Escalation Ch. 03

"She did worse to me. She insulted me the whole time. They took fucking pictures and mailed them out to everyone I work with," I snapped. I couldn't believe what she was saying.

"She did, and that was a terrible thing to do. She got fucked for all of five minutes, and hated every minute of it, as her revenge. You spent hours with two women, enjoying the hell out of it. That was even crueler. Apologize, or anything we have going is done before it even started."

I looked over at Sheri, and watched the tears run down her cheeks. "I had to," I said.

She nodded. "I know. I . . . I'm sorry I made you like this."

I turned on my side, gazing into her face. "You destroyed me. Broke my heart. I could never trust you again, after you betrayed me like that."

She nodded. "Believe me, Marty. I understand."

My anger was missing. I don't know why. I felt tears welling up in my own eyes. "We had some good years, didn't we?"

She nodded, and I saw her lips trembling.

"Do you have any idea how much I loved you?" I said.

"Me too. I don't know how we got here. I wish to God it never happened," she said, the tears flowing freely down her face.

"Me too, beautiful. Me too." I leaned over and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry. You'll get the papers Monday. It's fifty-fifty, and you're getting the house and your car."

"One more chance?" she asked.

"I can't. I'll never know when you're going to blow up again. I could never fall asleep beside you, not knowing what you were going to do to me. I can't trust you. I can't."

"We really messed this up, didn't we?" she said.

"Yeah, we did. I'm sorry. I never meant it to go this far. I don't think either of us did, but it happened, and we can't take it back."

Debbie had untied her arms, and Sheri rolled into me, wrapping her arms around me. "We could try. It doesn't have to end like this."

I held her, remembering our early days, for the moment capable of ignoring what she'd done to me. But I knew that wouldn't last. The first time we had harsh words it would all come back. We were done. I'd miss her, the girl she was at that moment, the girl I'd married. The girl of my dreams for four years. Not the woman I existed with for most of the last year.

Debbie leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then gave Sheri one. "I'm leaving. You two need to talk. Call me Marty, when you're ready."

"I will." I let her leave, holding Sheri, my wife, who needed me then. One last time.

"She's nice," Sheri said. "I want to hate her for stealing you away. But she didn't, did she?"

"No. Just like you didn't all those years ago," I said.

"Like I didn't?"

"She was my girlfriend before you. She even came to look for me after she broke up with her guy. She said you chased her away and threatened her."

I felt her stiffen up. "God, I forgot all about that. I wasn't about to let her get her foot back in the door. As I recall, she hurt you pretty bad. That's who you turned to?"

My hand was rubbing her back, and I kissed her. "Yeah. It was painful, but she did it right. We weren't engaged or anything, just dating. She met another guy, and didn't play games. She was straight up with me, and broke it off before going to him. It hurt, but I've learned to appreciate how she did it. I guess I respect her for that."

She was quiet. We both were, laying there, lost in our thoughts. "What do we do now?" she finally said.

"I'll find a place. You'll get the papers on Monday. I . . . I was feeling vindictive, and hid a lot of money. I'm sorry about that. I'll give you your share. It should help. It'll be about eighty thousand all told. You get the house and your car. I filed on irreconcilable differences."

She chuckled. "Make it seventy-two thousand. I hid some money too. Not as good as you, obviously. Where the hell did you get that kind of money?"

She whimpered, when I sat up. But all I did was pull the covers over us; it was getting cold. I took her back in my arms, and let her kiss me. "I refinanced the house. I figured the down payment was my money from before we got married, and I wanted it back. The payments are actually lower by forty dollars, but it's got a full thirty year mortgage."

Her leg was between mine, and she was rubbing against me. I couldn't believe it, but it was starting to have an effect on me. I guess I had the miracle of modern science to thank for that.

"If you want to keep some extra, I'll understand," she said.

"No. Let's start even. You're gonna have to get a full-time job. We weren't together long enough for alimony. I'll make two more payments on the house but then you're on your own. You might want to get a roommate."

She poked me. "Don't even say it. I know what you're thinking. That guy's a total ass."

"Why him of all people, Sheri? That was the straw that broke the camel's back. You know I hated him. I fucking work with the guy. I'm probably going to have to find a new job, maybe even move away. You destroyed me in the office."

