Witness Protection (The Witness Series) (17 page)

Sleep tight,

BTK (It’s a rather good name isn’t it?)

I am panting by the end of the email and finally, after all the weeks of torture, I crumble. I fall into hyperventilating mode and I can’t catch my breath. I need to get out, I can’t go out into the lounge, everyone will see and I can’t face them. I turn to the window and with shaking hands I shove it open. I crawl out and rush down the stairs and out to the paddocks.

I see the already saddled horses and climb on the big grey mare, the one I met the day before. I kick her belly and she lunges forward into a full gallop. She is going so fast my tears trickle backwards instead of downwards. I make her run, and I wail as she does. It is too much, I can’t take much more. When the horse slows at a stream, I slide off and tie her to a tree.

I drop to the ground and there I stay, screaming and crying furiously. I didn’t do anything to anyone, I have always been just quiet little Maya and I have never hurt a damned fly, yet this mental man wants me. He won’t stop until he gets me. I can’t take the fear anymore, the pulsing fear that tears through my veins every minute of every day. I just want it gone.

I hear horse hooves, and then moments later the sound of thumping boots on the ground. Soon, I am wrapped in two sets of firm, strong arms. I wail louder, clutching whichever shirt is closest. My tears soak that shirt and my body convulses between the two hard forms.
I scream and cry until I have nothing left but heaving sobs.

“Shhh, we got you, baby we got you.”

Ryder’s voice.
Relief.

“You are safe, he won’t hurt you.”

Nate’s voice, even more relief.

“Come on, let’s get you back. You have a nasty cut on your head.”

My head, how did I get a cut on my head? I look up at the two men and the three horses tied to the tree and say the oddest thing.

“You rode a horse for me.”

Ryder gives a hoarse laugh.

“Here’s the thing, I would do anything for you, any fucking thing.”

“He emailed me.” I whisper.

“We saw it.”

Ryder lifts me into his arms and slides me onto the saddle with Nate, who wraps his arms around me and slowly we all make our way back to the house. When Lucy see’s us pull in she rushes out.

“Oh poor love, come on, come in.”

She takes me and wraps a blanket around my
shoulders
. She forces me to sit on the couch where she hands me a cup of tea.

“That man is evil!” She mutters, stroking my hair.

“He won’t stop, not until he makes me pay.”

“My boys won’t let that happen.”

“Damn right we won’t
.
” Nate agrees, sitting beside me and pulling me close.

“Nathan, what is happening with the case?” Lucy asks.

“
Well ma, it is all over the place
but we have a name, a reason, we just don’t have the man. He is impossible to hold
down,
he is smart, too damned smart.”

“Even the smartest fall.”
She mutters.

“Yeah well, the sooner the better.”

“We are on it ma, Ryder is on the phone with the detective now.”

“How did he get her email address?”

“It isn’t hard,
Facebook
, social media is huge now.”

“True.”

I swallow and clench my eyes shut, wishing just for a moment the damned pain would go away.

CHAPTER
7

That message would have done
it,
I can only imagine her face.
Would have been priceless.
That will teach her for putting me down in front of the entire world. Little bitch
will wish she was never born,
God
the plans I have for her, the plans oh yes, the plans. First and foremost though, I will make her suffer, make her wish to
God
she was dead and then she will be weak and ready.

Desperate and ready, that was the key to catching the ones who knew you were coming. They needed to be at the end of their rope, desperate, needy and wanting relief. That is when you pounce, that is when you make the final stand. That moment was coming, I just had to put the motions in place, like breaking her heart and putting her to shame in the public eye, dragging her down and making her wish she was never born.

No more victims until that time, no I needed to be in top shape for the final showdown. I couldn’t risk getting caught with another victim, I just had to do what I came to do and that is to make Maya pay.
She will pay, slowly and painfully. Her time is close, but for now, I need to put my next plan into action. This one is going to blow her pretty socks right off.

* * * * * *

“Ouch.” I pout as Ryder dabs my head with
antiseptic
.

“Stop being a baby.”

“Stop being a bully.”

He leans in and kisses me. “Better?”

“
Hmmmm
, no.”

“Hey, give a man some
c
redit,
I rode a horse for you.
”

“If you rode it like you ride me, lucky horse.”

He snorts and slaps my thigh. “Behave.”

“Ryder?”

“Hmmmm?”

“Are we…
together
?”

His eyes meet mine. “I don’t know.”

“Are you sleeping with Janelle?”

“No, I swear to
God
I am not
.”

“Why do you keep seeing her then?”

“I said it
’
s complicated.”

I stand and shove his hands from my body. “I trusted you with my past, with my body and you still can’t trust me!”

“Bullshit!” He snaps. “I haven’t gotten sweet fuck all from you. So you told me you were in the system, you never told me why. You shut down as much as I do Maya!”

