Vicious Carousel (7 page)

“I’ll take it to him and see,” Ed told her. “Was the camera yours, too?”

She nodded.

“Okay, good. Then they’re your property. Do I have your permission to go through them, and the computer, for evidence?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Good. I’ll call the guys later and let you know what’s going on.”

“Thank you, Ed. I’ll find a way to pay you back for all your trouble.”

“Maybe,” he said. “If not, don’t worry about it. I help my friends, and you’re one of my friends. We take care of our own, you know.”

Once he was gone, the men got her settled on the couch. “Can we get you anything to eat or drink?” Kenny asked.

“No, I just need to rest, I think. Is it okay if I turn the TV on and take a nap out here? I don’t want to be alone in my room right now. I’ve spent enough time alone the past several months.”

“Sure,” Nolan said. “You get comfy. I’ll go get you some pillows.”

* * * *

Kenny followed him to her room. “I’ll call Mom and cancel,” he whispered.

“Don’t you dare,” Nolan whispered back.

“What if Dennis comes?”

“So? We’re not changing our lives for him. Mom will understand us helping her.”

Kenny sighed. “I should go get her some stuff. She barely has anything.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for starters, a phone,” he said. “I’ll pick her up one of those cheap smart phones with a month-to-month plan. At least she’ll have that. And she doesn’t have decent fucking shampoo, for chrissake. I’m not saying let’s take her to a spa, but we can afford to buy her some decent crap to make her a little more comfortable.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” Kenny kissed him and started rooting through her clothes. Then he took out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Sizes,” Kenny said. “I need to know what she wears.”

“You said shampoo.”

“I’ll get her some PJs. Something loose. She barely has anything that doesn’t look like she shouldn’t be auditioning for a BSDM porn movie. That shit’s not comfortable.”

“Okay.” They weren’t rich, but they had disposable income. No, it wouldn’t kill them to spend a little money on her.

“Besides,” Kenny said, “I need to get some more stuff for dinner tonight. So I have to go out anyway.”

In the living room, Nolan walked around to ask her if there was anything she needed, but she was already asleep.

Nolan sadly held the pillows. “I don’t want to disturb her.” He laid them on the coffee table where she could reach them if she woke up. He kissed Kenny. “Hurry back.”

“I will.” Kenny grabbed his keys and headed out to his car.

For chrissake, she didn’t even have tampons or pads. There’d been exactly two of each in the bathroom at the apartment when they’d gone through it.

The rat bastard had even been rationing stuff like that.

He ended up at a Super Target he favored and grabbed a cart. Heading first to the clothing section, he found several cute and comfy pajama sets, some with pants and some with shorts, that would be loose and comfy on her. He added a couple of pairs of yoga pants in her size, hoping they’d be comfy for her. Some T-shirts with different funny retro logos and graphics on them, slightly oversized, a bathrobe, and two pairs of slippers.

He went through the health and beauty section and bought new everything he could think of, especially hair care. He didn’t know if she’d even need it all, but he got styling gel, anti-frizz cream, three kinds of shampoo and conditioner for different hair types, razors, shaving gel, deodorant, tampons, pads—everything.

As a kid of a single mom, he’d long ago gotten over any squeamishness about what women bought for their personal needs. His mom had “the talk” with him when he was twelve and she caught him and a friend of his with his friend’s dad’s
Penthouse
magazine.

Yeah, he wasn’t dumb. But he also silently thanked his mom for how she’d raised him.

He’d make sure he thanked her in person tonight.

And yes, he got food. But he also added some extras, like he found a cute Hello Kitty travel cup that had a straw. He didn’t know if Betsy would even like Hello Kitty or not, but it made him smile, so maybe it’d make her smile, too. And yogurt, cottage cheese, some other soft foods he hoped she’d be able to eat all right until she healed up.

And chocolate.

Milk, and dark.

I need to find out if she has any allergies.

He’d almost reached the checkout line when he realized he hadn’t picked up a phone. So back to electronics, where he grabbed one, having to pay for it there. He went for a slightly better phone. She could surf the Internet on it, tied into the Wi-Fi at their house for better speed.

