His head snapped forward and he looked directly at her, his pupils returning to their natural size. “She’s not the person she used to be. Helen… she’s become someone else. Something else.” There was such a look of imploring in his face that it made her feel sick.
“Stop feeling so guilty about betraying your wife. We didn’t set out to hurt her.”
Tom shook his head. “No, that’s not what I mean.”
“I know what you mean. We all change. Every one of us, and sometimes we have to leave people behind. You and me, we’ve changed, too. We’ve come together, changing from individuals to become a team.” She believed approximately half of this — the rest was said just to put him at ease, to make him less self-pitying. “Everybody changes. People get hurt. That’s just how life is for the likes of us.”
Tom leaned against her. She could feel his erection pressing against her thigh.
“We’re all victims. Every one of us. None of us gets out of this unscathed.” She kissed him, and he responded with force, pushing her backwards so that she slammed into the wall. She lifted one leg, wrapping it around his thighs, and pulled at his hair with her right hand while the left hand rubbed at his back, his arse. “We’re all hurting,” she whispered, between kisses. “We all get hurt.”
She fumbled with his trousers, tugging them loose and pulling them down as far as she could. She slid one arm down between their bodies and grabbed his cock, pulling that, too, so that he moaned in a mixture of pain and anticipation.
“Are you sure?” His voice was shaky.
Lana nodded. “It won’t hurt, not if we’re careful.”
He bit at her throat, licking under her chin, and slammed his body against her. His hands grabbed at her clothing, ripping her T-shirt and rolling her leggings down past her waist.
When the telephone rang she didn’t even hear it, not until he stepped back, blinking, looking like a man who had just been rudely awakened from a dream. Lana’s hand was damp. He had peaked before they’d even begun…
“What?” then she heard the sound of the telephone. “Just ignore it.” She kicked off her shoes and leggings and stood there in her torn T-shirt and knickers. Her legs were shaking; adrenalin coursed through her body, putting her on edge and ridding her body of the aches and pains. This was a fight-or-fuck moment, and her flesh knew exactly which of the two acts it had chosen.
“No,” he said, tucking in his shirt and buttoning up his trousers. His cheeks were flushing a bright shade of red. “You should get that.” He looked ashamed, as if he’d been caught in the act of something terrible.
She walked across the room, her bare legs growing cold now that the heat of the moment was gone. She was still wearing her black socks. She felt vaguely ridiculous. Her hand was sticky, so she wiped it on her T-shirt.
Lana picked up the phone and tried to ignore Tom, who was shuffling about near the hallway. “What.” The coldness in her voice made her feel better.
“What kind of welcome is that for an old friend?” Bright’s voice was even colder than her own.
Lana felt as if her guts had just dropped into her uterus. Everything between her legs tightened like a fist at the sound of his voice. Memories of the night before came flooding back: the rubbery feel of his wetsuit against her skin, the groping hands, the hard dicks, the brutal invasion of her private self that she could never put right, the emotional damage she could not ever repair. If Tom was different today, then so was she — and this person, this monster, was the reason why.
“What do you want?” Her voice was an octave higher than she would have liked, and she hated herself for showing fear in that way. Fear was exactly what he wanted, what he thrived upon.
“Oh, Lana… Lana, Lana, Lana: you always want to get right down to business, don’t you? No small talk, no chit-chat. A man could quite easily get offended, you know.” His laughter was horrible. There was no other word for it. The sound provoked such a sense of horror within her that for a moment she felt like weeping.
“Tell me what you want or I’ll hang up the phone.” Her voice wavered again.
The laughter stopped abruptly. “I have her.”
Lana had no idea what he meant. “Listen, Bright, I don’t have time for your bullshit.”
“Time… ah, yes. Do you realise what time it is?”
Angry, afraid, baffled, she glanced at her wristwatch. It was 4:30 PM.
I have her.
Hailey should be home by now. Her High School was only a short walk away, in Far Grove.
I have her.
Even if she’d dawdled back from school, walking slowly and daydreaming in that way of hers… even then, she should be home by this time.
“Where is she… where?” Her hand gripped the receiver. Tom walked up beside her and raised his eyebrows: What is it?
“She’s safe,” said Bright. All trace of humour had left his voice. It was his turn to be ‘all business’. “Don’t worry about that. She hasn’t been harmed. Not yet.”
Lana’s stomach clenched; knots tightened inside her body.
“She isn’t here, with me, but she’s safe. One of my associates has her. He called me earlier to say that he had everything in hand. You remember Francis, don’t you? The big lad?”
The giant. Boater. Francis Boater. He was the one who’d spoken out — albeit briefly and ineffectually — when they’d all been down there in Bright’s basement room. It was a slim hope, but at least it was something: he’d shown signs of regret, remorse and doubt. Maybe he was keeping her safe, and hadn’t laid a hand on her young body. Perhaps this giant was in fact her best chance for safety?
“So what do you want?” This time her voice was steady. Quiet, but resolute.
Tom grabbed her wrist but she shook him off. She couldn’t deal with him now.
“I want you to come and see me, Lana. I know that’s what you had planned anyway, there’s not much I don’t know right now. I’m in a special position, with access to all kinds of information.” He chuckled softly. It felt like his breath was right in her ear. “I have friends in low places, you see. Very low places.”
“When?”
“Tonight. Midnight. The witching hour. It’s so appropriate, isn’t it? I’ll be here alone… well, apart from Terry and some friends that can’t really be classed as being here, not really. I suppose you could say they’re partway here, and partway somewhere else.”
“What will you do when I get there?” It couldn’t be sex, not this time. There was no reason for such extreme methods. Last time, she had gone too willingly. The friends he mentioned were not the ones from before. She suspected that he was talking about another kind of friend entirely.
“I think you and me need to have a proper chat. A wee talk about things. It’s about time we put our heads together and discovered all our common concerns.” He was almost whispering now.
“Common concerns?”
“Well, your daughter for one. She seems to have gained access to somewhere I’d like to go — a place I’ve been trying to find for a long time. I don’t know how she’s done it, or what she’s used as a key, but a door has opened to let her in. And I want her to do the same for me: to open it up and escort me inside so I don’t get hurt or killed or changed into a fucking werewolf.”
“I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.” She closed her eyes. The dream that had become her life was taking another violent twist, leading her down a road she wasn’t keen to follow.