We went through our normal morning routine. The dress that Erin was required to wear today was definitely not the sort of thing you would wear to work. But compared to the things she had been wearing all week it seemed pretty conservative. It was short of course. But it was no shorter than the others she had worn. It was backless, but her breasts were covered. Compared to the outfits she had been wearing this was positively prim! I figured there was a catch though. With Ray there always is.
We got to work and Ray was just unlocking the door as we pulled up. He looked at us as we climbed the stairs to the loading dock and he said, "That's not right Erin. Here, let me show you."
He turned her around and untied the strap behind her neck that held the front of her dress in place. He looked around her body as he loosely retied the strap with a great deal more slack in the front.
Erin rolled her eyes as she realized what he was doing. I thought it looked awful, not sexy at all. The front of her dress hung loosely and the sides of her breasts were exposed but it wasn't really sexy. I guess it provided him with better access to her breasts. He seemed satisfied.
We went about our regular day. He worked all day today. The store was busy for a while. A lot of people had put off coming in yesterday and it got pretty busy in there a couple of times. When that happened Ray sent Erin out to help. I would help the customers while she ran the register.
Now I saw what Ray had in mind when he adjusted her dress. When she was moving around, bending down to get a bag from under the counter for instance, her breast was exposed almost to the nipple.
A lot of men stayed around to talk after they made their purchases. Because they stayed they were there when the strap around her neck finally slipped loose and fell to her waist.
She quickly tied it back, loosely as Ray required, but not before a half a dozen of the townspeople saw her naked breasts. The silence when it happened was deafening. But after a moment Erin shrugged her shoulders and said, "Shit happens!"
Her audience laughed and the tension melted away. They continued to stick around and hope for a recurrence though.
It did happen again. There was a different crowd though. It happened in the early afternoon. The guys certainly got a kick out of it and Erin almost seemed to be getting used to being on display. She blushed and she was obviously uncomfortable. But not like the first times she had been forced to display her body to the general public.
At 4:30 P.M. Ray and Erin came out and he said, "I want you two to go home and get ready for this evening. Erin, take a shower and put on the outfit that I indicated was for tonight. Check that cunt. I don't want to find any stubble there. Dean, change into your black suit and get your new hat ready. I will come by and pick you up after I close the store. I want you both ready and standing at the curb when I get there."
I took Erin's hand and as we started for the door her damned top fell down again. I let go of her hand and she retied it as we made our way out the back.
We went straight home and got ready. It didn't take me long. I just had to put my suit on. I sat in the chair by the window waiting for Erin. I listened to her in the shower and when she finally came out she came over and kissed me and ran her hands over her pussy. She smiled and said, "Smooth as a baby. Wanna feel?"
I smiled and ran my fingers over her smooth pussy. As I was doing that she said, "Dean, I don't know what's going to happen tonight but I want you to keep your cool. Promise me."
I reached around and cupped her ass and said, "I'll promise to try, as long as you aren't getting hurt."
She said, "NO! I don't want to hear you'll try and I don't want any exceptions. They aren't going to do anything to me that I won't get over. I want you to promise to let me take care of myself. If I need your help I will ask for it. I mean it."
I looked up at her and said, "I can say the words Erin. But there is only so much that I'll take. Now go get dressed. I suspect it won't take long. I doubt if there is very much to this outfit you are going to wear."
She sighed and said, "There isn't. I've seen it. But at least we are going to the city. I won't see anyone that I know. Or more to the point, nobody I know will see me."
She went into her closet and came back out with a small, black bit of nothing much at all in one hand and a pair of black high heels in the other.
She set the shoes down and pulled the thing she had to wear tonight over her head. I couldn't believe it!
I looked at Erin and exclaimed, "It's a fucking slip!"
She just nodded.
The slip was mostly sheer material and lace. It was scooped so low in the back that more than an inch of the top of her butt crack was exposed. The material over her breasts was sheer and there was a strip of lace around the bottom that wasn't quite sheer. But if you looked at it in the right light you could make out the slit between her legs.
I looked up at her and asked, "Did he tell you where we are going?"
She shook her head. She moved over and stood in front of the mirror and saw how nearly naked she was. She groaned and shook her head again. Then she turned back around to face me and said, "Pretty hot, huh?"
I didn't bother to answer. We still had fifteen or twenty minutes before we had to go stand out front. The neighbors had been seeing a lot of Erin lately. They were really going to love this outfit. We went downstairs and I offered her a highball.
She thought about it for a minute and said, "I guess it couldn't hurt. I don't like drinking on an empty stomach but I have a feeling that this will be a hard night to be sober."
I made her a drink and she asked, "You aren't having one?"
I smiled and said, "I'm the chauffeur, remember?"
She lifted her glass in a toast and started sipping. She kept her eyes on the time and just before we had to go outside she gulped down the last few sips and went in and rinsed out her mouth.
