Chapter 37. (February 6. Liv's house in Pennsylvania.)
As he came to, the first thing Steve knew was that he had a splitting headache and felt nauseous. He opened one eye just a slit and saw that he was lying on a dirty concrete floor. Soon it filtered through that he was cold, had his mouth taped shut, and was bound hand and foot. He tried to kick away the hands that were finishing off the bindings at his feet, and received a powerful kidney punch for his troubles. Suddenly, the world swam around him and he had to repeatedly swallow hard to keep from vomiting into his gag.
He moaned as his captor rolled him over, causing a sharp pain to knife through his skull, and he started gulping again, praying that if he did throw up, his attacker would remove the tape. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up…and up…at the largest human being he had ever seen. He knew it had to be Ted.
'Funny,' Steve thought, 'but he doesn't look crazy.' Ted had dark brown hair that closely matched his own in shade and style. He also wore a closely cropped, well-groomed beard. He was tall (no surprise there), fit, and muscular.
He smiled almost pleasantly, and said, "I know you're Steve. I saw you at Boots the other night. I'm Ted. I'd shake your hand, but I can tell you're just a bit tied up at the moment."
The big man laughed slightly at his own joke before continuing.
"Knowing what you've probably been told about me, I imagine you're afraid that you'll never see Olivia alive again. I promise you that's not true. You'll see her once more, when she makes love to me. I plan to make you watch. It will be your punishment for seducing her away from me. Then I'll get the shotgun from the living room and blow your fucking head off." He spoke in a conversational tone, as if he were telling Steve what errands he had to run in town.
Steve watched as Ted went to the telephone junction box on the wall and tore all the wires from it. A moment later, a voice called to him from down the hall.
"Steve?"
"Mmffp!" He tried to warn her, God how he tried, but a kick to the ribs suddenly had him fighting nausea again, and a fist to the jaw knocked him out.
"Steve!" Liv called as she padded downstairs. "Pick up the phone in the kitchen and see if you can get a dial tone, please. I just hung up with Keith and was about to call Chicago when the cordless went dead. It's not showing low batt, but it's not working either."
Liv got no answer, but suddenly she knew she was not alone in the eerily silent house. Something cold squirmed in her stomach, and a chill went up her spine. As she turned to run up the stairs, a massive hand closed on her right ankle and she felt the bones grind together. She struggled fiercely, kicking and clawing and squirming, but too frightened to make a sound. Finally, it occurred to her to use the phone as a weapon. She turned on her attacker and clobbered him alongside the head with the cordless, which shattered on impact.
As she watched in horror, the big brute who had been dogging her for over a decade shook off the blow and came at her again. This time she screamed, "Leave me alone," and she turned and ran. Ted caught up with her on the second floor landing, but she turned, scratched at his eyes, braced her back against the wall, and pushed him away with all the strength of her arms and legs. She heard a series of grunts and thuds as he tumbled down the stairs, but she didn't stay to watch. Instead, she ran for all she was worth to get to her .38 from the bedroom.
Steve was slowly coming to when Liv's screaming brought him fully conscious. Then he heard the sounds of a struggle, someone falling, and someone running. At her house in Brentwood, Liv kept a few carpenter's tools in the utility room. Maybe she did the same here. Squirming around the floor on his chest and knees like an inchworm, alternately fighting nausea and darkening vision, he prayed he could find something to undo his bindings in time to help Liv before he passed out for good.
Finally, he saw something useful. Hanging on the wall in the corner was a rusted old hacksaw. If he could just get it down, he might be able to use it to cut the ropes binding his wrists. Then he could sneak into the living room and get one of the guns Liv had shown him there. He worked his way over to the wall, rolled over, and sat up with his back to it. Then, using the wall for support, he forced himself to stand on rubbery legs.
As he slowly came to his feet, he nearly fell several times. It was difficult enough to balance with his ankles tied, and the nausea and dizziness from what he knew might a serious concussion repeatedly threatened to topple him. Finally, he was standing near the hacksaw, almost balanced, and hadn't puked yet. Now, how to get it down and use it?
He thought a minute, and decided if he turned just right, he could bump the hacksaw off the nail with his elbow and catch it before it hit the floor. The first two tries, he only managed to jostle it a bit, and he knew then he had to do better if he was ever going to help Liv. On the third try, he swung as hard as he could at the hacksaw and was satisfied to hear it fall from the wall. He barely caught it and screamed into the tape covering his mouth as the rusty serrated blade sliced into the fleshy part of his right palm near the thumb.
He heard a gunshot, froze, then began to work frantically at the ropes on his wrists, struggling desperately as both the blade and the bindings became slick with his own blood.
