over to me and came in for a hug. “You take care of yourself, Livy. Remember, everything you’re doing… It’s all for you. You know that, don’t you? All this was the reason you went under in the first place. You needed purpose, and now that you’ve got it, you are a changed woman.” He pulled away and cupped my chin. “In fact, you’re turning into the most beautiful woman. It’s hard having to wait, Livy, and I’ve waited long enough. I can give you another week, then you’re coming home. My patience can only go so far.”

The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine. Uncle was always nice to me, but to completely trust him with me was a different story. I never knew whether or not his passing remarks held an element of threat. It was hard to say no to him, though. For some reason, whenever he was near me, I wanted to be close to him. My body screamed to go to him.

“Yes, Uncle. Of course.” I nodded, practically bowing down to him. He liked a strong woman, but he also liked them to be submissive when it came to him. I always did as I was told because the thought of going against him frightened me. He took good care of me, though. He was one of the reasons I pulled myself out of the hole I had wedged myself into. He was the one who brought me back to health, fed me, got me new clothes and, eventually, trained me to fight. He was my evil savour in my darkest hour. In fact, you could easily say my soul belonged to him. He had told me that often enough. He was like the devil himself and he owned me…and he made sure I knew it.

Uncle smiled sweetly, pulling me in and gently placing a kiss on my forehead. He lingered there a moment, inhaled, then trailed a finger under my chin. I shuddered. It wasn’t deliberate. It always happened around him.

“Good,” he sighed. “I’ll wait to hear from you. Don’t make it too long, though.”

I nodded, wondering what the hell I was going to do now. I couldn’t hold him off much longer.

“Yes, Uncle. And thank you for helping me tonight.”

Uncle smiled wickedly, sending my heart fluttering. He trailed his finger along the back of my arm, towards my elbow. “Once this is all over, you can show me just how grateful you really are. It’s time, Livy. Time to finally make you mine.”

He roamed his eyes across my body before meeting my eyes. Every part of me went rigid at his touch. I resisted the urge to shiver, rewarding him with one of my best smiles instead. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

Uncle hummed a little, like the thought of it excited him. Soon, though, he snapped out of his trance and walked towards the door. “I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

He shut the door behind him with such a heavy thud, it made me jump. With it came a huge relief from the pull he had over me. The moment he was gone, I felt it leave me. It was the strangest thing, and I could never quite put my finger on why there was this need to be close to him whenever he was around. I had been trying to fight it since it started, but it just got stronger every time.

A few moments later, I realised I was on my own. I always welcomed it, but since Kit came into my life, I hated my own company. I craved his arms around me, needing that huge comfort he knew how to bring. I was obsessed with the way his very presence seemed to calm me. He was like the ice to my fire...the sun to my rain. He brought stability and peace to my aching heart. Something no one had ever done before.

But he was gone, and I hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be too long before I saw him again.

They say some wishes do come true. I just didn’t expect mine to turn out the way it did.

Chapter 12

Giggling, Charlotte and I stepped into my house. We had both just turned thirteen and were getting into boys. We had just passed one boy and he was gorgeous…hence our giggling.

“Olivia, step into my office, please.”

I looked at my father and all giggles immediately stopped. I fidgeted with my hands and timidly looked at Charlotte. She offered me a smile, but she could tell there was something wrong.

I looked back at him with a nod. “Yes, Father.”

I walked into his office. Uncle was there and I smiled brightly at him. He was the only one I could smile at like that. He always seemed kind to me. In fact, he was the only person involved with my father who was.

When my father closed the door, I looked at him. “What have I told you about bringing strays back to the house?”

I looked down and fidgeted with my hands. I was cringing at his use of the word “strays”. He never liked me mixing with children who weren’t from a position of power. “She’s a friend. I wanted to bring her home.”

“She isn’t welcome here.” My father’s stern voice was abrupt, making my heart beat faster. “Why don’t you invite Victoria?”

Victoria was a girl close to me in age who was the daughter of our next potential Prime Minister. I didn’t like her very much, though, because she always looked down on people. “I don’t get along with her, Father.”

He sighed heavily. “You will have to learn. Whoever this...” He waved his hand around, “girl is, she isn’t welcome here.”

From out of nowhere, my anger rose. “But I like her. I want her here. She’s my friend.”

When he saw the fire in my eyes, he stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. “Listen here, you little bitch. I make the rules around here, not some snotty little kid. Get rid of her. You are not to mix with people like her!”

“That’s enough!” Uncle stood up and glared at my father. He saw the look in his eyes and immediately loosened his grip.

I pulled away, noticing now how painful my wrist was. He was holding onto it far more tightly than he should have been.

“Livy, maybe it’s best you let your friend know something has come up today.” I saw Uncle smiling at me tenderly, so I smiled back.

