Pinch Me

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rob watched as Laura blanched. “This house isn’t safe either, is it?” she asked.

“We need to get you out of here,” Thomas said. “Right now, while he can’t track you.”

“What if that’s what he wants?” Rob asked. “What if this was a deliberate attempt to get us to move Laura again?” Rob couldn’t believe he even said the words. The paranoia grew like a tumor in his gut.

“Whoever this guy is, now he’s on the run. He’s not going to be tailing you in the next little bit. We’re going to get you out of here, get you safe. That’s my priority.”

“I don’t think there’s anywhere’s safe enough,” Laura said.

Rob had a flash. “Maybe there is.”

It was 3:00 a.m. in Montana when Rob called Bill. After the problems last time, Bill had given them several alternate numbers, including his girlfriend’s house and cell phone, the airport he worked out of, neighbors, even the local sheriff’s office. Fortunately, Bill was home. He quickly awoke when Rob explained the problem to him.

“Let me make some calls. I’ll get her a ticket to Denver, meet her there, and fly back with her.”

“Okay, call me right back.”

Laura balked. “Oh, no. You are not shipping me up to Montana. I won’t go without you.”

“Laura, you have to. I’ll take some vacation time in a week or so. I’ll drive and bring Doogie with me. I can’t just leave right now.”

“Neither can I.”

Thomas stepped in. “Laura, you don’t have a choice in the matter. If I have to send you to the airport handcuffed to an armed deputy, I will.”

She looked at him. “You don’t have the authority to do that.”

The detective stared her down. “You want to try me?”

She managed not to burst into tears.

Barely. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

She was in the shower when Bill called back with the flight arrangements. “I’ll meet her in Denver for her connection to Bozeman.”

Rob wrote the flight information down and read it back to Bill for confirmation. “Okay. I’ll get her on that flight.”

Bill had arranged a non-stop from Tampa to Denver. It left TIA at ten, which didn’t give Rob much time.

He helped Laura pack and the deputies escorted them back to her condo so she could get the clothes she’d need for the northern climate. It was fairly warm there this time of year, but still chilly by Florida standards.

Rob loaded her suitcases into Thomas’ unmarked patrol car. She’d changed into jeans and had a lightweight jacket to carry on. She carried her laptop and iPad and had the rest of the journals she hadn’t read yet in her checked bags.

Rob hated the look on her face when he had to remind her to leave the gun behind. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “It’s all right, baby girl. I’m giving you permission not to carry it. You’ll be safe out there.”

She broke down. “I don’t want to go.”

He forced himself to stay strong for her. “I know. I’m sorry, but I’m ordering you to go. And you will stay out there until I say so.” He took her play collar from his pocket put it in her hands. “Take it with you. Keep it in your pocket. Even when you can’t wear it, remember you have it and remember who owns you.”

She tearfully nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

Laura knelt and hugged Doogie. The Lab licked her face but acted listless, apparently knowing his mom was leaving. One of the deputies volunteered to take him to Steve at the shop for her, and she fought back tears as they drove off, Doogie racing back and forth in the back seat while looking out the rear window.

Rob sat with her in the back seat of Thomas’s car. She remained silent most of the way, and when asked a question she answered mostly in one-word sentences. Upon their arrival at the airport, Thomas pulled up to the departures curb and requested an airport police officer be summoned. He identified himself, and three more airport officers arrived to escort them.

They were rushed through the ticket desk. TSA agents gave Rob and Thomas special clearance to go to the airside terminal with her and the airport police.

With a few minutes remaining before her flight boarded, Rob said his good-byes there and kissed her one last time.

“You’ll be fine, baby girl. I’ll be there before you know it. You’ll be safe.”

“What good is it if I’m forced into exile from my own life?”

He caressed her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sir,” she whispered.

One of the officers escorted her down the gangway and they lost sight of her around a turn. When the officer reappeared, they started boarding the other passengers.

The airport police and TSA agents stood there with them while Thomas and Rob watched until the plane left.

Rob was assured that an airport police and TSA escort would be awaiting her at the gate when the plane arrived in Denver, and would stay with her until she and Bill caught their flight out.

That left Rob feeling a little better.

Neither man said much on the ride back south.

