I screwed the cap back on and placed it back on the bar. Uncle motioned towards it. “Are you sure you won’t join me? I remember how frisky you used to get on the stuff. I didn’t take you up on the offer back then, and I’m kind of regretting that now.”
I felt bile rise at the back of my throat. I know I used to get myself into a state and made a pass at him a few times. He was so sweet to me back then and I was so lonely. I just wanted to feel what it was like to be loved...despite the fact I knew he didn’t love me. I guess I wanted to feel anything but the abyss I was in day after day.
“I was a different person back then.”
Uncle raised his eyebrow. “So you were. You’re so much more attractive now. I don’t do comatose females. They just don’t do it for me. I prefer them to know exactly what’s going on.”
I had my hand on the bar and was gripping it so tightly, my knuckles were turning white. “Is this a passing visit, or was there something you wanted to see me about?” My tone was probably a little too unwelcome for his taste but, right now, I just wanted him to leave before the urge to go to him became too strong.
“Livy, I’ve come all this way to see you and this is how you greet me? I think you can do a lot better than that. Come out here so you can show me how much you’ve missed me.”
Closing my eyes, I let the sound of my name on his lips surround me. I wasn’t Olivia now. I was Livy. His Livy.
My body tensed. Every part of me either wanted to run, or wrap my arms around him. This was just too strange for words.
I put on my happy face and walked out from behind the bar. When I got close to him, my body went rigid in anticipation of his touch. Uncle pulled me into him and wrapped his big arms around me. The only thing I could do was kiss him on the cheek, smiling as sweetly as I could. He smelled good and the need to stay like this was immense.
Uncle smacked my bottom and my eyes went wide. “That’s better. I don’t want to have to ask next time.” He gave me a warning look.
“Of course not, Uncle. I’m sorry.” I looked across at Charlie and he was staring back at us. I could tell he wasn’t happy. You could cut the tension with a knife.
If I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Uncle pulled his head back and lightly kissed me on the lips. It was only a brief kiss, but enough to taste and smell the Jack on his breath.
My whole body reacted violently. Desire for more flooded me like a raging bull. I wasn’t so much reacting to the kiss. This was a different desire than the one Uncle was after. The look on my face must have said it all because Uncle gave me an appraising smile.
“That’s more like it, Livy. How about another drink?”
I could still smell it on his breath and it was making my mouth dry. Without thinking, I licked my lips, earning a small growl from Uncle.
He moved a little closer to my ear. “That will come later.”
The words of promise filled my head as I unsteadily walked back behind the bar. I knew I could never be alone with him because I wouldn’t be allowed to say no to him and he knew it. Everyone who knew him knew it.
And the biggest, sickest problem of them all? I knew I wouldn’t want to say no.
Uncle watched with greedy eyes as he witnessed the affect he had on me. He did have a huge effect and it scared the shit out of me. I didn’t understand what on earth this hold he had over me was, but I wish I could.
Uncle swigged the rest of his drink down, and I held my breath as I poured him another.
“You’ve been out of touch lately, Olivia. Any reason for that?” He was all business now. Playtime was over.
I shook my head. “I’ve just been a little busy.”
“Have you managed to locate what we’re after?”
I shook my head, and Uncle stared at me a little too long for comfort. His icy blue eyes were burning into me. Some people would cower away from his cold stare, but I just wanted to reach out to it.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s taking you so long. Are you sure you have nothing?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “No, nothing.”
Uncle got up and placed his hand in his pocket. “You will contact me the minute you do. You only have a couple days left now.” I nodded again and he smiled, placing a twenty on the bar. “Keep the change.” He started to turn, but looked at me again. “Oh, you can finish my drink. I’m not thirsty anymore.” He winked at me and turned to walk out.
Once he shut the door behind him, every cell in my body turned to jelly. I released a breath and desperately tried to take control. The pull he had over me dissipated the minute he was gone. The relief from it was immense.
Looking at the glass on the bar, I felt like I didn’t have control at all. Every nerve was telling me to reach my hand out to grab it and sling it back. I had a shock to the system and my body needed it.
Without thinking, I licked my lips and reached out for the glass, but my hand was suddenly grabbed. I looked across and saw Charlie’s smiling face.
“It’s okay. I got this.”
I nodded, feeling the tears well up. I always thought I had a handle on things until something like this cropped up to test me. I was just as bewitched by the stuff now as I was all those months ago. It had been almost eight months since I drank any kind of alcohol at all, but the burn to taste it was still as strong...and Jack Daniels was my weapon of choice. It was the one I would always turn to, ,but if I didn’t have any, I’d settle for anything.
Charlie quickly took the glass, dumping the contents into the sink. Once he put the glass in the dishwasher, I let out a sigh of relief.
He looked up at me with a worried expression. “Olivia, who was that guy? No uncle I know would behave like that with his niece. Quite frankly, he made my skin crawl.”
I smiled meekly at him. “He’s not actually my uncle. Just someone who helped me out a long time ago.”
He leaned a little closer. “And this man is the type who doesn’t give favours away without something in return?”
I nodded with a sigh. “You could say that.”