Despite feeling sad, I nodded. “I’ll go and tell her.”

I woke up the next morning, my alarm ringing in my ears. I ached all over and felt exhausted from a restless sleep. I didn’t sleep well without Kit with me, and all I did was have nightmare after nightmare about my dad. I always dreamt of him. Some nights were worse than others, but when I was worried about something, they seemed to get worse.

Stopping my alarm, I shook my head and got up. The day seemed cloudy, which just added to my already bad mood. I just hoped a good shower and a visit to the soup kitchen might do the trick. I had missed my guys and worried about Rachel after the beating she took. It was all the incentive I needed to get ready.

Once showered and dressed, I went about my normal routine. As usual, Tim was in the coffee shop once I arrived.

He gasped when he looked up and saw me, his smile bright. “Olivia, I’ve missed you. I’ve actually been worried about you.”

He motioned to another guy to take over his order and we walked to the end of the counter. “It was nothing. I just caught a virus and was in bed for a few days.”

Tim frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. You should have called me. I would have gotten one of the guys to bring around some coffee for you.”

I smiled, thinking how kind that was. “That’s really sweet, Tim, but I would never want to impose.”

He gasped again. “Impose?” He leaned over the counter to whisper, “How could my favourite customer ever impose?”

I raised my eyebrow. “I bet you say that to
all
your customers.”

Tim straightened up and laughed. “Maybe…but they’re not as beautiful as you. So, what can I get you? The usual?” I nodded. “Coming right up.”

Once all was ready, I paid Tim and thanked him before heading out the door. I was feeling a little happier now that I was on my usual routine. During my depression phase, I had found that having a routine was a big thing for me. As long as I had one, I had purpose. That way, I wouldn’t be wallowing in my own self-pity.

As I rounded the corner towards the steps, I craned my neck, trying to see if I could spot everyone on their usual steps. I noticed Thomas straight away, Marcus sitting near him. Kit wasn’t in his usual spot but, after last night, I kind of gathered it would be that way. What surprised me even more was that Wayne and Rachel were nowhere to be found.

Thomas spotted me and immediately started walking in my direction. I knew there was something wrong. The look on his face didn’t bode well.

“Thomas, what’s wrong?”

He rubbed his hand over his face. He looked like he’d been up all night. “Shit hit the fucking fan last night.”

My body immediately tensed. “What do you mean?”

Thomas motioned for me to sit with them, so I did. I handed them their drinks and waited for Thomas to carry on.

“Wayne’s been looking for that punk who beat up Rachel. He was a determined little fucker, I’ll give him that. Well, long story short, he got lucky last night. He beat the man half to death and the guy’s on life support now.”

I gasped, almost dropping my coffee on my lap. “What happened after? I mean, where are they both now?”

Thomas took a sip of his drink, so Marcus intervened, “Wayne was still beating him when the cops showed up.”

I looked over at him. “So he’s in police custody?”

Marcus nodded. “Facing aggravated assault charges and possibly even attempted murder.”

I looked away. “Shit.”

Thomas snorted. “My fucking sentiments exactly.”

“So where’s Rachel?”

Marcus shrugged. “No one knows. We assumed she may be down at the police station with him, but we haven’t heard from her since yesterday.”

This worried me a little. I hoped they were right about Rachel. She had been through enough as it was without all this.

I put my coffee cup down, then took out a pen and piece of paper from my handbag. I started writing. “Please, if you hear any news, can you ring me on this number?” I took out a five pound note, holding both out to Tim.

He looked down at the money, then up at me. “I don’t need that. I can call you without that.”

Grabbing his hand, I placed both items in his palm. “Please,” I begged.

He looked into my eyes for a moment and shook his head. “Oh, fuck. I could never resist a woman who begs like that.”

I laughed a little, but the laughter was short-lived. “Just promise me you’ll call if you hear anything.”

His smile faded and he gripped my hand. “I promise.”

I smiled and got up. “Thanks.” I looked towards the doors of the soup kitchen. “Well, I better get inside. Do you know anyone who might appreciate these extra drinks?”

Thomas smiled. “I’m sure we’ll find someone. Thank you, Olivia. As always.”

I nodded and made my way up the stairs to start my day. Tammy was there, smiling. I was never sure whether her smiles were genuine or not.

“Morning, Olivia. How are you feeling? I hope better.”

I nodded with a smile as I hung my coat up and placed my bag down. “I’m fine now, thank you. I’m not sure what it was, but it certainly had me in bed for a few days.”

Tammy regarded me for a moment. “Hmm… Well, I’m glad you’re here now. It’s been super busy these past few days.”

With that, she walked off. Yeah, not sure whether that was genuine or not.