We stood on the front porch until the last possible moment and then we went to the curb and stood by the large oak tree in front of our house. We were constantly looking around to see if any of the neighbors were about. We saw a few cars go by and slow down quite a bit when they spotted us but none of our neighbors were outside. They may have been watching from inside but we didn't see them.
Ray finally pulled up and got out of his car. He ordered me to put my hat on and then he said, "I guess you have seen enough television and movies to have some idea of what a chauffeur does. You open doors and you are polite and you keep your mouth shut. Any questions?"
In as obsequious a voice as possible I said, "No Mr. Nash."
I reached out and opened the back door of his Towncar and he got in, followed by Erin. I went around and got in the driver's seat and he said, "We're going to the Wyndham on Battery Street in Burlington. Go."
I didn't go to Burlington any more than I had to and I didn't know the city very well. But I knew how to get there and I knew the main streets. I knew where Battery Street was if not the hotel.
I drove through town and headed for Burlington. As we made our way towards the city Ray said to Erin, "I don't want to hear the word no come out of your mouth tonight. Trust me on this cunt. You are going to have a difficult evening. You might as well get used to the idea of it right now. If you or Dean piss me off you have no idea how bad I'll make things for you in the future."
I saw Erin shudder in fear and nod in response. She glanced at me meaningfully but I just looked away.
Even though it was almost 6:30 P.M. almost all of the traffic was going the other way and I had an easy drive of it. By the time I got to Burlington rush hour was pretty much over and I got to the hotel without too much trouble.
I pulled up to the door and Ray said, "Erin, go in and ask the desk clerk to notify room 512 that we are here."
Erin came back out in a few minutes. She was blushing bright red at having to go in there looking like a prostitute and interact with people. When she got to the car Ray got out and told her to get in and sit in the center of the back seat.
In a few minutes I saw two large black men exit the building and Ray approached them and shook hands. They talked for a few minutes and then Ray returned to the car and invited the men to join Erin in the back seat. Ray got into the front passenger seat. As he got in he glowered at me and I realized that I had forgotten my chauffeur duties. I hadn't opened any of the doors for anyone.
I resolved to try to remember but it wasn't something that I was used to doing.
The two men, brothers named Mel and George, were introduced to Erin and immediately began to paw her. I was directed to drive to a nearby restaurant and before I had gotten out of the parking lot they had the slip around Erin's waist and were all but raping her in the back seat.
Ray turned around in his seat to watch and the excitement on his face as he watched those large men torment Erin was disgusting. As I drove Ray told them a little about us. They got a huge kick out of the fact that I was her husband and that we were doing this against our will because he was blackmailing us.
I started to pull up to the door of the restaurant about ten minutes later but Ray said, "No Dean. Park it. You're coming in with us. I wouldn't want you to miss anything."
I bit my tongue and pulled into the nearest parking place. I got out and opened the doors for the men in the back seat and Erin. Ray waited until I opened his door as well. Before I closed his door he took my hat off and tossed it onto the seat. We went inside with the two men walking in front of us holding Erin between them and Ray and I following behind.
We had to wait a few minutes for a table and while we stood to the side Mel and George continued to explore Erin's body. They were not very discreet about it either. Parts of her body that were not supposed to be were on display frequently and I think that in order to keep from offending the other customers we were quickly seated in a large booth in an out of the way corner.
Erin was, of course, seated between Mel and George. I tried not to watch as they felt her up obviously, even as the waiter stood at the table taking our drink orders and telling us about the specials.
After the waiter had taken our orders, but before he could leave, Mel asked him, "What do you think of these?" Then he pulled the cups away from Erin's breasts.
The waiter looked very embarrassed. But I noticed that there was a large and growing bulge in the front of his pants. He left quickly and the men left Erin's breasts exposed.
Ray directed the conversation towards the sweetheart deal he was trying to make with them on some of the items we stock in the store. They kept telling him that they didn't want to talk about that now. They would discuss business after he kept his end of the bargain.
I assumed that Ray's end of the bargain involved allowing them to rape my wife. They directed the conversation back to the experiences that Ray had subjected Erin to in the past week. They loved hearing about the lunch at the Dairy Queen and the customers that had seen Erin naked and gotten to fuck her.
They also like hearing him talk about my reactions to the things that were happening to Erin. It seemed to amuse them to no end. They asked a lot of personal questions of Erin and me too. They asked about our sex life and how long we had been married and our ages and about past lovers. They were really getting into it.
The waiter returned with our drink order and after they had ordered their dinners they asked the waiter if he would like to fuck Erin for his tip.
Much to everyone's surprise the waiter declined. Ray and his two guests were obviously disappointed but they quickly forgot their disappointment as they returned to tormenting Erin and me.
