Affair of Terror

Copyright © 2021

Once again, I am humbled by blackrandl1958's invitation to join the assembly of fine writers she put together for this event. Thank you again, blackrandl1958.

*****

"Cathy, what'd you do to your face?"

Cathy reached up with her left hand and touched her cheek. It hurt, but she wasn't aware anything was noticeable. When she'd checked it right after getting slapped, it was just a little red. She figured that would go away after a little while.

Without answering her friend, she turned and headed for the mirror in the ladies' room. She was shocked at the black and purple bruise along her cheekbone.

Her friend had followed her. "What happened; did Alan do that? Did he hit you?"

"Diane, don't be ridiculous. You've met my husband. He'd never hit any woman, let alone me."

"Then who did that to you?"

"Nobody, I did it to myself," she lied. "I was putting a heavy bowl up in the cabinet this morning when it slipped, came down and hit me, that's all. I'm just surprised it left this bad of a bruise."

Cathy could tell by the look on her face that Diane didn't believe her. "What?"

"My roommate in college had an abusive boyfriend for a while. She used to come in looking just like that. Don't try and bullshit me; somebody hit you," Diane challenged.

Cathy just stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say. Her mind went into overdrive trying to decide whether to come clean or try to bluff her way through it.

"Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it," she joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Look, I'm not being abused by anybody. It was an accident; just let it go."

Diane couldn't help getting angry. They were supposed to be best friends. Friends confided in each other. Then she remembered her former college roommate. She didn't admit to being abused right away, either. Admitting you're a victim of abuse is hard for anyone, so she decided not to push it. "Okay, I'll let it go for now, but if it happens again I'm not making any promises. I mean it, Cath."

"It won't happen again. I've already seen to it," she responded.

With that, Diane left while Cathy tried to hide the bruise with make-up. Unfortunately, she didn't have what she needed so she didn't do a very good job. For the rest of the day, she noticed people giving her a double-take.

*****

After work, she prayed she'd beat her husband home. He was a photographer and owned Hodges Commercial Photography, on the north side of the city. In the early days, when he first opened, he ran the whole place by himself. He rarely got home before eight or nine in the evening, but after becoming more established, he was able to take on an assistant.

He interviewed people for two weeks before hiring Michelle. She was personable, energetic, and very eager to learn. Within the first year, she was schmoozing clients, booking appointments, and even shooting some of the simpler jobs; all of which freed up some personal time for Al. Hell, sometimes he'd even leave early and let Michelle close up when things were slow. Every once in a while he'd beat his wife home by a good hour or two.

*****

Her heart almost stopped when she opened the garage door and saw his SUV parked in its spot. Damn, she inwardly cursed, Diane saw right through her lies. She hoped Al didn't have an abused college friend, as well.

The plan was to yell out that she had to go to the bathroom before Al had a chance to see her, put some foundation on the bruise, then come back down the stairs and give him the usual hug and kiss hello. Unfortunately for her, he was just going upstairs himself and was right by the door when she walked in. She was in his arms and his mouth was closing in on hers before she even realized it. Their lips were just about to touch when he stopped.

"Honey, what the hell happened?" he asked, taking a better look.

She learned from her encounter with Diane and had a better answer ready just in case she needed it. She spoke as nonchalantly as she could. "Yeah, it happened in the restaurant at lunch. I had to go to the lady's room. I did my business, but on the way out I felt the heel strap on my shoe was twisted. I bent down to straighten it just as someone opened the door to come in. It hit me right on the side of my face and almost knocked me down. The woman felt terrible but I told her it wasn't her fault, it was mine for being so stupid."

"Ouch, that had to hurt," he said as he gave her a tender peck on the lips. "Here, sit down. I'll get some ice for it."

She sat on the couch and was relieved that he seemed to swallow her story, hook-line-and-sinker. When he came back he sat beside her, put his left arm around her shoulders and gently pressed an icepack to her injury.

She closed her eyes and smiled with gratitude. Inadvertently, she breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing it was over with Tony. It should have never started in the first place, and she'd been riddled with guilt for weeks. At that moment, she felt more relaxed than she had been in a long time. Bruise or no bruise, as soon as they got to bed she was going to make love to her man like she hadn't in ages. In fact, she became obsessed with the thought.