Olivia made it to the bedroom and pulled her gun from its holster. Then turned and headed back into the hall, terrified as never before, but ready to take the fight right to her attacker. If she hadn't been so frightened, she reasoned later, she would have made him to come to her. As it was, she charged directly at him in the hall, firing as she went.
She heard Ted grunt, and she knew she'd hit him, but it didn't even stop the giant. He came at her without losing a step, and her momentum carried her straight into him. He grabbed her wrist before she could fire again, and wrenched the gun from her hand. She screamed as she felt and heard delicate bones snap. She saw the dark stain spreading on his jeans where her bullet had entered his right thigh, but he was barely limping.
He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, saying, "Come on, O. Last time, it took three slugs and three cops to pull me off you. Do you really think this little peashooter is going to stop me?"
"Give it back to me and we'll find out," she said sarcastically.
He headed back down the stairs, laughing, and said, "I'm glad you still have a sense of humor. I'm sure when this is all over and you realize how much you've always loved me, you'll look back on this and laugh at how silly you've been to try to get away all this time. Of course, if you don't, I'll just take what I want and then slit your throat."
Olivia fell silent and stopped struggling as Ted carried her to the kitchen and sat her in a chair. He placed the gun on the table. Then taking a roll of duct tape, he bound her wrists to the arms of the chair. "I had to use all my rope," he explained. "I met Steve down here just a little while ago. He's tied up in the utility room."
"Teddy, did you hurt him?"
"Oh, forget about him, Olivia. He'll never love you like I do."
"Teddy, I promised his dad I'd look after him. I need to know, did you hurt him?"
Even under the beard, she could see a muscle in Ted's jaw work. He was obviously agitated.
"I knocked him out, O, but he's all right for now."
"Show me, Teddy."
Ted went to the utility room door.
Steve had just managed to free his wrists when he heard footsteps and voices in the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Liv's voice, sure and steady, but very tense. Then he heard Ted's heavy footsteps moving towards the door. Knowing he was in no shape to fight the enormous monster, he hid the bloody hacksaw, lay down on his side facing the door, and put his arms behind his back. Just as he got situated, the door opened and Ted stood aside to let Liv look in.
"I told you he's still all in one piece."
"Steve," Liv asked, "you ok?"
He nodded, and Ted shut the door, saying, "We'll see you again after breakfast."
Steve worked frantically, knowing he didn't have much time. From the amount of blood oozing from his hand, he knew he had cut a vein. He had to slow the bleeding, or risk fainting from blood loss at a critical moment. Taking his handkerchief from his hip pocket, he folded it into a square. Then, carefully, painfully pulling the duct tape from his mouth, he used it to hold the handkerchief in place over the wound. It wasn't perfect, but it would do.
Now what? Thinking was difficult with the throbbing in his head, but, as he tore at the ropes binding his ankles, he forced himself to clear the cobwebs and make a plan.
"All right, now. It looks like he was getting ready to make pancakes. Is that what you'd like, O? I can make something else if you'd rather. I haven't had much opportunity to cook lately, but I haven't forgotten how."
She thought about saying she'd lost her appetite, but realized she could buy more time if she cooperated.
"Pancakes would be good, Teddy, maybe with some liverwurst and a couple eggs over easy, too. I have some berries in the fridge, and oj. If you let me loose, I could help."
Ted seemed to consider her offer for a moment, but he said, "No, I don't think so, O. Maybe in a couple of weeks, after I've taught you to love me. When I'm sure you won't run, I'll let you loose. Then we can be happy together."
So, he was planning on taking up residence, maybe building a life with her. She could play along with that.
"I suppose you know best, Teddy. We might make a good couple eventually."
Ted hummed as he puttered about the kitchen, and Liv took stock of her situation. Her right ankle was throbbing, and she knew her right hand was broken. She didn't aim worth spit with her left hand, but Ted was close enough, she knew if she could get loose, she'd be able to hit him. Stopping him was another story, but if she could slow him down, she might be able to make a run for it and lead him away from Steve.
Meanwhile, she decided to play along with his little fantasy. She knew she would be safer if she didn't anger Ted. Every time he turned his back, she worked at the tape on her left wrist, but when he looked at her or spoke to her, she tried to smile and act casual. It wasn't easy; time was running out, and she was beginning to panic. She had to get loose; she had to do something.
Steve considered using the secret passage Liv had shown him to go upstairs for his cell phone and call 911, but he decided against it on the grounds that the battery could be dead, he might be heard moving around upstairs if the floors creaked, and being surrounded by mountains, he might not be able to get a signal. Besides, time was running short and he had to act fast.
