Soon. Very soon, she would be right by their side, sharing their bed, sharing their life.
Chapter 5
“Fucking hell, I cannot believe I have to stay late on a Friday night just so we can all get fucking paid on time.” Taylor groaned loudly with his head back as he walked impatiently back and forth across the personnel floor.
Looking up nervously from her computer screen, Everly gave the pacing security guard an uneasy glance. He was angry with her, and most likely everyone else in the office today was angry with her as well when they found out that morning that their paychecks were going to be delayed due to a technical error. Naturally, everyone’s first point of blame was the payroll account—her.
“Don’t worry about him,” Katie tried to assure her. Along with the beautiful blonde and the irate security guard, the bank manager stayed late with them as well to correct the problem. “No one blames you, the same thing happened six months ago, so don’t worry about it.”
Smiling at her words of comfort, Everly nodded, feeling a little better. Katie was right, this wasn’t her fault, and she would not allow Taylor’s tantrum to affect her—or at least she wouldn’t meet his blaming stare anymore.
Half an hour later and Everly handed Katie the last document with a relieved sigh.
“Awesome let’s take it to…” Katie began to reply.
“Here, give these to me,” as if waiting to pounce Taylor appeared in front of the desk they were working at and snatched the payroll papers out of her hand. “Mr. Alloway,” he shouted, marching towards the open door of the bank manager’s office. “They are finally done with everything.”
“He is such a child,” Katie whispered, standing tall in her expensive looking knee-high black boots and wine-red sweater dress that hugged her tall form.
Everly didn’t have very many clothes, so that required her to wear multiple pieces of clothes at least twice in a week. Today she had worn her gray wool dress with the black cardigan sweater she wore on Tuesday and her black leggings she wore on Monday. Laughing under her breath at Katie’s comment, Everly followed the tall blonde into the manager’s office.
“Okay guys, I know you are impatient,” Teddy Alloway, the bank's manager, looked pointedly at Taylor before looking through the papers. “But this will take at least ten to fifteen more minutes, so you may as well get comfortable.”
Both girls took the two empty leather seats in front of the manager’s large wooden desk while Taylor leaned sullenly against the wall. The office was strikingly quiet against the hushed tones of papers rustling as Mr. Alloway checked over the reports, so when a loud sound came from outside the office, everyone jumped at once.
Silently saying nothing, they all looked at each other with wide-eyes. Eventually their gazes naturally settled on the resident security guard.
Taylor’s face lost a shade of color when he realized their silent expectation, before brightening to an angry red.
“Fine,” he mumbled stomping towards the office door, “it was probably just some of the damn walls falling down from that shit-ass construction…What the fuck?!”
Another much louder crashing noise from outside the office caused Taylor to jump back from the door. Not moving a muscle, everyone just froze in the intense silence that settled around them, straining to hear more over their rapid heartbeats. Seconds dragged on like hours before, eventually, Taylor reached for the golden knob on the dark wooden door. Making hardly any noise, Taylor stepped out onto the personnel floor leaving the door wide open for them to see. Looking around, he turned back to them and gave them a confused look.
Letting out a large exhale of evident relief Mr. Alloway stood up from his desk with a muttering oath under his breath. “Fine, I’ll go look myself, just wait right here ladies.”
Turning in their chairs, Katie and Everly watched the manager walk out onto the personnel floor where Taylor was standing.
“Go look in the foyer,” he commanded angrily. “While I do your job for you and check the other offices.”
Feeling more at ease, Katie tried to share a laugh with Everly at Taylor’s reluctance to go off and check but all Everly could muster was a small smile in return. Right now, her heart was still pounding in her chest and the idea of sitting in the gloomy half lit bank one more minute than she had to made her incredibly antsy.
Minutes ticked by and neither one returned.
“Oh my God, what are they doing?” Frustrated now, Katie angrily stood up and walked out of the office.
Hesitating for moment, Everly tried to tell herself to calm down but the nagging feeling of dread, that something was not right, would not leave her. Pushing herself up from the leather chair Everly followed Katie onto the bank floor. Only half of the overhead fluorescent lights were on, giving the empty bank a creepy, desolate feeling. The red glow of the exit sign gleamed brightly at the end of the long dark hallway leading to the break room and the employee exit.
“Taylor, what are you doing?” Katie called out impatiently into the darkness.
Silence.
“Mr. Alloway are you…” Katie’s words stopped cold as they both watched a very stiff Mr. Alloway carefully step out of an office into the dark hall.
With every step forward, Katie’s and Everly’s eyes focused on the dark figure behind him. Slowly, they saw the petrified mask of fear frozen on Mr. Alloway’s face as he was forced to step into the light by the large man wearing a black plastic mask.
Katie’s deafening scream was like a gunshot that signaled a race, immediately all the participants began to move.
Materializing out of the corner of her eye another man dressed in the same black pants, gloves, and long sleeve shirt grabbed Katie in a bear hug, intensifying her manic screams.
