Obsession: The Hollow Universe Read online

  “Ellie, my darling…they weren’t supposed to touch you. They told me they’d been without a woman for years in prison and they were desperate. It had been so long since they hunted.”

  “So that excuses what they did to me?” There was acid in my voice and I wanted to kill him with my bare hands.

  “You were lying there. They recorded everything once you were on the path. You were tempting. Even with the blood, you were delectable.”

  “They brutalized me, Adam.” I felt incredible rage but kept it out of my voice.

  “I know. I know they did and I’m truly sorry about that. They were just going to try a little of you but they got carried away. Nothing could be done by the time I found out.”

  I schooled my expression carefully as my blood boiled.

  He shook his finger, reprimanding me, as he said, “You fought and made them angry. When you started fighting, they paid you back for what you put them through.”

  I wanted to take his head off. “What I put them through?”

  “You rejected them, sent them to prison where they were messed with by other inmates, and pretty much ruined their lives. They only roughed you up a little the first time. Their punishment was overkill.”

  “Only you’ve already told me you kidnapped and raped other women so all of you deserved more than prison time.”

  His eyes widened in surprise that morphed to anger. “Don’t say things like that, Ellie! It was a misunderstanding! A situation that got out of hand. I could kind of understand their anger with you.”

  “You can understand why three men would attack me, Adam? You understand why they shot one of my bodyguards, tortured the other, raped me, and beat me within an inch of my life? Huh.” I nodded with a smile. “Thanks for being so understanding.”

  Adam frowned. “You can’t be so black-and-white about it. You’re a gentle soul, Ellie. You’ll forgive me in time.”

  “You have a recording of my rape, Adam.”

  He rushed to explain, “I’m the only one who’s ever seen it, Ellie. I swear. It’s safe and sound.”

  “How can I trust you?”

  “You can! You’ll realize that.” He smiled. “The other three aren’t even part of the plan anymore.”

  The nut still thought he had a plan.

  “Having trouble contacting them?” I asked lightly.

  “I guess they’re in hiding but it’s just as well.”

  For the first time, my smile was genuine. Adam responded instantly, leaning closer as if to kiss me.

  My words froze him. “They’re not in hiding, Adam. My men hunted, tortured, and shot them before getting rid of the bodies.”

  There was no fear or regret in his expression. Nothing but an honest bewilderment he hadn’t known they were dead.

  “And guess what, Adam?”

  He held my hand like a lover. As if he had the right to touch me. My other hand was free.

  “Wh…?”

  I punched him in the throat hard enough to crush his airway. The gun clattered to the floor as both his hands went to his neck to get oxygen that no longer flowed freely.

  I brought my feet up and mule-kicked him across the room. The moment he hit the floor, I straddled his chest and pulled the dagger from my boot.

  The one Bianca handed me in the kitchen of my house.

  Lowering my body until my face was three inches from his, I smiled as he clawed frantically at his throat.

  Padme would later say my voice was hellishly seductive. “This is as close as you’ll ever get to my body. While I’m fucking real men, you won’t even be a memory. By the way, a man with a tiny cock should never, ever record himself jacking off.”

  His face turned purple and I watched him with interest.

  “There was nothing about any of you that would’ve made me choose you. Self-absorbed, sadistic misogynists don’t turn me on. Die knowing you’re being executed by the object of your obsession. Tell the devil Elliana Monica Fields sends her regards. Rot in hell, you sick fuck.”

  I drove the knife upward through his ribcage as Si trained me. I saw the instant his heart stopped, a look of shocked horror etched on his face.

  Standing, I said to the room, “I’m done. Get someone in here to clean this piece of shit off my carpet.”

  I took two steps away before changing my mind, turning back, and delivering a kick to the dead man’s balls as hard as I could.

  The door opened and I ran to Jonas and Jordan. I loved them. I’d always run to them. They held me hard.

