Craigslist Lover Read online

  “I want to talk to your doctor, because all the articles I’ve read say six weeks. Is there something wrong with you that you’re not telling me?” His fingers grazed her hips. “I miss making love to my wife. I won’t wait too much longer, regardless of what that doctor says.”

  McKenzie swallowed. Would he force himself on her?

  “You’re going to have to come back to our room eventually,” he said, walking to the door. “That’s what you have a baby monitor for. Suit yourself.” Wayne closed the door.

  ***

  The next morning, McKenzie woke up to find a message from Tee.

  I’m so sorry, McKenzie… I was drunk. I know we made a deal if I overstepped, you would stop chatting with me, but I wasn’t in my right mind. My cousin and I were taking shots, and then I must’ve seen your message. I deeply apologize for my words.

  She sent a link to “Nobody Supposed To Be Here” by Deborah Cox, and turned off her cell phone, placing it in her purse. It was time to end things before there was no turning back, because what she was feeling was getting stronger with each word written.

  McKenzie went about her day, and this time it didn’t include Tee, a.k.a. her Blair Underwood.

  Chapter Nine

  McKenzie chuckled, looking at her brother and nephews on her laptop screen. Since Tee had opened up the Pandora’s box about her relationship with her family, she’d reached out more to her brother and parents. She hadn’t messaged her chat boo in two weeks, even though every morning and night, she was tempted to reinstall the app. McKenzie missed Tee, but kept herself busy.

  “Angela said were coming down to visit you soon. I want to personally meet my only nephew. That boy is getting big. That’s what a mother’s milk does. How’s Wayne?”

  McKenzie shrugged her shoulders. “I guess he’s okay.”

  “Damn.” Shawn laughed. “It’s like that. Is he treating you right? You know I’ll come down and put his ass in check.”

  “Like you did with Joe in high school?” They both chuckled. “You scared the shit out of him.”

  “He should’ve thought about what he was doing before he touched your butt.” Shawn raised his eyebrow. “What was he thinking, grabbing you in front of your big brother?”

  “He wasn’t.” She covered her mouth, giggling. McKenzie heard Wayne pull up in the garage, and moments later he entered the house, slamming the wooden door. “He didn’t even look at me after that.”

  Shawn laughed. “Good.”

  Wayne walked in the kitchen and dropped his briefcase on the counter. “Who the fuck are you talking to, bitch?”

  “What did he just call you?” Shawn stood up from his couch.

  In an unexpected move, Wayne grabbed her laptop and threw it against the wall, snapping it in two.

  McKenzie jumped off her stool. “Why did you do that?”

  “Who the fuck were you talking to?” he huffed.

  “That was my brother!” she yelled. “You think you’re crazy? Shawn is insane, and you just gave him an insight of what’s going on in this house.”

  “Is that who you meet every day at the park?”

  “What?” McKenzie stared at him. How had he found out?

  “You thought I didn’t know your every move?”

  “You have a tracker on my phone?” she asked, feeling more violated than she’d ever had before. “How dare you?”

  “How dare I what?” he yelled. “You’ve been meeting your lover while I’m busting my ass working for this family.”

  “I haven’t been meeting anyone but the trees and benches.” Wayne’s nose flared at her sarcasm. “I take Caleb for a stroll every day, because both of us need some air. This house is suffocating.” McKenzie looked over at her laptop. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t feel like it.”

  “You think you’re ever leaving me?” The vein in his neck started throbbing. “I will kill you and whoever that fool is. Do you hear me? You’re mine!”

  “Go ahead and do that. You’ll be killing an imaginary lover.” She walked away and was about to pick up her laptop off the floor when he forcefully turned her around to face him.

  “Don’t you dare dismiss me.” The flat of his palm met her left cheek with surprising impact. “You’re fucking cheating on me.”

  Then he punched her in the left eye.

  Instantly, she felt her face swell up. He grabbed her shoulders and vigorously pushed her, making her fall on her ass. “I’ve been faithful to you all these years and you betray me. I give you everything,” he hollered, picking up the stools one by one and throwing them at the wall next to her. She covered herself with her hands. Wayne clenched his jaw as he stepped closer to her and kicked her in the side.

