The Mayor's Daughter II: Stablemate

Chapter One-3

"And I just couldn't bear the thought of you getting away," he continued, his voice low and ominous.

"I'm not trying to get away," Allison whispered softly, her voice cracking.

"You're not, yet," the officer answered. He slipped his hand free of her thighs and then lifted her feet by the chain between her ankles, turning her to sit inside the car fully. "But it's funny how quickly that can change."

Allison's mind reeled. She lowered her eyes, breaking the officer's intent gaze as she looked down at her lap. The sight of her tightly bound hands there only served to reinforce the feeling of dread that was threatening to overcome her. Chuckling again, he rose and then closed the door.

Left in the back seat of the car, Allison was grateful for the warmth of the cruiser's heater. At least she was now separated from the chill of the night air. She looked down at the chains that held her and his words echoed in her mind. Why were there so many? She'd seen cop shows before, but this seemed more like how you would transport a dangerous prisoner and less like what she'd seen used for roadside arrests. Did the television shows just get it wrong? Or was there something else going on here?

She watched him walk to her car, opening the door and going inside. The car started again, and she saw him drive it forward until it was completely off the road. And then she cried out in surprise as she watched the car's right tires slip into the ditch on the side of the road, the car falling slightly to come to rest at an awkward angle. What was he doing?

Allison's heart was racing as he emerged from the car again, coming back toward the patrol car carrying her purse and her light jacket. Opening the driver's door, he slipped inside and set her few possessions on the seat next to him.

"Sorry about the car. I misjudged where the ditch was," he spoke before she could demand to know what he was doing. "It doesn't look like there's any damage to your car, but I'll call a tow truck. The city will pay the bill if there is."

"I was off the road," Allison replied, "you didn't have to move it at all."

"Hindsight, you know?" he turned back to her and winked through the screen that separated them. "Just be quiet a minute while I call the truck."

Allison sat back in the seat as the patrol car turned out onto the road again. The plastic seat was slick. With her hands bound as they were, she couldn't grab anything to stop herself from sliding toward the center before the car turned again, thrusting her back into the door.

"I've got an abandoned car on the side of Maplecrest," the officer spoke into the microphone on the dashboard of his car. "There are signs that the car was driven into the ditch. No sign of the driver.” He read off her license plate number into the microphone.

No sign of the driver? What the heck was that about? Allison's mind raced as she heard the dispatcher announce that a tow truck would be sent to the scene to collect the abandoned vehicle. The dispatcher added an address: Allison's address.

"I'll check the address," the officer replied to the dispatcher. "It looks like we might have a drunk driving accident and a fleeing driver. Home's not far. Maybe she went there."

With that, the officer placed the microphone back into its cradle on the dashboard. He turned the cruiser back onto the main road while Allison sat silent in the back seat of the car.

"You must be wondering what that was all about," he spoke to Allison again, his eyes finding hers in the rear view mirror.

"Yes," Allison answered. The reply sounded stupid, even to her own ears, but she could not think of what to say. Nothing seemed to make sense to her.

"Maybe I'm doing you a favor," he said to her with another wink.

"A favor?"

"If the police don't find you before the alcohol is out of your system, the only thing they can charge you with is leaving the scene of an accident," he continued.

"But, you did find me," Allison responded weakly, "and you tested the alcohol in my system."

The officer broke off the eye contact in the rear view mirror as they continued to drive. Allison realized that they were not driving toward the center of town, where the police station was located. She looked down again, eyes locking on the restraints that held her. She twisted her wrists slightly in the cuffs, but they gave her almost no room to move. The motion caused the belt of chain around her waist to tighten, pulling against her stomach.

"Maybe I am giving you a break," the officer finally spoke. "Maybe I haven't called this stop in at all, and I'm just going to take you somewhere for the night to get the booze out of your system, and then just let you go on your way in the morning."

"Please, just tell me," Allison pleaded, feeling new tears in her eyes once more. "I don't understand. I don't know what's going on."

"Would that be nice of me?" he asked, finding her eyes again in the rear view mirror.

"Y-yes," Allison answered sheepishly.

"And do I seem like a nice guy?" he asked, his eyes leaving hers at the end of the question to move back to the road.

Allison's mind was spinning. None of this made sense to her. The officer had seemed nice to her, at points. He had seemed to be on her side and trying to help her. But the memory of his touch to her leg and his stray comments seemed to signal something different to her. There was obviously something going on, something outside the rules. She trembled with the thought of what it might be, despite the warmth of the interior of the car.

Before she could find words to answer, the patrol car slowed and then turned off the main road onto a smaller one. The car bounced as it began to drive across unpaved terrain, making Allison yelp as she was jostled on the back seat, her chains rattling in protest to her sudden movements.

"Or maybe I didn't call this in for some other reason," the officer finally continued as the car settled into the worn tracks of the road. "Perhaps I have a different reason for not calling in your stop that doesn't have anything to do with cutting you a break. Which do you think it is?"

"I don't know," Allison responded, lowering her eyes. She couldn't bear to meet his wolfish gaze in the mirror any longer. "Please, just tell me what's going on."

The car slowed to a stop, and Allison looked up to see the headlights illuminating an old building in the woods. It looked like a mill of some kind, sturdy but seemingly no longer in use. The officer opened his door, leaving the car without answering her. She watched him come around to her door, opening it for her and then reaching down to take her by the arm.

"We need to talk, Allison," he spoke as he pulled her up and out of the car. She swung her feet out, rising to stand next to him again. The chain was taut between her ankles as he held her. "There are some things I haven't been completely honest about."

"Please, oh God, don't hurt me," Allison whimpered, her shoulders shaking with her sobs. "I'm scared. I just want to go home."

"But you can't go home, dear," he shook his head as he began to lead her toward the door to the mill. "You broke the law tonight, and you have to deal with the consequences."

"Then, then," Allison's voice broke off as she struggled to speak through her crying, "then take me to the police station."

"But I can't do that now, can I?" he shook his head as he led her slowly to the door. Allison's steps were slow and awkward, continually brought up short by the chain between her ankles. "I've already done enough that I'd lose my badge over this if I just changed course now."

"Please," Allison whimpered, "I won't tell anyone."

As they reached the door to the mill, the officer produced a key and unlocked the padlock that secured it. He swung the door open and Allison shuffled backwards as it revealed the dark room beyond.

"No, you won't," he responded.

Allison gasped as he reached between her legs from behind and took hold of the chain that stretched from her waist down to the cuffs on her ankles. She winced as he abruptly pulled up on the chain, forcing her up onto her toes. Holding tight to the chain to keep her there, she felt his fist pressed against her ass.

"Now, just be quiet for a little bit," he leaned in to hiss softly in her ear as she teetered on the toes of her sneakers, "I've got a surprise for you."