Chapter 14

He made it to practice on time, with several minutes to spare, and spent the first part taking out his aggression on the field. Finally, his father pulled him out to talk to him.

"So ... I hear things got worked out," he said, sitting beside him on the bench.

"Yup," Jason said, nodding. "I got given some good advice by someone."

Mike nodded. "That's good. So what's with the freight-train act out on the field?"

"Remember the things I'd noticed that didn't seem right?" Jason asked, quietly. "I found a bunch more. I'm almost sure."

Mike considered for a moment. "Is there anything you can prove, son?"

Jason shook his head. "Not yet. But nobody manages to deep throat without gagging on their first blowjob."

"Could there have been other boys?" his father asked, frowning. "Or maybe she practiced? Some girls do."

"I doubt it," Jason said. "She was certainly inexperienced when she gave me a hand-job earlier today. And ... she acted worried and guilty after the blowjob. And she's acknowledged that there's something she can't tell me yet. I can't prove anything, but ... well, maybe she'll feel safe enough to tell me soon."

"If you think she's in danger, Jason, maybe we should talk with the police."

Jason sighed. "Problem is, I don't have any way to prove it. Just suspicions. I think there are some others who have suspicions too, though, so I'm going to talk to one of them later tonight. It might be that between the two of us we do have enough. If not, well ... I don't think she's in any immediate danger of anything new happening, if that makes sense."

Mike looked unhappy, but nodded. "It does. I don't like it, but it does. Just ... be careful. Don't put her in more danger by being a threat."

"Yeah."

"I think I'm going to stop by her house on the way home and ask her out for this Friday," Jason said.

"Will that get her in trouble, son?"

"I don't think so," he said. "Her dad actually seemed to like me, maybe because I play football."

Mike grunted noncommittally. "It's fine with me, then."

Jason shifted uneasily, the sense of unease that had been growing in him all through practice spiking.

"Something else bothering you?" his father asked.

Jason shook his head. "Not really. I'd just like to get to her house to ask her." He grinned a little wryly. "I miss her already. I'm not used to this."

Mike smiled indulgently, then glanced over to where the cheerleaders were practicing. "If I let you leave early, the girls'll be seriously disappointed, son. You're supposed to use their shower, you know."

"To be honest, dad, that doesn't break my heart after the way they treated Kylie," Jason said, frowning.

His father's brow wrinkled, and then he nodded thoughtfully. "After she beat the shit out of Candy, yeah, I should have expected them to sharpen their claws on her. How bad was it?"

Jason smirked. "They lost. Ask Mrs. Rourke about how badly Sherry got smacked down."

"Good. Watch out for those cats, too ... I doubt any of them'll go beyond nasty words, but you never know. But yeah, go on. Get showered and get out before they're done. You've just been sent home early for unnecessary violence on the field." Mike grinned.

"Thanks, dad," Jason said, grinning back. He hurried through the shower, finishing just as the cheerleaders filed in. They shot him nasty looks as he slipped out past them-- all but the little brunette, who smiled and winked at him.

When he reached Kylie's house, Jeb's car was parked outside. He walked up the steps to the porch and knocked on the door. No one answered, but he could hear the sound of a man screaming, barely loud enough to make out the words.

"Get out here, you cock-teasing little bitch! Don't you fucking hide from me, girl!"

His jaw firmed, and he tried the door to see if it was locked. Unless he missed his guess, he'd just gotten the confirmation he needed that Jeb was abusing Kylie.

He was going to enjoy this.

The door handle turned in his hand, and the door swung quietly open in time to hear another angry yell coming from upstairs.

"Kylie! Damn it, when I find you..."

He heard a roar of satisfaction as he reached the stairs. "HA! Found you, slut!" Kylie's panicked scream was cut off by a loud slap. "Shut the fuck up, cunt."

"Please Father, please don't ... please, I'll be good, please!" He heard something being dragged across the floor as he started up the stairs, moving as quietly as he could. He had to catch the man by surprise, or there was far too great a chance of Kylie getting hurt. He didn't think Jeb could give him a challenge, but if he got the chance to use Kylie as a hostage all bets were off, especially if he had a knife.

"You bet you will, cunt," he heard Jeb laugh. Kylie screamed again, and Jason heard frantic begging in what had to be Tibetan.

The stairs opened out onto a hall, with one door on the left, two on the right, and an open door at the end of the hall. Kylie's pleading came from the last door, and he moved towards it as rapidly as he could while remaining silent.

What he saw was the stuff of nightmares. A coarse rope had been twisted around Kylie's hair and went to a pulley hanging from the ceiling that was pulled tight, holding her on the very tips of her toes. Her wrists were pulled up behind her back, and and Jeb was tightening a strap on the collar that connected them to her neck. Her shirt was torn open down the front, and her bra torn as well, exposing one small breast. Lining the walls of the room were a variety of ... instruments ... suitable for causing pain but leaving minimal evidence, and handcuffs, chains, and leather straps were scattered around the room.

