Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (91 page)

“That you were, are
, right,” I finally replied. “I won’t fight you anymore.”

Seth held his hand out for me, and I took slow steps over to where he sat. I had told myself no more fighting, but as he pulled me down onto the bed I felt my chest tighten when I saw his growing erection. He kept his eyes on mine as he untied the sash to my robe. Slowly he slid it off then tossed it on the floor.

When his lips touched mine, I responded by parting them, allowing his tongue the access I knew he wanted. When he pulled away, Seth softly caressed my face, and he had a look that I hadn’t seen in a while. He looked calm, peaceful, happy even, as if all was again right with his world, while mine lay in ruins and would never be the same.

“I don
’t like waking to an empty bed,” he said, using his body weight to make me lay down.

“It won
’t happen again.”

When Seth pushed into my body, it accepted him like always. He moved within me
, stroking me, filling me, drawing moans of pleasure from me as he always did. I closed my eyes and thought of happier times. I focused on that until he was finished.

Chapter 60

My wife was gone. On the run, in hiding from me. Five months we’d been married before she tried to kill me.
She tried to kill me!
She was getting better, still scared of me at times, but better. We talked; we enjoyed each other like before, that’s why I was so blindsided that night. She’d cooked for me, said she wanted to do something nice for me. I should have known something was off; her smiles were a little more forced. Her hand shook when she’d take a drink. She’d eaten the salad instead of the main course. After I started coughing up blood, I’d lunged at her. When she ran out of the kitchen as I’d called out for her, I knew she had planned it.

Calida had been gone for two weeks now. I’d been watching the friend.
Macy’s routine was the same; I had been watching and waiting to see if she would lead me to Calida. She’d stopped using her credit cards and her phone had been off, so she had to have had help. There was no way she could have done what she did without it, and there was no way she would go without contacting her friend. Not even if she was on the run for murder, or in her case attempted murder.

She fooled you. You got weak and careless and she fooled you.
My hands tightened around the steering wheel of my rental car. When I checked the bank, I learned she’d closed out her personal account. She had also signed over her share of the business to Kerrin. She did all of that, and I was clueless. I couldn’t believe she’d actually leave me and leave her friend behind.
But she didn’t just leave. She tried to kill you.
My anger surged again at that thought. How could I have been so wrong about her? How could I not notice the changes?

If Macy knew where Calida was, she wasn
’t going for visits, I’d watched her for the last two weeks. I was done waiting. After Mitch left for work, I rolled my neck to release the tension before I strolled up and knocked on the front door.

“Hello, Macy.”

“Seth, wh, what are you doing here?” She was nervous; she did know something.

“Aren
’t you going to invite me in?”

“Um, well I was actually getting ready to head out so…” Macy started to close the door, but I pushed forward with my shoulder
, knocking the door open and sending her flying back.

I kicked the door closed behind me as she tried to scramble to her feet. I caught her by the back of her shirt,
pushing her forward. Her face hit the hard tiled floor, and I grabbed her arm pinning it behind her. The pain of the angle made her cry out.

“Where is she?” I growled.

“I…I don’t know.” 

I pulled harder on her arm. “Don
’t fucking lie to me! Where…is…she?”

“She wouldn
’t tell me,” she cried out.

“Bullshit! You two are too close for her not to tell you. I know you have to be in contact with her, so where is she?” I pulled back harder. She screamed. It felt good.

“Go to hell, you bastard,” she said, trying to maintain some bravery.

Flipping her over,
I sat on her chest, putting my hands around her neck. She scratched at my arms trying to pull them free. Her legs flailed around as she kicked aimlessly at the air.

“I
’ve waited a long time to get my hands on you,” I said, squeezing lightly.

She kept a brave face, but I saw she was scared. “Calida finally told me the truth about you. She told me you were abusi
ve, and she was scared of you, that you threatened to kill her if she left you. I’m glad she finally found the strength to leave you,” she retorted through clenched teeth.

“Abusive?” I laughed sarcastically. “That
’s what she said? Sorry to tell you, but she’s still lying.” I lowered my face so I could look directly in her eyes. “What I am is much, much worse. So much so that she didn’t just leave me, she tried to kill me. She did that all…” I squeezed tighter, “to…protect…you.” I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I didn’t threaten to kill Calida, I threatened to kill you.” I kissed her cheek then sat up to see her face.

Macy
’s eyes got big as my words sank in. Calida cared about everyone except the one that was most important. Me.
She was never worthy of you!
Macy started thrashing around, fighting harder for her freedom, kicking her legs and clawing at my hands to pry them from around her neck. She was just as I imagined: a fighter. The rush of adrenaline kicked in as I thought about all the things I could, and would, do to her.

“Tell me where she is
, Macy, or I will be forced to not play so nicely.”

“No!”

I smiled. Just the answer I wanted to hear.

“You know
, I wonder if dear old Mitch would be willing to sell out your friend to save your life. It would be a pity if something were to happen to his hands. Battery acid is murder on nerve endings.” Grabbing her by the head, I banged it against the tiles twice. “Tell me where she is or this will end badly for you, Mitch, and the rest of your family.”

*

Finding Calida took me an additional two weeks. Macy only knew what city she was in—no address. She’d finally admitted to getting Calida a new cell attached to her account, so I was able to track Calida through GPS finally. Calida hadn’t moved far. She now resided in a duplex in the small town of Locust Grove. I sat in my car just down the street from her location. Watching.