The meal that they had ordered was served in what seemed to be an unusually short amount of time. I suspect that they were in a huge hurry to get us out of there. Erin and I had not been permitted to order a drink or a meal. We just sat and watched them eat. I didn't mind. I wasn't hungry and I doubt if Erin was either.
Erin wasn't allowed to order a drink, but she was given something to drink. Mel and George took turns taking sips of their drinks and then transferring them into her mouth as they kissed her roughly.
It was disgusting to watch. I thought so anyway. Ray seemed to be amused.
The men wolfed down their meals and ordered an after dinner drink. Erin ended up swallowing most of the drinks that Mel and George had ordered. I could see how embarrassed she was and how much the rough treatment was getting to her. I hoped that the alcohol would numb the pain a little.
The waiter came back with the check without even asking if we wanted anything else. It was obvious that management was anxious to get us out of here and Ray and his two new friends found that amusing.
Ray paid for the dinner and we filed out to the car. I opened everyone's door and after some talk about going to a bar or a strip joint Mel and George decided that they were anxious to get back to the hotel.
I put my cap back on and drove them to the hotel as ordered. Ray ordered me to go ahead and park when I got back to the hotel. I went around and opened everyone's door and Mel and George led the way through the lobby with their arms around Erin and a large part her ass on display. I knew that with her slip that high in the back her pussy would be exposed too.
As we followed along behind Ray turned to me and said, "I love that little slip. I never could get Kathy to wear it, not even when we were home alone. The bitch!"
As soon as we entered the lobby all motion, all sounds ceased. Everyone turned to stare at Erin as we walked through the lobby to the elevators. Erin turned bright red but other than that there was no sign that she was aware of the stir she was causing.
We stood to the side when the elevator door opened and one young businessman looked up and said, "Holy shit!"
There were a few smirks and a woman with her young daughter said, "Oh my!" and hurried her gaping daughter away.
We got on the elevator and Ray pushed the button for the fifth floor. I followed the four of them to one of the suites and we waited for Mel to open the door.
He stepped inside and waved us in after him. We were in the sitting room of a two room suite with a bedroom off to one side of the sitting room and a small kitchenette. There was a connecting door which was open and led into anther bedroom.
Mel and George sat on the couch with Erin between them.
Mel and George were both probably in their mid forties. They were well over six feet tall and I would guess that they weighed over three hundred pounds. Some of that was fat but they were large, strong men. Mel seemed to be the oldest and it was obvious when you watched them interact that he was the alpha male.
Mel looked at me and asked, "You're the cunt's husband?"
I nodded and in response to a glare from Ray I said, "Yes sir."
He grinned and said, "And you know why your wife is here?"
I responded, "I wasn't told the specifics. But I'm pretty sure that I know why we are here."
There was a pause and he asked, "Have you ever seen your wife get fucked by a black man before?"
I said, "No sir."
I should explain something here. There are hardly any black people in Vermont. It isn't that they aren't welcome. I don't think that I have ever met anyone that was racially prejudiced. At least if they were they kept it to themselves. On the other hand, "There isn't a black person living in my town and the closest ones are probably thirty miles away. I did not grow up with people of color and the only ones that I have ever met were usually working in a store in Burlington on the few occasions I went there for something I couldn't get at home.
So Erin and I are not prejudiced. But there is a mystique surrounding black men that is rather imposing, perhaps even threatening. If the circumstances surrounding our meeting were different it would just be a meeting. There would not be all the angst. But we are here, or rather Erin was here, to be there sexy toy. She was about to have to allow these two large black men to do anything they wanted with her body. There was no question that they were pleased with her and looking forward to using her.
Ray said, "Dean, undress your wife and sit down in that chair over there."
I stepped forward and whispered, "I'm sorry Erin." Then I gently pulled the slip off over her head. I placed it on a nearby table and went over to the straight chair I had been directed to sit in.
Ray stood behind me and before I could react he pulled my arms down and put handcuffs on my wrists. The chain on the cuffs was threaded through rungs in the back of the chair and I couldn't get up.
I twisted around and exclaimed, "What the…"
He just patted my head and said, "Relax Dean. I just want to keep you out of trouble."
I heard a sound and looked up to see Erin being pulled into Mel's lap. He pulled her face to his and began to kiss her. She didn't struggle. She seemed to hesitate for a second but then she returned his wet kiss.
As they kissed his large black hand cupped her breast. The contrast was startling. I had seen it in the car and in the restaurant. But those places were dark. Here in the bright light the contrast was much more stark.
Mel was rough on her breasts but she didn't fight him. As I watched nervously Ray stood near me. He was standing behind me and I couldn't see if he was watching to see what I would do or if he was concentrating on what was being done to Erin. I was pretty sure that I knew what he was watching though.
After a few minutes Ray seemed satisfied that I was helpless and he went over and sat down in an armchair to enjoy the latest rape of my wife. George turned in his seat on the couch and we all watched my wife being molested.
