22. Chapter Twenty-Two
”You want me to tell you all about it?” he asks, smirking at me. “You want to hear about how sopping wet she was every time I drove my dick into her?” I glare at him over my shoulder, trying my hardest to ignore his taunting words as I wait for Johnny to arrive home. I pull my eyes from his bruised face and stare out through the open doorway, hoping that if I stare at the back of Johnny’s house hard enough, then it might make him appear quicker.
I’ve only met this pervert once before. It was two weeks after Callie’s father had made the sickening deal with him, unbeknownst to me at the time.
He’d put a bad taste in my mouth back then, the way his eyes lingered on Callie whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention and when his hands were pressed tightly into her lower back when he hugged her goodbye. I guess it makes sense now after what I’ve learned, and it sickens me to know that I just stood there, watching it happen.
Fraser smacks his lips together before speaking again. “Oh, I know. You want to hear about the first time I got my hands on her?” I clench my hands into fists and take deep breaths, trying to calm the simmering anger threatening to erupt out of me. The urge to knock him out again so that he’ll stop talking is strong, but I resist as I hear tyres crunching over gravel.
Finally, Johnny’s here.
Fraser goes silent behind me. I peer over at him and see that his eyes are wide and wary as he attempts to look past my hulking form to see who’s here.
“Looks like things are about to get interesting,” I murmur, watching Johnny stride out his back door. He’s wearing a quizzical expression as he crosses the grass towards me.
“What’s going on in there?” he asks, nodding towards the shed. My lips tilt up as I step to the side, giving him a view of Fraser strapped down with rope to the metal chair. Johnny’s face stays neutral as he assesses Fraser’s purpling swollen eyes and split lip.
He steps back, out of Fraser’s view and raises a questioning brow. “Why the fuck have you got Fraser tied up here? What are you thinking?” he whisper-shouts. “Do you not understand how stupid this is?”
I push him back a step so that I can move out of the way and close the door of the shed, concealing a shell-shocked Fraser inside.
“Uh yeah, so, long story short, I saw Callie last night, and we had a little heart-to-heart discussion about what happened during the time that I was gone.” I huff out a breath and avert my gaze. I can’t look him in the eye when I tell him this. “Derek made a deal with Fraser years ago...” Johnny crosses his arms and his brows draw down, shadowing his eyes.
“Get to the point, kid,” he growls. I wipe my hands against my jeans, suddenly feeling sweaty with Johnny towering over me, a scowl slowly forming on his face. I straighten my form so that we’re the same height, hoping to feel less intimidated. It doesn’t help, he’s still intimidating as hell.
“Derek offered for Fraser to, uh, use Callie.”
Within the blink of an eye, Johnny is ripping the door of the shed open and storming over to Fraser. Fraser starts stuttering and his feet scamper against the floor, trying to push himself backwards and failing miserably. Johnny is on top of him in the next second, the chair falling back as his fists plough into Fraser’s face and body, over and over again. Roars of anger escaping him with every hit.
I let him get a few more hits in before I rush over and attempt to pull Johnny off. He elbows me, trying to shove me away so that he can continue his assault, but I grapple his arms, yanking him back.
“We can’t kill him. We need him alive, Johnny!” I shout.
He relents, shoving me away from him and standing up from the floor. His chest is heaving, and his hands are still curved into fists as he glowers down at Fraser. He lifts his booted foot and kicks the perverted bastard one more time for good measure before he takes a few steps back from him.
“Fuck!” He shouts, his hands scrubbing his face in frustration as he storms outside the shed.
A scraping noise brings my attention back to Fraser, who’s attempting to loosen his bindings as he lies sprawled on the floor. I walk over and haul the chair up, causing him to groan as his body is forcefully yanked upwards as well. When he’s upright again, I check the ropes and tighten them to ensure he won’t be able to go anywhere whilst I go check on Johnny.
I walk outside to find Johnny leaning against his fence, grouchily saying goodbye into his phone before ending the call.
“Who was that?” I ask, coming to stand beside him.
“I called Connor. Kid’s probably confused as fuck because all I asked was if Callie was alright…” He trails off as he stares across the fields that surround his house. “Why didn’t any of ‘em tell me what’s been happening with her?” His dishevelled appearance pulls at my heartstrings a little.
The man has a heart of gold, and he cares deeply about Callie and the twins. From what I”ve heard and seen, he”s always been there for them, especially when they were younger because Derek sure as hell wasn’t around much. I know it pains him that he can’t see them often and that he can’t protect them from everything Derek does.
He called me one night when I was sitting in a motel room about six months ago. He was slurring and kept dozing off every few minutes but he still managed to tell me about how much he loved all three of them. He was openly sobbing on the phone when he spoke about Clarissa and Crystal. He was devastated that he wasn’t able to be there watching Crystal grow. He also felt guilty after learning about everything Clarissa had gone through over the many years she’d been with Derek.
