the bedroom door to find Alessa sitting on the floor next to the mattress. She looked more like a robot than a human. Her eyes were blank, and staring into them, Harlin was pleased by what he saw. She had finally come to realize that she was a puppet in his hands, to be manipulated as he wished. Maybe, from now on, he wouldn’t have to see that stupid look on her face, the look that suggested she was hoping for something that would never actually happen.
“Let’s go,” he said abruptly. As Alessa stood up to follow him, he stopped her sharply with a gesture. “Put your lingerie on,” he commanded.
This time, Alessa undressed in front of him without a trace of self-consciousness, as though she was no longer ashamed or embarrassed to strip before a man. She put on the lingerie and, without Harlin even reminding her to do so, stepped into her high heels. She was like a zombie, and Harlin liked it. It made his life a lot easier now. He led her out into the living room, and Alessa was surprised to find no clients waiting for her. She was alone with Harlin.
He turned to her and lifted his shirt over his head. “Tonight is my night for a little pleasure. Only you and me. You ain’t gotta do no one else tonight!”
Alessa faked her relief, as though he were doing her a favor by offering himself as the sole client for the night, and acted like the naïve girl she used to be when they’d first met. But deep in her heart, there was only hatred for him, a loathing so intense she wished he would die. All she could see was the man who had killed her only family.
As she stood waiting for him to take his pleasure, Harlin reached behind, pulled his gun from the back of his jeans, and placed it within his reach on the sofa. Then he took off his clothes. He told her to turn on the music. She obeyed his command and went back to him on the sofa. His brow lifted and his teeth were clenched tightly together. “Dance!”
As he moved his hands down her body, a soft moan escaped from his lips. He pulled her into himself. Grasping her by the hips, he lifted her and brought her down slowly. Harlin’s breathing was labored, and she kissed him. He kissed her back lustfully, as he had kissed no one before. Between moans, he mumbled incoherently, “We’ll make this work.”
Almost about to finish, his arms went around her waist, and he clung to her, as if for his very life. Then he opened his eyes, and a chill went through him. His own gun, now gripped in Alessa’s hand, was pointing steadily at his temple.
His face twisted in rage. His voice was threatening, as he snarled, “What are you going to do with that, bitch?”
Without a word, Alessa pulled the trigger.
As Harlin sprawled on the sofa, half his skull gone, she stared down at him expressionlessly. Then she said, “Blow your brains out, bitch!”
Leaving him there, Alessa went back into the bedroom. She flung off the lingerie and put on the jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers she had been wearing the day she had been abducted from the park. She sat on the edge of the mattress, reflecting on the precious moments she had shared with Remo and Lucy. She paid a silent tribute to her love for them and begged God’s forgiveness for causing their deaths. She thought about her life and how empty it would now be. She realized how impossible it would be for her to go on without them. She needed to be with them. Then slowly, she picked up Harlin’s gun, placed it near her temple, and pulled the trigger.
