Warning, Mature theme… This chapter is dark, but please understand it is needed for the story to continue. But I think I see a ray of hope…
Chapter Ten
Elizabeth was losing herself to the pain, but for once she was ready to fight, she was tired of being the victim. If she was fated to die today, then so be it, but she was going to make it as ugly as possible for Lucky.
Briefly she wondered what had happened to him, he had some good size bruises marring his face, she took a perverse pleasure in seeing the bruises, feeling a sense of retribution, she was curious as to who had administered the beating and absently wondered if she would have the chance to thank them.
Taking in her surroundings, she finally made the decision that she was not going to play a victim, if she was meant to survive this, she would. She had submitted to his demands for too long now, it was time to take her life back, that was enough to bring a smile to her lips, because she understood, Jason was her life, that is where she wanted to be, she had been stupid to leave, she realized that now. Now with a sense of direction, she found she was quite happy to deny Lucky, he could do what he wished, but she was not playing the prey any longer.
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Jason was half mad with fear, at every step forward, he was forced to take two back, just when he thought he was making progress, something else turned up and delayed said progress.
Sonny called ever fifteen minutes, looking for an update, but his calls only infuriated Jason more. He felt like he was once again running out of time, he was cast back in time, to where Elizabeth had been kidnapped, with frantic determination, he shed those thoughts, like last time, he was going to rescue her.
His lack of faith in his abilities was not going to hinder him, he was going to trust in himself and the love he felt for her and know, no matter where she was, he would find her.
Right on cue, his cell phone rang, only this time, instead of Sonny, it was their computer guy, Stan. Quirking an eyebrow at the name on his phone, Jason wondered what the younger man could want.
"Morgan." Jason said.
"Jason, I think we may have a lead, possibly. I was doing a search of Lucky's bank account and tracking any credit card transactions, there was one about an three hours ago at Franklin's Hardware. I can't tell you what he purchased, but I figured you could talk to the owner, perhaps you can coheres him into telling you." Stan said, hoping what little information he had been able to provide, would lead to a break through.
"Thanks Stan, if I need anything else, I will call you. Keep me searching!" Jason replied, ending the call.
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Lucky couldn't handle the anger that was slowly building from within. That smarmy smile that suddenly appeared on her face, did nothing for his current mental state, nor the light or fire that suddenly flared to life.
Not exactly sure what had changed, Lucky stalked towards her, ready to wipe the smile off her face, he wanted to replace it with a look of fear, abject terror, not this, she looked like she was ready to fight, not only that, she looked like she was ready to live.
The closer he got to her, the more that smile annoyed him, she should not be so calm, yet she was, she didn't even bat an eyelash when he made another small incision to her leg.
Not liking the turn in events, Lucky stormed to the car, pulling from the trunk, a riding whip, but it had been fitted with pieces of metal.
Even the sight of the object, didn't inflict the desired effect he was going for. Unable to control the rising tide of his rage, Lucky yanked hard on the rope that was dangling from the tree, instantaneously Elizabeth was yanked to her feet.
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However he had the ropes placed, the noose around her neck didn't tighten. For that she was thankful, and while she didn't give in to the urge to scream, she was scared, how could she not be.
Lucky always seemed to take things to the extreme and this time was no different but she almost prayed for his lumbering form demanding entrance into hers, that type of abuse she could fight back from, this allowed him to keep his distance, which in turn meant she couldn't do anything even if she had a chance.
Unsure how she was going to free herself from this purgatory, Elizabeth began to bide her time, at some point Lucky would come for her, he couldn't resist sadist actions against her body, she only hoped she kept her wits till that time, then she would do what she had to do.
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Lucky didn't bother with drawing the suspense out, he needed gratification and if she wouldn't submit any other way, then this was going to have to be it. Not like he hadn't planned it from the moment he found her, but he had hoped for it to come later in the process, no matter, he could work around anything, he was a Spencer after all.
Lucky pulled his arm back and allowed the whip to crack to the left of Elizabeth, a small squeak the only sound, she didn't even flinch. Finished with playing, Lucky moved behind her, relishing in the screams he was sure to come.
He pulled his arm back, but this time he didn't hold back, he allowed the whip to find its mark, to his delight, she screamed, but it was quickly bit off. The only evidence that she had even been touched was the welling on a thin line of blood and of course the large red welt where the metal tip had hit her.
