“The Rented Husband”


2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved


Chapter 34

   
    Brody started for the door.  It had just occurred to him that he didn’t even tell Olivia that he was leaving.  She had been naked, willing and all to ready for him when Seth had so rudely interrupted them.  He shook his head at his plight, she was going to be so pissed with him.

    “Hey,” Seth called out, seeing him head for the door. “Where are you going?”

    He stopped,  his hand poised to grip the handle and glanced back over his shoulder.  “I need to get back to Liv," he told him.  "I’m not comfortable leaving her alone and I want to make some phone calls back home.”

    Seth watched him thoughtfully.  “Do me a favor and hold off on your calls, especially if they have anything to do with the Judges daughter.”

    Brody’s brow puckered and he turned all the way around, putting his hands on his hips. “And may I ask why?” Because that was exactly what he planned on doing.  It was hard to think that someone like Patton Woodock could pose any real threat to Olivia but still, he didn’t want to take any chances.  He planned to call Lieutenant Dean down at the Raleigh police station and have her brought in for first degree threatening.  He wanted to make sure that Olivia was safe now, rather than sorry later.

    “Because,” Seth said in his usual ’no duh’ tone.  “I plan to contact my people and have her taken in and if you go off, questioning only God knows who, it may slip out that we’re on to her.  We can’t afford for that to happen.  She could get away before we ever even have a chance to get her and  I don‘t want to take any chances.  The sooner this is ended- the better off we‘ll all be.”

    It was hard for Brody to argue with a point like that.  He did feel better knowing who was behind the mysterious phone calls and texts but he dreaded telling Olivia.  When she found out who it was, she was going to flip.  She loved that old Judge like a second father.  To learn that it was his daughter making all these threats was going to be quite a blow for her.  “Alright,” Brody agreed.  “I won’t call anyone but I want you to promise me that you’ll get this taken care of.”

    Seth stood up from the desk and strode over to the miniature refrigerator in the corner, pulling it open and grabbing a canned coke.  He held another one up to Brody, offering it to him and he shook his head.  Brody was more anxious to get back to Olivia.  Seth shrugged in indifference and popped the can open, tossing it back and taking several large gulps before focusing back on Brody again. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he told him with all due sincerity.  Olivia’s family and we take care of our own.  I’ll make it my personal prerogative to make sure that her threat is taken care of.”

    Brody had no doubts that Seth meant every word he said.  If he had learned anything about this family, including that quack father of hers, it was they would do anything for each other.  Olivia may hate their intrusive involvement but at least they loved her and that was something that he couldn’t find fault with.

    “You’ll call me with any news?” Brody asked, framing it like a question but making it out as more of a statement.

    “Yeah,” Seth nodded, “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.  In the mean time, I’ve got some work to do before the wedding tomorrow.  I’ve got this, you go take care of your wife.’

    Brody grinned.  Oh yeah, he was going to take care of her alright.  After seeing the way that she reacted to his touch in the shower, he planned to make sure that she was good and well taken care of before the family dinner this evening.  He wanted her and he wanted her for so much more than just this week.  He wanted her for a lifetime and if his words couldn’t convince her, then maybe his loving would.  Swiveling around, he gripped the door handle and opened it wide, “Don’t worry, I’m already on it.”

    “I just bet you are,” Seth said, chuckling as he watched Brody leave.  Sighing, he found himself wishing his own wife was here but she had gone on a shopping trip with Caley and her mother.  It would be several more hours before she returned and until then, he would be alone. 

    Turning around, he went back to the desk and stared at the video footage on the screen.  “We got you now,” he muttered to himself.  Leaning over, he grabbed his phone.  Using his thumb to flip it open, he was poised to dial the number for his contact in the southern region, when it unexpectedly rang.

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

    “What do you mean we have to get to Olivia?” Cane asked, eyeing his dad speculatively.  His face had gone pale as a ghost and the fear that shone so vividly in his eyes was enough to suck the breath right out of him. 