Mel was certainly not in a hurry. He kissed Erin long and hard and all the while his hand explored every part of her body. Once he had begun to concentrate his efforts on her pussy I began to realize that Erin was fighting to hide her arousal. I wanted to call out to her that it was okay. If you can get turned on under circumstances such as this then go for it. Whatever gets you through it is just fine with me. I began to suspect though that she wasn't hiding it for my benefit. She didn't want Ray to realize it. I may be wrong. But we had discussed this and I had told her before that if she could get aroused when the men Ray gave her to were molesting her then it was fine with me.
What really bothered me about this, more than anything else, was the handcuffs. I couldn't help wondering why Ray thought they might be necessary at this point. After all that had happened in front of me, all the boys and men that Ray had forced Erin to have sex with while he made me watch, what was different about these two?
I was about to get a clue. George stood up and started undressing. When he was naked he walked over in front of me and stood there stroking the biggest cock I had ever seen. It was ten or eleven inches long and it looked as big around as a soft drink can. He smiled down at me and in a soft voice he said, "I hear your wife has learned how to deepthroat a cock. I've always wanted to try that. I can't wait to get my meat down that pretty little throat. I just can't decide if I'm going to fuck her ass first or save that for later."
I shook my head violently and said, "NO! You can't! Not with that, you'll kill her!" I looked over at Ray and saw him smiling over at me. He said, "Take it easy Dean. It's just sex! It'll be good for her."
Mel had paused to watch us and he was smiling over at me, enjoying watching his little brother torment me. I saw the look of terror on Erin's face now. He pushed her out of his lap and George moved back over to where Erin was standing and took her in his arms. His large hands immediately began to explore her body roughly. His cock was hard and it was lying against her stomach as he held her in his arms. His cock looked even larger against her petite body.
Mel came over in front of me and started taking his clothes off. He smiled down at me and said, "Don't let that little cock my brother has worry you. Most women can take it okay. They hardly ever need stitches afterwards. Of course, he's never shoved it down a throat before. I don't think he's ever gotten it all the way up into a girl's ass before either." He turned to his brother and asked, "How about it George, have you ever gotten that cock of yours all the way up into some bitch's ass before?"
George didn't even pause, he continued to maul Erin but over his shoulder he said, "No Mel. The bitches always fought too hard and screamed too fucking much. Tonight is going to be the first time."
I started to look around Mel to plead with Ray to save Erin from these two men when Mel pulled his shorts off. He stood there massaging his cock right in front of me. It was even larger than George's! It had to be at least twelve inches long!
I started struggling with the chair and yelling at Ray to let me up. The older brother reached down and picked up his brother's shorts and shoved them in my mouth brutally. Then he picked up a belt that had been removed from a bathrobe earlier and that just happened to be waiting handily on a nearby lamp table and wrapped it around my head, holding the underwear in place.
I continued to struggle with the chair and I began pulling at the cuffs with all of my strength. But the chair turned out to be a lot stronger than it looked. I was cutting my wrists on the metal handcuffs as I struggled frantically and blood was running down my hands and dripping onto the rug. But my struggles were futile. I couldn't even turn the heavy chair over.
Mel went back over to where Erin was struggling with his brother and as he walked he held his hand out to Ray. Ray tossed him another pair of handcuffs and he went behind Erin and secured her hands behind her back.
She was still struggling though. She didn't quit until Mel said, "Sweetheart, take it easy. It's gonna happen. If you don't settle down and accept it then it's just going to be worse on you and poor Dean over there. I imagine it's gonna hurt a little. But we ain't going to do anything to you that you haven't had done before. If you keep fighting like this then someone is going to have to go over there and start breaking bones on your husband until you settle down. You don't want that do you?"
Erin stopped struggling then. I couldn't watch. I couldn't stand the look of terror on her face. I just stared knives at Ray. I looked at the smug, arrogant look on his face, his obvious enjoyment of what was happening to Erin. I made up mind at that moment that if I got out of here alive it was settled in my mind. I was going to kill him. I wanted him to see it in my eyes.
Ray was ignoring me though. He was fascinated by the things that those large men were doing to Erin. They had forced her to her knees and they were taking turns trying to force their monster cocks down into her throat.
It was obvious that they wouldn't go. They were much too large. She was a very small woman. They couldn't possibly manage it without harming her. They struggled valiantly though. Finally Mel said, "This is never going to work."
He looked around and said, "Come on. Give me a hand. Let's try this."
They picked her up and carried her to the sturdy wooden table by the window that looked out over the lake. They tried laying her on her back but because of the handcuffs she screamed in pain. So they turned her over and George held her head up by her hair while Mel held her head in place with both of his large hands and began forcing his cock into her mouth again. I heard the strangling noises coming from her, the garbled noises, and the muffled attempts to beg them to stop. They were ignored as the men struggled to force their cocks into her.