“You know this is for the best,” Thomas said after they’d crossed the Skyway. “You know this is the only way to keep her safe for now.”

“I know.”

“We’ll figure this out and find him.”

He nodded.

Thomas tried again a few minutes later. “He’s going to screw up. He took a big risk trying to get to her. He’s desperate. That means we’ll catch him.”

Rob looked at him. “I’m warning you, if he shows up I’m shooting him before I call for help. If I have my way, he won’t go to trial.”

Thomas nodded. “Can’t say I blame you there.”

A deputy returned to the Manasota house with Rob and waited while he finished collecting their things, then drove him to the house where he picked up Laura’s truck. It was better if he went home for now. The general consensus felt Laura was the primary target.

Steve was understandably upset when Rob arrived to pick up Doogie. “How long is she going to stay out there?”

Rob shrugged. “Don’t know. I don’t want her out there, but I don’t want her dead, either. If they can find this whacko, she can come home. If not, she won’t be safe here.” He stroked Doogie’s head. “And you can’t tell anyone where she is. No one. Not even Carol or Sarah. Don’t even say she’s out of town. Just say she’s not here and you don’t know when she’ll be in. If someone accidentally lets it slip where she is—”

“Don’t worry. We won’t.”

Rob took Doogie and went back to the condo. He felt as empty as the rooms there without Laura waiting for him. He had to call Shayla and tell her the news and not to spread it around. The only thing she could tell everyone was that Laura wouldn’t be around for a while. That Shayla didn’t know where she’d gone, or when she’d return.

Which was the truth, because he didn’t tell her where he’d sent Laura even though he suspected she’d easily guess Montana.

Bill didn’t skimp on his little sister. He’d arranged first class for her, and since the airline had been notified of the special circumstances, Laura had the row to herself. She curled up by the window and watched the ground sweep past as they took off. The plane veered northwest, over the Gulf.

In an hour, they were flying over oil rigs and the Mississippi Delta outside of New Orleans. The landscape changed from green to brown as they approached the Midwest. She watched mountains, fields, and strange cities and towns slowly pass beneath her. At one point she dozed for a little while, then a flight attendant asked her to come to the front of the plane.

She kept her play collar in her hands the whole time, rubbing her fingers over the soft leather.

It was the only thing keeping her from crying.

The head steward approached her. “Ms. Spaulding?”

Her heart froze, sure that he was going to tell her Rob was dead. That something horrible had happened and MedicineMan had struck.

“Yes?”

“TSA told us you’re to deplane first. Your brother is already at the airport. The airport police will make sure your baggage is transferred to your connecting flight, and officers will stay with you until you make the plane change.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Laura felt eyes on her as she made her way back to her seat. No doubt there were curious passengers who heard some of her exchange with the crew. She hated the attention and wanted to know when she would wake up from the nightmare.

The flight attendants were very kind, and one even sat next to her for the landing. Officers were waiting when the door opened and the gangway was attached, Bill standing close behind them.

He didn’t recognize her at first and she had her first genuine laugh of the day as he did a double-take over her new hairdo. He held out his arms and she fell into them, enjoying the hug.

“Don’t say it.”

He smiled. “You went and done it.” He took her knapsack and laptop case from her. The officers escorted them to the next gate and helped them board. Once the plane was in the air, she relaxed for the first time that day.

Denver fell away behind them, the landscape giving way to the Rocky Mountains. When she felt the plane descend toward Bozeman, Bill took her hand and squeezed it. “You okay?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head, tears rolling down her face. She’d just started recalling memories about her and Rob, and now she didn’t have him, either. Her life had been put on hold, and she felt terrified.

The breakdown loomed despite doing her best to stave it off. Bill helped collect her luggage and then they traveled across to the private aviation section of the airport, where he loaded her and her luggage into his plane.

That’s where she finally let loose, sobbing in his arms, crying, screaming in the small cockpit while she vented the terror and anger from her system.

The flight to Gardiner from Bozeman didn’t take long. From there they drove to his house, a few minutes north of town.

Gardiner sat just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone. Bill’s house was located on fifty rolling acres in a valley surrounded by hills and pine trees, a large but cozy log cabin with all the amenities. His three dogs, all mutts, came running from the porch to greet them when they pulled in. She sat down among them and let them sniff her, enjoying their furry presence.