He decided to take the passage downstairs. That way he could come up at the living room, get the rifle or the shotgun out of the cabinet, and if luck was with him, he could take Ted by surprise before he did anything to Liv. It took him a moment to figure out how to open the secret door from the outside, and when he did, he cringed as it squeaked open. Grabbing the hacksaw, he froze and waited to see if Ted had heard the noise and was coming to investigate. All he heard was Liv saying something about berries.
'That's good, Liv,' he mentally praised her. 'Keep him occupied. Buy me some time and I *will* get us out of this.'
He breathed a silent prayer and pulled the secret door shut behind him. There was no sense making it easy for Ted to find him if he should look in. The he opened the trap door in the floor and climbed down to the basement, gritting his teeth each time he had to grip a ladder rung with his injured hand. When he felt no more ladder rungs beneath his feet, he hung by his hands and eased himself down one rung at a time, wishing he had remembered to drop the rope Liv had used earlier. Finally, when there were no more handholds, he let himself drop the remaining distance to the floor.
Again, he struggled for a moment to open the door, but this time, when he found the secret, the door opened silently. He closed it behind himself and swiftly made his way through the basement. He stepped into the rumpus room before heading up the stairs and grabbed a baseball bat from the box of sports equipment, just in case he didn't make it to the gun cabinet.
Olivia was making good progress with her bonds; her left arm was almost free. Unfortunately, Ted was also making good progress with breakfast. She hoped he decided to feed her rather than let her loose to feed herself. If he decided to free her, he would notice the loose duct tape and there was no telling what would happen then. She prayed she would be free by then.
"Aw, damn!"
Liv jumped, then asked, "What is it, Teddy?"
"I broke the egg yolks, O. I know how much you like to dip your pancake in the centers, so I'm just going to throw these out and start over, ok, sweetie?"
She gave him her most grateful smile and said, "Thanks, Teddy. It's very sweet of you to remember that."
He flashed her a brilliant grin and turned back to the stove.
Liv rolled her eyes heavenward in a quick prayer of thanksgiving and went to work on her left wrist again. She should have just enough time.
As he reached the top of the stairs, Steve heard Ted curse. Immediately he headed to the kitchen, bat at the ready, but froze in his tracks when he heard Liv speak in a polite tone. He heard the sounds of a brief conversation, and everything went silent. He hoped Liv was safe for now.
Stalking silently back the hall, Steve went into the living room and went directly to the gun cabinet. Where the *hell* was the key? Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what Liv had told him on the grand tour. Swiftly moving to the near fireplace, he opened an ornately carved box. It looked like African walnut, and suddenly his adrenaline level jumped several notches higher as he remembered his various run-ins with the Sweeny family. Then, whether due to fear or his concussion Steve would never know, he had to vomit. It was ironic how quickly the memory of one particular hell could make another so much worse.
He gulped hard several times and looked around, trying to figure out what to do about the problem. When his eyes fell on an enormous potted plant in the corner, he smiled in spite of everything. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, he steadied his jangled nerves, took the key from the box, and opened the gun cabinet.
'Shotgun or rifle?' he wondered. If he was too far away and used the shotgun, Liv might catch some of the stray buckshot. If he used the rifle and Liv was behind Ted in the line of fire, the bullet could go right through him and wound her as well. He decided to load them both, leave the shotgun in the hall nearby, and use the rifle first. Kenney had said Liv would keep her head in a crisis. He was counting on that now and trusting that she would hit the floor when he told her to do so.
'Thank you, God,' Olivia thought as she finally got her left wrist loose.
"How are the eggs coming, Teddy?"
"Just a minute more, sweetie. After breakfast I was thinking we might go upstairs and I could show you why you really should be with me instead of Steve in there," Ted said, jerking his head toward the door.
'God forgive me,' she thought, 'but I'll do whatever it takes to stop him.'
She managed to swiftly unwind the tape from her broken hand without crying out, and as Ted turned to her with their plates full of food; she grabbed the .38 from the table, guided it to aim for his knee with her right hand and pulled the trigger with her left.
"You whore!" he screamed as his left knee gave way. The food spilled, and he stumbled, but he didn't go down.
"I don't want to do this Teddy, but I won't let you hurt me, and I can't let you hurt Steve."
Cursing and fuming, Ted recovered his footing and advanced on Olivia. She moved toward the mudroom door, but stood her ground. She fired again, this time getting him in the left thigh. A red stain blossomed around the wound to match the one she'd made earlier in his left leg.
"I'd much rather fuck you alive and keep you around, O, but at this point I'm willing to take you dead. You can't stop me without killing me, bitch, and whether you want to admit it or not, you love me too much to do that."
She aimed for his right knee, saying, "I'm willing to admit that I love you Teddy. I always have, like a brother." She was sobbing now. "That's why it hurts me so much when you do stupid things like this. Please stop, Teddy. Don't make me hurt you again."
