What They Deserve

TWENTY-FOUR

Her voice sounded strained as he listened to the voicemail. He knew Willow had expected him to call or text her before it had been twenty-four hours since their date and he would at some point, but not today. Contacting her wasn’t a priority at the moment. She was just going to have to wait her turn.

Even if he didn’t have other things to worry about, he wasn’t so sure he was quite ready to see or talk to her again. It still bothered him that her striptease for the world had triggered his anger the way it had. He managed to push it away and focused on his other conquest.

The previous night had been spent trying to get information out of Raven and it had continued into the morning. His goal was to figure out how she planned to get home. 

Hey beautiful. I just thought about it. You didn’t tell me if you wanted me to pick you up from the airport when you got back.

Almost an hour went by before he received an oh yeah. Forgot. 

So, you want me to be your knight in shining armor? ; )

Another extended period of time passed. I dunno.

At this point, his frustration was morphing into anger. 

It continued to be a long wait as she kept ignoring his messages for chunks of time and each response was vague. Determined to get something out of her, he took cat naps throughout the night, expecting to get an actual answer each time he woke.

If you want to take a cab, I understand. 

This text went ignored even longer and his temper flared.

Or did you plan to get your friend, Willa? April had mentioned Willow a few times, so he felt getting her name wrong might catch her attention. But there still wasn’t any response.

Furious things weren’t going the way he expected, he tossed his phone down and decided to give it a break. He knew it wasn’t that he was being overbearing; she’d had more than ample time to respond to each text. Telling himself that she was busy wasn’t helping at all either. She’d always been quick to answer any messages before whether she was working or not. All he was doing was allowing his anger to rise with each text that didn’t give him the answer he was wanting. And that was making him feel like he was losing control of the situation.

In an effort to regain his sanity, he dressed for a jog and made his way to the sidewalk. For a short second, he considered not doing something so strenuous. He’d had very little sleep after all. But he figured the exercise would be more beneficial than just sitting around.

As much as he liked the park, he didn’t want to go there. Instead, he weaved his way between pedestrians as he made his way along. The music blared in his ears, booming hard rock songs to match his dark mood. The longer he listened to it, the harder he pushed himself. He hadn’t realized that his jog had turned into a strong run until he found himself standing in front of the art deco building, panting as he admired the details.

Something about the beauty of the place calmed him and his breathing began to return to normal. He decided to go inside. He’d been wanting to ever since that first night. 

As usual, people were absorbed in their own affairs to pay him any attention as he slipped through the gap in the doors.

While at night, there had been a certain magic to the once grand hotel, the day broadcasted the shamble it had fallen into. 

Walking around, he was still captivated, imagining how glorious it had been in its heyday. After inspecting the staircase, he figured he’d be okay to go up them. Taking his time was easy as he let his eyes roam the room, enjoying how the view shifted as he went up.

It wasn’t a very big hotel. With a total of twenty-four rooms, each boasting luxuries only the hoity toity could have afforded, there were only two floors. What would have been the penthouse suite had a prominent position overlooking the backside of the building where he imagined the view had been of a spruce and lively walking garden. Now, he stared at other buildings and the busy street below.

Feeling at peace, he made his way back downstairs and out to the sidewalk. A woman did a double take and cast him a look of disapproval as she hurried along.

Startling him out of his state of bliss, the alert on his phone went off, telling him he had a new message. With a groan, he pulled it out of the arm band to see that Raven had decided to give him the answer he’d been waiting for.

I don't want to bother you with getting me. I won't be getting in until super late and you have work the next day. 

He knew the underlying message of her words was that she expected him to be the one to pick her up. And even if that wasn’t true, he wasn’t giving her a choice. I'll be there. Just send me the flight info, he typed back.

It didn’t take her long to send it to him followed by a brief apology, she’d had a long and busy day, a goodnight, and kissing emojis.

His mind was whirling with everything he had to do as he typed in his sleep tight wishes and some hearts. If he had still been angry, he would have gagged at playing the lovesick fool she thought he was. 

Focusing on his to-do list, he made mental notes. Just before going to get her, he had to find a car. There was no way he could take her to the rail yard in a cab or any other driving service. No one could know where she would go from the airport and he needed as few people as possible to even see her. There also was no way he was going to buy a vehicle. The less of a trail he left behind, the better. But he knew just where he could go to steal a car that no one would care about.

His next move, after he had her, would be to get rid of his phone. After each punishment he bought a new phone, just a burner, and destroyed it afterward. In this case, he had two; one for Raven and the other for Willow.

He knew he had to have his supply of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid ready and on his when he picked her up. He didn't plan to have her conscious for too long once she was with him. He'd take her straight to her new residency and wait for the drug to wear off. Once she regained consciousness, then her punishment would begin.

With an uplifted attitude, he decided that some breakfast would be great. Even though he felt reinvigorated, he was a bit famished after his run.