  McKenzie leaned over in pain. “Please stop…” She whimpered between breaths. “I didn’t do…anything…wrong.” The sudden taste of cooper in her mouth made her want to gag. With the back of her hand, she wiped the blood running down her chin. Inhaling, then exhaling, McKenzie stared at the red spots on the white tiles. She was done being the victim.

  “This is all your fucking fault.” Wayne pointed, staring at her. “Why? No one will love you. No one wants you,” he spat. “Look at you! What other man would want a worthless woman and a kid. No one!” he yelled, snatching her cell phone from her purse on the chair and throwing it on the ground and stamping on the gadget. He slipped off his belt and started whipping her like she was a kid. He swung with all his might, hitting her arms and legs, places that wouldn’t be seen to the public eye.

  She grabbed her face in pain. Her whole body was feeling the effects of her husband’s hands. He’d destroyed all her communication with the outside world. “No weapons formed against me shall prosper,” McKenzie chanted, glaring at the devil reincarnated as he took a break from attacking her. She hadn’t done anything wrong. I’m tired of this shit. She took a deep breath, and searched the kitchen for the first thing she could use as a weapon. There was no way she could physically attack him and win. He was stronger than she was. McKenzie crawled, and then stood, grabbing the pot off the stove. She threw it at his head, missing him by a centimeter.

  Wayne stepped back. “Bitch, you fucking crazy?”

  “Yes, I’m bat-shit crazy!” She snatched a large frying pan and rushed forward, and with all her strength, struck him on his shoulder as he tried to grip the metal, and then on his back as he bent down in pain. The belt fell on the floor, and she kicked it away. “This fucking stops today!” McKenzie continued her assault. He tried to escape her but she followed him. “How does it feel?” She swung as fast as she could.

  “Stop!” he yelled. Wayne rushed forward, bumping her stomach with his head, and pushed her back, making her stumble. “You’re going to pay.” He grabbed the pot handle, forcing it away from her. “I warned you…”

  As he lunged for her, McKenzie snatched a knife off the rack by the kitchen. “If you take another step, I’m going to cut you.” Blood dripped from the wound she had on her left eyebrow. And then the pain struck her. Her head was pounding and her arms, legs, and stomach ached from the impacts from the heel of his shoe.

  He took a step, daring her. McKenzie inched forward, cutting his elbow.

  His eyebrows met. “You cut me?” Wayne clutched his elbow, watching the blood run down his hand.

  “I’m leaving this house today!” she hollered, glaring at him. “If you try to stop me, I’m calling the cops.” Her hands trembled.

  “With what?” Wayne stared at her shattered phone and then placed his hands on his knees, taking short breaths. “You want to play games.”

  She could smell the liquor on his breath. “This isn’t a game. I’m done!” Her chest heaved up and down. McKenzie never once released the knife. She would fight her way out of this house if it was the last thing she did.

  He turned and marched up the stairs. McKenzie dropped the knife and ran to the baby’s room. She grabbed Caleb and snuggled her son to her chest, then ran out of the nursery and straight into Wayne, who stood in the living room with a gun in his hand.

  “Where do you think you’re going with my son?”

  McKenzie’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She held on tightly to her lifeline. “Wayne, please don’t.”

  “Now you’re begging.” He smirked, aiming the gun at her and then at Caleb. “If you try to leave this house or even think of calling the cops, I’ll kill him first,” he pointed at the baby’s head, “then you.” Wayne steered at her next. “Lastly, I will join my family. Don’t dare me, McKenzie. You’re not going anywhere.”

  Wayne had lost his mind. When did he get a gun?

  “Give me my son,” Wayne demanded.

  “No!”

  “You don’t have a choice.” He stepped closer and placed the muzzle of the gun to her temple. Her entire body was shaking. Her heart thumped so hard, it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. “I won’t hurt him as long as you do as I say.” Wayne forcefully took Caleb from her trembling arms, making her cry out.

