Page 126 of Brassy Bigwig

I almost feel bad for Blake at this point. I’ve held so much anger toward him, and rightfully so, but this time he really didn’t do anything. Meanwhile, I’ve been living with my latest stalker. No wonder the letters stopped when I moved back in.

“It was the perfect cover up. Make it seem like it was him and no one would ever suspect me. Soon after, I started sending the letters. I knew I couldn’t go the same route Blake did. Besides, my way was smarter. Some letters here, a few carefully scheduled text messages there. I made sure they would be delivered when I was going to be in the same room as you. You wouldn’t see me sending anything. And I was able to watch every single move you made, too.”

Oh god.The security tapes. How long was he watching us for?

“Only, my plan backfired when you moved in with that fucker. I didn’t know what I could do to make you leave. Then after watching one of your more provocative sexual encounters where you were on the dining room table—you’ll never believe how much I came watching that one, Chloe. It was impressive. I’m getting hard again just thinking about it.”

As his eyes roll backward into his head, I dry heave so hard I can taste stomach acid in the back of my throat. I have to get this tape off of me before I choke on my own throw up.

“Unfortunately, my manager was alerted soon after to my unauthorized access, and I was fired. Thankfully, I’d been planting additional hidden cameras all over D’s penthouse every time we came for a visit. I needed more angles, Chloe. I became obsessed with watching every move you made. Don’t worry, I put them all over the apartment, too. Especially in your room and bathroom.”

My breathing increases, and my mouth turns with disgust the longer I look at him.

“Back to the video. It may have gotten me fired, but it gave me a great idea. Blackmail. At that time, I was pretty sure you’d be more willing to act for Shelby’s benefit than your own. But then you had us over for dinner, and you made it clear the video wasn’t enough for you to leave him. Luckily, I already had another package waiting with your video in it. But still, you stuck to your guns.”

The only positive to come out of this is knowing neither of those videos will actually make it onto the internet.

“That’s when I knew I needed to kick it up a notch. Now that I was no longer employed, it left me with more time to follow D. He puts on a pretty good act, but no one is that perfect. I knew I would catch him doing something incriminating, eventually. I never anticipated he had a secret ex-wife though. Watching him sit across from her at dinner was like finding buried treasure.”

I remember Shelby saying Reed was working the night D went out to dinner with Emilia. That he didn’t get home until late.

“I scoured the city for a photo lab that was open late until I found one. I wanted to send those pictures out to you as soon as possible. But I had to wait until you were by yourself. I couldn’t have him getting to them first. So when I heard you weren’t going into work the next morning, I hurried to the courier and put a rush delivery on the package to make sure it got to you within a few hours. I thought for sure you’d be angry, but I never expected you to come home to me that night.”

My mind, whether because of the effects of the Rohypnol, from hitting my head against the bed earlier, or from being forced to sit here as Reed details his sick obsession with me, is aching. I’m getting tired and suddenly I feel like I could fall asleep.

“Ah, ah, Chloe.” Reed smacks my cheeks to get my attention. “I can’t have you falling asleep yet, and risk getting a concussion. It would throw a huge wrench in our travel plans.”

Travel plans?

The thought of going anywhere with him brings on another wave of tears.

“I’m almost finished, I promise. Then, I have a video I want to show you. After that, I can let you rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”

What the fuck does he have planned?

“Where was I? Oh. How could I forget…? You’d returned to me. Yeah, you were sad. Your red-rimmed eyes made the blue in them pop, though, and made you even more desirable in my opinion. I watched you all day from my phone. At night, while Shelby was asleep, I would pull up your live feed and watch you. You struggled so much to make yourself come. You were so sexually frustrated. One night, I nearly came in to give you a hand, but then Shelby woke up to use the bathroom and ruined everything. After that, all I could do was jerk off while I watched you. I waited until you came, though. As a gentleman should.”

I don’t care about getting a concussion, I pray for sleep to steal away my consciousness. I can’t handle hearing anymore. It’s literally killing me inside. With every word that leaves his mouth, I feel another part of me die.

“Anyway, everything was going along smoothly until you came home last night talking about your little reconciliation. I couldn’t let that happen, Chloe. I knew there would come a time when I would need to take you with me, but I thought it would be a little longer before you jumped into bed with someone again. When you proved me wrong, I had to act fast. I called the spa manager this morning and told her I needed her to clear the schedule for Shelby. You know how people jump when they hear her name, so she was happy to do it. I needed her away from you for as long as possible, without access to her phone so she wouldn’t cause any issues.”

Screaming as loud as I can through the tape, I thrash my head back and forth. But the pain from hitting my head earlier starts throbbing even more, and I have to stop. I relax the muscles in my neck, letting my head fall forward as I try to shake the tape loose from around my mouth. I need him to stop talking. I can’t listen to any more of this. Finally, I lick my way through my lips and manage to push on the duct tape covering my mouth enough to cause one of the corners to detach itself from my face. That little corner is all I need to work more of it from my lips.

“Shut up!” I scream. “You’re a crazy psychopath, and I will never go anywhere with you. Ever! D is going to find me, and once he does, he’s going to kill you, you son of a bitch!”

“Chloe, don’t ruin this day before we get to the best part. We haven’t watched the movie I have planned yet.”

Gripping the back of my chair, he tilts it backward so I feel like I’m falling. Turning it on one leg, he places me upright again, directly in front of the television. When he’s finished, he pulls a knife out from the waistband of his jeans and cuts the duct tape off of my right wrist, releasing it from the armrest but maintains a tight grip around it. He shows me the knife and delivers a warning.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Chloe, but I will if I have to. Leave your hand on the arm rest until we’re ready to use it. I don’t think it will take long.”

With that, he turns the television on and presses play. That’s when I realize him telling me the story of how he pulled all of this off was nothing compared to what I was about to endure.

He drops down on one knee next to my chair with the knife in his left hand. With his right hand, he gently moves my hair off of my neck and over my other shoulder.

“I love watching you play with yourself on camera, Chloe. But I’ve been dying to see it in person. Touch yourself for me. I want you to mimic the actions you’re making on the screen.”

As my body trembles, I can’t see myself on the television any longer. My tears are too thick. Reed begins to cut my shorts from my body, and I pray D finds me before it’s too late.

Wherever you are, please, please come to me. Follow me to the bottom of the deep blue sea. I can feel the weight of my situation crushing my body as I sink deeper into its depths. The longer Reed forces me to watch this horror movie, the closer to death I become.

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