Ellena (9 page)

She heard the door open and then Luke’s voice.

“How are we feeling, honey?” he asked, and she smiled.

“I feel very relaxed.” She was surprised at how her voice sounded. It was almost sexy. She giggled to herself.

“I’m going to begin. Just let me know if you need more pressure or if something feels tight.”

“Okay.”

Those were her last words to Luke. He began her message, and she was in total relaxation. The man was a god with his hands. She was in love with Luke. She smiled inside as she absorbed every moment of the massage. She heard him whisper next to her ear, “I’ll be right back. You rest and take your time to get up. You might feel a bit light headed.”

She whispered an okay, or at least thought she did, but wasn’t certain because she was so calm and content. She wished the hour hadn’t gone by so quickly. She would definitely do this again.

She must have dozed off because sometime later she heard the door open, and then she felt the hands on her shoulders. Immediately she tensed. It didn’t feel like Luke’s. As she went to move to look, one large hand grabbed a fistful of her hair and kept her face pressed hard against the sheet. The other hand held her back down and right in the center. She gasped.

“Do not move, Ellena. We have things to discuss.”

Immediately she recognized Parker’s voice. Her stomach dropped. She instantly knew she was in deep trouble here. Why had she let him buy her the earrings and why had she allowed him to take her to lunch?
What the hell was I thinking? Shit! I need to do something.

“What the hell are you doing here? You have no right to be in here right now.” She raised her voice, her relaxation and contentedness long gone from her body. She was shaking like a leaf.

His grip tightened, and then he began to explore her back with his hand.

“You fucked both those men, did ya?” He asked as he squeezed and pulled her hair so that her face was turned toward him. She locked gazes with his dark eyes despite the dim light.

“What?”

He moved his face right against her face. His teeth were clenched, and he looked like some out-of-control psycho. “You heard me. The Rue men, Leon and Mack. You fucking them?”

“Fuck you!” she blurted out, her damn Cajun spunk getting the better of her.

Parker pulled her up and off the table. She nearly fell to the floor but he had her hair gripped tight as she held on to his wrists. Her breasts were exposed, but she didn’t even care because of the pain radiating from her scalp to her neck and nearly to her spine.

He looked her body over as he pressed her back against the table. She knew he was going to fondle her. His eyes zeroed in on her breasts. She was so scared.

The creep licked his lips.

“Don’t you touch me. Who the hell do you think you are?”

He reached into his pocket, and a moment later she heard the click of a switchblade. It was long, at least six inches, and sharp, with a fancy handle. She jerked backward but the table stopped her from moving away. The look in his eyes told her he wasn’t a sane man. He was a fucking nut job, and he was going to rape her. The tears stung her eyes as he slowly trailed the bladed over her skin without cutting it. If she moved at all, she would be punctured.

“You’re going to get to know exactly who I am Ellena. It was fate, us meeting the way we did. You’re going to do as I say, or there will be consequences.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, unable to stop the shaking in her voice or her body.

“This is your warning. You stay clear of the Rue men. I find out that you’re fucking them or even hanging out with them, and I’ll kill ’em one at a time. Starting with the deputy.” He used his fingers to caress her breast and nipple, and she gasped and cried. “Please don’t,” she begged.

He held her gaze. “Firefighting is an awfully dangerous profession, don’t ya think, sugar?” he asked, indicating how he could get to Roy. Her heart ached with fear.

“Dying by faulty wiring happens every day, ya hear.”

She knew he was talking about Troy.

He brought the knife to her belly and pressed just slightly enough to pinch her skin.

“Please don’t. Oh God, please don’t hurt me.”

He smiled down at her.

“I’m going to leave you with a little something to remember this conversation. When I contact you to come to me, you better come. Ya hear?” he asked and he released her hair to hold her throat while he pressed his body against hers.

She felt the tip of the blade move across her belly to her ribs, and then he cut her.

She gasped, and he closed up the blade and placed it in his pocket as he held her throat, staring down at her.

“Until we meet again,” he whispered then licked her lips before kissing her. She struggled to get free, and when he released her, he gave a little push causing her to lose her balance and fall to the rug. She cried, feeling the sting against her ribs and wondering how the hell she got into this situation and why.

She tried to calm her breathing and think about what to do. If she told Leon and the men, what would happen? Could this guy be capable of killing them? Who the hell was he? How did he know so much about the men? She stood up and looked down at the cut on her ribs. It was a scratch, but enough to hurt and enough to be noticeable. She grabbed the robe and ran the back of her hand across her mouth trying to rid the taste of Parker’s kiss from her lips. She felt so violated. She could still feel his hands on her breast and the way he smelled and how intense he looked. She couldn’t stop shaking. She needed to get the hell out of here.

She hurried to get her clothing and head back upstairs to her room.

Please don’t let him be there waiting.

* * * *

Eloi and Leon walked into the commander’s office at the Eighth District precinct. One look around the office as they entered and Leon could pick out at least two men, officers who were involved somehow with this situation. These men had a reputation around the real cops, for turning their heads and ignoring certain crimes, but there was no concrete evidence that they were getting paid for doing it. Unfortunately, corruption around New Orleans in general was bad. Part of the reason why he and Jessy were asked to come work out of the Eighth District was to help with catching men like Parker K. Now, here he was, being potentially framed for a crime he didn’t commit and also under investigation for a bogus sexual harassment charge. He had to admit that he was glad Eloi was with him. Eloi told him he had done some investigating himself and had a few ideas if this started to go downhill fast. Leon was relying on his old-time friend, the sheriff.

