Rock Radio - By Lisa Wainland Page 0,96

Cody spat, anger pulsing through his body. He began pacing back and forth, unable to deal with the rage that was overtaking him.

“Cody, he’s changed. We’ve been spending time together,” she turned to glance lovingly at Kevin. “It’s okay.”

“I knew this was a mistake, Jane,” his dad said in a frustrated southern drawl, the drawl that was the predecessor to every fight.

“No, he hasn’t changed!” Cody yelled taking in the man he hadn’t seen in a lifetime. Kevin had lost some hair and gained quite a bit of weight. He now sported a thick beard that was colored brown, copper and gray. His eyes were dull, lifeless and mean.

“He has Cody…I see him a lot. I’m not alone anymore. I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Cody eyed his mother. She had fallen back in with him. “What about the money I gave you? Is he where it’s going?”

“Cody,” she said softly, “it’s not like that.”

One look outside the window again at the large, shiny new pick-up truck told Cody it probably was.

“Did I pay for that truck? His truck?” he said, voice low and quavering.

His mother looked at him silently.

“Did I?” he yelled.

She whispered. “Yes.”

“Aw, Jane you dummy, I told ya t’lie to him! What the hell did you do that for?”

Cody looked at them both with blind rage. They weren’t his parents, they were two despicable people who deserved each other.

“You are dead to me,” he said to both of them and stormed out of the house.

“Cody!” his mom called out, running to catch him.

“Jane, don’t bother, he ain’t worth it,” Cody heard his father say and then heard the crunch of his mother’s footsteps retreating toward the house.

Cody got into his car, screeched out of the driveway and never looked back.

Chapter 67

The first thing Dana noticed was a headache. An aching, throbbing headache. Groggily she tried to rub her head, but couldn’t. She felt extreme resistance...her hands were restrained. Dana opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

Nothing but pitch black.

Fear struck fast. She felt a cold hard floor beneath her face. She wriggled her legs, they too were bound. Lucidity came quickly to her foggy mind. She’s was trapped but how did she get here? Her mind raced to what she could remember. She got off the plane and got in the limousine...and then...what then...? She couldn’t remember anything after she got in the limo...the limo from Cody.

Unless the limo wasn’t from Cody.

Fear took a stranglehold hold of her. The driver never said the limousine was from Cody. She said it. In fact he didn’t say much about Cody at all.

It was a set up.

But who? Why? And what the hell would happen next?

Horrible thoughts flooded Dana’s brain. Her heart raced and her breath grew short. She was panicking. Breathe, Dana, breathe, she told herself, panic won’t get you out of this.

Then she realized she wasn’t gagged.

“Help! Help!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help me!”

Larry shot up from his bed. He could hear muffled cries for help. Damn it...she was awake. He looked at the clock, it was Monday morning and he’d overslept. Larry jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He wanted to shower and dress nicely for his first encounter with Dana, but that was not to be. Cries for help reverberated through the walls. With lightning speed, he raced down the stairs.

“I’m here!” he called back.

Dana stopped yelling. What voice was that? Was it help? Or was it her captor?

She heard keys and then the door was opening. She squinted at the bright light and tried to make out the dark, shadowy man kneeling outside the room.

“Dana, it’s okay, I’m here,” he said softly.

“Are you here to help me?”

“I’m here to save you...”

“Oh thank...” she started to say.

“...save you from your life alone. Dana, I’m your soul mate. It’s me, Larry.”

“Larry?” she asked in fear, trying to place the name, the voice, the face.

“Larry Carter. We talk all the time.”

Larry Carter.

The psycho listener.

Her heart lurched. She tried to stay calm, to stay in control.

“Larry,” Dana said as evenly as possible, “why do you have me here tied up like this then?”

“Dana,” he said, “you never would have given me a chance if I hadn’t brought you here like this.”

“But I’m in pain.”

“Dana, I’m sorry about that, but I had to do what I had to do to save you and bring us together.”

“I don’t need saving.” Anxiety was thick in her voice.

“Yes you do,” he said