Willing her body to unfreeze from the spot, Everly began to stumble backward. She needed to run, to make it to the second exit door behind her. Turning halfway, her body collided with another. Looking up to another dark empty-eyed mask Everly let out a strangled cry as the man’s hands locked around her upper arms capturing her.
How long had he been standing behind her? Terrified she looked at him and noticed the shift of light in the darkness over his shoulder, another man stepped out of the murky shadows and stood behind him, both looking at her with their expressionless masks.
Looking over her shoulder at Katie’s now muffled screams, Everly watched as the other man in black forcefully subdued her to the ground. Shaking in fear Everly cowered in the tall man’s arms, looking up with tearful eyes she pleaded. “Please don’t hurt me.” She wanted to say she was pregnant, but her throat tightened painfully from the cry she tried to suppress.
Pulling her closer, she heard his voice for the first time. A low rumbling whisper vibrated next to her ear, letting her feel just a hint of his warm breath through the mouth hole of his mask against her neck, giving her chills. “We would never hurt you.”
Turning her slightly, the other man behind him gently grabbed her wrist and silently indicated for her to hold them out. Obediently, she followed his command as he tied her wrists together with a plastic strap. Nudging her to sit in a nearby office chair, she sat stiffly as they both bound her feet together to the rolling legs of the chair. Kneeling directly in front of her, the second man wrapped the longer plastic strap around her knees. The intimate touch of his hand against her knee made her jump in fear. Pausing his actions, the dark mask raised up to look at her with its expressionless dark gaze. Silently he just stared at her. What was he thinking? Was he going to do something to her? With each agonizing second that dragged by, her heart rate steadily increased until she began to visibly tremble in front of the masked man.
Bowing his head again he finished securing her wrist to the plastic tie holding her knees together. Standing up, he stepped behind her and pushed her chair forward until she was next to Katie and Mr. Alloway, both of whom were tied up on the ground next to a desk. Unlike herself, Katie and the manager had large pieces of silver tape placed over their
mouths. With scared tear-stricken faces all three hostages watched as the three men in black silently stood near the offices in front of them. Everly couldn’t tell if they were looking at them or if they were looking above them, the black eye-holes of their mask just made them look like soulless demons.
Turning their heads in unison, everyone watched as the fourth masked man dragged the tied and thrashing body of Taylor from a dark hallway. Dragging Taylor behind him, the man dropped Taylor’s prone figure in front of them. Everly felt herself want to cry even more when she saw poor Taylor’s angry face and swollen eye. Placing Taylor on the ground in between Katie and herself, the man walked back to the other men.
In hushed tones, they talked amongst themselves before walking towards the large metal vault that contained the bank’s safety deposit boxes. The last man stopped and turned around, looking in their direction. Separating from the men at the vault, the lone man walked over to her and stopped in front of her.
Katie whimpered beside Everly, increasing her own fear as she focused on the carpet at his feet. Everly didn’t dare make any move, she could hardly breathe much less make a sound. The touch of smooth leather against her chin made her jump, using his gloved hand the man tilted her head up forcing her to look into the dark empty eyes of his mask.
Slowly, silently, and very gently he placed a silver piece of tape over her mouth.
Tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Cupping her face with both of his hands, Everly sat frozen in her chair as he used his thumbs to swipe away the tears on each cheek. Stepping back, he left them alone to join the other three men.
Grunts from her side captured her attention, looking down she saw Taylor rolling to his knees. The desperate panic in his eyes worried her as she watched him unsteadily stand on his bound feet. With his hands tied to the tie around his knees, just like hers, Taylor was forced to crouch in an awkward stoop. Shuffling towards the wall he fell against it with an out of breath grunt, pulling his arms into a curl Taylor strained against the plastic strap until his face turned red. Finally, with a snap the plastic band around his thigh holding his bound wrists in place broke free. With a frenzied look, Taylor eyed the desk next to her and began hopping towards it until he landed against it with a thump. Grabbing at the duct tape covering his mouth, he peeled it off with a jerk before grabbing the phone on the desk. Holding the phone to his ear, he frantically hit the switch at the base searching for a dial tone. Cursing he put the phone down, looking around the office desperately before meeting her gaze again.
“Where is your cell phone?” he whispered.
Blinking she thought about it for a second and then jerked her head to the direction of her pocket. Shuffling awkwardly to her Taylor quickly began to search her pockets with his bound hands until he found the phone in her pocket.
Their eyes met briefly in excitement as he pulled out the device. Katie’s muffled cry was their only warning before a black-gloved hand enclosed painfully over Taylor’s shoulder yanking him viciously away from her. Everly cried out through the tape covering her mouth as she watched Taylor’s body fly backwards hitting the ground in a hard rolling thud.
Wordlessly the man in black snatched away the cell phone from Taylor’s hand and grabbed Taylor’s thrashing arms as he tried to fight off the man. Taylor’s yells and curses were stopped again this time with even more tape wrapping around his head twice. Tying his bound hands to his ankles, Taylor was left in the middle of the floor in an awkward toe touching bent position.