For ten minutes Lucky flailed upon her back with the whip, each scream only spurring him on, fresh rivulets of blood caressing her back as they descended then fell to the ground beneath her.
Lucky had lost count of how many lashes he had administered, and really, you could no longer tell from her back, it was a patchwork of bloody lashes and instead of singular red welts, her back was one large welt, the metal pieces having done extra damage.
Pulling his arm back, he prepared to administer one final blow, but the sudden forward momentum of Elizabeth caused him to drop the whip where he stood. It seemed from the long drawn out beating, she had passed out, allowed once again a moments reprieve thanks to blessed darkness. In Lucky's opinion it wasn't good, but it was something he could live with, he would give her a few moments, then he would douse her with the water and should that fail, he had smelling salts in his first aid kit in the trunk.
He bent down, picked up the whip and carried it back to his car, looking within, he wondered what else he could use on her. There was a walking cane, which he could use to beat her with, or of course… He shoved those thoughts from his mind, at least for the time being, nothing had progress that far, besides, things were moving more quickly than he liked, he only had one chance at this and he wanted to savor it.
Lucky was pulled from his contemplations when what sounded like a group of people began to make their way towards him. They were loud and seemed to be headed right in his direction, cursing under his breath, Lucky wondered what in the he!! people were doing out here. He had come here often and no one had bothered the tranquil little area, but of course when he wanted nothing more than to have time, he was being denied it.
Cursing fate, Lucky jumped into his car and sped off. Just as he reached the road, he saw a group of eleven appear in the clearing. Damn, he was lucky he got out of there at all, if he had stuck around, he might have never had to worry about what was to come next. There were three very large men, numerous girls and other men, but none so big as the three. That was the last thing he saw as he gunned it, his tires squealing in protest as his tires fought for purchase on the dirt road, but his tires grabbed and propelled him forward. Speeding down the highway, hoping he could find a safe haven, he knew this was going to get ugly, he had been stupid, he should have been more careful.
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At first they didn't even notice the naked woman dangling from the tree, there concentration was on the vehicle that was speeding away. Nevertheless, one of the girls looked around the clearing, it was her scream that brought the attention of everyone else to the woman's presence.
A big, brutish guy named Marco, rushed to her side, quickly freeing her from the rope that bound her. Another of the men came over, his name we would also later learn was Francis, felt for a pulse, finding one, but registering how weak it was, he quickly grabbed his cell phone and dialed an ambulance.
He knew it was going to take too much time for help to get there, but there was no other way, the group had been hiking, they were several miles away from the nearest vehicle, if that was they could even find their way back.
Emanuel, the third of the large men, tried to comfort the women in their group, without much success. They had eyes, they could see the damage that had be wrought upon her body, it was a sight not any of them would possibly ever forget.
Marco pulled a shirt from his pack as did Francis, Marco laid his on the ground, then carefully laid her upon it, knowing he must be causing her more pain, but unsure what to do about it. Francis covered her small form with his large shirt, feeling nothing but brotherly towards the woman.
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"Jason, I have a destination, I can't be sure if he is still there, but for over ten minutes he has remained in the same spot, perhaps longer, I just never thought to use this method." Stan said, slightly rambling.
"What in the world are you talking about Stan. Did you find her or not?" Jason asked, his patience well beyond the breaking point.
"I was tracking him, through his cell phone. All the new ones have GPS, from the time I thought of it, till about five minutes ago he was in the same spot. Unfortunately, the tracking device went down or the site, not exactly sure which, either way I lost him. But I can tell you the exact coordinates to where they were." Stan said.
"Give me a location." Jason said, grabbing a pen and paper from the glove-compartment.
With the information, Jason through the car in gear and sped out of the city. He was slightly stunned that it wasn't that far away, twenty minutes and he would be there. He would have to thank Stan if this really did lead him to Elizabeth.
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Thirty minutes, possibly more, before the ambulance was scheduled to arrive. The downfall to no one knowing where they were. They offered as much information they could, but knew it wasn't much.
Chris and Leigh began the long trek back to the bikes, hoping if they moved quickly, then perhaps they could lessen the waiting time, and just get her to the hospital.
No spoke, either unwilling or unable to find the words. The silence was deafening, but how did you start a conversation after what they had discovered.
