She sniffed. "Lying, stalking, manipulating...that"s not love, Jeff. Not the kind I want." She left.
He wasn"t Steven. Brianna knew it the minute she opened the door that night. She took a deep breath. She had a plan, though she wasn"t sure if it would work. She wouldn"t be as crisp on it as she would have a month ago. Still, she had no choice but to give it a try. He stepped inside. Every night she"d hidden Davis in case the rapist came back. She did the same tonight.
She didn"t want the rapist to realize she knew he wasn"t Steven. This would be her last chance to get him. She could feel it. He"d escaped her twice already. She wasn"t letting him get away again-no matter how frightened she may have been.
She wished to h.e.l.l that it had been Steven. She couldn"t figure him out! Why would he just leave like that? He hadn"t tried to contact her in a month. She could understand him hiding from the cops, but not from her. Maybe she didn"t know him as well as she thought. Had he wondered about her once in all this time? Didn"t he care that she"d be worried?
Why couldn"t he even call? He knew he could trust her. They"d grown distant in more ways than one. She didn"t even know if he was okay.
Steven walked in. He shut the door. He took her by the waist, and he kissed her even rougher than he had before. "I missed you so much, Brianna." She smiled, realizing he wasn"t Steven for certain. "I can"t tell you how hard it"s been not being able to hold you." He wrapped his other arm around her waist. He seemed to want to pull her straight inside of him. "Every time I see you, you get more beautiful. How did I ever let you get away from me?"
"Steven." She played with his collar. "I had no idea where you"d been. I wasn"t sure if you were safe or not." Thunder roared. He looked toward the door. She grinned to keep his mind on her. "The last time you were here, it was raining, wasn"t it?"
"Yeah." He nibbled her neck. "I want you so bad, Brianna. Remember what I said the last time?" He smirked. "That I wasn"t gonna leave until we made love?"
"I remember." She smiled.
"I meant it." He scooped her into his arms. He stopped at the stairs. She steadily watched him. He cut his eyes to her. She could tell the bluffing had become difficult for him. He didn"t even know where her bedroom was. And he should have.
She waved her arm nonchalantly to the first room at the top of the stairs.
"You remember where it is, don"t you, Steven?" She kissed him. He smiled. He headed for the bedroom. He smirked at the sight of her bed. Brianna couldn"t stop trembling inside. She couldn"t botch this up. Yet the man scared her half to death. She couldn"t believe she stood in her bedroom with the same man who had attacked her and beaten other women. He may have even killed a few. She glanced at her end table by the bed. Her gun sat in it as always. She wanted to take the f.u.c.ker in so he could get what he deserved in prison. He needed to suffer. But if he made one wrong move on her, she would shoot him in a heartbeat.
"Come here." He pulled her close. He slipped her nightgown from one shoulder. "No need in waiting, Brianna."
"Mmm, no need." He cupped her b.u.t.tocks. "Oh, Steven, this feels so good."
"It can feel even better, Brianna." He ran his hand down her thigh. "You"re so hot, aren"t you? I feel your heart beating so fast. I don"t think I"ve ever wanted someone so much."
"Steven, Steve?" She pushed him away. "It"s been a long time for me, you know? Especially with you. You"re so special to me. Let"s take our time." He grimaced. "We could have some wine first."
He nodded. "Wine, huh? Where do you keep it?"
"You don"t remember? In that little cabinet in the kitchen, above the microwave." She pointed to the door. "You know wine really gets me going. It did for you too."
He rubbed his hair. "Believe me, I never need anything to get me going." She frowned at the crude remark. He didn"t seem to pick up on it. "I"ll be right back." He turned toward the door. He opened it, then slammed it shut again. Brianna jumped back. He grabbed her by the hair. He ripped a knife from his back pocket.
"Steven, what are you doing?" she shrieked.
"Just cut the s.h.i.t, Brianna! You think I"m stupid, huh? Do you?" He yanked her head back. She felt like her neck would cave in. "Well, I must be kind of smart since you cops haven"t been able to catch on to me, right?"