He continued advancing, and she edged her way along the wall. She wanted to go into the mudroom, but the door was closed. With only one good hand, there was no way she could open the door and keep Ted covered. As Ted moved around the table toward her, she fired. Her shot strayed low, grazing his calf instead of taking out his knee as she'd intended.
"Two left, you little slut, what's it going to be? Kill me or let me have what I want?"
"Teddy, please," she sobbed as she fired again, this time aiming high and catching him in the shoulder.
Ted grunted, and looked at the bloodstain spreading on his shirt. He continued to advance, and Olivia backed away from him around the table and toward the hall. She had one bullet left, and she was thinking frantically of a way to avoid using it. She would not leave Ted alive in this house if he could hurt Steve, but God in Heaven, she didn't want to kill Ted either.
As she neared the hallway, a noise distracted her and she saw Ted look at something behind her. Her attention wavered for just a second, but in that moment, Ted reacted with terrible swiftness. His massive hand closed on her left wrist, and the gun was twisted from her broken right hand. She screamed as the fractured bones tore at the soft tissue surrounding them. Ted pulled her close to him and aimed at a target behind her.
Steve had almost finished loading the shotgun when he heard the first shot. He listened tensely as he shoved the last shell in and took up both weapons. From the sounds of cursing, crying, and conversation, he could tell Liv had the gun and Ted had been wounded. He heard a second shot as he sprinted down the hall, and a third as he worked his way to the corner of the wall nearest the kitchen. The one she fired upstairs made four, and she had two left. Steve smiled, figuring between Liv and him, they were going to get through this.
Silently, he put the shotgun down, leaning it against the wall. He heard another shot, and a grunt, but he didn't hear a body fall. 'What the hell's it going to take to put that big bastard down,' Steve wondered. He guessed Liv and Ted must be somewhere near the mudroom wall because he could see most of the rest of the kitchen from where he was, and they were nowhere in sight. He gripped the rifle, ready to fire, and stepped away from his cover.
The sudden movement proved too much for his battered skull and queasy stomach. He gasped as he fought yet another wave of nausea, and in that moment, everything went to hell. Liv glanced toward him, and as she did, Ted grabbed the revolver from her hand and pulled her against him. She screamed. Steve heard the gun discharge and a split second later felt a burning pain in his shoulder. Keeping hold of the rifle, he dropped and rolled, regained his uncertain footing, grabbed the shotgun as he ran back the hall, and ducked into the mudroom.
He locked the door behind him, sprinted across the room, put the shotgun on top the washer, opened the door to the kitchen, and aimed the rifle. Ted was waiting for him. He'd discarded the empty handgun, and was holding Liv before him as a shield.
"Put the rifle down, Steve, or I snap her neck like a dry twig," the big man ordered.
"Can't do that, Ted. You'll kill her and me anyway. I've got to try to stop you."
"Steve, please, wait," Olivia pleaded. "Teddy, I'll give you anything you want, just let Steve walk out of here."
"I'm not leaving without you, Liv."
The giant seemed to think it over, but rejected the suggestion. "I've got to kill him, O," he said as if reasoning with an unruly child. "As long as he's alive you'll love him, and you'll never get the chance to find out how much you really love me. It has to be that way, sweetie. Besides, you heard him. He's not leaving without you."
"I'm sorry, Teddy. I should have realized long ago how much I care for you, but if you let him go, he'll head back to California, and eventually I'll forget all about him. Please, Teddy, if you kill him, you'll go back to jail. I don't want that. I want you here."
"No way, O, he's got to die."
Steve noticed Olivia crook a finger at him, beckoning him forward. Her hands were close to her body and down at her sides, and, not being sure of what he saw, Steve hesitated. Liv's eyes grew huge and pleading as the finger waved more frantically. Finally, he took a step, hoping she would create an opening for him. As Steve advanced, Ted stepped back, and when he was off balance, with most of his weight on his injured knee, Liv fought like a wild creature.
She bashed her head against his chest, drove an elbow into his gut and a fist into his jaw, and kicked back at his groin. She almost got loose, but he caught her around the waist and drew her back against him. She hung forward over his arm and started kicking and pounding her fists at the bullet wounds in his legs.
Steve saw his opening, yelled, "Stay down," and fired a round into the big man's chest. He worked the bolt to eject the spent cartridge, aimed again, and to his horror, as he fired Ted staggered back and Olivia, flopping about in his arms like a rag doll, came up into the line of fire. He heard her yelp and Ted grunt, and they both toppled backwards to the floor.
For a moment, only silence and the smell of cordite hung in the air. Then the calm was pierced by the high, thin wail of a distant siren. A moment later, it was joined by another screaming voice, this one hoping by sheer volume to deny the enormity of what had just happened.