After clearing and stacking the dinner dishes in the washer, both retreated into the living room. Al settled back in his La-Z-Boy with the Mikey Spillane novel he was reading, while Cathy continued up the stairs. He was less than half a page away from the big shoot-out scene when he heard his wife call from the bedroom.

"Honey, could you come up and help me, please?"

He was pretty sure Mike Hammer was going to avoid getting shot, anyway, so he dog-eared the page and set the paperback down on the little table beside the recliner. "On my way," he called out as he got up. He knew something was up when he noticed the glow of candlelight as he approached from down the hall. He'd already forgotten about the shoot-out on page one-fifty-one as he entered the bedroom with a big smile.

Cathy stood in the far corner of the room so he could get a good look at the burgundy see-through negligee she was wearing. He'd bought it for her on Valentine's Day. She sauntered up to him with her hips swaying like a runway model. Her lips turned up with a devilish little grin as she started unbuttoning his shirt. "Do you think you could help me with this itch I have between my legs, honey?"

"You know I have a growing concern for any problem you have down there, honey."

She couldn't help but giggle at his double entendre response. "Ummm," she cooed, "it sounds like we might be able to help each other," she said while pulling his shirt over his shoulders. With his shirt lying crumpled on the floor, she knelt in front of him and started on his trousers next. "I'm sure I can help alleviate your growing concerns."

Al's rock-hard cock sprang from its confines and stood proud as his lovely wife pulled his pants down. "Oh, you really are concerned, aren't you," she teased.

"Ohhh, Godddd," he moaned at the touch of her tongue lightly caressing his balls. His breathing had already become erratic as she took him in and out of her mouth, occasionally teasing him with the tip of her tongue. About the time his legs were about to collapse, Cathy crawled on the bed with her hands and knees and looked behind her.

"Yooo-Hooo," she called with a grin.

He knew that look and he knew what it meant when she took that position, she wanted to be fucked. Even in the flickering candlelight, he could see glistening moisture between her legs. He moved to the side of the bed and took aim. She took his six inches of hard flesh with no trouble. "God that feels so good," she sighed.

Al leaned over and started pinching her nipples which brought more cries of ecstasy. "Harder, honey, give it to me hard, ram it in," she shrieked. That was new. She loved to just fuck sometimes instead of making love, but she'd never asked for it to be rammed in like that before. Nevertheless, her wish was his command.

"Oh God, oh God," she screamed with each stroke.

"Oh, oh," he grunted, "I'm... I'm getting close... I... I don't think I can..."

"Come for me, baby, come hard, come on... " Cathy yelled.

Al let out a hellish sound of amatory euphoria as he climaxed, shooting again and again. Cathy pushed back into him with every spasm. When he was sure he was done, Al collapsed beside his bride on the bed. He closed his eyes while trying to regain control of his breathing. Cathy settled down next to him and swung her leg over his deflating cock.

It was a couple of minutes before he could even speak. "You didn't get to come, I'm sorry. You had me halfway there with that blow job."

"Don't be silly. You don't have to apologize. We don't always have to come together. The night is young. I'm sure you'll have me climbing the walls like always before we're done."

"That's the intention," he confirmed.

They both smothered the other with kisses until Al started to feel his cock begin to stir again. He took his wife's hand from his chest and started messaging her palm with his thumbs. When she started to moan already, he began to suck on her fingers. He knew her erogenous zones very well and had her motor revving in no time. Cathy closed her eyes to savor the warm and loving feeling building in her loins. He rolled over and hovered above her, braced on one elbow while kissing behind her ear. Slowly, he worked his way down, paying particular attention to her hardened nipples.

"Oh, oh, oh, yes," she whimpered. Uncontrollably, her pelvis rose to meet him at the touch of his tongue. He may have failed to get her off from behind, but he knew how to make up for it. "Oh, my God," she screamed. Her upper body spasmed upward, and her hands clinched at the sheets as Al sucked on her clit, rolling it with his tongue. Shock wave after shock wave fired every neurotransmitter of pleasure.

Al smiled and watched as his wife threw her head back and arched her spine in ecstasy. It was only the first of three epic orgasms he would give his lovely bride in succession.

