Page 40 of Unhinged Cain

He used the pet name that he’d given me when we first started dating. I hated it. This one-eighty felt as if it were too much for me. You don’t go from thinking that everything your partner does was annoying to being sorry and acting like Mary Fucking Poppins the next. I watched him closely as he began talking about his day and the new deal he’d negotiated all on his own. Being so focused on him, I didn’t pay attention to where we were going, but my red flag soared higher as we pulled into the parking lot of a bar on the outskirts of civilization. This place was a known motorcycle hangout for those passing through and was a complete biker’s haven with strippers and spicy wings. It was also a place you never wanted to step foot in as law enforcement of any kind. I was a damn glowing beacon for the FBI in my outfit.

Peter hated everything about this place, from the pub food to those that hung out there and even the entertainment. If Peter liked strippers, he only ever went in secret because he voiced how dirty and disgusting those places were. He said he wouldn’t be caught dead at a place where low-life scum came to hang out.

“What are we doing here,” I asked as I stared up at the glowing red sign that was mostly burnt out, leaving the sign to read ‘Red Ass’ instead of The Red Assailant. Both were kind of fitting, really.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we both know you hate going to places like this, so what gives?” I leaned back against the door and crossed my arms over my chest as I analyzed his face. “I’m the one that likes pub food and doesn’t mind watching the strippers, so why are we here, Peter?”

“I thought we’d try something different, maybe have a few drinks and have a little fun.”

My brow cocked at his explanation. “Yeah, I’m not buying it. Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not going in there until you tell me exactly what is going on.”

A bit of his overly happy mask slipped as it became clear I wasn’t going to get out and go into this place with him. I had no idea at this point if he planned on having me become the entertainment or if he thought it would be fun to watch the shit get beat out of me for being a fed.

“What do you think I’m trying to do? Humiliate you, maybe? Kind of like you humiliated me in front of my family?”

I shook my head. “Are you kidding me right now?”

Peter picked up his cell phone and held it up to face me. “Call me. Go ahead and see what happens.”

Confused, I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and hit redial beside his name. The song “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash began to play, but the picture that showed up had me laughing so hard tears rolled down my cheeks. There, front and center on the screen, was a close-up of Peter’s bare ass with the cucumber shoved in until only a few inches were visible.

“You think this is funny?” Peter hit the end button on the screen. I tried to stop laughing, but every time I attempted to get the words out, I started all over again. “This isn’t funny! When I was in my meeting today, the phone rang, and that is what showed up. Luckily, I played it off as a prank from the boys at the golf club, but it could’ve sunk my entire deal. I was mortified.”

Wiping the tears away, I managed to get control enough of myself to speak.

“Peter, I didn’t do it, and even if I did take the picture, I was in no shape to upload it to your phone. I couldn’t even get out of my dress.”

“Well, I certainly didn’t take this photo. You know I knew all along you were lying, and this proves it.” He shook his head, his eyes flaring with anger that made me uncomfortable and sobered the rest of the laughter out of my system.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Peter. Obviously, you don’t believe me, yet I can’t tell you I did something that I didn’t.”

Remnants of the dream returned to me as I remembered how hot and sexy it was and how hard I’d come. There was one more weird thing that I couldn’t explain—there was a small bruise on the side of my neck. I’d assumed I’d done something stupid at the party, or it had happened when I fell a few times, but now I wasn’t so sure.

Peter suddenly grabbed my arm and squeezed hard. “Don’t you fucking ignore me when I’m talking to you.”

“Let go of me,” I said and punched Peter in the face without even thinking about it.

His hands immediately went for his nose as blood trickled down his lips. “You bitch! That’s it. We’re definitely through.”

“Good, I already broke up with you, you narcissistic asshole,” I yelled. I grabbed for the handle to get out, but Peter jammed his foot on the gas. The car’s sudden lurch slammed me back into the seat as the door locked into place.

“Let me out, Peter. I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

I grabbed the ‘oh shit’ handle as the car flew out of the parking lot. The car revved as it sped up to dangerous speeds.

“What the fuck?” I screamed as we streaked around a bend in the road.

Peter gripped the steering wheel like he was a race car driver, and his face was the epitome of rage. His brows were furrowed, and his lips pulled up like he was snarling. I’d never seen him like this before, and I scrambled with the seatbelt trying to get it back on, but it was locked in place. I jerked on it hard as Peter veered off the main road onto a back road with no lights. I swallowed hard. This wasn’t good, and my mind immediately began to go through all my training on how to get out of this.

“Fuck this shit!” The car squealed as he slammed on the brakes.

I hit the windshield with enough force that I must have looked like a cartoon character. A small scream ripped from my throat as Peter slammed on the gas again and then turned the car onto a gravel road I didn’t know. He floored it again, and I slammed back into the seat. This time rocks from the dirt road sprayed the underside of the car with little pings, and the vehicle fishtailed all over the road. The fact that Peter was so enraged he didn’t notice rocks hitting his car terrified me more than just about anything else.

“Are you fucking crazy? Have you lost your damn mind,” I yelled and was tempted to grab the steering wheel.

There was a vehicle coming toward us in the opposite direction. We flew past the tow truck at speeds that made it look like it was standing still. The trees were nothing but a blur, and I thought I was going to be sick. He was going to kill us both. All I could picture was the car wrapped around one of the large trees. I screamed again as we blew through a stop sign, and he didn’t even tap the breaks.