A MATTER OF TIME BOOK III

By

Mary Calmes

EXCERPT

THE ROCKING WOKE ME. The room was light and then dark and the third time it illuminated I realized I was in a van. I had to work to get my mind to focus so I could figure out what was going on. The last thing I remembered was my boyfriend Sam’s partner Dominic Kairov stepping out of the shadows next to my apartment to talk to me. He had started out by telling me that he wanted to apologize to Sam for the way he had acted. When Sam had told him that he loved me, Jory Harcourt, another man, Dominic had freaked out. So when Dominic appeared and told me that he wanted to fix things with Sam, I was so happy. I had invited him inside to wait for Sam but when I turned my back, he grabbed me and knocked me out. Now I was his prisoner. Why I had been taken was a mystery. Sam Kage was a vice detective and so was Dominic Kairov, as far as I knew cops didn’t kidnap people. So what the hell was going on?

      I could tell from the speed that I was on a freeway but there was no way to gauge a direction. The fact that I was freezing didn’t help my focus one bit. I realized the reason was that my coat was gone. All I was wearing were my corduroys and sweater from earlier in the evening. My hands and feet were tied behind me and I was bent backwards in an arch. It was uncomfortable but not painful. I was afraid of what my ankle would feel like when I was released since I had sprained it days earlier. Would I even be able to stand on it? And then I wondered  if I would be released. How did kidnapping work? What could I expect? Having never been kidnapped before I had no idea. For some reason I thought about my brother then, what would Dane say if he could see me now? It would be one more stupid mess that Jory had gotten himself into. And then I thought about Sam and how much I loved him. Funny all the things that swept through my brain.

      The van stopped and I could barely breathe. The door slammed open and I was faced with Dominic and a man who looked familiar but was not instantly recognizable. He was dressed well in a three-piece suit, topcoat and a long scarf.

      “See,” Dominic gestured at me. “You send me and the job gets done.”

      The other man nodded. “I do see, very good. Now I want him shot and––”

      I gasped and he scowled before he turned sideways and saw what I did, Dominic holding a gun to his head. He reached for the gun at the same time it went off. There was blood everywhere and I screamed.

      “Shut the fuck up,” Dominic yelled at me as two other men came to stand with him. “Toss that asshole in the ravine but don’t forget to put Jory’s coat next to him.”

      I watched him wipe his face with my coat before he leaned over to wipe my thigh with the coat. Only then did I see that my pants were torn and I was bleeding.

      “Don’t worry J it’s only a flesh wound. You’re not gonna bleed to death or nothing.”

      So odd that he was talking to me like we were buddies. He tossed the coat to a guy wearing gloves and then slammed the door of the van shut after he got in with me. He sat down as the van started moving again.

      “You’re wondering why the hell you’re not in the ditch too right?”

      I nodded.

      “Well ‘cause I still need you to show to Roman’s old man. Once I tell him that you killed his son he’s gonna gut you and I’m gonna get out from under all this bullshit.”

      I just stared at him.

      “Do you have any idea how much Maggie hates Sam?”

      It was a weird segue way but I went with it and shook my head.

      “She hated him so much that she agreed to call him for me and get him over to her place.”

      I was silent, just keeping my eyes on him.

      “You know with you dead J, Sammy’s gonna go back to being the way he was. With Roman gone all evidence of my involvement goes with him. So see I get my life back, my partner back––everything with just you and Roman turning up dead.”

      I winced and he smiled.

“Your ankle hurts huh?”

      I nodded.

      “Sorry. I’ll untie you when we get to the warehouse. I’ll get you some blankets too. I don’t want you to freeze before you see the old man.” He studied me. “You know just so you’re prepared––the old man––he might not kill you fast. He’s got some old world ideas about revenge and with you being the one that killed his kid an all…you might be in for a long night.”

      I felt my stomach heave.

      “I won’t be around for that J. It’ll be weird though to know for the rest of my life what happened to you and never tell Sam. He’s gonna be so happy to get me back when all they find is pieces of you.”

      Hard not to break down, but if I did I was afraid of what would happen. It seemed like he got off on seeing others suffer. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction…at least not until I absolutely had to

      “Sammy’ll be all devastated and I’ll be there to see him through it. I’ll even find him a new girl.”

      My eyes filled instantly. It hurt my heart just thinking of Sam ever loving anyone but me.

      “Faggot piece of shit,” he snarled at me before he leaned forward and drew back his fist. I never even felt the punch.