*****

I had been at the bar for the past three hours and have been rushed off my feet. These girls at the Hen party sure know how to put them away. They also sure know how to take them out. They had done so often enough for drooling Charlie boy, who was smiling from ear to ear behind the bar. If I had a pound for every time I rolled my eyes tonight, I’d be rich.

“Woohoo! Charlie, my darling, another round over here, please. Show us what you got!” The girl shouting this was about Charlie’s age. She was pretty, in her mid-twenties, and sported some rather large breasts, which Charlie had been eye-fucking all night.

Oh god. There was that eye roll again. I walked up to Charlie, who was smiling and getting the drinks ready. “Come on, Charlie. Show them what you got.” I raised my eyebrow at him and he bent down to my ear.

“Help me.” His voice actually sounded pleading.

I patted his back. “Oh, I think you got this okay.”

His eyes widened. “Olivia, seriously. If you don’t help me, I may get eaten alive here.”

I started laughing. “Charlie Charmer, what am I going to do with you? You
do
realise this is all your fault, don’t you?”

He turned to Megan, another part-time bartender he had called in for the night. Charlie thought we could do this between the two of us, but had to admit defeat about an hour ago.

“Megan, you’ll help me, won’t you?”

A sudden shrill voice sounded from the group of girls. “Ooo, Charlie! Come over here and let us feel those muscles.” The woman shouting was larger than life. She must have been in her mid-forties, but she was dressed like a twenty-year-old.

“Yeah, Charlie. What other muscles do you have that we can feel up, ha?” This came from her chubby friend sitting next to her.

They went into a fit of giggles, and Charlie visibly winced. At that moment, I felt sorry for him. If it was a bunch of men doing this to me, it would be a different story.

I placed my hand on his arm and he stopped what he was doing to look at me. I grabbed his neck and pulled him to me for a kiss. I didn’t mean to act so impulsively. It just seemed like the best way to help him. I heard a mixture of cheers and grumbles coming from behind us as Charlie went rigid. Pretty soon, though, he gripped me tightly to him and tried invading my mouth with his tongue. I was trying to be a friend and help him, but Charlie obviously had other ideas.

I couldn’t push him away because that would look too obvious. Instead, I reached my hand up where the ladies couldn’t see and pinched the end of his ear. He pulled back and stared at me, a mixture of lust and shock in his eyes. I gave him a stern look, then turned to the ladies with a smile.

“I’m the only one who gets to feel his…muscles. Sorry, ladies.” They all grumbled, but seemed to leave Charlie alone after that.

“I think Charlie’s in shock.”

I turned to Megan, who was smiling. I looked over her shoulder to find Charlie scratching his head and looking at me.

“That must be a first.”

Megan giggled and glanced his way. “Poor boy doesn’t know what to do with himself.”

I grabbed a few dirty glasses and placed them into the dishwasher. “I’m sure he’ll think of something. He always does. Maybe he’ll get lucky with big boobs over there.” I motioned to the girl Charlie had been gawking at all night. Well, not exactly her. More like her two lady friends on her chest.

Megan shook her head with a laugh. “If he does, she’s a right slut. That’s the girl who’s getting married tomorrow.”

My eyes widened. “Wow! She’s been all over Charlie tonight.”

Megan nodded. “I know. It’s bad, isn’t it? Why get married if you’re going to act like that? I wonder what her husband-to-be would think.”

I shrugged. “Well, you never know. Maybe they have that kind of relationship. I don’t understand it myself, but I would never judge it.”

Charlie approached us and looked at Megan with a frown. “Umm… Megan, can you cover for us for a moment.”

Megan’s eyes widened as she looked between Charlie and me with a small frown. “Er… Sure.”

Charlie looked over at me and motioned to the back. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Oh shit. Was I in trouble for kissing him like that? He was my boss, after all. I probably shouldn’t have overstepped, but I considered Charlie a friend before anything else. It still didn’t stop me from mentally beating myself up about it, though. It was unprofessional of me.

I nodded, feeling awkward, and shrugged as I passed Megan on the way to the back of the bar. He walked down the hallway to his office and stopped to open the door for me. Once inside, he shut the door behind him.

“Holy shit, Olivia. What was that?”

I put my hands out to placate him. “I’m sorry, Charlie. I was just trying to help you. I didn’t mean to step over the line—”

I had no more time to explain because he stepped forward and pulled me in for another kiss.

Too shocked for words, I stood there for a moment, rigid, as he tried to coax his tongue into my mouth again.

That was all I needed to push him away. “Charlie, stop. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Charlie nodded, breathless. “Oh yes, I do. I’ve been wanting to do that ever since the day you stepped into my bar looking for a job. I want you, Olivia. Can’t you see how much?”

I shook my head and tried to push him away, but he held me in a strong grip. Charlie was about to kiss me again when he was suddenly yanked away.