It would be the first step of her reconnecting to others.

He was almost back to the checkout line when his cell phone rang.

Tilly wasted no time. “How is she?” she asked by way of greeting.

“I’m not home. Nolan’s with her.”

“Where are
you
?”

“Want me to start at the beginning?”

“Sure.”

Kenny quickly detailed the morning for her.

“Wow, dude, I have a totally new level of respect for you. Buying tampons for a woman you barely know? Props.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, seriously. Good thinking. And if you want, we’ll chip in for expenses.”

“No, it’s okay. We’ve got it.”

“Leigh said they want to help her buy a car.”

“Let’s wait on that. She’s overwhelmed right now. I don’t know if she’ll even accept it. Hey, come over and have dinner with us.”

“Awesome, thanks. And we have your toybag. You want us to drop it off?”

“FYI, my mom’s coming over for dinner tonight, too. Still want to join us?”

She snickered. “Of course I do. This should be interesting. You know I’m bringing Sir Fussypants and Cris, right? And can I bring anything?”

He heard Landry playfully protest the title in the background. “Yes, please,” Kenny said. “Bring a side dish, if you’d like. We’re eating at six, but get there a little after five, that would be even better.”

“What gives? I know a set-up when I hear it.”

He reminded her of his step-father.

“Ah. Oooh! So if he acts douchey, I can step in?”

“Be my guest.” At this point, he’d love to see Tilly give Dennis a run for his homophobic money.

“You know what? I really like you. You do anything to fuck up my opinion of you, I’m liable to get upset.”

“I promise, I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”

“Cool. See you at five.”

Kenny hung up and wheeled back around to return to the grocery section.

He’d need more food.

In her dreams, Betsy was trapped in a nightmarish maze, the chain painfully banging on her right ankle as she ran through the labyrinth, always pulled up short just before what looked like a safe exit, forced to turn around and try another way.

Always with thunderous footsteps just behind her, Jack’s harsh breathing, his threats of what he’d do to her.

She startled awake and let out a yelp of pain as she nearly rolled off the couch. Kenny, who’d apparently been sitting in an easy chair, dove to catch her, keeping her from hitting the floor.

Unable to help it, both from the pain and emotions, she burst into tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Hey, why are you apologizing?” He helped her back into a more comfortable position, tucking pillows behind her head.

“This totally upends your lives.”

“We’re okay,” he said. “We wouldn’t have volunteered if we didn’t want you here.”

“And, honestly?” Nolan said from somewhere behind them. “You couldn’t be by yourself right now. You couldn’t get out of bed without help this morning. Don’t be in a hurry to leave.”

“What the hell happened to me?” she tearfully asked. “How did I let myself get into that situation?”

“We’re all human,” Kenny said as he sat on the coffee table. “We all make mistakes in the name of love.”

“I thought I was so smart,” she said. “I thought I knew what to watch out for. He had a job, he said all the right things, did all the right things.”

“And that’s what predators do,” Kenny said. “They learn how to do those things. You were probably a challenge for him because you weren’t some weak woman throwing yourself at him.”

“I wasn’t enough of a challenge, obviously,” she darkly said. “I never should have played with him. I should have waited.”

Nolan walked around the end of the couch to join Kenny. “Did he pressure you to play?”

“No, and that’s exactly it! I asked him to play after we’d met a few times and talked. He didn’t ask me. I knew that was a warning sign, if someone pressured you to play.”

Nolan shrugged. “Predators improve their hunting skills, unfortunately.”

“The sad thing is, I thought I sucked at vanilla relationships. I mean, they were nice guys, right? But it was…boring. Like there was always something missing. I just lost interest. When I discovered BDSM it all clicked home what I’d been needing. But even when I dated vanilla guys, I didn’t hesitate to break up with a guy if he got too controlling or wanted too much, too fast. How ironic is
that
?”

“Again, predators are cunning,” Kenny said. “It’s their raison d’être. It’s kind of what they get off on doing.”

“Anything from Ed yet on bail?”

“He hasn’t been arraigned yet,” Nolan said. “In about an hour or so.”

