Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 54: Back in the Office

-Caleb-

Masterson, of course, had me back in the office the very next day, even though I felt as though my heart had been ripped from my chest, and the bastard was playing hacky sack with it. I tried not to glare at him from my desk when he passed back and forth during the day.

He also got me working immediately on his more nefarious undertakings. I thought Masterson got a little giggle out of me having to deal with the illegal logging operations he had throughout the world, given it was running into the illegal logging operation he had in Canada that had first put Jacey and me on his radar.

I’d been hoping Masterson would bring Will Jr. to the office, but that silver lining wasn’t coming, either. Masterson left Will Jr. wherever he’d put him. I wondered if the baby was just in another part of the mansion in Minnetonka. There was no way of knowing.

“Caleb, see that these shipments made it to their destinations, will you? There’s a lad.” Masterson grinned at me, handing me a folder.

I’d noticed that Masterson’s less-than-legal business ventures were mostly kept on paper, rather than tracked in the computer system.

Luckily, I was able to use my computer to track the shipping containers Masterson wanted to know about.

It didn’t take me long to figure out these shipments were not about trafficking illegally procured trees. These shipments were about trafficking illegally procured humans.

My stomach dropped, and I wanted to throw up. That sonofabitch.

“How’s it going, Caleb?” Masterson asked, a wide grin on his face when he stuck his head out of his office.

I wanted to punch him. Desperately. I wanted to punch him and keep punching him until he was dead. “Your ‘shipments’ all passed inspection and made it to their destinations,” I said between my teeth.

“Wonderful! I knew you’d be interested in that sort of thing.” Masterson’s eyes crinkled at the corners. He was overjoyed at my discomfort.

I tried to plaster my usual smile on my face, but without Jacey there for inspiration, my smile flattened into a thin line. “Anything else you want me to look into?”

“Yes. There’s a shipment we lost. I want to make sure all the merchandise was destroyed,” Masterson said.

“Destroyed?” I echoed, feeling bile rise in the back of my throat.

“Yes. Destroyed. You know what I mean.” Masterson’s gaze turned hard, and I remembered that I was expendable.

If I was killed, then there would be no one left but Will to take care of Jacey. And, quite frankly, given the fear of God his father had struck in him, I wasn’t sure how good a protector Will could be. “I know what you mean,” I responded obediently.

“Excellent. If the merchandise was not all destroyed, let me know right away. We wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.” Masterson dropped a number on my desk.

With trepidation flowing through me, I called the number.

“This is Mr. William Masterson’s office,” I said when someone picked up but was silent. “I’m Caleb, his assistant. He wanted to make sure the merchandise from the lost shipment was all destroyed.”

“Just about,” a dark voice replied.

I heard a scream and then a gurgle.

“Now it’s all destroyed,” the man said. “You can tell Masterson he doesn’t need to worry.”

“Yes, sir,” I responded. “Thank you, sir.”

The line cut out.

I had just enough time to grab my trash can before hurling up the toast and juice I’d managed to force down that morning.

“I take it I have good news?” Masterson asked.

I wondered if he’d been standing there the whole time, giddy like a child at Christmas, waiting to see my reaction. “Yes. Good news,” I rasped.

“Great. Call down to the maintenance staff to take care of that. You’re not sick, are you? If you’re sick, you should go home.” Masterson dangled the bait.

There was no way I was giving this bastard the satisfaction of seeing me turn tail and run. “No, I’m fine. Food poisoning.”

Masterson gave me an evil smile. “That’s good to hear.”

I knew my day of challenges was not over by a longshot.

Not an hour later, Masterson interrupted me again. “Caleb, I need you to come take dictation.”

This couldn’t be good. “Yes, Mr. Masterson,” I said, getting out a notebook and pen. I walked into Masterson’s office and stood next to his desk, waiting.

“Lacy,” he said over the intercom, “I need you to come to my office. Make sure you’ve got coverage for an hour.”

I dropped my pen to the floor. “I won’t do that.”

“Maybe not today. But I’ll wear you down.” Masterson smiled as Lacy entered his office. “Ready to make a hundred thousand dollars, Lacy?”