I was certain that Mel's huge slab of cock would never fit down her throat. I was also certain that they were going to keep trying until they hurt her. I was in total shock when the head of his cock actually entered her throat. He swore in excitement when his cock went in and his younger brother said, "I'll be a son of a bitch Mel! You did it! God damn! Hurry up man. I got to try that. Fuck me!"
Mel laughed and said, "Hold on George. You'll get your turn."
Once he had the head of his cock started in her throat he didn't stop. He continued to force it all the way in until his entire massive cock was buried in her mouth and throat and her jaw was open so wide that it looked like it might be dislocated.
I realized that she had passed out. I knew that she was still alive because I could see her unconscious body struggling for air.
He stroked slowly in and out of her throat for a moment, until she started turning blue and then he pulled out. He turned to his little brother and said, "Fuck George! It's so tight it hurts!"
He moved out of the way and before Erin had had time to gasp for a couple of breaths George began struggling to force his cock into her throat. It seemed to be just as violent the second time.
I saw Erin begin to struggle again. She had regained consciousness. But thankfully it was brief. She passed out from the fear and pain again and George finally managed to force his cock into her throat. They took turns for a few minutes before they decided that it wasn't very satisfying. Their cocks were too large and she was too small and it hurt them more than it felt good.
Unfortunately they weren't through trying to destroy her delicate young body. They turned her around so that her legs draped down off of the table and Mel went over to the lamp table and picked up a tube of lubricant. He lubed his large cock and dabbed some of the grease on her ass and started forcing his cock into her tiny hole.
Erin regained consciousness then and suddenly gave out with a wild animal sound. It was a desperate cry for help. Because of what they had done to her throat I guess she couldn't scream. It was a loud raspy sound and even without the words it was plain that it was the result of the most extreme pain. Mel had just managed to force the head of his cock into her ass.
George went around and held her down and forced the head of his cock back into her mouth. He didn't try to force it in any further than that this time. He just held her head over it while his brother began forcing his cock into her ass.
She started struggling again and they got a big kick out of it. They made fun of her as she flopped around helplessly on the table between them. From the couch Ray was joining in the jokes, making fun of Erin and urging the brothers to fuck her harder.
It was obviously a struggle but eventually Mel managed to bury his cock in her ass. She never stopped struggling and making those sounds of pain. Once he had his cock all the way in her ass he paused and held onto her ass and looked at his brother. He smiled and said, "Damn George! This is a lot of fucking work!"
I noticed that both brothers were sweating profusely. I was going to fix that when I got loose though.
Mel finally pulled his cock out of her ass and said, "Here, you check it out. See how you like it. Then let's turn her over and fuck her cunt. This is too fucking much work."
The men changed places and George began to force his only slightly smaller cock into my wife's ass. Mel was ready and as soon as she opened her mouth to scream he shoved the head of his cock inside.
He struggled with her tight ass for several strokes and said, "Well bro, at least we got to try it finally. I'm with you. I think I'll stick with pussy from now on."
They got the key from Ray and took the handcuffs off and brought her back into the seating area and dropped her on the floor. For the next hour they took turns fucking her until they couldn't get it up any longer. She lost consciousness a couple more times but when she was aware she grunted with pain with every stroke. She tried begging them to stop but you couldn't understand what she was saying. I was afraid that her throat was so seriously damaged that it would never recover from their abuse.
They finally left her laying there on the floor and got up and got a drink in the kitchenette. The three of them were standing there drinking a mixed drink and for the first time one of them noticed that my wrists were bleeding on the carpet.
Mel said, "Fuck me! Look at that! They are going to want to charge us for that! Son of a bitch!"
He came stomping over and slapped me a few times. He was cursing and swinging and after about three of those roundhouse blows from his ham sized hands I was unconscious too.
When I came too I was on the floor and I had a towel wrapped around my wrists. I struggled to sit up and I saw that Erin was still on the floor staring lifelessly at the ceiling. Ray was staring at her nude body, seemingly without a care in the world.
When I sat up he said, "It's about damned time! Those assholes went out to get a drink half an hour ago. Get your fucking clothes on and let's go home. I was going to let them keep her for the weekend but she's so out of it they don't want her anymore. I think we cinched the deal though."
I didn't say a word. I went over to Erin and checked on her. She looked at me and when she recognized me she put her arms around me and started crying soundlessly. I held her in my arms for a long time, and I sat there deciding how I was going to kill Ray and those two men.
Ray was getting impatient. He said, "If you don't want them to fuck her again we had best get her dressed and get out of here."
I went into one of the bedrooms and got one of their large dress shirts out of the closet. I helped Erin to her feet and put it on her and buttoned it up. I picked her up and Ray held the door for me. I carried her to the elevator and then out to the car. We got more strange looks on the way through the lobby but I ignored them.
