Cry For You (Fallen Star #2) (12 page)

The knock on the door of the pizza shop startled me. I hadn't quite finished cleaning up. I almost squealed when I saw Tex standing there. He'd come for me. I'd always known he would. We'd fall into each other's arms. I'd be the one beside him. I'd go to the Awards night with him. I'd be with him forever.

"Where's Ruby?" he asked when I opened the door.

I shrugged. "Who?"

He moved closer to me. The heat of his skin touched against mine, sending shivers through me. He was asking about Ruby with his words but his eyes said, "I want you." I knew he’d turn to me. I’d just had to get rid of her. She’d been the only thing standing in my way.

He stood so close to me, I was sure he could hear the beating of my heart but that would only prove to him how much I loved him. The way he looked at me was brutal and animalistic. Just like I’d always imagined him to be.

“She’s gone missing and I swear you know something about it.”

That growl in his voice did wild things to my insides, way more intense than even my sexiest fantasies.

“What? I don’t know anything. I just came in to do some clean up at the shop. I don’t even know the woman.” I thrust my breasts forward, letting them say the things my words couldn’t. The build-up of sexual tension between us was almost too much for me to bear.

He glared at me, his nostrils flaring as though he could barely control his urges. He didn’t need to control them. I welcomed all of his urges.

"You can come in and look around if you like."

Of course, he walked in. He wanted to be nearer to me. You could see that written all over his face. I slammed the door behind him and smiled with satisfaction as I heard the click of the deadlock. It was just Tex and me, in the pizza shop for eternity. A fairy-tale come to life.

"Ruby?" he called out. "Ruby?"

He walked through to the back of the shop and into the kitchen making a pretence of searching for her. She wouldn’t answer though. I’d made sure she was right out of the way. Soon, the spell she’d put on him would be broken and he’d be all mine.

"Ruby?"

There was no sound except the CD playing in the background and the palpations of my desire.

"It’s okay. She’s not here. It’s just us. So, while you're here, do you want a drink or something?"

I walked to the fridge to get out a couple of beers. I made sure I put an extra wiggle in my walk, knowing he'd be watching me. It made my body thrill.

"Why's this door locked?" he asked. He was at the front door, rattling the deadlock.

"Oh that... It does it automatically."

"Open it."

Silly Tex. Like we needed the door unlocked. It was just the two of us, alone together, the way we wanted it. He just needed to sit down and open his beer. It was his favourite brand, the one he’d been drinking back stage. I’d got it in especially for him.

The buzzing, foggy feeling was gone now. I had one focus. Tex. It'd always been him. Only him. I wanted to savour this moment because I’d worked so hard to get to it. Every breath I’d taken in life, every heartbeat, had one purpose and that was to take me to this place.

When I got close to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and turned my head up to him, waiting for his lips to settle on mine. I'd dreamed of this moment every night and finally I'd know what Tex’s kiss felt like. Would it be like a raging ocean or like the ray of sun that warms your body on a winter’s day? Would it be a hot gush to my minge or a slow warming?

He stared at me for a second as though not believing it was true. I understood how he felt.

Then he pushed me away. I stumbled and fell to the floor, so hard the tears welled in my eyes. Flat on my arse.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he yelled.

"You know we're meant to be..." Maybe I’d come on too strong. Of course, he’d want to be the one to initiate things. I should’ve waited for him to make the first move. Or maybe he just liked it rough. If he wanted to tie me up and force himself on me, that would be okay too.

"We’re meant to be nothing. I want Ruby. If she's not here, open the door and let me out."

What was he saying? The buzzing came back in my head, like a swarm of flies. I reached out for his foot. He didn’t understand, but I’d make him. The whole destiny thing.

“She’s nothing. If she’s left you, then good riddance to her. Forget about her, Tex, and think about our future together. We were meant to be. All the signs say so. We can have a drink and discuss this.” I gave him a zesty wink to let him know that drinks would just be the start of it.

"You're fucking nuts," he said. “Open the door before I smash it.”

There was no way I would unlock that door. He would stay with me until he came to his senses. I could see through his tough guy front.

Then I heard a shatter. He'd kicked the door and smashed the glass. Shards rained down on the floor around me.

Then he was gone.

Through the buzzing, I had the sense to realise an alarm sounded. Of course, Tony had the windows alarmed. The cops would arrive and I'd be on the scene. I got up off the floor and ran outside, in time to see a car take off down the street. Was that Tex? He didn't have a car. I ran down the street. Maybe I could catch up to him? Then I’d make him understand.