    Ted was already out of the elevator, hollering at the front desk.  “Help!  We need some help over here.”  Somehow this was all connected to Olivia’s stalker, he just knew it.  He didn't know how to explain how he knew, he just did.  He was certain that his baby girl was in danger.

    “Dad!” Cane bellowed, grabbing a hold of his arm.  “What’s going on?  What are you thinking?”

    Ted stopped for a minute and looked down at his son.  “You have to trust me,” he pleaded with his eyes.  Maybe in was his natural ingrained instincts that warned him, maybe it was just father’s intuition.  Whatever it was, he wasn’t about to ignore it.  “We need to get to Olivia.”

    Cane watched his father for a moment.  He trusted him like he trusted no other.  If his father had cause to worry, then there was a problem.  “Okay,” he quietly agreed.  “Let me call Seth and we’ll all go up to her room and check on her.  Do you know which one it is?”

    Ted thought back to that last time he was in her room.  The time that she got that awful text.  “Yeah,” he said gravely, “I do.  Get Seth on the phone and let‘s go.”

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

    “Aww, don’t look so sad,” Patton said.  “If you had just left him alone, then none of this would have been necessary.”

    Olivia wanted to yell.  She wanted to holler and she wanted to knock some sense into Patton.  The girl was clearly psycho. She had done flew the coop, hit every branch on the way down and landed on her head if she thought that Brody belonged to her.  The tips of her fingers were tingling but she still couldn’t move them.  Her legs felt like dead weight and she felt helpless. 

    Patton grabbed her arm and pulled it straight, turning it so that her palm was face up.  “Think of it this way,” she said, tapping her arm in search for a vein, “At least you’ll die with a smile on your face."

    “No!” She screamed in her mind, watching the syringe come closer and closer to her arm.  She fought like a wildcat to make her body move but it was useless.  She couldn’t make anything work. 

    She gasped when she felt the sting of the needle pierce her skin.  Her heart beat a tattoo in her chest as she felt the heat of the heroine being pushed into her system.  She watched Patton who was so focused on her task and felt something inside herself break.  She was going to die.  She was going to die alone and there was nothing that she could do about it.

    Patton pulled the syringe from her arm and sat it on the table by the bed.  She turned to Olivia and smiled down at her.  “Now, now,“ she soothed and patted her pale cheeks.  Fat tears were rolling down her face in thin trails.  “No need to cry about it.  You’ll be feeling really good in just a minute and all your problems will be just a memory.  Then, in about ten minutes, I’ll give you another hit and it’ll all be over soon after that- very, very soon.  And if your worried about Brody, don‘t.  I promise you,” she leaned in towards Olivia‘s face, and tilted her head to the side, “I’ll take good care of him.”

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

    Seth glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Cane.  Lifting it to his ear, his mouth twitched with a grin.  “What’s up baby brother?” 

    “I think we have a problem,” Cane said, getting straight to the point.

    “Problem?  What kind of problem?” Seth had a foreboding feeling and went rigid in his seat.  Something wasn’t right.

    “We’ve got a security guard down here in the elevator that’s been knocked out and dad seems to think Olivia could be in trouble.”

    “Shit!” Seth exclaimed, falling back in his chair, running his hand over his face.  Was it to much to ask for life to be simple for once?

    “You can say that again,” Cane let out a strained chuckle.  “At least Brody is with her now and from what little that I’ve met of the guy, he can handle his own.”

    Seth went still.  His mind already working two steps ahead of him.  That same intuition that sparked Ted’s worry, was now hitting him square in the back of the head.

    “Seth?”  Cane called out when Seth didn't speak. “Is something wrong?”

    Turning around, Seth stared at the image on the PC.  When he brought Brody up here to show him the footage, Olivia had been left alone.  Could they have made a mistake?  If the surgeons knot in his stomach was any indication, then yeah, that made a big one and now Olivia could be in big trouble.  “I gotta go.” Seth jumped up out of his seat, already looking for his gun.  “I’ll meet up with you at Olivia’s room.”