“Yes, sir,” Lacy replied, starting to unbutton her blouse.

“I’m leaving,” I said. “Turns out I am sick.” I bent to pick up my pen, then stalked toward the door, handing the tablet and pen to Lacy on my way.

Masterson laughed at my back. “I knew I could find your limit.”

“Yep, watching you seduce our administrative assistant is definitely my limit,” I replied flatly.

“I thought it might be. Poor Caleb. You’re about to become my favorite toy,” Masterson chortled.

I just kept walking. A wall of muscle peeled away from the wall and followed me out. I ignored them and went to the nearest gas station to pick up crackers and clear lime soda. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep anything else down.

When I returned to the apartment, I was automatically locked inside. On the one hand, I hoped the locks were set to unlock if there was a fire or some other emergency. On the other hand…

I shook myself. I would not concede defeat. Not yet.

My gilded cage was complete with a large television that took up most of one wall in the living room. I sat in front of it and decided I might as well watch a movie. Maybe it would take my mind off everything I’d helped with today. Every dark deed.

I turned on the television and jumped. There, on the screen, was Jacey.

Of course, she couldn’t see me, but she was resting in bed and looking despondently off into the distance. I touched the screen, willing her to glance up at the camera, but she didn’t.

The door to the room opened, and Will came inside with a tray of food. Jacey just looked at it and then turned her head away.

Will sat down on the edge of the bed, and I could tell he was encouraging her to eat.

Finally, Jacey took a nibble of what looked like toast.

I relaxed and sat down, watching as Jacey ate. Masterson was an evil, evil man, letting me see Jacey like this but not be able to speak to her.

Once she’d eaten, I watched Will take the tray away. When he came back, he laid next to her on the bed.

This part I couldn’t watch. Will was no doubt going to do whatever it took to make sure when he and Jacey coupled, it wouldn’t be a traumatic experience for her. It’s what I wanted him to do. But jealousy broiled in my gut just the same, and I tried to change the channel.

It changed, but just to another camera in the room.

Frowning, I tried changing the channel three or four more times, but it just kept switching camera angles of Will snuggling up to Jacey.

Finally, I pressed the red button to turn the whole works off. Only it didn’t turn off. The television still displayed Jacey with Will.

“Oh, you bastard,” I murmured, realizing Masterson had done this deliberately. He wanted me to watch the love of my life cozying up to another man.

I was his new favorite toy, after all.

I looked around the apartment and located one of the cameras I knew he had in here. I flipped the camera the bird.

Then I headed to the bedroom to lay down.

Of course, there was a TV in there as well. Without prompting, it flickered to life the second I walked in the room.

“Sonofabitch,” I muttered.

I thought of going in the bathroom to escape the televisions only to remember there was one in there as well.

I was trapped with Jacey, and yet, without her.

I wanted to scream. But today, I wouldn’t. Today, I still had the strength to not give Masterson what he wanted.

He wanted to break me.

I looked at Jacey lying on the bed, waiting for me to save her, and balled my hands into fists.

Masterson was never going to break me. Never.

I went into the kitchen and got a sharp knife. The living room television was mounted into the wall, but that wouldn’t stop me from dealing with the others. First, I cut the cord on the kitchen television. Then the bedroom. Then the bathroom.

Satisfied, I sat down in the kitchen and had my soda and crackers. Doubtless, after work tomorrow, the TVs will be restored to working order. But right now, today, I’d won a small victory.

I wished I could say the same for the ‘merchandise’ on the ‘lost shipment.’ I now had more nightmare fuel. There had been the most awful scraping sound, I remembered now, before the gurgle.

Had it been a woman? A child?

I put down the cracker I’d been about to take a bite out of and ran to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time to throw up everything I’d just tried to eat. Perhaps everything I’d eaten in the last month.

I leaned my head against the toilet tank when I was finished dry heaving. Jacey. I had to think of Jacey. I had to find some way of saving us all.

After that, I was going to go to the police and try to find someone else like Darren who was willing to throw the book at Masterson. I’d get Jacey and Will Jr. to safety and then turn myself over to the law as a witness against Masterson. He had to be stopped.

I was not going to listen to another person get offed over the phone again. Not if I could help it.