S
eeing her again made me excited but angry all at the same time.
She left you. She doesn’t deserve you. Defied your word and made a mockery of your warnings.  She must be dealt with just like the friend.
I watched as she and some guy gathered her bags from the trunk of his car. She smiled at him. He was offering to take the bag from her, but she appeared to decline at first but relinquished the bag to him. She laughed at something he said to her as they walked into her house. It was time to take back what was mine. I drove forward, parking my car behind his.

Ringing the door bell, I stood waiting; anxious to see her face, but it was the man that answered.

“May I help you?”

“Yes
, is Isabelle home?” 

That was another reason it took me a while to find her, she was using an alias, Isabelle Campbell. Her middle name combined with her mother
’s maiden name. Not the best alias, but since she was not a criminal mastermind, it worked for her.

“Um, just a sec,” he said, looking me over before calling out to her. “Izzy, there
’s some guy here for you.”

Izzy.
I struggled to keep my temper in check hearing this man sound so at ease with my wife. He was instantly forgotten when she rounded the corner. Her steps faltered as we made eye contact. Stepping inside her rental, I never took my eyes off of her. I walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace. I missed having her in my arms.

“Miss me?” I whispered into her ear
, letting my lips brush across her cheek. 

I saw the subtle nod of her head as I pulled away. Th
e guy was watching us curiously, no doubt trying to size up what he thought might be competition. I held onto her hand for a moment, letting my thumb run across her now empty ring finger. Our eyes met briefly before she slid her hand free, diverting her gaze back towards the man. The smile on her face was forced; it didn’t reach her eyes. No, those were full of apprehension that she was trying not to let him see.

“Where are my manners? Seth, this is my neighbor Alan.”

“Are you a friend of Izzy’s?” he asked, extending his hand towards me.

“I
’d like to think we are a little more than friends,” I replied, cutting my eyes over towards Calida.

I wanted this man gone and my wife back. I walked over to the couch and waited for her to send him on his way.

“Alan, can I give you a rain check? I forgot he was coming and…”

“Say no more. We
’re still on for tomorrow right?”

She quickly glanced at me before answering him.

“Um, I’ll call you in the morning. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.
Nice to meet you.”

He gave me another long look before he tossed a wave in my direction as she walked him out.

  “I was getting ready to start dinner, if you’re hungry,” she said, not turning to look at me.

“Sounds good as long as it
’s not spaghetti.” 

She took a deep breath in but said nothing, still refusing to look in my direction when she walked towards the kitchen.

I looked around the small area of the living room. It was sparsely furnished and showed no signs of her personality. No pictures on the wall, none of the frivolous baubles like she’d filled our house with, no, this place was void of all of those things. I walked into the kitchen, she glanced up briefly, but didn’t look at me for long. Walking over, I wrapped my arms, pulling her back against my body.

“Hot date tomorrow
, Mrs. Jokobi?”

She tensed at the emphasis I put on her name.

“No, no date tomorrow. It isn
’t like that,” she replied, her voice already quivering.

I spun her around so I
could see her lying to me face-to-face.
She’s not worth it. She is making you look like a fool. Running away, not listening to your warnings. Now she’s already replaced you.
My anger was getting harder and harder to control as I thought about everything I had been through over the last several weeks. My hands dug into her shoulder, and she winced in pain.

“Then please enlighten me as to how it is. He seemed very comfortable answering your door, screening your visitors.”

My grip got tighter, causing her knees to buckle slightly from the pain, and tears pooled in the bottom of her eyes.

“He
’s just my neighbor; he and his partner are…they are sort of the welcoming committee. He’s gay, Seth. I swear there’s nothing going on. He’s gay!”

I studied her face for a moment before releasing her. She immediately rubbed at her shoulders then brushed away the stray tear that had escaped. Slowly she turned
, and with trembling hands, finished preparing the meal. I sat at the small table, watching her. Occasionally, she would brush away a tear that rolled down her cheek, but wouldn’t look at me. When she brought the plates over, she sat with her head down.

“How
’ve you been?” I asked. She looked at me, confused. “Well, let me tell you how I have been. My wife lied to me, poisoned me, and then ran off. That has put a serious damper on my mood not to mention my trust in some people.”

The tears silently ran down her cheeks as she sat across the table
, finally meeting my gaze.

“Seth, I
’m sorry. I…”

“You
’re sorry?! Sorry about what, Calida? Trying to kill me? Are you going to say it was an accident? That you got the rat poison confused with parmesan cheese?” I yelled.

She sat there shaking, all color drained from her face.

“Where are your rings?”

“Seth.”

“Where?” I yelled, banging my fist on the table causing her to jump.

“Upstairs in my room,” she whispered.

“Let’s put them back where they belong, shall we?”

She took my out
stretched hand, leading me upstairs to her room. She walked over to her dresser to retrieve the rings from the drawer. 

“Much better.”
 

I kissed her ring finger. T
he fear was evident on her face. She’d left me; she tried to run away from me. She should be scared.

“How, how did you find me?”
her voice was small, she refused to look at me.

“You
’re my wife, Calida. There is nowhere you can go that I won’t find you.”