  “Please, Wayne,” she begged. “Don’t hurt him. He’s innocent in all this.”

  Wayne positioned the gun in his pants and then placed his fingers around Caleb’s little neck. Her little boy just giggled, thinking his father was tickling him.

  “Wayne, I swear I won’t leave. I’ll do anything you want me to. Please give me back my baby,” she sobbed, blood and snot running down her lips. “Please…” She got down on her knees. “Please, please!” she shouted.

  Wayne looked down at her with a smirk. “Go clean yourself up. My son and I will be in the family room.” Walking away, he kissed Caleb on the cheek, then twisted back around. “I would never hurt my flesh and blood. You, though, you’re another story. Get up!” he yelled. “Don’t bother us until
I call for you.” His eyes were empty. “You belong to me!”

  McKenzie cried louder and louder. Her chest hurt like no other time. She couldn’t take the pain she was feeling in her heart. She couldn’t even defend her own son. This was why she’d never wanted children with Wayne. Now he held all the power over her. McKenzie would never leave this house without her son.

  “He wouldn’t hurt him, he wouldn’t hurt him,” she mumbled over and over as she slowly stood up. Pain shot through her body, making her bend over in agony.

  He’ll kill you, Kenzie! The words echoed in her mind and then she remembered her iPad.

  She stumbled into the nursery, locked the door, and searched for the gadget. McKenzie grabbed the baby’s pillow and picked it up. “Please, please…” She hadn’t messaged Tee in two weeks, but he was her only hope. She installed the app as fast as she could, and typed.

  TEE!

  McKenzie and Tee had made a pact that if they needed to talk to each other immediately, they would use all caps. In a few seconds he responded. “Thank God,” she breathed.

  What’s wrong?

  He has my son. He won’t let us leave this fucking house.

  Did he fucking hit you again?

  She looked around the nursery.

  Yes, he dangled a gun at my son and circled his hand around his neck. I think he’s lost it. He pointed a gun at me and Caleb. He said he won’t hurt him, if I stay.

  817-555-1212 call me now!

  McKenzie’s hands shook as she lowered the volume on the device and dialed his number on the text-free app. This could be a mistake, but she would risk it for her son.

  “Babe…” His voice was husky with a country twang. “What’s your address?”

  “The police will only make things worse,” she whispered. “Wayne will crack, and probably kill my baby.” She sobbed, hearing her baby’s cries. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. “I’m going to kill him—”

  “Your address, now!”

  “725 Magnolia Drive.”

  “Zip?”

  “98980.”

  “Don’t do anything. I’m on my way.”

  The tears wouldn’t stop running, the mixture of tears and blood spilling onto her shirt. She scribbled his number on a piece of paper and placed the iPad underneath the baby’s blanket. Caleb started crying like someone was killing him. McKenzie’s heart ached as she cracked the door, and then tiptoed down the hall to make sure Caleb wasn’t in danger. She watched from the corner as Wayne picked him up from his bouncer and tried to calm him down.

  “Your daddy got you. That bitch isn’t leaving us now or ever. She loves you too much,” Wayne said as he patted Caleb on the back.

  Caleb stared into Wayne’s eyes, and grinned.

  Chapter Ten

  Toby Wheeler took off his hardcover and threw it on his desk on the way out of his office. He’d warned her about that motherfucker. He was already having a bad day. When he’d seen her message, he’d thought—hoped—she going to write how much she missed him. Instead, he’d gotten the message he’d dreaded. According to Kenzie, her husband hadn’t touched her in weeks. As soon as he’d heard her sweet voice, he’d felt the danger she was in. There were many times he had to step away from his phone when he chatted with Kenzie, because she wouldn’t listen to his warnings about her husband. Toby hadn’t been able to save his aunt, but he prayed he could save Kenzie and her little boy.