She sighed, leaning into me. "I wanted to hurt you. I knew he'd do me, he made that clear enough. I wanted you to feel my pain."

"Well, you managed that."

She rose up and kissed me, long and deep. "Let's not talk about it, alright. I'm sorry. Let's remember our good days. They were pretty good, weren't they?"

That's what we did. We talked, remembering. We got out our albums, and looked at the pictures, recalling what we once had. We made love, long and slow, then had dinner ordered in. We returned to bed, still talking, like we hadn't in years. We showered together, and I kissed her good night, and told her I was going to sleep in the guest bedroom.

"Tie me up," she said.

"Do what?"

"Tie my hands to the headboard. You say you can't trust me, you can't fall asleep beside me, afraid of what I'll do. Tie me up and stay with me. Please?"

As weird as it sounds, I did. I tied her hands together over her head. I cuddled up to her, fondling and caressing her body, until I fell asleep. I woke in the night, and took her. It wasn't gentle. I just needed to have her again, and I did. It was hot and passionate, and I felt great as I fell asleep with her.

I woke to her laying half on top of me, her leg between mine, rubbing me. I was hard and when I looked over at her, she was smiling. "I'm awfully helpless over here. If you wanted to ravage me, there's nothing I could do about it," she said.

I had her suck me, then fucked her. After I fucked her hard, I untied her hands, and we made love. We showered together, and never said a word about what the following day would bring. We acted like it was a normal day. A day from early in our marriage. She cooked our meals, and I gave her car the once over. There were a couple of things I wanted to do around the house, and when I finished, I found her separating the pictures in our albums into two piles, tears rolling down her face. We didn't talk about it, but I helped her put the new albums together, then took her to bed. Afterward I packed my tools in the garage, leaving her a few, and all the gardening stuff. I figured I wouldn't need them in an apartment.

We dressed and went out to dinner. We danced for about an hour, then returned home where I undressed her. I took her to bed, and went down on her, ignoring her pleas, and made her come for me, repeatedly. She gave me a loving blowjob, to completion, and swallowed, for only the fourth time in our marriage. The first was after she blew those bastards I worked with. They'd get theirs.

We knew it was our last time, and the loving was intense, passionate, and sad. Afterward she cried in my arms, until we both fell asleep. I didn't even tie her down.

In the morning, we didn't talk about it. It was over. We both knew it. I gave her a kiss goodbye at the door, and I left. I looked back and she was standing in the doorway watching me as I pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

~ * ~ * ~

The meeting with the CEO was a mixed bag. Anderson was fired. Eric, Jack and my boss were written up, the first two given leave without pay for the week. Diane in HR got written up. That was the good news. The bad news was he suggested I might prefer to work somewhere else. He offered to give me an outstanding review, and a six-month package if I'd resign. When I balked, he made it a year. It sounded like the best deal I was going to get, and I accepted. I had to go to the office and sign a boat-load of papers, saying I wouldn't sue them, and it was late afternoon before I walked out with the box of my belongings. That and a check for a year's salary and almost three weeks of saved vacation.

I knew Sheri had been served around lunch time, and was surprised I hadn't heard from her. I'd received a call from Amy, but wasn't prepared to talk to her yet. I was still in somewhat of a daze. I did stop by one of my banks and emptied that account, taking out sixty-five thousand dollars. If she had signed the papers, I'd give her that.

She wasn't getting any of my severance pay. It was her fault, anyway.

I decided to stop by the house, and pick up my things, starting the process of moving out. I figured I'd take the guest room bed for now, some kitchen items and my stuff from the study. I'd still need to get a few more things.

There was a car in the driveway, and the street was pretty crowded, but I guess I was still pretty out of it, after the day I'd had. That's why what I found when I entered the house was such a surprise.

It took a few seconds for me to realize it was my wife in the middle of those naked bodies, surrounded by three men. Once my brain accepted what I was seeing, I pulled out my smartphone and started recording. They never even noticed my presence. They were all too busy making my loving wife airtight.

I guess I shouldn't have cared, we were done, but it angered me. I backed out of the house quietly and returned to my car, digging out my good video camera. I wanted incontrovertible evidence, in high def. Not against her; the wives of Eric and Jack would be getting a nice little surprise.

