The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-two

Reed

“Where’s Sinclair?” I asked Jesse.

“She’s with Pastor Richie,” he said. “But if she doesn’t get back here soon, I’m drinking her rum and Coke. The ice is almost melted. Where’ve you been, by the way?”

I sighed. “The pipes are leaking in the kitchen. George and I have been in there for the last hour trying to fix the problem. It’s a nightmare for the catering staff.”

Jesse looked past me and scowled. “Oh, great, here comes the shrew.”

I turned to find Sela heading right for us, followed by Jack, who looked inebriated.

Shit.

“Hi, lover,” said Sela, putting her arms around my neck. “Where’ve you been all night?”

I grabbed her hands. “I’ve been around. The real question is, where’ve you been?”

“She was with me,” slurred Jack, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Gettin’ to know my new daughter-in-law.”

I sighed. “Weren’t you the one who was supposed to be getting married again?”

“Pfft…,” he said, waving his arm. “Your mother is all bent out of shape about something, I don’t even know what it is. Says to just forget about the whole vow thing.”

“Really?” I asked, trying to control my temper. He obviously did something to hurt her again and from the way he was pawing Sela, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out.

“Jack,” said Sela, trying to unwind herself from his embrace. “You should really look for Mimi.”

“Oh, she’ll be fine,” he said, swaying. “Hey, want to go for a swim?” he asked, tugging at his clothes.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, stepping closer to him.

“Listen up!” hollered Jack, who was now removing his shoes. “The pool is now open for skinny-dipping! Don’t be shy! Let’s see some tits and ass!”

“Oh, my Gawd…” giggled Jesse. “Jack’s completely wasted.”

There were about sixty or so people, gathered around the pool watching Jack’s little performance. Many of the younger guys were cheering him on while some of Mimi’s friends looked completely horrified.

“Jack,” I hissed, grabbing his arm. “Knock this shit off. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

He shook my arm away. “Sela was right about you,” he said, his eyes bloodshot. “You’re a party pooper, a real fucking drag.”

“Hey, I never said that!” cried Sela. She turned to me. “He is obviously drunk and doesn’t know what he’s saying!”

“Oh yeah,” whispered Jack loudly. “It’s between us.”

“Enough,” I said. “Jack, go back into the house before this episode gets more fucked up.”

He brushed me off. “Oh, you’re such a stick in the mud. I can see why Sela needs a little more excitement in her life.”

“Okay, enough, dad,” interrupted Jesse, looking mortified. “It’s not funny anymore.”

Jack ignored both of us as he staggered over to Sela and pulled her against him. He smiled drunkenly. “I may be higher than a kite, but I’ll bet you’ve never been fucked that good by him, have you?” he whispered loudly into her ear.

I stormed over to him, ripped Sela out of his arms and got right into his face. “You really fucked up,” I growled. “But the person you hurt more than anything this time around, is yourself.”

Then I lifted him up into the air, walked over to the pool, and dropped him in.

Chapter Twenty-three

Sinclair

My skull felt like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer when I finally regained consciousness. As my mind began to clear, I realized that I was in someone’s dingy basement, on a mattress which had been pushed to the corner of a laundry room. The place was dark, except for a small nightlight next to me, and had a weird smell, one that I couldn’t quite figure out.

“Oh, my God,” I shuddered, as the memories of the last few hours resurfaced.

I scrambled away from the mattress and hurried up the wooden steps.

“No,” I moaned, jiggling the door, finding it locked.

Frantic, I went back downstairs to look for another way out and found a window above the dryer. I climbed on top and moved the curtain away, only to find the window boarded up.

Why?
I wondered, trying to remain calm.
This guy was a man of the church, why in the name of God would he do something like this? 

As I stared outside through a small hole in the wood, I couldn’t see anything but darkness and trees. I wondered if I was in some kind of cabin and what he meant to do with me. His talk of the two of us being together and the glazed look in his eyes had given me the chills. He was obviously insane.

The sound of someone whistling startled me. I looked around the room for something to defend myself with, but there was nothing but a jug of clothing detergent and a box of dryer sheets.