As he came to, the first thing Steve knew was that he had a splitting headache and felt nauseous. He opened one eye just a slit and saw that he was lying on a dirty concrete floor. Soon it filtered through that he was cold, had his mouth taped shut, and was bound hand and foot. He tried to kick away the hands that were finishing off the bindings at his feet, and received a powerful kidney punch for his troubles. Suddenly, the world swam around him and he had to repeatedly swallow hard to keep from vomiting into his gag.
He moaned as his captor rolled him over, causing a sharp pain to knife through his skull, and he started gulping again, praying that if he did throw up, his attacker would remove the tape. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up…and up…at the largest human being he had ever seen. He knew it had to be Ted.
'Funny,' Steve thought, 'but he doesn't look crazy.' Ted had dark brown hair that closely matched his own in shade and style. He also wore a closely cropped, well-groomed beard. He was tall (no surprise there), fit, and muscular.
He smiled almost pleasantly, and said, "I know you're Steve. I saw you at Boots the other night. I'm Ted. I'd shake your hand, but I can tell you're just a bit tied up at the moment."
The big man laughed slightly at his own joke before continuing.
"Knowing what you've probably been told about me, I imagine you're afraid that you'll never see Olivia alive again. I promise you that's not true. You'll see her once more, when she makes love to me. I plan to make you watch. It will be your punishment for seducing her away from me. Then I'll get the shotgun from the living room and blow your fucking head off." He spoke in a conversational tone, as if he were telling Steve what errands he had to run in town.
Steve watched as Ted went to the telephone junction box on the wall and tore all the wires from it. A moment later, a voice called to him from down the hall.
"Steve?"
"Mmffp!" He tried to warn her, God how he tried, but a kick to the ribs suddenly had him fighting nausea again, and a fist to the jaw knocked him out.
"Steve!" Liv called as she padded downstairs. "Pick up the phone in the kitchen and see if you can get a dial tone, please. I just hung up with Keith and was about to call Chicago when the cordless went dead. It's not showing low batt, but it's not working either."
Liv got no answer, but suddenly she knew she was not alone in the eerily silent house. Something cold squirmed in her stomach, and a chill went up her spine. As she turned to run up the stairs, a massive hand closed on her right ankle and she felt the bones grind together. She struggled fiercely, kicking and clawing and squirming, but too frightened to make a sound. Finally, it occurred to her to use the phone as a weapon. She turned on her attacker and clobbered him alongside the head with the cordless, which shattered on impact.
As she watched in horror, the big brute who had been dogging her for over a decade shook off the blow and came at her again. This time she screamed, "Leave me alone," and she turned and ran. Ted caught up with her on the second floor landing, but she turned, scratched at his eyes, braced her back against the wall, and pushed him away with all the strength of her arms and legs. She heard a series of grunts and thuds as he tumbled down the stairs, but she didn't stay to watch. Instead, she ran for all she was worth to get to her .38 from the bedroom.
Steve was slowly coming to when Liv's screaming brought him fully conscious. Then he heard the sounds of a struggle, someone falling, and someone running. At her house in Brentwood, Liv kept a few carpenter's tools in the utility room. Maybe she did the same here. Squirming around the floor on his chest and knees like an inchworm, alternately fighting nausea and darkening vision, he prayed he could find something to undo his bindings in time to help Liv before he passed out for good.
Finally, he saw something useful. Hanging on the wall in the corner was a rusted old hacksaw. If he could just get it down, he might be able to use it to cut the ropes binding his wrists. Then he could sneak into the living room and get one of the guns Liv had shown him there. He worked his way over to the wall, rolled over, and sat up with his back to it. Then, using the wall for support, he forced himself to stand on rubbery legs.
As he slowly came to his feet, he nearly fell several times. It was difficult enough to balance with his ankles tied, and the nausea and dizziness from what he knew might a serious concussion repeatedly threatened to topple him. Finally, he was standing near the hacksaw, almost balanced, and hadn't puked yet. Now, how to get it down and use it?
He thought a minute, and decided if he turned just right, he could bump the hacksaw off the nail with his elbow and catch it before it hit the floor. The first two tries, he only managed to jostle it a bit, and he knew then he had to do better if he was ever going to help Liv. On the third try, he swung as hard as he could at the hacksaw and was satisfied to hear it fall from the wall. He barely caught it and screamed into the tape covering his mouth as the rusty serrated blade sliced into the fleshy part of his right palm near the thumb.
He heard a gunshot, froze, then began to work frantically at the ropes on his wrists, struggling desperately as both the blade and the bindings became slick with his own blood.