“Fuck, Olivia. What kind of shit did you get yourself into?”
I shook my head at him. “Believe me, you don’t want to know. It’s always best that no one knows.”
Charlie sighed. “I don’t like this, Olivia. I don’t like that you know people like that. Kit’s not one of them, is he?”
I winced at his words, but shook my head. “No, Kit’s nothing like Uncle.”
“Why do you call him that when he obviously isn’t?”
I shrugged. “I never knew his name. He always preferred I called him Uncle.”
Charlie huffed. “Pervert.”
I swatted him again. “Don’t, Charlie. It wasn’t like that.”
His eyes widened. “You could have fooled me. He had his hands all over you, and you let him.”
I glared at him. “Uncle is a man to whom you don’t say no.”
Charlie sighed again. “I don’t like this, Olivia.”
I put my hand up. “Leave it, Charlie. I have a handle on things. Don’t worry about me.”
Charlie banged his hand on the bar. “I can’t fucking help that.” He glared at me one last time and walked away. Once I heard his office door bang shut, I jumped.
Sue came over to me with a worried frown. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “Everything’s fine, Sue. Charlie and I just had a little misunderstanding.”
With a towel in her hand, she started drying one of the glasses. “Things have been tense around here lately. Are you two all right with each other?”
I nodded. “We are, but I do have to tell you something.”
Her eyes alert, she nodded for me to carry on. “What’s that?”
“Tonight is my last night at the bar. Nothing lasts forever and I guess this is my time to say goodbye.”
Sue bit her lip. “I’m sorry to hear that, Olivia. Are you happy with the decision?”
I smiled, thinking of Kit. “I am. Don?
??t get me wrong. I will miss everyone here, but it’s time I moved on.”
Sue smiled and placed her hand on my arm. “Then I’m happy for you. You will be missed, but I wish you all the luck in the world.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a smile. I was going to need all the luck I could get.
*****
Three hours went by with no sign of Charlie. He was sulking and I knew the reason why. I, on the other hand, had more pressing things to worry about. Things were a little quiet at the bar, which made my brain work overtime. I wanted out and I wanted to go home. Home to Kit. Home to his arms. Home to forever... If he’d still have me. I knew I had to tell him everything. I had a sick feeling in my stomach that he might not want me after I revealed the person I was. I wasn’t sure he’d deem our relationship worthy enough.
After serving a customer, I felt a headache coming on. I didn’t have many, but this one was coming on hard and fast. I rubbed my head, trying to get rid of the tension, but it was no use.
“You can go home.” I looked up and saw Charlie standing in the doorway. He shrugged. “You might as well. It’s dead in here tonight and I think you have some things you need to sort out.” He offered me a tight smile. I knew he wasn’t happy, but had accepted my decision.
He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some money. “Here. This will pay you right up until your shift ends. Consider it a bonus for all the times you’ve helped me out.”
I put my hand on his. “I can’t take that–”
He pushed his hand forward. “Take it. It’s not much anyway, Olivia. You weren’t getting paid well enough to warrant trying to give it back to me. Just accept it, say thank you, and give me a hug.” He smiled a genuine smile at me this time and, of course, I couldn’t say no.
I walked towards him, took the money, and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you for everything, Charlie, and I’m sorry about everything else.”
Charlie tugged me to him. “Don’t mention it, Olivia. I’ll miss you. Just promise me one thing.”
I smiled as I felt him tighten his hold. “What’s that?”
“That you’ll look after yourself. Not other people, not the next door neighbour’s cat or dog... Yourself. You need to look after you now.”
I felt a tear fall down my face as I nodded into his shoulder. “Okay,” I answered, sniffing a little.
“Hey. This is a brand new shirt.”
I laughed, pulling away. “Charlie, you never stop.”
He smiled and stroked my cheek. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
I nodded. “I hope so, Charlie. I really do. No one ever knows what the future holds, eh?”
I grabbed his hand and he pulled mine up to kiss the back of it. “Tell him I said not to hurt you or he’ll have me to deal with. Also tell him I’ll steal you away if he does.” He smiled again and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, I’ll make sure to tell him.”
“Are you going, Olivia?”
I looked over Charlie’s shoulder and saw Sue. I nodded. “Yep. I’m going to miss you, Sue.” I walked over and pulled her in for a hug. “You’ll take care of him for me, won’t you?”
She laughed and pulled away. “Of course. I’ll keep him out of trouble. I hope whatever you find next will make you happy.”
I nodded, smiling. “Thank you.”
An awkward silence ensued, so I knew that was my cue to leave. “Right, well… I better be off.” With a sigh, I walked to the back to grab my things. Charlie helped me with my coat and when I spun back round to thank him, his lips were on mine.
He kissed me very softly, then pulled away. “Take care, Olivia.”
Another tear rolled down my cheek. “You, too, Charlie.”
He let go of me and we held hands until I walked past him. Our fingers slipped apart and, before I knew it, I was outside and facing the direction of home.
I knew Kit would be mad at me for coming home alone, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, ringing my landline. Within a couple of rings, he answered.
