Page 86 of Beautiful Deceit
I see something that makes my blood run cold.
I rewind it back to the very first moment he touched her. I can see her face clearly as she tries unsuccessfully to pull away. She has no idea that the person tugging on her is her tormentor. Her mouth opens as she says something, and his hands wrap around her waist.
I can see the fear in her eyes when her mouth falls open again, and I know what she's yelling. She’s yelling for me. Her mouth forms into a scream, and he grabs her by the neck.
I'm less than a hundred feet away, and I had no idea. I had no idea that the woman I love was being taken right in front of me, while calling my name. Anger and fear are the driving forces that have me slamming my fists into the desk.
The detectives review the same footage, and both quickly issue a missing person report and a possible abduction.
The word "possible" sends me into a tailspin, screaming for them to find her.
Jude and George close the store. Within minutes, we have every person out of the store as it is swarmed with police.
I call Brian back and explain what I saw.
“It was him. Darryl took her.”
Chapter 26
Samantha
Time moves strangely,I have no concept of the hours or minutes that pass. When I wake up, I am bound with zip ties and laying on the floor of a utility van. I smell grease and dirt over the sharp metallic odor of my blood that has pooled under my cheek.
Lifting my body, I turn, wincing from the pain at the base of my skull and the sticky blood that pulls on my skin, as I frown at my surroundings.
My right cheek is aflame. I was hit while unconscious or dropped carelessly, hitting my face. I taste blood at the corner of my lip, the sting I feel there is familiar.
The drone of an engine tells me we're on the move, but I have no idea to where or how long we've been moving. My only clue is the tacky blood, making me think only hours have passed.
I keep my breaths even, hoping he doesn’t realize I’m awake. It doesn’t matter though. I’m still trapped.
Hours later,the van finally stops. I lay still, hoping for a chance to escape.
The utility door slides open, and my breath leaves me in a whoosh. Darryl is standing in the door frame. He stares down at me as the interior lights shine on his face.
The years fall away and I’m a young girl again, shaking and terrified of what he’s going to do next.
“Please,” I croak. “No.”
He reaches in, grabbing me by my upper arm. I scream, kicking at him, and he lets me drop to the hard ground. Jagged rocks dig into my side and back as I hit the dirt. A cloud surrounds me from the impact making me cough. Dirt and blood mix as I fight his hold.
He’s eerily silent as he hauls me up. I stumble, tears tracking down my face. He drags me through tall grass, over sandy red dirt. My body freezes up. I haven’t seen soil like that in seven years. He’s brought me home.
“No, no.” I howl, refusing to believe I’m so far away.
My throat is sore from my continued screams, and my eyes continue to scan my surroundings as he drags me up a gravel driveway to an old house. He throws me up a few steps and onto a sagging porch. I scramble up the remaining few, trying to regain my bearings. It’s unfamiliar. I’ve never been here before.
There’s nothing but an empty field and a dilapidated barn in the distance.
He pulls me forward as he crosses the threshold. I fight his grip on me. I know if I enter that house, I won’t be coming out. I twist myself, slamming my body against the door frame.
He lets me drop to the ground as he gets me inside. My head bounces off thin carpet. The sore spot at the back of my head gives a sharp ache. My vision fogs over briefly.
“Wake up!” Darryl barks. My eyes threatening to close, snap open. “I told you! I told you that I would find you.” He reaches forward, grabbing my face with his hand. He squeezes my cheeks, and I cry out in pain.
He shoves me away with a quick jerk.
“I can’t even look at you. You let him touch you. You fucking whore!” He screams bending down close to my face. I roll away, trying to escape his alcohol-soaked breath.