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Elizabeth slowly came awake, she was foggy about what happened to begin with, then the immense pain from her back, brought back all memories. Sitting up with a howl of pain, she was startled to see, two very large men sitting beside her.
"Wh-who are you?" Elizabeth croaked. Fear was the natural reaction, but as she pulled the shirt covering her more tightly around her front, she got the vibe that they meant her no harm.
Francis spoke first, "Excuse me, miss, are you alright?"
Deciding that she needed to take action, she spoke, "Do any of you have a cell phone?"
Francis just handed the diminutive woman his phone, but not before saying, "We called an ambulance, it should be here soon. Although, I am sorry to say, none of us have a clue to exactly where we are."
Ignoring his voice for the moment, Elizabeth dialed a familiar number, one that was engrained in her heart and mind.
"Jason." Elizabeth said, as soon as she heard him pick up.
"Elizabeth, where are you, are you alright?" Jason asked, relief flooding his system, but fear too.
"Where are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm on my way to you, Stan gave me directions, using Lucky's phones triangulations for GPS. Did he move you?" Jason enquired.
"I'm still here, how long till you get here?" Elizabeth asked, unable to hold in the sigh of relief.
"You should see me pulling up any minute now." Jason replied. Neither bothered to disconnect, not willing to allow anything to make their reunion any lengthier.
Elizabeth finally let the phone slip from her fingers when she saw Jason's car pulling into the same spot that Lucky's had obviously vacated earlier.
Jason couldn't contain his emotions, as he rushed from the car, he enveloped her in a bone crushing embrace, but quickly let go when she screamed in pain.
He spun her around, taking in the damage to her back. Then his eyes took in those who were standing around, baffled beyond reason, Jason asked, "Who are you?"
Marco took point this time, and spoke quickly, he didn't need anyone making the wrong assumptions, "My friends and I were hiking, making a day of it, seeing as how nice it is, umm.. We stumbled into this clearing, but as soon as we did, some guy sped off, then we found her."
Jason tore his eyes from the dominating presence before him and gratefully said, "Thank you, you probably saved her life." He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, before looking deeper into her eyes. "Can you all turn around for a minute, so she can slip this shirt on."
Everyone turned quickly, giving the couple or whatever they were the privacy they needed.
Jason helped Elizabeth slip the shirt on, thankfully it was large enough that it dangled down to her knees, it also didn't rub the wounds on her back, which she was thankful for.
Jason gently tipped her head up, forcing her eyes to meet his and was thankful she didn't fight him, and even more so, she looked like she had rediscovered some of her fire.
"I am so sorry, I was an idiot for leaving. You were only trying to help, I'm sorry." Elizabeth said, unable to keep the tears at bay.
"You don't have to apologize, but why, why did you leave, I wanted to take care of you." Jason replied, wanting to make sense of the situation.
"I didn't want to burden you with my baggage, and I have acquired a great deal of baggage in the last six months or more. I couldn't, no I didn't want to be an obligation, I love you to much to do that to you. Besides, you deserve someone who is not damaged goods." Elizabeth said, biting back a sob.
"Don't you ever say that Elizabeth, you are not damaged goods. What Lucky did to you, it wasn't your fault, he is the sick twisted bastard who needs to pay for what he has done. Will you now tell me the truth, it was Lucky, right?" Jason beseeched.
Unable to say the words, Elizabeth nodded her head. She pulled Jason closer, burrowing into his body, almost as if she intended to possess him.
"We are going to get through this, but first you need to get to a hospital, what exactly did he use to do that to you?" Jason asked, indicating her back.
"It was some kind of whip, it had metal pieces attached to it. Please Jason, I don't want to go to the hospital, can't Dr. Thompson look after these, I don't need people knowing about this." Elizabeth pleaded.
"I don't care what you tell the doctors or the police, but you need to go to the hospital. Please don't fight me on this, I love you too much." Jason said.
Neither one really registering that fact that the other had proclaimed their love, perhaps later they would remember, right now, they were happy with the fact they were safe and in each other's arms.
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A.N. You guys have all been really wonderful. I know this story is different from my other one, I just wanted to thank you for your great feedback and trust that this story too will be Liason. But sometimes, you have to hit rock bottom, discover there is still a lower place to be found and then and only then can you start seeing the light. Perhaps now, that small speck of light can now become a beacon.