  “The moment you left to check the floor, I knew Tom told you he was in the house. One of you always stays at my side.”

  They nodded and I could see the tension ease away.

  “You could have shot him from the entrance in the bathroom. You could have gassed the room. You could have saved me.” I leaned back and smiled. “Thank you for letting me save myself this time. I needed to know everything.”

  They stroked my hair, hugged me tight, and buried their faces at my neck. I could feel their relief.

  “I need to hold Katie. I understood the plan but I was still terrified for my parents.”

  In the main space, my parents grabbed me almost painfully hard. I could feel the bulletproof vests they wore under their clothes.

  “He wasn’t leaving here alive, Ellie,” Mom whispered brokenly. “One way or another, he was going out in a body bag. Watching you walk into that room with him, I thought my heart would stop.”

  “I had to be sure he was the last of them. I had to know every step. It’s the only way I could know it was over.”

  From a trapdoor in the ceiling, two members of my parents’ personal security dropped. They were heavily armed. With a salute to my dad, they walked into the hallway.

  Bianca entered with my little girl in her arms. “Sorry for the bait and switch, Ellie. We didn’t know what he might have been recording.”

  “It was perfect and I knew she was safe with one of you.” I kissed Katie a hundred times, running my hands over her to assure myself she was truly safe.

  I wasn’t sure my parents would ever let us go.

  Hours later, when my stalker’s body was removed and my stomach growled, we went downstairs for a dinner that went on forever.

  My family was together. My daughter was safe. My team gathered and the Hydes sat at my sides.

  Cook, as usual, outdid herself.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  End-July 2015

  For two weeks, I traveled with my team. Robyn stayed with my parents to guard Katie and keep her on a schedule.

  The rest of my personal security went along.

  I missed her every minute but our time apart was worth it to ensure my own brutal experience would never touch her.

  Several people joined us courtesy of Hollow that the Hydes vouched for but I’d never met. Elijah called me personally to let me know they were arriving with additional supplies.

  A pair of cheerful friends from Ireland named Gear and Finn, a massive individual they called Roar, and a smaller man who didn’t stray from his side named Ashok.

  One was a redhead who landed in front of me and said, “I have it on good authority that you’re joining the two dicks, one chick club. Welcome! The annual dues are ridiculous but we get the cutest fucking t-shirts.”

  “Uh. Hi.” I was out of my league.

  “Too much? Should I have stuck with my first choice of girl ballers?” She pulled at her wild curls. “I always doubt myself! I need to learn to trust my instincts, you know what I’m saying?” Hands on her hips, she stared at me. “I’ve frightened you. I can see I’ve caused your spit to dry up. I’m Tawny.”

  She held out her hand and I shook it. Pulling me close, her deep green eyes stared into mine.

  “Hmm. Your eyes are purple with a touch of darkness. Hot.” Without looking away, she added, “Boys, all the props. Bring her ‘round and let us show her how to crack the whip.”

  Her smile was slow. “You hold all the power
, sweet thing. That’s what you need to know. They might be bigger, stronger, and older but you hold them in the palm of your seriously silky hands. What moisturizer do you use, girl?”

  “M-my mom makes it from almond oil and fresh lavender.” I blushed to the roots of my hair.

  “Frealz?” I nodded and she held up one of her palms to show me. “Think you could hook up a bitchy redhead with a tendency for weapon callouses?”

  “Yes. I’ll send you a couple of jars. She makes a lot.”

  Putting her arm around my shoulder, she turned us toward the Hydes. “You’re like…a Texas debutante and shit, huh? Born and bred in the Lone Star state and filled with honey.”

  “I honestly have no idea how to answer any of that.”

  “Red. Break Ellie in slowly.” I didn’t know which of the brothers spoke. I couldn’t look away from her face.

  She looked at me. “Ellie and I are cool, Jonas. She’ll think about this convo later and laugh to herself.” With a smacking kiss on my cheek, she released me and clapped her hands sharply. “Let’s hunt some motherfucking perv digs.”