I put Erin in the front seat with me and I drove home in record time. I parked in front of my house and as Ray drove home I carried Erin up to bed and I sprayed her throat with throat spray, gave her some Tylenol and while I was drawing her a hot bath I examined her body. There wasn't any blood that I could find. I didn't see any tears in her skin either.
I asked her if she needed to go to the hospital and she shook her head violently. I sprayed her throat again and I asked if she thought she would be able to talk. She swallowed with difficulty and tried. It was raspy and all but unintelligible but she managed to say, "I think I'll be okay."
I helped her into the big claw foot bath tub and washed her gently. After she soaked for a while and the water started to cool I rinsed her off and put her into bed. I put a glass of water on her nightstand and she dropped off to sleep almost immediately.
As soon as she was breathing deeply I went downstairs and got my pistol out of the drawer and loaded it. I drove down to the flats where Ray had built his house and I pulled in behind his car. The lights were still on. I was glad he was up. I wanted him aware when I killed him.
I went to his door and turned the knob and slammed it open. I walked inside and pointed my gun at his stomach and in a calm, emotionless, deadly earnest voice I said, "I'm going to kill you slow Ray. I'm going to shoot you in the belly and then I'm going to sit here and watch you die. Do you have any last words?"
The look of absolute terror on his face thrilled me. He was just starting to beg and I was going to let him. I wanted him to grovel a little before I killed him.
My chain of thought was interrupted by a voice from the kitchen door. Mr. Nash, Ray's father, was standing there holding a bottle of beer.
I said, "Hello Mr. Nash. You probably don't want to see this. You should leave now. I didn't notice your car out there or I would have waited."
He looked at me and the gun and at his terror stricken son and asked, "Why are going to kill Ray, Dean?"
I smiled and said, "It needs to be done. I wouldn't hurt you though. I've always liked you Mr. Nash. So you had best leave now."
Mr. Nash came into the living room and came over and stood beside me. He didn't try to stop me and he didn't get between us. In a very reasonable voice he said, "Did he do something to Erin?"
I nodded.
He gave Ray a dirty look and asked me, "Did he hurt her?"
I looked up at him long enough that Ray thought he could make a break for the door. I slammed the gun down on the back of his neck and stunned him. He dropped to the floor like a rock. I nudged him with my toe and he struggled to turn over. I said, "You better get back in your chair Ray. It's going to take you a long time to die. You'll want to be comfortable."
He was crying now and begging me not to hurt him.
Mr. Nash looked disgusted. I felt sorry for him. A father shouldn't see his son like this. I said, "Mr. Nash, this is going to be unpleasant. You really should leave."
He said, "Maybe. Tell me what this is all about first."
I looked at him. I guess he had the right to know. So I told him. I told him every dirty detail right from the beginning. Well, I didn't go all the way back to high school, but from the time that Ruth had retired because she couldn't stand working for him. When I told him about tonight I told him everything.
He listened with a sick look on his face and when I was done telling him he gulped down his beer and asked, "Is Erin okay?"
I sighed and said, "I'm not sure. She didn't want to go to the emergency room. I'll wait until tomorrow and decide if she has to or not."
He looked at my wrists and said, "It looks like you could use some stitches there son."
I nodded and said, "Maybe. I imagine they'll take care of that when they arrest me."
Mr. Nash said, "What about Erin? What happens to her when you go to jail?"
I laughed wryly and said, "It couldn't be any worse than what happened to her when I wasn't in jail. I wasn't much of a husband to her this past week."
Mr. Nash responded, "It sounds to me like you did what you thought you had to do."
He turned to look at Ray who was cringing in terror in his chair, waiting for the bullet in his guts. He sighed and said, "It saddens me. I always suspected that there was something a little off with him when he was young. I thought he would outgrow it. I thought he had outgrown it. Maybe you're right. He needs killing for what he did."
Ray shook his head violently and cried out to his father. He kept saying he was sorry and pleading for mercy but I knew who he was sorry for. He was sorry for himself.
Mr. Nash said, "Dean, I know he deserves killing, but I'm going to ask you not to do it. Not because I don't want you to do it. I think you'd be doing the world a favor. But you and Erin mean a lot to me and I would hate to see you go to prison. I have a better idea."
I looked at him and he said, "Hold on. Sit down and let me get you a beer. You look like you need one."
I couldn't argue with that. I really did need a beer. I sat in the recliner behind me and Mr. Nash went and got us both a beer. He handed me mine and asked, "Did you know that this house is in my name? When we built it we put it in my name because Ray didn't have the money to pay the taxes or the insurance. I already owned the land and I supplied the material and me and my friends did most of the work on it. It's mine. That Lincoln out front is mine too. I can do any damn thing I want with them. And the hardware store I worked all my life to build up. That's mine too. I used to love working there but I have to tell you, I love being retired. I wouldn't want to go back."