"Come on up here and lie on your back," she huffed in between trying to catch her breath.

Al scooted up and lay down alongside her. He was so hard, his skin was stretched to the max. Cathy threw her leg over him and reached between her legs, guiding his love-hardened flesh, home.

"Oh," he felt his heart skip a beat as she moved her hips back and forth. She rested both hands on his chest and used it to slowly raise and lower herself. It didn't take long before they were both close.

"I... I'm... I'm going to..."

"Shhhhh," she shushed him as she closed her eyes and pictured her handsome husband in her mind. "Me too," she whispered. "Just let it happen."

That was all he needed to hear. Al reached out for her as he exploded with euphoria. He felt her pounding on his chest and knew she was coming at the same time. Her body writhed and jerked as she felt his cock twitch with every discharge.

Cathy finally collapsed but held her hips in place so she could feel him shrinking inside. It wasn't until his flaccid love tool popped out that she rolled off of him. "Oh, God, that was good," she said while still gasping a little.

"Damn, honey, that was incredible," he replied with a slight wheeze in his voice.

They both had broad smiles as they cuddled and dropped off to dreamland.

"What the..." At first, Al thought he was dreaming. His mind had not yet become fully aware of what was waking him up. He opened one eye and looked toward the nightstand for the offending noise. His phone was glowing. He knew it wasn't the alarm, that was even more aggravating and it was still dark in the room. As he swung his legs over the side and sat up he felt his wife stirring.

"Al, what's going on?"

"I don't know yet," he said while reaching for his phone. "Somebody's calling."

"At this hour?"

"Hello," he mumbled. A few moments later, Al jumped up and yelled, "I'll be there in twenty-five minutes!"

"Al, what's the matter? What happened?" pleaded his scared wife.

"Someone tried to burn down the studio," he anxiously responded. "The cops and the fire department are there now."

"I'm going with you."

"Well, hurry and get something on, we got to go!"

Thank heaven the expressways weren't very busy at three in the morning. They could see all the flashing lights as they approached. A grey-haired cop in uniform introduced himself as Sergeant Jergins as they stepped from the car.

"I'm Al Hodges, the owner. This is my wife, Cathy." Al was visibly shaken. "Is there a lot of damage?"

"Naw, hardly any. It happened in the back, by the alley. Come on, I'll show you."

The sergeant was right. It was a brick building and the back door was steel, so except for a little scorching, everything was fine. Al was a little confused. The cop seemed to be showing a lot more concern than the little bit of damage warranted. He got the impression the good sergeant wanted to talk to him, but not in front of Cathy. He knew she didn't have her keys with her so he handed her his key ring.

"Honey, do me a favor. Take one of the officers with you and go inside to make sure nothing got damaged in the studio, will you? I'll be in there in a couple minutes. I just want to check a couple more things out here, first."

"Okay, honey."

One of the female cops standing near heard the exchange and volunteered to accompany her.

"Okay, sergeant, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yes, sir. Do you have any enemies; maybe been fooling around with some of the married models?"

The question was extremely insulting and Al was not shy about expressing his feelings. "No, sergeant!" he angrily spat. "I do not fool around with the models or anyone else. How about you? Do you fool around with lady cops like the one with my wife? I didn't check; is she married?"

"All right, all right, don't get your panties in a bunch," growled the man in blue. "Your righteous indignation is duly noted, but somebody doesn't like you and you need to be straight with me."

"I am being straight. This was probably some kids or something."

"I don't think so." He looked over his shoulder. "Ray," he called out to one of the firemen still lingering around. "You want to bring that thing over and show it to Mr. Hodges, here."

"You know I can't do that, Sarge. It's already secured."

"Ray, for Pete's sake, it's put together with tissue paper and bubble gum. There's no way that thing's going to go off. Come on, who knows, Hodges here might see something that'll give him a clue to who built it."

Ray hesitated. It was against procedure, but the sergeant was right. It wasn't about to go off. The fireman brought over a charred, half-burned box with some wires sticking out.

"What is that?"

"It's a homemade bomb. Fortunately for you, whoever put it together didn't know what they were doing. It overheated and caught on fire instead of blowing up."

