Free Loving Jiro by Jordyn Tracey

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    The living room was a disaster area. The space, only big enough for a love seat, now held that piece of furniture upside down. A flashback surged through her mind, of Odell shoving her over it to land flat on her back with him squeezing her by the neck. She shoved the thought aside.
    Blood spattered the wall, and a bucket sat beneath it, but there was no sign of either Odell or Junior. She noticed the side door stood open, and beyond it a car was parked a few inches away. That area was not a driveway, and some ridiculous thought hit her that her neighbor's wife would have a fit tomorrow morning because of her smashed flowerbed. But where would she be? In jail?
    The Japanese man who worked for Jiro stepped inside carrying trash bags. “Ms. Jackson,” he began.
    She rubbed her hands along her thighs, only now realizing she was still in her stained nightgown. “I just wanted to know which man is alive, and which is d-de..."
    He dug around in his shirt pocket and pulled out a tiny notebook. She had the feeling he didn't really have to look at his notes. He knew just what had been going on in her life. The feeling that nothing was private was terrifying. “Odell Boyd, alive."
    Kiara's knees crumbled. She hit the floor hard, her face scraping the carpet. Probably with the same lack of emotion he announced everything else, the man moved over top her, grasped her around the waist and carried her against his hip into the bedroom. He deposited her on the bed. At the door, with his hand on the knob, he said, “Please stay here until Fuschida-san arrives."
    She had no choice. She couldn't find the energy to roll over, let alone get up.
    * * * *
    Jiro arrived with efficiency and authority. He had a woman with him, making Kiara wonder if he had found a girlfriend who would stick awhile. But he offered no introduction except to tell Kiara the woman's name. Five minutes after she heard it, she couldn't recall what he had said it was.
    "Kiara.” He touched her cheek when she had nodded off after he began to talk to her. “Wake up for a moment. We have to settle some things, and then I will let you rest. I promise."
    She stared up at him, wondering what he thought of how she looked. Night after night, she dreamed of seeing him again, seeing desire in his eyes when he saw her. His expression was impassive.
    "After you get cleaned up and dressed, we'll leave here and go to a hotel. You'll sleep as long as you want. When you wake up, I'll arrange for you to get something to eat. Then you'll have a few decisions to make. Is that clear?” He had said it all gently and with understanding in his tone, but it still seemed like a command. Her mind wasn't working properly.
    He nodded as if she had agreed, stood and crossed to her bedroom door. He and the woman spoke in Japanese before he left her there, closing the door behind him.
    Kiara blinked at the woman. She offered a shy smile and crossed the room to pull Kiara's nightgown over her head.
    "What are you doing?” Kiara mumbled.
    The woman didn't answer. She tossed the nightgown away and twisted to grab a washcloth in a basin of warm sudsy water, Kiara hadn't noticed before. Very methodical, she washed Kiara and then helped her into clean clothes. After she had helped her brush her teeth, the woman picked up her supplies and left the room.
    A moment later, Jiro came back in to the room. He smiled and stroked her hair. “Ready to go?"
    "As ready as I will ever be. She swallowed. “Jiro, what are you going to do with Junior? Did you call the police? This has to be reported."
    "Leave everything up to me. Your task is to rest and to recover."
    * * * *
    Kiara figured she wouldn't sleep a wink, but after she had drank down the warm milk Jiro had given her as if she were a child, she had dropped off to sleep. Now, in the early morning sunshine, she wouldn't be surprised to learn that he had drugged it to knock her out.
    She had just finished dressing, when a knock sounded at her hotel room