The Only Constant is Change Ch. 10B

And, in a moment of clarity that had eluded him for so long, Rudy remembered how he'd focused only on Taylor. He'd shut down, of course, but he accepted what was happening because he saw that they weren't all the same. How could he have forgotten the hurt she'd experienced on his behalf that night?

Jeremy tried with all his might not to breathe, not to twitch a muscle, silently pleading with his captor to take pity on them. To his amazement, a single tear leaked from Rudy's eye and made its way down his cheek.

"Okay."

That one word resounded like a thunderclap in Jeremy's ear. He was afraid to press the issue, but he needed to know what Rudy was thinking. "Okay?" he quietly asked.

There was a new serenity in Rudy's face, an air of calm that was diametrically opposed to the angry storm that he'd exhibited thus far. His entire countenance had relaxed. He smiled gently and said, "You're right. Taylor tried to stop them. I forgot about it for so long. But the way you talked about her? It reminded me that the real Taylor, the one I saw sobbing on my behalf that night, was not the one who set me up or hurt me. Just like you said, I held that little glimmer of hope deep inside while I shut down and let the others do what they were going to do."

He looked at Jeremy with a curious expression on his face. "Why were you willing to sacrifice yourself tonight?"

Jeremy looked at him and said, "Like I said, some sacrifices are worth making. I love her."

That answer seemed to please Rudy, who nodded and said, "Good. She deserves to have someone who loves her." Then he looked around for a moment before turning back to Jeremy and saying, "I've got a couple of things I need to do, and then I'm going to let you go. Your phone and everything are on a table behind you."

It was almost more terrifying to see the calm that Rudy was now exhibiting than it had been when he was raging. Hopefully, Jeremy thought, he's not lying.

As Jeremy watched, Rudy started the video camera before taking a seat at the end of the bed. Then he began to speak.

"My name is Rudy Martino. I am responsible for the attacks that people in Eagle Crest, Colorado refer to as 'Rudy's Revenge.' I was very careful, and I doubt that there is sufficient evidence to convict me of those crimes. But I confess now, because I want people to know what was done to me."

His description of the events of that night was more extensive, more violent, and more disgusting than what Taylor's had been. Listening to him, Jeremy couldn't imagine the pain that the young man had experienced every day since. He'd been sick when a girl he'd barely dated gave a blowjob to another guy. How the hell would he have reacted under the same circumstances?

Jeremy was stuck in his own musings and didn't recognize when Rudy approached him until he felt a knife slide through the layers of tape wound around his chest.

Rudy stepped back, holding the knife up where Jeremy could see it. "I'm going to place this knife in your hand, but I need you to promise not to cut yourself free until I'm gone. Can you do that?"

Jeremy swallowed hard and nodded.

"Okay. Here we go. I want you to close your eyes and count to 100 slowly before you open them. I'll be gone before you do."

Jeremy nodded his understanding, and then closed his eyes and began to count. 100...99...98...

As he did so, Rudy quietly made his way over to where Taylor lay. He saw the tears on her face and the fear in her eyes as he approached. He smiled and smoothed her hair back away from her face. "I'm sorry," he said. "Thank you for trying to help me that night."

...73...72...71...

Rudy sat back down in front of the camera. He stared at the ground for a few seconds, his hands clasped over his lips as if in prayer. Finally, he rubbed his face and sat up. He smiled at the unblinking lens and said, "I'm not sorry for the things I've done. But I've gotten my revenge. It's time for me to move on."

...49...48...47...

Rudy pulled out a 0.38 caliber revolver, placed the barrel against his right temple, and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the shot startled Jeremy and he opened his eyes in time to see Rudy's body slump to the side and off the bed.

"Oh Rudy," he whispered sadly. "I'm sorry."

With Rudy dead, he began to saw at the bindings at his wrists. It looked so easy in the movies, but it took several minutes before he managed to weaken them enough that he could flex and break them. After that, it was only another moment's work to release his feet.

After having sat in place so long, Jeremy's limbs felt heavy and clumsy. But he managed to drag himself to his feet and stumble near the bed. Afraid of what he'd find when he got there, Jeremy was relieved to see that Taylor appeared to be relatively unharmed. As soon as he released her arms, she ripped the tape from her mouth, threw her arms around Jeremy, and began alternately kissing, hugging, and sobbing.

Jeremy held her until she finally seemed to relax. He turned to release the ties on her feet, but the task was more difficult because he couldn't quite bring himself to let go of her hand. Eventually, though, he managed to cut through the ropes and free her.

He was forced to drop the knife to avoid cutting her when the beautiful redhead tackled him and began kissing him once again. Between kisses, she kept telling him "Thank you" and "I thought I was dead." Finally, she snuggled in against him, begging him to hold her for a few minutes.

They lay there quietly in the surreal setting with Rudy's corpse on the floor a few feet away. Finally, Taylor quietly asked, "Did you mean it?"

Jeremy cocked his head to look at her and said, "Mean what?"

Taylor leaned up on her arm and looked into his eyes. "Did you mean it when you said you love me?"

Jeremy grinned slightly. "You heard that, huh?"

"I heard that."

He pulled her to his chest and said, "I think I do. I don't know how it's going to work, but God help me if I don't love you."

Taylor took his hands in hers and kissed his fingers. "I love you too. I love you, and I love Ava, and I want you to know that I belong with you. I don't care what else happens, as long as I can be with the two of you."

Jeremy wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he just hugged her close and whispered, "Let's go home."

*****

Epilogue:

The videotaped confession went a long way, but it wasn't until the toxicology report showed traces of a powerful sedative remaining in his bloodstream that police finally cleared Jeremy of any wrongdoing in Taylor's kidnapping. Despite Taylor's assurances to the contrary, initially the police suspected him of being an accomplice playing at being the wolf in sheep's clothing.

Ava, of course, had been terrified when her husband and their roommate disappeared. Fortunately, it was less than 12 hours from beginning to end of their ordeal. The police didn't release a lot of details, and the two former captives weren't keen to relate what they'd experienced either. They simply assured Ava that she was better off not knowing.

The revelation that Jeremy and Taylor loved each other might have caused more problems if Ava hadn't admitted that she loved Taylor as well. They couldn't very well form a legal union, but they began making plans to live in a polyamorous relationship moving forward.

Months after the attack, Jeremy graduated and received his commission as an ensign in the United State Navy. Between his training as a Crypto Tech and his new degree in computer science, he managed to work his way right back to D. C. It was nice to get back to a familiar place, but the man who came back had changed more than his uniform in the last four years. His innocence had been shattered. With the encouragement of his wife, he did eventually seek counseling for PTSD, but he also sought training for handguns and hand-to-hand combat. He vowed that there would never be another time when he felt so helpless to defend the people he loved.