Chapter 36
Evelyn
Being alone on the estate felt different today. The facade of safety had been ripped away, and the eerie feeling of eyes on me returned. After Parker left, I finished journaling and went back inside the pool house to get dressed for the day.
My thoughts drifted to last night, I thought I would wake up with regrets, but the feelings never came.
Last night, my body felt alive, staring into Parker’s eyes as he made me feel pleasure that I thought was impossible.
When my past threatened to overshadow the moment, he didn’t shy away from me.
Instead, he supported me, kept me grounded.
It was all so overwhelming in the best way.
Is this what it felt like to be truly loved? I wonder if this is what Celeste felt with Rico. I so badly wanted to talk to her, tell her everything.
You know what love feels like, Evvie. You don’t need to ask me.
Sometimes I didn’t know whether her voice was just the depth of my subconscious, telling me what I already knew, or some cosmic gift.
Either way, my breath came easier knowing that maybe the work with Dr. Beck was paying off.
Trust would always be difficult for me. Learning to trust myself and my decisions was new.
I meant what I said to Parker. I was done running, looking over my shoulder, waiting for the boogeyman to appear.
Stepping through the sliding door, I walked to the security booth, meeting William at his car.
Earlier, I had seen William passing by, and he offered to take me to the Marquis.
I quickly texted Parker to let him know before hopping in the car.
Mr. Woods hadn’t rested a moment. He told all the security staff that they would not be paid to guard me.
There were a couple of things at The Marquis that I needed for work.
I’d have to stop in and let Thomas know I’d be working from home for a while.
On the way to The Marquis, William and I chatted about the Atlanta Hawks game, and he asked me how work had been going.
We had become good friends. I knew that he grew up outside of Oakland Ridge and moved here after he finished with the Navy.
Gerard was like a father figure to him and helped him get a job with the Woods.
All he wanted to do was live a quiet life and one day share it with someone.
He was 41 years old and thought kids weren’t in the cards for him.
But I always told him differently. I didn’t like him not having just a little bit of hope. After all, he was a catch.
The threat of Mr. Woods didn’t scare him. It was his day off, and, no one could tell him what to do with his car. I wasn’t about to argue with him. He had a point.
William left the car parked in front of the Marquis and followed me inside like it was a normal day at the office.
My tablet was exactly where I thought I would find it, charging at the foot of my desk on the floor.
Bending down, I grabbed it, just as I heard the lock on the door click.
My head shot up, intending to see William, but it was Sheriff Strauss.
“That is a mighty big fella you got out there. I wasn’t so sure I’d get in.” He belly laughed, and the smell of alcohol wafted off him.
Rising from the floor, I stood behind the desk. I felt the hairs on my arm rise.
“Are you alright?” He was clearly drunk, his face was flushed, and a sheen of sweat covered his brow. Strauss pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and made himself comfortable in the loveseat by the door.
“Oh, I’ll be just fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
I busied myself collecting what I needed and stuffing my bag, hoping he wouldn’t see how on edge I was.
“I’m doing just fine, as you can see.” I laughed nervously, inching toward the door. The sooner I ended this conversation, the sooner William could take me back to the estate.
He stood suddenly swaying into the side table as he blocked my path to the door.
“I heard things got a little heated at the mansion the other night. It sounds like your vacation may be ending.”
The way he leered at me told me his concern was purely fictional.
He was reveling in his destruction. I wondered how many people he had to call to dig up some of the things in that file.
His tone made me nervous, but I pasted a smile on my face and started for the door again.
Sheriff Strauss stepped aside and let me through.
I blew out a breath and opened the door, that much closer to getting the hell out of here.
Only William wasn’t standing outside the door. He was on the ground, unmoving.
I stepped back, colliding with Strauss. His moist palm came down over my mouth before I could scream for help.
“Now, now. Don’t make a fuss. We’re just going to take a little ride. Willy will be just fine.”
The feeling of his hot breath on my neck made me sick to my stomach. I felt the pressure of something at my back.
“Ms. Howard, we can do this the easy way or the hard way? I don’t particularly have a preference. I’ll tell you something about me. I’ve never shied away from a fight.”
“I’ll do what you want, just don’t hurt anyone else. Please.”
“Good. Now fix that pretty face and walk.”
I walked out into the hall and down the club corridor to the guest spaces.
People waved hello as I passed, unsuspecting that I was being abducted in broad daylight.
Once we reached the parking lot, I started praying to whatever god was available that William would wake up, rush out those doors, and save me.
But as we got closer to the sheriff’s car, fear consumed me.
My legs felt like bricks as the sheriff shoved me forward.
The farther we got from the country club, the more aggressive he became.
“What else did Mr. Woods tell you about last night?” I stammered out, trying to distract him. He was so drunk that perhaps I could knock him off balance and make a run for it.
“Curiosity killed the cat. You’ve overstayed your welcome. There’s no saving you now.”
The drawl that had once drenched his words like syrup disappeared, and my blood ran cold.
Strauss popped the trunk of his car, shoving me forward. Before I could scream, he shoved a cloth over my mouth, and everything went black.
Cold water brought me back to consciousness.
I gasped for air as the chill of the water set into my bones. My arms are tied behind my back, I’m sitting in a chair in a dimly lit room, and Sheriff Strauss is standing over me.
My first instinct was to run, but the ropes around my arms dug into my skin, causing pain to flare in me as I struggled with my binds.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a slick smile.
The absolute joy in his voice made my blood run cold. I wanted to speak, but I couldn't.
“You’re a quiet one,” he said with a chuckle as he pulled a chair up to sit in front of me. “That’s okay. You don’t need to do much. I’m not the one who needs to speak with you anyways.”
He leaned in closer to me without speaking, and I caught the scent of his pomade again. My stomach rolled from the smell of it, combined with feelings of a hangover from whatever he gave me.
My mind slowly puts together the sequence of events. He hurt William, then he drugged me.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
“Oh, darling. I think you’re starting to make sense of it now. He said you were smart,” he said with another chuckle as he leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs.
The way he’s looking at me squirm in the chair, I want nothing more than to be far away from him and this place, wherever this is.
“W-w-why?” I stuttered out, trying to make sense of it all.
He abducted me for Charles. But why?
Sheriff Strauss had always left me feeling on edge, but I thought he was just a creepy older man.
I had encountered my fair share of older men who liked to prey on younger women.
But sitting here so close to him with the smirk on his face confirmed my suspicions.
He was as dirty as he seemed, and he was working with Charles.
He rose from the chair and paced the floor around me, momentarily reaching down to caress my hair out of my face. “You really are a pretty little thing.”
“Fuck you!” I was terrified, but anger started to seep in.
Anger at myself and anger at the cards that the world had dealt me.
Hadn’t I suffered enough? Now I was here with a man who was no doubt delivering me right to the devil.
I couldn’t contain it anymore. “Fuck. You!” I screamed as I kicked and struggled with my bindings.
His hand came down quickly across my face. He used his other hand to yank my head back with my hair enclosed in his fist. Pain shot through me, and the nausea from earlier returned.
“Now, do I need to teach you a lesson before he arrives, or are you going to behave?” He barked out. No longer smirking or smug.
I glared up at him with nothing but malice in my eyes.
I had no idea what he would do to me, but I knew I had to keep whatever strength I had.
Charles wouldn’t spare me a second time. But I knew that I would fight, and if the fates allowed, I would take him down with me or die trying.