The masked man stood back up to his full height and turned his black empty eyes towards her. Crying harder now Everly closed her eyes shut just as he stepped towards her. Katie’s and Mr. Alloway’s cries of protest increased as he grabbed her chair and began pushing her away from the group. Paralyzed by fear, Everly kept her eyes shut tightly as she felt herself being rolled away from the others and into a much cooler area. Sniffling Everly realized they had stopped. Even with her eyes shut and her head lowered she could sense the room was darker than the previous room. Fearfully she slowly opened her eyes.
She was back in the manager’s office, and she wasn’t alone. Sensing the man’s presence behind her, Everly sat perfectly still, too afraid to move, too afraid to make any sort of sound. The office was dark and the door was shut, the only light was from the yellow streetlight outside filtering through the large window behind the desk. The rustling movement behind her stilled her thrashing heart. What was he… The warm jacket draped around her shoulders interrupted her panicked thoughts. Turning she looked up at the man who only stared back in tense silence.
Without a word he turned and left, leaving her alone in the empty office.
Time passed excruciatingly slow, alone in a room with no concept of time or events. Everly had no clue what was happening beyond the office door. There was hardly any noise coming from the other side, she couldn’t tell if the masked men were still there or if everyone else was alright. The chill of the office was starting to seep in past the thick jacket when the door burst open.
±
It was nearly three in the morning when the police and FBI finally let them go. For hours she answered endless rounds of questions, forcing her to repeat every little detail to what happened that night. The real surprise was what the FBI agents told them after their questioning. Nothing was taken from the bank. Video surveillance showed the four unarmed men walking into the vault and simply standing. Nothing was taken or tampered with. One agent suggested it may have been an elaborate prank or practice for the real thing. Everly didn’t care either way, the whole thing was horrifying. Fearing for her safety and her colleagues, being bound and at the mercy of masked men, she was sure she would have nightmares for a long time.
Dragging herself through her front door, Everly tiredly dropped her keys and purse onto the coffee table. Not even bothering with a shower she threw off her boots and coat and snuggled underneath her covers shutting off her light. Hopefully sleep would help her forget about that night’s horrible events.
±
The shadowy figure stood beside the bed watching the girl sleep, as the other figure moved silently through the small apartment grabbing various items. Picking up a few pieces of clothing laying across the foot of the bed the figure moved stealthily into the bathroom collecting every bottle and toiletry before depositing them into the awaiting suitcase. The slight shift in the covers and small exhale as she changed positions captured the other man’s gaze. She was beautiful. Beautiful dark golden skin, long dark hair, soft gentle trusting eyes, he could stare at her forever.
The figure reappearing at the bedroom entryway drew his attention back to the task at hand. Giving him a nod, he wordlessly told him they were ready. Tonight, all their waiting, all their longing, and all their watching would be over.
±
So warm. Too warm, she frowned sleepily. Not wanting to wake up, Everly tried to push off the hot blankets, mentally she scolded herself for not changing out of her work clothes before she fell asleep. Slick unfamiliar fabric met her hands like a wall, not budging at all under her movements. Still half asleep, she moved in frustration. Everly was too hot and tired for this right now. Again, she tried to push the oddly slick material back, and again it would not budge. Tiredly her mind began to react to her body’s mounting frustration, she slowly started to awaken her other senses.
The tight unmovable sensation around her mouth sent the last needed spike of awareness to her sleep mired brain. Opening her eyes, Everly blinked into the darkness as she tried to move again. Trapped. Her arms and legs were trapped! Opening her mouth to cry out, cold seizing panic flooded her body when she realized she couldn’t. The tape on her mouth trapped her screams in her throat and behind the tape. Clawing at the material around her Everly tried to remove the cocoon trapping her down.
“Try to calm down Everly,” the deep voice from the darkness froze her blood and her movements. With wide terrified eyes, she lay absolutely still as the dark
figure materialized from the shadows of the room.
It was him. Oh God, it was the masked man from the bank.
Wearing exactly what he had on before, including the empty-eyed black mask he stepped forward. Seizing terror sliced through her veins and pooled in her stomach. Tears ran down her face as she tried to scream, shifting frantically in her bed trying to put space in between herself and him. Movement from the corner of her eye stopped her cold, another figure wearing the exact same thing stood at the left of the bed. Were the other two men here too, she thought with a sickening feeling in her stomach.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” the calm, quiet voice did nothing to stifle her growing panic.
Icy numbing terror coiled in her stomach as her mind worked frantically. Why would they follow her home? She didn’t do anything or say anything to the police that the others didn’t say.
Kneeling onto the bed, the first man leaned over her, sliding his hands underneath her legs and back, picking her up from the bed and into his arms. Desperately, she thrashed and screamed in his grip as he walked with her out of the bedroom but nothing she did fazed him. Stopping in the middle of the living room he turned with her in his arms towards the other masked man. Grabbing something beneath her head the second man pulled more of the slick fabric around her head and synched it like a hoodie around her face. She realized then she was trapped in a large sleeping bag. Continuing walking, they exited the front door of her apartment.
Back to Black: A captive ménage romance Page 4