Page 46 of Her Prince in Disguise
Somehow, he had to get that laptop back! Sure, the legal files would be protected, but not the surveillance videos or the videos of his time in the playroom! And Lawrence had stupidly labeled those files by the women’s real names!
This was bad! Really bad!
Stepping back, he stood with his back against the wall of bookshelves. He’d personally curated the books on these shelves. He’d chosen the books for both their appearance and their titles. Every time he looked at the titles, he felt a surge of power. Not that he’d read the books, but everyone who cameinto his home was impressed. And, he had read the summaries, so if anyone asked, he could easily discuss the topics contained within the text.
Ben sighed as more personal items were brought out in evidence bags. Lawrence watched, fuming when they took away the toys he kept in his bedroom. Those were more for the occasional one-night stand and weren’t anywhere near as risqué.
After an hour, the police searching the home slowed down. Ben finally turned to Lawrence. But as punishment for being an ass, Lawrence refused to look at Ben. The rejection would last right up until their next poker game.
“We need to search this room. Would you step into the kitchen or out onto the front lawn?”
Lawrence’s eyes snapped to Ben’s, his heart pounding. But no, the police wouldn’t find anything. They’d have to go through all the books on this bookshelf to find anything!
So, he stepped aside, waving magnanimously to the room. “Whatever,” he snarled and moved into the kitchen. He’d act like he wasn’t even interested. He’d make a sandwich, he thought to himself. Yeah, a sandwich and a beer. That’s what he’d do! What better way to prove to the idiots that he wasn’t concerned!
He’d just taken his first bite of a sandwich when he heard the sound. The swooshing sound! No! Oh, hell no! Lawrence didn’t even hear the crash of his beer bottle hitting the floor. His whole focus was on racing towards the sound and stopping the police from finding his…!
“You can’t go down there!” he bellowed. Immediately, two officers grabbed his arms, pulling him away from the now open hidden door to his playroom. “Stay the hell away from there!”
They ignored him. “I’ll sue every damn one of you!”
All but the two officers holding him back and one more, who stood in front of Lawrence, his hand lightly resting on his weapon, went down the stairs. Even from where he stood, Lawrence could hear the terrified screams of the woman down in the basement. Damn, he loved those screams! He’d given that woman that fear. He’d shown her pain but the woman, he couldn’t remember her name, hadn’t yet realized how pleasurable pain could be. She needed so much more training!
Now it would all be for nothing!
“Get away from me! Don’t touch me!” he heard her scream. There were several muffled voices. Lawrence assumed they were Ben and the officers. Several minutes later, there was sobbing. He heard the clanking of the chains and Lawrence tried to pull free from these bastards so that he could go down into his playroom and see the woman one more time. Just once more!
Suddenly, his wrists felt the cold snap of handcuffs. He looked around, ready to blast whoever had dared cuff him! The indignity of being handcuffed was just…!
“We need an ambulance down here!” someone called up the stairs.
“She’s fine!” Lawrence yelled, pulling at his arms again. “Shewantsto be down there!”
A moment later, Ben carried a woman up the stairs. She was whimpering, hiding her face in Ben’s shoulder as he carried her out of the basement, out of his playroom!
She was no longer naked though. She had Ben’s shirt wrapped around her. The woman looked like she was drowning in the oversized shirt but what truly infuriated Lawrence was that the damn shirt covered up his art.
When she saw him, the woman ripped herself out of Ben’s arms, screaming like a banshee. Lawrence felt her nails rip through his face, drawing blood. He screamed in pain.
“How do you like it, you bastard!” the woman shrieked, continuing to rake at his face and neck. Lawrence pulled away as far as the officers holding his arms would allow, which wasn’t much.
Thankfully, two officers restrained the woman, pulling her out the door. Lawrence turned to glare balefully at Ben. “I’m going to sue you all!” he snarled. “You invaded my privacy. You allowed me to be hurt while in police custody!” He felt the blood trickle down his lip. “Get me medical help! Immediately!”
Ben sighed, writing something else down on that clip board. “An ambulance is on the way, but our priority is the victim, Mr. Hoffmeier,” Ben replied.
Lawrence swallowed past the thick lump growing in his throat. If Ben was using his last name, Lawrence knew he was in big trouble! After a stunned moment, Ben walked over to stand directly in front of Lawrence.
“Mr. Hoffmeier, you have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. You have the right…” he continued,reciting the Miranda warning he knew by heart. He was being arrested? But…they hadn’t even looked at his laptop!
“On what charges?” Lawrence demanded.
Ben’s eyes widened, then he sighed. “Kidnapping. Assault. I’m guessing that rape charges will be added.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When someone answered, he said, “We need a CSI team in here. I want to know how many victims have been in that hell hole.”
Then Ben looked at the officers holding Lawrence’s arms. “Get him out of here!”
Chapter 33
The night after Lawrence’s arrest, Andi curled up on Laith’s lap, completely naked, and sighed with satisfaction. “You’re amazing,” she whispered, stretching up to kiss his jaw. He’d turned on the television so they could watch the news, which showed Lawrence’s arrest, an explanation that they found evidence of approximately fifteen women who had been held against their will in his secret dungeon, as well as the neighbors’ horrified reactions to the news that the man they’d thought was so kind and funny was actually a serial rapist and kidnapper.