“Hello,” smiled the Pastor as he walked down the steps carrying a tray of food. As he stepped closer, I was surprised to find that he’d undergone some major changes. He was now dressed in jeans and a black sweatshirt, his glasses were gone, and his moustache missing.

“What in the hell are you doing?” I blurted out. “Why did you kidnap me?”

He set the tray of food down on the nightstand. “I must admit, your language and anger are quite disturbing, my dear. Please calm down.”

I stepped towards him. “Calm down?! Are you fucking nuts?”

His face turned red, and before I knew what was happening, his hand was around my neck and I was being slammed against the wall. “Shut up,” he whispered, his eyes bulging out of his face.

My own were filled with tears as I struggled to break free, but he was much too strong. “Please,” I gasped as his fingers dug deep into my neck.

“Please what?” he asked.

“Please,” I begged in a hoarse whisper. “I beg you.”

His eyes widened and he let me go, backing away. “I’m sorry,” he said.  

“Why?” I choked. “Why are you doing this?”

He took a step towards me. “I didn’t mean… you shouldn’t…”

I moved away from him. “Please, just leave me alone and let me go home.”

He began wringing his hands. “No, no, no. This isn’t going the way it was supposed to.”

“Why are you doing this?” I tried again.  “You’re supposed to be a man of God, aren’t you?”

“This has nothing to do with
God
,” he said, his lips thinning.

“Obviously,” I said, wondering if I should try to make a run for it.

“You still don’t remember me?” he asked incredulously.

“Am I supposed to?”

He sighed. “From the salon. You cut my hair in the past, several times.”

My eyes widened. I
had
cut his hair. The last time was about two months ago. But now, he looked so different.

Thinner.

“You’ve lost weight,” I said.

He smiled and stood up straight. “Yes. I’ve lost about forty pounds. I did it for you.”

I stared at him in horror. “For me? I just don’t understand, why?”

He ignored the question. “Here,” he said, pointing towards the tray of food. “Eat something. You’re probably very hungry.”

I licked my lips. Obviously he was crazy, but he was also obsessed with me. If I could somehow manipulate him…

“I have a headache, Pastor,” I said, forcing a smile. “Do you have any aspirin?”

“Yes, of course,” he said. “But call me Michael. I’m no longer a Pastor.”

“Oh, okay. Michael, could you please get me something for this headache?”

“Yes. Would you like to come upstairs?”

“Sure,” I said.

He reached into back of his pants and pulled out a set of handcuffs. “Okay, but I’ll need to handcuff you first,” he said, pulling a set out.

Crap.

“You don’t need to use those,” I said. “I’m not going to try and escape.”

He smiled. “That’s good, but I still can’t take that chance. Hold out your hands.”

“But…”

“The cuffs or you stay down here,” he said. “Until we come to an understanding, at least.”

“What kind of understanding?”

His eyes moved to my cleavage and I immediately understood.

“Oh, why didn’t you just say so?” I asked. There was no way I’d have sex with this guy but I could at least hurt him.

He gave me a surprised look. 

I took a step towards him and pushed out my chest, hoping he couldn’t see the disgust in my eyes. “Michael.”

He touched my cheek and I tried not to shrink back. “I knew you felt the same way,” he beamed. “I just knew it.”

“I did too, the moment I met you,” I said. “In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

“Would… would you touch me?” he asked, breathing a little harder.

“Where?” I whispered, hoping he had some kind of weird hair fetish and only really wanted my hands there.

He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his lips. “Touch me wherever you’d like,” he whispered.

At that moment, I really wanted to just kick him in the balls and make a run for it, but I was still too frightened.

What if I missed or didn’t kick him hard enough?

Instead, I placed a hand on his chest and began rubbing it. “Does this feel good?” I asked.

“Yes, oh yes,” he said, stopping my hand with his. “But I need…” he lowered my hand to the bulge in his jeans, “you here.”

I swallowed back the bile in my throat and forced myself to touch the disgusting thing hidden under his pants. If he had an orgasm, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to throw up. I had to get out of this.

“Yes,” he groaned, staring at me, his eyes half-hooded. “Now, take it out.”

Oh God, no…

“Please,” he said, unbuttoning his jeans. “Just touch… a little. It’s all I ask.”

