Chapter 30
“Bloody pillock, I just know he has her.”
Tara followed after Spike when he headed back into the living room. “Who has her?”
“It’s Ben, he had this obsession with Elizabeth and I have a feeling he’s moved on to Buffy now.”
Tara watched as Spike went up the stairs, wondering what he was doing. “How can you be so sure?” she said once he descended the stairs again.
Spike held up a book for her to see. “This was Lizzie’s journal, she wrote about Ben in it. He started out as a friend and then fell in love with her, or so he thinks. I wouldn’t have called it love. He said that he went away for months on business, but Elizabeth knew the truth. He was sent away to a mental institution in New York to seek some help. I’m guessing that didn’t exactly work out if he’s back to his old ways. If that git even thinks about laying one finger on Buffy, I’ll kill him.”
Tara placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Spike shook his head and walked away. “I’m going to look for her.”
She stopped him before he could leave the house. “How would you even know where to look? You need to call the police and let them handle it.”
“I can’t wait for the cops to get here, there’s no telling what could be happening to her. I have an idea about where he is; let’s just say I have my sources. If I’m not back in about a half an hour, then you can call the police.” He went into his office to grab a sheet of paper to write something down, then handed it to Tara. “Send them to this address; I have a feeling that’s where he’s hiding out.”
Tara glanced down at the paper, then back up at him. “Isn’t this where that abandoned warehouse is located? No one has been there for years.”
Spike nodded. “Exactly, he probably figured that’s the last place anyone would look.”
“Just be careful, all right?”
Spike stepped forward and gave her a hug. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to bring her back and make sure this bastard never hurts anyone again.”
Tara nodded and let out a sigh as her brother left the house. She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “Please let them both be okay.”
* * * * *
Buffy woke up with the worst headache. She opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings, not recognizing where she was.
“I see you’re finally awake. I thought you would sleep the whole night away.”
Buffy sat up and glared at Ben. “Where the hell am I?”
He smiled. “Such language, your sister never would have spoken to me like that.”
“Well, that was her first mistake and for the last time, I’m not my sister. I don’t know what having me here is going to prove. I’m nothing like her.”
The smile quickly wiped off of his face. “You should consider it a compliment to be like her. Elizabeth was perfect in every way. I’m going to bring her back.”
Buffy would have laughed if she wasn’t so scared. “And just how are you going to do that?”
Ben moved closer to her. “That’s where you come in, honey. I’m going to turn you into your sister. You already have the looks down; I’ll just teach you how to act just like her. It shouldn’t be too hard. We’ll finally be together again.”
“God, you really are crazy. Did you skip out on your medication or something? I’m never going to be like her.” Buffy didn’t know why, but she was actually shocked when she felt the sting on her cheek.
“You are going to listen to everything I say, bitch! Elizabeth never would have talked back to me, so you better hold your tongue and show some respect.”
Buffy turned her head and spat in his face. “I’ll never listen to you. My sister probably realized how insane you were and that’s why she never touched you. Why would she want you when she had a great man like William? You’re nothing compared to him.”
Ben wiped his face and grabbed her, shaking her as he spoke. “You are never to speak that name again! It should have been me. He never deserved her and now, he doesn’t deserve you. We’re going to be happy together and you’ll forget that he ever existed.” His gaze softened as he stroked her cheek. “I’ll take such good care of you, my sweet Liz. We’re going to get far away from here and start a new life together. You don’t need him anymore.”
Buffy felt the tears start to fall from her eyes when he released his hold on her. “You can’t take me away from my family. I have three children and I’m going to marry Spike, nothing you do can ever change that.”
“You’ll get a new family. We’ll get married and have kids of our own. You will be so much happier with me, I’ll see to that.”
Buffy didn’t know what else to do. She figured that arguing with him more would just get him pissed off, so she decided to play along. “You’re right; I’m more like my sister than I thought. I know that she would have been happy with you. Things with Spike aren’t as great as I pretend they are.”
Ben beamed at her words. “I always knew it. You know that we’re meant to be together.” He got in her face and touched his lips to hers.
Buffy tried not to gag when he pulled away.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
She took a deep breath and looked him right in the eyes, trying not to flinch at her words. “My name’s Elizabeth.” The sadistic smile on his face was enough to make her want to cringe.
“You’re my sweet Elizabeth. We’ll leave first thing in the morning, but I have plans for you tonight.” He trailed his hands down her bare legs.
Buffy really wished that she wasn’t wearing a skirt.
He then raised his hand and trailed his fingers through her hair. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to make love to you. I suppose we have all the time in the world now. I’ll make you feel so good, baby.”
Her eyes widened and it took a lot of effort to stay where she was. She couldn’t find it in her to play along anymore and silently prayed that Spike would find her.