I’d gone way past panic to recrimination, the same thoughts running around and around my mind.

Why had I been stupid enough to go to the pizza shop? I should’ve messaged Tex back to confirm things. I should’ve checked the address before I got there. I should’ve not gotten out of the cab.

When I’d turned up and realised what the place was, why’d I gone in?

The moment I’d gotten out of the cab and seen the shop sign, I’d had a creepy feeling. I mean, why would Tex want to have dinner at the pizza place where that woman worked?

But the message
had
come from Tex.

She was so strong too. She'd overpowered me easily. Her eyes had been the worst. There was nothing in those eyes. They were blank and vacant, like all rational sense had left.

I rubbed my wrists, hoping to loosen the bonds. I had no idea what she'd tied around them. It didn't feel like rope. It was soft fabric. Maybe a scarf or something. I rubbed the knot against the back of the chair. Either the slat on the chair would break or the fabric would loosen. I’d been doing it for what felt like hours though and I didn’t seem to have made any progress.

I had to get out. I couldn’t wait to be rescued. I kept on trying it. I had nothing else to do with my time anyway. At least the effort warmed me up a little. My thin dress gave me little protection against the cold.

What did she intend to do to me? She couldn't leave me tied up forever. Or could she? Maybe she’d dumped me and I’d die a slow, lingering death in this place.

But, if she wanted to kill me, wouldn’t she have just killed me straight away, not left me tied up? Maybe, after she hit me and I’d lost consciousness, she’d panicked. She’d come to her senses and come back to let me go.

No. She had no senses.

Or maybe she just thought it would be stupid to kill me in the pizza place. My blood would be all over the floor. She’d have to clean up every trace or I’d be identified. With everything that had happened, she’d be the prime suspect.

She'd take me somewhere far away. Into some backwoods.

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts were good. Thoughts of shallow graves in the woods were NOT good.

The way Tex stroked my skin after we had sex, brushing his fingertips against me as though I was so delicate that he might break me. Surprisingly gentle after the roughness of our lovemaking. That contrast always made my heart flip. That was as close as he ever came to saying he loved me. Not that I needed the words. I had the way he looked at me and the way he said my name and the way he wrapped his body against mine.

Was that an alarm?

The noise pulsated through me. I'd been in the dark silence for so long that I questioned if it was just inside my head. I was being pushed over some edge. Maybe I’d start hearing all kinds of things – voices and bells and footsteps – until I slowly went mad.

No, it was out there. An alarm.

That meant someone was coming. Surely. Someone would hear the alarm and search the place and find me. Maybe they'd find me. I had no idea where I was. I could hear nothing over the noise of the alarm. I tried to call out so that if anyone arrived, they'd hear me but I couldn’t make any noise. I’d tried to work the gag out of my mouth but had only slackened it a little.

Maybe I could do something else though.

I tried to jump the chair she'd tied me too. It moved a little but didn't make much sound. And I’d moved it to less stable ground so that it rocked in a scary way. The ground under my feet was hard. I tried stomping my feet to make noise but the sound was so weak no one would even notice it.

I thought about what people did on TV. Maybe I should try to tip the chair over. Then I'd be on the ground. I wasn't sure if the ground was where I wanted to be though. I had a relatively comfortable chair but the ground could be cold concrete and covered in any kind of awful muck. I shuffled the chair some more but hit something. Some boxes, by the feeling against my arm. I rocked my body, hoping I could get the boxes to fall over but they were solid. Still, I kept trying.

My wrist burnt from the friction of the fabric and my legs ached from the effort of trying to move. But I had to try.

Then the alarm stopped. I listened for footsteps or any noise that suggested another person was around. All I could hear was that horrible rustling though. I was alone. Totally alone.

The blindfold was wet against my face. I hadn't even realised I'd been crying.

The phone in my back pocket rang again. I took it out and turned it off. I didn't want any sound pinpointing my position. I sat on the fire escape of the building opposite the pizza shop watching the police. They'd search the building and find nothing wrong. They'd never find her in the store shed. I'd tied her and gagged her. When they left, Tony might send someone to secure the building. He’d be contacted by the security company and would have someone come over to board up the door.

Shit, I'd parked the pizza delivery car out the back of the building. If Tony’s minion saw it there when he turned up, they'd figure out I'd been at the shop. I needed to move it but I'd wait for the cops to leave.