Olivia made it to the bedroom and pulled her gun from its holster. Then turned and headed back into the hall, terrified as never before, but ready to take the fight right to her attacker. If she hadn't been so frightened, she reasoned later, she would have made him to come to her. As it was, she charged directly at him in the hall, firing as she went.
She heard Ted grunt, and she knew she'd hit him, but it didn't even stop the giant. He came at her without losing a step, and her momentum carried her straight into him. He grabbed her wrist before she could fire again, and wrenched the gun from her hand. She screamed as she felt and heard delicate bones snap. She saw the dark stain spreading on his jeans where her bullet had entered his right thigh, but he was barely limping.
He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, saying, "Come on, O. Last time, it took three slugs and three cops to pull me off you. Do you really think this little peashooter is going to stop me?"
"Give it back to me and we'll find out," she said sarcastically.
He headed back down the stairs, laughing, and said, "I'm glad you still have a sense of humor. I'm sure when this is all over and you realize how much you've always loved me, you'll look back on this and laugh at how silly you've been to try to get away all this time. Of course, if you don't, I'll just take what I want and then slit your throat."
Olivia fell silent and stopped struggling as Ted carried her to the kitchen and sat her in a chair. He placed the gun on the table. Then taking a roll of duct tape, he bound her wrists to the arms of the chair. "I had to use all my rope," he explained. "I met Steve down here just a little while ago. He's tied up in the utility room."
"Teddy, did you hurt him?"
"Oh, forget about him, Olivia. He'll never love you like I do."
"Teddy, I promised his dad I'd look after him. I need to know, did you hurt him?"
Even under the beard, she could see a muscle in Ted's jaw work. He was obviously agitated.
"I knocked him out, O, but he's all right for now."
"Show me, Teddy."
Ted went to the utility room door.
Steve had just managed to free his wrists when he heard footsteps and voices in the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Liv's voice, sure and steady, but very tense. Then he heard Ted's heavy footsteps moving towards the door. Knowing he was in no shape to fight the enormous monster, he hid the bloody hacksaw, lay down on his side facing the door, and put his arms behind his back. Just as he got situated, the door opened and Ted stood aside to let Liv look in.
"I told you he's still all in one piece."
"Steve," Liv asked, "you ok?"
He nodded, and Ted shut the door, saying, "We'll see you again after breakfast."
Steve worked frantically, knowing he didn't have much time. From the amount of blood oozing from his hand, he knew he had cut a vein. He had to slow the bleeding, or risk fainting from blood loss at a critical moment. Taking his handkerchief from his hip pocket, he folded it into a square. Then, carefully, painfully pulling the duct tape from his mouth, he used it to hold the handkerchief in place over the wound. It wasn't perfect, but it would do.
Now what? Thinking was difficult with the throbbing in his head, but, as he tore at the ropes binding his ankles, he forced himself to clear the cobwebs and make a plan.
"All right, now. It looks like he was getting ready to make pancakes. Is that what you'd like, O? I can make something else if you'd rather. I haven't had much opportunity to cook lately, but I haven't forgotten how."
She thought about saying she'd lost her appetite, but realized she could buy more time if she cooperated.
"Pancakes would be good, Teddy, maybe with some liverwurst and a couple eggs over easy, too. I have some berries in the fridge, and oj. If you let me loose, I could help."
Ted seemed to consider her offer for a moment, but he said, "No, I don't think so, O. Maybe in a couple of weeks, after I've taught you to love me. When I'm sure you won't run, I'll let you loose. Then we can be happy together."
So, he was planning on taking up residence, maybe building a life with her. She could play along with that.
"I suppose you know best, Teddy. We might make a good couple eventually."
Ted hummed as he puttered about the kitchen, and Liv took stock of her situation. Her right ankle was throbbing, and she knew her right hand was broken. She didn't aim worth spit with her left hand, but Ted was close enough, she knew if she could get loose, she'd be able to hit him. Stopping him was another story, but if she could slow him down, she might be able to make a run for it and lead him away from Steve.
Meanwhile, she decided to play along with his little fantasy. She knew she would be safer if she didn't anger Ted. Every time he turned his back, she worked at the tape on her left wrist, but when he looked at her or spoke to her, she tried to smile and act casual. It wasn't easy; time was running out, and she was beginning to panic. She had to get loose; she had to do something.
Steve considered using the secret passage Liv had shown him to go upstairs for his cell phone and call 911, but he decided against it on the grounds that the battery could be dead, he might be heard moving around upstairs if the floors creaked, and being surrounded by mountains, he might not be able to get a signal. Besides, time was running short and he had to act fast.