“Please, have a seat,” one man stated as the commander closed the door and then the blinds in the office. Now it was just Eloi, Leon, the commander, Parson Blake who was a good guy and old school, along with two other men.

“I’m agent Michael Quincy with Internal Affairs. As I mentioned on the phone this morning, your name came up as a suspect in the beating of three men last night.” The Agent referred to the file in his hands.

“And who exactly are these three men that I supposedly assaulted?” Leon asked with attitude. Just the idea that someone was trying to jam him up truly got his Cajun up and his temper going.

The agent rambled off the names, and Leon chuckled.

“What seems to be so funny, Deputy Rue? These men claim you’re responsible for attacking them.”

Leon leaned forward in his chair.

“Those three perps have records longer than my arm, and they were the one’s responsible for harassing and making an attempted assault on my brother when he was in town last night.”

The agent looked at the folder.

“Yeah, I don’t have anything on that, and there’s no report from last night indicating that these three men were being investigated in a potential altercation with your brother.”

“Well, go recheck the computers, Agent Quincy, because my partner Jessy Berdoux filled it all out with me and submitted it.”

“I can verify that, Agent Quincy. Deputies Rue and Berdoux are very good law enforcement officers. They’re a great team and they’re thorough. It doesn’t seem to me like you have anything to go by here except the words of three known, convicted felons.”

“I have a job to do, Commander Blake. Your deputy here was recently accused of sexual harassment on a call he went on alone. Yesterday, the agency received a phone call about Deputy Rue’s potential involvement with drug dealing.”

“Bullshit!” Leon yelled and began to stand up, but Eloi grabbed his arm.

“Leon, calm down. We know this shit stinks and this agent has to do his job and weed through the bullshit. If he has a fucking brain and is a real cop, he’ll see how tainted with crap these allegations are. Now settle down.”

Leon felt like one of those cartoon characters whose head pops off and smoke comes off the top because they’re so angry.

“Now, you listen here, Agent Quincy, I can vouch for this deputy. He’s one of the good guys, and I strongly believe someone is trying to get him jammed up and make him lose his position as an officer of the law.”

“You got a particular person in mind you think is trying to frame him?” Quincy asked.

“I got him but I ain’t about to share it. That’s where you come in. You do your investigation, but you remember something. This here deputy is a fine, upstanding man of the law. You go check his records and his time spent in the Marine Corps. He’s no drug dealer and he sure isn’t involved with corruption, sexual harassment, or assaulting anyone unless he was defending himself. Now, if you don’t have any concrete evidence that can stop Deputy Rue from doing his job, I suggest you start looking into those three thugs and that woman who claimed sexual harassment.”

Eloi stood and motioned for Leon to stand, and then he turned toward the agent.

“You might find out that those four people know one another and perhaps one particular person you may deem interesting to research if you got any bit of investigative law enforcement instincts in ya. See ya around, Parson,” Eloi said to the commander, and he and Leon left the room. Leon was shocked at Eloi. Thank God he’d brought him with him.

As they walked out of the office, a few men looked at Leon and Eloi as if they were scum. Leon smirked at them and winked. As they headed outside and toward Eloi’s truck, Leon thanked him.

“I appreciate your help back there. I was so pissed off for being accused of not one but three pretty bad crimes I thought I was going to explode.”

“I saw that and I understand your frustration, Leon. You have to know that the IAD can be pretty harsh. That Quincy guy is one of the best. I looked into him as soon as you told me what was up.”

“So do you think I need to worry?”

“I think you better keep Jessy with you on the job, and when you’re on your own time, try to talk to people so they remember you in case an alibi is needed.”

“Hey, how come he didn’t ask me where I was at the time of the assault?”

“Because he already knew the answer. Jessy was questioned before we got here. That’s how I knew the report was filed just like your commander did. Jessy made sure everything was filed and submitted so no one could botch that report and incriminate you.”

“Fuck! I don’t like all this James Bond shit. I know that fucker Parker is responsible. He’s up to something and it’s big. He doesn’t want me around to catch him doing something illegal, and he’s going to great lengths to stop me.”

“Watch yourself and let the agent investigate. Who knows, maybe there’s more involved here and you’re simply a decoy.”

“See. That shit makes me crazy. I don’t want to be a decoy. I want to kick some ass.”

“Change of times, Leon. Change of times. Let’s head back to the sheriff’s office. I think we have some planning to do.”

Leon was feeling pretty uneasy, especially knowing that Ellena was headed to his place shortly with his brothers. At this rate, he’d be lucky if he saw her himself by tonight.

* * * *

Ellena cried in the shower and scrubbed the filthy feeling from her breasts. So much that they were red and blotchy. She also scrubbed her teeth with toothpaste then gargled with mouthwash. She dried her body off and was glad that Leon left the first aid kit at the hotel room. She rummaged through to find some ointment and then a bandage for the cut.
Why the hell didn’t I fight Parker off? I’ve never backed down from anyone before, and that includes men.

She remembered how Parker threatened the Rue brothers. He knew all of them. Leon, Mack, Troy, and Roy were in some sort of fix with this guy, and coming after her was leverage. It had to be. Ellena wasn’t born yesterday and she sure as shit wasn’t oblivious to criminals, corruption, and shitheads on power trips. Something was definitely fishy here. If she called Eloi or one of her sisters, would they flip out and panic? Would it be the right thing to do? Maybe she should wait it out and heed Parker’s warning. The man obviously was confident that he could intimidate her and scare her into obeying his orders. She was very scared of him. She couldn’t understand how she got herself into this situation. Why, when on the first small sort of vacation she ever got a chance to take, did she somehow wind up in such a cluster fuck of a situation?