It was the first comforting event that had blessed her all day.

She called Rob and reached his voice mail. She also left a message for Thomas that she was safe. The dogs gathered around her once more, so she spent time playing with them and wishing Rob would call.

Bill discussed making dinner and Laura looked at the sky. “Is it that late already?” She glanced at her watch.

He laughed. “Jet lag and an unfamiliarity with Montana summers. It’s after seven.”

“You’re kidding.” She looked at his watch and reset hers with a twinge of regret. It was one less connection to home. It felt like a week had passed instead of hours. It was still only Tuesday afternoon.

Nothing exciting had happened to him since his return from Florida. He flew tourists, hunters, supplies, mail, and medical patients between the Livingston and Bozeman areas to and from more isolated locales.

His career started after he graduated from the Air Force academy. While training to be a pilot, he was injured in a football game after hours, nearly breaking his neck. The injury was life-threatening and enough to keep him out of a fighter cockpit.

He had a medical discharge, flight training, but not enough to get him a job with a large airline. He opted for private enterprise and a friend of his hooked him up with a charter company in the northwest. Within a year he opened his own company with two other pilots working for him. He lived well and didn’t miss the hot Florida summers.

“The bugs are nasty though. You wouldn’t believe.”

“Nastier than Florida?”

He laughed. “Laur, we’ve got mosquitoes the size of pelicans.”

The evening grew chilly. After dinner, Bill lit a fire and they sat with the dogs and talked. Mostly Bill did the talking. Laura asked him questions, recalled fragments of memory, and had him clarify things. He talked about their parents. He told her about her fifth birthday, when she tried to play Rocket J. Squirrel to his Bullwinkle and nearly impaled herself on a fence when she jumped off a tree stump. He told her about grandparents, an aunt and uncle, a couple of cousins.

When the phone rang Bill answered it, passing it to Laura.

“Hi, honey. How you doin’?”

Rob’s voice was a welcomed sound. Bill discreetly left the room while they talked. Doogie missed her terribly, Steve and Carol said hi, and the police didn’t have any new developments.

“Have you checked your email lately?”

Her heart skipped. “Why? Do the police think he’s sent one?”

“No, silly. I sent you an email.”

She laughed. “Oh. Sorry. I guess I’m just super-suspicious.”

“With good reason.” They chatted for a few more minutes before he said good-bye. “I love you, baby girl. I’ll be out there soon, okay?”

“Okay, Sir. I love you, too.”

Bill returned a few minutes later. “I’ve got tomorrow off so it doesn’t matter if I pull a late one, but it’s got to be way past your bedtime.”

Laura looked at her watch and did a fast calculation, suddenly yawning. “I guess I am tired.”

He hugged her and they said good night. The double bed in his guest room, without someone next to her, felt huge.

She tried to put it into perspective. At least I’m alive to complain about it.

Before crawling into bed, she retrieved her iPad and punched in the password to hook it up to Bill’s wireless modem. She checked her email.

Sure enough, there was Rob’s message.

My sweet baby girl,

I promise I’ll do everything I can to get out there as soon as possible. I love you, and I miss you, but I also promised when you agreed to be Mine that I would protect you.

And I meant it.

Here are My orders: I want you to carry your collar with you everywhere. If you can wear it at night, do so. If not, that’s okay, but keep it with you in bed. Always carry it in your pocket or your purse, where you can touch it when you feel sad. And when you touch it, you think of Me. You think about how much I love you, and how once we’re through this, I’m going to stand up in front of all our friends and collar you as My slave before I marry you.

Email Me every morning when you wake up, and every evening before you go to bed. I know cell reception isn’t great out there, but if you can text Me, too, do that as well.

your loving Master.

The screen went blurry as she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as she silently sobbed over the message. The collar lay on the bed next to her. She picked it up and pressed it to her lips, inhaling and smelling the comforting, familiar scent of leather.

The scent of Him. Of the leather cuffs he buckled around her wrists and ankles before they played, of the leather floggers he used on her, of the black boots he sometimes wore to the club and she’d kneel with her forehead pressed against them.

It was his leather boots she dreamed about as she cried herself to sleep, alone.