He decided to take the passage downstairs. That way he could come up at the living room, get the rifle or the shotgun out of the cabinet, and if luck was with him, he could take Ted by surprise before he did anything to Liv. It took him a moment to figure out how to open the secret door from the outside, and when he did, he cringed as it squeaked open. Grabbing the hacksaw, he froze and waited to see if Ted had heard the noise and was coming to investigate. All he heard was Liv saying something about berries.
'That's good, Liv,' he mentally praised her. 'Keep him occupied. Buy me some time and I *will* get us out of this.'
He breathed a silent prayer and pulled the secret door shut behind him. There was no sense making it easy for Ted to find him if he should look in. The he opened the trap door in the floor and climbed down to the basement, gritting his teeth each time he had to grip a ladder rung with his injured hand. When he felt no more ladder rungs beneath his feet, he hung by his hands and eased himself down one rung at a time, wishing he had remembered to drop the rope Liv had used earlier. Finally, when there were no more handholds, he let himself drop the remaining distance to the floor.
Again, he struggled for a moment to open the door, but this time, when he found the secret, the door opened silently. He closed it behind himself and swiftly made his way through the basement. He stepped into the rumpus room before heading up the stairs and grabbed a baseball bat from the box of sports equipment, just in case he didn't make it to the gun cabinet.
Olivia was making good progress with her bonds; her left arm was almost free. Unfortunately, Ted was also making good progress with breakfast. She hoped he decided to feed her rather than let her loose to feed herself. If he decided to free her, he would notice the loose duct tape and there was no telling what would happen then. She prayed she would be free by then.
"Aw, damn!"
Liv jumped, then asked, "What is it, Teddy?"
"I broke the egg yolks, O. I know how much you like to dip your pancake in the centers, so I'm just going to throw these out and start over, ok, sweetie?"
She gave him her most grateful smile and said, "Thanks, Teddy. It's very sweet of you to remember that."
He flashed her a brilliant grin and turned back to the stove.
Liv rolled her eyes heavenward in a quick prayer of thanksgiving and went to work on her left wrist again. She should have just enough time.
As he reached the top of the stairs, Steve heard Ted curse. Immediately he headed to the kitchen, bat at the ready, but froze in his tracks when he heard Liv speak in a polite tone. He heard the sounds of a brief conversation, and everything went silent. He hoped Liv was safe for now.
Stalking silently back the hall, Steve went into the living room and went directly to the gun cabinet. Where the *hell* was the key? Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what Liv had told him on the grand tour. Swiftly moving to the near fireplace, he opened an ornately carved box. It looked like African walnut, and suddenly his adrenaline level jumped several notches higher as he remembered his various run-ins with the Sweeny family. Then, whether due to fear or his concussion Steve would never know, he had to vomit. It was ironic how quickly the memory of one particular hell could make another so much worse.
He gulped hard several times and looked around, trying to figure out what to do about the problem. When his eyes fell on an enormous potted plant in the corner, he smiled in spite of everything. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, he steadied his jangled nerves, took the key from the box, and opened the gun cabinet.
'Shotgun or rifle?' he wondered. If he was too far away and used the shotgun, Liv might catch some of the stray buckshot. If he used the rifle and Liv was behind Ted in the line of fire, the bullet could go right through him and wound her as well. He decided to load them both, leave the shotgun in the hall nearby, and use the rifle first. Kenney had said Liv would keep her head in a crisis. He was counting on that now and trusting that she would hit the floor when he told her to do so.
'Thank you, God,' Olivia thought as she finally got her left wrist loose.
"How are the eggs coming, Teddy?"
"Just a minute more, sweetie. After breakfast I was thinking we might go upstairs and I could show you why you really should be with me instead of Steve in there," Ted said, jerking his head toward the door.
'God forgive me,' she thought, 'but I'll do whatever it takes to stop him.'
She managed to swiftly unwind the tape from her broken hand without crying out, and as Ted turned to her with their plates full of food; she grabbed the .38 from the table, guided it to aim for his knee with her right hand and pulled the trigger with her left.
"You whore!" he screamed as his left knee gave way. The food spilled, and he stumbled, but he didn't go down.
"I don't want to do this Teddy, but I won't let you hurt me, and I can't let you hurt Steve."
Cursing and fuming, Ted recovered his footing and advanced on Olivia. She moved toward the mudroom door, but stood her ground. She fired again, this time getting him in the left thigh. A red stain blossomed around the wound to match the one she'd made earlier in his left leg.
"I'd much rather fuck you alive and keep you around, O, but at this point I'm willing to take you dead. You can't stop me without killing me, bitch, and whether you want to admit it or not, you love me too much to do that."
She aimed for his right knee, saying, "I'm willing to admit that I love you Teddy. I always have, like a brother." She was sobbing now. "That's why it hurts me so much when you do stupid things like this. Please stop, Teddy. Don't make me hurt you again."