I place my hand on his shoulder and give it a firm squeeze. “Callie struggled to even tell me, Johnny. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You couldn’t have known. No one could have. She’s okay though. She’s strong. Plus, it’s time for us to get some revenge on her behalf, that is why I have Fraser here after all.” He turns to me and smirks, pulling me into him for an extremely quick embrace.
“Let’s go have some fun with this dirty mother fucker then.” He turns to walk back to the shed, but I grab his wrist and halt his movements.
“We need a confession. We need some proof of what he’s done to her all these years. It’s not going to be easy and we can’t incriminate ourselves so we need to be careful, but we need something.”
He scoffs and yanks his wrist from my hold.
“I’m not stupid, Ryker. I know what I’m doing. I’m also going to try and get him to give me some incriminating evidence about Derek. That way, I can give everything to Johnson, and then we can get ‘em all. Everyone will be free from all these secrets that have had us bound for so long.” I nod in agreement, and then we both make our way towards the shed.
Johnny paces back and forth in front of Fraser like a lion that’s circling its prey. Fraser watches him intently. He hasn’t spoken since Johnny’s been here, and although I’m thankful for it because he was infuriating with his goading words, we need him to talk so that we can get this over with.
After a few minutes of pacing, Johnny walks away from Fraser and towards the corner of the shed that’s shrouded in darkness. I hear the clanking of metal hitting metal, and it sends a shiver running down my spine as I imagine what he’s getting. Fraser’s eyes widen as he tries to turn around and see what Johnny’s doing, he can’t see and it seems to make him even more terrified.
“What’s wrong, Fraser? Do you not like feeling scared? Do you not like that you don’t know what’s about to happen to you?” I question, hoping for a reaction.
He faces me and the old bastard smirks, his whole demeanour changing as fear is overridden by his arrogance. I lift my gaze over his head and see a red light now aimed towards me, flickering. It’s time to get this pervert talking.
“Why did Derek decide to offer Callie to you?” I ask, genuinely curious because I don’t understand. He eyes me curiously and then laughs.
“You don’t know?” he queries. I raise a brow at him, waiting for him to continue. He chuckles again and then shakes his head.
“Before I answer anything, tell me how this is going to go. Am I going to die by the end of this little interrogation?”
“Depending on what you tell us.” Johnny snaps, striding over to where I’m standing with a chunky metal mallet in hand, swinging it back and forth beside him. He looks like a complete psycho and I kind of like it.
Fraser audibly gulps. “Okay. I’ll tell you what you want to know, and then you can let me go – no police either!” he says hurriedly, panic evident in his voice.
“We’ll consider it. Now answer my question. Why did Derek offer Callie to you?”
“He found out that she wasn’t his daughter. Said she owed him for all the years he’d paid for her shit, so he found a way for her to make him money.”
Johnny growls in anger, “So you paid for her?”
Fraser smirks again, his busted eyes glimmering with mirth as he observes us both. “Yep,” he says. “Was quite expensive considering I wanted exclusivity, but she was worth every single penny. Sweet girl.”
A roar of anger escapes me as I charge towards him and throw my fist into his face, the impact sending him and the metal chair crashing down onto the wooden floor again. He laughs humorlessly, a cold and manic laugh that causes the tension in my muscles to tighten.
“You sick fuck!” I shout, smashing my fist into his face one more time before clambering off of him. He turns his face to the side, spitting out blood and chuckles. His eyes slice over to mine despite the awkward angle, his smug face continuing to make my blood boil.
“You know, a couple of times she used to call out your name as if she was begging for you to help her,” he says, his voice low and cunning. My jaw clamps shut as my teeth grind together. My heart cracks a little at his statement, but I try not to let it show on my face, knowing he wants to get a reaction out of me.
“After the first time when she’d attempted to stab me, we didn’t trust her.” Johnny chuckles, and I feel myself smirk, making Fraser pause for a moment. “We drugged her after that for the first month or so. Every time, she was limp, and she kept passing out, but that girl still fought. When she was conscious, she would weakly try and push me off, begging me to stop, and when I didn’t listen, that’s when she’d call out for you.”
My fists clench by my sides and Johnny places a firm hand on my shoulder, holding me in place, keeping me from storming over to the sick bastard who is still lying on the floor with his hands and feet bound to the metal chair.
Although it’s almost killing me to listen to his twisted words, I know that we need him to tell us as much as possible. I’m going to have to force myself to listen to every sordid tale that comes out of his mouth.
“You said you paid for exclusivity, right?” Johnny asks through gritted teeth. Fraser rests his head against the cold ground and nods. “How much were you paying him?”
Fraser stays quiet, his head leaning against the ground, eyes closed. A smirk still playing along his lips. Johnny walks forward and kicks him in the stomach. “How much?” he growls. Fraser coughs and attempts to curl into himself to protect his midsection when Johnny kicks him again, but it’s no use. He can’t move much due to his bindings.