I carefully opened the door, the recorder running, and recorded the gangbang. She was sucking Anderson's cock, when he finally looked up and saw what I was doing. The idiot smirked. "Thanks for the slut," he sneered.

He might have been single, but the other two weren't. "You're welcome to her. Smile for the camera guys."

By then Eric had realized what was going on. He was the one with his dick up my wife's ass. The ass she'd denied me. Bitch. He pulled out with a roar and came running toward me.

I backed out of the door, and probably would have made my get away clean, if my old boss Thompson hadn't been walking up the path. I guess three wasn't enough for Sheri.

I ran into him, stumbling and it was enough to ruin my escape.

~ * ~ * ~

I woke in the hospital room, and it took a few seconds for me to get my bearings. I hurt all over. My ribs and arm were the worst.

"Marty?"

I turned to the voice, and my traitorous wife was there. I couldn't believe it.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and I realized she was holding my hand. I pulled it away.

"Really?"

She blushed. "Why did you have to take pictures, Marty?"

"One last memory of why I divorced you, you fucking whore. You couldn't leave it alone, could you?"

"Don't blame this on me. You're the one that divorced me. I didn't want it. I told you that."

Now that sounded like the Sheri I knew and hated. "So you thought you'd have a gangbang, and make your lovers kick my ass."

"That wasn't supposed to happen. Why the fuck did you have to take pictures? They destroyed your camera. All it got you was a beating."

"Run, Sheri."

"Run?"

"Run. As far and fast as you can. When I get out, I'm gonna kill you. Kill all of you."

"Don't be a drama queen, Marty. We're getting divorced. You got your wish. It's over."

"I'm not kidding Sheri. Next time I see you, I'm putting a bullet in your head. You'll be the lucky one. The others will suffer before they die."

She looked nervous. "Don't even think that way."

"I'm giving you one chance. Run. Hope that I never find you, because I'm coming looking. I swear to God, I'm going to kill you, before you kill me."

"I would never—"

"RUN! Run, you stupid bitch. This time you went too far. RUN!" I screamed.

A nurse showed up in the room, looking at us anxiously. "We can't have you getting upset."

"I want her out of here. She did this to me. Get her out, or I'll climb out of this bed and throw her out."

Sheri stood, and she was pale as a ghost. "I . . . I'm going."

"Far, I hope. For your sake."

"We'll talk," she said, working her way to the door.

"If we do, it'll be the last time you talk to anybody."

~ * ~ * ~

Of course their story was I attacked them. Walked in on them talking to my wife, supporting her after I'd surprised her with divorce papers. She supported their claim, according to the police. They weren't pressing charges against me. That was supposed to be the good news.

Amy showed up the next day. She took one look, and turned pale. I must have looked as bad as I felt. "What happened? Sheri won't say anything."

"I came home to get my stuff, and she was getting gangbanged by everyone she'd cheated with, right in front of the door. Three bastards making her airtight. They took offense to my presence, and gave me a beating I guess. I don't remember anything after the first blow from behind."

"That's impossible," Amy said. "She couldn't—"

"Have you learned nothing, Amy? She could. She did. I saw it. I filmed it. She went too far this time."

"Don't start that. You said that after what we did, it was over."

"It was. Until this. I'm going to destroy her. I'm going to give her a worse beating than I got. Then I'm going to make sure every one of the bastards who fucked me over gets the same. Everyone will end up in the hospital or in their grave, I promise."

"No. You're being ridiculous," she looked upset. Good. Maybe she could convince her sister to hide. I was going to enjoy hunting her down.

"Ridiculous? I'm in the hospital! She did that! She couldn't leave well enough alone. She's dead. They all are. I'm not going to let them do this again. No way. It's me or them. I choose them."

"Marty, listen to yourself. You're not going to kill anybody."

"She's probably got about a week. I'm going after those assholes first. Once I've dealt with them, I'm coming after her. I told her to run. You should convince her, because if I find her, she'll never do this to anybody else again."

"She's your wife, Marty. You love her. You were married five years. You're not going to hurt her," she said.

"Believe what you want. My life is in danger. They nearly killed me. Then they lied to the police, and she went along with it. They're not getting away with it."

"I know she didn't have anything to do with it. She wouldn't. If you want to get revenge against those guys, it'll probably just put you in jail. Leave her out of it, Marty. You've already hurt her enough."