He continued advancing, and she edged her way along the wall. She wanted to go into the mudroom, but the door was closed. With only one good hand, there was no way she could open the door and keep Ted covered. As Ted moved around the table toward her, she fired. Her shot strayed low, grazing his calf instead of taking out his knee as she'd intended.
"Two left, you little slut, what's it going to be? Kill me or let me have what I want?"
"Teddy, please," she sobbed as she fired again, this time aiming high and catching him in the shoulder.
Ted grunted, and looked at the bloodstain spreading on his shirt. He continued to advance, and Olivia backed away from him around the table and toward the hall. She had one bullet left, and she was thinking frantically of a way to avoid using it. She would not leave Ted alive in this house if he could hurt Steve, but God in Heaven, she didn't want to kill Ted either.
As she neared the hallway, a noise distracted her and she saw Ted look at something behind her. Her attention wavered for just a second, but in that moment, Ted reacted with terrible swiftness. His massive hand closed on her left wrist, and the gun was twisted from her broken right hand. She screamed as the fractured bones tore at the soft tissue surrounding them. Ted pulled her close to him and aimed at a target behind her.
Steve had almost finished loading the shotgun when he heard the first shot. He listened tensely as he shoved the last shell in and took up both weapons. From the sounds of cursing, crying, and conversation, he could tell Liv had the gun and Ted had been wounded. He heard a second shot as he sprinted down the hall, and a third as he worked his way to the corner of the wall nearest the kitchen. The one she fired upstairs made four, and she had two left. Steve smiled, figuring between Liv and him, they were going to get through this.
Silently, he put the shotgun down, leaning it against the wall. He heard another shot, and a grunt, but he didn't hear a body fall. 'What the hell's it going to take to put that big bastard down,' Steve wondered. He guessed Liv and Ted must be somewhere near the mudroom wall because he could see most of the rest of the kitchen from where he was, and they were nowhere in sight. He gripped the rifle, ready to fire, and stepped away from his cover.
The sudden movement proved too much for his battered skull and queasy stomach. He gasped as he fought yet another wave of nausea, and in that moment, everything went to hell. Liv glanced toward him, and as she did, Ted grabbed the revolver from her hand and pulled her against him. She screamed. Steve heard the gun discharge and a split second later felt a burning pain in his shoulder. Keeping hold of the rifle, he dropped and rolled, regained his uncertain footing, grabbed the shotgun as he ran back the hall, and ducked into the mudroom.
He locked the door behind him, sprinted across the room, put the shotgun on top the washer, opened the door to the kitchen, and aimed the rifle. Ted was waiting for him. He'd discarded the empty handgun, and was holding Liv before him as a shield.
"Put the rifle down, Steve, or I snap her neck like a dry twig," the big man ordered.
"Can't do that, Ted. You'll kill her and me anyway. I've got to try to stop you."
"Steve, please, wait," Olivia pleaded. "Teddy, I'll give you anything you want, just let Steve walk out of here."
"I'm not leaving without you, Liv."
The giant seemed to think it over, but rejected the suggestion. "I've got to kill him, O," he said as if reasoning with an unruly child. "As long as he's alive you'll love him, and you'll never get the chance to find out how much you really love me. It has to be that way, sweetie. Besides, you heard him. He's not leaving without you."
"I'm sorry, Teddy. I should have realized long ago how much I care for you, but if you let him go, he'll head back to California, and eventually I'll forget all about him. Please, Teddy, if you kill him, you'll go back to jail. I don't want that. I want you here."
"No way, O, he's got to die."
Steve noticed Olivia crook a finger at him, beckoning him forward. Her hands were close to her body and down at her sides, and, not being sure of what he saw, Steve hesitated. Liv's eyes grew huge and pleading as the finger waved more frantically. Finally, he took a step, hoping she would create an opening for him. As Steve advanced, Ted stepped back, and when he was off balance, with most of his weight on his injured knee, Liv fought like a wild creature.
She bashed her head against his chest, drove an elbow into his gut and a fist into his jaw, and kicked back at his groin. She almost got loose, but he caught her around the waist and drew her back against him. She hung forward over his arm and started kicking and pounding her fists at the bullet wounds in his legs.
Steve saw his opening, yelled, "Stay down," and fired a round into the big man's chest. He worked the bolt to eject the spent cartridge, aimed again, and to his horror, as he fired Ted staggered back and Olivia, flopping about in his arms like a rag doll, came up into the line of fire. He heard her yelp and Ted grunt, and they both toppled backwards to the floor.
For a moment, only silence and the smell of cordite hung in the air. Then the calm was pierced by the high, thin wail of a distant siren. A moment later, it was joined by another screaming voice, this one hoping by sheer volume to deny the enormity of what had just happened.