  We visited every location with even a remote link to Adam or one of the others. There were two trailers along the west coast, an old warehouse in the middle of nowhere in Arizona, and more than a dozen storage units scattered between the estate and my old campus.

  Everything was removed from each location and Red’s team returned later to burn the structures to the ground or douse them with chemical agents to strip biological evidence.

  The woman apparently loved burning things down.

  Anything related to me was incinerated but we kept the driver’s licenses of more women than any of us could contemplate.

  Tom added them to his growing database. Sometimes, he shed silent tears. I sat with him and explained the guilt he carried didn’t belong to him.

  “You did more to try and help these women than anyone. We never imagined there were others. Think about what you want to do and we’ll help them however we can.”

  His green eyes were huge in his pale face. “Thank you, Ellie.”

  “You were crucial these last months, Tom. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that we met when we did.”

  “I’m glad I could help. I wish…you never went through any of it. I wish I could have stopped them.”

  “I’m okay. They won’t hurt anyone else.”

  He sat back and folded his hands in his lap. “There are always more people like them out there, Ellie. Always people hurting other people.”

  “That’s an awful truth. Another truth is there are always people like you in the world, Tom. Doing what you can to stop them, to save as many as you can.”

  Nodding, he said quietly, “I-I love the estate. I’ve never had such a stable life. I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful.”

  “Hollow wants you on his team.” It wasn’t hard to figure out the way his people grilled the young man.

  “You…know? About him?”

  “For a long time.” I sighed and hated that the world needed people like Hollow who in turn needed people like Tom to slosh through the muck and ugliness that seemed to be everywhere. “You’d be an incredible asset. He’s a good man.”

  I reached out to touch his forearm. “You’ll accomplish a lot of good with him and his organization.” I smiled. “He knows quality. He only takes the best, Tom.”

  “I feel disloyal after all you did for me.”

  “You earned it. You helped me close a violent chapter of my life. Follow your instincts and you always have a home with us if you want or need a place to be still.” Inhaling, I added, “Get a list from him of what you need and I’ll see you have it. Stay in touch so I know you’re alright.”

  “I will. You’re amazing, Ellie.”

  “So are you.” Patting his arm, I stood. “Let’s give all these women some closure. I’m sure they’ve lived in fear.” I smiled. “It will give you some much-needed closure, too.”

  He nodded his head once and started typing furiously. I wanted to ruffle his dark hair but I didn’t. I wanted to hug him but I decided against it.

  I looked at him and saw the ten-year-old boy he used to be rather than the grown man he was with prodigy-level computer skills.

  He was one stray I couldn’t keep.

  Stepping out of the mobile unit into an abandoned warehouse with the Hydes, I said, “Get him on the phone. I want assurances about Tom’s safety. I’m not sending him to die.”

  Jonas nodded and walked away on his cell. I glanced up at Jordan. “Food and I need to call Robyn.”

  The last storage locker we found in California was dedicated to me. It was filled with pictures, many taken through the windows of my old dorm. Videos recorded through the cameras hidden around my room.

  Adam purchased outfits, sex toys, and books he planned to give me. My name was scrawled on dozens of gift-wrapped packages.

  A metal lockbox held mementos from the other members of his gang, probably for safekeeping while they were in prison.

  Driver’s licenses and personal effects of women, some of whom I recognized from my college campus.

  There were letters between the eight men spanning several years that were written in code. Tom offered to decipher them but I didn’t want the words in his head.

  None of the women reported their attacks. A combination of fear and shame kept so many victims from the justice they needed and deserved.

  Victim-blaming was still alive and well.

  The women we knew about deserved peace of mind. They needed to know they didn’t have to live with the fear of seeing their rapists on the street or wondering if they’d be taken again.

  Padme and Tom found current addresses for most of the victims whose worlds were shaken apart by sexual violence.

