The Art of Domination (35 page)

He looks up at me horrifi
ed, realizing that I have him in an awkward and perilous position. I death squeeze my thighs together with every last bit of energy I have and he starts thrashing around and punching and scratching at my face, but he can’t get free. He tries to get on his knees and stand, but there’s just enough slack in my leg bindings that I can hook my ankles together, raise my pelvis and not let go. His face starts to turn blue, his eyes bulge and his movements become more frenzied. I’m getting weaker from his lashing out at me, but I hold steady and think only about Dylan and pray that he’s still alive.

Slowly, his mo
vements become weaker and his breathing ragged and gasping, but I continue to hold him tightly between my thighs. When he completely blacks out, I finally let go. I’m hazy and light headed.  Without warning, I vomit. I buck him away from me and try to push his body towards the floor with my hips, but I’ve run out of energy. My legs are shaky and burning.

My head is swim
ming and I can’t catch my breath. It’s only then that I start crying. Is he dead, too? Have I killed another man? He looks puffy and blue and I can’t tell if he’s breathing or not.
My God, what happens when the woman comes back?

There are
copious amounts of my own blood in my mouth and I begin to gag. I turn my head and vomit again.

I close my eyes and drift off to the
sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I have her right
where I want her. She wants me and I’ll let her think that she can have me. I arrange a meeting with the crazy bitch and as soon as I hang up, I call Sawyer.

“Have you left yet?”

“I’m leaving now,” he says hurriedly.

“
Go to my place first and check every room for hidden cameras. I’m positive Alex is involved. The woman said she had been watching me and Isa and she knew some very candid details about us. Be sure and check in the dungeon, especially.”

“The what?”

“The extra room with all the sex equipment.”

“
Oh,yeah, sure. Shit, Young. You think she was videoing you two?”

“Yes. I’m g
oing to meet with her in a few hours.”

“No
! You fucking wait for me, Young! God damn it, you can’t do this on your own, especially not in your condition. I mean it!” Sawyer says sternly, sounding much like my father did when he was alive.

I sigh
knowing he’s right, but I can’t wait. “I can’t wait, Sawyer. I have to get Isa back. I’m sick without her. I need to know she’s okay. Anyway, Murphy is with me.” I say, hearing the desperation in my own voice.

“I know, Young. I get it.
I’m worried about her, too, but you need more help with this than just Murphy. We have to believe that Isa is okay. You’re not going to do her any good if you’re hurt or killed by those two.”

“Then just get here quickly
because I’m not waiting. I’m getting her back, even if it kills me.”

I hang up and Murphy and I start planning out what we’ll do. About half an hour later,
just as we’re pulling in to the outskirts of town, Sawyer calls me back.

“I found the cameras, Young. They were everywhere. I found five of them. This is unbelievable. When was Alex in your house?”

“Too many times to count. He could’ve done it anytime. Can you find where the signal is coming from?”

“I’m working on it. Any news?”

“No. I’m in town now. We’re going to call the motels and hotels and see if anything suspicious has been reported. Just get here safely. We’ll worry about the rest later.”

The pain
in my shoulder is throbbing beyond control and I’m having a difficult time concentrating. Murphy senses my agony and digs out the pain medication.

“Take it, Young. Take half a dose to help. You need to be lucid.”

“Yeah, sounds good. I need something. This is bad.”

“Have y
ou ever been shot before?” he asks.

“No. I came close once, but…” I pop th
e pill and swallow it without water. I lean my head on the back of the truck seat and close my eyes. I think only about Isa and her stunning amber eyes. I drift off momentarily thinking about her voice calling out to me. She was so desperate the last time I saw her. The absolute look of horror in her eyes when she thought I was her father was devastating beyond words.

If Alex lays one hand on her, I swear to God I’ll kill him.
I’ll fucking kill him and the woman who’s caused all of this.

I open the window and
lean my head out like a dog, trying to let the cold winter air wake me up and take my mind off of the pain. The medicine is kicking in and helping only slightly, but it’s better than before and I can think a little more clearly now.

When we get into town, we go into a local diner and dig out the phone book and start calling all the local hotels and mote
ls. We both order something, but I can’t bring myself to eat when God only knows what Isa’s going through right now. I stare at my plate and think about her sitting next to me half naked, watching me and asking when she would ever get used to being married.

What if she’s dead? Jesus.
What if she’s dead?
I feel the blood drain from my face and nausea washes over me again. I grip the edge of the table with my free hand and brace myself.

“Young, a
re you alright?” Murphy asks. He stands and leans forward to put his hand on my shoulder.

“We need to find Isa. We need to find her. I’m going fucking crazy over here, Murphy.”

“Eat something. You’ll feel better,” he says as he sits back down.

I pick at my food and force myself to eat. It helps a little, but not much. I go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror
. Damn. I look like hell. My color is bad and my eyes look like I’ve been on an all night binge.  I remember Isa’s words spoken so earnestly:
‘you’re absolutely beautiful, Sir.’
I wonder what she would think of me now.

