Chapter 25

The next night, when she got home and stepped out of her car, she felt someone grab her from behind and cover her mouth. She tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. She was frightened beyond words as he dragged her towards the house. During the struggle, she dropped her phone.

“Stop struggling,” he barked.

She recognized the voice. It was Evan, and when they got to the door, it opened, and there was Clarice sporting a smug look on her face.

“I bet you didn’t expect to see me, did you, bitch?”

When Evan released her mouth, she glared at Clarice. “What do you want, and how did you get in?”

“Ace really should have changed the locks, but it’s a good thing for me he didn’t.” She looked at Evan. “Bring her into the living room. We’ll wait for him there.”

“You’re not going to get away with this. Ace is talking to the police right now, and they’re probably looking for you both. Now you’ve just added breaking and entering and kidnapping, along with trying to blackmail him, to the list.”

Clarice slapped her across the face. “Shut up, you bitch. I know you’re bluffing.”

That slap was so hard it jerked her head to the side, and she felt tears stinging her eyes as she was dragged inside and into the living room and pushed down onto one of the chairs.

“Damn girl, did you have to slap her so hard?”

“What do you care? Now tie the bitch so that she can’t try anything. I’m sure Ace will be back soon, so we need to get ready.”

“What are you going to do?” Rosalee asked when Evan tied her hands behind her back.

Evan placed his lips near her ear when he was behind her. “Don’t worry, sweet lips. As long as he does what we tell him, neither one of you will get hurt.”

Rosalee had her doubts about that. She had a feeling if Ace did give them what they wanted, their lives would be ended. While she watched Evan take things out of a black duffel bag, Clarice was pouring them a drink of scotch from the glass decanter that was sitting on the small bar. The rope that was binding her hands behind her back didn’t feel that tight, so she discreetly started wiggling her wrist, hoping to free herself. Her eyes grew wide when Clarice picked up a gun, and with her drink in her hand, she sat across from her and sipped on her scotch.

“Can you believe that prick turned me down the other day when he came to my hotel room? No matter what he might have told you, the sex we had was so wild and hot.”

“I can believe he turns you down because you disgust him, and the thoughts of touching you turned his stomach.”

She smiled when she stared back at Rosalee. “You didn’t expect him to tell you the truth now, did you? We were like two animals fucking. He couldn’t get enough of me. You might be satisfying him right now, but I’m sure soon he will get bored with you. He needs more than a little mouse like you that will just lay there with your legs open and let him screw you. A man like him needs a wild beast in his bed, one that can match his needs and his wildest desires. You are no match for me in that department.”

It made her sick hearing what Clarice was saying, and she started doubting her own self in that department. She wondered if she was enough for him and if she could keep him happy. But then she realized that they had a great sex life that was sometimes a bit rough and on the wild side. So she dismissed what the evil cow was saying and spat back at her. “I’m afraid you are mistaken. It is you who is no match for me in that department.”

Clarice swallowed the remainder of her drink and waved the gun in front of her and smirked. “Well, I guess that’s going to end now, isn’t it?” With an evil look on her face, she turned her head towards Evan. “Darling, why don’t you have some fun with this bitch before Ace gets here?”

He was sitting on the other end of the sofa next to her. “What are you suggesting?”

“Fuck her. That’s what you've been wanting to do since you met her.”

“I may be a lot of things, but I am not a rapist.”

“Who says you have to rape her? I bet you anything she’ll like it. Maybe she has a fantasy of being raped when in reality it’s what she wants.”

Rosalee looked from one to the other in horror. “You’re sick.”

“Tell me the truth, Rosalee. It’s something you would like, and I even bet that it will really turn you on to have me watch you while Evan screws you.”

Rosalee looked up at Evan when he got to his feet and over to her. “Please don’t do this. You said yourself you’re not a rapist, and I don’t want you to touch me. If you do, Ace will kill you.”

“Don’t worry, sweet lips. I have no intentions of forcing myself on you. It is true what Clarice said. I have been wanting to get you into my bed from the very first moment I laid eyes on you.”

“You’re a pussy,” Clarice snapped at him.

He smiled back at her with a grin on his face. “I may still get a piece of her pie after we get what we want. Some women will do anything to save their life, even if that means fucking someone.”

“Shut up, you fool,” Clarice snapped at him. She didn’t want Rosalee to know what their plan was, and here he was opening his big mouth.

**********************

Ace wasn’t happy about Rosalee going home on her own, but she insisted that she would be okay while he went to the police station. She had promised to call him as soon as she had gotten home, and he also made her put the gun he had in her purse, just in case. After leaving the police station and putting in a report about Evan and Clarice, he headed home and kept checking his phone and wondered why she hadn’t called him yet. He had a bad feeling as he pressed his foot to the pedal and drove as fast as he could. Pulling into the driveway, he got out and noticed something on the ground by her car. Going over, he bent down and picked up her phone. Now he knew for sure something was wrong because she was never without her phone and kept it with her at all times. As he was bent over, he looked over towards the house. Everything seemed quiet, a little too quiet.

After placing a call, he put her phone inside his pocket as he walked towards the front door, keeping his eyes and ears open. When he walked inside, he called out her name but got no response, so he headed towards the living room. When he got to the entrance, he stopped frozen in his tracks. There she was sitting in the chair, and Clarice was standing behind her, pointing a gun at her head.