“Kit, it’s me. I’m coming home.” I couldn’t help the big smile on my face.
“Don’t move. I’ll come get you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be silly. I can walk. It will only take me ten minutes.”
“Olivia.” I heard the stern tone in his voice. “Don’t walk home. I’m coming to get you.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll wait for you.”
“Good.” I heard the phone go dead and pressed the END button on mine.
I stood there for a few seconds, wondering why on earth I was waiting. The sooner I started walking towards him, the sooner we would be together.
I started to stroll down the main street. It wasn’t long before I was turning onto the road I was attacked in all that time ago. It seemed like an age now, but the thought made me shudder.
Deciding to ignore the nagging in my head, I ventured further. Freddy was gone, so I didn’t need to worry about him anymore.
As I got halfway down the street, I heard the screeching of tyres behind me. Before I could react, a man got out, threw something over my head, and pulled me, kicking and screaming, into the back of a van. I lashed out so much, I must have hit the guy pretty hard in the ribs because he cursed.
“Fuck!”
I was waiting for the inevitable blow, but I heard another voice.
“Don’t you even think about it, Craig. Boss will cut your fucking hands off if you touch her.”
I closed my eyes, knowing who was behind this. I could have cursed myself. Why did I have to go to work tonight? Why didn’t I just listen to Kit and stay home with him? I could have been in his arms telling him everything he needed to know by now.
Shit! I wasn’t ever going to see him again. I knew Uncle wouldn’t let me. I’d become his prisoner, having him doing whatever the hell he liked to me and I would just have to smile and take it…no matter how much I knew I didn’t really want it.
What was wrong with me?
No, no, no, no... I can’t take this. Please, I can’t do this.
I could feel the blackness wash over me, the darkness feeding off my anguish. I thought I had wanted all this, but after finding Kit, I realised just how wrong I was. I couldn’t do this anymore. I didn’t want to do this anymore. I wanted a new life. I wanted out of the darkness and into Kit’s light. I wanted to be in his arms, having him tell me everything was going to be okay. That I was safe and I was his.
I knew that wasn’t going to happen now. To protect Kit, I had to pretend I had failed. I had to lie to Uncle and ask that he forgive me for failing us both. I had to do whatever it took to keep him safe.
The man I love.
The man who was now everything to me.
After a while of struggling, I decided to relent and just let go. There was nothing I could do.
“Thank fuck. She’s a strong one.”
I heard another man laugh. “No wonder Boss wants her so much.”
The man who held me laughed. “I can see why. I’m getting a nice view from up here. If I just pushed her blouse down a little, I’d get to see what her momma gave her.”
I elbowed him again and I heard him umph. The other guy just laughed.
“I think you earned that, my friend.”
I sighed a little. “You know, I can hear everything you’re saying. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who you two are...mask or no mask. What’s the point of having this thing on me anyway?”
I was met with silence, then one decided to speak, “Boss doesn’t want you knowing where we’re taking you.”
I laughed. “Oh, really? Is it a surprise? Am I going to turn up at some lavish five-star resort where I’ll be pampered silly?”
Both men laughed and the other guy spoke, “And you have a sense of humour. Nice.”
“The only thing I have right now is a headache, so I would appreciate it if you kept it down.”
I felt the vibration of th
e man’s chest who held me. “Has someone got their period?”
I rolled my eyes. “Has someone got a severe case of BO?”
The other guy laughed loudly as I felt the guy pull his arm up. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He was obviously smelling himself.
“Haha, I can’t believe you just smelled your armpit, Craig.”
I heard Craig growl. “Shut the fuck up, Ian.”
“Hey, just because you failed to get a piece of that pussy last night at the club doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. It’s not my fucking fault you’re a chump.”
“Don’t fucking test me, Ian. You know full well I can get pussy whenever I want. Last night was just a fluke. You know we’re not allowed to anyway, so what’s the point.”
Ian laughed. “Yeah, women just love you, don’t they, Craig? That’s why that woman was running away so fast on her pretty little high heels, she looked like John Wayne doing the funky chicken.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
I felt the guy tug on me. “Hey, that’s not fucking funny. She must have been a lesbian.”
Now I was laughing harder. “Oh, please. That’s always a man’s excuse for their own inadequacies. I’m not a lesbian and I can already tell I don’t want to sleep with you.”
“That’s because you’ve not seen my face.”
I smiled. “Well, let me see it so I can make my own judgment.”
Craig went silent for a moment. “Nice try, Olivia, but you know I can’t do that. All I can say is that you’d want me if you saw me.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Your modesty alone is so attractive.”
Ian started laughing, and Craig growled a little. “Shut the fuck up. Who asked you anyway? Remember, you’ve been taken, and I think you know by whom. I would suggest you keep that pretty little mouth shut until you’re told you can speak.”
I sighed, but didn’t respond, despite the fact I wanted to talk to keep my mind off whatever was going to happen next. I had an inkling of what it would be and I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.
To keep my brain occupied, I started thinking about Kit. He must be going out of his mind by now, wondering where the hell I was. I know he’d go in the pub and ask if I was there. That would probably also set Charlie off and have him worrying.