There was nothing to do but wait but shit, the night was cold. I hadn't planned on hiding out in an alleyway when I'd left my apartment. Surely it wouldn't take the cops long to search the building.

I had to do something about the phone. I couldn’t have it on me but I didn't want to ditch it near the pizza shop. I'd stop somewhere once I had the car and throw it in the trash.

Maybe I should use it. Send Tex a message and tell him he was dumped. That witch obviously had a hold over him.

I needed him to feel so totally dumped, he'd never think of going after her. What would she do if she dumped him? Hell, I should've thought this plan out better before I started.

Her parents were in Bali. That's where she'd go. It's not like he'd follow her there. He had the Awards show and then a gig not long after. It'd be perfect. Yep, she’d totally be the type to go running back to her parents. She obviously was the type who had parents she could run to. If he thought she was there with them, he’d forget about her in an instant.

"Sorry. Can't handle this relationship. The stress might make me have another breakdown." Good, hopefully he didn't know about the breakdown. "Going to join my parents in Bali. Don't try to find me :)"

Then I deleted the smilie face. She probably wouldn't use that in a break-up email. I pressed send.

The cops were leaving. I got up and stretched my legs. I'd go get the car soon. Then what? Go to the studio? Tex would need comfort and I would be there for him.

Maybe I should leave that for a night though. I didn't want Tex to suffer too much but I had to wait a while. I couldn't go running straight to him. He was crazy freaked about that witch. I had to wait until the impact of the message hit him. If I waited a day, he'd definitely be over her and looking for comfort.

The cops drove off and I wondered if I had time to check on the witch before Tony’s henchman arrived. It was probably safe to leave her in the store shed for a few more hours. It wasn't as if the rats would completely eat her in that time. And she could go a few hours without food or water. On the other hand, maybe she'd managed to untie herself somehow and would be able to call out for help when Tony’s friend arrived. If they found her in the back shed, I'd be up shit creek.

I quickly pulled all the empty crates away from the shed door and reefed it open with a rusty screech. If I'd planned this better, oiling that door would've been on my list. The noise was a dead giveaway. Luckily, there was nobody around to hear it.

It was pitch black inside but I used the torch Tony had by the back of the store to look around. She'd moved the chair but got herself wedged up against some cartons of supplies for the shop. I really hoped Tony didn't put those supplies on the actual pizzas because they looked like they'd been sitting around in the shed for years.

The witch's head turned toward me.

"What are you looking at?" I said then laughed. Of course, she wasn't looking at anything because she was blindfolded. "Ha, I bet you were wishing it was Tex sweeping in like a rescuing hero. Well, sucked in. It's just me. And that's all it's going to be. Tex has dumped you. He's not that interested in having a crazy bitch girlfriend. Wouldn't want the press getting hold of information like that, would he. It'd not look good for him."

I wished I could see her reaction to that. It wasn't as much fun when I couldn't see her breaking down.

“He came around here, you know. Pretending to look for you but then we got distracted.” I giggled a little, thinking of the warmth of his body against mine. I’d cherish that moment.

She made a muffled sound. I wasn’t sure if it was a pang of jealous pain.

"I'm taking the gag off but if you make a sound, I'll bash you up the side of the head, get it? There’s no one that can hear anyway. The pizza shop is closed."

I removed the rag from her mouth, ready to stuff it back in if she made a noise. I took the blindfold off too. She didn't really need it on, stuck in this dark shed. Then I got the water bottle out and emptied into her mouth. She coughed and spluttered but I didn't want her dying from thirst.

"You really shoulda gone to Bali with your parents, Ruby. You could be laying around on a beach now, getting your hair braided and wearing a sarong. Hey, what's sarong with not going to Bali? You get dumped in this crappy shed." I laughed because that was hilarious but she kept choking on the water.

I wondered if I should give her something to eat as well but I had no idea how long it would be before Tony sent someone to board up the smashed window. Although, if they were a friend of Tony’s, it could take hours.

"I'm putting the gag in now and I'm going away but I'll be back. If you try to escape, I'll know and you'll end up with a few more bruises."

I stuffed the rag back in her mouth. She hadn't said anything, which was good. Then I got the car out of there. I'd drive around and figure out what I'd do with her. I wondered if I could sell her on the black market.

I mean, I didn’t actually want her to die. Not really. That would be bad. I just wanted her to disappear somehow so she’d be out of my way. Tex had proved that first night I’d met him backstage that I meant more to him than her. I was doing this to help him.

But, now I had her tied up and captive, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with her. Who knew that kidnapping could be such a bother?