I swear I’ll fucking kill those two if they hurt her. I’ll kill them
and damn the consequences. I love her so much.
We’re having a difficult time breaking her.
God damn those two.  My anger and despair boils over and I punch the mirror in the bathroom and immediately regret having done that with my only good hand.
Fuck
. One of my knuckles is cut and bleeding.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I’m in the process of rinsing my hand off in the sink when Sawyer comes walking in to the restroom. He’s a sight for sore eyes.

“Hell Sawyer, how fast did your drive?”

“Don’t ask.
You look like shit, Young.”

“Thanks. I needed that.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes, dad,
I have.” I say rolling my eyes and with so much sarcasm oozing from the tone of my voice that Sawyer gives me his fuck-off look, which is usually only reserved for special occasions.

“Get your shit together
and let’s go find Isa,” he snaps at me as he turns on his heel and walks out. 

That’s an e
xcellent fucking idea.
When we get out to the booth where Murphy is sitting, he looks excited about something.

“There’s something interesting
at Snow Creek Inn. I called and asked if they had heard or seen anything out of the ordinary. The guy started to say yes, but was cut off by management.”

“Let
’s go.” I jump up and grab my coat, but Sawyer interjects.

“Wait, Young. Let’s pl
an this out.”

“
Fuck waiting. Let’s go. We can talk about it on the way there.”

“It’s like tw
o minutes from here,” he starts to say, but I cut him off.

“Let’s go, Sawyer!”

He shakes his head at me and doesn’t try to argue anymore.  The very short drive over is agonizing. I have a feeling about this. I just know we’re going to find Isa.
I just know it.

The tr
uck barely gets stopped and I leap out and run inside.

“I want to talk to management,
” I tell the young man at the front desk.

The manager
comes sauntering out like it’s no big deal and I promptly rip into him.

“
Do you know who I am?”

The man
looks me over briefly and nods
yes.

“
Good. I want to know about any suspicious activity that’s been noted in the last several hours and I don’t want any bullshit from you. My wife is missing and if she’s been hurt during the time that you’ve been fucking off, I’ll make sure you’re prosecuted along with whoever hurt her. Now, if you have something to tell me,
tell me.
”

The man looks shaken and starts to stutter. He pushe
s the young man forward who works the front desk and orders him to tell me.

The young man tells me
that there was a complaint of a woman screaming in one of the rooms, but it was just written off as wild sexual activity because of the couple who had checked in earlier.

“What did they look like?”

“I never saw the man, but the woman was tall, had brown hair…”

I don’t let him finish.

“What fucking room?” I yell at him.

They tell me and Sawyer, Murphy and I run up the stairs to the room. Sawyer has his gun with him and hands me another that he brought along. Murphy is still carrying my gun that he took from the
cabin after Isa’s incident.  We quietly approach the door and I start shaking uncontrollably.

“Young, stay w
ith me,” Sawyer whispers to me.

The pain
and anxiety are threatening to make me pass out, and I try and catch my breath.

“You wait out here…” he says.

“Like hell!” I whisper yell back at him.

He nods in agreement and then listens against the door. He shakes his head.

“I don’t hear anything.”

I
feel sick.
Shit
. I lean against the wall with my hands on my knees and my mouth starts salivating profusely. Sawyer looks mortified and I’m sure it’s because I’m ghostly white right now.

I lean to the side and dry heave and the sudden convulsion sends me reeling from
the pain. I close my eyes tightly and try to picture Isa.
Keep it together, Young.

Sawyer and Murphy look at each other and then back to me.
Sawyer leans down next to me with his hand on my shoulder.

“Dylan, t
ake it easy. Just breathe, okay? You can do this. Isa needs us.”

He never calls me Dylan
.
Never.
His heartfelt words comfort me. I inwardly smile at Isa’s reference to us having a bromance
.

What if this is all a mistake and it really was just a
n amorous couple? Maybe Alex has already left. Maybe Isa is dead.
Enough, let’s fucking do this.
I straighten myself up, take a deep breath, blow it out and then crack my neck.
It’s show time.

Sawyer sees my resolution and
nods to me. He knocks on the door.

“This is management. There’s been a complaint of noise. Can I speak with you, please?”

There’s no answer so he knocks again, but there’s still no response or sign of life on the other side of the door. With the key card that management has given us, he opens the door slowly. He stands to the side and then counts off to three. He kicks the door open and we all rush in.

Fucking hell.
What I see staggers me. I about fall to my knees, but Murphy helps steady me while Sawyer runs to Alex who is half lying on the bed to check if he’s alive. He’s bluish and puffy and completely out of it.

The scene is
gruesome and looks like something out of a forensics file case. Isa is lying on the bed completely naked with her ankles rope tied to the bed legs and with her arms behind her back. She’s a crumpled mess. The bed is soaked in blood and vomit around her head and upper body, and there’s a wad of her champagne-colored hair lying near the edge of the bed. Her hair is a tangled mess and in her face. She’s completely motionless and I fear the worst. I stand immobile staring at her, not wanting to touch her for fear of hurting her, and hoping against hope to see some sign of life. I feel the tears well up in my eyes and I’m breathless.
What the fuck happened here?

I move slowly towards Isa and climb on the bed next to her. I push her hair back away from her face a
nd I can barely make out any facial features because of all the blood. Her eyes are swollen shut and her mouth is a wreck.
My beautiful Isa.

“Get me a towel!” I yell to Murphy.