I said, "What is your idea Mr. Nash. It's getting late and I want to go back and say goodbye to Erin before I turn myself in."
He put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Son, I'm not going to stop you if you want to do it. I agree he earned it. To be honest, I know of some other stuff he's done that would turn your stomach too. I've had to get him out of trouble more than once. But let me suggest that instead of killing him and ruining your life and Erin's life you let him live. You let him leave here. Leave this town. I don't care where he goes as long as I never see his face again. You take over the hardware store. You were better at it anyway. The customers like you. You take his car and I'll put the house up for sale and I don't care how he gets out of here, but if he isn't gone by this time tomorrow I'll kill him myself. I think if you were to ask Erin she would prefer that solution. What do you think?"
I laughed and said, "Mr. Nash, I love you like my father. But you couldn't kill anyone."
He chuckled and said, "I suspect you are right. But I know some lumberjacks that could beat him to within an inch of his life and make him wish he was dead. Hell, it just might do him some good."
I thought it over for a few minutes and asked, "Could you really do that Mr. Nash. To him I mean. He is your son."
Mr. Nash said, "No Dean. He isn't my son anymore. I don't have a son. I have always been pretty fond of you though and I'd hate to see you end up in jail over that piece of trash whining in the corner over there. But like I said, if you want to kill him I won't stop you."
Ray cried out "Daddy!"
Mr. Nash glared at him and said, "You are no son of mine you sick fuck!"
I had known Mr. Nash all of my life and I had never heard him swear!
He stared down at Ray and said, "I'm not doing this for you Ray. I honestly don't want to see Dean suffer anymore because of you. I want you out of here by this time tomorrow, if he don't shoot you that is. I never want to see you again. You leave without the car. You can take anything you can manage to carry and you can have the money in your bank account, even though you don't deserve it. Now give me your keys, all of them."
Ray pointed to a key ring on the coffee table and Mr. Nash asked, "Where's the other set?"
Ray pointed to a hook by the door and Mr. Nash took them too. He turned back to Ray and said, "I wasn't kidding about the lumberjacks Ray. If you aren't out of here by this time tomorrow I'll have them put you in the hospital. Providing Dean doesn't shoot you."
He turned back to me and said, "I'll come by tomorrow and see how Erin is doing. And on Monday I'll talk to the lawyers about putting the car and the store in your name. Hell, you were always more of a son to me than Ray was anyway."
He paused and said, "I won't blame you if you shoot him Dean. But I hope you don't, for your sake, and for Erin's."
Mr. Nash handed me Ray's keys and turned to leave. On the way out he said, "You might better take the Lincoln when you leave Dean. I don't trust him to not have another key."
Ray called out to him again as he left but Mr. Nash just gave him a disgusted look and left.
I sat there for a long time staring at Ray. He was sweating bullets. He tried to beg a little more but I was tired of listening to him and I told him to shut up. I finally made up my mind. I couldn't stand the thought of Erin being alone. I got to my feet and walked over and pointed the gun at his gut and said, "The next time I see you I will kill you Ray. If there is anything in your life you believe in, you believe in that." I started to leave then but I stopped and asked, "Where are those phony records you claim to have?"
He managed to tell me between his sobs that they didn't exist. There was only the set that he had given Erin to scare her.
He collapsed into a quivering mass and cried like a little girl as I turned and left. I stepped outside and looked at the Lincoln. Well, my car was eight years old. What the hell. I got in and drove to the hardware store.
It was almost midnight when I got there. I went in and hand lettered a sign that said the store was going to be closed Saturday morning for a family emergency and then I went home.
When I got upstairs Erin was just coming out of the bathroom. She was bent over holding her stomach and I rushed to her side and helped her to the bed. As I was covering her up she felt the gun in my jacket pocket and she panicked.
She struggled to get up and I had to hold her down and tell her over and over that everything was okay. She still couldn't talk but it was obvious from her expression that I was going to have to tell her the whole story or she wouldn't go back to sleep.
I told her everything that had happened after I had put her to bed. I couldn't tell how she felt. She hardly reacted to any of it. I finally told her that I was just going down and get her some fresh water and then I was going to join her in bed.
She wouldn't let me leave until I handed her the gun. She put it in her nightstand and I went down and got her some fresh water and came back to our bedroom. I helped her sit up and take some more Tylenol and she watched me like a hawk while I undressed and got in bed.
She couldn't lie on her side, it hurt too much. But I lay beside her and held her hand and told her how sorry I was and I promised that I would never let anyone hurt her again.
We finally went to sleep and she slept through most of the morning. I was up at the usual time. I took a shower and got dressed and made coffee and sat in the chair by the bedroom window and watched her sleep.
Mr. Nash came over about ten and I went down and let him in. He put his arm around my shoulder and said, "I went by to see what you decided. He's gone. He took his clothes and he's gone."