  He closed his eyes for a brief moment, remembering the scene like it had happened yesterday. He was a little kid, playing outside with his cousin as his uncle and aunt argued. It was a normal occurrence in their home, until that day. His aunt had come out of the trailer yelling for him to stop, and the next thing he remembered was hearing a loud firecracker go off. Toby and his cousins stood, looking up to the sky, waiting for colorful sparkles but instead, his aunt was on the ground. He could still smell the gunpowder, could still hear his cousins’ agonized cries at seeing their mother lying on the ground with a bullet hole in her head, blood gushing down to the ground down next to her body.

  A muscle in Toby’s jaw twitched. Kenzie wouldn’t die under his watch.

  “Where are you going?” his cousin Eric asked, coming out of the lunchroom.

  Toby’s nose flared. “He fucking hit her again. I’m going to go get her.”

  “What? Tell me you’re not talking about your online crush.” Eric raised his eyebrow, watching him. “Are you fucking crazy? You don’t know if anything she has told you is true. Dude, you haven’t even seen her. Think about it. What if this is a setup? Then what?”

  “I’ll take my chances.” Toby walked out of the building with his cousin in tow. Eric grabbed his shoulder, stopping him, and Toby smacked his hand away. “I’m going!”

  “Calm down. If you insist, I’m coming with you. Let me grab my stuff.” Eric ran into the building. Toby continued to his pickup truck, pulled open the door, and jumped in. He programmed his GPS to her address and then took off. He wasn’t going to put his cousin in a dangerous situation. Eric couldn’t afford another run in with the cops. He looked through the rearview mirror and he saw his cousin hollering.

  His cell phone rang; he already knew who it was. Toby touched the Ignore button, and raced to the highway. He glanced at the GPS. Fuck! She lived over an hour away.

  He broke all the speed limits. Toby was taking a chance with his own life, showing up at Kenzie’s house. What if Eric was right and this was a setup? But what if she was telling the truth? Toby wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt of the what-if.

  Toby banged his fist on the steering wheel. “Move out of the fucking way,” he yelled, blowing his horn. Swerving in between cars, he even used the emergency lane. What if this was really a set up? He was nervous as well. He was finally going to see what his chat boo looked like. He’d envisioned Malin Akerman on the other side. What if she wasn’t close to what he’d imagined? That wouldn’t matter, she was his friend, and he was loyal to a fault.

  In the last six and a half months, Kenzie had become his addiction. It had been fun getting to know her from behind the screen. Her words captivated him. The lady was intelligent and funny, two of the top qualities he loved in a woman.

  Toby had originally placed the ad because he’d lost a bet at work. His co-workers had laughed, making jokes about all the crazy people he was going to hear from. His initial thought had been that only psychos, desperate people, placed and replied to ads in sites like Craigslist. Now, though, he wasn’t so sure. After all the replies he’d received, Kenzie’s had been the one to call his attention. Toby had received an email from Kenzie the day he’d been scheduled to delete the ad. The bet was only supposed to last a week. The only person he’d shared about Kenzie was his cousin Eric, who’d told him multiple times to be careful. And he’d replied that he had nothing to worry about, because he wasn’t going to actually meet her.

  What had started as a fucking joke had become really serious to him over the months. Their paths were meant to cross. He didn’t know why, but he knew it wasn’t a coincidence that they’d found each other.

  Toby pressed his foot down on the gas pedal.

  ***

  With the back of her hand, McKenzie wiped the blood from her nose. “I had to do it…I had to…” she chanted. “Tee will come through for me. He is all the help I have left. I don’t want Wayne to kill us.” She got down on her knees. “Lord, please, please keep my baby safe…” While Wayne routinely threatened their son, he’d never actually physically threatened him until this day.

  “McKenzie!” Wayne called out. “Stop hiding! Our son is hungry and I don’t have tits.”

  She slowly rose from the floor, and made her way to the family room, where the two of them were. He looked up at her from the leather couch.

  “Did you calm down?” He asked like nothing had happened. The gun was sitting right next to him on the couch.

  She nodded her head.

  “I can’t hear you?” He cupped his ear.

  “Yes!” she yelled. “Now give me my son.” McKenzie stepped in front of him.