He groans and then shouts, “Alright! Stop!” Johnny offers one more firm kick and then backs away. Fraser’s eyes are now open and fearful, his smirk long gone. “Sit me up, and I’ll talk.”
Johnny and I exchange a look. I shrug to show that I’m unbothered either way, so we walk over and haul him upright again. He hangs his head low and groans in discomfort and pain.
“Derek allowed me access to her three times a month for ten thousand. If I wanted an extra day, it would cost me another grand. I paid him six months in advance. I wanted to wait until she was of age so that it wasn’t illegal. He said if he didn’t need the money, then he wouldn’t have charged me at all.”
“What did he need the money for?”
Thank God Johnny was here because I wouldn’t have been able to think straight and ask him questions.
If I was here alone with Fraser, I know I would’ve been beating him black and blue by now, and I don’t think I would’ve stopped until he was dead. I’ve never seen myself as much of a violent person before, but since I’d found out about everything Callie had been through in the years I’d been gone, I’ve thought about murdering every single one of these motherfuckers.
Fraser lifts his head now, his eyes moving back and forth between us. “He was in trouble with the cartel. Cameron had been withholding some of the cash and also been stealing the goods. So, he made a deal to gradually pay them back.” A slimy smile slowly forms on his face, and his gaze rakes over to mine. “He was going to sell her to the highest bidder at first. He was planning an auction and everything. Do you want to know why that didn’t happen?” He asks.
A crease forms between my brows as he stares at me with a malicious glint in his eyes and a twisted smile etched onto his face.
“He found out from Cameron that she wasn’t a virgin anymore. Not only was she not a virgin, but the little slut was pregnant.”
Johnny”s head whips around in my direction so quickly that I’m surprised he didn’t snap his neck. Fraser chuckles in his chair when he realises that Johnny has no idea about that fact. His laughing fades into a coughing fit soon after. Johnny continues to glare at me even though I’m not focused on him. I’m still staring at Fraser and processing what he’s told us.
“Outside, now!” Johnny shouts. I close my eyes and sigh, wondering how this is going to go.
When I first spoke to Johnny after I’d left town, I thought he’d know about everything, but when a few weeks had gone by, and the subject was never brought up, I soon realised that he had no idea about Callie’s miscarriage. I hadn’t thought about telling him either because it was devastating. I don’t want to relive that experience ever again.
We were young and in no way prepared to have a baby together, but when I learned that Callie was pregnant, I was overjoyed. The thought of having something that connected us for life, something that we’d made together out of love, was indescribable. Then, to find Callie on the floor in her bathroom a week later, crying her eyes out in pain with blood trickling down her legs, it was heartbreaking. I’d spent a week thinking about how gorgeous our baby would be, I’d thought about names, and I’d even started searching for places where we could live, far away from this town.
All of those thoughts crashed and burned as I spent an hour wrapped around Callie on the floor of that bathroom, whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay, telling her I was going to be there for her no matter what, and I was going to help her through it. Then, shortly after that, I’d broken those promises because of what I’d overheard Derek saying in that bar… I ran away and left her.
I will forever remember our little angel. The little life that I’d created with my girl was magical. I couldn”t forget that; hence, the tattoo on my back. Every moment after that though, I wish it never happened at all. Even more so now with everything I’ve learnt since being back.
When I walk outside the shed, Johnny shoves me up against the wooden slats, his arm across my throat.
“You got her pregnant!” He spits, his face centimetres away from mine. “You got her fucking pregnant, Ryker!” He shouts again, seething with anger as he lifts his clenched fist and smashes it into the wooden beam beside my head.
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but it’s not something I exactly like to talk about, Johnny.”
He studies my face for a moment, realisation dawning on him as he says, “She lost the baby.”
I close my eyes and drop my head backwards against the exterior of the shed. “Yeah, we lost the baby.”
We stand in silence, watching one another as my words settle around us.
“Well, I’m surprised that he’s talking to us so easily already. It concerns me a little if I’m honest,” he says. The quick change in conversation shocks me, but I’m grateful for it. “I thought he’d be somewhat loyal towards Derek but it seems like he really is just a selfish coward..”
I nod in agreement because I’m equally confused by how easy it has been to get Fraser to confess.
“You think anyone knows that you took him?”
“No, no one,” I tell him, “I saw him at Callie’s when I dropped her home, so I waited outside the house for him to leave. Then I followed him home, knocked him out before he managed to get in his front door and brought him here straight after. No one saw me.”
“Okay, that’s one thing we ain’t got to worry ‘bout then… you know we can’t just let him go, right?” I nod and run a shaky hand through my hair.
“Yeah, I get that, but what do we do with the video? He’s confessed, so that’s evidence, but we’ve also assaulted him and held him hostage too. That’ll go against us.”
“I can get Henry to edit it, and then I’ll take it to Colin, we can then decide what to do with him after that,” Johnny says, sighing in frustration. “Let’s get back in there, try to get some information out of him about the locations of Derek’s warehouses or something.”