I said, "I'm sorry Mr. Nash. I know that must be hard for you."
Mr. Nash said, "No, not really. That boy never let me or is mother get close to him. We did everything we could for him because that's what a parent does. But we knew that he had problems. When he started in at college he seemed better. I thought he had finally got right until the problems with Kathy. She told us some of why she left him. I wasn't kidding last night when I said the world would be a better place if you shot him. He is going to hurt someone else someday. But I don't want you and Erin to suffer any more than you already are. It's better this way. How is Erin?"
I shrugged. "She slept well. She's still asleep. I'm waiting for her to wake up to see if we need to go to the hospital."
I heard a sound behind me and there she was in her bathrobe. She was limping and holding her stomach as she walked. She smiled at Mr. Nash and then turned to me and in a horrible, raspy voice she said, "What does a girl have to do to get a cup of coffee around here?"
I went to her and held her and kissed her. Then I said, "You sound like shit! I think we should go to the hospital baby."
She pushed me away and said, "Coffee! And coffee for Mr. Nash."
I looked at him and I was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and I asked him if he wanted some coffee. He nodded and when I went to get it he supported Erin and helped her to a chair. Then he picked up the phone and called Doc Williams and asked him to come over and bring his bag.
I guess that settled that.
I came back out with the coffee and Mr. Nash was trying to apologize to Erin.
Erin held her fingers up to his lips and rasped out, "Don't be silly Mr. Nash."
He said, "Would you two do me a favor? I'd appreciate it if you would call me dad. Do you mind?"
I smiled at him and said, "We would be honored."
Erin nodded.
Doc Williams, one of the two town doctors showed up in about fifteen minutes. He was told as much as he needed to know and we left him alone with Erin and went out on the front porch. He came and got us in about twenty minutes and when we got back inside Erin was smiling and in a slightly more normal voice she said, "See, I told you I was okay."
I looked at Doc Williams and he said, "She has suffered some trauma and there was some damage. But it isn't anything serious and she is young. In a week she'll be good as new. I gave her a couple of prescriptions but they are just for the pain for a couple of days. I'll want to know if she isn't better by this time next week though."
I thanked him profusely and when I tried to pay him Mr. Nash said, "Bill me Doc."
There was no talking sense to either of them.
Between the stuff that Doc Williams sprayed down her throat and the hot coffee, Erin was able to talk almost normally in about half an hour. We talked about Ray a little but just to answer a few question for our new dad. He was upset that I hadn't come to him when this all started.
Actually, I was upset too. It didn't even occur to me. But I don't think that I could be expected to think that man would side with me over his son, even when the son was Ray.
I asked him what he had told Mrs. Nash.
He said, "Everything, except I left out the gory details. She was pretty upset. She was a mother to the boy for a long time. You don't forget that. But I think she feels even worse about what he did to you two. I tried to get her to come over and visit but she was too ashamed."
I said, "We'll get her over that. I feel sorry about Ray though. I understand how hard it is for her. You guys didn't know a lot of the things he did growing up. This must me a shock to have it turn out like this all of a sudden."
Mr. Nash said, "We heard some of it, a lot of it even. In a town like this word gets around. But what can you do? I talked to Doc Williams about it now and then and told him what I knew. Doc told me that unless he really stepped in it, or unless we had more than rumors then there wasn't much we could do."
Mr. Nash left after that. I brought some loose clothes down for Erin and we sat out on the porch for a while. I made her soup for lunch and we sat in silence most of the time. I wished that I had not said that I would only be closed in the morning. I felt obligated to go in and open the store. I hated leaving Erin alone. She smiled and said, "If it's going to be your store you better start being a lot more dependable than Ray was."
She was better by the middle of next week. She was well enough to go to work. Mr. Nash was as good as his word and there was a hell of a lot of paperwork involved but Erin and I now own a hardware store.
It took a while to live down what happened at the Dairy Queen. But word got around about Ray and the people that had heard about what happened at Dairy Queen eventually heard about Ray and after a while it all died down.
No one ever heard from or about Ray again. I always half expected to read something about him in the paper but I never did.
With the help of Mr. Nash and some of his many connections we started putting the word out about Mel and George. Their business began to quickly dry up all over the Northeast and in two years they were bankrupt. It was less than they deserved but we got some satisfaction out of it.
I was surprised at how quickly Erin recovered. And not just physically! Within a few weeks she was her old self again. She had that ready laugh and that sweet smile and even though she went back to wearing her old clothes she was still real popular with the customers and I know that a lot of the guys came in to shop just because of her.
Word got around to the Atkins brothers too I guess. They hadn't come in for a long time and I finally drove out there one day and assured them that we missed them as customers and that Erin wasn't upset with them. They finally came in one day and Erin couldn't get them to stop apologizing. They finally settled down and got over it though. She kissed them both on the cheek before they left the store and you should have seen them blush.
The End