    Before Cane could respond, Seth had already hung up on him.  Holding the phone out in front of him, he sighed, and snapped it closed.

    Hearing a pain filled groan, he looked down and saw that the security guard whom had been knocked unconscious was starting to stir.  His dad was talking to another guard, using his hands animatedly and getting more and more flustered by the second.  He thought about his sister and the threats she had been receiving.  Nothing was adding up. What the hell is going on?

    “What happened?” The security guard asked, holding his head.  

    Cane knelt beside him, “Whoa there, you've had a pretty big blow to the head.  You were knocked unconscious.  Take it easy until the medics get here and can check you out.”

    The security guard ignored Cane and pushed past the pain, forcing himself to a sitting position.  He squinted his eyes, and tried to remember what happened.  “There was a lady,” he said, pressing his hands against his temple.  “She came on to me and…and,” he struggled to gather his thoughts.

    “And what?” Cane pried gently.

    The security guard looked around the room, heard the sirens from the approaching ambulance and tried to make himself focus.  “She invited me to her room.,” he said distantly.  “I remember getting on the elevator and then she hit me.  Yeah, the bitch hit me and pain exploded in my head.”

    “And you said it was a woman?” Cane asked again, trying to make some sort of sense out of all of this.

    “Yes, she was young and hot as hell.  I should have known better,”  he said again, pressing his hand tenderly against the huge knot on his head.  “Someone like that; wanting me,” he laughed, disgusted with himself more than anything.  “I should’ve known better.”

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

    Seth was just stepping off of the elevator when Brody came flying down the hall.  He saw the tension in his face and knew right then, something was wrong.

    “What?” He asked, grabbing him by the collar when he tried to run past him.  “What is it?”

    Brody blinked, his mind was in turmoil.  He hadn’t even seen Seth standing there.  “She’s gone,” he swallowed. “I came back and the door was standing open.  I walked into the room and she wasn’t there.”

    “Damn!” Seth swore, letting Brody go. 

    “What are we going to do?” Brody asked, his voice tingeing on the edge of panic.  He  could barely think straight knowing that Liv could very well be in trouble.  He had to find her but he didn’t have the first clue as to where to start.

    “Let’s go,” Seth said darkly, his seal training kicking in.  “We need to talk to the security guard downstairs.  Seth had already turned on his heel and was heading back for the elevator.  Based on past experience, time was of the essence.  In cases like this, it was their biggest enemy and he didn’t want to waste one second of it.

    “What security guard?”  Brody ran to catch up with him and followed him on to the elevator.

    Seth pressed the button that would take them to the lobby, keeping his eyes focused on the door closing in front of them.  “The one that was knocked unconscious probably minutes before I came and got you to look at the security footage.”

    “Jesus,” Brody swayed a little and leaned up against the back of the elevator.  This was all a bit much even for him.  The mere thought of Olivia being hurt drove him to the brink of insanity.  

    The elevator came to stop and the doors slowly opened.  “I think this time,” Seth noted wryly, stepping off of the elevator and turning to pin Brody with his stare, “We’re going to need a helluva lot more than Jesus.” 

     Being the perceptive man that he was, Seth instantly noticed the greenish hue Brody's face had turned and could easily see that he was losing it, and fast.  That was something that he couldn’t allow to happen.   “Pull yourself together O’Connor, we’re going to need you if we have a prayer in finding your wife.”

    Brody swallowed, knowing good and damn well that he was right.  He had to pull himself together, Olivia’s life depended on it.  Fortifying himself, he pushed away from the elevator wall and with a purposeful stride, he walked out, passing Seth with only one thing on his mind.  Olivia.  And once this was over with, he knew what he was going to do.  He was going to propose to her for real.  He wanted her for a true wife, he wanted her to have his children.    He loved her and he was ready to shout if from the mountaintops, letting everyone in the world know it.

    But first things first.  “Let’s get this bitch.”