“How nice of you to join us,” Clarice said just before he was hit over the back of his head with a blunt object. When he came to, he was sitting in a chair with his hands tied behind his back. “Evan, you bastard,” he said when he saw his brother standing next to Clarice.

“Welcome home, big brother.”

Ace looked at Rosalee. “Are you okay, did they hurt you?” He could see the bruise that was forming on her cheek and struggled to break free.

“I’m okay.”

“Enough of the lovey-dovey talk, it’s time to get down to business so that we can get the hell out of here,” Clarice snapped.

“What do you want?”

“We want what we asked for. You will transfer five million dollars into my account and you will sign the papers giving Evan the company.” She walked over to him and tossed some papers on the table next to him.

“I already told Evan that I will not sign my company over to him but that I will give him his inheritance all at once. As for you all you’re getting is one million which is more than you deserve.”

“No way am I going to settle for that, I want the whole five, or else I’ll blow your lover’s head off. Is that what you want?”

She went back over to Rosalee and placed the gun on her temple, her finger over the trigger.

Ace felt fear course through his body, something told him she would do what she threatened if he didn’t comply. “Okay, remove the gun from her head and I’ll do it but you’re going to have to release my hands so that I can make some calls.”

“You better not be trying to trick us and also sign those papers giving Evan control of the company.”

Clarice nodded, letting Evan know to cut Ace loose.

“Don’t do it, they only plan on killing us after you do,” Rosalee shouted out.

Clarice turned to her in anger. “Bitch, shut the hell up or I’ll shut you up.”

Ace looked at her. “It’s okay baby, I’m sure once they get what they want they’ll leave us alone.” He knew she was right but he needed time to figure out a way to stop them.

Clarice went over and stood next to Rosalee while Evan untied Ace and handed him a pen and pointed towards the papers for him to sign. In the meantime, Rosalee was slowly managing to get out of the rope that Evan had put on her. Lucky for her he wasn’t very good at it and hadn’t made it tight enough that she couldn’t wiggle out of it.

“Look, Evan, I’ll give that bitch the money she asked for and I’ll sign over your inheritance to you but let’s negotiate the company.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Evan, don’t listen to your brother, you should have the whole company and don’t negotiate anything with him.”

He turned to her and snapped. “I want to hear him out and maybe we won’t have to kill them.” He looked back at Ace. “Go on, I’m listening.”

“Instead of giving you the whole company which you know you don’t want to run. You would rather be out traveling and partying and whoring around than sitting behind a desk and you have no clue how to run this business. So, what say I give you 1% of all profits for the rest of your life? That adds up to a fortune every year and can keep you in the style that you want. That and the money Clarice gets you never have to want for anything ever again.”

Evan looked over at Clarice. “That sounds like a good deal to me and that way we don’t have to kill and dispose of the bodies.”

“You idiot, do you really think that he’s going to let us walk away with the money and 1% of his company without calling the police on us? No, we can’t take that chance, now get him to sign the goddamn papers so we can get out of here.”

Evan scratched his chin. “She’s right, how do I know you won’t try to have us arrested?”

“I give you my word, plus how are we going to prove that you forced us? It would be our word against yours.”

“Your word means nothing to me, now sign the freaking papers.”

Ace and Rosalee glanced at each other. He could see that she had freed herself from the ropes and she nodded towards the statue that was on the table next to her, and he caught on to what she was planning on doing. It was dangerous and could go terribly wrong, but they had to do something; otherwise, they would both end up dead.

“Okay, hand me the papers.”

When Clarice lowered her gun and took another step forward just as Evan bent over to pick the papers up, Rosalee grabbed the statue and, getting to her feet, whacked Clarice over the back of the head. This gave Ace the opportunity to strike when Evan turned his head to see what was going on. He jumped up from his seat and sucker-punched him so hard he fell to the ground. Ace pulled him up onto his feet by his collar. “I ought to kill you for coming into my home and hurting my girl, son of a bitch,” he said and started punching him, knocking him to the ground once again. He moved quickly and flipped him over onto his stomach and held Evan's hands behind his back.

“Rosalee, hand me that rope.” When she did, he tied Evan's hands behind his back, even though the guy was out cold. Getting up, he pulled her into his arms and held her against him as he stroked her hair. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t you know how dangerous that was?”

“I had to do something. I couldn’t let you sign away all your money and your life’s work.”

He lifted her chin up and, cupping her face in his hands, he used his thumb to caress the bruise on her cheek. “You’re hurt.”

“That bitch, she slapped me.”

He kissed her cheek tenderly. “I’m so sorry she hurt you, but she will pay.”

She looked over at Clarice as she still clung to him. “Oh my God, do you think I killed her? I didn’t mean to hit her so hard.”

“No, sweetheart, she’s still breathing, but I’m sure she will have one hell of a headache when she wakes up.”

Moments later, they heard the police sirens, and within seconds the place was filled with cops. He had called them before he walked into the house when he realized that something was wrong. Not only was her phone lying on the ground outside, but the front door was unlocked. They both had always locked it as soon as they entered their home. The police walked in on quite the scene: one woman lay on the ground unconscious, and the man whose hands were tied behind his back was just coming to.

It was a grueling couple of hours as Ace and Rosalee explained what had taken place. The detective who showed up had some interesting information to tell Ace about Evan and Clarice.