I stared in revulsion as he pulled out his penis and began stroking it himself.

“I… I,” I stammered, glancing up towards the stairs, wondering if I could make it.

He grabbed my hand and put it on his naked penis.  

Horrified beyond belief, I reached down below his penis and grabbed his balls, squeezing them with everything I had.

“Uh!” he grunted, falling to his knees.

In desperation, I ran around him and flew up the stairs to the open door. I slammed it shut and locked it.

“Bitch!” he raged from down below.

Sobbing, I ran through the small house and out the door.

Chapter Twenty-four

Reed

“Where is Sinclair?” I asked Jesse, passing him outside of the library. I was exhausted and had just spent the last hour arguing with Sela until she’d finally called a cab and left. As far as I was concerned, it was over. Fortunately, she didn’t have many things at my condo in New York, so I could ship them to her place instead of having to deal with any further tantrums.

Jesse ran a hand over his face and sighed. “I don’t know. She doesn’t have her cell phone, and the last time I saw her was with that Pastor Richie guy.”

I frowned. “What was she doing with him?”

“The valet attendant said she followed him out to his car because he had an anniversary gift or something.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And she hasn’t been back yet?”

“I know,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense. The valet said he was talking to another guest and didn’t realize they’d left until the Pastor’s car was already gone.”

“So both of them are missing?”

Jesse nodded. “Apparently.”

“Why in the world would she leave with him? I just don’t understand.”

“I don’t either. It’s not like her, at all.”

“Hmm… have you seen mother lately? Maybe she knows something about it.”

“I’m here,” she called from the top of the stairs. She was swaying slightly and looked slightly disheveled.

“Are you okay?” I asked, climbing the steps.

Mimi smiled weakly. “Oh, I’ve been better. I found out about Jack’s little scene over by the pool tonight.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry about that, mom.”

She wiped a tear from her cheek. “You have
nothing
to apologize for,” she sniffed. “He’s gone too far this time.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “This time?”

“Yes, I know… he’s a
scoundrel
. You can’t always choose who you love, and it certainly isn’t easy to love a man like that.”

“I know, mother,” I said, hugging her. It was the same speech I’d heard growing up. She would complain but never leave. “Just remember, if you need us for anything – support, money, a place to stay, Jesse and I are always here for you.”

She nodded. “Thank you, dear.”

“Not to change the subject,” I said as she dabbed at another tear. “But, would you happen to know where Pastor Richie has gone? Apparently, he and Sinclair left together quite a while ago, and neither has returned.”

“What?” she asked. “Why in the world would she leave with
him
?”

I told her about the gift.

“Gift? I sent him home after I’d decided not to renew our vows. He never mentioned anything about giving us a gift,” she said.

“Do you have his phone number?” I asked.

She frowned. “Well, he called me this morning around nine o’clock on the home phone. We can see if it’s been saved.”

“Okay,” I said. “Jesse, go check the Caller ID and find that number.”

He nodded and left.

“How do you know this pastor, anyway?” I said. “Do you go to his church?”

She shook her head. “No, actually I’ve never spoken to him before in my life. He told me that a friend of the family suggested he call us to see if we wanted to renew our vows, since we were having a big anniversary party. I thought it was a lovely idea and just agreed.”

I frowned. “So, you don’t know which church he’s from or where he came from?”

“Well, he mentioned a church, but I forgot the name. He’s a man of God; surely you don’t suspect anything foul?”

“Fuck, I hope not.”

She tilted her head. “Language.”

“Sorry.”

We went in search of Jesse and he was perplexed when we found him in the kitchen playing with the phone.

“It looks like someone erased the call logs,” he said.

“You’re kidding me,” I said. “What in the hell is going on here?”

Jesse bit his lower lip. “I don’t know but Sinclair would never have taken off like this. Not without letting me know about it. Something is very wrong here.”

“And mother doesn’t really know this Pastor Richie, either,” I said. “For all we know, he could be some criminal off of the streets, who may have kidnapped her.”

“Oh,” cried Mimi, putting a hand to her lips. “Do you think so?”

“I don’t know but I think we’d better search the property again, and if we can’t find her, get the police involved,” I said. “That’s what I think.”