“So, here’s another thing,” Kenny said. “Tilly and her guys are coming over for dinner.”

“Okay.”

“And my mom.”

“Oh.” She let out a sigh. “I’ll stay in my room then.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. We want you to eat with us. You’re why Tilly and her guys are coming over. My mom’s husband might be with her, but doubtful.” Kenny and Nolan exchanged a glance. “We’re going to tell my mom the full truth about us, and about who you are, tonight. We’d been talking about maybe getting married, and all this stuff made us realize how short life is and not to waste it.”

“I’m happy for you,” she said, feeling a little wistful. “That’s great.”

“Thanks,” Nolan said. “We’ve already decided we’re not going to tell anyone where you’re staying, except the people who were there last night. If you decide later to tell anyone, that’s up to you. For now, it’s probably safer if we keep your location secret.”

“Agreed.” She winced as she tried to sit up by herself. These guys were so nice, so sweet.

So safe.

It would be tempting to let herself stay here too long, and she knew that.

Right now, she’d settle for being able to go to the bathroom by herself. “I hate to ask for help, but I need to get up.”

The men rose as one. They were a lot alike despite their differences in appearance. Nolan, with his blond hair and blue eyes, a couple of inches taller than Kenny, who had short brown hair and brown eyes. Together, they got her on her feet and down the hall to the bathroom.

This time, at least, she was able to go by herself. And she avoided looking in the mirror when she washed her hands. When she turned, she spotted a bunch of new stuff on the shelf over the toilet, things that hadn’t been there before.

Girlie stuff.

She turned to stare at them, where they stood in the doorway with guilty looks. “When did you go shopping?” she asked.

“After you zonked out,” Kenny said. “If I didn’t get the right stuff, let me know. I picked you up some pajamas and things, too.”

Her one good eye watered. “It’s perfect. Thanks. I appreciate it.” She reached over, ripped open the box holding the deodorant, and reached under her shirt to apply some. “I had to use his. He wouldn’t buy me any of my own.” She replaced the cap and set it on the shelf. “I took stuff like this for granted before. I can’t remember the last time I went shopping. I had to give him a list of stuff I needed, and he would buy it,
if
he felt like it. It was like I had to earn it.”

When she turned, the dark expressions on the men’s faces startled her. “What?”

“Sorry,” Nolan quietly said. “Just that if we’d known he was being this shitty to you, we would have stepped in a lot sooner to try to help you out. A lot of us would have.”

“It’s my own fault for not saying anything and not leaving sooner. Well, it’s my fault for letting him do this to me in the first place.” She managed a glance in the mirror. “The worst part? I was raised not to tolerate this kind of abuse. I think that’s why it took me so long to find BDSM and accept it. Then I threw myself into it wholeheartedly and got my heart ripped out in the process.”

They got her situated back on the couch, this time sitting up. Nolan brought her more ibuprofen.

“When do I have to go back to get my stitches out?” she asked.

“You don’t,” Kenny said. “You were probably too out of it last night to understand all of that. They’d already given you a pain shot by then. They’re dissolvable stitches. If you have swelling or infection, you have to go back. Otherwise, you’re good. Well, other than the head injury.”

At least the nausea had faded. Likely due to being able to eat. “I promise, when I’m feeling better, I’ll start helping with chores.”

“Stop,” Nolan said. “Seriously, we mean it. We get it, you’re not a mooch. Message received.” He smiled. “Think of this as a very hard-earned vacation for a few days, okay?”

She nodded.

“Any ideas what to do about a job?” Kenny asked.

“No. I’ll need to get a job so I can get a car. I doubt the place I worked will hire me back.”

“Why’s that?” Nolan asked.

“It was a real estate office. They’ve probably filled my position.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“I will.” Sadness settled over her. “I thought I’d met Dom Dashing. Instead, he was a Master Baiter.”

Kenny snickered. “That’s a good one. At least your sense of humor’s still intact.”

“About the only thing I have left that’s still truly mine,” she said. “And even then, he tried to beat that out of me, too.”

* * * *

Ed called back a little later on Kenny’s phone. “I have good news and bad news.”