"Steven, I only want to help you! I care about you!"
"Come off it! You know d.a.m.n well I"m not Steven! You really think I"m stupid, don"t you, Detective? Like I didn"t know you probably figured me out! Why do you think I stayed away so long? I knew you guys were planning!" He shoved her on the bed. He leapt on top of her. He placed the knife under her chin. "Well, let"s see who gets the last laugh tonight."
Brianna cut her eyes to the end table. She vowed to get that gun.
"Oh, Sarah." Keith pulled her into his arms before she got in the front door. He didn"t seem to notice her stiff reaction. He brushed rain from her jacket. He took her umbrella. "Oooh, this weather!" He chuckled. "How come when it rains in Albany it seems to pour every time?" Sarah stared, stiff-faced. "You look so beautiful. I got the dinner set up in the kitchen."
"Keith."
"We can eat it there, or if you want to watch television, I understand." He grinned.
"Keith."
"Or we can eat in the bedroom." He pulled her close. "Since we"re gonna end up there later, anyway." She moved away. He studied her eyes. "Sarah, is everything okay?"
"No, Keith, I don"t think it is. We need to talk."
He stepped back. "Okay, fine. We can talk, but can we do it during dinner?"
"This is not the romantic-dinner-by-candlelight kind of discussion, Keith."
"Sarah, what"s the matter? Did I do something wrong?" He took her arm.
She s.n.a.t.c.hed away. "Let go of me, Keith."
He stared. "You never told me to let go of you before."
"Well, I"m saying it now! I look at you tonight and I realize I don"t even know you, Keith. Maybe I never did."
"Sarah, you know me more than anyone! I know you, too. Baby, what"s going on? What"s happened?"
She exhaled. "Apparently, a lot of things have been happening where you"re concerned, Keith."
"Sarah, I have baked salmon and champagne, those little strawberry tarts you love so much. Can we please just discuss this after dinner?"
"No."
"Oh." He grimaced. "Well, what the h.e.l.l"s the problem, Sarah? I hope I can straighten it for you, because so far it"s ruined a perfect evening."
She rubbed her chin. "Hmm, let"s see. For starters I spoke to Jeff Williamson today. He told me some very interesting things about you."
"You went to the job?" She nodded. "Checking up on me now?"
"Jeff told me that you knew me a year before we met. Is that true?"
"No."
She nodded. "Uh-huh. So Jeff just made it up?"
"Probably when you spoke about how we met, he might have just gotten confused. How would I have known you before then?" He shrugged.
"You know, I"d buy that, Keith, except for one thing. Jeff volunteered the information before I had a chance to ask. In fact, I wasn"t even going to speak to him about that. But I sure as h.e.l.l am glad he told me."
"What did he say exactly?"
"Oh, that you"d been following me home and that you"d purposely go to the coffee shop we met at, just to see me. In other words, he told me you planned meeting me, and started a plan for me to fall in love with you too. Is that true?"
"No, it"s not."
"Keith, stop it!"
"Stop what?"
"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, I know it"s the truth! Jeff wouldn"t have a reason to lie to me!"
"Oh really? News flash, Sarah! Jeff wants you for himself! He always did! What the h.e.l.l are you doing speaking to him behind my back, anyway? What the h.e.l.l is going on around here? You"re acting suspicious and sneaky just like Melody." He sighed. "What the h.e.l.l difference does it make how we met? You love me now!"
"It makes a big difference because you weren"t honest! None of this was honest, this relationship, nothing!"
"Sarah, how can you say that? I love you! Everything I did I meant it! You couldn"t tell that? You"re going on something that doesn"t even matter!"
"It matters to me!"
"All right, fine! I was so in love with you that I wanted to make sure when we met it was perfect! I didn"t want to mess things up." She turned away. "Is that so wrong? I did it for you, Sarah."
"Moving on."
"What is this, a courtroom?" He grimaced.
"I don"t know but you"re about to be put on trial, Keith." She crossed her arms. "You"ve lied about another thing, haven"t you?"