“
My parents left me and my sister when I was five years old.
Just left.
I never knew what happened, never knew where they went but I know they are
alive,
don’t ask me how I just do. They didn’t die, they ran but I don’t know what from. I got thrown into the system with a little sister who I had to protect. I had a hard childhood and had to grow up. Are you happy now? I have given you more than you have given me now!”

He stares at me for a long, long moment. “Janelle…fucked another man.
Two actually.
I found her in bed with two men, fucking her at the same time. We were married. I thought she loved me the way I loved her but…”

“Oh Ryder.”

“It’s done. I have shit going on that I really do need to sort, when it is sorted I will tell you, I swear. I am not fucking her.”

“Ok.” I whisper.

“Tell me about your parents, why do you think they aren’t dead?
”

“They
just disappeared, without a trace. No one could ever find what happened
to
them. I know they aren’t dead, I just do.”

“Why do you think they haven’t
come back?”

“I really don’t know.
I guess we weren’t what they wanted and so they ran.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“When we get this bastard sorted, I a
m going to help you find your parents
.”

I smile weakly. “I know Ryder.”

“Where the fuck is he, where the fuck is my son?”

I hear the voice bellow down the hall and I feel Ryder tense.

“Oh shit.”

“Who is that?”

“My father.”

I follow Ryder as he stands and walks out, I see a man storming down the hall, his face full of rage. He is a spitting image of Ryder, but his eyes are blue.

“Father.”

“You disgusting little shit, put our name to SHAME!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Now come on Joshua, calm down.” Lucy calls from the hall.

“Stay out of this Lucy. You haven’t
see
what I got here.”

“What have you got that’s so bad!” Ryder snarls.

Joshua thrusts a newspaper in Ryder’s direction and points rudely at the front page. Ryder looks down and pales.

“What the fuck?”

“What is it?” I ask.

Ryder thrusts the paper at me and I glance down stupidly at the picture in front of me. It is me,
sandwiched
in the middle of Nate a
nd Ryder. It was the first week
I stayed, when Nate came up behind me in the kitchen and was jokingly pressing against me. In the picture though, it looks like the two men are naked
because the bench
cuts
of the fact that they are wearing pants
. It looks so wrong. The article reads:

COPS CAUGHT IN A THREESOME SCANDAL.

Two
new
York cops, who are
meant
to be keeping a young girl safe, were spotted in a compromising
position
with young Maya Traydon. Sources say the three have been spotted
frolicking
around the lot, and snuggling inside the apartment. An anonymous source
provided
the picture, saying he
knows
first hand the three are in a relationship.

“W-w-what?”
I cry.

“Yeah you filthy little whore,
” Joshua snarls at me. “Don’t look shocked.”

“Shut your fucking mouth dad,” Ryder hisse
s. “Call her a name again and I will knock you out.”

“Enough, all of you.”
Lucy cries, taking the paper. She gapes and covers her mouth.

“Shocked aren’t you? So was I!” Joshua wails, throwing his hands up and storming out.

Somehow we end up out the front, with John and Nate gaping at the paper.

“You dragged our name through the
dirt,
I always knew you were a waste of good breathing space.” Joshua snarls at Ryder.

“Stop!”
I cry.

“What is going on?” Lucy cries.

“You are an embarrassment to me, you good for nothing failure. I want you out of my life.”

The look on Ryder’s face is pure
pain,
his father is tearing his heart out and lowering him to the ground slowly and painfully.

“SHUT UP!” Ryder
roars.

Joshua throw’s a punch, connecting with Ryder’s jaw and sending him stumbling backwards.

“You are worthless!”

Ryder is up and gone before another word can be spoken.

“RYDER!” I call.

“Go on after him, little whore.” Joshua snaps at me.

I turn, fury running through my
veins
. “Let me tell you something for nothing you no good piece of shit.
That man is amazing, he is the most beautiful person
on  the
face of this earth and you…you are a low life rotten father who should be shot for the way you treat him.
How dare you judge? If you stopped and let him speak, you would know that picture wasn’t correct, if you paid any attention to your
son’s
life or his best
friends
life you would know Nate is fucking gay!”

Joshua’s
eyes bug and he turns to Nate who shrugs.

“You…are gay?” He says, repulsed.

“Yeah, I am.
Problem?”

“That’s ok with you John? That your only boy is gay?”

“He is my
son, that
is all I care about.”
Nate’s father shrugs also.

“You are all mad!”

“And you are a horrible father, I hope to
God
you get what is well coming for you.” I snap, storming off down the stairs.

I find Ryder in the stables, punching the shit out of a pole. His knuckles are bleeding and he is panting with rage. I rush over and grip his shoulders, he swing
s
around and the pain in his eyes nearly breaks my heart. I grip his shirt and pull him towards me, he falls into my arms and lets me hold onto him,
his b
reathing is rapid and it
worries
me.

“Hey, it’s alright.” I whisper.

He pulls back and stares down at me with glassy bloodshot eyes.

“I am sorry you had to see that.”

I stroke his blood
y
lip and lean up to kiss it
gently
.