  Some disappeared, others fell into substance abuse, and two committed suicide within months of being brutalized.

  The IDs were wiped clean and returned to them from a random post office. Each envelope held a note.

  The men who took this from you are dead. They will never terrorize you again. Don’t let them take another moment of your life.

  In the future, Tom could give me recommendations about therapy or financial assistance they might need. While we worked that out, we wanted them to know they were free.

  Everything else was destroyed and we returned to Texas with Hollow’s team in tow.

  Less than nine miles from Elysian Fields, we located a trailer Adam purchased after Katie’s birth.

  Inside, we found his laptop and countless images of me. Padme and Tom worked together to sift through the garbage the man hoarded on his hard drive. It was horrific.

  Multiple images from my attack as well as video taken by one of my rapists on his cell phone were Adam’s most frequently accessed files.

  I didn’t look at them.

  I asked the Hydes not to look at them.

  Padme sobbed as she and Tom ensured none of his media had been broadcast or shared. Both doubted it and I prayed they were right.

  The thought of it being used by other sick individuals as fantasy material made my soul freeze with dread.

  “Ellie, he thought of you as his. He wanted to keep his fucking treasure to himself.” Growling, my assistant added, “His ego wouldn’t have allowed it. We’ll keep checking but…I’m pretty confident.”

  After we leveled the trailer, I rented out a restaurant in Dallas and celebrated seeing the last of the eight men who impacted too many years of my life.

  My team wouldn’t rest until they were certain every single crumb of information about myself or my daughter was expunged and destroyed.

  I felt as if I could breathe again.

  Cutting into my steak, Tawny was suddenly at my side, whispering in my ear. “With all this behind you, it’s play time!”

  She crouched and I loved the way all her curls were haphazardly piled on her head. “You ever have questions or need advice, you ring me up.”

  “Okay.�
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  “Next time you’re in New York, we party. I’m tons of fun.”

  “I can tell that about you.”

  Grinning, she whispered, “You’re such a lady.”

  “I try to be.” I added, “Thank you for your help. I truly appreciate it. All of you are wonderful.”

  “I love to get my arson on.” She winked and stood, staring between the Hydes. “I like her. Bust out the fireworks.”

  She wandered to the other end of the table where she perched on Bianca’s lap. I watched her with my head tilted.

  “She’s the most liberated human I’ve ever met.” I met Jonas’s eyes. “Deadly?” He nodded with a smile. “Huh. I like her.” After a long pause, I told Jordan, “I wish we found her first.”

  He leaned toward me and murmured, “You’ll have plenty of chances to visit. She and her men are members of Trois and another club nearby.”

  My eyes went huge. “A club…in Dallas?”

  Jonas scooted his chair closer to mine. “It’s much harder than Trois but the same rules apply and anonymity is guaranteed.”

  “We wouldn’t take you in without a mask,” Jordan added.

  I took a sip of wine. “What do you mean harder?”

  “Bondage, public flogging, and more,” Jonas explained. “All participants are consensual adults but it might be too much.”

  “There’s a lot of nakedness, spankings, and even displays of public sex.” Jordan looked concerned.

  I stared between them. “You’ve been there?” They nodded. “Would you take me? I want to see it.”

  “Rest for a few days and then, yes.” Jonas held my gaze. “Our dynamic isn’t like much of what you’ll see there, Ellie. Still, it’s closer than Trois and exclusive.”

  Hours later, we parted ways with Hollow’s people and made our way back to the estate. Tom gave us a salute when we dropped him at his studio in the security compound.

  Everyone was exhausted and felt covered in slime from the grueling trip. Robyn suggested I take a full day to recover while she remained with my parents and I gratefully agreed.

  I vaguely remember showering and brushing my teeth. I don’t remember climbing in bed or being joined there. I slept for eighteen hours with Jonas and Jordan curled protectively around me much of the time.