"No. I"ve never lied about anything." She grinned. "It"s the truth, Sarah!"
"How come you didn"t tell me that my sister was here the night she was raped?"
"What did you say?" he whispered.
"I"m sorry. Did I stutter, Keith?" she shouted. "Why didn"t you ever tell me that Mel was here the night she was raped?"
He tilted his head in the air. "I guess Lucas told you this." She nodded. "First, my friend accuses me of things, and now my girlfriend? I wish I knew what was going on."
"You"re not the only one. You still haven"t told me why she was here."
"She came over because she was angry at me. Big surprise!"
"Why was she angry with you?"
"Does Melody need a reason? She hates me, Sarah!"
"Okay, well, why didn"t you tell me about it?"
"I forgot! It"s not even important, is it? d.a.m.n, I mean, she was over here the night she was raped! Big deal! What"s the problem about that?"
"The problem is that you never told me, Keith. And I thought I could trust you more than I can trust myself."
He reached for her. "Sarah, you know you can. I love you so much."
"Then why have you been lying to me?"
"It"s Melody! Sarah, is it always gonna be like this? Is Melody gonna constantly interfere in our lives? Sometimes I wish she was..." He paused. Sarah squinted.
"Go on, Keith." Her voice trembled. "You wish she was what?"
He shrugged. "I wish she was dead."
She gaped. "How can you say something so cruel? And about my sister?"
"Sarah, she hasn"t pulled the punches with me. I"m sick of making an effort and all she does is ruin things. She has tried to ruin my life and now she"s trying to ruin our relationship! Well, I won"t let her." He grabbed her. "I know you love me, Sarah. With that nothing matters."
"I can"t stay here any longer. This is sickening."
"Don"t go." He held her. "Please just...look, I bought something for you. It"s upstairs. Please just come and get it. Then if you still want to go, you can."
She exhaled. "Keith."
"Please, Sarah." He kissed her.
"Okay," she muttered.
"You"re gonna love it, I promise." He led her upstairs.
The rapist climbed from the bed. Brianna lay still.
"What do you think you"re gonna do?" she asked. "Like you said, I obviously have a plan, right? The cops are waiting to make their move on you. They"re hiding outside."
He grinned. "Bulls.h.i.t." He waved the knife. "But I"ll tell you how much about you I know." He walked to the end table. He got her gun. Brianna buried her head into the bed. "Didn"t know I knew where you kept it, did you? I told you I know everything about you, Brianna. I knew everything about all the women I pleasured."
"Is that what you call it?" She grimaced.
"They might not have wanted it but they enjoyed it after they got it."
"You"re disgusting. You are a rapist! The lowest piece of s.h.i.t to walk the planet! I cannot wait to see your a.s.s is in prison, shaking and scared like the women you raped! You"re not as smart as you think. You shouldn"t have come here, because this time, I won"t let you leave!" She charged him. She punched him. He toppled over. The gun flipped from his hands. "Freeze!" He threw the knife at her face. "Ahh!" He grabbed her by the waist. Brianna dropped the gun.
"Stupid b.i.t.c.h!" He grabbed her. "Who do you think you are, huh? Get on the bed! Get on the f.u.c.kin" bed, you stupid c.u.n.t!" He shoved her on the bed. He grabbed the gun and knife from the floor. "It"s gonna happen this time, Brianna. But with only one change! I"m not leaving you alive." She shook. He climbed on top of her. "Tonight you"re gonna die! How do you like that, huh?"
"Freeze, motherf.u.c.ker!" a voice bellowed from the hall. Steven stepped inside with his gun held high. The rapist gaped at Brianna. He held her gun in one hand, his knife in the other. "Put it down now!" Steven ordered.
"Steve." Brianna gasped. The rapist glared at her.
"I said..." Steven stepped closer. "Put the gun down now."
"Steven, be careful," Brianna whispered.
He winked. "No thing, Bree." He grinned. "Hate to bust up your little party, though." The rapist groaned.
"No apologies necessary." Brianna exhaled.