"A bomb," muttered Al in astonishment. "I swear, I don't have the foggiest idea who would do something like this."

"Ah huh, no clue at all?" the sergeant asked with skepticism. "Usually, people don't have enemies like this without knowing."

"I swear to you, I have absolutely no idea."

The sergeant had been on the job for more than twenty years. He could usually tell when someone was lying. His demeanor changed for the better when he decided Al was telling the truth. "Okay, sorry for the crack about the models. I'm just trying to get to the truth—for your own protection."

"Understood," responded Al. "Listen, don't say anything about this to my wife, okay? I don't want to worry her."

"That's not a good idea," the sergeant replied. "I understand you not wanting to worry her, but she could also be a target. We don't know who this individual is or why he's focused on you, but she should be warned so she knows to stay vigilant."

Al took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "I suppose you're right."

When they both entered the studio, Cathy and the female cop were just finishing their inspection.

"Honey, from what we can see, I don't think anyone got inside. Nothing's damaged, and as far as I can tell, nothing is missing," Cathy commented.

"Thanks, hon, you too, officer," he responded. "Honey, the sergeant here doesn't believe what happened was just some childish mischief. It appears someone might have it in for me."

"What? Who?"

"I have no idea," he replied while shaking his head in disbelief. "It's probably nothing, but until we can get to the bottom of it, I want you to be careful. Don't go approaching any strange cars or anything like that. If you go out for lunch it might be a good idea to take someone with you, or better yet, take your lunch and eat it at work."

"Are you serious?"

"It's for the best, Mrs. Hodges," added the sergeant.

Cathy just stood there looking at the two of them for a moment. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It... it appears someone tried to bomb the place, hon."

"WHAT? Oh, my God. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Al confirmed with a small nod. "It didn't go off, but it's what started the fire."

Cathy's legs got a little wobbly, so she took a seat while the police sergeant talked with her husband.

"Do you have any security cameras, Mr. Hodges?"

"Ah, in the office, yeah, I turn them on when I leave at night. I also have a silent alarm connected to you guys. I don't have anything outside, though."

"Okay. Look, you're in the business. I'm sure it'd be nothing for you to rig up a couple of hidden cameras out there someplace."

"Yeah, good idea, I'll set a couple up tomorrow."

"Okay, good. Well, I see the FD boys have taken off for now but there'll be a fire inspector out in the morning." He looked at the female in uniform. "Are you ready, officer Dar?"

"Yes, sergeant," she answered.

There was nothing more that Al or Cathy could do so they headed home. It was four-thirty when they walked in.

Cathy proceeded directly to the kitchen. "I won't get any more sleep tonight. I'm going to make coffee."

"Make enough for me, too," Al replied. In the meantime, he sat in front of the computer and looked up reviews for security cameras. Pricewise, they were all over the map: everything from twenty-five dollars to hundreds, but he was looking for other features, as well. Of course, it had to be wireless, but he also wanted something weatherproof with night vision and infrared to capture a good picture in the dark. Since he was no electrical engineer, it also had to be easy to install. He found three models, any one of which would suffice.

He was still reading when Cathy came up and stood next to him. She put her arm around him as she looked toward the screen. "Whatcha doing?"

"I want to get cameras set up as soon as possible. I think I found what I want. I was just looking to see who carries them in the area."

"Coffee's ready."

"Okay, hon. Pour me a cup and I'll be there in just a minute."

She leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving.

"Thanks, hon," he said as he joined his wife at the kitchen table. They sat and talked about various things until they both chuckled at the sound of the alarm coming from the bedroom. "Well, time to get up," Al joked.

Before leaving for the studio, Al reminded his bride again about being careful. Of course, by lunchtime, she'd forgotten all about it. She was able to leave a few minutes early which put her ahead of the usual crowd. With her car keys in hand, she reached to unlock the door when a man's hand grabbed tightly around her wrist and swung her around, pushing her back against the car. Cathy's terrified eyes met those of anger. She tried to free her hand but his grip only got stronger.

"Tony, you're hurting me, let go."

He reached up with his other hand and squeezed her lips together so she couldn't talk. "Evidently I didn't make myself clear yesterday. Get in my car, cunt. We're going to the apartment."