A heavy frame in the shape of an X took up one corner, and the other was filled with a sturdy, welded steel cage. Other than a couple of thick canes, he didn't see anything the man could use as a weapon, and he acted before they realized he was there.

"You're a dead man," he snarled, stepping into the room. Jeb whirled around, to be met with a fist to the solar plexus. He doubled over, and Jason's fist crashed down on the back of his head. Only Kylie's shocked, "Jason, no!" caused him to pull the blow; instead of a killing blow, as he had intended, it merely knocked the older man senseless, leaving him sprawled on the floor at Jason's feet.

"Jason ... oh no." Kylie hung in the ropes, sobbing brokenly. "No, no, no..."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out, forcing himself to stay calm. He picked up a pair of the handcuffs laying on the table and cuffed Jeb's hands behind his back, then cuffed his feet together. Before turning back to Kylie and letting her down, he dragged the man into the cage and locked the door. "It's okay. I've got you. You're safe."

She clung to him, crying, burying her face in his chest. "S-sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" he asked. "You didn't do anything, that bastard did. How long has he been molesting you?"

"F-for lying to you. I'm so s-sorry. Please d-don't hate me, oh god, please!"

He tilted her chin up. "Kylie, you asked me to trust you. I did. I suspected this, but I wasn't going to force you to talk about it. It's okay." He kissed her softly. "How long?"

"S-since the very f-first night. I can't stand it, I can't stand that you know!" Kylie pulled back from him and covered her face with her hands.

"Kylie, look at me. Look at me!"

She shook her head frantically. "I can't, I can't..."

"Trust me," he said, softly.

"Jason..." she whispered brokenly. Slowly, reluctantly, she raised her face to look at him, eyes full of pain and shame.

"I. Don't. Care," he said, staring into her eyes, trying to leave her with no room for doubt. "I wish this hadn't happened to you, but it doesn't change anything. At all. I still like you."

Kylie reached for him desperately. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I trust you. I need you, oh god ... please hold me, oh please!"

Jason pulled her close, holding her tight. "Kylie, there are some things I have to do now. Where's your phone?"

"NO!" She looked up at him with wide-eyed fear. "Don't leave me!"

He stood up, lifting her in his arms. "Okay. I won't. Is there a phone upstairs?"

"W-why? What are you going to do?"

"I have to call some people, Kylie," he said. "The police. My dad. Mr. Rourke."

Kylie started crying hysterically. "NO! You can't tell anyone! Please, please don't, please don't tell! I'll do anything, please don't tell..." Her pleas became garbled, an incomprehensible mix of English, Chinese, and Tibetan.

Jason glared at her father when he laughed nastily from the cage. "Shut the fuck up, asshole. You don't have a good way out. If I don't call the cops I'll just kill you. You'll never hurt her again."

"Aren't you just the hero, boy?" Jeb sneered. "You won't kill me, not in front of her. I trained the little whore well. She'll never testify against me. You're just the crazy boyfriend, jealous of even her loving father, who found out that I was a bit kinky and came up with a plan to accuse me of molesting my little angel to get rid of me." His almost-black eyes, nothing like Kylie's, glittered with a hint of madness, and he leered crookedly. "There's nothing wrong with it, boy. She likes it."

"NO! no no no no no!" Kylie cried.

Jason looked at her. "Kylie, I can't let him hurt you. And Mr. Rourke already suspects. So does his wife." He glared at Jeb. "She doesn't like it, and you damned well know it. I don't know what kind of a sick bastard could do that to his daughter, his own flesh and blood."

Jeb laughed maniacally. "Is that your problem? Hell, if that's all it is, don't worry. We can still share her. The cunt isn't my daughter. Her mother was a slut, too. Obnoxious bitch, turning her nose up at my friends but playing whore for every pencil-necked geek on campus. I've done better with Kylie. She's MINE you little shit! She'll never leave me, never!" He wrenched at the bars, tearing muscles in his arms, trying futilely to break them.

"He's lying!" Kylie said. "My mother wasn't like that! You cheated on her! She wasn't like YOU! I hate you I hate you I hate you!" She dissolved again into helpless tears. "Oh god, I want to die, oh please...""

"I think I need the phone. Right now," Jason said, slowly, an idea crystallizing in his head.

"Please ... please ... don't tell," Kylie said, her voice odd, the words sounding rehearsed. "You mustn't tell, you mustn't ever tell. We can't let anyone know. Please, please, I'll do anything to keep you from telling."

Jeb laughed and laughed, madness in his eyes, as he watched her.

"Kylie ... didn't you hear me? Mr. Rourke already knows." He carried her out of the room and down the hall. "Kylie, you're stronger than that. Trust me. Please."

She blinked, her eyes coming back into focus. "Jason? Oh, Jason ... oh god." She closed her eyes, shuddering, and nodded.

He kissed her. "Hey, do you know your dad's blood type?"

"What?" She looked at him tearfully. "Oh, Jason ... you don't believe that filthy lie, do you?!"