"Read my lips, Amy. I'm coming after her. Nothing on this earth will stop me. She's gonna pay, and pay dearly. If you love your sister, find her someplace to hide, somewhere like Nepal, or Nigeria. Because when I find her, she'll never hurt me again. Ever."

"No, Marty. You need to leave her alone. I'm going to take care of you. Get you healthy. I'll help you forget about her. Trust me."

I laughed. "Amy, you're a great piece of ass, but you're not worth dying for. This is me or them. All of them. Tell her she's got a week. Next Tuesday, I'm coming for her. Tell her that."

She looked scared and confused. "I don't believe you. You couldn't. Not Sheri."

"I don't care if you believe me or not. For her sake, I hope she does. If not, it'll make my job easier. Even if she does run, I'll find her."

"Now you're talking crazy. What about your job? You can't just go running around the world—"

"No job. She took care of that too. I was forced to resign. I was too much of a distraction. It came down to getting rid of me, or all the guys she fucked around with. They chose to get rid of me. Another thing I owe her for."

"I . . . I can't believe that. They got rid of you, because of what she did?"

"Yeah. She had to cheat with three men from my office, didn't she? Fucking cunt. I'm gonna kill her, Amy. And I'm gonna laugh while I do it, and piss on her grave when I'm done. I'm homeless, without a job, in a hospital bed, thanks to that bitch. I owe her."

I guess she was finally starting to believe me. That was good, because I was 100% serious.

"You'll give her a week?"

"Next Tuesday at the earliest. Maybe a few more days, depending on how long it takes to get out of here and deal with the other three," I said.

"I have to try to stop you," she said.

"That's brave of you. Nothing's going to stop me. If you get in the way, you'll end up another casualty."

The look on her face was priceless. "You'd hurt me?"

"I wouldn't kill you unless I had to. But nothing is going to stop me. Nothing."

"You're scaring me, Marty. This isn't like you."

I laughed at her. "This is the new me, babe. The 'me' she created. Face it. I have no job, and nothing better to do with my time than to get payback. I've got enough money to last for years. I'm coming after her. After all of them. Even if they catch me and put me in jail, I'll get out someday and finish the job. First those three bastards, then her. And I'll piss on all their graves when I'm through."

"You've got to let this go. Look what all this revenge has gotten you so far. You're destroying your life. You're becoming a horrible person. I don't even know you anymore." She approached the side of my bed, taking my hand. "I know you're angry. I understand. This isn't the way, baby."

"One week Amy. And don't get in my way."

"Please—"

"One week."

She just stared at me for a while, and I glared back. I saw her shoulders slump. "Don't kill her. Hurt her if you have to but don't kill her."

"One week."

She had tears in her eyes when she finally left me alone.

~ * ~ * ~

Three cracked ribs, a concussion, a dislocated elbow on my left arm, and a lifetime's worth of bruises and contusions. That's what I got out of it. I had a sling for my arm, and my ribs were wrapped, but it still hurt to breath. I'd heal in time.

I called Debbie. She came to visit me. I told her the story, but not all of my plans. I doubt she'd understand. She offered to let me stay with her, but I thought it best that I move into the little basement apartment I'd found. It was cheap, convenient, and under the radar. She helped me move in and we started keeping regular company. I wasn't in any shape for loving, but three days later I was feeling good enough to play around a little.

I was wrong about the week. It took me over a month. I wasn't going to be stupid about it. I couldn't afford to go to jail until I was done.

They might have broken my video camera, but nobody stopped to check on my phone. The video was good enough. Jack and Eric's wives got detailed video, the recorded apology from Eric, and the pictures of the blowjob, which might not have shown their faces, but confirmed the apology, and I was hoping that the wives might recognize the dicks of the men they were married to. It was a start.

I cashed my final payroll and severance check, and emptied my three accounts. It was a scary thing, holding over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash. A bundle of hundreds is about an inch thick. Ten thousand dollars. I had twenty-five of them. Plus a bundle of 50's and a couple of twenties. I wore a money belt, an ankle wallet, a hidden inside the waistband wallet, and of course my regular wallet. I was carrying more than ten thousand dollars with me wherever I went. The rest I kept stashed in a dozen different places around the apartment.