Jason looked at her steadily. "Frankly, Kylie, I hope it's the truth. That means you wouldn't be related to that ... that bastard. And I have a suspicion ... and if I'm right, you'll be very glad it's the truth." He kissed her. "Think about it, love, would it really bother you that much if your mother wasn't monogamous? That wouldn't mean she cheated on him, necessarily, just like you wouldn't be cheating on me if you slept with Steve. And yet, if I slept with Candy, I would be cheating on you."

"She ... she always told me ... it was the only way to be safe," Kylie said. "Never do it, never allow it, because he'll hurt you if you do. She wouldn't, Jason. She hated it. Two brothers asked her to marry when I was 5, but she turned them down because she believed in monogamy, that it was the only right way."

"But maybe she didn't always. Maybe she got hurt by that bastard upstairs, and decided that monogamy was the only way to be safe." He kissed her again, carefully navigating the stairs. "Wouldn't you rather not be related to him?"

Kylie shuddered. "I ... I don't know. I'm so confused, Jason. I'm so scared!"

"I know. I'm here. I'll keep you safe. Do you know his blood type?"

She shook her head.

"What about your mother's?" he asked.

"A positive."

"And yours?" he asked.

"I'm AB," she said.

"Does your dad have anything like medical records around here?" he asked, looking around for the phone.

"I don't think so." she said hesitantly, then frowned. "Wait ... he was in the army. Look on his key-chain by the door."

He carried her over to the door, and Kylie closed her eyes. "Jason ... I don't want to know!"

"I won't tell you then, unless I have to," he said.

She opened her eyes and sighed. "No ... I have to. You're right." She reached out and took them, sorting through the keys for the tag. She stared at the it, growing paler and paler, until she started to shiver uncontrollably, and her teeth began to chatter.

Jason looked down at it as she whispered, "Mama..."

The blood type was plainly designated as 'O+'.

Jason squeezed her. "Look at me."

Kylie took a deep, shuddering breath and looked at him, totally lost.

"Your mother was trying to protect you," he said. "She got hurt. She didn't want you to get hurt, because she loved you."

"I don't know what to believe anymore," she whispered.

"Believe this. She wanted you to be safe." He carried her over to the couch. "Can I set you down and call Mr. Rourke?"

Kylie clutched at him, shivering. "Jason, why do we have to tell anyone?"

"Because otherwise he can still hurt you. Kylie, trust me. Please." Jason looked at her pleadingly. "I haven't changed how I feel about you. Neither will Mr. Rourke.""

"I ... I trust you," she said, softly. "You can call. I wish you wouldn't. I don't think he would try anything again, not since you... know. I really don't."

"I do. Or he might kill you. He's not sane." He set her down and kissed her gently. "I'm going to call him. I'll be right over there."

Kylie nodded, pulling her legs up on the couch and wrapping her arms around them, as he walked over to the phone and dialed Mr. Rourke's number.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Rourke?" he said. "It's Jason. We've got a problem."

"What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm at Kylie's. I caught him in the act." He hesitated, and lowered his voice. "Mr. Rourke, this is important. What's your blood type?"

"Caught him-- where's Kylie? Is she okay?" Rourke asked, worried.

"She's right here on the couch," Jason said. "The bastard's handcuffed in a cage upstairs. Mr. Rourke, that really was an important question. So's this. Is there any chance you are Kylie's real father? That asshole isn't. Wrong blood type."

Dead silence for a moment. "What blood type is she?"

"AB."

"Dear god," Rourke said. "Call the police if you haven't, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"I'm about to," Jason replied. "And Mr. Rourke? Finding out her mother wasn't monogamous was a shock. She's pretty upset."

"I'll be there as fast as I can. Keep her away from him."

"Trust me," Jason said, before hanging up and dialing 911.

"911, nature of your emergency, location, and name please."

"My name is Jason Brickland," he said. "I'm at 1201 South Wisteria. I just caught my girlfriends father in the act of raping her. I need a cop here to get rid of him before I just kill him."

"I'm dispatching a unit now. Where is the suspect right now? Are you in the house with him? Is he armed?"

"He's handcuffed and locked in a cage," Jason said. "He's got this room, with all sorts of stuff ... whips and things. We're downstairs."

"Good Lord," the operator whispered, obviously shaken, then recovered. "I'm sending an ambulance. Is she hurt, bleeding?"

"No. He was very careful not to leave marks, and I think I actually caught him before he started using them." He hesitated. "She says he's been doing it since the first night she came to live with him after her mother's death."

"How old is the victim?"

"She's 16. She's lived with him for 3 years." He hesitated again. "It's important that she not see him, not at all. He's got her ... brainwashed or something. It's scary."

"Don't worry. I'm briefing the unit," the operator said. "They'll protect her. Stay on the line with me until the EMT guys get there. Stay with her. She may go into shock. They're on their way."

"I need to call my dad, get him over here," Jason said.

"Give me the number and I'll get him on the line."

He gave her the number. "You might not want to tell him exactly why, just that I need him here asap."